My Video Game Hot Takes

Lets turn up the heat and get spicy up in here! I have so many opinions that I know will be unpopular and I thought for a bit of fun, lets put them out into the world for all to see. Now these takes are just my opinion, I can normally appreciate the thing without enjoying it. For instance Lord of the Rings...I cannot stand. But I appreciate that they were well written books and movies, they just don't get my pickle a-tickling! Anyway let's dive right in!

1. Red Dead Redemption 1+2 are better than all of the GTA games

I get frustrated when people describe Red Dead Redemption as 'boring'. Honestly I don't know where those people are coming from, and I get bored far quicker playing any of the GTA games. For the record, I enjoy GTA a lot and respect it as a franchise. In fact I recently did a ranking of them that you should check out. But ramming into cars and shooting people gets boring, and the side missions in GTA are either a dull mini game (like bowling or tennis) or more ramming into cars and shooting. But Red Dead Redemption is engaging all the way through. I become attached to every single character in both games and rarely skip a cut scene even though I have played through the games at least four times now. Arthur Morgan might be my favourite character in any form of media. With GTA I don't really connect with the one note characters and I have to actively resist the urge to skip every cut scene. Now a lot of people say that GTA is funnier, but I have laughed harder at more RDR moments than I have at GTA. The only criticism I have for Red Dead Redemption is that we don't have RDR2: Undead Nightmare...throw GTA 6 in the trash and make us Undead Nightmare Rockstar you cowards!

2. Mario Odyssey Is My Least Favourite 3D Mario

I remember this game coming out and people talking about it like Christ himself had risen and he had donned a red cap and grown a tash! Then I played it and honestly I think it was over hyped because we were all so excited about the Switch. I just feel the open world style really slowed down the experience and what I enjoy about Mario is the fast, twitch based action and precision platforming. I thought the cap ability was great and very, very well used, but each time I entered a level I felt over whelmed as opposed to excited. The costumes were fine, but I cannot say I got excited about any of them and Mario really did engage in some real cultural appropriation! 999 moons was way too many and it felt like a chore! Honestly Mario 3D World is a far better 3D Mario game - jus' sayin'.

3. Breath of the Wild and Tears of The Kingdom Are Rated Too High

Now I know this one will be the one that gets everyone all hot and bothered, but I said hot takes and I'm not holding back. People enjoy these games and I am so glad. I...like them??? I think? It just doesn't feel like a Zelda game to me, and not that I feel you cannot break away from the formula, because you can. I just don't feel the sense of adventure I feel when playing some of the other Zelda titles. I completely understand that they are beautiful games and a technical marvel and the physics are impressive, but to me the lack of direction means that I really don't engage with the story and I find it hard to care about Link's journey. My favourite gaming memory of all time was getting on the boat on Windwaker and sailing out into the ocean on a search to find Link's sister. The music kicks in and it is hard not to feel that overwhelming sense of adventure. With BOTW and TOTK I just never felt that, and a lot of the stuff  feels like busy work. I also miss dungeons! And people say the shrines are dungeons but I think they lack personality. Again, yes I understand that the physics and puzzles are great, but the shrines (in my opinion) always feel really clinical, lack personality and I don't like the look. Same goes for the Divine Beasts. Like I said at the top, it isn't that I do not respect the game, I do, I just look at these games and Mario Odyssey and think...maybe I am getting old and left behind?

4. 2D Sonic Games Have Never Been Fun

I told you, I am not messing around. My first console was the Sega Master System with the first Sonic game pre-loaded on it. I did not grow up in a particularly wealthy household so that was the one game I had for a long time. I always found it super frustrating but anyone who grew up in the 90s in the UK will know - Sonic was EVERYWHERE. So I forced myself to like it and kept playing Sonic games, not enjoying it at all but playing it because I thought it was uncool not to like it. I then went out into the world, experienced all video games had to offer and then played through some of the highest rated 2D Sonic games and realised...oh, Sonic just isn't fun. Actually, I take that back - Sonic Adventure 2 Battle has some of my favourite video game moments in it and my favourite sound track. Yeah 70% of that game is bad, but the other 30% is AMAZING. The reason I don't enjoy 2D Sonic games is because it seems to encourage you to move fast and then punish you for doing so. And then there are water levels? Because everyone wants to see the worlds fastest hedghog moving slowly under water. Also the level design is quite often just frustrating, and the fact that there are several paths you can take seems like a revolutionary idea, but actually just ends in me clumsily fumbling through the level and feeling nothing at the end. I would rather play a precision Mario game that punishes you when you miss a jump and gives you a sense of accomplishment when you get to the end of a level.

5. I Cannot Get On Board With Roguelikes

I want to enjoy roguelike games so much, I just don't. I find them incredibility frustrating and struggle to feel any sense of achievement because the game constantly boots you back to the start. When I bought my PS5 I got 'Returnal' and was so excited to play it because I had heard such amazing things. I played it for hours and hours and never felt a sense of accomplishment. Every time I died and was brought back to the start I found myself just shrugging and turning off the game. I love getting invested in a story and I find the roguelike method of story telling hard to enjoy. I have purposely avoided Hades, because I know I will want to like it more than I will actually like it. I have played many beloved roguelikes and each time have ended up stopping the game before I finish because I am not having fun. I did, however, love Sifu. I know that it is not strictly a rogue like, but it has rogue like elements. It is a rogue like, like, game! Apart from that though, I have never really been able to engage with the roguelike format.

So there you have it! 5 controversial opinions. Feel free to try to change my opinions on this! The internet is filled with people who are married to their opinions. I am not. I love discussing things and having my opinion changed! Why not comment below some of your controversial opinions and lets confess all our sins!

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