BLUF: Agreed. Games don’t need realism to be fun. They need fun to be fun.

Aside from obvious genres like simulators, horror, or other niche games, graphics don’t, and shouldn’t be, the main focus of a game.

It could just be plain fun. I’d prefer games with a bunch of sandbox niche mechanics than seeing a tree in 4k upscale. Like Noita or Terraria.

Or a deep story. The original Talos Principle was alright on its graphics at the time, but it prioritized the story and puzzles. It was a fundamental game that shaped many of the philosophies I hold still today.

Graphics can be important, but I’d also prefer stylized over realistic any day. That’s why some of the older games still hold up today, graphically.

Wind Waker, the old 3d mario games, Bioshock, Oblivion (terrain, not people lol)

All had really really solid art. And it still looks good. Because it didn’t try to push the limits on making the game look real.

Back when Modern Warfare 2 released on the 360, I saw little dust clouds, and thought that it was the greatest game for realism ever at the time. The graphics were so good. Going back? Dogwater.

Oh I get it. Standalone, it’s great. It’s just not what I thought it was. I bought it for one reason, was surprised that it wasn’t what I thought I’d be receiving as a consumer, reflecting, I’d definitely say it’s a good game.

Battle passes/ dailies / loot boxes aren’t really my thing either. I do love roguelikes and the idea of “runs” and it being a sandbox to play in to experiment with builds.

Noita, for example, is probably one of my favorite games of all time. (Also a game I recommend everyone to play and give a good college try.)

Hot take for me: I thought going into Inscryption was going to be a pure deck builder game with a goal of beating the first guy. Then I really enjoyed the deck building in the 2d zone, and wanted so much more of that, but after beating the game, it has next to no replay ability. It turns very ARG centric and to get the whole story required going outside of the game into the “real world” (internet) to learn the rest of the story. It never stuck with me, or striked me right. It felt like I was being led on and thrown into something I didn’t really care about.

I know that they added an infinite mode, but I think that’s just in the first zone, not all of them. .

In any case, the game was just ok, since it’s not the Slay the Spire esque card builder I thought it’d be.

It’s small because I knew it was coming, but I got the job offer for a promotion! Not many people I can tell.

The OG paper Mario was good. It combined elements from various jrpgs and other Mario titles at the time like Mario Luigi Superstar Saga. When the sequel came out, it delivered on all the hype and beyond. It’s cheeky. Fun. And actually quite long. It expanded on the elements of turn based combat, made twists and generally improved on every single aspect of the original. Then the third game came out, it was mediocre and didn’t live up to any expectations.

This game is a remake of the second game, so it’s exciting to see that there’s still hope for the paper Mario side of Nintendo.

All this to say, thousand year door is a point of nostalgia for a lot of people born in the 90s and early 2000s

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