The Literal Game Plan for 2022

As I wrote in my Games of The Year post, this year I am going to take a more systematic approach to which games I play and when. You see, since starting the podcast, gaming has become slightly more than a hobby. Each week, we’re under some subconscious pressure to make sure our gaming stories are fun, exciting, and entertaining. After all, some people are paying to listen to us… And I am not exactly sure why either 🤷‍♂️

In previous years, when we’ve run events, I’ve always gone in with blind optimism. “Of course, I can finish this 80 plus hour game in a month.” Never paying heed to any facts. Such as the fact that I spend an average of about 35 hours a month playing games…

But now it’s time for a dose of stark reality. Armed with stats, facts, and truths about my gaming habits, I will be taking a more realistic approach to gaming this year, and the events the podcast runs. So, let’s go through my game plan for this year.

We’ll start with the events, as that’s a straightforward way to break it down. Pen in the events you can’t change, then you have the freedom to pencil in stuff around that.

The Events

During February, we run Friendly Feb. We’re supposed to play games that aren’t violent, since February is the month of love. This year, my game plan is to play four shortish games and one game with no end. This means I can get through all four games, to keep the podcast content fresh, while also having a game that will fill in the gaps in case I get to the end of my games before the end of the month… My aim is to get through Unpacking, Townscaper, The Artful Escape, The Pedestrian, Pupperazzi and Before We Leave. I know that’s five short games and one long one, but hey, short games mean things can change on the fly.

April is the month for all the Achievement Hunters in our community. This month means playing a lot of games. Like a lot. Like an obscene amount. Basically, unlock as many achievements as possible, get as much GamerScore as possible, and win the leaderboard. This is the month for trash. And I expect to be playing a lot of Halo Infinite as a palate cleanser.

In June, we run an event all about going back to a game that you’ve started but never completed. We call this Back to Your Backlog, as every single gamer has a massive backlog, Thanks mostly to Game Pass! Take a game you’ve been wanting to finally complete – this is your excuse. The only rule is that it has to be a game you’ve started at least once.
In previous years, I have tried to complete Mass Effect: Andromeda, Monster Hunter: World and other games that have no end. This year, things will change! I have been wanting an excuse to play through the Tomb Raider Trilogy, and this year that is the plan! June will be Tomb Raider and Rise of The Tomb Rider. Both games I have started, although I have completed Tomb Raider only once, back in 2013. This time I want to go through to keep the story fresh in my mind.

The next event is Back 2 Your Backlog II in August. This is also going back into your backlog of games, but with a twist – play a game you’ve bought but never played. See, we’re doing this for the common good of the world! And it almost has nothing to do with us having backlogs of hundreds of games… This year, I will play through Shadow of The Tomb Raider, thereby completing the trilogy and having experienced Lara’s complete story. Plus, this game looks absolutely amazing!

October brings the highly original #TerrorTober event. Any guesses as to what this entails? LOL. So scary games are on the menu this time, and I have a heap… I have heard Prey could be a horror game, but I am not sure it counts. If it turns out this game doesn’t count, my backup game will be Alien: Isolation. I love the original Alien series and played Aliens VS Predator 2 to death on PC back in the 2000s, so going back to a modern horror take it is a great excuse.

The Non-Events (Kinda)

March has a very impromptu event scheduled for it thanks to the latest CyberPunk 2077 patch, so we’ll be doing CyberMarch! This game can potentially be another 100+ hour game, but the main story fits nicely under the 35 hours I average. So, while I could mainline it, I want to give the game a good shake, and I am prepared to add it to the backlog of things to go back to over the year.

May will see me return to CyberPunk 2077 and Gears! Tactics in an effort to finish the main storylines and maybe even clean up some achievements. I love Gears! Tactics and so I really want to make a solid effort to complete the story and get as many achievements as possible. It also helps that I am playing on hard and ironman mode, making it extra challenging. Hmm… I may be a Dark Souls player yet!

In July, I envision myself finishing up Rise of the Tomb Raider, whatever that looks like. Be it story or achievement wise. I have the 20-year celebration pack with all the DLC, so it’s a good opportunity to get stuck into those. I really want to complete this game before I move onto the next one.

September will be much the same – finishing up Shadow of the Tomb Raider and bringing an end to Lara’s story. Pepper in some of the other games I’m working on this year and I think I’ll have some cool stories to tell.

November and December are one big month in my mind. The podcast does its Games of the Year and all the specials that we have yet to plan, so time is normally not on our side. I’ll probably be devoting any spare time I have to Starfield as that is a day one must play for me. Skyrim in space! Yeah baby! I cannot wait.

And that will bring my gaming year to a close.

Of course, I’ll still be playing random games with friends – Halo Infinite Co-Op with Simone, Rocket League, Sea of Thieves, Gears of War with Lee, The Division 2 – basically any multiplayer game is still on the table to be played. One of the core strengths of Xbox is its seamless multiplayer aspect. Jumping into games with friends and future friends alike is something I love about the platform and will almost never pass up the opportunity.

Now let’s see if I can stick to the Game Plan!