If I were a dev, that wouldn’t be my priority in a first person Game either.

I repeatedly spend time deciding on clothing choices etc for my character only to proceed to never actually see them outside the menu.

BotW was originally developed for the WiiU, which it also released on. It is not a “handheld game”, and tbh I’d take it’s gameplay loop over Nier Automata or Shadow of War any day of the week.

Handheld mode is really not great for extended periods.

I got it for (business) trips, so I appreciate that I can easily connect it to a hotel room TV, or put it upright on a train or plane table.

One disconnected joycon in each hand IS pretty comfortable, since I can avoid the static “controller in front of you” arm pose.

I’m in my 30s. I’m gradually getting calmer. But seriously, if a game doesn’t induce the urge to throw objects around the room from time to time, it probably won’t make my list of favourites.

Because you don’t wade through hordes and hordes of individually weak enemies. (There are many but compare it to Diablo.)

I don’t get why Diablo-likes are called ARPG’s.

We used to call them “Hack 'n Slash”. I guess studios didn’t think that term marketing friendly.

I’m not. You are making that connection.

The sentence right after that one applies better to OP.

Funny you should say that. It’s usually my line when I tell people to not buy games from companies like that. We’ve been telling people these things would happen at some point back when steam was starting up.

In my experience, game time estimates on boxes are similar to gas consumption of a car given by the manufacturer. Multiply by at least 1.5.

I am the person that loves long and complex games. If I have an upper limit for those qualities I have not found it yet, because it must be higher than those of all the players I’ve met.

So, I can’t really answer your question, but I think I can tell you why the rest of the table was pissed off, and maybe that will help you in some way.

You like a certain type of game, but it’s somewhat outside the mainstream, so it’s difficult to find a full group for it and gather them all at the table at the same time. You get excited, you finally get to play the game you have been itching for. You’re really having fun. Your strategy starts paying off. And then you don’t get to see it to completion because one person gets up and leaves. It might be weeks or months before you get another chance. You got your hopes up and then got left hanging. That sucks.

A similar situation is if you talked somebody into a game who didn’t want to play at first and just end up doing you a favor. In my experience, 9 times out of 10 they’re not going to have a good time, and they’ll drag the rest of the table down with them.

But here’s the kicker: After some painful lessons I know those things now. So I don’t nag people about playing with me anymore. I ask once, and then a no is a no. And I don’t invite people who I know have a short attention span to play long games with me. And I sure as hell don’t schedule a game night on a weekday where everybody needs to work tomorrow.

The person putting together the table has a responsibility to curate games that fit the audience or vice versa. Everybody else attending has a responsibility to be transparent about their availability and preferences.

That was a quick game of TI in my experience.

I love this kind of game btw… Unfortunately, nobody else I know really does.

That is exactly the point. “Hmmm, maybe it’s fine if some high quality mods can make some money” no! This is “it’s just cosmetics” all over again. Give them a finger, they’ll be taking the arm and suing you for the other one soon. Don’t! Just don’t! If you want creators to make money, donate.

Someone donates $1, 200 times. Then charges them all back. Paypal charges you $15 processing fee for each chargeback

Don’t use PayPal. That’s a good policy in general.

Stardew Valley is on switch though? It’s also on gog.com which is preferable anyway. No launcher required.

Stat blocks don’t make an RPG.

Part of the definition is that you in fact play a role. This means making decisions from their perspective as if you were them and their world was your reality. Any game that doesn’t allow you to make informed, meaningful decisions isn’t actually a role playing game.

Naturally, video games can’t really give you total freedom in that regard, as any option you can pick needs to be anticipated and coded by the developer. But there are candidates that fit the requirement somewhat more and those that definitely don’t.

Cyberpunk, while being a fun experience, doesn’t really give you a lot of meaningful choices, at least not in the bigger quests, especially not the main plot. Most often different dialogue choices only lead to slightly different answers and the same outcome. You can’t decide to rat Panam out to Militech when stealing the tank for example. You’re not really playing the role of V, you’re watching their story play out and maybe deciding what to do first and last.

CDPR have their own inhouse example of a better RPG to compare against.

Then you respec your character.

Or does each game just build on top of working knowledge of previous similar Games?

This. There is a sort of gaming DNA that you just internalize over time. I’ve been gaming for 30 years, I just know how that one breakable wall looks, that you need to come back to once you get bombs or whatever it is. I know the difference between a caster, a fighter and a rogue when I see them without knowing the exact details of their ability mechanics in this particular game. My intuition as to how a given ability is most likely going to work is also usually pretty close. Because they are often very similar across different games.

Also if you don’t know and don’t have to have the absolute optimal combination from square one, just pick what looks cool and try it. If it doesn’t work out, try something else. Most games allow respecs nowadays. We learn through failure and repitition.

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It’s funny that you mention Civilization. The first game takes a lot of inspiration from the 1980 board game of the same name.

I haven’t seen “Wizard” mentioned yet. It’s a staple among german outdoor tourists.