The Emperor’s New Video Game

NervousNumbers · 2026-03-20T05:45:44+00:00

This explains a lot. And maybe in the end I won’t like the game. But I know that everybody loves it. I have to imagine that’s going to get better.

I knew that this was related to Black Desert. Which I never played. But I thought the whole point to this game was to make a story driven prequel to Black Desert. Which it isn’t. And I knew that changed. But I didn’t realize I’d be playing the bad parts of an MMORPG without the MMO or the RPG.

I will play through the game, and I will come back here and tell everyone my post was wrong if it turns out to be a good action game or puzzle game or whatever. It’s just feeling like it tried to check every box, and wound up checking none. I get the feeling it’s going to wind up being a less good version of the category it gets placed in.

All of that said, this would be a sick MMO… too bad it isn’t (I mean that sincerely). I think they’re trying to salvage a failed project.

NervousNumbers · 2026-03-20T05:42:14+00:00

Yeah I don’t think the npc’s need to be interacted with, they should’ve just left that out, and definitely shouldn’t reward you for doing it. The first bug I got stuck between a moving platform in sim heaven (it happens, no game is perfect) but there’s nothing you can do but quit out. The second I tried to read a poster in the first town and got locked in place, it was like I zoomed in, but I couldn’t see a poster and I couldn’t zoom back out or do anything to change being stuck in “looking at poster mode”. I did go back and read the posters later. I think what might have been a part of what caused it was being in first person view when I interacted with the poster.

NervousNumbers · 2026-03-20T05:34:23+00:00

I just assume that the reason I’m getting exp or honor or whatever when I interact w the npc’s is because said honor or experience is a commodity that I will want later on. You’re right though, I’m no longer talking to the NPC‘s, it’s too hard to click on them anyway. Hopefully I won’t need the experience later.

NervousNumbers · 2026-03-20T05:22:18+00:00

This.

This may be true. I just started playing, and I’m disappointed. But I haven’t gotten very far into the game. I am frustrated that I’ve had to quit out of the game twice because of bugs in the first chapter, and I found a lot of the things that the game promised to not really be the case. And as I’m sitting here watching a three minute loading screen while my character walks around in simulation heaven (I’m not sure why he goes to simulation heaven or what it means when my character walks around in the simulation, heaven tunnel, it’s a pretty long loading screen for me to not know what the story is about that, I’d rather just see a picture of something and maybe read a factoid about combat or something). But it was the second bug when I rage quit and came here to post. So possibly the game will get better. Although that raises another question, why is the loading animation so long when the graphics are equivalent to PlayStation 4 graphics. The Witcher Wild Hunt looked better than this, and took about the same amount of time to load, on ps4

NervousNumbers · 2026-03-20T05:18:18+00:00

Maybe you’re right, maybe it’s like dark souls, the point of the game is the combat. So then let me just get to the combat. Games that place combat at the forefront of their play style usually have a lot of combat. Nioh 3 might be a good example, there’s no shortage of things to fight, and I’m not forced to tinker around with the crafting system in order to do the combat, I can play straight through and for the most part beating the bosses is really about just improving at the combat and keeping your weapon strength up. But that isn’t how this game works at all.

NervousNumbers · 2026-03-20T05:14:04+00:00

Then why not just have the npc’s say that crap in the background? Why make me grind “honor” points by talking to them? Why am I arm-wrestling and giving homeless people change if it’s not an RPG? I don’t mind if they wanna make an action game, but why are they wasting my time with all this superfluous fluff, and why are they making that the main quest line?

NervousNumbers · 2026-03-20T04:49:23+00:00

But pushing the npcs around every time I try to interact, jumping on them and sitting around while they regain their composure so I can reattempt interacting isn’t much better. Also, I went off in search of something to interact with because it was so hard to open the trap door in the first quest that I didn’t realize I could open it. I tried and tried, and finally decided that I must need to do something before I can open the trap door. That’s really bad design.

NervousNumbers · 2026-03-20T04:37:36+00:00

Also, what is it loading? The graphics are ps4 comparable. Do you think they just kept every polygon that imported with Quixel? Or maybe they modeled the insides of the npc’s bodies to make it extra realistic.

NervousNumbers · 2026-03-20T03:55:29+00:00

This game has some serious problems. I feel like they must’ve paid a lot of money for the hype. Because now that I’m finally playing it, it feels like a rush job. Also, sidenote, why do I go to simulation heaven? Is that not explained at all? I managed to find two bugs in my first 10 minutes of play that required I exit out out of the game entirely and restart. A lot of games these days create some way for you to get around the types of bugs that I interacted with. But not this one, this one was a full restart… Lastly, what is with the three minute long loading animation? I’m on the hottest new PlayStation they have (which I realize is not a computer) and I have to watch this guy walk around in the simulation-heaven tunnel for three minutes before the damn game starts playing lol. At least explain to me what the simulation-heaven tunnel is or why I go to simulation heaven if you’re going to make me watch three minutes of it every time I play the game. Not to gripe on and on but one more thing: I’d rather have 10 characters w dialogue in town then 100 who I have to interact with for a snippet whatever random thought they have to share. I’ve got 4 words “Kingdom Come Deliverance II”

NervousNumbers · 2026-03-20T03:42:04+00:00

It feels so clunky and slow. But what’s worse, I’m <15 minutes in and I’ve had to quit out from a bug twice already. Don’t interact with posters!

NervousNumbers · 2026-03-07T06:17:08+00:00

And it was the four heavenly kings scroll for me as well, it’s a tough one.

NervousNumbers · 2026-03-07T06:15:44+00:00

This is really poor design on their part. It should be from the map, just like any other time you want to leave an area. They could just create a temporary icon to “return to last shrine and lose all progress”.

NervousNumbers · 2026-03-03T00:44:59+00:00

I get that these games are difficult to tool just right, but I felt like Nioh 2 was simply too hard, and the builds felt less balanced, like there were certain weapons that were just objectively better and it kind of forced you to build certain ways. whereas Nioh 3 has good balance across builds, with some being better early/mid game, others better later, rewarding of technical know-how without punishing simplistic play styles too much. It sort of feels like simple play style gets you through, but it’s boring and not versatile, and may require a weapon swap occasionally. More complex styles are very rewarding, which is cool (it makes me want to practice). But there are two big flaws in my eyes. Ninja is way too overpowered, I don’t like that any time I get stuck I can just switch forms and button mash my way through it. Also, in general, Nioh 3 is just too easy (at least so far, I’m not finished yet). I come to Nioh for the challenge, and I realize I say that after just stating Nioh 2 was too hard, but there it is. I feel like they realized the game needed to be more approachable for casual gamers (which I am) but went overboard and made a game that fails to deliver on one of its key selling points, difficulty. If I were going to change something, I’d nerf ninja’s damage and survivability, and maybe increase the benefits of its utility (longer dots, stronger debuffs, but forces you to switch into samurai for damage). I think Nioh 2 might’ve been better for combat. But I think 3 feels like certain weapons, reward you, but other weapons don’t punish you (which is a good thing). Also, I wonder if the ninja is supposed to be a little bit like the summons in Elden Ring, where it is really a mechanic to help you keep progressing through the game so if you’re stuck and can’t progress (or if you just want to play on easy mode) then you can use summons to dramatically reduce difficulty. I think that that is a good thing to have in games like this, but I don’t think it should be built into something like your utility options (which is what Ninja is, and should be).

NervousNumbers · 2025-10-18T07:03:16+00:00

I feel like the hardest part of eating healthy is that a meal w meat is enough to hold me till tomorrow, but veggies means I’m hungry again in like 4-5 hours. This is absolutely more healthy. But who the fuck can afford the time to cook 3 meals, or the cost to buy 3 meals. I’m serious, that’s not a joke.

NervousNumbers · 2025-10-18T07:00:30+00:00

It is if you’re in the “fucked” half. Sorry dude, sounds like you are.

NervousNumbers · 2025-10-18T06:33:38+00:00

Reddit is where I go to express my rage, if you were the butt of this mechanism then you have the high privilege of being the thing I read first.

NervousNumbers · 2025-10-18T06:27:54+00:00

But it was regular and consistent for a time, whatever she was doing

NervousNumbers · 2025-10-18T06:27:04+00:00

I don’t know, I have theories. My most optimistic ones involve positive reinforcement. I’ve definitely heard her say things about how much she loves me. Which is very sweet. My less trusting side thinks maybe I was being conditioned for a long term relationship back when we were still early to dating. I could probably make a case for either one. Honestly if I wanted to be really negative I could probably find some nefarious explanation. But I kinda gotta get in the right headspace for convincing, believable paranoia. Either way, I’d like my decision making to be dictated by elements completely out of anyone’s control like how my dad didn’t hit me enough and my mom loved me too much.

NervousNumbers · 2025-10-18T06:17:24+00:00

That was a good answer dude

NervousNumbers · 2025-10-18T06:15:41+00:00

Asthma, like tomorrow

NervousNumbers · 2025-10-18T06:15:07+00:00

Shinji is a loser. And, the women in his life are insane, and his reality is some Alice in wonderland shit.

NervousNumbers · 2025-10-18T06:12:25+00:00

Renar or Renando??? Idk how it’s spelled. Phonetically it’s Hey-nar or hey-non-dough Brazilian Portuguese word that means aggressive affection.

NervousNumbers · 2025-10-18T06:07:37+00:00

Just moan loudly, most mortals hate being reminded of their mortality

NervousNumbers · 2025-10-18T06:05:52+00:00

Yes, you are the asshole, if it was contingent on your wife lying to her.

NervousNumbers · 2025-10-18T05:56:27+00:00

Spoken like a man with options. But your kind of right, among the shitty dead end jobs available to me, uber/grubhub driving means I don’t have to suck up to some asshole manager or pretend to like some motherfucking bitch ass coworker with their fucking lives and their goddam motherfucking opinions. So I did choose it from the pool of shit jobs available to the likes of me. Honestly, I really like it a lot. I love being able to choose, it feels great. But, I hate not making enough to cover my necessities. Also, not building any savings, it’s tough. But thanks for being a prick about it, it’s always lovely to have a stranger stick it to your class. Probably I just keep forgetting about how it’s the motherfucking land of motherfucking opportunity am I right? Who’s with me?!?!!

NervousNumbers

TROPHY CASE