Basticle posted:It not necessarily horror, but did you guys know Swery was making a new game? (I didn't) Its out October 11th I was fully expecting The Good Life, not...what I got.
|
|
#
?
Sep 16, 2018 01:18
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 2, 2024 22:59 |
|
|
That looks like a game with a mystery where gameplay based around solving platforming puzzles while brutally dying in all sorts of dismembering manners, so I'm not quite sure why you say it's "not necessarily horror." It sure as hell seems like one!
|
|
#
?
Sep 16, 2018 01:47
|
|
|
SUPERMAN'S GAL PAL posted:This is an extensive review by someone who has played quite a bit. Spoiler and content warning for the subject matter in the game, of course. It seems like the game wants to say something about child abuse and abuse in general (particularly the disproportionate abuse suffered by women), but then it falls flat on its rear end by not having the protagonist or the villagers realize they're loving awful or face consequences. Plus the twist ending is bizarre and stupid.
|
|
#
?
Sep 16, 2018 04:47
|
|
|
The fact if you attempt to complete the tutorial with good-aligned choices gives you a game over (if I recall what I read a couple days ago correctly) is an immediate pass for me. rudecyrus posted:It seems like the game wants to say something about child abuse and abuse in general (particularly the disproportionate abuse suffered by women), but then it falls flat on its rear end by not having the protagonist or the villagers realize they're loving awful or face consequences. Plus the twist ending is bizarre and stupid. Maybe it’s because I recently read some healthcare materials on caring for and encouraging disabled children specifically in rural villages but I was even more disgusted with the game when the daughters were described because in a whole different game I’d enjoy helping them with their unique forms so they could have a fulfilling life. And while it’s been a long time since high school Lit classes the twist fundamentally misunderstands the best known version of the material it’s based on.
|
|
#
?
Sep 16, 2018 05:39
|
|
|
It’s crazy that Tecmo Deception 20 years later is the still one of the more nuanced games when it comes to moral choices. Some people are hell bent on murdering you but letting people escape means you miss out on gold and magic so you’re handicapped for doing the right thing but the game never admonishes you for giving into Satan. I thought that game would be closer to Princess Maker where you can abuse your magic daughter but the game has like 100 endings to reflect every choice you could make, good or bad.
|
|
#
?
Sep 16, 2018 06:01
|
|
|
That doesn't sound very nuanced
|
|
#
?
Sep 16, 2018 06:04
|
|
|
is cultist simulator good
|
|
#
?
Sep 16, 2018 06:06
|
|
|
Improbable Lobster posted:That doesn't sound very nuanced That speaks more about video games as a whole than a 20 year old ps1 game.
|
|
#
?
Sep 16, 2018 06:07
|
|
|
Improbable Lobster posted:That doesn't sound very nuanced At one point you get to choose whether to you let your fiance escape your castle or murder her and turn her corpse into a zombie that is one of the best damage dealing summons in the game.
|
|
#
?
Sep 16, 2018 06:10
|
|
|
SUPERMAN'S GAL PAL posted:The fact if you attempt to complete the tutorial with good-aligned choices gives you a game over (if I recall what I read a couple days ago correctly) is an immediate pass for me. Yep. If you just sit there for a period of time and not click on the (literal) Sacrifice button, that triggers one of the two suicide endings because "Faust can't bring himself to destroy his creation." (And since your first is a tree girl, if you click you're treated to a drawing of him chopping her up with an axe. I think I forgot to mention that each girl type gets her own way of being murdered, complete with illustrations and scream sounds. Mummy get thrown in an electric chair, mermaid gets run through with her own trident, etc.) Speaking of one of the six ways the game ends, I forgot to rant about another reason to hard pass (as if you needed it at this point): the second suicide one is triggered by not caring for your daughter's corpse and she rots away to the point of being unable to hold the soul. You have to avoid this throughout the demo and full game by buying preservation balm and raw meat at the town store. Then you go home, combine them, and it's made clear that...you're rubbing down her dead body with it. (I'm cringing as hard as you are right now.) I think Discendo Vox wasn't far off with the speculation about the gendered element being a massive warning sign and "it reads a lot like a fetish thing."
|
|
#
?
Sep 16, 2018 06:44
|
|
|
Tired Moritz posted:is cultist simulator good It's a well written plate spinning game. That's not really an insult, it's very openly about managing a bunch of timers (hunger, stress, detectives, etc.), and early on you can get so obsessed with progress you maybe forget you need to deal with the cops or go make money to eat. There's also a few traps (like Fascination) that you can see coming that will absolutely ruin your game until you figure out how to deal with them. It's main problem is that it's a cultist simulator, so progression is based on some obtuse occult logic. I haven't finished a full run because I hit a point where I mastered plate spinning but couldn't figure out how to get to any of the deeper mysteries, and by the time that I had I got distracted by other games. Something I wanna return to though. But I'm already a fan of Alexis Kennedy's writing, and if that isn't interesting to you then I dunno how much a game about timers and poo poo will keep your attention. TGLT fucked around with this message at 07:24 on Sep 16, 2018 |
|
#
?
Sep 16, 2018 07:22
|
|
|
I tend to give people the benefit of the doubt, so I'll assume this was a genuine attempt to say something, though if it was anything more than "the world really sucks" and "poo poo, I couldn't think of a good ending," I can't tell.
|
|
#
?
Sep 16, 2018 07:26
|
|
|
Tired Moritz posted:is cultist simulator good it is, if you like the style of writing that goes into it and won't mind playing a vaguely relaxed timer-based game then i recommend it
|
|
#
?
Sep 16, 2018 13:09
|
|
|
"Vaguely Relaxed" is the perfect way to describe Cultist Simulator
|
|
#
?
Sep 16, 2018 15:39
|
|
|
Danaru posted:"Vaguely Relaxed" is the perfect way to describe Cultist Simulator I like the idea of a bunch of cultists trying to summon The Shape From Beyond The Stars or whatever, but getting too involved in their Call of Duty tournament to finally read the last chapter of the occult texts written by the Madman.
|
|
#
?
Sep 16, 2018 15:43
|
|
|
Knowing nothing about what the gently caress your doing as a cult plays so well into the idea of the game itself it's great. I do wish Alexis Kennedy would write a game that's accessible, I wanted to love Fallen London and Sunless Sea but...eh at least Cultist Sim is a loving blast
|
|
#
?
Sep 16, 2018 16:36
|
|
|
Blockhouse posted:not a horror game but this is the same reason I find spec ops: the line to completely fail in its one gimmick Okay I know this is unrelated to the topic of the thread but I hate when this argument comes up with regards to spec ops: the line. The number of people saying that the message falls flat because the game makes you do the bad things and then points out that they're bad is loving stupid. The whole point of the game is pointing out how often in those sorts of games you just run through the motions of running around shooting brown people with little concern for why you're doing it, and then the game ends with "Hey, why did you do all those things?" This is not supposed to be an indictment of you as a player because you played the video game, it's to point out to you "Hey, you just played a game all about killing people for no good reason and you did a bunch of terrible things. This is what a lot of video games are. Think about that thing." The fact that a large crew of people are just so hung up on the fact that a game might have hurt their little feelings by almost sorta kinda maybe implying they could be bad (even though that's not even the point remotely) drives me nuts. Child abuse simulator is bad though, this is not a defense of that game.
|
|
#
?
Sep 17, 2018 16:31
|
|
|
I can still only play RE7 VR 20 mins at a time before having to turn the system off.
|
|
#
?
Sep 17, 2018 16:32
|
|
|
Glagha posted:Okay I know this is unrelated to the topic of the thread but I hate when this argument comes up with regards to spec ops: the line. The number of people saying that the message falls flat because the game makes you do the bad things and then points out that they're bad is loving stupid. The whole point of the game is pointing out how often in those sorts of games you just run through the motions of running around shooting brown people with little concern for why you're doing it, and then the game ends with "Hey, why did you do all those things?" This is not supposed to be an indictment of you as a player because you played the video game, it's to point out to you "Hey, you just played a game all about killing people for no good reason and you did a bunch of terrible things. This is what a lot of video games are. Think about that thing." The fact that a large crew of people are just so hung up on the fact that a game might have hurt their little feelings by almost sorta kinda maybe implying they could be bad (even though that's not even the point remotely) drives me nuts. Agreed. And on top of that, I really enjoyed that 'you are the demons jon' twist. It was refreshing at the time it came out.
|
|
#
?
Sep 17, 2018 16:55
|
|
|
Glagha posted:Okay I know this is unrelated to the topic of the thread but I hate when this argument comes up with regards to spec ops: the line. The number of people saying that the message falls flat because the game makes you do the bad things and then points out that they're bad is loving stupid. The whole point of the game is pointing out how often in those sorts of games you just run through the motions of running around shooting brown people with little concern for why you're doing it, and then the game ends with "Hey, why did you do all those things?" This is not supposed to be an indictment of you as a player because you played the video game, it's to point out to you "Hey, you just played a game all about killing people for no good reason and you did a bunch of terrible things. This is what a lot of video games are. Think about that thing." The fact that a large crew of people are just so hung up on the fact that a game might have hurt their little feelings by almost sorta kinda maybe implying they could be bad (even though that's not even the point remotely) drives me nuts. I generally agree with you but Spec Ops was totally an indictment of the player. The loading screens had messages saying "this is all your fault, all of it", idk how much clearer you can get than that
|
|
#
?
Sep 17, 2018 16:57
|
|
|
My Lovely Daughter really does feel exploitative. If their message is 'child abuse bad' why would you go such a direct and blunt route with the blood trailes and the nice little letters before brutally murdering them and it's all just...I dont know it doesnt feel like theres a message at all. Even so, I'm not sure why a 'child abuse is bad' game even needs to be made. Like, use it as a theme sure if you're telling that kind of story but everyone knows its loving bad so why make a sim for it?
A. Beaverhausen fucked around with this message at 17:11 on Sep 17, 2018 |
|
#
?
Sep 17, 2018 17:03
|
|
|
CharlestonJew posted:I generally agree with you but Spec Ops was totally an indictment of the player. The loading screens had messages saying "this is all your fault, all of it", idk how much clearer you can get than that I've gone over it a ton, but one of the devs said that a victory was literally just turning the game off and not engaging with it. 
|
|
#
?
Sep 17, 2018 17:07
|
|
|
dogstile posted:I've gone over it a ton, but one of the devs said that a victory was literally just turning the game off and not engaging with it. When the main point of the game is "let's not treat war like a fun time adventure where everyone wins" and a general indictment of "oorah you the war hero man" type war media, yes turning off the video game and walking away is a valid ending to your experience with the game. Especially since it keeps telling you to do that, or that you can do that if you'd like, or asking you why you haven't done that yet.
|
|
#
?
Sep 17, 2018 17:14
|
|
|
CharlestonJew posted:I generally agree with you but Spec Ops was totally an indictment of the player. The loading screens had messages saying "this is all your fault, all of it", idk how much clearer you can get than that There is a distinction between accusing the player as a method of making a point and accusing the player as in "you are actually a bad person for playing this game." The whole idea is to point out to the player that war games often have really troubling messages that are then consumed without thinking and that this game, like many games like it, just had you do a bunch of really awful poo poo without question and the whole accusation at the end is to provoke thought about it, not to say "lol why didn't you turn off the game idiot" (even if one of the creators said that, that doesn't mean that's actually the message of the game)
|
|
#
?
Sep 17, 2018 17:20
|
|
|
dogstile posted:I've gone over it a ton, but one of the devs said that a victory was literally just turning the game off and not engaging with it.
|
|
#
?
Sep 17, 2018 17:24
|
|
|
TGLT posted:When the main point of the game is "let's not treat war like a fun time adventure where everyone wins" and a general indictment of "oorah you the war hero man" type war media, yes turning off the video game and walking away is a valid ending to your experience with the game. Especially since it keeps telling you to do that, or that you can do that if you'd like, or asking you why you haven't done that yet. That'd be a valid argument if the game was free to play.
|
|
#
?
Sep 17, 2018 17:27
|
|
|
I can see what SpecOps was trying to do, but I don't really think I'm the kind of player the game was trying to reach, so to me the fourth wall-breaking elements came off as tedious. I also dislike didactic messages in games as a general rule and would much prefer to participate in the retelling of the story than have it moralized to me. What I'm trying to say here is that Shadow of the Colossus did everything better.
|
|
#
?
Sep 17, 2018 17:32
|
|
|
I don't get how people can't wrap their heads around intended play and message sometimes conflicting with the actual text of the game. No one actually wants you to turn off the game, they want you to play it all so you can hit the ending and the thesis statement for the whole game. The whole "why did you do this" messaging of the game and the scolding is not supposed to tell you you're bad or present a dilemma for you to make the "right choice" on, it's to make you think about "hey why is funtime murder simulator" such a common genre that we consume without thought. Holy poo poo stop getting hung up on the game scolding you.
|
|
#
?
Sep 17, 2018 17:32
|
|
|
Glagha posted:Holy poo poo stop getting hung up on the game scolding you. I would understand people not wanting to spend money to be scolded.
|
|
#
?
Sep 17, 2018 17:34
|
|
|
A. Beaverhausen posted:I would understand people not wanting to spend money to be scolded. I can understand it too. I also think that's stupid. edit: More on topic, do people get offended about Silent Hill 2 because you didn't have the choice to secretly be a bad person in that game too? Is it better because it doesn't break the fourth wall?
|
|
#
?
Sep 17, 2018 17:37
|
|
|
IShallRiseAgain posted:That'd be a valid argument if the game was free to play. I mean it's a valid argument because it's what they were doing, even if the game might have been more effective or more likely to have that impact had it been handled differently. A. Beaverhausen posted:I would understand people not wanting to spend money to be scolded. 
|
|
#
?
Sep 17, 2018 17:38
|
|
|
Glagha posted:I can understand it too. I also think that's stupid. In Silent Hill 2 the player accepts that their participation is a retelling of James' story, not as an outside actor with an illusory sense of control. It's also a much better game than SpecOps: The Line.
|
|
#
?
Sep 17, 2018 17:43
|
|
|
A. Beaverhausen posted:I would understand people not wanting to spend money to be scolded. I know people who would pay a lot of money to be scolded
|
|
#
?
Sep 17, 2018 17:43
|
|
|
Yeah I should have specified in a game in that post
|
|
#
?
Sep 17, 2018 17:45
|
|
|
A. Beaverhausen posted:My Lovely Daughter really does feel exploitative. If their message is 'child abuse bad' why would you go such a direct and blunt route with the blood trailes and the nice little letters before brutally murdering them and it's all just...I dont know it doesnt feel like theres a message at all. Even so, I'm not sure why a 'child abuse is bad' game even needs to be made. Like, use it as a theme sure if you're telling that kind of story but everyone knows its loving bad so why make a sim for it? Frankly I think part of the appeal from a wholly non-sexual standpoint is so players can think about what *good* people they are, after all they feel bad for the girls and the situation and would *never* commit abuse themselves, and can nod sagely and pat themselves on the back for Being a Good Person (since this is Just a Game and That Doesn’t Matter). They’re reassured their morals are Right and can continue their lives without considering how engaging with media can unconsciously impact both individuals and systems. There’s also the reviewer who shared despite the awfulness they found catharsis in a vague way because of their own history of abuse, sadly that’s going to be a non-zero number of people, but I’d also think another large group would find the content upsetting and triggering.
|
|
#
?
Sep 17, 2018 18:11
|
|
|
Glagha posted:I don't get how people can't wrap their heads around intended play and message sometimes conflicting with the actual text of the game. No one actually wants you to turn off the game, they want you to play it all so you can hit the ending and the thesis statement for the whole game. The whole "why did you do this" messaging of the game and the scolding is not supposed to tell you you're bad or present a dilemma for you to make the "right choice" on, it's to make you think about "hey why is funtime murder simulator" such a common genre that we consume without thought. Holy poo poo stop getting hung up on the game scolding you. there was one guy in the Spec Ops LP thread who wrote nearly twenty thousand words lambasting it that game broke people's brains with a fierceness
|
|
#
?
Sep 17, 2018 18:23
|
|
|
Writing about video games is a weird space where people actually think it's necessary to write an essay about why Kai Leng is bad.
|
|
#
?
Sep 17, 2018 18:28
|
|
|
I think what makes SpecOps fall flat is that it was a game designed entirely around negative reinforcement. It's entirely based around telling the player to stop being bad, instead of being like "hey here's some ways to be not bad that are good." It's still better than that other game. though, because it's not someone's fetish game that they decided to sell to the public and pretend it had a message.
|
|
#
?
Sep 17, 2018 18:51
|
|
|
Gloomy Rube posted:I think what makes SpecOps fall flat is that it was a game designed entirely around negative reinforcement. It's entirely based around telling the player to stop being bad, instead of being like "hey here's some ways to be not bad that are good." this is, in fact, its greatest strength
|
|
#
?
Sep 17, 2018 18:55
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 2, 2024 22:59 |
|
|
Gloomy Rube posted:It's still better than that other game. though, because it's not someone's fetish game that they decided to sell to the public and pretend it had a message. I'm torn by it either being a fetish project or a games version of a 'made for Oscars' movie hoping for thoughtful think pieces and buzz
|
|
#
?
Sep 17, 2018 18:57
|
|