#or the rpg. or the dating sim except that wouldn't work

[literalite]

amongis

we the people commissioned @gunthermunch ai ai for a line up of our amongus ocs!! i am going to play with these pngs like dolls. this is the best day of my life thus far

[thrumbolt]

So, in November my girlfriend gifted my all the Dragon Age games because our DnD sessions were cancelled. 'Go date some elves there!' - and so I did. I went in completely blind, knew basically nothing about the series (except that you could date elves). So now, a month after finishing the last one, I feel my thoughts have rested enough to voice an opinion™. I'll drop my personal ratings here and elaborate under the cut.

Dragon Age: Origins 8/10

Dragon Age Awakening 6/10

Dragon Age 2 9/10

Dragon Age: Inquisition 4/10

Dragon Age: Trespasser 7/10

In short, I thought DA:O was pretty dope. Very solid adventure rpg fantasy dating sim. The characters are very fun and mostly lovable and the lore is interesting enough even if the art direction was pretty generic fantasy.

I was really surprised just how much they crammed into this game. The several different origins was a huge surprise and very nice incentive to replay the game, though so far I only played as a melf (mage elf). The storyline was engaging enough for me to follow and it makes you travel to all the different origin places, so everyone gets to connect with something in the main plot - smart!

I have to add however that I played as a male character - as I usually do - and I am very glad I did because despite the promise that men and women are equal (and the dominant religion being female centric) the writers did not really manage to capture that as it seems haha. I would've probably given the game a lower rating if I wouldn't have played as a dude as I'm a sensitive snowflake that way. And not even because of the rape as plot device or the brood mothers, but more the casual 'wow a woman with sword wow' stuff. I'll excuse it as 'it was a different time' kinda, but still would ruin my immersion.

Awakening I mention separately as it's kind of a sequel rather than just a DLC. I liked it. It's a nice extra adventure for your Warden character and the companions are very good (though I could've done without Oghren, sorry Oghren fans). I especially liked the Legion of the dead dwarf, she was adorable - and Anders, of course. You can give him a kitty!

So why am I rating it so low? They changed how shit works, don't tell you about it and it makes you miss half the game lol. Idk, it just pissed me off you had to click on background shit to talk to your companions and I didn't notice it until I was already halfway done. It's such a stupid idea, too. Click on this tree to talk to Nathaniel?? Weird tbh. It's especially bad for me, as I am not playing a lot of games (I am a filthy casual) and am not a completionist - also I already know who Andraste is, so why would I click her statue?

So yeah, that's my personal gripe with Awakening. At least it's short enough to replay, so hopefully I will catch all the stuff next time haha.

Dragon Age 2....ahh, I was very surprised to hear that it was so unpopular, several of my friends said they had not played it at all because they heard it was so bad. And I am very confused, because it is my favorite. I can see how it got flack for being on a smaller scale, the dungeons and areas repeat - but honestly, I didn't care much. I enjoyed the smaller scale and the more personal story greatly. I feel it makes more sense for a 'choice' based game anyway, as it lets you tell more stories without problems. And in this instance, a story about a refugee family and a bigger focus on social justice issues just vibed well with me. I can see how it's not everyone's cake I guess, but it's definitely worth playing! I think it has the best companions in all the games. They're all great fun and the dating options are amazing. I personally prefer when everyone is date-able by either gender - it makes me not having to worry and research ahead of time on what character to make (looking at you inquisition) and I can just headcanon for myself who is queer, straight, whatever. Yes, I might still be upset I wasn't able to date Alistair haha in DA:O.

I loved the 3 act structure and longer time period. I liked how people you meet/help in your side quests write you letters or get updates. I just loved how personal it was.

My only gripes with DA2 is the rushed Act 3 (can't even give everyone another gift ;_; ) and how the ending was handled. Chosing between templars and mages - sure, fun. But when you choose the mages, how come 80% of the people you are fighting are mages? Why is Orsino turning into an abomination and attacking *you*? It makes no sense. Poor Orsino. They did him dirty.

But otherwise I had great fun. Needless to say this game cemented my chantry hate lol. Doesn't help I live in a pretty gay oppressing catholic country now, but it felt fucking personal. I cheered when that fucking building blew up. It was cathartic. So I was hyped for the next game!

Which leads me to Inquisition. By the rating you can already see: I didn't like this game. For many reasons. The church dick riding was definitely one of them. But I mean, if you write it well I probably wouldn't have minded to get a different viewpoint (and there was still plenty of critical content in this game like with the former Inquisitor and all), sadly though, for me it didn't work in so many ways.

First of all I had to restart the game after 30 minutes because my girlfriend told me I can only date the elves if I'm a girl. Gee, good to know, or my tripple elf combo would've been ruined.

And I have to say: I liked how un-segregated the whole gender selection screen was. I got to make a pretty boyish looking twink even by choosing female, up to the point I was forgetting I was playing a girl until someone called me LADY Lavellan and ruined my immersion, so....props to that. I also liked the art design? Like all the little character cards, all the artworks just felt like they finally found their own style, kinda. (This was already started in DA2, which I really liked, I feel this series needs it's own, distinct look in some way, so it was nice to see they were trying to). Anyway, nice looks.

But the gameplay immediately felt weird and sluggish to me. It was way too hard even on the easiest setting. Enemies take FOREVER to die, even a stupid wolf or bear takes a gazillion hits. It wasn't fun. Not for me anyway, just tedious.

And the story....I just didn't feel it. It didn't help that you don't even have a proper origin (for a good while you have amnesia even). It made it difficult to even understand my own motivations imho. Playing it as an elf was definitely a bad choice as well, as this whole plot was clearly written with a human in mind. Pretty wild a DALISH elf is even an option. If they kept you as a prisoner, it would've made sense, maybe? But it just feels off to put this random Dalish immediately on top of your organization and calling them the herald of Andraste even though you keep insisting you don't even believe in that stuff haha. A wild ride indeed. Also I screamed at the whole 'Dalish only have 3 mages per clan and just YEET THE EXTRA CHILDREN INTO THE FOREST TO DIE' retcon. It absolutely makes zero sense with how the Dalish were described up to that point (as people who greatly care for their own and also really want to honor and learn about their roots. They know the elves were all originally magical. Why would they have a fucking mage limit. Why would they yeet a child out to die when they already suffer from diminishing numbers? What the FUCK Inquisition?).

The maps were too big, the game is sooo bloated and the main plot for the larger part completely disconnected from everything else (and also, pretty short in theory). Because of this, the pacing was kind of off. The war table....the WAR table. I did not like it. So many things that got shoved there should've been quests, while many of the actual quests should've just been deleted. And apparently my whole clan can just die in a small war table side thing and no one will care. lol

I also did not vibe with most of the companions that much. I liked Dorian a lot, but other than that most were just a lot of missed opportunities. Like, they were ok, but not as great as any of the other games.

Though I feel nothing quite shows the pacing issues of this game like Solas' romance haha. I still can't believe he breaks up with you immediately after kissing you and offering to take your vallaslin. It would've made so much more sense if he left during the ending party ceremony. What were they thinking?

Generally my issue was how a lot of characters just talk at you, not so much with you. You ask them questions, but they hardly ever ask you questions back, even though it would've been a great way to learn more about your characters backstory as well. I think Josephine was one of the only characters who ever asks how you're holding up. In the other games, it is way more interactive.

This resulted in me just never really connecting as much in Inquisition. Felt more like hanging with coworkers than friends. It was also weird how everyone acts like you're achieving great things, when really, none of it is something you do. The inquisition itself, the army, it already exists. Solas literally just points at Skyhold (you do not even have to fight anything to get it) and so on.

I hated that you have an animated main plot cut scene where your Dalish elf asks a human who Mythal is. And of course I really disliked how the mage rebellion was handled. Why do I have to choose between templars and mages AGAIN when, in this game at least, being able to recruit both would've kinda made more sense? Unite against a bigger enemy, bla. I wouldn't have super liked it as a resolution for the mage oppression issue, but at least it would've given that conflict SOME form of resolution.

So yeah. Did not enjoy it that much. Was very surprised to learn how many did and that it won game of the year. Maybe it would've been more enjoyable just on its own, without context, but coming in right after DA2 it was quite the clash in my opinion.

There was definitely potential for a good game. It had good elements. I think they fixed a bunch of issues in Trespasser, which I quite enjoyed. But I kind of am not looking AS much forward to the 4th installment. I'll play it for sure, but I feel the writers just want to do something different with this series than what I enjoy about it.

Overall though I still had great fun! I like Dragon Age. Seeing everyone's oc's is so cute and I will definitely keep on enjoying that no matter what.

[jackleveledup]

Game of the Year 2016: The Very Good Games

Don't call it a top ten! Well...you can think of this as basically the bottom part of my top ten, except without the numbers, the ordering, or the hard limit on how many games I can talk about. I guess I don't care much about the difference between what's #6 and what's #7. I do care about ranking the very best, though, so if you are into lists my top three is coming soon!

Titanfall 2

The existence of Titanfall 2 is miraculous: it's the smoothest first-person movement of all time alongside a painstaking single player campaign. The combination of flavors that fill its gameplay is like peanut butter and chocolate: you alternate from frantic sprinting, wallrunning, and double-jumping, into a massive robot with hefty movement, powerful weaponry, and cooldown-based decision making. It's designed throughout for tiny moments of bliss: flinging yourself from building to building, launching hundreds of rockets from your Titan, narrow escapes, and outplaying your enemies through planning and execution.

After my massive falling out with Halo, I didn't think I'd ever feel the same about a competitive FPS, but holy god was I ever wrong. I've already hit the level cap twice and have zero intention of slowing down. There's been talk that it's been underperforming in sales, which is tragic, because from where I'm sitting this is one of the best first person shooters ever.

Pokemon Sun / Moon

As a lifelong Pokemon fan, I think it's fair for me to say that it's been a long time since Pokemon has been this good. While it has its issues (hello reinforcements, hello new Pokemon being rare), the things that I loved about Sun and Moon are far more prevalent. The Alolan Pokemon designs are universally great, the characters are surprisingly well-expressed, and exploring Alola felt like a true escape from the tension and hatred rearing its head this year.

My favorite thing about Sun and Moon, though, is easily the villains. There's Gladion, the coolest rival in the whole series. There's Team Skull, the most hilarious villains to show up in a game since Mystical Ninja: Starring Goemon. And then there's [pretend that a spoilery name is written here], the craziest anime-nonsense supervillain of 2016.

If you've been sleeping on Pokemon for a while, make this your road back in.

Mystic Messenger

Mystic Messenger is an otome dating sim that invades your life. From a mechanical perspective, there's not much going on - you sit in chat rooms, make dialog choices, and respond to text messages from a group of young, stylish anime guys (and one girl!). The twist to all of this is so obvious that it makes you wonder why it hasn't been attempted in the genre before: everything happens in real time. Certain characters are more active late at night, others early in the morning, and if you want to win them over, you'll have to find a way to make real-world time for them.

Getting fake texts from fake game characters honestly felt like magic. Mystic Messenger perfectly captures the sense of pleasant surprise I feel when I get text messages from real people. For a few weeks, it was almost like I had a brand new group of friends to hang out with online all day. It's especially exciting to see this kind of innovation come from a mobile game, too. Mystic Messenger is a non-conventional game made for an atypical video game audience, and developer Cheritz killed it.

Oxenfree

I'm kind of a sucker for supernatural thrillers, so Oxenfree had me hooked early on with its intriguing setting, soft visuals, and believable vocal performances. What ended up standing out to me, though, wasn't even the plot, it was just the game's many ordinary conversations. It's an adventure game about five teenagers going camping, so there's a good amount of chatter between characters of varying levels of friendship. You participate in conversations by making dialog choices, but Oxenfree differentiates itself by emphasizing when you push a button. Your character immediately starts talking after you make a choice, even if that forces you to cut someone else off. Sometimes when the pressure's on, you might not be able to decide what to say in the appropriate time, and other characters will react to your silence. Along with some exceptional writing, this highly flexible system props up each character and makes them feel authentic.

At around 5 or 6 hours it's not an especially long game, but it held my attention strongly enough that I nearly finished it in in a single night. Given how many games I tend to juggle, that has to count for something!

Salt & Sanctuary

Is it possible to screw up a combination of Dark Souls and Castlevania? I'm sure with time someone will find a way to prove me wrong, but with Salt & Sanctuary as my only evidence, it seems like the perfect recipe. I played the entire game alongside my brother, and I couldn't recommend the experience more to co-op players. Between platforming puzzles, vast 2D exploration, and Souls-style bosses, there's a wholesome variety to all of the game's challenges. And unlike the Souls series, I feel that S&S is short enough and provides enough build diversity that it's both practical and rewarding to play through more than once.

World of Final Fantasy

If I had an award for "Best Localization," World of Final Fantasy would take it hand over fist. This game's writing is so well-done, its voice acting so well-delivered, that it managed to make me laugh out loud with the words "what the honk."

WoFF is an addictive, briskly paced RPG with more than just nods to classic Final Fantasy, but some strong characters of its own, too. Main leads Lann & Reynn are legitimately funny together - I don't make a habit of expecting much from Tetsuya Nomura Teenagers™, but their chemistry turns a solid monster collecting RPG into a great game all its own.

Doom

I didn't think I would be convinced to play an extremely violent, gorey game about demon massacre (I'm kinda' squeamish, to be honest), but Doom was just that good. It's been pretty much a decade since an FPS has been anything other than a gun-toting romp through set pieces, and while Doom is certainly romp-worthy, its gameplay is a different type of beast. The intentional balance of low HP and high movement speed forces you out from behind cover and into the fray. This "never stop moving, never stop shooting" ethos works incredibly well with the game's vast arsenal and numerous weapon mods. Doom takes all the right lessons from both classic shooters and modern shooters alike and turns them into a path forward for an often stagnant genre.

Ratchet & Clank

There's something pure in R&C that felt so noticeably absent from the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Games were so overwhelmingly serious back then! Even games like Portal that focused on comedy had to work so hard in a narrative sense to make those ends meet. Ratchet, though, just is what it is. You run and you jump across platforms, and you feel satisfied. You shoot the guys, you club a box with your wrench, and an explosion of gears and screws pour out. That's all there is to it, and that's all I really needed.

If the Xbox 360 and PS3 era proved games could accomplish more than just fun, then Ratchet and Clank is a game that proves that plain and simple fun is a goal still worth pursuing.