Hot takes

[kuroninneko]

Too many games are narrative driven. I dont have lots of time and dont feel like talking to every NPC to learn what Im supposed to do. I also think there are too many metroidvanias. I actually miss the old days of games with stages and instant action

 

[moonbits]

Why not trying an entirely fresh concept ?

At the end of the day; this is a product and it needs to sell. Spare me the theatrics of "gaming is art". There has to be some sort of revenue. And risking it all on something completely different is not gonna make profit, maybe in 20 years someone will make a Youtube video about it "X game was ahead of its time" and you'd probably be dead or in an asylum.

Nobody cares if its original, or unique or whatever as much as we plead for originality. At the end of the day, people will buy the souls slop, the resident clones and the boomer shooters.

Post automatically merged: Aug 10, 2025

Too many games are narrative driven.

Story and narrative have diluted game design more than anyone wants to admit.

 

[Graves Ruinwalker]

At the end of the day; this is a product and it needs to sell. Spare me the theatrics of "gaming is art". There has to be some sort of revenue. And risking it all on something completely different is not gonna make profit, maybe in 20 years someone will make a Youtube video about it "X game was ahead of its time" and you'd probably be dead or in an asylum.

Nobody cares if its original, or unique or whatever as much as we plead for originality. At the end of the day, people will buy the souls slop, the resident clones and the boomer shooters.

Tbh , im not for the statement that games are art .

More Creative-works that are for Entertainment but its more than art .
The same goes ,for example, Trading card games. These aint art but a entertaiment product that has art-pictures used in functional cards for a card game . Its more than art .

And that games are just products reflects perfectly to todays instances how wrecked the gaming industry is thanks to oversaturation of souls-likes and stuff with such varying quality between horrible till mediocre . With exceptions but the majority aint worth the look .

Without unique spins and approaches -> no enthusiasm towards gaming -> no interest -> no demand -> no supply .

Classic marketing rules (capitalism) .

 

[petran79]

Online multiplayer rots brains like meth. Couch multiplayer could have saved a generation of incels. Also Sonic was always bad.

Energy drink companies would go broke though

 

[tizlor]

Tbh , im not for the statement that games are art .

More Creative-works that are for Entertainment but its more than art .
The same goes ,for example, Trading card games. These aint art but a entertaiment product that has art-pictures used in functional cards for a card game . Its more than art .

And that games are just products reflects perfectly to todays instances how wrecked the gaming industry is thanks to oversaturation of souls-likes and stuff with such varying quality between horrible till mediocre . With exceptions but the majority aint worth the look .

Without unique spins and approaches -> no enthusiasm towards gaming -> no interest -> no demand -> no supply .

Classic marketing rules (capitalism) .

Not an indie take, but a take: The gaming is art crowd suck ass.

 

[Deleted member 819841]

Undertale is better than deltarune
now im wanted 9stars

 

[Graves Ruinwalker]

Not an indie take, but a take: The gaming is art crowd suck ass.

Off-topic:
Its not that they suck , rather its mostly taken as self-explained and a fact which are seen as impossible to debunk .

Ignorance would be the fitting answer . While there are people that give actual good arguments why games are art , most of them dont have any and dont see its worth to discuss about , what really irks me the most .

 

[SylvanSwordstress]

I absolutely ADORE Super Metroid and the FromSoftware games, but I've never been drawn to play "Metroidvanias" or "Soulslikes." I'm not against them, but there's too many out there and I never feel like they capture what makes the original games great.

 

[Phage]

Too many games are narrative driven. I dont have lots of time and dont feel like talking to every NPC to learn what Im supposed to do. I also think there are too many metroidvanias. I actually miss the old days of games with stages and instant action

I don't think I've ever read a post here that I disagree with more. Narratives are overwhelmingly trash today, either being barely there, poorly structured, or way too rushed. There are plenty of games that aren't narrative focused, but let's stop blaming a good story for bad games. If there's too much story for you, it's simply not the game for you. Similarly, there are plenty of games that I might enjoy if they had a bit more narrative bite, but when they don't I simply don't care to continue playing it because it's just empty gameplay loops.

I also adore metroidvanias, but too many games these days try to do this without having anything unique too offer, or by leaning too hard on souls-like difficulty instead of just being a good game. If people want souls-like games, there are souls-likes. The two genres need to be untangled, and with a quickness. Again though, if you don't like metroidvanias, don't play them. Some genres just aren't for everyone. I don't like FPS, or realistic racing games, or RTS, so I don't play them. If metroidvania isn't your jam, fine, but saying "there are too many" when other people like them is just being short-sighted and self-centered.

I'll give you, there's plenty of room for classic retro-style titles, and I'd enjoy those myself. I used to have a blast replaying Toejam and Earl: Panic on Funkotron, or Super Mario World, or Sonic 3 & Knuckles, or any number of side-scrolling platformers, as well as a good chunk of 3D platformers/adventure games in the N64/PS1/PS2 era, like Gex, Glover, Mario 64, Sonic Adventure and the like. The thing is, there's room for *all* of this.

*The* thing that got me into gaming as a kid though? Stories. I loved a good narrative and got sucked into RPGs because of it. One of the biggest drawbacks of games today as far as I'm concerned is actually a LACK of narrative, or an aversion to it by developers. I already went into plenty of detail on that in my post above about rogue-likes and open world games, so I'm not gonna repeat a rant here. Suffice to say, if you don't like narratives, there are plenty of boomer shooters, side scrollers, open world survival crafting games, and other genres aside from the ones you don't like that are right there for the taking, that have little to no story so you can get your fix. Meanwhile, some of us are starved for stories to give our gaming sessions some meaning, and that's why games like Clair Obscur absolutely explode in popularity when they drop, because you just don't get that anymore.

Ultimately, you gotta play what speaks to you, but complaining about too much story or too many games of a genre you don't like is like saying that just because you don't like it, nobody should be able to enjoy it. I don't complain about the 50th shooter to drop this year just because I don't play them. I complain about games that I *want* to enjoy, but fail to live up to promises. I stick to what I like, and it doesn't bother me that others are getting things *they* like.

 

[kuroninneko]

I don't think I've ever read a post here that I disagree with more. Narratives are overwhelmingly trash today, either being barely there, poorly structured, or way too rushed. There are plenty of games that aren't narrative focused, but let's stop blaming a good story for bad games. If there's too much story for you, it's simply not the game for you. Similarly, there are plenty of games that I might enjoy if they had a bit more narrative bite, but when they don't I simply don't care to continue playing it because it's just empty gameplay loops.

I also adore metroidvanias, but too many games these days try to do this without having anything unique too offer, or by leaning too hard on souls-like difficulty instead of just being a good game. If people want souls-like games, there are souls-likes. The two genres need to be untangled, and with a quickness. Again though, if you don't like metroidvanias, don't play them. Some genres just aren't for everyone. I don't like FPS, or realistic racing games, or RTS, so I don't play them. If metroidvania isn't your jam, fine, but saying "there are too many" when other people like them is just being short-sighted and self-centered.

I'll give you, there's plenty of room for classic retro-style titles, and I'd enjoy those myself. I used to have a blast replaying Toejam and Earl: Panic on Funkotron, or Super Mario World, or Sonic 3 & Knuckles, or any number of side-scrolling platformers, as well as a good chunk of 3D platformers/adventure games in the N64/PS1/PS2 era, like Gex, Glover, Mario 64, Sonic Adventure and the like. The thing is, there's room for *all* of this.

*The* thing that got me into gaming as a kid though? Stories. I loved a good narrative and got sucked into RPGs because of it. One of the biggest drawbacks of games today as far as I'm concerned is actually a LACK of narrative, or an aversion to it by developers. I already went into plenty of detail on that in my post above about rogue-likes and open world games, so I'm not gonna repeat a rant here. Suffice to say, if you don't like narratives, there are plenty of boomer shooters, side scrollers, open world survival crafting games, and other genres aside from the ones you don't like that are right there for the taking, that have little to no story so you can get your fix. Meanwhile, some of us are starved for stories to give our gaming sessions some meaning, and that's why games like Clair Obscur absolutely explode in popularity when they drop, because you just don't get that anymore.

Ultimately, you gotta play what speaks to you, but complaining about too much story or too many games of a genre you don't like is like saying that just because you don't like it, nobody should be able to enjoy it. I don't complain about the 50th shooter to drop this year just because I don't play them. I complain about games that I *want* to enjoy, but fail to live up to promises. I stick to what I like, and it doesn't bother me that others are getting things *they* like.

Its a thread called hot takes so dont get all upset. And youre talking to someone who plays a ton of retro & modern rpgs. The fun ones would allow the player the ability to freely get into the game, explore the world, and the combat system would take strategy. The balance of narrative and gameplay was done right. Also Clair Obscur is a good example of a narrative game done right but it does feel rare today. Its obvious theres room for all types of games yet too many promising games get ruined by long cutscenes, locking player's movement to only forward (before watching another scene), fetch quests, press A to win situations, or find the right npc to continue. I think youre being assumptious and reading way too far into what I said with your own opinions but I guess thats whats gonna happen in the hot takes thread.

 

[Pandaprewmaster325]

The difference between resident evil 1 and 2 is staggering resident evil went from mediocre at best to decent in just 2 years.

To me people seem blinded by nostalgia when they talk about how RE1 is good or scary idk about you the only thing that can get the scare out of me is chimeras and tyrants in RE1 the whole lab is uncanny everything else isn't scary , hunters are very frustrating to deal with they rely on shock type of horror since they can decapitate you and you know seeing your virtual body headless isn't a pretty sight really even if it's virtual it's hurts the ego man


The only thing RE1 did better was puzzles are more difficult than 2 and 3 everything else it did worse.

 

[shadowcat]

Probably going to be eaten alive for this one, but here goes. For as ambitious as Xenogears is, all it really has is that ambition. A lot of the dialogue has that "bad YA novel" stilted feel to it, especially in the beginning. The second disk is a mess, and the philosophical and psychological themes throughout the story are presented as if they were written by someone who got a C- in a 100 level class. Beating it in the mid 2000s left me with more of a, "That's it?" feeling as opposed to the top shelf RPG experience most others took away. Oh well, different strokes for different folks.

 

[Ikagura]

Probably going to be eaten alive for this one, but here goes. For as ambitious as Xenogears is, all it really has is that ambition. A lot of the dialogue has that "bad YA novel" stilted feel to it, especially in the beginning. The second disk is a mess, and the philosophical and psychological themes throughout the story are presented as if they were written by someone who got a C- in a 100 level class. Beating it in the mid 2000s left me with more of a, "That's it?" feeling as opposed to the top shelf RPG experience most others took away. Oh well, different strokes for different folks.

I would blame 90's localisation.

https://www.reddit.com/r/JRPG/comments/15s9zw5/xenogears_translation_is_killing_my_enjoyment/

The difference between resident evil 1 and 2 is staggering resident evil went from mediocre at best to decent in just 2 years.

To me people seem blinded by nostalgia when they talk about how RE1 is good or scary idk about you the only thing that can get the scare out of me is chimeras and tyrants in RE1 the whole lab is uncanny everything else isn't scary , hunters are very frustrating to deal with they rely on shock type of horror since they can decapitate you and you know seeing your virtual body headless isn't a pretty sight really even if it's virtual it's hurts the ego man

The only thing RE1 did better was puzzles are more difficult than 2 and 3 everything else it did worse.

RE1's remake on the Gamecube (and later modern consoles) fixes many issues and I am glad RE:7 goes back to the feelings of the first.

RE2/3 were maybe too much action focused but also felt like expansions sold as separate games.

RE4 could've been an entirely different franchise if they wanted to.

 

[Pandaprewmaster325]

Chocolate with hardly any sugar in it is the best chocolate.

 

[Pandaprewmaster325]

RE1's remake on the Gamecube (and later modern consoles) fixes many issues and I am glad RE:7 goes back to the feelings of the first.

Yeah the remake should be good , Idk if RE7 goes back to the feeling of the first since this is first person and that is static camera/third person.

RE2/3 were maybe too much action focused but also felt like expansions sold as separate games.

I actually found them to be scarier than 1 believe it or not , i simply can't understand or get it when people talk about how RE1 is scary for its time around 96 yes but now? The jumpscares even the unexpected one i mean the mansion door that leads outside if you try to go outside it has a jumpscare with a dog trying to get in i didnt expect it but even then wasn't spooked by it.

Meanwhile RE2 managed to freak me out on multiple occasions the first encounter with the lickers , the many jumpscares with lickers and even the unique zombie jumpscare at that outside door where if you open it it shows zombies in the door screen which never happened before i was so freaked out they actually got a few bites when that happened LOL.

For RE3 i found drain deimos quite freaky with how they stand on their legs , the nemesis appearance also is quite hideous especially the cutscene one , his presence was intimidating and scary in that you don't know when he will show up , you know he is out there looking for you but you don't know when he decides to show up.

RE4 could've been an entirely different franchise if they wanted to

I didn't play it but it seems to do the RE vibes well.


I think the reason i wasn't as scared of RE1 wasn't just because of its age , prior to playing it i played silent hill which got all the good scares out of me you are talking about noticeable white hair growth after playing SH1.

 

[Bakuma1997]

*Gets on a hill, takes his deepest breath*

NOT EVERY FUCKING PUBLIC DOMAIN CHARACTER HAS TO BE AN SLASHER KILLER

 

[Deleted member 598440]

I solemnly believe that ear buds are what brought the rot that this what's considered music now. Even the latest model you can barely hear with. It serves more as a fashion statement and background noise maker than a device to listen to music.

 

[Adrastia]

When I've started Twilight Princess (the original Gamecube version) I've noticed how when people asks for a gritty and realistic Zelda game they forgot that even this one had quite many colours and despite its more realistic approach there are some character design that looked quite stylised.


Even the more lighthearted looking games in the series have some darker sub-plots and implicit events so that's not like the games cannot have both. People shouldn't stop just with the visuals.

It all boils down to edgy people being embarrassed by anything that doesn't have enough edge. Even cute games can have dark themes. Guardian's Crusade comes to mind.

 

[Ikagura]

It all boils down to edgy people being embarrassed by anything that doesn't have enough edge. Even cute games can have dark themes. Guardian's Crusade comes to mind.

The mid-00's and Japanese devs trying to make their games more western-like was really not the best idea...

People wanted to feel "more mature" and "evolving video games" while ignoring to acknowledge how even a simpler game or less serious looking art style can still convey greatness.

If all age movies such as Pixar's or Ghibli's are accepted to be seen and appreciated by adults then why not video games?

Also thanks for the recommendation. I like how FF and DQ had chibi characters yet could tell great stories.

 

[Ikagura]

Chocolate with hardly any sugar in it is the best chocolate.

So... Cocoa?

*Gets on a hill, takes his deepest breath*

NOT EVERY FUCKING PUBLIC DOMAIN CHARACTER HAS TO BE AN SLASHER KILLER

Public domain is a double edged sword. It's great for creative liberties regarding some characters (although parodies could still be made since those are tolerated such as Austin Power being a spoof on James Bond since the books will enter public domain by 2035 in many countries) but in the other way it's also bad for "artistic integrity" of something.


When you hear public domain music (especially the Classical era ones) most are thinking of them as "music for old people or listened by pompous rich guys" rather than "complex and interesting musics"...

Unless you're remixing them (like Parodius did) or using those in humorous ways.

I'm wondering if in the future people will merely associate Winnie the Pooh and Mickey as "horror slasher characters" than what they were at first.

Thankfully we'll still see interesting ways to use those characters depending of the artists around.

Post automatically merged: Aug 15, 2025

I solemnly believe that ear buds are what brought the rot that this what's considered music now. Even the latest model you can barely hear with. It serves more as a fashion statement and background noise maker than a device to listen to music.

I'll even go further and saying that music as a whole has lost something with the MP4 players, mainly the iPod because of the way it changed the entire music industry.

Carrying a Walkman with a cassette was different than having a device with 8 Go of .MP4s.

 

[Pandaprewmaster325]

So... Cocoa?

I guess

 

[Bakuma1997]

Chocolate with hardly any sugar in it is the best chocolate.

Here in Mexico we have cocoa that is served bitter and with spice instead of sugar

 

[Pandaprewmaster325]

Here in Mexico we have cocoa that is served bitter and with spice instead of sugar

Nah spice would be weird idk cocao doesn't feel fitting but ey Mexico and Latin America is where cacao was big so what do I know...

 

[MasterEn]

Nah spice would be weird idk cocao doesn't feel fitting but ey Mexico and Latin America is where cacao was big so what do I know...

lots of food combos could be considered weird. i had a spanish teacher in high school, and she said it was weird to be served sweet tea with ice in it when she first came over to america. that wasn't very common in spain where she was from. it might be more common nowadays, but not back when she was younger.
if i remember correctly, there are an insane amount of ice cream flavors over in japan like soy sauce, squid ink, wasabi, corn and many more.
i saw a video of a guy trying to assemble an american hot dog, and he desecrated that bun. i've never seen someone open a hot dog bun that way. it was insane.

 

[Pandaprewmaster325]

lots of food combos could be considered weird. i had a spanish teacher in high school, and she said it was weird to be served sweet tea with ice in it when she first came over to america. that wasn't very common in spain where she was from. it might be more common nowadays, but not back when she was younger.
if i remember correctly, there are an insane amount of ice cream flavors over in japan like soy sauce, squid ink, wasabi, corn and many more.
i saw a video of a guy trying to assemble an american hot dog, and he desecrated that bun. i've never seen someone open a hot dog bun that way. it was insane.

Man i suppose only the Levant and Italy can cook in this world anyone else can't cook for shit