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This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://shows.acast.com/vicegamingsnewpodcast/episodes/episode-524-a-vote-against-big-costco
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://shows.acast.com/vicegamingsnewpodcast/episodes/episode-524-a-vote-against-big-costco
Gosh, I quite disliked the Nintendo/Pokemon stuff from the pod today.
The real issue here, that Patrick almost seemed to mentioned, was that these games have technical issues and look barren because of their deadlines. Its not a tech issue because we can look at Xenoblade or whatever else we want to. Getting real close to a lazy devs statement without considering the real issues. The issue is pumping out games constantly with strict deadlines and short turn around.
Here’s what I don’t like about the switch pro discourse that seems to have seeped into all levels of discourse about it - even us on the left politically. I firmly believe we should be anti a tech march. We are all feeding into this narrative that games have to improve and look better. I don’t think this should be taken as a certain truth. Switch games look great! Look at Luigi’s mansion. The tech is fine! Encouraging new tech feeds into higher power demands for stronger specs, keeping people in mines farming precious earth, shitty factories making the machines, consumers throwing all this away constantly in a short time span and constantly repeating.
Look, I know even Nintendo has suffered on the hardware with a few first party games running at 30 or lagging or what have you (Bowser’s fury comes to mind). Probably points to a pro having been in development and cut with COVID and supply chain issues. But even the existence of that is damning in our games and tech culture. They clearly know how to scope for the hardware and it should be aimed at that base model.
Im not saying we shouldn’t criticize bad performance. More that, we should consider people’s labor and company’s mismanagement rather than demanding “better hardware”. Feels pretty dire that not even the leftist pod can do that.
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The thing I find most amusing from all the latest Pokémon discourse is that the original games were released on the Game Boy seven years after that platform’s debut! The Switch is fine (a positively cherubic 5 years old), and Nintendo should rightfully be taken to task for releasing a game in this state.
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A thing that playing old Pokémon games on the Steam Deck has impressed on me is that the ones released twenty years ago are way more visually impactful, intricate, and honestly beautiful than anything they’ve made since the transition to 3D. The pixel art of Generations 3-5 has so much more verve and life to it than anything they’ve done since. The Steam Deck blows it up to a massive resolution, where you can literally see the edges and borders of everything, and it still looks great because pixel art is great (and also can be blown up without distorting in a way 3D graphics cannot) — and also those games can run on a calculator.
Imo the best looking game on the Switch is still BOTW, and that game runs on the Wii U!
Like I think there is room for superpowered graphics, I do enjoy games that go all out on making use of the power of something like my PS5 like Returnal, but that game has a very specific artstyle that leverages that power in compelling ways. Technical specifications for the sake of it are not it, and we should want artists to have a wide range of tools but shouldn’t elevate a certain ideal of what the best tools are.
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I don’t need to be able to see my reflection in a thrown Poke Ball like it’s Ratchet & Clank but I would love for them to smooth over their technical hiccups
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This is the main thing for me. It’s easy to see there are technical problems with the recent 3D Pokemon games but the actual visual theming is not good and that’s my biggest problem with it. I can push past some technical problems and frame drops if the world is visually engaging but these last few have just not been.
Let’s Go Pikachu/Eevee as a counter point looks great because it’s using the original games theming and it’s in 3D. It’s what I would imagine a 3D Pokemon game to look like when I was playing them decades ago.
I also think think that Gamefreaks sprite work has always been absolutely stunning. I get the argument for moving to 3D but to me Pokemon will always be a 2D game.
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I’ve gushed about how good Let’s Go look, and you’re absolutely right. That game looks so good, every house feels lived in and important. I’m amazed we got such a good looking game and then it was followed up by nothing
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I’ve been a few episodes behind on the pod because I wanted to finish God of War before I listened to any takes on it, and in the process of catching up I find Ren has fallen down the same Warzone 2.0 DMZ rabbit hole I have. I haven’t played any other extraction shooters except Hunt Showdown, but I love Hunt Showdown, and while both are offering different things they hit the same PvPvE vibe I really like (I keep meaning to try Tarkov but it sounds too toxic, whereas Marauders sounds extremely my jam).
I’m also mostly playing solo but I have had some good experience even with randos: in one of the best trio games I had, we got a truck with a turret and drove from mission to mission around the map fully feeling like it was a co-op shooter. There’s a really fun mechanic where as a passenger you can shoot out but also haul your whole ass body out the window and sit on the sill to get a better view, and with the driver, turret guy, and me leaning out? We cleaned up.
The hostile players add an element of chaos that has so far been fun rather than frustrating (I’m way more likely to be murdered by surprisingly tough NPCs than ambushed by a human). In one wilder moment I had just managed to get aboard the extraction chopper - one of those big military troop transport style helicopters - and for some reason right as it was taking off another player sprinted up to the ramp at the rear and got in. I immediately shot them without really thinking… which made me wonder if actually they just wanted to share the ride out and didn’t want to fight, but I have all chat muted so, uh, that remains a mystery. I didn’t even get to loot them as their body slid off the ramp as the chopper left.
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