It was my ninth run through Hades, which also means it was my ninth run ever through a roguelike. As blisteringly fun as it was, I hadn’t quit since downloading the game a couple hours earlier. Then, just after running into Eurydice for the first time, the angels of my better nature – and my bladder – were telling me to take a break. But, like you might worry with any new game, I wasn’t sure how well Hades got along with my Switch’s rest mode. Of course, it turned out to have a perfect suspended state, wonderful in everyway as that game is.
That brief moment of worry stuck with me until a few software updates later when I noticed Hades began to offer cross saves. Understand, I have no fewer than three different ways to play video games in arm’s reach at the moment, but I’d honestly never considered the possibility that someone would need or even want a game in multiple concurrent formats. Yet here I am, less than a year later, staring pretty hard at the listing for Hades on PS5. And in similar fashion, I’ve been combing my small backlog of PS4 games that would hold new appeal by getting a shot in the arm from PS5’s upgrade track.
In a way, it’s strange that circumstances have maintained that the games we buy live on a particular piece of hardware. That simple fact has led to all sorts of byways in the gaming community: retro gaming, emulation, preservation. And in the industry: console exclusives, developer acquisitions, remakes and remasters. Meanwhile, in the world of film, my copy of Princess Mononoke will work on any ol’ brand of Blu Ray player, discussion of media format notwithstanding. So, if companies like Supergiant Games want to ameliorate that situation, I’m all for it. Two copies of their game can be the amicably divorced parents sharing custody of my all-weapon aspects save file.
Do you rebuy games in order to play them across multiple platforms? If so, what circumstances prompt you to? Share your reactions below or join in the conversation on Boss Rush Discord.
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