I wandered lonely...
October 25, 2016 11:53 AM   Subscribe

After being used to describe boring games (and remaining as a controversial term), the walking simulator is finally getting its due. Recently there have been many great free examples of pure, procedurally-generated walking simulators: no puzzles, no goals, no crafting, no enemies... just walking in a space that was created just for your game. Bernband gives you the feeling of walking through a bustling alien city/mall/something and observing its inhabitants. The ominous TRIHAYWBFRFYH lets you wander around a setting as the apocalypse begins. Secret Habitat creates an island full of art galleries. Sanctuary features a strange, creepy walk among mysterious obelisks. Sacremento is a stunning walk through a watercolor world. If you like realistic walks, Outerra is an amazing engine producing procedurally-generated landscapes using Google Earth data that lets you wander anywhere on the planet, zooming out from a blade of grass to outer space, at which point you probably want to shift to the equally amazing Space Engine to explore other worlds. [all games downloadable, most for Windows and Mac]
posted by blahblahblah (58 comments total) 122 users marked this as a favorite
 
Why no love for QWOP, the archetypal walking simulator?
posted by w0mbat at 12:00 PM on October 25, 2016 [29 favorites]


What I love about these kinds of games is the amazing sense of mood these experiences generate. Bernband makes me feel like I am jetlagged in a foreign country, while TRIHAYWBFRFYH connects you with the Lovecraftian vibe in a visceral way.

I should also mention that there are a number of commercial "walking simulators" though most have more story or some puzzle elements. Proteus is probably the most pure of the commercial games, but Dear Esther, Firewatch, and even Gone Home are all award-winners featuring untimed wandering through an environment as the primary form of play.
posted by blahblahblah at 12:08 PM on October 25, 2016 [1 favorite]


Oooh I like this, Sanctuary looks neat. This may end up with me spending time with a game.
posted by sandettie light vessel automatic at 12:14 PM on October 25, 2016


I want Sanctuary as a VR, I would pick up some goggles very promptly.
posted by sandettie light vessel automatic at 12:17 PM on October 25, 2016


I find Space Engine incredibly compelling, and I wonder if he'll ever bolt some kind of open-ended game scripting onto the top of it. I love spawning spacecraft into it and just imagining their lonely trek through this vast universe. Outerra is also very impressive although ironically it's so impressive that I end up frustrated by the limitations, such as the fact that modern graphics cards still can't render a forest of unique trees 1:1 without exploding.

In the end you can also place a lot of AAA open-world games in this fashion... there's always a weird sense of tension, though, between making a world friendly enough that you can explore without a sense of tension and making it so friendly that the pull of the game is lost.
posted by selfnoise at 12:20 PM on October 25, 2016


The only time I have ever been tempted to buy a gaming console after years of resisting is when I saw footage of Red Dead Redemption. And even then, I mostly wanted it so I could just walk through those gorgeous landscapes.
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 12:28 PM on October 25, 2016 [3 favorites]


I'm a big fan of this free walking game available on all platforms. It's called Outdoors.

Bonus feature - improves your health while you play.
posted by wellvis at 12:28 PM on October 25, 2016 [4 favorites]


Bookmarking. I don't game much, but I love the idea of walking simulators (I'm not very competitive, skill grinding makes me want to turn off the computer and never turn it on again, I don't like shooting things or running away from things). Right now I'm neck deep in Subnautica, which is a survival game but if you play on the mode that turns off literally all survival needs (you don't even need to breathe, dude), it's a really gorgeous swimming sim with a crafting option if you're so inclined. I'm always looking for "games" that are more just experiences with mood and emotion and beauty. My daily life has enough tough decisions, sometimes I want to walk around an enchanted forest and look at flowers.
posted by soren_lorensen at 12:30 PM on October 25, 2016 [6 favorites]


Disappointing. Came here for the (Christopher) Walkin Simulator. But you see. I was. Let. Down.
posted by Bob Regular at 12:31 PM on October 25, 2016 [9 favorites]


I'm a big fan of this free walking game available on all platforms. It's called Outdoors.

Yeah, but not all of us live next to Monument Valley.
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 12:32 PM on October 25, 2016 [9 favorites]


There are no spewing volcanoes and fire breathing pterodactyls outside.
posted by adept256 at 12:32 PM on October 25, 2016 [3 favorites]


I'm a big fan of this free walking game available on all platforms. It's called Outdoors.

...Dad?
posted by prize bull octorok at 12:33 PM on October 25, 2016 [76 favorites]


Bonus feature - improves your health while you play.

I've sunk quite a few hours into it, and that aspect of it is fantastic. The only real downside is the map is so large that getting to the more far flung places is pretty much impossible at the simulated walk rate. Not only that, but the features you do have available to you to get around without walking can still be pretty slow, and cost quite a few in game credits, which you can only earn through participating in a series of grind mechanics, or by being wildly lucky. Certainly not perfect.
posted by Jon Mitchell at 12:34 PM on October 25, 2016 [50 favorites]


To perhaps steer backward towards shore, I would say that I favor finding a less structured wandering option in games that do have systems rather than playing a game without real systems beyond a camera, because I feel much more involved in the world if I have some kind of interaction point beyond a viewport.

I've been playing the 2015 Mad Max game (which is perfectly fine) and there are these occasional and very dangerous dust/lightning storms you can be out in. Now of course the game undermines this mechanic by allowing for fast travel, but I chose to stay out in one last night just to experience it. It's truly mad, and a great example of the immersion the game gets right.

What I really miss is the sense of systems that are there, but are unstructured and dynamic rather than being the set amusement points of a theme park. So, an immersive world with a dynamic campaign more like Mount and Blade or Lords of Midnight would be just about perfect for me.
posted by selfnoise at 12:40 PM on October 25, 2016 [2 favorites]


This reminds me that the new texture pack update for Skyrim is out on friday. Yeah there's a game in there, but I could just wander that landscape forever. Such a pretty game.

Peaceful mode on Minecraft deserves a mention. Also The Path.
posted by adept256 at 12:47 PM on October 25, 2016 [2 favorites]


Despite making the FPP, I generally agree selfnoise: though I appreciate these short experiences, I tend to like some mechanics, as well as evolving worlds, in my games as well.

Most open world (usually RPGs or action games) can be played as walking simulators, but only a few combine dynamic environments encourage non-directed exploration/storytelling with a strong sense of mood. The classic examples of living worlds begging to be explored are Morrowwind and Skyrim on the RPG side, and Rockstar's games (Red Dead, GTA) on the action side. Games like Witcher 3 and Assassin's Creed have beautiful worlds full of stuff, but they are often both too player-focused (you stumble on things related to the game, as opposed to things happening in dynamic worlds) and have too many game-y waypoints and collectables to really explore just for the sake of exploring.

Survival games are usually all exploration based, and can be quite beautiful, but most feel too frantic to enjoy the setting. Some have modes that turn this off: Minecraft, Subnautica, etc. I also think that No Man's Sky, despite its faults, nails the mood of lonely exploration incredibly well.

The open world story/puzzle games are probably closest to walking simulators, except with an arbitrary storyline: Everyone's Gone to Rapture, Firewatch, even Myst (along with games I mentioned above). Also, they are usually short!

But all of these differ from the kind of one-shot experience that the free walking simulators provide, and require a lot more commitment, in both money and time.
posted by blahblahblah at 12:59 PM on October 25, 2016


On March 28, 2011, a man who calls himself Kurt J. Mac loaded a new game of Minecraft. As the landscape filled in around his character, Mac surveyed the blocky, pixellated trees, the cloud-draped mountains, and the waddling sheep. Then he started walking. His goal for the day was simple: to reach the end of the universe.
He's still walking.
posted by monospace at 1:27 PM on October 25, 2016


Before you could craft a bed and skip night time in Minecraft, I used to spend many evenings when I wasn't working underground atop tall towers I would build just for such purposes. The feeling of isolation was at times exquisite and at other times so very lonely.
posted by Insert Clever Name Here at 1:44 PM on October 25, 2016 [1 favorite]


I actually did this the first time I played Skyrim. I had never played any similar games so spent a lot of time running through the land on my horse. I discovered fast travel 3 days later and the world became much too small.
posted by Damienmce at 1:44 PM on October 25, 2016


Seeing as its predecessor has been named a couple of times in this thread, I feel I should point out Red Dead Redemption 2 is coming.
posted by DrAstroZoom at 1:47 PM on October 25, 2016



I'm a big fan of this free walking game available on all platforms. It's called Outdoors.

...Dad?


I've tried it out and, as a father, I would recommend you take a pass on "Outdoors," it's still too buggy.
posted by ennui.bz at 1:47 PM on October 25, 2016 [23 favorites]


There a bunch of open-world driving games that can be played like walking simulators, ignoring the racing and other structured gameplay or story and just exploring the city or the countryside. Ubisoft's The Crew is free (because they want to sell you DLC for motorcycles and cool cars). But you can ignore everything and just take the starting car on a drive from Miami to Seattle exploring a Reader's Digest condensed and abreviated version of the United States.
posted by straight at 2:04 PM on October 25, 2016 [1 favorite]


I've been enjoying No Man's Sky a lot. There's game stuff early on that you have to deal with, but once you've got your suit upgraded a bit it's a lovely wander through every lurid sci-fi landscape you ever saw on a paperback book cover.

I mean I haven't been playing it lately, I've gone back to Bloodborne, which is pretty close to a walking simulator with occasional bosses now that I know how the combat works. But I got a lot of happy hours wandering through the gorgeous solitude of No Man's Sky, and I wish that there was a cheat code I could use to completely turn off having to keep the suit's systems fed so that I could just park myself at a pretty view and have a living space landscape painting splashed across my wall.
posted by egypturnash at 2:18 PM on October 25, 2016 [2 favorites]


I'm a big fan of this free walking game available on all platforms. It's called Outdoors.

Bonus feature - improves your health while you play.


Not always.
posted by srboisvert at 2:29 PM on October 25, 2016 [1 favorite]


Driving is one version of my favorite variation on Walking Simulators which are Flying/Swimming/Jumping/Climbing/Swinging/Driving simulators, where you have an interesting or beautiful environment to explore but some sort of engaging movement mechanic that is enjoyable for it’s own sake. I’d put here games like ABZÛ, Journey, Fruits of a Feather, PaperPlane, Endless Ocean, Grow Home, Naissancee, some of the open-world Spider-Man games (and big chunks of Arkham City), CONDOR (a Mirror’s Edgeish indie game about finding your way to the highest point in a cyberpunkish cityscape). Mirror’s Edge sorta counts, but has too much else going and a bit too linear to just enjoy moving and exploring. The Assassin's Creed games have long stretches that can be enjoyed this way.
posted by straight at 2:38 PM on October 25, 2016 [2 favorites]


Abzû is great, everyone should play it.

Re: open world games with just enough system to make the aimless wandering feel more meaningful, I find the Stalker series and The Long Dark to be enormously satisfying on this level. TLD especially, because you can turn on "Pilgrim" mode where the wolves and bears will avoid you but you still have to contend with the survival mechanics. I also like Fallout 4 for this, though it's definitely on the combat-heavy end of things, even compared with the Elder Scrolls games.
posted by tobascodagama at 2:49 PM on October 25, 2016


But I got a lot of happy hours wandering through the gorgeous solitude of No Man's Sky, and I wish that there was a cheat code I could use to completely turn off having to keep the suit's systems fed so that I could just park myself at a pretty view and have a living space landscape painting splashed across my wall.

There's a trainer - and a login to get said trainer here if you don't want to create an account. You'll want the V1.08 version (or the 1.0 +18 versions which don't have working infinite ship energy), and while there are options that can make the game un-fun, the rest can turn it into a walking simulator. 'Super Speed' will sometimes throw you through the bottom of the world or fling you into space, but enjoy!
posted by sysinfo at 2:55 PM on October 25, 2016


Ya ABZÛ is super great as a swimmy Journey-like.

Some others worth a look (though they aren't freely downloadable):

Diaries of a Spaceport Janitor which, while I haven't played it, from watching video/streams seems a bit like a third person Bernband++ laced with some game systems.

Eidolon which has some light survival mechanics in it
posted by juv3nal at 2:55 PM on October 25, 2016 [2 favorites]


One of my fondest memories of the Guild Wars beta weekends was when I teamed up with a random stranger and we headed thataway instead of tackling the available missions. Large parts of the game map were there, just unpopulated and it was really cool just travelling through these desolate unseen-feeling places which were quite different to the content we were meant to be enjoying.
posted by comealongpole at 3:04 PM on October 25, 2016 [3 favorites]


" Secret Habitat creates an island full of art galleries"

It'd be cool if those art galleries were filled with curated images from say Google Art...
posted by storybored at 3:14 PM on October 25, 2016 [2 favorites]


I'm currently in the middle of The Witness, which is not technically a walking game, but probably still falls squarely under the "boring game" category. It's chock full of puzzles, but they're basically static with zero time pressure. There's no real narrative or any fighting or jumping. There isn't even a soundtrack, just an abandoned island to explore full of beautiful nature scenes and derelict architecture (with a load of enigmatic puzzles hidden throughout). The whole thing seems designed as a slow, meditative escape into someone's overblown philosophical fantasies, but I've been enjoying it for the most part. Unfortunately, something about movement in the game makes me terribly queasy, but the vistas are soothing.
posted by Diagonalize at 3:28 PM on October 25, 2016


Yea, I've almost gotten through the witness, and it's great. I do get the occasional queasiness if I am looking for something and move around too much.
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 3:59 PM on October 25, 2016


I'm a big fan of this free walking game available on all platforms. It's called Outdoors.

Outdoors is a classic example of the horrible "free to play" garbage clogging up the gaming industry these days. Have you seen the nickle and dime DLC bullshit the devs are constantly throwing at us?
posted by Pope Guilty at 4:26 PM on October 25, 2016 [9 favorites]


If you like the Witness but wished for more walking simulator and more environment focused puzzles, let me recommend The Talos Principle, one of the best games I've ever played.
posted by selfnoise at 4:31 PM on October 25, 2016 [1 favorite]


The Witness's big connected island is a lot more fun to explore than the Talos Principle's disconnected hubs, though.
posted by Pyry at 4:33 PM on October 25, 2016 [1 favorite]


I love walking simulators! Gone Home, referenced above, is my clear favorite, and The Witness, while not strictly a walking simulator, has a beautiful island to explore (and fantastic puzzles to boot). Bernband is probably my favorite non-commercial walking simulator. It gives such a fantastic feeling of place.

Here's some walking simulators (or walking simulator-adjacent experiences) I recommend that haven't been mentioned:
These Monsters (FREE, probably 10-30 minutes): Another game by strangethink, the person who made Strange Habitats; it feels like a more fleshed out iteration of the same idea.
CHYRZA (FREE, 10 or so minutes): A horror-based walking simulator by kittyhorrorshow in which you walk around the abandoned ruins of a desert civilization.
Anatomy ($3, 30-45 or so minutes): Another horror walking sim by kittyhorrorshow in which you wander around a house, musing on house architecture. It does a great job building atmosphere and I found it very unsettling.

Bonus: Not a walking simulator, but in Joy Exhibition (FREE) you use procedurally-generated paint guns in order to paint things that procedurally-generated aliens wander around and look at in an art gallery.
posted by No One Ever Does at 6:30 PM on October 25, 2016 [1 favorite]


Outdoors even has its own subreddit /r/outside
posted by ArgentCorvid at 7:22 PM on October 25, 2016


let me recommend The Talos Principle, one of the best games I've ever played.

yes, that one is great - I haven't finished it yet; I was finding the puzzles started to become too self-similar, like you were doing the same puzzle over and over. I was wondering - do you really need to do all of the puzzles, or just get enough done to be able to advance to the next level? If I knew I could skip some of them I would happily go back and finish it off.
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 7:36 PM on October 25, 2016


For those who enjoyed Myst as the original walking puzzler*, its creators released a spiritual successor called Obduction a few months ago, with a VR version coming this weekend.


*walking photogenic photorealistic intuitive-but-obscured fictional digital learning environment
posted by lazugod at 7:48 PM on October 25, 2016 [1 favorite]


The only time I have ever been tempted to buy a gaming console after years of resisting is when I saw footage of Red Dead Redemption. And even then, I mostly wanted it so I could just walk through those gorgeous landscapes.

Yeah, and that's not even counting the amazing sound and music work, which does as much for the atmosphere as any audio work in any game, ever.

I am actually having a nostalgic itch for that game this week, what with all the hype about the sequel landing.

Sadly, I no longer have a (working) PS3 or Xbox lying around, and they never did make a PC version, so this might be an expensive itch to scratch.
posted by rokusan at 8:39 PM on October 25, 2016 [1 favorite]


Damienmce, fast travel is probably the worst thing to happen to Skyrim or any such game.

Because the urge to use fast travel is so strong, there are even mods to disable it completely, "forcing" you to walk or ride or find other ways to cover the game's great distances. Because as you noticed, the ability to teleport anywhere takes away a large part of the game's big-world appeal.

This is, to me, the only way to play.
posted by rokusan at 8:46 PM on October 25, 2016 [2 favorites]


I downloaded Space Engine last night and me and husband spent like a half an hour looking up distant stars on Wikipedia and going there. I kind of want to set it to go quite slowly towards somewhere far away and then just cast it to the TV and let it run while I sit around and read.

Speaking of games where the actual gaming element kind of ruined it for me--I downloaded the trial of Bioshock (yes, late to the party--as I said, I'm not really a gamer) and would have had a blast with it without all those fucking splicers trying to kill me. Too nerve-wracking!
posted by soren_lorensen at 6:33 AM on October 26, 2016


I think you ought to be able to disable fast travel, but I think the convenience factor is perfectly appropriate given the kind of world you find it in. And it often serves to preserve a sort of illusion about the open world. In most of these games, whether it be Mad Max or AC: Syndicate or Skyrim, what actually happens when you travel around without fast travel is that you very quickly realize that the worlds are quite small and not to scale, and they are built as amusement grounds to do a fun activity and get out. While it can be fun to walk around in them, the longer you spend trying to travel the way you would in reality the harder it is to maintain the fiction that you are actually experiencing distance. And I always feel a nagging sense of disappointment around that.

That reminds me, another open world game that is kind of cool for walking is Dragon's Dogma, even though the world is quite dangerous. It does a couple of things right; a lot of the locations in the game actually feel to scale even though they are fairly empty (like the city), fast travel is rare and difficult, most of the world is hostile and unpredictable, and (in an incredibly rare move) the night cycle actually makes the game world extremely dark, which has a huge impact on experience.

The difference between the city in DD and, say, Solitude in Skyrim is quite stark and sort of illustrates the challenge of an open world game. DD's city (...Gran Soren? or something) feels like it has the correct scale and number of buildings for a medieval walled city, but most of them are just decoration. You can enter all the buildings in Solitude and they are populated, but the actual city is incredibly tiny. Given the limitations of development at the moment, I think you have to pick one or the other at this time if you want HD-scale detail.
posted by selfnoise at 7:01 AM on October 26, 2016 [3 favorites]


I love exploring worlds like this. One of the downsides of many MMOs is that access to certain areas requires levelling a character to a arbitrary point.

Jon Mitchell: "I've sunk quite a few hours into it, and that aspect of it is fantastic. The only real downside is the map is so large that getting to the more far flung places is pretty much impossible at the simulated walk rate. Not only that, but the features you do have available to you to get around without walking can still be pretty slow, and cost quite a few in game credits, which you can only earn through participating in a series of grind mechanics, or by being wildly lucky. Certainly not perfect."

Not only that but the climate control sucks. My local artificial reality simulator is about to enter its "Winter" season and for the next few months of "game" time it'll be nothing but ice and slush; sub-zero temperatures; nasty winds; and limited illumination.
posted by Mitheral at 7:45 AM on October 26, 2016 [1 favorite]


While it can be fun to walk around in them, the longer you spend trying to travel the way you would in reality the harder it is to maintain the fiction that you are actually experiencing distance. And I always feel a nagging sense of disappointment around that.

Plus, not being able to fast travel pretty much breaks the loot systems on a lot of these games. You either end up walking everywhere at a snail's pace or you end up below the expected loot curve because you have to leave behind half the stuff that drops.

(Though fast travel is the laziest way to solve that problem. Something like Torchlight's pet system that lets you dismiss your companion temporarily to sell stuff for you would be preferable. Or just adjust expectations downward like in the Stalker games where the most important loot is lightweight consumable stuff and actually upgrading your gear via loot is meant to be a rare occurrence.)
posted by tobascodagama at 8:00 AM on October 26, 2016 [2 favorites]


This reminds me that the new texture pack update for Skyrim is out on friday. Yeah there's a game in there, but I could just wander that landscape forever. Such a pretty game.

It's more than a texture pack. The most important change is that they've changed the engine to be 64bit, which means the game (and all the mods you decide to load it with) can use more than the 4 GB of memory that's available to 32bit programs.

They've also updated the game with more grass and prettier graphics effect, but those were already available via mods anyway.
posted by ymgve at 8:19 AM on October 26, 2016 [1 favorite]


(Though fast travel is the laziest way to solve that problem. Something like Torchlight's pet system that lets you dismiss your companion temporarily to sell stuff for you would be preferable. Or just adjust expectations downward like in the Stalker games where the most important loot is lightweight consumable stuff and actually upgrading your gear via loot is meant to be a rare occurrence.)

It is astonishing that no one seems to have stolen that pet system.

The inventory dilemma is probably worth a Metafilter post in its own right.

(The great thing about the pet system in Torchlight is that there is feedback to the game, rather than it just being a quality of life measure. While the pet is gone you are without the extra damage it provides)

It's more than a texture pack. The most important change is that they've changed the engine to be 64bit, which means the game (and all the mods you decide to load it with) can use more than the 4 GB of memory that's available to 32bit programs.

This is interesting. Is it something that modders are excited about? I had decided against upgrading as I have a very specific memory of Skyrim's presentation and I don't think I actually want new graphics.
posted by selfnoise at 8:27 AM on October 26, 2016 [1 favorite]


This is interesting. Is it something that modders are excited about? I had decided against upgrading as I have a very specific memory of Skyrim's presentation and I don't think I actually want new graphics.

It means a much more stable game since it won't crash when running out of memory, and also means mod creators have more room for adding content. The downside is that all mods have to be re-packed to be compatible with the new version, and things based ok Skyrim Script Extender won't work until that has been rewritten.
posted by ymgve at 10:09 AM on October 26, 2016 [1 favorite]


The landscapes of Xenoblade Chronicles X and the challenge of navigating them more than made up for the grindy game mechanics.
posted by ersatz at 11:01 AM on October 26, 2016


Pet system is a nice idea, indeed. I'd forgotten about that.

You're not wrong about city-scale being a bit of a deceit, selfnoise, and for certain it would be better to have legit/credible city sizes while maintaining a reasonable open-world. I'm sure we're getting there, given a few more years of acceptable storage/processor/video requirements moving up and up, though of course 90% of the new spaces will need to be procedurally-generated.

My dislike for fast travel, in particular, is the game-breaking nature for me. The point at which I start fast traveling and cashing in loot in an endless cycle is pretty much the peak of my interest curve, and the game just becomes so much less fun and interesting after that. Restricting fast travel (and I don't have the self-restraint to just ignore it, I need to disable it hard) is the only way I can maintain interest into the hundreds of hours that games like that deserve. It does require a different attitude toward loot. Cheap or heavy things just don't come along, especially when the horse and/or companion is full up, and I do spend a lot of time re-evaluating and dropping this for slightly-better that.

Medium-fast travel, like use of carriages or trains or some other in-game system, is fine with me, especially if it comes at some cost. Perhaps if games included better (heh) transit systems, fast travel could be left behind more easily.

You're right about the loot curve problem, too, I suppose, though I've found the thorough/completionist style that no-fast-travel brings gives me far, far more loot and money than I would ever need, anyway. Not to mention levels. I actually also prefer mods that slow down experience and leveling, since otherwise I end up very overpowered while only 10% through the "story" or main game or whatnot.

A no-fast-travel game that swapped out more of the bulky drops for more pure coin/gold/gems/whatever would work best, I think, especially if it came with better and more comprehensive "public transit".
posted by rokusan at 11:15 AM on October 26, 2016 [1 favorite]


Unless inventory management is a key and rewarding game mechanic, I prefer the Dark Souls approach of just ignoring the problem and letting players carry everything (which Dark Souls doesn't even bother to be consistent about when it makes the game better -- you can carry an endless number of swords and suits of armor, but a limited number of arrows and bolts).
posted by straight at 11:52 AM on October 26, 2016 [3 favorites]


straight, I was literally about to indulge in that same (slight) derail! The Souls games' inv system is sublime in how it gets out of your way, except where it really matters (equipped weight). Playing DS1 and 2 I'd forgotten that inv issues were a thing. I fired up LOTR: War In The North the other day which is fairly forgiving in allowing a separate inv per item category, yet still rapidly re-hit the limit and found my interest quickly waning.
posted by comealongpole at 2:03 PM on October 26, 2016 [1 favorite]


Plus, not being able to fast travel pretty much breaks the loot systems on a lot of these games. You either end up walking everywhere at a snail's pace or you end up below the expected loot curve because you have to leave behind half the stuff that drops.

Yes, this. One of the things I like about Skyrim-like games is that it allows different styles of gameplay. I am more quest-oriented, I like ticking things off a list of To Do. My husband is much more "Wander the wilderness and collect crafting supplies." We're both currently replaying Skyrim and I accuse him of wandering into some dungeon, picking up LITERALLY EVERYTHING and then spending the next three hours crawling back to town to sell it all. But, he seems fairly happy.

It would be nice to have fast travel be an option you can disable. I tend to get bored with games once I've done an initial explore/discovery of all the major areas, so I try to put off going places as long as possible so I have something new to explore.
posted by threeturtles at 4:18 PM on October 26, 2016


it's like nobody remembers how inventory management was the hardest boss in Demon's Souls

"Ooh, shiny! Please don't be an awesome suit of armor...please don't be an awesome suit of armor...please don't...CRAP!"
posted by prize bull octorok at 4:23 PM on October 26, 2016 [1 favorite]


Augh, I hate with a burning passion the time spent on inventory management. I'd buy the hell out of a good MMO that just gave you infinite inventory space.
posted by Mitheral at 6:02 PM on October 26, 2016 [1 favorite]


There are plenty of MMO's that will charge the hell out of your wallet to sell you infinite inventory space.
posted by straight at 9:35 PM on October 26, 2016


I tend to get bored with games once I've done an initial explore/discovery of all the major areas, so I try to put off going places as long as possible so I have something new to explore.

Yes, I'm similar. As mentioned upthread, my second most essential mod after some version of disable-fast-travel is slow-down-experience-points, because otherwise my completionist, every-nook-and-cranny exploration style levels my character up way too fast, and I end up level fifty before even touching the "big" parts of the story.

Getting overpowered, one way or another, is a quick way for me to run out of interest in a game. My favorite parts of the Skyrims or Fallouts tend to be very early in each game, while on some kind of very hard difficulty settings, when even the idea of three cockroaches or a rat around the next corner is enough to make me worry, and I have to actually pay serious attention to whether an iron broadsword or a steel dagger is a better idea.

Once you no longer fear dragons or deathclaws or whatever, the edge is gone.
posted by rokusan at 1:45 PM on October 27, 2016


Survival Mode in FO4 is something you should look into.

Also, the Stalker games, definitely.
posted by tobascodagama at 2:46 PM on October 27, 2016


« Older I Leeeeeeeeve For Moments Like Theeeees   |   The Political Environment on Social Media Newer »


This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments