Always amused by how hyperbolic people get when hating this game - its greatest crime is that it turns reasonable people into Tipper Gore. Don't disagree with anything about the empty slot machine/cheese maze comparison, but I think the end result is exactly the opposite in how it takes some design cues associated with predatory business models and just sells you the whole package upfront for peanuts.

hyperbole is my stock and trade everyone else is just ripping me off

I broadly agree though also think that the same slot machine not being set to freeplay a la actual gacha games is a reasonable line to draw if you're going to choose to draw the line past where Vampire Survivors is.

personally i think the reasonable thing to do is to build a time machine and blow up Blizzard before they made Diablo and save videogames

now that we can both get behind

lord knows I try, it's a heavy burden