Move over Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. Hop in the back seat, Kingdom Hearts III. Step aside, Division 2. It’s time to play… Titan Quest?

That’s right, don’t ask me why, but out of the dozens upon dozens of games in the backlog, the one I keep coming back to is Titan Quest. It’s not because it’s a great game. I mean, maybe it was considered great once upon a time, but the game is getting on in years, and the remastered Xbox One edition looks great but can’t make up for the fact that ARPG’s and loot grind gaming have come a long way since it first released back in 2006.

Now I’m enjoying the game alright, but it’s certainly not lacking in frustration due to outdated game design, but there’s some strange hook that’s got its claws into me right now, and I’ve been struggling to figure out just what it is.

One theory I have is that it contains a quality that ironically, is also the very thing seems to hold it back: simplicity. Titan Quest is probably one of the most straight-forward ARPG’s I’ve played in a while. Sure, it has classes to choose from and a skill tree to dive into, but the gameplay hook is really simple; Hold down the attack button and watch stuff happen. There’s not a whole lot of strategy in spamming LB to guzzle health potions while chipping away at an enemy’s health, or hacking and slashing my way through hordes of fodder, but it’s that same simplicity that is making the game so alluring. I don’t always want to think, especially when I’ve just gotten home at 12 a.m. from a long shift. Sometimes I just want to hold down the ‘attack’ button and watch things happen.

Sometimes, complex combat systems and the reliance on intricate combos can be a bit of a deterrent. One example that springs to mind is Insomniac’s Spider-Man game. Man, that game has a lot of upgrades and special skills to keep track of, not to mention a combo system that punishes incompetence. Trust me, when it comes to combo systems, incompetent is my middle name. Just like depth and complexity has kept me (disappointingly) from really enjoying Spider-Man, it’s the lack of thought required that keeps me coming back to Titan Quest.

I’m barely into Act II, and I already have a laundry list of grievances with the game. It’s not a great game. Fighting through to the end will probably be a battle of attrition more than true enjoyment, but here I am, grinding away at it.

While there’s so much talk about deep combat systems in games, maybe there’s something to having stupid simple ones, as well.