Not OP but I can take a crack at it. For starters, the build quality is fantastic. As someone who’s used quite a few mainstream handhelds (Gameboy up through Switch light, PSP/Vita, and most recently the GDP XD) The deck feels sturdy, and although it is quite bulky, it fits with case and charger in a backpack that’s flown cross country several times. I’ve had to replace other devices that just couldn’t stand up to that kind of abuse.
It’s also quite powerful - enough to run Elden Ring at a very consistent 30 FPS. More lightweight titles have zero issues. The same is also true of emulated hardware up to 6th gen, including KH1/2, Metroid Prime, etc. Which is quite a feat for a portable computer like this.
The backend/desktop mode is easy to access and makes setting up those emus quite simple, and with a little command line work you can get applications running that aren’t available via Discover.
Really, the only thing lacking here is battery life, but even then, 2-3 hours is on par with most laptops.
Then fuck it. All the people who want microtransactions, or don’t care about the quality of the medium enough to stop engaging with shitty practices, can have them. There are plenty of developers making games that care enough about the things they make that I’ll be happy to buy from. We’ve reached a point where the big studios will spend three years and a quarter of a billion dollars putting out 7/10 games that look great in trailers and don’t function on PC that exist alongside solo devs who make the games that look at home on PS1 and offer a better experience than anything Blizzard has made in the last decade. Even if my wallet’s vote doesn’t matter to the big guys, it doesn’t have to as long as it’s enough to support people whose passion isn’t exploited to make a just barely par product.
Don’t get hyped, don’t preorder, don’t buy games until they’re fixed. You can’t change the industry but you don’t have to support it.
I would guess they’re made for people who really really like Far Cry 3, because the gameplay loops do not appear to have fundamentally changed since that game came out in 2012.
The first time I played I did it with full color and English dub, and it was good, but it kind of suffers from the “Pick the cat turds out of the sandbox” issue that almost every single one of these games do, where eventually you’re just going from POI to POI on the undiscovered portions of the map and everything gets kind of samey after a while.
I don’t know if playing in Kurosawa mode would be a fresh enough experience to hold me through a second playthrough.
For me, it was the Precarious World thought, and again after the final cut released with the Communist quest ending.
::: “How not to lose? It is impossible not to. The world is balanced on the edge of a knife. It’s a game of frayed nerves. You’re pushed on by numbers and punitive measures: pain, rejection, and unpaid bills. You can either play or you can crawl under a boat and waste away – turn into salt or a flock of seagulls. Your enemies would love that. Or you can fight. The only way to load the dice is to keep on fighting.” :::
And more succinctly
::: “In the dark times, should the stars also go out?” :::
I’ve been struggling off and on with depression for the better part of my life, and each time I read these it just hits me like a sack of bricks. The recontextualization of the struggle.
Kind of - the customization options run a little deeper in M&M. You could pick up 6, 7, and 8 for less than $30 on GOG. $10 at most for the pack that includes 1-6, and I’d say of those three, 6 offers the best experience.
I realize this is getting hyper-specific, but party-based dungeon crawlers that are true 3d and not grid-oriented. Really, the only example aside from Wizardry 8 (that I’m scared to try because it looks like way too much effort and investment for a not-great return) is the Might and Magic series circa Win95, and specifically 6, 7, and 8, all built off the same, almost pseudo-3D engine. I can’t put my finger on it, but there’s something very satisfying for me in that gameplay loop of clearing out dungeons via potshots and backpedaling, selling the loot to level and train your party, and moving on to the next one. The push and pull of skirting groups of enemies so they don’t take swipes at you when they get too close, the thrill of picking up fireball from the advanced magic shop and just nuking low-level mooks, the ecstasy of learning town portal and Lloyd’s beacon and never having to think about travel again.
I think part of the reason these games don’t really get made anymore is that they were always kind of a weird middle ground between first person Action-Adventure-RPGs and top down party-based TTRPG engines, and those genres are fully expressed today by a number of games.
Oh dear, Stanley. The adventure line seems to have taken us somewhere quite dreary. I do hope your papers are in order, those men with the guns look quite… Irritable.
I know Axiom Verge has a Speedrun mode that cuts out all the cutscenes, I don’t know if that qualifies though, and you do kind of have to know what’s going on outside of that. The story itself isn’t necessary to enjoy the game though.
I’m going to hijack and offer a specific example: Shivers. In addition to having puzzles with clues and inputs spread apart, it also offers a Flashback system that saves important pieces of information that you’ve already seen (Though actually taking notes is all but required since you still have to tab through the books then go back to the actual puzzle, and some clues are just images placed throughout the museum) The game just oozes atmosphere and tension with the changes in soundtrack and all the writing and environmental storytelling not directly related to puzzles. Once you know all the game’s tricks, it does kind of take the edge out of the horror aspect, but even decades later it’s still just a treat to walk through the museum’s virtual exhibits.
Available on GOG right now, I suggest giving it a try, although do save your game often, as it’s Win95 era.
So a horror game in the style of SuperHot? Or like, the ethos of the game is you’re being hunted or stalked, but it’s treated like a puzzle where you can set up stops and traps ahead of time, and the win condition is you set up well enough that you keep it at bay while you escape?
The ability to pick something up easily, make some progress, pause it, and resume quickly at the next available window appears the best way to go.
Then you want the steam deck. This thing is powerful enough to run elden ring at a pretty stable 30 FPS, sometimes even up to 60, while being portable enough to fit in a backpack. I take it with me on business trips and it’s perfect for flying, bussing, wherever, with the caveat that you want it plugged in more often than not - the battery life is a little on the low side for those high-impact games.