hansberg

Axiom Verge was a game that I should have loved, but it ended up so far short of my hopes that I find myself angry when I start to think about the game. So, this post made me angry. I accept that this is irrational. Maybe I had my expectations built a little high, but I'm not sure that's the problem.

The biggest issue for me was the map. I have played many adventure platformers, and the best ones leave some great visual cues as to there being areas that can be reached EVENTUALLY. See a platform out of reach? Then chances are that I'm going to get some ability (probably a double jump) that will get me there. See this wall that looks slightly off, almost doorway like? There's probably something that will open that. Or a locked gate, or an enemy that is impervious to my attacks at the moment. Something, direct or subtle, that offers a suggestion that I will be coming back "here", or circumventing that blockage in some other fashion. I may not know what that will entail right now, but I know that it's coming.

In Axiom Verge I often felt that sort of hint system to be lacking. There were occasions where I just felt stuck. I could see NO breadcrumb or hint of where I was supposed to go, or even capable of going. These were situations where it felt like I had exhausted the map. This led to the meandering, the wandering. Was there something that I had approached hours ago that I have simply forgotten? Was there something that I didn't recognize as a barrier that I could eventually overcome? This is not to say that the map that was constructed was entirely poor; but rather these are indications of what I perceive as critical mistakes that were made, and which sucked all of the enjoyment out of the experience. I should never feel like I have nowhere left to go until I can be satisfied that the game is pretty much over and that I truly have nowhere left to go except to approach that final bad guy.

I got lost at one point and wandered for literal hours until I just looked up where to go next, and it was an area that required some not at all obvious maneuvering to get to.

This sure did happen to me; and looking it up was not a joy in any way. This, especially because the game gives little direction, as you stated, and a player can sometimes reach areas in a different order than another player. It's not like I could ask "How do I reach 'X'?" when I don't even necessarily know what "X" is. That just resulted to skipping around walkthroughs (also for far too long) until I could finally spot something unfamiliar, and then work backwards to see how they got there.

I'm increasingly of the mindset that I don't necessarily want another entry in a franchise if it has been long enough between entries that I miss the franchise. Once upon a time if this question came up then I would have said Startopia. Then Kalypso announced Starbase Startopia, a game whose trailers rubbed me the wrong way entirely, was made by different people, and for which the reception has not been kind. I'd still like that kind of game: a space station simulator with a bit of a sense of humor and revels in the joy of interacting with new species in outer space. Space games can be so very gloomy, filled with dread and violence and lacking any joy of exploration or just being out there. Maybe I just don't need it to be Startopia by name.

As a more popular example, once upon another time I would have said SimCity. The last SimCity was, again, not very well received. Then came Cities Skylines which did mostly what I wanted a city builder to do. This emphasizes the point that it's just the style and/or genre of game that I missed... that I really don't need it to be "the next entry".

I suppose that I may feel differently with a more narrative focused game; but if enough time had passed then I would still have those concerns: if most of the previous team has moved on, or the franchise has changed hands entirely, then what would I even get?

How long ago did you play this game? That may help to narrow the number of possibilities.

To be clear, your argument here is that they hadn't already been discussing this for weeks or months in advance while analyzing sales numbers and running cost/benefit analyses? That they hadn't made a decision until a forum thread of a small handful of gamers popped up?

I mean, it's kind of you to suggest that the folks here have that level of influence; but this is highly unlikely.

Seems unlikely for a game that's over a year old. Stranger things have happened, I suppose.

@stantongrouse: Oh, yes, I hadn't thought of Cook, Serve Delicious. It's been a while since I played one, but that falls into this same category for me, too. Orders stacking up, stuff to keep an eye on, and I would just sit there, tapping on the keyboard, smile on my face, stress free.

There are games that I have often been able to rely upon to chill me out. Tetris is a big one for me. Simple mechanics, simple goal, only the briefest moments of tension that hardly matter in the long run. I feel good after playing Tetris. Especially Tetris Effect, of course, with the visuals and music setting my mind at ease. I could play Tetris and lose myself for hours.

Lonely Mountains: Downhill is similar in that regard. Quiet, natural ambience. Sure I may crash several dozen times before getting the route right, finding the shortcuts and what have you. Still, that game seems to have been made with relaxation in mind. The secret areas are even called Rest Areas and feature little more than your character sitting at a campfire, enjoying the environment. Another game that seems designed from the ground up to just let the player relax.

This isn't about those games, though. In fact, lately I've been playing Control. I've been playing Control for a few weeks. Still on my first playthrough. I'm fairly sure that I have blown past any estimate for which the game should have lasted. I may be nearing the end... I don't know. I tend to investigate every room, not necessarily in the pursuit of a side quest, not necessarily seeking combat, but just as an excuse to wander around The Oldest House. The same The Oldest House for which a terrible catastrophe is unfolding. People are getting possessed; angry, sometimes monstrous looking fellas are trying to kill poor Jesse; creepy people are acting creepily; and so on and so forth. The tone throughout is one of dread.

And yet...

Work has been incredibly stressful lately, and my go to relaxing game has been Control. Something about just hanging around that building, looking at the architecture, and the design, and the pseudo-70's/80s aesthetic of some areas. It soothes me, and my shoulders ache a little less, and my head stops throbbing. I usually need meditation for that. Some of that building even reminds me of times in my youth, hotels, museums, science centers, among other places. I look at some of the carpeting and think, 'yeah, that'd be nice in the basement. I wonder if I could tackle that next summer...?' Somehow, I've taken this tense, suspenseful title filled with mystery and death, and twisted it into a scenic exercise where I just take in the atmosphere of the building, sometimes reminisce, and sometimes plan my own home, and usually just breathe.

Are there any games that any of you are either currently playing or have played for which there is similarly no good reason why you should find it/them incredibly relaxing? Where you zone out, all of your worries melt away, even though the game is clearly designed to not do so to such an extent?

At $5, this is an easy "Go ahead and try it, you spend more on snacks" type of game for me. Thanks for pointing it out to me yesterday in the Discord, though I haven't had the opportunity to give it a whirl as of yet. It looks like a fun little homage to arcade games of yesteryear, straight down to the developer name Cruise Elroy.

Headlander

I enjoyed Headlander a lot, and I never hear anybody else talk about it. It wasn't the most deep of games, but it was a good time, and a good exploration platformer. I enjoyed hopping from body to body to achieve the goals, finding ways into the not-especially-hidden areas. Most of all, I enjoyed the setting.

Too often games that take place in outer space/the future are bleak, grim affairs. Everybody is trying to kill one another. Horrible creatures are doing horrible things. The mood is grim, the colors are grim. While there was violence in Headlander, it was a more light hearted take on the genre, and there was color in plenty. Basically, to me, a key element of the setting was 'space can be fun', which is too often missing from space based games. Traveling across the cosmos should leave a smile on someone's face, not terror over what is going to try and kill them next.