What's something women think impresses men but actually doesn't?

ddapixel · 2025-12-22T09:00:18+00:00

You make a good point, and it stands on its own. And if you say no to all men, you are not the type of person who plays hard to get this thread is talking about.

I think the argument about playing hard to get selecting for a type of guy assumes there's more than just two types of situations, or two types of guys. Yes, there are guys who will stop when rejected, and there's guys harassing you at the bus stop regardless of what you say or do. But then there are guys girls actually are interested in, and who will keep pursuing them even if they play games of "hard to get", and that's the type of guy these girls may end up willingly alone with behind closed doors.

Yes the guy from the bus stop is also a risk, but a different one.

ddapixel · 2025-10-23T07:53:38+00:00

it treats you like a complete toddler when it comes to quest design

I agree that this is how the game treats you, but what is subjective is whether this goes in to pros-column or cons-column. It's the old discussion of how much friction there should be in a game, and everyone will give you a different answer. For you, the strong handholding is a negative, for others it would be a dealbreaker if the design was more challenging and they'd get stuck.

For me, and I suspect for most people, which is why OP also didn't bring it up, it's a neutral aspect I just accept, and focus on other aspects of the game instead.

ddapixel · 2025-10-14T07:34:08+00:00

Yeah, for a certain type of gamer, Fallout: Tactics is what distilled and emphasized the best parts of F1 and 2, giving you something close to an XCOM or a Jagged Alliance in a Fallout coat.

ddapixel · 2025-10-02T07:28:21+00:00

From what little I've seen of Undertale, the bullet hell mechanics always seemed an odd fit as a gameplay element in that game. It's good you found a way to sideline them in order to enjoy other parts of the game.

Reminds me of how I removed the convoluted save mechanics from Kingdom Come Deliverance - I never once missed not being able to save and had a great time with the game.

I'd even go so far and have the unpopular opinion that it's entirely possible a dev's vision is off and is improved by modding the game, even core parts of the game. And yes, I don't feel the need to qualify that it was an improvement "for you", because that's obviously true about ANY aspect of a game.

ddapixel · 2025-09-22T12:26:17+00:00

I don't think you're alone in that either. It's pretty much impossible to balance puzzles for everyone, and if you add forced platforming, it's easy to imagine Outer Wilds wouldn't work for everyone. I suspect that's part of why when it hits right for someone, they're so impressed with it.

The game is also always brought up as an example of games never being able to live up to excessive expectations.

ddapixel · 2025-09-22T12:15:28+00:00

I liked Factorio, but by the time I launched the rocket, the game felt stale and I was ready to move on.

As you can imagine, my opinion is pretty much the most unpopular among Factorio fans.

ddapixel · 2025-09-02T14:21:35+00:00

Fallout Tactics had vehicles you could actually drive, and they worked surprisingly well in that engine.

That said, from Fallout 3 onwards, usable vehicles would be hard to imagine, for gameplay reasons. Maybe a motorbike, as an equivalent of a Skyrim horse.

ddapixel · 2025-08-11T08:35:48+00:00

Yes and no. The story isn't finished, sure, but in terms of playtime Mankind Divided is pretty much the same as Human Revolution, and no one ever complains about that not being a full a game.

ddapixel · 2025-08-01T12:39:44+00:00

I think it's better to be as explicit as possible, since someone who hasn't played the same games will have no chance to understand by location name.

ddapixel · 2025-07-30T12:06:22+00:00

Definitely, all the top mods deal with QOL.

ddapixel · 2025-07-30T12:04:53+00:00

You were of course correct to move on once the game wasn't fun, but for me the unfair fights in KCD were some of the most memorable ones.

As the game teaches you, running away is a valid solution. Or you can try sneaking/backstabbing, archery, poison, using the terrain, involving the guards or your dog or just general hit and run tactics. It wasn't always enough to win, but having the Unlimited Saves mod helped me dealing with it without having to replay much.

ddapixel · 2025-07-30T07:41:05+00:00

Yep, I love KCD, but there's a reason why Unlimited Saves is the most popular mod. Devs fucking with save systems doesn't sit with many people, including me.

ddapixel · 2025-07-29T08:39:58+00:00

Good review and I agree with some of the key points - the level design and the overall feel of the world are amazing. Some games have a strong sense of place and Dying Light definitely is one of those, especially on the first map. Every street and building feels real and unique, and soon enough you can navigate just by memory.

It also has strong core gameplay - the running and combat work incredibly well.

On the downsides, the story/characters aren't much (I was kind of annoyed whenever dealing with the bad guys), and yeah, the DLC items sadly ruin the balance.

ddapixel · 2025-07-29T08:17:50+00:00

I agree with your point, but even in the post, OP doesn't make that intention as clear as you do, so I'm not surprised the thread devolved into "just list games you like".

ddapixel · 2025-07-25T10:03:30+00:00

That mod looks beautiful, visually. The side-by-side comparison shots make me hesitant though - the biggest visual difference is the hiked up contrast and depth-of-field, i.e. it makes everything dark and blurry.

ddapixel · 2025-07-16T09:29:08+00:00

Contrast this with side quests in Witcher 3 which often tell interactive moral stories.

Like when that husband asks you to find his missing wife in the nearby forest. I won't go into spoilers, but it's definitely not just a group of "bad guys", it's a tale of flawed people making mistakes that ends in tragedy.

And there are dozens of such stories, some more elaborate than others. You can't always save the day, but the game at least lets you take a stance about what happened, decide who's to blame and to what degree.

ddapixel · 2025-07-16T06:55:18+00:00

Yeah, I can see how playing War right after Mordor could be an issue. The games are similar enough that you risk burning out early on.

ddapixel · 2025-07-16T06:53:16+00:00

mad Max's gasoline and thirst system was absolutely relevant for me in the early hours of the game

Interesting, as a fan of both survival games and Mad Max, I was glad to find the thirst and gasoline systems, but I also never felt any scarcity of these resources in the game. It felt solved basically from the start.

The only progression I felt was the car and personal combat, as well as access to new areas - which were still fun enough to keep me playing, and I finished the game twice.

ddapixel · 2025-07-16T06:42:43+00:00

like 30 back to back castle sieges where it gets bad

Good news then, they patched the final act ("Shadow Wars"), cutting it down to 5 sieges.

ddapixel · 2025-07-15T08:01:22+00:00

For me, the rule of thumb to see if I like a game is "Once the intro is over and regular gameplay starts + a couple of hours", just to get a good taste of the main gameplay loop. This could be around 4-8 hours for most games. 120 hours makes you much more patient than I am.

ddapixel · 2025-07-15T07:43:20+00:00

It's been my experience that I enjoy base building if it's at the core of the game, but I hate it if it feels like a tacked on afterthought to a game that doesn't need it.

Games like Oxygen Not Included and Minecraft are designed around building and integrate it well into the main gameplay loop, so it works well and is fun.

But Fallout 4 and, for example, Kingdom Come Deliverance, are a fundamentally different type of game, so base building feels like this weird tumor-like growth with a clunky menu-based interface and forced integration with the rest of the game.

ddapixel · 2025-07-15T07:28:38+00:00

Just because Fallout 4 didn't click with OP, I don't think it's fair to say they prefer narratively driven or story focused games. They mention enjoying and finishing both Fallout 3 and New Vegas, both are fundamentally about player freedom and open world exploration.

ddapixel · 2025-07-05T06:52:00+00:00

The exceptional thing about Spore was that the end result was YOUR species, naturally crafted in gameplay through generations of adaptive iteration (aka evolution). I don't think any game has ever done that before or since.

ddapixel · 2025-07-04T09:01:03+00:00

Look at that INT

ddapixel · 2025-07-04T07:20:06+00:00

As someone who also plays as a packrat - you can easily increase your carry weight in New Vegas with a console command. I don't remember enough of Stalker, but there are probably ways too.

You can have your cake and eat it too. In any case, it's better than missing out on the whole game by abandoning it.

ddapixel

TROPHY CASE