• Snot Flickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
    404·
    22 days ago

    Holy shit somehow no one has mentioned:

    Nier Automata

    It counts as a masterpiece because of how well it blends game design, gameplay and story. I have played very few games as thoughtful, or that weaved the gameplay together into the story it was telling in such a meaningful way. I never thought once in my life that I would think philosophically about bullet hell but somehow Nier Automata has something profound to say and even manages to say it using bullet hell as a gameplay mechanic.

    On top of all this, it also has a lot to say about classical philosophers, their works, and honestly deeply subverts things they had to say. It asks tough questions about their thoughts and ideas, once again, through gameplay. Numerous characters are named for classical philosophers: Pascal, Jean-Paul, Simone, Engels, Immanuel… (Yoko Taro obviously has feelings about how Jean-Paul Sartre treated Simone de Beauvoir.)

    Further, Yoko Taro is doing something that a lot of game developers fail to manage to do: He is embracing gaming as a storytelling medium and eschewing the traditional three-act arc from film. Because gaming is not film. As Marshall McLuhan posited, “the medium is the message” and unlike other developers Taro’s writing is aimed at the medium he is working in instead of leaning on the ropes and tropes of other mediums. (Referring back to above, tying the gameplay into the story, focusing on the medium)

    It’s basically impossible to not break down into tears at the ending.

    Don’t write it off because of the scantily clad anime women. Stay for the depth of the human condition. It is truly a masterwork in multiple respects.

    • bbbbbbbbbbb@lemmy.worldEnglish
      8·
      22 days ago

      It’s basically impossible to not break down into tears at the ending.

      The god damn ending is a gameplay mechanic to tell a not yet finished story. Damn you Yoko Taro

      • Snot Flickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
        7·
        22 days ago
        spoiler

        The wild part is that he’s so good at subverting anime tropes, too. The “killing god” trope is mentioned in the first lines of the game… and then going on to battling the end credits themselves?? Literally killing the gods who created the world this all exists in? Taking it to the absurd yet logical extreme, so brilliant.

    • Katana314@lemmy.worldEnglish
      51·
      22 days ago

      Man, I wish I understood a single bit of this evaluation of the game after finishing every chapter (sorry - “Ending”). The whole thing felt mostly like a waste of time.

      That said, I’m a fan of Spec Ops: The Line, a game that has much the same level of division among its players. Interesting how philosophical games get that reaction.

    • sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      6·
      22 days ago

      Nier Automata

      I loved Nier Replicant, but didn’t get into Automata, maybe I’ll give it another shot. I do love that style of storytelling though.

    • msage@programming.devEnglish
      4·
      22 days ago

      I tried to play that game, expecting perhaps a DMC-like gameplay.

      Instead I got a 2D plane scroller?

      Then 2D sort of platformer?

      Then some weird 3D action that I did not understand at all?

      What the fuck is that game.

      If I enjoyed combat more, I could give it another go. But it was just not for me.

  • Sixty@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    14·
    22 days ago

    Age of Empires 2 /w The Conquers expansion pack.

    Roller Coaster Tycoon 1. (2 was weaker without OpenRCT2, the real masterpiece, but idk if unfinished projects should count or not)

    Quake 3 Arena, Unreal Tournament 1999 GOTY, Worms Armageddon, SimCity 3000 Unlimited, Forza Horizon 2 / Motorsport 3, Need for Speed Underground 1, Clonk! Rage, Metal Gear Solid 1/2/3, Ace Combat 4, Okami, Tokyo Jungle, Zelda BOTW, Mario Odyssey, Sven Co-Op, Killing Floor 1, Final Fantasy 7, LISA: The Painful, Everhood 1, Deus Ex 1, Left 4 Dead 1/2, Portal 2, Battlefield Bad Company 2… Champions of Norrath and Return to Arms, Diablo 1, Baldur’s Gate 3 makes the list…NIER both games. Planet MiniGolf.

    I could go on and on.

    • FeelzGoodMan420@eviltoast.orgEnglish
      2·
      20 days ago

      I’ve been craving another experience like SOMA but unfortunately nothing even comes close. It was probably the coolest and most disturbing story I’ve ever seen. Finishing that game gave me an existential crisis for like 2 days after. It was that good.

    • jacksilver@lemmy.worldEnglish
      31·
      20 days ago

      I feel like Soma was a decent metaphysical question wrapped in a okayish walking simulator.

      It got a lot of praise, but basically boils down to the question “what makes you you” with nothing else about it standing out.

      If the gameplay isn’t a driving factor of making the game objectively good, then I don’t think it counts.

      • MintyAnt@lemmy.worldEnglish
        3·
        20 days ago

        The lack of gameplay is fine, and very much important to call out for any new players. There’s a whole genre of “you’re playing a movie” that SOMA fits nicely into

        • jacksilver@lemmy.worldEnglish
          1·
          20 days ago

          I think a masterpiece game has to offer more than just story. Additionally I think something like Firewatch does a much better job at telling a compelling story for a walking simulator. But clearly this is why “objective” masterpiece is hard to define, as nothing is really objective in these opinions.

          Other games I’d consider better in the walking simulator category:

          • Unfinished Swan
          • Firewatch
          • Gone Home
          • Stanley Parable

          Edit: Fixed formatting

      • kinther@lemmy.worldEnglish
        2·
        20 days ago

        Personally I think story can make a game stand out far more than graphics or gameplay. I also disagree that the game boiled down to one question. While it was the primary focus of the narrative, the underwater laboratories and world building/history was amazing.

        • jacksilver@lemmy.worldEnglish
          1·
          20 days ago

          I don’t disagree, but my opinion is gameplay (or the interactive nature) of games is what sets them apart from other mediums so would be a deciding factor in a masterpiece game.

          But I guess it largely just boils down to the fact Soma just didn’t do much for me.

          • FeelzGoodMan420@eviltoast.orgEnglish
            1·
            15 days ago

            I’d recommend playing SOMA again, but this time get extremely baked before you play. I’m joking (not really) but I found that game’s story so profound and interesting. It was like the most twisted unsettling environment I’ve ever seen. It had basic walking sim mechanics but being able to explore the environment and look at things up close was just really enjoyable.

            Also, I Inverse Tonemapped the game from SDR to HDR, so while not the best use of HDR, the added contrast gave the game a more pleasing spooky vibe. I also ran it at 4x DLDSR so it was very sharp.

            • jacksilver@lemmy.worldEnglish
              1·
              15 days ago

              The setting was definitely interesting. However the main story was a bit too much of a one trick pony - who is the real you.

              !Additionally they kinda cheat in the story telling around who lives on. It’s not random chance, each time they replicate their memories it just makes a clone. The original was never going to make it to the end.!<

              • FeelzGoodMan420@eviltoast.orgEnglish
                1·
                15 days ago

                Dude that’s literally the point! It throws in your face that it’s copy and paste, not cut and paste, yet your character Simon refuses to acknowledge it. Same with the survivors who killed themselves after being scanned for the ark because they wanted to achieve “continuity.” It’s explained but they just can’t accept it because it means they’re going to die.

                • jacksilver@lemmy.worldEnglish
                  1·
                  15 days ago

                  Yeah, but my point is that it’s apparent from scene 1 when “Simon” wakes up the first time. Just cause he doesn’t get it doesn’t mean the player doesn’t have to deal with the same concept getting rehashed over and over.

                  There was no build up of the concept or iteration on the idea. It’s just the same arc from the first 10-15 minutes of the gameplay playing out again and again. Except they swap it up at the end to try to make it hit harder, but to me it just felt played out.

                  I get why people like it, but it just didn’t have the pay off for me.

    • TheOakTree@lemm.eeEnglish
      2·
      20 days ago

      This is the game I used to convince my film nerd friends that games can be art too. They really enjoyed playing through it!

  • SSTF@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1272·
    22 days ago

    objective

    MEDIA APPRECIATION DOES NOT WORK THAT WAY, GOOD NIGHT!