#and ignoring one layer of the cake will make my critique of the whole less sound overall

[succliberation]

The thing that no one ever tells you about writing video essays is how much shit you need to talk about before you can talk about the thing you want to talk about.

Like, even if I say something simple like 'there's too many pointless collectibles in totk', I have to sit down and really think about what that means. Are all optional collectibles in video games pointless, because they don't advance the main plot? Should every collectible be made non-optional in order to give them meaning? Is there such a thing as 'too many collectibles' in an open world game, because the player can guide their own experience and choose not to collect them if they don't want them? Is adding a side quest to collect non-optional collectibles good game design, or bad game design, or does it depend? Is it good that some collectibles have side-quests, and some don't? Going back to my critique, is it just something that's my subjective opinion? Or is it something that I can use 'facts and logic' to talk about what causes my feelings?

Idk, it feels like I could make a whole short video about the point of collectibles in video games before I even start making ONE SINGLE POINT in talking about totk lmao.