Just saw your message. I ended up replaying the old spyro games in the remastered version and loved the nostalgia trip.
Tried to get into Outer Wilds again, stopped almost instantly because I just can't figure out the movement.
Then I saw that Oxenfree 2 had released at some point, played that but wouldn't recommend ( if you played the first game you already know the big "mystery" and the new smaller mystery isn't that interesting)
I played chants of sennaar, loved it, fit the vibe perfectly. Would absolutely recommend!
I played planet of lana, it was somewhere between okay and good. Visually perfect gameplay a bit boring. Even for a short game it felt too long at the end.
Then I made the mistake of opening rimworld again and this became my (gaming) life again.
I don't know if I played it before my post or after but Talos Principle 2 was perfect just like the first one.
Even if you cared about legacy, realistically, how many people are remembered for more than a few generations, if they are remembered at all?
Even the majority of the leaders of nations are only remembered by historians, people with a high interest in history and briefly by some students studying for their next test, and these will be mainly the leaders of their own country. Unless they did something exceptional good or bad.
And then there are a few exceptional high achieving writers, inventors, scientists and academics. Even within their field most become irrelevant and forgotten after a few decades.
Some ordinary people who did extraordinary things might also be remembered.
But if you compare that to the enormous amount of people who have lived and died, basically no one will be remembered after their death. I'm not making excuses for the bad behaviors of horrible people, I'm just saying that losing all relevance and not being remembered after death isn't special.
In my opinion, the question comes down to "what is a valid criticism". I think the bombing part, where a lot of people give a similar negative review at the same time is secondary.
If a game releases in a borderline unplayable state this warrants negative reviews. It shouldn't matter how many of them there are and if they are all in a similar time frame. Same with an update that harms the game a lot. If this makes the game change the rating from positive to mixed or negative, I think that's fair because if I buy the game now, I will get it in the most recent state and if this is shit I don't care if it was better at some point in the past, I'm glad if I get a warning through the reviews.
If the game gets negative reviews because a person/group related to creating the game said or did something that a large group of people disagree with it's more complicated. It boils down to if you can/want to separate the art from the artist and if you find that criticized thing bad in the first place. If you don't think this is a valid criticism you probably think this "review bombing" is a bad thing.
I think the term "review bombing" is used to imply that the criticism has nothing to do with the game itself. But like with all terms, the usage becomes broader and broader until it changes or loses meaning completely.
Since Steam reviews contain written explanations it is easy to check why the game gets the negative attention. I never came across a game that had a lot of reviews for an unrelated thing where almost all the negative reviews lied and said it was bad for gameplay reasons.
Oh I didn't realize it got released on PC!
My opinion of life is strange is kinda complicated I liked it as a "Summer Game" because it had the right vibes while I played it but after I was done I was disappointed. The game hypes it's "your action have consequences" system up constantly but it's usually just a different dialogue or short scene which doesn't affect the story in a major way. Which is fine for a game in general but not when it pretends it's different.
Never heard of it, looks amazing, I'll check it out, thanks
Looks great! The Alps is where I spend a lot of my vacation days, why not add some nights as well haha
I played slay the princess earlier this year, amazing game! Detroit become human has been on my wishlist forever. Maybe now is a good time to finally buy it. Not sure about coffee talk but until then looks promising. I'll check out the demo
It won't be long till fall so it can go on the list. Might be perfect for summer-is-almost-over-sadness
I'll take a closer look at Tchia. I don't necessarily search only for no-pressure-at-all cozy games. I just don't want a game that barely let's you breathe and/or requires extreme precision. Like, I don't want to be playing elden ring (right now and for the next few weeks).
The most important thing is the warm atmosphere and some moments that create lasting impressions
I think yakuza might fit. I have to check if the steamdeck can handle it. If not it'll go on my list for when I am okay with my pc heating up my living room
I just can't get into outer wilds, the ship controls drive me insane.
The big con looks promising
Looks super cute
Perfect, thanks!
Sadly no Playstation
It looks vaguely familiar. I think I watched one of the kids in my neighborhood play it
I'll 100% play the looker
Ryza could be perfect!
I'm super afraid of the ocean dredge looks like a horror game to me
I have this loosely defined made-up genre I call "Summer Games".
It started a long time ago subconsciously. At some point I realized that during the hottest time of the year I gravitate to certain games that I mostly play on a small device (laptop/switch/steamdeck), laying in bed, late at night, when I have trouble sleeping because it's too hot. A friend of mine once said that the reason she loves super high temperatures so much, is that what you experience leaves more vivid, burned in, memories. I think she has a point.
The criteria aren't super rigid but I hope you get the "vibe" and might know some games that fit:
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Low-stakes/chill gameplay. I'm already sweating, I don't need sweaty gameplay right now
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a warm aesthetic/color palette and/or setting. My outside experience shouldn't feel too different to the games inside experience aesthetic-wise.
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It feels like a road trip, adventure or vacation. I want to get a summery memory out of this.
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the game leaves some kind of impact.
Games I played in the past that evoked that vibe perfectly:
- Kentucky road zero
- oxenfree
- road 96
- firewatch
- sable
- rime
- steins: gate
- life is strange
Games that have fit okay-ish
- tunic
- journey
- citizen sleeper
- nightcall
- no umbrellas allowed
- the talos principle
- the solus project
- the witness
- the vanishing of Ethan Carter
If anyone has a recommendation, I'd be thankful. This year I have started to play chants of Sennaar and it seems to fit the criteria so far.
Ever since it came out I have heard only good things about this game. And it sounds like a perfect fit for me. I enjoy figuring out puzzles, I enjoy figuring out lore and I love to explore.
I picked it up during a sale a while ago and since then I had 3 or 4 attempts of trying to get into the game but after a few hours I'm just too frustrated and give up.
My problem is, that I am so horribly bad at moving around, it infuriates me like no other game ever has. Like, I want to go to that planet, I board my ship, I fly towards the planet. I either slow down too late and die crashing into the planet or I slow down too early and by the time I get to my destination the planet has already moved away too much. So I either wait until it comes back around or I try to follow it wich usually ends with me crashing into it. It's like slapstick comedy. The autopilot let me crash into stuff blocking its path so I gave up on that too.
The few times I managed to get to a planet, I couldn't enjoy exploring, knowing I will have to pilot this spaceship again. When I think about having to be at a specific location at a specific time, it fills me with horror. Moving in lower/zero gravity is also not enjoyable for me.
I want to love this game so bad but I just can't. I know this game is a one-time experience so I am torn on what to do.
Are my problems with this game so fundamental that I should just give up and watch someone else's playthrough on YouTube? Or are my experiences in a normal range and I should keep trying until the movement clicks with me?
I fear that the longer I wait the higher the chance that I randomly encounter a huge spoiler somewhere in the internet.
Thank you for reading and thanks in advance for any recommendations, advice or feedback
Edit: Thanks a lot everyone! I will give it another shot and use a combination of autopilot and manual movement. If that doesn't work I'll look at some mods. If that also doesn't work I'll give up and just watch someone else play it. I feel like I'm extra bad at this because my spacial awareness sucks in real life too. Can't tell if a car in the distance is moving or parked and if it's moving how fast. Don't worry I never even bothered to try to get a driving license lol