This bugs me and i miss a lot of popular games because of this. Case in point, TLOU2. I really want to enjoy this game for the visuals alone but there's something about it that i can't stand. Same thing with games like Gears of War 5, Horizon Zero Down, the last God of War game... I thought it was about the fact that these games are heavy on story and cutscenes but other games like RDR2 and Resident Evil 2 Remake, i have no issues with. So what's the difference then?
I figure that some games take themselves way too seriously. Like the developers try too hard to evoke emotions so there is a lot of melodrama and "serious" moments. It gets especially bad when they zoom in characters faces to show the "emotions". But in games like RDR2, while there are similar moments, they still give a more lighthearted vibe. And Resi 2 Remake looks like a B movie so again, it doesn't come off as pretentious? I can't put my finger on what it is exactly that makes me enjoy something like RDR2 but makes me cringe in TLOU2.
Oh and that doesn't bother me in movies. For some reason it's only games that bug me.
Others feel the same?
Yeah. Same here to some extent.
I think for movies the difference is the time you need to spend watching the movie was playing a game.
A movie that takes itself too seriously is over and done within 2 to 3 hours.
A game doing the same is going to do that for 25+ hours.
Too many games I think have lofty goals of being "The Popular Oscar Winning Paradigm Shifting Movie" of videogames.
This is a pretty dumb goal, in my opinion but that's where we are at.
I kind of hate how Naughty Dog blow their own trumpet on how earth shatteringly meaningful their next game is gonna be.
Then it's like the game seems to just have an OK story.
You've got this idea that gaming is the great new storytelling medium.
However, this storytelling is implemented as a movie that is broken up by interactive sequences where you perform mechanical tasks to get to the next story bit.
Not that many games try to implement storytelling through game mechanics.
Dark Souls, for example, has lore BUT for me the storytelling in Dark Souls is something like "holy shit I had the Capra Demon almost defeated but I could only take one more hit and I just dodged at the last minute and killed that son of a bitch". That's the story!
Other games are like... here is some narrative. Now play through a moderately challenging section of game. Now here is some more narrative. Now solve this puzzle and go down that hallway and kill those 10 enemies. Now here is a bit more story for you.
Like the story is your reward for completing the gameplay rather than the gameplay being the story.
The gameplay is like the "eat your greens" moment before the writers will grace you with their next bit of narrative.
Breath of the Wild highlights this well. I think.
A lot of people bemoan the lack of story.
Personally I feel like as a player you are handed the ability to tell your own story.
Just go off and do whatever you want and those things that you end up doing? That's the story.
I think there's a difference there that is basically a choice between two things.
What did you do? (Tell your own story)
How did you feel? (React to the story told by the game)
Some games are focusing too much on "we want you to feel THIS" and the delivery is not very subtle at all.
Other games are just letting you play and so you are kind of receiving the story on your own terms.
Sometimes I feel like games are stuck trying to be movies.
Citizen Kane and The Godfather are getting their stories told in approx 2 and 3 hours respectively.
It's tight, well paced and the insights are delivered to the point and in a timely fashion.
The Last of Us (original) is 20 to 30 hours to tell quite a simple zombie action story.
It's beautiful to look at and interactive sure but also a bit laborious and time consuming for all that you will get out of it.