I mean, most of those “random” sheep are in pens so they’re not so random. But you should be able to buy the livestock! Why can’t I just buy a frigging cow? It’d be way easier than waiting until 3am and sneaking into the pasture.

I’m pretty far into the game now & I’ve finally been conditioned to skip looting bodies unless the coast is REALLY clear, but I *hate* it.

I appreciate the ‘crime doesn’t pay’ message—and getting a bounty is lenient enough when you’re always fetching other criminals to the sheriff for hanging—but the touchy randos on the street drive me nuts. One wrong move and you’re fleeing in a hail of bullets. Like, chill out people. This varmint rifle isn’t for you.

Fun article. Delivers all the information & adds a really interesting character study.

Fallout 4 was one of the first video games I ever played—I mean, since I was a kid playing Super Mario and Duck Hunt—so I absorbed all the criticism and rubbed my hands together, eagerly anticipating a future full of even BETTER games than this one that everyone found so disappointing.

Riley MacLeod had it right. The concerned eyebrows and sad eyes are very NOT Geralt. Personally, I *am* complaining because it’s such a fundamental misunderstanding of the character.

I think the answer is that Bethesda games have carved out their own wheelhouse, with all these qualities that other games can’t copy. The profusion of junk, a game where the main story takes the backseat to quirky sidestories and player experiments—there’s less streamlining and more room to play.

Of all the games I’ve played, the one that reminds me most of RDR2 is Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. I’m surprised it doesn’t come up in more conversations.

I’m the one who made the original complaint & I’m getting better at adjusting my playstyle.

I’d read an explainer on it. So far, I have the impression that you can’t save during a mission & so far ALL THE QUESTS count as missions. It’s super annoying.

I’m about ten hours in and: yes, all the time.

I think we disagree about the fundamentals. You think the fact that the player plays only from Geralt’s POV is definitive. If you experience the story from his POV, it’s his story and he’s the hero. Fair enough.

Except then how do you explain the fact that they do some things *better* than other, more progressive studios?

The Witcher 3 was *such* a mixed bag—in some ways, it struck me as smarter and more subversive than a lot of games that market themselves as progressive or socially conscious, but then it also dredged up every lame cliche and toxic trope I’ve come to associate with gross video game culture.

When Rowling sold HP, major publishers weren’t demanding ebook writes. She kept those for herself. 

I think it’s strange that so many people recommend starting with the short stories. They are chronologically earlier than the novels but Sapkowski’s style is pretty bare bones for fantasy—a little sketchy/curt instead of the usual abundance of description/explanation common to fantasy books—and the short stories…

Plus led directly to a Netflix deal--is it possible that he wouldn’t have gotten paid for that? It’s my understanding that the Netflix show is going back to the books but if he sold ALL media rights, and he’s been screwed out of Netflix profits... that would NOT be cool, actually, I’d be pretty pissed. 

I’ve been seeing this a lot lately. Pedophilia might be a “cultural norm” in some places—but that doesn’t mean people outside of the culture have to approve. Or that victims should be assumed to approve.

This is one of those situations (like everything to do with football players kneeling) where like... can’t boycott something I’ve never tried or cared about. I’ve got no interest in Riot games and nothing to give up.

Brace yourself.