The DeanBeat — What’s the best way to experience a game for the first time?

2019 is only 25 days old, but I feel my pile of shame is already growing. I am falling behind on games this week. I haven’t cracked either Kingdom Hearts III — which GamesBeat’s Mike Minotti swears by — or Resident Evil 2, which GamesBeat’s Jeff Grubb played. I’ve got my hands on Episode 2 of Life is Strange 2, but I’ve been slow to play it for multiple reasons.

Sometimes I feel like I get the most time with games at preview events. I spent about six hours this week playing Anthem at Electronic Arts’ headquarters, and Microsoft showed me a few hours of Crackdown 3, at last. I skipped the Mortal Kombat 11 event in Los Angeles, and I regretted that since they did the cool social media images where my peers were holding faux bloody hearts. But I appreciated the time I spent with Anthem and Crackdown, as a respite from the demands of life and news embargoes.