No-Game November!

I’m taking November off from playing games. It’s already been Day 3 of my self-imposed gaming fast and I feel fine. Actually I haven’t played much of anything since mid-October so it’s not too much of a difference. Not being able to check into Paradise Bay at least once a day itches a bit, though.

As for all the games I mentioned giving a second chance to a couple of posts ago… yeah, they’re all dropped. Good riddance. From December I’ll be starting anew with a fresh batch of games.

Why a break now? Because I’ve virtually exhausted my DS and PSP libraries. There are a few RPGs and otome games I haven’t played yet, but they’re mostly things I’m not really interested in. If I were interested I would have played them by now, see? After all I’ve had a DS for over 10 years and a PSP for over 6. That’s plenty of time. The 3DS is largely in the same boat, sadly enough. There’s SMTIV Apocalypse, Dragon Quest 7 and then maybe I might try the Etrian Odyssey reboots but that’s about it. Wii and PS2 are on ice because I don’t have a TV any more (long story. Very long story).

Basically I’m out of things to play. That I really want to play, that is. That makes this is a good time to evaluate whether I want to move on to new consoles and handhelds or just clean up odds and ends and call it a day when it comes to gaming. Right now my mind is pretty firmly made up to get a PS Vita before the end of the year and Switch before the end of 2018 (Xenoblade 2!!!!). But that’s because I’m taking it for granted that I want to keep playing games. But do I really? Or am I just coasting off inertia?

No-Game November is an experiment to see if I’ll miss playing games this month, and if so how badly. I’ve done a gaming fast before a couple of years ago, but the circumstances were a bit different (another long story). November is a month for exploring other hobbies. It’s also a time to get in touch with my inner feelings and listen to the voice of the games with me… NOT! 😀

Okay, kinda. It will be useful to know know exactly what kind of games I feel like playing and when I feel like playing them. I’ve already learned that I miss Paradise Bay a lot, so maybe that means I should experiment more with cheerful, low-pressure casual games in future. I also realized I feel like playing games when I’m bored (duh) but also when I’m cranky or tired or have a lot to do and need to procrastinate. Obviously that means I should experiment more with more casual games. And I’ve realized I don’t feel like reading a lot any more, I just want to jump in and play as soon as possible. Yup, more casual games!

At the same time I wouldn’t mind playing an ARPG with a lot of loot and a lot of weapons in it. Something like Phantasy Star Portable or Rune Factory in terms of both mood and difficulty. I already have a couple of titles in mind so… No! Bad Kina! No games till December!

TL;DR – This blog is on hiatus until December while I decide whether to buy more consoles/handhelds or move in a more casual direction. See you guys next month!

27 thoughts on “No-Game November!

  1. sephurchin says:

    Good for you to finally take a break. Go relax and enjoy!
    If you want to go hand held definitely go with a Ps Vita. Tones of great games. A lot of the stuff you would like. You just have to search around for a decent priced memory card for the Digital Only titles. Plus the PlayStation Store has great sales every week not to mention the Flash sales,this is why my library is now well over 70 games. Next hear is going to be huge in the Otome department with 4 new titles.
    If interested I have a small page for were I put new Vita info:

    https://gbatemp.net/threads/updated-2017-rpgs.406785/

    HAVE FUN! ! ! !

    • Kina says:

      Thanks! I checked out your list and my head is spinning @___@ I had a mental list of my own for when I eventually get a Vita but there are so many other games out there. Caligula, Tokyo Twilight Ghost Hunters, Demon Gaze 2… And that’s just the 2017 releases. I am done for…

  2. Leonardo says:

    Heh, its been a few months that i dont REALLY play anything. I miss it (I am getting a switch this month) but i dont seen to want to play any of the games i have lying arround. Btw, Tokyo Twilight Ghost Hunters is on pc if you want to try it before getting a vita. Also, there is always SMTIV Final.

    • Kina says:

      I’m 90% set on getting a Switch too. Xenoblade 2 looks amazing but the rest of the Switch library doesn’t attract me. Hmm, it’s a dilemma.

      SMTIV: Apocalypse was a might-play, the updated PC version of Tokyo Twiilght Ghost Hunters is very affordable… BUT! They’re the sort of game I kinda think I want to play, maybe I do, maybe I don’t, then I end up playing them but I’m not really into them and then I drop them and get frustrated, and so on. When I resume gaming in December, I’m going to do so with a blank list of games and a ruthless attitude to anything that doesn’t immediately impress me.

  3. Isleif says:

    Indeed, it would be a pity if you bailed out of gaming without giving the Vita a good and long try. That console has some of the best dungeon crawlers and niche RPGs I’ve played in recent years. ^___^

    • Kina says:

      It’s the Atelier games… The Atelier games are what I would miss most if I didn’t get a Vita. Between the PC and the 3DS I could get some good dungeon crawling and niche RPGing going on, but muh Atelier…

      • Davzz says:

        If it helps, I think modern Atelier kinda topped out at the Arland trilogy (Rorona/Totori/Meruru) and then kinda peters out because they have no idea how to continue onwards.

        • Kina says:

          Thinking about quality only complicates matters. I like to think simple.
          Is it an Atelier game?
          Yes => I’ll play it
          No => I’ll probably play it anyway.

      • bokobaba says:

        For what it’s worth, PC is getting all the gust games lately. Rpcs3 is coming along quite nicely too, so they may all be playable on PC soon enough.

        • Kina says:

          I have been eagerly following Gust’s PC releases. Everything after Sophie is readily available, to my great joy. But there are still 5 games beyond my reach (Totori, Meruru, Ayesha, Escha & Logy, Shallie). That’s 5 too many. This situation cannot be allowed to continue.

          I’ll emulate them if I must (thanks for the heads up). It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve emulated an Atelier game and probably won’t be the last. But a PSTV is like what, $60? I’d like to get one if I can.

          • Leonardo says:

            Its like $30 during black friday. The issue is the memory card considering how most of vita ateliers are digital only. Also note that vita tv doesnt run ALL vita games, its better to do some research. But ya, I love shallie.

          • Kina says:

            Come on Black Friday, I’m counting on youuuu. But even at full price the memory card + controller + PSTV still cost less than a PSVITA. No wonder Sony discontinued the PSTV.
            My preliminary research shows that all the games I really want to play work just fine on the PSTV so I’m not too worried.

          • Kina says:

            No PSTV discount 🙁 To order now or to gamble on Cyber Monday…

  4. Kina says:

    Day 15…. Even Tetris will do… I want to play something!

  5. K says:

    I have a phase every couple of years when I’m sick and tired of gaming too. That’s when I pick up some books or shows I wanted to get into since forever but didn’t cause gaming eats up a lot of time.

    Tho, I have to say, what really helped me this year was trying out series of genres I never played because I never thought I could get into them. Mainly Resident Evil and Monster Hunter, which I got super into, and me normally not playing these kind of games made them a fresh wind in my gaming habbits.

    • Kina says:

      An interesting idea. I enjoy watching my brothers play RE and MH but I’d rather quit than play them myself. I guess I’m not that keen on trying new genres. Sometimes I think I’d like to get into platformers and then I try one and it’s like NOPE.

      The idea was to get into books and hobbies that I hadn’t had time for before, but instead I spend the time thinking about the games I could be playing right now…………………. Even though if I wasn’t on a break I probably wouldn’t play them anyway. It’s the idea that I can’t touch anything that makes everything look so good.

  6. K says:

    Only one week left!

  7. Nik says:

    Good for you for taking a break. I always feel like if I don’t keep playing, I’ll just never catch up on my back log!

    • Kina says:

      That’s why I’ve cleared everything on my backlog so I can start afresh with a new list.
      It’s good to revise backlogs regularly because the stuff you thought you wanted to play 5 years ago might not be what you want to play today.

  8. Kina says:

    Almost over… counting the hours until I can game again…

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