Nothing gets you more hyped for an old game you haven’t played than the announcement of an upcoming sequel! Or is that just a me thing? Anytime I see a brand new trailer for a sequel or continuation of a series, I immediately look to see where I could play the game(s) that came before.

When Rachet & Clank: Rift Apart was announced during the PlayStation 5 reveal I went into my PS4 library to check if I had any Rachet & Clank games in my library. Before that I hadn’t played any Rachet & Clank. I found Rachet & Clank (2016) in my library — thanks to PS Plus (and now everyone has it thanks to Days of Play and/or PS Plus).

Last week, during Nintendo’s Indie World Showcase they announced a new Olli Olli game — Olli Olli World. I was reminded that I also had an Olli Olli game in my PS library (Olli Olli 2: Welcome to OlliWood). I downloaded it and gave it a try on my PS4 last week, but I noticed that the Olli Olli collection (1 & 2) was only $3 on Nintendo Switch. Since then I’ve been playing these games non-stop on my Nintendo Switch.

I always hold out on playing the latest Picross game until the next one is announced. This way I always have some Picross in my back pocket. Picross S5 had been on my Nintendo Switch eShop wishlist since it came out. Once they announced Picross S6 to be released this week, I bought Picross S5 and began solving puzzles right away. Lucky for me it was on sale after the announcement of S6.

When God of War (2018) was announced and I saw how different it looked I played through God of War III: Remastered. Before that I had never played any God of War games. I replayed The Last of Us before starting The Last of Us: Part II — Ok, that was a replay, but it had been one of my favorite gaming experiences and I wanted to have the story fresh in my mind. I made my way through the Uncharted: Nathan Drake Collection, for the first time, right before the release of Uncharted 4.

I treat movies the same way. Anytime a new Marvel movie (or now show) is released I try to re-watch whatever is relevant to that. Before Thor: Ragnarok I watched the first two Thor movies, and the Avengers movies that came before. Before Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame I did a complete Marvel Cinematic Universe re-watch (both times).

I started watching the Daniel Craig James Bond 007 movies early last year, until the new movie was delayed. And with any Star Wars movie I watch the ones that came before. I just finished watching the two last Godzilla movies (Godzilla & Godzilla: King of the Monsters) and Kong: Skull Island to prepare for Godzilla vs Kong.

Before the final season of Game of Thrones I decided to watch the seasons before, all with subtitles on. I learned that so many characters I thought had come in late in the show had been there all along.

Am I the only one that does this? I just like to be prepared.