@Th3solution It is the lighting model, had they used the one in the initial reveal trailers then you would be saying «wow this world looks really warm and inviting»
02.05.2024 - 14:51 / pushsquare.com
@FuriousMachine I agree, especially on the annoyance of poor checkpointing in combat encounters. Especially if there’s long cutscenes involved or long sections to get back to the encounter(s). Having 3 FromSoft games under my belt (and currently playing my fourth) as well as finishing Returnal (before the added save options and difficulty nerfing updates) has trained me to be less frustrated by the drag of having to repeat sections if I die before being victorious and reaching a save point. Still… it make it no less aggravating when those things happen. In the From games it’s all part of the intentional gameplay loop, and the game almost provokes and mocks the player with the idea of “You will die a lot and in the most unfair feeling ways possible.” Having just started Dark Souls 2, the introduction has this old hag giving you a little exposition as you start and she all but says that to you as she cackles away, clearly enjoying the thoughts of you pending misery.
But that’s all part of the core design of Soulslikes and people know what they’re getting into. At least now they do, with the notoriety of the genre. I hear there’s less long treks back to the encounter where you die in Elden Ring so less ‘lost progress’ and more it’s therefore more approachable.
But yeah, despite my better tolerance of the ‘long trek to a place, including unskippable cutscenes, followed by a quick cheap death’, I think it ruins some games when the design isn’t conducive to repeat play. Recently for me, I really appreciated the fact that Insomniac had very forgiving mid-boss checkpoints in Spider-Man 2, where even if you die during phase 3 of a long boss battle that you respawn just at the start of that phase, and with full health. In FF16 also, it was quite forgiving that the game even refilled your health items as well so you got to start right back where you left off with a full stock. For a narrative driven adventure I prefer that approach where you don’t get bogged down for hours trying to get past one point in the game. It keeps better flow to the story aspects.
And that’s where Control probably dropped the ball, because although its closer to Dark Souls in the cryptic narrative category than to the cinematic storytelling of Spider-Man or Witcher 3, it’s not a game that you want to repeat an encounter a dozen times in order to make progress. Theres enough of a push toward an end goal plot-wise that you could easily lose interest if you get stuck.
Part of my tolerance to The Foundation was also that I played both it and AWE as just usual side quests within my playthrough and didn’t even know they were DLC.
@Th3solution It is the lighting model, had they used the one in the initial reveal trailers then you would be saying «wow this world looks really warm and inviting»
Well that’s about 30 minutes into Fallout New Vegas and already my first hard reset… doesn’t bode well
Probably going to just be me posting here, but oh well!
A bunch of wallet fund vouchers with a tasty discount.
@breakneck @PsBoxSwitchOwner Thanks for your thoughts. It’s a tough balance to strike, for sure. And some games are able to make it work more seamlessly than others.
Watched «Indiana Jones and the Dial.of Destiny» again. It's going to be one of those movies that I'm constantly re-writing in my head whenever I rewatch it — there are so many minor (and a couple of major) gripes that I have with it that surely would've been ironed out with another couple of passes at the screenplay — it's just weirdly sloppy given its position in such a lauded franchise.
@Th3solution It is the lighting model, had they used the one in the initial reveal trailers then you would be saying «wow this world looks really warm and inviting»
@Elodin They can be a mixed bag, Star Wars games, so I hear. But yeah, I'd be interested in how you find Survivor (haven't played yet either) after playing the first one, apparently the story picks up straight away from the end of Fallen Order, which I finished, and really enjoyed. Anyway if I don't speak to you before you pick Survivor up again then I hope Dragon's Dogma 2 goes well for you.
@sorteddan Great stuff, nice to find a surprise hit.
@Th3solution @OctolingKing13 Forbidden West directly continues the story from Zero Dawn, so I say it is essential to at the very least watch a recap on YouTube. I will always go for playing the game in the first instance, and only watching a recap if I need to refresh my memory.
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