As I’ve gotten older, I like to think that I’ve grown more patient. I remember counting the days up until one exciting thing or another as a kid, and with video games I couldn’t help but greedily gobble-up every morsel of news or rumors I could find ahead of release. The waiting was awful though, and I’d always try to distract myself with something else as the days ever so slowly ticked by. I don’t engage in as much of this behavior anymore, and the weeks leading up to release aren’t as agonizing as they used to be, yet I still have trouble settling/focusing-on the “waiting games” I play in-between. I guess some off that childish impatience is still with me even now.

As I mentioned in my last post, my most anticipated game right now is Baldur’s Gate 3. Everything I’ve heard about it sounds excellent, and I already got at least one friend queued up to play co-op with. I’m absolutely certain that it’s going to be a blast…but it’s not out on PS5 for a couple of weeks yet. I’m trying to stay away from all of the guides, lore videos and so on that are pouring out of YouTube because I hope to discover as much as I can for myself too, so that means staying away from a lot of media. So, as usual, I need something else to play. The question is: what?

What makes a good “waiting game” for you? It is simple multiplayer? Something you can dive into for a little bit and easily jump back out of once the new game arrives? Do you go back to old favorites or dig into the backlog instead? Favorites are favorites for a reason, but you already know how they go. Backlog games offer something new, but are kinda risky in that you don’t know if they’ll be too long or short. Too long means either having to push back the new game that you really want to play, and too short means having to find yet another game to fill your gaming time slot while you wait.

I tend to go with old standbys myself. It’s a chance to enjoy something good all over again, and maybe even try to flex my knowledge a bit and play it in a new way. Also, I don’t have to worry about it running too long since I already know how it ends. There’s no internal need or pressure to finish it anymore. So with that in mind I returned to Paper Mario (N64) and 100%-ed it. I got absolutely everything (never did that before)…and still have two weeks to go. So now there was even less time, probably not enough for a backlog game. So…now I’m back into Prey: Mooncrash and will hopefully finish it this time (before my two weeks runs out).

This one is kind of an in-between game for me. I absolutely love Prey and played the Mooncrash DLC when it launched, but I only got so far at the time. I wasn’t as into roguelike mechanics as I am now, and so I think I got frustrated with the recursive elements. Past me’s loss is current me’s gain though I guess because not only do I have a really-good (bites-sized) “waiting game” to play, but I’m gaining an all-new appreciation for Prey and what Arkane Studios is capable of when they bring their “A” Game.

Yet, there’s still waiting to be done all the same. I guess somethings never change, eh? If I finish Prey: Mooncrash too early, maybe I’ll just take a short break from games instead of trying to find yet another thing to fill the time. Actually, it’s probably an even better idea to just put down the controller sometimes eh?

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What do you like to do while you’re waiting for your next big game? Is it easier for you to wait, or do you get a bit too excited too?

Image from the Baldur’s Gate 3 Steam page