Definitely Assassin's Creed: Origins since they pretty much took away everything I liked about the franchise.
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Acclaimed games that “alienated” you from a franchise you liked
- Thread starter Deleted member 2793
- Start date
Dude, you know what I mean. Why are you trying to be cute?
"Exploring" a dungeon is fundamentally a different experience than "exploring" an open world. Technically, every aspect of every single game you've ever played that wasn't an exact rote sequence you were repeating was a form of exploration.
The difference is when you explore a dungeon, you're operating inside a deliberate system with an end goal. You go find this key, to open this chest, to fight this mini boss, to get this item, etc.
Whereas open world exploration is often aimless wandering with no clear payoff, if there is one at all.
I play games for the "aha!" Moments. When you solve a difficult puzzle or complete a challenging task. I don't play my games to wander aimlessly. I have other hobbies I engage in to scratch that itch. I know not everyone is like me, and that's fine, but if Zelda is moving in this direction, I'm out after 25 years.
I wouldn't say these games really alienated me from their respect franchises but I certainly had/have less excitement to see new entries because of them.
Persona 5 - I don't think Atlus will improve or change the modern Persona formula that much anymore.
Dark Souls 3 - This was the most "been there, done that" game I've played this gen.
Resident Evil 7 - Though after Resident Evil 2 I'm all in on RE once again.
MGS V - Great mechanics, awful everything else.
Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus - I have zero interest in Youngblood thanks to this.
Dragon Age Inquisition - Same with Wolf 2 I have zero interest in DA4 atm thanks to DAI.
Persona 5 - I don't think Atlus will improve or change the modern Persona formula that much anymore.
Dark Souls 3 - This was the most "been there, done that" game I've played this gen.
Resident Evil 7 - Though after Resident Evil 2 I'm all in on RE once again.
MGS V - Great mechanics, awful everything else.
Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus - I have zero interest in Youngblood thanks to this.
Dragon Age Inquisition - Same with Wolf 2 I have zero interest in DA4 atm thanks to DAI.
Assassins Creed Origins, and later Odyssey.
Great games, but they're not the Assassins Creed I like.
Great games, but they're not the Assassins Creed I like.
OP
OP
I do make a few threads praising games I like.
They do turn me off. There are games coming out I'm excited for and I'm usually playing something I like as well.
I don't think the game is the most awful thing humanity has ever endured anymore, in fact I think of it in a somewhat positive light now, but Final Fantasy XV.
Not only was, like, 90% of pre-release footage not in the game, but the game itself was absolutely NOTHING like what I want from a Final Fantasy (this doesn't include the combat change; I was fine with ARPG combat). And another issue is, what's there doesn't make up for all the stuff that's missing. There's no sense of a journey, the story is beyond terrible, the characters are one-dimensional, pretty much every gameplay mechanic is very unbalanced, the presentation has zero cinematic flair, and everything takes a little too long (the loading, going from place to place, etc.).
There are some things I really appreciate about it, the soundtrack is phenomenal, and it's fun to dive into when I'm in the right mood, but it was just so unbelievably disappointing that it killed the childlike enthusiasm I had for the series.
Also, do the Xeno games count? I like Gears, and I absolutely adore the Xenosaga trilogy, but the Blade games just don't seem appealing to me at all.
Not only was, like, 90% of pre-release footage not in the game, but the game itself was absolutely NOTHING like what I want from a Final Fantasy (this doesn't include the combat change; I was fine with ARPG combat). And another issue is, what's there doesn't make up for all the stuff that's missing. There's no sense of a journey, the story is beyond terrible, the characters are one-dimensional, pretty much every gameplay mechanic is very unbalanced, the presentation has zero cinematic flair, and everything takes a little too long (the loading, going from place to place, etc.).
There are some things I really appreciate about it, the soundtrack is phenomenal, and it's fun to dive into when I'm in the right mood, but it was just so unbelievably disappointing that it killed the childlike enthusiasm I had for the series.
Also, do the Xeno games count? I like Gears, and I absolutely adore the Xenosaga trilogy, but the Blade games just don't seem appealing to me at all.
Uncharted 4.
Uncharted to me was all about unrelenting action. The directions they took 4 - with its constant aimless waking just to serve another boring conversation and its stop start battles that never get going - was such a disappointment to me.
Uncharted to me was all about unrelenting action. The directions they took 4 - with its constant aimless waking just to serve another boring conversation and its stop start battles that never get going - was such a disappointment to me.
Yeah, I suppose I was speaking more from a sales perspective, last check it was at over 8 million.
It is such an uninspired game and IMO its symptomatic of this open world semi-rpg gaming singularity that seems to be forming.
X and Blade 2 have put me off a fair bit :( The original Xenoblade is one of my favourite RPGs ever.
Really heart skips? Lol it's okay if you dislike the game but we went over this in the other thread. For many people it would be SS, or for many it would be WW or TP, etcetera.
But I understand....
For me it's SS... I don't wish to go through it all over again but for many reasons it's the lowest point in the series for me personally and it isn't even close. It has its charms and innovations however but it's characters were annoying. Progression outside a few mini puzzles was plainly tedious. Lastly, I didn't enjoy the bird traversal a bit. Not the fights on its back. Not it's ugly stupid bird face and the stupid insipid gameplay mechanic it presented. FI was a mediocre companion and aside from a few mini puzzles I didn't find it engaging.
(Also Demise's design with his weird feather scales looks gross and I only enjoyed a few songs in the games score)
As you can see I could go on even further but is it worth it?
And for a bonus SFV... Been playing SF since II Turbo and SFV murdered it for me.
I would recommend waiting for BOTW 2's full reveal before putting off the series or believing you have. I have a feeling story is going to take a major role in this sequel with a more linear progression. My belief is that's why they are reusing the Hyrule, add temples /dungeons and select mission structure, new towns and you'll probably be satisfied.
Aonuma is just that kind of guy. He wouldn't abandon the old formula entirely. As much as you dislike BOTW it contains many elements you say it abandoned but that's for another conversation at another time. :)
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Kingdom hearts Dream Drop Distance.
Both in story and gameplay, it made me feel like the crew was out of touch with what the audience liked about KH.
Both in story and gameplay, it made me feel like the crew was out of touch with what the audience liked about KH.
MGS Peace Walker.
- It turned a simple, linear stealth game into an endless grindfest, a mindless content mill where you farm the same missions in the same tiny areas over and over to level up shitty guns and equipment into progressively less shitty guns and equipment so you can fight more difficult versions of the same bosses that weren't fun the first time and only get worse.
- It marked the point at which Metal Gear games would become unnecessary 'fill in the gaps' style stories, focusing on Big Boss even though his story was done at the end of MGS3. Peace Walker more or less botches MGS3's ending and set Big Boss' character development back to square one. The shit Kojima tried to pull with Big Boss refusing to accept what The Boss did was ridiculous.
- Became the blueprint for MGSV, and presumably all future MGS games if there had actually been any. Mother Base and all the grinding it entails is a chore, and the chapter-based and 'true ending' structure was terrible for storytelling and pacing.
- It turned a simple, linear stealth game into an endless grindfest, a mindless content mill where you farm the same missions in the same tiny areas over and over to level up shitty guns and equipment into progressively less shitty guns and equipment so you can fight more difficult versions of the same bosses that weren't fun the first time and only get worse.
- It marked the point at which Metal Gear games would become unnecessary 'fill in the gaps' style stories, focusing on Big Boss even though his story was done at the end of MGS3. Peace Walker more or less botches MGS3's ending and set Big Boss' character development back to square one. The shit Kojima tried to pull with Big Boss refusing to accept what The Boss did was ridiculous.
- Became the blueprint for MGSV, and presumably all future MGS games if there had actually been any. Mother Base and all the grinding it entails is a chore, and the chapter-based and 'true ending' structure was terrible for storytelling and pacing.
I've tried and failed to play that game multiple times, I just get to the part where the stupid inflatable dumbass animals show up and I just turn it off.
That recent Pokémon news from E3 about not letting you transfer over ones except what they allow did it for me.
Considering the stupid grinding EV & IVs take to do, I'm probably going to drop the series unless they change course on that.
They already have the models done for the older ones also, so I don't get why they're restricting it even in postgame.
Considering the stupid grinding EV & IVs take to do, I'm probably going to drop the series unless they change course on that.
They already have the models done for the older ones also, so I don't get why they're restricting it even in postgame.
Lmaoooo looking at guides on how to beat said beloved dungeon and puzzle. Lol
I didn't like "God of War" having just beat 3 Remastered.
The combat felt slow and deliberate, quite the opposite of the hack and slash of 3.
I'm also not quite sold on Breath of the Wild but I gotta play it more.
Red Dead Redemption 2 was much less fun to me than 1 from a gameplay perspective. I haven't played 1 in some time, but I really enjoyed the game whereas I struggle to play 2 at times.
Final Fantasy X was the first FF I played that I had mixed feelings for. IV, VI, VII, VIII, and IX are all classics, whereas X was a step down. From then we had XI, which I never played due to it being an MMO. I also didn't particularly enjoy FFXII. XIII wasn't very good but I did beat it. Never played XIV. XV was not that bad, gotta get back into it at some point.
Paper Mario Sticker Star was a very disappointing title as the previous games were great. Didn't play the Wii U Paper Mario because of this.
A bit off topic, but I feel like the milking of the Mario&Luigi brand was a big misstep. Three games in a row now that no one cares about. Dream Team was too long and the battles took too long, but was a good game with some great music. From then, there's the SuperStar Saga remake (who really cares), the Paper Mario mashup (bad idea) and the Bowsers Inside Story remake (who cares).
Luigi's Mansion 2 mission structure and smaller mansions differs enough from the original to make me not like it as much.
Pokémon X+Y was so easy compared to past games, I still haven't played Sun+Moon.
At the time, Majoras Mask was too difficult for me to understand coming from Ocarina. Replaying the game now is different.
I remember Twisted Metal 3 being a disappointment compared to 2, maybe something about the multiplayer? Then that stupid kart racing game. Also, Black was mediocre and a launch title, and the PS3 version was just way too different. Perhaps Sony should remake 2.
Animal Crossing DS compared to the GameCube version. It was pretty much exactly the same with worse graphics.
Modern Warfare 3 with its horrible lobby system (couldn't connect in same household with another PS3), bad maps, and stats locked behind CoD Elite. Black Ops offered all these stats for free, now all the sudden they want you to pay for it.
Mario Strikers Charged with it's stupid Wii Remote gimmick power up. The original has pure gameplay whereas the sequel kinda ruins it.
The combat felt slow and deliberate, quite the opposite of the hack and slash of 3.
I'm also not quite sold on Breath of the Wild but I gotta play it more.
Red Dead Redemption 2 was much less fun to me than 1 from a gameplay perspective. I haven't played 1 in some time, but I really enjoyed the game whereas I struggle to play 2 at times.
Final Fantasy X was the first FF I played that I had mixed feelings for. IV, VI, VII, VIII, and IX are all classics, whereas X was a step down. From then we had XI, which I never played due to it being an MMO. I also didn't particularly enjoy FFXII. XIII wasn't very good but I did beat it. Never played XIV. XV was not that bad, gotta get back into it at some point.
Paper Mario Sticker Star was a very disappointing title as the previous games were great. Didn't play the Wii U Paper Mario because of this.
A bit off topic, but I feel like the milking of the Mario&Luigi brand was a big misstep. Three games in a row now that no one cares about. Dream Team was too long and the battles took too long, but was a good game with some great music. From then, there's the SuperStar Saga remake (who really cares), the Paper Mario mashup (bad idea) and the Bowsers Inside Story remake (who cares).
Luigi's Mansion 2 mission structure and smaller mansions differs enough from the original to make me not like it as much.
Pokémon X+Y was so easy compared to past games, I still haven't played Sun+Moon.
At the time, Majoras Mask was too difficult for me to understand coming from Ocarina. Replaying the game now is different.
I remember Twisted Metal 3 being a disappointment compared to 2, maybe something about the multiplayer? Then that stupid kart racing game. Also, Black was mediocre and a launch title, and the PS3 version was just way too different. Perhaps Sony should remake 2.
Animal Crossing DS compared to the GameCube version. It was pretty much exactly the same with worse graphics.
Modern Warfare 3 with its horrible lobby system (couldn't connect in same household with another PS3), bad maps, and stats locked behind CoD Elite. Black Ops offered all these stats for free, now all the sudden they want you to pay for it.
Mario Strikers Charged with it's stupid Wii Remote gimmick power up. The original has pure gameplay whereas the sequel kinda ruins it.
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Well they aren't too similar, so what do you dislike about both?
Halo 4 for me. I loooved 3 and Reach, and even ODST was fun and then 4 came and it was just like... blaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah. Never played Halo again after that.
BotW is also my least favorite 3D Zelda and the only one I'll never replay. I despise the durability system and not having real dungeons worth a damn just soured me on it. Well, and I never replay Open World type stuff anyways. They're always one and dones for me due to the nature of them. It didn't alienate me from Zelda though and I'm still in for BotW2, I just hope I enjoy it more than I did the first one. I still had a good time for much of, it's just, the least good time I've had for 3D Zeldas.
BotW is also my least favorite 3D Zelda and the only one I'll never replay. I despise the durability system and not having real dungeons worth a damn just soured me on it. Well, and I never replay Open World type stuff anyways. They're always one and dones for me due to the nature of them. It didn't alienate me from Zelda though and I'm still in for BotW2, I just hope I enjoy it more than I did the first one. I still had a good time for much of, it's just, the least good time I've had for 3D Zeldas.
That's weird considering GTAV is vastly different in terms of tone, story, characters, gameplay and art direction.
Striker Charged has better gameplay but the super shot from the original is superior IMO.
MSC gameplay + SMS Supershot = Perfection.
I bounced off it two or three times before it finally stuck. I'm about 3/4 of the way through it at the moment and I love the way it cleverly iterates on the mechanics from the original.
... but I really dislike being pulled out of the mansion constantly and forced to replay missions if I want to capture Boos I missed and search for gems. This could easily have been fixed by having another mission slot where you just search until your heart's content. Anyway I think its a great game with a questionable structure.
WRPG:
Dragon Age: Inquisition - my last AAA game pre-order ever.
Fallout 4 - got baited with good reviews. Easily the worst SP game by Bethesda, I've played everything since TES III (included).
Mass Effect 3 - well, not like there were any other games after. Andromeda doesn't really count, not really excited about any other possible reboots.
TES IV: Oblivion - I played Skyrim, but even less than Oblivion (which I played much less than Morrowind) and now very skeptic about TES VI.
I used to buy Bioware and Bethesda games day 1, not any longer.
JRPG:
Final Fantasy X - can't believe I even finished the game. Honestly couldn't understand why it's so highly rated (aside from having great visuals especially for the time it's released).
Persona 5 - so much inferior to P3 and P4 when it comes to writing/localization, it's not even funny. Scooby-doo level of villains completely ruined it for me.
Other:
GTA - everything after Vice City couldn't hold my attention much.
Dragon Age: Inquisition - my last AAA game pre-order ever.
Fallout 4 - got baited with good reviews. Easily the worst SP game by Bethesda, I've played everything since TES III (included).
Mass Effect 3 - well, not like there were any other games after. Andromeda doesn't really count, not really excited about any other possible reboots.
TES IV: Oblivion - I played Skyrim, but even less than Oblivion (which I played much less than Morrowind) and now very skeptic about TES VI.
I used to buy Bioware and Bethesda games day 1, not any longer.
JRPG:
Final Fantasy X - can't believe I even finished the game. Honestly couldn't understand why it's so highly rated (aside from having great visuals especially for the time it's released).
Persona 5 - so much inferior to P3 and P4 when it comes to writing/localization, it's not even funny. Scooby-doo level of villains completely ruined it for me.
Other:
GTA - everything after Vice City couldn't hold my attention much.
Skyward Sword completely turned me off for the Zelda game template.
I was completely done with Zelda, and if they hadn't changed it up with BOTW, I would have been gone.
Same thing with Pokemon ruby/sapphire, I liked them, but I was done with that template afterwards.
I was completely done with Zelda, and if they hadn't changed it up with BOTW, I would have been gone.
Same thing with Pokemon ruby/sapphire, I liked them, but I was done with that template afterwards.
Uncharted 3
Uncharted 2 was just mind blowing in when it came out. It was the first game I ever played and felt like it was simply perfect from top to bottom. It's not my favorite video game or anything like that. It was a game that set out to feel like a truly cinematic video game and damn did it deliver. Exciting action, mind blowing set pieces, fun characters, great script etc. It really set the bar high for action games.
Naturally, I was super excited for the sequel, and boy did it disappoint. Uncharted 3 felt like every other average action game at the time. Some neat ideas, but it suffered from really bad writing, broken game mechanics, sloppy pacing, really odd visuals, and just generally felt like a poor imitation of Uncharted 2. It's basically like watching Aliens and having your mind blown, and then the next movie you watch is Aliens' Ressurection. There's still fun to be had, but it's very clear which one is a quality product and the other is simply forgettable popcorn crap.
When Uncharted 4 was announced, my excitement was tepid at best. And while Uncharted 4 did end up being a better game overall compared to 3, I feel like it was never close to the emotional impact of the 2nd game. I feel like overall this series has one good game, the rest is simply okay at best.
Uncharted 2 was just mind blowing in when it came out. It was the first game I ever played and felt like it was simply perfect from top to bottom. It's not my favorite video game or anything like that. It was a game that set out to feel like a truly cinematic video game and damn did it deliver. Exciting action, mind blowing set pieces, fun characters, great script etc. It really set the bar high for action games.
Naturally, I was super excited for the sequel, and boy did it disappoint. Uncharted 3 felt like every other average action game at the time. Some neat ideas, but it suffered from really bad writing, broken game mechanics, sloppy pacing, really odd visuals, and just generally felt like a poor imitation of Uncharted 2. It's basically like watching Aliens and having your mind blown, and then the next movie you watch is Aliens' Ressurection. There's still fun to be had, but it's very clear which one is a quality product and the other is simply forgettable popcorn crap.
When Uncharted 4 was announced, my excitement was tepid at best. And while Uncharted 4 did end up being a better game overall compared to 3, I feel like it was never close to the emotional impact of the 2nd game. I feel like overall this series has one good game, the rest is simply okay at best.
I prefer the darker tone and weirdness of Ocarina and MM, Wind Waker did away with that and it hasn't really come back, Twilight Princess being the exception. Idk aesthetic and tone are extremely important to me.
Persona 5.
Massive Persona fan and not sure I will be playing the series going forward. Bloat after bloat after drawn out bloat: the game. I didn't like the dungeon design, the repitition in the story drove my mad. I didn't make it to the third dungeon. What an utter slog.
Massive Persona fan and not sure I will be playing the series going forward. Bloat after bloat after drawn out bloat: the game. I didn't like the dungeon design, the repitition in the story drove my mad. I didn't make it to the third dungeon. What an utter slog.
This is fundamentally INCORRECT. In BOTW you are exploring but it is NOT aimlessly. You have objectives and some even correspond with the dungeons in previous games in that there's a clear objective contained in a specific area/space that you must complete. Whether it's searching for shrines, materials, recipes, horses, guardians, enemies, towns, dragons, items, Koroks, great fairies, weapons, etc. It is never aimless unless you have no objective. Now if you mean without direction or knowledge that's a bit different. Yes, you don't know WHERE things are but do you know how to get through a dungeon just by looking at it? Or do you explore it?
People need to have more open minds and understand they are fundamentally doing the same tasks in essence to previous games. It just now allows you to dictate how you progress as a real adventure would require. It felt like Zelda to me and I've played enough Zelda to know.
I agree with Resident Evil 7 and also 2's remake, too much hunter gameplay and it's gotten tiring. I didn't mind Nemesis back on 90s though where you're well armed.
Assassin's Creed Odyssey. It didn't feel like an AC game and I couldn't force myself to play it through because it wasn't Assassin's Creed anymore.
Also, Pokemon Sword and Shield are looking like they're about to do the same. Especially with GF's new focus on "only allowing Pokemon that fit the region" mentality.
Also, Pokemon Sword and Shield are looking like they're about to do the same. Especially with GF's new focus on "only allowing Pokemon that fit the region" mentality.
Resident Evil 4. I prefer my horror Res over action ones
Assasisn's Creed: Origins. Not a fan of looter rpg AC.
Assasisn's Creed: Origins. Not a fan of looter rpg AC.
I state with confidence that it's Super Mario 64. It may well have left an impression on me but I never found it all that compelling and I think its greater focus on traversal and collecting stuff (vs. reaching a standard goal) combined with the series' propensity for one-hit kills makes it pretty drudgerous to progress through in some cases. And as I've mentioned before I always felt that the limited jump control was a significant step down from the looser jump provided in Super Mario World.
Between the significant increase in checkpoints and the greater movement control from jumps I think Galaxy was the first 3D Mario that really felt right.
EDIT: Ironically, BOTW is the opposite for me from most posters, where it really is the only Zelda game that I've been able to properly get into.
Between the significant increase in checkpoints and the greater movement control from jumps I think Galaxy was the first 3D Mario that really felt right.
EDIT: Ironically, BOTW is the opposite for me from most posters, where it really is the only Zelda game that I've been able to properly get into.
Monster Hunter World
map visual is a cluster of fuck
boring weapon and monster designs
the overall aesthetic is ugly as shit
where is the creativity?
when you can do spiders/big snake/swinging monkey/giant tank bug on the 3DS
with much stronger hardware you can only do..... wyvern and rigs that already exist?
oh and I strongly disagree with OP about BotW. :p
map visual is a cluster of fuck
boring weapon and monster designs
the overall aesthetic is ugly as shit
where is the creativity?
when you can do spiders/big snake/swinging monkey/giant tank bug on the 3DS
with much stronger hardware you can only do..... wyvern and rigs that already exist?
oh and I strongly disagree with OP about BotW. :p
The big one here is Sid Meier's Civilization V. Just a massive step down from Civilization IV in every way except the UI, even once the expansions came in to bury the fundamental systems-level problems in more content. Economy and diplomacy were particularly gutted, and longstanding genre problems elegantly solved in Civ4 cropped up all over again. The depth of player choice and strategy fell off a cliff in ways that I've argued about so many times before that I can't bother to repeat it all here. It's one of the few subjects in video games that I really mustn't rant about because once I start, it's very hard to stop (sample derailments on Era here and here). It took me years to come to terms with the truth that Civ5 was the moment when my breakup began with what had been my main genre over multiple, lengthy, and significant periods in my life, and nothing has restored 4X strategy to its former position since.
This piece on the Brave New World expansion by a like-minded player, an extremely informed veteran of the series and its community who had playtested it at length, is one of my most cherished pieces of writing about games because of how well it elucidates, well, everything, but most of all the huge gulf of perception between the old Civ/4X community and the praise for Civ5 from reviewers or new/casual players who loved the surface-level simplifications (no more unit stacks!) and were simply unable to perceive how much damage this did to the intricate weave of systems that made the veterans fall in love with the series in the first place. The problem wasn't even that Civ5 was different or experimental, but that this was executed badly in ways that weren't just forgiven, but actively praised. A whole section late in the piece linked above discusses this, and here's an excerpt:
That may seem rather blunt, but it's backed up by considerable, exacting study of the game systems (beginning with this earlier review of vanilla Civ5) that accurately expresses how systemic problems stemming from minor decisions rippled across every facet of the game.
If you'll excuse me for quoting myself, the last time I fell down this rabbit-hole I put it like so:
So naturally there arose an entire generation of players who hit their stride with Civ5 and can't imagine Civ working any other way, and they in turn hit a wall of dejection with Beyond Earth or Civ6—although if they were paying attention, they would know that most of the core problems with Beyond Earth and Civ6 (especially the former) were inherited from Civ5 in the first place. Civ6 addressed a bevy of my misgivings, but as I said, I'm just not as in love with 4X as I once was, I don't ever expect the sheer elation of historic zeniths of game design like Alpha Centauri and Civ4 to come back in this format (from Firaxis or anyone else), and I therefore haven't studied Civ6 or its expansions closely enough to speak on them. But it didn't take me very long with Civ6 to realize that I just didn't miss the Civ5 era at all (again, apart from the gorgeous interface). Someone will have to wake me up if we someday get another equivalent of Civ4, the total culmination of everything that was learnt about a specific design paradigm, but for a different age.
Endless Legend, Age of Wonders—I've tried all that. None of it has ever lasted. The old macro-managerial pleasure of 4X up to Civ4 seems to have dispersed either to Paradox-style grand strategy (not so much my thing) or incredibly powerful systems engineering sandboxes like Factorio, which is where the action is these days.
This piece on the Brave New World expansion by a like-minded player, an extremely informed veteran of the series and its community who had playtested it at length, is one of my most cherished pieces of writing about games because of how well it elucidates, well, everything, but most of all the huge gulf of perception between the old Civ/4X community and the praise for Civ5 from reviewers or new/casual players who loved the surface-level simplifications (no more unit stacks!) and were simply unable to perceive how much damage this did to the intricate weave of systems that made the veterans fall in love with the series in the first place. The problem wasn't even that Civ5 was different or experimental, but that this was executed badly in ways that weren't just forgiven, but actively praised. A whole section late in the piece linked above discusses this, and here's an excerpt:
Sullla said:
That may seem rather blunt, but it's backed up by considerable, exacting study of the game systems (beginning with this earlier review of vanilla Civ5) that accurately expresses how systemic problems stemming from minor decisions rippled across every facet of the game.
If you'll excuse me for quoting myself, the last time I fell down this rabbit-hole I put it like so:
So naturally there arose an entire generation of players who hit their stride with Civ5 and can't imagine Civ working any other way, and they in turn hit a wall of dejection with Beyond Earth or Civ6—although if they were paying attention, they would know that most of the core problems with Beyond Earth and Civ6 (especially the former) were inherited from Civ5 in the first place. Civ6 addressed a bevy of my misgivings, but as I said, I'm just not as in love with 4X as I once was, I don't ever expect the sheer elation of historic zeniths of game design like Alpha Centauri and Civ4 to come back in this format (from Firaxis or anyone else), and I therefore haven't studied Civ6 or its expansions closely enough to speak on them. But it didn't take me very long with Civ6 to realize that I just didn't miss the Civ5 era at all (again, apart from the gorgeous interface). Someone will have to wake me up if we someday get another equivalent of Civ4, the total culmination of everything that was learnt about a specific design paradigm, but for a different age.
Endless Legend, Age of Wonders—I've tried all that. None of it has ever lasted. The old macro-managerial pleasure of 4X up to Civ4 seems to have dispersed either to Paradox-style grand strategy (not so much my thing) or incredibly powerful systems engineering sandboxes like Factorio, which is where the action is these days.
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I knew this was gonna be about Breath of the Wild. Man, the thing is my only really problem with Skyward Sword was the lack of real overworld. I saw Skyloft and I was like "wow, I can't wait to explore the rest of the world and see all the other towns". So I start playing Breath of the Wild and think they fixed my only major complaint with Skyward Sword but then I start to realize all these shrines are starting to get repetitive and you just have the same four tools available to you and the enemy variety is pretty lackluster and they don't really do much to change things up. Also playing Twilight Princess HD before this made me realize just how much more rewarding linear games feel. I feel no real sense of progression getting anything done in Breath of the Wild but in Twilight Princess HD, I really felt accomplished as I progressed. I feel like non-linear games are CAPABLE of having that sense of progression (or at least something close to it) but Breath of the Wild did a pretty poor job of it.
Most posters HERE, because they are the minority they need a thread to validate their dislike which is unnecessary. But yes after SS I didn't want more Zelda, BOTW saved it's bacon in my eyes.
skyrim
i understood morrowind to oblivion. making compromises for increased accessibility at least accomplishes something, even if you would rather not make that trade
i'm puzzled by skyrim. who are the players who needed every dungeon to be a single corridor? who needed every quest to be completely straightforward?
civilization 5 & 6
they managed to turn a brilliant strategy game into a glorified clicker with glacial pacing, braindead AI, and a design unsuitable for multiplayer
the subject matter involves things like persia invading greece with hundreds of thousands of soldiers and hundreds of warships. but the gameplay tries to be about positional micromanagement of single-digit size armies
i understood morrowind to oblivion. making compromises for increased accessibility at least accomplishes something, even if you would rather not make that trade
i'm puzzled by skyrim. who are the players who needed every dungeon to be a single corridor? who needed every quest to be completely straightforward?
civilization 5 & 6
they managed to turn a brilliant strategy game into a glorified clicker with glacial pacing, braindead AI, and a design unsuitable for multiplayer
the subject matter involves things like persia invading greece with hundreds of thousands of soldiers and hundreds of warships. but the gameplay tries to be about positional micromanagement of single-digit size armies
Yeah, I'm a huge fan of P3 and P4 but I found P5 to be an onerous slog through a turgid mess of a story. While I liked some of the characters and their arcs after about 65 hours I just wanted it to be over.
But don't worry, I'm sure P5R will remedy the pacing issues by making the game longer /s
Rainbow Six Siege
I think I've probably posted something like this several times in the past couple weeks. It's not Rainbow Six. It's an interesting PvP FPS, but the only thing it has to with Rainbow Six is the title and the use of an international cast of characters. I bailed on it not long after purchase because it got too frustrating.
I think I've probably posted something like this several times in the past couple weeks. It's not Rainbow Six. It's an interesting PvP FPS, but the only thing it has to with Rainbow Six is the title and the use of an international cast of characters. I bailed on it not long after purchase because it got too frustrating.
You're correct (this is what I meant in that comment). My apologies for not being more precise.
That's Breath of the Wild to me too. I'm afraid I'll never get another game from Zelda that will be like I love about the series.
I compared it for a mate in saying that it's like if they turned Borderlands 3 into a Warframe clone. It's similar. It might even be fucking outstanding. But there will always be something missing that isn't like what you once loved.
I compared it for a mate in saying that it's like if they turned Borderlands 3 into a Warframe clone. It's similar. It might even be fucking outstanding. But there will always be something missing that isn't like what you once loved.