The Video Game list

Since I haven’t posted anything on this blog for almost a year now, I’ve decided to actually do… something. That something is the list of my recommended video games, which you can find in the navigation bar at the top of the page (or here). This post is a more behind-the-scenes look as how this list actually came to be.

Long, long ago…

…in 2020 (Jesus that was almost 5 years ago now) I’ve discovered that not only does Japan exist, it also produces video games. This happened sort of by accident and is another story I’m gonna leave for another day, but what you need to know is that, before that, I haven’t really completed games. Not because I dropped most of them, but because I would typically play games like the Microsoft Flight Simulator X (I’d say P3D, but I legally cannot admit to using this game for fun… true story), or OMSI 2. Story games were not really my thing, even though I would sometimes complete one or two.

Anyway, things somewhat changed when I’ve discovered NieR:Automata, which immediately became my, at the time, favourite game. Not long after, though, there was the surprise release of Persona 4: Golden for PC, which I’ve promptly proceeded to complete 4 times over the span of a month (“good” thing we were locked in homes at the time, right?). This made me realise that maybe Japanese games are just better, and started exploring, starting with Bayonetta. But then something happened… I kept finding this “Steins;Gate” thing everywhere when looking up Japanese games. So I gave it a go.

Visual Novels take over

This was when I discovered that story in video games is really something worth appreciating. And since visual novels are… like… 98% story, I’ve immediately fell in love with the genre. That also meant that I’ve started completing more and more games, which tickled my brain in a very “me” way.

“It would be nice to track the games you’ve completed!”, thought me at some point. So that’s what I did. At first, the list started only for Japanese games (not that I’ve played others at that point), but over time I’ve ended up having 2 lists: for all games, and japanese games.

Visual novels are still a genre I come back to regularly, but I’ve somewhat moved on to other genres now. Japanese games, though, still make up the majority of games I play.

The lists

The only rule I have is: “the moment you complete the game (which is sometimes difficult to decide given how a lot of Japanese games work), you put that game on the list”. The still is a separate list for Japanese games, and the lists are split by year to be at least somewhat manageable. Replays also end up on the list, so the total number of entries is not equal to the total number of different games I’ve completed. Games that cannot be completed (Microsoft Flight Simulator, OMSI, osu!, and such) don’t go on the list at all.

With that said, the lists of all games (including Japanese), beginning in 2020, currently have… 253 items on there… I’m now silently accepting your judgement on me.

The thing is, having played that many games, I obviously have my favourites, some of which are less known. Because of that, I’ve decided to share them with the audience of this blog, which is currently 0 people (well… maybe one day). I will probably update it from time to time, when new great games come along.

For now, the list is here for you to look at and use when looking for inspiration what to play next. Just remember, that this is my list, made by me, and I have a tendency to not agree with other people as to what “good game” means, so use with caution. If you enjoy a good story, though, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.