This is the last post in my personal video game awards! You can read part 1 and part 2 if you want to catch up on my other favorites. This part covers games that mean a lot to me, either because they’re emotional experiences or I love them like crazy (or both). They’re also ones I talk about on here a lot, so I’ll bet you can guess some of them…
Favorite Sci-fi World:
Mass Effect
Exotic planets, space stations, all kinds of humanoid and not-so-humanoid alien races, and machines in the sky that are threatening to destroy all life in the galaxy. Mass Effect has everything I could ask for in a science fiction world.
In ME1, you can land on planets to explore the terrain, running into loot and adventures on the way. In ME2, you get to know more about the aliens who are part of your team. And through it all, you command the Normandy, giving this sci-fi a great grounding in the traditional feel of spaceship-crew-having-adventures.
Most Reflective Game:
Journey
Journey is a very simple game, where you explore a quiet landscape on your own (or with a single other player in multiplayer, with whom you communicate via the press of a button rather than words). I wouldn’t even argue that there’s a big story in there — more like themes to explore emotionally as you “physically” explore the in-game world.
It’s a beautiful game to play on a quiet morning, when you want to peacefully reflect on things. I enjoy it because while my fingers and mind are occupied with the game, my emotions actually have a chance to be free — no rationalizing or even concentrating on some topic to get in the way. It’s like a meditative experience. I love it.
Game That Made Me Cry:
To the Moon
I played this game knowing that many people found it really moving. It’s a short game — took me about four hours to play — and its 16-bit visual style places the focus on the incredible storytelling.
It’s a simple story, with you playing a doctor who’s trying to piece together a dying man’s memories so he can have his final wish fulfilled, even if it’s just in his imagination. Playing the last few minutes of the game, I not only got teary-eyed, I was a little bit of an emotional mess, and it took me about a half hour to bring myself out of the game afterwards. It’s a really beautiful tale that I recommend to everybody.
Game That Means the Most to Me:
Dragon Age: Origins
The first time I played Dragon Age: Origins was on one of my birthdays. I was already an adult. I wanted to play a game that looked like it had an interesting story, because I didn’t play many video games. Something about Dragon Age appealed to me. I kept hearing good things about it, and watching footage online piqued my interest. I bought the game but set it aside for quite awhile before finally deciding to give it a go on my birthday. I remember walking home with my sister from a record store and telling her I was going to play a little bit of it when I got home.
Dragon Age: Origins changed my world because it made me love video games. I wouldn’t have started this blog without that game, and I wouldn’t be working in games now. Since that first playthrough, I’ve restarted it every year on my birthday — even if I don’t finish it that year, it’s a tradition I love.
My personal video game awards:
— Ashley
Robo♥beat 
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