It's safe to say that a lot of us have had more time than usual to play video games. While it might still be some time before "normal" daily life can begin again in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, video games continue to be a helpful outlet for at-home entertainment and as a way to connect with friends. At the very least, now is a good time to start digging into our backlogs (especially before the next-gen consoles arrive this holiday season) and to jump into some games that we've been meaning to play.

Over the past few months (and in a few of our Insta-Forums), we've highlighted some of the games that we've been playing in the era of social distancing and staying at home. So far that has ranged from the games that the DualShockers staff has turned to for comfort and relaxation, to games that the community has highlighted from their backlogs. Even our own Logan Moore highlighted a few of the games that he's been meaning to play that are a bit unorthodox.

For our latest Insta-Forum, we want to turn our attention to the game franchises or series that you've been meaning to play or are dipping into for the very first time. With that in mind, we're asking the DualShockers community: What game series or franchises have you finally started playing (or intend to play)? What made you want to try playing the series for the first time? What game did you start with? Will you continue playing through the rest of the series or try something different? Let us know in the comments below.

Personally, over the past few months I've tried putting more time into playing a few games and series that I've had my eye on playing for some time. For me that has included the Yakuza series, which I have been meaning to play based on recommendations from friends and colleagues that have been longtime fans of them. At the moment I have played through Yakuza 0, Kiwami, and Kiwami 2, and intend to get through the rest of the series throughout the year (and also Judgment, which just happens to be DualShockers' Game of the Year winner for 2019). So far, I have to say that I'm really enjoying playing through the Yakuza games finally, and I'll point to our own staff writer Kris Cornelisse's excellent guide on getting started with the Yakuza series if you've been wanting to play them as well. There are a few other franchises I want to dip into over the coming months, but for now, I'll stick around and hang with Kiryu and Majima for a bit.