The Backlog Check-in Vol. 247: 9/24/22: FIFA 23/The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero/Valkyrie Elysium Edition

[Phaseknox]

Played: Dying Light 2: Stay Human, Grand Theft Auto V, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Star Ocean: The Devine Force demo

Finished: Star Ocean: The Devine Force demo

Playing: Shadow of the Tomb Raider

Added: Infinite Links, Of Bird and Cage, Sword of Elpisia, Wargroove

Games releasing this week
Airoheart
Beneath the Mountain
Black Witchcraft
Blade Assault
Breakers World
Brewmaster
Bunny Park
Century: Age of Ashes
Deathverse: Let it Die
Destroyer: The U-Boat Hunter
Doom Keeper
Dorfromantik
Dual Universe
Euro Truck Simulator 2
The Excavation of Hob’s Borrow
FIFA 23
The First Descendent
Flippin Misfits
The Fridge is Red
Grounded
Hokko Life
The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero
Lemon Cake
Little Witch Nobeta
Lost Fleet
Moonbreaker
Moonscars
NeverAwake
One Hell of a Ride
Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous
Paw Patrol: Grand Prix
Picross S8
Post Void
Railgrade
Resist
Rise of the White Sun
Sam & Max: Beyond Time and Space
Sam & Max Save the World
The Spirit and the Sun
Terra Invicta
Thelos
Tip Top: Don’t Fall!
Undetected
Undungeon
ValiDate: Struggling Singles in Your Area
Valkyrie Elysium
Vesper: Ether Saga - Episode 1
Warhammer AoS: Soul Arena
Witchy Life Story
World of Outlaws: Dirt Racing
Work From Home

[Phaseknox]

The debate of having one set difficulty in games arises again:

https://www.neogaf.com/threads/team-nin ... e.1641886/

Some of the people in that thread sound so much like izzy that I think that they’re his alts. It’s nice to see a lot of people who feel the same way as I do about including difficulty settings in games, because it seemed like in the past the majority of people agreed with the whole git gud philosophy which thankfully seems to be becoming less popular as I think that since Elden Ring people feel that it peaked for the Soulslike genre and are getting a little burned out on so many other non FromSoftware games copying the same exact formula. I know that I am, because as a big fan of third person dark fantasy action adventure games and RPGs I’m tired of the Soulslike formula at this point. It’s been copied too much in recent games, and that’s why something like Valkyrie Elysium is so refreshing to me despite seeming like a PS3/Xbox 360 game because it’s a new third person dark fantasy action adventure game that’s not a Soulslike.

[crimson_tide]

I used to feel some kind of way about cranking it down to easy but now I give no ****s. I have limited gaming time, I actually enjoy game stories so I like to keep the pace going and I need to be having fun. If it's the difficulty that's the issue, I am going to lower it. I miss out on stuff like the From games and if they want to keep it hard, that's cool. I will respect their choice but I am also absolutely not going to touch their games. If the difficulty is the point, I just don't have time for it anymore.

Played: The Kaito Files, Ys 9, Ghost of Tsushima, Overcooked, DQ Builders 2

Beat: The Kaito Files

Bought: Nothing. But I did go ahead and download PSO2 New Genesis and the PSO2 vanilla DLC. Always been curious and might take the plunge soon !

This week: DQ Builders 2, Ys 9. But not Ghost.

I figured out my problem with Ghost of Tsushima! It's so serious. I can't. I see clearly why people love it now but it just falls so flat for me when there's no room for the ridiculous. Unless there's some zany twist, I am will to let that one go. AC RPG's kept me because Bayek and Kassandra were goofballs who goofed on how goofy everything was. I was down for that. The leveling and respec and Odyssey made that game a breezy non chore to play because it was so flexible.

The Kaito Files was GREAT! The only flaw is it was all story. I imagine this is what mainlining a Yakuza...sorry Like a Dragon game feels like. There's no side stories and pretty basic city exploring but the story was a blast. And the final boss might be one of the most interesting in Like a Dragon history. It's really not where I thought they'd end up but there it is. RGG is still a goat, thank goodness. Lost Judgment and its...whatever the **** that was is just an outlier. I hope...

DQ Builders 2 is just charming as all get out. It's going to be my chill after work game for a minute. And Ys 9 is good fun. PS2 ass good fun but it's hitting a little better than Dusk Diver at the moment.

[Phaseknox]

I used to feel some kind of way about cranking it down to easy but now I give no ****s. I have limited gaming time, I actually enjoy game stories so I like to keep the pace going and I need to be having fun. If it's the difficulty that's the issue, I am going to lower it. I miss out on stuff like the From games and if they want to keep it hard, that's cool. I will respect their choice but I am also absolutely not going to touch their games. If the difficulty is the point, I just don't have time for it anymore.

I agree with all of this including FromSoftware keeping their games a one set hard difficulty if they choose to, but only FromSoftware because that’s their thing. I dislike when other game companies make copycat Soulslike games and deliberately give them a one set hard difficulty just because FromSoftware does it with their games. I kind of like the Soulslike design formula, but an intentional one set hard difficulty shouldn’t be implemented in ones made by other companies just because FromSoftware does it with their games. That’s FromSoftware’s thing that they’ve been doing for years now, but when other companies do it just because they do it then it comes across as forced and disingenuous.

I figured out my problem with Ghost of Tsushima! It's so serious. I can't. I see clearly why people love it now but it just falls so flat for me when there's no room for the ridiculous. Unless there's some zany twist, I am will to let that one go. AC RPG's kept me because Bayek and Kassandra were goofballs who goofed on how goofy everything was. I was down for that. The leveling and respec and Odyssey made that game a breezy non chore to play because it was so flexible.

If the seriousness of Ghost of Tsushima is what bothers you about it then you might want to pass on Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, because it’s even more serious. It has a dark and serious tone throughout with only a few instances of brief levity during its 100+ hours. It’s the opposite of Odyssey in that regard, and one of the reasons why I didn’t enjoy it as much.

Ys 9 is good fun. PS2 ass good fun but it's hitting a little better than Dusk Diver at the moment.

Dusk Diver starts out good IMO, but becomes repetitive rather quickly having you do the same exact things in the same exact areas over and over again. I haven’t gotten Ys IX yet, I’ve been waiting for it to go on sale. Have you played Ys VIII? If not, then I highly recommend it because it’s a really fun anime style third person action RPG.

[isthatallyougot]

The debate of having one set difficulty in games arises again:

https://www.neogaf.com/threads/team-nin ... e.1641886/

Some of the people in that thread sound so much like izzy that I think that they’re his alts.

I'm not an advocate for difficult games. I am, however, a staunch supporter of creative authenticity and liberty. I do enjoy a good challenge oftentimes in gaming, but my own preferences have nothing to do with how I feel about this issue. Any creative work ought not be influenced by the crowd, the potential audience, if it is to be a reflection of a genuine passion - a mirror to something real that was born from honest inspiration. I like to enjoy artwork (of any kind) that is powerful because it arises from someplace of meaning/truth/passion within some creator and is then shared as it best it can be translated without any concern about how it may be received. Any creator who will compromise their integrity for a larger audience, for money, isn't sharing their most sincere vision. I realize gaming is an industry with money to be made, but those who make so many cynical concessions at the altar of profit display works that are hollow and obviously driven by something other than love of the creative process - they have nothing of real value to share. Their works are products-first and they can't hide their motivations from anyone who loves truth.

[canedaddy]

Played recently: Yakuza 6

Finished: nothing

Added to backlog: nothing

Current backlog: 25 (24 PS4, 1 Vita)

Yakuza 6 is awesome, just like every other Yakuza game I've played. The story has me by the short and curlies. I'm not sure I get some of the new side activities (baseball and crew management), though... we'll see if I warm up to them.

The debate of having one set difficulty in games arises again:

https://www.neogaf.com/threads/team-nin ... e.1641886/

Some of the people in that thread sound so much like izzy that I think that they’re his alts. It’s nice to see a lot of people who feel the same way as I do about including difficulty settings in games, because it seemed like in the past the majority of people agreed with the whole git gud philosophy which thankfully seems to be becoming less popular as I think that since Elden Ring people feel that it peaked for the Soulslike genre and are getting a little burned out on so many other non FromSoftware games copying the same exact formula. I know that I am, because as a big fan of third person dark fantasy action adventure games and RPGs I’m tired of the Soulslike formula at this point. It’s been copied too much in recent games, and that’s why something like Valkyrie Elysium is so refreshing to me despite seeming like a PS3/Xbox 360 game because it’s a new third person dark fantasy action adventure game that’s not a Soulslike.

I hate to burst your bubble, but the wild success of Elden Ring is only going to mean a lot more Soulslike action RPGs. Git gud or play something else.

I've said it before, but Elden Ring isn't that difficult. I know a dude who's nearly 60 with severely atrophied skills, and he platinumed it. It does, however, require a certain amount of patience and a thoughtful approach... observing boss patterns, using the right tactics and gear for different enemies, etc. If you don't like that kind of thing, I get it... sometimes I feel the same way... but an easy difficulty level would turn the game into a lame experience. Much of its impact comes in facing very powerful enemies and defeating them, even if it means you have to try different approaches or level up.

[isthatallyougot]

I hate to burst your bubble, but the wild success of Elden Ring is only going to mean a lot more Soulslike action RPGs. Git gud or play something else.

[Phaseknox]

I'm not an advocate for difficult games. I am, however, a staunch supporter of creative authenticity and liberty. I do enjoy a good challenge oftentimes in gaming, but my own preferences have nothing to do with how I feel about this issue. Any creative work ought not be influenced by the crowd, the potential audience, if it is to be a reflection of a genuine passion - a mirror to something real that was born from honest inspiration. I like to enjoy artwork (of any kind) that is powerful because it arises from someplace of meaning/truth/passion within some creator and is then shared as it best it can be translated without any concern about how it may be received. Any creator who will compromise their integrity for a larger audience, for money, isn't sharing their most sincere vision. I realize gaming is an industry with money to be made, but those who make so many cynical concessions at the altar of profit display works that are hollow and obviously driven by something other than love of the creative process - they have nothing of real value to share. Their works are products-first and they can't hide their motivations from anyone who loves truth.

I agree to a certain degree, and why I said that I was pretty much fine with FromSoftware continuing to do what they do with their games since it’s their thing and I genuinely feel that it’s how they want to make their games from an artistic and creative standpoint. However, I take issue with other companies doing it strictly because FromSoftware has been successful with it. Like I said before, it feels forced and disingenuous to me as if they’re strictly doing it for marketing and financial gain since it’s a current gaming trend. Basically, they want to be part of the cool crowd too but they come across as posers instead of truly authentic to me. Instead of including a one set hard difficulty for design reasons, they simply do it to check off a checklist of what makes a Soulslike game a Soulslike game. In FromSoftware games their challenges feel somewhat like a natural and organic part of them, but in copycat knockoff games their challenges feel artificial, cheap and shoehorned in. I don’t really mind that FromSoftware has been successful with it since they basically invented it, but I don’t like how it’s become so popular that a lot of other game companies are ripping it off to the point where that’s almost all that we get anymore when it comes to third person action adventure/RPGs. If you’re a fan of third person action adventure/RPGs but not really a fan of the Soulslike design formula (primarily their one set hard difficulty) then you’re basically shit out of luck, because due to their popularity that’s all that companies seem to want to make within that genre anymore.

I hate to burst your bubble, but the wild success of Elden Ring is only going to mean a lot more Soulslike action RPGs. Git gud or play something else.

I've said it before, but Elden Ring isn't that difficult. I know a dude who's nearly 60 with severely atrophied skills, and he platinumed it. It does, however, require a certain amount of patience and a thoughtful approach... observing boss patterns, using the right tactics and gear for different enemies, etc. If you don't like that kind of thing, I get it... sometimes I feel the same way... but an easy difficulty level would turn the game into a lame experience. Much of its impact comes in facing very powerful enemies and defeating them, even if it means you have to try different approaches or level up.

So your answer for third person action adventure/RPG game fans such as myself is to git gud or play something else? As you know third person action adventure/RPG games are one of my favorite genres, and are about the only types of games that I really like to play these days. So if I don’t have them to play then there isn’t much else on offer that I’m all that interested in playing, and my favorite form of entertainment is basically obsolete. Of course with me currently owning 700+ games to play we know that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but the point is that I still have less of what I really like to play the most because a Soulslike game is essentially a third person action adventure/RPG just with some design elements that differentiate them a bit. But not their one set hard difficulties, because a game can still be a Soulslike without being punishingly difficult. That’s more of a FromSoftware thing to me than it is a Soulslike thing, and why I associate it more with FromSoftware as a developer than I do as a particular genre of game because the difficulty of a game itself doesn’t dictate what genre that it is because any game can be punishingly difficult if a developer wants it to be.

With that said, I still don’t really get how having an option to tone down the hit points of enemies and bosses in a game like Elden Ring for example just to make it a little less demanding and punishing to play for those looking for a slightly more reasonable go at it would automatically make it a lame experience. Couldn’t the same really be said for any game that offers difficulty settings? When I lower the difficulty in any game that I’m playing it doesn’t alter the core experience, it just makes it a little easier for me to manage the overall challenge to make it less frustrating to play and more fun based on my personal skill and patience levels. Not all of us have the same skill and patience levels, and games shouldn’t treat us as if we do.

It’s my belief that everyone should be able to enjoy every game that they have an interest in playing at a challenge that they find preferable. The only thing that should prevent someone from playing a particular game is if they don’t personally care for its content, or gameplay. It shouldn’t be because it’s either too easy or too hard for them, all games should include difficulty settings for people to adjust the overall difficulty to their personal preference of enjoyment. The player should decide what difficulty suits them personally, there shouldn’t only be one difficulty that can either be too easy or too difficult for them to enjoy. If someone wants to play a game on the difficulty that the developer primarily designed the game around then that should be the default difficulty, but I don’t see how offering other easier or harder difficulties would take that away from them.

Video games are more interactive entertainment than they are art, they are ultimately made to be played and enjoyed which is why they’re called games. While they can also be admired as art, their primarily goal is to provide interactive entertainment. Therefore, since they’re an interactive form of entertainment and not a passive one such as music and movies they should have options included in them to make them enjoyable to everyone who wants to enjoy them. If your argument is that they should be played with the challenge that the developer intended then that should be the default difficulty, but if that challenge is too easy or too hard for someone then they should have the option to adjust it to their liking to enjoy the experience based on their personal skill and patience levels. Including options to do so doesn’t take away from the developers intended challenge of a game if that’s its default option. It’s there for people who want to play it that way, but there’s nothing wrong with someone not finding that particular challenge appealing and being able to adjust it to one that they do.

I probably wouldn’t have enjoyed half of the games that I have over the years if I was forced to play them with their default difficulties and wasn’t able to make them either easier or harder, and that would have been a real shame because I would have missed out on playing and enjoying some of my favorite games over the years just because I couldn’t enjoy them strictly based on their default difficulties. And considering that games are rather expensive and not free, I don’t think that it’s unreasonable for them to include options to make them enjoyable for everyone who buys them and want to play them for their content and gameplay. Their challenge should be an option based on personal preference just like any other accessibility option like camera controls. Would you also agree that a game shouldn’t include camera control options strictly because the developer wants you to play the game with one set camera control setting? It’s pretty much the same thing to me, because if I can’t change the camera controls to my personal preference then I’m not going to be able to play and enjoy a game. And if I can’t change the difficulty to my personal preference then I’m not going to be able to play and enjoy a game for that reason as well.

[isthatallyougot]

I agree to a certain degree, and why I said that I was pretty much fine with FromSoftware continuing to do what they do with their games since it’s their thing and I genuinely feel that it’s how they want to make their games from an artistic and creative standpoint. However, I take issue with other companies doing it strictly because FromSoftware has been successful with it. Like I said before, it feels forced and disingenuous to me as if they’re strictly doing it for marketing and financial gain since it’s a current gaming trend. Basically, they want to be part of the cool crowd too but they come across as posers instead of truly authentic to me. Instead of including a one set hard difficulty for design reasons, they simply do it to check off a checklist of what makes a Soulslike game a Soulslike game. In FromSoftware games their challenges feel somewhat like a natural and organic part of them, but in copycat knockoff games their challenges feel artificial, cheap and shoehorned in. I don’t really mind that FromSoftware has been successful with it since they basically invented it, but I don’t like how it’s become so popular that a lot of other game companies are ripping it off to the point where that’s almost all that we get anymore when it comes to third person action adventure/RPGs. If you’re a fan of third person action adventure/RPGs but not really a fan of the Soulslike design formula (primarily their one set hard difficulty) then you’re basically shit out of luck, because due to their popularity that’s all that companies seem to want to make within that genre anymore.

Yeah, it's surely not black and white. It's normal to take inspiration from what you experience in life, including other artistic expressions. But there's a difference in being inspired and utilizing things that also resonate with you and just copying things due to popular trends, no doubt. But it's easy, without too much scrutiny, to tell the mimics apart from the auteurs who have borrowed while still crafting their own genuine work.

One of my bigger gripes is with gamers who feel entitled to bitch and moan about a game not being what they want it to be. Well, if you don't like it, play something else or make your own damn game. No creator is obligated to do anything except what they are moved to make. But the sense of entitlement is pervasive in the world today. The whole world is full of toddlers.

[Phaseknox]

One of my bigger gripes is with gamers who feel entitled to bitch and moan about a game not being what they want it to be. Well, if you don't like it, play something else or make your own damn game. No creator is obligated to do anything except what they are moved to make. But the sense of entitlement is pervasive in the world today. The whole world is full of toddlers.

I agree with this when it comes to a game’s story, characters, design and general content, but I don’t think that it’s unreasonable for people to want a game that they pay $60-$70 for to be a quality product from a technical and gameplay standpoint and include accessibility options such as camera controls and difficulty settings to make it playable and enjoyable for them. So if you’re implying that someone wanting difficulty settings in a game is entitlement then I don’t completely agree, because I consider difficulty settings to be a fairly standard accessibility option in games.

With that said, I’ve accepted FromSoftware games not having difficulty settings because that’s kind of their thing and I get that their games are fine-tuned around that concept. I don’t personally really like it because it prevents me from enjoying their games which I would otherwise since that’s pretty much the only thing preventing me from doing so, but I’m also not asking them to change because it’s part of their design formula and philosophy.