#because idk the gameplay wasn't as deep as some other games??

[zehecatl]

it's so sad that people nowadays expect everything they consume to be The Literal Bestest Thing Ever

like with video games it's super apparent, with A Lot of people expecting longevity, and for the game to reinvent the genre, and if that's not the case, it's just not worth your time or money. and i'd argue this is also a problem in other things, where it's like- there's no room for 'just good shows'

like i've seen the weirdest complaints about KNY, and it's like these people have to find something to nitpick, because it can't just be good!

Snake Eyes: G.I Joe Origins isn't a particular clever movie, but it's a fun time, and yet i saw nothing but complaints about it, and it's so sad, because it feels like people can't just enjoy things anymore. like who cares if the writing isn't the best thing ever, it doesn't have to be!

this one game, Haiku the Robot, is a super cute and pretty fun metroidvania. and yet, because it was heavily inspired by Hollow Knight, it had numerous reviews calling it 'a worse Hollow Knight' and therefore not worth your time

and that's just. why would you not want to play a game like Hollow Knight? like yeah, it's not gonna be HK, it's a literal fucking masterpiece, but who cares! don't you just want to have fun?

people have such high standards for media these days, and it's just kind of sad. like isn't the whole point about consumption to have a good time? to enjoy yourself? why are we expecting everything to be the new Shakespeare, or the new Dark Souls, or the new Hollow Knight, or so on and so on

can we not just have fun

[cowboymantis]

Not to be like a hardcore Ubisoft/Assassin's Creed defender (I loathe Ubisoft), but I've loved this series since I was little and have recently been having fun replaying older games,, and noticed something happening more and more in recent years

People's criticism on the new AC games having too much "magic" or whatever in them is really funny because it has been kinda crazy since the very first game??? The ONE thing every game centres around is magical objects to enlsave all of humanity and an ancient civilisation of higher beings that are basically Gods?

If anything, I really love the mythology themed activities the newer games have, especially because most of the times it's kinda optional too, so you're not always forced to engage in it. But even then, as someone who's always loved mythology, I really love this stuff.

And it's been there since the beginning, sure it's more part of the main story now, but people saying ohhh AC used to be realistic and historically accurate!!! Is just kinda. Idk man. It always took liberties to have it's own storyline while shaping the accurate history to be fitting for that storyline, and it still does that. Even anything, with the discovery tours (? Was that the name?) In recent games, it tries to be even more educational and in a way everyone can experience the historic worlds.

Now, I have A LOT of criticism with AC, and I hate Ubisoft as a whole like all gaming companies lol, and I get how AC doesn't feel like AC anymore and more like their own seperate games, but that's a complete other thing.

So if I see people complaining about those "magic" or "mythology" aspects, then, idk, maybe AC just wasn't from you from the beginning on and thats fine, but is it valid criticism for the game if just you don't like it? Like there are popular games/shows/etc I just cannot get into, and that's totally fine, you're not supposed to like everything!

I'm no expert when it comes to this, like I personally couldn't finish Valhalla yet, bc it felt very bland and the world felt so empty and small, it is a huge open world, but while replaying AC2 recently I had so much more fun, even though I've already platinumed the game years back and have spent so much time in this world. But it just feels bigger and has much more atmosphere. In Valhalla, I often just had to laugh at line deliveries, not because they were funny, but because it was just so bad and soulless.

And I'm not sure, is this criticism for the game as a whole, or is it just how I felt about the game personally? Because other people love the game. And I get it, it looks cool, and the character mythology analogies are really neat imo, but just the way it was written and designed feels very like all just a show from the outside. It's like when I have a cool story idea. I'm thinking okay, here are the characters, this is the main plot and woaghh cool plot twist here would be cool! And then I try to bring it down in text and it's just...hm...Okay how the hell do I connect this all. That's how Valhalla feels to me, if that makes sense??? 😭😭

I wouldn't be a good game critic, because I would spend too much time thinking about what type of my criticism is actually valid and what's just my own gaming taste I guess, but it's not like critics have ever differentiated those...

BUT YEAH to get back to my point, of course at the end of the day it's not that deep, it's just one of those random things I thought about again when seeing some posts about it.

But it's just always kinda funny to me when someone either just remembers AC from vague memories 10 years ago or have just seen random gameplay from it and don't remember/know about all the wild things that happened in the story (both past and present storylines of the games) and think it's some super serious historical documentary 😭😭

[sapphire-weapon]

Idk if this is of any interest to you, but I remember way back you mentioned RE 7& 8 were hard to play because of the first person thing. I despise that style too. 7 and Skyrim took me forever to fully adjust to and I just generally dislike not seeing my character lmao. Anyway, RE8 does actually have an official third person playing mode now, and plays the same way as the other games. I just thought I'd mention it in case you were unaware and wanted another try or whatever, but I assume you likely know already.

Also, I'm adding on a headcanon that I've had since playing. Nobody else has said it, so I'm sure I'd hear a lot of disagreement. Many point out that Leon and Ethan would've been great friends or had shipping potential, despite them never meeting. I've always seen it slightly differently though, I think Ethan actually shows what Leon could've been if he wasn't traumatised (well, before Ethan got his own hefty dose obviously lmao). I really like E and do think the characters would mix really well, but it felt to me like they might've taken some early, bare bones Leon concepts and built a different character off of it. I don't know, that's just what went through my head before.

Also, is it really true that the Winters story is completely done!? I'm seeing that passed around a lot, but it's completely nonsensical. Rose is not a finished character and the DLC made it very clear that she has a huge role to play in the future of RE. I'd be so disappointed if that whole story was dropped, especially because she's so likeable...

So, real quick -

Yes, I do know that RE8 has a third person mode. I still haven't really had the desire to play it, though, because from what I've seen, it's a bit clunky. The game was not designed with third person in mind, which makes certain sections of gameplay artificially harder and/or lose their thematic impact.

The Winters' family story is done, but that doesn't mean that Rose will never be used again. Like, when the Raccoon City arc was done, that didn't mean that all of the legacy cast went away. They just moved onto the next story arc. Rose can still move onto the next story arc; it's just that the story arc won't be about her family.

As for the middle part of your ask...

I disagree that Ethan is a look at Leon's character if the Raccoon City outbreak didn't happen.

And I say that because -- and this is a theory that I've held close to my chest for years and have never really spoken about -- I think that Sebastian Castellanos (the protagonist of The Evil Within) was, in part, Shinji Mikami's creative exploration of where Leon's character could have gone if he'd stayed a cop -- which is why TEW plays so similarly and is structured so similarly to RE4 in the first place.

Sebastian started his career as an idealistic overachiever who was so good at and so dedicated to his job that he became the youngest officer ever in the KCPD to be promoted to Detective. But, in the end, he broke, too, and went off the deep end into a horrible spiraling meltdown that culminated in him turning into a paranoid conspiracy theorist with a drinking problem who nearly lost his job -- several times -- for insubordination, violent outbursts, and illegal investigations into the corruption within the KCPD. The only thing that saved him was his incredible reputation and spotless record from when he was younger.

If you're interested at all, I have a compilation of Sebastian's in-game journal detailing the rise and fall of his career here. There's also a visual representation of the good times -> the breakdown -> the result that the DLCs put into the game that you can watch here.

Basically, I think that Leon's character was always bound for tragedy, one way or the other, because I don't think that Leon ever had it in him to have a healthy response to grief and hardship in his life to begin with. All roads lead to the same place.

Ethan survived (well, "survived" LMAO) several different traumatic events and arguably came out stronger. I don't think Leon ever would have or could have done the same.

[fae-fucker]

just out of curiosity, what visual media/video games/other media romances did you really enjoy? and good luck on your journey finding good romance novels i know how it is lmao

Unfortunately whenever I get questions like these everything I've ever put in my brain vanishes. Here's some stuff I managed to scrounge up. Sorry if you don't know what any of it means :')

So Bioware owns my ass (well, their older games do). Alistair and Zevran are both hits in their own right (I used to prefer Alistair, but now I'm more into Zevran, though I still love both of them). Alistair rly just pulls off the knight in shining armor, classical romance thing. He's just a real, genuine sweetheart and not just a bunch of tropes stuffed into a set of armor. Zevran meanwhile speedruns enemies-to-lovers and he's morally grey and flirty and sarcastic, but there's also a deep and genuine sadness in him that isn't edgy or forced, and you get to see him evolve and develop through the course of the romance.

The base-game DA 2 male romances are also excellent, I stan both Anders and Fenris and god, they're such huge messes and their romances are both defo unhealthy (abusive if you rivalmance them, but I never do that and never will, so), but again they're both such interesting and complex characters with emotions and motivations that feel genuine (most of the time. sometimes the gameplay and writing are in a fight and the writing loses and it sucks ass), and character arcs that feel independent of Hawke's.

Then there's the Garrusmance in Mass Effect, the romance that honestly is impressive on a technical writing level because it's just so multilayered and goes through different stages that feel really organic even though he wasn't always planned to be a romance option? First game is him seeing Shepard as his mentor and role model, the second game they're on more equal ground, partners and friends, and then she takes it to the next level as friends with benefits. And in the third game, when the world is ending, he's there and he loves her and wants to marry and have kids?? Hello?? And throughout this, there's more layers. For one, they're different species, two species who once hated each other and who often still see each other in a bad light, but it's not about species to either of them, it's who they are as individuals. Shepard is also better than him, she overshadows him, but he's comfortable in her shadow, and she knows she needs him just as much as the world needs her, and she wouldn't be where she is without him. And in the romance there's always this undercurrent of genuine respect, they respect each other's skills and opinions and rely on each other. There's loyalty and respect in every interaction, romantic or not. (This is all canonical btw, no matter how you play Shepard. Hence why I like it so much, it's a genuinely, fully written romance with layers and complexities. They're not spelled out or explored overmuch, but they're there if you pay attention.)

I also really like the Rory romance in the interactive fiction game Tally Ho. He's just so stupid and the combination of a hypercompetent and stoic butler who's unfortunately in love with their scatterbrained employer is just so unique and full of opportunity. Probably my favorite himbim romance. He's so stupid and I love him.

This one isn't really a fully written romance, but I found the concepts (that aren't explored at all because that's not the focus of the game) and implications of Dark's romance in the game Littlewood to be really compelling. Basically, after you save the world from him, you both lose your memories, and eventually he finds his way back to your settlement and you can straight up marry your old mortal enemy. But both of you have amnesia and he regrets his actions and role in all of this even though he doesn't even remember his own name, much less what he actually did. Idk there's something really sweet about two mortal enemies getting together in a cottagecore setting after their epic battle wipes their memories. It makes me want to write fic because this isn't really explored at all in-game. Also I drew fanart of him. He doesn't look like that in the game, unfortunately.

As for non-interactive romances, I think Critical Role's Vex/Percy works really well for an improvised show? I watched most of that campaign as it was released and the slow-burn kept me on the edge of my seat. The flirting, the gift giving, the pet names, the sexual tension. It just worked for me.

This one's a bit nostalgic, but I also really liked the romance in Cardcaptor Sakura as a kid (and still do). They're kids who are way more intelligent than they should be tbh, but that's sort of the standard for anime, but these two 10-year-olds (Sakura and Syaoran) pull off enemies-to-friends-to-dating (they're not lovers, they're 10) so much better than pretty much any other enemies-to-lovers thing for teens and/or adults I've seen. It's a bit of a slowburn, but it really works. It takes its time to show the characters' feelings as they slowly evolve. It's just really sweet and adorable. I honestly recommend the anime to anyone who likes magical girl stuff, it's one of the OGs and holds up really well. Don't read the manga though. CLAMP are a bunch of weirdos. Like thanks for the gay rep but maybe less pedo stuff? Anyway.

And now since I'm on anime, might as well mention Ouran High School Host Club. Everyone knows this one. If you don't, go give it a read/watch (but mostly a read). It's buckwild and the main romance is hysterical but also really sweet.

Ok this one's also pretty silly, but y'all remember that game Love Island? Or, the game based on Love Island? The game Cody and Noel made fun of? Well, Bobby from season 2 is actually a sweetheart and I really liked his romance. The vibes of all the drama going down around the player character and him while they're just vibing is really great, and he's also genuinely pretty funny and relatively well-written (bugs aside) in comparison to most romance-focused phone apps, and the non-toxic masculinity he displays is very refreshing IMO. I defo recommend trying out his romance in the game, I'm pretty sure you can get a good ending even if you don't pay for extra scenes (or you can just download a cracked version, idc).

Um. Can't really think of anything else atm. It's hard for me to distinguish "I enjoyed this media and it had romance in it" and "I enjoyed this romance media" if that makes sense? So ya know.

Anyway I think my brain is leaking out of my ears from all this effort to remember things I've subjected it to.