#ALSO like... in aw2 i legit end up being given scenes where i am just watching a video

[spikeinthepunch]

i am playing Alan Wake 2, after after Alan Wake 1 (well. i gave up on playin bc i was not a fan of the gameplay and just watched a long LP). i think AW2 falls in line with what i see as like.. "cinematic video games that are basically movies". i know a key example of this are games like The Last of Us. These games are story focused, but they also really keep you on one track. Not just in the sense of a linear story, but physically (in game). I find these kinds of games don't often give you a lot to do in terms of branching off location wise unless its for a collectible, so even then its minor. Additionally, these games are basically always realistic in graphic/art style. I think in general theres been a huge rise on realistic looking games now that tech gets better, but it pretty much dominates this kind of game.

but what is on my mind as i play AW2 and this 'type' of game... well, im all for a story focused game. but these games i feel lack more and more significant gameplay where i kinda wonder if im "playing "playing" it at all. There are a few things considered "gameplay" in this game im sure but I will be real 90% of it wouldnt call that at all. Gameplay? Explore and fight enemies and solve some pretty simple puzzles (many of which can be considered side content anyways). What isn't actually gameplay to me? reading letters, looking at pictures, and sticking them on a wall in your mind palace. Looking at a scene and Alan saying its a new plot point he needs to write, so you open the window and click it so it happens. That's... not gameplay, its just a slightly extended way for you to see the story continue. And thats not to say all that is bad-- its simply a device to tell the story and its kinda neat i guess. But this isn't what I see as significant gameplay. You could entirely leave those actions out and it would be fine, but it would admittedly make the game feel more empty in terms of stuff to 'do' (which may be a bad sign lol)

the topic of "game that feels like a movie" is complicated. because you cant claim theyre bad because of the lack of gameplay (but its a critism to make if it doesnt help the game) because obviously.... we got the genre of... walking sims. and well, people have a lot to say about them in terms of gameplay too. i have played a number of walking sims that i love but i also guess the "point" of them is walking, you know that going in? but it doesnt make a point against the games i am talking about. because little unique gameplay doesnt mean you will have a bad game.

i like games focused on stories, i love them. and its certainly my attraction to games like AW2. i have played games that feel like im watching a real good movie and i absolutely love it when i come out on the other side feeling like i took part in that "movie". but i think where i feel detached in some of them is where you the player, get further disconnected from the main character(s). And I think this honestly happens more when you dont have gameplay that really lets you interact with it as a video game enough. less and less gameplay present and undirected interaction with the world, more and more scripted paths and forced direction. walking sims dont tend to feel similar to games like TLOU or AW2 not because they dont have combat, but because walking sims are usually presented entirely differently despite what could be said about lack of/simple gameplay-- you the player know youre walking around, and typically youre doing so to explore which already leads you to a game with open opportunities as a player, you dont know what coming in your path and thats the sense of discovery I feel like i lack in these other games. the script is written, your path can be forced. if it is too forced, too restricted then it doesnt feel like im getting to play much of a game.

the video game feels like a movie in a way i dont find appealing, when i feel like all i am really doing is moving my character on a path i must take and wait for the moment i need to shoot, then walking on the path again to the next area. to where else to look unless i need ammo. no where else to look unless i care about some random side items. (all of which i dont need at all if i font want them, and dont take me anywhere outside of my intended path) the video games that feel like a movie in a good way are ones that despite being heavily story focused, it allows enough options in gameplay and in world to let me still feel free and up to my own devices even when it does get back on track and put me in some clearly directed scenarios. i want to be excited to be in the video game's world so that i can have balance and be just as excited to continue even when they game puts me on some tracks i need to go through to see the story, before going back to feeling like a video game.

its all up to preference on what genres people like. but the AAA scene is becoming quite saturated with these linear story games with ultra realistic graphics. they look great and they can tell great stories. but sometimes i am not sure i feel like buying a $60 game that maybe... doesn't really make me feel like i am playing a game. admittedly i had expected a bit more from AW2 and its not offering much else for me to do with the gameplay.