Your video game hot take(s) thread

[Drathnoxis]

Both begin with the discovery of a creature whose is supposedly the progenitor of all mankind. Its name references the Tanakh or Talmud. Its appearance is that of a pale mutilated human, and kept in statis without the public's knowledge. There is a super secret cabal trying to use this creature to bring humanity back to a pre-fall state. The creature gets absorbed and turns into a Seraphim looking thing.

Ok, maybe I just don't remember Evangelion all that well, because I don't remember any of that. I remember Shinji fighting giant monsters and crying a lot, then I remember a bunch of sketches interrupted by white text on a black screen, and then everybody said "congratulations!" I don't remember getting any concrete answers about anything really.

Fun fact: Planescape Torment was explicitly inspired by FF7, so I mean technically Evangelion was behind that as well... I'm just joking.

Man, get out of here! That's as ridiculous as O Brother, Where Art Thou? being inspired by Homer's Odyssey. I can see you're right, but I don't accept that either. Why even bother listing an inspiration when the link between the two works is so tenuous? Like, at least Dragon Ball shared some character names and a couple elements of its setting with Journey to the West for a little while.

 

[Gordon_4]

Bro, one of them looks like a red mass production EVA. They also appear in FF14 as pilotable mechas with plugsuits, and yes that's 7 titles ahead but it's not some crazy connection. The mental breakdown I'm talking about is the dialogue between Tifa and Cloud when they were in the lifestream. Cloud was having an existential crisis, and the dialogue was exploring his subconscious in this shared-consciousness space.

The Mass Production Evas weren’t seen until the movie End of Evangelion, which released the same year as Final Fantasy 7, so I’m gonna call bullshit on that one because I did a Google image search for the robots in FF7, and nothing I saw remotely resembles an Eva from the 90s anime.

 

[TheMysteriousGX]

Considering how long production timeframes are in general, it's probably more accurate to say that Final Fantasy 7 and Evangelion (and many others) were marinating in the same cultural soup and it shouldn't be shocking to find examples of convergent evolution

 

[Gordon_4]

Considering how long production timeframes are in general, it's probably more accurate to say that Final Fantasy 7 and Evangelion (and many others) were marinating in the same cultural soup and it shouldn't be shocking to find examples of convergent evolution

Yep, I’ll pay that.

 

[sXeth]

Considering how long production timeframes are in general, it's probably more accurate to say that Final Fantasy 7 and Evangelion (and many others) were marinating in the same cultural soup and it shouldn't be shocking to find examples of convergent evolution

Reminds me of people knocking on about similar things in Destiny and No Mans Sky. It was like, nah mate, they're just cribbing off the same homework (I forget what that particular style of sci-fi was called, retro-futurist or something). Although the lore is obviously distinctly different (No Mans Sky lore even explains why the game suddenly became multiplayer lol)

 

[Old_Hunter_77]

I am seeing two takes going around the internet and gamer discourse, often by the same people:

1. Baldur's Gate 3 is so great- look at all the hundreds and thousands of content and how pretty it is. You know, the game that took 6 years.
2. I want shorter games with worse graphics etc- this twitter quote that went viral.

No- pick one.

 

[BrawlMan]

I am seeing two takes going around the internet and gamer discourse, often by the same people:

1. Baldur's Gate 3 is so great- look at all the hundreds and thousands of content and how pretty it is. You know, the game that took 6 years.
2. I want shorter games with worse graphics etc- this twitter quote that went viral.

No- pick one.

Why not both? Give the gamers what they want and neeeeeeeedddddd!!!!

Funny story, there's plenty in the AA and Indie that do that already. I am mainly referring to the games that look like PlayStation 1 or Nintendo 64 games, but obviously have modern controls and a good polish. Most of them do, though not all. So people asking for it already got their wish 10 times over.

 

[Old_Hunter_77]

Why not both? Give the gamers what they want and neeeeeeeedddddd!!!!

Funny story, there's plenty in the AA and Indie that do that already. I am mainly referring to the games that look like PlayStation 1 or Nintendo 64 games, but obviously have modern controls and a good polish. Most of them do, though not all. So people asking for it already got their wish 10 times over.

It is pretty funny that the year began with Hi-Fi Rush and it was like- see this is what games should be, smaller and with no marketing! Now it's BG3 it's like- see, this is what games should be, colossal and with 3 years in early access.

And, yes, variety is the spice of life, of course we should want all kinds. Fortunately, we do have that.

I know everybody hates Kotaku but this article title at least expresses how I feel:

Baldur’s Gate 3 Is One Of 2023's Best Games, Don't Turn It Into A Weapon

The success of the Dungeons & Dragons RPG has kicked off a fiery debate about game development, AAA costs, and players’ expectations

kotaku.com

 

[BrawlMan]

It is pretty funny that the year began with Hi-Fi Rush and it was like- see this is what games should be, smaller and with no marketing! Now it's BG3 it's like- see, this is what games should be, colossal and with 3 years in early access.

And, yes, variety is the spice of life, of course we should want all kinds. Fortunately, we do have that.

I know everybody hates Kotaku but this article title at least expresses how I feel:

Baldur’s Gate 3 Is One Of 2023's Best Games, Don't Turn It Into A Weapon

The success of the Dungeons & Dragons RPG has kicked off a fiery debate about game development, AAA costs, and players’ expectations

kotaku.com

A lesson such as this that you don't need to figure out from Kotaku. I'll give them some credit for at least dropping and not going off the rails this time. It doesn't make it for all the other crap they did.

 

[BrawlMan]

@Casual Shinji, @Drathnoxis, @NerfedFalcon, and @Dirty Hipsters, it's become increasingly obvious that I can deny it no longer! I didn't like Astral Chain nor W101 as much as I thought. W101 I beat the Wii U version, but I couldn't bother to finish it again on PS4. Astral Chain got repetitive too fast, and you have point there Shinji. It got to the point where I looked up the rest of the game on YouTube, and I am not fighting a final boss where nearly everything is a one hit kill. Not worth the stress. Both games I traded in for GoW: Ragnarok last year.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

@Casual Shinji, @Drathnoxis, @NerfedFalcon, and @Dirty Hipsters, it's become increasingly obvious that I can deny it no longer! I didn't like Astral Chain nor W101 as much as I thought. W101 I beat the Wii U version, but I couldn't bother to finish it again on PS4. Astral Chain got repetitive too fast, and you have point there Shinji. It got to the point where I looked up the rest of the game on YouTube, and I am not fighting a final boss where nearly everything is a one hit kill. Not worth the stress. Both games traded in for GoW: Ragnarok last year.

As someone who did not have a WiiU and does not have a Switch, and therefore did not play either game...I'm not sure that this is a significantly controversial opinion.

I mean, Wonderful 101 sold poorly even by Platinum standards because it couldn't get the same good word of mouth going as their other games, and Astral Chain mostly got decent sales because the Switch still has of a scarcity of games that are perceived as "hardcore" and Astral Chain is one of the few games that falls into that niche.

 

[BrawlMan]

As someone who did not have a WiiU and does not have a Switch, and therefore did not play either game...I'm not sure that this is a significantly controversial opinion.

It's a controversial opinion among Stylish Action game fans and Platinum fans. Plus, you play action games and I thought it would be neat to share with a fellow fan, and that I was proven wrong by @Casual Shinji.

Astral Chain mostly got decent sales because the Switch still has of a scarcity of games that are perceived as "hardcore" and Astral Chain is one of the few games that falls into that niche.

Decent sales by your standards. Nintendo thought the game met and went beyond their expectations.

Astral Chain director thanks fans as 1m milestone reached | VGC

Switch Exclusive becomes a million seller…

www.videogameschronicle.com

Astral Chain director pleased with sales that 'surpassed expectations'

www.destructoid.com

I know these are niche sales, but I consider it good thing, and that some companies for once have realistic expectations. Bayonetta 3 pretty much made the near exact sales, but got slightly further.

Bayonetta 3 hits 1 million sales in under four months

The Nintendo Switch exclusive launched on October 28, 2022.

www.gamedeveloper.com

Speaking of which, playing Bayo3 makes it harder for me to go back to Astral Chain and slightly hard to enjoy V's gameplay in DMC5. Bayonetta 3 is literally Astral Chain 2, but better in terms of combat and summoning mechanics. Level design and certain set pieces are different story, but those cases are not much of a hot take.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

Decent sales by your standards. Nintendo thought the game met and went beyond their expectations.

I wonder what Nintendo's sales expectations actually were? Prior to Astral Chain weren't the last 2 games Platinum released on Nintendo consoles complete bombs? It was Wonderful 101 and Star Fox right?

Anyway, as far as Platinum games go, although I really enjoy them they tend to be a very uneven developer. I only actually like about half their games. The ones that hit though, they hit hard.

 

[BrawlMan]

I wonder what Nintendo's sales expectations actually were?

The links pretty much whatever details are there. I'm no psychic but Nintendo had weird and nonsensical expectations some of the time. Just not this time.

Prior to Astral Chain weren't the last 2 games Platinum released on Nintendo consoles complete bombs? It was Wonderful 101 and Star Fox right?

W101 bombed, because Nintendo failed to advertise game, aside from two trailers. The French got more advertisement than the USA or even in Japan! Nintendo has no one to blame, but themselves on that one. Star Fox 0 Platinum did work on, but Miyamoto is the one mainly at fault. They had no choice follow his orders on how the game played for the sake of "innovation". They did not get much say on anything, other than shooting. Bayonetta 2 sold slightly below average on Wii U, but when ported on Switch, went beyond Nintendo's sales expectations. Big N did double dip though and charged $60 for the Switch version. It did come with a free copy of Bayonetta, it was digital only if you lived in the West. Japan got physical copy, and we didn't get Switch physicals until last year. Charged at $30.

Anyway, as far as Platinum games go, although I really enjoy them they tend to be a very uneven developer. I only actually like about half their games. The ones that hit though, they hit hard.

Platinum Titles I love are:

• Bayonetta 2
• Metal Gear Rising
• Vanquish
• Mad World
• Transformers Devastation.

Likes:

• Bayonetta 3
• Bayonetta - I find it hard to go back and play as much nowadays. 2 spoiled me.
• Bayonetta Origins
• Anarchy Reigns

Dislike/Hate:

• W101
• Astral Chain
• Legend of Korra
• TMNT: Mutants in Manhattan
• That one DS game no one remembers.

 

[Casual Shinji]

It's controversial opinion among Stylish Action game fans and Platinum fans. Plus, you play action games and I thought it would be neat to share with a fellow fan, and that I was proven wrong by @Casual Shinji.

Shit, I can't even remember the last time I talked about those games. I can't even remember why I stopped playing Astral Chain.

 

[NerfedFalcon]

Shit, I can't even remember the last time I talked about those games. I can't even remember why I stopped playing Astral Chain.

I stopped because I'm too easily distracted. I rarely even finish games that I like; it's only the games I really love that I get around to finishing anymore.

 

[Casual Shinji]

I stopped because I'm too easily distracted. I rarely even finish games that I like; it's only the games I really love that I get around to finishing anymore.

I'm kinda the opposite; I replay games A LOT. It's why I have a playtime of 300+ hours on linear single-player games. OG Resident Evil 4 I've worn down to a nub.

With Astral Chain I remember liking the combat gimmick, but finding it just a tad too cumbersome to actually give me that combat high. I think there were a couple of other things that eventually bugged me, but I can't really remember.

 

[Old_Hunter_77]

I wanna start pushing back on this whole 2023 shaping up to be one of the greatest years in gaming history that I'm hearing.
What this year is about is there is a LOT of games. We are simply seeing the explosion of stuff that was delayed from Covid. So, yes, of course, there's a lot of good games. There's also a lot of bad games (Redfalls, Gollum, etc). A lot of meh games (Wo Long, Atomic Heart, Atlas Fallen) and a lot of in between and as-yet-to-be-determined consensus (FF16? Diablo 4?).

A lot. A lot of games. So that means depending on how you want to look at it, it's one of the greatest years, or one of the worst years, or one of the meh years. It's an everything year! Personally a great year is the one with bold new game-changing (heh) games.

For example 1998 comes up a lot because of Ocarina of Time and Dance Dance Revolution and Metal Gear Solid and Half-Life, each of which you can write a thesis on its impact.

And the ones that are heralded as great this year so far? Sequels, remakes. All of them, pretty much all of the beloved games this year are unoriginal. Tears of the Kingdom, Street Fighter 6, RE4, Dead Space, etc etc.

I wanna separate the ideas of technical sequels and actual sequels. What I mean is- a technical sequence is a game that is technically a sequel but is so different from its predecessors that it's not really a sequel. Like Breath of the Wild. An actual sequel is one that is technologically and in design a direct follow-up, like Tears of the Kingdom.

So like Baldur's Gate 3 and Armored Core 6 are just technical sequels, I count these as new games.

Then you get the smaller games like Hi-Fi Rush and Dredge and Dave the Diver and Pizza Tower and while I am not disrespecting these games, these kinds of smaller games generally do not define these "great years" discussions.

So far then the only big original game that is generally good and a big deal is Baldur's Gate 3. One- that is one game. Starfield has the potential to start a massive franchise but there is a lot of skepticism and the dang thing ain't out yet. Nothing else coming up this year is on this level.

You can make a case that SF6 is pushing fighting games back into mainstream but that remains to be seen, it will take a while to determine its impact.

So... yeah, if after 2023 there is an explosion of D&D games overtaking other genres as top sellers or fighting games become go-to common experiences or Starfield becomes this generation's Mass Effect, then sure, I'll call 2023 one of The Greatest Years of All Time. But let's wait, shall we? We are in the middle of a post-Covid storm and any analysis and rankings of entire years should wait if it's to make any sense.

 

[BrawlMan]

I wanna start pushing back on this whole 2023 shaping up to be one of the greatest years in gaming history that I'm hearing.
What this year is about is there is a LOT of games. We are simply seeing the explosion of stuff that was delayed from Covid. So, yes, of course, there's a lot of good games. There's also a lot of bad games (Redfalls, Gollum, etc). A lot of meh games (Wo Long, Atomic Heart, Atlas Fallen) and a lot of in between and as-yet-to-be-determined consensus (FF16? Diablo 4?).

So? While yes, there many games from delays due to COVID, there are many that were in development before it, or benefitted even better because of the delays. Not all as we've seen, but plenty.

A lot. A lot of games. So that means depending on how you want to look at it, it's one of the greatest years, or one of the worst years, or one of the meh years. It's an everything year! Personally a great year is the one with bold new game-changing (heh) games.

A matter of perspective. Nothing more, and nothing less. I consider this a great year, with more to come. 2022 wasn't bad either. Even before 2020 and 2021, I wasn't playing too much, other than the usual smaller games, because those are actual fun, and gave me what I wanted and more. I think everyone is excited, because there are just games that are games and good. Not "live services", not another COD/Gears (wannabe), not another Far Cry sequel nor Assassin's Creed sequel, and not another bad Fornite/BR game. Be it indie, AA, or AAA, but more so referring to the mess ups on the latter's end.

For example 1998 comes up a lot because of Ocarina of Time and Dance Dance Revolution and Metal Gear Solid and Half-Life, each of which you can write a thesis on its impact.

For a good reason. It didn't take a decade for people to make those claims. People were already saying 1998 was the best year for gaming halfway into 1999 and around early 2000. This is not a new phenomenon. It's phenomenon....known as Deja vu.

And the ones that are heralded as great this year so far? Sequels, remakes. All of them, pretty much all of the beloved games this year are unoriginal. Tears of the Kingdom, Street Fighter 6, RE4, Dead Space, etc etc.

I wanna separate the ideas of technical sequels and actual sequels. What I mean is- a technical sequence is a game that is technically a sequel but is so different from its predecessors that it's not really a sequel. Like Breath of the Wild. An actual sequel is one that is technologically and in design a direct follow-up, like Tears of the Kingdom.

So like Baldur's Gate 3 and Armored Core 6 are just technical sequels, I count these as new games.

Then you get the smaller games like Hi-Fi Rush and Dredge and Dave the Diver and Pizza Tower and while I am not disrespecting these games, these kinds of smaller games generally do not define these "great years" discussions.

1. On the first paragraph, while you have a point, that doesn't make the year any less relevant.
2. There's plenty of original titles out there, and games like Hi-Fi Rush and Pizza Tower count and help define the great years. They add to discussion. I don't care what dickwads in high or lower positions thinks opposite or otherwise. These smaller games or medium sized games make headers and great sales for a reason. They're getting talked about more positively than the latest Star Wars or Halo right now and forever.
3. Balder's Gate and Armored Core haven't had a new title in two decades and over a decade respectively. So they're faire game in my book. I agree with you on the technical sequel part, but that is the point of both of these games. You don't have know or play the other games to enjoy the new entries. AC6 is pretty much a hard reboot at this point.

You can make a case that SF6 is pushing fighting games back into mainstream but that remains to be seen, it will take a while to determine its impact.

That's a total misunderstanding. Fighting games were already doing great mainstream and indie wise, and a new golden age since 2019/2020. The thing is that Capcom finally got out of the bad funk they put themselves in for the past decade when it came to not only their other fighting games, but Street Fighter especially.

o... yeah, if after 2023 there is an explosion of D&D games overtaking other genres as top sellers or fighting games become go-to common experiences or Starfield becomes this generation's Mass Effect, then sure, I'll call 2023 one of The Greatest Years of All Time. But let's wait, shall we? We are in the middle of a post-Covid storm and any analysis and rankings of entire years should wait if it's to make any sense.

Better yet, how about we let people decide for themselves? The year is not over yet, but I can already see it's going to be a great year end. Especially for 2D, 2.5D, and 3D platformer fans. Survival Horror fans have been having the time of their lives since last year and this year. Check the indie and AA scene; especially for horror games. If someone thinks it's not the best year, I couldn't give a shit. It's definitely not been a bad year gaming wise.

 

[Old_Hunter_77]

> It's definitely not been a bad year gaming wise.
Of course not. It's been great! My posts on this thread often respond to DISCOURSE and lately it's been not just "great year" but "greatest year OF ALL TIME" which sounds like hype/trend/click-bait stuff and I like to call that out when I see it.

And then I like to separate industry from my personal gaming. Like talking about this year has to include Tears, Starfield and BG3, games I personally won't (probably) ever play. But my personal gaming year is great with attempting genres I haven't played in decades (even with mixed results I still had fun trying), re-playing and completing an indy favorite, and some new franchise continuations that are giving me a good time.