idk if i live under a rock or something but all the "this game is just addiction feeding" stuff ive seen feels weird cuz i just think playing poker is fun, like there feels like a pretty big difference between the intent behind this and like vampire survivors type shit at least to me

@GutterTrash u got a valid point and i realized pretty much immediately after writing this that i hadn't expressed the thought properly. it's a taste thing for me at the end of the day and a mild irritation with what's trendy, not anything wrong with the game conceptually (other than that i dont like it lol)

pachinko machine comparison still stands though. a pachinko machine that uses fictional currency is the endgame of the modern indie roguelike

in 2-3 years we're gonna get a massive wave of "satire" games about how roguelikes are addiction feeding evil a la the ones that were made about facebook games 15 years ago

@GutterTrash can't wait for DLC Quest: Roguelike Edition

"actual roguelikes" have soooooo much more going on than this game. even pachinko, really - depending on the machine there's still a thing you're learning to physically operate (you can actually learn a pachislot machine more than you can a lot of post-VS roguelites LOL). but in the indie sphere "roguelike" is v rapidly becoming a euphemism for "giant button you smack hoping you get The God Run this time," balatro being the worst example yet. vampire survivors, luck be a landlord, etc ~ all of which i assume are made by people who havent played actual Rogue. they feel as though they're starting their designs by asking "what's some stuff i can randomize." actually just making a straight Gambling Game (but even more socially isolated than real poker, riichi, etc) is the logical conclusion of that.

this is parallel (i think) to "survival game" getting whittled down into just a series of Active Waiting mechanics, constant forward momentum that don't allow you to alt tab or walk away. or the increasingly dense mazes of Progression Mechanics stapled onto every post-callofduty4 multiplayer shooter, etc. feels like the cultural insistence of "its just for fun maaan" has been wrung dry (or, exploited) by a few generations of psychological optimization, and now a huge swath of games have reverted to their pre-pinball "press button for fun chemical" state. it sucks! at least i need to go outside and talk to a human being to buy dope!!

there is a book that's very relevant here; Natasha Schüll's "Addiction by Design: Machine Gambling in Las Vegas." it's about how modern gambling machines are hyper-optimized, the part of the human brain they're exploiting (not a desire for luck, but anticipation), how the industry justifies it ("well, the other guy in the company who isn't me who designed it was just trying to Give people the Thing they Wanted!!," etc). really unnerving. if you don't want to read it, there's a podcast that covered it, but i don't know if it's any good. honestly just look at the little previews of it on jstor (there is an entire chapter dedicated to the idea of "flow," because OF COURSE), and compare it to the steam store marketing copy for Balatro. true horror.

@sign "they feel as though they're starting their designs by asking 'what's some stuff i can randomize'" this is exactly the case particularly with stuff where its like pre-existing game but roguelike now (see: Peglin, one of my least favorite things)

this game honestly has nothing to do with shit like cookie clickers and other vampire survivors. It's an actual game with deck building mechanics and a ton of challenges that can make a run play completely differently depending on the deck you start with, the difficulty you're on, and so on. I know from afar it looks like another press buttons for instant dopamine release, but this one has strategy on top of it. It's not uncommon to spend a few minutes just looking at what cards you have and what you can do with them to maximize the output, especially on endless mode in the higher antes. It's addictive because you can try out a lot of synergies with what the game offers (mainly all the jokers available, some you will unlock later on). You have to adapt and try new strategies depending on what you get in the store, and most of the time the only "gamble" you'll have to do is whether you want to re-roll it or not.

here’s my thinkpiece: 🥰

has anyone complaining about this game even tried it? cannot imagine someone who has played this game seriously equating it to pachinko

pachinko is better than this tbh

@bad_news u a few good reviews

fank yew

my nuts itch

Good review! And the comments have been interesting to read too. I hope Vampire Survivors didn't set too much of a trend for the future of gaming.

@MyGameOpinions my nuts itch

awesome