Yeah, I’m really hoping HZD2, if it doesn’t step things up, is at least on par with 1. Every gaming disappointment might as well be companies saying “try us again in 4-5 years.” That’s how long it seems to take to make a good AAA game now.
Was watching my brother play it last noght. I swear. He just finished looking for dudes sister. I think the acting is pretty good over all. There’s some awkward spots here and there but few and far between and when compared with the size of the world the they made next to tlou2 I’m fine with a couple acting hiccups here and there if it means they put their attention to making as a grand a world as they did
I personally don’t see why you are so impressed with tlou2. The production is off the charts but everything else gameplay wise is pretty paint by numbers, and I personally think the story is ok at best in 2, HZDs story is way better imo, more intriguing and I like the characters better.
1 Like
I thought Lance Reddick was dope in HZD.
5 Likes
I’m strictly talking voice acting at this point, which I guess falls into the production.
And I don’t care about how big the world in HZD is. I would take a linear game like TLOU over HZD 10 out of 10 times. I’m just not really into open world games and never have been, with a few exceptions like BOTW and God of War, and of course Burnout Paradise.
Right and that demonstrates a huge difference in our priorities when it’s comes to games. What we find important production value wise is different. Id rather time be spent making the world interesting to be in then that time be spent on acting production that only helps one specific part of the game…the cut scenes. Production value put into the world benefits gameplay and that’s way more i.portabt to me.
Like a lot more. Don’t get me wrong I like NDs games and their production level is top notch but I played through each UC like…twice. I’ve been through HZD 4 times, and another The Witcher 3 over 6 times.
Much better bang for my buck when they put their money into the world and gameplay mechanics then dumping it all into the narrative while giving me ok at best gameplay which what ND games have become imo. Huge production showcases with decent gameplay.
Doesn’t have to be open world either, P* makes liner games majority of the time but their time is spent making the gameplay all it can be and thus their games are better and have more replay value then anything ND has done in years imo of course. I’m having a blast with Wonderful 101 and it’s hardly a “pretty” game by today’s standards but id argue it’s better then most of the shit that’s shinnier then it is.
5 Likes
@sonicabid I’m playing through Ion Fury, finally, and I dunno dude I think it may be overtaking DUSK for me!
1 Like
I’m almost half way through Uncharted 4 right now for the first time and I keep thinking how it’s in the same league as HZD and GoW. Having a great time with it.
Love me some Sony exclusives 
4 Likes
I can’t speak to TLOU because I haven’t played them, but the game this gen that has impressed me the most from a technical standpoint is DOOM Eternal. Locking in 60 FPS with a game that looks that incredible with no pop in. Holy shit. id are masters of optimization.
3 Likes
Helps DOOM Eternals locals are pretty small. That hides a looooooot of pop in.
But yeah their technical work on both DOOM games is super impressive.
4 Likes
True, but I think that’s part of the wizardry of id. They know the limitations and work within those boundaries to prioritise performance without sacrificing graphical integrity.
1 Like
Yeah see that is where we’re different which is okay.
I don’t give 2 shits about replay value in a non-multiplayer game. Once I play through it I’m done and probably will never go back to play it again. I have a ton of games in my collection that are single player that I’ve played through and there is about a 99% chance I will never play them again.
Now that my son is starting to get into games though, some of my old Switch games like Mario Odyssey and Yoshi’s Crafted World are getting some use again.
2 Likes
I never played that game but the videos I saw of it did look impressive from a technical aspect.
What about SMB3 
1 Like
Open world games have tons more dialogue to go have to record than a linear adventure game. With the latter, they have more resources they can dedicate to make the equivalent of a movie.
2 Likes
I’m talking current gen lol.
Although the only time I go back and play old mario games is when me and my buddies have a game day and we take turns playing levels, so in that sense it’s multiplayer :p.
1 Like
Yea where as if I find a game I think if really fun I’ll replay it many times over. I’m still playing Bayonetta 2 few times a week just hunting down those Platinum Rank medals.
I’m just not as impressed by graphical fidelity as I once was. I can put in Alita Battle Angel and watch sonething as graphically impressive as TLOU2 or Uncharted 4 so it’s just kind like…yea…thats cool.
A cool world to explore, or really in depth gameplay goes a lot farther for me then seeing Nate Drakes skin pores lol.
2 Likes
Yep, typically in the well done open world games there is priority levels. The key dialog animations get a heavy dose of manual touch ups. The general ones less so. Mass Effect Andromeda is a prime example of this. Since the game was basically developed from top to bottom in 18 months. They didn’t’ have time to manually touch up any of the animations. There is only so much that can be done automatically.
Even so, one of the most impressive animations sequences was in that game. One of the animators manually handled the Ryder and Cora love scene. Which looks likes from a different game. One of things that seems to be hardest for animators to nail is two humans kissing. Andromeda, with generally bleh animation, gets that right in that scene. Show’s were their priorities were 
2 Likes
Let me know what you think of it when you finish the title.
The main reason I put DUSK over it is because DUSK had much better level design across the board as well as a lot more HOLY SHIIIIEEET moments.
90% of the levels in Ion Fury felt the same to me, especially visually. Most of the levels are city levels and it really starts to show towards the end.
One of my favourite levels is X House of Horrors. It’s a huge mansion you can explore with a courtyard, multiple stories and a ton of secrets. Top notch level design there, it was so good.
2 Likes
hell yeah the Devolver Digital stream is live right now and they just announced the release date for CARRION… it’s 7/23 for consoles including Switch! Hell YEAH I’ve been looking forward to that one…absolute day 1 purchase for me.
sidenote–redhead “Linda” on this show would get her little fine red ass ate without question.
edit—Sonic Fox just showed up on there… of course he’s in his fursuit…of course. 
1 Like
Tbh DUSK quickly became an all time fave, a personal 10/10, and Ion Fury is doing the same. I can see how it could become visually stale compared to something like DUSK that’s an ever changing, holy fuck why am I here kinda deal but the scope of which the build engine is pushed to make these kind of city levels is just incredible to me.
I mean I get it’s been 20+ years since Duke 3D’s humble city levels but Ion Fury feels like I’m walking through Blade Runner’s city sometimes. One thing I have had trouble with in the game though is sometimes I’ve had a hard time seeing enemies, I dunno if it’s excellent use of coloured lighting to hide enemies and help blend them or I’m legit just having trouble seeing them. Either way it’s not affecting my experience too much.
1 Like