this post was submitted on 29 Aug 2023
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Science Fiction
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I know this thread is about science fiction, but dark fantasy is kinda like sci-fi if you squint really hard. And close your eyes.
Anyway, I really wanna be into the Soulsborne game franchise (Dark Souls, Bloodborne, Elden Ring, etc.) but every time I try playing one, it simply doesn't spark my interest like I feel like it should, as I love fantasy and darkly themed stories. So now I wanna read the Berserk series, which is widely regarded as the greatest manga of all time. But then I hear the Soulsborne franchise is directly inspired by Berserk, so now I'm worried that it won't spark my interest once I start reading it. I really wanna like these franchises, both are regarded as some of the greatest of their medium and I'd love to enjoy them as much as other people do.
To be fair, the Soulsbourne games seem to mostly appeal to the “get gud” type of masochist gamer. You have to like pain to really get into them, it seems like. I haven’t been able to personally because I want my games to be fun, not insisting you memorize attack patterns and are OK getting curbstomped until you do.
This is the contradiction for my taste. I like the dark themes and some of the aesthetics, but not the masochistic game play. I play as much for the narrative or even moreso than the gameplay, so games that make the player get better rather than the character get better are just frustrating because they're punishing me for not spending more time on the least interesting aspect.
Spending 20 more attempts before I defeat a boss doesn't give me a greater sense of accomplishment, but rather a greater sense of wasted time when I could have been enjoying interesting details of the narrative or the aesthetics.
Sounds like you want less of a game and more of an animated choose your own adventure story book.
I play games as active entertainment (e.g. my own effort contributes to the game) rather than just a pick an option and see the outcome kind of thing (e.g. passive entertainment, I don't put effort in beyond select an option.) I see appeal to both since I grew up reading choose your own adventure books.
I find that active entertainment satisfies a different need and grows a skill, whereas passive entertainment is just like heroin - a good drip probably feels good but chasing that next high gets harder and harder and harder to reach the first height.
e.g. Sometimes you want to play sports, sometimes you just want to get high.
No, I like action games. I'm just saying there's a point at which increased difficulty doesn't contribute positively to the experience for me. I don't mind a learning curve. I don't mind realizing I've underestimated the difficulty of a particular game mechanic or boss or level. I'll play at normal difficulty or hard, depending on the game. But if the essential game mechanic is just being really hard and unforgiving, it's not a game to me anymore. It's just a frustration engine and a time sink at that point.
I spent my youth playing the same Nintendo and Super Nintendo game levels over and over again, like notoriously difficult Battletoads levels, and the satisfaction of finally getting it after fifty tries just comes in increasingly diminishing returns. I guess I like games that make me think more rather than just react faster or memorize boss behavior formulas.
Is it the story and/or the gameplay you don't like about the souls borne games? If it is just the gameplay you can look at some lore videos and if you like them, you probably like the Berserk series.