The thing that always bothers me about people saying consoles are a good deal as the hardware is cheap compared to a PC is just that it gets more expensive really quickly with software. Particularly if you get a digital only console it only takes a few games until you’re at the price of a PC. I just can’t justify buying a locked down system anymore.
Some of it’s kind of cool and makes sense. Like developers can get heat maps of where players die so they can see which areas need difficulty tuning, and it can also help developers understand where to spend resources on their games in the future, or notice if players aren’t engaging with something so they can figure out how to make that aspect of the game better. I have mixed feelings about it, but I don’t think telemetry has to be evil.
I still think inverted was the default in the 2000s. Maybe around 2008 with the PS3 and 360 era it started to change? This is also when video games really seemed to take off for the average person too, so maybe that has something to do with it?
I find the DLCs / preorder bonuses that give you really powerful weapons at the beginning of a game just… bizarre? Like, okay, thank you for the thing that completely ruins the progression?
Okay this has been bothering me lately… Wasn’t inverted y usually the default setting in games until somewhat recently? Now it seems to never be the default. What changed and when? Or is this just in my head?
I keep getting tempted to try it, but honestly it doesn’t look like it would be my jam. I don’t want to build bases, and I don’t want to grind and collect resources. I’m kind of not into sandboxy stuff anymore. Maybe there’s more to the game, but that’s all it looks like to me as an outsider.
It Takes Two is probably the best jumping off point (as you’ve already been informed). It has enough variety that you can discuss what parts they liked and maybe find the games in that kind of genre.
My partner isn’t big on games, but loves The Binding of Isaac for coop. The latest DLC adds a better coop mode, but the original coop mode with coop babies works well too (and there’s advantages like them being able to fly so they don’t need to worry about floor hazards). I think the fact that they grew up in a catholic household but aren’t religious helped them get into it lol.
My partner had a hard time dealing with FPS movement. Throwing in portals just made it a complete mess. It really wasn’t a good jumping off point, I think it’s good to be weary.
This didn’t really work for us to be honest. It went a little better than most games, but it was too easy to get separated and do your own thing and it just didn’t really feel like we were playing together. Could be a strength, but I don’t think it’s ideal if your partner doesn’t really like video games haha.
NOPE. This might work for some people but my partner couldn’t handle it :/. When walking around in 3D and paying attention is hard portals are just too hard when thrown into the mix. I would kill to be able to play Portal 2 coop, but alas :C. Maybe Portal 2 would be better to start on, they do a better job of introducing some concepts and the story is harder to completely ignore lol.
The steam version is actually pretty approachable. You can mostly learn all of the systems on your own time. You don’t have to interact with everything at first.
I have mixed feelings on GOG. I want to like them, but the lack of Linux support is a real thorn in my side… Having DRM free stuff is great and I’d love if more games had DRM free versions, but currently steam actually supports me and GOG wants to pretend I don’t exist… And realistically, I’m not totally sold on GOGs promise of always having access to your games… If GOG explodes you’re probably going to lose access to your games too? I mean, of course it’s easier to archive a game for yourself if it doesn’t have DRM, but unless you do that religiously for each game on GOG you won’t be able to acquire them after GOG hypothetically explodes either… Hopefully you get enough warning to archive what you care about, I guess?
I do totally respect that DRM free copies can make a big difference but everybody argues that GOG means you’ll always have access to your games, and I’m not sure it’s substantially different than steam in that respect for “normal” people, you know? If either store kicks the bucket people are going to be out of luck. I kind of just want to throw Steam and GOG in a closest until they make out, though. Would be nice to get the best of both worlds.
Yeah, I don’t really think anybody should have to go to court in person, and I can definitely empathize with somebody wanting to avoid COVID (even if they’re not super high risk, you never know how it will affect you it seems). I kind of understand the bias towards in person things, but I really wish people would get over it. Sometimes it’s just a lot more practical to do things remotely, and while a video call isn’t quite the same as being there in person I think it’s something we can deal with. It certainly doesn’t seem like it would be that much worse for testifying tbh.