On Fri, 15 Apr 2022 16:42:41 -0500,
ant@zimage.comANT (Ant) wrote:
PW <iamnotusingonewithAgent@notinuse.com> wrote:
On Fri, 15 Apr 2022 10:33:40 -0400, Spalls Hurgenson
<spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:
Iris and the Giant
https://www.gog.com/game/iris_and_the_giant_deckbuilding_roguelike
Congrats on getting it in Spalls!
Well, I had to show all these young whippersnappers how it's done!
Why, were I to let this slide, the next thing you know they'd be
trampling all over my lawn, the young hoodlums! ;-)
I don't like cartoon looking games.
I don't mind that style, but a card game... I'll pass.
For me, it's a little bit of everything about the game that rubs me
wrong. Individually, I could play a game with any one (or even two or
three) of these features, but the whole combination? It's a bit much.
I mean... roguelike. I can tolerate it, but it's not a draw for me.
That genre tends to have too much fixation with repetition and
mechanics over story. Pass.
It's a Collectible Card games... I think I've explained my (admittedly illogical) distaste for the genre. Honestly, the cards themselves are
just a different format to buffs many other RPGs use, except you
collect them directly instead of finding weapons and armor that have
the associated powers. But the card-based them just rubs me wrong.
Pass.
The main character is a waif-like hero overcoming her emotional
turmoil by fighting fantastic monsters. I know I've bitched about this
before and, honestly, I don't have a problem with the archetype
itself... but it is so fucking overdone by Indie games that I've lost
all interest in it. Hard pass.
Which, of course is another issue in itself; it's an Indie title. I
know I moan about Indie games all the time, but honestly, I love that
they're being made. I'll be the first to admit they are an important
and necessary part of the games industry, as they frequently bring new
ideas to what is otherwise a very risk-averse enterprise. But at the
same time, their lack of resources and experience - not to mention the
sheer number of them coupled with Sturgeon's law - all but ensures
that the vast majority of Indie games are average at best (with most
lucky to achieve that level of mediocrity). With so many games
available to me already, I've no need (nor time) to try to find the
occasional hidden pearl, so I tend just to avoid them as a whole. So
even knowing I'll likely miss out on some great games this way, if I
hear it's an Indie title, it's likely I'll just let it pass on by.
And then, yeah, there are the visuals. I don't hate them (I don't love
them either) but they do absolutely nothing to engross me in the game.
They're utilitarian, and even though I'm sure a lot of work went into
them, feel almost lazy when other games offer so much more. They're
solid colors also remind me of the harsh palette of early CGA games. I
could endure the visuals if there were other features of the game that
appealed to me, but added to everything else I already don't like? No
thanks.
Plus, while it's difficult to tell without - you know - actually
playing the game, the world doesn't seem all that well developed and
cohesive. It's functional at best, serving the plot and theme of the
game without any attempt at making it feel like a real place. So
that's another negative.
But I'll be the first to admit, it's rather hypocritical of me to
complain,* seeing as I added it to my library regardless (for the
third time, apparently, seeing as I already owned it on Steam and
Twitch). But I really can't see myself ever playing the darn thing.
------------------------------------------
* Arguably, it is equally hypocritical to bitch about a game without
playing it too. I've no defense against that accusation either. Still
not gonna play it, though.
--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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