For one reason or another, I just can’t review these games.
2016 has come and gone, and the gaming industry marches inexorably forward. I’ve found myself time and again with every passing year, passing on games for one reason or another. Similarly, there are multiple games that I’d love to sit down and review, but I can’t find myself able to give a suitably fair opinion on them. This is no fault of the game developer, but merely my own lack of time available, or my meager earnings holding me back.
Stupid tuition… Why does college need to cost so much?
Anyways, below are the several games that I could think of that I’d love to be able to review, but I know I can’t for one reason or another.
Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild
First, the obvious. I really wish I could play this game, if only to see what the fuss is all about. However, I’m not about to go out and spend the $450+ I’d need to get the Nintendo Switch, a Pro Controller, a MicroSD card, and a copy of Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild to be able to do that. I have had someone offer to let me borrow his Switch to be able to play it, but I feel uncomfortable taking someone’s electronic baby home.
Just to be clear, someday I hope to own a Switch, and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild would probably be the first game I bought for it, but right now I can’t justify the purchase. Likewise, despite it garnering almost unanimous, unbridled praise, I can’t help but shake the feeling that I would be let down by the experience. Nothing could live up to the psychotic levels of hype that surround the game.
Perhaps I’m wrong. Perhaps it’s the best game ever made. I just can’t see myself taking that chance for now. Besides, it’s not like there aren’t tons of reviews out in the wild already, gushing about how great the game is. I’d also likely end up having to change my name and move to another country if I wrote a negative review about it, in the event that I didn’t like it.
Maybe I dodged a bullet after all?
Ghost Recon: Wildlands
Jennifer and I have mulled over our mutual decision to wait on Ghost Recon: Wildlands in favor of purchasing Mass Effect: Andromeda. Given how much we loved playing together in the open beta of the newest “Tom Clancy” title, it seemed like a sure thing. We only sat it out because we felt like we’d love Mass Effect: Andromeda more.
Best not to think about it too much.
I do wish that we would be able to buy Ghost Recon: Wildlands, but it just isn’t in the cards right now. We’re waiting on a sale right now so we can afford a couple copies. Perhaps later this year? I’m jonesing for some marriage counseling.
The Long Dark
This is going to sound odd considering that I’ve made multiple posts about The Long Dark. I currently own it for both the PC and Xbox One, and have carved out a little creative writing series from my playthroughs in the survival sandbox mode.
The Long Dark really is a fantastic survival game, with a wonderful community of masochists that keep it interesting by showing off how long they’ve managed to not die, sharing their screenshots of the beautiful presentation, and trading strategies with one another.
But despite feeling like a full game (especially at its price point), it isn’t finished yet. The Long Dark is still in development, and is going to release with an episodic story mode that focuses on survival (go figure). Until then, even though I’d love to sing its praises all day long, I can’t in good conscience write a full review.
BeamNG.drive
I can’t believe how much I enjoy playing BeamNG.drive. I don’t understand…
Actually, I do. you can commit whatever horrors you can imagine on unsuspecting vehicles, and somehow the developers managed to create a game that simulates vehicular destruction in spectacular detail. It’s impossible to put into words how cathartic it is to engineer the demise of cars, trucks, and semis with the level of intricacy that BeamNG.drive sports. Combined in the package is also the bonus of a game that now features a scenarios to play through, along with missions, training, extensive mod support, and more.
Like The Long Dark however, it’s an incomplete package in the sense that it is still in active development. It wouldn’t feel right to give it a full review, even though I could tentatively state that it’s wonderful to mess around with in its current form anyway.
Kerbal Space Program
Unlike the two early access titles I listed above, Kerbal Space Program has not only made it to its release, but it has hit the PS4 and Xbox One as well. Now, my experience with KSP has been entirely on the PC, but I would recommend it to anyone on any platform. All you would need to do is ask Jennifer about how many hours I’ve spent screwing around with the different options in KSP.
In it, you operate your own miniature space program, and while you can go into a sandbox mode that allows you to build anything without restrictions, the bread and butter of the game takes place in its campaign mode. There, you make a case for your program by hitting milestones in space travel. You begin by simply getting a rocket off the ground, and continue along, reaching ever higher. There’s an entire star system to explore, and KSP even supports mods.
Kerbal Space Program is an excellent physics simulator for anyone even remotely interested in space exploration or physics in general. So why haven’t I reviewed it?
Well, I suck at it…
Alien: Isolation
So… Remember when I said I’d be playing through horror games? Well I do.
Alien: Isolation was one of the games that I had been planning on trying to finish. I’ve owned it for almost two years now, and haven’t made it all that far. It’s a game that I’d tell everyone even remotely interested in survival horror games to own, both because it’s a great game and it masterfully utilizes the Alien franchise license.
But it scares the shit out of me…
So what are some of the games that you’d love to play, but can’t for one reason or another? Are there any that you’d love to create a review for, but don’t feel right doing it without putting more time in? Let’s hear it, don’t be shy!
Did you like this post? You should click “Like” if you did. Feel free to follow Falcon Game Reviews as well. You can also find Falcon Game Reviews on Twitter and even send a direct email to FalconReviewsBlog@gmail.com!
Falcon Game Reviews 
I always end up playing games I want to review, but actually end having nothing of any note to say about them.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That has happened to me a few times at least. The feeling usually hits when I feel like I don’t have much to add that hasn’t already been said.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for your post! This is a great post. As a fellow game connoisseur I definitely understand the want to play every game that catches your fancy, however, for normal beings as we are there’s either not enough time, funds or just will. There’s just so much to go through that we have to pick and choose our battles or lack there of lol. Currently games I really want to play are Horizon Zero Dawn, Breath of the Wild and Yooka and Laylee.
-Luna 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
It really has boiled down to just picking my battles. Kinda a shame, but I have to be somewhat responsible at least.
Thank you for reading!
LikeLiked by 1 person
For me any PS4 exclusive at the moment, simply for the fact I don’t have a PS4. Much like your Switch dilemma I can’t opt out to spend the money needed for it at the moment, because I’m heavily invested in my PC hardware and backlog at the moment. I’d really love to play FF15, horizon zero Dawn, bloodborne, Nioh, the last guardian, and destiny.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well at the very least, Destiny 2 is coming to the PC, though you would definitely need a PS4 for most of those titles. Maybe this year you’ll be able to pick one up cheaply? I’d let you borrow mine, but I’m not sure that the logistics of it would work.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Cool post. There are just too many good games and not enough time if gaming isn’t your paid job…
For me, there’s my huge to-play pile that’s just getting bigger… But Breath of the Wild is one that’s just not happening soon. I don’t own either a WiiU or a Switch, so there’s that… I also really want to play Nier: Automata, but it’s so far outside of what I usually play so I can’t bring myself to add it to the ol’ pile at such a high price. And Zero Escape… and ditto for the money thing haha.
Regarding review… I really want to do an “Interesting Case of…” post for Dragon Age: Origins, but I know it could easily devolve into me fangirling, so that would take a lot of time to plan and re-read (and re-read) that I just don’t have right now haha.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Sometimes a little fangirling/fanboying isn’t a totally bad thing… It would be nice to be able to write on a more professional level though.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Maybe one day I’ll challenge myself like that! haha
LikeLiked by 1 person
My list is shamefully long: Most of the Final Fantasy series, the entire Mass Effect series, the two good Dragon Age games, the God of War series, the Metal Gear Solid series, Shadow of the Colossus, Last Guardian… I could ramble more, haha.
Time is my biggest problem. I hope someday I do get to play all the games I want.
LikeLiked by 4 people
We won’t speak of the backlog. Mine is rather large, though I know yours would put mine to shame.
I will say though, that the Metal Gear Solid series’ best entries were the first and third games, if you want to narrow down the list a bit.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I always consider games I haven’t played yet, I can’t feel guilty for not reviewing. I’ll get to them eventually when my time and my wallet allow 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I suppose the bonus of waiting is that they eventually drop in price, so it isn’t a total loss in that case!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s very true! And you can also wait for them to go on sale so you can fill out your backlog in bits and pieces. I live for PSN sales, and I need to start paying more attention to Steam sales.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I loved Alien: Isolation, but like you never made it to the end… And now I’ve left it too long at a difficult place in the game 😶.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s such a weird feeling. Loving a game yet not playing it…
LikeLiked by 1 person
These games are definitely tough to review. Plus, a lot of them are sandbox games, and the amount of fun you have in them is so directly dependent on the player themselves. I’ve only played Long Dark, BotW, and Kerbel, and honestly it’s up to the player to make those games fun, in my opinion.
I think the best you can really do with those types of games is set up some fun scenarios in-game to show how fun it is! Kind of like how Dunkey did with BotW. Just goof off and demonstrate how much you can really do in it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s why I decided to use gifs instead of just images for my impressions of BeamNG.drive. Sometimes it’s really difficult to show a game like that without demonstrating it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Over the years, while writing at various outlets, I’ve missed out on reviewing titles I would have loved to get my opinion down in a more proper/official format because others were writing the reviews. Mass Effect 3 and Uncharted 3 are two of the big ones that I didn’t review at the time because another writer handled them.
More recently, I’ve just not had the time or drive to do reviews of newer games. I wish I had gotten to stuff like Far Cry Primal and Dishonored 2 last year. And I wish I could do ME: Andromeda but I feel by the time I finish it (I’m currently 34 hours in), it will be well past the point of anyone caring.
I’m hoping to do Yooka-Laylee this month and Prey next month though.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I can understand the sentiment of not wanting to review an older game due to the lack of relevancy. I’ve done a few older game reviews just because I feel like there’s something more to be said still, so there’s that…
I’m not sure that Prey will have the same coverage as Mass Effect: Andromeda though, so I’d have to say that’s a good bet to make if you’re looking for something to write about.
LikeLike