@isturbo1984 Yeah... More frustrating than challenging and without the hooks to grab me. I think I got to Level 3 or 4 and my interested just died off.
I generally like “NES-Hard” games and indies that pick up that torch), but this one just didn’t grab me. I know a lot of people adored it and it was GOTY for some.
Have you ever drank raw milk? It’s so difficult to stomach after all your tastes and conceptions you have from drinking processed milk your whole life. Yet, it tastes exactly like what it is, milk squeezed from a grass eating animal’s warm body.
It goes the other way too... have a taste for raw milk and the processed stuff tastes like watered down paste.
The difference is, one is very nutritious and takes some work, and the other is safe and convenient.
AAA is a theme park with elements of gaming inside. I prefer the raw dope.
@awp69 This. I feel like AAA is the fast food of the industry. It’s delicious and convenient (8/10, 9/10 if you drink the hype) but there’s so little nutrition.
Indies at the very least balance the diet and at best are where the real nutrition and interesting cuisine is. Especially at the buffet that is Gamepass.
@Kopite Sekiro was supposed to be “easier” too... I think “easy” from a From Software perspective is just a less opaque and esoteric experience. They will always be demanding games, but the barrier of actually approaching that mentality has gotten lower from Bloodborne on.
@UltimateOtaku91 Now, with more context, I think they saved Activison Blizzard from being gobbled up by Amazon or Tencent.
It’s their narrative, but it’s an interesting way to think about it: Microsoft “protecting” IP and design from the F2P / P2E grinder of “outside” forces.
I’m not big into Minecraft, but have they been a bad steward of the mega-franchise? It doesn’t seem like it. Maybe it’s possible that this is closer to that than the Bethesda move?
@gollumb82 I feel exactly the same way. As much as Microsoft "exclusivity" looks bad — and is in ways — it also puts more AAA software onto the most affordable platform in Game Pass / Series S + PC. It ends up being a very gamer-friendly move, however "anti-consumer" it seems when looked at traditionally.
People need to update their software. This isn't the 16-bit/32-bit era there's no need for console wars.
@UltimateOtaku91 An acquisition. 1) There's no word on what if anything will be exclusive. 2) I'm not saying this is a good or bad thing for the hobby or industry. It's just not a monopoly, not even close.
The only thing you can claim they have a monopoly over is "bro-shooters" in COD, Halo, and Gears, and that's a super subjective stretch. Fortnite's player base dwarfs these games.
@PhileasFragg We're just going to disagree on the "public health" issue. The fact that the CDC guideline for self-quarantine changed from pressure by the airline lobby should be all you need to know. If you want to say personal health is still a factor, i.e. internal pressure in companies from employees who don't want to be put at unnecessary risk, I'll agree to that, but "public health" has divorced itself from any scientific basis, and the only thing worth debating to me is how long ago.
Either way, I don't think we should be dancing on the grave of expos. It takes a lot of technology to replace them, and none do as good a job. I'm not taking about just the "news", but the presentations, the meetings, the afterparties, the camaraderie, the networking, etc.
Even on a just personal level, expos give me a lot of positive energy, and all these online proxies for face-to-face interactions drain me of energy.
Maybe sterile Zoom afterparties and monitored interactions are the inevitable future, but I'm not celebrating it, and I don't think we should be so quick to devalue everything that can't be substituted with tech.
@FullbringIchigo E3 isn’t just watching videos. It’s hands-on experiences, having conversations, creating buzz among media, speaking with buyers and vendors, finding hidden gems, etc. Handshake deals and information brokering.
When it happens online it’s all mediated by the technology and stage managed by PR. It loses a lot being Zoom meetings where the communication is uni-directional and the audience can’t talk amongst themselves and is being watched as well.
@PhileasFragg What do you mean? Things are much better now, health-wise. Omicron presents as a cold and is boxing out the more dangerous variants. The “scary” part is about how many people get it at once in a company. This is about companies who can’t afford for multiple workers to take sick time at the same time.
This is no longer about public health, and I’m starting to wonder if it ever was.
@2chanaddict What happened? The pandemic of people who can’t admit they’re wrong happened.
@Bleachedsmiles It is separate. I only pay for Gamepass on PC, I don’t have an XBox, and yes there are console exclusive games that are not on the PC GP.
This guy makes me cringe — how about that? What’s the difference between Male and Female Shepard besides a better VO and different romance options?
The literally say and do the exact same things. They are skins.
And let’s be honest, it’s not like choices mattered much in the end that fans would care about “canonical” choices. Or, if you wanted to be really interesting — have two shows, a Paragon and Renegade version.
I loved Mass Effect but it’s not so good it can’t be a TV show easily. They can mine for resources while the credits run...
... maybe they can mine Gaider’s ass and look for his his head.
Can we throw the word “gatekeeping” in the dumpster?
I don’t know if this is media coverage’s fault, trying to portray the argument for gatekeeping completely incorrectly, or gamers are as stupid as they are being portrayed, using a false equivalence.
@Dezzy70 Personally, I prefer Nintendo’s approach this last few years to having much shorter timeframes between announcements and releases (for the most part). Now that Microsoft has a lot more projects in the works at any time I hope the move towards that approach. It was important to show “something” new was coming this gen. I think Starfield and Elder Scrolls 6 were announced way too early for where they were in the project. It was good for the XBox brand, but tough for the game and team.
@Royalblues That’s a good point! I’d love more non-violent games, or at least where combat isn’t the loudest ‘verb’, but there’s not much off the shelf to work with as a main loop beside survival-crafting or puzzles (a la Witness, Sable).
I wish cartography and orienteering came into fashion but it seems hard to make it fun as the main course.
Basically, whatever they try they’re making a version of Breath of the Wild, but can they make it unique or better at something?
@Clankylad I’m assuming they’re very similar to Until Dawn, which I have played. The first time I played it I was by myself and I was terrified and had to stop — nothing deeply unsettling but a ton of a jump scares.
Eventually I played it “co-op” and we got through it and enjoyed it. It’s like a maybe interesting way to watch a cheesy horror movie. It’s fun that your choices affect who lives and dies, but some of those “choices” are QTEs, and it’s also really hard to guide your decisions... you make some choice and there’s no clear way to know what the consequences will be so if feels random. Sometimes the character explains the motive choice, and it’s not what your thought process was at all and that can break the spell.
I’d say a solid 6/10 and if there’s no horror movies you want to watch or games you want to play — if Until Dawn is anything to go by (and from what I’ve read, it is)— they’re interesting, really well polished and quite gripping at times, if only a bit shallow in the end.
@NotoriousWhiz That's one way to look at it, for sure, and if I wasn't saving a ton of money "dollar-per-hour" with Gamepass, it might be a harder bullet to bite.
That said, I look it at as the difference between going to, for example, Gordon Ramsay's "Burger" restaurant, and Burger King. I'm getting the same calories, and I enjoy both, but I enjoy both enough that when I have the chance to get something really special — which thankfully I'm finding Metroid Dread to be — it's so worth it to me. Could I financially afford to go to "Burger" every day? Nope. Could I afford to go to Burger King everyday health-wise because I can afford it financially? I have tried it and proved I cannot haha.
I am using the "dollar-per-hour" formula for other purchases like Wario GIT (I cannot justify the price for myself, as much as I love the series), for considering Advance Wars 1+2 (it's the ONLY way I can justify buying it again at that price is that I can drop 100+ hours in that game easily... but I might just try and get into Wargroove again), and to try and convince myself to get Shin Megami Tensei V... definitely worth it on the dollar-per-hour scale, but "am I going to find the time to stick with it?" is the number one consideration for me for RPGs.
It took me 13 hours to clear (maybe 85-90% completion rate) and I'm really enjoying my second playthrough on Hard Mode, so I imagine it'll be closer to 20-25 hours before I move on. It's one of the rare games I've actually wanted to start playing again immediately after finishing... (Resident Evil 4, Bayonetta, Metroid: Other M, Vanquish, Sekiro, now Dread)
Also, if I look at my gaming budget in aggregate on dollar-per-hour — which I have, and it's a deadly way to do it but highly justifiable — I've put 1,200 hours into Splatoon 2 and 1,100 hours into Smash... so, including Nintendo Switch Online — I've got a less than 0.08 cents an hour return on those two games plus the service for 3 years. That's a better return for me than Gamepass! If I plug in Switch only games like Dread, Astral Chain, Mario x Rabbids, Fire Emblem, Odyssey, Zelda, etc, even the cost of the hardware... I'm still just crushing it in aggregate dollars-per-hour on the platform.
I think dollar-per-hour is a way to look at it, but it's one way, and one of many personal value propositions and we should be careful not only judging other people's methodology, but also trying not to make our metrics for decision making into facts about a game or service.
@NotoriousWhiz Every game is overpriced if you're not interested. I can't imagine paying more than $20 for a game where you "just drive cars", yet Gran Turismo and Forza have huge followings. For Dread I love the series and the genre at is finest — knowing how I feel about it now, I'd have paid $100 if I had too.
I also try and look at things like Gamepass as, rather than devaluing games... i.e. why pay 60 for Metroid Dread when I can get Unsighted or other Metroidvania for pennies on the dollar, I look at is an offset.
That’s definitely some of the not-so-secret sauce in the Smash franchise is the alarming attention to — and respect for — detail. It’s a shame because there’s enough nostalgia for the properties here and the gameplay seems good enough, they could have had put together a very decent alternative.
@somnambulance. You really think Dread is better than Hollow Knight? If you asked me a week ago I would say Hollow Knight is best game in the genre of all-time with a bullet, and I just finished Dread last night and am basking in the afterglow, smoking the proverbial cigarette, and firing up a new file on Hard Mode.
I’m not ready to make that call without another play through of both. What makes you feel that way? Looking back a couple of years out from Hollow Knight, I think it’s biggest strength compared to Dread is also it’s biggest weakness... it is massive and very long. I quit my second replay after being unable to play for a few days and felt completely lost and overwhelmed, and even the idea of starting another playthrough is daunting.
I have Unsighted in my Game Pass queue. I’ll still try it but this tweet is a huge turnoff.
1) “The competition is unfair...” umm, who released this game into the maw of the game the genre you’re in is named after!!! Totally agree with @somnambulance here. They should have tried a more humble, deferential posture, congratulated the Metroid Dread team — congratulations on making 2021’s Game of the Year, or something factual like that — maybe done some crossover fan-art or something to catch the wave of positive buzz around the genre.
2). The “two trans people from Brazil” comment is so cynical. I hate the term “snowflake”, but I think it’s appropriate here because it’s just not that special today to be a two person trans developer from Brazil — good for the world and the industry that that is the case — but bad for these two trying to cash in in late 2021.
Half of me wants to roll my eyes like, “aren’t they all?” after Celeste and other exemplary titles from small teams of trans developers, but the other half believes this is cynical playing of the kotaku/resetera kind of hobbyist media like a free PR fiddle.
Hopefully I forget this pathetic tweet by the time I’m ready to queue up the game.
On topic: Clever and classy advertisement. The hobby feels better with some mutual respect in the industry, rather than mirroring the garbage fanboy sniping in the forums.
Katana Zero was one of my “GOTYs”. You can get through it in around 5 hours or less. Definitely worth a download on Gamepass if you haven’t played it yet!
I’ve tried Snake Eater, Subsistence, and the 3DS version and bounced off them all. Maybe the 4th time is the charm?
I hope a Castlevania reimagining goes better than the last one. I would get some young, hungry devs, have them play through Rondo of Blood, Pandora’s Tower on Wii, and Bloodborne on PS4, then back to Rondo, dose on mushrooms, and then get to work.
I actually checked out Tainted Grail: Conquest because it was the least popular choice... what is wrong with me? A dark RPG roguelite CCG... yep I’ll try that. Always looking to fill that Slay the Spire shaped hole. God Bless Gamepass.
Slow down! XBox Game Pass has become XBox Back Log!
Sable wants to jump the queue (Journey by way of Mobius? Yes, please) and though Subnautica has become an all-time favorite, I heard Sub Zero kind of crowds the game with too much character and plot so I’m going for Breathedge instead. Still, hit the brakes MS. Lemme catch up!
"Does the game sell better when you exclude them? Does it get more word-of-mouth? Do you get anything out of it (other than elitism, I mean)? What compelling reason would there be?"
Make some points, or make some arguments with substance. Watch the video I linked or don’t. You’re simply wrong on all of those points.
"Last: I think, this is a bit far-fetched, not to say constructed. While it might be true that some people feel that way, I think it's not as severe as you make it sound, and I daresay it only relates to a very small percentage of players. I cannot see why this small percentage should have so much weight on game development. It's not an issue they cannot overcome, I'm sure."
Do you not hear how this is the worst version of the ‘git gud’ argument pointed at a different psychology? "It's not an issue they cannot overcome, I'm sure." We're done.
@lokozar
"Last point: So, what you're trying to tell me, is that, as soon as there is an easy mode, players like you would be tempted to use it? And that is a bad thing? Okay, first off, that is actually your psychological problem... Secondly, if you want to use the easy mode, use it. If you don't want to use it, don't use it. What exactly is it, that worries you so much, when presented with the choice? ... And what keeps you from going up in the difficulty settings, as soon as you beat the easy mode and feel more comfortable? "
I’m trying to tell you — which you’ve acknowledged — that adding an Easy Mode that players don’t have to use does affect them. The temptation, pressure, anxiety or whatever you want to call it is just one example of how your “it doesn’t affect you” statement is false. And after this rant, you still want to invalidate the psychology of some players, then take a righteous position against ‘git gud’? You're not "for everyone", your preferring one psychology over another.
I’ve said in the comments previously that I think user-selected multiple difficulties are really good options for certain games that have a beginner/intermediate/expert loop, like rhythm games, character-action games like Bayonetta, and more. What keeps you from doing that in every game? It’s not appropriate in every game, like an 80 hour RPG or 20-30 hour cinematic adventure. Better to tune a proper difficulty curve and teach players how to play— these kind of games certainly have the time to do it!
I don’t think I’m going to change your mind, but I’m pretty satisfied we’ve laid your argument bare. It’s a lot of weak attempts to say I’m wrong, but nothing substantial to explain why you’re right. "Options are good" and "it doesn't affect you" just isn't going to fly with me, and I don't think it will with anyone who reads us.
@lokozar
"4) By saying, "You have to do it this exact way. If you don't want to, there is the door.", you take away options, choices for players and exclude some of them... "
We have very different ideas of how we want to be treated, so we’re just not going to agree here.
"5) Well, we're talking about games, right? Not about movies, series, books, music ... I don't see how having options is a bad thing in games. "
I think you have an options=good truism stuck in your brain, and I don’t how to un-lodge it without analogies and comparisons to other media.
There was a brilliant article about Japan and the mindset of curation versus options years ago, but I can’t find it for the life of me — it does make me suspect this is really an ingrained cultural idea more than anything objectively true, and if we dig into games, I’m willing to bet this ‘Easy Mode’ discussion is really an imposition of Western philosophy on Eastern design.
If you can’t understand why options like at Subway or Burger King are not better than a curated dining experience and then using your imagination to apply that concept to games, I don’t have the reference or the patience to do it.
"6) You cannot. You define a genre by its gameplay mechanics. Otherwise you could just as well call Super Mario a rogue-like. Both, it and Hades are hard (at least later on) and have no difficulty setting... "
If you’re talking about a top-level Steam category, maybe not, but have you even heard an easy rogue-like? The difficulty is the foundation of the entire game loop. It’s essential. Also, Mario has no features of a rogue-like. If that’s your argument here, I can’t take it seriously.
@lokozar
"1) I believe, that you are trying to distract with this point. The question whether an easy mode is done well or not, does not affect the question whether an easy mode should be there. One could as well say, "It should be there AND should be done well." Furthermore, accessibility does not say anything about difficulty..."
I think it absolutely does! If it’s not done well, why do it? Especially when there are better options. I thought accessibility and difficulty were different topics going into this, but after talking to @Widey85, I think they overlap in significant ways.
"2) Why would developers, that generate income with what they create, deliberatelly exclude a big portion of potential customers? You don't really have to answer that, because I already know a variety of abitrary arguments you could come up with. ..."
There’s a GDC talk called 'Why Dark Souls Is The 'Ikea' Of Games' https://youtu.be/vid5yZRKzs0 that details the business strategy of focusing down on a niche product versus trying to be all things to all people (Dark Souls vs. Resident Evil 6 is the case study, as well as Southwest Airlines vs. American Airlines).
So no, no “arbitrary” arguments here haha.
"3) So everyone benefits? Sounds nice to me. "
The product suffers. I think you’ve got your head in the sand on this point.
Comments 148
Re: Samurai Adventure Trek To Yomi Is Coming To Xbox Game Pass Day One
Another Steam Wishlist game to delete! Awesome news.
Re: Hands On: Cyberpunk 2077's Next-Gen Upgrade Is A Major Improvement On Xbox Series X
Am I crazy? People are acting like the only problems with this game were technical...
It’s a mediocre shooter with few impactful RPG elements, an okay story, and a pointless open-world that creates more problems than it solves.
Are we all just trying to justify buying it at full price on hype and promise? Just me?
Re: Two Games Are Available Today With Xbox Game Pass (February 14)
Just put Infernax on my wishlist a couple of days ago. Sick!
@hbkay Not really. ARK is a pretty popular franchise and Infernax has a buzz from really good reviews.
Re: These Four Games Are Leaving Xbox Game Pass Today (January 31)
@isturbo1984 Yeah... More frustrating than challenging and without the hooks to grab me. I think I got to Level 3 or 4 and my interested just died off.
I generally like “NES-Hard” games and indies that pick up that torch), but this one just didn’t grab me. I know a lot of people adored it and it was GOTY for some.
Re: Talking Point: How Good Of A Start Has Xbox Game Pass Had In 2022?
@RBRTMNZ AAA is a bubble.
Have you ever drank raw milk? It’s so difficult to stomach after all your tastes and conceptions you have from drinking processed milk your whole life. Yet, it tastes exactly like what it is, milk squeezed from a grass eating animal’s warm body.
It goes the other way too... have a taste for raw milk and the processed stuff tastes like watered down paste.
The difference is, one is very nutritious and takes some work, and the other is safe and convenient.
AAA is a theme park with elements of gaming inside. I prefer the raw dope.
Re: Talking Point: How Good Of A Start Has Xbox Game Pass Had In 2022?
@awp69 This. I feel like AAA is the fast food of the industry. It’s delicious and convenient (8/10, 9/10 if you drink the hype) but there’s so little nutrition.
Indies at the very least balance the diet and at best are where the real nutrition and interesting cuisine is. Especially at the buffet that is Gamepass.
Re: These Four Games Are Leaving Xbox Game Pass Today (January 31)
Cyber Shadow was a little too accurate of an NES-homage game for me, but I know a lot of people liked it.
Re: FromSoftware's Miyazaki Thinks 'More Players' Will Finish Elden Ring
@Kopite Sekiro was supposed to be “easier” too...
I think “easy” from a From Software perspective is just a less opaque and esoteric experience. They will always be demanding games, but the barrier of actually approaching that mentality has gotten lower from Bloodborne on.
Re: Feature: Alright, It's Time For Xbox To Make A Smash Bros. Game
Microsoft “smash” would be so sweaty, and as they have many more shooter properties it would make more sense to do a TPS of some kind, if anything.
Bring back Fusion Frenzy and Killer Instinct and scratch all the itches. Save the metaverse stuff
for Epic and Nintendo.
Re: Microsoft Is Buying Activision Blizzard, Reportedly For $70 Billion
@UltimateOtaku91 Now, with more context, I think they saved Activison Blizzard from being gobbled up by Amazon or Tencent.
It’s their narrative, but it’s an interesting way to think about it: Microsoft “protecting” IP and design from the F2P / P2E grinder of “outside” forces.
I’m not big into Minecraft, but have they been a bad steward of the mega-franchise? It doesn’t seem like it. Maybe it’s possible that this is closer to that than the Bethesda move?
Re: Microsoft Is Buying Activision Blizzard, Reportedly For $70 Billion
@gollumb82 I feel exactly the same way. As much as Microsoft "exclusivity" looks bad — and is in ways — it also puts more AAA software onto the most affordable platform in Game Pass / Series S + PC. It ends up being a very gamer-friendly move, however "anti-consumer" it seems when looked at traditionally.
People need to update their software. This isn't the 16-bit/32-bit era there's no need for console wars.
Re: Microsoft Is Buying Activision Blizzard, Reportedly For $70 Billion
@LX_FENIX The entire Activision Blizzard library on Game Pass does nothing for Xbox players!?
Re: Microsoft Is Buying Activision Blizzard, Reportedly For $70 Billion
@UltimateOtaku91 An acquisition. 1) There's no word on what if anything will be exclusive. 2) I'm not saying this is a good or bad thing for the hobby or industry. It's just not a monopoly, not even close.
The only thing you can claim they have a monopoly over is "bro-shooters" in COD, Halo, and Gears, and that's a super subjective stretch. Fortnite's player base dwarfs these games.
Re: Microsoft Is Buying Activision Blizzard, Reportedly For $70 Billion
@UltimateOtaku91 Enough with the monopoly posts you don't know what you're talking about.
Re: It's 'Awesome' That God Of War Now Supports Xbox Controllers, Says Dev
@blinx01 Returnal goes to PC and my “games to get a PS5 for” list is now Astro’s Playroom.
Re: E3 2022's 'In Person' Event Has Been Axed
@PhileasFragg We're just going to disagree on the "public health" issue. The fact that the CDC guideline for self-quarantine changed from pressure by the airline lobby should be all you need to know. If you want to say personal health is still a factor, i.e. internal pressure in companies from employees who don't want to be put at unnecessary risk, I'll agree to that, but "public health" has divorced itself from any scientific basis, and the only thing worth debating to me is how long ago.
Either way, I don't think we should be dancing on the grave of expos. It takes a lot of technology to replace them, and none do as good a job. I'm not taking about just the "news", but the presentations, the meetings, the afterparties, the camaraderie, the networking, etc.
Even on a just personal level, expos give me a lot of positive energy, and all these online proxies for face-to-face interactions drain me of energy.
Maybe sterile Zoom afterparties and monitored interactions are the inevitable future, but I'm not celebrating it, and I don't think we should be so quick to devalue everything that can't be substituted with tech.
Re: E3 2022's 'In Person' Event Has Been Axed
@Chaudy @UltimateOtaku91 @PhileasFragg Expos aren’t just PR events and “news cycle” is the absolute wrong metric to judge their value.
Even at a basic level, people coming together is never a worse thing than everything being individuated, isolated, and atomized.
Even on a personal level, this is a place for the industry to network. People meet people and look for job opportunities or to scout new talent.
Eschewing the expo maybe good for some business (see Nintendo), but it’s bad for the people in it.
Re: E3 2022's 'In Person' Event Has Been Axed
@FullbringIchigo E3 isn’t just watching videos. It’s hands-on experiences, having conversations, creating buzz among media, speaking with buyers and vendors, finding hidden gems, etc. Handshake deals and information brokering.
When it happens online it’s all mediated by the technology and stage managed by PR. It loses a lot being Zoom meetings where the communication is uni-directional and the audience can’t talk amongst themselves and is being watched as well.
This is not E3. It’s The Game Awards.
Re: E3 2022's 'In Person' Event Has Been Axed
@PhileasFragg What do you mean? Things are much better now, health-wise. Omicron presents as a cold and is boxing out the more dangerous variants. The “scary” part is about how many people get it at once in a company. This is about companies who can’t afford for multiple workers to take sick time at the same time.
This is no longer about public health, and I’m starting to wonder if it ever was.
@2chanaddict What happened? The pandemic of people who can’t admit they’re wrong happened.
Re: It Sounds Like Quantic Dream's Star Wars Eclipse Is Still Many Years Away
David Cage confirmed to be involved? Fool me twice...
Re: Xbox Reveals Four More 'Day One' Games Coming To Game Pass
@Bleachedsmiles It is separate. I only pay for Gamepass on PC, I don’t have an XBox, and yes there are console exclusive games that are not on the PC GP.
Re: Xbox Reveals Four More 'Day One' Games Coming To Game Pass
Trek To Yomi has been on the wishlist since E3 announcement. Great get!
Re: Random: This Guy Owns 2706 Copies Of Sneak King For Xbox 360, And He's Trying To Get More
Is this funny? Seems like the kind of funny that comes up if you type in youtube.com on a clean, cookie-free browser.
Re: Mass Effect TV Show Plan "Makes Me Cringe A Little", Admits Former BioWare Writer
This guy makes me cringe — how about that? What’s the difference between Male and Female Shepard besides a better VO and different romance options?
The literally say and do the exact same things. They are skins.
And let’s be honest, it’s not like choices mattered much in the end that fans would care about “canonical” choices. Or, if you wanted to be really interesting — have two shows, a Paragon and Renegade version.
I loved Mass Effect but it’s not so good it can’t be a TV show easily. They can mine for resources while the credits run...
... maybe they can mine Gaider’s ass and look for his his head.
Re: Xbox's Comments About 'Gatekeeping' Are Met With Heavy Criticism
Can we throw the word “gatekeeping” in the dumpster?
I don’t know if this is media coverage’s fault, trying to portray the argument for gatekeeping completely incorrectly, or gamers are as stupid as they are being portrayed, using a false equivalence.
Here’s the REAL arguments, in the comments: https://www.purexbox.com/news/2021/09/xbox_says_lgatekeeping_and_elitismr_have_no_place_in_gaming
Not one mention of Bethesda because that’s not the kind of gatekeeping anybody was ever talking about.
Re: Bethesda Shares New Story Details And Concept Art For Starfield
@Dezzy70 Personally, I prefer Nintendo’s approach this last few years to having much shorter timeframes between announcements and releases (for the most part). Now that Microsoft has a lot more projects in the works at any time I hope the move towards that approach. It was important to show “something” new was coming this gen. I think Starfield and Elder Scrolls 6 were announced way too early for where they were in the project. It was good for the XBox brand, but tough for the game and team.
Re: Xbox Provides An Update On Rare's Everwild, Says Reports Of A 'Reset' Are Too Extreme
@Royalblues That’s a good point! I’d love more non-violent games, or at least where combat isn’t the loudest ‘verb’, but there’s not much off the shelf to work with as a main loop beside survival-crafting or puzzles (a la Witness, Sable).
I wish cartography and orienteering came into fashion but it seems hard to make it fun as the main course.
Basically, whatever they try they’re making a version of Breath of the Wild, but can they make it unique or better at something?
Re: These 20+ Games Are Coming To Xbox Next Week (October 18-22)
@Clankylad I’m assuming they’re very similar to Until Dawn, which I have played. The first time I played it I was by myself and I was terrified and had to stop — nothing deeply unsettling but a ton of a jump scares.
Eventually I played it “co-op” and we got through it and enjoyed it. It’s like a maybe interesting way to watch a cheesy horror movie. It’s fun that your choices affect who lives and dies, but some of those “choices” are QTEs, and it’s also really hard to guide your decisions... you make some choice and there’s no clear way to know what the consequences will be so if feels random. Sometimes the character explains the motive choice, and it’s not what your thought process was at all and that can break the spell.
I’d say a solid 6/10 and if there’s no horror movies you want to watch or games you want to play — if Until Dawn is anything to go by (and from what I’ve read, it is)— they’re interesting, really well polished and quite gripping at times, if only a bit shallow in the end.
Re: These 20+ Games Are Coming To Xbox Next Week (October 18-22)
Skul looked really interesting... only on XBox One!?
Re: Unsighted Is Proving To Be A Hidden Gem On Xbox Game Pass
@NotoriousWhiz That's one way to look at it, for sure, and if I wasn't saving a ton of money "dollar-per-hour" with Gamepass, it might be a harder bullet to bite.
That said, I look it at as the difference between going to, for example, Gordon Ramsay's "Burger" restaurant, and Burger King. I'm getting the same calories, and I enjoy both, but I enjoy both enough that when I have the chance to get something really special — which thankfully I'm finding Metroid Dread to be — it's so worth it to me. Could I financially afford to go to "Burger" every day? Nope. Could I afford to go to Burger King everyday health-wise because I can afford it financially? I have tried it and proved I cannot haha.
I am using the "dollar-per-hour" formula for other purchases like Wario GIT (I cannot justify the price for myself, as much as I love the series), for considering Advance Wars 1+2 (it's the ONLY way I can justify buying it again at that price is that I can drop 100+ hours in that game easily... but I might just try and get into Wargroove again), and to try and convince myself to get Shin Megami Tensei V... definitely worth it on the dollar-per-hour scale, but "am I going to find the time to stick with it?" is the number one consideration for me for RPGs.
It took me 13 hours to clear (maybe 85-90% completion rate) and I'm really enjoying my second playthrough on Hard Mode, so I imagine it'll be closer to 20-25 hours before I move on. It's one of the rare games I've actually wanted to start playing again immediately after finishing... (Resident Evil 4, Bayonetta, Metroid: Other M, Vanquish, Sekiro, now Dread)
Also, if I look at my gaming budget in aggregate on dollar-per-hour — which I have, and it's a deadly way to do it but highly justifiable — I've put 1,200 hours into Splatoon 2 and 1,100 hours into Smash... so, including Nintendo Switch Online — I've got a less than 0.08 cents an hour return on those two games plus the service for 3 years. That's a better return for me than Gamepass! If I plug in Switch only games like Dread, Astral Chain, Mario x Rabbids, Fire Emblem, Odyssey, Zelda, etc, even the cost of the hardware... I'm still just crushing it in aggregate dollars-per-hour on the platform.
I think dollar-per-hour is a way to look at it, but it's one way, and one of many personal value propositions and we should be careful not only judging other people's methodology, but also trying not to make our metrics for decision making into facts about a game or service.
Re: Unsighted Is Proving To Be A Hidden Gem On Xbox Game Pass
@NotoriousWhiz Every game is overpriced if you're not interested. I can't imagine paying more than $20 for a game where you "just drive cars", yet Gran Turismo and Forza have huge followings. For Dread I love the series and the genre at is finest — knowing how I feel about it now, I'd have paid $100 if I had too.
I also try and look at things like Gamepass as, rather than devaluing games... i.e. why pay 60 for Metroid Dread when I can get Unsighted or other Metroidvania for pennies on the dollar, I look at is an offset.
Re: Mini-Review: Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl - Not So Smashing
That’s definitely some of the not-so-secret sauce in the Smash franchise is the alarming attention to — and respect for — detail. It’s a shame because there’s enough nostalgia for the properties here and the gameplay seems good enough, they could have had put together a very decent alternative.
Re: PlatinumGames: Tell Nintendo If You Want Bayonetta 3 On Xbox
@Az1ner Where / what do I search?
Re: Unsighted Is Proving To Be A Hidden Gem On Xbox Game Pass
@somnambulance. You really think Dread is better than Hollow Knight? If you asked me a week ago I would say Hollow Knight is best game in the genre of all-time with a bullet, and I just finished Dread last night and am basking in the afterglow, smoking the proverbial cigarette, and firing up a new file on Hard Mode.
I’m not ready to make that call without another play through of both. What makes you feel that way? Looking back a couple of years out from Hollow Knight, I think it’s biggest strength compared to Dread is also it’s biggest weakness... it is massive and very long. I quit my second replay after being unable to play for a few days and felt completely lost and overwhelmed, and even the idea of starting another playthrough is daunting.
Re: Unsighted Is Proving To Be A Hidden Gem On Xbox Game Pass
I have Unsighted in my Game Pass queue. I’ll still try it but this tweet is a huge turnoff.
1) “The competition is unfair...” umm, who released this game into the maw of the game the genre you’re in is named after!!! Totally agree with @somnambulance here. They should have tried a more humble, deferential posture, congratulated the Metroid Dread team — congratulations on making 2021’s Game of the Year, or something factual like that — maybe done some crossover fan-art or something to catch the wave of positive buzz around the genre.
2). The “two trans people from Brazil” comment is so cynical. I hate the term “snowflake”, but I think it’s appropriate here because it’s just not that special today to be a two person trans developer from Brazil — good for the world and the industry that that is the case — but bad for these two trying to cash in in late 2021.
Half of me wants to roll my eyes like, “aren’t they all?” after Celeste and other exemplary titles from small teams of trans developers, but the other half believes this is cynical playing of the kotaku/resetera kind of hobbyist media like a free PR fiddle.
Hopefully I forget this pathetic tweet by the time I’m ready to queue up the game.
Re: Bethesda & id Software Congratulate Nintendo On Metroid Dread's Release With DOOM Artwork
On topic: Clever and classy advertisement. The hobby feels better with some mutual respect in the industry, rather than mirroring the garbage fanboy sniping in the forums.
Also, Metroid Dread is sick. Highly recommended.
Re: Another Six Games Will Leave Xbox Game Pass Soon (October 15)
Katana Zero was one of my “GOTYs”. You can get through it in around 5 hours or less. Definitely worth a download on Gamepass if you haven’t played it yet!
Re: Review: Xuan Yuan Sword 7 - A Huge Surprise Hit
@UltimateOtaku91 It’s a Chinese game. PC has 2 Chinese audio tracks and English subs. Not sure if XBOX is different.
Re: Konami Is Reportedly Set To Remake Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
I’ve tried Snake Eater, Subsistence, and the 3DS version and bounced off them all. Maybe the 4th time is the charm?
I hope a Castlevania reimagining goes better than the last one.
I would get some young, hungry devs, have them play through Rondo of Blood, Pandora’s Tower on Wii, and Bloodborne on PS4, then back to Rondo, dose on mushrooms, and then get to work.
Re: Review: Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania - A Love Letter With A Few Misfires
Monkey Target is sweet what are you talking about?
Re: PlatinumGames: Tell Nintendo If You Want Bayonetta 3 On Xbox
@XxEvilAshxX “ Yeah because Nintendo is soooooooo in tune with what their fans want.
/extreme sarcasm”
Also... what?
Re: PlatinumGames: Tell Nintendo If You Want Bayonetta 3 On Xbox
@Az1ner “ Screw those lying thieves.”
What?
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (September 25-26)
I’m in a limbo. Was really excited for Sable, but it is unplayable on PC Gamepass. Does anybody test these releases?
I’ll put so more time into Psychonauts 2 and see if I can catch the hook and try some more PC Gamepass releases that hopefully work.
Re: Four More Games Are Available Today With Xbox Game Pass (September 23)
I actually checked out Tainted Grail: Conquest because it was the least popular choice... what is wrong with me? A dark RPG roguelite CCG... yep I’ll try that. Always looking to fill that Slay the Spire shaped hole. God Bless Gamepass.
Re: Four More Games Are Available Today With Xbox Game Pass (September 23)
Slow down! XBox Game Pass has become XBox Back Log!
Sable wants to jump the queue (Journey by way of Mobius? Yes, please) and though Subnautica has become an all-time favorite, I heard Sub Zero kind of crowds the game with too much character and plot so I’m going for Breathedge instead. Still, hit the brakes MS. Lemme catch up!
Re: These 13 Games Are Coming To Xbox Game Pass (September 15 - October 1)
@Clankylad Did you check the radio in the escape pod? It guides you to everything you should need to get going.
Re: Xbox Says ‘Gatekeeping And Elitism’ Have No Place In Gaming
"Does the game sell better when you exclude them? Does it get more word-of-mouth? Do you get anything out of it (other than elitism, I mean)? What compelling reason would there be?"
Make some points, or make some arguments with substance. Watch the video I linked or don’t. You’re simply wrong on all of those points.
"Last: I think, this is a bit far-fetched, not to say constructed. While it might be true that some people feel that way, I think it's not as severe as you make it sound, and I daresay it only relates to a very small percentage of players. I cannot see why this small percentage should have so much weight on game development. It's not an issue they cannot overcome, I'm sure."
Do you not hear how this is the worst version of the ‘git gud’ argument pointed at a different psychology? "It's not an issue they cannot overcome, I'm sure." We're done.
Re: Xbox Says ‘Gatekeeping And Elitism’ Have No Place In Gaming
@lokozar
"Last point: So, what you're trying to tell me, is that, as soon as there is an easy mode, players like you would be tempted to use it? And that is a bad thing? Okay, first off, that is actually your psychological problem... Secondly, if you want to use the easy mode, use it. If you don't want to use it, don't use it. What exactly is it, that worries you so much, when presented with the choice? ... And what keeps you from going up in the difficulty settings, as soon as you beat the easy mode and feel more comfortable? "
I’m trying to tell you — which you’ve acknowledged — that adding an Easy Mode that players don’t have to use does affect them. The temptation, pressure, anxiety or whatever you want to call it is just one example of how your “it doesn’t affect you” statement is false. And after this rant, you still want to invalidate the psychology of some players, then take a righteous position against ‘git gud’? You're not "for everyone", your preferring one psychology over another.
I’ve said in the comments previously that I think user-selected multiple difficulties are really good options for certain games that have a beginner/intermediate/expert loop, like rhythm games, character-action games like Bayonetta, and more. What keeps you from doing that in every game? It’s not appropriate in every game, like an 80 hour RPG or 20-30 hour cinematic adventure. Better to tune a proper difficulty curve and teach players how to play— these kind of games certainly have the time to do it!
I don’t think I’m going to change your mind, but I’m pretty satisfied we’ve laid your argument bare. It’s a lot of weak attempts to say I’m wrong, but nothing substantial to explain why you’re right. "Options are good" and "it doesn't affect you" just isn't going to fly with me, and I don't think it will with anyone who reads us.
Re: Xbox Says ‘Gatekeeping And Elitism’ Have No Place In Gaming
@lokozar
"4) By saying, "You have to do it this exact way. If you don't want to, there is the door.", you take away options, choices for players and exclude some of them... "
We have very different ideas of how we want to be treated, so we’re just not going to agree here.
"5) Well, we're talking about games, right? Not about movies, series, books, music ... I don't see how having options is a bad thing in games. "
I think you have an options=good truism stuck in your brain, and I don’t how to un-lodge it without analogies and comparisons to other media.
There was a brilliant article about Japan and the mindset of curation versus options years ago, but I can’t find it for the life of me — it does make me suspect this is really an ingrained cultural idea more than anything objectively true, and if we dig into games, I’m willing to bet this ‘Easy Mode’ discussion is really an imposition of Western philosophy on Eastern design.
If you can’t understand why options like at Subway or Burger King are not better than a curated dining experience and then using your imagination to apply that concept to games, I don’t have the reference or the patience to do it.
"6) You cannot. You define a genre by its gameplay mechanics. Otherwise you could just as well call Super Mario a rogue-like. Both, it and Hades are hard (at least later on) and have no difficulty setting... "
If you’re talking about a top-level Steam category, maybe not, but have you even heard an easy rogue-like? The difficulty is the foundation of the entire game loop. It’s essential. Also, Mario has no features of a rogue-like. If that’s your argument here, I can’t take it seriously.
Re: Xbox Says ‘Gatekeeping And Elitism’ Have No Place In Gaming
@lokozar
"1) I believe, that you are trying to distract with this point. The question whether an easy mode is done well or not, does not affect the question whether an easy mode should be there. One could as well say, "It should be there AND should be done well." Furthermore, accessibility does not say anything about difficulty..."
I think it absolutely does! If it’s not done well, why do it? Especially when there are better options. I thought accessibility and difficulty were different topics going into this, but after talking to @Widey85, I think they overlap in significant ways.
"2) Why would developers, that generate income with what they create, deliberatelly exclude a big portion of potential customers? You don't really have to answer that, because I already know a variety of abitrary arguments you could come up with. ..."
There’s a GDC talk called 'Why Dark Souls Is The 'Ikea' Of Games' https://youtu.be/vid5yZRKzs0 that details the business strategy of focusing down on a niche product versus trying to be all things to all people (Dark Souls vs. Resident Evil 6 is the case study, as well as Southwest Airlines vs. American Airlines).
So no, no “arbitrary” arguments here haha.
"3) So everyone benefits? Sounds nice to me. "
The product suffers. I think you’ve got your head in the sand on this point.