Birthday Blog

Hey, Gamers! So… Today is my birthday! I turn 21, and I always think of birthdays as a reflective time because I never thought I’d make it this far, so I figured that I would take this time to reflect with you guys about gaming. My gaming journey is kind of a personal one, and I will include my hopes for the future and where I want to be this time next year. So, without further ado, let’s get on with the birthday blog! Feel free to grab some cake, make yourself comfy and enjoy the ride.

So, I remember going up with a games console. I think I remember having both Xbox and PlayStation. I remember Crash Bandicoot being one of the only games I was allowed to play… I wasn’t very good. When I was about 6 or 7, my family got the Nintendo Wii. My favourite game was one that my parents got me the day we got the Wii: Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz. I adored it. I remember that my mother had the Sonic game, the one with the rings… I did not like that game.

I feel like it’s important to point out that I have autism (didn’t know until this year) so I get frustrated very easily. This is the biggest reason I am picky with games. I’m fine if a game is hard. I just also have to be enjoying it. I think this was very evident with Sonic. I wanted to be able to play it, but it got to the point where I just did not enjoy it anymore and it started to confuse me.

Moving on, I got the DS lite for… I think it was my 7^th birthday. I remember my favourite game being one that I could play squash with. I cannot for the life of me remember the name. Thinking back, I was never really a huge DS player, despite all the time I spent begging my parents for one. I didn’t play pokemon until I was 10, I didn’t like Professor Laten games. I think I liked the idea of having a DS more than I enjoyed playing the DS.

So, this part is… I feel like it is cheating but it is still important to include. So my father played two games almost constantly on any console he could get a hold of: Resident Evil, and Tomb Raider. I have so many memories of watching my dad and my uncle play together. My own experience of it was never as thrilling as theirs, as I was like 7. I remember looking after Ashley in Resident Evil. My experience of Tomb Raider was also very limited… I remember climbing up a climbing wall and jumping in a pool. That’s it.

So in (I think) 2013, my mum got me an Xbox 360. I think the first game I ever completed was Fable 3. I can’t remember much of it if I’m being perfectly honest. I just really liked it. Then I also had Tomb Raider, the reboot version. It took about three years, and me and my dad playing it together, but I completed that too. This was also around the time when I realised that Minecraft made me sick, as I used to play it with my sister.

I first heard of Skyrim in… I’m gonna say 2015, but I really had no clue what it was. I first played Skyrim a few days before my fiancé and I got together in 2017… and I broke the game with mods. Okay, I know I shouldn’t play with mods but I was terrified of spiders. My partner had a PS4 and it took me a good few months after moving in with him before I actually played a game properly. That game, of course, was Life Is Strange.

Life Is Strange, I feel, ignited something in me. I am critical enough now to be able to say that it’s not the best game in any capacity, and if you’ve been reading my blog for awhile, you’ll know that I prefer the second game. However, I really wouldn’t be where I am today without Life Is Strange. It has simple gameplay and a compelling story, which is exactly what I needed to get myself into gaming. It took me a few months to finish it (even though it is only five episodes and like… fifteen hours long… wow I’ve grown since then). I felt like it was the first game that I fully completed by myself. It was such an achievement, I decided to buy the prequel for myself as a reward. That took me significantly less time, and I actually streamed most of the playthrough so you can see it if you want! I’ll link the channel at the bottom of the post! When we moved to university, Life Is Strange 2 came out. My partner bought the first episode for me. I streamed it too, so that’ll be on the channel! There was such a difference between the first and second game, and I enjoyed the second game so much more. At this point, I think I started to become more confidant in playing games.

Here is the link to my Life Is Strange 2 game review:

http://eleanorreesgaming.com/2020/03/29/life-is-strange-2-2018-game-review/

From there, I moved on to a similar style game that I didn’t think I’d like: Until Dawn. To be perfectly honest with you, I didn’t expect to like this game. I just wanted something simple to play in order to destress, and I had played the first episode of Life Is Strange 2 several times at that point. However, I was surprised. Like, really surprised. I liked it a lot. I played that a few times before moving on to bigger and better things.

The Witcher 3.

Now, I really don’t want to go into detail about each and every game I’ve ever tried because I have tried a fair few, most of which I can’t remember. But the Witcher 3 was the first time I actually thought of myself as a gamer. I adored this game in the same way I adored the books I would clutch to as a child. Suddenly it was all I was thinking about. I actually remember pulling my first accidental all-nighter because of the Witcher 3. I got diagnosed with dyslexia in December that year, and I fell out of love with reading. My partner actually bought me the Witcher books and I am (very, very slowly) getting through them.

Now… it’s time. It is the time that you’ve all been waiting for.

Persona 5.

Okay. I’m going to be brutally honest with you. For a good month, I hated this game. I don’t know if you’re in a relationship or anything, but surely you know the frustration when someone will not get off a game. The anger when you come home and they’re still sat playing the same game. The shock when you walk up the stairs and just hear them scream “FUCK” and as you walk through the door, you realise that they’re still on the same boss fight they were on when you left 4 hours ago.

Yeah, I was mad at the game for my fiance’s shitty behaviour. Sue me.

It took a whole lot of convincing. Do you know what part pulled me in? The opening. Of course, it was the opening. The opening is fucking awesome. I don’t like swearing in my blogs but this game is my life. I cannot express how much this game has actually changed my life.

This is going to make me sound really entitled but I guess I am going to say it anyway: There are some things in life that you just feel was made for you. Like you were always meant to involve the thing in your life. That is exactly how I feel about Persona 5.

Since playing Persona 5, I’ve been so much more open about trying new games. I am still picky, but I try so much more now. Granted, it is still the only game I play consistently, but I love it so much. Each element, to me, is amazing.

The natural next step would be to talk about Persona 5 Royal, but that was such a big moment for me so I’ll leave it until last. Next up is a game that I actually played on my little (long) break- Detroit: Become Human.

Detroit was a game that really resonated with me. My first experience was at New Year, last year I think. My fiance’s youngest brother let me play it because he thought I would like it. I did. However, I actually did not play it properly until August/ September this year. It actually really helped me through my emotions when I got diagnosed with autism in September. I’ve always known that video games helped with mental illness and wellbeing – it has been helping me since I played Life Is Strange – but that felt… different, somehow. I think it was the right game to play at that time. I often play repeats of it (because I’m trying to get that shiny, shiny platinum) on our Twitch channel (2nerds_1game) and it gives me the same overwhelming sense of belonging that came the first time I played it.

Okay, on with the main event: Persona 5 Royal.

Persona 5 Royal was the first new game I’ve ever got really excited about for myself. I’ve been excited for a lot for my partner and my friends, but this is the first game that I bought that was completely mine, and I was excited. When Josh originally suggested getting it way back when I started playing the original, I was hesitant. I think if you read my Royal updates, I mentioned a few times that it gave me a lot of anxiety when thinking about the things that they changed. When something is familiar to me, I don’t like it being changed. It makes me uncomfortable, and I think that’s a normal reaction. I remember the night before Royal came out, I literally sat on my bed having a panic attack because my brain decided to remind me that two (three if you count baby Jose) new characters could very easily throw the whole game off. I was terrified, excited, but mainly anxious.

For those who don’t know, I had the privilege to pre-order the Phantom Thieves edition. I made sacrifices like not getting coffee whenever I went on to campus. I knew that this game was going to be special, so I wanted the special edition. So many people thought that I was crazy for spending £80 on a game… even though just a game on the PS5 is roughly £80. I expected it to be more expensive, and I think a lot of people who told me I was crazy did not know the value of the game and the collectable contents (both the financial value and sentimental value).

That leads me onto a point that just buying and being excited over Persona 5 Royal taught me: it’s okay to be different. Some people may call you childish or immature just because you don’t have the same interests as them. That is not a reflection on who you are. On the contrary- it’s a reflection on them. I don’t have a lot of friends, and the small number of interests I have, I tend to obsess over. Trying to make friends and talking a lot about your interests don’t tend to work unless that person has the same interest. That’s okay though because the few friends that do stick around are worth it.

Moving onto the game itself- it was my first platinum. I adored playing it. Actually, I’ve been planning on spending today streaming Persona 5 Royal on Twitch because I really, really love this game (didn’t get to though, because it was so busy!). I did gaming updates each week for Royal, at the rate of (roughly) one palace a week. Here is the first one if you want to start reading them:

http://eleanorreesgaming.com/2020/04/01/persona-5-royal-first-impressions/

I feel like I have learnt a lot over the 21 years of my life. What excites me, however, is that there is so much more to learn. I dislike uncertainty, but the fact that there will always be something to learn comforts me. In terms of gaming, I know that I have a lot to learn. I’m still a baby in the gaming world. But I learn a new thing each and every day… and that’s kind of what this blog is about.

I started this blog because I am passionate that gaming is important. It’s one of the most interactive mediums out there. I dislike how it is generally perceived badly and I wanted to show that it can teach us amazing things. I have tried my best to do this, and I will continue to do my best in the future.

I want to broaden my horizons gaming wise. I know that it is something that I need to work on, and I know that most of my followers probably don’t only want Persona 5 content. I plan to do that. I also wish to better my writing and be more organised when it comes to posting, which is actually something I have been working on for a while.

I’m excited to get the PS5, hopefully in January, and I’m excited for the sequel to Persona 5 to come to the West (even without Sumi). I have so many things to be grateful for, so many things to smile about, and so many things to be excited about. I am lucky to be alive. I know that more than anyone. If I hadn’t made it this far, I wouldn’t be able to have experienced the amazing medium of gaming to the extent that I have. For that, I am forever thankful.

Have a great day, gamers. Happy Gaming 😊

Also, shout out to Josh for getting me back into gaming. You’re a bro.      

Link to mine and Josh’s old YouTube, where I streamed quite a few games I’ve mentioned:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNCts9HEysq9XE0hbMBzefQ?view_as=subscriber

And our Twitch account (where I’m currently doing a run of Persona 5 Royal, starting from scratch, is 2nerds_1game (also, I’m trying to get the platinum in Detroit, but Royal and University is taking up quite a bit of my spare time as of right now)

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