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RAGE 2 and Game Feel
🕑 Added 2019-08-01 04:41:06 +0000 UTCThis month's Thing is up! Or at least, a draft of it is - it's kinda lumpy, and I'm not sure whether to spend another week chopping away at the script and reworking this to be a little bit leaner and more lithe or to just run with it even though it's a bit repetitive and drags in the middle.
EITHER WAY: Let's talk about how game feel is both a totally real, cool thing and also something that can maybe override our brains a little bit and make us thing interactive systems are cooler than they really are? And let's also talk about RAGE 2 itself, a game that has a lot of problems that I (perhaps irresponsibly) would argue signify some sort of troubled development. I have no idea what kind of troubled development that would be (too aggressive a release schedule? Difficulty with tech and tools? Creative leads changing direction mid-stream? Reworked narrative when user testing or executive reviews didn't pan out? Simply running out of time/money and having to Release The Damned Thing? Who knows! I don't!). But it's clear *something* went wrong here, and I think the game's emphasis on telling rather than showing is perhaps the biggest indication of that. The scant few cutscenes it do have imply a more cohesive narrative than what is actually present, and several beats come out of nowhere. It's a tonal mess, its economy makes no sense, and it's open world is vestigial (as is its care combat). It's... a bad game. And yet I couldn't stop playing it. Why? Well, watch the video!
Comments
Darron Perry Jr
I've found I have grown increasingly bitter towards games that only provide good game feel. When I get sucked in to lengthy times sinks that are fun in the moment but leave me with nothing to chew on after, the feeling that my time was wasted is inescapable.
Melissa Proffitt
You're right that it's a little repetitive and lags in the middle. But I think that actually serves your bigger point by making it feel like the dialogue you are having with yourself. You can probably tighten it up, but I don't think you get the effort/reward you might in another review that isn't as much self-dialogue as this one is.
Marty Crenlon
I'm actually a little surprised that you didn't explicitly tie this into the "200 hours played, negative review given" discourse, since it feels like an immediately relevant point to Rage 2 that is also familiar to a lot of viewers/players via games like Skyrim, AssCreed, etc.
Neil Polenske
Roll Fizzlebeef!
Reade Bramer
Always look forward to your videos. Do you still intend to revisit The Outer Wilds with a spoiler review/critique? Part 1 convinced me to play the game and I'd love to hear your further thoughts! Thanks again for all your great work.
