Gaming update time.

First up I finally hit Gold in League of Legends. It took a lot longer than I expected (170 games), in some parts because I derped around on different champions for a while until I ‘got serious’ and focused on playing Malz-mid and Amumu-jungle, my two best champs. I’m not sure how high I’ll climb, but at the very least it needs to be a few ranks higher, if only to not be in the same league as the wife, who hit gold recently as well.

LoL is what it is, a finely tuned, ridiculously balanced game with a stupid amount of champions and ‘content’. It’s a game you can take super-serious, play very casually, and anything in between. For me it’s the perfect “play a ranked match 3-4 times a week” game. The game truly has transcended being a game and become a hobby you come back to over and over again, while at the same time being one of the premium eSport platforms (watching the Mid-Season Invitational was very entertaining).

Moving on, my buddy and I have wrapped up our time with Civ VI for now, having won a few deity-level games. The game overall is excellent, but the poor AI in the later stages keep it from being a game we can play over and over again. We ‘beat’ it, and its time to move on. Maybe if a significant patch hits, or another expansion, we will return, but for now the game is on the shelf.

Battle Brothers has taken its place. While a single-player only game, its one where we can hang out in Discord and talk while we play it. The stories and situations it generates keep the conversation going, and the game is complex enough that he often has questions about it as a newer player.

Looking at the game’s Steamcharts page, I’m happy to see its more popular (by peak players) today than it ever has been, showing that each expansion has built up the playerbase, and former players likely return to take it for another spin. I think (hope) we will see more DLC, as while the game has been expended greatly since release, its still has a LOT of areas it can go in and further expand.

Finally, a few buddies and I play some Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) matches when time allows. Like LoL, I think PUBG is become that hobby game you return to over and over, and one that supports all levels of commitment. And like LoL, it’s improved so much since release, and has found its footing in terms of updates that keep it interesting while sticking to what makes it work.