u/Patamaudelay

Honestly, on paper I really like the concept behind these games, but it’s crazy how this franchise gives off absolutely nothing.

The games take inspiration from music festivals for both their aesthetic and even their “story”. Yet somehow the festival ends up looking like a networking event with this soulless corporate branding everywhere.
FH6 takes place in Japan and it has the exact same art direction as the ones set in Australia, Mexico… It’s almost impossible to tell the different entries in the series apart.
Real-life music festivals all have their own identity. Even something as mainstream as Tomorrowland completely reinvents its visual identity every year.
For the Japan setting, why didn’t they take inspiration from mascots, or the Wipeout / The Designers Republic style that was heavily inspired by Japanese ads and flyers from the 90s and 2000s? The Mexico festival in FH5 already felt identical to the one in FH4 despite being on a completely different continent. And they always felt like your networking event from your employer.

The radio music literally sounds like AI-generated playlists. Seriously, you have a game set in Japan, that was the perfect opportunity to include eurobeat, noise rock, Japanese techno with artists like Ken Ishii, or even Nujabes since he’s massively popular right now. Just something that pays tribute to the more underground side of the Japanese scene while keeping the mainstream stuff on the bigger radio stations, but nope.

And I’m not even gonna start on the HUD and iconography. The whole thing feels like a streaming platform or some banking app, I don’t even know, but it’s so corporate and lifeless. The franchise genuinely looks like a piece of software from the Microsoft Office suite.

Meanwhile you have Gran Turismo, which is instantly recognizable just through its sound design, the jazzy music, the menus that actually feel luxurious…

I just find it really sad that Playground Games isn’t more artistically ambitious.
Forza Horizon has great gameplay, but there’s nothing memorable about it as a franchise. It desperately lacks soul.

There is plenty of Dark Fantasy RPGs, but what if I want a world with colors, beautiful nature and lush forests, majestic creatures …
What comes to my mind would be TES Oblivion and Morrowind, Star Wars KOTOR 1, Kingdom of Amalur, Fable Saga..
Any other recommendations ?

Right now I’m really craving an RPG that pulls me into a bubble of immersion, travel, and adventure.
Release date and RPG style don’t matter (full 3D, isometric, turn-based, etc.).

My two most important criteria are: immersion and art direction. I don’t necessarily need quests on the level of The Witcher 3 or a story like Planescape. I’m totally fine with something simpler.

The game I’ve already played that fits this the best is the first Star Wars KOTOR. A memorable atmosphere, music that carries me away, landscapes that really stuck with me… I could also mention Morrowind with its alien and very unique world.

Right now, I’m considering getting Neverwinter Nights. I don’t know why, but from the screenshots I’ve seen, I find the visuals really charming, it genuinely makes me want to play it. And since it’s from BioWare’s golden age, I figure it can’t be bad.
Jade Empire also caught my eye. I’ve never played it, but I’ve heard it’s pretty light on the RPG side.

Do you have any other recommendations? Modern games, old-school ones… doesn’t matter again. I didnt mention it, but it can also be JRPG, even if its usually not my type of RPGs.
Thanks a lot!

EDIT: Bonus point if it plays well on the steam deck !

Hey,

I actually never played Diablo and the fact that Diablo 2 as been out on steam and so steam deck, made me kinda interested in the franchise for the first time.

What I am mostly interested in is the sense of progression. I am a huge WoW player ( mostly Classic ), and I was wondering if I can feel the same accomplishment when I got my first level 60 character, when I got my first legendary bow, or finally finishing a raid after numerous attempts.

I would also like to know how is the story ? Is it an important part of game the franchise ? Is it well written ? Does it make you curious about the lore, the characters…. ?

And last, how is the online aspect of the game ? Can I play some dungeons, raids or whatever with random people ? Is it « worth » it in term of progression ?

There is one thing that I fear with this game and it is the statistics. It might be an unpopular opinion but I like when game mechanics goes to the essential and doesn’t flood you with hundreds of different stats.

From what I have seen, especially on Diablo 2, this seems like those games need some kind of spreadsheet or whatever to build a character. I know I will just end up copy pasting an OP build from internet if the game is like this.

I still don’t really know if I am more interested in Diablo 2 or 4. I really love the look and art style of Diablo 2, it also runs well on steam deck, and I really like « old school » RPG design that is not afraid with spikes of difficulty, and can be very slow ( I dont want to be flooded with epic gear everywhere )

Thank you !

I have an itch for an arcade racing game with cool progression and online, that I can play while waiting for Horizon 6.

Thoughts on this one ?