Your video game hot take(s) thread

[BrawlMan]

There is another asshole going on about how "stylish action games are waning" and that the Souls games are "taking them away or action games are losing their influence". Where the fuck do these assholes keep coming from with these arguments or takes they never back up? I am talking about Electric Underground's most recent video. I am not linking the fucker, because he has habit of either lying or downplaying a game's success that he doesn't like (Resident Evil 4 Remake).

If that's the case: Devil May Cry 5, Bayonetta 3, Streets of Rage 4, No More Heroes III, Hi-Fi Rush, both Norse GoW, Evil West, and Oneechanbara Origin all would have failed and none of them did, and are co-existing with each other fine and the Souls games. We're are not getting into MS's bullshit with HF. All games sold successfully. Zenless Zone Zero just came out and plays nothing like a Souls game. Other than level design, Phantom Blade 0 plays more like Ninja Gaiden and Metal Gear Rising than Souls. PB ain't out yet, but that only further proves my point.

 

[hanselthecaretaker2]

There is another asshole going on about how "stylish action games are waning" and that the Souls games are "taking them away or action games are losing their influence". Where the fuck do these assholes keep coming from with these arguments or takes they never back up? I am talking about Electric Underground's most recent video. I am not linking the fucker, because he has habit of either lying or downplaying a game's success that he doesn't like (Resident Evil 4 Remake).

If that's the case: Devil May Cry 5, Bayonetta 3, Streets of Rage 4, No More Heroes III, Hi-Fi Rush, both Norse GoW, Evil West, and Oneechanbara Origin all would have failed and none of them did, and are co-existing with each other fine and the Souls games. We're are not getting into MS's bullshit with HF. All games sold successfully. Zenless Zone Zero just came out and plays nothing like a Souls game. Other than level design, Phantom Blade 0 plays more like Ninja Gaiden and Metal Gear Rising than Souls. PB ain't out yet, but that only further proves my point.

These idiots only say this kinda shit based on the latest trends and to get clicks. Never amounts to meaning much and that’s why they’re basically a waste of time to watch.

 

[The Rogue Wolf]

There is another asshole going on about how "stylish action games are waning" and that the Souls games are "taking them away or action games are losing their influence".

I've found that complaints like these usually mean "my favorite genre isn't dominating the scene and that's bad".

 

[BrawlMan]

I've found that complaints like these usually mean "my favorite genre isn't dominating the scene and that's bad".

These idiots only say this kinda shit based on the latest trends and to get clicks. Never amounts to meaning much and that’s why they’re basically a waste of time to watch.

Which is nonsensical, because the genre never really dominated. The closest the genre ever got to "dominating" was back in the early to mid 2000s. Even then, it was less dominating, and more, here's an alternative and fun genre to play. Most of the clones, which many became Greek Era God of War clones after 2005, weren't that good or stuck on the consoles they debuted on. I am more so referring to the bad/mediocre GoW clones, but there were a few bad DMC style games too in the PS2 era, but most are at least decent or good.

These ungrateful bastards should be happy there's a plethora of good stylish action games now that are all doing well and don't need to sell a bajillion copies just to break even. They want Call of Duty or Elden Ring/Dark Souls (mainly the latter two) numbers now. The irony is lost on these idiots, because they're making the same mistakes as the AAA companies by asking demanding nigh impossible and unrealistic expectations that will never happen. Selling well or great isn't enough for them. People like Electric Underground and BeeG need to look in the mirror and see the shit their shoveling and trying to force down every "peons" throats. Because the general public at large and I don't give a fuck. The only people who care for their words are their incredibly small and insular echo chambers, and none of them are making a dent, let alone a breakthrough on passing their "enlightened" words around.

 

[Ezekiel]

I don't know how you think that MGS was always a claw grip game. Do you know what the claw grip is? It means pressing the face buttons with the side of your index finger because your thumb is occupied with the stick/camera. You aim the gun and look around in FPV with the left stick, not the right stick whose thumb shares the face buttons. So, with the orbital cam being so much closer to Snake and not scripted for the player, they have to use the claw grip much more.

Oh, cool... I couldn't remember what R3 did before Subsistence. It lets you lock the camera in place. Freeing up the thumb even more. Still works in Subsistence and HD Collection as long as you turn off the orbital cam in the pause menu (which you should do anyway).

 

[BrawlMan]

​

 

[The Rogue Wolf]

​

Player numbers matter when they can buttress my argument that (insert game name here) is (good/bad) and (everyone/no one) should play it.

 

[Old_Hunter_77]

Here's SkillUP review of Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess

I recommend: Kunitsu-Gami Path of the Goddess (Review) (youtube.com)

It's a positive review and as always with him I have no issue with any of it and look forward to playing the game at some point myself.

But...
He starts off making a point that I have heard others (I usually cite SkillUp as an example of my contrarian hot takes just because he's one of the very few channels I actually subscribe to so he's like my personal representative of what "games media types are saying"). Which is that it is a delightful surprise that a big publisher made a "smaller" game that has some quirkiness or distinctive style. And, I dunno... I feel that's a big exaggerated. The same talk was had with the Prince of Persia metroidvania thing that came out earlier this year.

I get that EA and Rockstar used to do more of it back in some glory days of decades ago or whatever but with like 100 games coming out every month surely it's not that rare? It just feels like when Elden Ring and Balder's Gate 3 were praised for not having microtransactions even though the vast majority of single-player games in the market do not have microtransactions.

 

[BrawlMan]

Which is that it is a delightful surprise that a big publisher made a "smaller" game that has some quirkiness or distinctive style. And, I dunno... I feel that's a big exaggerated. The same talk was had with the Prince of Persia metroidvania thing that came out earlier this year.

I don't know Skill Up's history with Capcom, but back in the days before the HD era, Capcom was known for doing many smaller or medium projects, along with their big ones. There's a reason why Path of the Goddess is nicknamed a "PS2 era Capcom game". Around 2012, Capcom focused on only big titles and didn't bother with any smaller games for most of the 2010s. It wasn't until the release of Strider (2014), Mega Man 11, and Ghost n' Goblins Resurrection, that they focused on smaller scale games again. They are still open to it too, as we've seen from their recent output. How or why Skill Up is this surprised is beyond me, but I don't think he ever covered MM11 or GnGR. I still consider it a good thing, and encourage Capcom and other big publishers to do the same. They had no problem doing it back then before the HD era. It's called build realistic expectations and stop with the go big or go home attitude. The good news is there are plenty of small scale or medium scale single player games from smaller publishers or single persons to fill in the gaps they all chose to leave behind.

​

 

[Old_Hunter_77]

I guess it shows how little gaming I did in the PS2 era because when I played the Konitsu-gami demo at no point did I feel like it was PS2 or anything old or nostalgic. I'm kind of glad I didn't know that about the game because usually that kind of promotion turns me off.

 

[BrawlMan]

I guess it shows how little gaming I did in the PS2 era because when I played the Konitsu-gami demo at no point did I feel like it was PS2 or anything old or nostalgic. I'm kind of glad I didn't know that about the game because usually that kind of promotion turns me off.

Just so that we are clear: Officially Capcom did not promote the game that way. That was a youtube and twitch circle jerk hype machine, and the old school Capcom fans themselves. I can't exactly blame them, but a few dig go overboard. Capcom just said here's our small game; try and enjoy it. In terms of PS2, people are more so talking about the visual aspects. The game looks like something that came out of the mid 2000s with its visual style. The game is reminiscent of Okami visually combined with gameplay elements of Chaos Legion. Both games that have been developed and published by Capcom.

​

 

[Phoenixmgs]

Once again, the Souls combat is the way it is because the levels are designed for you to be able to fight in much more awkward spaces. In Monster Hunter you are almost always fighting in wide open arenas.

Please show me one instance in Monster Hunter where you have to fight on a bridge or platform the width of your character or smaller.

Soft lock would not work in the souls games because it doesn't give you the necessary control to do something like fight in the chapel rafters in Anor Londo. Soft lock works by moving your character or your camera for you, and you don't want either of those things when precise movement is actually necessary.

I am tired of explaining this to you.

He’s just refusing to understand/acknowledge the need for free 360 degree movement independent of the camera in Souls games while being able to raise a shield. If he could at least start there maybe we’d get somewhere here lol.

You can do soft-lock without moving your character and I explained how moving your character's perspective slightly isn't going to mess you up.

You guys still haven't explained why like any walkthrough video of Souls has people always using lock-on when you don't see that in any other game.

 

[Phoenixmgs]

This video like perfectly explains why I can't stand basically any AAA games anymore as they just throw the kitchen sink of mechanics into basically every game without realizing why good games have those mechanics in the 1st place. Why does Bloodborne or Sekiro have the same Souls mechanics when those games are different IPs and it doesn't make sense for enemies to respawn? Why does the new God of War games have a gear level? There's no reason for that to be in a God of War game.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

You guys still haven't explained why like any walkthrough video of Souls has people always using lock-on when you don't see that in any other game.

Have you actually completed any of the souls games, or are you basing your opinions on random videos you've seen?

 

[BrawlMan]

Have you actually completed any of the souls games, or are you basing your opinions on random videos you've seen?

I never even touched an actual Dark Souls game, nor do I intend to do so.

As for J's recent Design Delve: buddy, you and the rest of Second Wind aren't saying anything new at this point for a long time now. You've covered this topic about 1 million times before even leaving Escapists. At this point, you're just preaching to the choir who already believe you or constantly listen in.

 

[The Rogue Wolf]

As for J's recent Design Delve: buddy, you and the rest of Second Wind aren't saying anything at this point. You've covered this topic about 1 million times before even leaving Escapists. At this point, you're just preaching to the choir who already believe you or constantly listen in.

We are kind of treading into "water is wet" territory. Which is a shame, because his videos can oftentimes be remarkably insightful.

 

[hanselthecaretaker2]

You can do soft-lock without moving your character and I explained how moving your character's perspective slightly isn't going to mess you up.

You guys still haven't explained why like any walkthrough video of Souls has people always using lock-on when you don't see that in any other game.

Explain what button(s) would be used for soft lock in Souls and I’ll direct you again to the posts I’ve already made explaining why that would only be a half measure at best.

You must’ve ignored this from my earlier post too -

 

[Old_Hunter_77]

We are kind of treading into "water is wet" territory. Which is a shame, because his videos can oftentimes be remarkably insightful.

You guys are being rather petty and mean-spirited here.

Most videos about gaming are like the same shit over and over so all of a sudden this is a problem? We all post a lot of the same points repeatedly- most conversation is like this. You're being weird about it.

But even still- every big game i look at seems to get complaints that it's not full of other stuff. Complaints about lack of customization in games where you have a set character, demands for "play it your way," this obsession with "player choice"- all that is part of the cycle of feedback that led to the RPG-ification taht JM8 is talking about in the video. Calling it out, putting a name to it, and citing examples- that is kind of why this kind of content exists. It's weird I have to explain this even.

It's also good to have videos that reference things outside of video games- in this case the cargo cult and, even more importantly, jazz legend Clark Terry. And if y'all were here I'd play my vintage promotional vinyl record copy of the Oscar Peter Trio + One (where the + One is Terry) so y'all could chill out.

 

[BrawlMan]

You guys are being rather petty and mean-spirited here.

I don't see how @The Rogue Wolf is being "mean spirited" about it. All he did is state an observation.

But even still- every big game i look at seems to get complaints that it's not full of other stuff. Complaints about lack of customization in games where you have a set character, demands for "play it your way," this obsession with "player choice"- all that is part of the cycle of feedback that led to the RPG-ification taht JM8 is talking about in the video. Calling it out, putting a name to it, and citing examples- that is kind of why this kind of content exists. It's weird I have to explain this even.

That is all well and good, but not exactly my main issue. Yes, it feeds into itself, but this was already covered by everybody on Second Wind so many times before, that at least this video makes it sound like the problems are this grand revelation or something new. The RPG-ification people in the gaming sphere have been crying about since the early 2010s. Like so many employees at Second Wind have pointed out (mainly Yahtzee), if you hate these problems or mechanics that badly in the AAA space, then play other games that avoid all the bad shit. Which there are plenty of and has been pointed out. Second Wind are more than happy to point out themselves, yet will still play these games that do the things they hate and know are not good.

Like the hang ups with "yellow paint" they and certain others have a problem with now. Most of you weren't complaining about obvious sign posting back then. Especially during the 7th generation, other than games being "too linear or not open world enough". Why the fuck do you care now?/rhetorical question. There are plenty of AAA games that avoid yellow paint sign posting, but you're only hyper focused on the more popular or successful games that do it.

 

[Old_Hunter_77]

Like the hang ups with "yellow paint" they and certain others have a problem with now. Most of you weren't complaining about obvious sign posting back then. Especially during the 7th generation, other than games being "too linear or not open world enough". Why the fuck do you care now?/rhetorical question. There are plenty of AAA games that avoid yellow paint sign posting, but you're only hyper focused on the more popular or successful games that do it.

I don't think it's the same thing though. Yellow paint is a very specific thing to nitpick about while RPG-ification is about the whole direction of a game which is what the Design Delve was about.
Well at least IMO yellow paint isn't a problem with RPG-ification is, at least so there's that *shrug*