Sulphur on 11/7/2018 at 07:58
That's been the theme with both Darksiders games, really. They wear their inspirations on their sleeves, but they don't do anything with those mechanics except repurpose them wholesale for a deeply silly comic book story about the apocalypse.
Honestly, the Dead Court's around the same time I lost interest and flipped onto something shinier, so I don't know. I think it's safe to assume that the Guardian sequence and its associated musical theme is the best part of the game (even if it seemingly popped up out of nowhere), so it's pretty much going to be puzzle dungeons, bosses, and a slow dripfeed of familiar mechanics 'til the end with a very thinly spread story.
henke on 11/7/2018 at 08:12
I felt the same way about Darksiders 1. It was one of those games that was barely enjoyable enough that I'd start it up and play in short bursts, and when I got to the end I was like "eh, why did I bother with this thing?".
I'm kinda going through the same thing with Prototype 2 right now. I wanted something more "fun" after Hellblade, and the gameplay is as gleefully over-the-top as in the first one, but I can only be bothered with it in 20 min bursts before I've had my fill.
Thirith on 11/7/2018 at 08:40
Hmm. All of this makes me think that perhaps I'd better move on to a different game. I know there are people who liked Darksiders 2 a lot, and usually when there are people who love a game there's something to them - which may or may not work for me, but it's worth giving them a chance.
Thing is, I've played games that aren't better in terms of gameplay (*coughcoughAssassinsCreedcoughcough*), but they have a story, characters or a world that I enjoy, or they've got more personality, or the aesthetic is really great. I can get enjoyment out of a game if there's one standout element that ticks the right boxes for me, but so far Darksiders 2 strikes me as deeply mediocre.
I think I'll finish the current quest line, but if there isn't another high point by then I'll move on to greener pastures.
Sulphur on 11/7/2018 at 10:43
It doesn't have any one compelling feature, I'd agree. It's a solid game, but mostly unremarkable in its construction. While it doesn't consistently hit high points, it also doesn't sink to any real lows. And blandness is something I usually abhor, but Darksiders 2 puts just enough flavour in there that I can't say I'm having a bad time with it, it just lacks the depth or crunchy immediacy or compelling through-line that could make it really stand apart from the pack.
WingedKagouti on 11/7/2018 at 15:22
Quote Posted by Thirith
Zelda's dungeons and puzzles are more focus and they're structured better in terms of ramping up the complexity and difficulty,
God of War does *much* better combat and
Prince of Persia is much more enjoyable in terms of climbing, jumping and wallrunning.
You could also look at it like this: The puzzles are better than GoW and PoP, the combat is better than Zelda and PoP, and finally the parkour is more fun than Zelda and GoW.
Quote:
Hmm. I don't hate the game when I'm playing it, but when I talk about it I really don't much like it. Is there anything coming up later (I'm currently convening the Dead Court) that stands out as worth playing?
As far as I remember, that means you haven't been to the outposts of Heaven or Hell yet.
Thirith on 11/7/2018 at 15:35
@WingedKagouti
I tend to prefer games that do one thing really well to those that do various thing but they're mediocre in all respects. There are games that are more than the sum of their parts, but I definitely wouldn't count Darksiders 2 among them.
Shadowcat on 15/7/2018 at 10:53
Quote Posted by Thirith
I wish more games knew when to end; the longer the more I don't have the patience for games that just go on and on, at least not without providing enough substance, and even then I've come to enjoy shorter, more focused experiences much of the time.
Yeah, I long ago found the prospect of a hefty duration was enough to put me off buying a game at all, whereas at one time it would have seemed like brilliant value for money.
There was a cancelled project some years back which I think Doug Church was involved in where the goal was (IIRC) to produce a first-person game approximately an hour long from start to finish, but which would play out very differently depending on how you went about things. I think the idea was to simulate the game space during that time span in as much detail as possible, and then you would repeatedly live out that time, doing whatever you chose to each time. A bit like Groundhog Day, I suppose. I don't recall if they gave specific details on why they decided to cancel the project (I can think of lots of possibilities, not least that it sounded really difficult to pull off), but I was sad it didn't come to fruition, as the idea seemed perfect for the time-starved gamer.
demagogue on 15/7/2018 at 12:21
There have been games like that or variations before.
The variation of that that I like is when you have a limited time to explore the world and then it resets, and you have to solve some mystery, and each iteration you learn a little more. The IF game Rematch was like that; in that you only had one move before a car plowed into the shop and killed a bunch of people. The idea I had was a timed bomb going off, which later ended up being the movie Source Code. But in my version you were at a basketball game, and the bomb went off when the game-clock struck zero, so there was a natural way to see how much time you had left. Then I thought there could be 100s of different locations chosen randomly when you started a new game, although when you're going through the replays of that game it stays where it is, so you're still learning something round to round, but it's still indefinitely replayable in the sense you don't know when you start a completely new game exactly where to go.
The Doug Church variation is a lot more open ended, but I could imagine scaling up the concept that could still make it fun, and the Groundhog Day analogy is helpful. There could be some huge event at the end (my idea here is contact with aliens or some HL2 event), and then countless local events throughout the day, and again they could reset with a new game but stay static through replays... but it could allow for a lot more open endedness while still having a general way to go... Then the idea that comes to mind is a general goal that allows for multiple approaches for achieving it, like being elected mayor or storming the castle.
Anyway, I like the concept too and hope someone does more with it and a better job than has been done before.
Aja on 15/7/2018 at 12:38
Majora'e Mask is a lot like what you describe: you have three days before the moon crashes into the village and destroys it, after which it resets. Some things carry over but for the most part you have to learn each villager's problems and then use that knowledge to help them when you go back in time. In my opinion it's the best game in the whole Zelda series.
henke on 15/7/2018 at 13:20
Ok, time for the final 3 games in my queue to meet their fate.
House of the Dying SunI don't much care for aerial dogfighting, but every time I start this up I'm kinda amazed at how badass it is. I didn't finish it today, but I can't uninstall it either. I'm keeping it around until I beat it.
Conclusion: Keeping it installed
Kentucky Route ZeroI'll wait until the final ep is out to play this again.
Conclusion: Keeping it installed
City Car DrivingI bought this years ago, before it was on Steam even. Over the years I've tried to get into it with the aid of various gaming peripherals: various steering wheels and VR headsets, but it's always felt a tad cumbersome and unintuitive. Today I finally played it the way I suspect it was meant to be played: on a monitor, with keyboard and mouse. And y'know what, yeah, it's nice. It reminds me of cruising around the city in Midtown Madness.
[video=youtube;4z-nMNzEYWI]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4z-nMNzEYWI[/video]
To be fair, I think I might prefer (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ue9RhqpJ5o) American Truck Simulator with a modded-in car for this kind of cruising, but I'm gonna keep this around for a while longer anyway.
Conclusion: Keeping it installed
WOW, TRIPLE PARDONS! WHAT A FINAL EPISODE TWIST. THIS THREAD WAS TOTALLY WORTH IT HUH
Final stats:
Games uninstalled: 7
Games finished (and uninstalled): 3
Games that'll remain installed: 5
Well, my Steam library is SLIGHTLY cleaner.