Why Modern Gaming Sucks - They Won't Stop Holding My Hand!

From bright painted paths showing you exactly where to go and what to climb, to constant in-game hints and exploration so easy that its almost pointless, it feels like modern games just won't let go of my hand and allow me to just play them.

[@michaelfields7088]

Concord shut down their servers today.

[@AncestorEmpire1]

Yes and no. Officially they close on September 6th, aka Friday.

[@danielclark-hughes692]

😂 good

[@naneljube1]

Game made for no one is playd by no one. I am shockd 😲

[@Gregor1337]

Lol rly

[@witchbladefan1]

And nothing of value was lost.

[@nathank2289]

"Older games allowed players to experiment. One of the testers for Dues Ex scaled a wall by building a ladder out of sticky mines, we had no idea that could be done" -Warren Spector

[@terrylandess6072]

So they implement lowest common denominator mechanics like OBVIOUS invisible walls and other things which make modern games feel more like: Look but don't touch.

[@PhrooberCZ]

Thx for this

[@pigpuke]

Dude, the Grand Theft Auto series exists SOLELY and EXPLICITLY because they allowed players (testers) to experiment. The testers had more fun playing with a bug in the concept game and to make a long story short, the result was they scrapped the original game idea entirely and turned what they had into the first Grand Theft Auto game.

[@textbot3000]

​@@pigpukeregarding GTA 3 The Rhino Tank can fly. Turn the turret backwards and fire shells at pace, while accelerating. You'll keep going faster until you can lift off amd fly the tank around the city. Great for slamming into an FBI road block in a nose dive.

[@textbot3000]

​@@pigpukesome games tricks were fpund by accident, like when i discovered how to cheap out bosses with the granade, in NES Blaster Master, as a child. Other map exploits to experimentation, lik3 when i played Wolf:ET in my 20's. Fun times that no longer exist with linear paths and invisible walls within open space.

[@felucca]

My kid just learned to play Mario Kart. He's just 5 so he's terribly bad at it, constantly falling off cliffs and into lava, but he does make his way around the track eventually and he's so pleased about it. What's more, he's already discovered several hidden areas and nice little easter eggs that I knew nothing about, because I've only played the game as a boring adult and followed the track. Kudos to the game developer for including those places to find.

[@Pekka.Pekka.1296]

Not to go into parenting but these little kids need more of a physical activity than a screen.

[@joaofarinha551]

@@Pekka.Pekka.1296 you can do both

[@Alias3141]

​@@Pekka.Pekka.1296 mind your business

[@Pekka.Pekka.1296]

@ Haha, what’s the problem, little kid?

[@damianarchibald7792]

My 8 year old nephew would have a conniption fit whenever he got beat in a game. He expected to win. I gave him a pearl of wisdom that I learned a long time ago. "The game makes it difficult, but not impossible to beat it. The designers WANT you to win, but you have to earn it!"

[@ChaosWolfNinja]

Same with my nephew. He lacks the spark to work through games and is intrigued with cheap thrills. I beat him in sonic and he had a fit.

[@richardgaribay7741]

Bad advice 😮

[@theunkownbanana1823]

​@@richardgaribay7741Bad feedback 😮

[@vinito19]

​@@richardgaribay7741 you must be a contrarian, because it's not bad advice and you offered nothing.

[@richardgaribay7741]

@@vinito19 you learned the word and meaning of contrarian and were just dying to use it In a sentence huh

[@master_samwise]

"A game for everyone is a game for no one." If you try to capture all audiences imaginable, you'll find yourself with no audience at all.

[@CraftageNate]

You know… I remember a villain saying something similar… SYNDROME!

[@kaj7135]

@@CraftageNateThe Incredibles is one of the most based movies ever made. Too bad disney will never make anything based ever again.

[@CraftageNate]

@@kaj7135 just to drive your point home: “It’s a ceremony!” “It’s Psychotic! They keep creating *new ways* to celebrate mediocrity!”

[@BlodofUlfhednar]

Which is why there a bunch of different types of games.

[@Blisterdude123]

It's you! The guy! With the good videos!

[@zeroman614]

It all started with removing swingsets from playgrounds.

[@holty1314]

Games aren’t made for gamers anymore they’re made for game journalists

[@dendrien]

Define what a gamer is than? Games are certainly not made for game journalists.

[@squidikka]

@@dendrien If you're capable of making a statement like this in 2024, it's safe to say you're just a tourist and have no idea what you're talking about.

[@IAmTheEagleHTM]

​@@dendrienIf you need someone to define what a gamer is, it only means you're definitely not a gamer, just a tourist who has no idea where you are

[@chillnspace777]

They are made for share holders

[@desertmammoth3159]

What I find funny is people on both sides of pretty much any gaming/hobby related discourse call the other side "tourists". The term is cringe.

[@McNab1986]

Thing I hate most about modern games is when you have an NPC with you for whatever reason, and you're exploring and having a look around and they constantly shout something along the lines of "hurry up" "it's this way" etc

[@Volkbrecht]

Most entertaining when the game actually has a habit of hiding certain things that are rewarding to look for. You know you should have a thorough look around, meanwhile you get yelled at every thirty seconds or so to get moving....

[@GH-ub7qz]

great day for fishing

[@bengsynthmusic]

GOW Ragnarok NPCs constantly give you hints when you're trying to solve a puzzle.

[@calebmcclure4556]

“This way adventurer! Please help my family! *sob sob sob*” when your busy smashing barrels and just trying to find loot. This is why I love the Epic NPC Man skits poking fun at these annoyances lol

[@Terrtail]

​@@bengsynthmusicWell they used DSP as their reference, no wonder they'd dumb down the game a lot if that's how they think the average gamer plays

[@flamingburitto]

The difference is. When you played elden ring, you said "It's fine, it's not for me" and left it. The modern "Gamers" today instead say "Well make it for me." they want game designers to abandon all the principles that make their game good just so that these pretenders can play the games that are popular today.

[@johnnymartinjohansen]

Never heard any gamer say that about games like Elden Ring or the Dark Souls trilogy. Even the casual players knew these were hardcore games and simply stayed away.

[@SummerDays1991]

@@johnnymartinjohansen There have been players that complain that the games are “ableist” and shouldn’t be made.

[@flamingburitto]

@@johnnymartinjohansen when I said modern gamers I meant crybabies on Twitter and game journos.

[@beowulfsrevenge4369]

"I can slice the controls, but my Huttesse is rusty!" Repeated over and over and over in Star Wars Outlaws.

[@YeBoiGhost]

Don't forget the stealth being goofy

[@beowulfsrevenge4369]

@YeBoiGhost The stealth in that game is more than goofy. It doesn't work at all.

[@PuRe_AdDicT]

We got this!!!!

[@harbl99]

@@beowulfsrevenge4369 Whu? The impenetrable blasterproof ferns of perfect hiding worked exactly as intended.

[@Xbalanque84]

Jesus wept!

[@angrydachshund]

Our games reflect our society: Declining patience, declining IQ, declining ability to postpone gratification.

[@stashallemagne4488]

people started to hate on cutscenes a decade ago already. like they couldnt go for 3 minutes listening to characters speak after their half an hour gameplay

[@CyrilSneer123]

@@stashallemagne4488 Most people who play games want to play a game not watch a movie.

[@majorfomo7895]

Don't forget about decreasing resiliency.

[@SuperLuis225]

​@@stashallemagne4488 tbf, back in the day, metal gear solid 4 had like 3 hours of gameplay and like 20 hours of cutscenes 😂 it was a playable movie essentially

[@stephpee4545]

@@CyrilSneer123 It's crazy how this eventually became an untrue statement. The future is bleak for AAA gaming. Most of my friends now prefer games with brain-dead gameplay (Far Cry) or interactive movie-type games (Uncharted). Lost is the thrill of actually controlling your character, processing gameplay elements and strategies and then performing them. You know, like a game is supposed to be.

[@Marinealver]

So true about Google maps. Someone asked how I could drive without it. I had to explain how street signs work.

[@hannahdigioia692]

I only use gps when I don't know where I'm going very well. by the time I'm familiar I don't need it.

[@bagotky]

To be honest thats real world, you want to get to your destination safely and ASAP. On the other hand there is no reason to have this in games.

[@xxtianxx11]

Am i the only one who still uses maps? Yea probably

[@Marinealver]

@@xxtianxx11 I'm assuming you are talking about paper street maps. I still see them being sold at some gas stations.

[@HowToChangeName]

Dont insult that, my brother cant even navigate in timely manner even driving at 10mph, barely any traffic and verbal indicator with pinpoint accuracy.

[@squidikka]

The fetishization of vitiligo lately has been so bizarre.

[@SeraphsWitness]

Isn't that weird? I see it everywhere. Why?

[@Filterdeez]

They think its quirky

[@stormhought]

​@@SeraphsWitnessbecause it's perfect for woke culture.

[@lunarisaileron9383]

because it's so visible. easy brownie point.

[@scionofdorn9101]

I hadn’t noticed, though it is a biologically fascinating condition. It’s a very visible demonstration of how closely related all the “races” really are. Skin color as a “race” is just an artifact of the bigoted ignorance of people both in the past and today. Everyone has melanocytes in their skin. They just behave different for different people. There’s only two major types of melanin they produce, and together they make all the skin shades of humans both past and present. But they both do the same thing, at least normally. They protect our tissues from solar radiation (to varying degrees of efficacy), because the sun both gives life and is also entirely inclined to take it. The Irish and albinos have it harder because their melanocytes are on the fritz, so the sun is pretty harsh on them. Black people handle sunlight well because they have more active melanocytes and a high concentration of very effective melanin. “Black don’t crack” because their skin is almost a superpower against solar radiation. If you’ve got dark moles on pale skin, those are the parts of your skin that still remember they’re supposed to be shielding you from that ball of stellar fusion because skin cancer and burning you is the name of its game.

[@dunebogger1326]

TLOU Part 2 is the worst example I played recently. Every time I spend too long exploring whatever area I’m in, L3 pops up in the corner which basically guarantees you’re gonna press it because you’re thumb is on it anyway and points me where it wants me to go. It breaks immersion and I can almost feel the devs going “ok hurry the fuck up and play our interactive movie”

[@minners71]

Turn all the HUD off then to be honest it's the best way to play most modern games.

[@charmingpeasant9834]

Why'd you buy it in the first place after how widely it got clowned on?

[@Thatisnotmyson]

@@charmingpeasant9834it isn’t a bad game overall, it just has too many tiny flaws that are easy to point out.

[@slayerd357]

TLOU 2 was too artsy for it's own good. It reminds me of MGS2. It's beautiful for sure and has a great story, but it's more a movie with some interaction rather then an actual game.

[@madmonkeys88]

​@@slayerd357"great story" yeahhhh I'm going to have to disagree with that.

[@supremeone9524]

You can thank Naughty Dog for normalizing most of this handholding shit

[@HereticHero]

You mean Ubisoft and Call of Duty campaigns

[@FZJanimated]

Lol go watch the god of war at gdc they made the game based on dspgaming im not kidding.

[@JZStudiosonline]

@@FZJanimated The reboot or ragnarok? Either way I'm not surprised they stooped to DSP's level.

[@FZJanimated]

@@JZStudiosonline the reboot. they showed DSP struggling to solve puzzles and they wanted to make it easier for players so they would not get lost or be frustrated by the puzzles. that conference show me how devs see their consumers

[@JZStudiosonline]

@@FZJanimated That's honestly not surprising. Gotta be accessible to everyone, like Forza 8 being designed for literal blind people.

[@JayM928]

My prob with modern gaming is that, like movies or anything else, the middle ground is gone. The game is either trying to be e-sports or Farmville. Games used to be so diverse -- I mean actually diverse -- not as in "look, every character is a black female lesbian; therefore, 100% diverse."

[@stashallemagne4488]

man i wish haunting ground would be playable without unofficial emulation or buying the game for an immense prize

[@caseykeldeo]

Games were diverse in that way too without bashing it over everyone’s heads. We had a variety of protagonists with different backgrounds and nobody minded, because they were seen as individuals and it wasn’t a big deal. Now it has to be pointed out. Those characters have to be the woke envisioning of diversity, too and not original designs.

[@jakquinn4207]

I want Ape Escape sequels damnit.

[@justsomehalofan4386]

I particularly miss casual mulitplayer games. I always loved Halo 3-Reach for its casual mulitplayer and custom games. It's fun to sit back, relax, and play goofy custom games on wacky forge maps with your friends or other people and just have some laughs. I hate how practically every new fps has to be an ultra competitive, perfectly balanced sweat feast designed for esports, with no room for actual fun. It's for this reason I barley play any multiplayer games anymore. Also fuck skill based matchmaking

[@DaMaster012]

"DEIvErSiTy" in leftist is their code word for "non/anti straight, white, and/or male."

[@CanadaPlus]

It's so annoying when games stop all gameplay and just have you walk with someone else for 20 minutes. No puzzles or combat, just holding up on the keyboard. No need for my input.

[@spiffhedge]

I have one small caveat with this thought, if its something meaningful to the story and done right i can see it being a good moment, the problem is most modern writers have no idea how to accomplish this moment.

[@CanadaPlus]

@spiffhedge yeah, if it's an interesting conversation then I 100% appreciate it. However, then I really think it should still be a cutscene, so we don't miss anything important.

[@jhonnycubero21]

Hideo Kojima does not agree.

[@MistaCUNextTuesday]

Ironwood in GOW Ragnarok comes to mind. I hated that entire chapter of the game.

[@PleaseGodNoMore]

God of War… 😢

[@rifatbobos]

Ironic that the "mature" PlayStation helps their players in every way to make sure they'll see the credits screen while the "childish" Nintendo doesn't tell anything about their game's world and it's up to their players finding it out for themselves

[@OffendEveryoneImmediately]

PlayStation games are still more mature than Mario.

[@dragonandavatarfan8865]

@@OffendEveryoneImmediately as "mature" as bland AMD dramas, that is to say not the fun kind.

[@OffendEveryoneImmediately]

@@dragonandavatarfan8865 Whatever liberal.

[@mhmtakeyatime9000]

​@@OffendEveryoneImmediatelyBarely. They're more movies than video games.

[@OffendEveryoneImmediately]

@@mhmtakeyatime9000 Kids have short attention spans so of course they prefer less cinematic, cartoony nintendo games.

[@SMEARGLEX75]

This Game didn't even lasted a Month. Monke won and so did we.

[@30noir]

Lasted? Jesus...

[@hamzaelbezzaf8881]

😂​@@30noir

[@Dime_time333]

Monkey*

[@squidikka]

@@30noir bro even edited his comment and kept it in 💀

[@redrocket604]

*Monkey

[@SheldonAdama17]

Remember Myst/Riven which required the player to actually think through puzzles that were challenging but not unsolvable? Me too. Good times.

[@paulbennett2284]

And no interweb to check the answer!

[@TheCrazyCanuck420]

​@@paulbennett2284 I had Riven on the PSX and would use the high school library internet connection to figure out what to do next. I can't imagine playing the game without online walkthroughs.

[@thejaegerbomber99]

I just bought both of them, the originals I mean. Looks like I'm in for a treat.

[@SheldonAdama17]

@@thejaegerbomber99You will be! 😂

[@JohnDoe11VII]

Myst rarely requires any thinking, you just had to find the relevant password to devices while navigating awkward views/turning. Riven however...has such convoluted passwords and locations and some outdated renders that contradicted the answers. It was insane to expect anyone to find the 2 major devices little alone answer them correctly on their own.

[@guitaroso]

Remember the ol Lucas arts games? I would routinely get stuck on a section in monkey island and think about it for weeks before having a break through, or realising that I severely screwed up and had to start the whole section again - so brutal

[@Allronix]

And those were outright MERCIFUL compared to their competitors Sierra and Infocom. You could screw yourself up so fast in any of those games, such as the infamous way you could make Zork unwinnable in six moves. It was revolutionary for Maniac Mansion (Lucas Games's first big title) to actively try to prevent walking dead setups (you could still shoot yourself in the foot and make it unwinnable) and have multiple ways to win

[@MarkRemovedChannel]

monkey & Indiana Jones & fate of alantis - best games I remember

[@xxxaragon]

although apart from the very early games, the developers usually at least tried to minimize that by implementing several tasks. e.g. you need 2 items to accomplish a goal. but are not sure how to gain item 1. at least for that moment, you can can concentrate on the other. (and according to someone like Ron Gilbert, they were deliberately designed that way)

[@xxxaragon]

@@Allronix and other than +that+ infamous scene you outright couldn't die in Monkey Island and many other LucasArts adventures that followed. (and while "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" was still difficult in that regard, "Fate of Atlantis", at least in solo/team path, had you outright attempting to get killed it for it to happen. Like, Indy would literally prevent you from doing it. But not because of too much "handholding". But simply because the fun in click and point adventure games, especially those LucasArts games, was not in "action scenes" but mainly figuring out interesting puzzles etc.)

[@senorlaverg6667]

I think this is why people like Skyrim so much. You can pretty much go any direction, choose which quests you want to do, or do nothing and just pick flowers.

[@shaclown7721]

It's also a game with way too much side content, just like the witcher 3. I love playing both games, but at some point i've grinded so much side stories and content, I'm now the leader of the thieves, mages AND assassins guild, killed at least 20 dragons, bested multiple deamon princes, and am completely bored with the game, before i even get to the first actual plot point. Tried this twice, failed both times. Same with the witcher. The gameplay is fantastic, the world building as well. But the amount of bs outside of what you're actually supposed to do is ridiculous.. it never ends! Tried

[@spiffygonzales5160]

I agree and disagree with the guy above me. On the one hand it does get aggravating. But on the other a game can be absolutely astounding due to its side quests. Fallout 3, Fable TLC, and most MMOs would be greatly worsened without their side quests.

[@hellacoorinna9995]

"Oh Hello Dragonborn, this woman intrigues me I wish to marry her." *puts on amulet of Mara and marries the woman instead*

[@spiffygonzales5160]

@@hellacoorinna9995 I mean.... technically you solved both the hatred the man had for elves and the racism the elf had for men assuming you're an argonian :D

[@cheeks7050]

@@shaclown7721 You don't understand these games dude

[@Adam_Bombz]

And now THE MESSAGE: The Videogame aka Concord was just shutdown by Sony, 11 days after launch. Anyone who purchased the game will be offered a refund. Not even MODERN AUDIENCE'S liked that game.

[@jy-li1jq]

I dont think that was the topic of this video

[@Adam_Bombz]

@@jy-li1jq Games like Concord are definitely part of why modern gaming sucks.

[@bottomlefto]

The modern audience never played to begin with. They're only reeeeeeeing about it because some games especially asian ones has things they don't like.

[@kardnails8729]

@@bottomlefto They aren't complaining because the game they bought to play is not to their liking, they are complaining that the people who actually bought the game don't like it... It's hilarious.

[@Gundam4]

The modern audience never existed

[@denny141196]

Hey Drinker, not sure if you'll see this but - a game that might interest you based on the content of this video is Outer Wilds. 1. No handholding. You have to actually pay attention to the tutorial, which is presented in-world with no popups. If you're not careful, you'll miss the tutorial entirely. 2. Not too difficult. The primary skill you need is space flight, and there's a mechanic which you can use to almost skip this entirely if you pay attention to the tutorial. 3. No guard rails. Spend as long as you like on puzzles - there won't be any NPCs chiming in to tell you the answers. If you want to try that crazy jump, go right ahead, and face the consequences. 4. Actually very well crafted story and puzzles. To me, this is the pinnacle so far of storytelling in games. 5. No microtransaction/battle pass slop. This is a self-contained 30 hour experience.

[@c1borgen]

That's one of the best games ever in existence

[@Pekka.Pekka.1296]

On the wishlist now, thanks!

[@DanReyesB]

That thumbnail looks like Drinker chilling with the DEI gang

[@Dat_Jonx]

They took him prisoner and now driving into reeducation camp.

[@EarlHildebrandt]

I shudder to imagine the frankly nuclear funk being generated in that car.

[@MinersLoveGames]

"I'm only here for the carpool. They're good conversation, but it's mostly the carpool."

[@Flesh_Wizard]

Enemies to lovers

[@michaelskoomamacher5652]

@@Flesh_Wizard turning Taniqueesha into Tatiana

[@HueFrancis]

God of War 1 the climbing section in "hell" was the worst experience while also being the best experience when I finally passed it, and it still sticks with me till this day.

[@mrcliff3709]

I think that was 1 but 2 had it's moments too like the elevator you have to wind down and a bed a spikes was coming down while also undead jam themselves into the wall to stop you.

[@0-mbay]

@@mrcliff3709 yeah, after Zeus kills Kratos in God of War 2 then you have to climb back from hell. But all God of War games are awesome especially those sneaky chests hidden throughout the games.

[@mrcliff3709]

@deogratiusgitarda lol I remembered it after posting the comment yeah it was a pain in the ass too.

[@HueFrancis]

​​@@mrcliff3709Your right it was God of War 1 escaping hell, lol that was the worst 😂

[@PantherBlitz]

It's supposed to be difficult to escape Hell. If not, everyone would do it 😂

[@spartanhawk7637]

I think this is why Fromsoft games like Elden Ring and Armored Core are so popular honestly. They don’t hold your hand and actively punish you for expecting them to. It’s like a throwback to the games of the SNES where you sank or swam.

[@AarenDecker-z5t]

FS games ruined gaming for me, after playing all of them ( multiple times ) nothing feels the same

[@tylergrant223]

I’ve been playing Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines for the first time recently. The quest log was surprising in the fact there aren’t markers and people in-universe give you pretty good directions to get around. It is really impressive how much more it makes me feel a part of the world instead of just walking from story beat to story beat

[@NowLoading247]

If you haven't, you should look into Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. No markers in that game and you need to talk to people to get directions, open world with tension in the sense that you hope you have enough supplies for traveling, and no hand holding. The combat can be rough at first but hang in there. It's based on invisible dice rolls with all kinds of modifiers, so it will look like you're making contact with your weapon but the attack misses. Lastly if you get tired of the main quest, don't worry, the story won't rush you or penalize you. Just do whatever you want!

[@khululyp]

Smiling Jack and VV are nice characters for different reasons ofc...

[@emultra759]

The original Tomb Raider games from the 90s are similar. There's not a single quest arrow, map, or hint to be found from beginning to end, other than Lara's sometimes glancing in a certain direction. The genius of that approach is that it forces the designers to make the game itself intuitive, which IF they pull it off, is a much more elegant solution than intrusive UI crutches.

[@geraq0]

I've recently played the original Deus Ex for the first time and had a similar experience. I didn't believe the hype first but it quickly became one of the best games I've ever played in my life.

[@Shorty_Lickens]

For that reason Morrowind is better than Oblivion and Skyrim.

[@lotsofpie1]

The yellow lines feel more like a failure of visual design vs making the game easier. They literally couldn't figure out how to make it apparent what ledges are gradable and which are painted on.

[@dearthditch]

If it looks like it sticks out, I’d jump for it. But if they all look alike because someone got lazy then it’s a lot of falling. Much rather they make decent graphics and hide the yellow paint unless you play on r-- level

[@moreauclement9702]

They did that on RE4. And during the playtest, 7 out of 10 playtesters couldn't find their way in a mostly dark environnement, missing ladders and other things so developpers were told to fix the issue. And well...

[@SteelTiamat]

The thing is that some of these games are much more visually detailed than older ones. And navigating a fully 3D environment is inherently more difficult than navigating a game with an over the top view. So they need to mark traversable terrain in some way. A game like Horizon needs this kind of guidance in the climbing sections so players know which walls are climbable. Even if your not fond of this feature, the game already makes up for it with its challenging and engaging gameplay.

[@simonn2045]

Games worlds have become so detailed now it's causing these problems, subtle cues which used to work or now too subtle in the vast dense detail. Much like how Devs had to learn to switch from 2D to 3D they should be learning how to transition from 3D to hyper realistic detail, while yellow paint works it's immersion breaking

[@moreauclement9702]

@@simonn2045 We should have the choice to turn it off. Everyone wins.

[@fluffypinkpandas]

Half Life says to the player "Gordon is a highly trained professional. He doesn't need to hear all this" And trusts you will figure shit out.

[@AshCosgrove]

My most hated modern trope from video games is the constant, and CEASELESS "mc won't stop talking to him/herself which provides the answer to every puzzle after 5 seconds of trying to figure it out." There's that, and the annoying "slow walk and talk while going to a mission." Just a clear case of the game not valuing your time.

[@unknowjlm]

Hmmm, looks like a good comment. Maybe I should move my fingers properly and click on the thumbs up icon to increment the like value and show my appréciation...

[@quademasters249]

Same. Just let me god-damn experience the game. I don't want companions blabbing at me either.

[@SuperLuis225]

My favourite is the "Oh this game is massive / infinite! You'll be playing for hours!" ....ok.... is there anything to DO in all this space? No? Then no thanks

[@zionleach3001]

I don't mind the playable characters talking like in Evil West or Devil May Cry. But the repeated dialogue during stuff like puzzles is annoying.

[@brianabalos4878]

Days Gone MC is one of those that keeps blabbing in killing zombies every time he sees one. At first it's fine, then it went on and on and on and on. I was tempted to mute the game.

[@AceCorban]

Your driving analogy is pretty spot on, but even in games. I remember playing Grand Theft Auto 3, before they added gps in the franchise, and I genuinely knew the city well enough to get to where I was going just by hearing someone say the location. I think back to GTA 5 and I did not know the city very well at all.

[@sherrykathman3309]

I remember in GTA Vice City, my friend didn't believe that I knew the city inside and out, so he covered the minimap with his hand and I was able to get to literally anywhere he could think to tell me to go. Lol. He was also shocked that a I could input the health and armor cheat as fast as I could. No joke, it literally took me less than half a second to input that specific cheat. He even told people in school about how fast I was and nobody could believe it. That felt really good. Haha

[@steeleye2112]

Spot on, took me over a year and 50 restarts to finally complete XCOM2 - WOTC on ironman commander level but I will never forget that night I completed it. This epidemic of making everything easy is what happened to MMO's years ago and now it's spread to single player games.

[@seekertosecrets]

4:28 A good example of doing what ever you want is Shadow of the Colossus. Released across 2 Playstation systems, you play as a no named traveler whose goal is to revive a dead love one by killing 12 giants to earn the power to do so. Little narration and not much chatter. It's just you, your horse, and a sword that tells you where to go to find the next target. Edit: I originally had it at the end of the video, but there was nothing to compare it to at the end. Sorry for that weird setup.

[@AppleInk]

I agree with all you said, but he does have a name, and is called Wander, but I know, that's not the point lol.

[@CatholicElectrician]

Nice comment hack, timestamping the end of the video. I hope everyone doesn’t start doing it lol

[@chrispeacock915]

You sound like someone who watched an eceleb play it and didn't play it yourself

[@someguy_namingly]

Why are you adding a timestamp for the end of the video?

[@neilgodfrey2669]

This comment just proves you’re a virgin

[@mad_elf]

I use to play games with a friend. But he fell into a trend of playing with me the first day, then going online that night and looking up all the information he could about the game. The next day we'd link up again to play but he already knows how it ends, what the best builds are, where to find everything. I just stopped playing new games with him. Worst part is I know he's not the only one that does it. I'll never understand why people don't want to experience a game for themselves. Instead playing through the same way someone else did so they can seem "good?" At the game. Idk.

[@nickender7094]

I feel this dude. I actually get annoyed with myself when I get stuck to the point of having to look up how to do something. I enjoy the feeling of figuring out my own builds and what works. I think that's what made Baldurs Gate 3 so good.

[@MsSlythers]

My ex-husband used to do that. Any time I wanted to play a game he liked, he'd shove all the money, gear, etc. at my character. I'd have to make a side character/save to learn to play the game.

[@Crusadatron]

I think part of the reason is that people want to get to the fun stuff as quickly as possible, but when doing so, they end up optimizing the fun out of the journey to get to that point. Another thing that may draw people to just look it up is a lack of time. Sure, if you really took the time to think it through, you might be able to solve a puzzle, but if you only have a small window of time to actually play, you would probably choose a short cut so you are constantly making progress rather than being stuck.

[@rekt4759]

oh yes, how many times ive tried a survival game with friends and i log in and they hand me all the good stuff so i end having nothing to do. What a waste

[@michamarkowski2204]

I get you but there could be a reason. There are people like me who don't have much time for games (life after 30 gets... busy I guess). When I play a new game and I know I'm going to play it only once (e.g. because it takes 100+ hrs to complete it), there are monents I google for the outcomes of certain ingame decisions. Not because of wanting the best outcome, but to know what options do I have. It's crucial for me in modern games because nowadays there are many consequences of ingame choices that couldn't have been foreseen and not always make sense. And I don't want to reload a save from 20 hrs ago just to not have that outcome.

[@outtoxicated9104]

I started playing Alien Isolation this week and I noticed a stark contrast between it and most modern games. The game doesn't tell you how to avoid the Alien. It doesn't tell you exactly where to go, just the general area. It doesn't even tell you how to craft items or what said craftable items can do. You have to figure it all out on your own and it makes for a much more gripping and challenging experience that is a ton of fun.

[@BusesAreFatCars]

The reason for the handholding is "inclusion" No one can be excluded. Even by game difficulty. It's all related to The Message (Intersectionality)

[@Draclord35]

No. The reason is playtest results and the average player being

[@frankbooth5490]

False, it's all to do with the suits and shareholders from the big companies who want to please everyone in order to sell as many units as possible. I mean, one of the hardest (and best) platformers is Celeste and the story has a strong “Message”.

[@BusesAreFatCars]

@@Draclord35 The reason for companies being unwilling to exclude those who don't immediately do well in a playtest is inclusion. The longer this practice goes on, the more games are dumbed down, then the dumber playtesters will be. It's a cycle. Though the core of it is inclusion.

[@MundaneThingsBackwards]

Yup and people like that Jim Sterlina fella are the biggest advocates of universalizing this trend even more than it already is. Somehow wanting games that are difficult and challenging by default is anti-accessibility for the disabled. What disabilities he refers to specifically, though, is always left ambiguous. lmfao

[@mallow2902]

My favorite genre, fighting games, are being absolutely murdered by this inclusionary game design. "Accessibility" has made fighting games so boring in recent years by removing tons of the difficulty of actually doing combos or difficult mixups. The game gets rebalanced around these accessibility changes, often resulting in fewer options, mechanics that feel like instant win buttons, or lopsided interactions. Ultimately though they're just not as fun as older fighting games. If I can't get lost in a training mode for hours, it's simply not a good fighting game.

[@adamaccountname]

The original Deus Ex was called the #1 game in my favourite pc mag virtually forever because they gave you a huge map with lots to explore and an objective which you could approach with your preferred playstyle. You wanted to look in every nook and cranny and the environment offered tools to get around obstacles

[@ChimpRiot]

PC Zone?

[@devondeswardt6239]

You perfectly described my exact issue with gaming. I took a 15 year break from games. In high school I played a ton, then got busy with adulting for a long while. When I started playing again I found exactly what you described: every game out there is either easy to point of being boring or requires 100’s of hours of practice. Every time I try to start playing again the same thing happens. It is very frustrating

[@maxbants7737]

Game design has long been plagued by a class of designer who would be better off working for Google or Microsoft rounding off the edges of annoyance and difficulty from utility-based applications. The entire fun of a game is in the friction of it not letting you complete your goal without a fight. There's a time and a place for workflow streamlining and it's... at work...

[@stonetimekeeper]

That's one of the reasons I love Fromsoftware. They arent afraid to let the player figure things out on their own and miss content.

[@scumbagnamechooser]

To be fair FS games are not even that hard once you undestand the mechanics and build your character correctly. ER is even easier with the summons and freedom to explore that can makes you OP in less than 3 hours.

[@absolutefoot4594]

Whenever there’s a minimap shut-off option, I’ll use it. You take in your surroundings, slow down, and notice more detail when you’re not watching a yellow trail on the circle in the corner of your screen.

[@GTD_Galatea]

Among a number of modern game devs, there's a "dev vs gamer" mentality where the devs are so focused on making sure the gamers play their games in a certain way that they often don't stop to listen to how gamers actually feel the games they made. When audiences start complaining about the game, these same audiences are often labeled as being "toxic" or "bigoted" by the people who make and/or publish the game. Vote with your wallets. Don't support games whose devs who don't respect you falsely accuse you of being some terrible thing that you're not.

[@nyet-sp]

That's why Immersive sims are great. I loved the Prey 2017 game and the System Shock remake they tell you what you need to do but how you do it is totally up to you.

[@Ellebeeby]

They’re railroading DMs.

[@kotzpenner]

They’re essentially what obnoxious railroading DMs are

[@olafgurke4699]

Reminds me of Helldivers. Aside from the Sony backlash a couple months back, the Devs are simply doing a piss-poor job balancing their game. They want the players to follow a specific strategy and enforce that by making everything else useless. The best part about that, is that the devs themselves can't even play the game on higher difficulties. Super-Earth has fallen.

[@xxxaragon]

I genuinely believe it's often a dispute between the people actually creating the games and the management etc. as well.

[@Burns_RED]

-Shows Dustborn -Never mentions Dustborn once 😂

[@Lauren007E]

Its what it deserves

[@Crusadatron]

I guess it bit the dust…

[@Alteringrealitystudios]

I played from Atari to Arcades all the way up to Xbox 360. Then the modern gaming trend started and I packed the 360 away with all the previous consoles in storage and never looked back.

[@dvs21a]

I'm in my 40s, and I have a wife and four kids. I don't have time to "get good." I play a lot of older games now. Graphics don't matter. All I care about is gameplay. I want to be challenged by the game, but I also want to be able to complete it without grinding for hundreds of hours that I don't have.

[@ST-mn6nw]

That's why I hate those soulslike games I ent wasting my freetime getting so frustrated but everyone jerks off to them

[@Zanzoltan]

I recommend if you never played it before, Alien Soldier for the Sega Genesis. Great game with a good difficulty and great gameplay :D

[@dvs21a]

@Zanzoltan I'll check it out, thanks.

[@michamarkowski2204]

I'm in the same boat. 40 next year. I play mostly crafting games with my wife (Stardew Valley, Minecraft etc.), survival and crafting games with my wife and our friends (Valheim, 7DTD etc.) and have barely any time to play anything solo. Usually 2-3 solo games a year. I don't have time for Souls-like games, but I also don't like modern games treating me like an infant.

[@felucca]

I'm in the same position, but I still don't want games to baby me - that just makes me feel like I'm wasting time that'd better spent on something that's actually fun.

[@cali-pranks]

Here’s a nice compromise: if you have a “very easy” or “story” mode, then use all the hand holding you want, game. Everything “normal” and up should have none of these things.

[@pigpuke]

No, those should be separate explicit options which are disabled and can only be enabled with setting the game to baby difficulty. Of course, if you think your game needs hand holding like that then you have failed to convey the required information to the player and you need to rethink your game design.

[@cali-pranks]

@@pigpuke Well, I suppose the reason why I would disagree is because some audience members - young children and those with disabilities mostly - may not be able to properly understand what the game’s makers are trying to convey even though the vast majority of us do. This enabled settings on story mode/easy mode make sense for them.

[@pigpuke]

@@cali-pranks Why are young children playing games more complicated than a side scrolling platformer? Who's putting their 4 year old in front of Heroes of Might and Magic? Sorry, you're logic doesn't stand up to basic scrutiny. Nobody is handing their child delta-v equations for orbital mechanics when the child is still working on basic hand-eye coordination and if they are, the problem isn't the equations it's the parent being a dolt.

[@cali-pranks]

@@pigpuke Haha, you have an awfully intense position and extreme viewpoint for a topic that’s rather nuanced. To direct it at someone who’s being rather friendly and diplomatic also seems rather uncalled for. Relax, my man. You’ll live longer.

[@pigpuke]

@@cali-pranks Not so much an extreme viewpoint as just some hyperbole thrown in for effect. Seriously though, small kids aren't in need of a lot of onboarding unless they are playing games beyond their age range. Adult/mature games that need to lead you by the nose all the time are communicating information wrong and need to more work.

[@NowLoading247]

Critical Drinker: I can't stand games that hold your hand and provide no challange mentally or imaginatively.... Morrowind: hold my Skooma.....

[@superdark7574]

I just reacquired Morrowind after now playing it for years, looking forward to playing it again. Best Elder Scrolls game :)

[@joelvannatta3266]

One detail that is often overlooked: the faster you beat the game, the sooner you buy your next game.

[@GH-ub7qz]

thats the ...bottom line

[@mikitz]

Also, idiots are a huge market segment.

[@s-zz]

Personally I feel like Black Myth Wukong is a good example of modern game design, there's no mini map. And the only way to tell where you're supposed to be going is occasionally the game will show a breeze of white particles in the air, so you don't get too lost.

[@Garrus1995]

I kind of want to play that game but I’m apprehensive about financially supporting a Chinese game developer because every company operating in China has to report to the CCP.

[@UnifiedEntity]

Nah its map at times is too incomprehensible from actual traversable land, to invisible wall, to possibly hidden area. Very interwoven in a jumbled mess at times.

[@s-zz]

​@@UnifiedEntity I agree the Invisible walls can be kinda weird. But apart from that the game is pretty top notch.

[@Daniel-uq1yp]

​@Garrus1995 get real, bro.

[@JMF611]

I think FF7 Rebirth is a very interesting example in this area - hundred percent agree that the main game is quite guided and hand held - especially in comparison to the OG original. However, when you try and go for the Platinum it becomes extremely difficult, often unfair and requires days of practising to not only beat ol' mate Chaddles' simulator, but also navigate various boss battles on hard mode - It still has a very low plat percentage, and there's numerous posts on forums and elsewhere that people simply gave up. Weirdly, I find this to be quite a decent compromise. It's accessible to everyone who just wants to play through it for the story - but the days on end I spent figuring out how to beat certain challenges were nostalgic to the degree of 13 year old me grinding, figuring out when to return to Fort Condor and racing my friends to see who could solo Ruby weapon with some ridiculous materia combo.

[@Rerags_]

to me, the best example for this whole problem is pokemon i remember trying to beat cynthia in platinum and she kicked my ass several times, but overcoming her was so fucking satisfying... in modern pokemon games, you don't have to fight yourself anymore and don't have to explore and search crucial items anymore, solving puzzles (the very few there are in today's games) are so laughably easy, even a blind person could solve them without any clues and in general every four years old child could beat the game without facing any problems and i don't even exaggerate with saying that, it's a joke... "but pokemon is a kids game" i hear some dumb people scream from afar, dude... i was a kid when i played the old pokemon games and i wasn't too dumb for it... we live in an age where stupidity is encouraged and we get trained to be a lazy as possible while getting simultaneously rewarded for it... no wonder people keep buying games like this (and keep living like this outside of games too), when they were ultimately made to believe it has to be this way and being dumb is something to be proud of, because you can beat the game with it's non-existing odds with an IQ of 10 or less

[@foxboy6145]

Personally, I never had any issue with beating Cynthia. Even when I was younger and stupid, she wasn't a big deal to me.

[@FleskPaddaProd]

Something I noticed with Pokemon, back in the day, your rival would challenge you to a battle as is. These days, the same thing happens, but your rival first heals all your pokemon to full health first for you.

[@jackdimambro484]

XP share applying to the full party was the start of the greatest decline in gaming history for me. May as well make it a mobile game with auto-play. Sad. Kids don't get to experience challenge anymore.

[@GameFreakSucks]

This along with many other issues that plague these games are the reasons why I ditched Pokémon in favor of Zelda

[@Aqua-ij3xs]

The issue with making a game hard is that means it actually has to be GOOD. If a game is easy it encourages people to keep playing even if it isn’t good because of the quick dopamine hit. But if a game is hard it has to be good to keep players interested and playing. Most modern games aren’t good enough to risk being hard.

[@JuicyJam]

00:50 exactly how I feel about assassin's Creed games. I button mashed my way thru the entire game(s).

[@Elsinnombre-ez5dn]

90% of games nowadays have an over cluttered hud and some sort of insane x ray vision ability

[@hexcodeff6624]

Seems to be a you-problem, since that's absolutely not true, not even for 10% of games nowadays. You should maybe try playing something else.

[@Elsinnombre-ez5dn]

@@hexcodeff6624 my bad I may have exaggerated with the 90% but you’ve done the exact same with 10% 😂 Any suggestions of games ?

[@spiffygonzales5160]

Dude, hard agree. I play strategy games and comparing the HUD for total war Warhammer vs the other total wars is insane. In Empire it's like a little bar showing your units at the bottom, and a little map in the top corner. In WH3? Friggin 25% of the screen is taken up. Absolutely ridiculous.

[@hexcodeff6624]

@@Elsinnombre-ez5dn 10% is not at all an exaggeration, unless you're saying that it's still guessing way too high. The type of game you are describing is a very specific genre of game that doesn't even include 1% of all games. Here's what you can play: Inscryption Any Lucas Pope game (especially Papers, Please and Return of the Obra Dinn) Metroid Dread Dark Souls, obviously Kingdom: Two Crowns Pyre SOMA The Talos Principle Getting over it with Bennett Foddy The Binding of Isaac: Repentance Little Nightmares Titanfall 2 Baba is You Shelved Whispers And a whole lot more.

[@Elsinnombre-ez5dn]

@@hexcodeff6624 fair enough

[@simonhadley8829]

Is anyone here old enough to remember Hexen? It was basically Doom but in a medieval/fantasy setting. The highest difficulty gave you a warning that said something to the effect of "This level isn't even remotely fair. Are you sure you want to continue?" What an absolutely brutal slug fest! You almost always got wasted in the first thirty seconds and nobody expected to finish. It was mainly just a challenge to see how far you could get.

[@xymos7807]

That game use to freak me out as a kid. Oh wait...that was Witch Haven...Hexen(or Heretic as i use to call it) was awesome!

[@leimad13]

I member!

[@JannetFenix]

Ooooh, you should totally play Lobotomy Corp.

[@Zanzoltan]

It was a great game :D

[@Wicked061]

Yeah, it was one of the first games i got on my n64. Nice little hit of nostalgia from that

[@Parth1713]

Whenever topics like these come up, I end up remembering 2 games in particular - Final Fantasy 4 (where, after you get the Red Wings I believe, you hear almost all sources that "now the world has opened up to you, we can either follow the story or go explore these different towns for grinding or better equipment") or Dark Souls 1 (where, after you get the Lordvessel, you can teleport to almost any place in the world, giving you a more comfortable way to traverse the world around you and return to familiar areas if you can't clear a certain zone). I always love that kind of exploration.

[@SuperMafia864]

I remember how I struggled trying to pass stage 3 of the flying school mission in GTA San Andreas. Every time I tried to turn the plane, it went all over the place. At one point I was literally in tears. Eventually I figured out that if you stop accelerating, the plane becomes much easier to control. And I was finally able to beat the stage. Yes, only on bronze, but it was so satisfying. After some time I got the handle of the controls and made all the stages first on silver and a few years later on gold. One of my biggest achievements as a gamer.

[@CyanRooper]

Flying was never one of Rockstar Games's strongest suits. Ask any GTA Vice City player about the RC helicopter mission and they have a PTSD attack.

[@greebj]

That was part of the charm of older games, learning to deal with janky controls and limitations. Controlling the "Brown Thunder" with its selection of retarded camera view options was the trickiest thing I found to learn in GTA but I remembered it all when I played through them a couple years ago like muscle memory and first try I had a level 500 vigilante streak and the unlimited money it gives Sometimes fighting the game AND the enemies did get tiring but I just saw it as part of the challenge. Setting up GTR2 input sliders to work on keyboards took me a loooong time. But it was well worth it for a proper driving SIM where getting a better time felt like an actual accomplishment, because **I** did it not the NFS style stage 3 exhaust tips or whatever upgrade I just purchased

[@philharrison2991]

It's called shittt mechanics

[@roadent217]

@@CyanRooper "Ask any GTA Vice City player about the RC helicopter mission" As someone who plays on PC only - it was a fun, easy, and typical mission. Not that much more memorable than the rest. I don't understand where the problem is. :/

[@CyanRooper]

@@roadent217 actually it turns out that the PC port of Vice City had improved controls for flying compared to the console versions.

[@SeraphsWitness]

You're right, gamers have grown up. In general we don't want our hands held, but we also don't have dozens of hours per week to pour into a mind-numbing challenge.

[@ExecratedPlaysGaming]

What games were requiring dozens of hours a week to be poured into near impossible tasks?

[@SeraphsWitness]

@@ExecratedPlaysGaming I never said near impossible. But Elden Ring is a prime example. Some people love that constant grind and challenge. Most people don't. Hollow Knight was about enough for me personally.

[@alloounou6900]

I enjoy a challenge but elden ring lost the plot with its enemy combos, endless stamina, and the extreme tracking so many of their attacks have. It's no longer fun when every encounter is only hard because of some bs.

[@SeraphsWitness]

@@alloounou6900 agree. I like watching people who are good at those games. I don't like playing them. I've got a wife and kids and a business to run, I don't have hours to pour into those games.

[@joebeast15]

@@alloounou6900yeah it depends for me. I loved Sekiro and Bloodborne (two of my favorite games) but I couldn’t get into Dark Souls or Elden Ring. Not really sure why either.

[@davidsoderstrom1519]

Holy fuck he has a gaming channel… life just improved by 20%

[@aesiddoway]

The description of a train on a track was spot on. Watching Mauler try to navigate Kay’s speeder while “escaping” from the empire really struck me with how scripted the entire thing was: down to the specific rocks the game meant for him to drive through. It really was just a big cut scene.

[@zuko9085]

Divinity Original Sin II broke the mold for me with RPG's. I was tired of having basically zero challenge so long as you followed the recommended level up from the game. DOSII gives you all the freedom, which can come back to bite you if you aren't careful. But there are generally so many ways to go about solving a problem that you can usually find a way past it even if the most obvious one isn't working because of choices made earlier.

[@Draclord35]

Gothic games were doing that long before DoS II though. You should try Gothic 3 just for fun if old games aren't too off putting for you.

[@Volkbrecht]

That said, there are types of difficult I absolutely hate: - when the game trains you to play a certain way, then makes you do something completely different for the big boss battle, - when the difficulty of boss battles isn't hinted at during gameplay (it's okay to give trash mobs one thing they are good at, so you learn to look for signs), - when the "difficulty" of a boss battle mainly consists of a giant HP pool you need to zerg down, binding you in an equal mix of stress and boredom. There are engaging challenges that make me want to "git gud", but I have quit a fair number of games on the final stretch because I simply didn't feel motivated by the challenge they put in front of me.

[@simonn2045]

Modern Zelda games and the bullet sponge enemies who's only difference is their colour to denote their "difficulty" FML

[@SpiralDemonic]

- when the game trains you to play a certain way, then makes you do something completely different for the big boss battle, -"git gud" You being mad specific yet not saying the name coz of the rabid fans 🤣

[@pholly]

One thing I REALLY miss about games is being able to just play the game, nowadays it takes 30 minutes before you even get to actually play. All of these things is a big reason I rarely even play current games, I'd much rather emulate a classic game. Oh yeah, plus everything is so complicated that you can't stop playing for more than a few days or else you'll forget what was going on and have to learn all of the buttons all over again.

[@fordtorino297]

Yeah, I never once played a game the day I bought it during my entire time through the PS4 era. I had to spend the entire day downloading a update

[@LionMob]

That's why I play mostly Fortnite nowadays, so simple and fast to start playing

[@felucca]

Right! I'm a big Zelda fan but I never played Skyward Sword. Tried to, twice, but the tutorial was so long I grew bored by the time it finally ended and didn't feel like playing the actual game.

[@Drake77Warlord]

I dont get it, but probably because Im strategy games fan, and this games were always more or less complicated.

[@nathank2289]

Yuck. Talk like that is what killed Dragon Age. Bioware made a good Dungeon and Dragon competitor but EA said no. EA made a big push for "simple" games that people could pick up and play without thinking. Now instead of a skill tree or strategy game, every EA game only has 3 skills and 4 buttons. Screw that. Give me back my spread sheets and lore. If I wanted to turn my brain off I would watch a movie.

[@awesomehpt8938]

There’s a fine line between too easy and too hard. Too easy and it’s not fun, too hard and it’s not fun.

[@pepelefrog1121]

Too hard is always fun. Street Fighter Zero arcade on Elite difficulty proves that. Better worked out than gifted away just for participating.

[@nahkaboltsi6315]

no such thing as "too hard" only git gud

[@DOG-mm3sg]

Agreed, this is why I stayed away from Elden ring. The game looks amazing, but just not for me.

[@0ne0fmany]

And it's also completely subjective.

[@tjroelsma]

That used to be covered with the difficulty levels. Where the lowest level took you by the hand and guided you all the way thorugh moronic enemies; the highest level basically told you that you were f***ed from the start because you got no clues and enemies that butchered you on sight. These days even the hard setting only changes the way enemies respond, the holding your hand routine doesn't seem to change much if at all. To quote Rachel Zegler: "Weird, weird."

[@howaboutsomesoyfood]

the main character telling you what to do by giving a glaringly obvious hint after 30 seconds of trying to figure out a puzzle is one of my biggest pet peeves.

[@AtticusKarpenter]

Yeah, okay i think i can understand this move after, like, 5-8 minutes or so (but better if it would be subtle hint, not 4th wall breaking. And even that is achieving basically nothing of value because come on its 2020s, people could google guide to the game from the smartphone that they keep under the hand 24/7 in dozen of seconds) but when it happens under several minutes it just soooo annoying. This is exactly time when you brain began to actively process the puzzle.. and flop, you have been mentally blueballed, thanks game, fuck you

[@p0werfu11]

Eh, I appreciate this feature nowadays. It's always something obvious to do but it's either illogical in my point of view or it's a feature I've used last time a few weeks ago.

[@n7sorcerer419]

Man. I think this is why I’m enjoying Wukong so much so far. It’s hard (not as hard as Elden Ring though) but it also doesn’t really hold your hand either. It explains the mechanics early on but mostly lets you figure it out yourself, ESPECIALLY with discovering all the secrets.

[@minners71]

Elden Ring was one of from softwares easier games.

[@Dinosaurman34]

I’ve started trying Morrowind and it’s incredibly different and hands off to games I’m used to. I’ve played Skyrim, oblivion and the dragonage series but Morrowind is something else. Fun though, just a learning curve for me

[@0ne0fmany]

After playing both style, how do you feel, which is more immersive, the objective marker introduced in Oblivion, or the text descriptions of Morrowind?

[@Dinosaurman34]

@@0ne0fmany I prefer Oblivion as I need a sense of direction with where I’m going and what I’m doing. I also prefer the journal in Oblivion as the quests are clearer, still gonna try and beat Morrowind but I imagine I’ll miss quite a few quests.

[@wilberwhateley7569]

The only tutorial you get in “Morrowind” comes in the form of the game walking you through the basic controls as you get off the prison ship and is all over when you leave the building - you have to figure things out from there!

[@0ne0fmany]

@@Dinosaurman34 That's interesting. For me it's a bit different. Since the objective marker, I have a sense of direction, but because of that I often miss the explanation(I've short attention span I guess) and don't know why I am going towards it. Without the markers I didn't know where to go but I knew what I was looking for. When Oblivion was released I loved the convenience of the marker, but now I miss the text based exploration and adventure of Morrowind.

[@grayjedioutcast3550]

8:11 i get that. Those games are definitely NOT for everyone. But at least you tried

[@Fraulein_Sausageball]

I'm old. Played the C64 AD&D games (Curse of the Azure Bonds, etc.). Honestly, up until 15 years or so ago, things weren't too bad, as far as hand-holding went. Now it's absurd. It's why Elden Ring was such a nice change of pace. Strange world, when current Zelda games trust the player more to figure things out than games made exclusively for "adults".

[@SamtheBravesFan]

Zelda games are usually very high quality and it shows in things like that.

[@stashallemagne4488]

to be fair the last 2 big zelda games gave you either easy or jank solutions with an imo unsatisfying world/story and elden ring just dragged way too hard and felt disconnected to me as a player even though basically i am the protagonist of the game

[@Fraulein_Sausageball]

@@stashallemagne4488 I agree there have been plenty of annoyances in both Elden Ring and recent iterations of Zelda, but man is it nice to not be hand-held constantly in a game. It drives me nuts.

[@stashallemagne4488]

@@Fraulein_Sausageball idk which games you tend to play but the ones i play just give me information about all the mechanics i need and its logged so i can read up when i miss something because they dont have them handy manuals anymore sadly but idk the latest zeldas and elden ring games lack character imo. they dont connect me with like for example a chrono trigger, kingdom hearts 1/2, crosscode even a game like freaking Ace Combat 0 The Belkan War. Imo most modern games lack character

[@craigs71]

I think the rot really set in when they added a games journalist difficulty setting!

[@christophertaylor9100]

There has to be a happy medium between "too easy everything is handed to you" and "makes me want to throw the controller through the screen". Especially for gamers like me who are getting a bit older and that twitch stuff ain't in it. Some of those seemingly dump things like "yellow paint" can work if its what your CHARACTER would see and know what to do with, even if you as the player do not.

[@intheknow6499]

And then there’s Elden Ring. “You are in a game. Work it out.”

[@alen2937]

Too much time needs to be invested in it.

[@yoloswaggins9989]

​@@alen2937Bollocks. People are able to put 50+ hours in gta in the millions.... Elden ring is just too hard. The time thing is an excuse.

[@kingcreedo6010]

​@@alen2937 Thats true if you aren't a gamer

[@alen2937]

@@kingcreedo6010 Hah, Iḿ the one spending 200 hours just to get the best weapons and two endings in Tales of Vesperia. That is a good game, story driven games are not really games and are akin to movies.

[@tonoshikikai]

But then people just look up guides. I do not have the link handy but you may be able to search it up, the director for the Souls/elden games outright admitted he knew he made things too confusing and that in fact the MAJORITY of players simply look up guides. There does have to be some nudging or people will just make the smarter choice and seek better information online.

[@Ezekeiel]

Definitely hit the nail on the head with this video. I'm sick of hand holding in games but I don't want my experience to be a frustrated grind

[@npphil]

You can already notice that in between Portal 1 and Portal 2. The latter always only gave you one particular spot where it was possible to create a portal while the first game had you figuring out the correct placement on your own.

[@p0werfu11]

Damn, I still remember being very frustrated about that because in the first game there was just a puzzle to solve but in the second game I had to additionally understand the logic of developers/designers to do this.

[@DiogeneJones]

Well, an exception from this trend in modern gaming might Jedi Survivor. You got very well written characters, a compelling story and good gameplay. Also, several sections that needs good movements coordination to be completed. Plus some insane boss battles that,few times, forced me to drop the difficulty. On top of that, a very challenging map to read…

[@Filterdeez]

@@DiogeneJones still held our hands and was a playable movie. Really good, but not what we should get from a SW game taking place during the dark years

[@aaronthesaxman660]

Man, that stupid double spawn boss fight had me raging 😂

[@spiffygonzales5160]

SWTOR > Jedi Survivor Legends > Disney

[@DiogeneJones]

@@Filterdeez kind of disagree. GoW Ragnarok is more an example of playable movie for me. Jedi Survivor was holding hands mostly when unlocking new abilities, and only for short time, then was letting the player go.

[@Filterdeez]

@@DiogeneJones even then, it was very linear on where to go, what the objective was and the lack of puzzles compared to the first. Jedi Order held our hands, but not as much as Survivor; considering there were no puzzles in Survivor.

[@conradaster3764]

7:30 dude I want to play elden rings so bad but that shit would WRECK MY LIFE😂😂

[@nobuzzlitebeer7258]

Same! I like RPG fantasy/ mediaeval style games but I'm sh1t at precision and well timed combat systems.

[@adman4652]

Im not a hardcore gamer myself, but i would recommend elden ring to anyone. Just be patient, search up some guides if you need to and you will have one of the best gaming experiences ever.

[@conradaster3764]

@@adman4652 lol RIGHT. and I'll show your comment to my husband when he files for divorce 🥲😂

[@stashallemagne4488]

its a good game overhyped but good

[@SaddleSniffers4000]

Play it, it's really not made only for some elite gamer ninja club, it's a fun and exciting game that doesn't expect you to master it right away, struggle is part of the fun. Yes it's challenging but that "fighting one boss hundreds of hours" sentiment is absolutely bullshit. You can lvl up and get stronger, you can summon npcs, spirits and human players to help you, you can utilize buffs and items and so on. If you want to get a little overpowered, you can. It's a game that rewards exploration, experimentation and also perseverance. Getting gud is rewarded too, but it's entirely possible to not get gud and win anyway. Just play it if you're interested in it for whatever reason. No credentials or skills needed, you will learn along the way.

[@Rexai89]

"..something that was difficult" Shows Rykard

[@kieranelliott5607]

Given the average gamer is getting on a bit thesedays it's surprising we seem to like being babied by games so much. I don't even like really hard/frustrating games, but some go way too far the other way.

[@isaacnewton3514]

Because older people have less time on their hands like they did when we were kids so most want an easy experience to complete the game

[@Draclord35]

​@@isaacnewton3514this. And younger audience have the attention span of a squirrel.

[@Asmallcorneroftheinternet]

It's kind of funny in a way because you either have games like Elden Ring, Doom, and Fire Emblem, which can be ridiculously hard if you wish to play them correctly. A.k.a., without tutorials on the harder settings. Or just Elden Ring/Souls-likes in general. Then, on the other hand, it's like a God damned CW show that refuses for you to go to off script.

[@DieWitness]

you'd remember how it all started,Quest Markers

[@Filterdeez]

Like them introducing "Modern Controls" in sf6 and Tekken 8. Like bruh, i dont want to press 1 button over and over to do a combo. I want to learn the game and get better

[@justsomehalofan4386]

One thing I love about Valve's games (particularly Portal and Half Life) is how they don't teach the player out right how to play the game, but instead make clever use of the environments (for example you can play through the entirety of Half Life 2's Ravenholm with the just the gravity gun and physics objects. The game doesn't tell you this out right, but is implied since ammo is scarce and physics objects are abundant) Or another example is in Portal 1, some of the Chambers can be solved mulitple ways. Plus since these games aim for immersion and are told through silent protagonists, they never use game-like elements such as navpoints, or highlighted objects. Also I'd love to see the drinker talk about these games.

[@sunso1991]

Accessibility is the antithesis of merit and sense of achievement

[@ChaosAngelZero]

Yeah, Stellar Blade is a relatively reasonable middle-ground, you can turn off the hints and tutorials in the game's settings, play it on the normal difficulty level, and get a decent experience, yellow paint aside.

[@xxxaragon]

Although +personal+ I'd be more in favor of "you can turn help on" instead (I don't know, to me it feels different).

[@dearthofdoohickeys4703]

GoW devs literally used DSP’s gameplay as an example on how to design levels. It’s no wonder games suck, _that’s_ the type of player they’re catering to.

[@foxboy6145]

THAT moron? They used HIM? Good freaking grief...

[@Shorty_Lickens]

I started gaming in the mid 80's and I made the transition to computer games in the early 90's. I saw the massive shift in processing power and innovation during that era and it was pretty cool to watch and experience. I do understand some games hold your hand but I dont think thats the main problem. I think the real issue is just laziness when trying to figure the core gameplay loop. Most games just arent fun to actually play regardless of easy or difficult they are. Also, Subnautica and Below Zero are excellent titles that do not hold your hand. I highly recommend you try them if you haven't already. On top of everything else their basic gameplay loops are fun.

[@brando3342]

This is why I LOVE Kingdom Come Deliverance. It is absolutely my kind of game. There is nothing particularly "difficult" about it necessarily, as you would find with a souls-like game, and that's awesome, because those are not my type of game. I don't find dying 600 times in one hour "fun" in the least. Why I love KCD is because it is difficult for different reasons. You have to make sure you sleep regularly, and eat regularly. You have to make sure your food is fresh, otherwise the rotten food could poison you. You have to learn your skills, and advance them through practice, reading, and paying people to teach you. You have to make sure your clothes aren't dirty, otherwise people will look poorly upon you, and your speech options will be worse. Or wash the blood off them, lest people become afraid of you (if that's not what you want). You have to make sure to repair your armor after battles, and sharpen your weapons. All these awesome systems are built so that you can really BE Henry in that 15th century world that he lives in. It's an incredible experience, and very much designed so that the devs aren't holding your hand through the whole thing.

[@zachcook2705]

Hate to be that guy, but Souls Games are built the same way. There isn't a difficulty slider because the difficulty is built in just like you say it is for Deliverance. It's just a matter of under the systems and tools at your disposal. The same logic you used for Kingdom Come's difficulty system can also be applied to Souls Games from fromsofware.

[@brando3342]

@@zachcook2705 I don’t think you made a “that guy” point, to be fair haha I don’t think it’s exactly correct though. In KCD once you know the systems you are good to experience the game. In souls-like games they consistently make you learn new systems per boss, and they rely on learning new timing, plus the move sets for each individual one. That’s where the difficulty comes in, you are consistently being challenged to learn new systems. KCD gives you all of the systems, and then leaves you alone to experience the story. That’s the difference.

[@ccl1195]

👉My man! 👉 I'm trying to make these things. While doing research through my journey, I've found our niche actually isn't that big compared to the entirety of the gaming market at large. But we happy few really do love our medieval craft-explore-'n'-fight time sink simulators when we can get our hands on a good one. I wonder if you enjoyed Medieval Dynasty also, or not, or Graveyard Keeper.

[@brando3342]

@@ccl1195 Good luck on your journey! I would say it’s niche, but still able to draw a big “enough” crowd haha I haven’t tried either of those games, but thanks for pointing them out. I’ll check them out!

[@TimberWulfIsHere]

Kcd is one of those games where you feel confident taking on a few armoured soldiers with full plated armour and sword and shield but get absolutely slaughterd by a whole bunch of villagers.

[@brunorocha1328]

1:34 also know as "journalists mode"... And most of the times, they still can't beat it.

[@SeraphsWitness]

It's a catch-22, because people who want to be journalists are not gamers, and people who are good at games don't want to be journalists.

[@SuperLuis225]

See journalist tries cup head tutorial stage for full display of that 😂

[@margarethmichelina5146]

And the fact a "journalist" said that there are no female characters in Black Myth Wukong while in fact, they started appeared in Chapter 3, makes me thinking, they probably rage quit in Chapter One as they couldn't beat Big Black Bear or even the Big White Wolf which is just a side boss.

[@MyNameIstMudd]

How am I just now finding out you have a gaming channel 😢 Better late than never. Thank you for the good content brother!

[@frankbgaming]

Games in general shouldn't cost 90 dollars. Especially digitally "owned" games.

[@Valkyrie7894-o4v]

Hand-holding ironically holds a lot of great games back. Just take God of War Ragnarök for example. Oscar worthy acting, fun and addictive combat, brilliant world building, likeable characters etc. the list goes on. But I think it gets a bad rep for flowing too much like a movie. While it fleshed out a new character, that Ironwood section alone was agonisingly long. There’s so many walking sections & scripted moments that it kinda overshadows the core gameplay. Even outside the cutscenes, the problem persists. If you struggle for even 5 seconds with a puzzle, that’s an NPC giving you a blatantly obvious solution. Plus with a compass, everything has this sort of “Point A to B” sort of feel to it, showing exactly where to go for side content and collectibles. Feels like most games these days has that kind of approach. Getting to immerse yourself in a virtual world is one of the medium’s best merit. I wish more games focused more on showing and not telling.

[@SeraphsWitness]

Remember the day when you would just get stuck on a game, and you'd have to discuss it with your friends at school to figure out who was able to get past that section? Or share tricks and cheats? Even mystery hacks that may or may not have been real? What a great era. Now there's no mystique. You just look up the answer.

[@ManHamOrigins]

It’s unironically all DSP’s fault

[@foxboy6145]

I tried to get into the first PS4 game, but the constant cutscenes taking me out of the action became too much for me, and I quit. I barely got past the first boss before I got tired of being taken out of the action with YET ANOTHER cutscene. It was a waste of time and money.

[@ManHamOrigins]

@@foxboy6145 I hope more games put in more cutscenes and continue to filter tourists like yourself

[@SeraphsWitness]

@@foxboy6145 You're in luck, the new God of War game has literally zero camera cuts.

[@LouisNothing]

Absolutely agree. I'm like, thanks for not letting me find that for myself... that was so fun heading straight to that marker. Oh, and i don't know what i would do if everything didn't have the exact, and same, button i need to push for every single thing.

[@Broothski]

I'm reminded of getting lost in Deus Ex in one of the many urban environments for hours, completely unable to retrace my steps to a specific location to progress my mission. Or the original and second Thief games, firing rope arrows and climbing to places with nothing there, simply because of what might have been there and the fact I could. I understand hand holding to a degree, and as you get older and have less time to play the option is nice to have, but not all games should be designed around that.

[@davidmarshall7390]

Deus Ex was full of little rabbit holes like that, and it didn't matter if you took them. Now it's all: 'You're going out of the mission area!' and a punishment of death to the last checkpoint if you defy it.

[@conradaster3764]

I'm glad this wasn't just a "MODERN GAMES ARE WOKE" take. I mean woke is annoying af but at the end of the day it's a smaller problem when measured against the fact that games are simply poorly made now.

[@BusesAreFatCars]

A large factor in why games are poorly made is mandated inclusion. No one can be excluded, even by game difficulty. The development process for Starfield talks at length about this. In that game nothing can be blocked off from the player either. Inclusion is one of the tenets of intersectionality (The Message). Woke is a lot of what's currently wrong with games. It's not the only thing. Though it is so entangled with modern gaming that in most cases it's nearly impossible to fully separate it as an issue.

[@mr_smiles4213]

Yeah well…don’t tell drinker that

[@conradaster3764]

@BusesAreFatCars sure that's fair but even if we look at some "none woke" games like Borderlands 3 or Cyberpunk or Overwatch 2, Anthem, Marvel's Avengers. There was DEFINITELY a problem before the inclusion issue. The inclusion just became a convenient cover for incompetence and mismanagement. I honestly think that's why it's still even put into games now lol. Most of the time, when the annoying woke crap is removed, it's still a crappie half made game that doesn't do anything new or interesting with gameplay, characters or narrative. BL3 is an excellent example of this imo....

[@conradaster3764]

@@mr_smiles4213 I don't follow

[@blubug768]

@@conradaster3764 BL3 the game where they made the "sexy siren" a butch POC isnt woke? Cyberpunk, where you can create a female character with your choice of circumcised or uncircumcised 🍆 isnt woke????? ...are you just trolling???

[@corycrandell2682]

Screw modern games. They're too big, too expensive and way overblown. I stick to old school. Old consoles. Basic games. No politics no bullshit but still fun.

[@gaminglp1332]

Zelda Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom are games without these flaws. They focus on exploration and creativity while Ubisoft does the same formulaic bs since almost 20 years

[@quarkinjapan]

Exactly what I was thinking while watching the video, and even after beating the game there's still plenty to explore.

[@AlbioLakes]

"Its not a bug, we'll make it a feature in the sequel."

[@stashallemagne4488]

I liked botw the first time i played i saw its flaws but it was an over all goodish experience when i played tears of the kingdom i felt very bored after a while so i beat it as fast as i could. nothing really clicked for me in that game besides the craving of some proper dungeons

[@Papinak2]

Yep, the Wild games have their problems, but holding your hand is not one of them. It'll be always funny, how BotW just tells you "Beat Ganon" and leaves you to do it in whatever way you want. Great thing is, it actually works. A lot of times, the games move forward just because the player gets curious about something on map/world and explores it. No need for some BS quest to force player in that way. If only dungeons were better.

[@stashallemagne4488]

​@@Papinak2 imo they can go away with the open world zelda id rather have something down the line of a link between worlds but 3D also in 2D

[@Iam.krusty]

90s and 80s games just hit different back then. You had to commit and it was bragging rights in finishing those games!

[@andrewhood8952]

Exactly as a kid in the 90s playing Altered Beast, Shinobi series and Echo the Dolphin and completing them was really hard.

[@Wulfjager]

More games needs free demos where they hold my hand and then let me loose to figure it out on my own when I buy the full thing. Factorio is the perfect example of this

[@notimportant8643]

3:21 well said, this is why ppl are becoming dumber because our technology facilitates it

[@regulustheron2565]

What about Glasgow ppl? 😂

[@thetommyshades5347]

6:30 I no joke thought that was a clip from kotor for a second but no that's the new Star Wars Outlaws game. Holy crap games have gone down hill.

[@red-merlin]

Dude! I didn't know you had this second channel!! This is much now up my ally bro. I still like seeing your brutal take downs of Disney "star wars" but I'm much more into gaming. Auto sub man lol

[@QueenAleenaFan]

Ironically enough you can make games more accessible. It's called having a guide available