Millennials, our time has arrived, at last. We’ve dominated the workforce since 2020 and are projected to make up 75% of all workers in this year. An economist could tell you a lot more than I can about what that all means, but you don’t need to be an expert to know that industry dominance equals being able to make whatever the hecking heck you want.
We’re seeing it now with the rise in 8- and 16-bit remakes and remasters, the befuddling revival of the desktop pet trend (BonziBuddy is back?), and the honest-to-goodness mainstream legitimization of the Video Game Awards. Of all things, freaking nu-metal is making a comeback in the year of our lord 2025.
Past our gaming peaks, we’ve retreated from the competitive shooters and try-hard MOBAs that dominated our youths, finding comfort in cozy games that just make us feel good, man. Ten years ago I wouldn’t be caught dead playing an Atelier game; now I’m constantly on the search for the next cozy game to blanket up with, preferably one with potion making and cute anime girls (hellooo~ Wanderstop).
We’re also seeing more shorter, narrative-driven experiences—cups of hot coffee in the storm that is adulthood. A Short Hike had me smitten from start to finish, and all it asked for was a few hours of my time. DREDGE drew me in with an intriguing piecemeal plot that carefully breadcrumbs you toward its satisfying conclusion. It was an experience just long enough to stay with you, but not so long as to overstay its novelty. Give me more of these games that that will run on my Steam Deck and last forever on a single charge, please.
Two trailers recently dropped that are made of weapons-grade nostalgium, carefully crafted to transport you back to the mid-aughties: Ratatan, an arcade rhythm game that carries the Patapon-like, that long-forgotten genre of one, ZUN-TAKA-PAT-TAT-ting into 2025; and to a T, a characteristically whimsical game from the quintessentially quirky Keita Takahashi of Katamari Damacy.
While I’m not surprised Patapon never captured a larger audience, I am surprised we haven’t seen more copycats in the years since the series disappeared off the face of the Earth. Almost everyone I knew who had a PSP played the eccentric rhythm-based tactics game and has the timing and melody of that iconic battlecry, “PATA-PATA-PATA-PON!”, hardcoded into cracks of their brain. Well, wherever part of the brain that is, Ratatan tickled me there, because I was suddenly taken with the irresistible urge to play Patapon. Ratatan is set to release this April.
to a T is a slice-of-life narrative adventure starring a teen of your construction who is stuck in a perpetual T-pose that affects their ability to interact with the world. It’s an allegory for a physical disability, and one explicitly pointed out in the lyrics of its reveal trailer’s catchy track: “I want to change PJs, I want to dry my face, I want to use the restroom by myself. Yeah, the little things are hard for me.” The recent release date trailer shows us a bit more from the game, including a few minigames and the exhaustive character customization options available to the player. This time around, the catchy track comes courtesy of Rebecca Sugar, who may know from a couple cartoons called Steven Universe and Adventure Time. Also, short aside, I love how her lyrics rhythmically feel like when someone translates a Japanese song to English and forces the words in the new language to fit the original melody.
Some time in the future, it will be Gen Z’s time to shine, and we’ll be looking down at them, playing neo-Fortnite and Five Nights at Freddy’s remasters, with disgust and disdain, just as the boomers who just want to play Tetris and Peggle do at us. Until then, let’s enjoy our time at the top.
