Having spent much of my elementary school and high school years as a dedicated gamer, it was probably a smart move to avoid video games as a college student and for much of my early adulthood. In fact, it wasn't until 2013 that I returned to gaming to take up The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (which is amazing) and it wasn't until 2016 that I finally bought a Playstation console to check out No Man's Sky (which is also amazing).
The difference in ambition and gameplay in these newer games, as compared to ones on an N64 or an original Playstation, is simply stunning. First-person shooters continue to be excessively popular but finding an existential journey amongst the guns and puzzles is less and less rare these days. No Man's Sky, as an example, hinges on little more than exploration, both of a gorgeous, sprawling world and of the self, to bring about its myriad, invigorating pleasures.