That’s already hours in, and it was only getting more ridiculous. I had a looksee at Yatzhee’s old review of it, and he confirmed my feelings on it, and said it got even worse later. I may watch a let’s play of it at some point, but I just wasn’t having fun, so I’m unlikely to pick it up again, personally. Just doesn’t have the magic…
I just tried new colossus yesterday, actually, and I was surprised how big of a dive the writing took compared to the first game, I had to stop when the resistance guy bursts out of bathroom during that really forced emotional scene in the sub.
I loved the first game and the old blood dlc, so was a bit of a bummer :(
When I played the first game, I eventually become a bit annoyed at how some systems worked, such as how frequently henry became hungry, so I downloaded a mod that extended the time between meals, which made the experience a bit more realistic and less annoying.
Though on the topic of degrading equipment, I kinda like shoes wearing out of it’s not too frequent, because for some odd reason I find it enjoyable to have to plan trips around such limitations 😄
I went outside of my usual wheelhouse and tried playing some of the Wario games for the gameboy advance. Finished Warioware in one afternoon (very fun short little collection of mini games) and currently on Wario Land 4. It’s a platformer with light puzzle elements, and I’m quite surprised at how much I’ve been enjoying it, as I usually don’t mesh with platformers.
In a way, it reminds me of one of the later Commander Keen games, but with much better level design and variety in gameplay.
It’s a polished and quirky little game, and its handheld roots lend itself to short sessions, which has been all I have time for.
I think I’ll be investigating the earlier entries after I complete it. Certainly recommend it if you have access to a handheld emulator!
Excellent story perfectly meshed with the gameplay.
A strange high-technology medieval world.
Incredible level design combined with realistic roughly drawn maps, forcing you to take in your surroundings and build your own map.
Variety of gameplay, ranging from infiltrating a rich baron’s mansion to rob them blind, to delving into ancient crypts filled with odd creatures and an alien culture for some adventurous tomb raiding, to some of the most terrifying pants filling survival horror I’ve yet encountered.
There’s multiple paths in the game that open up slightly different content. There’s a critical point when you can choose to take Sophia with you, or to go it alone with either thinking (harder puzzles) or fighting.
The balloon is shortly before the submarine on that path (I believe it’s the sophia path)
Oddly enough I actually pre-ordered a physical copy of Primordia, and got a ways into it before stopping for some reason. I should really go back and finish it!
Disco Elysium (even though I personally didn’t really care for the game due to the setting, the writing is undeniably high quality)
A Mind Forever Voyaging
All of those games have, IMO, a tremendously good sync between gameplay and story, where everything lines up to the point where you can become fully absorbed into whatever experience the writer/designer crafted. I would say Thief accomplishes it the best, while Mafia’s and Deus Ex’s clunky gameplay hold them back, but I can see what they were trying to achieve, and overall are close enough to my ideal.
I have a very similar experience to @Zarxrax. When I was younger, I’d play just about anything I could get my hands on. But now, it’s like you, where 99% of what’s out there doesn’t interest me.
I think this happened for a few reasons for me:
Games are a pretty big time commitment compared to other media, and my time has only become more valuable as I get older. I’m just not willing to invest it in a game that isn’t really scratching an itch effectively
There are more games out now than ever before in history. Combined with the previous point, there’s never been a better time to be picky.
AAA games are stagnating pretty badly due to profit incentive. While there a still some that break the mold and show artistic value, most of them are so commodified and painfully derivative, it’s difficult for an older gamer who has already played things like it to get excited
I’ve become more attuned to my preferences in genre, and know what I will and will not enjoy, which is something I didn’t have as much when I was younger, since everything was still relatively new and therefore, interesting enough to play.
But this last one is the biggest reason for me: games are not reaching the potential they have locked within them.
I say that as someone who is a massive fan of storytelling, good writing, and immersion in games. Compared to books and movies, writers are still given extremely low priority in the gaming industry, which results in a tremendous amount of cognitive dissonance, simplistic writing, and a lack of innovative gameplay inspired by said writing.
Indies have been the most willing to experiment, but that’s mostly with pure mechanics or themes, and writing is still often neglected.
There have been a few titles that I think reach that potential, but most of them are quite old now. With so few to truly tickle me in that way, I’ll instead opt for arcade type games that manage to create a tight gameplay loop, as it let’s me not lament the lack of a good story so much.