StaceyPowers

Who are some of your all-time favorite open world game followers/companions?

What are some games where it sometimes is most logical to flee or avoid combat completely?

Sometimes in TLOU 2 and in Left Behind, there are parts where you can turn Infected and human opponents against each other strategically. What are some other games that include this feature?

What are some games that force you to participate in a protagonist’s unpleasant actions, not just watch them in a cutscene? Spec Ops: The Line is the most obvious example, but I am sure there are many others.

Do you like when games have names/labels hovering over NPCs, or do you find it distracting? For me, it is usually very immersion-breaking.

Do you find quest markers on your screen helpful or distracting? For me it seems to vary widely, depending on the game.

I really like games that allow me to hold down a button to display a temporary quest path on the screen—not so much because I need to know the way to my goal as that it helps me figure out which areas around me may be “optional.” That way I can head toward the goal last, making it less likely I will accidentally miss optional content. Do you like this feature?

Like propaganda promoting an in-game government. Posters and the like.

I’ve never played Path of Exile, but it looks like an interesting game with cool expansions 🙂

Thanks for the kind words 🙂

@Crazycrab already said just about everything I would. Reading this was enjoyable, but functionally, it is a walkthrough (and hey, I really could've used this type of thing back in the days when I was failing utterly at Zelda II as a kid). What you linked to with your short overviews of the different games is definitely more like mini-reviews. You shared your thoughts about different aspects of the games (and made me lol a few times - "Link looks like a penis with gangrene" hahah). Along with opinions, in a review, you can also comment on other peoples' opinions, or on how a game fits into the context of a cultural landscape, what technological leaps it has made, how it compares to related games, what the experience of playing it felt like, etc. The main thing really is just to share your unique perspective.

A lot of games include cultural references, but I was beyond thrilled and surprised to see some quest names in The Outer Worlds are references to books by Tanith Lee, my favourite author. Nobody seems to know who I am talking about when I mention her. What other games include obscure cultural references that impress you?

Jumping from PS3 to PS4/5 games, the biggest improvements I notice are mostly with respect to graphics and realism. I also notice more fluid transitions, and controls have changed (not for the better for me, but that’s just me). But so far, most improvements appear to me to be cosmetic. But I still have only played a few games from these eras. So, I wondered, what are the biggest improvements/revolutions you have noticed in gameplay and/or storytelling from PS3 era until now, that are more than cosmetic?

What are the best games that take place in part or full underwater?

What is a game you hate that you feel has zero redeeming qualities?

What are some games that feature amazing in-game propaganda art? BioShock series are the most obvious to me. What are some more?

I have been enjoying the humorous text on the product packaging for items in The Outer Worlds. What other games feature amusing in-game ads or product packaging?

How often do you have to readjust the difficulty in mid-game? Are your resistant toward lowering it?

Running speeds in most open world games are, I’m pretty sure, unrealistically fast, even when not sprinting. Yet “walking” speeds often feel like I’m crawling through molasses. What are your feelings about this? Which games offer the most comfortable speeds?

Considering how great they were in RDR, I can't wait to see what they're like in RDR2.

I think a lot of games are hesitant to provide optional hints (often providing none) because devs are likely concerned about spoiling fun or breaking immersion. As a gamer, do you feel optional hints disrupt your experiences in these or other ways? Or do you generally appreciate them? What is the least disruptive way to present them?

Thank you for your kind words, and for following VGR's articles so closely! You are awesome 🙂

A lot of games let you examine items in your inventory, but often even the “close up” views are really small and not that close up. In The Outer Worlds, the close-up views of items are way better than most. You can even read most of the print on them. What are some other games that excel with this feature?

I think we have another thread about games with the best weather effects (i.e. storms), but what games have the best and worst looking skies in general? I started The Outer Worlds recently. The game is beautiful, but the skies are just … off. I think my favourite skies are probably RDR and ES Oblivion.

I’m playing The Outer Worlds, and I feel like the contrast is too high, but there is no way to do anything about it. What are some games you have played where you feel the contrast is too high or low?