I've been trying to cross off some of my "in progress" games, ones I've been working on off and on over the past few months, so I can make room for new ones.
After sitting on it for months, I finally got around to finishing my second playthough of Lies of P. I went for the "Real boy" ending, and man, I really had to fight the urge to start a third round. I really like the combat and 99% of the characters.
Cleaned up the rest of the map for Mad Max, with the exception of collecting all the vehicles, since that's kind of a pain to do. Much like Lies of P, I was a bit tempted to start another playthough lol.
Maxed out all the glyphs for my Scorcerer in Diablo 4: Season 5, so it's set aside until I come back from a planned vacation this week. I'm not sure how I'll handle a new season and a new dlc, AND a new leveling system all at the same time, but I'll figure it out.
I played a lot back when it came out. I picked up the DLC on release day and reset my progress. Such a good game. Even when I’m not playing (like now) I’m thinking and reading up on strategies.
It’s only bad when the game isn’t a stealth game and also has shittastic stealth mechanics.
It’s worse when it’s the opposite, like Deus Ex: Human Revolution where the game is meant to be played in stealth, but then the boss battles are straight up FPS style shootouts when most players probably didn’t put points into combat skills or armor because they’re supposed to be a sneaky spy.
I honestly think the most egregious bullshit that has to do with stealth is Elden Ring and Sekiro. They have decent enough stealth mechanics, but they also have enemies that straight up don’t give a fuck that you’re in stealth so you’re never actually able to sneak around the entire time. It’s not that upsetting in ER, given it’s not the intended method of play, but in Sekiro you’re a literal god damn ninja who relies on being unseen. And iirc, Fromsoft also made Tenchu; one of the best stealth games of all time.
Unfortunately, FromSoft wasn’t on Tenchu until later in the series when it…wasn’t so great. Still, that Sekiro started as a Tenchu concept is why I picked up the game in the first place. And like Tenchu, effective stealth is there, it’s just especially challenging.
Now, Zelda: Skyward Sword is one I can’t defend (and one of the reasons I’m surprised OP is getting crushed for this post).
I remember being stuck at one point as a kid. Eventually I gave in and ordered the official hint book. Mind you, that meant physically mailing a paper and I guess the money to the company and then waiting several weeks for the reply.
I finished the game two days before the book arrived (use physics book with horse). But it was still worth it. The book also contained a novelization of the story written by Bernard. Title: My Physics Adventure or It’s Never Too Late To Stop Polution So Let’s Start Yesterday
There’s a danger in any game where it might be largely designed and marketed to be one thing, and then has lengthy mandatory sections where it becomes another.
Poorly made stealth sections are a prime example. Game designers want to change things up, but if the game isn’t made to do stealth, it can easily turn into an annoying mess. There are a few (not a ton, but a few) games where the mandatory stealth sections are well liked, but they were made to carefully take advantage of the game’s strengths and knew when to end.
There’s a danger in any game where it might be largely designed and marketed to be one thing, and then has lengthy mandatory sections where it becomes another.
This is the only issue I have with the cyberpunk 2077 DLC. Most of the game is an open-world action rpg. Then all of a sudden depending on your choices in the DLC you can end up in a mission that is basically Alien: Isolation survival horror. You go from being a powerhouse that can destroy pretty much anything in the game and shrug off missile hits to being hunted and unable to kill what is hunting you. It was super fucking annoying the first time I did the DLC because I hate those type of games. Great DLC except for that small part.
I blame Metroid Dread for that one. Such a bizarre design choice for Phantom Liberty, especially being very late in the game. At least Dread flipped that around.
I can understand the frustration but I don’t see that as much when I’m playing more indie games. Are you playing more quintuple a titles, if so have you considered going for more independent stuff instead? I could give some recommendations
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Aktywne