I have the opposite issue, so yes. I don’t particularly enjoy having to constantly pay attention to every enemy, but I enjoy learning a boss fight for an hour or two. I’ve also played a few games where dealing with random enemies felt harder than dealing with bosses due to sheer numbers, and it would help with that too.
So I don’t think it’s really a design problem. If you know exactly what you want your game’s experience to be, then don’t add it. But I’d argue for most games it isn’t integral to the experience how the difficulty of normal mobs vs bosses compares, and people have different preferences for it.
To me this seems like solving the wrong problem. Ever since Souls, too many games get obsessed about making their boss encounters challenging but making the main level gameplay just tedious filler. AC6 missions often feel like that. Imho the correct action is to refine the gameplay and figure out your core loop, instead of having massive difficulty spikes.
This is the gameplay equivalent of the “Whisper and Explosion” problem.
I do like demos, I’ve bought a few games from them. I bought Factorio years and years ago because of that. I liked the Next Fest on Steam and have wishlisted a few games for when they leave Early Access. I don’t buy ea games (or EA games, lol). The most recent demo game that got me was dotAGE. It’s slightly in the vein of other settler/logistics games but it’s quirk is that you unlock more options for the next game by losing, a la rogue-likes. Also has random events.
Demos work well for me, because I like games based on their minor details. UI/UX is important to me, so the original Dwarf Fortress didn’t work for me. I also like QOL features a lot, 90% of my mods are based on QOL shortcomings, so if a game is just awful then I’ll avoid it. There were a few demos that I quit within 15 minutes because they were too unpolished. (I’m sure they’ll be fine in time, but this was too early for them.)
I did this with Ghosts of Tsushima. I played on hard mode but when I dueled against other samurai I often dropped to easy mode after getting destroyed fifteen or twenty times
I’m playing Jedi: Survivor on story mode right now and this is exactly how I feel. It’s a shame because even on story mode, boss fights in Fallen Order were still a little challenging.
In certain circumstances, I agree. I am currently playing The Outer Worlds RPG. In the game there is a companion quest which culminates in fighting a “Mantinqueen”- a giant monster space bug. There is a ton of build up to it. The monster had previously killed the companion’s entire mercenary group. The lair was spooky and atmospheric.
Problem was, mantiqueens were creatures I’d already fought in the open world. I could demolish one is about a minute with my upgraded weapons. This made the boss fight underwhelming.
I wouldn’t want the solution to be just tacking on more healthpoints, but there are other options to make the boss creature more interesting to fight and the game took none of them.
Yeah I was going to say… in many cases bosses seem to be easier than the normal fights. The bosses sort of focus on being a novel gimmick with easily telegraphed attacks, which often ends up being easier than normal fights in some games.
Nope. Ive been burned on several games (back 4 blood anyone?) And tired of losing. Maybe the game isn’t for me, maybe it won’t run on my system. I have several games I bought after trying them from torrents: rimworld, farcey series, fallout 4 (love/own 3 and NV, needed to test 4). Several games that I really like I’ve bought a second copy for a shared account so my kid can play them also.
Nothing wrong with trying before you buy in my opinion. My library is full of games I r never installed. :(
No, not at all. Games used to have demos and trial versions, like basically all games, but game studios used to have to actually finish making a game before they shipped it. Trying before you bought was the business model of the whole industry. Now so many games are shipped in such bad condition they wouldn’t dare let you try it first. Trying before you buy is just prudent, as long as you actually buy the ones you like enough to play through.
That still can’t inform you properly on how a game ‘feels’ to play. I’m very tempted by Alan Wake 2, but having bounced off many other similar games because of how they control has me pining for a demo. I’ll not be dropping 50 quid without being able to try it first
A good quick look or early game LP with commentary will fill that in. The Giant Bomb format has one person asking another a series of questions, and game feel usually comes up. ACG reviews so many games that it's more than likely he covered it in a video. If you find a couple of YouTube channels where the reviewers or LPers have similar tastes as you, it ends up being as good a method as any to make an informed purchase. Demos can also sometimes be misleading, depending on the game. There's no perfect answer here, but there isn't for any other purchase either.
I dunno about that. Another person can describe a game however they see fit, and they may even be thorough, but what someone might define as clunky controls might feel fine to me. I can’t know how a game feels to play unless I play it for myself. Most of the games I regret buying were games I bought based on what youtubers and reviewers were saying
It's not perfect. Nothing is. But it does make for a pretty informed decision. As long as you don't abuse it, there's always 2 hour refund policies as well. I don't think it makes the OP an asshole to pirate a game as a demo, but I've been burned so few times by this strategy that I've never considered some other means of trying out a game to be necessary. If you're really unsure, you can wait for a sale, too.
If OP doesn’t spend money, and pirates the game, the devs get no money If OP Doesn’t spend money or pirate, the devs still get no money. It doesn’t actually matter to them whether or not you have the game, only whether you pay
And you should pay if you think it’s a worthwhile experience, but piracy frees you from gambling on the marketing tactics made by corporations. I don’t even know for sure that the reviewer I’m listening to isn’t sponsored by the devs. If a person cannot afford to buy a game, they should just pirate. It’s a sale the devs would have never made to begin with. If a person needs to make sure their money is being well-spent, it’s the same thing with a bit more financial give. Ultimately, game devs can either release demos, or let pirates do it themselves
I just think of all the poor souls who actually spent money on Arkham Knights or Babylon’s Fall
You'll know if the reviewer is sponsored by the game, because they legally have to disclose it. ACG probably takes one or two steps more than necessary to prove he's incorruptible.
The type of person who buys Arkham Knights or Babylon's Fall despite the plethora of warning signs is either such a fan of Batman or Platinum that they can't help themselves, or they're like my friend who needs to see every major shit show in gaming. Neither game sold many copies.
Sadly I’ve seen a few games available for free recently which are slightly deceptive in mentioning that they’re actually only demos. The example that sticks out is Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition, not to be confused with Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition (Base Game), a paid DLC which is actually the game. Obviously you see what’s going on pretty quickly, but the headline “game is free” is not the same as “demo available”!
After being a little apprehensive about it, finally started Dark Souls 2. Man, what a game! Totally get why people say it is worse than one, but still a hell of a game. Really enjoying it so far
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Aktywne