Games and Ambivalent Feelings

[Carol]

I have this "problem" (I don't really know how to call it) with Uncharted 4.

 

I madly love the original Uncharted trilogy (and Golden Abyss), so I don't think there was ever a game that I was so hyped about as U4.

However, when the game was finally released, after so much waiting, it wasn't what I was expecting. It was, actually, a bitter disappointment, because I was expecting a full-blown classic Uncharted game, which, U4, in my opinion, isn't. Naughty Dog toned down everything that made me love Uncharted, like the non-stop action. The pacing is also much slower and the tone a lot darker than past Uncharted games, that were just pure fun and didn't worry so much about the story.

I strongly disliked the game the first two times I played it.

 

However, I'm such a fan of Naughty Dog! I loved all of their games, since the times of Jak and Daxter and, especially, "The Last of Us", was a game that touched me at such a personal level, that I couldn't feel at ease with my hatred for Uncharted 4. I thought "If I love the others so much, I have to love this one too. I will like it, even if I have to play it 500 times."

 

So, I decided to give another chance to U4. 

Already knowing what to expect, I actually enjoyed it a lot more the third time I played it. I learned how to play the game in a way that I could enjoy it more and I also learned how to appreciate its slower pacing.

 

By now, I already played it five times and I can say that I actually quite like it now and I can even see the brilliance of certain parts of the game. It's even a game that I like to replay from time to time, so there was certainly an evolution.

 

However, since first impressions are, undeniably, very strong, I still can't get past a feeling of love-hate towards U4. At least, I'm happy that I loved "Uncharted: The Lost Legacy" since the beginning. It was fun, light and, for me, a perfect Summer game. I think Uncharted 4 will always be a problematic game in my heart.

 

This is my experience and I think it is interesting enough to share it.

What I'm looking for, in this thread, is this kind of experience:

- a game that you learned to like;

- a game that you were hyped about, but ended up disappointing you and, for some reason, you decided it deserved another chance;

- a game that you have ambivalent feelings for (this feeling of love-hate; not being able to decide if you love it or if you hate it).

...

 

For me, this was quite a unique experience, because I usually don't feel the need to replay games that I didn't like, but this time it was different. I'm interested in knowing if this is a common experience or not so much.

Thanks for sharing!

 

 

Edited September 3, 2018 by Carol

[Dreakon13]

Hollow Knight is probably my favorite game in recent years.

 

When I first started it however... it was confusing, I was constantly getting lost and didn't know where to go next.  I'd wander for probably hours at times trying the same places over and over again to figure out if I missed some little opening to take me to a new area, or some section of the map I could only reach now with newly acquired abilities.  As is pretty typical for Metroidvania's.  But worse yet... whenever I did find the next place to go, I'd get met with a nasty boss that would usually kill me a dozen times before I figured it out... and I'd get sent back a ways and have to traverse my way back to the boss each time I died.  The game is kinda Souls-ish in that sense.

 

Very frustrating.  I nearly quit on a few occasions, but for whatever reason I kept going back to it.  By the time I finished it (and I did just about all the optional stuff)... I absolutely adored it.  It's just a massive, and tough but fair game.  Beautifully dark atmosphere and quirky hand drawn graphics.

 

And any game like this that doesn't necessarily emphasize platforming (it's more about the combat in HK)... but makes sure to throw in some unexpected, challenging and probably optional pure platforming sections for the people like me who may dig deep enough to find it, is bound to hold a special place in my heart (see: Final Fantasy XV).

Edited August 31, 2018 by Dreakon13

[ShinigamiSensei-]

This game....

 

I don´t know man, i love to watch some streamers like Maximilian, VesperArcade and others playing Steet Fighter V, I love some characters like Rashid and Cody and I think i´m an average fighting gamer...but i´m a TOTAL NOOB in this game, it´s so hard for me that i even cannot conect good combos and stuff. I come back from time to time but the platinum of this game is a lost cause for me.

[UlvenFenrir]

Started on ni no kuni after hearing so many great things about it and i thought it looked really cool but then i started playing it and realised what a snorefest i was in for. Its so boring. 

 

- errands which are basically sidequests are beyond pointless and adds absolutely nothing to the game. 

 

- bounty hunts? Theyre alright i guess but considering the combat puts me to sleep in general in this game i couldnt care less.

 

- story has me intrigued, that and trophies keeps me playing through the game even though Its a chore.

 

- characters annoys me and theyre rather uninteresting.

 

i love rpgs/jrpgs, played a ton of them actually but theres jrpgs out there that does a MUCH better job than ni no kuni.

 

i think ni no kuni is overhyped and shouldve remained a gibli movie instead.

 

its not a bad game, and i really want to enjoy it but i just cant....

Edited August 31, 2018 by UlvenFenrir

[RedRodriguez87]

ALOT of the Sonic games, but particularly Sonic Unleashed.

 

 

It to me is the definitive Sonic game that highlights what I find so infuriating about them, and yet cannot stop getting into.

 

1) We get a hybrid of 2d/3d gameplay.....

-1) That amounts to boost to win/split-second decision making, almost negating the purpose of having 2d platforming segments.

 

2) The worlds are so beautifully created and rendered, with lots of detail put into almost every square inch.....

-2) But you can't appreciate any of it because the game wants you to move linearly at high speeds

 

3) It eliminated alot of the prior gimmicky gameplay styles 

-3) In favor of one GIANT gimmicky gameplay style, that makes up 50% of the games content

 

4) It gaves us more control options to control Sonic

-4) And yet Sonic Team STILL thought it was a good idea to map the homing attack and Dash button together. This one is more unique to Unleashed, as other games fixed it.

 

It's a entry in the series I want so bad to have another chance, but I'll say right now that I DON'T want a Remaster. No, I want a Revision. I won't alot of these problems fixed, not ported along with everything good.

[Carol]

So, no more love-hate to share? 

[DitztheViking]

GTA5 Online, fucking oppressors.

 

No but seriously I love every aspect of Online even when the cargo mission get laborious and the whole aspect of getting a group together to do deliveries and defend it is very very fun.

 

But that goes out the window when there's as least one dickhead with an Oppressor flying around shooting everything, sometimes its people who are just cruising and there's not a lot of incentive for people to be associates or club members.

[KennethMcCormick]

I'd say Nioh and the Borderlands series.

 

Nioh: Never played any Demon's Souls and barely played two hours of Bloodborne two years ago, but I'm a sucker for almost anything Kurosawa (amongst other directors), so I decided to give this one a try. Loved the atmosphere, and it's one of the games I'm very happy to have bought (and it was on sale: even better! :)). Yet the learning curve for a total noob at this kind of game, and some of the necessary grindy parts to 100% it (for a non Soulsborne player, at least) made me hate it times 1000 sometimes. Quite stressful at times, but a very rewarding 100%.

 

Borderlands: I love the world, the dumb humour, etc. A great game to unwind. But it gets soooooo griiiiiindy after a while, taking away all the fun. I recently wanted to 100% the three games in a row, but my sanity required a break.

[Lava_Yuki]

 

 a game that I learned to like;

Lightning Returns- I initially didn't like it with the time limit and solo battle system, and actually struggled a lot with the game so ended up leaving it untouched for 2 years. Then decided to pick it up again just to get the platinum as I had gotten it in 13 and 13-2 so wanted it for collective reasons. Ended up really enjoying the game as I got used to the system and found the idea of different wears, abilities and amount of customisation to be really fun. The time limit was also not too bad as I actually finished all the main missions and side quests by day 9 or so, which left me plenty of time before the final day.

 

- a game that you have ambivalent feelings for (this feeling of love-hate; not being able to decide if you love it or if you hate it).
Nier Automata- it had beautiful character and world design, rave reviews and was praised all over. But this was a huge disappointment for me. I found the the story weird, online people were saying it was deep and and interesting, with the endings being pretty good in terms of getting to know the characters, but I found it to be the opposite. The story was bizarre, didn't know what was going on half the time and the majority of the endings were just a sentence of dialogue followedd by the credits. The side quests were mostly chores, and I found this game to be weak on story, didn't go into the character as much as it could have, but it did have good gameplay and design which is my only praise. 

 

- a game that you were hyped about, but ended up disappointing you and, for some reason, you decided it deserved another chance;

Not really sure, maybe FF15. It was my least favourite FF if I can call it an FF, and the all male emo host club boy style cast was a major put off. The game had a lot of annoying things like the driving (and having to sit there for 5 mins staring at the backs of their heads, the longest 5 mins ever), almost invisible treasures being just specks of sparkle on the ground which I found to be far too impractical for an "open-world" game with big maps, weak story, an ending that did not make much sense lacking explanation, no moogles and endless releases of DLC and what nor even 2 years post release?! It was a very frustrating game indeed. Luna and Noctis's relationship love was a mystery to me, they hardly met yet are wedlocked, and I found some of the other cast like Aranea, Cidney, Iris etc... could have had more of a role. I felt that they were just there to exist (especially Cidney who was clearly just the car girl providing fan service). 

This game had so much potential, it had 10 years develop and made fans wait years, but flopped, frantically trying to pick itself up with DLC, alternative endings, a Moogle carnival etc.... I probably sound old fashioned, but the good old FFs were so much better. I just can't put 15 on the same scale as games like FF10 and 12. Oh well.... 

[RevengeancePrime]

Destiny

There's so much wrong with these games. Terrible story and characters that could be improved if they actually incorporated grimoire card lore into the game instead of asking people to visit Bungie.net. Strikes, public events, and adventures become tedious real fast. Multiplayer feels bland and uninspired. However, I can see a good game beneath it all. The gunplay is solid and the visuals are gorgeous.The culmination of it all, the raid, has become one of my favourite gaming experiences. It's the only thing that has me consider coming back to Destiny time and time again. I'm hearing good things about Forsaken's gambit mode, so that might also improve the multiplayer experience. I want to love Destiny and there are times that I do, but Bungie really goes out of their way to make me hate it.

[Avatar_Of_Battle]

A game that I learned to like was Dead Nation. I don't think I had played many, if any, games like it before and was kinda turned off of it for a bit. However, I only paid something like 80 cents for it and decided to just keep going to see if I could get the hang of it. Glad I did because I ended up having fun with it, and as an added bonus got my brother playing for the Co-op stuff.

 

I don't think I was "hyped" for Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance, but I was happy to play another game in a series I enjoy that was previously out of reach on another system. It did end up disappointing me as a KH game, but I never dropped it to return to it later. That's a very rare event and tends to be for online/MP portions of games. Looking back on it, I had just got done doing the online/MP portions of games I had left alone for years because I typically don't do them unless I've got nothing else to do.

 

The only game that comes close to the ambivalent category is White Knight Chronicles. I really wanted to get into it, but the time commitment kind of pushed me away, and back when I started it I just didn't feel like giving the combat a chance to grow on me not to mention I was working at the time. I didn't hate it though.

[AJ_Radio]

On 8/31/2018 at 3:55 PM, RedRodriguez87 said:

ALOT of the Sonic games, but particularly Sonic Unleashed.

 

 

Can't believe Sonic Unleashed is 10 years old. Seems like I was reading about it just a couple years ago.

 

I played Sonic Generations and Sonic Unleashed casually the other night. Both games still have the same mechanics as far as modern Sonic goes (Classic Sonic has the old traditional 2-D style gameplay).

 

Visiting the town and talking to the NPCs in Unleashed reminded me directly of Sonic 2006, which I for one am glad it does not have a trophy list. Wouldn't mind Sonic & the Secret Rings getting a remaster, I felt that game was badly looked over when it came out back in 2007.

 

Sonic Unleashed definitely doesn't joke around when it comes to how fast it is. I was barely able to keep up with Sonic after using his speed boosts from collecting rings.