I really don’t like this art style. There’s a lot of single-dev games like this on the same engine and I can’t help but see this as one of them, unfortunately.
I’m sorry, but why write a review like this? It’s very clear that most of Alex’s frustration comes from how he played the game, as opposed to content inside of it.
Isn’t it a little disingenuous to review it and base it upon having just completed last years game (as in, within the past few months)? Would he feel differently about Origins if he played it the same way? Differently about this if he hadn’t played Origins?
Wasn’t one of GBs biggest “claims to fame” (aside from the personalities and chemistry) the Quick Look model? Just a little slice with some pontification to give you a sense of what the game is like? Marathoning an 80 hour game for a review like this just seems pointless. Plenty of other sites already do it.
Are we going to have Abby marathon RDR then immediately play all of RDR2 over 3 days then ask her what she thought?
@ad_hoc: Did he want to shut her down, or was his frustration in her not being able to articulate why it belonged on the list showing? Just the fact that she had originally claimed it was innovative for the genre (it is most certainly not an adventure game) but then admitted that she hadn't actually played games in the genre would have driven any of us up a wall in the moment.
Vinny's argument that it served as a sort of escapism with a positive message seemed fine if a little thin, but Abby's argument seemed to boil down to "it effected me" without ever giving a reason why.
Jason plays a lot of games that I personally enjoy a lot and the rest of the Crew doesn't/don't touch, and those games never make the GOTY lists. Austin had to write a thesis paper to get Invisible Inc on, which was a fantastic turn based strategy game. So having Dan get exhausted when a game is making the list without a strong argument to even push back against isn't that surprising.
I wish Abby had actually played some other VN games (including those released this year) before going in so hard for Dream Daddy. It felt like someone who had never played a Bethesda or Bioware game talking up ME: Andromeda because of how innovative it was. Dream Daddy being on the list is totally fine, but I left the discussion not quite understanding how it earned the spot and not understanding how exactly it impacted Abby or Vinny.
Likewise, Abby's arguments again Nier, which is certainly a flawed game, felt like some points off a Reddit post as opposed to developed criticisms. 8 hours in it should get you most of the way through Route A, and she didn't seem to ever actually criticize the main part of the game the crew liked (the story and reveals).
Overall, it was frustrating to have the 2 games that Abby had played just before the deliberations (Dream Daddy and Bury Me My Love) pop up the whole week in a way that felt more like "this is what I just played!" and opposed to "here's a great game!" Here's to her getting more time to play great things in 2018!
Regardless, new voices are always awesome and welcome, and I look forward to seeing her grow in the job!
@ilserpente:I don't agree with all of this, but Austin bringing in his carefully detailed arguments is something that is noticeably missing.
Also, Brad's literal reading of "best world" to mean "best gameplay" is so frustrating. I wish he would be more open minded and stop just forcing his opinion down everyones throat without ever seeming to consider what anyone else says.
Holding Abby to the same expectations as, say, Jeff and Vinny, who've worked in the industry for nearly as long as Abby's been alive is unfair. She's a welcome new voice that brings a new dimension to the discussion, just like Austin did. Ben already feels like he's been here forever, but maybe that's just because of the chemistry he already has with the crew.
That being said, I hope she gets the chance to develop her critical eye going into the new year. It felt like she loved every Indie or Nintendo game she played, and couldn't appreciate anything she didn't play much of.
That said, I hope she doesn't take criticism of her performance to heart or as a personal attack, which can often be hard to separate. Lord knows people like Dan and Austin in previous years got a LOT of shit for their views and opinions but never seemed much bothered by them.
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