Disliked Games I Love: Part 1
I was thinking the other day about some of the games I've loved that have been poorly received by the general public. I enjoy reading reviews and appreciate others' opinions, but I usually try to experience a game for myself before passing judgement on it if it's something I'm interested in. The same goes for movies, books, and other forms of entertainment media. I thought it would be interesting to explore a few of the games I love that other people seem to dislike.
Silent Hill: Downpour
There's a stigma around all of the Western-made Silent Hill games, with many people putting the original Japanese development team on a pedestal. I do prefer the Japanese-made games in the series, but I think some of the Western games are genuinely good too, especially if you view them as their own standalone experiences. I think they get a lot of hate simply for being different, but I don't think those differences are necessarily bad.
Silent Hill: Downpour is dark, dirty, and brutal. The story is not for the faint of heart, and content warnings abound. That said, I think Murphy is one of the most relatable and affecting characters in the series. He's incarcerated at the beginning of the game, and during his transfer to another prison the bus crashes and leaves him stranded in Silent Hill, where he's forced to face the monsters of his past.
I love the atmosphere of Downpour, the use of rain, and the ability to explore the town freely. It was the first Silent Hill that allowed you to enter many of the buildings and homes, with side quests that provide more context for the mysterious town. They don't provide too much information, though, thankfully, leaving Silent Hill shrouded in its fog. I wouldn't have liked for the game to reveal too much, but the ability to just be in the town for a while and see some of its hidden corners was a breath of fresh air.
The lackluster combat leaves something to be desired, but you could say that for any Silent Hill game. I think the most warranted criticism is in the monster designs, which are pretty uninspired compared to the rest of the series. The prison enemies in particular really let me down. There was so much potential for interesting and terrifying enemies there, and instead we got regular ol' prisoner guys.
I also want to mention the soundtrack by Daniel Licht, which I'm endlessly impressed with. He had big shoes to fill, as this is the only Silent Hill game missing composer and sound designer Akira Yamaoka, and I think he did a great job. I listen to this soundtrack on my own sometimes because it's so good. Licht did a fantastic job using musical elements and sounds from the previous games to create an entirely new soundtrack that works well for the melancholy atmosphere of Downpour. May he rest in peace.
The Good Life
I've written about the expectations that myself and others had for this game. If you were following the Kickstarter for The Good Life, I absolutely don't blame you for being disappointed by the end result. Personally, I had no idea what to expect and really enjoyed the experience I ended up with.
The Good Life is a life sim by controversial developer Swery and his studio, White Owls. Swery is controversial because, well, none of his games are particularly good objectively, but they have a lot of heart and quirkiness. In it, you play as Naomi Hayward, a photojournalist from New York who travels to the quaint English village of Rainy Woods to investigate a mystery that turns into a murder. She discovers that people in the town have the ability to transform into dogs and cats, and she gains the ability herself during her stay there.
I'll be the first to admit that The Good Life is pretty lackluster as far as life sims go, but I still put over 30 hours into it and loved it anyhow, mostly because it's weird and endearing in that particular Swery way. I really liked the atmosphere of Rainy Woods with its mostly overcast sky. There's so much detail in the town, with menu chalkboards having actual words written on them and things like that. There's a lot to take in, which is great for a game that has photography as one of its central mechanics.
That's another thing I loved about it -- taking photos! The photo challenges were the best part of the game for me, along with upgrading my home and customizing my garden. I loved traveling around trying to find certain landmarks or details with my camera.
The biggest complaints I have are that the transformations between dog, cat, and human take a bit too long and the game is overall a bit too fetch-questy. It takes quite a lot of effort to get the items you need for customization in the game, like crafting new clothes. And most of the quests simply require you to go and find items for people. I still enjoyed it because I loved the detailed world of the game, and although I wish it had more, I'm happy enough with what we got.
Pokemon Legends: Z-A
I'm not sure how disliked this game actually is, but I heard a lot of complaints about it when it came out. People said that the city it takes place in is dull compared to other Pokémon locations, and they weren't fans of the wild zones, which are pretty small as opposed to a more open world where you can explore and find Pokémon.
I agree with the wild zones. I wish the game had allowed you the ability to go outside of the city and find Pokémon there, but I loved the city itself. I didn't find it dull at all, and I particularly enjoyed the parkour-esque exploration where you're scaling buildings and doing jumping puzzles. The cafés are great too, where you can just chill with your Pokémon for a while. I really think the city has a lot of heart, and it honestly kind of makes me sad that other people disagree, but it is what it is.
The newer Pokémon games have graphics that throw back to the PS2 era, and I love the way they look, even though that's a common criticism as well. I don't mind games having an older look and feel because I still love retro games, and I prefer stylized graphics over realistic ones. I get that maybe they could be a bit more animated and colorful, but I have no complaints about the way Z-A looks.
One thing I do see people praising is the new battle system, which is one of the highlights for me as well. I really enjoy how active it is, and I absolutely loved exploring the battle zones at night and sneaking up on other trainers. My only complaint is that the mega system kind of requires you to have mega Pokémon, and there are a lot of Pokémon without mega forms that I would love to have in my party. Still, I got a lot of enjoyment out of this game, and it's one I'll return to in the future.
This has gotten quite long! I'm going to end the post here, but I'll be back here in the near future with three more games I love that most people seem to dislike.