To give some context I was in a mentally tough spot in life over the last 5 years and one of my unhealthy coping mechanisms was to just chase the quick dopamine highs with shovelware platinums. I do regret that entire period of my life off course but shit happens and I’ve moved past it.
Now that’s out of the way, I slowly killed the habit of playing shovelware by revisiting older titles I never fully completed but thoroughly enjoyed. I was still searching up guides and obsessing over getting that 100% rather than just enjoying the actual game but at least it wasn’t Shovelware which felt like a win.
Then RE9 comes along and I realised upon reflection (mostly because I’m a Resident evil fan) that I played my first blind playthrough without any guides or videos for the first time in over 5 years and I enjoyed every single moment of it and suddenly gaming was fun again. I still aimed to get that 100% but I’m glad I enjoyed my first blind through in a long time.
Id like to conclude my first post with my experience with Saros and by extension, Returnal.
Returnal was my first experience with the roguelite genre and I’ve never played anything outside of mainstream FPS titles and Sony exclusives like Uncharted. I loved it! Especially more so because it was around the time i got my PS5 and Returnal was such a bizarre and awesome experience when playing it for the first time, It was unlike any game I’ve ever played. Fast forward to Saros, I was excited simply because of my experience with Returnal and had my expectations set on “if it’s more Returnal I’m happy” and that’s exactly what I got.
Saros was the first game I 100% without any support from guides and It was a reminder to me for why I love gaming in the first place and it felt really good. I hope this post also encourages others who may be putting themselves through needless misery with Shovelware to stop and simply go back to the games you enjoy playing because no one enjoys playing shovelware period.
Stay safe out there ladies and gents. Feel free to share your experiences positive/negative/both and whether you had similar experiences when it comes to gaming and how did you overcome your unhealthy gaming habits? 🤙🏻❤️