this post was submitted on 31 Jul 2023
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I don't want to scare you too much: it's not as difficult or punishing as Dark Souls. Just that it has that similar style where you spend ~75% of your time or more in combat waiting to attack.
As for other games, I see someone else responded with Disco Elysium, which is fantastic. I'd also recommend the Yakuza series. Unfortunately most of the games only have Japanese voice acting. They are also lighter on the RPG elements than those other games you mentioned. But they're overall a lot of fun. Tons of chill vibes, great characters, good music. The combat is just solid brawling: nothing I would say is particularly unique or interesting, but it's not bad and fits the games well. The writing is mostly great as long as you can excuse the occasional bits that I refer to as "anime bullshit": the characters occasionally seem to be supernaturally powerful in order to advance the plot in what is mostly a grounded and realistic setting. I'd say it's kind of like Metal Gear Solid in that respect. The Witcher is based on pulp fiction noir novels, just in a fantasy setting. Yakuza has similar roots from Yakuza crime drama and films.
You might have put it back on the list then.
I was dreading the qualification there, I thought you were going to say it's as inappropriate as Seven Deadly Sins. That would've been a definite no. I can deal with supernaturally powerful. It'll be like this guy I used to know who got really strong after eating tins of spinach.
Oh no none of that. Not even the slightest whiff. Anyone who doesn't respect consent is clearly a villain, and you usually end up punching them a lot.
Your role towards child characters is strictly paternal. No "well the age of consent here is 14". No "actually she's a 1,000 year-old vampire" creepiness. I've only gotten through the first 3 games so far, and I could be forgetting something, but I don't think any of the villains even cross that line of sexualizing children.
It's not perfectly progressive. I don't think I've seen a strong female character yet, just damsels in distress. There was some less-than-ideal trans representation early in the series, although I've heard they've improved upon that in more recent games. The games are definitely marketed towards a male demographic. But there was nothing I'd be uncomfortable playing around my wife or friends.
I really tried to get into the Yakuza games. They're so stylish and the soap opera storytelling is really fun. But they're too grindy for me.