Topic: User Impressions/Reviews Thread

@Pizzamorg It's going to differ from player to player. There was a lot of dialogue following the release of TLOU Part II about the game's approach to violence, especially with regard to animals and instilling a sense of moral guilt in the player. For a lot of us, no matter how immersive the murdering is, if they're not given a choice in the matter, then that sense of responsibility isn't instilled, whereas, for other people, it's enough that their finger pressing a button directly caused an event to happen in-game.

I do really like it when games force us to question our unflinching recourse to violence in video games, though. For what it's worth, I've yet to find a game that better explored this than the 2015 indie hit Undertale, which quickly became pretty notorious for the way in which it confronts players with the consequences of their actions when they opt to kill monsters they encounter throughout the game. It's a bit gimmicky, and the magic wears off over time, but that first time you feel devastated over killing a character because you just assumed that was what you had to do, and especially if you attempt to load an old save and the game sort of knowingly mocks your attempt to rewind time, or how engaging in a genocide route playthrough permanently alters small aspects of all future playthroughs (at least on PC)... I knew I was experiencing something that was leaning hard into the unique aspects of the medium to explore themes in a way that less interactive mediums simply couldn't.

Would TLOU on HBO be as popular if it wasn't based on a well-loved video game? I'm tempted to say it wouldn't have been as highly regarded, but that's unknowable, sort of like those "would Breath of the Wild have been as highly regarded if it wasn't a Zelda game?" questions. It's possible that, given a different universe, there wouldn't have been a "The Last of Us" TV show at all. For better or for worse, the way things happen in our universe is intimately tethered to an unbroken string of cause-and-effect that goes back billions of years.

Anyway, the experience clearly works for a lot of players, including yourself, so I'm inclined to say that Naughty Dog's game is effective at being exactly what it's supposed to be.

@RR529 Well, the bigger issue with Sony's new censorship policies were how they were introduced and implemented. For a lot of developers, they were just sort of dropped on them without warning, and there were reportedly communication issues with Japanese developers at the time (even some larger ones; recall the DMC5 censorship controversy years back). At least one game (which eventually saw a re-release on the Nintendo Switch) had its Western localization effectively banned from the platform, forcing the company that was bringing it over to eat the cost of the localization. Things have calmed down now, although mostly because a ton of smaller Japanese third-parties that previously released games on PS4/Vita have now shifted toward PC/Switch instead.

If you're going to implement some huge change like this, you want to clearly outline what is or isn't allowed, and preferably grandfather in titles that were deep in production before the change. I think the entire debacle would have been less infuriating if they'd gone about it in a more measured, dev-friendly way.

Not that it was needed in the first place. Sony's platforms were far more permissive in the past with little issue. Nintendo, a company that was notoriously puritanical in the 90s, has largely maintained its family-friendly image despite its current laissez-faire attitude toward third-party content.

The Playstation brand has become increasingly westernized in recent years, though, and this was clearly happening much of last-gen as well. I think the leadership was probably embarrassed by the way their largely abandoned handheld was being kept alive by Japanese indies that catered to a sketchier segment of the otaku crowd, and they seem to have tailored the language they used to enforce their new content standards in such a way as to cull most of this sort of stuff by maintaining an atmosphere of uncertainty and confusion.

Anyway, no point in relitigating this now. I am also interested in Stellar Blade, although, like a lot of Korean and Chinese games, how much the advertising reflects the quality of the actual end product is up for debate. A lot of titles from these regions feature really impressive-looking marketing and footage, but the games themselves often never materialize. Considering Sony's focus on this title, though, I'd guess the dev won't simply take the money and run.

@Ralizah, yeah, Sony definitely could have handled the situation better in terms of how the policy was/is implemented.

Maybe the issue is that it wasn't a new policy? Maybe it's been in place for years and the only difference is how HQ interprets it between when they were based in Japan & when they moved to California. Perhaps they didn't send out new guidelines because technically their policy never changed, & Japanese devs were blindsided when Sony's HQ started interpreting them in a stricter manner. I have no idea if this was the case, though.

Anyhow, it looks like the dust has settled in the past couple years (since I've heard less stories about it), with devs either abandoning PS or getting accustomed to the new rules behind the scenes.

Stray (Review) - Cute cats and not a lot more.

Stray is a shallow experience. Its gameplay consists of running, button prompted jumping, and solving extremely rudimentary puzzles. There is combat every now and then but it doesn’t bring much to the table either.

It’s a shame because the world of Stray is gorgeous: its cute cats and rickety robots making a home of the neon lit city streets. And much to my surprise, the underlying narrative premise was intriguing enough that I wanted to reach the answers at the end of the road.

Stray’s biggest weakness is that it fails to do anything at all with its gameplay despite the unique premise it holds.

In Stray you play as a cat. Separated from your kin at the very start, you must make your way through a run-down futuristic city inhabited by quirky robots but infested by mutant organisms.

After meeting your flying droid companion, B-12, you set about uncovering the secrets behind Walled City 99. The ultimate goal: open the gates of the city and learn what the outside holds.

Narrative is ceded to the player through dialogue. Robots you interact with, both ones who serve as companions and those who simply populate the world, feed interesting new information about the world and its systems.

For instance, upon arriving in Midtown, you learn how it is harshly governed by Sentinels and Peacekeepers. Throughout your time exploring Midtown, you witness these cruel machines at work, arresting citizens and ruling with an iron whip.

During the course of Stray’s roughly 4-5 hour runtime, there are plenty of interactions between you - the cat - and the friendly robots who live in the city. These interactions are always a joy to witness due to unique dialogue. Most characters you meet, especially in the Slums, have their own little story.

Two friends playing catch across the rooftops with buckets of paint. A musician who doesn’t have any sheets of music to play. A grandma who loves to knit. Learning about these characters is a joy, and while some of the tasks they make you do are extremely rudimentary, you feel empowered to complete them due to the bond between cat and robot.

The game’s narrative elements are simple enough. But when put together they are intriguing and enjoyable enough to keep the player motivated to play on. And that is important because Stray’s core gameplay loop is a massive let down.

For a game that lets you play as a cat, one of the most nimble and agile creatures out there, the platforming in Stray is awful. The most egregious sin being that you can’t jump unless prompted to.

This strips the player of all freedom and creativity while traversing the urban jungle that is Walled City 99. Instead you must stick to an extremely linear path crafted by the developers.

This aspect of the game would have been so much fun and actually engaging if instead of telling the player “ok, you can jump here but not any of those other very plausible places,” the game just allowed the player to turn anything into a ledge. Stopping the player from wandering off would’ve been as simply as streamlining all the possible routes in a forward direction and none sideways.

I get that the developer’s intention was to make a more atmospheric and narrative focused title, but I can’t help point out what a mindless bore the platforming was, especially when it could have easily been so much better.

The combat is Stray is perhaps as rudimentary as it is unnecessary. In Chapter 7 (there are 12 in total) a robot you a working with called Doc will give you your one and only weapon: a Defluxor. Created with the sole purpose of killing zurks, the mutated organisms that infest the streets of the city, the Defluxor is essentially an extremely powerful flashlight.

To use it, simply hold down L1 and turn the camera in the direction of the enemy. To prevent players was abusing the system and keeping the Defluxor on at all times, it will overheat if used continuously for a short duration of time. The Defluxor is pretty strong, so this tweak makes sure it can’t be abused.

However despite this, combat is not very good. Zurks come at you in hordes and they are easy to run around. Their AI isn’t that good either, and out-manuevering them is a piece of cake. In many instances, you don’t have to actually face the zurks, you can simply run past them and onwards.

Later in the game, when you face off against machine enemies, the Defluxor loses its purpose and instead you must “defeat” them in unconventional ways: running circles around them or tricking them into locked rooms. However even here, there is only one way to take care of the enemies the game throughs at you, and once you have dealt with one foe, all that’s left is to rinse and repeat.

Stray feels like game where combat didn’t need to exist. If platforming was more than just linear button-prompted movement, then combat could have been replaced with obstacle courses or environmental puzzles that require you to think on your feet as enemies chase you around.

There are a healthy mix of puzzles in Stray. They come in a wide variety of forms from finding objects littered around the area, to deciphering visual hints to find the correct passcode. I can’t complain about the pacing of puzzles. They come at well-spaced intervals and they rarely feel tacked on.

However I do feel obliged to point out the shortcomings of these puzzles. They are extremely basic and easy to solve. I often found myself figuring out what the clues were and how I might proceed with deciphering a puzzle before it was even presented to me.

The mission structure in Stray also leaves a lot to be desired. They usually involve some simple platforming with a couple of combat encounters sprinkled in the middle before being made to solve an unimaginative puzzle at the end.

I tend to gravitate towards games with enjoyable gameplay. My two favourite games, Celeste and Spider-Man, have extremely strong core gameplay loops. So naturally Stray’s lack of any engaging gameplay mechanics - whether it’s platforming, combat, or puzzles - leaves me feeling empty inside.

Sure, BlueTwelve Studio chose to make a game that places greater emphasis on its world and story but its decision to not fully embrace that very focus leaves Stray with half-baked gameplay mechanics that sadly fail to inspire.

To its credit through, the world of Stray is absolutely gorgeous. Rain soaked streets shimmer under a sea of neon signs. The rare vista provides a breathtaking overview of the concrete jungle below.

Every locale is as beautiful as they are unique. The rundown buildings and littered streets of the Slums are a far cry from Antvillage, where houses and paths snake up the sides of a giant cylinder creating a lush treehouse like village.

My favourite part of the game-world has to be the Slums. You are free to take your time exploring its height and width, meeting new faces as you go. There are random activities to partake in, like rolling a basketball into a dust or spooking robots into dropping cans of paint off the rooftops. In this rare instance of minimal handholding, the game shines best.

The only drawback of Stray’s world, other than its poor utilisation as a sandbox for the player to run around in, is that sometimes objects in the distance take time to load in resulting in awkward instance of pop-in. It’s not bad by any means but I thought it would be worth pointing out.

Stray’s shorter runtime of around 4-5 hours on a first-playthrough was quite refreshing. In a climate dominated by games stretched out far beyond the limits of their enjoyability, it is nice to experience such a short and crisp title.

I also found an odd joy in ticking off some of the game’s easier PSN trophies. I found myself going out of the way and doing stuff like scrolling through all TV channels, dunking a basketball, ruin two robots’ mahjong game, and wearing a paper bag just to unlock certain trophies.

It’s not even that I wanted to go for a platinum, it was just some plain old nonsensical fun of seeing what absurd stuff I could get up to for a little dopamine rush when the trophy finally pops. I even tried playing billiards in the hope that it would unlock some cool little easter egg. I don’t know why. It just seemed fun.

When I finished the game and went through my notes in preparation for writing this review, I concluded that I would give the game a score of 2/5. Because despite its cool premise and wonderfully bizarre world, the gameplay systems just weren’t up to it. Platforming, combat, and puzzles were all for the most part mindless and overly basic.

But as I sit here and look back at my review, that score seems a bit harsh. Because my writing doesn’t seem to critique the game down to this score. I get that gameplay is not the game’s focal point but it still detracts quite a lot from the experience to the point where I can’t justify giving the game a 3/5.

I think it comes down to this. I did not like Stray all that much because I look for gameplay in my games. And without sufficiently engaging mechanics for me to toy around with, the game falls flat in my eyes.

Everyone out there has different tastes and preferences, and I think many people will find a lot to like about this game. So take my word with a large slice of perspective. Because to me, Stray is all style and no substance.

2/5

@DominusPlatypus Fair, if cutting, review, and one that confirms some suspicions I've had about the title for a while. Aside from having meme appeal (similar to something like Untitled Goose Game), it very much struck me as being a game that leaned hard on atmosphere and worldbuilding to drive the experience, which works much better for some people than it does others. The restricted interactivity and focus on immersing the player in the visuals of the world remind me of a number of Western AAA titles I've played, and it's similarly alienating to me. Some people really dig these 'interactive experiences' that pay excruciating detail to the visual presentation, but, frankly, they almost always restrict player agency in order to achieve the full realization of their artistic goals, and it takes me out of the game big time.

Nice analysis of Stray!

@DominusPlatypus I sympathise with your wrestling over a final score for Stray. I haven't played it for myself (despite intending to someday) but gather that a lot of folks share your views. It's interesting to see it get nominated for so many awards but then yeah, as Ral rightly notes, we live in a world in which Untitled Goose Game won GOTY so it's as you say, everybody has different tastes. I'm sorry you fell on the negative side of the fence, but I'm grateful for your honesty. Thanks for sharing!

How do we feel about endless gushing in this thread?

Thanks to it's long-awaited release on the Switch, I'm playing Persona 5 for a third time and I have a lot I want to share...but I'm not sure I really have anything negative to say about the game. Anything I write will be less a review and more "why I love Persona 5"...

@Buizel How you write about a game, and what you choose to write, is entirely up to you. There's no requirement to be critical, or to write something in the form of a traditional review.

@Ralizah Thanks!

I might spend a bit of time on this one actually as I really want to do the game justice...

I really wish I liked Persona 5 as much as other people do. Looking forward to reading your thoughts though, always nice to read something inspired by someone's passion for something.

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story (3DS) - Impressions

Just finished Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story on 3DS after 29 hours of playtime. It's easily the best game in the series that I've played so far and for two reasons: 1) tons of gameplay variety, and 2) excellent pacing. These are the two things that I've had issues with the first two games. Both Superstar Saga and Partners in Time got incredibly repetitive after roughly 10 hours. At that point you've basically done everything the game has to offer in terms of gameplay. With Bowser's Inside Story however, you get to play as Mario and Luigi as well as Bowser. Playing as Bowser adds so much to the gameplay, both in battles and in the overworld. On top of this, there are 2D sections in the game, mini-games to play and even kaiju battles.

It wasn't until I hit the 25 hour mark that I started to get tired of the game, which was because of how long the final area of the game was. Seriously, there were like 4-5 boss battles including the final boss. It was a bit too much in all honesty. Regardless, the fact that it took me twice as long this time before I started to lose interest in the game just shows what a huge improvement its structure is compared to the previous titles. I'm genuinely impressed by how fleshed out the game is.

Not to mention that you get to play as Bowser! While it's called "Mario & Luigi", I'd say this is more like Bowser's own game considering how much you get to play as him while the Italian brothers take a backseat. It's actually crazy to think that Bowser hasn't been given his own game yet. Bowser's Inside Story would be the closest to that though.

While I find this game to be the best in the series so far, it isn't without its share of flaws. Something that it does worse than previous titles is that it doesn't feel like a full adventure this time around. You don't really visit that many different places compared to previous games since you explore Bowser's body with Mario and Luigi. Since there are so many sections with them, there are fewer overworld areas to explore, which is a bit of a bummer. The game is still overall long like a typical Mario & Luigi experience, so it's not like it's shorter because of this. But I still would've wanted more areas to explore besides beaches, woods, mines and castles. As a result, it didn't feel like I've accomplished much in this game considering half of the stuff you achieve are by doing stuff with Bowser's body.

Even though I mentioned how dragged out the final area was, it still ended on a high note. With a fantastic final boss battle that required you to put together all the skills you've learned throughout the game and an epic music track to go along with it, I finished the game very satisfied.

In short, this was a fantastic experience. I've always thought that the Mario & Luigi games have very fun and engaging gameplay compared to other turn-based JRPGs but they've always gotten repetitive too fast. Nintendo rectified that with Bowser's Inside Story and delivered an engaging experience from beginning to (nearly) end. I highly recommend giving this game a go, it's definitely the must-play title of the franchise.

With that said, I still haven't touched the bonus content "Bowser Jr's Journey", which is apparently rather lengthy. Looking forward to starting it up soon! Should be a good time, just like the bonus content in the 3DS remake of Superstar Saga.

@LtSarge Oh, nice! I'd always intended to get to this game, but my interest fell off after, like you, I played the first Mario & Luigi game and quickly grew rather bored with it. It's nice to hear this one represents a solid improvement in terms of gameplay variety, then, although considering you still grew tired of it after 25 hours, I do have to wonder how much that speaks to larger and more structural issue with these games. In my experience, it usually takes WAY longer before my interest begins to flag with a properly engaging JRPG. Although your experience might well be different in this regard. It sounds like neither of us were feeling the first one, though.

Nevertheless, it sounds like you enjoyed your time with it. And that final boss music IS pretty great. When I listened to it, I thought: "Geez, this sounds weirdly similar to a Xenoblade Chronicles track I heard recently" (I'm playing through the Definitive Edition of XC1 atm in preparation for the XC3 DLC campaign, which features returning characters from the first game).

So, I looked it up. Both tracks were composed by Yoko Shimomura (who did the entire score for BIS, but only did a handful of XC1 songs). No wonder it triggered that association!

@Ralizah Yeah I mean, there isn't a lot to these games. They're very simple to play, so that's probably why you start to lose interest quickly compared to other JRPGs. In the case of Bowser's Inside Story, I think another problem with it is that the story isn't particularly interesting either. I can't imagine the later entries improve upon these aspects. Dream Team Bros returns to just Mario and Luigi, and while Paper Jam Bros has a third character, it wasn't that well-received when it came out. Bowser's Inside Story feels like the pinnacle of the franchise.

Ah I had no idea that the composer of Bowser's Inside Story did some of the tracks in Xenoblade 1. That's interesting, I'll have to pay attention whenever I get to that game in order to see if I can make that association as well.

Uncharted 4 - PS4
Right, so I just recently beat Uncharted 4 for the first time. Now I must state that I in general find the game as an intense good shooting experience with some interesting jumping and stealth elements as well. I did not least liked and appreciated the graphics of the game very much.

As I have stated in some other thread I think it's without question the best Uncharted game in the series and I can very much recommend the game to anyone who is looking for a good solid shooting experience with some interesting adventure elements attached to it.

My main and only complaint would be that the pacing times sometimes feels a little bit off which sometimes makes it hard to know if and how much progress you make in the game. But I still very much liked the game. During the jumping and platform sections I can't help but think about the brilliance of the Prince of Persia games.

@Ralizah Thanks for reading! I'm curious as to what "Western AAA" games have you bounced off of due to their focus on immersion and atmosphere rather than gameplay?

@RogerRoger Thanks for reading! Stray getting all those award nominations was comical in my opinion but I guess everyone is justified to their personal tastes.

@DominusPlatypus Naughty Dog's PS3-era titles immediately come to mind. Bloober Team's The Medium. Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice. Just off the top of my head. While not typically as restricted as Stray, numerous big-budget Western titles keep a tight rein on the player and limit the scope of the gameplay in order to facilitate a certain type of immersive cinematic experience. If a game is going to go that route, I usually prefer they openly embrace genres that thrive on limited interactivity in the first place. If I'm playing a third-person action/adventure/platform-style game, I don't want there to be this extra layer of abstraction between myself and the player character just so the developers can LARP as filmmakers.

On that note...

@oliverp Uncharted 4 did a lot to improve on previous entries in the series by embracing a greater degree of freedom in terms of level design and player control (particularly when it comes to combat interactions). Which is a big reason it's also my favorite game in the series. Also, I liked how subdued the supernatural aspects were compared to previous adventures, which usually became a little silly by the end.

@LtSarge i still have it on my DS , mario works so good in a RPG/Turnbased

really love the artstyle too & was actually my main attraction to it.

@LtSarge Whilst it's awesome that you enjoyed Bowser's Inside Story so much, and I really enjoyed reading your post-game / pre-bonus content impressions, it's a shame that it only manages to move the boredom goalposts a lil' further back, rather than remove them entirely. My RPG experience is limited but, thanks to those I have played, I've also encountered the unfortunate flaw of a drawn-out finale, and it's never not frustrating. When you realise that you're wishing a game to be over, it's never a good sign.

Speaking of which...

@oliverp Yeah, it's a shame Uncharted 4 screws up its pacing so often. It's a gorgeous, highly playable game but its story and character choices were a bit of a letdown for me. I often think about replaying it because the gameplay really is that good, but then I think about some of the sequences which drag and plot points which annoy me and my enthusiasm drains away. Still, I'm real glad you had fun!

@RogerRoger Wishing a game to be over happens all the time with me nowadays. There are so many games to play that I just want to move on to another one if it's taking too long or it's frustrating to play.

That's actually what happened when I played the bonus content Bowser Jr's Journey. It's incredibly simplistic with very little depth and I had to force myself to play it because I don't want to miss out on content. However, I just encountered a difficulty spike and now the game expects me to grind. In a bonus game! Yeah, that's not happening lol. The bonus content wasn't interesting to begin with and now they want me to play it longer than I have to. So I decided to give up on it. At that point, I'm really wasting my time. I'd rather play so many other games.

So I guess that's my review of Bowser Jr's Journey. Stay clear from it!

@LtSarge Oh Interesting then its not only me who feel that way sometime. Its like you know there is some other interesting game around corner but you want kind fulfill your obligation to the game you are playing and already have invested some time in ideally complete the task and the game. But yeah sometimes its feel like its maybe not the worth the time… Felt like I played a few of those grindy takes in games last year and year before..

@oliverp Yeah I'm still not good at deciding when to give up on games. It's especially painful to play something until you get close to the end and then you realise you just can't continue anymore.

I personally think it's better to give up on games rather than play something that you're not enjoying just for the sake of finishing it. But I always get a bad conscience whenever I give up on a game. At the end of the day though, if it helps me get through my backlog faster, then I'm fine with that.