gull

gull *Plus!*

@gull

do severals, be severals. how it is

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what's up, gull and such here, recent "wait there's more than one of us" realizers. whoops!

still giant robot fans, still pmd: explorers enthusiasts. imagine we are wearing a big button that says "ask us about Void Stranger". you should play all the games we like right now. the media backlog continues to grow ever further, and finally fucking continuing Initial D slips further and further out of reach.....

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gull
@gull

one more post for the road actually

this ones kinda about void stranger?

i like to see what people are saying about it. some folks freak the fuck out about it. some folks just bounce off and make it clear it's just not their thing in their Not Recommended review or their eh comment or whatever... thats fine i get that. but like i dunno it feels like some folks are just... coming off bitter? in a way that kinda feels like they are putting the burden of the game not being their slice of cake on the game. i guess i get it. theres things i will never understand the appeal of and maybe be a little petty about.

but still, since this is something i saw the appeal in, i still do kinda wonder though what made them feel that way. to me it feels like theyre confusing their own bouncing off for the game itself being underperforming in some way. maybe this is part of the curse of knowing too much - i am unable to see it with fresh eyes because i have peered below the surface

i wonder if some of this feeling stems from the same place as my feelings on bad bad reviews of shows i like, that sense of 'i feel like i and the reviewer live in seperate universes and this is some kind of incursion from it'.

void stranger whole game spoilers below this line

tangent to this and Knowing Too Much but like i looked at the steam community forums and i saw some guys being super uncharitable with their read of the games plot? like... dudes. no. gray the destroyer is not a total psycho or whatever. she did not choose the baby because this game is secret pro-life propaganda she chose the baby as part of the longest fucking shot grandest plan in the universe to raise a daughter strong enough to save lily in a masterful two for one special because These Girls Would Go To Literally Any Fucking Length For Each Other. in the DIS Ending she doesn't even have to pull any of this shit she can just straight up save Lily no strings attached

this whole post has been me getting mad at people on the internet im sorry bedtime for gull now bye

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in reply to @gull's post:

stu
@stu

(stopped reading when you mentioned spoilers)

some thoughts about this:
criticism is a skill, most people aren't good at it. on the other hand, everyone has an opinion about whether or not they liked something.

video games are an extremely exclusive medium - most people can read a book, listen to music, watch a movie. they might not get it, but they can get through it. video games take a huge amount of time and often effort and ability from the player. sometimes, like in void stranger, the 'good part' is hidden and might be completely missed without effort

setting aside basic accessibility features that we should always encourage, sometimes games are just too hard for some people and in puzzle games it's hard to get around it. it's complicated when 'being a challenge' or 'having an element of tedium' or 'requires a note taking system' is part of the art. i think these games should exist, but they're definitely excluding a lot of people who just don't have time, motivation or ability to get the experience and i don't cast any judgement on those people (i personally can see that it's good but haven't made the time to dig back in, the puzzles aren't really my bag)

all of this adds up to a subset of people being frustrated when they bounce off a game. they didn't care for it, because it takes too much effort or for a reason they can't explain. but they see other people like it and it's just not something they were able to access. im sure that frustration comes out in reviews and im also sure most steam reviewers don't take an objective critical eye toward things.

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sysl
@sysl

My main issue with it, even as someone who got the final ending, it's just not respectful of my time.

I do know how to move around fast in the void, but honestly a level select for rooms I had finished would have been pleasant.

I love the game, it's very charming. I just know I'll never go back to it.

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