"But it is also possible that since the film is only concerned with producing a set of marketable effects, it cannot at the same time be concerned with producing the minimal internal consistency required to produce a meaning."
- Nicholas Brown, The Work of Art in the Age of its Real Subsumption under Capital (2012)
My enjoyment of Another Eden has solidified my issue with Mihoyo gacha games. No matter how much you viral market your games to be these epic singleplayer experiences on par with traditional console RPGs, the stamina system automatically makes them 10x worse. That's what hampers these titles as games to me. The profit motive itself becomes a game mechanic. Or lack thereof.
Another Eden feels like a good case study on how live service doesn't necessarily doom a game to feeling like a dopamine stimulant rather than a genuine experience, but it still has issues emblematic of the format. The microtransactions are obscenely expensive and the currency gain is extremely slow. It feels like overcompensation for how "F2P-friendly" the game feels at face value. Everything can supposedly be cleared with non-gacha units (per Reddit testimonials, so I can't verify whether this is true) collaboration units are permanently available, no stamina system. They have to make their money somehow. Just feels like a pockmark on what is otherwise a pretty coherent experience. It's nothing special, but it feels more like something I would actually play to play, rather than play out of a fear of missing out.
Adorno would spontaneously combust if he ever learned about a battle pass.
- Nicholas Brown, The Work of Art in the Age of its Real Subsumption under Capital (2012)
My enjoyment of Another Eden has solidified my issue with Mihoyo gacha games. No matter how much you viral market your games to be these epic singleplayer experiences on par with traditional console RPGs, the stamina system automatically makes them 10x worse. That's what hampers these titles as games to me. The profit motive itself becomes a game mechanic. Or lack thereof.
Another Eden feels like a good case study on how live service doesn't necessarily doom a game to feeling like a dopamine stimulant rather than a genuine experience, but it still has issues emblematic of the format. The microtransactions are obscenely expensive and the currency gain is extremely slow. It feels like overcompensation for how "F2P-friendly" the game feels at face value. Everything can supposedly be cleared with non-gacha units (per Reddit testimonials, so I can't verify whether this is true) collaboration units are permanently available, no stamina system. They have to make their money somehow. Just feels like a pockmark on what is otherwise a pretty coherent experience. It's nothing special, but it feels more like something I would actually play to play, rather than play out of a fear of missing out.
Adorno would spontaneously combust if he ever learned about a battle pass.