Posts made by Galaxy40k

I'm a big fan of the opening monologue in NieR: Automata.

"Everything that lives is designed to end. We are perpetually trapped in a never-ending spiral of life and death. Is this a curse? Or some kind of punishment? I often think about the god who blessed us with this cryptic puzzle...and wonder if we'll ever get the chance to kill him."

It's such a great hook, and it stuck with me throughout the whole game. What ends up making it so good isn't that its well-written or sets the tone or anything like the other examples posted here, but rather how this quote develops over the course of your playthroughs. Several games begin with a quote that gains meaning or clarity later on (starting with "is this a dream???" and later on learning that it is indeed a dream is a common cliche), but none stick out in my mind as going through several meanings and developments, each interpretation just as valid and impactful as the previous.

I'm not huge into JRPGs in general, so I'll avoid pointing out ones "I didn't think were as good as most people though" (since that's most of them), but I do think it means that I can point out ones I think are underappreciated.

Final Fantasy 8. Yes, the story has some pacing issues. The "orphanage scene" is dumb. The battle system is convoluted. But, despite all of these issues, FF8 is my favorite FF game. The art direction and music are some of the best in any RPG, the combat system is incredibly flexible and rewards creative play over brute force and grinding, and, while I may get flak for this one, Squall and Rinoa's romance is one of the most charming "couple stories" in games.

Xenogears is the very definition of a flawed masterpiece. The random encounters are a slog, the platforming elements are atrocious, the characters are largely throwaway, the story is horrifically paced, and really the entire game is a mess of elements that fail to come together in any meaningful way. Despite all of these issues however, Xenogears is incredible for what it tries to do. It is the single most ambitious storyline I have ever seen in any "single entry" piece of media, period. The magnitude of its scale, the depth of its lore, the ingenuity of its themes....it really is something special. Playing the game will leave you walking away unsatisfied. But as you sit there thinking about it, you'll really gain an appreciate for all that they did, and all that they went for. If there is one game that deserves a proper remake, it is Xenogears. A finished Xenogears would be the pinnacle of storytelling in video games.

I'm a huge fan of 3D platformers, and I loved this game. While I wouldn't put it on the same tier as masterpieces like SM64, I would put it on the same tier as "flawed, unique gems" like Psychonauts and Battle for Bikini Bottom. It oozes personality and charm, and I loved every minute of the 10 hours it took to 100% it. My third favorite game this year, despite how insane 2017 has been. Its a shame that it was overshadowed by both "indie darling Cuphead" and "3D platformer Odyssey," but I really hope it did well enough for Gears 4 Breakfast to keep going. The game is excellent, and a more polished, rounded sequel could potentially break into Tier 1

AAA linear games are definitely a dying breed, although they aren't a dead one quite yet. I feel like a pretty obvious reason for this trend is to increase the "value" (i.e. playtime) of a game. How many times do you go on the internet and see "oh this game was excellent, but it was only 6 hours for $60, not worth picking up until it goes on sale." This sentiment is a fairly common one, and one that developers and publishers most definitely see.

"People want a lot of playtime for their $60 investment." Playtime is an easy metric of "value," so its easier to chase than, say, making an actually good video game. Between open-world and linear, it is MUCH easier to elongate playtime with the former by virtue of its design. Even if its the same amount of space, you'll spend more time in an open world - how many times have you looked at shelves and noticed all the detail in the books and utensils on them in a Call of Duty campaign? Now how long have you spent staring at shelves and menus in The Elder Scrolls as you look for crafting materials?

I've done this recently as well. There's always some wonderful about replaying a game from the past. Even if I've never played it during my childhood, seeing the quirks of the era again is neat

A Xenoblade HD Collection would be pretty swell - those games are the kind that would really benefit from a remaster, since their technical shortcomings are noticeable due to the art style.

An Okami version isn't necessary, but hey, I'll buy it. I've bought and played that game every time it comes out, I won't stop now.

In terms of sequels, Zack & Wiki would be great! That game was really underrated, and it could make great use of some joycon gimmicks in the puzzles. Maybe use HD rumble to "pick a lock" or something?

Over the weekend, I gorged myself on "A Hat in Time." I usually take my time with games, but here I pushed aside real life for a couple days to 100% the game. I've been anticipating this game for three years now, but it somehow managed to exceed my expectations.

Playing AHIT felt like playing a game from my childhood for the first time. It is a really strange feeling to have nostalgia for something you are playing for the first time, but that is what happened. While a lot of other games that prey on nostalgia make "another version of that thing you grew up with," A Hat in Time is a "new game that is like how you remember these old games being." The emotions and memories you associate with Mario Sunshine and Psychonauts - the joy of exploration, the whimsical characters and scenarios, the jolly setting, the sheer fun of jumping around - can be found here, rather than actual characters, settings, or concepts being reused. It's like Shovel Knight, but for those of us who grew up with N64s and Gamecubes rather than NESs.

It's the best 3D platformer in over a decade, which admittedly isn't that big a feat considering that the genre hasn't seen a good entry since 2007 (Galaxy), and the collect-a-thon hasn't seen a good one since 2005 (Psychonauts), but still. It may not have the polish of a Sunshine, but it has heart, soul, and charm that puts even most of Nintendo's games to shame at times. I HIGHLY recommend it to anybody who grew up loving the 3D mascot platformer. AHAT is realistically only going to be behind Zelda and Mario for my GOTY, and any other year it would be my top picl

I'm seeing some love for A Hat in Time here, and I just want to toss my hat in the circle too. I've completed the game, and I think Mafia Town (World 1) is one of the best-designed stages in any 3D platformer I've ever played.

The boatload of charm of whimsy aside, the world manages to excel in movement. Fluid movement is key to any good platformer, and one of the big advantages of 3D over 2D platformers in this regard are the multiple decisions on how to platform. In order to cross a gap, you can do a long jump-slide, you can climb the roofs and hop over, you can jump off some balloons, you can go high, you can go low, you can use umbrellas to gain height then over, etc. Every time you go from point A to point B in that level is a new experience, where the level is your toybox, and your moveset is your toolkit. Mafia Town even manages to top many of the Mario 64 and Sunshine worlds in this regard.

Its the type of thing where, when watching a video, you won't "get" it, but when you play the game and your brain is making all of these micro-decisions on how to move every second, you'll see how huge the impact of this small-scale freedom can be

I've given up on having a single "favorite game of all time," although when prodded my response typically falls to MGS2. For a while now, my top games have been LoZ: OoT, Okami, MGS2, and DkS1 - whatever tops that list changes depending on my mood. In 2017 though, that list has now been expanded to include BOTW.

As you can probably tell from the not-MGS2 parts of the list, I love a good adventure. If you are willing to let it sink its hooks into you and play how it wants you to play (i.e. ditch the "completionist" mentality in favor of straight-up exploring), BOTW is simply the best adventure in gaming. Its the first game to make me truly feel like I was adventuring since I played OoT as a kid. In that sense, despite having the least in common with any 3D Zeldas, BOTW was really nostalgic in that sense. It has its issues, and it isn't a perfectly designed little bundle like an MGS2 or SOTC, but I love that adventure.

There is an extremely high chance I will love the new Metro game, and it will probably be my favorite single-player FPS this console generation. Despite being "post-apocalyptic first-person shooters," the prior two games really had this unique identity to them. The atmosphere and pacing were just top-notch.

But there is no planet where Metro Exodus becomes more fondly received than DOOM 2016. Metro simply fills a smaller niche. DOOM is a fast-paced, frantic game with awesome mechanics that makes you feel like a badass. Metro is a slow, atmospheric walk with intentionally slow shooting mechanics. Plus, 4A games won't be able to reach that same level of polish as something like a Bethesda can, they simply don't have the cash

@El-Shmiablo said in What are the top 3 Best FPS release this generation?:

In no particular order, and more than 3.

Doom
Rainbow Dix Seige
Wolfenstien The New Order/The Old Blood
Dishonoured
Overwatch

I can't believe R6:S slipped my mind! Definitely give that my number 2 slot. That game is a one of a kind gem.

For multiplayer, Overwatch is leagues and bounds my favorite - its my favorite multiplayer game of the decade for sure. It does everything right for me: it has a sense of style, it has a large number of gameplay styles so you don't get bored easily in a session, and, most importantly, it does its best to encourage objective play. Design decisions like the lack of a team scoreboard, and giving anybody who damages a killed enemy an Elimination rather than one kill and several assists really encourage teamwork. Its similar to how Halo 3 encouraged objective play by making the scoreboard literally just objective caps. I personally play multiplayer games only for the win instead of for personal performance, so this is huge for me. Yes there are a lot of people who still play selfishly, but compared to other games Overwatch makes a good effort.

After OW, I'll have to give the nod to Titanfall 1. I know a lot of people prefer 2, but TF1 was just a much more tightly, better designed game imo. Everything felt coherently designed to bounce off each other, rather than TF2 where I feel the ideas are in conflict. I can elaborate more if anybody wants, but it would be a rant otherwise so I'll hold off, haha

Regarding single-player shooters.....I guess Wolfenstein? I honestly haven't played that many. I'm the only person on the planet who couldn't get into the new DOOM - I play on console, and, while functional, the insane pace is clearly designed for M+K. I love the Metro games, but it feels cheap to call them "this gen." Have no interest in Prey. Etc

Nintendo Land is the only game other than Smash Bros my friends and I play every time we meet up. It has no right to be as fun as it is

There's been so major changes to the game balance recently, such as the removal of faction abilities. While not tenured card game developers, CDPR has shown over the course of the closed beta a strong willingness to listen AND RESPOND to their community feedback, so its looking good.

Also, worst come to worst, that campaign is gonna be SICK

@Inustar the Raids are the absolute high-point of Destiny, and its definitely worth trying to gather a party to run through. Going through the Vault of Glass for the first time is one of the most memorable experiences I've had this generation. The game has a killer LFG community at destinylfg.com where you can find a party of randoms quite easily. I've used it many, MANY times and only had a couple of bad experiences - most of the time its pretty good.

Personally, I love Destiny. I've logged my hundreds of hours since launch. It is "hamburger gaming" at its finest - it won't win any awards, it won't move you to tears, it won't stay in your mind for months, but its just a damn fun game to play. Get a couple of pals, boot up a Strike, and talk and chill as you shoot some cool, varied enemies in an interesting, beautiful sci-fi universe with some of the finest shooter mechanics to ever grace a console. Yes it could be better, but its always been fun for what it is, and Bungie has slowly but surely been improving the fluff surrounding that delicious core over the past few years.

It isn't for everybody though, and that's fine. Destiny for me is like what FIFA, Assassin's Creed, or CoD is to other people - you just buy it every year, not expecting to light to world on fire, but just because its comforting fun.

Also, I understand people who complain about "LOL WHY IS DER DESTINY 1 FOOTAGE HERE HURRR" but obviously I strongly disagree. When I see footage for World of Warcraft: Legion, I see footage that looks the same as a game from 2004. As in "duh," because it IS a game from 2004. Destiny is the same deal. I'm sick of people saying "oh, I'll wait a year and buy the COMPLETE game." Destiny is not a single product you burn through over a weekend. Its something you play constantly for years. You are along on its evolving journey. If you aren't into that type of game and just want a 15 hour shooter campaign, then why on Earth do you even keep up with Destiny content? That's like an MMO-hater constantly going on FFXIV videos and saying how "the game isn't even FINISHED yet, they expect me to pay full price and monthly sub??? Cheap Square Enix ripping us off."

Rather than paying a monthly subscription fee totaling $120 a year, Bungie instead releases the $60 game and a few $20 expansion packs to total to $120 a year. Its just a different model, but the same fundamental idea. If you think its wrong to buy Destiny 2 because it will have expansions, then its equally wrong to have bought World of Warcaft for $60 in 2004 because you could have just waited for Crusade, Lich King, etc down the road and got it cheaper.

I've been following this game for years, and I'm really looking forward to it. I'm not sure that it will be a "good game" per say, but I do think it will be a worthwhile game to play. The developers are somewhat inexperienced, but this is a passion project for them - before 3D platformers seemed to be making a comeback with Yooka Laylee, Snake Pass, and Mario Odyssey these guys wanted to make a fun little game that transported you to magical worlds again.

It may be coming out at a bad time though. Partially, after Yooka Laylee, I think people are less inclined to throw all their weight behind a game just because its a 3D platformer, and partially because its going to be coming out at the same time as Mario Odyssey, which is FINALLY going back to this style of platformer, and will undoubtedly destroy AHiT with its monster budget and decades of experience.

That being said, its been one of my most anticipated games for a while now, and its a Day 1 purchase for me.

@tokeeffe9 sorry about the spoilers, I wasn't thinking. Thanks for tagging them.

Also, thanks for the descriptions. I may give it a go later this week then. Thanks!

@tokeeffe9 I probably should have specified my issues with Gone Home, that's my bad. To me, my problem with Gone Home wasn't the usual "it has no gameplay" or "its too short, not worth $20" complaints, but rather I thought the entire story was overly pretentious with no real substance:

wow, an extremely predictable gay teenager in a house of very religious parents narrative, what a truly revolutionary and thought-provoking story - and benefited nothing from the "interactive" part of the interactive story (if the game was a book of just the journal entries of the girl I thought it would have the same effect).

I know not everybody will agree, but those were my issues. I'm wondering if Edith is getting a lot of attention because its a genuinely interesting story, or because its just the type of thing that you don't see in video games that often and so "wows" people despite its triteness. And similarly, is it getting a lot of attention because it is a good narrative, or because it is a good interactive narrative?

How does this game compare to other short, interactive narrative games? I have nothing against this type of game, but I hated Gone Home, which most people hold up as the pinnacle of the genre, and so have stayed away.