Games we play for gameplay
Disputes about what is more important in games: plot or gameplay are a perennial theme. However, among the games there are projects about which we can definitely say that in them the gameplay comes first. This does not mean that their plot is always bad. It's just that an excellent work was done on the gameplay itself, when the plot is either in the background, or simply is an eyeliner for the action, or we love mechanics so much that we are ready to play no matter what the main character's motivation is, and the plot is like the icing on the cake. We decided to recall our favorite examples of games that we play for the sake of gameplay. Middle-Earth Shadow Of MordorShadow Of Mordor is just an example of a game where the plot doesn't really bother you, to put it mildly. Much more everyone remembered the game for the competent weaving into it of the brutal combat system from Batman, but most importantly - for the Nemesis system. At the time of its release, the game looked like a mediocre project under a well-known license that tried to be both Assassin's Creed and Batman: Arkham, but in the end it was neither one nor the other. However, all journalists agreed that it was only thanks to the Nemesis system that the game was saved from collapse. She allowed you to create your own personal enemies of the orcs, betrayed random skirmishes and small events of scale and influence on the world of Middle-earth.
The orc that defeated you became your personal enemy, he climbed the career ladder from pawn to commander, and his character changed because of your actions. As a result, at the end of the game, you could meet an enemy that you yourself created. This simulation of life and struggle is what made the gameplay so memorable. Assassin's Creed 4: Black FlagBlack Flag is truly an amazing game in the Assassin's Creed series. She simultaneously launched the era when the series began to slide, but at the same time remains the most beloved in the franchise for many. Even more paradoxical, this is the least assassin game. I don't remember what Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag was about, and I'm sure there isn't one. But I remember excellent mechanics of swimming and sea battles, boarding, I remember exploring the world, levels under water, hunting whales and sharks and how my team sang "Drinking Sailor". This is the whole Black Flag. It was a good pirate game with good mechanics. Somewhere out there, in the background, a war of the Assassins and the Templars was unfolding, which was not particularly interesting to us, and we only poked our nose into it from time to time.
Black Flag essentially grew out of the water combat mechanics of Assassin's Creed 3, and ultimately defined many of the franchise moments for Ubisoft. In general, there are rumors that the French are using their main series, which always pays off, as a platform for experimentation. Allegedly, someone from the top suggested creating a game about pirates, but they were not sure about it, so they conducted an experiment by adding piracy to the assassins. It turned out to be successful and now we already have Skull & Bones. Anyway, Assassin's Creed Black Flag is a game we play for gameplay. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen OrderHere I will immediately make a reservation, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order has a good plot. She's a good game in and of itself, and that's probably a better description. While I was playing, I did not leave the feeling of pleasure familiar from the days of Prince Of Persia: Sands of Time, for I experienced a similar feeling. Fallen Order gives you the very best that a Jedi game has to offer - dynamic, souls-like lightsaber combat, the ability to use powers in different ways, and the exploration of 6 planets made according to all the laws of Metroidvania.
For me, a sign of good mechanics is when a developer gives you a reason to use it again, and you are happy to repeat it over and over again. With a clear conscience, I can say this about battles, where you fight on several fronts at once with different types of opponents, using a bunch of Jedi features. It is a pity that the dismembered people were not delivered. Doom 2016Doom remains Doom, no matter 2016 or 1993. The plot in shooters, especially such classic ones, has always been a purely conditional thing. Despite the fact that it is in the game in 2016, it is still an eyeliner for you to kill hordes of demons from hell, and how nice to do it.
Doom 2016 has really juicy and meaty gameplay, an adaptive soundtrack helps you kill opponents. It is designed in such a way as to be individual for each player. It depends on your pace, punches or shots, thus accompanying your every aggressive action. ControlHere is a very similar case with Fallen Order. I love the mystical plot of Control, but I love the gameplay even more. Shooting, the use of telekinetic power - the battles in the game are like a grenade launcher: everything explodes, collapses, flies. Here we are hiding, and now we take a piece of the wall and attack our opponent. This is how Control is played. The way our heroine rises into the air, collects a shield from pieces of floor and shoots - how amazing it is.
Battlefield 3I remember very well the days when Battlefield 3 came out and how everyone praised its multiplayer. Even then, people liked large-scale carnage with tanks and a crumbling environment. And there was also a story campaign in Battlefield 3, but nobody really needed it. Here you can ask me why Battlefield 3? As for me, it was the third battle that set the pace for military shooters, which they maintain to this day, namely the emphasis on high-quality multiplayer with juicy sensations and full gameplay impact. All subsequent games in the series, as well as competitors in the face of Call of Duty, followed this scenario.
As a result, every year or every few years we received a new shooter, where the storyline campaign was either for show or was completely absent. And all thanks to the excellent gameplay of Battlefield 3 2011. Even the last Call of Duty, whose storyline was smashed due to ridiculousness and cranberries, was remembered for its good multiplayer. Sekiro: Shadow Die TwiceI could not fail to mention the best game of the past year, because despite the presence of a good and harsh plot [by the standards of souls like], Sekiro is primarily about the gameplay. If earlier in Dark Souls you first learned to play, dying long and tediously, but at the same time developing your own style of play, then in Sekiro: Shadow Die Twice you learn to play exactly as the developer intended. You no longer roleplay yourself, but take control of a ronin who fights with a certain fighting style.
The gameplay was diluted with gadgets like prosthesis and verticality and it works. Someone might say that this made the game even more difficult than souls, and to some extent it is, but how nice it is to play this role. When you are given a katana and you hack into pieces your first enemy, you get real pleasure. Sekiro is a game about bright splashes of blood and sparks from blows, where you understand what art from FromSoftware is. The Topic of Article: Games we play for gameplay. |
