zephro
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Post by zephro on Nov 13, 2023 21:51:21 GMT
[br Yeah Blackbird seems to have all the talent. Other than Age of Empires 4 getting good reviews I feel like they've not done anything amazing since Dawn of War 2. Though I didn't rate Dow 2 that much. DoW2 was a strange one, it cribbed a fair amount from CoH but you could see how it linked to DoW3's MOBA gameplay with the heavy focus on a particular squad. The less said about DoW3 the better though. I honestly thought CoH3 would be a return to form but there was an almost pathological lack of care in almost everything and just how drab it looked. Yeah 2 was just too zoomed in. Remembering to hit the frag grenade button, microing all the powers. Like a lot of the MOBA stuff that came after which I've got not interest in. I like epic and slow, yknow Homeworld. |
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JonFE
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Post by JonFE on Nov 13, 2023 21:58:13 GMT
I'm sorry to see so many of you mention Wo Long as a disappointment. Sure, it may not have the depth of the Nioh games, but on the other hand, Nioh and its sequel were too complicated for their own good IMHO. Too much loot, too many systems, I for one found it overwhelming, while Wo Long offers a more straightforward buf similar experience...
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Post by JuniorFE on Nov 13, 2023 22:30:40 GMT
I'm sorry to see so many of you mention Wo Long as a disappointment. Sure, it may not have the depth of the Nioh games, but on the other hand, Nioh and its sequel were too complicated for their own good IMHO. Too much loot, too many systems, I for one found it overwhelming, while Wo Long offers a more straightforward buf similar experience... Er... Not that I disagree that someone could find the Niohs to be such compared to Wo Long, but probably worth pointing out you've barely played one and not played the other... 😅 I'd say it's more a case of them being games that are difficult to get into, but very satisfying once you do and that quite a few of their more intricate details you don't really need to engage with until either late into NG or from NG+ and on. I beat both while mostly sticking to one strategy/build that worked (with minor modifications depending on the individual opponent), there's a wealth of abilities, equipment, tricks etc that I barely used. That said, it is sad that Wo Long (and Tears of the Kingdom for that matter) are being seen as a disappoinment, they're both brilliant games IMHO. |
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Tomo
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Post by Tomo on Nov 13, 2023 23:44:31 GMT
Starfield obv.
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Post by FlexibleFeline on Nov 14, 2023 6:00:57 GMT
I'm sorry to see so many of you mention Wo Long as a disappointment. Sure, it may not have the depth of the Nioh games, but on the other hand, Nioh and its sequel were too complicated for their own good IMHO. Too much loot, too many systems, I for one found it overwhelming, while Wo Long offers a more straightforward buf similar experience... To be fair, it's only a couple of people, and I've just been skimming through the Wo Long thread to see how I felt about it at different points: it's a pretty interesting record of our experiences 8 months ago - almost everyone, even those of us who loved it, had a fair few complaints about it. And if you played a Nioh-Wo Long comparison drinking game reading the thread you'd be shitfaced quite quickly. In some ways, it's unfair to compare it to Nioh: Nioh 2 is the absolute pinnacle of whatever sub-genre this is, Ninja Souls, Gaidenborne, whatever. But it is Team Ninja so comparisons are fair and inevitable. I'm kind of with you on the streamlined approach to Wo Long being an asset. But then again like JuniorFE I wasn't wildly experimental when playing Nioh 2, and a lot of complaints about Wo Long, looking back, were about the volume of loot rather than its quality, variety or ability to materially affect the game. Still, fantastic game, warts and all, and the most fun I had this year Lies of P aside. |
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Post by mothercruncher on Nov 14, 2023 7:13:55 GMT
Yah- Starfield and Forza, following on from Halo and Redfall, there’s something rotten a the heart of Xbox game development.
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JonFE
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Post by JonFE on Nov 14, 2023 7:27:51 GMT
FlexibleFeline Just to be clear, I'm not saying Nioh 1/2 is the worse game or that Wo Long was the greatest game of all time; just that, going into it (even with pretty high expectations because of Team Ninja/Nioh), it does deliver a solid fighting system, some memorable enemies and a good Nioh-lite experience, all of which are not the ingredients of a disappointing game, IMHO... ...and yes, as a Souls-like game released this year, it is only bettered by Lies of P (with Lords of the Fallen in dire need for more time in the oven).
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MolarAm🔵
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Post by MolarAm🔵 on Nov 14, 2023 7:40:11 GMT
Maybe it's because I'm currently very choosy about what I play, but I don't think I've been disappointed by anything I've played this year.
Maybe Chained Echoes? Though that wasn't bad or anything, it's just that people kind of jizzed all over it as the second coming of the SNES JRPG, and I just thought it was ok-to-good.
Edit: and apparently it was released late 2022, so I guess it doesn't count anyway
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Post by Wizzard_Ook on Nov 14, 2023 8:55:06 GMT
I’d probably say Final Fantasy 16. I had a decent time with it but once it reaches a certain story point and turns to its meta narrative it just spectacularly shits the bed. You also realise how much heavy lifting the narrative and characters were doing because ultimately it’s a very shallow game too and felt no real need to carry on with it when I started to lose interest.
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Bongo Heracles
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Post by Bongo Heracles on Nov 14, 2023 9:09:45 GMT
Its probably Wo Long for me, too. Its a decent game, I did enjoy it, but it just didnt hit right. Its partially my fault, I was expecting (or hoping) for Nioh but China and didnt get it which was probably unfair. They tried something new which didnt quite work, fine. But it was just SO rough and unfinished. QoL improvements made in Nioh vanished, it ran like shit and the gear system was pretty bad.
The core game is really fun and I very much enjoyed the verticality of it over Nioh but everything else felt pretty beta.
Basically, I was hoping for a 10 and got a low 7. Cry me a river, I suppose.
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Post by dfunked on Nov 14, 2023 9:15:26 GMT
@wizzard_Ook yeah, I got a little past the bit where your base changes and started a fetch quest for parts of a ship and just couldn't be arsed to carry on. I felt ready for it to end by then, but looks like I'd barely made a dent.
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Post by uiruki on Nov 14, 2023 9:19:09 GMT
Its probably Wo Long for me, too. Its a decent game, I did enjoy it, but it just didnt hit right. Its partially my fault, I was expecting (or hoping) for Nioh but China and didnt get it which was probably unfair. They tried something new which didnt quite work, fine. But it was just SO rough and unfinished. QoL improvements made in Nioh vanished, it ran like shit and the gear system was pretty bad. The core game is really fun and I very much enjoyed the verticality of it over Nioh but everything else felt pretty beta. Basically, I was hoping for a 10 and got a low 7. Cry me a river, I suppose. This is basically it for me, except I'd be even harsher on the technical side - that version of the engine killed Wild Hearts as well. Disappointing doesn't necessarily mean bad.
I played through Stranger of Paradise after that, and I thought that did a much better take on 'Nioh but less insanely complicated' at least up until the credits, at which point the game just takes off into ridiculousness.
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Post by killerbee on Nov 14, 2023 9:23:31 GMT
Cocoon, but only because it was massively over-hyped by certain outlets. It was a decent and quite straightforward little puzzler that didn’t offer much of a challenge. Perfect palette cleanser material but that’s all.
Hi-Fi Rush - I feel bad about this, but realise I played the first level months ago and simply have never been back. It’s still installed on my Xbox too, so I really have no excuse.
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wunty
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Post by wunty on Nov 14, 2023 9:24:56 GMT
Its probably Wo Long for me, too. Its a decent game, I did enjoy it, but it just didnt hit right. Its partially my fault, I was expecting (or hoping) for Nioh but China and didnt get it which was probably unfair. They tried something new which didnt quite work, fine. But it was just SO rough and unfinished. QoL improvements made in Nioh vanished, it ran like shit and the gear system was pretty bad. The core game is really fun and I very much enjoyed the verticality of it over Nioh but everything else felt pretty beta. Basically, I was hoping for a 10 and got a low 7. Cry me a river, I suppose. Yeah that sums it up for me too. It's not a bad game, and I also enjoyed it, but as you say it's crazy how many little QoL didn't even make it over from Nioh. It very felt like the game that came before Nioh 1 & 2, not after. That's why it felt like a disappointment overall. |
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Bongo Heracles
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Post by Bongo Heracles on Nov 14, 2023 9:27:49 GMT
This is basically it for me, except I'd be even harsher on the technical side Me too, in retrospect |
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Ulythium
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Post by Ulythium on Nov 14, 2023 9:32:00 GMT
I'm now eyeing my copy of Wo Long with a modicum of trepidation!
Not really - while I enjoyed Nioh a lot, and I'm having a very good time with Nioh 2 in the main, I'm firmly in the 'Too bloated for their own good' camp (especially where the sequel is concerned).
A stripped-down take on that formula sounds good to me.
Back on topic, Wild Hearts is another game on which I've had an eye throughout the year, but it seems to have sunk without a trace due to a combination of technical issues and a lack of post-launch support. It's a real shame.
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Tuffty
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Post by Tuffty on Nov 14, 2023 9:33:31 GMT
Sea of Stars was engaging for me right up to a point where they introduce this one character and then it started to lose me. Multiple dimensions, immortal godlike beings that are capable of solving any problem, obstacles to be solved by a magic mcguffin. Once is fine but the last third just kept doing it in replacement of any character development. Like they would introduce an obstacle only for a character to just solve it right there and then with this magic item pulled out of their hat, literally. Felt like a waste of my time. In addition the combat didn't really evolve too much after about 10 hrs in and locking away the true ending behind 'Collect all 90 of these hidden collectibles' in the year of our lord 2023 is not good. Back on topic, Wild Hearts is another game on which I've had an eye throughout the year, but it seems to have sunk without a trace due to a combination of technical issues and a lack of post-launch support. It's a real shame. It is. There's been new monsters and tools that are added but not enough. I know PC version had issues at launch which wouldn't have done it favors but EA simply didn't want to market it either. A shame because its one of my favourite games of the year and the final boss is one of the most visually stunning I've ever seen |
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Post by Chopper on Nov 14, 2023 9:36:37 GMT
Diablo IV - It looks amazing. Like, properly amazing. I love the open world. Gameplay-wise, it's a fucking grim experience. So from that point of view, yeah, I'm really disappointed. It was revealed a lifetime ago and all you end up doing is lobbing ineffecive skills at bullet sponge enemies and picking up insipid loot. Considering the loot and the huge melee fracas is Diablo's whole bag, it feels as satisfying to play as it is to sit on the toilet and cough up one small hard brown peanut instead of what your tummy has been promising all morning.
Man, that fell hard. I got it last month and read through the thread here to see what people thought. While they were playing it, everyone here was ecstatic! Uniformly and unilaterally. Like, really gushing. If you played it as a play-the-campaign-and-move-on single shot, then you'd be pretty happy, probably. If you read that thread you'd be thinking no-doubt GOTY.
That's not to undersell the problems that emerged. The loot (and its gating) is mostly uninspiring, at least compared to other games that might drop a unique or legendary right out of the gate and let you build around it. And the skill tree seems deficient in that it sometimes restricts your options rather than expanding them. But there's a lot of continuing enjoyment still to be had for the person who likes trying out builds.
There are expectations for the endgame/post-campaign which I'm not really qualified to comment on (I don't bother with the endgame side of things) but seem universally panned. Is that disappointment enough to blow up all the happy feels from the first 40 or 50 hours? I guess so!
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Post by pierrepressure on Nov 14, 2023 9:37:30 GMT
I think Starfield just pips FFXVI.
How could they mess up space exploration so bad? I think they're best off just sticking to a large sandbox type map in the future, I dont think setting the game in space does the dev any favours. It also looks pretty ugly, I think some significant changes need to be made with that engine, probably chucking it out and starting afresh.
I liked FFXVI at the time but actually thinking about it, the whole experience was just too shallow and not what I want from a FF game. A few more RPG elements and some added depth to the combat system might pique my interest.
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Post by Jambowayoh on Nov 14, 2023 9:43:53 GMT
That's the shit thing, they're never to get rid of that engine because of their desire to track everything. So we're going to be continually stuck with this janky engine forever.
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Post by snackplissken on Nov 14, 2023 9:47:48 GMT
Hands down Starfield. I want 20 hours of my life back.
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Post by crashV👀d👀 on Nov 14, 2023 10:05:31 GMT
It's a rare occasion where I'll play something released within it year of release. I tend to just buy shit later when it's reduced but I digress ... the 2 that I've picked are not terrible and I've had fun from them but they genuinely disappointing from what I was expecting.
Diablo 4
Oh man, the initial playthrough was really good, exploring the open world and going through the story. The bit that sucks it's soul away is the 'end-game'. It's just lacking which exacerbates it's grindy-ness even more. I'm sure over time it'll be fixed into something resembling nothing of its former self but this was a massive own goal for them. It's super frustrating knowing all the years they've had to observe and learn how the top arpg does content addition and they just ignored it all.
Starfield
From the rapidly paced opening to the excessing amount .. load .. of load screens this again was another own goal. New IP, new setting, take all the knowledge .. load .. they've collected and they released a game that sure looks pretty at times with great textures, .. load .. lighting, themes etc and put it in an engine from last century. .. load .. Surely there has to be a way they can remember .. load .. all the items wherever they're left but also put .. load .. it in an engine that takes advantage of all the high speed storage and gobs of ram/vram we have now. Every game they release they seem to .. load .. double down on actions that require a load and then animation. Crafting tables, ladders, cockpit entry/exit, doors (lovely doors), etc. .. load .. its all so fucking infuriating. Then we have the mindless traversal. Their own .. load .. fucking fallout got this. Walking from a to b suck ass so have lots of things to see and do between them .. load .. which gives rise to organic exploration and discovery. Starfield, the culmination of .. load .. their talent results into land on the planet and then walk in a straight line for .. load .. 2 minutes to get your POI. What a fucking ballache. I could go on with it's issues but what's the point. I do .. load .. hope shit gets fixed and free dlc improves stuff .. load .. because I want to like it but so many things are working against it, and the value of my time is the .. load .. biggest.
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Post by uiruki on Nov 14, 2023 10:10:06 GMT
I would probably have put Diablo 4 in my list after trying season 1 which was, frankly, shit, but then I had good fun with season 2 so I'm probably going to just look at it as something where I pop in once every so often to do the new gimmick season and then check out.
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Post by Vandelay on Nov 14, 2023 10:14:04 GMT
I'm probably fortunate that end game content rarely interests me. I had an enjoyable time with Diablo IV's campaign, but didn't do anything with it once the credits rolled. I left fairly satisfied, doubly so when I saw all the raging about the post-campaign content (probably helped that I got it free with a GPU, so wasn't any risk of buyer's remorse).
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Ulythium
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Post by Ulythium on Nov 14, 2023 10:19:57 GMT
This doesn't count, for obvious reasons, but I was/am very disappointed by Capcom's decision to bring Monster Hunter Rise to PS5/XSX without releasing a retail version.
I know it's an inexorable trend, and chances are we'll be in an all-digital world by the time the next-gen consoles come out, but we're not there yet, dammit! If Capcom can release Resident Evil 4, Street Fighter 6, and bloody Exoprimal in physical form in 2023, I'm sure they could've bunged out a disc version of Rise as well.
I was initially surprised that nobody mentioned The Lord of the Rings: Gollum, but then I remembered how bad it looked even before launch, and realised that it didn't disappoint anyone 'cause expectations were subterranean from the start.
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wunty
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Post by wunty on Nov 14, 2023 10:22:03 GMT
I was initially surprised that nobody mentioned The Lord of the Rings: Gollum, but then I remembered how bad it looked even before launch, and realised that it didn't disappoint anyone 'cause expectations were subterranean from the start. Yeah that's it really. This isn't a thread for "worst game". Just the game you were most disappointed by. It can still be a good game in it's own right, just one that didn't meet your hopes / expectations for whatever reason. |
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Post by deekyfun on Nov 14, 2023 10:30:49 GMT
I'm not angry, I'm just... disappointed.
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wunty
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Post by wunty on Nov 14, 2023 10:38:16 GMT
I'm not angry, I'm just... disappointed. You sound like my wife. |
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hicksy
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Post by hicksy on Nov 14, 2023 11:16:50 GMT
It breaks my heart at all the Starfield mentions.
I mean I don't disagree but sometimes I load in just to use a few doors. I loooooove the doors!
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Post by baihu1983 on Nov 14, 2023 11:32:22 GMT
BG3's 3rd chapter.
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