When I was around 10 years old, I remember viciously tearing open a wrapped box (with my brother), and revealing something that would change my life forever: a Nintendo 64.

Don’t get me wrong, I’d been playing video games long before that. Some of my earliest memories involve throwing a temper tantrum, due to how terrible I was at Duck Hunt. I won’t even get started on Jurassic Park, Donkey Kong Country, and Earthworm Jim for the SNES.

Why then, was the N64 so impactful for the meek and unskilled Taylor-tot? Simple. To borrow a phrase that became popular nearly two decades later, I “got gud”. I finally gained the ability to play a game without being scared of failure, which is, ultimately, what holds us back from realizing our truest potential.

I beat temples in Ocarina of Time, wrangled up “Jiggies” in Banjo Kazooie, and… well, I still died a lot in Army Men: Sarge’s Heroes. Nobody’s perfect.

Now, by no means was I actually “good”, or a “skilled gamer”. Not by a long shot. What I was, though, was willing to try and fail. Did I act like a brat at times? Surely. But no one held my hand, no one surpassed the challenges for me, and no difficulty slider gave me an easy pass. All of this led to a feeling of accomplishment. A sense of pride in my growing capabilities as a gamer. The positive, abstract thinking and reasoning skills taught by video games helped raise me as a critical thinker.

Fast forward to the here and now of modern gaming. The state of it has got me scratching my head and wondering “Does the dog wag the tail, or the tail wag the dog?”

It’s uncommon for a game to lack a difficulty slider/setting. The internet (and the games themselves) are so expansive that you may almost feel it necessary to have a webpage on hand to look up every detail of the game you're playing. Your internet connection goes out and… you can’t play your single player game, offline? What gives?

Have you ever bought a game, a brand new release (for an ever growing price), only to find the game feels… broken? Unfinished? Half-assed? Maybe it is. But wait, there’s more. DLC, patches, microtransactions. Anything to have the large mechanical fingers of corporate gaming wrapped tightly on the utters of consumers. What are we really paying for?

This brings me back to my earlier question, although paraphrased: “Does the gamer play the game, or does the gamer get played?” It’s a shame that I’ve had to ask myself that question more and more frequently, as of late.

With the necessity of checking online for shortcuts, guides, “Easter Eggs”, or otherwise small details that you may miss, I’m sure you’ve stumbled across a plethora of articles from gaming journalism companies. Oftentimes, they may provide excellent and succinct answers to the exact questions you were asking. But there’s a dark side to gaming journalism. 

“Why?” you may ask yourself, “Are these companies giving poor reviews to games they consider ‘too challenging’?” I hate to break it to you, but difficulty isn’t the only aspect that “ruins” games, according to these “experts”.

I’ve seen articles suggesting to me that the identity of a game’s characters, the graphics of a game, or the “hidden meaning” behind the story are what makes or breaks a game. I’m here to tell you it’s all phooey. 

While all of those facets can be well and good contributors to a great game, there’s one element that stands above the rest. One thing that if a game lacks, no matter how great everything else is, it’s gonna suck. Likewise, if it lacks everything else, it can still be a superstar. Cue the angelic choir!

“Gameplay”

Surprise surprise. What makes a game worth playing is the gameplay? Egads!

Yes indeed. I don’t care if I’m playing as a scantily clad piece of fanservice (like Lara Croft, or Kratos), or a pointy, pixelated Viking (Valheim). Similarly, I could be saving the galaxy (Mass Effect trilogy), or just trying to fill my belly (Kirby). What do all of these characters/games have that truly makes them worth playing? Gameplay quality; they’re fun!

An opinion of a game that is based on anything but gameplay quality is worth about as much as a second copy of Warcraft III: Reforged. That’s not to say that there isn’t merit in the other characteristics of a game, but when you’re looking to pay good money and commit valuable hours (let’s get real, days) of your life to something, you’d rather be enjoying it. Right?

Modern gaming journalism is too caught up in the hullabaloo of everything but quality. This has resulted in a widespread community that finds themselves dissatisfied in the current gaming market, distrustful of gaming media / companies, and all around jaded regarding a previously loved hobby. I count myself among them.

So what the hell can we do about it? Diddly squat, if you're a pessimist. But I’d like to think there’s a little diddly somethin’ we can do about it!

You see, in an age where cash is king, you vote with your wallet. If you really want to see a change, you need to be the change you want to see. Stop buying games from companies who let you down. Stop putting faith in per-orders, and gaming journalism. Above all else, think for yourself. Early games taught us to think outside of the box, to utilize abstract logic. The games that many of us grew up loving, loved us back. Can you say the same about modern releases? 

I implore you to take a stand, and show the gaming industry your dissatisfaction. For you, for me, and for the gamers of tomorrow.

Do you feel the same? Or maybe, you’re a gaming journalist, looking to put me in my place? Leave a comment below with your thoughts and frustrations!