PVZ: BFN is Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville
A few of my own unpopular opinions:
Borderlands 1 is better than Borderlands 2. The character writing and worldbuilding are more fun, and while the enemies were less varied, there weren’t as many enemy types that were more annoying than fun.
Pixel art looks worse with soft lighting, whether that’s baked overlays or dynamic lighting. Controlled palettes are half the fun, adding a bunch of unnecessary colours just makes the limitations of pixel art more obvious instead of enhancing its strengths.
Related to (2), Octopath Traveler looks ugly to me. The pixel art breaks the otherwise-awesome diorama aesthetic, the various effects (most notably the DoF and perspective) make the pixel art look worse. It’s a style clash. I think the game would’ve worked better with high-res 2D graphics, or if pixel art was so important, then with just 2D pixel art graphics and some hand-drawn suggested DoF parallax and such, instead of a hybrid mess.
“Clone” games are fine when it’s just the devs earnestly wanting to make a version of a game they love but with a few of their own ideas. I’d rather see more games like that, without unnecessary changes added just to differentiate their game from its inspiration.
Realistic graphics look boring and their main value is in furthering rendering/authoring technology. For actual games, I want to see more stylied stuff that doesn’t require the newest gear to run. This extends to animation, as well! Conveying story, atmosphere, and character >>> getting things “correct”.
Authorial intent is not an excuse to make your game inaccessible to players who’ve purchased your game. Let people enjoy your game as they wish, once it’s out there, it’s out of your hands, stop being a dick.
The Witcher 1 has better side-quests and worldbuilding than the Witcher 3.
Hm, that’s often times true. For one thing, I was surprised to be more scared and on edge played the old pixel heavy version of Alone in the Dark 1. Oxenfree had me panicked as heck too. With realistic graphics, you don’t have to imagine / interpret “what the heck is that thing” as much. In that case, atmosphere, character, pacing and music has to do most of the work to get you engaged and keep you jumpy/emotional/curious - depending on the genre of the game.
@MrBonesWildRide Tbh, I feel the same way. I don’t like playing it, but I do admire the visuals for being different than the usual military shooter. I think Overwatch and even Destiny (to some extent; I don’t know if you would call it stylised but the visuals are more colourful than the competition at least) does something similar, with interesting lore and stylised graphics. I do prefer playing PUBG Mobile and COD Mobile’s BR mode, though (yeah mobile games are games too). @Danacscott I really like Rayman Origins and Celeste but I couldn’t bear to play it for a continuous amount of time before it either starts getting frustrating or bored of it. I pretty much quit Super Meat Boy altogether lol, but maybe some day I’ll come back to it. @DeathBringer didn’t know someone is playing that new PvZ game. I didn’t hear anything about it until IGN’s review is recommended on YouTube.
I think shooter games are the simplest games with little to learn. When I read complaints, its about how a weapon feels or some mechanic they don’t like. But to me all shooter games are the same. Gun pew pew. Point at baddie. Pew pew until game ends. Play one shooter game and you can play any shooter game. Low barrier to entry.
Strategy games, while being my favorite. It’s like learning how to ride a bike after forgetting. Again and again. You know it’s a bike. You know what you should do. But you still have to learn. So the time investment on learning a game to see if you like it bugs me. I think that is why strategy games so unpopular. I wish we had already streamlined the gameplay like shooter games do. But I know that can’t happen. High barrier to entry + patience.
Sports games are lazy. You have the exact same gameplay. Same rules. Same everything. The only thing developers add are the sports players’ faces on the models and wait for money to transfer into their account.
I don’t know why nobody has just made The One < Sport > Game, To Rule Them All. Literally one game per sport.
I’ll leave roleplay games alone since those are just books.
I don’t know what action games are since I think they can fit into any other category.
PS. I do play all these genres. Definitely great games will be great even in a genre I don’t like. I’m just talking about genres in general, not specific games.
Never managed to get into sandboxy, builder type games (Factorio, Terraria, Dwarf Fortress). They’re a bit too open ended for me, and I always get to a point early on where I don’t know what to do. The one exception that I’ve played is Oxygen Not Included, which throws a steady stream of issues to solve early to mid game.
I can understand where you got this notion from, and as someone who only really started playing them in earnest in April this year perhaps I’d have shared it. However, mechanically games which you might think are simple (FPS games, 1vs1 fighters) can in fact be incredibly nuanced.
If there was little to learn in FPS games we’d all be aim pro’s and esports ready…the reality is that it takes thousands and thousands of hours to train yourself to really excel, which is the opposite of being simple to learn.
Woah! Took the words right out of my mouth. I didn’t wanna say it in fear of being alone but boy does it feel great to know someone else thinks the way I do. Cheers, man!
I hate autosaves and in a way checkpoint saves as well. Especially on RPGs and other story driven games. I prefer to create my own saves whenever I want and a part of it is so I can revisit particular moments I may want to go back to somewhere down the road. And I especially like to relive a game’s ending whenever I want to.
Ironman mode in games
Closely connected with number one, my dislike for autosaves, being forced to play on a single autosave and checkpoint file really pisses me off.
Permadeath
I know it’s meant to add drama and to make the player play smarter and more carefully. But letting me name and customize my ingame toy soldiers and then forcing me to watch them die in front of my eyes because the game developer is a sadomassochistic bastard just doesn’t go well with my taste.
Over reliance on RNG Mechanics
RNG driven combat is something I can accept as that is pretty commonplace. But having RNG determine what kind, kind as in what item gets created and not the quality of said item which again is acceptable, of item gets crafted is way too annoying. I mean seriously can’t you keep a log of what kind of stuff your production facilities comes up with so you can order a specific item you want from them instead of going through random chance? HOLY MOLY! I just realized something, that mechanic IS LOOT BOXES! crap, XCOM 2 almost had them. Thank heavens for modders
I will add one more thing to that list
5. A tutorial that doesn’t explain how to use different mechanics but rather is an explanation of what qualities/mechanics exist.
Bonus points if you don’t even mention mechanics which are heavily important to the game.
I was playing Galaxy Squad for a week now and may I say this game makes use of an Ironman save mechanic BETTER than XCOM does simply because the game is a Rogue-Lite and Rogue-Lites are awesome
Many things can be esports. But, like tetris, anyone can understand it and play it from a beginner level. You’re talking about top tier, I mean all tiers. Hence me just focusing on the genres. I never imagined that the 25.9% game purchasers were all pro players.
Even I, a terribad player on shooters, can understand and play them within a game or two. But I will still be bad at it. If you mean FPS and not other shooters, it reminds me of Planetside 2! I played it for a month when it launched. Then I got sick of being headshot by snipers constantly. I was obviously out classed by people that play shooters as their main genre. So it wasn’t fun anymore and I moved on. Still, I understood the entire FPS game in 2 days of playing instead of a week+ of trying to figure out Crusader King 2’s de jure claims, marriages, holy wars, demesnes, vassals, etc etc. (And lots of wiki reading)
I hope you understand my unpopular opinion better!
I don’t think they’re ‘easiest genre ever and there’s nothing to learn’. I mean no offense but I’m pretty sure Planetside is not a game about sniping/counter-sniping. I’m not that familiar with it but it looked like a game about taking/defending objectives with a team.
And thinking back of a time I used to semi-competitively play original Unreal Tournament I must say that FPS games are way deeper than they look on the surface. Playing a 1-on-1 match versus a good opponent is amazing experience. You have to constantly reevaluate your current situation, weight risk-reward ratios and above all try to figure out your opponent.
Small decisions like ‘do I chase him to increase my lead or do I rather deny him his favorite gun?’, ‘is he careless and low on life enough that I can bumrush him right after I spawn?’ are just a puzzle pieces that form a gameplan like ‘he has good aim but too much aggression. I will not engage him unless I have health and armor advantage. If I ever lose map control I’ll try to lay traps and make chasing dangerous for him’.
Basically it’s an attempt to get into his head using only limited interaction provided by the game. Team modes provide even more space for different strategies and mindgames.
FPS genre requires a decent amount of mechanical skill to get good results and there’s no way around it. If the enemy has better aim, you’re at disadvantage. If the enemy has better movement it’s another disadvantage. Playing smart can help you negate enemy strength and make your own matter more but if skill gap is way too big it won’t matter anyway.
Overall I don’t think that there’s such thing as ‘easiest genre of games with no depth to it’ (may be clickers but I’m not 100% sure). From what I’ve seen all genres have their pros and cons and thus appeal to different people. I think it’s unwise to disregard any of those based on genre alone.
Maaan. PvZ Garden Warfare was such a complete dope sweet game! Kinda TF2, but waaay more fun.
Planetside?
The fact is, after you play and get into Planetside, then any other FPS feels shallow and meeeh. And it’s waaay more than just “i dont play FPS, i cant aim, or compete”. No way, i mean, you can find a role and fun in such a scaled and varied game world, playground… teamplay, platoons, allied forces, world of tanks and planes. And whatnot, rly.
Overall one of the best if not very best multiplayer game ever made.
Also, Borderlands, is it rly just FPS or bulletsponge, to you?
I’d say, people just overlook things. And missing out.
Basically, I don’t think A Hat in Time is that much fun partially due to not having played its honored predecessors. Nostalgia sets a really big shadow over everything, for better or for worse.
I think, as someone born in the 90s*, that never owning a console actually affects how you relate to games like Metroidvanias, platformers and the like.
As for shooters, I really like Borderlands and hate everything else – haha yeah, you read that right, everything, including the 4D shooter games that happen around my city every day – exactly because of its amazingly well-written story and crude puns.
So while I laughed my ass off at your comment, @GDBringer, my heart stands with @JJaz’s question. I think several games transcend their main genres. When they do, I can overlook the fact that Thomas Was Alone has trashy platformer levels, that I need to keep repeating stuff in Hollow Knight, that Rufus is hella annoying in Deponia… haha just kidding everything has a limit Rufus can go die.
*What’s the term? Gen Z? Millennial? I don’t understand American needs to call things things and also feel it might apply differently if you grew up in backwards Banana Republic lmao but I ain’t no sociologist don’t shoot guns are illegal here and I can’t fight back
Here’s a sad attempt at reviving an old thread no one posts anymore. Here’s one more toss in the ring:
I really like motion blur in video games. True, its not realistic but it has a neat little woosh effect that I kind of love. It’s silly, I know, but it can also enhance the mood of the game when it’s pulled off spectacularly, like Doom.
Mobile games are fun as hell. Again, yes there is a lot of bad mobile games out there more concerned in monetisation than engaging content, but it can be a great little escape if only for a few minutes. Going off a bit, I actually enjoy Mario Kart Tour casually, as the controls are easy to get into, and the improvements like adding a steer option for manual drift as well as a better course release schedule making it a better experience than launch. I like mastering the courses and finding a balance between scoring more points and staying ahead of the rest. With that said, these improvements are minute if you are just playing around now, and even those who played it before may feel underwhelmed. The multiplayer part being unavailable is still bizarre given the series’ reputation, and as enjoyable gameplay wise is, collecting karts, racers and gliders as well as the premium currency as a free to play player is a huge pain and detracts it from a recommendation to a try it and see type of game.
I didn’t expect it to be an impression of MKT but here’s to getting a word out of you guys again.
Thank heavens for modders 
Kinda TF2, but waaay more fun.
And it’s waaay more than just “i dont play FPS, i cant aim, or compete”. No way, i mean, you can find a role and fun in such a scaled and varied game world, playground… teamplay, platoons, allied forces, world of tanks and planes. And whatnot, rly.