So my brother texts me last Tuesday morning like “hey man you got time to argue about old games?” I’m drinking my coffee thinking whatever, let’s do this. He throws the year 2011 in my face. Got me thinking real hard.
The Three Heavy Hitters
First thing I did was dig through my dusty boxes. Pulled out these three physical copies like trophies. Just holding them brought back flashbacks. Gotta run through why each one fought for that top spot back then.
- Skyrim: Oh man. Plugged the Xbox 360 into my crusty old TV. Whole thing smelled like dust bunnies burning when it powered on. Loaded up my last save file. Forgot I was halfway up some frozen mountain wearing a dumb hat. Spent twenty minutes chasing butterflies. Again. That game just swallows you whole. Forgot I had work emails to answer.
- Batman: Arkham City: Booted up the PS3. Beep boop beep… takes forever. Finally smashed thugs in that opening prison yard beatdown. Felt that rhythm, punch punch punch. Glided off a tower just to hear the cape whoosh sound. Pure satisfaction right there.
- Portal 2: Found it buried under old bills. Fired it up on my laptop. That turret’s “Are you still there?” voice hit me like a creepy hug. Solved Chamber 15 again – felt like flexing an old muscle brain forgot. GLaDOS snark still stings perfect.
Why It Got Messy
Tried comparing apples to grenades here. Skyrim wanted you to live a whole new life. Portal wanted to roast your brain. Batman made you feel like a million bucks. Totally different goals. Felt dumb trying to pit them against each other.
The Big Mistake & Why It Mattered
Figured I’d finish all three side-by-side like some kinda genius challenge. Epic fail. Started mixing up controls bad. Pressed A to speak to an NPC in Skyrim? Accidentally threw a batarang in Arkham City. Tried crouching in Portal 2 like Skyrim? Wasted hours being stuck. Whole thing sucked. Was ready to kick the couch – which smelled like cat pee thanks to Mittens.
Eventually I realized something stupid simple. Forced myself to only play one per night. Different nights, different vibes. No rush. Made a world of difference. Skyrim nights meant getting lost without guilt. Portal nights were just me laughing at insane puzzles. Batman nights? Straight-up power trip. Stopped caring about crowning one “winner.” Felt way better just letting each one do its own thing.
Funny part? This whole time-waster project fixed my real problem. Had been fighting constantly with the wife over dumb stuff – like squeezing the toothpaste wrong, or whose turn it was to take the trash bins out. Seriously dumb fights. Playing these three games properly, on their own terms? Somehow made me realize I was trying to force us to be the same person too. Weird right? Eased up on that junk. Started just letting her be her during coffee mornings, let me be me during my messy garage hours. Things chilled out fast. Best gaming fix ever? Probably not. But didn’t see that coming while chasing digital butterflies.