Graal PC Roll Call

[Crow]

Originally Posted by kia345

Cool but it still bites from all of them in totally shallow ways.

More "exploration" which is really just in open world with like 75% of the locations being pointless, just like Skyrim.

CLIMB TOWER TO MAP (also jump off)

An even more simplified version of Souls dodge/counter combat - with, what, five, maybe six kinds of enemy?

BUT IT'S #OPENWORLD

A very shallow and tacked on food crafting gimmick

A very shallow and tacked on weapon durability and upgrade gimmick

BOTW is a fine game but it's overrated as **** and a lot of its flaws/shallow bits were things that the revolutionary and always pioneering Nintendo borrowed from other properties.

Pretty much this, but let me expand on that: BotW didn't challenge me the way I expected from a Zelda game. Even before the release, the whole shrine concept was criticized, but back then I still thought that Nintendo could pull it off by making lots of different and challenging shrines. But they didn't. I don't know how many exactly, but way too many shrines are "combat trial" shrines or "hey cool you found me have this chest" shrines, and that was just such a huge letdown. The majority of all the other shrines are also piss easy or super short or both. I wanted so much more and got nothing. The Divine Beasts were interesting, but executed poorly in my opinion. Most of the fights also weren't challenging at all.

And then, what pissed me off super hard (heh): the "hard" mode DLC. I expected tougher AI, bosses with more phases. My naive, childlike mind hoped for 120 entirely new shrines. But, well.. you know how that turned out.

But even with all that, I thoroughly enjoyed BotW. I just wish I could've enjoyed it even more.

[Kamaeru]

Originally Posted by Crow

BotW didn't challenge me the way I expected from a Zelda game. Even before the release, the whole shrine concept was criticized, but back then I still thought that Nintendo could pull it off by making lots of different and challenging shrines. But they didn't. I don't know how many exactly, but way too many shrines are "combat trial" shrines or "hey cool you found me have this chest" shrines, and that was just such a huge letdown. The majority of all the other shrines are also piss easy or super short or both

I agree with this criticism and find it valid, but most critics of this game actually argued that it was too hard. I agree with you but this is a common criticism I have of the entirety of modern gaming and I don't think BOTW has as much of an issue with difficulty balancing as most games. It would be unfair to single this game out for being too easy when I loved GTAV and it was ten times easier. I would have to generalize that I would like to see the difficulty increase in all of AAA gaming.

There are very few games I can think of that provide an adequate level of challenge that I like. Sonic 2 really nails it for me. Most Mario and Zelda games are too easy, that has sort of been a staple of both series.

The criticisms that kia made are the exact criticisms that people make when they have never played the game before, however. "Tacked on and shallow food crafting" -- freudian slip that he either did not play the game or went in specifically with a negative expectation. That is known as confirmation bias. If his favorite Graal server had a food crafting system as good as BOTW, he would be praising it.

[Crow]

Balance certainly wasn't an issue, because everything is pretty balanced. Just a few notches too easy. And the food system? It feels pretty awesome while on the plateau initially, but later on, it kinda does feel tacked on. You just have so much food at any given time in the game, makes me think the whole thing wasn't give much thought on the long run. It makes sense that it exists because hearts aren't a viable mechanic to heal Link in such a large world, but the execution of the food system could've been better.

[Kamaeru]

Originally Posted by Crow

Balance certainly wasn't an issue, because everything is pretty balanced. Just a few notches too easy. And the food system? It feels pretty awesome while on the plateau initially, but later on, it kinda does feel tacked on. You just have so much food at any given time in the game, makes me think the whole thing wasn't give much thought on the long run. It makes sense that it exists because hearts aren't a viable mechanic to heal Link in such a large world, but the execution of the food system could've been better.

I'm a chef in real life. I thought the food system was very charming and well done. My server, Bomy Island, features a food system that is nowhere near as good. I would love to expand it and make it good, but all the work I could do in the world is not going to make it as good as what Nintendo did there. To call BOTW's food situation shallow is a slanted comment. Shallow compared to what? It's clearly deep compared to any other game I have seen attempt anything similar.

[Crow]

Originally Posted by Kamaeru

I'm a chef in real life. I thought the food system was very charming and well done. My server, Bomy Island, features a food system that is nowhere near as good. I would love to expand it and make it good, but all the work I could do in the world is not going to make it as good as what Nintendo did there. To call BOTW's food situation shallow is a slanted comment. Shallow compared to what? It's clearly deep compared to any other game I have seen attempt anything similar.

It's definitely charming, especially in the way things animate and the sounds that are being played during the thing. It just felt boring quickly, hence shallow. You go into this expecting so many different possibilities, but in the end it's essentially a range of different effects you can mix together, and the food that carries the specific effect barely matters. No secret or interesting special combinations of anything, except for that monster cake you needed for that one side quest.

[Kamaeru]

Originally Posted by Crow

It's definitely charming, especially in the way things animate and the sounds that are being played during the thing. It just felt boring quickly, hence shallow. You go into this expecting so many different possibilities, but in the end it's essentially a range of different effects you can mix together, and the food that carries the specific effect barely matters. No secret or interesting special combinations of anything, except for that monster cake you needed for that one side quest.

What about the fact you can place an egg in hot water and it will become a boiled egg? Is that shallow? Chances are it's something you didn't know, which constitutes as a secret which is interesting and special. The thing about a secret (maybe this was a secret in itself to you) is that you don't know it exists yet.

[Crow]

Originally Posted by Kamaeru

What about the fact you can place an egg in hot water and it will become a boiled egg? Is that shallow? Chances are it's something you didn't know, which constitutes as a secret which is interesting and special. The thing about a secret (maybe this was a secret in itself to you) is that you don't know it exists yet.

Yea, I figured that one out at some point during my playthrough. I expected more, though. I mean.. it's just a boiled egg :/