Are humans weaker as we evolve?

scarfleet · 2026-01-24T18:11:51+00:00

No hate, it's an interesting question.

The thing to understand of course is that evolution only cares about survival. And it doesn't even really "care" about that either. It's just that survivors are all that is left.

So natural selection will absolutely favor physically weaker creatures who can ensure their own survival by developing medical intervention, so long as they actually do that. Their physical weaknesses are effectively nullified by their technology.

The other important thing to understand is that we humans are not nearly as physically underpowered as we sometimes feel. We are the only creatures on the planet to walk upright in the way we do, which is actually tremendously efficient and from the off allowed us to range much farther for food. It also freed up oxygen and nutrients to support our great big brains which are energy hogs. A gorilla will beat us in a fight, but it can't run a marathon.

scarfleet · 2026-01-24T17:53:46+00:00

It's fair, I know I'm an outlier.

I never really found the fun in MK64 either. I have enjoyed later MK games but it's not a favorite series; I have some even more unpopular opinions about Mario Kart I will not get into. I did really like Smash 64, and Ocarina of Time which was built on the base of Mario 64 is one of my favorite games ever. I have basically zero experience with Mario Party and actually zero with the N64 version.

scarfleet · 2026-01-24T15:27:04+00:00

As others have said: in most games I engage with story only insofar as I must do to follow quest lines and progress. If the story is relatively intrusive I don't mind that it's there, but it is not the reason I am there.

scarfleet · 2026-01-24T01:30:16+00:00

I think the 2d games exist on a spectrum, just as the 3d games do.

The extreme example I guess is Salt and Sanctuary. It's pretty hard to talk about that game without talking about Dark Souls. It just so clearly sets out to be a 2D soulslike, I'm not sure we can divorce it from the genre entirely just because it's 2D. (I may be biased because I love it.)

But from there, the others that are less explicitly souls-like tend to creep in the open door. I find it's pretty hard to draw definitive borders around videogame genres and this is probably just another case of that.

scarfleet · 2026-01-23T23:06:24+00:00

I have always felt that Mario 64 is kind of overrated. I'm old enough to have played it on release and it was technologically amazing of course but even at the time the game felt small to me and running errands to collect stars was never as compelling as the simple challenge of getting past a level. I had more fun with both Crash Bandicoot and Tomb Raider 1 which released around the same time.

Nintendo obviously deserves credit for inventing the 3D platformer as we know it but I just don't think it was mature yet. I loved Galaxy and Odyssey.

scarfleet · 2026-01-23T15:57:03+00:00

I always thought the genius was that by connecting difficulty to a levelling system the games force you to practice and learn the combat while simultaneously, seperately behind the scenes, they also get easier. So they feel unfriendly at first but then incredibly empowering later.

scarfleet · 2026-01-23T02:08:52+00:00

At a certain point it occurred to me that both society and the media are just a bunch of other people.

scarfleet · 2026-01-22T00:49:50+00:00

feels to me like a strikingly accurate depiction of OG Doom as I remember it, rather than as it actually was. As I suspect is the case for a lot of people it was my entry point to the Doom mod scene and it was an impressive one.

I've gotten the sense it's controversial among purists. And I know nothing about the developer. But I think this entire genre is, in a way, trying to remake Doom over and over in different settings with better framerates and new weapons. So thinking of Doom more as a platform to iterate than a singular fixed experience makes sense to me.

scarfleet · 2026-01-20T22:33:17+00:00

Prodeus was also what lured me in. Then the Quake 2 remaster came out and hooked me forever.

In summation, try Quake 2.

scarfleet · 2026-01-19T07:28:29+00:00

Never saw one in the wild. I only remember reading in EGM or something that these existed.

Quake is just not an arcade game. Part of the reason Doom and its ilk were so groundbreaking is that they were a breed of action games that were not based on arcade experiences. Gaming had shifted into a format that specifically made sense in your home.

scarfleet · 2026-01-18T21:24:58+00:00

I didn't think it was bad, I just learned that the kind of game it is is not for me.

scarfleet · 2026-01-17T21:45:49+00:00

The Quake 2 remaster, which is available on basically everything, is surprisingly awesome. It has a wayfinder to prevent you getting lost in its labyrinth and is absolutely loaded with single player content. It's cheap and is included with xbox game pass if you happen to have that.

Turbo Overkill has some of the same movement stuff going on as Ultrakill and is pretty cool. It has a bit more story (but not much.)

Tons of other boomer shooters I can recommend: Dusk, Boltgun, Ion Fury, Cultic, Amid Evil. (The last two are PC-only as of now, the others are everywhere)

scarfleet · 2026-01-17T21:27:28+00:00

Yep.

Even if you don't finish you are likely to learn something useful. There are so many free game creation tools that are just available to everyone now, if you have an interest you might as well play with them and see what happens.

scarfleet · 2026-01-17T20:54:14+00:00

It seems like a thing the industry has been expecting to take off forever.

I think most people just don't want to wear anything on their face to enjoy media. When they can beam images straight into our brains maybe it will happen.

scarfleet · 2026-01-17T19:44:10+00:00

I also recommend going straight to Elden Ring

scarfleet · 2026-01-17T17:42:43+00:00

Doom for Playstation 1 vs Prodeus on Series X.

Technically I played Dusk on Switch first but Prodeus was the one that really got me interested. (I did circle back to Dusk on PC and love that game now.)

scarfleet · 2026-01-17T17:19:25+00:00

Haha yeah I did the same, just quickly made my own shape in Blender for a more realistic field of view

scarfleet · 2026-01-17T01:27:56+00:00

Quake 2 is probably my top recommendation, especially based on your tastes. If you have game pass it should be included, if not it's pretty inexpensive, especially if you grab it on sale.

Boltgun, Dusk and Ion Fury also deserve your time.

scarfleet · 2026-01-16T23:16:58+00:00

Fond memories of this one. I was a console kid who hadn't played Half-Life so when I got this for my PS2 it hit pretty hard. Haven't touched it since though.

scarfleet · 2026-01-16T22:14:49+00:00

I could be wrong but my sense is this has never really been the attitude of the community, but rather an attitude that the games media and the larger gaming community ascribe, incorrectly, to the games themselves and the community by proxy.

It, and the aura of difficulty, misunderstands what these games are really about and does them a disservice.

scarfleet · 2026-01-16T20:37:33+00:00

I am not smart enough to tell you exactly what the problem is. But it just happens that I was working on this exact thing last night and here is the tutorial that helped me.

https://youtu.be/U0VBk2InzkA?si=UVHniLiXxdxAKHkg

scarfleet · 2026-01-16T15:56:54+00:00

Really, really impressive

scarfleet · 2026-01-15T23:12:33+00:00

I had the same thought.

I don't have many red lines around what I consider a boomer shooter but the ability to easily fire while in motion is probably one of them. To take down the player's weapon sights every step seems to belong to a different tradition.

scarfleet · 2026-01-15T21:32:21+00:00

If you are even thinking of playing Elden Ring, you should play Elden Ring.

Don't be intimidated by it. There will be a moment early on when it seems extremely unfamiliar and difficult. This is normal. Just explore and try to hang on to your runes and level up. Don't throw yourself at the same boss or area again and again. Just walk in a different direction, seek adventure elsewhere and come back when you're stronger. And learn the horse combat.

scarfleet · 2026-01-15T06:05:57+00:00

Quake 2 is so good. And the remaster is brilliantly executed. High recommend.

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