Topic: Unpopular Gaming Opinions

Well, as you say, it really depends on the sort of game, @Nicolai .... You couldn't seriously imagine yourself in a Mario game, so 'immersion' wouldn't make sense there. But it does fit in an Open-World style rpg that's trying to be semi-realistic.
What usually amuses me about it is people complaining about one or 2 'unrealistic' things in games that have plenty of other things that are far less realistic in them, though! I do like my games to have at least elements of fantasy & so on, so I'm not usually bothered by most of those things

I don't like Fortnite, sorry...

@alemaopro09 Pretty sure that's not unpopular in these parts...

"Popular game bad" isn't really an unpopular opinion in general

I love Metroidvanias, but I can't get into Super Metroid.

I just tried for the third time to start Super Metroid (since it's regarded as one of the best Metroidvanias), but stopped again after approximately 1h. It's just not enjoyable for me. Combat is terrible since aiming is so imprecise, but many enemies move very fast. Switching weapon types is also slow and annoying. Before entering boss fights you basically have to make sure you are at maximum health and just tank through hoping you won't die. And while exploring you regularly hit so many dead ends, that backtracking becomes very cumbersome, since there is no fast traveling system. Platforming is also very imprecise and frustrating. Also I have absolutely no nostalgia for SNES games, so I'm not too much impressed by the art style and music.

So despite Metroidvanias being one of my favorite genres, I just don't like Super Metroid. 😕
Anyone else having this experience?

@dionysos283 ya I Love metroidvanias as well but When I was trying to get into super metoroid It was almost like trying to play though hell Its just as you said I keep trying to get into it but I just can't it never ever clicks maybe I'm doing somthing wrong but for now how it stands I can't stand that game.

I've beaten Super Metroid at least twice (on Wii and later Wii U VC) and tbh I have no memory of most of the problems you described? Like the start is a little slow and I can see someone finding dead ends one too many times early on, but the bosses are usually reasonable (if tougher than the GBA Metroids) and I never had major issues with the platforming (though again, probably better with the GBA games).

also I think the only fast travel system in Metroid was the most recent release, unless you count choosing a planet in Hunters and Prime 3.

@dionysos283 That's an experience I would say I had more with Metroid and Metroid II. I could agree that certain enemies early on may move too fast for newer players like the Reo, Sidehopper and Waver if they try to kill them, but do think those enemies can be avoided without too much trouble too. Most dead ends for the game result in some kind of expansion, i.e. energy tank, missile expansion, and don't seem that far off of major sections. I don't know exactly how far in the game you were at an hour in while having difficulty with combat and platforming. I would say in the first half of Super Metroid the worst direction would be to go towards the Wrecked Ship after Ice Beam and Power Bomb, but without the Grappling Beam and having to backtrack down into Norfair from Crateria as a newer player.

Let's do this:

I'm tired of hearing people complain about games "not respecting their time." It's an asinine complaint, frankly. Entertainment products don't all need to be designed to be snappy. Slower pacing and more methodical styles of gameplay are absolutely legitimate in certain contexts.

That's not to say that some games don't have lopsided reward/time investment ratios, or that some games are paced too slowly, or whatnot, but there's no reason games shouldn't also emphasize mood or be designed in such a way that a player can't just quickly blow through them.

RPGs are literally my most played genre of game. I shouldn't even be complaining about them not respecting my time because it's only on me if I choose not to commit to it, which I only don't if the story doesn't grab me or I find the characters unengaging, like how I had to force myself through Xenoblade 2 for example

Sometimes I do enjoy zoning out while grinding on an rpg, even better if they have an auto battle option, or playing one-handed while working on the computer.

Just having 1/4 of my brain working on listening for the moments when I need to go to the game and press A or move the character.

@Ralizah Oooh, good subject.

I think it's a really vague way to lobby complaints about games. When I think of games that this applies to it's more of finding fault with specific design choices that seem asanine or redundant. Two examples:

I can't stand the menus in Xenoblade 2. They have a ridiculous layout, combined with counterintuitive design. Like when you're picking which blades you need to interact with the world map. If you dont have high enough scores in the necessary attributes then you get to dive back into the menus to try again (after each of your blades shows up on screen, one after the other). I guess saying it doesn't respect my time may be a misnomer, but that is what frustrates me most about stuff like that. I spent so much time in menus in that game. Of course, the way you unlock blades is an utter time waster too.

And Persona 5 has a lot of redundant dialogue. Love the game, but some times I really need those characters to shut up. In this case I guess I dont care for the editing and it kind of kills the flow. I think this gets to be more of a problem the more I'm exposed to this is in RPGs. Like, i'm willing to let it slide at first, but if we go over the obvious heist plan one more time I'm shooting Ryuji in the face.

But if we're talking grindy RPGs or slow burn type games then I get where you're coming from. I've been playing a lot of Dark Souls lately and there might be sessions where I don't make any actual progress. This would normally turn me off of a game, because I really don't have that much time for it. But instead it makes me appreciate when I finally cross that barrier.

Gonna go ahead and say this: I like the American Super Mario 2, and don't like Super Mario Land or Land 2.

@Losermagnet That's a fair analysis. The issue is that the words don't really mean anything, y'know? Your explanation of what you perceive to be a flaw in Xenoblade 2's menu structure isn't benefited at all by appealing to some nebulous sense that "your time" isn't being "respected," whatever the hell that means. The phrase is so open to interpretation that it can mean anything.

And it wouldn't bother me so much if people were appending the phrase as a judgment to an otherwise coherent logical analysis, as you did. But people spout the phrase like it's a valid criticism, when all it tells me is that the speaker can't actually articulate what is bothering them, and instead of going the extra mile to engage in proper criticism of the game, they appeal to their own feelings on the issue.

@Ralizah Right. The phrase doesn't bother me too much, but it doesn't really communicate more than "game not fun".

@Ralizah I often find this to be a valid criticism. One of the worst things a game can do is waste your time. And this criticism is usually given when large portions of a game tedious or repetitive - e.g. when checkpoints are sparse, meaning that when you die you have to repeat a lot of what you've just done; or when progression through the game means that you have to grind on the same enemies/areas.

Sure, it's not a very specific criticism if you don't get into any more depth - but the same could be said for pretty much any opinion about a game.

The one positive thing I can say about the menus in XC2 is that they're at least slightly better than the even worse ones in XCX.

Yeah, not respecting gamers time is lazy articulaton trying to grab hold of meaning without saying something. Along with stuff like over-rated, over-hyped, forced agenda etc it doesn't actually say much.

I take it this has come from the grinder article. My take on grinding has always been a simple one, it's only grinding if it isn't enjoyable otherwise it's just gameplay.

@jump I think grinding is a bit more than just what you're doing, but the context in which you're doing it.

Imo a key part of grinding is having to do something repeatedly in a somewhat unnatural fashion because the requirements of the game are higher than what you'd achieve through natural progression (e.g. a boss in an RPG requires level 50, but you would "normally" be level 40 at that point). In my opinion, a well-designed game shouldn't lock progression behind repetition, regardless of how good the gameplay is.

To be honest, I find I very rarely if ever have to grind for levels in RPGs. But grinding can come in different forms and different genres. For example, I'm playing The Simpsons Hit and Run at the moment, and money is a major barrier to 100% completion. To get anywhere near enough money to obtain everything you either have to repeat the same races again and again (and as solid as the driving is - that's no fun at all), or otherwise exploit some of the respawning systems in the game (my preferred option - but also very grindy and could barely even be considered gameplay). This is all just busywork, really, and not enjoyment of the game.

Older rpgs liked grinding .... While part of what's annoying with current games that do that is they often have pay to basically avoid that