Your video game hot take(s) thread

[Casual Shinji]

I played about 30 minutes of Automata before deciding unequivocally that it wasn't for me. When it went from a hammy vertically scrolling spaceship shooter to equally hammy '90s anime arcade gameplay, I had enough. It just felt very cheap. Granted, I can't judge the whole experience, but if they needed more than 30 minutes of my time to even begin to engage me, I'd defer to the problem being theirs and not mine. Had a miserable (if brief) time with that game.

Yoko Taro seems to have a thing for shifting the perspective from 3D to 2D, which in the case of the spaceship combat I don't mind since a spaceship isn't someone with a sword so a different camera type just makes sense. But randomly doing it while you're running around not only screams 'ooooh, look at how quirky and different I am', it also screws up the combat. Nier Replicant pulls this too, where suddenly I'm fighting with a top down perspective forcing me to re evaluate my movement and attacks in correlation to the enemies. These perspective shifts never challenge you in a way that's fun, and I assure you everyone who plays through these games, even the hardcore fans, are glad when they're over and the game returns to regular camera control. They have no purpose other than quirky artistic expression.

 

[Xprimentyl]

Yoko Taro seems to have a thing for shifting the perspective from 3D to 2D, which in the case of the spaceship combat I don't mind since a spaceship isn't someone with a sword so a different camera type just makes sense. But randomly doing it while you're running around not only screams 'ooooh, look at how quirky and different I am', it also screws up the combat. Nier Replicant pulls this too, where suddenly I'm fighting with a top down perspective forcing me to re evaluate my movement and attacks in correlation to the enemies. These perspective shifts never challenge you in a way that's fun, and I assure you everyone who plays through these games, even the hardcore fans, are glad when they're over and the game returns to regular camera control. They have no purpose other than quirky artistic expression.

Welp, that solidifies the once ostensible idea that Yoko Taro games aren't my bag. I don't mind developers doing something different(ly); I actually appreciate it, but when they do different for difference's sake, c'mon; at least pretend to respect my intelligence and time a bit more than that.

 

[stroopwafel]

While true, Automata has some game design that is genuinely not good or bad. I like the story, themes, and characters in Autoamata, but Taro always has this habit in putting in ideas no asked for, or to make things overly difficult for no reason, other than padding.

Yoko Taro made the game as a reaction to the usual structure of videogames which is what you play now you will play for the next 30, 40, 50 hours. I can really appreciate his unconventional approach to game design. The surprises in the story and the gameplay provided a forward momentum that prevented the game from ever becoming a repetitive grind. Ofcourse with these 'auteur' centric games it also boils down to if you think Taro or Kojima have interesting things to say. If not then it's unlikely that you'll like the game but that doesn't make it bad. It's just something different when most games are dime a dozen and try to please everyone.

This is a really cool video where Taro himself elaborates on his design philosophies(has english subtitles).

 

[BrawlMan]

Yoko Taro made the game as a reaction to the usual structure of videogames which is what you play now you will play for the next 30, 40, 50 hours. I can really appreciate his unconventional approach to game design. The surprises in the story and the gameplay provided a forward momentum that prevented the game from ever becoming a repetitive grind.

That's nice and all, but that depends on the person. Most Yoko Taro games to have a repetitive grind, but will throw something "unique" every now and then. Drakengard 1 and 2 are repetitive and obtuse as fuck; even for the PS2 era. Even hardcore fans don't disagree. The first game especially is repetitive. Drakengard 3, while not as repetitive, most players are not gonna care what's going on. I've seen enough retrospectives, analysis, and in-depth reviews to get the gist, but the 3rd game still has many problems and bad design choices. Automata is the least repetitive of all the games, but still has some of those bad design choices.

Ofcourse with these 'auteur' centric games it also boils down to if you think Taro or Kojima have interesting things to say.

Kojima has nothing interesting to say now. That went away years ago. Taro has interesting to say some of the time. Mainly Nier and its sequel. Drakengard is your typical Berserk style fantasy with your helping of You Bastard on the player character. Drakengard 2 does not add much, D3 gets too wacky with itself for half the game for anything to really matter, until wants to get serious. By that point, I stopped caring.

If not then it's unlikely that you'll like the game but that doesn't make it bad.

I did not say Automata was bad, but it has bad or frustrating game design choices. I consider Drakengard 1 a bad game. The others are just average to mediocre gameplay wise, but have "interesting" hooks for those that care.

It's just something different when most games are dime a dozen and try to please everyone.

Just to because something's different and constantly "subverts" tropes/expectations, does not make the media in question automatically good nor immune to criticism. That excuse is bullshit, and is not honest criticism. Taro might stick out more, but it does not make his design philosophies any less flawed. A lot of his games have problems. You can go on all day about the amazing story, characters, or soundtrack, but the game design problems make repeat playthrougs a chore or super annoying for most of his games.

I've already seen the video, so nothing new there for me.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

Please let this be what I’d like to think it is -

FromSoftware is Apparently Working on a PS5 Exclusive, Project "Velvet Veil" [Update] | Op Attack

A wild rumor claims that FromSoftware is working on a new PS5 exclusive by the codename of "Velvet Veil".

opattack.com

 

[XsjadoBlayde]

Please let this be what I’d like to think it is -

FromSoftware is Apparently Working on a PS5 Exclusive, Project "Velvet Veil" [Update] | Op Attack

A wild rumor claims that FromSoftware is working on a new PS5 exclusive by the codename of "Velvet Veil".

opattack.com

 

[BrawlMan]

One of the best hot takes in video games! I could not agree more Max.

​

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

One of the best hot takes in video games! I could not agree more Max.

​

Well said!

 

[Jarrito3002]

One of the best hot takes in video games! I could not agree more Max.

​

That should not be a hot take. People should be able to dedicate as much as they want to a game with some outside force telling them they are doing it right but damn I been saying this forever but Max got more clout than me so hopefully the community listens.

 

[Gyrobot]

Gematsu was right to lock down the comment section for anything TLOU2 related.

Yes it was a shameless promotion of the one year anniversary of TLOU2 and I will not apologize for it.

 

[TheMysteriousGX]

I love™️ that the FGC has its own version of the Easy Mode discourse.

Is it a hot take that I conflate those arguments? Because some people just want to hit some buttons and enjoy the visuals and etc, etc, etc and don't have the Git Gud mentality and that's fine. If they like it enough they'll bump the difficulty up and if they don't care that's fine too.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

That should not be a hot take. People should be able to dedicate as much as they want to a game with some outside force telling them they are doing it right but damn I been saying this forever but Max got more clout than me so hopefully the community listens.

If a game has good matchmaking then it doesn't matter how good someone is at the game, they will get paired with people who are at their level, and will get to play with those people and enjoy it. If they want to get good they'll naturally get better and go up through the ranks. If they don't really care about being good then they'll just stay at whatever level they're at and they can play with those same casual people.

If a game's matchmaking is bad, then the people who are bad at the game will get stomped into the dirt, and that's also fine. It's not up to the community to baby people who are bad at the game. If the devs want to cater to a casual audience the best way to do it is to have good skill based matchmaking that will match casual/bad players with other casual/bad players, and will match good players with other good players.

The problem is that a lot of good players actually just want to beat on bad players, and will rage against skill based matchmaking because they don't want to play against people of their own skill level. They want to play against people who are worse and crush them, and then feel like big badasses. This isn't just a fighting game thing, this is a toxic issue with all multiplayer games. You should see how much Call of Duty players hate skill based matchmaking because all they really want is to go on big streaks and crush casuals, and hate playing against people who are actually good and won't just let them get free chopper gunners all the time. The amount of people who buy new accounts, or reverse boost into easier lobbies just so they can stomp on bad players and ruin their experience is crazy.

 

[The Rogue Wolf]

The problem is that a lot of good players actually just want to beat on bad players, and will rage against skill based matchmaking because they don't want to play against people of their own skill level. They want to play against people who are worse and crush them, and then feel like big badasses. This isn't just a fighting game thing, this is a toxic issue with all multiplayer games. You should see how much Call of Duty players hate skill based matchmaking because all they really want is to go on big streaks and crush casuals, and hate playing against people who are actually good and won't just let them get free chopper gunners all the time. The amount of people who buy new accounts, or reverse boost into easier lobbies just so they can stomp on bad players and ruin their experience is crazy.

They say "I just want to turn my brain off and have some fun", and then rage at "sweaty no-life pros" who stomp them the same way they were stomping others.

 

[BrawlMan]

I love™️ that the FGC has its own version of the Easy Mode discourse.

Is it a hot take that I conflate those arguments? Because some people just want to hit some buttons and enjoy the visuals and etc, etc, etc and don't have the Git Gud mentality and that's fine. If they like it enough they'll bump the difficulty up and if they don't care that's fine too.

People wanting to look cool and just hit buttons is exactly what Max described, and he said there's nothing wrong with that. I completely agree with both of you.

If a game has good matchmaking then it doesn't matter how good someone is at the game, they will get paired with people who are at their level, and will get to play with those people and enjoy it. If they want to get good they'll naturally get better and go up through the ranks. If they don't really care about being good then they'll just stay at whatever level they're at and they can play with those same casual people.

If a game's matchmaking is bad, then the people who are bad at the game will get stomped into the dirt, and that's also fine. It's not up to the community to baby people who are bad at the game. If the devs want to cater to a casual audience the best way to do it is to have good skill based matchmaking that will match casual/bad players with other casual/bad players, and will match good players with other good players.

The problem is that a lot of good players actually just want to beat on bad players, and will rage against skill based matchmaking because they don't want to play against people of their own skill level. They want to play against people who are worse and crush them, and then feel like big badasses. This isn't just a fighting game thing, this is a toxic issue with all multiplayer games. You should see how much Call of Duty players hate skill based matchmaking because all they really want is to go on big streaks and crush casuals, and hate playing against people who are actually good and won't just let them get free chopper gunners all the time. The amount of people who buy new accounts, or reverse boost into easier lobbies just so they can stomp on bad players and ruin their experience is crazy.

This is exactly why I couldn't get into most online competitive multiplayer games. Especially of the Call of Duty variety. I prefer online co-op anyway.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

If I discover I locked myself out of a specific ending for Sekiro because I missed *some ingredient* out of this laundry list of obtuse requirements (especially the Return ending), then I really don’t care about the Platinum anymore. It seems to have gotten increasingly ridiculous with every subsequent FROM game with these ending conditions that basically say “Fuck you go look at a guide, dummy.”

I refuse to accept the idea of this being good game design, as it’s only complicated for the sake of being complicated which deflates any sense of legitimate discovery by the player’s own means. Unless they see dead people, I highly doubt anyone of the 9.3% of players who’ve Platinum’d the game did it by simply paying attention to the game itself.

 

[BrawlMan]

Shattered Memories is the best Silent Hill.

Hate to rain on your parade, but Shattered Memories is a glorified walking sim. In fact, one of the first of its kind on console. The lack of combat, puzzles only, and section you can only push/run away from the monsters. The suspense is lacking, because you usually know when the monster are coming when everything freezes. I'll give credit to the game being better than the Western focused SH games, 4, and all the walking sims, but I would not go that far to call the game the best. The psychology stuff and how the multiple endings work were a neat twist.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

If I discover I locked myself out of a specific ending for Sekiro because I missed *some ingredient* out of this laundry list of obtuse requirements (especially the Return ending), then I really don’t care about the Platinum anymore. It seems to have gotten increasingly ridiculous with every subsequent FROM game with these ending conditions that basically say “Fuck you go look at a guide, dummy.”

I refuse to accept the idea of this being good game design, as it’s only complicated for the sake of being complicated which deflates any sense of legitimate discovery by the player’s own means. Unless they see dead people, I highly doubt anyone of the 9.3% of players who’ve Platinum’d the game did it by simply paying attention to the game itself.

Yeah, the ending shenanigans in Sekiro are done especially poorly.

I kind of understand what From Software go for with the different endings and NPC questlines in their games, because it really is legitimately cool to stumble upon these things accidentally. Every time I play through a Souls game I try to play it blind the first time. In Dark Souls 3 I actually accidentally got the "steal the fire" ending by just playing the game normally, and it was awesome that I had just stumbled upon all of the triggers without realizing. The problem is that as the games go on these endings and side quests get more and more convoluted.

You can't stumble upon an ending if it requires a 15 step process with each step being times perfectly to succeed, and having to play with a guide open sucks.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

Yeah, the ending shenanigans in Sekiro are done especially poorly.

I kind of understand what From Software go for with the different endings and NPC questlines in their games, because it really is legitimately cool to stumble upon these things accidentally. Every time I play through a Souls game I try to play it blind the first time. In Dark Souls 3 I actually accidentally got the "steal the fire" ending by just playing the game normally, and it was awesome that I had just stumbled upon all of the triggers without realizing. The problem is that as the games go on these endings and side quests get more and more convoluted.

You can't stumble upon an ending if it requires a 15 step process with each step being times perfectly to succeed, and having to play with a guide open sucks.

Yeah, my new rule is gonna have to be to stop concerning myself with bloody trophies. I’m satisfied as it is getting the DemonDarkBlood trifecta and perhaps with Sekiro I’ll just start letting it ride as it may. Guides, wikis, etc. for the most part do kinda suck the fun out of just playing the damn things and seeing what happens. However, I regret nothing of my hardcover collection.

Spoiler

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

Yeah, my new rule is gonna have to be to stop concerning myself with bloody trophies. I’m satisfied as it is getting the DemonDarkBlood trifecta and perhaps with Sekiro I’ll just start letting it ride as it may. Guides kinda do suck the fun out of just playing the damn things and seeing what happens.

I think it's fine to go for trophies, but not on a first playthrough of something. Going for trophies is supposed to be something you do once you've beaten the game if you really like it and want to stretch out the experience and challenge yourself.

 

[PsychedelicDiamond]

Hate to rain on your parade, but Shattered Memories is a glorified walking sim. In fact, one of the first of its kind on console. The lack of combat, puzzles only, and section you can only push/run away from the monsters. The suspense is lacking, because you usually know when the monster are coming when everything freezes. I'll give credit to the game being better than the Western focused SH games, 4, and all the walking sims, but I would not go that far to call the game the best. The psychology stuff and how the multiple endings were a neat twist.

You're not wrong, but I don't think there's anything wrong with walking sims and considering the series never really had good combat, ditching it entirely wasn't the worst idea.

It's not perfect, the puzzles are too easy, the chase sequence in the school goes on for too long and it's not scary but overall it's still my favourite game in the series, with 2 being a close second. For me it manages to convey most of what the series can be at its best while streamlining away most of the things that detract from it. There are certainly aspects to it that are weaker than the first three games. But Silent Hill, to me, is a series carried by its writing and atmosphere, and in both of these aspects, I think SM is where the series peaked.