killamch89

GTA San Andreas - I mean you could go almost anywhere in-game. Go to the gym and train if you wanted to grow stronger - use skills repeatedly to develop your character. It gave you a sense of freedom in terms of what you wanted your character to be really good at.

That happens to me all the time in RPGs like The Witcher 3. I’d finish a quest, and I’d still be paranoid I missed a side quest or optional dialogue that could have changed the outcome. The scale of those games makes it tough to know when you’re truly done with something.

Not at all. I'm normally catch on to games pretty quickly so even as a novice, I tend to outperform people with a bit more experience than me.

Compare to 20-30 years ago, I'd say that game mechanics are much more simplistic - Back in the day, when you wanted to pull off combos in fighting games, you had to be pressing several buttons simultaneously and you had to time it or else you couldn't pull them off. Tekken and Mortal Kombat were guilty of this in the past.

I think it was maybe two or three at most. One of them was Star Wars Battlefront 2 and I can vaguely remember doing it two other times but I don't remember which games.

I think a big part of the shift is that studios are now taking the source material more seriously. In the past, video game adaptations were often treated like quick cash grabs without much respect for the game’s lore or fanbase. Now, creators realize there's a dedicated audience that wants authentic storytelling, and they’re hiring directors and writers who genuinely understand the games they're adapting.

I agree, Skyrim's landscapes still feel epic, especially with its use of atmospheric lighting and the contrast between nature and architecture. I’d add that games like Shadow of the Colossus and Okami have aged beautifully as well. Their unique art styles make them timeless in a way that realism often can’t match.

Some great ones are Dark Souls, The Witness, and Hollow Knight. Each of these games expects players to figure things out through trial and error or by exploring the environment. No tutorial pop-ups telling you what to do

I actually love Mass Effect: Andromeda. The story and character interactions really pulled me in, even though it got a lot of hate for its bugs and animations.

Narrative-driven RPGs like Disco Elysium are definitely ones to avoid spoilers for. The beauty of the game comes from how your choices influence the story, and spoilers can rob you of the surprise of how things play out based on what you decide.

One that comes to mind is The Pathless. It's technically open-world, but its areas are much more condensed than most, offering a tight, focused experience without the sprawling map bloat that many larger games have.

Personally, I think it's about finding the right balance, and it varies depending on the game’s design. Some games benefit from a more guided experience, where the developer's vision shines through, like The Last of Us. But others, like Breath of the Wild, thrive on giving players the freedom to solve problems in their own way. I think the best games allow a bit of both - guidance when needed, but freedom when possible.

Honestly, I'm not that thrilled because I played the original game years ago. All I want is some single-player DLCs for RDR2 - Is that too much to ask?!

As one of my favorite games to play of all time, I'm happy Alien Isolation is getting a sequel. I wonder if the story will have a new protagonist and how will the Aliens have survived. I thought that station blew up with all of them. Then again, those critters are quite stubborn.

Moonfall (Amazon Prime) - 8.5/10

Still playing Sparking Zero and honestly, I'm ass at the game. Yes, I won a couple of ranked fights but this game has so many mechanics and features that I have to learn. Once I learn to time them properly, I'll start to do much better. So far, I've for Hit and Frieza are my two best characters and that's kind of odd because their fighting styles are so drastically different.

I'm curious about the words we lean on the most in our everyday conversations. Whether it's a filler word like "um," a favorite phrase, or a term from your profession, I’d love to hear what it is and why you think you use it so frequently. Do you have a story behind it?

I love hearing about fresh finds, whether they’re books, music, technology, or even personal revelations. What’s something new you’ve discovered that blew your mind? It could be a hidden gem in your favorite genre, an insightful podcast, or a game-changer in your daily routine. Share your discoveries, and let’s inspire each other to explore new ideas and experiences.