I didn't want to post this when I first saw it because of how much I disagree with him on his views on Prey 2017, but why deprive you guys? His views are interesting all around...
Thread: Immersive Sim?
gameragodzilla
Member
I don't particularly like the term "immersive sim" either, but I do use it simply because everyone else uses it and knows what I'm talking about.
Honestly, prior to the immersive sim term becoming a thing, I just called these games RPGs. That's what they are. You have a role you play in the world, created via a specific build based on whichever playstyle you opted for. Deus Ex is an RPG. System Shock is an RPG. And while games like Bioshock, or nu-Deus Ex, or Dishonored simplified the RPG mechanics, you still had builds and unlocks. They're RPGs.
Meanwhile, Thief is just a stealth game. It doesn't even have the multiple playstyles that's a pre-requisite for being an immersive sim in the first place. It's all about sneaky, sneaky hiding. And that's probably why I like it the most out of all the Looking Glass Studios era games as I always preferred games that focused on doing one playstyle really well rather than multiple ones not so well.
Honestly, prior to the immersive sim term becoming a thing, I just called these games RPGs. That's what they are. You have a role you play in the world, created via a specific build based on whichever playstyle you opted for. Deus Ex is an RPG. System Shock is an RPG. And while games like Bioshock, or nu-Deus Ex, or Dishonored simplified the RPG mechanics, you still had builds and unlocks. They're RPGs.
Meanwhile, Thief is just a stealth game. It doesn't even have the multiple playstyles that's a pre-requisite for being an immersive sim in the first place. It's all about sneaky, sneaky hiding. And that's probably why I like it the most out of all the Looking Glass Studios era games as I always preferred games that focused on doing one playstyle really well rather than multiple ones not so well.
I've liked a few of this guy's videos before, but he comes off as an unhinged lunatic in this one.
The video is basically just him trying come up with an excuse for Deus Ex: Mankind Divided not being as successful as Human Revolution because he thinks it's a good game. His excuse is asinine and unrealistic, though. Seems pretty unlikely to me that "gaming journalism" think pieces attaching the label "immersive sim" to the game are what killed interest in it, and a lot more likely that the game's cringe-as-fuck theme and related marketing is what buried it.
It also just wasn't even as good as Mankind Divided, in my opinion. His opinion about Prey 2017 sucks, too.
The video is basically just him trying come up with an excuse for Deus Ex: Mankind Divided not being as successful as Human Revolution because he thinks it's a good game. His excuse is asinine and unrealistic, though. Seems pretty unlikely to me that "gaming journalism" think pieces attaching the label "immersive sim" to the game are what killed interest in it, and a lot more likely that the game's cringe-as-fuck theme and related marketing is what buried it.
It also just wasn't even as good as Mankind Divided, in my opinion. His opinion about Prey 2017 sucks, too.
I'm not necessarily with him opinion-wise but I think he has a point about how nebulous and pointless the genre label is and it IS hard to point to a recent successful one.