Fabulously Olivier

Hardcore conservatives generally aren't literate enough to pick out subtext. If they were, they'd figure out that most of their favorite gaming franchises are hella woke.

That's fair, and I don't disagree. Though combat kind of is the main thing one does. And I don't actually think it's a limited niche. I think it's an untapped market.

I would be shocked if it's a better CRPG than Guild Wars was, but I will absolutely keep an open mind. My plan for the future is probably Drow Monk - way of the shadows. Might mix in some Rogue or Warlock as a multiclass. It's a great representation of my personal roleplaying character.

Money's tight in hell year 2023, so I haven't really purchased any new games at full price, but I look forward to playing this eventually. Deep CRPGs with tons of buildcraft are my thing. Guild Wars 1 is still my favorite game of all time. And Larian is a developer I just wholeheartedly admire and respect. They're one of the only developers not afraid to make RPGs that make you think, and reward your creativity.

They ought to make a stealth horror game where you must avoid Morgana telling you to go to bed. Also, I chose Makoto in my first playthrough, as I liked her a lot and it just felt canon.

I think that following walkthroughs/advice only dimenishes your enjoyment of the game, honestly. A lot of the fun of the time management/social side of the game is that it's where all the spontaneous gameplay/surprises happen, whereas the dungeon crawling is more linear and predictable. Darts and billiards are pretty big additions to Royal though. You can play darts correctly to get 2 characters to max Baton Pass in one day, and billiards can increase your technical damage.

Well uh, let's just say you're way more observant than I am and caught something important.

I will almost certainly have Soul Hackers 2 and Borderlands 3 cleared by the end of the month, so I'm posting them in my monthly list and I'll just update with clear dates. 33. Dusk Diver (Cleared 7/4) 6/10. So, this one draws interesting comparisons to Dynasty Warriors, Persona, and Yakuza (though Persona only because of social links and aesthetic). I've heard people say that it's more Warriors and the Yakuza comparisons are a stretch, but I'd actually like to assert that it's the opposite. Yes, it uses Light/Heavy combos like a musou game. You know what else does? Yakuza. Yes, it has pretty high enemy counts? You know what else sometimes does? Yakuza. And those enemy counts are much closer in number and individual durability to what is normal for a Yakuza game than to a Warriors game. And that comparison makes it easier to accept what the game is. Because a Warriors game with a single playable character would suck ass, even if it was only 8 hours long. This is why Berserk and the Band of the Hawk is such a low tier musou. But as a Yakuza style game, this is more normal. As this kind of game, it's... serviceable. Yumo is a likeable enough female protagonist, the support cast is unremarkable but endearing enough. Some of the side quests are quirky and kinda memorable. Exploring the city can be fun. The stage designs are pretty basic, and the whole collect-a-thon aspect isn't too bad because you'll easily find enough dragon vein shards in the city to progress with minimal effort. Yumo's moveset is a mixed bag. I generally only found myself using the full light string, and the rapid hit Strong V, because everything else was too slow and ineffectual, and moved too much. But Yumo is secondary because the most effective part of your kit is easily summoning the 3 supporting characters to do attacks for you. Yumo's attacks are just a means to generate energy to use them. If I were to sum it up, nothing about this was great or worth full price, but at a bargain bin cost, it also wasn't a bad use of my time. 34. Persona 5 Royal (Cleared 7/7) 10/10. Persona 5 was already one of my 10/10 games. It is a game with stellar combat, story, characters, soundtrack, and UI. This version improves upon nitpick complaints I had while adding new content. The result is an even better package. That said, Kasumi adds nothing to the story, Akechi's new content is pretty uninteresting because he's become a shallow character, and neither are playable for long enough to make a real difference. The new palace is great, but the chill vibes really make it feel more like a midgame dungeon than a climactic finish, which could arguably make the OG release hit harder. 35. Outriders (Cleared 7/9) 6/10. So, this one is a game that got worse the longer I played. It started out as a fast, fun, impactful third person shooter that I had an immensely fun time with. But here's the thing. It expects you to ramp up world tiers quickly and constantly, which causes the game to rapidly become more difficult than its ungenerous loot drops allow you to tackle. If you lower the game to a comfortable difficulty, your drops will be downleveled far beneath what you already have. In an extreme case, my first legendary gun was half the strength of the guns I was wielding two rarity tiers lower. Basically, I was only able to enjoy the game by giving up on the looter aspect of this looter shooter and racing to the end on a low difficult to experience the full dumb-but-enjoyable story. I see why this game has still not turned a profit, and I'm not sad about it either, even as a fan of this much-maligned genre. 36. Infamous 2 (Cleared 7/16) The definition of a 7/10 game. Fun enough but shallow, lacking in variety. It's a very early open world sandbox with the potential to be way more than it is. Cole is an unexceptional protagonist, and I think he held back the franchise. His powers are one-dimension, and he has the personality of sandpaper. A special middle finger to the story though. 37. For Honor Campaign (Cleared 7/17) Unscored. I am withholding the score because the game is bluntly not what I wanted it to be, and I cannot score it objectively. I wanted a game with slow, defensive combat where you carefully block, parry, and attack with the game's directional block system. I got a fast dueling game with stupidly spammable guard breaks and unblockables. I wanted a big faction war where your choice of faction mattered. I got a glorified Soul Calibur where factions don't matter, and the Viking players always win anyway. 38. Yakuza 6 (Cleared 7/23) 8/10. So, my Yakuza journey is finally over until they add more games to the subscription service. Good. I need the break. This was my biggest gaming undertaking in a long time, and it was worth it. The story, gameplay, setting, and emotions of this franchise are all so wonderful and detailed, and I haven't gotten this sense of scope and continuity from anything since the Trails series. This was at one point meant to be the end of Kiryu's journey, and if it had been, I think it would have been a fitting one. It was an effective tying together of all of his prior conflicts. Needs more Akiyama though. 39. Soul Hackers 2 (Cleared 7/25) 6/10. Great combat, an effective twist on the Megaten formula. Basic map design. Boring story. A weirdly non-existent/ambient soundtrack. Mostly unexceptional characters. I like Saizo though. He's fun. Overall, it's easy to tell that this is from the TMS FE team, but it is also significantly weaker than TMS FE. 40. Borderlands 3 (Cleared 7/27) 8/10. This game interrupted my rotation because it's leaving the subscription. But I'm not mad. It's fun. The gameplay and mechanics make so many great improvements to the prior games. Individual loot and scaling are both wonderful additions that I never want to co op without again. Also, the loot is more generous, which is good. Skill trees are a bit more complex too. Also good. The main flaw isn't actually the story, but the characters. Yes, Ava is annoying but she's honestly barely in it so whatever. It's easily the Calypso twins that hold the game back, and did major damage to the franchise. They suck, they're obnoxious, and I hate them. Worst villains ever. Other games being played: Diablo 3, Diablo 2 Resurrected, and Diablo Immortal. Yes, all 3 at once. But the context for each is different. 3 as co op and for fun. 2 Resurrected a bit at a time to clear and uninstall. Immortal during lunch breaks, trips, etc. to clear and uninstall. Kingdom Hearts 3 - this one was started in my rotation before Borderlands 3 forced its way in. It will be resumed when I am done. Neo the World Ends with You - a bit at a time, rarely. I'm not in love with it, so it's just a little palette cleanser after I finish multiple other games in my rotation.

I uh, think it depends on the game. I do value remakes and remasters, but I think they necessitate a few questions. How old is the game? Is it still viable on modern platforms? Why did you remaster The Last of Us for the 2nd time? No, seriously. Fucking why? Does the game deserve a remake/remaster? A game that is a candidate for some R&R should ideally be a timeless classic, an important piece of gaming history, or part of ongoing storyline of a franchise that HAS become important, and really worth preserving. Basically, no Bubsy. No Superman 64. And to the Dynasty Warriors community, stop asking for 3-5 remakes. They don't deserve it. Does the game need a remake or a remaster? Or just an hd port? I don't think we should be putting more resources into preserving games than they need. If a game can be great with just a remaster and quality of life improvements, do that and move on to the next big thing. Basically, Path of Radiance was already a masterpiece and I would be thrilled with just graphics, animations, and QoL. More than that and you're taking time and money from building the future of the franchise.

Small and utilitiarian. Have a camp with all of the necessary progression features in one small area, no instances, no loading screens. And then if you want to have social/non-gameplay features, those can be put further away or in instances.

So for a Fire Emblem Diablo-like, I'm imagining a character creation system like Awakening/Fates, for characters divided into some core, iconic classes. Fighter The Barbarian of traditional Diablo. Encompasses the myrmidon, soldier, and fighter classes, and can promote into a Hero, Knight, or Berserker. All of which can use all 3 normal weapons. The Hero is more of an all-rounder, the Knight is more of a tank with slow, heavy hits, and the Berserker is a glass cannon. Rogue Encompasses the archer and thief, and promotes to either an Assassin, Trickster, or Ranger. The Assassin is more mobile, evasive, and glass cannon. The Trickster mixes in support and magic. The Ranger is more of a normal archer and close range medium fighter. Mage Encompasses anima and dark, and promotes to Sage, Mage Knight, or Druid. The Sage is a fragile but versatile spell caster. The Mage Knight focuses on magic and melee tanking. The Druid is a dark magic/nature all rounder, and can even transform into beasts. Priest Encompasses light magic and melee weapons, promoting into either a Saint, Monk, or Holy Knight. The Saint is the spellcaster with heavy support capabilities. The Monk is an all-round melee, support, and holy smiter with quick strikes and evasion. The Holy Knight is a traditional Diablo Paladin/Crusader. Rider Encompasses cavalier, pegasus knight, and wyvern rider. Each gets their own skill tree. Promoting into Paladin, Wyvern Lord, and Falcon Knight. These classes are all really mobile, but come with more weaknesses. The horse riders are more rounded, while the wyvern riders are slower and more durable and the pegasus knights are quicker and more evasive.

Yeah, Prototype should also come back. I personally quit the first one because of the helicopter mission, but the actual superhero sandbox was very fun.

It's prime time for a sequel, honestly now that the collection is out. For those wanting more of this game style, someone recommended One Step From Eden and it looks pretty good. Anyway, I'd like to see Rampage rebooted. Keep the main 3 monsters, take some of the best ones from previous games, add some new ones, and add in some new mechanics so it isn't just the arcade experience. Maybe work in some platforming. And price it accordingly. If Streets of Rage and Double Dragon can command 20 dollars, why not Rampage? And another one would be Jade Cocoon. As a more open-forest Legends Arceus type experience. Use that Ghibli art style for a real Breath of the Wild monster catcher.

Perhaps I should say that is unfair to call out one series for being mindless, when other series get a total pass. Diablo is also mindless when it comes to the gameplay. Arguably more mindless. No one calls out Diablo for it. No one should call Diablo out for it. It's kinda the point, and it's fun. But some series hold a terrible reputation while others hold a prestigious reputation despite having the same flaw. Anyway, I digress and add another entry. Assassin's Creed... again. Honestly, the franchise is just an excuse to explore history with badass hooded characters. So, drop the modern day stuff, drop all the reincarnations and gods, and everything else, and just make it a historical romp.

I'm sure it can be deep in certain fights. But uh, generally, it really is a one button melee system with a rather janky menu navigation for spells, and the occassional contextual finisher/form change/whatever. I am now obligated to reject discourse that DW is mindless, when KH and Fable both became popular on literal one button melee combos.

What franchises could really use a reboot? Any dead/dormant franchises that could really take off if they returned today? Any ongoing franchises that have a lot of baggage and really need a breath of fresh air? I've got a few: Infamous So, Infamous 1 and 2 are very 7/10 games. Just having a superhero sandbox back then was novel, but Cole's power set is limited/one-note, he has the personality of burnt toast, and the games were pretty average-at-best Ubisoft-style open cities. The much needed Second Son followup received flak, and I guess that's because people weren't ready for a change of protagonist. But I think 3rd times the charm here. Superheroes are big. The superhero sandbox is a well-known quantity now. Sucker Punch's own dev skills have increased quite a bit with Ghost of Tsushima. And this franchise has so much room to grow. I'm imagining one of these games with a custom player hero and a more nuanced/interactive moral choice system, and that concept is exciting. Kingdom Hearts The story of this franchise is notoriously gibberish, and much of it is tied up in deeply mediocre spinoff games. Basically, a reset of the world with a back-to-basics story feels needed. And you could also take this chance to make the combat deeper, add a dedicated Final Fantasy party member in addition to Donald and Goofy, etc. Shining Needs a de-boot. This series had some pedigree as an SRPG once with the Shining Force games, and it should go back to its roots.

Arkham Knight is a bad game. It basically gatekeeps a tiny portion of the glorious Arkham Asylum/City experience behind way, way too many shitty Batmobile segments. Basically all of the side content is races or barely functional car physics puzzles. You can't explore the city without running into drones that have to be killed with the bat tank. And even the main story frequently interrupts the fun to have you go back to the Forza mines. And the car controls like shit. It's just way too fast and has no handling. Basically, I fucking hate this game, and I dislike people who try to downplay how much the Batmobile actually factors into/ruins the game.

Even for shooters, my personal preference remains third person, because the ability to know one's position is important to me, and these games tend to be better at mobility. But yeah, first person is fine for shooters. As far as games I'd otherwise have been interested in, but passed on because of the perspective... Cyberpunk 2077.

As they should be. Followup unpopular opinion. First person is incredibly limiting for games, and WILL lower the quality of melee combat, even if there is also a third person option. It's largely to blame for the weakness of Bethesda's melee and magic combat.

My unpopular opinion is that Bethesda's games have always been mediocre. Even before Fallout 76 made it popular to hate on them. They all have terrible combat. They are all poorly balanced. They all have shallow RPG build systems. They all have more bugs than the beds of a 1 star hotel. We looked past it back then because no one else was doing singleplayer open world rpgs of that scope, but now they're a dime a dozen, and Bethesda is no more interesting than the likes of Ubisoft.

So, here's an opinion that is probably only unpopular in specific circles... A few meaningful skill choices is WAY more impactful than a bunch of small ones. Choosing my skills and runes in Diablo 3 is deeper and more flexible in practice than assigning stat points and skill ranks in Diablo 2. Marvel Heroes was better AFTER its controversial Omega update that killed the game shifted from the skill-ranks system to branching skill choices. People just gave it flak because you can never overhaul an existing system without angering the community, even if the new one is loads better.

Oh, no. It's still prevalent and annoying now, and I consider them to be among the worst fanbases, alongside the likes of such notorious bases as League of Legends and Sonic. (That said, right now, it's the Sonic one that's annoying me the most as there is a rather persistent redditor who keeps rolling alt accounts to send me lovely death threats and harassment for saying I didn't like Sonic once. But I digress).

Okay, here's an unpopular opinion. Souls is just Monster Hunter for people who need to be reassured that they are in fact the leetest of gamers.

Saying a game has great mod support is almost always a massive turn-off. It usually equates to a game being a boring, broken mess if you don't install and organize dozens of mods or more. Looking at you, Bugthesda.

See, the problem with that is that they already had a solution for people who wanted the archaic experience. The game offers toggles for Classic and Expansion, in addition to the Normal/Hardcore, Non-Ladder and Ladder, etc. Why couldn't they just offer Traditional and Modernized experiences in the same toggle. The modernized version offering improved inventory, higher drop rates, sped up xp gains, etc. Then there's things like removing genderlocking which uh... Just do it. Those who want to play the original versions of the characters can just pick the original version of the character.