orthogonal to alive @avi@computerfairi.es

@melissasage It also took a really long time for people to admit "realistic" 3D games looked like ass. About until it started to look natural.

@melissasage I think we're just now starting to see people get into ugly early 3D, the way people are nostalgic for scanlines and video artifacts now

@melissasage Like Sonic Mania is retro, and it uses sprites and characters inspired by a 2D Saturn game, which is the same gen as the N64

@melissasage I know, right? I think at least partially it's because retro aesthetics in gaming means pixelly sprites, not blocky 3d models

It's a travesty that Chris Farley and David Spade never got to depict Steve Ballmer and Bill Gates in a biopic

@melissasage @dirtycommo Objective C is German because it is inordinately fond of long compound names, such as pageViewControllerPreferredInterfaceOrientationForPresentation and HMCharacteristicValueCarbonDioxideDetectionStatus

Listening to Tubthumping on repeat, as solidarity

But what is the game like?

This game, not the entirety of the ~40 year history of roguelikes.

The most negative review on Metacritic, which gives the game a 40, ends with, "As it stands, RAD will likely please roguelike aficionados who will forgive ill-conceived gameplay ideas because of the challenge it adds to the experience."

So it's basically saying, if you enjoy the genre, you will like it. But if you don't like the genre...you will not like it.

Thanks, very informative.

These are quotes from 3 real reviews.

It's like if a bunch of people who've never played a soccer game before were sat down and made to provide their nuanced professional opinions on FIFA 20.

"All you can do in this game is play soccer. Why isn't it open world?"

"The various mutations could present clever ideas for unique builds and a multitude of ways to solve problems in a planned, not random, world. This course would have also allowed for more balanced combat and a greater focus on narrative. But… NOPE!"

Yep!

"On the other hand, the RNG can be brutal in how it distributes power-ups between runs"

Yeah, that's part of playing a rogue-like

"The downside is the unforgiving permadeath rogue-like nature of the game. Progress can become frustrating when you suddenly die and lose all your mutations and have to start again."

Yes, that's the genre you are playing.

Reviews for roguelikes that have the reviewer constantly explaining the genre, and complaining about the game adhering to it.

"I like the combat but permadeath and random level layouts are a real pain"

Brought to you by, me trying to figure out if Rad is a good game.