I totally get the criticisms against Fable III that everyone brings up, but for the most part they didn't bother me that much. The Good/Evil and resourcing decisions made at the end of the game felt sufficiently weighty and fair to me and captured a side of leadership that games often struggle with. Sure, you can be a tyrant and save Albion that way, or bribe the populace and deal with the consequences later. But the third way, amassing enough gold to save the country while not exploiting its land and people, felt to me like a commentary that good governance requires slow, grinding work that many in power are not willing to do. The one flaw with this was the waiting for gold exploit which subverts the message, but I'm willing to overlook that.
I get paying tribute to the series's NES roots, but some of the game design choices make this game mad unappealing to me. I suppose it's made for the true retronauts, not us back-in-the-day NES owners.
I don't yet have a Switch (damn you low inventories!), but for me the handheld mode is a huge selling point. Honestly it doesn't make sense as I do 90+% of my gaming at home, but for some reason I always get a twinge of excitement when I find out a game I want to play is coming to the Vita. In any case, it's so cool that a single system can play to our divergent gaming preferences! The Switch has some glaring flaws, but that single selling point almost outweighs them all.
I haven't finished The Witness either. I felt pretty guilty about that last year, but honestly at this point I'm happy never to play it again. Like you say, it's fairly designed and all that, but there can be times where the puzzles are too enamored with their own clever design or are simply too fiddly. (Top of mountain puzzle, I'm looking at you) It's a good game, no doubt, just not for me right now.
Great write-up. I especially liked the comparison to Diablo and Borderlands, as Fallout 4 leans a bit too much on the loot upgrade loop for it's propulsive force.
I think my main problem with the game was that it had all these systems, but never a holistic vision of what all these systems were working toward. Sure the combat is great, but now every side attraction is delivered mainly in the language of violence. Sure there's voice acting, but that seems to limit choices, and like you said, makes the endgame a binary pro or anti-Institute choice. It goes on and on (and don't get me started on the abundance of radiant quests!), but man I wanted to like that game a lot more than I did.
@veektarius: I think there could have been a better way to implement Batman. Not all of his characterizations have reduced him to somebody that simply hits people. He's also a master detective and strategist, and so perhaps if Telltale focused on those aspects and minimized fighting they may have made Batman's segments more compelling.
I also disagree that the Wayne family revelations shouldn't have affected Bruce. As I recall, nowhere in the plot do the authorities charge Bruce with anything, let alone for his parents' actions. Sure, the cops raid his home, but they make it very clear that they are only taking Wayne Corp computers and files as that is related to the ongoing investigation about his parents' mob ties. That's possibly judicial overreach, but not out of the realm of possibility. As for him losing CEO status at his company, that's a private matter for the board of directors who don't want to be associated with the Wayne family. Finally, Harvey's takeover of Wayne Manor is clearly the point where he really loses it and the story makes it clear what he's doing is illegal. None of this would be unfathomable in the real world.
@teddie: I don't recall ever saying that the QTEs were well implemented. The prompts are neatly integrated into the action, but that's about the only good thing I can say about them. But yeah, here's hoping that they maintain a more antagonistic relationship between Bruce/Batman and Gotham in season 2. It's just more interesting that way!
Thanks @slag for the shoutout! It's strange to see my screen name on someone else's GotY list, but I'm nevertheless glad I was able to guide you to a game you really liked.
Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE is a game I paid absolutely no mind to until it popped up on a whole bunch of people's year end lists, and now I'm intrigued. Warm up to Persona 5 you say? Why oh why does it have to be a Wii U exclusive!
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