The Steam Deck brings about a conversation about what a console is. To me, it’s something that plugs into the TV and doesn’t require KBM, and in that regard it very much is.
The key ingredient that separates PC from console is you can deploy code custom optimized for the fixed platform hardware. This is why you have to go up a tier in GPU to have an experience on par with what a console would have because it’s running generisized code.
Wait until you realize that there’s like 5 dungeons and they are literally copy pasted all over the galaxy. Not like Oblivion were the rooms were copy pasted but had different mobs in it etc. These are literally the same dungeons, some of them even have a little narrative told through terminals, and not even that changes.
I used to be a Bethesda fan and a huge Todd apologist, but he’s literally out of touch with what made his games good for the core audience and instead panders to the audience who buys games based on the laundry list of features they never get to see because they don’t finish or play games after the hype is dead one week later.
It’s a shame because they actually got a lot of things right like going back to the TES conversation style, and having actual builds and the ship building which is pretty cool.
My last hope is that they actually learn the lesson with this game and stop this bullshit they’ve been trying to pull of since Arena of having endless content.
I think the thing that got me to finally give up on Bethesda was an interview regarding the DLC of Fallout 3.
TL;DR for those who haven’t played, the game ends in a very contrived choice that decides one of two endings, and you can’t play further because you sacrifice yourself in the “good” ending.
People hated this as it felt jarring and wanted to see the consequences of their choices more. So Bethesda made the Broken Steel DLC that allowed you to circumvent that game ending choice and added more endgame content, allowing you to roam the wasteland forever.
In the interview, they said what they learned is that people wanted to play the same game forever, as so radient quests were born.
Apparently that’s their new user base based on ESO and Fallout 76, but the reason I got into Fallout and Elder Scrolls was the well written stories and lore. I like replaying games with different builds to try new playthroughs.
Now they just want to maximize play time at all costs, so they just add content in the most corporate meaning of the word.
I mean my problem is that they didn’t learn from Fallout 4 and furthermore they went and doubled down on it in the worst ways possible. Radiant quests on FO4 were kinda lame, but at least I can say that they sent you into unique dungeons. In Starfield no only are the quests repeated but also the locations. It’s a huge step back.
On the positive end though I do have to say that the Faction quest for the Federation (I don’t remember the name) is one of the best quests lines Bethesda has written hands down. It felt like it could have been the main quest all by itself.
Exactly, Starfield is like everything I didn’t like about Fallout 4, with almost everything I did like removed.
And I did like some stuff in Fallout 4 (despite me being a New Vegas fanboy), but I always felt that I would have liked it more if it fully broke away from Fallout and established its own lore, so I could stop comparing it to the previous games in the series. Starfield felt like the perfect opportunity for that.
Honestly I played through Starfield at launch once and have no plans to ever come back, so I don’t remember the Federation quest line. I might not have even done it, none of the factions really appealed to me, but I’ll take your word for it.
Ive avoided spoilers of the main story but i am excited! Sci-fi is a genre i really love (even though i really should explore more of it) so I’m really excited to see more of it
I’m on my third playthrough, and there’s just so much to do and see. I loved the main plot on my first playthrough because I was focused on it, but now I’m exploring so many other things.
Not to mention I got it on launch, and there have been so many QoL changes since then.
Don’t chase weapon upgrades and crafting research too hard. The minor stat upgrades don’t really effect much for the stupid amount of grinding required to get the exact right materials needed.
I found that the novelty of the game wore off pretty quick after I started finding what initially felt like handcrafted points of interest repeating for the third time. Apparently there’s a mod that tweaks the RNG to significantly reduce how often things repeat, because it’s really rough out of the box.
I might look into that mod. I heard the repetition of the dungeons is particularly rough, but I was planning to leave it because I honestly don’t really care for Bethesda Dungeons anyways. After the second dungeon my brain just defaults too “okay. When will this be over”. But It sounds like RNG extends outside of the dungeons too, so I might look into the mod
I’m a little younger, I grew up playing the NES. I had so much fun and some of my best memories are from playing those games with friends and stuff. But I find it really hard to revisit most of those games based on their own merit.
There is definitely a thing about playing games together with another person that can be magical. And that isn’t gone. You can still do that today with modern games. So in that regard, I don’t think there is anything particularly special about 80s games. Heck, it wasn’t until the N64 that it was common for more than 2 people to be able to play together. A bunch of guys hanging out and all playing a game together was great.
I think losing that is just a factor of growing up. You move on from your friends, maybe you don’t make any new ones, you start mainly playing against faceless strangers online… It’s not a problem with the games, it’s a problem with the players.
Kind of tangential but I’ve always found the start of fallout 3 (the iconic scene where you exit the vault) to be a lesson in game design. Here’s a completely open world but I can guarantee in ten minutes you’ll be at the entrance of megaton. No direct prompting, just subtle framing and environmental clues.
Agree. 5 was a fun spectacle but the character switching really was ass, and playing as V it felt like the winning strategy was just buttonmashing. Still was very happy it got made after DMC.
playing as V it felt like the winning strategy was just buttonmashing
How are we still making these criticisms in 2025 😔
This is why discussing action games in mainstream spheres sucks balls because half of the criticisms are as lazy as this. Y'all should do better.
I have definitely bonded with people over video games. Playing them together, or playing them apart but doing so physically side by side, talking about them… most social groups I’ve been, even when they were not formed around gaming at all, went and made a Minecraft server for us to play together. I think it is telling that the fastest way to get me to open a game and start playing is if my other friends are playing. I am younger than your generation, though, so I’m definitely not helping your argument for retro games specifically.
Online play has helped a lot for when I am physically separated from friends. Just hop in a game and voice chat, and play together anyways.
Ohhh well because it’s casual fun I suppose. Why is Mario party fun? Sure it’s RNG bullshit but the fun part is playing with friends.
Mario Kart World is not a 9/10 game. It’s a 7 at best compared to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
I’m waiting for Sonic CrossWorlds to see what a Game it brings. The creative director was passively trash talking Mario Kart so let’s see if it can back up the talk
I do not understand how world is as highly rated as it is. The levels are awful, too big and lacking anything to make them stand out, moving between tracks is dull and just leads to extra win-moring, auto attaching to rails fucks up more often than not causing you to over compensate or just jump off of it by accident, it feels like they game just overrides your input sometimes even without auto steering, 24 players adds nothing but chaos if you aren’t leading the pack and is likely the reason levels are way too wide and featureless, and I miss custom horns per character.
World is a 7 at best and 8 is like a 9.
Edit; oh yeah free roam is worthless. The list of events in DS was better without contributing to fucking up the level design to fit the gimmick
You know, it’s funny, I’m about halfway through DMC4, and I’m loving it even more than 3 thus far, but even through cultural osmosis, I know a turn is coming. Other than that, I was surprised to find how much I agree with you, having not played 5 yet, but maybe I’m not as fond of the first game as you are; nothing seems to flow in that game compared to later entries, and I’d argue it often has more in common with Dark Souls. I went down this road playing this series because Hi-Fi Rush knocked my socks off, and I’m still expecting that game to have the most in common with DMC5. So far, I’d still say Hi-Fi Rush beats them all, but it got to learn from them, after all.
OK, so I'm gonna say this about action games: if you approach them like you do every other game—one playthrough and you move on—most are gonna disappoint you. DMC5 in particular is possibly the worst culprit; however, if you're willing to commit to exploring their depth and play on the highest difficulties, holy shit some of the best gaming you'll ever experience.
This is why I cannot take casual reviews of action games seriously because any action game fan knows the first playthrough is the tutorial, while for most people it's the whole game.
I can't really fault people for wanting to move on after one playthrough, but when they say stuff like "I played DMC… and it's not that good" I just wanna say: yeah, no shit, because you didn't stick around to explore why everyone else is praising it—you played the tutorial and moved on.
We could argue whether this is bad game design, but the truth is not only does it work, I don't believe there's any way for a game like DMC or Bayonetta to feed all of its combat depth to players in one playthrough. Hell, it's not enough for the muscle memory to kick in to get even close to mastering everything, so I cannot really blame devs that much.
If you’re not having fun with Mario Kart you should play Drinking Mario Kart. Everyone gets a beverage of their choice. By the end of the race it has to be empty. But because we are all responsible adults we don’t drink and drive. In order to take a sip (or down the whole thing) you have to drive off the track (or to the side, whatever is possible) and come to a complete halt.
Loser drinks one more because they are a loser. And the winner drinks one more to celebrate.
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