I always play with those same self-imposed rules, but I prefer when they’re organically built into the game - as in, when being detected is actually dangerous, and engaging in combat is a true last resort. Being detected in Thief might actually provide aditional challenges, since it forces you to either dispatch the…

Replying to you here because Kinja literally doesn’t even let me see the comments you addressed to me on the Dark Messiah thread (outside of the notification box, that is). Fucking Kinja, man.

I intended “unusual” to be somewhat facetious; it was essentially a light jab at contemporary mainstream tastes.

I didn’t say their games were bad, mind you; just that they’re aren’t as good as they used to be. I do agree that every single Arkane game (so far) is worth playing, but every single one has represented a downgrade in quality, in my view (Arx Fatalis and Dark Messiah are both classics, but Arx is better than Dark…

Dark Messiah was developed by Arkane themselves and came out long before Bulletstorm.

People in general are completely unaware of Arkane’s pre-Dishonored works. It’s quite weird, too, since the games they made during that era are still the best in their portfolio. It saddens me that they will probably never make something as good as Arx Fatalis ever again.

I normally click on “Show Pending” and navigate to the replies, but that doesn’t always work. Sometimes grey comments just disappear into the void.

Yep, I hate all of this. I use Discord because I often don’t have much of a choice, but I absolutely HATE how that platform works.

I doubt GSC own 4chan; as others have pointed out, it’s most likely Nishimura, who also founded 2chan.

In other words, I should wait until the game is cracked and the pirates are happily playing it for free before I should even consider purchasing it.

I have the game - Transistor, I mean - and I enjoy it quite a bit. I just don’t consider it a “narrative great”, as Sisi put it.

I wouldn’t call Transistor a “narrative great” by any means, by this review makes this work seem truly interesting. I’m currently buried in a shameful backlog, but I just might to have to put this somewhere close to the top of my list.

2019 was PRECISELY the last time I went to Kyoto, shortly before the pandemic hit. 87.9 million people... Jesus. The city WAS crowded, but that’s a staggering number.

This is an excellent review, Ian; exactly the sort of thing I’d want to read when it comes to a game like this. I just wish the Jodorowsky angle had been explored a little bit further, but this doesn’t really mar the general quality of the piece.

Bethesda hasn’t made a truly good game since Morrowind, so becoming a porting studio is a natural step in their decline, I guess.

Morrowind? Yes, please.

Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss is one the greatest CRPGs ever made. Anyone interested in those should play it.

The Ultima Underworlds have a mouselook mod that pretty much solves the only issue that truly diminishes their quality, in my view. There’s still a LOT of archaic gameplay elements, but the game is so well-designed that it shouldn’t matter. Also, the UUs are still FAR more reactive and intelligent than 99% of all…

Ion Maiden is a great game, while Duke Nukem Forever is barely worth the price of the case that packaged it. Hopefully they will follow the example of the latter.

Of course, of course - that’s why I replied to you, after all. So we could NOT have a discussion.

Lol, with those views, no wonder you can’t keep this discussion civilized.