Vibe Checking Hell

Don’t you just hate it when you think you’re in a good place but it actually turns out to be a bad place?


Pictured above: the communities initial reactions to
the parry and shield system in Doom: The Dark Ages

Yesterday’s article was basically a tl;dr for Doom: The Dark Ages in it’s entirety, albeit based on only three levels out of the 22 available. I wisely labeled it more of a vibe check instead of giving it an official preview moniker of course, because I’m not a fucking maniac. More so due to the notion I think the structuralism of previews in their official capacity are almost too restrictive in their approach, and like a bad tutorial, far too exhaustively hand-holdy in the process. The tl;dr of The Dark Ages I put forth was a simple one; the halfway point between 2016 and Eternal, in a move that may end up making no one truly happy in a moment of compromise. Or maybe in a more playful paraphrasement; 2016 walked, so Eternal could run, while Dark Ages ends up getting winded while catching it’s breath and frustratingly trying to keep up.


This scene sprang to mind when conceptualizing the
contrast between the last two Doom games styles of
maneuverability, and then upon a quick second thought,
immediately regretted my abhorrent shortsightedness
in drawing the comparison

I think one of the reasons I’ve found value in the vibe check, almost putting forth the notion of the “game in a nutshell” maybe even at a dangerously early point in gameplay, is that as much as no one really likes to admit it, video games are, distilled to their most basic essence, repetitive motions involving a formula. This leads to the idea of a gameplay loop that’s been iterated to death upon, and one that has proven to work on some level. I’m reminded of the 30 seconds of fun quote hailing from Halo legend, and I don’t ever really let the idea go out of my head for too long because it happens to really fit into the idea that games at their core are really just straight forward, small segments of stupid fun repeated ad infinitum.


Sometimes they even forget to include the fun at launch,
making some games just small segments of stupid 𝖿̶𝗎̶𝗇̶
repeated ad infinitum

Even though I’m comparing ridiculously different games seemingly with broad strokes, I take this moment now in declaring why I feel the vibe check is appropriate for contrasting all games under the sun, accepting the premise of the 30 seconds of fun quote applied widely and without prejudice, from anything ranging between Doom and Animal Crossing. Not only do I find the stress test involved with the vibe check a fun effort in seeing how close my predictions end up being, but strangely enough, Death Stranding really helped to solidify the moment of why trusting my gut was the way to go in deliberating on what an experience was going to be. Just this insanely simple notion of seeing the content for what it truly is, very akin to borrowing a tried and true methodology imbued with the phrase “trust people the first time they let you know who they are”. With Death Stranding, after about five hours of delivering packages, I thought to myself “damn, I’m just going to be ass deep in boxes this whole game, huh?” Many others said “no, you’ve got to give it more of a chance”. I wasn’t so sure I was wrong. Fast forward 200 hours later, and what do you know?


Ass deep in boxes

Luckily, in Doom’s case, the series mission statement tends to be “Rip and Tear, until it is done”. An endearingly brutal sentiment, to be sure, though I think the reason Dark Ages is getting some push back about it’s inherent nature is due to the notion that this time around, instead of ripping and tearing, we are “Shielding and Parrying, until it is done”, which definitely takes some bite out of the canine, in trying to teach this old dog a new trick.

~Pashford

The Vibe Rules in Hyrule

Another day, another game.


Another port of RE4 having more news attached to it

That’s technically just a minor technical updated for RE4 on iOS, but my point stands. News and ports involving RE4 seem nearly ephemeral at this point, becoming entities of myth and legend that almost supersede the history of gaming itself with the ever persistent and always present grandiosity.

But the discussion involving the majesty of RE4 we will shelve for another day,

There’s been plenty of other news to discuss in the gaming realm recently, and I’m usually amused by the majority of the offerings on hand, it is only the limitations of temporality itself which keep me from discussing more of it at greater length. As I believe I’ve shared the sentiment on here prior, but certainly do so on the regular everyday irl, part of being a responsible adult is acknowledging you have time for anything, but not time for everything, so choose wisely.


Would you kindly make up your mind on the matter?

Writing is usually a kind choice to make in the name of favoritism, as I think it represents an element that helps generate generate the completeness of a thoughtful everyday. Combine that with my love of games and well, I just don’t really feel like the most Pash I could without the two in tandem and in tow. Gamescom recently had me jumping from one headline to another in a hurried fervor, not inappropriately I may add, as there really was just a lot to be excited about. However, instead of rushing off to start dishing out on some of the most recent happenings in the gaming world that Nintendo threw done recently, I will take a moment to kind of just do a quick aside in terms of something I have been very much enjoying from the world of Nintendo, and that’s my time getting down with Cadence of Hyrule.


Picture somehow related

Anyone who has been reading ATE recently knows I had quite the run in with Necrodancer not too long ago, and articulating me feelings on the matter were err…complex, to say the least. Leaving my feelings on the Necrodancer matter largely amorphous in the name of progress, the game represented kind of a stepping stone of sorts to my current project (Cadence), which has thankfully not represented the same level of robust queerness of existential identity that the bizarre dance Necrodancer and I ended up engaging in. Is the dividing line of distinction in the matter solely regulated to the idea of Nintendo’s involvement and or just the very spirit of Zelda itself a major factor in imbuing an ample amount of clarity in my enjoyment of the title so apparent?


It certainly doesn’t hurt…unless your name is Ganon,
in which case this (tri)force you see before you is going
to hurt like nothing you’ve ever felt before

The baton pass between Necrodancer and Cadence was a massive one, as the difference in quality between the two games is a vast gulf of difference. A positive one, mind you, as Cadence seems so polished, it almost makes Necrodancer look like a beta in comparison. Whether or not that was due to the developer (Brace Yourself Games) having to reach a new level of quality based on Nintendo’s demanding involvement, or due to the devs now having more experience under their belt, it’s hard to say, but the extra little bit of spit shine that goes into Cadence can not be understated in creating a tonal shift of quality that reverberates throughout the experience.


Like a bass line that just absolutely rips and
never lets up

While I have not yet decided on whether I’m going to do an official “final thoughts” piece on Cadence or not, I certainly didn’t plan on doing a massively gushing expositional piece in the form of a cheer routine on the games behalf today, not that the title isn’t deserving of such praise. I did want to briefly discuss an interesting moment I had that I thought was worth sharing. At some point in my adventure, while I was controlling Zelda (GOAT) and traveling through the Gerudo Desert, I happened upon a secret entrance, as one does in these kinds of scenarios, and immediately realized I was hearing the shopkeeper singing along, with his classic autotuneyness that they were known for in Necrodancer, to the now rockified version of the Gerudo Valley theme from Ocarina of time. A classic I’ve linked below if you’ve somehow never heard it:

From a design perspective and one borrowed over from Necrodancer, the shopkeepers have a real world auditory effect, in that the closer you get to them, the louder their singing is magnified, which is helpful when trying to signal to the player that an oasis of wealth exists nearby. In this case, it happened to be matched with amazing music, but also to an old classic I was quite fond of. There was nothing particularly amazing in the shop mind you, but upon entering while grooving to the tunes on hand, I was just struck with a moment of intense pleasantness, as I effortlessly vibed with what the game was setting the scene with.


The ideal of coziness

And that was it, really. As swiftly as the enjoyment came, it just as quickly vanished, but it’s fleeting nature did not rob it of it’s grandeur. Perhaps I will write more about the essence of what I encountered in this moment, but thought it wise to make a note of it either way, as I think there is something important about the lived experience worth diving into.

More to my point: a lot of game journalism ends up being a mere matter of fact kind of bullet pointed list or largely emotionless exchange of cold, technological ideas. Further, in the realm of gaming, everyone regularly discusses kind of obsessed about the latest and greatest, with similar focuses on world records, massive concurrent player numbers, absurd accomplishments or the biggest scandal of the day, etc. I so rarely see or hear gamers of any variety focus on the petite portrait over the big picture, and just really appreciate these very small moments that may be overlooked in how important they are in creating the beautiful tapestry that makes up the very fabric of the everyday of our gaming lives, and just how much work may have gone into a given moment, just in an attempt to make someone smile.

Which is a pleasant thought…and sometimes, that’s all you need.

~Pashford