✅Open world
✅Abyssmal collect-a-thon of plants and animal stuff
✅Shitty crafting system completely tacked on
✅"Stealth" mechanics revolving around hiding in bushes and takedowns
✅Enemy campaments with useless rewards
✅ Annoying npcs

Far Cry haters are awfully quiet today

I’m jealous of Helltaker. I haven’t even made a game, but I’m still pitifully envious of its success. I’ve read so many stories of indie games taking years of difficult development, days and nights of hard work to bring a unique vision to life. In the small chance the game gets finished, and the smaller chance it ends up being as good as was envisioned, there’s an even SMALLER chance it will get any mainstream attention. Meanwhile, Helltaker is essentially a clone of the forty-year-old Sokoban, and it completely exploded in popularity. Nothing about its gameplay is innovative, and the only part that isn’t cloned is the bullet-hell final boss fight. What made it catch on was the cute cast of demon girls, who the internet immediately fell in love with. It’s not that Helltaker is beloved for its qualities as a game, but for introducing a fun cast for artists to play around with, while being free and accessible to download. On one hand, it’s a valuable lesson in how important it is to give players something that will spark their imagination, and how even the most basic game can be elevated with great presentation. On the other hand, personally speaking, I can’t help but wish that something more boundary-pushing got popular instead.