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[SMG]

Hellblade has a variety of environments and assets what're you talking about? It never introduces something out of left field like a snow level but it definitely has a variety of aesthetics as you go through the game.

The looking for shapes in the environment puzzles are there to slow the player down, without them you would run through the areas in half a minute. By 5 hours in I was tired of the wet beaches with boat wrecks and the limited combat mechanics against 3 main enemy types.

I would much rather have a publisher fund a game like DmC then get more Hellblades.
Indie studios feeling pressure to have AAA aesthetics at the cost of all else would be nothing but bad.

 

[kubricks]

I do enjoy Jim's grovelling and backpedalling RE Hellblade though, as if it will somehow erase the 1/10 score he gave it. We haven't forgotten, Jim, and your constant praise of the game won't make us forget either.

He elaborated his original score and changed it later with reasons.
I accept it.

Who is the "we" and "us" you are talking about here?

 

[*Splinter]

lol at the Jim apologists in here. Come on, he fucked up with the Hellblade review, there's no way around it. He made a stupid mistake that no serious reviewer should ever do -- namely giving a game a 1/10 because of an emotional overreaction to a bug.

...and?

Which "apologist" claimed any different to this?

 

[d9b]

Don't stop and never change Jim. Thank god for you!

 

[Yautja_Warrior]

They could afford to sell it at a reduced price because although it got turned into a full game it likely didn't cost as much to develop as UC4 considering just how many assets it reuses from the main game and UC4's dev time was largely spent establishing new tech compared to here. How many full price games don't offer good value for it to be a problem with the industry? Remember we're in the era of open worlds and GaaS MP shooters.

My point and Jim's is, there is enough content in something like Hellblade to sell at full price if they wanted too, but the fact they didn't is the positive thing here, plus like Jim says in the video, they tackle subjects (Mental Health / Psychosis) which Publishers might find uncomfortable and try to change or water down that aspect. Going indie, they have the freedom to do things a Publisher might not allow.

I find a lot of big games don't offer great value these days tbh, especially digital, where the average price is £59 - £79 and still has DLC and Microtransactions on top, plus some don't even work correctly without patching after release, so personally I don't find these things good value for gamers and one reason I still buy discs for £25 - £45 or wait for a digital sale and never touch Microtransactions.

I guess value is down to each person but I never pay more than £45 for a game in most cases, as I don't feel like most games are worth more than that. I also buy a lot more indie games these days too, as they normally come with less bullshit and are priced decently.

 

[Markitron]

Agree with Jim 100% on this. Excited to finally give Hellblade a go this weekend, at this point I could probably wait for a sale but I love NT's games and want to support this kind of game development in the future.

 

[thumb]

Agree with Jim 100% on this. Excited to finally give Hellblade a go this weekend, at this point I could probably wait for a sale but I love NT's games and want to support this kind of game development in the future.

It's a fantastic game, IMHO. There's nothing like it out there right now, and I found it to have an uncommon level of emotional intensity.

 

[TatteredHat]

Right, I keep forgetting I should pick up Hellblade.

 

[RooMHM]

Because the point is that going through that experience isn't fun. A lot of what Senua does in the game is incredibly mundane and touches upon how even something as mundane as opening a door can be an ordeal for someone suffering from psychosis.

Spoiler

The runes literally don't exist...

Ok let's rephrase it.
Why choose the third person game classicism making that I'm less interested in living that experience?
It's kinda like saying psychotism is what you are used to in a way.

 

[Gaogaogao]

👏 REVIEWS👏ARE 👏OPINIONS
if finding a game breaking bug affected his opinion such that he wants to give it a 1, he can do that.

 

[Terrell]

Well, this thread certainly ended up being not even remotely about the video he posted. People seem really unsettlingly eager to take the man down a peg, for reasons I can't quite understand.

With regard to the actual video... Terms like "indie" and "AAA" have veered so far from their original intentions that they become nearly meaningless, I've had this opinion for some time now. To some people, "AAA" is about budget; to others, it's about quality; to yet others still, it's about hype. The only thing those traits have in common is how a publisher can rally any or all of them. And indie can mean a slew of things depending on who you ask, as well. So combining the phrases causes an unfortunate meeting of terrible misguided notions that doesn't need to exist.

So to simplify, I suggest the following:

- "indie" should be merely used to describe a game without a publisher. That's it.
- "AAA" should be done away with entirely, and replaced with something that is neutral to budget and quality definitions of the term. In its place, I suggest the term "marquee", to be used for games that draw significant attention and/or notoriety. This makes the term usable on games with or without a publisher without any issue, doesn't concern itself with being a "blockbuster" experience to fit the moniker and generally is just about its power to generate interest moreso than other titles. This way, Persona 5 can be talked about in the same breath as, say, an Uncharted title and stop the inevitable arguments about what does and doesn't classify as "AAA".