I came across lots of people that needed help (or were trying to ambush me).
I would have enjoyed more side threads a'la Lisa though.
I went from being annoyed to charmed at how many ways they could dress up the same character model for the "Dude who needs saving." They didn't even vary his actor or lines, just put him in t-shirt and jeans one day and full mask and leathers raider gear the next.
Hmm yea the tech issues alone are going to take a lot away from it. Even if the gameplay were absolutely perfect and it was the best story the tech issues cannot be ignored. I think it would be hard to even give it a 9 at that point due to how rough it was sometimes. And that stuff doesn't really lower my personal enjoyment. I don't really care much about framerate and stuff but that doesn't mean that it can just be ignored. So whether it bothered me or not I'd have to take some off there. If everything else was perfect I still think it couldn't pass 8.5 as it currently stands.
I do disagree about the bike though. It really didn't feel particularly special. And the physics were all sorts of janked up. And then the bike was also another major part of the tech issues. When you have all the upgrades the world chugs A LOT when trying to cruise around. Which immediately takes away from how good it should feel.
Also I feel like it was another example of something that they wanted to do so much more with but didn't have the time. Other than paint options the bike is basically always going to look the same. It seemed like it was going to be more of a customizable thing but most of the upgrades were just set power upgrades. But then they were a very small amount of alternate upgrades sprinkled in. It seemed like they wanted there to be more there but just couldn't quite get there.
And for me 7/10 isn't low. And it shouldn't be considered low ever. That's definitely a common issue with gamer perception. 7/10 is good. It's not great, it's not incredible. But it is good. In this case it has moments of greatness and strong high points. But also has a bunch that feels unfinished and some real rough tech issues that can take away from the overall experience.
Tech issues popped up for me in the southern zone after hours of uninterrupted play - major texture loading problems, resolved by a restart, but that was all I really noticed. There's texture pop, sure - even in cutscenes - but outside of needing to restart when my console got too hot, it never harmed my experience.
Fun Factor is always my principal concern in any game, and while design and tech issues definitely play a part in that experience, whether or not my fun is genuinely harmed by those issues is the only question. That's why Galak-Z on Switch is a 0/10. It's a Roguelike with regular crashes that send you back to square one. A Roguelike that crashes is a non-functioning product, even if Galak-Z in terms of feel of play and design is a 9/10 for me.
Days Gone is a game with a lotta' heart - a surprising amount, to me - and that's huge. Camp progression is wonky, you aren't incentivized enough in the early game to go horde hunting, you can max out your skill trees well before the game ends just by completing missions as they come (in my experience) - there are some design problems, but
it nails the core fantasy - you are a moody biker after a zombie apocalypse, and you have to scrounge to survive.
you're a Bad Motherfucker with a heart of gold!
its melee combat needs work, but the gunplay and motorbike feel awesome to me. (I really didn't get any chugging when I'd maxed out the bike - it was just wheeeee!)
the story has moments of weak writing (Deke's speech at the end? Useless!), but overall I was amazed at how involved it got me. I love Deke and Boozer and Rikki and everyone who sells me gear in camps.
fighting Hordes is fuckin' awesome. This is a concept that shouldn't work as well as it does but it worrrrks.
I agree that a 7/10 is not a bad game - Grin's Bionic Commando, Artificial Mind & Movement's WET, American McGee's Alice: Madness Returns are the best examples of good 7/10s - and this is better than those. By a wide margin. A very wide margin.
I need a sequel and I really hope that based on what I've read about the game's sales in europe and asia, it's already in the works and it has all the rough patches sanded down to a smooth, glossy sheen.
Chance on
'Chance, you are the best kind of whore.' -Henroid
I came across lots of people that needed help (or were trying to ambush me).
I would have enjoyed more side threads a'la Lisa though.
I went from being annoyed to charmed at how many ways they could dress up the same character model for the "Dude who needs saving." They didn't even vary his actor or lines, just put him in t-shirt and jeans one day and full mask and leathers raider gear the next.
Dude Who Needs Saving really milked his 20 seconds of fame lol.
'Chance, you are the best kind of whore.' -Henroid
+2
DemonStaceyTTODewback's DaughterIn love with the TaySwayRegistered Userregular
Hmm yea the tech issues alone are going to take a lot away from it. Even if the gameplay were absolutely perfect and it was the best story the tech issues cannot be ignored. I think it would be hard to even give it a 9 at that point due to how rough it was sometimes. And that stuff doesn't really lower my personal enjoyment. I don't really care much about framerate and stuff but that doesn't mean that it can just be ignored. So whether it bothered me or not I'd have to take some off there. If everything else was perfect I still think it couldn't pass 8.5 as it currently stands.
I do disagree about the bike though. It really didn't feel particularly special. And the physics were all sorts of janked up. And then the bike was also another major part of the tech issues. When you have all the upgrades the world chugs A LOT when trying to cruise around. Which immediately takes away from how good it should feel.
Also I feel like it was another example of something that they wanted to do so much more with but didn't have the time. Other than paint options the bike is basically always going to look the same. It seemed like it was going to be more of a customizable thing but most of the upgrades were just set power upgrades. But then they were a very small amount of alternate upgrades sprinkled in. It seemed like they wanted there to be more there but just couldn't quite get there.
And for me 7/10 isn't low. And it shouldn't be considered low ever. That's definitely a common issue with gamer perception. 7/10 is good. It's not great, it's not incredible. But it is good. In this case it has moments of greatness and strong high points. But also has a bunch that feels unfinished and some real rough tech issues that can take away from the overall experience.
Tech issues popped up for me in the southern zone after hours of uninterrupted play - major texture loading problems, resolved by a restart, but that was all I really noticed. There's texture pop, sure - even in cutscenes - but outside of needing to restart when my console got too hot, it never harmed my experience.
Fun Factor is always my principal concern in any game, and while design and tech issues definitely play a part in that experience, whether or not my fun is genuinely harmed by those issues is the only question. That's why Galak-Z on Switch is a 0/10. It's a Roguelike with regular crashes that send you back to square one. A Roguelike that crashes is a non-functioning product, even if Galak-Z in terms of feel of play and design is a 9/10 for me.
Days Gone is a game with a lotta' heart - a surprising amount, to me - and that's huge. Camp progression is wonky, you aren't incentivized enough in the early game to go horde hunting, you can max out your skill trees well before the game ends just by completing missions as they come (in my experience) - there are some design problems, but
it nails the core fantasy - you are a moody biker after a zombie apocalypse, and you have to scrounge to survive.
you're a Bad Motherfucker with a heart of gold!
its melee combat needs work, but the gunplay and motorbike feel awesome to me. (I really didn't get any chugging when I'd maxed out the bike - it was just wheeeee!)
the story has moments of weak writing (Deke's speech at the end? Useless!), but overall I was amazed at how involved it got me. I love Deke and Boozer and Rikki and everyone who sells me gear in camps.
I agree that a 7/10 is not a bad game - Grin's Bionic Commando, Artificial Mind & Movement's WET, American McGee's Alice: Madness Returns are the best examples of good 7/10s - and this is better than those. By a wide margin. A very wide margin.
I need a sequel and I really hope that based on what I've read about the game's sales in europe and asia, it's already in the works and it has all the rough patches sanded down to a smooth, glossy sheen.
Oh yea. When giving a number I'm not trying to give it a "how it was for me grade". I don't feel like numbers have much of a purpose in that situation. Someone out in the world probably absolutely loves a garbage fire game. And if they had the most fun with that garbage fire game then it is a 10 for them. But that makes that number kinda useless at that point.
If I'm talking about numbers I am trying to give it an overall score as much as possible. Your own likes and dislikes are always going to affect that on some level but for me it's about trying to look at the overall package as much as I reasonably can.
It's why I will separate my favorite games from the best games I've played. Some of my favorite games, and thus the games I've had the most fun with, have huge flaws and I will rate lower then other games that were just plain better. I feel like if discussing numbers the main goal should be using that number to give a general idea to another person. And then in conversation can break down further details. But if I grade on my own personal fun experience then that number isn't very useful to anyone else other than myself.
...if I grade on my own personal fun experience then that number isn't very useful to anyone else other than myself.
Disagree! The closer one gets to a perfectly impartial review, the closer that review comes to "in conclusion, Days Gone is a video game."
Going in the opposite direction opens the door to absolutely useless goddamn reviews like that dude who said Incredibles 2 was bad because Mrs. Incredible was givin' him a semi - but now we know never to listen to that guy about another movie, ever. It's like when IGN gives a game 8/10. Who cares? It's fucking IGN. I wanna' know what Destructoid, Easy Allies and Eurogamer think, because I trust their opinions. I don't trust their measurements because there is no ruler for how much someone enjoyed a video game - I trust their feelings on the subject.
How much pleasure a game provided you, personally, is not just an important question - it's the only question. The rest - the graphics, the writing, the voice work, the gameplay, the design, the production values, the bugs, the problems - that's minutiae, that's fine-grit detail that fleshes out the reader's understanding of what to expect. Those details can totally inform and explain why we feel the way we do, but a game is a thing that we play and its core function is to bring joy in all its weird forms. We can't accurately measure that - we can only express how something made us feel, and how much value we're prepared to assign it.
How beautiful we find a game's graphics is not an impartial thing. It's subjective. Interpretation, reaction to art is subjective. All we have is our own perspective, and if we raise our voices people will decide on their own if we're Easy Allies and worth lending an ear to, or if we're The Dude Who Wants To Bang Helen Parr and maybe I don't care what he thinks about Zootopia 2.
There are practically infinite options for people to get a general idea of what to expect of a video game, and it tends to begin and end with those numbers - but there's only one place they can find your opinion, and if they seek it out, that's what they value.
This is where you link your byline at RPS or something and shut me up lol.
...I should start writing reviews again. But who has the time?
'Chance, you are the best kind of whore.' -Henroid
+1
DemonStaceyTTODewback's DaughterIn love with the TaySwayRegistered Userregular
but there's only one place they can find your opinion, and if they seek it out, that's what they value.
I think you are taking my statement to too far of an extreme if you are saying this. This is exactly why I specified that if we are talking about numbers alone it is important to look at the big picture. Anyone looking for all of your opinions and thoughts still gets them.. in the words you write.
And I'm pretty sure that the examples you gave above of places you trust take into consideration more than just purely their own fun when they actually review a game. They discuss all the values and information that they think a reader would want to know, and considering the vast amount of readers that all have different sets of wants and needs that becomes a large and varied amount of information. That doesn't prevent someone from talking about the specific things they personally enjoyed. And it is a very important part of a reader being able to understand a review to discuss and mention those things.
Also you must note not every reader knows each and every writer and each of their likes and dislikes. Any good professional reviewer knows that and will write with that in mind as well. So say I really personally love jump scares. That is something I specify in my writing. I don't just say that the scares are great and will keep everyone on their toes. Because then only I and readers who know this specific fact about me can understand that and I may mislead people. If I mention that the game relies primarily on jump scares but I actually love those so it was never a problem for me now I have given the reader a broader bit of information to draw their own conclusion from but still discussed my own personal likes and opinions.
The words that come with the number are obviously super important. But if the number can't be understood at all without the words then the number itself doesn't serve a purpose and the review should be just the words.
+1
DemonStaceyTTODewback's DaughterIn love with the TaySwayRegistered Userregular
Also I just want to say it's always fun getting to actually discuss this stuff!
My original life plan was to get into game reviews and even got my first degree in Journalism with that in mind.
Then I realized I'd be overworked and underpaid so went a different route but it's still super fun to talk about, so thank you!
@Chance, stop evangelizing. Some of us have wallets to think about.
Edit: Is the story personal in the same way as, say, Spider-Man was? Because that's a high bar for me. I loved the way SM took these grand stories, not at all rooted in reality, and made them so personal and grounded. Is that kinda what Days Gone does?
Edit: Is the story personal in the same way as, say, Spider-Man was? Because that's a high bar for me. I loved the way SM took these grand stories, not at all rooted in reality, and made them so personal and grounded. Is that kinda what Days Gone does?
Moreso I'd say, but with a lot less of the charming conversational gettin'-to-know-you bits. It's very much about Deacon's evolution.
@Chance, stop evangelizing. Some of us have wallets to think about.
Edit: Is the story personal in the same way as, say, Spider-Man was? Because that's a high bar for me. I loved the way SM took these grand stories, not at all rooted in reality, and made them so personal and grounded. Is that kinda what Days Gone does?
Some similarity, but I think the best comparison is that the writing and flow feel like a serialized TV show. The core cast get their own episodes via missions, and the different maps feel a lot like new seasons.
@Chance, stop evangelizing. Some of us have wallets to think about.
Edit: Is the story personal in the same way as, say, Spider-Man was? Because that's a high bar for me. I loved the way SM took these grand stories, not at all rooted in reality, and made them so personal and grounded. Is that kinda what Days Gone does?
Some similarity, but I think the best comparison is that the writing and flow feel like a serialized TV show. The core cast get their own episodes via missions, and the different maps feel a lot like new seasons.
Good way to put it!
'Chance, you are the best kind of whore.' -Henroid
Ok, I don't mean to necropost, hope this ok to revive.
I've been playing this game really since release, but I'm pretty slow. Usually just an hour or two per day, and sometimes I'll go 5 days or so between sessions.
So anyway!
Last night, I was in the Crater Lake area, and decided to finish off the college. I had already gotten all the nests, but didn't know there was a horde there. And funny enough, the game didn't know that either! I'm cruising around, and get around to putting the fuse in, and that's when the horde spawns. About 10m away from me. Just, what? 200 freakers? appearing about 2m off the ground and pouring out towards me.
Whoops!
Posts
I went from being annoyed to charmed at how many ways they could dress up the same character model for the "Dude who needs saving." They didn't even vary his actor or lines, just put him in t-shirt and jeans one day and full mask and leathers raider gear the next.
Tech issues popped up for me in the southern zone after hours of uninterrupted play - major texture loading problems, resolved by a restart, but that was all I really noticed. There's texture pop, sure - even in cutscenes - but outside of needing to restart when my console got too hot, it never harmed my experience.
Fun Factor is always my principal concern in any game, and while design and tech issues definitely play a part in that experience, whether or not my fun is genuinely harmed by those issues is the only question. That's why Galak-Z on Switch is a 0/10. It's a Roguelike with regular crashes that send you back to square one. A Roguelike that crashes is a non-functioning product, even if Galak-Z in terms of feel of play and design is a 9/10 for me.
Days Gone is a game with a lotta' heart - a surprising amount, to me - and that's huge. Camp progression is wonky, you aren't incentivized enough in the early game to go horde hunting, you can max out your skill trees well before the game ends just by completing missions as they come (in my experience) - there are some design problems, but
I agree that a 7/10 is not a bad game - Grin's Bionic Commando, Artificial Mind & Movement's WET, American McGee's Alice: Madness Returns are the best examples of good 7/10s - and this is better than those. By a wide margin. A very wide margin.
I need a sequel and I really hope that based on what I've read about the game's sales in europe and asia, it's already in the works and it has all the rough patches sanded down to a smooth, glossy sheen.
Dude Who Needs Saving really milked his 20 seconds of fame lol.
Oh yea. When giving a number I'm not trying to give it a "how it was for me grade". I don't feel like numbers have much of a purpose in that situation. Someone out in the world probably absolutely loves a garbage fire game. And if they had the most fun with that garbage fire game then it is a 10 for them. But that makes that number kinda useless at that point.
If I'm talking about numbers I am trying to give it an overall score as much as possible. Your own likes and dislikes are always going to affect that on some level but for me it's about trying to look at the overall package as much as I reasonably can.
It's why I will separate my favorite games from the best games I've played. Some of my favorite games, and thus the games I've had the most fun with, have huge flaws and I will rate lower then other games that were just plain better. I feel like if discussing numbers the main goal should be using that number to give a general idea to another person. And then in conversation can break down further details. But if I grade on my own personal fun experience then that number isn't very useful to anyone else other than myself.
Disagree! The closer one gets to a perfectly impartial review, the closer that review comes to "in conclusion, Days Gone is a video game."
Going in the opposite direction opens the door to absolutely useless goddamn reviews like that dude who said Incredibles 2 was bad because Mrs. Incredible was givin' him a semi - but now we know never to listen to that guy about another movie, ever. It's like when IGN gives a game 8/10. Who cares? It's fucking IGN. I wanna' know what Destructoid, Easy Allies and Eurogamer think, because I trust their opinions. I don't trust their measurements because there is no ruler for how much someone enjoyed a video game - I trust their feelings on the subject.
How much pleasure a game provided you, personally, is not just an important question - it's the only question. The rest - the graphics, the writing, the voice work, the gameplay, the design, the production values, the bugs, the problems - that's minutiae, that's fine-grit detail that fleshes out the reader's understanding of what to expect. Those details can totally inform and explain why we feel the way we do, but a game is a thing that we play and its core function is to bring joy in all its weird forms. We can't accurately measure that - we can only express how something made us feel, and how much value we're prepared to assign it.
How beautiful we find a game's graphics is not an impartial thing. It's subjective. Interpretation, reaction to art is subjective. All we have is our own perspective, and if we raise our voices people will decide on their own if we're Easy Allies and worth lending an ear to, or if we're The Dude Who Wants To Bang Helen Parr and maybe I don't care what he thinks about Zootopia 2.
There are practically infinite options for people to get a general idea of what to expect of a video game, and it tends to begin and end with those numbers - but there's only one place they can find your opinion, and if they seek it out, that's what they value.
This is where you link your byline at RPS or something and shut me up lol.
...I should start writing reviews again. But who has the time?
I think you are taking my statement to too far of an extreme if you are saying this. This is exactly why I specified that if we are talking about numbers alone it is important to look at the big picture. Anyone looking for all of your opinions and thoughts still gets them.. in the words you write.
And I'm pretty sure that the examples you gave above of places you trust take into consideration more than just purely their own fun when they actually review a game. They discuss all the values and information that they think a reader would want to know, and considering the vast amount of readers that all have different sets of wants and needs that becomes a large and varied amount of information. That doesn't prevent someone from talking about the specific things they personally enjoyed. And it is a very important part of a reader being able to understand a review to discuss and mention those things.
Also you must note not every reader knows each and every writer and each of their likes and dislikes. Any good professional reviewer knows that and will write with that in mind as well. So say I really personally love jump scares. That is something I specify in my writing. I don't just say that the scares are great and will keep everyone on their toes. Because then only I and readers who know this specific fact about me can understand that and I may mislead people. If I mention that the game relies primarily on jump scares but I actually love those so it was never a problem for me now I have given the reader a broader bit of information to draw their own conclusion from but still discussed my own personal likes and opinions.
The words that come with the number are obviously super important. But if the number can't be understood at all without the words then the number itself doesn't serve a purpose and the review should be just the words.
My original life plan was to get into game reviews and even got my first degree in Journalism with that in mind.
Then I realized I'd be overworked and underpaid so went a different route but it's still super fun to talk about, so thank you!
Edit: Is the story personal in the same way as, say, Spider-Man was? Because that's a high bar for me. I loved the way SM took these grand stories, not at all rooted in reality, and made them so personal and grounded. Is that kinda what Days Gone does?
Moreso I'd say, but with a lot less of the charming conversational gettin'-to-know-you bits. It's very much about Deacon's evolution.
Nnnnneverrrrrr!
Some similarity, but I think the best comparison is that the writing and flow feel like a serialized TV show. The core cast get their own episodes via missions, and the different maps feel a lot like new seasons.
Good way to put it!
edit: crap it says "starting at $20". Sorry I'm holding a baby and sometimes reading fine print isn't so easy.
Yeah, from what I saw elsewhere Day's Gone will be $40 US, so still a substantial discount.
Looks like freakers are back on the menu, boys!
I've been playing this game really since release, but I'm pretty slow. Usually just an hour or two per day, and sometimes I'll go 5 days or so between sessions.
So anyway!
Last night, I was in the Crater Lake area, and decided to finish off the college. I had already gotten all the nests, but didn't know there was a horde there. And funny enough, the game didn't know that either! I'm cruising around, and get around to putting the fuse in, and that's when the horde spawns. About 10m away from me. Just, what? 200 freakers? appearing about 2m off the ground and pouring out towards me.
Whoops!
It was too funny not to share.