This Game Sucks #01 — Dark Souls Is Not Popular

April 7th, 2021

 

Quite the core thesis here.

Impressions:

It always baffles me when shows attempt to write about something that they have zero actual knowledge of. And it's hard to shrug it off through suspension of disbelief when the show begins with the narrator condescendingly explaining at length that actually everybody hates difficult games, and especially hates realistic games. Sorry, Dark Souls, IWBTG, Undertale, Elder Scrolls, and all multiplayer games ever. You've been declared to be unpopular and nobody wants to play you.

And if it seems like I'm focusing on the terrible premise, it's because there's not much else to focus on. As of the ten minute mark, the only real joke that's been told is "There's a rating more adult than Z!?" He's gawked at some giant boobs, I guess. And then he walks in on his naked sister. Does that count? Eventually, it gets as far as "Imagine if you accidentally killed an NPC. That would aggro other NPCs. Can you imagine such a crazy thing!" What are you going to follow that bold observation up with, that NPCs repeat dialogue? The jokes are not exactly flying here, so all that really leaves is its constant discussion and repetition of its nonsensical premise directed at gamers who know nothing about games.

Posted in Full Dive RPG | 6 Comments »

6 Shouts From the Peanut Gallery

  • ZakuAbumi says:
    April 7, 2021 at 12:52 pm

    Speaking of which, what’s the Aroduc take on Dark Souls and Monster Hunter.

    • Aroduc says:
      April 7, 2021 at 2:11 pm

      Not a big fan of either. Like the aesthetics of DS, but very much prefer faster paced more arcade-y gameplay like your Bayonettas or Warriors or the like that are more forgiving, but also higher octane and flashier.

      As for Monster Hunter, I don’t like open world games much. When given a big playground, my thoughts are basically “I don’t want to randomly explore,” especially with things that punish you for experimenting after providing little to no guidance. Probably decision paralysis mostly. I don’t mind gathering crap and crafting things as a main mechanic (eg Gust games), and do get the urge for a Harvest Moon on occasion, but I come at them with the goal of brutal efficiency and wringing out the most of limited resources. If it’s too open ended, or the goal is just to build for the sake of building, I don’t feel challenged or engaged.

      • ZakuAbumi says:
        April 8, 2021 at 11:44 am

        Monster Hunter isn’t an open world game though, not by any stretch of the imagination. It’s more of a grind loop within locales that function as arenas. Gathering also isn’t really a factor outside of early filler quests. It does feature build optimization though. Anyway, it’s to 95% an action game. You’re really there for the A-tier combat, addicting crafting loop and multiplayer hunts.

        Not too much of an open world fan either, these usually tend to be either unvaried in setting (generic city/generic fantasy wilderness) and boast about vastness rather than depth. Rockstar does get it down right for the most part. Red Dead Redemption 2 really did set new standards as far as I’m concerned.

        What games do you like then?

        • Aroduc says:
          April 8, 2021 at 4:07 pm

          All the RPG franchises I loved from my youth and think of fondly are dead. Valkyrie Profile, Ogre Battle, Breath of Fire, Lufia, etc. Well, and Tales has gone full open world, so maybe death is better. I really like the more tactical bend of RPGs where you're managing huge parties and core mechanics are built around using all the toys you're given, not it having to be something you have to force yourself to do for no good reason. Mana Khemia I'll hold up and defend as a shockingly elegantly designed game on a ton of levels, which was entirely by accident because the sequel screwed up a bunch of it and after flirting with returning to something similar in its Dusk games, Gust is more mess than functional at this point. Fire Emblem is a series that I feel like I SHOULD like (and I did love FE4 when I played it like… 20 years ago), but recent games go way too hard in giving you a billion characters and then burdening you with responsibility by telling you that they're ALL special. I feel like I'd probably love them if they just cut the cast list down by like 75%.

          Other than hating open world/explore-for-exploration's sake, my tastes are pretty eclectic, but I tend to go hard into one thing for a while and then become disgusted with it for a year. Stuff like Disgaea, Harvest Moon, and random Warriors du jour fall into that category. I frequently play stuff like that while exercise biking, so something to just zone out and kill mooks to for an hour. Really like Odin Sphere/Muramasa, not so much Dragon Crown. I'd give a passing grade to Ys for the most part, but they have enough obnoxious little things that irritate me. Personas are fun, but I've grown to detest the non-dungeon parts. I also occasionally play things with friends that I don't feel strongly about. eg Overwatch for a while, until I alienated them by liking Paladins more. DBD a little bit lately, but it's pretty jank and can be super frustrating. Not so much MOBAs. I expect to be dragged into Diablo 4 whenever it comes out.

  • Frank says:
    April 7, 2021 at 9:59 pm

    1) All those games you’ve listed did not become popular due to how hard the games are lmao. Its always and will always be due to marketing and exposure.

    2) Undertale is not hard lol. Did you even play the game? You do realize the majority of the game is not Undying Undine or Sans right?

  • The Phantom says:
    April 13, 2021 at 11:40 pm

    He looks exactly like Kirito, they did not even bother to change his design, may as well call him Kirito as well.