The Successes of Stepping Out of My Gaming Comfort Zone

 

When you spend a large chunk of time playing video games, you’ll eventually figure out what styles are your bread & butter. These games will inevitably be the ones you seek out the most, as they are the ones you are most assuredly going to have a good time with. I myself am no different of course. Action platformers, JRPGs, and puzzle games are genres I know I can return to at any point in my life to have a good time. But only ever playing the same types of games over and over again ad nauseum not only isn’t healthy, but it also severely limits the amount of new experiences we can have with the medium. While it can be hard to break away from the comfortable and familiar, doing so can reveal a new side of yourself that you likely wouldn’t have known about otherwise. You could find something you truly love and attempt to seek out from there on, or you could dislike it but at least know for sure what’s not your thing and why. With this in mind, today I wanted to look back at the times I decided to take a step out of my comfort zone into games I didn’t know for sure that I would enjoy and see just how branching out expanded my tastes.

Demon Souls (2020 Remake):

My First Souls-Like Experience

When I first grabbed a PS5 back in the summer of 2023, I was thinking about the games I wanted to grab for the system at some point. I had been lending my PS4 to a family friend for such a long time that I decided to just give it to them in favor of jumping up to the current generation. My laptop then was too weak for most modern triple A releases and the Nintendo Switch certainly wasn’t getting those massive 3rd party titles anytime soon, so it was my first opportunity to really delve into some bigger titles after a long while. Just a year back, Elden Ring had released and made a large impact across the wider internet. I was interested of course, especially since I had a friend who was eyeing every bit of pre-release news about the game like a hawk, but at this point I had never touched a “Souls-like” game before. Not that I hadn’t heard of the genre. It was basically impossible to not know what it was after being there for that brief period of the internet where any game that was even moderately difficult was joked to be a Souls-like. Since I never touched any of the Dark Souls games beforehand and knew that FromSoftware sought to always give players a tough challenge, I didn’t want to hop straight into Elden Ring at its current price without at least having tried another game like it beforehand. After a bit of thinking, I remembered that Bluepoint Games’ Demon Souls (DS) remake from the PS5’s launch had happened, and was able to find a copy for relatively cheap. Prepared to take a risk, I purchased the game and decided to take on something completely new to me.

While I frame that as if I played through the entirety of the game blind, the truth is I did decide to air on the safe side and have a guide for the game on hand that explained mechanics like builds and stat distribution to me. One could totally argue that having a guide like that lessens the impact of that first playthrough to an extent. After all, part of the fun to some is the idea of going in completely blind and feeling out your ideal build for yourself based on the challenges that lie ahead. While I can see that argument, I personally don’t regret the choice to use a guide to help me get my bearings. One of the main reasons behind me even deciding to pick up the game to begin with was to see if I’d be able to enjoy the meticulously designed difficulty the franchise is known for at all. Giving myself a bit of leeway with a guide to help ease me into a genre that’s far removed from what I normally engage with at the cost of a purely blind experience was a trade-off I was willing to make. And the trade-off would pay off rather well.

An Official Press Release Screenshot. I Remember This Boss Giving Me Some Trouble

I ended up having a rather fun time with the DS remake. Undeniably difficult, but learning to take my time and adapt the situations the enemy presented to me was a good thinking game. I remember prioritizing a lightweight build that allowed me good movement and dodging at the cost of bulk. While that meant that I could roll around attacks with little issue, it also meant any hits I did take could be devastating. While there was the occasional enemy or space I felt left something to be desired, most were learnable and could be conquered as long as I studied what I was up against. Whenever I did bite the dust I knew deep down that the death was my fault (even when it felt like it wasn’t). Plus, I found the game's dark fantasy aesthetic to work well for it. I’m too far removed from that original playthrough to give the best description of it, but I remember the starting area in particular really standing out to me.

My journey through DS to see if I could at least understand what makes Souls-likes so well loved was a success. After I finished up I knew that at some point I’d be able to return to the genre with the Dark Souls series as well as with Elden Ring. That being said, I still have yet to do so. I had a good time, but DS did also take a lot out of me. Maybe I’m still recovering or maybe I’m still not quite ready, but now I know for sure that when the time comes I can enjoy myself. A fact I wouldn’t have discovered about myself had I never taken the plunge.

Resident Evil:

One of Capcom's Most Revered Games Ever

I am a complete coward when it comes to horror. Jumpscares, eldritch abominations, the unknown; they all unnerve me in a strong way that will almost always deter me from properly engaging with any manner of horror. Sure I had heard of juggernauts such as Resident Evil, Silent Hill, and indie titles like Five Nights at Freddy’s, but because of how much of a scaredy-cat I was (and still am) I never made it a priority to truly engage with any of them. But one day on a complete whim, I decided to try out the demo for the Resident Evil 4 remake (RE4R) that had recently dropped at the time back in 2023. While I was absolutely nervous throughout the entire thing, I ended up enjoying myself a whole lot more than I thought I would. The game didn’t instantly shoot up my priority list, but I knew that once it went on discount for a reasonable amount I’d pick it up. That time was at the tail end of December of that year, where I brought the game for $30 along with a copy of Sonic Superstars. I played Superstars first and left the game rather whelmed, so I turned to RE4R not too long after to see whether it could surprise me.

The original Resident Evil 4 is one of those games that has such a strong legacy that even going into the remake I knew that the game was going to be incredibly high quality at the very least. There’s a certain subset of games where their legacy proceeds them in such a massive way that they almost feel intimidating to try because of how much weight they hold. Coupled with the fact that RE4 is an action based horror shooter, two genres I don’t typically seek, playing any version of the game at all had my mind racing to predict how I would feel by the end of my playthrough. While I still had reservations going into the full release, I once again ended up coming out of it with a huge hit for me.

The game was just so incredibly fun and really sold just how much of an experienced combatant Leon is. Players have access to a variety of guns with different properties for every situation as well as some close combat roundhouse kicks for Leon to finish an enemy off. There’s also the knife for parrying attacks, though parrying isn’t really an aspect of games I rely on or pay attention to much. I’d rather just dodge out of the way to get some distance and collect myself. There was some puzzle solving here and there, though I struggle to remember any that stood out as being particularly thought provoking. I generally like puzzles, so not having any standouts here stings just a bit. The story itself I found to be decent as well. Had I had prior knowledge of the RE storyline up to that point, specifically Resident Evil 2, I likely would’ve gotten much more out of it. But I still enjoyed what was being shown on screen. Leon and Ashley played off each other really well and you could tell they really were all they had while trying to escape the cult and leave the island. In the end, I enjoyed RE4 so much to a point that when I beat it, I knew that I’d like to try out the rest of the series at some point. Unlike with Demon Souls however, I actually made good on that these past few months.

The End of My First REmake Run

At the tail end of March of this year, I finally returned to the series with the remake for the original Resident Evil (REmake). Unlike RE4R’s focus on combat, I knew heading into REmake that there’d be a lot more emphasis placed on horror, resource management, and puzzle solving. While RE4R had these to an extent, they were nowhere near as pronounced as I had heard them to be here. For REmake, I decided once again to have a guide on hand with me should I find myself stuck at any point, and once again took the plunge into the unknown. Would the original style of RE, one focused much more on tense decision making and unnerving the player, be able to hook me? The answer, once again, was yes.

Once I managed to stifle my nerves of the possible jumpscares and haunting imagery ahead, I found REmake to be one of the most unique experiences I’d ever had with a game. Traversing the Spencer Mansion with Jill and slowly unearthing the horrors of the Umbrella Corporation felt so visceral and intense. Seeing the grotesque and disturbing results of their experiments leading up to you discovering their lab at the end of the game, an area notably more sterile and sanitized compared to every other area of the surrounding mansion has stuck with me in such a way that I struggle to put into words. The use of a fixed camera position gave each area a distinct look that made almost the entire mansion memorable, and it made the fear of not knowing just what’s around the corner all the more real. I had to be careful whenever I stepped into a new room because I never knew if a zombie or some other creature was waiting to give me hell, making me use ammo that I only had a finite amount of. If said enemy was a zombie, then I also had to make the decision of whether killing them on the spot would be worth it because a Crimson Head would eventually rise if I didn’t burn the body afterwards. REmake always had me engaged and thinking, and while I had a guide I eventually started breaking away from it after feeling more comfortable with the game and its mechanics, and that was incredibly satisfying. While I wouldn’t call it one of my absolute favorite games ever, I have no doubt in my mind that the experience will stay with me for a while. But I wasn’t done with RE just yet.

Another aspect of classic Resident Evil games that defined their character were the tank controls in each entry. The limited movement was to further heighten the tension of each encounter, though the control scheme finds itself in a lot of controversy nowadays. Some believe that their implementation only serves to enhance the terror of the original trilogy, while others believe they’re a relic of the past the series dropped for the better. As I watched the debates from the sidelines, I questioned if I would find myself able to enjoy tank controls in a game. Odd control schemes are nothing new to me; Mega Man Legends stands as one of my favorite games in the Mega Man franchise and that game is notorious for its control scheme. The question kept nagging at me, and I had played REmake with the “new” control scheme which functioned without tank-like movement. After completing REmake, I decided to make one final experimental foray into the RE franchise with the original Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (RE3), with my main goal being to deduce if I’d be able to adapt to tank controls.

Enough Remakes, Time for the Original

My first and only PS1 RE at the time of writing this, RE3 ended up being my favorite out of all the games in the series I’ve played so far. I decided to not use a guide for this run, and feeling my way through Raccoon City and areas like the Clock Tower and Park was really thrilling and engaging. The tank controls took time to get used to, but features like the quick turn and just getting general practice allowed me to adapt to the controls with relative ease. The game felt much more breakneck than either RE4R or REmake, with set-pieces always changing and especially with Nemesis always hunting Jill down. He really knows how to catch me off guard too, there were multiple times where he straight up dashed towards me right as I entered a room. It was scary and a bit funny, but no less thrilling. Plus, the puzzles in this one were top notch. I found almost all of them to be fun thinking games that challenged me in a way that felt satisfying to find a solution. If there’s any game in the RE franchise I’m likely to find myself running back to on a whim one day, it’s likely RE3. An exceptional game.

Overall, my experimental journey with the Resident Evil games has been an outstanding success so far. A couple years back I never would’ve given the franchise so much as a second glance due to thinking that it wasn’t for me period. Now, here I am singing the praises of every single entry I’ve played thus far. I have the remakes for both RE2 and RE3 on Steam waiting for the day I’m wanting to return to the games, and that day will definitely be sooner rather than later. The remake for RE3 in particular will be fascinating to sit down with from what I’ve heard, especially now that I have my own prior knowledge of the original game.

Final Fantasy XIV:

Spent An Entire Summer on This One

While my experience with Final Fantasy as a whole is surprisingly sparse considering my love for the JRPG genre, the fact that the series predominantly consisted of turn-based combat for roughly 11 entries should generally disqualify it from being something outside of my preferences. Even the later action focused entries aren't anything I haven’t played before in other series. But two entities, Final Fantasy XI (FFXI) and Final Fantasy XIV (FFXIV) stand as exceptions to this idea as both are MMORPGSs, a genre radically different from what I normally play. Aside from fighting games I generally don’t play games with a central focus on online play. Plus, MMORPGs always seemed like such an extensive time-sink that I honestly didn’t think it would ever work out for me. But FFXIV in particular received such high acclaim from those around me, the Shadowbringers and Endwalker expansions in particular being touted as some of the most memorable RPG experiences they had ever had. Curiosity had been hitting hard, especially leading up to the release of the Dawntrail expansion. Having just upgraded my laptop in the summer of 2024, and with the free trial for the game being as expansion as it was at the time (Full game playable up to Stormblood at the time, since expanded to include Shadowbringers), I went and downloaded the free trial. Over 290+ hours later across the entire summer, I came out of the game completely floored by what I played.

A full scale recounting of my FFXIV experience would need to be done separately by expansion for it to truly be something worth reading, and is certainly far outside the scope of this particular topic. To be short, FFXIV legitimately lived up to most of the praises hailed towards it. While I initially found myself rather underwhelmed by the game due to A Realm Reborn feeling rather repetitive and uninteresting, Heavensward onwards never left me wanting. As I explored Eorza, helping with the liberation of Ala Mihgo and Doma, defeating Lightwardens in the First Reflection, and then stopping the Final Days, I came to appreciate every aspect of this world and its inhabitants. While I’d argue that the Scions of the Seventh Dawn as a cast don’t really start to feel like a cohesive group until Shadowbringers, once they do get off the ground they have some stellar development and interactions with one another. 

My Warrior of Light, Linne

Combat was another aspect of the game that took a while to grow on me, but I learned to really enjoy it as time went on. Having played the Xenoblade series before, rotation based MMO combat wasn’t entirely new to me. This was just the first time I used the system in an MMO proper. The main aspect of combat holding it back for me in the beginning was really the lack of options which was obviously intentional due to how classes work. As I progressed through the expansions and acquired more skills and new classes, I slowly began to have more fun with both dungeons and raid battles. I initially started the game as an Archer which evolved into the Bard, a class which revolved around skills that buffed allies and took advantage of DOT (Damage Over Time) abilities. I stuck to that class while eventually picking up Red Mage to dual main. Red Mage functions and a combination of the White and Black Mage jobs as it always does in traditional FF, but the ability to be more mobile with the class as opposed to the other two were why it appealed to me. By the end of my time with the game however, I eventually dropped these two classes in favor of taking up the Reaper job. This job revolved around keeping the debuff “Death’s Design” up on an enemy allowing your skills to deal more damage to it, ending off with an explosive finisher. Not only did I find the job rather easy to intuit and pilot, but it also just looked so cool to me. I ended up using the default outfit for it as my main outfit for a while too.

I played the game all the way up to the end of the main story for Endwalker. While I do own Dawntrail as it was just released by the time I purchased the full game, I decided against hopping straight into it. After 290+ hours I was starting to feel the burnout hitting me hard, and Endwalker was such a good ending point that I felt satisfied with what I already experienced. Plus, by the time I had completed Endwalker my summer break had ended and I was entering my last year of college. Priorities had to shift, and they did. Also, while I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the game, I don’t see myself becoming an MMORPG superfan any time soon. Aside from Dragon Quest X, none of them look appealing enough for me to want to sink hundreds of hours into them. I have yet to return to FFXIV itself as I don’t feel the need to at the moment with how many other games out there I’ve got my eye on. Regardless, FFXIV I would call another success for me exploring games outside of my comfort zone. I never would’ve thought I’d given such a large time commitment to the game, yet here I am with it as one of my favorites of all time.

Conclusion - Branching Out, While Not Always Appealing, Can Be Good:

Generally speaking people prefer sticking with the familiar and secure. When you generally know how something operates, it’s easier for you to throw yourself into it as prior knowledge and experience will generally help you navigate the experience. Sure some games may try something slightly different, but so long as the core gameplay isn’t radically different from what is traditionally expected then people generally won’t have any issues. A person won’t always be willing to toss themselves into a completely new experience because there’s just no indication that they won’t be burned and bounce off hard. There’s also the ever increasing problem of money when it comes to the hobby as well.

Gaming has just become incredibly expensive nowadays. We’re living in an economy where the prices of current and even some last generation consoles have continued to go up rather than down. The prices of new releases fluctuate constantly. Some games are $60, some are $80, some are $40; and that’s only looking at newer releases. Even if someone were to go back to try an older game, chances are second hand prices for those are absolutely ridiculous as well. Beyond just the general fear of being let down, the increased cost of general living and the financial burden of even trying to buy something new to try can be a major factory driving people away from really spreading their wings. Time and money are precious and hard to come by resources these days, so wanting to be safe and familiar is perfectly understandable.

I truly still believe however that taking the time to try a game completely out of your field can yield great results. A couple years back I wouldn’t have even considered games like Resident Evil 3: Nemesis or Final Fantasy XIV to be up my alley, yet here I am today gushing about my time with them. Every game I mentioned today is one I would’ve never discovered had I just ignored any and everything that I had never tried or thought I wouldn’t like. There are an incredibly large amount of games out there, each of which having the potential to be a hit with anyone. That’s why, provided they have the means too, I encourage anyone to take a dip into the unfamiliar. Treading those uncharted waters for yourself may one day lead you to a treasure you couldn’t find anywhere else.