As a gamer who has traversed through the digital battlefields for decades now, I must say that 2024 has been a remarkable year for me, akin to discovering a long-lost treasure chest filled with golden ammunition. My journey through the shooter genre this year has taken me on an emotional rollercoaster ride, rekindling my passion for the very games that had once shaped my childhood and defined my gaming experiences.
Over the past couple of years, my gaming preferences in shooter games have undergone a significant transformation. Where I used to crouch in bushes for what felt like eternity, evading elimination in intense hardcore FPS games like Escape From Tarkov, these days, the most competitive I get is an evening of unranked Call of Duty. In place of nail-biting matches of Search and Destroy, I now find myself enjoying respawn-enabled modes and 24/7 playlists featuring the game’s smallest, sillier maps. The emotional bond that once held me captive in Tarkov has waned – the disappointment of losing my equipment outweighs the excitement of claiming someone else’s – and as my real-life responsibilities have multiplied, finding time to keep up with the game has become increasingly challenging.
Back with a bang
Looking back now, it seems I had been drifting away from the genre for quite some time. However, the ember didn’t rekindle until the September launch of Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, a game that pushed boundaries I hadn’t thought possible with contemporary technology. The spectacle of witnessing swarms of Tyranids armed with scythes overrunning the hive world of Avarax, and particularly engaging in intense battles using a chainsword and gun against them, has been one of the most thrilling experiences I’ve had in a third-person shooter campaign. The sheer number of enemies on-screen and the dynamic transition between shooting sequences and melee combat to stay alive was undeniably exhilarating. Yet, it wasn’t just the hordes of enemies or the encouragement to fluidly switch between gunfights and hand-to-hand combat that captivated me; it was also the towering cathedrals and jungle battlefields that appeared to stretch endlessly into the distance.
It cut through to my core – a reminder of formative evenings spent in co-op campaigns with my brother, illuminated by the fuzzy glow of a CRT screen and scored with the furious button-clattering din that only children unleashed on controllers can ever muster. Gaming itself was still a novelty, and sitting on the floor before that boxy television was a worship of impossibilities – whether Duke Nukem on the Nintendo 64, or the Xbox 360’s smorgasbord of Gears of War, Halo, and Call of Duty – that I ultimately charted my life from. Space Marine 2 is the first game in a long time to ever brush those memories, and by playing it, I’d unwittingly made the first step toward rekindling my passion for the genre.
It’s quite coincidental that Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 came out a month after Space Marine 2. For me, the original Black Ops, which was released in 2010, was the last Call of Duty game I became heavily invested in before taking a break from the series for over a decade. I still hold a soft spot for it because of its setting, and that’s why I remain fond of bands like The Rolling Stones and Creedence Clearwater Revival. Although Black Ops 6 lacked the ’60s coolness, it mirrored the same lively energy in its multiplayer mode. Since its release, I’ve probably spent more evenings playing it than not. I’m a fan of its carefree entertainment: there’s no waiting for conflicts, no high stakes, just one enjoyable moment after another. After growing disenchanted with intense FPS games due to the time commitment they demand, Black Ops 6 has served as a gentle reintroduction to competitive gaming for me.
This year, the long-awaited release of Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl served as the cherry on top of my journey of rediscovery. Fittingly, it was the initial Stalker game that ignited my fascination with realistic first-person shooters. The genre’s raw brutality, coupled with everyday aspects such as needing to eat and drink, offered an immersion I hadn’t previously encountered outside the best RPGs. Shadow of Chornobyl demonstrated that even shooters could be just as captivating as their more adventurous counterparts.
Reflecting on the past, it’s quite serendipitous now. I didn’t have a strategy to reignite my passion for shooter games or discover what was missing. Instead, these games unexpectedly showed up at the perfect moment, serving as subtle nudges reminding me of why I initially fell for this genre. In the future, I believe developers will be inspired by this year’s successes – whether it’s more cooperative campaigns, mainstream titles getting creative, or providing tougher challenges. Shooters have evolved significantly since their early days on fuzzy CRT screens, but 2024 has demonstrated that there’ll always be new ways to make destroying things enjoyable. Who would have thought?
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2024-12-20 14:09