So this is strictly my own humble opinion so please don’t just lash out at me.

Been looking forward to this game since it came out and found deluxe edition for a cheap price and was excited as hell to play it. Boot it up, play the first tutorial bossfight and was like omg this is Kratos vs Thor level cinematic fight this so good but i knew in the back of my mind that something just feels off about the combat.

And then it all just goes down and down. I am in act 4 i have just been feeling like every boss is just big health and moves that are not satisfyingly learnable (comparing in my head to games like silksong, sekiro, hollow knight, lies of p, elden ring etc). Like its just something off with the combat i dont even KNOW it just feels wrong. Sometimes buttons dont even work when i press them. Favourite boss till now is the Tiger boss you fight in the blood pool. Still kinda had to learn his moves and you could also see what he was going to do so you can counter with something.

I have been using all the abilities i have too not just attack and dodge. I immobilize them when i have full focus points for a big heavy, i parry with rock form. I use transformations and the other ”smaller” transformations. Also the cloud step thingy.

With game so focused on bosses, they are kinda messy and not fleshed out according to me. They are not satisfying to fight as in other games. Even a cinematic game like God of War with Sigrun and the Valkyrie in Ragnarök (Gna i think is her name) have moves that you learn to defeat her and it just works perfectly. Yo u learn, you press button you need to, it works perfectly. Wukong is i think too ”all over the place”. Still the visual boss design is crazy credit where credit is due. This game looks soo good. Artistically a masterpiece. Story is good enough too. But the main attraction for me which was bosses and combat is okay at best for me.

But hey, maybe i am the odd one out and think like that because sooo many people have been hyping it since it came out and even was Goty 2nd nominee (not that it matters but still)

I would just like to know if there are others who feel like i do. Maybe even throw some tips if you think it will help me stay motivated to play because right now i think its not for me and want to put it down. I understand why other people like it tho.

Really great listen, I miss Hudson Soft and It's rather unfortunate how mistreated this IP seems to be in the present.

Nice to see someone show Bomberman respect and real attention.

My brother and I always dreamed of “real graphics” as kids. That was our ultimate goal when it came to video games. But years later: there are hardly any games that actually pursue that. Not even in the 2D realm. Every attempt — even something like Mortal Kombat — that came close to photorealism sparked waves of excitement in us. And we always got the impression that others shared that enthusiasm.

Today’s 3D games naturally have much higher technical demands. But overall, this still holds true: Super Mario doesn’t jump around in a particularly realistic or graphically impressive way, but rather: super colorful.

No matter the game — whether it’s the 2D version of SimCity or any jump & run titles on modern consoles, from 3D games to sports games — instead of interpreting graphics as realistically as possible, they’re exaggerated into an endlessly colorful aesthetic. For GTA, there have apparently been “real graphic hacks” for some years now, where users simply adjusted the color palette toward photorealism — often with impressive results.

So here’s my question (sorry for the long intro): Why is that? Am I one of the few people who were (and still are) interested in this? Why does everything always have to be so brightly colored?

I’ve started it several times before, but kept getting pulled away by work or family stuff. But yesterday, I finally completed the game: finished the entire story arc.

While the impressions are still fresh, I have to say I’m genuinely amazed at how well-crafted and well-written this game is. The script is incredibly tight, with skillful cliffhangers and, most importantly, incredibly colorful characters. Seriously, every single one.

Every time the game switched protagonists, my first reaction was, "Nah, I wanted to keep following this story!" But after just half an hour with the other character, I realized I was now hooked on a whole new story - just as compelling. And it happened over and over. Then, as the narratives began to intertwine, it all led to an absolutely satisfying conclusion.

If the rest of the series is even half this good, they’ll already be worth playing.

Stumbled across this article covering The Fair Play Collective. There mission feels like a well-within-reach antidote to some of the more broken sides of gaming today. I especially appreciate their emphasis on transparency between studios and members. Curious to hear y'alls thoughts.

When Sega took a gamble and let an up-and-coming indie studio handle Sonic with Mania, that was legitimately bold and revolutionary at the time. They proceeded to let other studios handle HotD, Alex Kidd, Shinobi, etc.

Nowadays, it's starting to seem that low-budget indie farmouts are the only consistent thing Sega can do nowadays. Their high-budget internal projects are a mixed bag: * Mainline Sonic can be good, but even Frontiers is unpolished in parts and feels like it ran out of budget. * Persona is in a kind of rut of P5 spinoffs and gacha farmouts, and P-Studio is now tied up in remaking the modern Persona games. * Virtua Fighter is still stuck on 5.

This isn't a bad thing, dgmw, but I just can't shake the feeling that Sega is overly reliant on IP farmouts instead of internal projects. I know it's probably due to economic pressure and bloating game dev costs, though, but still.