Your video game hot take(s) thread

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The internet DISScourse surrounding stuff like this kinda makes me wish we were back in the early 90’s when we literally had to buy an EGM or Gamepro from the bookstore to read a review. Seems like it was a bit easier on everyone back then, before the echo chambers full of howler monkeys and whatnot.
 

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this kinda makes me wish we were back in the early 90’s when we literally had to buy an EGM or Gamepro from the bookstore to read a review. Seems like it was a bit easier on everyone back then, before the echo chambers full of howler monkeys and whatnot.
Not really, because even those magazines have their own problems and biases every now and then. Especially if it was a magazine dedicated to a specific consoles. While I miss certain aspects of those days, they weren't perfect paradises. Either had their own issues and ommission of truths, half-truths, and straight up lies at times, or plain brought in the wrong person to review a game where they don't even like the genre. Game Informer....
 
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Not really, because even those magazines have their own problems and biases every now and then. Especially if it was a magazine dedicated to a specific consoles. While I miss certain aspects of those days, they weren't perfect paradises. Either had their own issues and ommission of truths, half-truths, and straight up lies at times, or plain brought in the wrong person to review a game where they don't even like the genre. Game Informer....
True, but in general there was a hell of a lot less noise to sift through.
 

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True, but in general there was a hell of a lot less noise to sift through.
I can happily ignore that noise like I did back then with no issues. Everyone should've realize by a certain point that a big world means big noise too. There will always be positive and negative consequences. How you choose to react to them accordingly is all that matters now.
 
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SNK's Sengoku 3/2001 is a much better game than the first two and has great combat, combo, and juggle mechanics, but I don't like it much. The game lacks enemy variety; especially in its early half, and levels tend to drag when playing on harder difficulties. The level design is not all that great either with the soundtrack doing the lifting. If you're coming off AVP (Capcom), Battle Circuit, or the even the spiritual predecessor to S3, Gaia Crusader, it feels lacking to all in comparison in some way. Enemy variety (even Final Fight and the Streets of Rage has more of that), level design, or speedier combat. Not that Sengoku 3 isn't speedy, but it takes a lot more time understanding the combo mechanics, as a lot of the inputs involve a bit more fighting game style mechanics most first time players will have to get used too.

Fight n' Rage I can't play anymore. I just find it that fun or interesting now. Especially with so many brawlers out there now. I don't even know why I have a physical version of this. Every time I think popping it in, I rather play something else.

Calling it now: Zenless Zone Zero is going to completely trash DMC: Peak of Combat on launch day.
 
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Honestly, there's way too many streamers and youtubers making more entertaining and informative content. Plus, you can choose creators with similar tastes, making their reviews a better predictor whether you'll enjoy a game or not. The only purpose these big sites have left is getting pre-release copies and pointing out glaring flaws on day 1. Other than that they're good at tricking people into buying critically acclaimed games.

Also to say "all opinions are valid" doesn't mean all opinions are equally worthy. I can certainly have an opinion of a game I've only played half of. I can even have an opinion of a game I never played, but I'm more likely to have my opinion misaligned with people who actually played it, or base my opinion on facts that aren't true. On the other hand someone who knows a game or genre like the back of their hand has much more context to draw from, and can distill more relevant information, making their opinions far more comprehensive and valuable than a person who plays a new game every week.
 

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You kept talking about how unless you’re perfectly facing an enemy you’ll miss by like five feet or some exaggerated bs if not locked on, conflating it with using shoulder vs face buttons and how it shouldn’t matter. I’ve already explained in detail why Souls uses shoulder buttons instead of face buttons for offense and defense and it’s about camera function more than anything to do with accuracy during combat. Somehow this gets misinterpreted to the point of insanity.

Other lines of thought or experience with something can exist even if something didn’t work for you, or how you’re used to. You’re also adamantly comparing being able to attack without lock-on to completely different genres and combat systems. It reminds me of an old article I probably brought up on the old forums about this very same topic -


Excerpts regarding Souls -
…For this reason there is a draw to combat without lock-on. It’s enjoyable to play Dark Souls without lock-on, and it’s technically more efficient for a lot of tasks as it allows the player to run and dodge in any direction unlike during lock-on.


I think Dark Souls is very fun when fighting multiple enemies without using lock-on or when fighting bosses without the use of lock-on, but keeping lock-on as an option makes some actions and situations easier, so it’s more of an optional tool to be utilized rather than something necessary to keep the combat functioning at all (though it probably would be unreasonable to not include it).


Between this and the Reddit replies it’s clear people can have differing opinions and experiences with something. Let’s just leave it at that shall we, or agree to disagree if nothing else.
Souls doesn't have soft-lock like basically every other melee combat game since like PS2. I don't care if the game uses face or shoulder buttons for attack/defense honestly. My point is that like you say Souls uses the shoulder buttons so your thumb can be used for the right stick (camera), then why is there even a lock-on system to keep the camera in place if your right thumb is free to move the camera (since not using the face buttons to attack)? How am I misinterpreting this? Nobody complains that in Bayonetta they have trouble following enemies with the camera because they are using the face buttons to attack, and the enemies are much much faster in Bayo than Souls. Bayo's hard lock is only there because like 2 or 3 moves actually work better when lock-on to the enemies, but 90+% of attacks there's no need to lock-on and you'll see hardly any lock-on being used in videos whether it's some expert doing ridiculous combos or a normal player just playing through it the 1st time. Whereas in Souls, you'll find tons of people using lock-on for like every enemy. There's a reason for that and it's because Souls doesn't have any soft-lock at all.

Regardless if I'm playing something like Bayo or Souls or God of War or Sekiro or Prince of Persia or any melee combat game, if I'm really close to an enemy and press the left stick towards the enemy and press attack, I shouldn't miss outside of the enemy actually dodging away in some fashion. That should be a very basic function of any melee combat game.
 
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Souls doesn't have soft-lock like basically every other melee combat game since like PS2. I don't care if the game uses face or shoulder buttons for attack/defense honestly.
That says all I need to know of why you’re left asking -

How am I misinterpreting this?

A square peg won’t fit into a round hole no matter how much you want it to, unless you somehow make it round first.
 
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Dirty Hipsters

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Souls doesn't have soft-lock like basically every other melee combat game since like PS2. I don't care if the game uses face or shoulder buttons for attack/defense honestly. My point is that like you say Souls uses the shoulder buttons so your thumb can be used for the right stick (camera), then why is there even a lock-on system to keep the camera in place if your right thumb is free to move the camera (since not using the face buttons to attack)? How am I misinterpreting this? Nobody complains that in Bayonetta they have trouble following enemies with the camera because they are using the face buttons to attack, and the enemies are much much faster in Bayo than Souls. Bayo's hard lock is only there because like 2 or 3 moves actually work better when lock-on to the enemies, but 90+% of attacks there's no need to lock-on and you'll see hardly any lock-on being used in videos whether it's some expert doing ridiculous combos or a normal player just playing through it the 1st time. Whereas in Souls, you'll find tons of people using lock-on for like every enemy. There's a reason for that and it's because Souls doesn't have any soft-lock at all.

Regardless if I'm playing something like Bayo or Souls or God of War or Sekiro or Prince of Persia or any melee combat game, if I'm really close to an enemy and press the left stick towards the enemy and press attack, I shouldn't miss outside of the enemy actually dodging away in some fashion. That should be a very basic function of any melee combat game.
In God of War, Bayonetta, Devil May Cry, and pretty much any other character action game your positioning in a fight typically doesn't matter. You're mostly fighting in pretty open and pretty flat arenas. When you attack with "soft lock" those games turn or move your character to make your attacks connect (or they just give your attacks really big hit boxes do that you don't have to turn your camera very precisely, but that's a lazy fix from a much older generation of games).

In the Souls games you are often fighting on thin bridges and small platforms where your positioning matters a lot. If you had a soft lock that moved you around or maneuvered your camera for you while you were fighting you would constantly be falling off things. That's why you have a hard lock-on that you're meant to freely engage and disengage, and no soft lock so that you always have a mode where you have complete free control of the camera and your movement.
 

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Zenless Zone Zero should've been a single player action game. Fuck the rpg mechanics and the gacha mechanics. This is a game begging to be single player. There are aspects I like, and I am enjoying the story, but I don't know if I am going to stick around for long.
 

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I can't actually find any reviews of Zenless Zone Zero, as a game. Like review of a finished game with a beginning, gameplay, and ending.

Its just assumed now that you either enjoy gambling bait casual gacha games or you don't and so its ok to review the game in that context. I can't find a single review that even tells me if the game has an ending. I assume it doesn't. It probably has "endgame content", whatever the fuck that is.

Even IGNs review literally states they were given a developer code with all the content unlocked so all they did was review...the amount of time they spent screwing around in game.

The popularity of these games kinda makes me hate the state of gaming and games journalism.
 

XsjadoBlayde

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I can't actually find any reviews of Zenless Zone Zero, as a game. Like review of a finished game with a beginning, gameplay, and ending.

Its just assumed now that you either enjoy gambling bait casual gacha games or you don't and so its ok to review the game in that context. I can't find a single review that even tells me if the game has an ending. I assume it doesn't. It probably has "endgame content", whatever the fuck that is.

Even IGNs review literally states they were given a developer code with all the content unlocked so all they did was review...the amount of time they spent screwing around in game.

The popularity of these games kinda makes me hate the state of gaming and games journalism.
Don't know if this helps, is only review I've read so far;


Potentially relevant paragraph perbe;

Even the main story feels like it could be played in an arcade, as it's made up of vignettes covering the adventures of one faction at a time, practically told by combining all three main commission types, with plenty of gorgeous animated cutscenes and interactive comic book strips dotted throughout too. There is an overarching plot involving Belle, Wise, and a sassy AI that teams up with them, but it doesn't really amount to much until the end of the launch version's story. Even then, it's slim pickings for what it all means now, as it's really all about the factions. You could probably play each chapter out of order and not notice a difference, but I like this anime-arc style of storytelling. It's nice to get to know the Cunning Hares - a group of haphazard Hollow raiders - and Victoria Housekeeping - a cleaning group with suspiciously good combat skills - in equal measure. The story isn't over yet, so maybe it will blossom into something more significant soon, but as a live service game, Zenless Zone Zero's focus will surely be on adding more of these mini faction storylines next - which I'm looking forward to.
 

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I can't actually find any reviews of Zenless Zone Zero, as a game. Like review of a finished game with a beginning, gameplay, and ending.

Its just assumed now that you either enjoy gambling bait casual gacha games or you don't and so its ok to review the game in that context. I can't find a single review that even tells me if the game has an ending. I assume it doesn't. It probably has "endgame content", whatever the fuck that is.

Even IGNs review literally states they were given a developer code with all the content unlocked so all they did was review...the amount of time they spent screwing around in game.

The popularity of these games kinda makes me hate the state of gaming and games journalism. GameSpot gave this game a 7/10......
I found two actual video reviews. The rest are either why this game sucks, it being review bombed in China, or why some people are quitting the game.

The popularity of these games kinda makes me hate the state of gaming and games journalism.
These games don't make me hate the state of gaming, but they're not helping. I got my single player action games, so not much is miss when I decide to quit.
 
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I am beyond bored and tired of the cycle of a new fighting game (See any mainline Street Fighter sequel) sequel comes out and people complain or whine about hating to learn new mechanics or the legacy skill not being carried over. Suck it up people and take it like adults. Whenever a new fighting game came out, sequel or not, I am always happy to learn new game play mechanics that are good or that work. Max Has talked about this several times before. I usually never follow fighting game rumor reception that much as a kid nor as a teenager much, but whenever a new fighting game sequel came out; I was hyped no matter what.

 
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Sequel comes out and people complain or whine about hating to learn new mechanics or the legacy skill not being carried over. Suck it up people and take it like adults.
It's because when gamers say "I want something new", they usually mean "I want the same old thing with a prettier coat of paint so I don't have to leave my comfort zone".
 

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That says all I need to know of why you’re left asking -




A square peg won’t fit into a round hole no matter how much you want it to, unless you somehow make it round first.
You still won't answer my basic questions.

In God of War, Bayonetta, Devil May Cry, and pretty much any other character action game your positioning in a fight typically doesn't matter. You're mostly fighting in pretty open and pretty flat arenas. When you attack with "soft lock" those games turn or move your character to make your attacks connect (or they just give your attacks really big hit boxes do that you don't have to turn your camera very precisely, but that's a lazy fix from a much older generation of games).

In the Souls games you are often fighting on thin bridges and small platforms where your positioning matters a lot. If you had a soft lock that moved you around or maneuvered your camera for you while you were fighting you would constantly be falling off things. That's why you have a hard lock-on that you're meant to freely engage and disengage, and no soft lock so that you always have a mode where you have complete free control of the camera and your movement.
I realize some games, the soft lock moves your character (like the new God of War that I can't stand how much it moves you because positioning is important enough to be an issue or a game like Batman) but your character doesn't have to move to have soft lock. You can just have the game change your character facing vs actually moving the character in the environment. Even if say your character's back is to the enemy and you press the left stick towards the enemy to attack (and say your character's back is still to the enemy because you pressed the inputs so fast for example), the soft lock just changing the direction your character is facing during the attack wouldn't throw you off as a player because you are then expecting to be facing towards the enemy after the attack. It's basically the same thing as when the enemy's attack animation tracks you to a degree as you move, the enemy shouldn't be actually sliding towards you for example but just the direction of the attack.
 

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You can just have the game change your character facing vs actually moving the character in the environment. Even if say your character's back is to the enemy and you press the left stick towards the enemy to attack (and say your character's back is still to the enemy because you pressed the inputs so fast for example), the soft lock just changing the direction your character is facing during the attack wouldn't throw you off as a player because you are then expecting to be facing towards the enemy after the attack. It's basically the same thing as when the enemy's attack animation tracks you to a degree as you move, the enemy shouldn't be actually sliding towards you for example but just the direction of the attack.
That still has the potential to throw you off and cause you to move incorrectly, especially if you have multiple enemies behind you and the soft lock may pick one slightly to the left or to the right of the one you expected. Imagine fighting in Blighttown or the Depraved Chasm and soft-lock locking onto the wrong target as you go to attack and just falling right off a bridge, or it turning your character just enough that you fail to block an incoming attack and just get punted right off a ledge.

The fact of the matter is, the Souls games are actively putting more control into your hands, so that when you mess up it's generally your own fault rather than a game system fucking you over (camera wall collision issues with Demon's Souls and Dark Souls 1 not withstanding because those are older games that hadn't quite figured out the camera yet).

If you fell off a ledge because the soft lock targeted the wrong enemy you'd probably be way more pissed off than if you walked off the ledge yourself.

Again, you're used to soft lock in games that have you fighting on a relatively even plane, in a large mostly open arena. These kinds of arenas generally only exist in boss fights in the souls games, but that's also where hard-lock generally isn't going to have any downsides either.