Various video game stuff not deserving its own thread

[Vergil]

Wish there were good isekai in my genre of choice. The scant few that exist are pretty bad.

[Val the Moofia Boss]

The thing about isekai being overdone to death right now is that, once the popularity wave is gone and something else becomes the norm, there will be at least some good isekai pearls among the ocean of ****.

So if there comes a time when time-travel games become overmade slop, there would at least be a few good ones made here and there.

From what I have seen, Japanese isekai is usually used as a fast way to give the protagonist a "secret backstory" for other characters in the setting to have their curiosity piqued ("how does he know that? He has strange ideas"). Or it is used as a way for the protagonist to go into a country he doesn't know the rules of and has little to no assets he risks losing like a house he stands to inherit, so the protagonist can step on the toes of the powers that be and quickly start conflict. Whereas with a character born in that setting, more work has to be done to justify why they would risk conflict with the powers that be.

Alternatively, perhaps Japanese anime directors like the aesthetic of a character using a videogame UI in universe, and can't think of a reason why a protagonist born in the setting would do that.

[logincrash]

The thing about isekai being overdone to death right now is that, once the popularity wave is gone and something else becomes the norm, there will be at least some good isekai pearls among the ocean of ****.

So if there comes a time when time-travel games become overmade slop, there would at least be a few good ones made here and there.

From what I have seen, Japanese isekai is usually used as a fast way to give the protagonist a "secret backstory" for other characters in the setting to have their curiosity piqued ("how does he know that? He has strange ideas"). Or it is used as a way for the protagonist to go into a country he doesn't know the rules of and has little to no assets he risks losing like a house he stands to inherit, so the protagonist can step on the toes of the powers that be and quickly start conflict. Whereas with a character born in that setting, more work has to be done to justify why they would risk conflict with the powers that be.

Alternatively, perhaps Japanese anime directors like the aesthetic of a character using a videogame UI in universe, and can't think of a reason why a protagonist born in the setting would do that.

I tried watching one of those isekai animes (Rezero or something like that) and the protagonist going "Ooh, just like in my isekai animes! What secret power do I get? Is this the girl that will be my love interest?" was ******* disgusting. This is literally Deadpool levels of 4th wall breaking "teh penguin of doom" millennial cringe but made by japs.
My initial impression was that "isekai" meant "guy transported into another world," not "guy metagaming his way around the place."

[Tangerine]

Jap cartoons want to give the protagonist a bunch of power quickly while still letting them be functionally ******** in the new world they're in so they can clumsily exposit the wacky differences.

[UltraFan123]

My initial impression was that "isekai" meant "guy transported into another world," not "guy metagaming his way around the place."

Yeah, that was the Season 1 of Re:Zero.

I had a similar reaction as well when I first saw it, but to give at least some credit to the author, the main character Subaru was purposely made that way in order to eventually bring him down a peg since he never got any of the OP abilities he expected. kek

[Val the Moofia Boss]

The thing about isekai being overdone to death right now is that, once the popularity wave is gone and something else becomes the norm, there will be at least some good isekai pearls among the ocean of ****.

So if there comes a time when time-travel games become overmade slop, there would at least be a few good ones made here and there.

From what I have seen, Japanese isekai is usually used as a fast way to give the protagonist a "secret backstory" for other characters in the setting to have their curiosity piqued ("how does he know that? He has strange ideas"). Or it is used as a way for the protagonist to go into a country he doesn't know the rules of and has little to no assets he risks losing like a house he stands to inherit, so the protagonist can step on the toes of the powers that be and quickly start conflict. Whereas with a character born in that setting, more work has to be done to justify why they would risk conflict with the powers that be.

Alternatively, perhaps Japanese anime directors like the aesthetic of a character using a videogame UI in universe, and can't think of a reason why a protagonist born in the setting would do that.

I tried watching one of those isekai animes (Rezero or something like that) and the protagonist going "Ooh, just like in my isekai animes! What secret power do I get? Is this the girl that will be my love interest?" was ******* disgusting. This is literally Deadpool levels of 4th wall breaking "teh penguin of doom" millennial cringe but made by japs.
My initial impression was that "isekai" meant "guy transported into another world," not "guy metagaming his way around the place."

If you want good Japanese isekai anime, I would recommend The Vision of Escaflowne and Twelve Kingdoms. In Escaflowne, the heroine gets dropped into a serious Final Fantasy IX anime where there is a magitek empire launching an invasion of several kingdoms, who then have to ally to push back.


















In Twelve Kingdoms, the heroine gets isekaied to a fantasy China that is in ruins, finds out that she is actually the heir to throne there, and has to take back her kingdom. However, there are various rules - divine mandates - she must abide by that prevent her from just fixing a lot of the world's problems, such as not being able to send military forces into other countries. So later on she has to rely on making friends in other countries and then hoping those people can solve their problems. Both shows have great aesthetics and better directing than you typically see in modern anime.

[Finarfin]

Nowhere near enough games about time travel

I'd give my left ball for a Timeshift 2

I'd also give your left ball for Timeshift 2

[Finarfin]

The thing about isekai being overdone to death right now is that, once the popularity wave is gone and something else becomes the norm, there will be at least some good isekai pearls among the ocean of ****.

So if there comes a time when time-travel games become overmade slop, there would at least be a few good ones made here and there.

From what I have seen, Japanese isekai is usually used as a fast way to give the protagonist a "secret backstory" for other characters in the setting to have their curiosity piqued ("how does he know that? He has strange ideas"). Or it is used as a way for the protagonist to go into a country he doesn't know the rules of and has little to no assets he risks losing like a house he stands to inherit, so the protagonist can step on the toes of the powers that be and quickly start conflict. Whereas with a character born in that setting, more work has to be done to justify why they would risk conflict with the powers that be.

Alternatively, perhaps Japanese anime directors like the aesthetic of a character using a videogame UI in universe, and can't think of a reason why a protagonist born in the setting would do that.

I tried watching one of those isekai animes (Rezero or something like that) and the protagonist going "Ooh, just like in my isekai animes! What secret power do I get? Is this the girl that will be my love interest?" was ******* disgusting. This is literally Deadpool levels of 4th wall breaking "teh penguin of doom" millennial cringe but made by japs.
My initial impression was that "isekai" meant "guy transported into another world," not "guy metagaming his way around the place."

If you want a good isekai watch Grimgar. And then read the light novels

[MrTwinkls]

From what I have seen, Japanese isekai is usually used as a fast way to give the protagonist a "secret backstory" for other characters in the setting to have their curiosity piqued ("how does he know that? He has strange ideas"). Or it is used as a way for the protagonist to go into a country he doesn't know the rules of and has little to no assets he risks losing like a house he stands to inherit, so the protagonist can step on the toes of the powers that be and quickly start conflict. Whereas with a character born in that setting, more work has to be done to justify why they would risk conflict with the powers that be.

Alternatively, perhaps Japanese anime directors like the aesthetic of a character using a videogame UI in universe, and can't think of a reason why a protagonist born in the setting would do that.

I tried watching one of those isekai animes (Rezero or something like that) and the protagonist going "Ooh, just like in my isekai animes! What secret power do I get? Is this the girl that will be my love interest?" was ******* disgusting. This is literally Deadpool levels of 4th wall breaking "teh penguin of doom" millennial cringe but made by japs.
My initial impression was that "isekai" meant "guy transported into another world," not "guy metagaming his way around the place."

If you want good Japanese isekai anime, I would recommend The Vision of Escaflowne and Twelve Kingdoms. In Escaflowne, the heroine gets dropped into a serious Final Fantasy IX anime where there is a magitek empire launching an invasion of several kingdoms, who then have to ally to push back.


















In Twelve Kingdoms, the heroine gets isekaied to a fantasy China that is in ruins, finds out that she is actually the heir to throne there, and has to take back her kingdom. However, there are various rules - divine mandates - she must abide by that prevent her from just fixing a lot of the world's problems, such as not being able to send military forces into other countries. So later on she has to rely on making friends in other countries and then hoping those people can solve their problems. Both shows have great aesthetics and better directing than you typically see in modern anime.

These two and El Hazard are the reason why i wanted more isekai when i was a kid. Modern writers don't give a **** about proper world-building anymore. They just use popular story tropes in generic empty worlds with bland archetypal characters. Old isekai didn't give heroes ******** abilities to just breeze through everything instead it made them suffer to overcome trials in the new interesting uncharted world.

► Show Spoiler

Kudos to you. You made me remember some good anime AND a good film.

[rusty_shackleford]

The problem with blocking any tag is there's no way to limit it to top 5 or something and a lot of games have bad tags near the bottom of their list.

Block adult only content and the one above it in content preferences, it solves the problem.

Anything more than this removes 80% of the store, which is what my settings have been for a long time:


Here's the sample game list for "Some nudity or sexual content":

Today I shall go see what RPGs are on Steam, making sure I do not have frequent sexual or adult-only sexual content enabled.

Selection_026.webp

► Show Spoiler

Selection_027.webp

Wow, thanks Gabe.

[ArcaneLurker]

For anyone interested I found this

I can see why he was so scared of her. Freaky albino.

[rusty_shackleford]

Block adult only content and the one above it in content preferences, it solves the problem.

Anything more than this removes 80% of the store, which is what my settings have been for a long time:


Here's the sample game list for "Some nudity or sexual content":

Today I shall go see what RPGs are on Steam, making sure I do not have frequent sexual or adult-only sexual content enabled.

► Show Spoiler

Wow, thanks Gabe.

Submitted a support ticket complaining about this, it's getting ridiculous.

[ArcaneLurker]

[Vergil]

Block adult only content and the one above it in content preferences, it solves the problem.

Anything more than this removes 80% of the store, which is what my settings have been for a long time:


Here's the sample game list for "Some nudity or sexual content":

Today I shall go see what RPGs are on Steam, making sure I do not have frequent sexual or adult-only sexual content enabled.

► Show Spoiler

Wow, thanks Gabe.

@Tweed When's the HQ review of this one dropping?

[Tweed]

Anything more than this removes 80% of the store, which is what my settings have been for a long time:


Here's the sample game list for "Some nudity or sexual content":

Today I shall go see what RPGs are on Steam, making sure I do not have frequent sexual or adult-only sexual content enabled.

► Show Spoiler

Wow, thanks Gabe.

@Tweed When's the HQ review of this one dropping?

When you play it.

[Vergil]

Today I shall go see what RPGs are on Steam, making sure I do not have frequent sexual or adult-only sexual content enabled.

► Show Spoiler

Wow, thanks Gabe.

@Tweed When's the HQ review of this one dropping?

When you play it.

Srs? I'll do it. Alright Yiffler, I'll go to bat for you Yiffler.

[Unhelpful Contrarian]

Looks like Game Informer is back.



TLDR

They were sold to a game studio called Gunzilla Games ( crypto company), that rehired all the old staff promised them to be independent. The website is back up with a bunch of reviews of games that released since their initial closure and their 2024 game of the year article. They will also be bringing back the print magazine, but details on that will be reveal in the coming months.

Why on earth would a company buy a dying media brand that wasn’t relevant for over a decade is beyond me.

[Classix]

@Val the Moofia Boss Watched Starchaser, Legend of Orin on Sunday with my brother on a whim from some random YT thumbnail for the full movie. Heavy Metal maybe next. Thanks for The Vision of Escaflowne and Twelve Kingdoms mention. I'm always too busy and never keep up to date with newer **** but I have it added now to watch while winding down at night. I like the feel and art of the older stuff. Thank you sir.

[wndrbr]

Nowhere near enough games about time travel

I'd give my left ball for a Timeshift 2

Singularity is very similar to Timeshift

[Vergil]

Nowhere near enough games about time travel

I'd give my left ball for a Timeshift 2

Singularity is very similar to Timeshift

Singularity is a good one but it's not the same. It doesn't have pure time stop or the cool global reverse time mechanic.

[Unhelpful Contrarian]

IMG_0262.jpeg

[rusty_shackleford]

not bully women enough

[Oyster Sauce]

Pretty sure Halo Infinite launched with cat ear helmets

[Breathe]

The fans of the current era of Halo are probably entirely different from those that played the originals.

[traxtan]

Halo was never good, Call Of Duty stole every idea and made it better.

[A Chinese opium den]

Halo was never good, Call Of Duty stole every idea and made it better.

Call of duty never stole their greatest idea, co-op campaigns.

[traxtan]

Halo was never good, Call Of Duty stole every idea and made it better.

Call of duty never stole their greatest idea, co-op campaigns.

They did in 2 games, World at War (some missions like Black Cats and Vendetta are not playable in coop) and Black Ops 3.

[A Chinese opium den]

Halo was never good, Call Of Duty stole every idea and made it better.

Call of duty never stole their greatest idea, co-op campaigns.

They did in 2 games, World at War (some missions like Black Cats and Vendetta are not playable in coop) and Black Ops 3.

I was wrong, please accept my sincere apology.

[Vergil]

not bully women enough

I was there, we did our best, they made it illegal to bully women remember?

[Oyster Sauce]

Halo was never good, Call Of Duty stole every idea and made it better.

Ideas such as