Have you ever found that game where it plays well, mechanics are solid and the art is also up your alley. But at the end of each round you play you just see the little battle pass section trying to prey on your sense of FOMO, trying to scrape out just a little more, even though the price tag upfront is already a bit higher than what you’d normally pay for a game in the same vein.
I found a game I probably could’ve genuinely enjoyed for a long time. I was talking it up to my friends to buy it on release together so we could play co-op. The demo was really great.
For it to come with a Day 1 battle pass (plus online only access when it had singleplayer modes) makes the developer’s intent very clear: we want more money, and we’ll use every FOMO trick in the book to achieve it. And once you pay, you still have to work for those rewards you paid for.
Cosmetic DLCs are fine. I play a fair bit of DST and I enjoy collecting twitch drops and free skins, and if I wanted to support the Devs more I could buy a pack. That’s upfront and transparent. I don’t get reminded every time I build a chest that “There’s 16 more skins you can unlock for this item”. That would be scummy.
Really encapsulates the meaning of beauty a couple different ways.
Tetris Effect, particularly if you can play in VR.
Though if you’re strictly talking “aesthetically pleasing”, the options get wider. I absolutely loved the aesthetics of Hi-fi Rush. The absolute beauty of this comic-esque, cel-shaded world with every element, background and forground, moving to the rhythm of the soundtrack just blew me away when I started playing. But I’m a slut for rhythm games, so there’s just something about everything tiny fiber of the space connecting and syncing up that gets me.
tbh my most recent one is probably Forza Horizon 5. I’m not really a “car guy” but nothing beats getting high and doing sick jumps over gorgeous natural landscapes in bodacious sports cars. Bonus points if your Ferrari has an anime girl spraypainted on the hood.
Just a heads up the game kinda made my head hurt physically. The characters move at like 24-30fps while the background moves at a full 60 (or something >30, was not sure). It’s a stylistic choice which I can respect but I couldn’t get into it due to the stark difference in fps between the two which made it feel laggy.
I really dig that art style, it's sort of the logical conclusion to things like Diablo 2 or Age of Empires 2. Something about the high fidelity 2D rendering of 3D objects from an isometric perspective is so aesthetically pleasing.
It feels more descriptive of the reality of the world and less stylized even though it's, of course, its own style.
I think I got it on my third attempt. Though I haven’t actually finished it yet! Only 2/3 in and then something shiny distracted me - I’ll pick it up again soon. People described it as a soulslike, so after Elden Ring clicked for me I decided I would try the funny bug game again. Glad I did!
Mmm yess. Recently did a play through, and luckily I played most of it with a fellow pilgrim. IMO Journey will always be gorgeous. The graphics are perfectly balanced between realism, performance and art. To me, it’s a timeless classic.
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