The horrors of the world do not cease to be just because some yuletide nightmare makes real its presence through the warped insanity of decked halls bluster.

(Pictured related)

Which is just my own way of saying Happy Holidays of course, though I almost feel silly having to make such an obvious message even more radically explicit than it already was. While I do have a schedule to keep today, I did want to take a moment to randomly discuss some lighthearted and minor trivium: the value of life, the meaning of worth, and how creating one’s own sense of relative merit is the greatest gift one can give themselves, not just during the holidays, but in the face of imposing reality full stop.

This of course will be by no means comprehensive, as philosophy of this stature takes a while to fully bake in the proverbial oven, but my enjoyment of exchanging such wise pleasantries does wonders for my mental health, and if one doesn’t have well being of mind, what does one have? I have recently been pushing outwards in my own elements of creativity, and to this point, I have been utilizing some rather lamentable apps of infamy (TikTok), in challenging myself in terms of both writing, creativity, and how to reach more people with my message. So while I do find TikTok to be an offensive stain on the haunted face of a wretched planet full of fools, fiends, and the utterly depraved, there remains some value as a tool inherent within its demonic pretense for effective communication, so credit where credit it due on that point, if I must.

In any case, I started experimenting with it recently, during my exploration of Expedition 33, which was a decent forray into a quality RPG, cultural snafus aside. Usually, I write my article first, and then that grants me some insight into how I’m going to rejigger and pair down my thoughts into easily digestible 30 second bite sized format, with which to woo the gaming masses with. Today, however, I was inspired to make my “Tok Take” first, and then extrapolate thusly in the written form.

So, what did I briefly cover? I spoke of my recently gifted (to myself) Switch 2, to complete this year’s ample efforts in acquiring all “next gen” consoles once and for all, something I had been putting off, all things considered. I wanted to up my game, and get back into the writing scene vicariously through gaming, so it seemed the thing to do. Among the titles I picked up when I got my Switch 2, I grabbed Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza, as they represented sure fire bets in making the launch worthwhile, something I had not initially believed back in June. I don’t think companies are just entitled to my money “just because” they came out with a shiny new thing, and however minor, it is important to send a message with your wallet, and not relent to this knee-jerk cycle of “already earned” bottom line, in spite of quality, and in putting an end, and enforcing a harsh dismissal of negating fanboyism, quelling needless corporate bias wherever possible.

So yes, my Xmas Eve morning was filled with Switch 2 satisfaction, as I destroyed my surroundings in Bananza, and then 3 starred all of the cups in MKW on 50 CC. I got some Soul Calibur 2 in as well, but that was just cool for the sake of coolness itself…always finding time to spend with Link, Mai Boi! whenever the opportunity presents itself within the confines of Nintendo’s standards. So yes, this brought me to the moment in time in considering what I really thought of the titles on offer, though I was more or less fixated on Mario Kart, as it was something I wrote about prior to even playing it, and I think it was a perfectly cynical piece, and put into question what game developers and publishers may really want out of their products, vs the reality of the situation, and even the greasy pretense of how the consumers see the whole sad capitalistic affair, as well. Worth a read, if you’ve got a moment.

After having played the game, did my cynical opinion change on the title at all? Not one iota, and even expanded in meaningful ways thereafter. To wit; a lot of the palpable disappointment I detailed surrounding the launch of the Switch 2 when it first launched, in spite of the system selling gangbusters, and people being predictably happy with Mario Kart, was due to what I detected as a hollow sense of pride, predicated on a reality that was less than in spirit than would initially meet the eye. This all fed into the notion of how the Switch 2 launch was in no way a transformative moment of epic proportions where the zeitgeist was concerned, like we saw with Wii Sports during the Wii’s launch, nor did the Switch 2’s launch even feel like it represented an important cultural moment in gaming this year, unlike say, Silksong in September, which shuttered online store fronts left and right, in its complete domination of the gaming world’s attention.

So, where does that leave Mario Kart: World? In a lukewarm kiddie pool of sorts, not to say that such a fate is necessarily a dire one, but it helps put a frame of reference on the titles seeming dimensionality, both in depth of play, and demographics in mind, when all is said and done. I played devil’s advocacy with myself, as I often do, in attempting to land at the truth of the matter, and just where that critical moment of truth lies in reference to MKW’s true nature, and upon initial hands on, I likened the play very much akin to the difference of how a playground from the early 80’s felt, to how a playground made in the early aughts was made; all of the raw harshness of the rigors of childhood, with its sharp edges and unseen tough and tumble sensibilities, all smoothed out and made softer, pointed eccentricities covered with plastic to guard against the cruelties of the accidental flourish of exposed reality. In another shorthand example; a beast defanged and domesticated, the wild willed out of it.

Which is a shame, as there is no relentless chaos like Mario Kart chaos, at least, it represents a rare breed in these virtual wilds. In any case, I was perhaps too grandiose in my initial posit of what we had time to cover for today, so we’ll have to get to less important matters of fact, like the value of life and the meaning of worth, at some point tomorrow, maybe.

-Pashford