I’ve been playing video games since I was a little kid. And I played them a lot. Like A LOT a lot. One of my favorite games growing up was Crash Bandicoot, and I played it so much that my dad would hum the theme song whenever we went swimming. What I love so much about video games is that they allow me to be anyone, do anything, and go anywhere. For just a few minutes or hours out of the day, I get to feel so much freer and more powerful than I’ve ever been. The gaming industry has been a blessing to me, and I will cherish it always.

I remember deciding at the age of 12 that I was going to work in the video game industry. I didn’t know anything about coding or design or any kind of computer science, and my disability makes it extremely difficult to use a mouse and keyboard, but all that mattered to me was my dream. So a few years later when my dad realized it wasn’t a phase and that my dream was real and here to stay, he gave me a crazy but genius idea that I should start my own company and just communicate my ideas/vision to the people who do the work of making the game. That’s been my goal ever since. I even got my degree in business administration so I could learn how to run a business, but of course starting a business is way easier said than done. I thought it would help to get an internship or job for first-hand experience in the industry, but as I mentioned in my first blog post, it’s sadly incredibly difficult for people with disabilities to find a job, let alone in an industry like gaming that revolves around secrecy and computers. This lack of success in job hunting was a major contributing factor in the decision to become a Twitch streamer so I could still be involved with gaming in some capacity.

Now I’m here, almost a year into streaming (and still loving it) and now I’m starting a blog to spew my random thoughts for the world to see. And since gaming is such a passion of mine, I figured it was inevitable that I eventually post about my thoughts on the current state of the industry. Especially with Gamescom (a gaming convention/event) going on this week (at the time of writing this), now seems as good a time as any.

First, let’s talk a bit about the technological side. VR has been around for a few years now, and we’re slowly seeing more and better games come to the various VR platforms. I can’t speak too deeply on how good they are because I have very limited experience with VR, but the gameplay videos and trailers and reviews I’ve seen on YouTube seem pretty promising. The only time I’ve ever actually used a VR headset was way back in 2017 when it was first gaining traction because my dad was able to hook me up with tickets to E3 (the most famous gaming convention). I had an absolute blast, and I hope to attend again in the near future if it’s still popular (or some other gaming convention).

During those two days or so, I got the chance to try two different VR games. The first one was where I piloted a mech suit (basically a robot like Iron Man but much bigger, for those who are unfamiliar) and shot down a bunch of incoming missiles as I patrolled a large city. I liked how easy the controls were in terms of combat, but my hands were so focused on using the VR controllers that I was unable to control my wheelchair to turn and see what was around me. I mean it could’ve just been that I was too dumb or unaware to think about driving or figuring out a way to operate my chair despite the big VR controllers, but once I got to the point where I couldn’t turn to see the missiles coming at me from the side off-screen, I just sat there and let myself get killed because I didn’t know what else to do.

The second game I played was a racing game, so I could use a regular PS4 controller and just wear the VR headset. It was a cool experience to have and tell my friends about, but being in the driver’s point of view made it difficult to clearly see the road in front of me and I just kept crashing and going the wrong way. I rarely play racing games to begin with, let alone in first person, so that was probably a bigger factor in my poor performance than the technology itself. Overall, I’d say that the VR technology is pretty fun and I look forward to seeing how much better it gets, but accessibility for people with various disabilities is still a major concern.

I’m also very impressed with how visually stunning console games are getting these days. I don’t know much about frame rate or ray tracing or 4K HDR, but I love all of it and can’t wait to see all the games that take advantage of it since we’re still early in the new console era (especially with COVID throwing everything off). And I know that PC is way better with video games since everything comes from computers and PC elitists won’t shut up about it, but I’ve never had a PC to game on (outside of playing Pajama Sam and Freddy the Fish and Backyard Football/Baseball/Soccer/Basketball as a kid) since my disability makes mouse-and-keyboard a giant hassle, so all my experience comes from console. But I’ve been thinking a lot about getting a PC in recent years since I learned that I can use a PlayStation or Xbox controller on a PC, and there’s also a lot of extra functionality in terms of streaming that I can’t do when I stream to Twitch directly from my PS4 or PS5.

Now let’s talk about the games themselves and some of the current trends and recent announcements. There’s a game coming out next year called Lies Of P that I was initially excited about playing when I started seeing trailers, but now that I’ve recently seen gameplay it doesn’t look nearly as interesting. It’s just another SoulsBorne wannabe. For those who don’t know much about gaming, there’s a studio called FromSoftware that has become notorious for making a unique style of video games, popularized by their two biggest hits Dark Souls and Bloodborne. Now so many studios have tried to emulate this style that it has essentially created a new genre, referred to as Souls-like or SoulsBorne. This genre is typically characterized by excessive difficulty, dark and dreary atmosphere, and losing the currency used to level up an attribute whenever you die (which happens A TON due to the aforementioned excessive difficulty).

Bloodborne was actually one of the first games I streamed, so I understand now why these games are so popular. The issue I have is that so many studios are copying this style so frequently that it is quickly losing its charm. On top of that, they change very little (if any) of the formula for these games and end up just coming off as inferior copies of the original games. They either need to leave the Souls-like games to FromSoftware or come up with their own twist to make it stand out.

On a positive note, I’ve also recently noticed some Chinese studios announcing new video games, and let me tell you they look FUCKING AMAZING!!! The animation is gorgeous and the combat and gameplay look fluid and badass! The only issue is that I don’t know anything really about their stories because the announcements and updates are sparse, and when they do come out it’s always in Chinese and rarely has any English subtitles. I’m not going to hold that against them, though, at least until I definitively know whether these games will be released in the U.S. or not.

The three Chinese games I’m most looking forward to that I think you guys might want to keep an eye out for are Black Myth: Wukong, Where Winds Meet, and Lost Soul Aside. Every single trailer I saw for these games has gotten me more hyped than most other American-made or Japanese-made games in recent memory. Unfortunately, there have been plenty of times throughout the history of video games where the advertising has been much more impressive than the game itself when it finally releases (e.g. Cyberpunk 2077). I’m just keeping my fingers crossed that these games deliver on their promises. If the finished products prove to be this incredible and we see more of this level of quality from Chinese studios in the future, then I’ll welcome our Chinese overlords with open arms when the U.S. gets taken over. Communism isn’t that bad, right?

All jokes aside (see what I did there?), I’d like to cap this off by telling you about some other games I’m excited about as well as what I typically prefer in the games I like to play. Ever since I started streaming, it has given me a platform and a reason to start playing through the countless games that I’ve bought but never downloaded as well as trying new genres that I never did before. However, the games that will always stand out to me are the ones with captivating stories and hard-hitting or fun combat and gameplay. One of my favorite series has always been God of War. While the story of the original trilogy didn’t seem to be a serious focus, the combat was so over-the-top and fun and badass and different from what I was used to at that point in my life. Assassin’s Creed, on the other hand, is another favorite series because the stories always take an interesting twist on real history and always keep me coming back, even if the gameplay mechanics have been changed multiple times and aren’t the most consistent. Another thing I’d like to point out is that I almost always avoid first-person shooter games because I’m so bad at them, but Bulletstorm and Titanfall 2 were so fun to play and had such interesting stories to tell that I was willing to suffer and die a lot in order to complete them. I’m also looking forward to an upcoming FPS called High On Life because of all the ridiculous humor it has as well as the vibrant and interesting characters and worlds. You should definitely check it out if you’re a fan of Rick & Morty! One of the creators, Justin Roiland, actually started his own game development company called Squanch Games, and they’re the ones who made High On Life as well as another fun game called Trover Saves The Universe that I played a few years ago!

Now I could go on forever about all the games that have recently been announced or are being released soon, but nobody has that kind of time so I think I’ll just speed through a few that stand out. There’s a rhythm shooter called Metal Hellsinger where you have to play to the beat of various heavy metal songs, and I’m interested to check that out because I love that kind of music. Although I’m so bad at shooters that I’m worried I’ll just ruin the music since the songs are affected by how well you play. Atlas Fallen looks like an interesting game, but they’ve only released a CG trailer so I’m waiting to see some actual gameplay. Wanted: Dead looks like fun, violent, over-the-top action that I think I’d enjoy. Atomic Heart seems like the captivating kind of shooter that I’d be willing to suffer through. I’m really excited about Forspoken because it looks visually impressive and has some wild combat and gameplay mechanics. The Expanse: A Telltale Series will probably be good because Telltale Studios has a very solid track record with story-based games, but I’m not familiar with the show it’s based on. I’m a little on the fence about Gotham Knights because not all the playable characters look well thought out. Hogwarts Legacy is exciting and I look forward to seeing how much control I have in making the kind of wizard I want and how much magic I can learn. I’m super excited for God of War: Ragnarok because I love the new direction of the series and can’t wait to see how this Norse saga ends (and what the next saga might be). I’m also hyped for SpiderMan 2 because Insomniac Games has done a stellar job with the previous two installments, so I have high expectations for the next game. The same studio is also making a Wolverine video game, and he’s one of my favorite superheroes so I’m definitely hoping for an update on the progress soon and maybe some gameplay footage.

What do you guys think of the games I mentioned? Are there any I didn’t list that you’re looking forward to? I’d love to hear from you, so feel free to let me know your thoughts in the comments!