Just a heads up: there are no spoilers present in this piece!

There is no denying this year has already seen a bevy of amazing releases. The bounty is real.

As I’ve been sick for weeks now (six weeks today), I haven’t felt able to play games, so I went from being a little behind to being super behind and now I approach certain websites with a wee bit of trepidation over possible spoilers.

Certain games, I don’t care so much about spoilers. Others, I do my best to go into with a clean slate. I was midway through several games when I got sick (Resident Evil 7, Titanfall 2, and Dishonored 2), and I’ve done my best to stay away from spoiler territory.

In the last week, Horizon: Zero Dawn and Zelda: Breath of the Wild have both released. Both reviewed incredibly well. And I haven’t been able to start either (to be fair, I have Horizon, but I don’t yet have a copy of Breath of the Wild). There are so many people online sharing screenshots and video clips of Horizon and each time I see one, I do my best to avert my eyes so I don’t get anything inadvertently spoiled for me.

But really, what’s the worst that could happen? I find out a secret? I mean would that really be the worst thing in the world? Not really. Would I still like to retain the element of surprise and allow the story to unfold for myself? Absolutely.

I know some folks out there are so averse to spoilers that they avoid the internet completely when a big release drops. I can’t say I’ve ever done that, but I can see why someone might. I’ve had various titles spoiled for me before, to varying shades of disappointment. But I don’t think it has stopped me from playing a game for myself, so there’s that.

I saw someone online get very upset about a review for Breath of the Wild because it mentioned that Ganon was the antagonist. Many people pointed out that Ganon has long been the antagonist in the Zelda series, and it wasn’t really a spoiler. Others told him that perhaps he shouldn’t have read a review for the game if he really wanted to go in blind.

So this got me wondering: do spoilers bother you? If you want to talk about a game, do you proffer a spoiler warning? Have you had games spoiled for you in the past? Please! No spoilers in case others haven’t played that game.

With that, I am going to stare at all the games I haven’t played and long for them. And also long for a time when I don’t feel quite so miserable.

What will you be playing this weekend? Did you pick up Horizon: Zero Dawn or Zelda: Breath of the Wild? Please tell me all about it. My brain is turning mushy and I need to keep it sharp.

And please take care of yourselves! Health is all fun and games until you are stuck to your couch for weeks on end.