Any weird/controversial opinions? I’ll start. Before the remake, the best version of Resident Evil 4 was the Wii version. The Wiimote controls old Resi’s tank controls better than any other controller at the time. The PC version had a bunch of little bugs and detractors that the Wii version just doesn’t have.
I’ll extend this by saying that the Wiimote is actually pretty damn good for shooters, and particularly good for accessibility. Not having to cramp up my hands to press buttons is awesome for having arthritis. Aiming with the Wiimote and moving with the nunchuck just feel really natural, you barely have to move your fingers for anything.
Most popular survival games (Minecraft, Valheim, Raft, Ark) are dull, unimaginative experiences that disrespect your time. I truly don’t get the appeal, other than if you’re a terminally online kid with nothing else going on. They promise this world of near-eternal fun and imagination, and then forget to develop fun mechanics, write a compelling story to give context to what you’re doing, give you goals, teach you how to play…
Raft is probably the worst example I can think of. What a crock of shit that game was. Zero tutorial, a terrible grind. Just lazy. You can softlock yourself in the first 30 minutes if you jump onto an island and let your raft drift away, because you can’t build a new raft, and all the game’s resources spawn around it for no good reason. The game has a Very Positive rating on Steam with over 200,000 reviews…
There are some obvious exceptions. Terraria is still so charming, and does away with the hunger/thirst/durability trappings of other survivals. I didn’t get too far into Subnautica, but it’s clearly a fresh idea and has an ambitious story. And y’know… I can’t be too hard on Minecraft, it’s iconic.
But the rest is just hollow and soul-crushing and in most cases unfinished. They’re punishing time-sinks disguised as a “world where you can do anything,” and the fact that so many go to bat for them really makes me grieve for people’s taste in games.
Hot take over… Woof, I need to lie down…
Raft solo, garbage. Raft with friends, wasn’t to shabby. But there’s no replay value. Most of the fun, is the fun you and your friends create, not the game itself (which is true for so many games)
