Having moved back out recently, I have been re-acquainted with my games room. No longer do I have to keep my life cooped up in one bedroom, I have a full house to spread it all out over. Before you think you’ve accidentally stumbled across a lifestyle or home improvement blog, you’re definitely here at Nitchigamer so please bear with me, this is definitely gaming related.
Having my games room is great, everything I need is in there; GameCube, Xbox, PS2, PS4, Xbox One and the Switch. With the slow start to the year coming to an end, you’d think things were starting to ramp up and the newer games taking their place on the respective consoles. Well, not quite. You see, moving out reminded me of all the games I had that have been stored away and having all my retro consoles set up ready to go has made it even easier to look back for inspiration.
If I want to jump on Halo on the Xbox or Grand Theft Auto on the PS2, they’re set up ready to go. But there’s one game, in particular, that has had me engrossed since moving out and that is Fallout 4.
Gaming Safety Blankets
Ever since Fallout 3 came out, I have been hooked on this series and have loved each game that has arrived since (yes that includes New Vegas, it was a good game!). The stories, the world and the characters have always captured my imagination. What if life was actually like this, should the worst happen? Minus the mutated creatures and lasers, of course, but a lot of the game could be real should we ever be faced with this situation of survival of the fittest. This is what keeps me coming back for more and, since moving out, I haven’t played anything since.

Have I wanted to? Not really. Have I had the opportunity or availability to play anything else? Sure. But nothing has grabbed me or made me want to play it. Granted, I rent most of my games these days so I don’t just go out and buy my games anymore, but even when I have had other things to play, I’ve not wanted to. I’ve stuck with my scavenged guns and my Fallout 4 safety blanket has well and truly been keeping me covered during my exploits.
Much like my recent article where I discussed the merits of taking a break from gaming, I feel returning to an old favourite can do us the world of good too. But just what is it that makes doing this worthwhile? Well, I’ve explained my love for the Fallout series, but it goes beyond this. Having completed the game on more than one occasion, I now know what to expect from it. I can jump in, aimlessly wander around the Commonwealth for a few hours and discover a few new locations, then put the controller down. Inevitably, there’ll be something I’ve missed somewhere along the line so even then it can still provide me with something new so that keeps me hunting for more.
It’s an example of a game done right. It knows what it wants to do and what it wants to achieve and executes it to near perfection. Where most open-world games lose their appeal when they’re either too barren or filled with repetitive quests, Fallout keeps you on your toes and throws a variety of missions and quests at you. From raiders racing domesticated robots, to outing a doctor, who has started experimenting on his patients, you will discover plenty of secrets and tales waiting to be told. It’s this that makes me come back for more; even in the remotest of caves, you’ll find a secret, a holotape with a diary recorded on it or a note left to be read when the writer has long-since passed.
But even when a game has something new to give you after such a long time, it’s nice to be lost in a feeling of familiarity. You don’t have to learn a new control scheme, any new mechanics or features, you can just pick up your controller and off you go. Of course, I’ll play the new stuff sometime soon, but until then I’m happily continuing my trip down memory lane and who knows where it’ll take me? With a selection of older consoles, I could end up anywhere. That, to me, is the reason why my safety blanket is equally as exciting as any new game that comes our way in 2018.
Are there any games which you find yourself going back to time again? If so, let us know in the comments below…
Mine is always ff15 or cod ww2. They are just so fun to play on. I’m jealous of your game room 😂
When we come back from holiday I’ll get it tidied up properly and take some pictures of it and post them on here. There’s a couple on my Twitter feed somewhere I think as well.
I really want a game room. Would be nazing to have one. I’ve got a spare room but baby no2 is on the way so need to make it into a nursery. What’s your twitter name and I will have alook.
We don’t have any kids (yet) so just us two in the house for now. My Twitter name is ste_carter91
Yeah they kind of go above gaming rooms apparently 😂 I just need to buy a bigger house in the future and hopefully have one. We can always dream 😂
Yeah I’ve never understood the kids before games room argument. Ana said to me that I’ll have to downsize if and when we have a kid. My response wasn’t suitable to type here…
I could imagine what you said so it doesn’t need repeating 😂
It’s awesome that you’ve got a gaming room. I always find myself going back to Final Fantasy XV or The Sims. They’re just brilliant games.
My other half loves playing Sims, even the PS2 version!
Animal Crossing, The Sims, and Skyrim are all three games I keep coming back to.
Skyrim falls into the same category/reasoning I imagine; the world is so big and has so much to offer you can get lost in the world all over again no matter how many times you play.
Exactly! 🙂
Mine has to be Fallout 3, Skyrim, Crash Bandicoot or Metal Gear Solid those games were amazing and I would say they are my comfort zones
Crash is a good shout actually. I can’t wait to get my mitts on the Spyro remakes when they land as I’ll keep coming back to those too!
I keep going back to Oblivion (I know it should be Skyrim but Oblivion has a special place in my gaming heart), the Sims and Borderlands 2.
I have got Oblivion to re-play it once I’ve finished playing Fallout 4 thanks to the backwards compatibility on the Xbox. Great feature and more incentive with some games getting X/4K updates to make them better.
The Witcher 3, Skyrim, Fallout, and many more for me!
Fallout is a much beloved series, so much so that I have a Fallout power armor helmet tattoo…you could say I am a fan!
I love fallout! I have played all the games and have to say fallout 3 has a special place in my heart, there’s something missing in fallout 4 compared to fallout 3? I also play the original fallout isometric games, has anyone ever played those?