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Discussion Well liked games that you didn't quite "get"?
- Thread starter Raysu Delight
- Start date
I'm sure there are others, but the Diablo series is one for me. Every time I tried playing it with my friends I would end up just zoning out and being very bored. Maybe because I never got to the endgame where I actually have to think, but I felt like I was just mindless clicking my mouse the entire time.
Not for me, maybe I'll give it another shot one day since many of my friends still play the games.
Not for me, maybe I'll give it another shot one day since many of my friends still play the games.
Horror Kid
Moblin
For me 13 Sentinels.
I love other VanillaWare games. I love some visual novels and many point and click adventure games.
I like strategy games as well.
But this mixture was annoying to me after a while and I did not appreciate the searching for alternative story paths in the same sequences over and over again (even if you can skip most known parts very fast). The strategy part was not appealing to me at all.
Did not finish it yet.
I love other VanillaWare games. I love some visual novels and many point and click adventure games.
I like strategy games as well.
But this mixture was annoying to me after a while and I did not appreciate the searching for alternative story paths in the same sequences over and over again (even if you can skip most known parts very fast). The strategy part was not appealing to me at all.
Did not finish it yet.
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- He
Eh, I don't think that's it. First, most Metroidvania games are short. So this really doesn't have anything to do with Metroid. You could be a fan of Igavania, Ori, Luna Nights and still be turned off by how long Hollow Knight is. Second, Hollow Knight has some very real flaws that are offputting. Now obviously these flaws are subjective, but I don't see any reason they'd only bother Metroid fans. I've seen a lot of people who couldn't get into Hollow Knight in general Metroidvania communities, which are not localized around Metroid and generally have pretty diverse populations of fans.
I do agree though that I've seen a general angst from Metroid fans at not having more indie games like Metroid, but I don't think that's anything against Hollow Knight, it's just something that can be frustrating for people when both Igavanias and Dark Souls have gotten indie games that perfectly replicate their appeal (and Metroid arguably has almost none).
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- Pronouns
- She/Her
Octopath Traveler. One of the few games I've outright dropped. At times it felt too streamlined (Like dungeons being mostly... straight lines with no chance of exploring much) and at others extremely bloated (Any boss battle being a 30 minute long sequence of wailing on them for no reason).
Puyo Puyo. I absolutely can't wrap my head around the more advanced mechanics, and I'm decent at Tetris, Panel de Pon and others.
Puyo Puyo. I absolutely can't wrap my head around the more advanced mechanics, and I'm decent at Tetris, Panel de Pon and others.
rêverie
Shriekbat
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i feel you on this. funnily enough, i'm always interested to see if the next smash comes back with a full story-driven campaign mode like subspace emissary. though, i realize that is a side mode to the diehards and quite literally not the purpose of the game, but... it's my most favorite part of any smash i've ever played!
also, monster hunter. the controls have always felt like driving a tank to me. actually, i think a lot of multiplayer games that have next to no story-driven campaigns never quite made sense to me. mario kart may be the only one where i completely "get" it.
Cubs017
Bob-omb
Same for me. I mean, I guess I get why people admire it, but it's just not a very fun game. It's like...very anti-Nintendo. Nintendo games are almost always fun first, story/visuals second. RDR2 is very much about the immersive experience first at the expense of being a fun game. Like, it's a great technical achievement, but it seems to fight the player the whole time.
lattjeful
Moblin
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- he/him
For me, it's a good chunk of Sony first party games. I think they're a "don't quite get" in a "This is overrated but still very good," way. They're exceptionally high budget and super polished, but the gameplay in them isn't that in depth and I don't think the writing in them, though great, is good enough to justify some of the baffling design decisions (God of War's damage sponges, Spider-Man's padding, etc.) in them. They're games first. I care about how the game part is over the story.
The best way to describe it is that the Sony first party games are the best 8/10 games you'll ever play. Anything higher should be reserved for games that really push the envelope or are doing things that a lot of other games don't. But that's a discussion for another day.
As far as a game I bounced off of? Team Fortress 2. I have a buddy who's super into it, and she got me to play it with her. I don't get it. I see why people love it, but to me it just doesn't feel that great to play. It's not as fast and energetic as the boomer shooters of old, nor does it feel as tight to control as modern shooters. It sits in this weird middle ground for me that I just don't like. It's still a great game despite that.
The best way to describe it is that the Sony first party games are the best 8/10 games you'll ever play. Anything higher should be reserved for games that really push the envelope or are doing things that a lot of other games don't. But that's a discussion for another day.
As far as a game I bounced off of? Team Fortress 2. I have a buddy who's super into it, and she got me to play it with her. I don't get it. I see why people love it, but to me it just doesn't feel that great to play. It's not as fast and energetic as the boomer shooters of old, nor does it feel as tight to control as modern shooters. It sits in this weird middle ground for me that I just don't like. It's still a great game despite that.
Ozeiyo
Paratroopa
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- He/him
Hmmmmm... I don't think this is a Metroidvania problem, though. You can like RPGs and decide that the progression, the combat, or whatever of a certain game isn't for you, and that's fine. I love "boomer shooters" but didn't stick with Boltgun for more than a couple of hours because I didn't really enjoy the gunplay at all. I don't think people who don't like Hollow Knight dislike it because "it's a metroidvania that doesn't play like Metroid". I think they dislike it because
Still one of my favourite games of the past years, though.
It's also a game about eight people who travel together who do not interact AT ALL and whose stories never really intertwine. Such a baffling choice. I dropped it too.
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The Xenoblade series. I play a lot of JRPGs, but I could never get into the combat in Xenoblade. The tutorials always felt like information overload. What really put me off was when I kept losing to this one boss on the 3DS years ago, had no idea what to do even when I looked it up online, and decided the series was not for me. I'm certainly not criticizing the game, all my issues with the series come down to myself and my preferences.
Final Fantasy XII is another one. I played for about 10 hours and moderately enjoyed it. Nothing really wrong with the game, I just got bored for some reason? I don't know why, but it didn't click with me and become addicting like it does for its biggest fans.
Final Fantasy XII is another one. I played for about 10 hours and moderately enjoyed it. Nothing really wrong with the game, I just got bored for some reason? I don't know why, but it didn't click with me and become addicting like it does for its biggest fans.
fguzramm
Rattata
Celeste. I like it, but I think it's completely overrated...nothing about it seemed special to me. It has a nice gameplay but nothing more. Nothing that made me go WOW!!... Same with the music.... I can't remember a single piece of music. I don't know, I think the fact that it was indie had a lot to do with its hype.
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This is a pretty good point, actually: We really need more Metroid-specific indie metroidvanias. Usually Axiom Verge (the original) is one of the only ones that gets brought up in that conversation - there just aren't very many.
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People can never help themselves when it comes to this kind of thing
I think the OP laid out the premise well, and a decent number of people have engaged thoughtfully with the premise, but yeah, as usual plenty of people will take any excuse to go down the "thing other people like is bad, actually" route
Stilt Village
GBA
I do think the Hollow Knight thing is in some sense a Metroidvania problem, in that it's a genre created because two games had similar looking maps. Like, that's basically what it comes down to, Metroidvania is a structural definition instead of a mechanical one and that's always going to be kind of weird in theory, but even in practice the actual structural similarity between these games has always been extremely loose. If you take collectathons for example, the majority of them historically were blatant Banjo clones, regardless of what they actually played like. Clones of Metroid or Igavania are practically non-existent. Saying Hollow Knight is the same type of game as Metroid feels almost like saying Dark Souls is the same type of game as Zelda. I kind of think it's just a bad genre, even beyond the complaints about its name, but I'm not sure what to do about that.
I think it's one of the greatest games ever made, but I have to say, I never have understood the praise for the soundtrack. It works well in-game, but it's kind of lo-fi zoomer beats for my tastes, nothing I've ever been able to listen to without the actual game to hold my attention.
A lot of people had the story resonate with them deeply. I'm not included in that, my favorite thing about the narrative is what it takes from Donkey Kong Country 2, but outside of that I think it's mainly impressive for its craft. The design feels ahead of its time in the same way old Mario games do compared to their contemporaries. I got it on a whim before it had really developed its reputation, and went in with no expectations only to slowly realize I was playing something unbelievable.
I think it's one of the greatest games ever made, but I have to say, I never have understood the praise for the soundtrack. It works well in-game, but it's kind of lo-fi zoomer beats for my tastes, nothing I've ever been able to listen to without the actual game to hold my attention.
Enpsty
Moblin
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I was thinking about Hollow Knight the other day while reading the excellent Metroidvania thread, and I think it’s true that ‘Metroidvania’ is a really wide genre, that Hollow Knight isn’t an automatic recommendation given it’s so long. It’s a bit like RPGs in that there’s so many of them and you kinda need to be a bit more specific when asking for recommendations. Just like if someone asked me for an rpg like the classic FF games, I wouldn’t recommend Dark Souls, if someone asked me for a game like Metroid, I wouldn’t recommend Hollow Knight either.
Same goes for La Mulana, which is a beautifully constructed game of puzzles to unpack, but if you wanted an arcadey 2D combat-fest where you only slow down to check the map every few minutes, I wouldn’t recommend it.
An exploratory large map with gear gates is popular for the same reason Zelda and Dark Souls are, or rpgs in general- all those shortcuts fire circuits in the brain, the memory of ‘remember that weird obstacle I couldn’t get past? Maybe with this ability I can’. But just as ‘rpg elements’ are really common to find in all kinds of genres now as they’ve adopted aspects to increase game running times, so have ‘Metroidvania style maps’ and ‘roguelike gameplay loops’. Hell, even Hollow Knight has several imitators (or games drawing heavily from its art style or animation cycles) at this point. Which means there are now these huge overarching super-genres with tons of really specific sub-categories beneath them as younger devs take really specific or newer influences and mix them with old ones. Which is obviously really cool, but the sheer amount of new games every year makes recommendations on boards of people with ever more specific tastes a bit of an art form
Same goes for La Mulana, which is a beautifully constructed game of puzzles to unpack, but if you wanted an arcadey 2D combat-fest where you only slow down to check the map every few minutes, I wouldn’t recommend it.
An exploratory large map with gear gates is popular for the same reason Zelda and Dark Souls are, or rpgs in general- all those shortcuts fire circuits in the brain, the memory of ‘remember that weird obstacle I couldn’t get past? Maybe with this ability I can’. But just as ‘rpg elements’ are really common to find in all kinds of genres now as they’ve adopted aspects to increase game running times, so have ‘Metroidvania style maps’ and ‘roguelike gameplay loops’. Hell, even Hollow Knight has several imitators (or games drawing heavily from its art style or animation cycles) at this point. Which means there are now these huge overarching super-genres with tons of really specific sub-categories beneath them as younger devs take really specific or newer influences and mix them with old ones. Which is obviously really cool, but the sheer amount of new games every year makes recommendations on boards of people with ever more specific tastes a bit of an art form
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ceres15
Cappy
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I've played a fair amount of Monster Hunter (specifically in the Wii U/3DS era), but I would always get stuck at some point be frustrated about retrying the long battles. When I went to try the demo for Rise a few years back, I just couldn't jive with the movement or get over the length of time it takes to take down monsters. I've just kind of accepted that it's not for me.
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This point resonates with me, yeah. I'm definitely more a fan of specifically Metroid than the overall genre it belongs to, and I found that my enjoyment of Hollow Knight was limited at least in some part by my own preferences and expectations. Samus has gradually trended toward becoming a quick and snappy powerhouse, but to me, the Knight felt kinda just... there. The moment-to-moment gameplay lacked that "juice".
2D Metroid offers a more tightly put together experience, often combining fast-paced, responsive gameplay with distinct power-ups that meaningfully iterate on the player's toolkit.
Hollow Knight is less concerned with speed, and its power-ups didn't really feel to me like the main progression incentive. It's instead focused more on creating an expansive adventure through a dreary world, and it's meant to be taken in at a slower pace, over a much longer duration. Being that I didn't find its world or lore all that compelling, I just never managed to connect with the experience as a whole. In the absence of standout gameplay, I was looking for something else to latch onto instead, and I unfortunately can't say I ever managed to discover anything about it that truly resonated with me.
That's true, actually. This one track appeals to me more than the entire Metroid Dread OST combined. I'm completely serious.
Armoured_Bear
Like Like
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- he
I loved it but despite the gameplay not clicking for you, surely you must see how impressive the visuals and atmosphere was?
I thought the combat was great fun and I enjoyed the story too.
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Haha, I knew I'd read something like that before
ILovethegameAC
Shriekbat
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- He
Celeste probably? I had a good time but I feel those super mega precise platformers aren't for me, I need some breathing room. I lost interest trying some of the harder post game levels.
And also basically any roguelike I have tried.
And also basically any roguelike I have tried.
- Pronouns
- 𝖙𝖍𝖊𝖞 / 𝖘𝖍𝖊
Wtf!!! I loved Ocarina of Time!
Really didn't like Majora's Mask though
...I'll walk out with you
gotta say I really don’t care for Ocarina of Time like others do. I appreciate it! and I really enjoy the structure! but like it ultimately doesn’t feel as world-shifting for me.I couldn't even finish MM
Probably my least favourite pair of games in what is otherwise my favourite series.
but then Majora’s Mask is a completely different story for me — it goes hard and I love it so much.
but if I had to, I would probably put Wind Waker above them!
- Pronouns
- 𝖙𝖍𝖊𝖞 / 𝖘𝖍𝖊
this is not the place for me to do this but I still don’t understand this take
I totally get people not liking Hollow Knight
but I don’t understand how Hollow Knight is flawed
like the worst offense in my book is that a couple voice lines are slightly blown out — every single other thing feels like a choice, and they all fuckin’ resonated for me
- Pronouns
- 𝖙𝖍𝖊𝖞 / 𝖘𝖍𝖊
see, I didn’t get Dark Souls until I realized it was funny.
and I didn’t realize it was funny until I encountered the boss of The Depths.
and then? then it just fucking clicked somehow
they really require you get steeped in them, not even due to the lore, but just the… the all of it. definitely a slow burn. and I tried many times before it all worked for me and didn’t feel like self-serious overcomplicated nothingness.
but now I really am hooked. those games are the only reason I still own a PS4.
I feel the same way when I played the first Xenoblade. On the remake I watched the a few videos on how to play the characters and it makes a big difference in my playthrough. It’s simple to understand once someone lays it all out. The ingame tutorial tell your options but doesn’t tell you how effective it is and how to build for it. It much better now that I know why I caused the big damage and that I prevented the enemy from doing their super moves and wiping our my party. 2 and 3 however have too many layers that it’s too much to keep track of even when you understand the combat.
Unironically, my problem is that it is almost too good.
They make a choice for well hidden power ups
They make a choice to have well designed challenging boss fights
They make a choice for well designed levels that isn’t just hallways with braindead enemies but with multiple pathways and enemies that can caught you off guard.
They make the choice to not scatter benchs and trams everywhere but carefully spaced them out.
All great design choice individually but now I’m on my 10th runback to the boss still having to check the map while being careful with the enemies or traps. My health and equipment is lower than other players and my only choice is to keep pushing or search for upgrade somewhere. At least Dark Souls tend to make the runback straight forward once the shortcut is unlocked with no platforming and let you run past the enemies.
Yamanoi
I paid $70 for this tag
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We can discuss this in another thread if you prefer, but most of my issues with HK are to do with the Switch port that I don't like. I need to revisit it on a platform where it runs and looks good throughout. I was not happy with how the Switch port turned out. As for the game itself, I felt it was too long, and ended up not having enough time to focus on it, and kept revisiting it and eventually forgetting stuff. (me issue).
rêverie
Shriekbat
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another one came to me - Link's Awakening (switch ver. specifically as that's the only one i've played.) it seems lauded as being a great zelda game and i've also seen quite a few people praise it on fami, but wow i really did not like/get it at all.
it felt like it made me do a whole lot of guessing and tapping around in the environment trying to figure out what the fuck to do. i dislike hand-holding as much as the next guy, but this felt like the game was just like "lol idk, do stuff!" it just started to become a slog for me and it's only a 15 hour game so that's wild. it never really clicked with me even after putting those 15 hours in. and i know, for me, sometimes it takes a few hours to get into a game, though that was never the case here, unfortunately.
i got to the final boss and died once and just was like eh whatever and never bothered finishing it. this isn't even a case of me not liking top-down zelda because i really very much enjoyed ALBW! maybe the old bones of the game just did not resonate with me or what, but does anyone else feel this way?
it felt like it made me do a whole lot of guessing and tapping around in the environment trying to figure out what the fuck to do. i dislike hand-holding as much as the next guy, but this felt like the game was just like "lol idk, do stuff!" it just started to become a slog for me and it's only a 15 hour game so that's wild. it never really clicked with me even after putting those 15 hours in. and i know, for me, sometimes it takes a few hours to get into a game, though that was never the case here, unfortunately.
i got to the final boss and died once and just was like eh whatever and never bothered finishing it. this isn't even a case of me not liking top-down zelda because i really very much enjoyed ALBW! maybe the old bones of the game just did not resonate with me or what, but does anyone else feel this way?
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- 𝖙𝖍𝖊𝖞 / 𝖘𝖍𝖊
??????????
the Switch port??????
that runs at 60fps, looks beautiful, and feels smooth as hell? that uses HD rumble perfectly???
did we play the same game???
- Pronouns
- 𝖙𝖍𝖊𝖞 / 𝖘𝖍𝖊
I can’t say the name of the thing because it’s my last name — my partner named it “Mc*******-ing” after me — but there’s a very specific skill for being sneaky and barreling past enemies to get somewhere quicker
Hollow Knight is an absolute playground for it
which isn’t a value judgment either way, but does paint a picture about how much I enjoy that part of the loop
Clov
A girl with horns
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- She/Her
All Souls games are funny when you're using magic
Get Fire Storm in Demon's Souls and watch as every boss crumbles in seconds, it rules so much
Yamanoi
I paid $70 for this tag
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It looks bad on my monitor since it is 720 docked. Was ok handheld but I don't enjoy using Joy-Cons. Good thing you reminded me. I have Hori Split Pads now. I should see how it feels on the OLED.
IsisStormDragon
Irradiated Mutant Reptile
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Dark Souls and similar are games that I really only seem to enjoy watching other people play. I get what's good about them, but the enjoyment I get from them doesn't come from playing them despite my best efforts; just can't get them to click with me. Pity, but what can you do.
I'm sure there's a Soulslike out there for me... somewhere... I just have to find it.
I'm sure there's a Soulslike out there for me... somewhere... I just have to find it.
- Pronouns
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Majoras Mask is definitely another one for me. My least favourite Zelda, likely down to me really disliking time loop things and having to watch the clock while exploring
- Pronouns
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People keep telling me the Main Story Quest of FFXIV is one of the best stories in the entire franchise, and I really just do not get it. It certainly has some highlight moments, but a lot of it feels like drawn out filler while the good parts feel a bit bad because they are bolted on to ancient MMO quest design. I never quite hit a point where I could just vibe with the story they want to tell or really connect with the characters cause I just couldn't see through the several layers of MMO ferrying that's going on. Thousands of hours in that game, but the praise for that story still astounds me. I've come to the conclusion I must really be missing something and I just do not quite get what makes it work.
My pet theory is that it's structured like a shounen anime and you spend like hundreds or thousands of hours with the characters so people get super attached to following them around through all the different arcs. That kinda thing is something I would bounce off hard. Even if that's not the case, I'm going to just call it a me problem since I seem to be in the minority and I can at least recognize some of the better writing when I see it pop up. I just can't get the whole package to make sense.
My pet theory is that it's structured like a shounen anime and you spend like hundreds or thousands of hours with the characters so people get super attached to following them around through all the different arcs. That kinda thing is something I would bounce off hard. Even if that's not the case, I'm going to just call it a me problem since I seem to be in the minority and I can at least recognize some of the better writing when I see it pop up. I just can't get the whole package to make sense.
YoboD
Like Like
Danganronpa is the big one for me, particularly as someone who usually loves Japanese adventure games. I gave the first game a shot and just could not vibe with the tone it was going for, found the whole plot to be stupid, and frankly it has some of the ugliest, most unappealing character designs I’ve ever seen.
OP
OP
Raysu Delight
Octorok
It's an issue with some of the older top down Zelda games that people who grew up with those games tend to overlook - locking progression behind 1 specific thing or place you need to visit in the overworld; I love Link's Awakening, but I think a lot of people tend to forget how bad that can feel for those who have never played the game before. When I was a kid I didn't mind stumbling around and guessing where to go for hours as much because I was a kid with infinite free time who only owned a handful of games to play. Now as an adult I know exactly where to go and what to expect whenever I revisit those games, but if I was just playing them for the first time I could definitely imagine myself not appreciating it at all.
ALBW is also just objectively 2D Zelda at it's best/most refined IMO. There isn't an ounce of fat in that game and they truly brought back the open feel of the original LoZ, while keeping the sense of progression and packing the world with things to do all over the map. Every single puzzle in that game felt fun and engaging, every single collectable even down to rupees feels worthwhile thanks to the item rental system. When you look at the top down Zelda series as a whole, I don't think any of them ever really felt like they were truly taking the series forward from ALttP until ALBW came along.
Zemya
Tektite
The Witcher 3
Amazing music, the story was pretty cool, the dialogue options were meaningful and the side characters were charismatic even when they go against you.
But man imagine if it was also fun to play.
If TW4 nails the combat while keeping everything else it's gonna be Goat material
Amazing music, the story was pretty cool, the dialogue options were meaningful and the side characters were charismatic even when they go against you.
But man imagine if it was also fun to play.
If TW4 nails the combat while keeping everything else it's gonna be Goat material
Sturmgeist
Resident Hollow Knight Superfan
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I came here expecting to see Hollow Knight but i didn't expect to see it that much. 
Thanks for that. I already beaten the game though. I enjoyed my time with it but the boss run definitely stop me from pursuing the better ending and dlc.
rêverie
Shriekbat
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ah okay, this makes me feel so much better haha. i felt so stupid having to actually look up where to go next, i hardly ever have to do that in a game! made me feel like a total noob.
agreed on ALBW; it feels so great to play. would absolutely love to see a full remake of that game or even just a sequel in the same vein again. (would prefer a sequel but idk where the team could take top-down zelda after the perfection that was ALBW.)
Luigi's Mansion 3 -- I like the first two games and most people praise 3 as the best in the series but between the finicky controls, obtuse puzzles, and lack of reward for exploration, I just found 3 to be an exercise in frustration. I've tried playing it a couple times too. Looks fantastic though.
Dark Moon is my fave of the three by far, which is the most maligned one, lol. So maybe I'm just out to lunch with that franchise.
Dark Moon is my fave of the three by far, which is the most maligned one, lol. So maybe I'm just out to lunch with that franchise.
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Popular games are always gonna appear a lot in these threads, as word of mouth means more people end up playing them and a portion of those don’t click with it. Understandable reallyI came here expecting to see Hollow Knight but i didn't expect to see it that much.
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ThanatosIntern
Cappy
Immortality. Everyone acted like it had the greatest story and the greatest acting ever, but when I checked it out I found it really boring and pretentious. It felt like it didn't want to be a video game at all.
Thunder84
Starman
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Inside, without a doubt. The only game where the praise truly baffles me, and not in a purposefully contrarian way. I genuinely don't understand why so many people love it.
It's a fun puzzle platformer with a cool artstyle and a simple yet surreal story, but beyond that? I dunno what else to say.
It's a fun puzzle platformer with a cool artstyle and a simple yet surreal story, but beyond that? I dunno what else to say.
