Fighting games have genuinely changed my view on reality. No troll.
I want to share the inner mechanisms of my mind. This is gonna come across as EXTREMELY egotistical, but there’s kinda no other way around it lol.
I’ve never felt challenged in any of the 18 competitive videogames I’ve played.
No, I’m not saying that none of them were challenging.
I’m saying that I’ve never felt any real sensation of doubt, uncertainty, or significant pressure at any point during any of my climbs from the bottom of ranked ladders to the pinnacle.
Of course, at times it’s felt REALLY fucking difficult to improve and rank up. Especially during the harder games - Overwatch, Valorant, Deadlock, and especially League of Legends.
There’s MANY reasons as to why those games are objectively hard as fuck.
But, at no point during any of them have I EVER even been able to conceptualize a wall that genuinely made me feel nervous.
My journey into competitive gaming began 15 years ago, when I was 11.
My first taste of dominance came through playing Wizard101 PvP on my family computer and Call of Duty MW3 on my Xbox360.
It was never hard. That fact remained true, even as I branched out into other games.
I downloaded League of Legends in season 3. I hit Diamond in my first season of playing ranked, S5. The next season I played ranked was S9, I hit Master. The third season I played ranked was S11, and I reached Challenger.
I hit Top 500 during the first season of Overwatch ranked, during summer 2016.
I installed VALORANT in the summer of 2021. 5 months and 500 total games later, I hit Radiant.
None of these roads were simply sunshine and rainbows. I’ve tilted, suffered unfathomable loss streaks, raged, and been incredibly demoralized. At times, I’ve even considered giving up.
But, none of these struggles have ever penetrated beyond the furthest, most superficial layer of my conscious mind.
Every time that the initial flare of negative emotions from that perceived level of difficulty passed, my deepest self always knew that there was a flat 100.00% chance that I would eventually climb and reach the absolute highest rank on.
And year after year, game after game, that prophecy always came true.
No pressure, no doubt, no difficulty.
At some point, it began to just feel inevitable. And because it felt so inevitable, so guaranteed, and so easy; Reaching the highest rank in a game has never carried any feeling alongside it.
For the first time ever, things are different.
For the first time ever, victory doesn’t feel guaranteed.
For the first time ever, I’m aware of a wall of difficulty that surpasses my current level of comprehension.
For the first time ever, I feel pressure seeping past my skin and through my bones. Pressure that reaches my deepest self and asks me, “Can you do it?”
For the first time in god knows how long, I’m met with a challenge that ignites every fiber of my being with the irresistible desire to surpass my limits, get stronger, and do whatever it takes to win.
I feel weak again.
200 hours of playing fighting games has overwritten 15 years of absolute dominance.
And truly, I couldn’t be more grateful for the opportunity.
@MARVELTokon Awful PC port, lacks Linux and steam deck support, anti cheat that does nothing, PSN account required for no reason
Game looks fun tho, arcsys deserves better partners