WASD Stan

Yesterday we had a Sony State of Play event, and with it was released some more information about the next part of the Final Fantasy VII reboot saga. There is a part of me that is excited to see more information about this game, and then another part… that is deeply disappointed that it will be released on the PlayStation 5 first. That is not out of some sort of misplaced console fanboyism… because I have a PlayStation 5 and an Xbox Series X. I am fairly agnostic in the console wars. What I am not agnostic about however is the fact that my platform of preference is the PC and my method of play preference is the keyboard and mouse. I often times falter and buy into the hypestorm surrounding a new game. However, I have to examine my track record specifically with major console titles.

Horizon Forbidden West was a game that I had been looking forward to almost more than any other. However I also greatly preferred playing this game on the PC, so when I console release came out I spent about a week playing it… before bouncing and returning to something PC-based. I got frustrated with just how fiddly aiming with a controller was, and how it was hard to read some of the text because we do not have a mammoth-sized television in the livingroom. Then again there was the challenge with the livingroom in general and it mostly being a “public space” and not something that I felt like I could commandeer for long. So now I find myself in a holding pattern waiting and hoping for an eventual PC release of the game so I can finally play it on my platform of choice.

Before HFW, there was Ghost of Tsushima a game that I enjoyed quite a bit. However, the entire time I was playing it… there was a niggling thought in the back of my head about how much I would enjoy the game more if I could play with WASD and Mouse controls. Everything about the game would have been immediately improved if I could just control it the way that I wanted to control it. I made it to the second major area in the game and then bounced because I just didn’t really want to play it with a controller. So I am now sitting in this holding pattern of hoping that maybe one day it also gets a PC release, or that I suddenly switch religion and decide to pick up the controller.

Then there are the games that I bought on console… and ultimately rebought the game on PC much later. Jedi Fallen Order even on PC, goes to a lot of trouble to tell you that playing it with a keyboard and mouse is the wrong way to play. However, I remember when this game first came out, I bounced pretty early into the game. I think I gave it about a weekend and made it to Kashyyyk before completely dropping the game in favor of something else that drew away my attention on the PC. Later I came back on PC with a Keyboard and Mouse and consumed this game hungrily, playing nothing but it until I got the credit roll.

Similarly, there is the case of the first Final Fantasy VII Remake game. I started on the console because it again was a console exclusive to PlayStation, and I didn’t even make it out of the first major area. Then later when it was released on PC via the Epic Game Store, I picked the game up and played it through to completion. The mouse and keyboard controls, while often an afterthought by Squaresoft felt so much better than a controller for me. I had so much fun with this game, but it was largely in part that I got to play it in my way on my platform of choice.

More recently we have the case of Final Fantasy XVI, which again… released as a PlayStation platform exclusive. I bought the game… and I made it about ten minutes into the game before deciding that I didn’t really want to experience it in this manner. So I’ve spent the money… but can’t seem to wrap my brain around wanting to play it on that platform. Everything seems to indicate that the game did not meet sales expectations from SquareSoft, but then again they always seem to say that. My hope is that it legitimately did not… and as a result, it will get a PC release sooner rather than later. I want to experience the game, but I want to experience it in the most comfy manner… with a keyboard and mouse.

So while I am happy as all get out to see more information about Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, and am really looking forward to the game. I am going to try my damnedest to stick to my guns and ignore it until the game releases on my platform of choice. It has happened too damned many times at this point… that I get excited about a game and then ultimately bounce because I don’t really want to play it on my console. Sure it is dumb that I own both brands of consoles and they mostly collect dust… but it is what it is.

I think I am just coming to realize how much playing with a mouse and keyboard means to my enjoyment of a game. I am not entirely certain WHY I am wired this way, given that I grew up with the NES, SNES, and Genesis. I also played a ton of games on the PlayStation and Dreamcast era but after that… I dove hard into PC gaming as my primary platform. Controllers just end up making my hand cramp, which I get is probably the exact opposite for most gamers. I would love for this not to be the case because gaming in general seems to be leaning more and more into controllers as the default input method… but I am not exactly sure how to change that.