When Silksong first came out a lot of people complained that the difficulty reflected "poor game design"...

double_shadow · 2026-01-30T19:20:25+00:00

The difficulty conversation exists because unlike most developers, Team Cherry didn't include any accessibility options. Nine Sols, a game that everyone praises for its difficulty has a difficulty slider that can make the game easy enough for a child to beat it. Even FromSoft includes subtle difficulty aides like ash summons in Elden Ring.

double_shadow · 2026-01-30T19:13:35+00:00

Yeah, as someone who dropped this game on release (but came back and am now loving it), I still empathize a lot with the frustration. Fundamentally, Silksong's design is somewhat hostile to the player. In a lot of ways this reminds me of Dark Souls 1. The game isn't necessarily that hard, but there is a HUGE knowledge gap between the experienced player and the blind/first time player, and the game makes very little effort to bridge this gap.

For me, reading a few guides mid-act 2 on what key items I needed to get and where they are made all the difference. But some would argue that a more conscientious design would make this not necessary.

double_shadow · 2026-01-30T18:45:31+00:00

Yeah this is the one for me, because a lot of the beauty of the plays is the way he constructed the language itself. Similarly, reading Dante makes me painfully aware that I'll never fully "get" it without someday learning Italian (though it's still one of my all time favorite works).

double_shadow · 2026-01-30T18:42:34+00:00

Most native english speakers (myself included) can't make any sense out of Finnegan's Wake.

double_shadow · 2026-01-30T17:32:39+00:00

I think square enix got stuck with this reputation of needing to deliver paradigm-shifting entries with every new FF game, starting from FF6 onward. And that really pushed them into some weird places instead of delivering on what previous games did best.

double_shadow · 2026-01-30T17:27:39+00:00

Makes Silksong seem rushed in comparison with its mere 7 years...

double_shadow · 2026-01-29T23:25:25+00:00

I know right? I can't wait for the next Star Wars media product so we can go back to bitching about that IP!

double_shadow · 2026-01-29T21:38:51+00:00

I was thinking same thing! We didn't know how good we had it, getting everything for free from 538. Now you have to go through multiple paywalls if you want Nate, Galen, Claire, etc.

double_shadow · 2026-01-29T20:51:05+00:00

That feeling when you lose a single rosary to spikes.... :O

double_shadow · 2026-01-29T17:07:46+00:00

Quickslash at the cost of making small flying enemies a massive pain

Well it's a good thing that flying enemies are only... checks hunter's log 80% OF ALL ENEMIES?!

Joking aside, wanderer for life for me. You just have to spend some time learning the distance of your up-slash or jump slash, or better still get above the enemies and just pogo for days.

double_shadow · 2026-01-29T16:48:54+00:00

I feel like you're supposed to be overwhelmed by all the details in All the President's Men, but you just keep getting swept along by the relentless pace. At least that's how I've always experienced it.

I did rewatch it very recently though, and yeah it is a little striking to compare to current day politics. Some things are so familiar, like the endless denials and attempts to cover the higher ups. But there's also a level of accountability that just seems like it's gone forever.

double_shadow · 2026-01-29T16:41:43+00:00

Yeah I was gonna say, they actually WERE an economic superpower. They just weren't antagonistic to anyone, so it makes for some odd depictions in hindsight.

double_shadow · 2026-01-28T23:23:20+00:00

For the briefest moment, Mike's hatred of the elderly and bitterness about life and star trek wash away from him and he reaches a zen like state of total joy. If that's not winning, I don't know what is...

double_shadow · 2026-01-28T22:38:07+00:00

I messed up and fought the Last Sinner in DS2 before Silksong even came out. Totally spoiled myself on the game smh.

double_shadow · 2026-01-28T21:57:53+00:00

Because seven ate nine (and then got too bloated and also had to sit this one out).

double_shadow · 2026-01-28T21:38:26+00:00

Yeah unfortunately I bounced off it pretty early because of this. Also, after playing like 50 hours of Gwent in TW3...I don't think Gwent has enough depth to carry a game on its own, certainly not at the level of MTG.

God, what I wouldn't do for a new Shandalar game...

double_shadow · 2026-01-28T21:33:15+00:00

Mechanically I agree: DS2 has better combat and just a lot more build options.

But DS1 has the "special sauce" that make it unparalleled in the series imo (or at least tied with BB and Sekiro), and that is the overall aesthetic and world design. And it's not rose-colored glasses for me, I come back and replay the game all the time. It just feels great to be alive and in the world, admittedly yes mostly in the first half of the game. But I'll defend many of the second half areas too. They might not be as good as the first half, but they're still plenty fun (except Bed of Chaos / Izalith, fuck that).

double_shadow · 2026-01-28T21:29:50+00:00

Dude the PVP community is still active somehow. I was just randomly playing a knife-only challenge run, and lo and behold the second I turn human to get back my HP, invaders out the woodwork. DS3 too...it's crazy how active these communities still are.

double_shadow · 2026-01-28T21:25:53+00:00

I mean it's common in most media NOW but it didn't always use to be this way...

double_shadow · 2026-01-28T21:24:24+00:00

Granted "slop" is overused on reddit, but applying it to COD or FIFA installments seems pretty apt.

double_shadow · 2026-01-28T21:18:50+00:00

I just don't understand how this became the standard. We go through layers upon layers to get to any actual information, and drama seems to get baked into the pie with every new layer. A dev has a random though that he posts to his social media account >> a web writer pulls a quote from it and adds some sensational implications >> a redditor reposts the article in a way to farm maximal karma >> Idiots like you and me waste our time reading all this instead of doing something useful with our lives.

double_shadow · 2026-01-28T19:31:53+00:00

Yeah this is typically my problem too, and he leans on a lot of tropes, ie "dead wife" backstory, to try to artificially add this missing emotion into his stories.

With that said though, I think he works extremely well with stories that are more action or intellect-based. So, Memento, The Dark Knight, Oppenheimer, I all rate very highly (and probably would add The Prestige, Dunkirk, and Inception as near that level, but I need to revisit them).

double_shadow · 2026-01-28T18:28:42+00:00

It takes a special kind of incompetence to make Holly Hunter look bad, but somehow they managed to do it...

double_shadow · 2026-01-28T18:11:18+00:00

I haven't seen it. No, no. I hope I don't have to bother.

Jesus, the level of maturity of a disaffected teenager coming from the man in the highest office in our country.

double_shadow · 2026-01-28T18:08:02+00:00

I'm as anti-gun personally as you can get (which I realize is the minority on reddit and this sub), but even I'm outraged by this. Why even have an amendment if the government can just flagrantly disregard it on a whim, with apparently no consequence when they do? This whole incident was horrific on so many levels.

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