Come on in to game store!

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

Wind Waker was the first Zelda game that I really felt like was mine. I adored the game, and found it breathtaking. The soundtrack struck me right from the beginning; Outset Island is a beautiful track that I still listen to all the time. Sailing the seas, discovering islands, ghost ships, finding treasure, and reassembling the trifoce was a true adventure that I felt like I embarked on as a child.

Baldur's Gate 3

Baldur's Gate 3 came out at the perfect time for me. I first played D&D with some buddies in the Marines, starting with 3.5E. Over time, I became a big fan of Critical Role, and found that BG3 was the perfect video game analog of the 5E system. The characters were vibrant, the voice acting incredible, and the story was so branching and variable that I was absorbed in this game for weeks.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

Expedition 33 truly took me by surprise. I had seen trailers for it, but it wasn't quite on my radar as a must-play game. I was convinced to play it by a friend in The Pouch, and was taken aback by the beauty and the character depth, and especially the music. The music is perhaps the best video game soundtrack that I have ever heard, and it has absolutely become a daily listen to me. But the plight of the characters in Expedition 33 are really what brought me into the game. Discovering the futility of the attempts of prior expeditions, yet seeing groups assemble each year in the hope that maybe this time, this expedition, would succeed, was heart wrenching. Seeing people come together when all hope is lost, when everyone knows they will fail, yet pressing on because they know they must is a beautiful, yet tragic thing.

Elden Ring

Elden Ring is a game that I have put over 1,000 hours into across PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC. I have 100%'d that game 3 times. I have beaten every boss, collected every weapon & piece of armor, and delved deep into the lore. Outside of the game, I've consumed hundreds of hours of lore videos about this wondrous game. This game came out at the perfect time for me. I played this with several friends, all staying up super late, discovering secrets, trading information, and exploring every nook and cranny. Getting accidentally teleported to Caelid just to realize that the map is bigger than I thought was mind-blowing. Then it happened again when I took an elevator down to the Ainsel River. And it happened again as I left Stormveil Castle and found myself looking out over Liurnia. This game is probably my favorite game of all time.

Hollow Knight

Hollow Knight is everything that I want a Metroidvania game to be. It's stunning, handrawn visuals, combined with the haunting yet beautiful score by Christopher Larkin, matched with a difficult yet fair combat system gives me all the depth I could ask for out of a game. I've gotten 108% on PC, and beaten it several times on GoG, Switch, and most recently again on my Steam Deck. I keep coming back to Hallownest.

Bloodborne

Bloodborne is the first FromSoft game that truly sucked me in. My brother and I picked this game up on PlayStation 4 on launch day, enticed by the dark & gritty setting and the promise of difficult combat. We tried for hours to get the summoning bells to work, but couldn't do it. Still, we each pressed on, individually making progress through Yharnam, coming across roadblocks, and bashing our heads against the wall until we won. I put it down before beating it, and it wasn't until several years later that my friend Trevor got me to go back and finish it, that I fully understood how special this game is. Every time that PlayStation has a showcase, I hold on to some small sliver of hope that we'll see something about Bloodborne. It's a truly, truly special game.

Megabonk

Megabonk is the perfect thing to play as I hop into bed after a long day. I can grab my Steam Deck, settle in, and play as a skeleton riding around on a skateboard, fighting hoards of baddies. Sometimes, I don't need emotional depth. Sometimes I just need skeledudes fighting baddies.

Overwatch (2?)

Overwatch is something that I have played with my wife, my brother, and my sister-in-law since the game came out in May of 2016. It was one of the first games I played after I got out of the Marine Corps. We used to play every single night, a few rounds a night. It's a game that will always have a special place in my heart, despite the fact that the game has changed so much. We still hop on and play once in a while, and it's still fun today. Though I will say, Blizzard needs to bring back the 2nd tank spot.

Ghost of Yotei

I adored Ghost of Tsushima, and found the combat and the world absolutely delightful. The lack of reliance on the map for navigation with the wind system of the first game was a great change of pace to the "Ubisoft"-style open world formula. I haven't had a chance to play Yotei yet, but I'm really looking forward to it.

Kingdom Come Deliverance 2

I've heard some fantastic things about this game. I've been told the combat takes some getting used to, but that once it clicks, this is a phenomenal game. I honestly don't know what to expect, as I never played the first, but I'm excited to find out!