Let me play - iameven.com
I don't understand why modern games doesn't want me to play them.
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
It's a 2D metroidvania. It's a good one too, as far as I can tell. I haven't played too many games in the genre. By exploring the map you power up your character to get to new areas and fight bigger bosses. Before you get to the main game area there is of course some tutorial and story setup.
Sargon, the guy you play as is the best fighter in a group of fighters named the immortals. Or at least they say so. And they prove this to you by serving a simple tutorial to beat. Everybody gathers back at the palace to celebrate the victory. The immortals can't say enough good things about Sargon. And all the characters turn out to be boring assholes. Some asshole betrays all the other assholes by kidnapping prince Ghassan. They take him to the cursed city Mount Qaf.
This takes far too long, and there is no gameplay. These other characters and their motivation carries little weight. And for some reason they all hate Sargon now. All the dialogs are still images of the characters facing each other. It feels like those horrible mobile games that lure you in with a cool action trailer. Then they make you build bases and listen to dialog between scantily clad characters. Does anyone actually enjoy that?
When the game finally gives you permission to play it, it is fun. However, you are quite weak in the beginning, so it's sort of funny compared to the praise you got earlier. And whenever you meet the other fighters they are really good. One of them is even impossible to beat as the fight ends with a cutscene. So it is fun, until you step into an area where there is more story. And the only thing it does for me is hold me away from the fun stuff. Exploring the giant city, finding the next cool power up, defeating interesting enemies.
Is playing the game too much to ask for? It could have been a great game, if the story didn't hold it back. It's still a good game, so check it out on Steam, or Nintendo (I played it on the Switch).
Bayonetta 3
Dumb stupid awesome fun action. Epic set pieces. Inventive and fun game play. But there are so many cut scenes. And I find that I don't care for it. At least not up front, before the game has even started. You play for a couple of minutes, and then another 5 minute cutscene happens. To be honest, I didn’t get too far at all in this game.
I remember how disappointing the second game was too. It fell flat compared to the first game. The first game concludes with you going to space by riding a motorcycle on the outside of a rocket. Then finally you roundhouse kicked a god into the sun. I suppose it's hard to top that.
Neon White
Indie game with incredible game feel and a fun game loop. Short levels where you run, shoot demons, and pass obstacles. You use several different power ups presented as playing cards. And you compete on time.
For some reason they've added a dating simulator on top of this. And I don't get it. Luckily they let you fast forward these scenes, but even then it takes a while.
This is also presented in that silly mobile game storytelling mode I mentioned. Is this something people enjoy? I wanted this to be a podcast game I suppose.
It's so fun when hitting the correct timing on jumps and power ups. Neon White on Steam
Mario Party Jamboree
Mario Party is fun. It's a digital board game and mini game collection. A usual game is 10 rounds of board games with a mini game between each round. The one with the most stars at the end is the winner. It also takes a while, like an hour or so.
In Jamboree, instead of looking at ways to maybe speed this up, they've added a bunch more rules. Which they have to explain. Stopping the game to have everyone read instructions is a party pooper. They've also added other events making it take even longer.
There are more frequent mini games. And while the games are fun, I can’t help but feel like they are side quests. I haven't played this enough to judge yet. And I will keep playing. Because it's Mario Party and so many fun mini games. Mario Party Jamboree on Nintendo
Let me play, please?
Is that too much to ask for? I never used to skip the story parts of any game. Recently I find that I don’t have the patience for cut scenes and other noise. Am I playing the worst offenders or has something changed with me?
I have indeed played some fun games as well the last couple of years. Games that let me, you know, play them.
A short hike
Explore a campsite and Island while gathering feathers to jump higher and get all the way to the Summit. This was a relaxing and beautiful game that I completed in a couple of hours.
There was more to explore and collect but I was quite pleased when I got to the Summit and back down again. A short hike on Steam.
Braid: Anniversary edition
This is the same game as released on Xbox arcade way back when with improved graphics. You manipulate time in different ways to solve puzzle platforming. It's still a very inventive game. The puzzles are challenging and fun to figure out. The music is beautiful.
When you complete the game commentary tracks are unlocked on the maps. The creator, Jonathan Blow (along with different guests), talks about how he came up with the various puzzles. I love that.
Braid: Anniversary edition on Steam.
Superliminal
Change perspective to solve puzzles. This is clever. By grabbing objects and moving around, you can alter the size of things based on your perspective. Using that ability you solve various puzzles. Like removing obstructions or building stairs and bridges to get further.
It goes a bit dark, but never gets scary. Superliminal on Steam.
What Remains of Edith Finch
A walking simulator. But the stories within are so fun. This one is also easy to complete in one sitting. What Remains of Edith Finch on Steam.