yeah, i think with better writing it’d be a lot more fun.
combat is definitely not the attraction here, either way.
that’s a shame
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The same could be said of most games honestly
the vast vast majority of rpgs have better writing in their side stories and little one-offs than they do in the entirety of their main stories because they are entirely self-contained, so yeah.
it’s one of the things that planescape torment does well; it’s basically just a collection of self-contained vignettes on a theme. the actual ending is kind of irrelevant by the time you get to it, as evidenced by the fact that you can talk your way out of it.
The attempt to raise stakes usually backfires by undermining the only stakes I did care about
“Huh, I rescued these kittens from a pit, but now the main villain has vaporized the kittens’ entire planet”
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One way of framing why I especially like Another World’s narrative, for instance, is how small the stakes are. It’s just the one guy trying to save his own life and he’s not even trying to return to his home dimension, just to get out of immediate danger.
(I’m imagining an alternative shit version of Another World where it turns into the usual white savior narrative where he winds up saving the good aliens from the bad aliens)
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in the not-terribly-official sequel to another world, heart of the alien, the human guy just straight up dies.
it’s pretty great tbh
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Game writing has gotten much better in the past five years, I could probably name ten games since 2013 that have smarter and more fun scripts than all but ten games released in the three decades prior
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Name them please 
taste is objective obv
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Firewatch
Soma
Papers Please
Her Story
Witcher 3
Torment Numenera
Deadfire
Wolfenstein 2
Caves of Qud
Saints Row 4
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The Last of Us doesn’t make the cut?
I guess it’s fair to call it an acceptable script made into something special by first-rate mocap
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that was real close when I was glancing over my own list just now, it would’ve been top 12 or 15 for sure and I left it out mostly because it’s too obvious / a little flabby compared to the others (yes, all of them!)
My young niece is visiting, and I’ve tried to think of some good games to introduce her to. I had New Super Mario Bros. U sitting around and I thought that might be a good one to try despite my own aversion to it.
But right at the beginning, there are jumps that you can only make with a running start, plus lots of shifting platforms. So that was no good.
So I pulled out Kirby’s Epic Yarn instead, which is what I should have started with because I already knew it was a good game for kids and it’s one that I’ve always been impressed with myself. (I’ve never played it except occasionally with kids, so I haven’t seen much of the game. But I’ve seen enough to know that it has an R-Type-inspired stage near the end.)
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who are you
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.
pointing out that an opinion is an opinion isn’t necessarily saying anything?
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yes I agree that music peaked with this Aerosmith song and the music video for this Aerosmith song
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Saying “X is better than Y” is a different statement than saying “I like X more than Y” though.