Nope. And everybody will scream cause they payed 70 bucks for a broken game, just like Bethesda is known to produce.
Just keep looking at the list. Payday 3 is also there. A publisher known for maybe a worse dlc and microtransaction policy than EA with the Sims, but it seems that doesn’t matter a bit.
It looks good in the marketing (it always does) but we should all remember that it’s Bethesda making this. Then again, I can’t even name a developer that I would say “hell yeah, this is gonna be awesome!” at this point. The very sad state of the industry.
What I don’t like about the genre, is that I’m bad at it. 🙃
More seriously, I do find it kind of frustrating at times. Restarting ten times in a roguelike, no problem, because it’s always a new challenge.
But if I miss the same jump ten times, or have to retry the same platforming passage ten times, you’ll see me getting impatient, which means I’ll fail the next ten attempts, too…
Platformers are amazing. I think I like most of the big series that I’ve played—Mario, Sonic, DKC, Crash, Mega Man, etc.—and I really enjoy indie platformers.
Recent indie games that have taken the tried and true formula of unforgiving precision platforming to the extreme are also amazing. Celeste is a gorgeous games, Kaze kicks ass and retro throwback games like Byte the Bullet and Bzzzt are soooo satisfying.
I like a good pick up and play game, platformers fit the bill.
Once muscle memory kicks in, you’re golden. As long as the learning curve is right.
Going back and playing the first levels with the skill gained by completing the game is such a good feeling.
For me, SMB Wonder is a 10/10 platformer if we’re looking at recent 2D only. I don’t know many 3D platformers, but Crash 4 is a must play (I think that’s the most recent 3D platformer I’ve played).
Sorry to hear things are rough, I hope you get some reccs you like ❤️
I thought In Stars and Time was really uplifting, but it does deal with mental health issues throughout the game. One of my absolute favorites and something I go back to in rough spots tho :)
Fields of Mistria is similar to Stardew. Its still early access, but there is a lot to do in the game as is. Traveller’s rest is similar to Stardew, except you have a tavern.
Tiny Glade is good if you like sandbox games. Minami lane is also alright.
For adventure games, I thought Caravan SandWitch was fun, kinda bittersweet. I havent finished Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley, but i would be shocked if it wasnt uplifting. Islets and Crypt Custodian are also nice metroidvanias. I thought they were both funny and cute.
Something about the Blitzball players all being characters you could find in the world, some of whom would otherwise be unremarkable NPCs really burrowed into my brain with FFX. Something about the fact that you’d have relationships with characters in two different contexts where they would often play a wildly different role in each really made the world feel a little bit more alive than normal.
I love them. FFIX was the reason I got a Playstation (2). To me, VI to X + Tactics were peak. I had a hard time finishing the older ones even though they were decent, but from VI forward it seems like they put a lot of thought into the characters.
I own FFXIII AND XIII-2 but didn’t get more than 5 minutes in thanks to the battle system. One day I’ll give them another try.
I really like the trope of a secret island in a corner of the world map.
Funny enough, 13 is actually the one I’ve replayed the most. I think I’ve beaten it like 3 different times, in addition to whatever runs I didn’t finish. It’s kind of grown on me as one of my favorite ones.
Do be ready for about 40 hours of single-path walkways if you ever go back, though. I don’t actually think this is the problem some people make it out to be, but the game isn’t polarizing for no reason.
I like to replay XIII, too. I think its visuals and music are the main reason. The sound of leveling up in Chrystarium is awfully pleasing :D
I enjoy the battle system as well, although can’t quite explain why. Okay, I can think of one thing - the game requires the player to buff and debuff enemies for effective combat (Imperil status is especially interesting), and it’s not time-consuming. Oh, and XIII has cool flashy summons, Shiva as a motorbike is spectacular.
The paradigm shift system also introduces this… I dunno, ducking and weaving style gameplay? It’s like you’re the director of an orchestra looking for the right musical swell at the right time.
This paradigm shifting is the same kind that you do in other games when a party member needs to stop and focus on healing, but now that you have to shift your entire team’s focus, while keeping in mind that each role really needs time and momentum to truly be effective, you end up making these real-time opportunity cost decisions about which urgent thing needs the most attention, or whether you can split your focus even though a team that can do this is much weaker at both things it’s trying to accomplish. I really like the way 13 forces you to think about party formation.
I also give it credit for establishing the stagger meter, which was such a good idea that they’ve included it in like every game since then.
This is quite a nice summary! Yeah, the stagger meter is an awesome addition, especially since you have to take into account how exactly you reach the stagger. Do it with three ravagers too fast, and it runs out before you amass enough damage, for example.
My only issue with this battle system is that oftentimes, if you screw up your tactics, the game punishes you with prolonged combat instead of a game over. No MP, nothing to run out of, but you have to be effective so that battles don’t drag too long.
Frankly fo my time, best gaming series ever. With a few exceptions each one stands alone as it’s own story, but there are the ever present threads that in some cases turned into almost easter-egg items in a given game. Where are Biggs and Wedge going to show up this time? Can I get my hands on a choccobo? Hey Cid, thanks for the airship…
The gameplay of VNs doesn’t particularly appeal to me, though it’s not offensive either, so I can be won over by a particularly good story. So far, the best VN I’ve played is Snatcher for the Sega CD.
Snatcher (nice use of negative space on that cover) is one of Hideo Kojima’s earlier titles, and his insatiable desire for long cutscenes/story lends itself to VNs. As with many of Kojima’s works, it’s heavily inspired by whatever western movies he would’ve seen at the time. In this case, Snatcher is heavily inspired by Blade Runner.
You play as Gillian Seed, an ex-scientist with amnesia that’s now working as a Junker (the equivalent of a blade runner) in Neo-Kobe, a cyberpunk metropolis that’s not quite as dark and dreary as Bladerunner’s, feeling more like something out of Akira.
The game features a lot of voice acting, some of it actually surprisingly good for a game of that time (early 90’s), and it has a particularly fantastic FM soundtrack courtesy of the Genesis’ soundchip, and even some redbook audio for the intro. I’d recommend listening to the soundtrack even if you have no intention of playing the game.
The story for the game can get surprisingly dark and gruesome at times, though overall has a more 90’s anime up-beat vibe, and is one of Kojima’s more linear and coherent tales. The characters are pretty fun to talk to, and the writing was compelling enough to make me push through some of the more dated design decisions (you sometimes will have to click the same action/dialog 3 times or more, with no additional feedback, before something unlocks to progress the story).
The gameplay is a bit more involved than a standard VN, sharing some attributes with an Adventure game. In addition to being able to move around the city and various buildings (skillfully drawn with some of the finest pixel art of the era), the player has access to an inventory and can investigate various parts of a scene. There’s a small combat mini-game that will sometimes spring up that was designed for use with a lightgun (The Konami Justifer) but thankfully works just fine with a standard controller), and is used sparingly enough that doesn’t overstays its welcome. In fact, I’d say the combat is surprisingly well integrated into the story, and helps add a bit of tension, since you never know when it’ll pop up (I imagine it would’ve been quite immersive back in the day with the lightgun, since you’d have to quickly drop your controller and physically ‘draw’ it to defend yourself).
Snatcher is a short game, usually averaging about 4 or 5 hours for most people, but that’s all it really needs to tell its tale, and by the end I was thoroughly satisfied.
The Sega CD version is the only one that was translated for the English market, and AFAIK is no longer legally available to purchase anywhere. With physical copies being rare and demanding a premium ($200 or more), I’d recommend emulation to experience it.
If any of that sounds appealing to you, I’d certainly recommend giving it a try! And if you do, good luck, Junker!
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