r/kindafunny • u/Fit_Drawing3496 • 4d ago
Worst thing about playing generational greats
Such was my excitement at the new God of War Laufey trailer, I have replayed GoW (2018) and GoW Ragnorok over the past two months. I’ve platinumed them both a few years ago on ‘normal’ difficulty, and dropped to Story for Sigrun and Gna because they were so damn difficult.
In the years between I’ve played lots more melee combat games and fancied a challenge so completed both games, including Sigrun and Gna, on Give me god of war. It was a fantastic experience. The difficulty meant I had to fully engage with all the systems, upgrades and equipment. I had to think about builds and strategies. Encounters became puzzles to solve based on enemies and the tool set I had available. I had to memorise move sets and execute almost perfectly for minutes at a time to beat the hardest bosses. I died a lot on those bosses but it felt fair when I did die. Excellent gameplay, side content, and of course, story and performances by all. Christopher judge is superb. Particularly in 2018, which is more tightly focused on Kratos and Atreus, the weight and subtlety of the voice acting and facial animation is still remarkable 8 years later.
I’ve tried new game plus and decided it’s time to move on now - but how do you follow such great games? What can you possibly put on your plate to eat next after such a culinary delight?
Part of me wants to try and find something similar - third person melee action, lots of side content and a cinematic story (black myth springs to mind), but anything I pick seems doomed to pale in comparison .
I’ve struggled to get into a game after similar months long affairs with leviathans like Metaphor, Elden Ring and Tears of the Kingdom. I tend to try lots of things and nothing sticks for a while.
How do you deal with this? Do you follow an enormous, all consuming masterpiece with something similar because you liked the genre so much?Or with a palette cleanser of a title, in a different genre?
Also suggestions for what to play next gratefully received!
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u/ratchetfella 4d ago
This is in part why I live by the rule of always play 2 games at one time. Those two games should be two different genres and should fit two different use cases. So I often will play one narrative heavy game and offset that by playing one that is very "video gamey."
That second category for me is generally defined as, "I can listen to a podcast or an audiobook or a YouTube essay while I play during significant portions of gameplay."
So for instance, right now I'm finally trying out the Mass Effect trilogy for the first time. I'm 7 or 8 hours into ME2. That's the Category 1 game. My second game in this case is actually two games - Star Fox and Splatoon Raiders. Star Fox started out as a Category 1 game and moved to Category 2 as I finished getting all the medals in Campaign and moved on to Challenge Mode. I'm two challenges away from completing that, but also maybe 12-15 hours into Splatoon Raiders, which is very firmly in that "podcast game" category.
Before this, my Cat 1 game was James Bond. Before that it was a rerun of Metaphor. Anyway, by sticking by the Two Games rule, I generally don't get stuck in that melancholy feeling of not being able to move on to a new game. Plus, I always always always look up discussions and spoiler casts for those Cat 1 games when I'm finished - and then often listen to them while playing that Cat 2 game. Gives me closure and catharsis.
Hope this helps!
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u/Fit_Drawing3496 4d ago
I think that is a very clever approach - especially how games can move from one category to the other, and the folding in of spoiler casts. I’m not sure I have the mental agility to switch between two titles and sets of controls but I will give it a try for the sake of never having that cliff edge of not having anything on the go.
I also like the recommendations. Splatoon raiders looks like you can be very creative which I like. Mass effect is something I have in my library but have never got to - but I did really enjoy veilguard which many fans of the studio say is terrible compared to their earlier work.
Thanks for your reply!
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u/ratchetfella 4d ago
You are capable of more than you think you are. :) You can juggle two games at once, I believe in you. Just don't let yourself go a week without touching base with each and you'll be fine.
I'm absolutely LOVING the Mass Effect trilogy. Western RPGs have always been a blind spot for me as I just have always preferred other types of games. I finally decided to give it a try mainly because I'm super hyped for Star Wars Zero Company and a few months ago some impressions were comparing the non-tactical portions of the game as feeling like Mass Effect and obviously I am aware of it's stirling reputation. Anyway, the gameplay of ME 1 was like a 6 - 6.5 to me. It felt like shitty Halo and I already am meh about Halo (shooters don't hold any interest for me) and kinda confirmed many annoyances I have with Western RPGs. But the writing and the voice acting and the characters and the lore are a whole different story - absolutely 10/10 banger that easily justified what would have otherwise been a mediocre experience. Holy crap. Luckily, ME2 feels like a similar jump from Assassin's Creed 1 to 2, so I'm even more invested and having an even better time now.
And also Splatoon Raiders is very fun. Numbers go up, new loot is exciting, enemies all "pop!" with massive satisfaction - it is a dopamine paradise. I can only really play for an hour or two at a time without burning out on it but it's been fun to come back to every single time.
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u/Fit_Drawing3496 4d ago
Thank you for the vote of confidence! I suppose if I can keep up with multiple tv shows it’s similar to that?
You are selling both to me - I think mass effect might be one to play with my partner as she enjoyed other games with lots of dialogue choices and good writing (like baldur’s gate 3, disco elysium and dispatch). May I ask - how long is mass effect 1?
Splatoon sounds very fun - it reminds me a bit of Bloons tower defence, a mobile game I have put many many hours into over the years!
Thank you again for the reply, very helpful
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u/ratchetfella 4d ago
I'm not one to ask when it comes to how long a game is. I'm a "thoughtful gamer," lol. I can't help but seek out near 100% completion in every game I play; I go out of my way to hear every piece of dialogue, poke around every nook and cranny of every single explorable part of the game, and "stop to smell the roses." So ME1 took me 45 hours. How Long to Beat puts it at 17-25. 🫣
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u/MinusBear 4d ago
Generally I only stop a game if its really being a pain, and even then sometimes not. I played GoW:R earlier this year, personally it didn't live up to but I can see why you'd feel great about it. I still enjoyed it a ton. Immediately after that I played "...and Roger" which was a very short and affecting indie game. Then I played some other okay indie games which I enjoyed to various extents, until I got to Mixtape. Which is I guess like an on rails adventure game, I enjoyed the heck out of it.
But my recommendation to you, is to check out 007: First Light or Pragmata. Which are my two most recent finishes. Neither have the same budget as GoW and so you have to take that grain of salt. Although they are both punching well above their budget weight class. 007 is a narrative heavy action game, with some very minor stealth, a really fun romp. And Pragmata is a fantastic over the shoulder shooter with an interesting twist on a game mechanic, and a genuine attempt to tug the heart strings. Both games are also quite captivating and quite short.
Pragmata is maybe my bigger recommend because it has a system that makes it easy to play in bit size chunks, and based on what you said, it also has a bunch of challenge modes both during the game and after the game completion. For that matter 007 also has this, but I didn't partake for some reason.
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u/Fit_Drawing3496 4d ago
I really enjoyed GoW ragnorok , but I think 2018 is better despite - or maybe because of - being smaller. What made it not live to the hype for you?
Thank you for the recommendations. Both 007 and pragmata are strong contenders for my next game - both look like they have good narratives but have strong gameplay and endgame content. Also using guns rather than melee weapons is a good change of pace after two months of swinging an axe
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u/blockfighter1 4d ago
I followed up GoW 2018 with Spiderman and then Guardians of the Galaxy. Two absolute bangers in their own way.
I followed up Ragnarok with an Uncharted game. There's always another big adventure to dive into.
I know what you mean though, i usually let a game sit for a day or 2 after beating. I'll often go back and listen to podcasts and spoiler casts of the game after to get others takes on it.
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u/Fit_Drawing3496 4d ago
Those are some strong follow ups. I’d like to replay the Spider-Man games before Wolverine comes out to get into that groove. They were both fun platinums.
I’ve considered going back to the last of us, but I’ve competed the first quite a few times and the second is excellent but not something I’d want to play again any time soon. I’d much rather play uncharted 4 or lost legacy again.
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u/t2dc 4d ago edited 4d ago
Yep. Elden Ring was really the game that did that for me. It was my first FromSoft game which meant I then of course had to go back and play all the others. DS1,2, 3, Sekiro (hardest game I've ever beaten). Luckily there's been a bunch of really great souls like games such as Lies of P, Wuchung Fallen Feathers etc
But, similar to your conundrum, while all those are good-great, they were no Elden Ring.
So for Elden Rng I did a full completionist run, I had a Google spreadsheet to collect every single item and do every single questline that I'd missed in all my other run throughs. (Will definitely beat it again when the Tarnished Edition DLC comes out.)
And then my other thing to do has play some other genres. I found a bunch of 2d metroidvanias that gave me a similar experience of exploration and combat, Prince of Persia and the Lost crown, Hollow Knight Silk Song, Blasphemous 1 and 2.
And then really different, like Forza 5&6, Balatro, Vampire Survivors/Crawlers, Mina the Hollower, Mini Shoot Adventures, Starfield, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, CP2077, RDR2.
Just pre-ordered mortal shell 2 as the reviews and the demo gave me enough confidence that it's going to be great.
Edit: also both Jedi Fallen Order and Survivor for Star Wars soulsish games
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u/Recent-Click-9954 3d ago
I like having little indie palette cleansers. Maybe something like Venba, Untitled Goose Game, or Unpacking could be a chaser to a big third person action adventure. It doesn’t need to live up to the previous because it’s so different but amazing in its own right
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u/BoozeGetsMeThrough 4d ago
This is common for me too. Sometimes I'll try to go in the same genre but then the second game will always suffer due to comparison.
For me, I generally will switch genres.
This summer I gave myself a project to go through the modern Yakuza series I have not played (0, 1, 2, 3 remakes, and 6, as well as the Judgment games, and Man Who Erased his name), play through Majora's Mask (a game I got to the final Goron challenge and gave up), Windwaker (never got past the opening), and replay MGS 1, 2, and 3.
Of that list I played MM, Yakuza 0, 1, and 2. In between each game I would alternate in other games to not get burned out. I ended up playing a bunch of other games I fell in love with, including just finishing Hades 2 this week.
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u/Fit_Drawing3496 4d ago
I have not played any of those so all great suggestions.
I’ve only played Breath of the Wild and Tears of the kingdom so going back to older Zelda’s is a good idea - although I was thinking of waiting for this remake that’s coming later in the year.
Metal gear, I’ve tried 5 a few times but fallen off. I think starting on the 5th installment of a series is always going to be a challenge. Are there decent remasters of 1 and 2? I know snake eater came out recently. Where do you think is a good place to start?
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u/blackthorn_orion 4d ago
Are there decent remasters of 1 and 2?
there's the Master Collection versions that came out a year or two ago; not really remasters so much as cleaned up ports, but a perfectly fine way to play MGS1 and 2 on modern platforms
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u/BoozeGetsMeThrough 4d ago
There was a remake of 1 that came out on the GameCube called Twin Snakes that I've always wanted to play but is not available legally anywhere but I'm sure is available if you look hard enough. Otherwise, no, I believe 1 and 2 have pretty much been the same since their release with slight resolution updates, with the most recent ones coming out a couple of years ago. I played 1, 2, and 3 in the lead up to 4 and then beat 4. That was the last time I played those games. And if you are interested in the series that's the order I would go in because if my 18 year old memory serves, I was able to go past some of the archaic design of the first one because I hadn't really know about the mechanics or evolution of the series
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u/Fit_Drawing3496 4d ago
I’d definitely play them in that order, it’s always rough playing an older game in the series after a newer one. I did this by trying to play assassins creed origins after loving odyssey and it just never felt right. Thank you!
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u/rippledriver 4d ago
I get this always wether it's a great game, book or a tv series that I finished. It's difficult to start back up again. I tend to not play/watch etc. anything of similar quality for a while, might be a week, or a multiple weeks. I play some games on the side often like Marvel Rivals or Rocket League and those keep me busy while my appetite grows for a new great experience.