This is ironically what I loved about Subnautica. The game does not hold your hand throughout. You don’t have a map, you don’t mindlessly follow waypoints, you are not being given a guided tour through the story like some ride at Disneyland. You have to learn to navigate the area yourself, memorize landmarks, and figure out what you have to do yourself with the clues around you. It is a bit of a whiplash at first when you are so used to being babysitted and guided throughout a game but I’ve found it to be the unbelievably rewarding once the “click” happens. You can absolutely miss important (and dope AF) events if you miss the timings that the game gives you. You are treated like an adult by the game. You really get the feeling of being a lone explorer, planning and going on expeditions to gather what you need whether it is resources or blueprints and it will all be you.
The risk-reward situation of exploring increasingly complex and disorienting ship fragments, slowly cutting through blocked doors with a laser while seeing your oxygen levels dwindle and hoping you can find your way back out in time were absolutely fantastic to me. The way the gameplay and the way you travel through the world entirely changes the moment you unlock the PRAWN suit, and one again with the Cyclops are absolutely amazing.
I wish this game clicked with everyone the way it did for me. It is easily my top 5 best single player experiences ever and I only wish I could forget it so I could discover everything again. But The Outer Wilds never clicked for me like that so I can understand why some people might not like it.
For me, games are strictly a form of entertainment. I play to escape reality and do something fun for a while. So when a game “treats you like an adult,” I feel like the fun is gone and now I’m stuck working just to gain a little bit of progress. I don’t get a sense of reward from that, I just get frustrated.
Especially if there are important events that you can miss. I used to be a completionist with my games (I still am, to a degree) and I wanted to explore every nook and cranny of a game to really enjoy every bit of effort the developers put into creating this world. But finding out a game takes 50+ hours to beat, and then realizing that I may have missed important details and that I’ll need to replay that lengthy game to find them again… no way. That’s too much effort. I mentally check out really quick.
I agree with you about The Outer Wilds. I think I’ve played about an hour of that game and I had no idea what I was doing or what the plot was about. Everyone kept saying it’s better if you go into it blind, so I didn’t read anything before playing and, well… I don’t know what I was playing. That’s another game on my list to give a second chance before I give up on it completely.
The crazy part is them giving you the “legend of” in the question. Without it, I could see it being a toss-up for most people. At least they didn’t pick Sonic.
I agree with you. The pace of crafting to progress is slow. The story forces you to uncover it by exploring further and deeper. The distress calls nudge you in the right directions.
My last playthrough I was determined to beat the game. It took 50 hours and at the end I got frustrated because just when I thought I was at the end, they wanted me to grind even more for some hard to craft materials which would require me to dive far and deep and look for things while things were dangerous.
Exhausted, I used a single console command to give myself the thing I didn’t want to grind for and bam. Completed. The games a marathon. It’s entertaining, scary, interesting, and tedious. I’m not interested in any sequels.
Love this game. Ever since trying the VR mod though I’ve been dying for official support. Imagine using the proper VR controls to pop handbrake and steer the car, would be the most immersive thing!
Still, even with that said if you like the game and have access to a VR headset It’s still worth giving it a go, it really fits the game I think.
I’ll be honest, I haven’t been able to get into Subnautica. I spent like 2 hours swimming in circles, trying to figure out what to do in that game before I realized I was supposed to check messages or something on the escape pod first. I felt totally abandoned and alone in the ocean, without much of a direction to go. It was a little too “open world” for me, if that makes sense.
Pacific Drive, on the other hand, drops you right into the action, with three people in your ear helping guide you through this strange and unique world. You can always go off and explore regions on your own, but your primary objectives are always clear. I don’t think I could get lost if I tried.
I’ve been meaning to go back and try Subnautica again. Maybe I’ll do a write-up on it and see if I enjoy it, now that I’m used to crafting/exploring games.
interesting perspective, because while i completed subnautica i got tired of pacific drive. mainly because subnautica is open and static. you can make your way around a problem area meaning you get by with less time scavenging, while pacific drive is relentless and random, and will absolutely fuck you up if you don’t have the right ingredients. it sells itself on its driving aesthetic, but you spend so little time actually in the car that it seems pointless. it’s all just digging through trash and crafting.
Man I picked this up and spent ALL DAY yesterday on it, it’s so much fun! I got one character up to level 60+ in the second level (library) yesterday, he was effectively unkillable with Garlic, Runetracer, Magic Wand, etc all going at once.
This game is super satisfying and I absolutely had dreams about it, Tetris-style. I got the DLC for good measure and what I’ve tried is really good! More of the game but with some extra stuff going on. I’m gonna get so many hours out of this! And might need a third controller so I can play with my wife and my kid.
You’re in for a treat! The game is a literal rabbit hole. The more you play, the more it opens up. I think I’m close to a hundred hours in and my start menu is very different to where you’re at.
It’s literally a self-bought gift which keeps on giving! I’m finally getting close to unlocking everything.
Oh buddy. Finally sat down to play it with my kid and she was HOOKED, her maniacal laughter at Pentagram was worth every penny. Immediately blew several hours, I’m thinking most of tomorrow too.
The DLC slaps too! That Contra one is super fun. I’m gonna be at this for a while. It’s a really good one to chill in after playing some Mechwarrior, too - one game where you have to consciously use everything at all times, and another where it’s just “LOL BOOM”
Have fun! I wrote in that other message I was close to unlocking everything, right? Well, nope! Fulfilling a certain secret led me to unlock more secrets to fulfill! The rabbithole, goes on and on.
Oh man I can’t even imagine how much is squirreled away if you’re still finding stuff like that, damn! Gonna get my money’s worth out of this game for sure
I also finally grabbed Balatro so it seems I’m in full dopamine mode now, see yall in a few months
Hey, so… it’s been two weeks. The addiction deepens. I’ve got the whole game on two systems now. I’m trying to use the wiki while still finding surprises lol.
This game is the shit and I thank you for driving me to it
lemmy.world
Aktywne