r/Gamer

You guys remember that hyper photo-realistic FPS game called Bodycam released in 2024, made by 2 French brothers? It was a very realistic game, graphically and in gameplay, but it didn’t have much progression, wasn’t well optimized, some other problems and it got repetitive after some time, pretty basic stuff.

The thing is, they are now a bigger team, “Reissad Studio”, and have been working for a whole year to develop this one, new update named Locked & Loaded (v0.8, not even v1.0 yet and it’s unbelievable) releasing in two weeks (September 2nd). They reworked, optimized and improved every part of the game, here is the main content: huge optimization, new Trench map, new guns, loadouts and customization (hundreds of attachments), ammo check, realistic aim optic scopes (I bet you to tell me a game with better ones), realistic FPV drone piloting with explosive, RC cars with C4, dynamic ragdoll system and operator's stress system, changing the animation of reload and breath, whether the operator is calm or stressed and the amount of ammo.

They recently posted a video showing everything (except for the new map and sound design that will be shown still this month). It’s worth to watch, believe me:

https://youtu.be/MDjn7dsnpgI?si=3aUNdw-2qGSulRFd

I have been playing single player games since the late 80's. This is my top 100. (I'm refering to God of war from 2005 by the way)

Describe it in the most ridiculous way possible. 😂

I'll go first:
You are a homeless man with a severe inventory management problem who accidentally becomes the chosen one while spending most of his time breaking into people's houses.

Maybe it's just me, but I've reached a point where I genuinely struggle with how much dialogue, backstory and side content modern RPGs throw at you.

I've just been playing Octopath Traveler 0, and I'm getting close to the end of the main story with around 100 hours of gameplay. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if at least 20 of those hours have been cutscenes and dialogue.

And I get it. You're supposed to care about the characters. You're supposed to know their stories and become attached to them.

But there are 36 recruitable characters in this game. You can have 7 of them in your party at the same time, 8 if you include the main character. So every time I recruit someone new, instead of being excited, part of me is thinking: "Oh god, now I have to spend another 15 minutes listening to this character's backstory before I can even figure out whether they're worth replacing someone in my party." 😂

And the problem isn't even just the amount of dialogue. A lot of the time I find the writing itself incredibly shallow.

I'm talking about RPGs in general here, not just Octopath Traveler. Persona, Dragon Quest, Trials of Mana and so many other fantasy/JRPGs seem to have this tendency towards incredibly predictable dialogue, endless exposition, characters explaining things that are already obvious, and stories that sometimes feel almost childish despite the amount of time they spend trying to establish emotional depth.

And I have to admit, I seem to have a particular talent for absolutely hating the stereotypical "princess" characters in these games. You know the type: endlessly kind, morally perfect, painfully naive, constantly worried about everyone else, and always ready with some speech about friendship, hope and doing the right thing.

They're often written as the emotional heart of the story, but to me they can feel incredibly artificial and sanctimonious. Which is probably why I keep getting annoyed every time one of these characters shows up. 😂

And I want to make something clear: I actually love good RPG stories.

I absolutely loved Baldur's Gate 3. I've put around 300 hours into it across three different runs, and I never felt like the story was getting in the way of the game. I also absolutely devoured Expedition 33. I wanted to see what happened next.

So I don't think my problem is simply "I don't like dialogue" or "I don't care about story."

It's more about how the story is delivered.

A slightly silly example, but I think Monster Hunter actually gets this balance really well.

Monster Hunter has a story. It has characters, quests, explanations, cutscenes and all the usual stuff. But most of the time it keeps things short and digestible. The dialogue gets to the point, you get some funny monster/Felyne noises, a little dance, and then you're off again to swing a giant sword at a monster that's ten meters tall.

And honestly? I think that's a great compromise.

The game gives you enough context to understand what's happening and enough personality to make the world feel alive, but it doesn't constantly demand your attention with another 10-minute conversation.

That's what I would like from more RPGs.

Give me the good writing. Give me memorable characters. Give me a compelling story.

But please don't make me sit through endless conversations explaining every character's childhood, emotional state, motivations and moral philosophy before I'm allowed to go back to actually playing the game.

Maybe I'm just getting old 😂 but these dialogue sections have genuinely become one of the biggest obstacles to me enjoying RPGs.

I'm curious if anyone else feels the same way, or if I'm completely alone on this.