Playthrough Topic (Hades)

[Youef]

Outer Wilds was spectacular. I’m so happy I stuck with it to the end.

[Random]

I'm glad you did.

[Youef]

Some brief thoughts:

There’s a lot to be said about this game. It’s one of those rare games that does a spectacular job at interweaving they gameplay with its story. Most games usually play out in some variant of cutscenes, then gameplay, then cutscenes, etc. Which is fine, honestly. I don’t have an issue with that at all, but I really love that this game takes full advantage of the medium to tell its story effectively. I have played plenty of immersive games lately, but I haven’t felt engaged with a game’s world since Metroid Prime, and I think that’s because the story is the gameplay, or the gameplay is the story. And each player’s experience with the game is undoubtedly unique in how we discover the universe and progress through our understanding.

And despite those differences, it all comes down to one certainty by the end, which itself paves the way for new possibilities in the game’s universe.

I found myself especially invested in the Nomai. The prospect of keeping track of the different characters was initially daunting, but things just sort of started to connect and make sense eventually. Their story was just heartbreaking to uncover. And yet the ending of the game left me feeling hopeful at the same time. The game is simultaneously melancholic and uplifting. It strikes that balance pretty spectacularly.

On the one hand, I feel like I’m done playing it, and I don’t really want to go back. But on the other hand, I feel compelled to analyze the bits and pieces of the story it presented. Regardless, it was such a pleasant experience, and I’m happy to have lived to play it. I will never forget it.

[Youef]

Decided to give Sekiro a go again. I played a bit on NG+5, and I removed Kuro’s charm.

I never even realized how much of a crutch that charm was. Granted I am on NG+5 and I haven’t played this game in months but...I think I could’ve handled Lady Butterfly more easily with the charm. The chip damage adds up very quickly, and it really does demand perfection precision with parrying.

I might continue, but I’m not really sure. I don’t have much motivation, not necessarily with this game, but with life in general. This game is still amazing and I’m glad I still hold it in high regard after some time being away with it. I used to really immerse myself in video games when I was a child, pretending like I actually was the main character being a total badass. I never do that anymore, mainly due to adulthood being generally sucky. But I was able to do that again just a little bit with this game, as childish as that may seem. It wasn’t immersed to the same extent as I would be as a kid, but I’m glad that it’s still within me to enjoy being a total nerd like that. Makes me still feel human, I guess.

[ganonfloyd]

I know what you mean about being immersed more as a kid. Guess its just timing for me; even when I have time to play games I don't always have the energy. I can't remember the last time I totally bought in and was absorbed by a game (SMT IV maybe?) Even ones I really like still feel like work to a degree anymore.

I wish I could like Sekiro as much as everyone else did. When I played it I remember thinking it really was fantastic, especially in the stealth and movement aspects, but at the same time I've never felt more frustrated at a game. The upward difficulty trend had been bothering me for awhile and it finally plateaued.

[Maniac]

it's not flat-out immersion but I still internalize my characters in a power fantasy kind of way, but it's actually probably a bad thing. really, you either have to live a blessed or broken life in order to still feel that magic with every piece of media you interact with well into adulthood, and if you were randomly chosen to live either kind of life then you'd probably get the latter. all things considered, it's probably a good thing to get past that point even if it's signified by the door to your happier childhood closing behind you. but it's also not a bad thing to feel that way again once in a blue moon.

[Youef]

That's actually a very insightful perspective to be honest.

In any case, I beat Isshin like 4 or 5 days ago again on NG+5, charmless. I recorded my initial fight when I beat him on my first playthrough, and I compared it with a recording of this fight. It was clear that I was much more aggressive this time. On my first playthrough, I hardly parried his attacks, just relying on guarding through his attacks. With that handicap removed, I had to learn how to actually parry his attacks and perfectly time pressing L1. I knew when to parry, when to attack, when to dodge, and when to Mikiri counter. It really did feel like a dance this time around.

[Maniac]

That's actually a very insightful perspective to be honest.

yeah I know that's a bit overdramatic

[Youef]

TLoU2 got leaked.

Everyone is bugging out. You would think this is another Game of Thrones scenario based on the outrage. Some people are even editing the Wiki page lmao. Honestly, I don’t really know. I read the spoilers, but I haven’t seen the actual clips. It doesn’t seem great, but I can’t really judge it completely without any context.

[ganonfloyd]

i never played the first one so i have no context and haven't seen any spoilers, but the way people are reacting is pretty funny, some real galaxy brain gamer takes going on

[Youef]

It's kind of funny seeing how outraged people are over on Reddit, but it's also kind of absurd. There's this assumption that Abby is trans, is totally fueling the outrage. It's ironic, because I don't even think that was ever confirmed anywhere in the leaks. People are just saying that because her character design is jacked. I'm sure people would be upset if Abby was a dude, or even a more "feminine" woman, but I honestly can't imagine there would have been as much outrage.

I dunno, I mean my immediate reaction to those leaks was, "well that kind of sucks." I don't want them to approach the story with the goal of just shocking gamers and subverting expectations the way D&D approached season 8 of GoT, but it feels like that's what they're going for. Still, I don't have any context, and I don't think it's fair to pass it off yet without seeing how the character arcs pan out. People need to chill out.

After FF7R's leaks and subsequent outrage, I'm starting to see a trend with all of the major AAA releases of this year. I can only wonder if Cyberpunk follows suit.

[Youef]

Ok, so I finished the first Shadow Hearts.

Overall, I had fun with it. The gameplay is actually pretty solid, if unrefined. Some of the puzzles were kind of banal and felt like padding, and the game didn’t really encourage me to use all of my party members towards the end of the game, but it worked pretty well otherwise. The encounter rate was also surprisingly low, which is a major win in my book. Also I never had to grind in this game. The gameplay’s pacing actually worked out quite well if you know what items and equipment you need to use.

The story on the other hand is, well, not so great. The dialogue is just flat out bad half the time, and the plot’s pacing is awkward. The music is also mediocre. I like the first battle theme, but that London theme makes me want to die. Characters are one dimensional, but they’re also paradoxically interesting. It has a somewhat unique cast all things considered, even if most of them are brain-dead. I also think it’s pretty ballsy to go ahead and establish the bad ending as canon.

That being said, I am somehow totally fine with the story being so campy. There’s something endearing about the way the game tries to carve out its own identity. Despite its flaws, it certainly stands out among the JRPGs I have played. The enemy and boss designs, for example, are extremely well done. Some of those optional and end-game bosses actually looked disturbing, like what you might see in a Silent Hill game. My understanding is that the second game is a bit more comedic, but I hope it doesn’t forget to embrace the horror undertones.

The game has some charm to it. I think I’m willing to overlook its flaws because I dig the game’s aesthetic. Though truth be told, I only played it as set up for Covenant. I’m starting to think I didn’t need to do that.

And I will get back into Nocturne sometime during this quarantine. I must do it.

[ganonfloyd]

this is perfect nocturne time everyone is isolated and miserable which is the nocturne experience

[Maniac]

i never played shadow hearts 1 so I've only heard like, the final boss song and no other tracks, but I like the soundtracks of covenant and from the new world a decent bit so it's kinda odd to hear bad things about the first game's soundtrack

[Youef]

There were some pretty good tracks, but the rest of it was pretty boring. I liked the ending credits song because I’m a weeb.

I started Covenant a few days ago and was struck at how much of an improvement it was as a game overall. But that’ll have to wait because I started Nocturne from the beginning and am determined to beat it now.