For the past couple years I’ve run an article on Thanksgiving (The United States Version of the Holiday) where I urge my fellow gamers to say thanks to the games that got us through the year. The past two years, we usually fill our ThanksGaming plate with staff submissions, but our staff has been overwhelmed with travel plans, and time sensitive opportunities, so I’ll be soloing this year’s ThanksGaming.
This year has been full of some fantastic game releases, and while I’d love to list every game that I’m thankful for, here are three that I’ve come back to time and again throughout the year. After checking them out, head into the comments and let us know what games you were thankful you played this year!
Baldur’s Gate 3
Baldur’s Gate 3 is obviously a game that RPG fans can’t ignore, and it’s the first game on the list because it feels almost a little obligatory to list it. Baldur’s Gate 3 has been around for quite some time. I remember the moment it released into Early Access, I bought it right away, completed the first act, and promised myself I wouldn’t play another moment until release. On August 3rd of this year, it finally did release, and it was hard to contain how excited I was to jump back in and play the game once again.
Play I did, and I am still playing, never having made it through an entire play through. At some point, I theorycraft a new build, or character, and I just get too excited and start the game all over again. The reason why Baldur’s Gate 3 is so special, is because you can do that, and just repeat your play through, and yet it still feels new, it still feels challenging, and of course, it prolongs a journey that you never truly want to end. Luckily I was able to tell Larian “Thank You” already, as I was able to visit with them during PAX West this year. Still, Baldur’s Gate 3 is a game that will certainly keep me entertained for months if not years to come.
Inkbound
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Developer Shiny Shoe has a knack for creating unique, addictive games, and I had an inkling (pun intended) that Inkbound would grab my attention much like Monster Train did years ago. With an interesting blend of turn-based RPG mechanics that intertwine tactical and Roguelike mechanics, I find myself getting lost down a rabbit hole of difficult choices as I increase my season rank, and earn rewards. Recently Shiny Shoe released the God’s and Relics update which introduced two new classes, the Godkeeper and the Chainbreaker. The new Godkeeper class really hammered home how much fun the game is, with its high damage potential, movement abilities and quirky style, it has become my favorite class by far.
In addition to that, Shiny Shoe as a development team seems to really understand their players. After removing in-game monetization, improving the offline mode, tightening up co-op and putting in the work to make a vestige set system that’s incredibly intuitive, I’m especially thankful for development teams like Shiny Shoe that don’t just say they’re listening to feedback, but actually listen and implement such stellar changes.
Zenith: The Last City
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This year I made myself a promise that I would start to be more active. I completely failed in that endeavor, but that hasn’t stopped me from attempting to be more active where I can. That’s where the VR MMO Zenith came in. To say that Zenith is unlike any other MMO I’ve played before is an understatement. If you take away virtual reality entirely, it probably wouldn’t have held my attention for as long as it has, but I find myself slipping my headset back on and taking virtual walks (well, more like physical – virtual walks thanks to a VR treadmill – Review Pending) and slicing away with my blademaster when I need a little exercise with my MMO.
What I reall like about Zenith apart from the immersive combat, climbing, and gliding, is that it’s available through both Steam VR and on my standalone Quest headset. This gives me the capability to play it wherever I am, even though I may (meaning definitely) have slapped a wall or two when I get a little too “immersed” in the world and lose my positioning. Zenith has come a long way since its launch last year, and while it hasn’t been my most played MMORPG, it’s the one I’m the most thankful for this year, because it’s the only one that’s encouraging me to stay active. Thanks RamenVR!
Personal Thanks to You
For the past two years, I’ve expressed my thanks to our community. And every year – none of you believe me. This year I could use this space to thank the world for pizza or thank our MOBA Overlords for their ongoing support. Alas, both Pizza and the MOBA Network both know how thankful I am for them, so I’ll direct my attention back to you – our community.
I’ve been visiting MMORPG.com for nearly 20 years now. I’ve been through the heated forum conversations, and I’ve gotten lost in the semantics of what MMORPG means. While MMORPG.com has always stood as a premiere resource for news and information – a resource I’m proud to help shape and guide alongside a great bunch of like-minded staff – I’ve returned nearly every day for 20 years because of the community. In many ways, this has been my home. Somewhere where I’ve returned to every time someone took away my Star Wars Galaxies, or a place to debate why Throne and Liberty is probably going to be the next top MMORPG – and the subsequent conversation where everyone hates me for that opinion.
These moments, the heated conversations, and even some of the trolling, are moments that I look forward to every single day. So even if you haven’t believed me in 2021 or 2022, believe me now when I say that I, and the rest of the staff here, are thankful for our community.
