I often come back to… uh… Backloggds Resident Coke Whore's review on Persona 3 (their bio has changed less than their username so that’s what ima go with lmao) and reflect on how incredibly formative that game’s narrative was to me as a burgeoning 14 year old. When asked what media have had the biggest impact on me I often become lost. Only over time have I realized that Persona 3s themes of mortality, loss, and maturation resonated with me to the point where I feel like I understood myself and the world better at a time when I needed it. When I played it 10 years ago it changed me and my understanding of the world for how I would handle my highschool lifestyle, and even further for what types of media I became to seek out. Eventually though it faded to the background as something that was important but no longer so when I hit my late teens.
The line "no other game I would readily recommend to a high schooler than this" from the above review made me understand how much it meant to me more deeply than I knew possible. What I found in Persona 3 was understanding, a gamification of social interaction that aided me in combating my massive Social Anxiety, and a better understanding of what I wanted and needed in my social relationships. Flaws and all there are aspects that lie at the heart of Persona 3 that I needed and changed my life for the better, even if I don’t feel like it applies to me now.

I find that the context of phases in our life affecting our perception on media is a thought process we often discard in favor of hot takes about “good and bad taste” with some abstract idea of objectivity to which we assign value. The subjective element, and furthermore the context of consumption, is often disregarded in this sort of discussion. My taste in media is different from what it was 10 years ago, and it’s different from what it will be 10 years from, I don’t think there will be a truly objective cornerstone of my taste to carry between these eras. Twilight is an absolute banger especially for a young tweenage American girl trying to understand why she doesn’t feel like she fits in while exploring her new found romantic desires. Often though most people will become to reject as it is merely “for tweenage girls”, and dismiss it as invalid. Really though it’s a banger for me as a 24 year old straight cis man. Of course my love of the twilight series is a discussion for another day.

Of course if you're still somehow reading this review you should recognize that this emphatic endorsement of both Persona 3 and Twilight is very out of place on a Fallout New Vegas review. What comes as no surprise, however, is that I played Fallout New Vegas first about 10 years ago during my early teens. My relationship with New Vegas began to grow and transform over those next 10 years. Oftentimes since I began facing the “favorite game of all time” question from my peers I have used New Vegas as an uninvested “yeah probably that one”. It was very formative for me in a very diverse way. Still I lack a strong emotional connection to it though. While many of the themes of Persona 3 made me feel empathized with, New Vegas never really tries for that. The core narrative is a political litmus test to decide who gets control of New Vegas, built upon famously strong worldbuilding and writing. The game doesn’t try to grip you with character drama. It doesn’t shoot for romance or complex relationships between your character and npcs. It never tries to directly empathize with the player, though it does give the player tools to express themself in a wide and complex world.

Even with that said, I felt understood by New Vegas. From the beginning of the game New Vegas said I could be whoever I chose to be. I felt so understood by it I felt like I needed to understand it in return. I played it 4 different times to completion (not counting the various times I did not play to completion) each time choosing a different method of play and ending. The playthroughs ended up Unarmed/NoGodNoMasters, Guns/NCR, Melee/Legion, and finally Energy Weapons/Mr. House. Each of these provided fascinatingly different experiences while also expanding my understanding and appreciation of the world that Obsidian crafted. What’s important is that all of these different styles I played (though mostly distinct through weapon of choice) felt completely valid. The world reacts differently to the political path you choose, but it’s nice how you can be successful and rewarded regardless of your build. All skills feel valid to invest into at pretty much every point of the game (except maybe big guns). I struggle to find games that just let me choose to punch people instead of the more common combat style. There’s something special about a world run through guns that you as the player reject and just punch people instead. New Vegas said that I am valid in my desire to make faces explode with pure force of fist, and I have yet to find a game that gives me quite the same acceptance and joy.

I could reminisce about all the good details and qualities that the world has much like many before me, but I don’t think there’s much for me to add to the discourse. I love so many jokes, characters, monsters, towns, quests, etc. All that really matters to me though was that this was a game that didn’t treat me like a child when I needed it. It was a game that taught me more about politics than I had ever conceptualized at that age. A primary belief I have about politics is that given communities and peoples should have a higher priority to regulate their day to day then any overarching government. I did not find this because the game told me it was correct, but when it asked me who I wanted to side with I chose the people who lived there, not those who coveted it. It's what I discovered then, and I still carry with me today (particularly in local politics). The piece never told me I was necessarily wrong, but it challenged me. There is a very wide breadth of opinions expressed in the game and a choice never feels confidently correct. Everyone likes and dislikes each group for the valid and complex reasons reflective of the messy old world groups trying to improve the new era. I understand now far more than I ever did when I first argued with my friend Max about which ending is the best at age 16.

With all this said, there’s only one other game I would more readily recommend to a teenager than Fallout New Vegas. Even if you just stick to the game as is, don’t experiment, specialize in guns and pick the NCR, I still think you will both be understood and challenged in a way that will only help you grow throughout your remaining years. It’s a dynamic text, ready to accept any odd playstyle quirks you wanna throw its way.

And that’s something special. Games have the unique element of interactivity, and it’s hard to find a piece of art that so readily gives a person open choice with rigid decision making that shows clearly how your actions have consequences. Once you have enough life experience I don’t think that’s as meaningful, but for a budding adolescent that could mean everything as they find themselves.