Why I am unreasonably angry at the response to the walking dead
By Animasta 132 Comments
This is not a blog about how the walking dead sucks, or even how the walking dead is awesome, so you people who want to argue one or the other (you know who you are) should skedaddle.
ANYWAY.
I like the game. I do! i'm not even going to make the argument that it's not a game because if I did I would be a real big hypocrite (I have two visual novels on my list, Cinders and Analogue: A Hate Story, as well as Persona 4 Arena which the reason I liked it was not the fighting part).
I think the reason I am not enamored with it so much is I cry at too many video games already for it to be too effective (GAMES I CRIED AT THIS YEAR: THE WALKING DEAD, DEVIL SURVIVOR 2, PERSONA 4 ARENA, FINAL FANTASY 13-2, I KINDA CRIED AT SLEEPING DOGS, MAYBE BINARY DOMAIN I CAN'T REMEMBER) so it's like, yeah a video game made me cry, big deal (am I over emotional? ALL SIGNS POINT TO YES). and the puzzles and shooting are boring; I'd say gameplay but some people will get all up in my grill about how dialogue choices are gameplay and blah blah blah *virtual raspberry*.
but I digress! even if I thought it was my game of the year (which it is not, Crusader Kings 2 is, because it is the ur game, the game that blends amazing gameplay, amazing self supplied story [think the sims but with more incest] and is more open than any other game wishes it could be), the response would still bum me out. The reason being is that games have been doing the shit that TWD has been doing for a while now, but THIS is the game that has people basically ignoring gameplay to prop up a game because of it's story. I've been triumphing those games for YEARS, and all of the sudden THIS is the game.
Again, I don't want people explaining why they were so enamored with the TWD aside from others because I had a nice chat with who explained it well enough.
So here are games that do what TWD did either almost as well, as well, or better;
GAMES THAT ARE ULTRA DEPRESSING: Nier, Witcher 2, Metro 2033,
GAMES THAT MAKE CHOICE MATTER: Alpha Protocol, Fallout: New Vegas, Cinders (of course no one knows if that is true or not because the only other person I know who's played it is )
GAMES THAT FEATURE A LITTLE GIRL CHARACTER WHOM YOU BECOME PROTECTIVE OF: Persona 4, Nier,
GAMES THAT NO ONE CARED ABOUT; ALL OF THE ABOVE (and these are just the last two years, and yes persona 4 golden counts)
It's just a bummer. Like, I loved all of these games, and the walking dead, but suddenly it's the walking dead that gets all of the praise because it's a hot property and the puzzles aren't factors enough and it has zombies or whatever.
basically what I'm saying is play Nier if you thought the ending to the walking dead wasn't depressing enough
Like, the last three big GOTY titles (Skyrim, ME2/RDR, B:AA and Uncharted 2) all had either good (subjective I know but shut up guy who didn't like ME2's story, it was FINE) both areas or just really good gameplay (skyrim has a shitty story as well as lame side quests and this is not subjective except it is and I am just a big butthead). Suddenly this is the game that has people triumphing the story, and as someone who has been playing games where the story was the main draw for years, it's just... I hope people remember this for next year, I guess? because if this is the only game it happens too I will be way more angry.
Like I get that I am being completely unfair to the walking dead and the accomplishments telltale have accomplished; regardless of what I said I do think the relationship between Lee and Clem is superior to Persona 4 or Nier (those games do other things with the story as well, however). It's just me and my unreasonably large love for Nier, really.
THIS IS A PSA TO TELL YOU TO PLAY NIER
133 Comments