When I watched the Fallout TV show back in April, I never could have predicted what it would kickstart. In the series’ wake, I had an overwhelming desire to return to the Wasteland, which was a side effect that so many others experienced – Fallout 4 briefly rivalled the player count of Helldivers 2 as a result. Feeling inspired to jump back in, I decided to hold out for Fallout 4’s next-gen update that came some weeks later, but before I knew it, I was once again leaving Vault 111 on yet another rad-filled adventure. Having first experienced Bethesda’s RPG at launch almost 10 years ago, stepping back into it always makes me think back to where I was and what I was doing when it initially released. And oddly, it’s that particular kind of nostalgia that’s been following me around throughout the year.
As the months went on, surprise updates to older releases and new game launches alike had one big thing in common: each and every one took me back to 2015. Through some weird coincidental magic, 2024 saw the return of characters and series that defined a rather strange, unsettled time in my life. But it’s also a year that I look back on fondly because of what I played.
Turning back the clock
Following my foray into Fallout, Dragon Age: The Veilguard was front and center in my mind a few months later thanks to Summer Game Fest. At last showing off gameplay, it was really sinking in that BioWare‘s beloved series was returning this year. I’d been waiting since I rolled the credits on Dragon Age: Inquisition’s Trespasser DLC in 2015 (there’s that year again) for it to make a comeback, and it felt surreal to see it in action. The Veilguard’s arrival in October signalled the end of a decade-long wait, and when I finally started playing it, I couldn’t help but feel a similar kind of 2015-fueled nostalgia.
I can vividly remember how excited I was for Trespasser, and how the ending left me wondering what would come next. I still think about how the me of back then would have taken the news that she’d have to wait for almost 10 years to find that out, but playing Veilguard also got me reflecting back on that period time just as Fallout 4 did. In 2015, I’d spent a year following university applying for jobs and unsuccessfully landing any of them. Wholly reliant on my family, I ended up working temp and retail jobs, and feared my dreams of becoming a writer would never happen. Games like Dragon Age: Inquisition and Fallout 4 became not only a comfort, but a big source of inspiration – with their storytelling and world building serving as a reminder of why I wanted to write and be involved in the world of video games in some way.
But when I think of 2015, I think of Max Caulfield and Chloe Price first and foremost. I played each Life is Strange episode as it came out back then, and the soundtrack became the permanent playlist of that year. Much like the aforementioned RPGs, Don’t Nod’s narrative adventure and its characters helped inspire me to keep writing in my spare time, even when it felt like it was leading me nowhere. So naturally when Max made a surprise comeback in Life is Strange: Double Exposure, that familiar nostalgia came back once again.
As if I needed any more reminders of that year or period in my life, the latest time machine came in the shape of a next-gen update for Assassin’s Creed Syndicate. With a lifelong love for history, I’ve always been fascinated by the Victorian era, and I can still remember how excited I was at the prospect of venturing into Syndicate’s Victorian England setting. That, coupled with the fact that it featured dual protagonists – including a playable leading lady – meant that it really spoke to me, and Syndicate soon became one of my favorite Assassin’s Creed games of all-time. The update gave me the perfect excuse to reunite with the Frye twins, and when I did, that same 2015 nostalgia washed over me.
It’s funny how things line up sometimes. Whether you want to call it coincidence or some weird workings of fate, I can’t recall another year where its releases rewound the clock in such a personal way. I certainly didn’t have “2024 will be filled with 2015 nostalgia” on my bingo card, but you never can predict how things will turn out.
The cinematic and survival horror games of 2024 prove that taking risks is keeping the genre alive.