Topic: Unpopular Gaming Opinions

@FullbringIchigo

@ApostateMage

Journey is a jouke.
I mean, I like its art style and the soundtrack; the problem is I have almost finished it and I still wonder when this stylish intro will end and the game will finally start. The gameplay is too ethereal for my taste, but I suppose the whole game has to feel ethereal, otherwise it would not have been Journey.
Consequently, the game is almost perfect and I'm wrong.

@kyleforrester87 ahh Kyle, i can always count on you for the perfect response

Sometimes it's a shame there isn't a like button on forum posts.

@BearsEatBeets just post a like gif as a response

@FullbringIchigo

UNPOPULAR OPINION: I'm honestly kind of sad about the direction God of War went in

I love the original trilogy of games and how over the top they tended to get, as well as the great combat and satisfying combos you could pull off

I love GoW 2018 but I'm kind of sad that they turned it into yet another third person narrative driven PlayStation exclusive franchise when they already have so many of those. Granted it's a great game and I really dug the story, but it feels like there are less and less franchises that really stand out from a first party perspective outside Spider-Man

@TheFrenchiestFry I played the God of War trilogy for the first time right before playing the reboot. Honestly they weren’t all that fun. The 2nd one was a good game but the first is more annoying than anything and the third was a total mess. The plot was so hard to get invested in and leaned quite heavily into 2000s edge. The reboot might not be for everyone but I appreciated that the gameplay was actually fun and it became more of a metroidvania in certain stylings with the approach to collectibles. I’d actually argue that despite enjoying Spider-Man, it’s not really that interesting in the slightest given it’s rooted so so heavily in open-world tropes. Arkham Asylum released in 2020 would be more unique due to the structure of the world and the riddle system. Spider-Man just polished off the exact same mechanics from the PS2 games.

@nessisonett I feel like the thing that helped Spider-Man's case was the fact that he was coming off of two pretty meh movie tie ins that had really uninteresting open world mechanics and were generally bores to sit through. the new series feels like an amalgam of pretty much everything I liked about the Activision games with a story that feels on par with both other SIE titles and what I expect out of the character given his history in both comics and films. The only real sour spots for me were the MJ/Miles missions because the stealth just felt like it hampered the pacing significantly, but everything else felt like a breath of fresh air coming from other PS4 exclusives like Last of Us and GoW 2018. I even found New York just more interesting as an open world than exploring Colorado and Utah in Horizon

@TheFrenchiestFry I’m not gonna argue about Horizon, I totally agree. I just feel like open world gameplay hasn’t evolved enough considering other styles of gameplay totally have. Breath of the Wild actually feels like an evolution of Morrowind, which I’ve been playing and have been surprised by just how timely the game mechanics feel compared to the map marker hell of recent games. If Spider-Man had a generic third person shooter style of gameplay then nobody would have looked twice at it, it would have basically been The Division but offline. I hope Miles Morales makes New York feel more immersive and like a proper city rather than a collection of map markers.

@Arugula Well don't get me wrong. Had Spider-Man not come out in September God of War would've been my undisputed game of the year for 2018

I just kinda wish they kept the flashy hack n' slash gameplay while having the amazing narrative quality of the final product so it would look a bit more distinct next to other PS4 first party games.

HZD lives or dies based on how fun you find the combat to be, I think. The story is OK, but not exceptional if you've read good sci-fi before. The open world exploration is very traditional. The game itself is gorgeous, but the world lacks interactivity.

That gameplay cycle of killing robots and using their parts to upgrade, tho.

@Ralizah I have tried to get into HZD multiple times, but whenever I do the world just feels too empty and I feel too underpowered. I also can't get invested in the characters, as they all seem generic or robotic to me. Granted I'm still near the start helping Olin find his sister, but even that mission is predictable. The combat is decent, but again I still feel like I'm underpowered. Does it get better later on? I really do want to see what makes this game so special, but if this is how the game stays throughout I may just leave it for good.

Sorry for the rant, I would appreciate the opinion of any who took the time to read it.

@Trisque I'm not sure I cared too much about the characters either way. The plot's larger mysteries are interesting, although, again, not hugely original for the genre.

The cycle of killing robots and becoming stronger is very addicting, though. Have you ever played Monster Hunter? It's a bit like that. You keep coming across increasingly powerful and intimidating robots, some of which feel borderline impossible to defeat at first. And while you do keep finding cool new equipment that varies your combat options, it really just comes down to learning HOW to fight them. It's intoxicating to improve at playing the game to the point where you can tackle terrifying enemies with fairly rudimentary equipment. Then add in fully upgraded late-game equipment? Total power trip.

The invasion of "shovelware" games like during on Wii / NDS era on PS4 such as My Universe games by Microids was actually something good for me as PS4 games library added by casual games for casual players.

@Ralizah Agreed. The way you actually feel like hunting is great, but the RPG part feels unneeded and the characters/story are decent at best. The traps, vulnerable parts, and such feel great though
Also, Alloy is the most overrated character and is not that interesting or well-written. Her apprentice being a bit different is all she going for her to stand out, but I would hardly call the way she looks iconic.

@Trisque @Ralizah @Jaz007 My 2 cents on HZD - I enjoyed the first 15-20 hours or so, until I sort of lost interest and wandered into other games. Perhaps it was lack of connection to the characters and story (although I’ve always really liked Aloy), or maybe it was the open world fatigue that plagues these games — whatever it was I didn’t play it for several months. I don’t remember feeling under-powered, but I did rely on melee attacks predominantly and was just surviving with that. When I finally felt convinced that I needed to finish the game and see what all the fuss was about, I returned to it and really enjoyed it so much more the second half. I think the difference was that I decided to start using all the weapons and tools at your disposal. The best part of combat is varying your approach and attack tactics. Use ropecasters, traps, all the different arrows, spear, bombs, etc.; experimenting seemed to be the key to having fun in the game for me. It helps too that the story picks up in the second half and becomes much better imo.

In the end, I really enjoyed it. It’s a refreshing new IP. It has a nice spin on the action-stealth combat loop, it’s a beautiful world and a really interesting and unique setting, it run smoothly and technically sound, and the RPG elements were fine imo. I really think that the game becomes easier as you progress and learn to use all the tools you have, but the late game enemies pose some pretty stout challenges, but nothing on par with a FromSoft boss or anything

@Th3solution You played 15-20 hours of HZD mostly using melee attacks? 🤦‍♂️😂

@Trisque If it helps, my standard approach to sandbox games is to tackle side quests as soon as they appear, or as soon as I encounter them (in Horizon, some won't appear until Aloy enters a certain village or area) and this usually means that I'm well-stocked with XP and better weapons when I return to tackle the main story. When playing Horizon this way, and just to provide a counterpoint to what others are saying, I could focus on the one weapon I liked (the bow) and ignore mucking about with all the ropes and traps, which didn't appeal to me. The earliest upgrades I unlocked for Aloy were concerned with sharpshooting, slowing time whilst aiming, and increasing the amount of scrap I gathered from machines, so that I could constantly craft replacement ammo after every fight.

If the story and characters aren't grabbing you, don't worry, as I felt the same during my first playthrough; things only ramp up towards the end. I can still remember the moment I said to myself, "Wow, I actually give a damn about these people!" but, unfortunately, it was during the final battle. It makes a replay much more rewarding, though, as you'll start to notice things you dismissed first time around which you've subsequently come to care about, but I don't know whether you're somebody who likes to replay games, so your actual mileage may vary... still, that aside, you still might like it by its end.