I overuse the word maximalism. In its general definition it's that catch all for something so loud, fighting for your attention with different patterns, total excess. I often use it to describe something like say Doom Eternal, where the mechanical complexity of it fights for your attention with a lot of hooks and leadins to extremely ridiculous never-ending flowcharts. That game felt so functionally designed from start to end even at its lowest moments.
I really WANT to say Nioh is similar, but this is the example where nothing is really designed together as much as it always genuinely feels like things were thrown hastily. But it sparks the same flow point, right? When you're in the thick of it in a fight and you have a handle over your ki pulse, stance change, flux, weapon swap even, etc. you can make a turn on the enemy and turn them to bloody paste. And then to cap that off they drop a bunch of flashing lights that reminds you once again every time of this game's extremely EXCESS loot system. Of course, immediately after that is the repeated sigh. You're always attacked with so many systems around that loot bullshit to count, and you have to parse your way through all of it to find what matters. If you're lucky or just strictly that observant (god help you) you'll find the tutorials. You'll find a point where you can simply dump 95% of what you find to keep your current gear set and realize that yes there is a completely optional rpg component with tangible benefits the further you get into it, but if you're even slightly less lucky and also lazier, you'll just trade small for big number. Did that sound like a lot? Because I left out like 85% of all the other stuff you can do with loot there in those two options.
Nioh is like that. It's so burning with fat that it is pain on the eyes and my patience. But still I somehow loved it, completed it without much issue, and that was always a hard thing for me to reconcile. It's not exactly the most aesthetically pleasing and honestly the more time goes by the less I find its particular carving of the sengoku period interesting or unique in identity. I get carried a lot by sound and its music is forgettable for a good deal. Its souls blood is so tacked on that its similar levels amount to 'here's your useless shortcut you'll never use' with that design frame. It even repeats a lot of enemies in encounters that don't strictly test new things from you for a good deal ESPECIALLY if you do sidequests that hate you and even more of your time.
It's so much noise! How does one stockholm themselves into that? Was I so functionally lacking in enjoyment that I needed the closest nourishment of something that borrowed from Souls, wasn't Souls, but also gave me more of Ninja Gaiden?
I suppose so, because during a very brief replay I once again went into a moment where I said, flat out, "fuck what they all say that kicked ass." I'm that weak to well, the 'maximalist' game design, the adrenaline rush of pressing multiple buttons to play footsies with enemies that will brutalize my next move in ways that are for the most part, way better telegraphed than a lot of its peers. You know on my first playthrough I only bothered using dual swords? I fucked around with the tonfas and kusarigama this time and I swear I saw god for a moment. There's so much stuff you can just do that all feels 'so' good to pull off. Flux is an ecstasy game design call, being able to give such forethought to making sure you have to plan so many actions in a row. There's 'just' enough enemies that ask for you to use it to great effect and 'just' enough bosses that feel SOOOOOO good for breaking their ki into two.
Somehow one of my favorites still, absolutely bizarre. No I am really unsure if I'm still going to go over and finish Nioh 2 I forever feel attached to my broken busted ship that I get to fight giant crabs on.
I really WANT to say Nioh is similar, but this is the example where nothing is really designed together as much as it always genuinely feels like things were thrown hastily. But it sparks the same flow point, right? When you're in the thick of it in a fight and you have a handle over your ki pulse, stance change, flux, weapon swap even, etc. you can make a turn on the enemy and turn them to bloody paste. And then to cap that off they drop a bunch of flashing lights that reminds you once again every time of this game's extremely EXCESS loot system. Of course, immediately after that is the repeated sigh. You're always attacked with so many systems around that loot bullshit to count, and you have to parse your way through all of it to find what matters. If you're lucky or just strictly that observant (god help you) you'll find the tutorials. You'll find a point where you can simply dump 95% of what you find to keep your current gear set and realize that yes there is a completely optional rpg component with tangible benefits the further you get into it, but if you're even slightly less lucky and also lazier, you'll just trade small for big number. Did that sound like a lot? Because I left out like 85% of all the other stuff you can do with loot there in those two options.
Nioh is like that. It's so burning with fat that it is pain on the eyes and my patience. But still I somehow loved it, completed it without much issue, and that was always a hard thing for me to reconcile. It's not exactly the most aesthetically pleasing and honestly the more time goes by the less I find its particular carving of the sengoku period interesting or unique in identity. I get carried a lot by sound and its music is forgettable for a good deal. Its souls blood is so tacked on that its similar levels amount to 'here's your useless shortcut you'll never use' with that design frame. It even repeats a lot of enemies in encounters that don't strictly test new things from you for a good deal ESPECIALLY if you do sidequests that hate you and even more of your time.
It's so much noise! How does one stockholm themselves into that? Was I so functionally lacking in enjoyment that I needed the closest nourishment of something that borrowed from Souls, wasn't Souls, but also gave me more of Ninja Gaiden?
I suppose so, because during a very brief replay I once again went into a moment where I said, flat out, "fuck what they all say that kicked ass." I'm that weak to well, the 'maximalist' game design, the adrenaline rush of pressing multiple buttons to play footsies with enemies that will brutalize my next move in ways that are for the most part, way better telegraphed than a lot of its peers. You know on my first playthrough I only bothered using dual swords? I fucked around with the tonfas and kusarigama this time and I swear I saw god for a moment. There's so much stuff you can just do that all feels 'so' good to pull off. Flux is an ecstasy game design call, being able to give such forethought to making sure you have to plan so many actions in a row. There's 'just' enough enemies that ask for you to use it to great effect and 'just' enough bosses that feel SOOOOOO good for breaking their ki into two.
Somehow one of my favorites still, absolutely bizarre. No I am really unsure if I'm still going to go over and finish Nioh 2 I forever feel attached to my broken busted ship that I get to fight giant crabs on.