PlayStation Nation |OT| Playing Astro Bot on the Horizon Until Dawn

[Runa216]

BraLoD said:

The comparison with the Souls series was only to poke some fun on the idea of having to read equals bad, yeah, I know there are vastly different, and I completely agree on how a game presents its ideas heavily influence the outcome of it being good or not, even when the subject is the same, as presenting lore and story progression on texts, they are really very different approches and results.

I don't feel like playing FF13 again tbh, but I ever only replay games I truly love, like I'm replaying Pokemon Crystal right now, there is only a select few games that are capable of getting me excited to play them more than once (aside from trophy hunting, that's a different story).

I did't have as much of a problem with the on-rails experience as most of the playerbase seems to have, my major problem with the game as not feeling like it was good at being a rpg, it was not frustating not bad per se, just not good at making me want to progress on it.

It's okay to dislike things, don't feel pressed to have a positive reaction to everything, in the end we are all bound to our own tastes. Final Fantasy fanbase is definitely one of the most all over the place, there is always a lot of people that hate the ones you love, and I know that as 12 is my favorite, which is an unpopular one to love, and I know some nice people here who wholeheartedly love either 8 or 10 which are quite easily my least favorites.

The stuff about TLoU2 (and very likely Horizon 2 DLC which I have not played) is just nonsense, there is nothing to gain with that, just don't pay attention to people blindly hating for the sake of it. TLoU2 is one of the very best games I've ever played, the ones losing are the haters.

I can't speak on behalf of others but the linearity of XIII was never a problem for me. Honestly, I like Linear and Nonlinear equally and find that linear games tend to have a much more well-crafted narrative and flow. By removing variability the devs can control the experience more. I feel that a game that has that much linear control needs to give us an experience that's well curated and the reliance on a datalog in FFXIII ruined that. 

I don't mind reading backstory. I don't mind obscure lore. 

I don't mind strict linearity. 

I don't think a game can really do both. You get one. These ideas are mutually exclusive, as far as I'm concerned. Others might not agree but I think from a design perspective a game would have to do something unique and special to get away with that combo and XIII absolutely did not do that. 

And trust me, there's a lot I don't like. There are entire genres I just don't touch. entire developers and publishers I refuse to support. I probably cut out 90% of the entire gaming medium and I STILL can't keep up with all the shit I wanna play. Like, despite clearly being a Sony AND Nintendo fangirl, I actively dislike Uncharted, The Last of Us, early God of War, and Gran Turismo. I don't think they're BAD games, I just don't personally care at all for what they do and what they offer. I can say without a hint of irony that I dislike more Sony exclusives than I like. They just happen to have so many exclusives that I still have a tonne of options. Same with Nintendo. I've never been a fan of Kirby games outside of Super Star and Canvas curse. I only really liked the first Yoshi game. I don't like Pikmin or Splatoon at all. And heck, I LOVE a lot of Zelda games but I honestly think I am neutral on or dislike more Zelda than I love...I just happen to REALLY love the Zelda games I love. 

I'm not trying to 'not dislike things'. There has to be a spectrum. There's always gonna be stuff I like and stuff I don't like. I'm just trying more and more to not shit on things I don't like without proper justification for it. And when it comes to entries in franchises I love that I don't love like FFXIII or Skyward Sword or Grand Theft auto IV, I really think I need to approach them from a new perspective. Especially since they're so well liked. clearly there's something there that I'm missing. 

I'm not gonna suddenly force myself to like trash dumpster fires like Superman 64 or other notoriously bad games...but I am trying to maintain an overall positivity, at least towards games that seem to get a lot of love. Like CinemaWins, every game is someone's favourite and I'd like to find a way to better appreciate that. 

I will absolutely rip on a game if I feel my points are justified beyond just 'it's not for me', but I don't want that to be my default state. 

Like, Dark Souls II is BAD. I found a way to get enjoyment out of it but the game is fundamentally broken, poorly designed, and misses all the points that made other Souls games so good. My hatred for that game isn't 'boo hoo the bosses aren't as cool as Ornstein and Smough', it's 'the hitboxes are wonky and a tonne of the game's mechanics are insufficiently explained or inconsistent, resulting in a fundamentally unfair experience'. But Again, I don't want negativity to be my default. I'd rather talk abut why I think Dark Souls III is the best in that trilogy than bag on how bad I think Dark Souls II is. Both are pretty controversial takes but one is elevating a game I love and the other is punching down on a game I don't like. Different tones. 

And as an aside XII is underrated as heck. I do feel the story is kinda not really there but everything else about that game is amazing. And so far XVI reminds me most of XII in terms of exploration, story, writing, world, and level design. IT's like...what if 12 actually had a good story. (And keep in mind I tease even though as stated before 12 is one of my favourites.) 

If curious, VI is my favourite. The next rung down is VII, X, and XII, all get a 9.7 from me and which one I like most fluctuates so I tend to keep them in the same position. Next is a 2-way tie between VIII and IX; like the other three my favourite of these two goes back and forth depending on the day. Next up is IV and V. Then I, II, and III. 

VI > VII/X/XII > VIII/IX > IV/V > I/II/III

It's still pretty early but I think XVI is currently hovering somewhere in the 9.5-9.7 range, compared to other FF games it might be on the same tier as VII/X/XII or VIII/IX. It's still early, but my friend who's twice as far has been boasting and it sounds like the game gets better than it already is, which makes me happy. Plus a lot of the things I like about XII and X like hunting and side quests and exploration and world discovery sounds like it comes later. So I'm very excited. 

Last edited by Runa216 - on 26 June 2023