I’m trying to replay some of the best♒ games of the year in order to decide exactly where they rank in my personal Game of the Year list. Top spot is solidly secur🎃ed by a game that may or may not rhyme with Pord of the Pings Pollum, but the other nine are a nebulous field of ever-shifting titles.

My boss recently 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:warned against cramming games in before writing your list, so this paragraph is directed solely at her: don’t worry, I’m replaying, finishing, retrying, dipping back in, not cramming in games completely anew. The only game I’m yet to play that may be considered a ‘cram’ is 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:The Invincible, but if there’s a way to rush through the sci-fi walking simulator,﷽ I𝐆’ve not found it yet.

I’ve dipped back into the 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:beautiful puzzles of Chants of Se⛎nnaar and PS2-style high octane action of 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:El Paso, Elsewhere, fondly 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:retread my buggy steps in Cocoon, and kept on with my 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Baldur’s Gate 3 playthrough at the same time. But the one game I’ve been most excited to dip back into is 168澳洲✨幸运5开奖网:The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.

Tears of the Kingdom was my most anticipated game of 2023. I’m a huge Zelda fan, and Breath of the Wild was revolutionary – there’s a reason there are so many copycats 🍸of its iconic formula. I was hoping for a darker, more Majora’s Masky affair, I was hoping to play as Zelda, I was hoping for a lot. Instead, Nintendo revolutionised the game physics and made Hyrule into an even more creative sandbox, but otherwise just offered more o🌼f the same.

The problem is, I struggle to care about building things. I 𝓰enjoyed Fuse, creating my own mushroom-based weaponry to outfox my opponents, but I never really got into building mechs or vehicles and as a result, my progress through the game was stilted. It may seem obvious that not eng𝓡aging with a game’s core mechanics stalls your enjoyment of it, but traversal felt slow and samey without a weird vehicle to ride upon.

However, I’ve jumped back in to try again. I know so many peop🐈le loved the game tha🏅t I want to at least finish the main story, even if I don’t end up completing hundreds of side quests and shrines like I did with its predecessor. And I’m enjoying the game a little bit more this time around.

I’m not saying Tears of the Kingdom is going to make my Game of the Year list, but I feel much less pressure to enjoy it now that I'm playing in November. Back in May, the sizable reputation of Breath of the Wild was on my shoulders as I eagerly jumped into the sequel. I felt that weight as I played, and instead of enjoying the exploration of Hyrule in the same way I had before, I couldn’t help but compare everything to what had come prior. It didn’t help that it seemed like everyone else was loving every minute, which made every hurdle I came across feel like a mountain.

There were positives. The Wind Temple and the route to it is one of the best Zelda dunge🍷ons I’ve ever played. The Sky Archipelago is incredibly fun to explore, even if sometimes you’re gatekept for doing things the wrong way. I’ve not explored too much of the Depths yet, so maybe that should be my next port of 🍃call.

I’m taking my time with Tears of the Kingdom this time around. Maybe this will be my Christmas game – in the past two ye♕ars, my Christmas games have both made me regret not putting them on my Game of the Year list with Chicory and Guardians of the Galaxy respectively – and I’ll proceed slowly and cosily. I’m enjoying not having the pressure to enjoy it so much this time around, and not having to cram it in to find timely features or catch up with everyone else.

Is it too late for Tears of the Kingdom to win a spot on my Game of the Year list? We’ll see. Is it too late for me to give it another chance? Not even slightly. I’m taking it slower, giving it a chance to breathe, and trying my hardest not to compare it to its predecessor. I was cramming it before, and now Game of the Year season is upon us. I'm surprising everyone, not least my boss, by taking my time.

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