Coming Back for More

I've been replaying a lot of games of late. 

This is partially due to a lack of new games that I've been dying to play, but it's mostly been a conscious decision to revisit experiences that bring me joy. I'm not looking to cast a critical eye, reconsider them from a modern viewpoint, or to see if they still hold up. Fuck that - I just want to play games that mean something to me and I'm guaranteed to enjoy. 

You may not be surprised to hear that I've been dipping in and out of Burnout Paradise a lot this year. The remaster is pinned to my Xbox dashboard, available as part of my Game Pass subscription. Any time I'm unsure of what to play, don't have enough time or mental energy to jump into something new, or have had a few beers and want to decompress, I'm likely to turn to Paradise. It never fails to entertain.

There's a very small group of games, to which Burnout Paradise belongs, that I choose to replay on a semi-regular basis. They are well-loved, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they're counted among my all-time favourites, though some are. There's not always crossover between most-loved and most-played. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater is unquestionably the greatest game ever made, yet I don't feel an urge to go back to it on a regular basis. And I certainly don't want to dip in and out of it, as it just doesn't lend itself to being experienced in that way. 

The games that I do regularly revisit tend to be shorter, more arcade-like experiences. They are easy to resume and leave, leave and resume. I don't need to put aside weeks to fully enjoy or appreciate them; thirty minutes will suffice. When the mood takes me, I play them without fuss or over-thinking.

The oldest of this select few would be 8-bit Sonic the Hedgehog. My first video game, and one that I still have multiple ways of accessing: the original cart, the 3DS version, and on the Game Gear Mini. Nostalgia and simplicity ensure that I keep going back, even just to clear a stage or two. Sonic 2 on the Mega Drive is a "better" game, and one that I can access in numerous ways, so that's another that I load up fairly regularly. However, it doesn't quite charm me in the same way as 8-bit Sonic. And while we're on the topic of SEGA, Outrun is an effortless and joyful revisit. While I've been familiar with Outrun for as long as I've been playing games, I only came to truly appreciate it in recent years, thanks to the 3DS and Switch re-releases.

My beloved Sega Saturn is home to a few games that I just cannot stay away from. Virtua Cop 2 is a classic, though the extra effort of unboxing a light gun means its presence in this group is a precarious one. Nights into Dreams is guaranteed to be played at least once a year, on Christmas Eve as part of my festive routine. But the only game that is almost certain to get a spin any time I turn on my Saturn is Sega Rally Championship. I have owned a copy on-and-off since the mid-90s, and my fondness for it has grown year to year. And this isn't just nostalgia-fuelled adoration. Few, if any racers feel as pleasing as Sega Rally, even after almost 30 years.

Skipping ahead two generations, we reach Burnout Paradise which I've already covered here, there, and everywhere. I'm equally fond of Shatter, an Arkanoid-alike with a soundtrack to die for. I was gutted when this year's re-release turned out to be Netflix-only, and not bound for consoles. Every 1-2 years, I reconnect my PS3 and spend a few days trying to up my high-scores. The satisfaction is immediate and there is next to no readjustment needed to recalibrate myself to its flow. And sticking with the 7th Gen, I still often play Ultra Street Fighter IV, usually with my daughter. Neither of us are big beat-em-up fans, nor are we any good at them. We both swear by random stick rotations and button bashing, so we're certainly not drawn to the intricacies of combos and counters. What keeps us coming back for more is SFIV's style and presentation, and the vibrant colours and striking character designs that fill the screen. We might play it again this weekend, on my PS5.

I wish Shatter were on my PS5.

Resogun was my Shatter-equivalent of the following generation. A game that instantly hooked me and one that I became rather good at, even if I do say so myself. I still possess the instincts, knowing when to zoom forward, when to go on the offensive and when to pull back; when to drop bombs and how to keep that multiplier ticking ever upward. Again, much like Shatter, I'll embark on a week-long run of Resogun every year or two, and fall hopelessly in love with it yet again. 

And finally, Rez Infinite. It's the game I'd want to make if I had the know-how, skill, time and money to develop my own, which I don't. I can't speak highly enough of Rez, and Infinite is the definitive version. A true banger. It somehow ages backwards, and in another ten years I might just consider it the greatest game ever made.

I could jump into any of these games right now and be thoroughly content, happy in my own gaming bubble. In fact, I might just do that.