General gaming discussion

Mr.Saturn

Is there a series more cursed than Horizon? Imagine your first entry getting overshadowed by Breath of the Wild and then, when you think the coast is finally clear, your sequel grows cold in the shadow of Elden Ring.

Exclamation Marc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121759606#Comment_121759606

The franchise has sold over 34m units so I think it's done just fine 😂

Unearthly

RDR2 was one of those games where I thought maybe gaming was passing me by. 10/10 reviews across the board but I couldn’t get into it. Obviously the graphics and overall presentation was top notch but after that I thought it was fairly average stuff.

Retr0gamer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121760192#Comment_121760192

It was bioshock infinite syndrome to me. Reviewers getting caught up in the hype. Still waiting for the critical opinion to turn on it like infinite. There's been a few articles so far.

Penn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121759624#Comment_121759624

Yeah it's still going to be a huge franchise for Sony for another while, and sells/reviews fine. It's just funny how some games end up being worried about competing with the likes of BOTW or Elden Ring for Game of the Year. Horizon hasn't been able to get Game of the Week.

PixelPlayer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121759624#Comment_121759624

It's amazing how good Sony are at selling games. They really could polish a turd and make it sell. Not that this is a turd, it's just a bit meh. But something is making me still play it.

It reminds me a bit of Far Cry. Yes it's open world but a bit too open as in its literally just open space with some trees and bushes. There is the path to guide you and you can wander off, but there's nothing to see or do so what's the point. There's enough to do along the paths. I'm playing it as a very linear game, the open world aspect is just a bit tedious of having to get from marker to marker, especially if I decide to take on some dino-bots and get killed.

I'm playing it outside of any hype or marketing. Technically, on PC, it is very nice. I think it had some bugs on release but right now this is buttery smooth. No loading screens is just amazing (If you want to see perfection in that regard check out Ratchet and Clank on PC). It makes me excited for the future of PC gaming. All it needs now is Quick Resume.

The way Sony have swooped into PC and are making games better than Microsoft can must have them worried. It's worrying for gaming really because you can see them extending their monopoly. But of course MS also have to make their games run on the Series S and therein lies the problem for them. They are dragging their games down to the lowest denominator where Sony are maxing their console potential and then taking the time to max their PC potential.

Retr0gamer

I kind of felt that way about the game and the more trustworthy reviews were quite harsh on the game. Someone also pointed out it's a game that seems to have very little cultural cache. A new horizon come south, people talk about it for a month and then it disappears from the public conscience. I just find it a bit designed by commitee. And don't get me started on the horrendous writing.

recyclops

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121760815#Comment_121760815

This is true, if the game was multiplat nobody would care, similar to Hogwarts which in itself is a fine game looks good and plays well but scratch the surface and its bog standard.

Its cult levels similar to Apple that sell this stuff.

The Raging Bile Duct

HZD is a decent ubi-style open world game with a satisfying gameplay loop once you level up a bit - taking down the bigger robots is pretty good fun. It looked very slick and had enough going on to be a time sink without ever feeling overly frustrating which is what most people want it of a game I'd wager. The 'git gud' element to likes of the From games is only going to appeal to a certain cohort games, HZD is the type of game that's going to appeal to the more casual players - that's most likely its selling point rather than some PS cult buying it.

Couldn't get into the sequel though, I thought that was awful muck and really highlighted all the niggly issues that were in the original one.

PixelPlayer

Putting my finger on what it is about HZD, its not necessarily a bad game. I think it is just for a much younger audience. As is Spider-man, but where this is different is everyone of all ages can relate to spider-man. There is nothing in this game that I relate too. I just feel like I'm playing a child's game which makes me a bit uneasy. But mostly it is just too simplistic in both story and gameplay.

I got that with Mario Wonder too. In that instance I was literally playing a child's game, as in I had a go of it on my 6 year old nephews switch 🙂

I understand gaming in general is for.a younger audience and I also understand adults do enjoy playing games that are targeted at a younger audience and I mean no offence.

Penn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121761396#Comment_121761396

I liked the sequel for the most part. Think the first game was better overall but there were a lot of improvements in the sequel. They made it harder to cheese the bigger machines by reducing the amount of traps/tripwires you could lay down, made human enemies tougher to deal with, and some of the new weapons were a great addition. That said it definitely suffered diminishing returns because even the newer, more dangerous machine types, ultimately there's no different tactics to use. Knock off their armour, hit their weakpoint with the relevant arrow type, repeat. Also now too many different element types to try and manage. The underwater bits were absolutely horrendous and pointless. Looked beautiful, but once you've done it once then it's an annoyance to have to do. The story was a big downgrade too and completely worked against the parts of the story I actually did enjoy from the first game.

The Raging Bile Duct

It was the story that killed it for me for the sequel. It was clunky and not very original in the first game but it did enough to hold my interest. It was just downright tedious in the second game and killed any interest I might have had in the game.

The Raging Bile Duct

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121761419#Comment_121761419

HZD and Spider-Man are both PEGI 16 so they're hardly intended for very young audiences. Their stories are simplistic and not very sophisticated but that seems more an issue with the script-writing, an issue that plagues the majority of games, rather than the age of the targeted audience.

Penn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121761506#Comment_121761506

Yeah they just decided to dial the sci-fi stuff waaaayyyy the f*ck too high to the point where it may as well have just been magic rather than advanced technology, which also ended up completely overshadowing Angela Bassett's part in the story which could and should have been far more interesting. It also meant Aloy was little more than a side character in the story rather than the protagonist, as she had little to no actual development or personal story and was instead just there to hear exposition.

I'm hoping they can do something really great with the next game, as I do think it's a fantastic series overall and I really enjoy the core gameplay and the world they created. But I think even if the next game doesn't release alongside a 'game of the generation' type of game and is given room to breathe, it'll never be a game of the year contender. Not unless they can take a huge leap forward rather than just make a prettier game with even bigger machines and new big-name actors added to the cast.

The Raging Bile Duct

Also, why would playing a children's game make you uneasy?

Retr0gamer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121761546#Comment_121761546

I think it's kind of like how mortal Kombat and GTA have always been 18+ but the largest sales demographic is way under 18 (as it is with the majority of videogames unless you are a Paradox pervert).

I wouldn't call Horizon a game specifically aimed at kids. Definitely laser focused on the 'gamer' market. I think it's more correct to say that it's a game that isn't challenging at all, in gameplay or themes. Just a middle of the road crowd pleaser, basically the videogame equivalent of comfort food. And that's fine for a majority of people especially when its a bit of a looker.

I also wouldn't call Mario wonder a kids game. In the same way as horizon it's designed to appeal to a wide audience but I'd say in terms of gameplay it does interesting things and challenges your perception of what a 2D platformer can be. My biggest complaint about it and one I have with a lot of games, is that it's too afraid to have the player miss content. I could point to From Software games that are way more interesting because of how satisfying it is to discover vast chunks of game behind secrets but it's something the older mario games had as well with super Mario World in particular but even the older games have this.

PixelPlayer

Deleted

PixelPlayer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121761582#Comment_121761582

I wouldn't call Horizon a game specifically aimed at kids. Definitely laser focused on the 'gamer' market. I think it's more correct to say that it's a game that isn't challenging at all, in gameplay or themes. Just a middle of the road crowd pleaser, basically the videogame equivalent of comfort food. And that's fine for a majority of people especially when its a bit of a looker.

I much prefer that explanation. I take back what I said about it being targeted at kids. It definitely is for a younger audience but this is more likely to be the explanation why.

Pleasing everyone = more money

Retr0gamer

Goes back to playing mortal Kombat 1, a game for adults that is in fact utterly childish.

I guess that's just your hang up to get over. Just because something is aimed at kids doesnt make it any less a work or art or videogame. I'd rather play a good game aimed at kids than a mid game like horizon that feels like a waste of time.

PixelPlayer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121761891#Comment_121761891

Yeah fair enough. I think you hit the nail on the had previously that it is a middle of the road crowd pleaser rather than being childish. I was struggling to put into words what it was about the game for me.

OptimusTractor

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121761564#Comment_121761564

Here's me at 37 playing the new Pokemon on my lunch in the canteen. 2 gym bosses to go.

Retr0gamer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121762103#Comment_121762103

Me on the plane whipping out an analogue pocket to play Warioland for the flight.

Girlfriend: why are you playing old kids games?

Me: Because they're great.

Girlfriend:...

Me:... What?

Girlfriend: Does that have Tetris?

Me: Yes, why?

Ends up reading a book for the flight because my girlfriend took my Gameboy.

SuperBowserWorld

Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze is 10 years old. Now there is a pure fun "kids" video game to sink your teeth into. Warning, it gets tough in places!

Mr.Saturn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121762625#Comment_121762625

Some of us are old enough to remember when they got Ant & Dec to promote Donkey Kong Country Returns as if it wasn't the most balls-hard platformer in the business outside of the Meatboys of this world.

Penn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121761564#Comment_121761564

In fairness I can feel that way about some games too. Not so much that it makes me feel uneasy, but just the way information etc is presented just makes me painfully aware that I'm not the target audience.

In fact, I'd say a good few games from Japan, even aimed at adults, make me feel the same way. A lot of the stuff in the Yakuza/LAD games, and even in the likes of Tekken 8 (the Arcade Quest mode), or Everybody's Golf, where the hubworld stuff is done by cartoonish avatars and all the dialogue and presentation to me is so incredibly cringy that it just makes me wonder why Japanese people aren't as cynical and jaded as the rest of the world and if they actually enjoy that style of writing and presentation, do they actually speak like that etc.

I can enjoy it, but again it just really makes me aware that I'm outside the target audience for that style.

SuperBowserWorld

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121762749#Comment_121762749

I can't believe I finished Tropical Freeze. I think it was because I didn't have a load of other games to switch to. So, that's why I have a fond memory of the game. The soundtrack helps a lot too! I did get Donkey Kong Returns for the Wii soon after, but got stuck.

Retr0gamer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121762773#Comment_121762773

A lot of Japanese stuff is informed by the latest media trends, just like stuff in the west. Unfortunately that means it's informed by media that is being targeted at the ultra nerds there, so the likes of pandering garbage, male power fancies and god awful isekai anime. Of course there's a lot of good stuff from Japan, the smaller budget square Enix stuff has been great, Capcom are on fire, Namco make ace combat, and Yakuza I feel has the type of zaniness that you would only get from Japanese games.

PixelPlayer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121762192#Comment_121762192

What's the digital equivalent of hiding adult magazines in the middle of Scientific American?

If you're missus is beside you asking what game you're playing you want it to be RDR.

I'm playing cowboys baby 😁

Retr0gamer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121762917#Comment_121762917

I got told to shut up during the week because she was trying to sleep and I was singing along to the MGS Revengeance boss music. I'm not very good at hiding what nonsense I'm playing.

Penn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121762893#Comment_121762893

Yeah I don't so much mind it in Yakuza as I think it kind of just adds to the charm of what those games are anyway. But the Tekken 8 Arcade Quest mode was really something I had to try and power through because it was so out of place, juvenile, and the writing at times was just groan-inducing, especially the black DJ who said things like "I can dig it", "Groovealicious" and "I knew a cool cat like you would win".