Skellymax

I talked about this with a friend. From what I’ve seen it’s about the spectacle. It might not have Dark Souls levels of technical and mechanical design mastery, but hot damn, the sheer fucking spectacle of it all!

I think that’s the genius of the game. It’s not meant to be a space for player to hone or practice their action RPG combat skills. It’s meant to blow their minds and make them feel powerful.

I’m not a fighting game fan myself, but I looooooove watching GGS.

It was the first time I was able to follow streamers as they began the game, worked at progressing, and slowly improved.

I’m in full “Starfield waiting room mode”. Between this and my job taking a large portion of my time I’m disinclined to fully invest in any game. I still spend a few of hours here and there, but it’s less focused and more just ‘dicking around’.

• WoW solocraft server is something I’ve been meaning to get setup for awhile. I tend to be a solo WoW player and the leveling process draws me more than endgame. The server I run is passable, but a little jenky. The space bar causes you to jump when underwater, global cooldowns have a hiccup delay, pet aggro functions incorrectly, etc.

• Xenoblade 2 has been on my list for awhile. For misc reasons I gave up on the game partway through in favor of watching the cutscenes movie-style. I still want to beat the game though. The game is complex and I’ve been trying to get advice on a methodology for playing the game’s systems. Until I get that help though I merely dabble with the game and tiptoe forward.

• Gregtech NH. It’s been a hot minute since I’ve run a minecraft mod pack. A friend mentioned them and I figured I’d do a bit of research and find what people consider to be a good one. GTNH is not new, but apparently it has had a long time to cook and is balanced and developed.

• BotW may not be the shiny new TotK, but it’s what I have. I didn’t 100% Tears, but I saw all the story content and beat it. My copy was borrowed so afterwards I returned it. Now BotW is all I have, but it’s still fun and an excellent ‘dicking around for an hour’ kind of game.

Bouncing between Xenoblade 2, WoW classic, BotW, and Gregtech. I have little time on weekdays- only an hour or two to screw around before work.

Haha. All lewd games are weird at times. I can appreciate how it’s one of those games (nsfw or otherwise) that has had a surprising amount of hours put into expansion/enhancement over the years in the same way that Dwarf Fortress, or Factorio have. I haven’t delved into it extensively myself. Also like DF and Factorio, it’s systems are surprisingly deep and complex. XD

Progression through practice works best in settings without any sort of enemy scaling. Is an area too dangerous? Go to a different area and level up. Come back to that dungeon later.

If the world has any sort of difficulty scaling it should use a progression through achievement system instead. I.E. exp for completing quests and defeating enemies.

I’m fine with either, and only want there to not be any PtP + scaling dissonance.

Do you enjoy other games in that vein/genre?

I’d love to see a big budget AAA low-res pixel art game, like what you’d see on a GBA.

Mad respect my dude. Got any recommendations? ;D

I’ll give my two cents for the classic CoC, and the shockingly good story of The Last Sovereign.

I’m a fan, but even I can admit that they can be fairly ‘typical fantasy saga’. What kinds of videogame stories do you like?

Games that I can immerse myself in. Things that do it for me are:

• A full and developed open world that has a compelling atmosphere to it. The kind of thing where you find yourself pausing to gaze across the scenery.
• Tantalizing mechanics or systems. The kind that draws your mind to ‘building’ even when not playing, that will cause you to unwittingly spend hours tinkering with, and gives you mirthful glee when you put it all together and can savor its power.
• Interesting story. One with tasteful complexity, good pacing, and exciting developments. The kind of story that compels me, let alone anyone is a whole separate question of its own.
• A canvas or foundation to allow me to develop identity and investment in my character/role. Playing a specific character can also be good, if that character is compelling.
• Core gameplay mechanics or loops that are fun in and of themselves. The kind that, were the game an alpha or proof-of-concept with no “game” beyond the graphic-less, progression-less minigame, you would still find yourself enjoying your time.
• Fulfillment of a compelling fantasy. Being a FEROCIOUS DRAGON, or an UNSTOPPABLE SPACE MARINE, or an ALMIGHTY GOD, or even just a simple human living a comfy life and being able to experience the breadth and limits of that fantasy.

I’m watching a playthrough, and based on what I’ve seen (I’m about halfway through I suspect) I have no interest in playing the game myself. The gameplay is far, far too mash-button-make-explosion with little thought needed for strategy or intelligent-fighting. That said, the combat is quite the spectacle and I easily see why others enjoy it. More than just this though, I’m really enjoying the story.

As for your worry about the future of the franchise; who can say. I’m in the camp that argues against the “this isn’t what final fantasy is” people by saying “final fantasy has always been different things”. Gameplay, visuals, tone, etc has always been evolving with each game. I’ll readily agree that the series has slowly been moving away from RPG mechanics though. The same thing is happening with other franchises too. I weep for what the Tales’ series newest ‘Tales of Arise’ became. I remember Symphonia, Abyss, and Vesperia being these tastefully deep RPGs where team comp, builds, and technique were key to victory. I have little doubt the pendulum will swing the other way someday, but until then I can at least watch my Final Fantasy movie while playing other games I do enjoy.