Capt_Blakhelm

So I waited a near solid two weeks for my release to be approved so I can post my review for Ballex. Well, it finally did, but now, for some reason, when I click "Add New Review" i am led to a 404 error page, This is despite the fact that I can post reviews for other games, so it's not a sitewide issue.

What gives?

https://www.giantbomb.com/ballex/3030-86895/user-reviews/

I think I found said "edible hat"

https://www.amazon.com/Graduation-Tassel-Edible-Cupcake-Topper/dp/B00C6F6XL2

I think that genre has folded into games like Path of Exile, Diablo, and Grim Dawn, industry wise. No big publisher would make such a smaller scope game nowadays, outside of maybe funding a smaller dev to do it.

The closest things I've played in recent memory are Gauntlet (2014) and the Tomb Raider top down games (Guardian of Light and Temple of Osiris).

Come to think of it, there are a few shooters that come to mind. Helldivers, Assault Android Cactus, The Acent, and Nex Machina, which I think was produced by somebody that worked on Smash TV.

The Musou/Warriors games does sort of carry that same kind of energy, but definitely doesn't scratch that itch the same way the Gauntlet games specifically did. Despite being called mindless games, you do actually have to pay attention to the mission messages to know what to do to prevent mission failure (which wastes all the time you spent), instead of just going forward like the Gauntlet games. Also, I don't think any musou game exceeds 2 active players, besides of the MMO style games.

I'm like you, I definitely miss that style of game. I've also haven't seen that style of game blow up or be so desired in the gaming zietgeist, so maybe the "Gauntlet-like" is a dead genre. :(

I think fans and regular players of Bethesda RPGs are willing to forgive alot with their games due to the scopes and possibility. That's why even though Fallout 4 and Skyrim are considered to be the least deep of their mainline series, players mod the heck out of them to get the game closer to what they envision them to be.

I remembered being hyped for Fallout 4 and pre-ordering the Pip-boy edition DESPITE having some huge performance issues with Fallout 3 and New Vegas. I was more nostalgic for the good times with them and also being a fan of Fallout since the first game, I REALLY wanted that Pip=boy. A part of my fandom died when I played Fallout 4 just to find out it still has the same kind of bugs and performance issues that their Gamebryo games ALWAYS had. with quests not working properly, physics going out of whack, and framerates dropping terribly in the big city and around explosions. Even with these problems AND less robust dialog and skills systems, I still enjoyed about 250 hours of gameplay from and still haven't actually finished the main quest (I didn't want to be disappointed/annoyed by it - so I quit when I basically found the character's dad).

My point is that fans and enjoyer of the series are probably going to still like the game, especially as long as they are still moddable like previous game and unlike F76. The bigger problem are the non-fans and casual gamers that only play a few games. Will the casuals still be as forgiving to the Bethesda Jank in a TES6? Will TES6 do anything for the non-fans that might bring them in. AssistMeDoom from the YoVideogames streaming group gave me good insight I believe, since he and YoVG don't play alot of Western RPGs or Bethesda RPGs - after games like Ghost of Tsushima, Breath of the Wild, and specifically and Elden Ring, Bethesda can't just "make another Skyrim but with better graphics". He found the combat to be terrible and the bugginess to be a joke. It also took help from the stream chat to help him understand the game (I had to point he was ready to level up and when he did, he had 3-4 unused level ups). How bad will players like that who are willing to play TES6, but not ready to love it are going to trash it if it isn't significantly better or as good as more recent open world RPGS like Witcher 3 and Elden Ring? How much did the discourse of Cyberpunk 2077 and the praise of Elden Ring affect Bethesda's willingness to release TES6 at it's current state and instead give it the delays it probably needs? I'm watching a LONG retrospective of TES2: Daggerfall and Bethesda has LONG history of releasing buggy games, patching them later, and still needing bug fixes by fans long after they're done with it (This has been a problem since TES: Arena!).

TL:DR I've been burned by their games too many times - getting deeply invested in them just not being able to finish or fully experience them thanks to the game just not working properly. I'll wait until WELL after the game is released before I consider buying and see what the state of the game is then. It has to be good or at least not shitty for players like me.

I was in the market for a GPD Win/Aya Neo and this came at the perfect time. I have a huge Steam Library and rom collection, so this is a perfect fit for me, as well as fitting the needs of a gaming laptop(ish), since I needed a replacement one.

Linux isn't super compatible with everything on Steam, so I hope this customized version is more successful with more games. Or I may just have to find a way to boot Windows on to it.

I think that's one of if not the biggest problem with this kind of game - if you're not one of the people putting loads of flushing loads of money into it, the game doesn't really "care" about you. Of course, no game truly "cares" for you, but those kind of games are designed for the whales. Only after spending so much money after a certain point do you start feel the reward of progression, completing collection, and achieving goals. And if they aren't making money, they have no reason to exist and thus not giving a flying fuck about their free customers. They all tend to have some mechanic, appearance, or process to keep you coming back, but I start to feel like the game is treating me like a money dispensing machine to put into their money grubbing machine masquerading behind pretty graphics, fun sounds, and progression-for-progression's sake mechanics, it makes me realize that I'm not really playing a game. I'm just paying a game. It's a gross, unsettling, unrewarding, demoralizing feeling to be seen as nothing more than a human ATM. I'm always sitting there asking myself "What am I doing with my life?" as I run on a digital treadmill to make some sort of mildly satisfying number go up or reach its maximum.

You mentioned this game still gave you progress with no money input, which I guess is good. I suppose that is fine, if you are getting real progress. I Was still able to have fun with KOFAS for the simple fact that it was a Beat Em Up (one of my favorite genres) featuring characters that I had a mild and growing interest in from playing King of Fighter games and games featuring their characters. I started watching videos going over the history of the game series and the story/lore of the characters. That part alone is still worth investing to IMO, but I determined the treadmill of the game wasn't. It was just an innocent way for me to waste downtime at work or while waiting for things, but I had to stop when I realized I was playing too much.

Anyways, I didn't mean to get all preachy, but you might later find yourself saying "Man, I'm glad I'm not wasting time on that game anymore" when you're enjoying on something else. Sucks that something you enjoyed is suddenly stopping, but it might not be as bad as you feel right now.