A Lot Can Change in a Year

[@voltsandvelocity]

Thank you dragoon. I'm having a hard time. No job. Getting rejections left and right. Feeling a bit down. Wanna pursue a few things but I don't have the financial stability right now. Hoping things might get better soon.

[@BBKDRAGOON]

GL on the search, keep applying and hope the right opportunity opens soon. Keep pressing on, you got this

[@crimsonraen]

That sucks.. That sucks a lot. I've been there, and it is NO fun. Just keep applying, calling places you've applied to, and try not to take it personally. I'm sure you have, but look outside the jobs you're looking at now. Try other search engines, try other fields. Best of luck! :)

[@brandonnewell9]

join a trade, Unions are always hiring and its great pay and benefits.meet lots of great people and lots of assholes. the schooling is free through a union hall. this is my best advice. please dont ignore what im saying. if you really want to get a job join a union.

[@ActuallyIzzy117]

Hey @voltsandvelocity I know this is a gaming centered channel and all and this might be a little heavy, so I’ll start with I know exactly how you’re feeling. (I’m gonna share some things about faith later down this paragraph) In 2022 I got a yes from my dream job and got to work it until 2024 when I was let go due to budget cuts on the project. I was crushed and remained jobless for the entirety of 2024 except for a few gigs and odd jobs here and there. Here’s the heavy part: 3 days before I got the dream job, I got on my knees and confessed Jesus Christ to be my Lord and savior. I asked Him to forgive me, of all the mistakes I’ve made in my life, and for him to give me a new life, a new direction, and another chance. And He did, because 3 days later I got the job of my dreams with a starting salary of 126,000 when I was used to working at Starbucks and other part time jobs. Now, I’m not advocating for you to do this exact thing with the expectation this will happen to you, no not one bit. Jesus is not a genie. What I am putting out there is that, Jesus met me exactly where I was at, and He’s taken me on a journey. I’ve found a new home closer to my relatives and a church family that has supported me financially in my difficult times. I’ve also been able to address some past hurts and relationship struggles through small groups and close relationships I’ve built with other believers. Personally, my bottom line is this: You are loved, you are seen, you are so very important. Do not let the rejections of this life put a price tag on your head. You are not a product, you are a person. A person made by (what I believe to be) the God of the Universe that sent His one true Son to die for Us on a cross so that we could live forever and find our purpose, our real purpose. I pray this puts hope into your heart, I’m now living with peace and joy daily and starting a brand new job at a university I was a student at, helping other students do what I set out to do 5 years ago. It’s not a straight line, and it’s never about finishing the game, it’s about the cool gameplay and side quests along the way. Love you, be blessed, and Jesus loves you.

[@voltsandvelocity]

@@BBKDRAGOON Thanks coach ! Means a lot

[@yochrisnelson]

I don’t always remember to comment but thank you for your videos. They’re always fun, encouraging, and thoughtful, and they’re a highlight to see on my feed. Hope the ankle is much better!

[@BBKDRAGOON]

Thank you very much, I appreciate that encouragement, it helps a lot. Ankle is perfect, thank you as well! Have a great weekend

[@AaronElWhite]

I play a ton of smaller indie games every year and my approach is to usually do them in-between lengthy RPGs or "main" games. I treat

[@BBKDRAGOON]

I like that a lot, I think I'm in the spot where I need that currently

[@nickweger2554]

Love this idea of having a goal. My wife and I use this time to plan out all the trips, concerts and events we want to go to. Gives you something to look forward, and gives this cold downtime some meaning and its own excitement

[@logsofcor]

I honestly enjoy this time of year because it's allows time to focus on yourself. Bang out some of backlog games, work on fitness, personal growth stuff. Then when the weather picks up, you're ready to do thing again without those personal things competing as much. Wouldn't have even thought to put that into words but I find your content quite thought-provoking, so thanks for that! As for games: I just saw the trailer for Eternal Strands and that looks like soo much fun!

[@mikezenzola2514]

I have liked balancing the long games with the short ones by looking at how much time I have to play and where my head space is at. Normally play the long games on the weekend when I can sink into them and the shorter games during the week so it is easier to pick up for a short time and drop to not totally wreck my sleep cycle. But if I'm at a cool point in the story for the long game, I probably won't wait until the weekend to play it unless I need to. As for the winter, taking vitamin D3 and creatine has done wonders for me during those long stretches of not seeing the sun. (stay hydrated) I also wanted to say, I really dig the direction you're going with the channel. Thanks for the reflections and sharing your perspective.

[@ATouchofVenom]

Dungeons of Hinterberg is an amazing game to play during this season. It really emphasizes the importance of balance and forces you to chose if you will take on another dungeon, or just chill and let your batteries recharge. Amazing game, we need more like this.

[@BBKDRAGOON]

YO that game looks absolutely amazing, thank you!!!!

[@crimsonraen]

Ooooh, it's been on my list, but I haven't tried it yet! Now may just be the time with the half off sale... Although I just started Sand Land, d'oh! :P

[@gilreisfigueira630]

First time commenting on one of your videos, but been following your uploads for about 6 months! I really became a true aficionado to your way of thinking and content making. You are easily one the most intelligent people on this media. As you, I'm struggling a bit to find my mojo in these last months, but I'm hoping to get on my A game around March. On the gaming side of things - I've been playing Helldivers 2 with my friends and going through Zelda Echoes of Wisdom as a single player. During November and December tried to play GOW Ragnarok and ultimately didn't stick to it due to being too big of a game. Really enjoyed the first one, but the second really gets frustrating and repetitive about half way through. On a final note, I would like to thank you for being there 3 times a week, to guide your followers through the difficulties of life and help enjoy gaming again 😊

[@namelessgary643]

Generally, I focus most of my game time on one game. If I want to play something else of course, I let myself play that. But after finishing a long game, what helps me the most is taking a short break from games, engage with a different hobby or interest. Then when I come back I honestly evaluate what I'm in the mood for. DO I want to play something old and familiar? Something new but relatively short, or when weighing my options does that big narrative game just feel right. If it does great! If not, no worries. A couple months ago I was really in the mood to replay Alan Wake. One of my favorite games on the 360. I booted up the remastered version played it for a couple of hours over the weekend, it scratched that itch. The following week I started FF VII Remake and just finished that last weekend. So now I'm in that boat again. What's next? I want to play Rebirth, but I'm nowhere near ready to tackle that beast. So this weekend, I'm going to play some demos for upcoming games and then I plan on playing some shorter stuff, Sayonara Wild Hearts or Bright Memory. Right now for me, that sounds like a blast. Afterwards I'm thinking I might play Gravity Rush for the first time, or dive back into Elden Ring and chip away at that for a bit. Just play what sounds good. But always, take a break and engage with other interests as well. Games are an amazing part of life, but they are just part of life. Not the whole thing.

[@BBKDRAGOON]

This sounds like an exceptional strategy, thank you!

[@colinsmyname]

The best way to switch it up so you don’t get burnt out is play a couple short indie games and especially different genres before jumping back into a bigger one it’ll make you appreciate it even more

[@rej3ktstudios986]

I fight a lot of demons in my head on a daily basis. I pick myself back up so much my brain must have a 6 pack by now haha. I’ll try and keep climbing. I hope I can make this year better than it has been for me.

[@BBKDRAGOON]

Keep pushing, you got this, also I am stealing that line, a brain with a 6-pack is a great mental image haha

[@rej3ktstudios986]

@@BBKDRAGOON You're welcome to it friend and thank you. Its a long journey ahead for me. Hoping this time next year to be working in Videogame trailers!

[@idiotengineer3925]

I love this time of year. Mountaineering, sauna, training for a race in the spring. West Coast winters are undefeated

[@BBKDRAGOON]

I am jealous, need the sunshine

[@crimsonraen]

Shhhhhh, don't tell people! ;P

[@idiotengineer3925]

@crimsonraen yeah we are overcrowded as is!

[@TheLaughingSimon]

As a big RPG fan I feel your pain about larger games. It can be frustrating to look back on a year where I've played hundreds of hours of games and only have 3-5 games checked off the backlog 😅 But ultimately there are two types of "game time", gaming time enjoyed and gaming time wasted. There are too many good games in the world to be able to play all of them, so whether the games are big or small, old or new, make sure it's the ones you _want_ to play. Now if someone could teach me how to only _buy_ the games I'm going to play, I'd appreciate it.

[@NPCLiam]

So here for the Forbidden West footage. Dope video man! Totally agree - long games are a super big emotional/mental investment knowing those 50 hours or whatever are going to take me months to get through haha - definitely self inflicted, I only really like to play games like Forbidden West and other big open world or linear games if I have a couple hours free, and that’s pretty rare.

[@devinx10]

Thank you for being you dragoon you always help my mind relax even if only a little bit. The year was hard but i was able to keep my goal of no alcohol for a year. Im gonna continue that ive never felt this good. Keep your videos coming brotha much love

[@TheRopiak]

Welcome back, glad to see you again. These chill videos are great for my weed smokes lol.

[@Heaniest]

I try to balance longer games with shorter ones. For example, I completed Batman AK just before Christmas. In the meantime, I've been spending time with friends playing Helldivers 2, DRG, and Marvel Rivals when our schedules align. I started Rollerdrome, Hong Kong Massacre, Descenders, Teardown, and No Man's Sky just dabbling around. NMS is pretty long and it'll probably be my next long one but I'm enjoying just bouncing around whatever. Eventually I'll probably beat HKM and Rollderdrome then really focus on NMS. I'll still play with my friends during all this because some are married, have kids, and live out of state so this is how we stay in touch. I only get about 1 to 3 hours tops on a weeknight to play if I am really managing my time by not over staying with my dinner show and staying off my phone. Thanks for your videos BBK. I remember finding you when I was starting Warframe and have stuck around on/off but I really enjoy these videos. Hope this helps.

[@BBKDRAGOON]

Thank you so much for being with the channel since the Warframe days, do you still play WF? I haven't hopped on in a long time. Great suggestions and also great games too. I put about 10 hours into NMS and it was rad, but I felt similarly, like it was going to be a long journey so it went back into the ol backlog

[@Heaniest]

@@BBKDRAGOON I went back to WF some last year but I haven't been able to stick with it because of the grind got to me. I've been watching NMS grow over the years and decided to finally pick it up on sale and see how it is. I'm okay with the long journey as long as I can focus on it for a while so I have been waiting for a point to slot it in while the backlog is ever growing.

[@tunyonyoutube1376]

Thanks for looking out for us ,hope you have a good year too

[@Bawkr]

So true. Great video. A lot has changed I can't forget that when I wake up in the morning

[@BBKDRAGOON]

Thank you!

[@pun15h3r.]

Dude i struggle from oktober till april. You are blessed 😂😂😂🎉

[@BBKDRAGOON]

Cheers and thanks, winter is tough, keep pressing on

[@augusthobr]

I really enjoy those new games showcases that you have been putting on your videos lately, just got myself these days both Toree games and Lunistice after seeing in a couple of videos of yours and had a blast with them, and this Sayonara never have heard of, seems very diferent as well, keep the great content man, we really apreciate it!

[@CaptainWaffles]

RE Packing Lunch: Go Carnivore, save even more money and improve your health drastically! It's worked for hundreds of thousands of people, me included. Just a pound of ground beef and like 6 eggs, use seasoning if you want.

[@crimsonraen]

I used to be a one game at a time guy.. but lately, I've had such little free time for gaming, that longer games can sometimes take foreeever to beat. I just finished Sea of Stars, and was just getting a little bored with it (even though I think the end-game is the most fun, in terms of story at least), and I took quite a few breaks for other games inbetween playing it. I played Deep Rock Galactic Survivors, Slopecrashers, Islets Defense demo, Into the Emberlands (shortly), and Dredge (completed). Going back and forth between these helped me have little bursts of more exciting (newer) fun interspersed with the slower burn of Sea of Stars. Obviously some longer games really pull you in and time just flies.. But for those that don't, I think playing shorter games on and off with longer ones may be the way to go. :)

[@shirogiko]

Bro Ragnarork is so worth it , you’re in for a ride

[@MacAssassin23]

Thank you for the encouragement and for always coming out with awesome content!

[@aegisleague4053]

Might be a tough time of year for most people but for me it’s the best time of year. Peak snowboarding AND peak college basketball. I’m never wanting for excitement.

[@JustAPakistaniGamer]

really great video... the only thing that kinda got me on the edge of my seat at times was how closed you missed some of those crit-eye shots... also did you know you can slow down time even further for those if you apply the jump concentration perk and then trigger concentration, it kinda doubles up and gives you those juicy crit shots !

[@BBKDRAGOON]

That's legit, and no I didn't! Thank you

[@JustAPakistaniGamer]

@@BBKDRAGOON I've played HZD and frozen wilds to death, i think i have achieved gold on pretty much every single hunter challenge in the first game and the dlc.... I love the improved difficulty in forbidden west, especially love taking down thunderjaws in this one... it feels like an actual dangerous battle now, compared to had where i used to bully the thunderjaws even on harder difficulties, the only challenge remaining was the bears from frozen wilds, their speed makes dodging and maneuvering around them a slightly more difficult challenge making for a more tougher combat experience... combat is super fluid, the new perks are just bomb... your video just got me interested in getting back into the game, so thankyou for that.

[@davidgaghan]

I feel its definitely an age thing to hesitate dropping hour upon hour upon hour into a game but I feel like its also due to a lot of these longer games feel like they are unnecessarily padded. I love story driven games but sometimes having side quests that are 4 to 5 times bigger than the main story is a bit too much, especially when you need all those side quests to be able to upgrade a character with necessary upgrades for the final chapters.

[@BBKDRAGOON]

Totally! I think that's it

[@Fetchdafish]

Man it's hard to decide what my long term goal should be. Nothing comes to mind.

[@ElieHaykal]

I'm loving the shorter games. Recently finished firewatch and that was a blast. The visuals for a 6 or 7 year old game were quite the treat. I played sayonara wild hearts. So many catchy tunes which I added to my playlist.

[@m1kesoul]

thank you bbk for another authentic video. i decided to order an oled tv after listening to the latest dual comm ep and i am picking it up today. i look forward to playing more astro bot and starting my first playthrough of ff7 remake

[@KevinKoolx]

Stalker 2 is in a good spot now. I've put 30 hours in so far. I've only had significant bug but I was able to work around it

[@sillyinfinity]

If you liked Sayonara Wild Hearts, you *might* like Everhood. It’s an rpg, less than 10 hours long, and the combat is like if Guitar Hero was about dodging the notes instead of hitting them. I really liked the wacky visuals and existential story. It’s a good bit darker than Sayonara, though. You’ll know within about 3 hours if you like it or not. It’s not really the type of game you usually play, but I really liked it and thought you might too.

[@bp3177]

I’ve been playing Celeste and it’s so much fun. It’s challenging and I feel accomplished when I get through an area. Highly recommend

[@thecapital-m2983]

I was looking for a recommendation of what to play and sayonara seems like the perfect fit

[@ReviewBigCheese200]

hey man hope your doing well, loved this video today God bless!

[@adamm5107]

I like your videos, find them relaxing. Currently my goal is to get the internship at pharmaceutical company, which I applied to. And buy a Nintendo Switch 2 on day one. I've never had a console before and I tinkered with Switch that my friend owns. And now all I'm thinking is getting my own - Zelda is such a cool franchise ❤😁

[@trentmiller7045]

Check out enter the gungeon! My favorite roughlite of all time. HOURS of content and achievements, but not in a story based way. Many many references and secrets

[@Arophous]

I played Ragnarok then Rebirth but used GT7 and Dead Space Remake as alt games during playing them, guess Monster Hunter Wilds could also fill that other game space. GT7 was super fun/old school Gran Turismo vibes. On my plate for rest of year is cyberpunk, Sekiro, Resi 4 remake and Baldurs gate 3!

[@TheGman1166]

Love the videos bro, if you're into horror games I'm playing through the Silent Hill 2 remake and am having a blast with it. I would defiantly recommend it.

[@chrismcpherson666]

What platform did you play sayonara? Its on my list because i love rhythm games but i was debating between ios and switch.

[@BBKDRAGOON]

PS5

[@namelessgary643]

Sayonara Wild Hearts used to be on Apple Arcade but from what I can see it's no longer available on iOS.

[@chrismcpherson666]

@ switch it is then.

[@AirBendinCat]

I’d love to get your thoughts on a game called Worldless on steam (and switch I think). I played it in 2024 and couldn’t put it down till I beat it. My game of the year

[@vitaliiknysh4688]

Hey, thanks for another great video. In regard to games I'd like to recommend - try Furi if you haven't had a chance to. A really awesome boss rush experience with some incredible music in-between arenas paired with great combat system

[@BBKDRAGOON]

Great suggestion and one of the first games I played on my Switch back in the day. LOVED it, probably worth revisiting. Thanks for the suggestion!

[@InfiniteLightAura]

thank you!

[@DangerBob_404]

ah yes my lunchtime therapy 😌

[@BBKDRAGOON]

Enjoy lunch and the weekend!

[@DangerBob_404]

@ you too brother!!

[@sebastian19978]

Shiiiiit we early as heck! Wassup fellas have a beautiful Friday!!

[@BBKDRAGOON]

Thank you, have a great weekend!

[@Lex-sc7cz]

Love your videos man!

[@BBKDRAGOON]

Thank you!

[@tugga4403]

Hey, nice video as always! Since you’ve got yourself a PS5, I strongly recommend Returnal 😄 Not too long, with peak nervous shooting gameplay and super interesting story. Boss fights are experiences like no other, maybe the best PS exclusive in my opinion!

[@Tequila628]

I don't think you understand how Horizon's mechanics work. And it's always a pain watching someone playing with a gamepad. BUT❗the overall message of the video was very uplifting, thanks!

[@BBKDRAGOON]

Nah, the rollerbacks I did not care about clearing optimally, it was super late at night and I was just trying to farm some parts for upgrades, thanks for the kind words on the message though

[@RauruGames]

Needed this

[@clayleonard7005]

All these games looks the same now some giant monster lumbering around that you gotta shoot at it’s soft spots so boring to look at.

[@BBKDRAGOON]

Horizon?

[@chrismcpherson666]

Yep, been that way for years. Or just reskins of fps, yearly versions of the sane game, etc etc. only thing that got me back into gaming was the switch and focusing entirely on indie games. Only place for originality and creativity. On a sidenote, i really enjoy your videos and the podcast as well. I like that both just feel like a chat with a buddy, or two.

[@BBKDRAGOON]

I feel like Horizon looks absolutely gorgeous, but I totally understand. Thank you very much for the kind words as well!

[@chrismcpherson666]

@ to be honest, because of my focus on indie games i dont even look at big titles. Im not even sure ive seen gameplay of horizon, so wasnt really talking specifically about that one. Like you mentioned in the video, the timesink of bigger games does not appeal anymore because i have so many hobbies nowadays. Any games that revolve around completing tasks, fetch quests, game length padding, etc…do not appeal as well because id just rather do that in real life and get paid. Also, i only have xbox one and switch as my most current systems so certain games i cant even play yet. Id love to play the dead space and re4 remakes because i loved the originals but i would need new hardware. Hoping the switch 2 will solve that for me.

[@papoy1962]

😊

[@BBKDRAGOON]

Cheers!

[@acecommanderjoker3926]

Horizon Zero? Hmmm...

[@BBKDRAGOON]

Forbidden West :)