#well its for YOU to play around with with meaningless rewards not for the NPCs living in this world

[ganondoodle]

even if i didnt love botw as much as i do, totk drives me nuts bc, similarly to pokemon, this series is so SO SO full of potential, they have so many games they can pull from, theres so many themes, characters and worldbuilding thats just left to rot, you dont need to connect anything with a chain to old titles, you dont need to bring back any things that already had their ending, but PLEASE harness at least a fraction of all this!!!! and they just refuse to do it beyond shallow references

totk jsut drives it all home to me, bc this isnt just the next game in the franchise, but a DIRECT SEQUEL no 10 years apart from botw, yet they cant even, they REFUSE to even keep the continuity with its OWN lore it established in botw together, and that, i think, is what truly makes me so insane (derogatory) about totk

it PROVES they do not care, they dont care to build on anything of the lore of old titles beyond references in form of amiibos or whatever, they dont even care to make a sequel to their most successful game in the franchise coherent with its own lore

botw established a captivating detailed world full of potential, while lacking in active storytelling, it had environmental storytelling, characters and ideas that were the perfect ground to build on-

and then they do away with it bc idk .. they want you to build mechs and make videos of it that go viral and thats all they care about or something

shiekah tech? forget that existed character being the character you know? act as if you are seeing them for the first time just like they are lame story? dont think about that just be distracted by the epic presentation of it lore the previous title established? forget that, all that matters is what is here and now beloved character from old games beign brought back? hes a new guy and has no background and no lore and just sits waiting for you at the end to have a flashy fight with references from old titles and their lore? just here for nostalgie bait, dont you remember? you LOVE this series, now give me 70 bucks for a glorified DLC that ruins what you loved about the series and makes you realize that nothign matters and nothing is interesting anymore

you are supposed to take it all at face value, to not think about anything, to see a character say something and just go with it, and forget it the second its over, be distracted by good music and pretty visuals, but dont think about, dont think about anything but what is directly said to you like you have no critical thinking skills, forget there was a game before this one, only the one you play matters, empty your skull and dont let yourself feel anything but what the game tells you to feel

if they dont even care to make the sequel to their most successful game actually build on the previous title, dont even care to keep their continuity of two games supposedly directly happening one after the other in tact- maybe they never cared, and all the meaning we thought we saw them build into their games was all accidental and meaningless

and that is absolutely soul crushing for fans like me to discover

its a game. its not a story, its not a world, its not themes, its not characters, its not lore. its a product made to make you pay money, not to make you think about anything.

[warsofasoiaf]

I'd love to hear your thoughts about Cyberpunk 2077 when you are ready/have finished the game. Maybe besides the game itself you have an opinion about the crunch, bugs and general feeling of disappointment in a good portion of the fans

Sure thing. It’s going to be a long write-up and there are going to be spoilers, so you better believe that this is going to have a cut. Reader beware. For context, I have beat the game, and I played it on PC and only on PC.

I’ve been a fan of the cyberpunk genre for a long time. Transhuman and techno-utopian sci-fi always struck me the wrong way; that it was too optimistic and ignored a less savory element of human nature that simply would not go away with the advent of new technologies. While I only briefly dipped my toes in the water of the Cyberpunk tabletop game (I was always a bigger fan of Shadowrun), I did enjoy the genre and was eager to see a AAA cyberpunk game. I also really liked CD Projekt Red with what they did with RPG’s like the Witcher 3. Particularly when it came to the smaller sidequests, they really found a way to bring a lot of noir elements and hard-hitting character moments to the game, and I believed that it could translate very well into a cyberpunk game. After all, noir was a similar response to detective fiction to what the cyberpunk genre was to earlier elements of sci-fi. So I was quite optimistic when it came out. What we got was...well, it didn’t quite meet up with expectations.

There are some good things about the game. Assuming you have a beefy rig, PC cyberpunk looks pretty good. Not only does it look good, but it looks like the dismal 1980′s inspired future that had defined the genre, with its neon lights, omnipresent advertising to the point of satire (amphetamines are available from vending machines in a variety of flavors and commercials are completely ridiculous). The fixers are great examples of different cyberpunk archetypes like Regina Jones being a media or the Padre being an underclass civic leader looking to protect his community with a bit of a violent streak. Plenty of the characters had great personality, the nomads and Panam were enjoyable, Judy had a great questline that detailed optimism and bitter disappointment (and the character looks cool and is a bit of a cinnamon roll), River’s quest was a perfectly serviceable cop questline with enough horror elements, they were all fine. Keanu wasn’t a great voice actor, but he did serviceably and was apparently just wonderful with the staff, so I’m willing to cut him a pass. The level design can encourage a variety of different play styles, with attribute points opening up certain pathways. Given that it’s an open-world sandbox game, the goal should be to immerse yourself in the world, and touch on elements of cyberpunk as you go through the various quests, and you do see some of that. You see the gross exploitations of dolls in the sex trade when you go to Clouds, the bizarre elements of self-expression that new technologies can offer such as the twins in Kabuki, Pacifica is an abandoned recreation ground for the rich with the nice image of rotting Ferris wheels and abandoned malls, and you can see the divide between the have’s and have-not’s on full display both in the opening (compare and contrast the Street Kid with the Corpo beginnings) or take a look at the Peralez’s penthouse apartment versus Judy’s cramped digs. Honestly, one of my favorite things in the game were just the consumables to highlight the different food and drink available to the people of Night City. The heavy population means that foods like fried ants or locust pepperoni are common, amphetamines are available in a variety of flavors, and there are no less than 20 burrito vending machines on every street (the future is not all bad it seems). I like little worldbuilding moments like this in video games because it does give a sense of completion and immersion within the world. I honestly felt bad for Johnny Silverhand, because by the end of the game I had to be a bloated man-ball of Holobites Peach Pie and Cirrus Cola. 

The game even took a few things that had aged poorly in the cyberpunk genre and improved them. The Mox is a gang specifically meant to stop the Disposable Sex Worker trope, it’s small and part of the reason it survives is that it’s small, but it offers a chance of improvement over the exploitation that the Tyger Claws offer. The cyberpyscho quest is probably the best one of this. Earlier Cyberpunk had cyberpsychosis as a serious concern directly correlated with how many implants you got. The Solo archetype even spoke about how you risk losing your humanity with your implants as you became stronger, better, faster. Even later iterations had depersonalization/derealization disorders as people who could see in the dark lost connection to those who couldn’t. A quick thought in our present though, changes this. My eyesight and hearing is just fine, but I don’t lose connection or common empathy with individuals who are blind or deaf. I have two arms and two legs and I have not lost empathy for amputees. Why then, would I lose empathy and connection with someone with average human eyesight after I get my eyes replaced and now I have the ability to see in the dark or have telescopic sight? The cyberpsycho quest actually took this concept to task; cyberpsychos around the city are seen as horrifying threats that need the high-threat response of MaxTac to deal with, but Regina is looking to see if she can cure cyberpsychosis. Mechanically, the cyberpsychos are boss-fights with elements of puzzle gameplay (how to handle the different skillsets that they have) and a bonus reward for non-lethal damage which rewards certain playstyle archetypes or prepwork for those who ensure that they have a non-lethal option. The information you find around each cyberpyscho showcase different problems in the target’s life, no real common thread or inciting incident that you can trace the onset of cyberpsychosis toward and identify a culprit. After you complete the quest, you learn the twist: there is no such thing as cyberpsychosis. Each of the targets were actually just experiencing different stressors within their lives, such as PTSD, losing their job, drug abuse, etc. and the breakdown is made much worse because these individuals have the ability to toss dumpsters like they were baseballs or pick the wings off a fly with a cybernetically enhanced brain with a .50 cal. Some of these individuals had terrible implant surgery done by bargain-basement ripperdocs and temporarily lost the ability to discern reality from fantasy, something that could easily be seen as a science fiction adaptation of temporary insanity brought on by a poor reaction to medicine. It’s backed up by the game too. V can fill every slot in their cyberware deck but never once experiences cyberpsychosis. Oda has ultra-legs and flaming-hot mantis blades and is in perfect control at every point in the game, even when he’s trying to jab those mantis blade through your sternum. Cyberpyschosis isn’t real, the irresponsible media just ran with it because fear sells. For all the flaws of the game, I respect the game for taking cyberpsychosis in that direction.

But for all those good things, the game couldn’t help but feel shallower than the Witcher 3. The side-gigs were formulaic to the point where they even led with a category. There were few twists and very little that was surprising. Exposition for these quests was limited to a short text dump and a minute voice-over. Night City was big but it was relatively sparse. NCPD never seemed to intervene in any crimes (giving the character the chance to do so) but every so often they were around a taped-off crime scene, giving a sense of inconsistency that hampered the world. While it was a bustling city, it felt empty, most of the people I saw on the street were meaningless, just NPC’s walking around to give a sense of activity. There was little in the way of things to see and experience that was unique or different about these NPC’s. They weren’t crowds I could hide in like Hitman, they didn’t have ambient dialogue that showcased something like the Witcher 3. Much like other open-world games, this sense of shallowness pervaded much of the empty space of the world; it was incredibly *big* but there was little in it. Much of the time I was driving or running through empty space that was completely worthless to me. Normal for city living, but all of that is wasted time going from point A to point B, and unlike the Witcher 3, there were no small in-game beats to help flesh it out or build it. I never had Millie from “Where the Wolf and Cat Play” give me a little picture, I never had people from a liberated village say “hey, look, it’s that guy Geralt, thanks for killing those harpies.” These were things that made the Witcher 3′s world really come alive. I didn’t have that, and I was left

Of course, we also have to handle the elephant in the room, and that was CDPR’s conduct both during production and after release. Crunch has become an increasingly common part of video game development and it’s not healthy to developers. CDPR had been called out on it once before, but it seemed there was little change in how that happens. I’m not quite sure if there’s anything we can do, and I’m sympathetic to the need to hit target deadlines to actually deliver a finished product, but there’s got to be a better way, whether that’s a change to the incentive structure, or something, because it’s hurting folks. I like games like Witcher 3 and Red Dead Redemption 2, but I understand that there was a real human cost to these masterpieces, and I wonder if there’s something we can do about that. 

Similarly, what happened after launch was beyond terrible. The last-gen console version were simply not ready for release and shouldn’t have been released to the public. CDPR openly covered up this, by only previewing the PC version, they hid the fact that the game wasn’t ready, and they avoided delaying the last-gen console version because they were looking to capitalize on holiday sales. I’m sympathetic for the need to generate sales, but the flip of this is that you have to deliver the product you advertise, and for last-gen consoles, they didn’t do so. Bugs are one thing, these games are massive undertakings of interacting systems and bugs are inevitable; some of my favorite games were buggy at release, notably Fallout: New Vegas, Witcher 3, and so on. But this went past bugs and into malpractice and deception, and that’s something that’s less forgivable. I personally had few bugs that were out-and-out game breaking but things not loading, quests bugging out, floating bags and other physics wonkiness, all of that hurt the immersion. I’d be more willing to forgive the game without the deception; I can laugh at bugs but not at ignoring quality control to get holiday sales instead of delivering a quality product. Consumers are angry at CDPR and have every reason to be, and I’m one of them. I can express my disappointment and I will do so, we need developers to stop these practices and the only way we can do that is through our wallets and words. I’m not going to tell anyone not to buy CDPR games, that’s entirely your decision because I’m a radical individualist. But I am going to say that they’ve burned a lot of their good karma with me; credibility is a hard beast to gain back. Much like other big name developers, CDPR has hurt their standing in my eyes. Whether that means I need to resort to going to indie games for a little bit or something else, I don’t know, but it’s rough. I liked CDPR and wanted to believe it’d be different, but it seems to not be the case.

Overall, I think it’s another AAA open-world game only made better by my love of the genre, and that stings. I enjoyed some aspects of it, and I hope that through Free DLC, patching, and other good deeds, the game can redeem itself and stimulate new love of the genre. But CDPR needs to do a lot more than that to win back my affection. If anyone has anything specifically that they want to know about the game, such as talk about the main story, individual characters, or so on, just ask.

Thanks for the question, Khef.

SomethingLikeALawyer, Hand of the King

[ella-mentree]

Toukiden 2 and Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate: A light comparison

Preface: Why MH4U and not MHX or MHXX? Because I never finished Monster Hunter X and haven't even touched MHXX. Why not Toukiden: Kiwami as well? Because I never played it. And regarding online: I never played random games, I exclusively played with friends or arranged matches with people online before playing, so take that into account. So let's dive right in starting with the single player content: Monster Hunter + Not much is locked behind Single Player, so you can ignore it almost entirely if you want + Lots of minigames to keep you busy + Inventory and item management is crucial - None of the characters are memorable and you have no meaningful relationship with any of them - You don't get any partners other than your pet cats, which serve to be loud and annoying distractions more than anything else - There's really no story to speak of, there's no reason you're doing anything you're doing and you have no impact on the game world Toukiden 2 + A large free roam overworld with plenty to do in it + A lively hub town that, while large, keeps the majority of its important NPCs in one area + Unique quests for every named NPC, a small-but-meaningful Relationship Building system that lets you get bonuses from them and/or craft their unique weaponry + Tons of Single Player exclusive content that gives incentive to play it + NPC/AI slayers help make quick work of the campaign + You actively affect the game world with your endeavors and your role in the story feels significant - Unlocks as you go, so it's not open world - Some of the things in the game world are tedius rather than enjoyable - Significantly important content (like the ability to upgrade gear past a certain point) locked ENTIRELY behind Single Player - The NPC/AI slayers are seriously overgeared and can make you feel insignificant - Counter missions are almost completely meaningless and there's no reason to do them over the multiplayer missions - There is relatively no inventory management or item management Weapons and Combat: Monster Hunter + Most weapons feel potent even if you're underperforming + Monster arenas are well-designed and take advantage of the monster's properties such as flight or climbing + Battles are somewhat more tense because there are no visible health bars, only a handful of visual cues + Mounting monsters is exciting (at first) + As of Monster Hunter X there are several different unique weapon styles that can change how weapons work and give them slightly different playstyles. + As for the weapons themselves, there are many available to suit a fair amount of playstyles. + Cutting off a tail is pretty fun. - Without proper equipment and/or map knowledge, every hunt eventually turns into a game of hide-and-go-seek - Almost all of the weapons are incredibly slow and lock you into animations for an absurd amount of time in a way makes your fights feel incredibly sluggish and unresponsive. It becomes entirely too easy to miss a fast-moving enemy with even the quickest of weapons because of how easy it is to be locked into place. - You absolutely can NOT attakc while moving. - Verticality depends entirely upon the makeup of the arena, and is sometimes impossible (somewhat fixed in Monster Hunter X, but I still don't like it) - Mounting Monsters for that extra bit of stun and damage is nice, but becomes tedious quickly and doesn't add much to the game overall. - Boosts are locked to armor, and they are mostly passive boosts and don't augment your combat abilities or style very much except by way of adding some raw damage with Attack Up passives. - Weapons are, generally speaking, not dynamic. Even weapons with different stances and forms have a very formulaic way of using them. - Only a small handful of monsters actually lose a significant amount of their attack ability by removing parts from them, and typically the only thing you can actually REMOVE (not just damage/hurt) is the tail. Toukiden 2 + Weapons are responsive, quick, and all very unique and dynamic. Some weapons let you attack while moving, many let you perform unique aerial attack combos on enemies, and their abilities can be augmented or outright changed by Mitama. + Mitama, in the place of Armor Boosts that Monster Hunter has, lets you have 9 passive boosts (3 per Mitama) as well as 3 active skills from 11 different CATEGORIES of Mitama (attack, defense, speed, spirit, healing, support, deceit, plunder, luck). This allows for a very in-depth, meaningful customization of your playstyle and can fundamentally change how you use your weaponry. + There are several dynamic weapons that support all kinds of playstyles. + The Demon Hand lets you achieve verticality simply not possible in Monster Hunter games. You can grab any Oni and several scenery objects (trees, cliffs, etc.) to become airborn. + Entire body parts (arms, legs, horns, wings, tails) can be removed from Large Oni, sometimes PERMANENTLY. + There is, in fact, a special mechanic just FOR removing body parts. There are two meters you fill during battles that guarantee you a removal or permanent removal respectively. + Large Oni themselves are extremely dynamic, have several different forms and fundamentally change how you are meant to approach them based on these forms. - Weapons can feel quite impotent sometimes, and with the exception of the Club none of them have nearly the weight or power behind them of your typical MonHun weapon. - Mitama are dropped randomly and only a very small few are guaranteed in the single player story. Some are locked behind single player content as well. - Low Rank Oni are entirely too easy to topple over frequently, and become a non-challenge. - You won't see the additional forms of many Oni until you hit high rank because their health pool simply isn't large enough until then. - Many limbs DO grow back unless you use the special technique (which requires meter and stamina) to do a permanent removal. Enemies and Enemy Variety: Monster Hunter + There are a LOT of monsters, but that's to be expected after so many mainline games and a handful of spinoffs. + There is plenty of variety in how monsters move around in the world. Flying enemies, digging/swimming enemies, and enemies that climb on the walls/ceiling all exist. + Large Monsters are very aggressive and require preparation and thought. + Expeditions are a thing. They're okay. Only worth mentioning to compare them to the Ruins in Toukiden 2. - An excessively large percentage of the monsters are dragons and/or dinosaurs, so if that's not your thing you're kind of out of luck. - I would only dare to call a small handful of the available large monsters "inspired." - Insofar as small monsters go, there's only one or two of them and a handful of variations and they're largely meaningless aside from the shitbags that like to interrupt your dance with a large monster occasionally. Toukiden 2 + There is a incredible variety of Large Oni ranging from humanoid to outright inhuman, and there's only two dragons in the game. There are genuinely frightening Oni that are absolute nightmare fuel as well. + Medium Oni fill a unique role in the single player and provide an adequate challenge for what they are. + There are many types of Small Oni as well with many varieties that show up all over the game world, and some Large and Medium Oni can summon Small Oni to battle with them as well. + Ruins function as a sort of Boss Rush, letting you fight Large Oni continuously for as long as you can handle it. The rewards for this are also quite nice. - Small Oni quickly become a nuisance and their appeal wears off quickly. In groups larger than 3, they can stunlock you. There are also single player evens with 30+ Small Oni all in one area that can stunlock your entire party and ruin your fucking day. - Medium Oni are laughable in multiplayer. - Only a small handful of Large Oni pose a respectable challenge, and some of them seem to only ineffectually thrash about, sometimes not even in your general direction. Low Rank oni in particular seem to throw out attacks at the air with no real intention of actually hitting you. The Grind: Monster Hunter + If you need area-specific items, there's usually a mission exactly for that. + Your shitcunt cats, if nothing else, can help you get additional items from large monsters. - Even in low rank, you're going to have to fight the same shit several times with the same equipment to get new gear, and this really wears on you quickly. - By the time G Rank comes around, the grind is outright oppressive and only the most diehard of fans will struggle onward. - Desire Sensor. Look it up. Whether it's real or not, the fact that so many people believe it is significant. Toukiden 2 + The grind doesn't get especially painful until High Rank. + Upgrade materials can be synthesized with other materials. + While random chance is involved, there is usually a way to recoup what you already have to lesson the weight of the grinding burden. + Machina and Tenko can gather certain area items for you. - Some things require parts from Large Oni that can only appear completely by chance in the Ruins. - Machina and Tenko offer no help whatsoever with acquiring Large Oni items. - Gathering items in the field is an absolute pain, and there are no gathering missions to aleviate this. And that concludes my comparison. I'll include more shit later if people bug me enough.