The five games that have gotten me through quarantine...so far.

Man, quarantine sucks. While I don't mind the back and fourth of going from the bed, to the couch, back to the bed, being inside now for more then a few months is totally starting to get on my nerves. On the movie front, I have really only rewatched 2016's Warcraft to my Father's disdain (I made him watch it with me, which I can tell by his constant phone checking he wanted no part in) though the one thing I will say about that front is watching the movie now after playing the game for what is about three and a half years, it's much more fun and exciting to see the constant hub worlds I see pretty much everyday I play.

But I don't want to talk about World of Warcraft too much, a I'm obviously going to be discussing it on my list, and on that, I don't want to spoil anything else! So, without further ado, here is Sarah's list to the five games that are currently getting me through quarantine.

1. Animal Crossing New Horizons (Switch, 2020)

((image credit; eurogamer.net))

This is obviously a no-brainer, let's be honest. I picked up Doom Eternal and Animal Crossing on the same day, but I have seemingly fallen off of Doom and the latter has taken over a lot of my quarantine time. Every morning I wake up, grab my water from the night before and grab my switch. I do my dailies, shake my trees, drop my bells in my savings to pay for my last house loan and slowly plan out how I'm going to move everything once it's paid. I have a patch of black roses i'm going to cultivate and use to line the walkway to my house, and I already have the spot planned out! 

See, the idea that people are throwing around that Animal Crossing is 'what we all need' during quarantine I will say is a pretty true statement. During the beginning, I was obviously anxious as many people were, but it seemed to drift away as I found my way onto my island paradise. Cutting trees, catching bees, it was all a lovely getaway, and still is. of course I have my gripes, like tools falling apart and small little annoying bits, but nothing has ever been too big to have me stop playing. This is honestly the first Animal Crossing title that has me wanting to pay off all of my house loans, which is a first for me in this series. I truly believe after quarantine, I will continue to have Animal Crossing New Horizons as a daily occurrence in my mornings, where I will enjoy shooting balloons out of the sky and catching bugs in an attempt to finally gain those damn golden tools. 

2. World of Warcraft (PC, 2004)

((image credit; WOWWiki))

Okay, fine. I started playing World of Warcraft around four years ago, and I am still daily playing the game. Get my dailies done, search for specific mounts, do a player vs. player events...I can certifiably say that I am addicted to World of Warcraft and it's crawled it's way up to one of my favorite games of all time and one of my saving graces during quarantine. With the release of a new expansion, Shadowlands, on the horizon (for the love of god Blizzard, give us this new expansion) and the game given a 100% experience buff until said new add on for the game, it's made me want to play some of those old characters I made just when I had unlocked the class in-game. I'm not even going to describe the game, as many people either don't care (and I totally understand) or already have too many hours to count. I have met so many people from around the world in World of Warcraft, including someone I consider a best friend who I would have never met if it wasn't for a game like this. I have also met real life friends (right, it's CRAZY!) due to WoW as well. 

I was never an MMO fan, but this game changed me. I have collected books and lore tomes about the world of World of Warcraft and have fallen deep into this lore-hole so to speak. I fell in love with characters and storylines and the fighting between the Horde and the Alliance. I have connected to people and the multiple characters in WoW's story then I have in other games. It's also grounded me during this time and helped me keep a normal routine, something that if I hadn't had would have most likely driven be pretty nuts.

3. Final Fantasy 7 Remake (PS4, 2020)

A part of me feels almost feels ashamed that beating the Final Fantasy 7 Remake took me close to a month and a half. Granted I was attempting to do everything I could, like side quests and arena missions, but I think the main reason was I didn't want it to end. See, while this remake holds that name, it's really only part one of a huge remake of the original classic Playstation 1 classic. And damn was it worth the time I've put into it. I was hoping a huge RPG would take a lot of my time during this quarantine, and of course it would be the king of them that would help me out. I still plan on going back to the Remake once I have the free time, finishing up the summon quests and getting all of my party to max level. 

The reason why I'm not going into full detail of the Remake here is because I plan on making a huge essay on the main story changes just in part 1, and comparing them to director Tetsuya Nomura's big epic that is Kingdom Hearts. While this sounds like a crazy concept, I feel if one can (take upon themselves the monumental task) of understanding the story behind Square and Disney's insane crossover, the ending of Final Fantasy 7 Remake will make a whole lot of sense.

Or, well, as much sense as it can right now. Where's part 2, Square??

4.Project DIVA MegaMix (Switch, 2020)

((image credit; gematsu.com))

Okay, again, I'm a sucker for certain things. I've played every Project DIVA title that has released on US consoles up till now (even the iffy ones!) so even with the overlapping track lists and the same modules (outfits), I still will put tons of hours into a single rhythm game. For those who don't know, Hatsune Miku is a virtual idol. She's literally a computer program that you can generate vocals for, and she will sing for you! She's spawned merch, video games, albums and even real life concerts (RIP Miku Expo 2020) and has a huge fanbase, just on her alone. The Project DIVA titles I describe to people as guitar hero without the dumb controller. You hit the face buttons based on the beat and with the switch port, gives us a touch mode that, in my personal opinion, is the best way to play this game.

The Switch, with it's small controllers and weird button placement, was not meant to play a game like this. Doesn't mean it's stopped me from importing the Japanese release with a help from a friend AND purchasing the US release when it hopped onto the e-shop. I honestly don't know if i'm playing this because I know the concert will be cancelled or if I just want to hear the boppy tunes and dress Miku up in those cute outfits. 

I miss concerts.

5. Gears Tactics (PC, 2020)

((image credit; polygon.com))

So Gears Tactics is the only game on this list that I haven't beaten yet. Obviously from this blog you can tell i'm a bit of Gears head, but I am not an X-Com player at all. So buying this was pretty hard. But I can say from what I have played, I'm enjoying! A prequel to the rest to the rest of the series and connecting to the new trilogy in particular, Gears Tactics is a turned based tactical shooter that will most likely make you think more then the average game. Every mission I have played I have been seen squinting at my screen and constantly trying to plan moves in advanced...and having plans destroyed in a matter of seconds. Honestly, when things liked that happened I would get annoyed and most likely turn the game off. But even when I make mistakes in Tactics, i'm taking a few steps back, realizing what I did wrong, and figuring out how to fix it when I'm in the same situation. 

Perhaps it's the fact it's a Gears title that's keeping me playing. I have fallen in love with this world and I want to know every bit of it, characters and timeline included. But I can't wait to see where Gears Tactics takes me, and it's got me thinking a bit more that I normally would during a quarantine right now. It's a thinking man's game, and I think it's partially keeping my brain working at a time when I just want to be lazy, and that says a lot right now.

Hopefully some games on my list find it's way onto yours! I wanted to write a little something in between planning out my next big essay articles here. As of right now, i'm planning on writing a short essay based on the recent Silent Hill rumors and what a new title can do with the recent use of mental health in horror titles! A topic i'm very interested to step into and discuss. Thanks all <3