THE GAMES WE KEEP COMING BACK TO
Why do some games disappear from our lives for years…
…only for us to suddenly find ourselves right back where we started?
This week’s Gaming Gander explores the games, worlds and communities that keep pulling us back.
Inside this issue…
⚔️ WHY DO WE GO BACK?
Some games are played once and forgotten. Others stay with us for years, waiting patiently for the day we return.
What makes a game worth playing again?
🎮 GAMING NEWS
Kingdom Hearts 4 is back in the spotlight, with a new trailer and a first look at its latest direction.
😂 GAMING ODDITY
Goats. Geese. Walking simulators. Potatoes.
Gaming has never been particularly concerned with making sense.
❤️ THE RETURNING PLAYER
MMOs have a strange ability to welcome you back years later as though you never left.
Old friends. Familiar places. New adventures.
💰 WALLET WATCH
Before buying a game you’ve already played, check whether you already own it, have access through a subscription, or can get a remastered edition.
Your wallet may thank you.
⭐ WORTH A GANDER
Red Dead Redemption 2
One of those rare games that can be played for the story, the world, the characters—or simply because you want to spend a few more hours wandering around in it.
🏰 AZEROTH ADVENTURES – EPISODE 4
THE HORSE HAS ARRIVED!
Twenty years ago I had the gold, the mounts and everything else I needed in Azeroth.
After twenty years away, I’ve finally achieved it all again.
Apparently I wasn’t starting over…
I was rebuilding the empire. 😂
🚗 GRAMEPA’S LOS SANTOS STORY
ONE LAST DRIVE THROUGH LOS SANTOS
I’m revisiting Grand Theft Auto V in a brand-new series of shorts.
But this time I’m doing something a little different.
I’ve played GTA V before. Now I’m taking one last drive through Los Santos and looking much more closely at the narrative, characters, writing, humour and satire that make the game what it is.
Of course, knowing me, something will probably explode along the way.
🎰 ARCADE FILES
This week we’re looking at the arcade games that simply couldn’t be ignored.
Back in the 1990s, I wasn’t just playing arcade games—I was working behind the scenes as an arcade engineer and manager, installing and maintaining machines and watching first-hand which games could pull players towards a cabinet.
🎮 GRAMEPA IS CURRENTLY PLAYING
My gaming attention is currently divided between two very different worlds:
⚔️ World of Warcraft Classic – Living in Azeroth.
🚗 Grand Theft Auto V – Taking one final look at Los Santos.
And apparently that’s enough to keep me out of trouble…
Probably.
🔥 HOT TAKE
You don’t have to move on.
If you’re still enjoying a game years after everyone else has moved onto something new…
keep playing it.
A good game doesn’t expire simply because something newer came along.
☕ GRAMEPA SAYS…
“A great game doesn’t need to be new. It just needs to be good.”
😂 GAMING MOMENT
GAME: “Welcome back!”
PLAYER: “Thanks. What are these 47 icons on the screen?”
🎮 XP TIP
Try playing your next session without a guide.
Get lost.
Make mistakes.
Discover something for yourself.
🏆 ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED
I’M NOT ADDICTED
+500 XP
Requirement:
“Just one more quest.”
🎯 GANDER CHALLENGE
Return to a game you haven’t played in at least five years.
Does it still hold up?
🦆 DUCK OF THE WEEK
This week’s duck is taking a suspiciously tourist-like drive through Los Santos.
Camera ready.
Map ready.
Questionable vehicle acquired.
💬 COMMUNITY POLL
What’s the game you keep coming back to?
⚔️ An RPG
🚗 An open-world game
🕹️ A classic
🎮 Something completely different
Tell us yours!
Gaming is a funny hobby.
Sometimes we spend hundreds of hours discovering a new world.
Sometimes we leave it behind for twenty years…
…and then one day we log back in and realise we never really left.
That’s the magic of great games.
Happy gaming!
— Gramepa
100% Human Curiosity. Assisted by Artificial Intelligence.
