Am I misreading your comment? You’re saying Series S is not the cheapest because Steam Deck is more expensive? Did you have a typo? Am I suffering CO poisoning?
This game is in the height of fanboy denialism. Any criticism, no matter how small or how valid is met with rejection and blaming. It’s like you have to preface and end everything with “I am loving the game and recommend it” or else people will downvote you for not liking the game.
It’s so upsetting seeing this game get praised as one of the most polished games. I guess the bar really is that low these days. I’m glad they’re actively fixing stuff but there’s a lot to fix.
For xcom2 you need to immediately research the upgraded weapons as soon as you begin your campaign. It feels counter intuitive because it takes so long but it really puts you into the correct pace. I don’t remember when it best to upgrade them again or armor but that’s the best start. Also aggressively use grenades because they’re guaranteed hits.
For BG3, be sad there is no overwatch, sorry, I mean readied action like in D&D.
I know what will make me happy and it’s not being forced to sit for a full hour through a rogue like just because of whiny goobers complaining to the devs so they don’t implement save and quit.
You’re viewing games as perfect and the designers’ vision as always correct. That’s not always true. Take XCom 2. Many people may tell you that ironman mode (prevents save scumming) is the only real way to play but the game is buggy as hell. Not only do things not always work right sometimes the game just crashes. A buddy of mine has lost multiple save files because of it. The game doesn’t force you to use ironman mode so it’s not a counterargument to what you’re saying but it is illustrative of the point I’m making about games not being perfect.
Also, why do you view save scumming as the dominant strategy? In reality, many difficult and unforgiving games all but force players to use specific strategies to win. Everything you’re saying about gamers avoiding fun choices for optimum ones is not unique to save scumming. Many games already force players to do this and things like save scumming can actually allow players to try different builds that are less optimal.
It’s like someone saying the only true way to enjoy a book is by physically reading a physical copy and that audiobooks are more optimal and therefore less fun. No. Different people just want different things.
Many of the B side challenges in Celeste I played with the 90% speed accessibility option. Trying for 30 minutes to try and get a single damn strawberry was just too much for me. I still had a blast playing it.