What Are you Playing Now & General Game Discussions

[Stewy]

(08-14-2023, 07:27 PM)basballguy Wrote: If I was ranking right now...based on what i've played and the reviews I've read, I got GOTY like this (no Starfield rating yet):

1) BG3
2) Zelda
3) Hogwarts (haven't actually played this but it's on the list.  I've yet to find someone say something bad about this game)
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57) Diablo 4 (because I'm an end game player and the end game is awful lol)

Some thoughts on these.  It is my very VERY strong belief that Beths run on GOTY awards is coming to an end with Starfield.  Not just because I think the launch will be a disaster (you're fooling yourself if you believe otherwise), but because the competition is SO strong.  

BG3 - Haven't played it yet but will get it on PS5 release.  The reviews are staggeringly good.  People were hyped for this and from what I've been reading BG3 is EXCEEDING the hype.  PCGamer gave it a 97%, which is it highest rating given to any game in two decades.  Let that sink in....

Zelda:  TotK - Have played it and finished it.  Hundreds of hours played.  Firstly, anyone who tells you or thinks it's just a BoTW addon, hasn't played it or they're being disingenuous.  Yes Link and Zelda and many of the primary NPCs are back, AND the over world topography is re-used as well, but that is where things change.  Some perspective.
---Firstly - It has a real and engaging story, which had me interested to find out the NEXT part for the first time since the original Zelda back in the 80's.  Even though you know the inevitable outcome as with any Zelda game, it is the journey to that outcome which really shines here above other Zelda games.
---Secondly - Powers are completely different, replaced and tremendously upgraded from BotW.  The puzzle solving became very repetitive in BoTW, but 120+ shrines in and they all felt different in TotK because of of the freedom of the various tools.
---Thirdly - The overworld is only reused as topography, but completely re-tooled to fit TotK.  Additionally, the game is nearly 3x larger than the original because there are Under worlds and Sky areas of exactly the same size with all having different themes that work together seamlessly.  So iti sn't a "copy" of BotW with different stuff.  There is so SO much more to explore and do with the underworld and SKY areas being completely different experiences than the over world.  I found myself getting tired of the under world (much more challenging from a gameplay perspective), then going and hanging out in the sky and back and forth, which helped keep it very fresh.
---Fourthly - Sky Areas / Exploring / Towers - Flying is just downright fun.  The overworld Towers are different with a different origin than BotW, but are your best exploratory tool as well.  In BotW you were hard pressed to reach X area quickly, but in TotK, you can go back to a tower over and over, then glide ot the North to explore, then the South, use it to boost yourself into the sky far enough to reach some sky islands you haven't been to before.  The failed promise of cool flying and sky travele which was unfulfilled in Skyward Sword is fulfilled in spades in TotK.
---Fifthly - Inventory, weapons, Shields, etc. have all changed, enhanced upgraded - In BotW the best weapons were Lynel weapons, hands down.  Once you worked up to killing them, turning them all silver and filled your inventory with their gear, there wasn't much left to do except finish the game.  I won't give spoilers, but how they handle weaponry is completely different in TotK to essentially being an entirely different system for melee weapons.  It all is a part of the ability to merge items, but I won't say more.
Lastly a criticism - there's too much farming.  You can upgrade a set of gear to be more than eough to finsih the game, but if you're a completionist and you want to acquire and max every set of armor then you're into 1000's of hours.
Note:  This is not me really advocating for TotK as game of the year, but just to defend it against the "it's just a BotW add on" critics, which is ludicrous.

Hogwarts:  Legacy - played it twice and finished it.  The story is incredible.  The graphics astounding.  The gameplay addicting (you want to fight).  Use of spell casting, combos and defending is excellently done.  In most other years, this would be hands down the GotY, but this isn't a normal year.

BG3 - haven't played it, but will, reviews as i said, are astounding so far.

So this is what Starfield is up against.  Three games with excellent reviews, loved by fans and (nearly) flawless releases.  And we have a bethesda game which we know will have release issues, bugs, broken content, and empty lifeless regions because that's what Bethesda games are at release.  If Starfield is a normal Bethesda release, it has no chance at GotY as Fallout76 has ruined any benefit of the doubt the critics used to give Bethesda.  Your blind fanboys may think differently, but they aren't the ones doing the reviews.  With that said, I also have no doubt that Bethesda will fix whatever is broke in Starfield, and it will eventually be a great game, but it won't be GotY or RPGotY.  the competition is just too good.  i give it a less than 5% chance at GotY at this point.