YvoCaro Plays: letting go of a good story

Time to sit down for another YvoCaro Plays. As always, these blurbs are mostly about the video games I’m currently playing. Sometimes though, I look back at past gaming adventures. Unedited thoughts that spring up in my mind. And sometimes a random train of thoughts starting with the game and ending somewhere completely different!

If you like these bits of gaming thoughts you can find the previous ones here

Reading, always reading

Before I got into playing video games I read a lot. And I mean, really, really a lot. Ever since I was old enough to read myself, I was surrounded by books. Reading every moment I had, even in the back of the car when we went visiting family. And if we had to step out to go to their front door, I’d still be reading. I even played that I was a liberian, making little card to go in all the books I had and lending them out to make-belief people.

There’s not a single genre that I read, that changes with my mood. It can be fantasy, a detective or a good romantic story. And what I’ve always enjoyed reading the most where series. Every time there are several books available about the same person or group of people I’m interested. So good of them letting me into their lives. Taking me along in their quests, me being a part of their group of friends. Sharing in their troubles but in their joy as well.

There’s a downside to reading series. Do you know the feeling when a story that spans many books ends? When the main character is finally happy, having achieved her of his goal? When the enemy is conquered or when true love is found? That happy feeling, content that all is well again. After that though, it feels a tiny bit lonely and empty. 

No more reading, no more questing. Because jumping right into a new series of books immediately never works for me. Like being on the rebound from a relationship. It needs some space to put distance between me and my imaginary friends. A period where I’m at a loss of what to read next. 

Totally engrossed in a video game

Ever since I took up gaming 14 years ago I had the same feeling with video games. Some games give me the same obsessive feeling. Not wanting to put it down. Play on because I love being with the character in the story. Or spending time with the villagers in my town or on my farm. The story in a game is very important to me, always. So there’s definitely a similarity to reading books, right?

I’m on the rebound now. In between games at the moment. I have been playing a lot of Woven, which came out on the same day as Pokémon Sword and Shield. It’s a wonderful puzzle adventure and I have been very much into it. Not only writing the review but also the puzzle guides together with Paula. 

At first, I felt I would have rather continued playing Atelier Ryza. But after the first day I was seriously hooked by the charm of the game. It took us several days to write it all and finish the game and do some chapters again. And now that it’s all done I’m having a difficult time deciding what to play next.

Should I go back to Ryza? Or should I pick up Civilization again, as there’s a huge update available now? I know ChamZen is enjoying it a lot, she currently playing as the Dutch Queen Wilhelmina. So fun to see the familiar city names in her game! She’s sent me a couple of pictures with city names that are part of my daily life!

I’ll just sit back and clear my mind. The right game to play now will present itself, as it always does!