Originally published in print, September 2021. 

 

While I may not speak for everyone, I’m certain that at least 90% of you will relate when I say that, as soon as Michaelmas term comes back around, my heart is preparing for its resting rate to double. College life can be stressful, the amount of juggling to be done can be seen as great preparation for a life in the circus! At times like these, video games grant to me a form of escapism unlike any other. It is for that reason that I’ve decided to compile a list of some of my favourite games to escape into!

 

Disco Elysium: The Final Cut (2021)

First up, grab your canary yellow flares and your red-tinted, round-frame sunglasses, as ZA/UM’s Disco Elysium: The Final Cut is the perfect world to help you switch off at the end of a long day. The gameplay is incredibly basic; it plays like a (very detailed) choose-your-own-adventure novel. You spend your days walking around as an alcoholic detective; when you’re not solving a murder case and stealing drugs from terrible fathers, you’re tasked with recovering the memories you lost after a mad night out on the town. Filled with memorable characters, a surprisingly in-depth world, and some of the best voice acting I have ever heard (aside from that found in Hades, mentioned later), Disco Elysium makes for one of the most relaxing experiences you can find on the market right now, (unless you’re prone to having existential crises; if you are, I really do beg you not to play this game).

 

Dark Souls III (2016)

Anybody who knows of the game’s reputation will be reading this right now and calling me a bit of a psychopath. On one hand, they could be right, but on the other hand, there are much more dangerous people in this world for us to worry about, like those nasty, nasty people who eat their cereal with absolutely no milk! Massive red flag. Anyway, the Dark Souls series is well known for its unforgiving difficulty, and I have no doubt that it has been the cause of numerous broken controllers. I picked the latest entry in the series for this list as it somehow managed to accomplish what very few series seem to be able to do: it is a sequel that turned out better than its predecessors. Its fluid combat, incredible boss design and chilling soundtrack make for an incredible experience that can carry you far, far away from the awful economics lectures you may have had to attend earlier in the day. The above-average difficulty, in my opinion, actually makes Dark Souls III the perfect game for escapism; each and every area requires you to be 100% focused on your character and your surroundings, leaving absolutely no room in your brain for mundane worries like the international relations essay that is due in 15 minutes’ time. In other words, if you’re looking to leave this cold, cold world entirely, just allow yourself to be whisked away into the warm, fuzzy world of Dark Souls III. You won’t regret it.

Hades (2018)

Ideal for short, half hour bursts at the end of a boring day, Supergiant Games’ Hades won the same amount of Game of the Year awards as headline titles such as Ghost of Tsushima and the Final Fantasy VII remake. This is especially impressive considering the fact that it was made by a small independent developer with a mere 20 employees. The game is a roguelike, which is essentially a nerd term for a 

game that sends you right back to the start if you have the misfortune of being killed. You play as Zagreus, the son of the Greek myths’ God of the Underworld, Hades. Zagreus has decided that it’s time to leave the literal hellhole, and you have to fight your way through randomly generated, yet surprisingly accurate, pieces of Greek mythology in order to escape. On top of offering an incredible soundtrack and the best voice acting I have ever heard in a video game, Hades offers incredibly satisfying, fast-paced combat. I find its small, fight-until-you-die levels to be ideal for escaping from life at the end of the day. Whether you make it through to the Overworld or simply die trying, you are guaranteed a satisfying conclusion to your run of the game each time you load it up. It is for this reason that if you are, like Zagreus, looking to escape from Hell (otherwise known as college), I highly recommend giving Hades a shot.