After running through a myriad of games in the last several weeks like Assassin's Creed Valhalla, Call of Duty WWII, and The Quarry I decided to take a trip back to Shenmue on the Xbox Series X.
This is not a deep dive into anything. Just a short note to say that playing this game after 20-some years is a gift. It's not the same nostalgia trip you get going back to most games. Shenmue is like visiting the town where you grew up. A true testament to the world that Sega, AM2, and Yu Suzuki's team created.
It's impossible to not compare it to the more modern games I listed above. "Valhalla" is such an expansive world with thousands of things to do, but it just doesn't draw you in. Perhaps in a future post, I will explore that, but for now, I just go with it doesn't "click."
Part of me wonders if Suzuki knew that this game could give such a gift after many years when he created it for players around my age in 2000 when the game was released.
I think maybe, yes.