Inception is a better E33 than E33. But I digress.

OT, as amazing as it is as a success story, Silksong is just one game. The failure rate for indie studios and AA games is astounding. Exceptions vs. the rule and all of that.

It's not only the villain, the main characters as well. The true main character of the story (Maelle) is an example of that. It doesn't matter how many JRPGs (or any games) used the same subject, I'm not arguing on that. What sets E33 apart is not its theme, but its execution. The point of the story is not "save the world", it started like that, but it slowly gets more and more layers

>"lesson taught by Astro Bot"
Bruh, that was just robot Mario.

Inception is great. The issue with Inception is it tells the story from the point of view of Cobb, well after their fantasy world has ended. For Mal, her dream world was her true world. For outsiders it's easy to deem her as crazy, but if the narrative E33 giver another perspective: We get to live and believe those small people and creatures were real, this is why we build connection to them. It was much easier for me to feel empathy for Aline and Alicia for not wanting to letting their small Fantasy break apart

Absolutely - all the praise I've seen in "gaming" media about the low price tag is just silly, given that original was $15 and this one costs more...20% more. Is it worth it? Absolutely.

I love Hollow Knight, but that's its price range, not $40 or $60 or $80 - comparisons with price range of AA/AAA games is beyond ridiculous.

you’re missing my original point. Yes, you may perceive the game as being worth only $20, but the fact that it has been as successful as it has at such a low price (compared to AA/AAA offerings) demonstrates the importances of the industry not heading in a direction of pricing out consumers. Hence, less is more. No more bloated budgets, don’t shoot to make the next Fortnite nor GTAV, just make fun games.

I purchased Silksong because it's cheap, and worthy the price. I would never have paid the full price that I paid without regret for Bananza. Bananza is a bigger game with more content and more fun. And yes, a bigger budget went into it, so no, Nintendo can't charge $20 for it, and no, the game wouldn't be nearly as good if it had Silksong's budget. That budget works for indie Metroid-like games, but I like having diversity, we don't want every game to be Silksong, or Claire Obscure (which wasn't nearly as good or impactful in the industry as BG3), or a Mario clone.

lol

No, didn't miss your point, though I don't agree with your point, since there is market for both.

I consider Hollow Knight GOTY of 2017, though my favourite game from that year is Prey. Completely different budgets, for completely different experiences, which cannot be made on Hollow Knight budget.

Like in board games - you have something like 7 Wonders Duel, critical and commercial darling (and one of my GOATs), that sits at 21st spot of best games of all times on BGG, which you can find for $25 and is owned by 175K people on BGG. And then there's Twilight Imperium: Fourth Edition, that is at 6th spot, with 32K owners and costs around $160.

And then you have Kingdom Death: Monster, which is at 87th spot, with 14K owners and price tag of $400+

It's all about knowing your audience and return on investment - if your making game to make money, that is.

Silksong happens to be a major outlier in terms of sales.

Tons of AA indies and smaller games are already available on multiple storefronts. The reality is consumers want major AAA games. People want these smaller games until they actually show them off in any gaming event/presentation lol. Then its disappointing and a waste of time.