Epic Gaming Goals to Crush in the New Year!

Like the ice on the vehicles and ground this morning – and the interior of my single-pane windows at my apartment! – a fresh year has begun. It’s a moment to reflect and contemplate what lies ahead, then retreat back into bed and hide beneath the duvet and resist emerging. It’s a period to devise plans and initiate ambitious journals that you’ll abandon and forget about, never to rediscover. A time to address the gaming backlog you’ve been discussing, fully aware that you will likely increase it this year. It’s a clean-start phase, promise phase, all done in the hope that next year you’ll look back and find that you accomplished what you aimed to do. So, what are your gaming aspirations?

Here, we revisit our gaming resolutions from the previous year to evaluate our progress, and then we set new ones. Are you courageous enough to commit yours to paper?

Jessica

Last year, I aimed to focus more on indie titles, and while I certainly experienced more of them than I did in 2023, I seemingly had a hidden desire to start more colossal RPGs than ever before. It was challenging to allocate time for those indie horrors and puzzle games when titles like Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth, Metaphor: Refantazio, and Dragon Age: The Veilguard were all claiming 100-hour play sessions from me.

For this year, I wish to reduce the inventory management stress and take a moment to unwind, enveloping myself in more tranquil landscapes. Spending such a significant amount of time exploring Infinity Nikki’s charming, fairytale-like realm has made me realize that whether it’s a four-hour indie or another 100-hour behemoth, the time I devote to feeling relaxed in one game holds far greater value than attempting to plow through a list – even though I still look forward to playing those games in due time.

Is this my way of giving myself permission to simply play Infinity Nikki this year? Perhaps. However, as long as it maintains its delightful, tranquil vibes that keep me content, I don’t really mind if I’m missing out on the latest Game of the Year nominee.

Tom

My resolution for the new year is to be less of a completionist. I think it’s turning into an issue. When I engage with games, I prefer to finish everything possible before progressing to the next area. Right now, I’m playing Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, for instance, and I’m eager to escape the Vatican and return to the jungles and deserts that await me. Yet, I can’t seem to do it. Something within me compels me to seek cat photos, complete side quests, and enjoy every biscotti available before leaving. And that’s wonderful – it signifies that I’m relishing a game that I wish to complete – but the longer I linger, the more frustrating it becomes that I haven’t moved on yet.

As February approaches and a likely 100 hours of stealth in feudal Japan in Assassin’s Creed Shadows looms – a game that is probably filled to the brim with distractions and collectibles, and whatever the feudal Japanese equivalent of biscotti might be – I believe this is a resolution worth embracing. Ignore your overflowing quest log, stop searching for that last minor detail. It’s time to progress and experience more of the good content.

Marie

Last year, my goal was to finish the primary narrative of at least three games I had yet to complete. Did I meet that objective? Technically no, but I’ll acknowledge myself for coming close with two completed stories.

This year, I plan to be less rigid and ambitious regarding my resolution. I’d like to revisit games that previously brought me happiness, particularly time-management or life simulation games like The Sims 4. I spend the majority of my time on consoles with larger titles, primarily live services and RPGs, so it would be nice to return to the kind of PC gaming I once cherished in games like The Sims and Rollercoaster Tycoon. There’s something incredibly soothing about managing the finer details in those games (my parks are usually free with ridiculously priced merchandise…).

Does this still qualify as a resolution if it’s so unclear? I’d like to think it does.

Chris

This year, I want to engage in more gaming with others. Specifically with my friends (my partner doesn’t care much for gaming and honestly, I love that – it’s nice to have our own interests!). However, as my old circle of friends has become older and busier and more dispersed, gaming has been an excellent method to stay connected with them. I somewhat lost the habit in 2024, with all the usual, encumbering aspects of modern life intervening. This year, I plan to carve out a little time, even if it’s every other week, to catch up with friends and play something together. That “something” will likely be one of the games we’ve endlessly played together since we were awkward teenagers, rather than anything new or thrilling. But that’s part of the charm.

Victoria

Last year, I resolved to play The Sims more genuinely, without cheats easing my progress. Did I succeed? Well, not entirely. I made an effort. Hand on heart, I truly did. But the temptation to use that money code is just too overwhelming. I enjoy being wealthy in The Sims, with all the hot tubs and spacecraft that come with it. I dislike waiting for my characters to return from work, only to have them watch shows on a terrible TV that is perpetually at risk of breaking. Hence, although I started off quite well, I soon surrendered to temptation and utilized the motherlode code. I have no regrets.

This year, I am still a bit undecided. Since joining Eurogamer, I have expanded my video game horizons significantly, and in the last few years, I have played more indie and other titles than I ever would have. Last year, my personal Game of the Year was actually I Am Your Beast, and there’s no way I would have even taken a glance at it a few years back. But I truly adored it.

So I suppose I’ll do something similar again this year: resolve to continue trying games that may not initially pique my interest. Perhaps, like last year, I will be pleasantly surprised by the outcomes.

Katharine

I made a resolution last year to finally play GTA 5. Did I engage with GTA 5 last year? Absolutely not. If I’m being honest, there’s probably not much point trying to do so now as GTA 6 is on the horizon, but the GTA series in general has always been somewhat of a blind spot for me, as have Rockstar games overall. I just never manage to find the time to fully dedicate myself to them, you know!? Perhaps I’ll resolve to finally play Red Dead Redemption 2 instead this year – the setting and tone of it resonate more with me than GTA, and I’ve always had an appreciation for the horses in it too. Frankly, no one does horses quite…like RDR2 does.

Bertie

I accomplished it; I can hardly believe I truly adhered to a resolution. Last year, I declared I would commence streaming, and I followed through. I became part of a Dungeons & Dragons collective known as Chaotic Questers and started streaming approximately once a week on Twitch. We even visited a castle on the Scottish border for a weekend, to record there, which was enjoyable, notably when our vehicle broke down for good on the return journey. It has been quite a journey getting to know and comprehend the realm of streaming from within, and it has amplified my admiration tenfold for those who engage in it. Standing beside the M6 near a herd of cows – they were indeed intimidating – while waiting for the RAC to arrive was quite the experience as well.

Oh, and although I didn’t manage to launch my own personal video game stream, my partner did, so that’s probably worth half a point? I also didn’t succeed in running a tabletop RPG, though D&D was a crucial element of my gaming year. I’m still perusing TTRPG literature, though, and crafting my own campaign, so I came quite close. Another half-point?

This year, I’m being more precise. I’m almost ashamed to confess it, but I’ve never thoroughly played through a From Software game. I’ve dabbled in them – in Demon’s Souls (the original!) and Dark Souls and Bloodborne and Elden Ring – but I’ve never persisted for fear of becoming too frustrated by a game late at night. However, I’ve come to realize – Path of Exile 2 helped me realize – that I actually enjoy a combat challenge, so this year I’m aiming to alter that. I vow to defeat five bosses in Elden Ring, and you can hold me accountable for that. I’m articulating it this way so I don’t hesitate at the thought of vanquishing the entire game, although that is ultimately my intention, of course. I’m resolute about this – so resolute that I’m going to begin tonight before my determination fades, which it has an irritating tendency to do.

That’s all. Nice and straightforward. Beyond that, I’m going to challenge myself to explore games in genres I usually don’t, but that’s a much more vague endeavor to define.

Lottie

I’ve been engaged in RuneScape for over half my life, which makes it my most enduring relationship aside from my family. Given this, you’d assume I’d have long maxed out my character’s levels. Well, that’s not the case. You see, I’ve been stuck at Level 88 Herblore for the past seven years. In fact, I doubt I’ve earned more than 10,000 XP in that skill during this time.

The problem is I utterly loathe training Herblore. Apart from mini-games, the process is exceedingly dreary. Gather herb, clean herb (yes, it must be cleaned first), acquire second ingredient, purchase vials, fill vials with water, add ingredients, likely empty vials so you can repeat the process time and again. It simply takes ages.

Yet, that Level 88 has been burning a hole in my vision over the past year, so in the glorious year of 2025, I shall strive to attain Level 89 Herblore despite the agony. (And no. I won’t utilize XP lamps. Don’t introduce such nonsense into my domain.)