This has been the year(s?) of absolutely craptastic releases. I’ve been incredibly busy in college for quite a while, only half-assedly following most of them, but following them close enough to see just about everyone gripe about the terrible state of polish things are being released in for both consoles and PC.
But y’know what? Screw all that. Screw shooters and AAA “masterpieces” and microtransactions and all that fast-paced hoopla.
I’m just gonna go back to playing Minecraft all summer, like it’s 2014 again. Probably mostly a vanilla server with a few close friends and my long-distance GF. Maybe mix in a little modded tech packs for some excitement that isn’t quite as hardcore as Factorio is. Maybe get on some public servers and play some minigames while getting drunk.
Minecraft, or at least the java edition, has largely escaped the massive commercialization push of the gaming industry. And being in a game where there’s no stress, no ‘grind’, no dopamine button pushers… just a game where you’re living life how you want it, when you want it, is something I desperately, desperately need right now.
Who’s with me?
I’ll always have a soft spot for Minecraft and it’s open world base building goodness.
If you want “Minecraft, but more grown up,” I can’t recommend Vintage Story enough. It’s actually an offshoot of a survival modpack for Minecraft if I recall correctly. A more involved crafting system (i.e. knapping tool heads out of stone, casting and forging metal tools, etc) and a threatening winter make for a very fun survival game. Still in active development with a pretty good pace of new content regularly, and a lively mod scene.