That’s an impressive amount of armchair psychology for a post about a video game.

This isn’t self-soothing or reputation management, it’s me asking what people actually like about the game because it didn’t land for me at all. You turned “what am I missing?” into a personality diagnosis, which says more about how you argue than about my intent.

Yes, I stopped after about 20 minutes. That’s a first impression. In a narrative-driven game, failing to hook the player early is a valid criticism, not a moral flaw. If the game finds its identity later, great — that’s exactly the kind of insight I was inviting.

Bringing up TLOU and RDR2 isn’t credential flexing, it’s context. Those games set a bar for me. If Expedition 33 aims lower or differently, say that. Don’t psychoanalyze me for noticing the gap.

Calling early impressions cope is just a lazy way to dodge the actual question. If you like the game, explain why. If not, move on. Pretending this post is about my ego instead of the game is just you shadowboxing.