SvennoJ said:
Amazing post, great to read with my Saturday morning coffee :)
I couldn't agree more with your assessment of the polarity happening in gaming in 2006 and on, as well as your descriptions of Twilight Princess and Okami. Thanks for putting it in words why I enjoyed Okami so much. It was a truly positive and uplifting experience to play through. TP was the opposite.
2006 set off the era where realism and mature games were seen as the best way forward, which meant a lot of dark brown grey games relying more on shock effects and forced drama instead of fun game play. And indeed on the other hand a lot of shovel ware based on gimmicks. (Wii motes, PS moves, Kinect) Not all shovel ware of course, but it did feel like you were either playing some depressing murder game or swing your arms around completing silly tasks. I played a lot of DDR (caught up on the whole series) those years to offset the moody 'real' games. Probably also why I mostly got into racing games that generation, racing is neither moody nor simple entertainment and has colors!
And you still can't get away from the drama. I love it in The Last of Us, that series is made around it and well written, it all fits and it deals with the consequences of the character's actions. It's the center of the story. Yet then I want to play something more lighthearted and God of War natters my ears of with relationship and trust issues, while Spider-Man 2 devolves into slinging insults and repressed anger, the main characters tearing each other apart emotionally. (then just brushing over it) That's not what I wanted out of Spider-Man. Anyway, I got Synthriders and Puzzling Places nowadays to unwind :) The 7th guest as well, puzzles with a mystery to solve.
Anyway agreed, Okami is the best game of 2006. |
Thanks! 
I mean I'm not against games delving into dark thematic territory by any means, I just preferred there to be a reason for it more often rather than just throwing in say the optional "No Russian" mission transparently to command press attention, shit like this. I don't know if the Spider-Man games do so or not because I've never played any of them. 
When it comes to God of War as a franchise, like with apparently a lot of other gamers, my connection to it really began with the 2018 game, which I felt masterfully reimagined the series in just about every way, giving it a more cinematic and evocative feel all-around and a welcome maturation of Kratos. That's not really the same thing as what I was complaining about before.
Likewise, neither do I object to, you know, the existence of casual party games and such by any means either, but I didn't care for the gravitas of their prevalence during this period in gaming history. It felt like everything on the Wii for a long time had to use motion controls to death just because they were there, with a number of franchises having to be significantly watered down as a result. 2007 on the Wii felt especially dismal this way to me between the likes of Super Paper Mario, Donkey Kong: Barrel Blast, Link's Crossbow Training, and Mario Party 8, each of which I think I'd characterize as my least favorite entries in the respective franchises. And don't get me started on the epic disappointment that was the massively over-hyped Red Steel.
