Oh, Thanksgiving. That time of the year, where we all get together for a big family dinner and enjoy the togetherness. Until your uncle has his third glass of wine and gets a little racist. Then, your grandma’s only concern in life is making you have that last piece of the pie. All of this while the rest of your family overtakes the living room to engage in the strange Thanksgiving tradition of watching “football”. Well stranger in an unfamiliar land, allow me to give you a quick guide of the best games to enjoy your post-Thanksgiving meal period where all you want to do is post up, relax and digest the shame that was having that third portion of stuffing.
Fallout 4 is a very easy call for this list. With the Commonwealth being the size of the greater Boston area, Bethesda then packed it denser than a Thanksgiving turkey. Side quests upon side quests, settlement building and just plain exploring make this open-world FPS RPG an easy go to for the gamer in need of losing the next few hours of their life. By the way, hang out with Nick Valentine, he’s a cool guy.
So you’re too full and content to go be productive, but you don’t want to feel like you haven’t done anything, but you’re really intimidated by games like Minecraft. My friend, Super Mario Maker is for you. The maker tools are essentially the same tools Nintendo uses to create Mario levels but simplified for a Wii U gamepad and once you’re done making that spiritual successor to the ghost ship level, upload it online and then see what other people can come up with in this quirky and creative title.
So, you want to kill all the demons, gather all the loot, kill a physical incarnation of the Devil and then for good measure flip Death the bird? Look no further than the classic series that allows you to engage in a power fantasy by simply smashing the attack button. Diablo III for the consoles is the ultimate to being able to decompress and take out one or two…hundred thousand demons. If the family is over for Thanksgiving, and your cool cousin wants to get away too, throw them a controller and have both of you enjoy this dark and gritty fantasy tale from Blizzard.
Closing this out is a personal favorite of mine and many others. Super Mario RPG brings forth everything a near food coma person needs. With a fun and unique story, simple and elegant controls and having both Nintendo and Square (before Square Enix) firing on all cylinders, this is a great game to get yourself lost in for hours. From the power spike that is getting Geno in your party, to the story behind Mallow, and the bit of oddness that is having a party with Peach and Bowser fighting together, Super Mario RPG hits all the high marks of a great Super Nintendo RPG and is something you can enjoy until its time to go get some leftovers.
Alright guys and gals, gonna close this out with something a bit more serious. Coming from me and everyone here at The Nerd Stash, we hope all our readers, and supporters, have a great Thanksgiving. Enjoy the time you spend with those you hold special and, furthermore, make this a time to give and help to those who are not as fortunate.
If you are unsure of how you can help others feel free to check out our work with Extra Life. Thank you for your support, everyone. We couldn’t do this without you.
