Happy Holidays From The Inferno!!!

It is that time of year. A time of celebration, of family, and of closure for our struggles within the past 365 days. We face uncertainty on many fronts as we move towards 2024, the new year. The world is more volatile than it's ever been. We're on the brink of world war III, and politics keeps on dividing and conquering us all. 

Somewhere in the midst of it all we still manage to partake of the bread and circuses as those in Rome did before their societal collapse. Distractions that only serve to momentarily stave off any worries or fears lingering in the backs of our minds. My hope is that in 2024 we don't get so distracted by the bread and circuses that we let our world fall apart any further. As Ayn Rand said, "You can ignore reality, but you cannot escape the consequences of ignoring reality".

Looking back on my year's worth of reviews I noticed it was a mixed bag of hits, and flops. Some were stellar, some were mid-grade, and others got a negative mark against them. Just as the schedule of releases were ups & downs so too were the quality of those releases. I often times noticed that the good games were sandwiched between filler material. Lesser indies, and cheap shovelware clones that have infiltrated the online gaming stores. 

PlayStation definitely dropped the ball, in this regard, with their choosing to not release some hyped games that have been on the backburner for months. To me it seemed like they were padding the offerings to extend their ability to stock their storefronts with new games for the foreseeable future. As if they have not been looking to acquire or release new studio content for their paying customers in light of some financial foresight. Like they are riding it out until something happens ... be it the collapse of the economy or some predicted/planned global event. I have no doubt they have insider information on such things, especially seeing how poorly they've handled their own business affairs.

Aside from the gaming drama I've been trying to enjoy gaming as much as I can, and with friends. I've been playing Fortnite, Call of Duty, and Mortal Kombat 1. The battle passes have my full attention, and as a man suffering from obsessive compulsive disorder it makes my attraction to such things so much worse. Like pouring fuel on the flame. As long as I complete the passes I'm alright. If I can't it bugs me to no end. I think I've actually played Fortnite more than any other game this year. It's an odd turn seeing as I was once not bothered to even play the game. If it weren't for my friends I'd probably have never seen it's good side. 

Game of the Year ...

I've been debating on whether or not to do a GOTY post to let you know which game I thought was the winner, but I cannot narrow it down to a single one. There are some really worthwhile titles that released in 2023, and are all equally as worthy of your money ... or were. Sadly, the recent news regarding PlayStation's revamped Terms of Service has brought to light that we now don't even own the physical copies of games we pay a premium for. They crutched on the licensing terminology to take away consumers' right to sell their PlayStation physical games. 

I looked into it, and that does seem to be the case. Thankfully, and you can thank me later, there is a workaround to this law. You can trade your games for cash bills. Bills that are spendable are also considered collectibles among some collector groups. Just "Trade" those games for cash, and you'll be alright. My Amazon wishlist awaits your appreciation ...

In the coming months, and years the Gaming Inferno will continue to bring to you the latest game reviews, and articles worth reading. I actually covered more games and topics this year than I have since 2015. For years after 2015 I slacked. I slacked, and was often times looked over by PR. Thankfully things seem to be taking a turn for the better, and that's why I've posted more frequently in 2023. 

I hope that I've been a good source of information for you, and that you will continue to return throughout 2024 ... supposing the world as we know it doesn't go back to the dark ages. If you are on X I'm more active on there than anywhere else, so feel free to give me a follow. I'm also on Youtube. All links are on the side bar of this blog.

Until next time ... May your holiday be a blessing, and the new year equally as so! Stay strong, and keep on keeping on, my friends!