Really good discussion on reviews. I largely disagreed with how hard The Besties was on Starfield, but I could not imagine ever being upset over someone’s perspective on a piece of art. It’s more interesting to me since 90-99% of the time, I align with Griffin (also Kirk from Triple Click) on liking a game or not. It gets me thinking what shapes a difference of opinion in the cases where it’s completely different.
Also surprised about the review of Starfield which Todd himself declared, “Skyrim in space,” was what was cooking. Short of printing it on the PR material, I’m not sure how else expectations could be set for the game to come. I haven’t visited the realm of Skyrim for years, and I was excited to see what a fresh coat of paint and a rebranding would do for it. Starfield is like being wrapped in a warm cozy blanket with a cup of cocoa in hand. Love it.
Ya. It’s everything you would expect from a BGS game (good and bad). If you know what to expect, and that is your thing, you’re going to be completely satisfied I think.
Things do change though. Games were a lot different when Skyrim launched and even since FO4. RPG’s have done some incredible things since. I could see the BGS systems not being as loved even by someone who absolutely loved the previous titles. Most the mechanics still work for me completely and the exploration is totally my shit, but there are mechanics that I can’t wait to mod and improve.
I just wish they evolved the formula a little. Remember how great BotW was, thanks to Nintendo deciding to evolve and not just put the same exact game out again? I want Bethesda to grow and do something fresh and better, with the ESSENCE of Skyrim, and not just putting out a reskin of it.
I completely agree. I keep telling people that it feels like you can tell the outdated conventions they've just inherited as a side affect of a decade long developement cycle. Like it feels like its a remastered game from 10 years ago, but in the best way. I'm really enjoying the game.
Im not upset about the reviews, just a bit bummed. Bad reviews about games I love tend to kind of plant a seed of doubt that kinda just rears its head some times. Happened to me with high on life, I was having a blast with that one and there was kind of a sour review. I tried to go back to it but Its just felt bad after that. Haven't touched it since.
I can understand that to a degree, and that’s why I like listening to a conversational review like with a podcast or video review, because there is a lot of specifics that can be lost in a text review and especially in a score.
I try to not let any persons opinion completely shape mine, but I will use it to further analyze if something is worth my time. A lot of what the guys mentioned last week were things that were either not deal breakers or things that I liked about a BGS game. The biggest concern I had was when they mentioned the exploration not being BGS like, because everything is marked. I have that in my mind when playing, and after 14 hours of play I disagree with that, but if it were accurate in my eye, it would have been the review that made that more apparent. It’s the upside and the downside of conversing about media and art you are taking it.
Games are so subjective, and as long as the game is well made in the sense that it runs well and is made with good intent, then anyone’s opinion of it being good or bad is completely valid. No one knows what you like better than you.
I agree and usually I can ignore it, or I just avoid reviews but Sometimes they get ya with something you didn't consider a problem until they point it out. And then it just kinda lives there in the back of my mind, eating away
Funny - I tried NMS when it came to Xbox, and I was bored within minutes. I was expecting this great thing, but immediately was told to laser some lumps off rocks for a while. This is also the first thing you do in Starfield, but the narrative and atmosphere excited me to move past that and get on with the weirdness to follow.
Do y'all ever get that "I want to play a game but I don't know what" sort of feeling? Like opening a fridge to eat something, but the fridge is full of video games. Any go-to in a situation like this?
Absolutely. Analysis paralysis, i get overwhelmed by my steam library regularly. Fortunately usually rimworld kenshi and zomboid are always fun to start new games in, or try some new challenge. Even minecraft, or short run games vampire survivors/ 20 minutes til dawn are great for restarting things
I'm about 50 hours in and its still looking like game of the decade for me. It's along the same lines as fallout nv/4 or morrowind/skyrim for me, games that's ive played for years and years and still revisit regularly.
Also games that i would not play unmodded. Starfield is the first one I haven't sought out mods for. It's really bringing to light that maybe people can decide if they like something or not before it's even arrived.
I for sure fell in love with fallout 4/ skyrim/ starfield before they even came out and nothing after the fact could change it, and conversely people who wanted to dislike it before it was out wouldn't have their minds changed by actually playing it
I'm knee deep in BG3, I just preordered Lies of P (demo was just what I was looking for) and now I'm being called back to the Sky no single man has claimed. Curse you Russ for reminding my how amazing NMS is
I could not recommend a device more. It's so easy to work with. Super customizable. Got me into so many amazing games. Honestly it rivals the analogue pocket.
Miyoo Mini + is pretty awesome. I gave it the onion os and use retroarch mostly. You can basically run anything from ps1 or earlier. I’m not sure about n64 or anything joystick heavy. It does have L1, L2, R1, R2 buttons, but it is an odd design. Kind of annoying, personally. I haven’t had any problems running games for the ps1. It comes with the ePSXe emulator, but no “discs”. You will have to require your “discs” on your own. Currently playing through “Legend of Dragoon”. You should get it, but purchase a micro sd and adapter separate from the one it comes with.
The reviews discussion was really solid. I did struggle a little bit listening to the review for Starfield last week, as I was waiting to check it out on gamepass and hearing folks (particularly Griffin and Russ,) have not-so-great things to say about it made me immediately apprehensive. I think it made me boot the game up ready to dislike it and be disappointed, and my frame of reference and context coming from that negative space kinda sucked initially. It eventually wore off, I love the game and have had a great time with it... but I'm also only able to play it in short bursts due to my busy schedule.
I think it would be really cool to have more philosophical discussions like this about games and reviews, and just.... taste in general? I trust The Besties, and listen to them and Triple Click because I'm a 36 year old with progressive tendencies and share similar hobbies and ideas with the hosts of these two shows when it comes to gaming and pop culture... so it's always interesting when I feel like I disagree pretty heavily with their takes on things I'm into.
Boost, Into The Aether is such a gem and I also really enjoy that they stick to talking about things they enjoy and steer clear of negative discussion. It's such a bright spot in my week.
Loved Handler Plante's debriefing. Balteas took me like nine hours to beat until I figured out consistent damage while his shield was down is more important than burst damage when he first stunned. I also like the mission structure, makes it much easier to pick up and put down as needed.
A really good model for integrating lots of reviews into an overall picture of how some media is being received is the book review website https://bookmarks.reviews/.
Book reviews are not scored, so the website just classifies each review as either "Rave," "Positive," "Mixed," or "Pan," and you can quickly see the distribution of each and read a few of each type, if you're inclined.
I would love to see something similar for games. Rotten tomatoes and Metacritic are, to me, a little silly -- giving a kind of false super-precision to the question "Is this supposed to be any good or what?"
Based on other reviews (because I haven't finished it), it sounds like Starfield really shines when you get through the main quest line. I know y'all aren't excited about media that takes time to marinate, but I'd love to see if the "meh" review turns into an "ahhh" review once someone on the Besties finished the story.
I'm going to need to see a picture of this cake.
Really good discussion on reviews. I largely disagreed with how hard The Besties was on Starfield, but I could not imagine ever being upset over someone’s perspective on a piece of art. It’s more interesting to me since 90-99% of the time, I align with Griffin (also Kirk from Triple Click) on liking a game or not. It gets me thinking what shapes a difference of opinion in the cases where it’s completely different.
Also surprised about the review of Starfield which Todd himself declared, “Skyrim in space,” was what was cooking. Short of printing it on the PR material, I’m not sure how else expectations could be set for the game to come. I haven’t visited the realm of Skyrim for years, and I was excited to see what a fresh coat of paint and a rebranding would do for it. Starfield is like being wrapped in a warm cozy blanket with a cup of cocoa in hand. Love it.
Ya. It’s everything you would expect from a BGS game (good and bad). If you know what to expect, and that is your thing, you’re going to be completely satisfied I think.
Things do change though. Games were a lot different when Skyrim launched and even since FO4. RPG’s have done some incredible things since. I could see the BGS systems not being as loved even by someone who absolutely loved the previous titles. Most the mechanics still work for me completely and the exploration is totally my shit, but there are mechanics that I can’t wait to mod and improve.
I just wish they evolved the formula a little. Remember how great BotW was, thanks to Nintendo deciding to evolve and not just put the same exact game out again? I want Bethesda to grow and do something fresh and better, with the ESSENCE of Skyrim, and not just putting out a reskin of it.
I completely agree. I keep telling people that it feels like you can tell the outdated conventions they've just inherited as a side affect of a decade long developement cycle. Like it feels like its a remastered game from 10 years ago, but in the best way. I'm really enjoying the game.
Im not upset about the reviews, just a bit bummed. Bad reviews about games I love tend to kind of plant a seed of doubt that kinda just rears its head some times. Happened to me with high on life, I was having a blast with that one and there was kind of a sour review. I tried to go back to it but Its just felt bad after that. Haven't touched it since.
I can understand that to a degree, and that’s why I like listening to a conversational review like with a podcast or video review, because there is a lot of specifics that can be lost in a text review and especially in a score.
I try to not let any persons opinion completely shape mine, but I will use it to further analyze if something is worth my time. A lot of what the guys mentioned last week were things that were either not deal breakers or things that I liked about a BGS game. The biggest concern I had was when they mentioned the exploration not being BGS like, because everything is marked. I have that in my mind when playing, and after 14 hours of play I disagree with that, but if it were accurate in my eye, it would have been the review that made that more apparent. It’s the upside and the downside of conversing about media and art you are taking it.
Games are so subjective, and as long as the game is well made in the sense that it runs well and is made with good intent, then anyone’s opinion of it being good or bad is completely valid. No one knows what you like better than you.
I agree and usually I can ignore it, or I just avoid reviews but Sometimes they get ya with something you didn't consider a problem until they point it out. And then it just kinda lives there in the back of my mind, eating away
I am more upset about the fact that I cant see this cake, than any criticism any of you have given a game ever.
These No Man's Sky settings are going to push me back into the game. I can feel it
Funny - I tried NMS when it came to Xbox, and I was bored within minutes. I was expecting this great thing, but immediately was told to laser some lumps off rocks for a while. This is also the first thing you do in Starfield, but the narrative and atmosphere excited me to move past that and get on with the weirdness to follow.
It feels very Frushtick to take pictures of your screen instead of screenshots 😆.
This is a great push to jump back into NMS like I've been meaning to forever. Thanks for sharing!
Do y'all ever get that "I want to play a game but I don't know what" sort of feeling? Like opening a fridge to eat something, but the fridge is full of video games. Any go-to in a situation like this?
Absolutely. Analysis paralysis, i get overwhelmed by my steam library regularly. Fortunately usually rimworld kenshi and zomboid are always fun to start new games in, or try some new challenge. Even minecraft, or short run games vampire survivors/ 20 minutes til dawn are great for restarting things
That's what it's called! I've been wondering ever since the days of video rental stores and have just called "Video Store Syndrome."
Lmao that's good too thought
They had a lot of fun with that first ad break. Very big dad energy.
I'm about 50 hours in and its still looking like game of the decade for me. It's along the same lines as fallout nv/4 or morrowind/skyrim for me, games that's ive played for years and years and still revisit regularly.
Also games that i would not play unmodded. Starfield is the first one I haven't sought out mods for. It's really bringing to light that maybe people can decide if they like something or not before it's even arrived.
I for sure fell in love with fallout 4/ skyrim/ starfield before they even came out and nothing after the fact could change it, and conversely people who wanted to dislike it before it was out wouldn't have their minds changed by actually playing it
* talking about starfield, can't edit comments rip
I'm knee deep in BG3, I just preordered Lies of P (demo was just what I was looking for) and now I'm being called back to the Sky no single man has claimed. Curse you Russ for reminding my how amazing NMS is
Looking forward to seeing what y'all have to say about the Miyoo Mini +. I too have recently fallen down the retro handheld rabbit hole.
I could not recommend a device more. It's so easy to work with. Super customizable. Got me into so many amazing games. Honestly it rivals the analogue pocket.
Miyoo Mini + is pretty awesome. I gave it the onion os and use retroarch mostly. You can basically run anything from ps1 or earlier. I’m not sure about n64 or anything joystick heavy. It does have L1, L2, R1, R2 buttons, but it is an odd design. Kind of annoying, personally. I haven’t had any problems running games for the ps1. It comes with the ePSXe emulator, but no “discs”. You will have to require your “discs” on your own. Currently playing through “Legend of Dragoon”. You should get it, but purchase a micro sd and adapter separate from the one it comes with.
The reviews discussion was really solid. I did struggle a little bit listening to the review for Starfield last week, as I was waiting to check it out on gamepass and hearing folks (particularly Griffin and Russ,) have not-so-great things to say about it made me immediately apprehensive. I think it made me boot the game up ready to dislike it and be disappointed, and my frame of reference and context coming from that negative space kinda sucked initially. It eventually wore off, I love the game and have had a great time with it... but I'm also only able to play it in short bursts due to my busy schedule.
I think it would be really cool to have more philosophical discussions like this about games and reviews, and just.... taste in general? I trust The Besties, and listen to them and Triple Click because I'm a 36 year old with progressive tendencies and share similar hobbies and ideas with the hosts of these two shows when it comes to gaming and pop culture... so it's always interesting when I feel like I disagree pretty heavily with their takes on things I'm into.
Also worth checking out Into the Aether if you don't already listen. That's my 3 pod rotation throughout the week. They give me my fix of positivity.
Boost, Into The Aether is such a gem and I also really enjoy that they stick to talking about things they enjoy and steer clear of negative discussion. It's such a bright spot in my week.
Thanks, I'll throw them on my sub list for the week and check 'em out!
Loved Handler Plante's debriefing. Balteas took me like nine hours to beat until I figured out consistent damage while his shield was down is more important than burst damage when he first stunned. I also like the mission structure, makes it much easier to pick up and put down as needed.
Starfield might mostly have bog-standard voice actors, but one of them is Brian David Gilbert, so…
(I got sufficient amusement out of a YouTube video of his character to not get FOMO.)
A really good model for integrating lots of reviews into an overall picture of how some media is being received is the book review website https://bookmarks.reviews/.
Book reviews are not scored, so the website just classifies each review as either "Rave," "Positive," "Mixed," or "Pan," and you can quickly see the distribution of each and read a few of each type, if you're inclined.
I would love to see something similar for games. Rotten tomatoes and Metacritic are, to me, a little silly -- giving a kind of false super-precision to the question "Is this supposed to be any good or what?"
Might be a dumb question, but what does "pan" mean here? Is it an abbreviation?
Oh! It means like a really severe criticism. Meriam Webster has it listed as the *fifth* definition of the word, so maybe it's a bit of a niche use!
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pan
Based on other reviews (because I haven't finished it), it sounds like Starfield really shines when you get through the main quest line. I know y'all aren't excited about media that takes time to marinate, but I'd love to see if the "meh" review turns into an "ahhh" review once someone on the Besties finished the story.
after finishing the story myself, i think a "meh" review is appropriate :(