Have you ever been in a situation where a new video game catches your attention but you haven’t played any other entries in the franchise? If you’re anything like me, you would probably start researching the best way to play the previous games of the series, check out how long they take to beat and find a way to get the games without emptying your wallet. At some point though, it hits you. You can’t play four 30-hour games just so you can enjoy this new one. You’re an adult with a job, maybe even a family. That’s when the anxiety hits you and you hit Twitter asking if you would still enjoy said game without playing the sequels, prequels or whatever.
DON’T FEEL BAD
While the whole thing might seem stupid to some people, fans of certain series or gamers interested in previously undiscovered franchises can feel like a series of games can be overwhelming. Certain games can feel like they have too much going on already. Other games can feel less attractive to you once you find out about the other 23 games in the series. I’m here to tell you that you should stop feeling that way. Play the games you want to play, guilt-free and effortlessly.
HOW TO OVERCOME IT
Streamers and retrospective videos on YouTube. There’s always someone fun playing a game you’re interested in and streaming it online. That’s one of the rules of the Internet (probably). Watching ‘Let’s Play’ videos can streamline the process of introducing yourself to a new game and you can do it at your own pace. There’s no shortage of cutscene collections and even silent walkthroughs of games on YouTube. A series that would take you around 200 hours to complete can now be consumed in the form of a movie or a short video covering the main story points. You won’t be getting the gameplay experience but you will have a chance to skip the unnecessary padding that seems to dominate today’s games.
REFRESHING YOUR MEMORY
The same ways described above can be a great way to refresh your memory on some games you feel nostalgic about. I’ve wanted to replay The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess for 7 years now. After being too busy and with my list of unfinished games growing endlessly, I gave up and watched story breakdowns. It satisfied my nostalgia and saved me a lot of time. Of course, there’s always the ‘previously on’ introduction video that games like Syberia 3 and Gears 5 utilise in order to make it easy for fans to remember the main story beats before starting a new game or bring new players in and make sure they have something to help them figure out what’s going on.
GOOD FOR DEVS, GOOD FOR YOU
So don’t feel bad about DOOM Eternal or The Last Of Us 2. If you can’t or don’t want to spend money or time on the previous games, just look around for something free to get you in those games. Sure, you won’t be giving any money to developers at the time but you will gauge your interest in the games and possibly become a long-term, paying fan. That’s the best a developer can ask for and the beauty of gaming in this day and age.