Her Minecraft
Serena recently reintroduced me to Minecraft (PS4 version, though I suspect that all versions of this game are nearly identical). Years ago, I tried to get into Minecraft with the use of a strategy guide. Those efforts failed miserably. Normally, I don’t even bother with strategy guides, but I thought that having some kind of written guide in front of me would quell the growing pains while playing such a game. Suffice it to say that it did not and the game, prior to today, sat on the game shelf for what feels like at least a decade. It might not have been 10 years, but it was a long time.
Serena clearly knows what she’s doing in the game. On the other hand, I do not. Minecraft doesn’t fall into any of the genres of games that I typically play, so obviously this endeavor of rediscovering Minecraft has proven to be quite daunting. One of the last games I played with any intent and desire is/was The Ghost of Tsushima. This is one of those games that is clearly up my alley, as are titles such as Red Dead Redemption 1 & 2, the Dead Space trilogy, Resident Evil, and even the Uncharted series. I can play action/adventure games all day, but Minecraft had proven to be quite the anomaly, even today as I was slogging through it all. This is going to take a few sessions for me to learn the basics and I will be the first to admit that I am still very much in my infancy when it comes to becoming even remotely acclimated in the Minecraft world.
So, of late, it seems that I tried to delve into two gaming genres that previously had been very difficult for me to become acclimated to. I tried playing Wild Hearts and Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty within the last two months and neither one seemed to stick. Wild Hearts is essentially a Monster Hunter clone, while Wo Long is your typical “Dark Souls”-type of romp. I only decided to give each one of them a try, being that both games allow the user to create and customize their character. I thought that by creating my own character, I might be more inclined to play each game and fight through any growing pains I might have experienced. Turns out, I was wrong. Creating my own character does little, if anything, to motivate me to play a game that normally, I would have never really gotten into.
I spent nearly an hour in Wo Long trying to defeat what I believe was the first boss of the game. I had given myself an hour time limit for that boss and had I ignored that time limit, I’d still be battling that same damn boss right now. Wild Hearts also taught me (again, like Monster Hunter did years ago) that I just don’t have the patience to play games that entail lengthy boss battles with humongous creatures. There’s a slight chance that I give it another go. I could. I might. I don’t know.
I have to effectively swear off both of these kinds of games, because there is nothing that can be done for me to enjoy either of these two types of games. Minecraft has been a struggle, only because I think in these early stages, there’s just so much to learn in that world. Still, with Serena’s tutelage, I think I can do it. Without her, I wouldn’t even bother.