@boodger: I don't understand how anyone could think TOTK is atrocious. What metric are you using thst is so unrealistically high that it would be almost impossible to deliver? I get if the game was a disappointment to you but to say it is atrocious feels unreasonably negative given the amount of polish and technical mastery that went into it. As a indie game developer myself, do you have any idea how difficult it would be to make a game like that work on potato hardware like the Nintendo Switch? It's crazy stuff.
@phili878: Echoes of Wisdom might be exactly what you are looking for! The dungeons are much closer to the classic design sensibilities of games that pre-dste BOTW. I think it really strikes a great balance between old and new Zelda design. So consider this my post card to you.
@googleli: 4/10 for TOTK? Damn that's cold. I get not being a fan but a 4/10? I'm not hating, it's just interesting to see. I adore that game but I get that it's divisive. I do think the main dungeons are a bit of a let down in that one but the rest of the experience was more than enough for me to consider it an all timer.
@silv3rst0rm: I adore Nintendo but I also mix it up with PlayStation titles. Astro Bot, for instance, is really freaking great. I don't think it's as good as my favorite 3D Mario outings but the fact they're even comparable is a huge compliment.
@doomsdayhell01: I absolutely think it's a 9/10 based on my current playing experience. That being said, the stuttering graphical performance is the biggest detractor for me. While I still consider it a 9/10 game for myself, I can appreciate why some might score it lower for that reason alone. I just kinda forgive it since it's mostly 60 fps in the dungeons.
The only other thing that would make me consider this as more of an 8/10 experience is if the process of picking a specific echo begins to consume more the enough time than it has already. Like holy shit Nintendo, let us mark a few favorites so we aren't sliding the menus left and right for eternity.
Otherwise I absolutely love the new dungeons, abilities, and large freely explorable world. It feels like a really awesome hybrid between TOTK and Classic Zelda game formula. While I loved TOTK, I do hope that this game inspires the developers of the next 3D Zelda to adopt this more hybrid approach. The balance being struck here between classic and modern Zelda is proof that both can coincide.
@fbplayer1086: Because it is extremely unlikely to affect most people or anyone after the game's first patch by launch. It sucks when a game's score is decimated by an extremely situational bug like this.
Take Prey, for example, IGN encountered a rare game-breaking bug so they scored it a 4/10 despite being an otherwise polished game. It was a bug fixed by launch so the 4/10 didn't reflect the actual game people bought but that score is forever immortalized on metacritic. As a result, the review was completely misleading.
Its one thing to score a game negatively because the bugs within are numerous enough to logically assume it isn't possible for the devs to fix them all by launch, it's another to score a game negatively for an extremely situational/isolated bug that virtually no one will run into. The latter being unreasonable by the reviewer.
However, I think the reviewer absolutely should mention the bug, as they did, despite its rarity. The reviewer did their due diligence and wrote the kind of review that best reflects the experience people will have at launch.
@markdelaney: ID0ntkn0w7 is raising a lot of good points and you combat them by dipping out. I swear everything you write, including in your comments, seem like your gaslighting people. Don't act like everyone who disagrees with you obviously intends to "purposely misunderstand" you. Maybe you are easily misunderstood because what your write is contradicting and nonsensical? Ya know, kinda like ID0ntkn0w7 was saying...
I have never heard Pokémon described as a cozy game but I guess I could see someone calling it that?
I'll admit, I don't like your articles. They are often pretentious and outright preachy. It honestly feels like the articles you write seem oddly gaslighting? Like if your implying that the Pokémon creators perpetuate animal abuse because they made a cute fantasy world about collecting critters and we, the players, are dumb enough to arrange dog fights.
There are so many more important issues to tackle in this industry and yet you have made at least 2 articles complaining about "cozy" games that weren't made with the kind of intentions you ascribe.
There were so many jobs layoffs for developers last year. Ubisoft leadership responsible for protecting its employees still haven't answered for female employees that endured sexually harassement or even assault. What are the implications of AI on art and job security for creators everywhere? There are so many things wrong with the industry that need more awareness.
I'm obviously not of fan of your writing and maybe that's my problem but you have a platform to talk about serious issues in the industry and yet you would rather write about why fishing doesn't belong in a cozy game (yeah I read that article too). You articles are weird and frankly condescending.
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