Video games release at a fairly steady clip throughout most of the year, but there are exceptions. Sometimes there are just down periods where it seems like the gaming industry is at a standstill.
I find the best way of getting through these dark periods is to either work on clearing out the old backlog or by returning to certain “evergreen” games. These are the kind of games that can draw you in at a moment’s notice, are rich in content and have proven their worth many times over.
XCOM
A perfect example is the XCOM series of games. I personally think that the best of the bunch is XCOM 2, with the War of the Chosen DLC activated. It expands upon the already solid foundation of the base game in some really exciting new ways.
The XCOM series is all about deep, tactical turn-based combat in which you fight for mankind’s future against an insidious alien threat. This takes place on randomly generated battlefields, and you spend the rest of your time conducting the larger war effort on the strategic world map.
A typical run on the standard difficulty can take you 30+ hours to complete, and with the staggering amount of variables and the twists and turns a campaign can take, this is one of those excellent games that you can essentially play forever.
Dark Souls
FromSoftware‘s games are incredibly influential to the current gaming landscape and are notoriously demanding, offering the kind of difficulty not often seen in modern games.
The series is made up of Demons Souls, the Dark Souls trilogy, Bloodborne and Sekiro. Each game offers something wholely unique, but for our purposes here, I would recommend both the first and third entries in the Dark Souls trilogy.
This is because they offer the most depth and replayability, and are even more rewarding on repeat playthroughs. While Demons Souls, Bloodborne, and Sekiro are fantastic games in their own right, they are fairly rigid in their character development and lose out on replayability because of it.
Civilization VI
The Civilisation series of 4X strategy games is a venerable one, with the first game releasing all the way back in 1991. The latest in the series, Civilization VI, has distilled the very essence of that “just one more turn” feeling that will keep you up until the wee hours of the morning.
Since its 2016 release, Civilisation VI has received numerous add-ons, DLC and updates to make it a gargantuan game capable of devouring whole weekends. The act of creating a civilization that can stand the test of time is a truly engaging one.
There are now dozens of different civilizations you can play as, each with their own unique units and playstyles. Coupled with the randomly generated nature of the game’s maps, and you have a recipe for an excellent game you can play until the end of time.
Darkest Dungeon
Darkest Dungeon is a hardcore sidescrolling dungeon-crawler perhaps best known for its sadistic Affliction mechanic, something quite unique in this kind of game.
As you encounter each nightmarish monster or otherworldly apparitions, the sanity of each member of your party will take a hit, which can lead to some varied and interesting emergent gameplay.
Your healer may begin hoarding consumables for themselves, or your tank might suddenly start cowering before the enemy. Similarly, rather than breaking under stress, your adventurers may heroically rise to the occasion, gaining a positive stat buff instead.
There is just something so satisfying about overcoming the odds and making it home from a dungeon run by the skin of your teeth. There is also some great DLC available, that only adds further to the replayability and flexibility of each campaign.
Mount & Blade: Warband
Mount & Blade: Warband is a fairly unique game, and I don’t know that there is a lot else like it. It certainly doesn’t present well. It has fairly poor graphics and laughable animations, bland writing and a clunky UI.
And yet, all of that just fades away. Warband might just be one of the deepest open-ended action-RPGs out there. It’s also a fairly in-depth strategy game, and you are able to capture and manage castles and cities, raise armies and swear allegiance to one of five different factions.
The overworld map is incredibly emergent, and these factions will declare war on each other, and you can choose to either aid or hinder their efforts. It’s a surprisingly adept medieval warfare simulator, and there are no victory conditions. You essentially do whatever you want, push the systems as far as they can go, and it’s a rip-roaring good time.
You can spend hundreds of hours working for the various factions, improving your character and building up your forces. Eventually, you can even carve out your own kingdom, and subjugate any that stand in your way.
If you are still looking for something to fill out that gaming void, be sure to check out Twinfinite’s Best of 2019 coverage for some inspiration:
- Best Shooters of 2019
- Best Strategy & Simulation Games of 2019
- Best Adventure & Visual Novel Games of 2019
- Best Sports & Racing Games of 2019
About the author
