I played and finished Detroit: Become Human and Spider-Man over the last week! I'll be posting more in-depth thoughts in their respective threads, but I just want to post that I really enjoyed both of them and that anyone looking for suggestions in this thread should give them a shot. Not exactly the nichest or most original suggestions, but it definitely looks like Detroit could use more love on this forum at least. Truly remarkable storytelling in that one. Never experienced anything quite like that!
I've never been a huge fan of the Bandicoot. Part of the fun of platformers is engaging with the level design, and levels in Crash games are excessively linear to the point where most of them feel like running down long hallways.
Spyro the Dragon is like Mario 64, but with a better camera, voice acting, and platforming physics that don't make me feel like my character is covered in oil.
I really need to get the remastered trilogy collection. Sooner rather than later.
@RogerRoger I don't think the Crash games are good representatives of the linear, skill-challenge style platformer to begin with. Older games in that style, going back to Mario Bros. 3 on the NES, usually still had more exploration and vertical elements to them. Even the often mediocre NSMB games have more engaging level design.
I went back to Crash Bandicoot: Warped a few years ago on my PS1 and was shocked by how... well... terribly designed the game was. Crash Bandicoot 2 is better in the sense that it's at least not replete with gimmicky vehicle levels and focuses on the platforming. The first game just feels clunky and ancient.
The only thing about Spyro that has aged terribly is the controls. Controlling the camera with shoulder bumpers is pure misery for me these days. The actual game design still holds up really well, though. So yeah, I'm definitely looking forward to nabbing this collection at some point.
@RogerRoger I imagine it is a godsend. Sometimes, when people talk about camera controls or angles in older games being antiquated, I think they're missing some of the benefits those older design choices provided. For example, there's a level of artistry and scene-setting with Resident Evil's fixed camera angles that just isn't possible with the newer games, which all seem to feature dynamic camera movement. But there's no benefit to Spyro's camera controls: they're antiquated and an artifact of the Playstation controller's original, dual stick-less design.
Like Portal, Spyro is another game that can comfortably be completed in an evening. I miss when the value of a game wasn't judged purely on how many hours of one's life it claims.
As to Crash: I think my issue with the difficulty is that a lot of it seems... needless. For example, in normal platforming levels, I've found that the angle the camera tends to sit at makes judging how far I should jump to bounce off something more difficult than it really should be. The boulder chase levels are difficult for the obvious reason that the fixation on what's behind you instead of what's in front of you gives the player precious little time to actually react to obstacles or pits in the environment.
But, as you've said, he's an icon in the gaming world. One of the few non-Nintendo platforming mascots to really make it big instead of quickly falling into obscurity, like Gex or Croc. And I really do like the charming character designs themselves...
@KratosMD Yeah i thought the ending might had that effect on you after what happened, didnt wanna say too much as it took me by surprise too, and did wanna ruin it for you.
Life is more fun when you help people succeed, instead of wishing them to fail.
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.
@RogerRoger Yeah, as far as gaming innovation is concerned Burly Men is hardly groundbreaking, but it did feel a little bit like a bedtime story and the quaintness helped cover up for the lack of gameplay. I was pleasantly surprised to see that a lot of the narration did actually change and respond to subsequent replays, which gave me a little smirk at least while I powered through the alternate story paths again and again. Nevertheless the best part of the game was its overall brevity which kept things tolerable for me. But in addition to the the quaintness, the platinum ended up being one of its most redeeming traits. 😄
Not sure if you’ve played The Unfinished Swan, but I got a similar vibe from that (which doesn’t have a platinum, unfortunately- although I’m still short that one blasted gold trophy for reaching the tower with using only 3 ink balls. I kept trying but it wasn’t fun enough to push on for that trophy given the lack of a platinum for getting 100%). I give these games a little credit also for supplying me with some whimsical subject matter to counter the usual grim worlds and gameplay that make up most of the gaming library. Congrats on #30!
@RogerRoger Fair enough. Too bad it didn't click with you and failed to provide the fun, short experience that I got from it. But that's the nature of art and entertainment I guess, different people like different things.
At least you got a shiny new platinum in your cabinet so it wasn't a complete waste of precious game time. I bet there's a little purple dragon and a bald guy in a suit that will get you back in the mood .
@RogerRoger Well, I should clarify what I said when I compared BMaS to TUS — The Unfinished Swan has actual gameplay, to be fair. It has a “bedtime story” feel to it, and is charming in that regard. The narrative is stronger as well than BMaS. It is basically a first person shooter where you shoot ink balls to uncover the environment while it tells this child’s story. It’s a better game overall for sure, but lacks a platinum, even though it is probably even a little bit longer game to finish. For me if BMaS is a 4/10 (I liked it a little better) then TUS is a strong 6/10.
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
Just finished Call of Cthulhu. And thank Cthulhu it was a gift so I haven't spent a cent for that mess. A bad looking walk simulator, with a mediocre story and awful mechanics: 4 or 5 stupid puzzles, few minutes of stealth and a dozen of zombie-like enemies you can kill without even aiming with your gun. A blasphemy, as all that stupid merchandising around the lovecraftian mythology. 🤬
It's... uh... cute. I beat the game four or five times and cleared the majority of obvious choices I saw.
There's bearded men. They sail around in a little adventure game, and stuff randomly happens to them. Then they go back home. Wash, rinse, and repeat.
Not really my sort of game. This seems like one of those indies that's quirky for the sake of being quirky. But it has decent sound design, and it doesn't outstay its welcome like Abzu or Journey, so I can't complain much. I didn't like the control scheme, which was obviously designed with touchscreens in mind, but that's about it.
I completed ABZU and Here They Lie on Monday and Pokemon Let's Go Eevee yesterday by beating the Elite Four with a full team of shiny pokemon. Hoping to complete Fe tonight and then get back into review writing.
Heavy Rain. Rather surprisingly for a story driven game with lots of endings, I actually got one of the better endings on my first attempt.
It was a decent game and I enjoyed playing it, but it does have its flaws. The controls and moving the characters doesn't feel quite right, and take some time to get used to. The quick time events can be annoying. When a QTE suddenly switches from having to hold buttons to tapping quickly, it catches me out every time. And in the heat of the moment when needing to be quick, it's easy to confuse the QTE symbol for moving the right analogue stick with the QTE symbol for moving the entire controller.
As for the story, it starts off slow but it's good once it gets into it. It does feel awkward and cliche in places. But overall it was an enjoyable murder mystery. My sheer obliviousness to any and all plot twists meant that the killer reveal took me by surprise, though I suspect plenty of other players would have seen that coming.
My biggest gripe with this game is with Madison. She was such wasted potential. Her problems with being an insomniac and having nightmares are quickly forgotten about, and she instead spends most of the game just aiding the other main characters.
Not sure now if I'll continue playing this now that I've seen one ending which turned out to be a good one. I'll likely wait a few days then check the trophy list. If the trophies aren't too difficult or tedious then it could be fun to explore the different choices in this game while working on the trophies. If the trophies are too tedious, then I'd be perfectly happy to not play any more and instead move on to a different game.
Just beat Darksiders 3. A really solid sequel. Took me just over 26 hours and got most of the trophies (67% completion). Think I'll go back to platinum once/if it gets a NG+ update.
I really hope the game sells well enough. They've laid enough story to get at least 2 more games.
Next up Strife!
Lives, Lived, Will Live.
Dies, Died, Will Die.
If we could perceive time for what it really was,
What reason would Grammar Professors have to get out of bed?- Robert & Rosalind Lutece
@NecuVise Seems like an attainable goal. Also it supposedly sold pretty ‘well’ on PC.
According to steam spy there are 50-100k owners. https://steamspy.com/app/606280
Don’t know how reliable that is, but it seems to suggest they’ll probably hit their goal across all platforms.
Lives, Lived, Will Live.
Dies, Died, Will Die.
If we could perceive time for what it really was,
What reason would Grammar Professors have to get out of bed?- Robert & Rosalind Lutece
RDR2. I fear the best part starts now since I'll be free to do what I want instead of being just an actor. Almost all the missions were an eye-roll festival because of many annoying things: me forced to use a certain weapon by a companion, me forced to approach a gunfight exactly how the devs decided otherwise the companion dies etc.
I think I'll do the post-game stuff only when I'll take a break from Dragon Quest XI (just started).
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