timtnz
6 reviews liked by timtnz
Games usually work best at acknowledging that less is more. Making a simple dialogue box with a scarce message will leave abstraction to fill the blanks better than the common poor staging of having a high detail 3D character lip syncing its dialogue, resulting in the usual videogame ugliness of trying to look genuine. And in games where, like Dragon’s Dogma, resources didn't seem to be plentiful, it only looks worse.
It isn't that bad that every character is the worst cosplayer of a medieval human from the robot world, everything is an excuse to go on an adventure after all. Even the initial premise, create a character, see how their heart is taken by a dragon, see the character survive, kill the dragon, is somehow totally lost before you step out in the field, not knowing the amount of hours that such a direct premise will take to move to its next obvious point.
The combat is sometimes there. In the more open areas, it can be easily ignored, no group of enemies will ever figure out what to do if you run in a straight line away from them. Perhaps the never knowing, though thankfully always teleporting, companions may get caught in their urge to kill anything on their view. Supposedly, traps are prepared on the way to catch you off guard. Realistically, these traps, already inoffensive when first encountered, are turned on their heads when noticing that the game obviously respawns the same enemy placement every time. You are the one expecting them. This is why escaping is so intentionally easy, repeating the same fights is tedious, and from a certain point they will not be worth to repeat because of any loot, experience, gold, quests or, impossible to imagine, joy for action.
Dungeons are better received since their close and tight spaces, sometimes even interesting to navigate, don't allow for such easy escapes. Instead, you can contemplate how most attacks provoke the same physical response as punching a wall and will reach to the conclusion of what Dragon's Dogma is really about. There is no force in the action, no world to adventure, no companions to unmute, no real characters freed from being quest giving robots, there are only levels to up, money to gain, equipment to upgrade and quests to complete. Just a number check to advance. Even the premise of the adventure driven by greed gets lost in the constant recollection of worthless nonsense. Finding gold is finding a treasure. Finding a pile of trash that may or may not contain gold that you don’t even know what to use for anymore is just finding a pile of trash.
The same as our main character, a moving body without a heart, just because. It is Dragon Quest 1 but longer and with the sporadic bits of charm lost. And that one was already bad.
It isn't that bad that every character is the worst cosplayer of a medieval human from the robot world, everything is an excuse to go on an adventure after all. Even the initial premise, create a character, see how their heart is taken by a dragon, see the character survive, kill the dragon, is somehow totally lost before you step out in the field, not knowing the amount of hours that such a direct premise will take to move to its next obvious point.
The combat is sometimes there. In the more open areas, it can be easily ignored, no group of enemies will ever figure out what to do if you run in a straight line away from them. Perhaps the never knowing, though thankfully always teleporting, companions may get caught in their urge to kill anything on their view. Supposedly, traps are prepared on the way to catch you off guard. Realistically, these traps, already inoffensive when first encountered, are turned on their heads when noticing that the game obviously respawns the same enemy placement every time. You are the one expecting them. This is why escaping is so intentionally easy, repeating the same fights is tedious, and from a certain point they will not be worth to repeat because of any loot, experience, gold, quests or, impossible to imagine, joy for action.
Dungeons are better received since their close and tight spaces, sometimes even interesting to navigate, don't allow for such easy escapes. Instead, you can contemplate how most attacks provoke the same physical response as punching a wall and will reach to the conclusion of what Dragon's Dogma is really about. There is no force in the action, no world to adventure, no companions to unmute, no real characters freed from being quest giving robots, there are only levels to up, money to gain, equipment to upgrade and quests to complete. Just a number check to advance. Even the premise of the adventure driven by greed gets lost in the constant recollection of worthless nonsense. Finding gold is finding a treasure. Finding a pile of trash that may or may not contain gold that you don’t even know what to use for anymore is just finding a pile of trash.
The same as our main character, a moving body without a heart, just because. It is Dragon Quest 1 but longer and with the sporadic bits of charm lost. And that one was already bad.
I was super excited to start playing this game after watching and reading all the discourse around it ✨
However, after after finishing it, have to say it is a major disappointment & just don’t get the hype 😢
Combat
- The highlight of this game but it doesn’t feel as great as what people say
it is.
- Feels really sluggish.
- The climbing mechanic is cool (minus the camera).
- Having different classes is cool and I’ve now tried them all. I didn't find one
that helped me have fun tho.
Aesthetics
- the open world is dead.
- Villages/cities are empty.
- Everything is super washed out or grey.
- Really ugly UI/menu which are not intuitive and poorly designed.
Story
- Super weak and generic.
- Very confusing with janky cutscenes and mid dialogue.
- Side quests are lacklustre and you better do them fast as there’s no
indication when the game will lock you out of them.
Other
- The pawn system is okay only. Nothing special.
- Music is forgettable.
- having limited fast travel is a major pain.
- One particular end game quest that doesn't respect the players time at all.
In general, this felt like a very unpolished and unfinished game. There is no seasoning 😭
I have heard ppl online saying it’s like a mix between Elder Scrolls and Dark Souls. No. Stop please.
Sad because I really really wanted to love this game.
Despite all my criticism, I do think that with some more care there could be something great here.
So I am excited for DD2 to see the evolution of this game.
However, after after finishing it, have to say it is a major disappointment & just don’t get the hype 😢
Combat
- The highlight of this game but it doesn’t feel as great as what people say
it is.
- Feels really sluggish.
- The climbing mechanic is cool (minus the camera).
- Having different classes is cool and I’ve now tried them all. I didn't find one
that helped me have fun tho.
Aesthetics
- the open world is dead.
- Villages/cities are empty.
- Everything is super washed out or grey.
- Really ugly UI/menu which are not intuitive and poorly designed.
Story
- Super weak and generic.
- Very confusing with janky cutscenes and mid dialogue.
- Side quests are lacklustre and you better do them fast as there’s no
indication when the game will lock you out of them.
Other
- The pawn system is okay only. Nothing special.
- Music is forgettable.
- having limited fast travel is a major pain.
- One particular end game quest that doesn't respect the players time at all.
In general, this felt like a very unpolished and unfinished game. There is no seasoning 😭
I have heard ppl online saying it’s like a mix between Elder Scrolls and Dark Souls. No. Stop please.
Sad because I really really wanted to love this game.
Despite all my criticism, I do think that with some more care there could be something great here.
So I am excited for DD2 to see the evolution of this game.
Dragon's Dogmeh
I feel like I've been collectively gaslit by the gaming world for the better part of a decade after finally getting to play Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen. Throughout the past eleven years post release, I'd heard of Dragon's Dogma as this legendary cult classic from Capcom that championed a great game filled with the Western approach to wizardry and fantasy. A process unlike myself, I bought DD before really looking into anything about how it played or what made people so excited for its incoming sequel. I figured that as a fan of Capcom's marquee titles and RPG's rich in scope and lore in general that I would take to it, but I did not. It's like ordering a Whopper because you thought you were going to get a succulent juicy hamburger like in the photo, but instead you got two patties enveloped in year old mayonnaise and someone's Burger King Foot Lettuce.
This is genuinely one of the worst looking games I've played, and I will go as far to say that playing Metal Gear Solid (a 1998 release) for the first time a year or two ago, I'd rather look at the four polygons that make up Otacon's face than half the characters in DD. Everyone looks so... off, a far cry from how great Capcom's facial and character design would look a few years down the line. In terms of the character elements of DD, the VA is real real real bad, which is unfortunate because there are some recognizable names, most notably David Lodge, but the title simply feels bad to listen to.
The narrative is... boring, effectively not existing until the latter half of the second act, and then materializing moreso in the third. Nothing really inspires you to care about this drab and boring world. Even Shadow of the Colossus, a game I absolutely despised at least looked more interesting and had more intrigue into its boneless landscape, Dragon's Dogma's world and capital city of Grandsys just kinda feel like Diet Water. For how much you have to run in this game, which is a lot, the world does little to nothing to engage with the player. Recycled enemies placed in locations just simply because the devs felt like they needed enemies, which breaks the rhythm of travel, made traversal feel worse than it already did. Because the devs don't believe in fast travel, something ultimately too convenient and useful, you have to run from point A to point B and then back to point A every time. This feels awful the first time you do it, and then the second time, and then the third time, and so on and so forth. Add into the mix that you're operating off of a scant stamina bar outside of hub worlds and your perception of getting anywhere in a reasonable amount of time crumbles to dust.
My real favorite part about Dragon's Dogma is how the damage is calculated. In most RPG's, and many games outside of the genre, you have a clear progression route for weapons and gear. You start weak and then upgrade your way to bigger and better items. In a game like Dark Souls for example, you have clear points in which you realize you should probably be levelling up your weapons, it's those moments where you're conceivably doing less damage to enemies and bosses than you feel like you should. You can still conquer any foe, but you have to put in more and more work when the world becomes stronger and your weapons relatively become weaker. In DD, your weapons at a certain point simply do not hurt the enemy. This concept is so laughably flawed that I found myself doing the Jackie Chan meme face from like fifteen years ago at my computer screen on multiple occasions. I get having a sign of "maybe you should upgrade your weapons" but getting into it with a group of bandits or goblins and slapping Sauron with a literal wet noodle that didn't even touch the health bar was incredibly bad game design.
I'm adding another miscellaneous complaint here about silent protagonism. I love having this emotional and lore heavy moment going on and my character is just standing there, mouth agape like she was waiting for a bowl of Golden Grahams with a little itty bitty scoop of milk included. For a game that relies upon the actions of your character and how they shape the entire world at large for the infinite future, there is a resounding lack of feeling important in Dragon's Dogma.
I can't recommend this game for anyone, and it solely (along with dev comments about fast travel) made me take any interest in the sequel away. It's ugly, it plays ugly, it's dated, it's Dragon's Dogmeh.
I feel like I've been collectively gaslit by the gaming world for the better part of a decade after finally getting to play Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen. Throughout the past eleven years post release, I'd heard of Dragon's Dogma as this legendary cult classic from Capcom that championed a great game filled with the Western approach to wizardry and fantasy. A process unlike myself, I bought DD before really looking into anything about how it played or what made people so excited for its incoming sequel. I figured that as a fan of Capcom's marquee titles and RPG's rich in scope and lore in general that I would take to it, but I did not. It's like ordering a Whopper because you thought you were going to get a succulent juicy hamburger like in the photo, but instead you got two patties enveloped in year old mayonnaise and someone's Burger King Foot Lettuce.
This is genuinely one of the worst looking games I've played, and I will go as far to say that playing Metal Gear Solid (a 1998 release) for the first time a year or two ago, I'd rather look at the four polygons that make up Otacon's face than half the characters in DD. Everyone looks so... off, a far cry from how great Capcom's facial and character design would look a few years down the line. In terms of the character elements of DD, the VA is real real real bad, which is unfortunate because there are some recognizable names, most notably David Lodge, but the title simply feels bad to listen to.
The narrative is... boring, effectively not existing until the latter half of the second act, and then materializing moreso in the third. Nothing really inspires you to care about this drab and boring world. Even Shadow of the Colossus, a game I absolutely despised at least looked more interesting and had more intrigue into its boneless landscape, Dragon's Dogma's world and capital city of Grandsys just kinda feel like Diet Water. For how much you have to run in this game, which is a lot, the world does little to nothing to engage with the player. Recycled enemies placed in locations just simply because the devs felt like they needed enemies, which breaks the rhythm of travel, made traversal feel worse than it already did. Because the devs don't believe in fast travel, something ultimately too convenient and useful, you have to run from point A to point B and then back to point A every time. This feels awful the first time you do it, and then the second time, and then the third time, and so on and so forth. Add into the mix that you're operating off of a scant stamina bar outside of hub worlds and your perception of getting anywhere in a reasonable amount of time crumbles to dust.
My real favorite part about Dragon's Dogma is how the damage is calculated. In most RPG's, and many games outside of the genre, you have a clear progression route for weapons and gear. You start weak and then upgrade your way to bigger and better items. In a game like Dark Souls for example, you have clear points in which you realize you should probably be levelling up your weapons, it's those moments where you're conceivably doing less damage to enemies and bosses than you feel like you should. You can still conquer any foe, but you have to put in more and more work when the world becomes stronger and your weapons relatively become weaker. In DD, your weapons at a certain point simply do not hurt the enemy. This concept is so laughably flawed that I found myself doing the Jackie Chan meme face from like fifteen years ago at my computer screen on multiple occasions. I get having a sign of "maybe you should upgrade your weapons" but getting into it with a group of bandits or goblins and slapping Sauron with a literal wet noodle that didn't even touch the health bar was incredibly bad game design.
I'm adding another miscellaneous complaint here about silent protagonism. I love having this emotional and lore heavy moment going on and my character is just standing there, mouth agape like she was waiting for a bowl of Golden Grahams with a little itty bitty scoop of milk included. For a game that relies upon the actions of your character and how they shape the entire world at large for the infinite future, there is a resounding lack of feeling important in Dragon's Dogma.
I can't recommend this game for anyone, and it solely (along with dev comments about fast travel) made me take any interest in the sequel away. It's ugly, it plays ugly, it's dated, it's Dragon's Dogmeh.
Persona 3 Reload
2024
R-E-P-E-T-I-T-I-V-E
Persona series overall is letdown, but P3 is actually a waste of a masterpiece, and I'll explain why.
Narrative structure: Its ending shines. I completely kneel for the last 10 hours of the game, Burn my Dread is one of the COOLEST final battle themes I've ever listened (the lyrics, oh my God), and all the meaning of the journey was top. I love how, for example, how P3 deals about facing fears, and living each day as if it were your last.
HOWEVER, the entire beginning and half-game are terrible (except for the Aragaki scene middle game). The stories of Persona games are NOT bad, but they are kind of destroyed by its own structure. They are not long stories, but the structure makes it long, bullying the pacing of the games. You have 90 hours games that could be 30 or 40, but due to you needing to live every single day of the month, farming points, seeing useless social link or characters, and discarding your time instead of investing in more things to improve what is going to come (or just skip all that), the series insist that you need to grind useless no matter what. Because of this, I genuinely find impressive anyone who completes a Persona game without finding it a tiring journey, as Persona is the most repetitive series I've ever consumed. Not only that, also its worldbuilding is too simple (still efficient), and the story overall is shallow, as it's not of the interest of the creators diving into a well deep and explored narrative. It has good moments and very good connections, but the construction of the scenes are very flawed and superficial (I still remember the grotesquely bad script of Fuuka's persona presentation).
Characters: with very fun interactions, the characters are cute, cool and stylish, but they can't sustain this structure for most of the time. They're not deep and they're not incredibly well developed. They are, de facto, good characters, some unique and ones that I really like, but this does NOT carry a story for 80 hours or more. There will come a time when everything will be a record played again. Repetitive. Also, I'm already tired of saying Persona protagonists are completely bland (making a slight exception for Amamiya Ren), but I don't even care anymore.
Gameplay: The gameplay that exists is that you climb a tower with 200 floors identical to each other to kill mobs. With the exception of this defect, it's fun. Okay, serious now, the battles are very interesting. The battle system is one of the strong points of Persona games.
Soundtrack: Unique, beautiful and fantastic. A very beautiful mix of elements such as rock and jazz to create compositions that anyone in the world could familiarize themselves with in just one listen. I love Persona soundtracks. For anyone who have complained about the remix, go fuck yourself. In Reload version, the songs were better and cleaner than in the original versions. And even if you didn't like it, you're a fool for complaining. The original soundtracks already exist, the new ones give a new perspective and fresh air for those who want it to have that air.
The Art Direction continues to astound, consistently elevating the Persona series with its stunning visual presentation. Since Persona 5, it has showcased a breathtaking artistic vision that truly makes the game shine. Paired with its exceptional soundtrack, the art direction are the heart of the series.
For all that, this franchise could be much better than it actually is, but I know that will never change. The flaws will continue, and I will always be complaining, because it'll never get there. I know Atlus is like the RGG studio that likes a bit of a comfort zone, and won't change their games much.
In short, Persona is a series that is destroyed by its own exhausting structure that seems to want to suck you in at all costs, but still it's overall a fun experience with a good message.
I tried gaslight, but when a game is objectively mid, not even my gaslight can help it.
Persona is the biggest collective delusion I've ever seen, I find it unimaginable that the majority of people acclaim this series and don't point out any flaws, not even the elitists or people that know how to write good reviews. It's unbelievable to me.
Persona series overall is letdown, but P3 is actually a waste of a masterpiece, and I'll explain why.
Narrative structure: Its ending shines. I completely kneel for the last 10 hours of the game, Burn my Dread is one of the COOLEST final battle themes I've ever listened (the lyrics, oh my God), and all the meaning of the journey was top. I love how, for example, how P3 deals about facing fears, and living each day as if it were your last.
HOWEVER, the entire beginning and half-game are terrible (except for the Aragaki scene middle game). The stories of Persona games are NOT bad, but they are kind of destroyed by its own structure. They are not long stories, but the structure makes it long, bullying the pacing of the games. You have 90 hours games that could be 30 or 40, but due to you needing to live every single day of the month, farming points, seeing useless social link or characters, and discarding your time instead of investing in more things to improve what is going to come (or just skip all that), the series insist that you need to grind useless no matter what. Because of this, I genuinely find impressive anyone who completes a Persona game without finding it a tiring journey, as Persona is the most repetitive series I've ever consumed. Not only that, also its worldbuilding is too simple (still efficient), and the story overall is shallow, as it's not of the interest of the creators diving into a well deep and explored narrative. It has good moments and very good connections, but the construction of the scenes are very flawed and superficial (I still remember the grotesquely bad script of Fuuka's persona presentation).
Characters: with very fun interactions, the characters are cute, cool and stylish, but they can't sustain this structure for most of the time. They're not deep and they're not incredibly well developed. They are, de facto, good characters, some unique and ones that I really like, but this does NOT carry a story for 80 hours or more. There will come a time when everything will be a record played again. Repetitive. Also, I'm already tired of saying Persona protagonists are completely bland (making a slight exception for Amamiya Ren), but I don't even care anymore.
Gameplay: The gameplay that exists is that you climb a tower with 200 floors identical to each other to kill mobs. With the exception of this defect, it's fun. Okay, serious now, the battles are very interesting. The battle system is one of the strong points of Persona games.
Soundtrack: Unique, beautiful and fantastic. A very beautiful mix of elements such as rock and jazz to create compositions that anyone in the world could familiarize themselves with in just one listen. I love Persona soundtracks. For anyone who have complained about the remix, go fuck yourself. In Reload version, the songs were better and cleaner than in the original versions. And even if you didn't like it, you're a fool for complaining. The original soundtracks already exist, the new ones give a new perspective and fresh air for those who want it to have that air.
The Art Direction continues to astound, consistently elevating the Persona series with its stunning visual presentation. Since Persona 5, it has showcased a breathtaking artistic vision that truly makes the game shine. Paired with its exceptional soundtrack, the art direction are the heart of the series.
For all that, this franchise could be much better than it actually is, but I know that will never change. The flaws will continue, and I will always be complaining, because it'll never get there. I know Atlus is like the RGG studio that likes a bit of a comfort zone, and won't change their games much.
In short, Persona is a series that is destroyed by its own exhausting structure that seems to want to suck you in at all costs, but still it's overall a fun experience with a good message.
I tried gaslight, but when a game is objectively mid, not even my gaslight can help it.
Persona is the biggest collective delusion I've ever seen, I find it unimaginable that the majority of people acclaim this series and don't point out any flaws, not even the elitists or people that know how to write good reviews. It's unbelievable to me.
If you want to play Divinity 2 on modern systems, install this fan patch made by blankname that I found buried in the official Larian Discord server:
https://www.mediafire.com/folder/wuzp6y6c3g8qq/div2
The game ran like absolute shit for me no matter what I did, and after hours of attempting manual fixes and searching the internet I was finally able to dig up this patch that no one seems to know about. Now I can enjoy it with smooth uncapped FPS and no microstutters or fear of crashing.
I hate how Discord servers have effectively replaced forums and made stuff like this impossible to find for people not "in the know." 5-10 years ago this would have been stickied on the official/Steam boards and widely proliferated through sites like Mod DB. But I digress,
https://www.mediafire.com/folder/wuzp6y6c3g8qq/div2
The game ran like absolute shit for me no matter what I did, and after hours of attempting manual fixes and searching the internet I was finally able to dig up this patch that no one seems to know about. Now I can enjoy it with smooth uncapped FPS and no microstutters or fear of crashing.
I hate how Discord servers have effectively replaced forums and made stuff like this impossible to find for people not "in the know." 5-10 years ago this would have been stickied on the official/Steam boards and widely proliferated through sites like Mod DB. But I digress,
Gothic 3
2006
This game is propably better than a 1/10 but I really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really
really really really really really really really really really
really really really really really really really really really
really really really really really really really really really
really really really really really really really really really
really really really really really really really really really
really really really really really really really really really
really really really really really really really really really
REALLY REALLY REALLY DO. NOT. CARE!
Fuck. this. shit.
This is the single most disappointing video game sequels of all time and makes complete stinkers like "Lightning Returns" seem like goddamn masterpieces in comparison.
This was an out of nowhere death blow for one of the most promising RPG Series of all time and what should have been an all time great series.
And it's not. Because of this thing.
... I will forever hate this pile of trash with seething passion.
really really really really really really really really really
really really really really really really really really really
really really really really really really really really really
really really really really really really really really really
really really really really really really really really really
really really really really really really really really really
really really really really really really really really really
REALLY REALLY REALLY DO. NOT. CARE!
Fuck. this. shit.
This is the single most disappointing video game sequels of all time and makes complete stinkers like "Lightning Returns" seem like goddamn masterpieces in comparison.
This was an out of nowhere death blow for one of the most promising RPG Series of all time and what should have been an all time great series.
And it's not. Because of this thing.
... I will forever hate this pile of trash with seething passion.