HOLY FRICKING SHIT.
So I just played a bit of dark wood a while ago, and after a while I just didn't want to play anymore. Playing on Hard Mode, the game is...interesting I like it even, but progression feels SOOOOO fricking slow and tedious. It made me realize how important progression is, for motivating you to keep going. I think what I realized with this game. Is that it doesn't have much to offer in what I consider the 4 core respects of videogames. Every game will handle this to varying degrees:
-Exploration
-Traversal
-Puzzle Solving/Problem Solving
and
-Skill based button pressing. Also known as..."gameplay"
This is very much a sum of its parts game, and I'd say while it's very weak in each of these individual parts, it's still a strong experience over all. I found myself very engrossed for the beginning. But it was nagging at me why I had zero desire to return to the game...and then it hit me.
THIS GAME IS LITERALLY JUST "Don't Starve" BUT SCARY AND DARK HOLY FRICK. LIKE BEAT FOR BEAT. WHY DID NOBODY TELL ME THIS? WTF.
I don't know what it is about "survival" games, but the concept always sounds AMAZING to me, but when I actually play them...they literally have no gameplay and progression OTHER than crafting and exploring and fighting so you can loot, and craft and explore and repeat. And frick. This is actually such an interesting topic to talk about, because there's a PERFECT game I just played not too long ago that ALSO has crafting, but it feels WAY more effective just because of how the core gameplay works. But the problem is that this board is fake and shallow, and superficial whereas it pretends it's open and values honesty...I'm barred from mentioning certain games or else I just get insults thrown at me.
Anyway. The point I wanted to make is that I can't even think of a "core" gameplay with Darkwood. I completely understand why some people love this game. But I guess...I just couldn't find anything to get invested in?
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 It's All Fucked Shirt $22.14 |
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FRICK FRICK FRICK. I actually have so much more to say, and that I want to talk about. Even if I didn't like the progression, I want to do a deep dive into why I didn't like the progression, with bouncing some ideas off other anon's who didn't, or don't like progression from Don't Starvelikes in general.
Another thing I wanted to mention is how INNACURATE I think lik3ening Darkwood to Silent Hill is. Now that I've played so many more other Horror games. I'm starting to realize that Silent Hill feels distinctly unique compared to all of them. Even just in the atmosphere department no game grabs me like it did...but the problem is that this is a contradiction for me. Because I'm a "gameplay over atmosphere" person by default, and so I actually feel hesitant and weak on any opinions I have about silent hill, because what if they're just arbitrary?
I've tried SO many atmosphere games, and have been motivated to enjoy so many of them, and I always bounce straight off them. But the popular one, with arguably EVEN LESS gameplay somehow got me? I don't get it. THIS is why I like videogame discussion THIS is why I want to have videogame discussion, so that I, WE, can tease out the little things, the quirks, and subtleties that MAKE videogame experiences and maybe find the value and flaw and personally measure them with reasonable arguments and such...
But I just remembered how foolish a desire this is on this board, and have come to my senses by the end of this post, that I am being naive, and let my impulse of coming to a "revelation" and understanding of my recent experience with my videogame, drive me to be eager to discuss it...
peace.
Did you ask chat gpt to write in the style of a zoomer YouTuber homosexual?
ha! Gottem!
gr8 b8 m8
>playing a game as a popular game combined with Silent Hill
Try Spec Ops the Line. It's Silent Hill + Gears of Wars.
it's kind of endearing see a fairly earnest thread on v for once but with did you have to make it sound like I'm reading the captions of a YouTube essayist
>it's kind of endearing see a fairly earnest thread on v for once but with did you have to make it sound like I'm reading the captions of a YouTube essayist
How else could I really word it though? I don't know, I just dumped my thoughts exactly as they were forming.
I deliberately try to give as much context, and reasoning for what led to my conclusion so that it doesn't just exist as the standard and meaningless "I just didn't have fun with the game". But serves as something that could actually you know...say something about the game? Give further understanding about how games are structured and how that affects the experience, and...yeah. I don't know. It just really matters to me. Because a lot of the times, it feels like people give shallow criticism or praise that doesn't really reflect anything, doesn't really give me any indication of how I should understand the game, or how it affects someone and then make my own judgements on whether that game is worth it. Or just whether in general if games should be made like that.
Frick idk man, my thoughts are definitely kind of disorganized, but I just like "seeing" what I can in videogames and understanding it. And I share those thoughts in hopes that people can add to and bolster them, or appreciate them and gain the same kind of understanding I feel I got...
That's a lot of words to say "I like the atmosphere but not the gameplay"
>I like the atmosphere but not the gameplay"
...But didn't I specifically say that I don't like and tend not to like atmosphere games, and I've tried so many (implying that DarkWood is one of them, or bringing up that fact wouldn't matter) and despite it all Silent Hill 2 is somehow the only one to ever leave an impression on me, despite arguably having EVEN less gameplay than all the other "atmosphere" games I played...
See, it's stuff like this that very much discourages me from wanting to effort post on this board. Because after a certain point. No offense, everybody feels too dumb on here to ever engage with, appreciate or reciprocate what I mean to say. And I'm sorry, I don't care if that sounds pretentious, im just tired of wasting my time just to get nothing out of it. The point of expressing my thoughts isn't just to be right, or I'd keep them to myself. It's to make people aware of something or understand it, and hopefully have people that can engage in discussion and give ME further insight related to what I proposed.
thanks for replying anyway I guess tho.
Nowhere in your post do you imply you don't like the atmosphere, even in this post. Calling me a moron because I summarized what you said is a bit c**ty no? I get that atmosphere is less important to you unless it really really clicks, as it did for you and silent Hill.
This game oozes atmosphere, maybe not one that clicked with you, that's whatever, opinions are opinions, and you hated the gameplay, I get that too which is why I didn't comment on it.
For me a real drag of dark wood is it's survival aspects are tedious. You get wood because you need to board up shit which breaks necessitating wood and gas. It sucks for effort to be zero sum. There's some side progression with injections and the exploration is awesome but still doesn't erase the tedium.
See here's the problem with your post and what you're trying to get: the parts people agree with will only end with an "I agree". Disagreement in something as unobjectionable as atmosphere will go nowhere, and being a dick about it will further discourage interaction.
Sorry up for shitting up your "mentions" whatever the hell you think that is, but trad the truth in this post to know why no one is even bothering to reply to this thread.
1) shorter posts. you bring up 40 things in a post don't be miffed when a post needling one or two correctly didn't address the other 38.
2) no random insults or references to previous posts that a new poster won't have a clue what the frick you're talking about
3) when people reply don't bring up other posts that have nothing to do with it. It also lessens engagement because I'm going to predict you'll dismiss this post and then badmouth me all thread. Like imagine being a third party to this. Would you like to reply to that guy and risk a negative epitaph for however many more post this clearly "passionate" person will post?
4) if you don't like this place, leave. That's not a slight against you. You seem genuinely miserable so don't...do that to yourself?
stick to last of us troon
Take your meds.
skill issue
>k. This is actually such an interesting topic to talk about, because there's a PERFECT game I just played not too long ago that ALSO has crafting, but it feels WAY more effective just because of how the core gameplay works. But the problem is that this board is fake and shallow, and superficial whereas it pretends it's open and values honesty...I'm barred from mentioning certain games or else I just get insults thrown at me.
What game? Don't be a pussy.
last of us 2 lmao
dil8 schizo
>Don't be a pussy.
You guys say disingenuous shit like this, then shit up my mentions every time I do. No, frick off. Until this place is unironically confined as a safe space from morons I won't.
Besides, the schizo already entered the thread, and another moron literally somehow misunderstood something spelled out. I'm remembering why I hate this place, don't feel like bothering anymore. Im already working on moving past this thread.
Anon please tell me I want to know, I won't shit on you.
Frick it, if OP won't name his 4x with good progression, somebody else name some good examples.
You know we won't judge you even if it's a porn game, right?
i tried to warn you he's literally mentally ill and it's impossible to argue with him, i'm just here for the shitposting because every single thread of his ends in shit flinging lol
I just finished jerking off so I might as well reply.
Plus I always think of the mentality ill as Terry Davis or a Christian Chandler. Maybe if they had a few more genuine replies and relationships it wouldn't have ended up like it did you know?
>I don't know what it is about "survival" games, but the concept always sounds AMAZING to me, but when I actually play them...they literally have no gameplay and progression OTHER than crafting and exploring and fighting
This. I love the concept of survival games, but every one I have played doesn't give me the feeling like I am actually "getting stronger".
I mostly agree but I liked the progression in Subnautica. Though it's not really about getting "stronger" (mostly) and moreso meeting all my needs and getting cool shit.
>I love the concept of survival games, but every one I have played doesn't give me the feeling like I am actually "getting stronger".
Could it be because a game needs genuine change to feel different, while most survival/RPG mechanics are used to pad content, the very opposite of what would make progression good?
I'm thinking of your typical AAA game where you "level up" 20+ times to get a 5% damage bonus on heavy attacks with axes.
Im not interested in reading this larp post but i will however sage your stupid thread
you can't sage since, like, 2011 grandpa
Sage still works it's just not visible anymore.
whatever you say
Bruh you can just check the thread's page number after you post and notice it hasn't bumped, it's not rocket science.
Progression is not a problem, the game can be cleared in 40 mins. If you felt progress was an issue why did you not just bee-line to the objectives?
Your complaints about gameplay, it's true that survival games get too into the numbers. You care less about the world and more about how many rags you have, which is never good. This again feels like it could have been solved if you chose to move faster.
The combat in this game is very engaging, not sure why you have trouble finding a type of gameplay to put Darkwood into. It covers plenty of ground but the actual combat is leagues above most horror games.