I did, in fact, get over it. But what I found on the other side wasn't worth it. And don't start with the "but the journey is what matters" crap - really? Bennett Foddy's genius thesis statement is that "frustration is underrated"?
Mate, what the fuck. What's the definition of frustration? What's the point of frustration if not for something better down the line? Is this game supposed to be just training for getting over frustration, and that's it? All of its self-aggrandizing just to validate this fake sense of accomplishment?
I don't know. My reaction when I climbed it was neutered, weak. There was a glimmer of happiness, but when I looked down, I realized how pointless the entire journey was. I felt almost foolish, like Foddy roped me into this, promising it would be something worth remembering. That's the trap I fell into.
Daniel Kahneman describes two selves in "Thinking Fast and Slow" - the One Who Experiences, and the One Who Remembers. In the pursuit of a game worth remembering, this game ditches almost entirely the experience of play itself. I ask you, truly - would you still play this game if all proof that you climbed it vanished right after you conquered it? Would you?
See, Hollow Knight was a satisfying, but difficult, experience. Celeste was a satisfying, but difficult, experience. But this, this was not that. I wouldn't go so far as to say that the hammer mechanic itself sucks - it does have its intricacies and nuances that make for a good platforming game - but the game's disdain for permanent progress feels so unnecessarily mean and arbitrary. The game's failure to provide a satisfying experience isn't excused by it being intentional.
Mate, what the fuck. What's the definition of frustration? What's the point of frustration if not for something better down the line? Is this game supposed to be just training for getting over frustration, and that's it? All of its self-aggrandizing just to validate this fake sense of accomplishment?
I don't know. My reaction when I climbed it was neutered, weak. There was a glimmer of happiness, but when I looked down, I realized how pointless the entire journey was. I felt almost foolish, like Foddy roped me into this, promising it would be something worth remembering. That's the trap I fell into.
Daniel Kahneman describes two selves in "Thinking Fast and Slow" - the One Who Experiences, and the One Who Remembers. In the pursuit of a game worth remembering, this game ditches almost entirely the experience of play itself. I ask you, truly - would you still play this game if all proof that you climbed it vanished right after you conquered it? Would you?
See, Hollow Knight was a satisfying, but difficult, experience. Celeste was a satisfying, but difficult, experience. But this, this was not that. I wouldn't go so far as to say that the hammer mechanic itself sucks - it does have its intricacies and nuances that make for a good platforming game - but the game's disdain for permanent progress feels so unnecessarily mean and arbitrary. The game's failure to provide a satisfying experience isn't excused by it being intentional.
RedBackLoggd
4 months ago