What do you have to do to play games?

Every gamer has a wealth of experiences

in front of them

but a lot of the time
gamers kind of stick to

what they know.

That in mind,

hi folks, it’s Falcon
and today on Gameranx,

let’s talk about 10 things

every gamer should do at least once.

Starting off with number 10,
try out a different genre

and this one is super easy to start with.

There’s a ton of games out there.

I don’t think anyone’s
gonna argue at that point.

Like, even if you just wanted
to play a specific genre

like FPSs or RPGs, you could
never stray from that genre

and still get a lot of new experiences.

With that said,

it doesn’t hurt to broaden
your horizons once in a while.

And with the way genres

are kind of blending together these days,

it’s not hard to be an FPS fan

and want some RPG elements to your games.

But maybe think about going a step further

and try out a top down Western RPG

or even a weird OJ RPG.

If you’re mostly into platformers,

try a third person action game.

Or if you like puzzle games,

try out a narrative focus
like I guess adventure game

or even an action game,
more like Uncharted.

Now yeah, it, it might be
harder for some people to do

but if you’re primarily
a single player gamer,

it’s not a bad idea to just
step outside your comfort zone

and maybe try out a multi-player game.

Yeah, you’re gonna get your kicked.

I’m not gonna pretend that you’re not.

But sometimes there’s
some fun stuff out there

that you just haven’t tried.

If you only play a AAA, cream of the crop,

good reviewed stuff, why not
try out some really low budget

indie games that are
maybe getting some buzz?

This thing can be as
broad as you want it to be

and it’s just a good idea
to try some new things

from time to time, you know?

I’m just as guilty of sticking
to safe gaming choices

as everyone else.

I mean I do have a job
that does help keep me

from getting too far locked into something

but this advice is just as much for me

as it is for anyone out there.

And number nine, attempt a challenge run.

One really fun way to
add some replay value

to a game you’ve already finished

is to try out a challenge run.

Now this can be as simple as

getting a hundred percent completion

to something nearly impossible,

like beating a game without jumping

or playing an action game with a DDR pad,

something self-imposed that
makes the game more difficult

in some way.

One of the more famous challenge runs

is the pacifist run

where you go through an entire
game without killing anybody.

A lot of games these days
actually encourage this play style

and give you options to
non-lethally deal with enemies.

But being a true pacifist in games,

usually is the more difficult option.

Like go back to Dishonored,
one of my favorites.

The pacifist run is how
you get the good ending

but it’s so much harder.

They bait you

and incentivize you to use
deadly powers all the time.

Now the real challenge though
is attempting pacifist runs

for games that are
obviously not built for it

like the Grand Theft Auto series.

Another well-known one is
Pokemon’s Nuzlocke Challenge

which has just a ton of rules

that make the games way more difficult.

Primarily boils down to two things.

If a Pokemon dies, it’s gone forever,

you have have to get rid of it

and you can only catch the first Pokemon

you encounter in each area.

Pokemon games are pretty easy in general,

so stuff like this makes these
games much more interesting

for people who like difficult games.

Those are just a few examples

but you can literally do anything.

Again, it’s all self-imposed,

so make the challenge as easy
or as difficult as you want,

it’s just another way to breathe some life

into a game or a series
that seems less interesting

or maybe has lost its luster to you

because you played it to death already.

And number eight is experiment with Mods.

A more advanced suggestions,
primarily aimed at PC players,

but you haven’t taken the time to dabble

in game mods at all.

It’s something that every
gamer should at least try out.

You know, just see if you like it

or you might find the process

to be an annoying waste of time.

There is no way to know for certain

until you do it yourself.

Modding is a huge part of PC gaming.

It’s one of the reasons that
people get into some games.

Like I think it’s safe
to say at this point,

Skyrim would never have been as popular

without all the mods.

Now that’s not to say it
wouldn’t have been huge,

it certainly would,

but the stay in power it has
is absolutely due to mods.

With mods, you can make
an older game look modern,

fix game breaking bugs.

You can even turn one game
into a totally different one.

My personal favorites
are the total conversions

and the amount of work
that some mod makers

can put into a game can be unreal.

To talk about a really recent one,

I did the Before You
Buy on Sonic Frontiers

and there’s already a ton of
mods available for that game.

I own the game both on PC and Switch.

Yeah, the footage we got for it was on PS5

but I’m playing it on
those platforms mainly,

on my personal time

and I’ve basically completely moved over

to playing it on the PC

’cause there’s a mod that
changes the physics in the game,

which drastically alters
the handling of Sonic

to be significantly better.

And it makes Sonic
Frontiers just way better.

I mean, like I said in the review

it’s already quite a good game,
but this was what it needed

and that wouldn’t have happened
if I didn’t mod the game.

I don’t know, maybe Sega will decide like,

let’s do some of these things

into the official calculations
here in a patch or something.

We don’t know.

But we do know that we
can play it like this now

thanks to Mods

and you know,

I will complain about how
difficult modding can be sometimes

but these days it can
be a lot easier to do

than it used to be.

There used to be no such thing

as a mod loader and now there is.

That can make loading up
mods an absolute cinch

and in many games applying a mod

is as simple as dragging
and dropping a file

into a game directory.

The way to really know though is do it.

Install a mod, see if it’s for you

and you know if it is,
enjoy that rabbit hole.

And number seven, play against type.

Here’s an easy thing worth trying.

If you find yourself like always
being the warrior in an RPG

or a sniper in a multiplayer
FPS or something,

maybe you play a certain
character in a MOBA,

why not try playing a something different?

Go off the beaten path, see what happens.

Yeah, like in Dark Souls Games

I’ve never played a major character.

Why?

I’m used to playing Sword
Board even through Magic.

Like depending on the game at least,

it can be pretty powerful.

So like I could play that
as more of a mage, you know,

it can be a lot of fun to go back

and try a class or a build
that you’ve never tried before

and it’s definitely, you
know, not the easiest thing.

You’re gonna have some learning pain there

but it can be fun.

It may not end up being the
optimal way to play for you

but experimenting can always
lead to some kind of insight.

Maybe that insight

is that you picked the
right class for yourself.

Who knows?

At very least, you’ll
understand the game better

and come away with a better understanding

of what works and what doesn’t.

And number six, getting a platinum trophy

in a game that’s actually
difficult to do it in.

Like as someone who rarely does

a lot of achievement hunting,

I’m not saying I never do it

but it’s not my priority.

There’s still something satisfying though

about getting that platinum
after really working for it.

Like there’s a lot of
cheat shovel wear out there

where getting platinums is easy.

You can get it after
a few minutes of play.

Like just go to the PlayStation store

and scroll down a little bit.

You’ll see plenty of ’em.

But there’s nothing satisfying about that.

In games where it’s a legitimate challenge

to beat with a platinum that
matters, that feels good.

It doesn’t have to be the
hardest game or anything

as long as it’s a real game

and the Platinum Trophy
has a few real challenges

attached to it, your good.

If you really like a game,

getting the platinum trophy

and unlocking all achievements

isn’t just a thing worth
doing for bragging rights.

It’s also an easy way
to spend some more time

with a game that you really enjoy.

Depending on the platinum,
doing everything in a game,

can be like a real way

to get new found appreciation for a game

especially under the hood

’cause you start to have
to really understand

the mechanics of it with some of ’em.

Or it could make you love the
game with the burning passion,

I’m not gonna lie.

But I’m trying to focus
on the positives here.

At number five, give speed running a shot.

At this point,

I’m sure you’ve seen the stories.

Some guy beats Elden Ring in 20 minutes,

person beats Hades in
eight, stuff like that.

Speed running is something
a certain type of gamer

is really, really going to get into

but you’re also not gonna know

if you’re that type of
gamer unless you try it out.

Now what makes speed
running so interesting

is it basically takes a standard game

and turns it into something
completely different

When your main concern
is getting through a game

as quickly as possible,

so much about it just stops
mattering, priorities shift

and the game itself looks like
a completely different thing.

A lot of the time,

the intent is to completely
strip away the artifice

and break the game.

It’s not necessarily a world

that you’re trying to
immerse yourself in anymore.

It’s code that is meant to be hacked.

Like look at any random speed run,

you’ll see exactly what I’m talking about.

When you’re a speed runner,

it’s not just about running to the left

and bopping enemies like Mario,

like you’re practicing your theory craft

and you’re looking for
every available opportunity

to save time.

It can turn a game that people beat

in maybe an hour or two to
one that can take dozens

if not hundreds of thousands
of hours to master.

And when you get a perfect run

there’s few things as
satisfying in gaming.

It does require a lot of practice though

and a lot of failures.

Speed running’s one of those things

that everyone should
try out at least once,

even if you don’t think you’re into it

’cause at very least
it gets you experience

in looking at a game in a
completely different way.

Some of the best speed runs

are from people who look like
they’ve figured out the matrix

like impossible stuff that
would put Neo to shame.

And number four, cranking
up the difficulty.

And now if speed running’s a
little too hardcore for you,

then another option to add a
little more spice to the game

is simply turn up the difficulty.

If you’re the type of person mostly

who sticks to normal difficulty,

like me, to be frank, I got a
lot of stuff going on in life

and normal is normal enough,

it’s still interesting to
turn things up to the max.

Like turning on legendary and Halo,

trying out Realism in Call of Duty

switch to Ultra-violence in Doom.

Not nightmare though.

In that mode, enemies respond.

So I’m not touching that.

Thinking about difficulty
levels as the actual challenge

they present is completely
dependent on the game.

Sometimes the highest difficulty level

is only tougher by a bit

and other games it’s just,

it goes from being a beatable game

to one that I don’t understand at all.

Like the concepts break down for me.

Like sometimes game designers

don’t even think about the balance.

They’re just turning
everything way up to 11

and sometimes they do a really good job.

It feels like a new interesting challenge

as opposed to a thing
that just melts my brain.

You gotta experiment.

Devil May Cry games

typically have a good hard difficulty mode

that adds a lot of new stuff
and remixes encounters.

On the flip side, if you’re
not the type to start on hard

and spend the entire game stressed out,

maybe try the easy difficulty.

Sometimes just mindlessly blasting enemies

can be a very relaxing and fun experience.

And number three, try out VR.

Now if you’re like me,

you played the virtual boy back in the day

you got a massive
headache and you are like,

“Uh uh don’t like this.”

Even listening to our
channel through the years

people know that I have been a VR skeptic.

Now the thing about VR
is you can’t just see it.

You really have to put on the headset

and get the full experience.

The problem here is that
if you wanna own a headset,

you gotta pay and it’s not cheap.

Even the lower cost ones are
gonna cost couple hundred bucks

and that’s a big investment
for something you want to try.

So the best way to try out VR
is to either find a friend,

get a used headset, or go
to a store with a display

which depending on your location,
is easier said than done.

I’m not saying it’s easy to try out VR.

I will say,

there are VR arcades in some malls now.

That might be a good way to try it out,

but as somebody who has
been a skeptic of it

through the years,

I’ve come around to it.

I mean I don’t spend all my time

playing virtual reality stuff

but I certainly see the value in it

and some of the experiences
are just top notch.

But the only way to know is to try

and headsets are gonna get better

and the technology’s gonna improve

and the barrier for
entry’s gonna get smaller,

but it’s worth trying.

You might really like it.

At number two, play through
a genuinely bad game.

Now, I’m not talking
about games that are bad

in quotation marks.

I mean stuff universally
recognized as terrible, Bubsy 3D,

those CD-i Zelda games.

I’m talking about playing a
game that you know is shoddy.

I don’t spend intentionally

60, 70 bucks on a game that
I know is gonna be bad.

You know, that’s a lot of the reason

why people don’t do this.

Usually we play the cream of the crop

because it costs money.

Like I get to play a lot of games

that I wouldn’t normally play
simply because of this job,

but outside of this job,

I’m not buying crap that I don’t want.

So when we play just good,
decent, even outstanding games

our perspective gets a little skewed.

When you start describing games
that are at worst mediocre

as the worst thing ever,
maybe you need to refocus.

So play something genuinely awful.

I’m not saying you have to
beat ’em, that would be nuts

but at least play it till
you can’t take it anymore.

If you really want the full experience,

you don’t just take in the highest highs.

You got to bring in the lowest lows too.

And finally at number one,
go to a fully stocked arcade.

So yeah, there’s not a ton
of these anymore or anything

but I’m putting this at number one

out of everything else on this list

because this entry is
going to cost something

that is unavoidable.

If you’re a serious gamer

that’s never been to a real arcade,

it’s absolutely something
worth doing once.

Back in my day, oh god,
I’m saying crap like that.

Well I guess I’m old.

Back in my day we had
an arcade in the mall.

You put quarters in the machine

and you played Super Mario
Brothers in the arcade.

I can still remember differences

between the arcade version
and the NES version too,

might I add?

But we don’t have that
anymore, so to speak.

So I mean there’s places like
Galloping Ghost in Chicago

or Funspot in New Hampshire.

They’re kind of like the mecca of gaming

which is probably very
disrespectful to certain people

and my apologies, but it’s
also the appropriate analogy.

They’re holy places that
every hardcore gamer

should try to visit at least once.

Obviously, getting to these
places may not be easy

depending on your location,

and those aren’t the only great arcades

in the United States.

There are actually a
pretty fair amount of them

dotted around if you have time to look

and a lot of them have
more than enough games

to keep you entertained.

If you can only go to one
arcade though, Galloping Ghost,

it’s not paid sponsorship or anything.

I’ve just been there.

It’s a really cool place.

It’s frankly insane

the amount of arcade games
you could play in that place.

Like just look.

It’s just fun to be there,
if I’m completely honest.

It’s just different than like everything.

And a quick bonus,

drink a Mountain Dew Code Red,

eat some Mountain Dew flavored Doritos.

I don’t know.

I mean, yeah you could do stuff

like become the number one speed runner,

beat a video game with your feet,

but hey, if you haven’t really
eaten or drank these things,

you’re not really a
capital G gamer, are you?

This is obviously a total
joke and not sponsored.

They’re not paying me to
say that, I promise you

but it’s also kind of true, right?

And that’s all for today.

Leave us a comment, let
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I’m Falcon, you can follow me
on Twitter at Falcon The Hero

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