As an escapist, gaming worlds that take me as far away from the daily grind as possible provide solace and I'm not the type of gamer who wants a frustrating experience to feel satisfied. The Mass Effect franchise won my heart for many reasons; like many sci-fi/fantasy worlds, it could be an allegory for our current status-quo, encompassing civic politics, social, race, sexuality, gender issues - a world at war. Shepherd, our protagonist, deals with what many of us can identify with - navigating morality, establishing identity, and all in a time not too far away from our own. As with Bioware's Dragon Age, choice is paramount, but ME transcends DA in a sense that, yes, decisions still create important narrative and emotional resolutions, but they actually, LITERALLY, shape the story in a way that few RPGS have managed to do yet. Mass Effect is a prime example of why video games are the next stage of narrative evolution; considering ancient oral tradition right through to modern-day VR, the trend moves consistently towards deeper immersion. Mass Effect expects more from you as a player, in that you become so connected that you are utterly consumed within the narrative and are no longer a mere voyeur. ME3 corrected all the inventory clutter, FPS movement/shooting clunk and biotic-power cooldown issues from previous games, making the entire franchise a delight to eat up back-to-back. Now I just need a model of the SSV Normandy SR-1 for my room.

It's not you Sekiro, it's me. You're a beautiful game, but thank feck I bought you on sale because I can't ever see myself having the time or zen patience to master and finish you. I hope you make someone else happy.