RUINISM
2018
Co-op QTE: the game.
2023
It's not that Starfield is terrible, it's that it's a step back from every Bethesda game in almost all facets.
Where do we begin? How about base building? -- Introduced in Fallout 4, base building offered a pretty rewarding experience by allowing us to construct outposts and populate them with NPCs. Starfield's iteration feels like a significant regression. The system is not only buggier and more restrictive, but the incentives for engaging in outpost construction are minimal at best. The generic characters, like "Outpost Manager" and "Mining Captain," lack purpose, and the limited capacity for settlers further detracts from the experience. This aspect of the game feels like cut content -- unfinished and underwhelming. Additionally, the introduction of ship building, while cool on paper, fails to compensate for the base building's deficiencies; specific bays like the med bay are damn near non-functional, unable to produce medicines or offer healing services, lol.
Starfield's approach to faction quests is perhaps one of its most glaring and egregious missteps. A collection of series of faction quests that feel short and superficial, reminiscent of a "theme park haunted house" where players move through set pieces only to exit feeling underwhelmed. The ability to join conflicting factions without significant repercussions dilutes the impact of choice -- these decisions become weightless. The quests themselves feeling like mere box-ticking exercises.
Starfield's companions continue the tradition of FO4, which is to say, generic and forgettable as a whole. The game also restricts major companions to a single faction and homogenizes their moral compasses, leading to predictable interactions and a lack of genuine connection. Notable companions like Sam and Sara are burdened with unengaging personal narratives and repetitive dialogues; they just can't shut up.
Exploration -- something key of Bethesda's titles -- feels lackluster in Starfield, particularly when set against the backdrop of an expansive universe. It is completely broken up behind dozens of load screens and vast spaces of nothing, instead of one, mostly continuous, experience of previous games.
Progression systems. The skill trees have become overly simplified and laden with uninspired percentage-based upgrades, hiding some basic game features behind skill points (a terrible Ubisoft practice of game design).
Where do we begin? How about base building? -- Introduced in Fallout 4, base building offered a pretty rewarding experience by allowing us to construct outposts and populate them with NPCs. Starfield's iteration feels like a significant regression. The system is not only buggier and more restrictive, but the incentives for engaging in outpost construction are minimal at best. The generic characters, like "Outpost Manager" and "Mining Captain," lack purpose, and the limited capacity for settlers further detracts from the experience. This aspect of the game feels like cut content -- unfinished and underwhelming. Additionally, the introduction of ship building, while cool on paper, fails to compensate for the base building's deficiencies; specific bays like the med bay are damn near non-functional, unable to produce medicines or offer healing services, lol.
Starfield's approach to faction quests is perhaps one of its most glaring and egregious missteps. A collection of series of faction quests that feel short and superficial, reminiscent of a "theme park haunted house" where players move through set pieces only to exit feeling underwhelmed. The ability to join conflicting factions without significant repercussions dilutes the impact of choice -- these decisions become weightless. The quests themselves feeling like mere box-ticking exercises.
Starfield's companions continue the tradition of FO4, which is to say, generic and forgettable as a whole. The game also restricts major companions to a single faction and homogenizes their moral compasses, leading to predictable interactions and a lack of genuine connection. Notable companions like Sam and Sara are burdened with unengaging personal narratives and repetitive dialogues; they just can't shut up.
Exploration -- something key of Bethesda's titles -- feels lackluster in Starfield, particularly when set against the backdrop of an expansive universe. It is completely broken up behind dozens of load screens and vast spaces of nothing, instead of one, mostly continuous, experience of previous games.
Progression systems. The skill trees have become overly simplified and laden with uninspired percentage-based upgrades, hiding some basic game features behind skill points (a terrible Ubisoft practice of game design).
2000
The precursor to the direction RE was going to go in. Very underrated in terms of its place in video game history and 3D action game genre.
2024
Judging a book by its cover works well here: a post-apocalyptic RPG where the characters stand with a nuke going off in the background. Novel idea, guys, it has truly never been thought of before. The characters thoroughly lack distinguishing features that would communicate anything meaningful about the game, donning generic outfits and generic facial features (contrast this with Disco Elysium and its protagonist's design: we know we're getting into something whacky and off-kilter). It also looks like something drawn up in mere half an hour -- blurry and lacking detail. AI could spit out better art, ffs (why not go for art that would communicate something distinct about the setting -- something uniquely Australian? Just a thought).
With things looking quite dire before even launching the game, the game itself sprinkles promise: character creation prides the philosophical alignment system above all, wearing its Disco Elysium influence on its sleeves. Unfortunately, the game creators don't understand what nihilism means, mistaking it for simple egoism, lol.
The first hours of the game are just a series of inconsequential dialogues. We are introduced to multiple areas, meet multiple vendors (without having had a single combat encounter and thus not really knowing whether what -- or anything -- is needed at all). The game fails to establish a plot hook; it's all just the most generic post-apocalyptic stuff, sprinkled with philosophy quotes during loading screens, which comes off as nothing more than a projection of an intellectual veneer, at odds with the content of the game itself.
The characters blur into a mess. The settlements lack character. I fix myself my second cup of coffee to fight off the nausea but call it quits soon after; these hours were some of the most boring hours I've spent playing a CRPG.
With things looking quite dire before even launching the game, the game itself sprinkles promise: character creation prides the philosophical alignment system above all, wearing its Disco Elysium influence on its sleeves. Unfortunately, the game creators don't understand what nihilism means, mistaking it for simple egoism, lol.
The first hours of the game are just a series of inconsequential dialogues. We are introduced to multiple areas, meet multiple vendors (without having had a single combat encounter and thus not really knowing whether what -- or anything -- is needed at all). The game fails to establish a plot hook; it's all just the most generic post-apocalyptic stuff, sprinkled with philosophy quotes during loading screens, which comes off as nothing more than a projection of an intellectual veneer, at odds with the content of the game itself.
The characters blur into a mess. The settlements lack character. I fix myself my second cup of coffee to fight off the nausea but call it quits soon after; these hours were some of the most boring hours I've spent playing a CRPG.
2020
Death Stranding 2.0
2019
Cool concept but the writing here is terribad: every cutscene is an exposition dump. Exposition dumps would get you Cs in any decent film school but gamers think this is the pinnacle of writing. Not to mention the on the nose metaphors that are hamfisted into the character names (it worked in MGS because the espionage world is full of codenames; here, it is not justified whatsoever). Kojima's humour is also at odds with the deliberately serious tone this game tries to set from the get-go.
Mechanically, there isn't much to stay since holding two buttons is enough to bypass 90% of the obstacles.
Mechanically, there isn't much to stay since holding two buttons is enough to bypass 90% of the obstacles.
2022
It starts out quite gripping -- as gripping as these crippled interactive movie games can get -- but quickly loses steam by throwing us into badly paced flashbacks and exposition dumps for the characters' background motivations and drama. Shoots itself in the foot, really.
2010
Look, I realize why people love this game: it's the first real Fallout since Fallout 2, it truly allows you to role-play a character and find ways of succeeding due to a staggering amount of solutions to any given quest. It dumpsters Bethesda's effort design and narrative wise. I agree with most common sentiments without a problem.
However, there is ONE problem: the game is god-darn ugly.
And I truly mean it. It is hard on the eyes. I dare you to play this for a couple of dozen of hours and tell me that the vaults do not blend into one indistinguishable mess of bland textures and almost copy-pasted layouts. Video games are a visual art form, too -- we either judge them wholly or not at all.
And yes, Obsidian were hard pressed and under a very rigorous deadline to complete it. That's why there is ultimately a lack of visual polish -- one that gets in front of me enjoying it past a certain point -- which is why I do not herald it nearly as highly as others, despite loving RPGs to death.
However, there is ONE problem: the game is god-darn ugly.
And I truly mean it. It is hard on the eyes. I dare you to play this for a couple of dozen of hours and tell me that the vaults do not blend into one indistinguishable mess of bland textures and almost copy-pasted layouts. Video games are a visual art form, too -- we either judge them wholly or not at all.
And yes, Obsidian were hard pressed and under a very rigorous deadline to complete it. That's why there is ultimately a lack of visual polish -- one that gets in front of me enjoying it past a certain point -- which is why I do not herald it nearly as highly as others, despite loving RPGs to death.
All the charm of a single-player MMO.
A step back in every meaningful way for the series, if not two.
So to begin with, at the very basic design level, what we have is an array of incredibly simple and short missions; the aspect of previous games that involved an element of exploring and interacting with the environment is gone. Difficulty is also gone.
Secondly, instead of cinematic cutscenes, you get comic book esque presentation of story -- again, a downgrade. I couldn't bring myself to play past a couple of hours.
So to begin with, at the very basic design level, what we have is an array of incredibly simple and short missions; the aspect of previous games that involved an element of exploring and interacting with the environment is gone. Difficulty is also gone.
Secondly, instead of cinematic cutscenes, you get comic book esque presentation of story -- again, a downgrade. I couldn't bring myself to play past a couple of hours.
All these jaw-dropping efforts of countless talented artists only to be subjugated to a terrible, most boring game design. Entirely linear missions that are five steps back from GTA 3; combat that possesses no challenge; an open-world without a reason to explore (i.e. no progression systems where the rewards change the way you play -- see MGS V as a good opposite of this). A gargantuan collection of extremely on-rails missions where the NPCs just can't shut up. Not good, not good at all.
Skyrim is junk food: it is filling and feels somewhat okay tasting but you really wonder if you couldn't have eaten something better in the end. Dopamine dripping game with endless progression systems that ultimately feel shallow. Nice presentation.
2023
No game where you can hold one button standing in one place and progress deserves to be called good. And no, you can't say "but you need to play it for x hours for it to get good," -- that in itself is a condemnation to a game. It is bad design.
Bethesda should buy this studio and then incorporate into the next TES, only dressed up in fancier art and production values. Now that would be a 5/5 game.
The progression systems are fantastic and immersive and the possibility space is dazzling. Where it falls short is repetitive quests/tasks and presentation -- the stuff that big studios are good at, i.e. dressing up the world with gorgeous assets and countless voiced lines for the characters.
You can go from being a petty peasant into a full-time warlord and emperor. And every step of the way the game stays challenging and engrossing, revealing ever more of its depth. It is seriously just a bump up in production values -- and some combat tweaks -- away from a 5/5.
The progression systems are fantastic and immersive and the possibility space is dazzling. Where it falls short is repetitive quests/tasks and presentation -- the stuff that big studios are good at, i.e. dressing up the world with gorgeous assets and countless voiced lines for the characters.
You can go from being a petty peasant into a full-time warlord and emperor. And every step of the way the game stays challenging and engrossing, revealing ever more of its depth. It is seriously just a bump up in production values -- and some combat tweaks -- away from a 5/5.
2023
The game lends a great first impression on the account of the visuals -- the highly detailed and carefully designed interiors feel lived in, and the gore is simply the best in video games. But progression feels stale; the game fails to introduce anything new or meaningful even a couple of hours in, rendering every encounter some form of mashing the attack button and occasionally dodging an attack. There are some extra mechanics -- such as using water and a source of electricity to electrocute zombies -- but the game never pushes you to use them. You loot endless amount of items but never find anything exciting, never feel that you've discovered something special.
It is largely the same shallow game as the predecessor except better looking.
It is largely the same shallow game as the predecessor except better looking.