In this post I will be dissecting the different elements of user interface design regarding three different video games all hailing from separate genres, including: Hollow Knight, Borderlands 2, and Among Us. There are many design choices that go into the User Interface that help make a more immersive experience that bridges the gap between reality and the limitations of our control in a distant digital world; the goal being to keep our awareness and frustrations of our inherent disconnection at a subliminal level. It is important to the player that controlling their character feels as natural, and within a similar threshold of capability, as moving in real life. A poor UI design will become confusing or demotivating to a player, and will disrupt their immersion, resulting in a dissonance between the them and the gameplay itself. Playing the game should feel like second-nature, placing emphasis on the interface being intuitive, simplistic and not overly complicated/crowded, and able to assist gameplay where needed. To start, I will analyze Hollow Knight. Albeit a minimalistic UI, it is undoubtedly well developed. Everything is portrayed in an easy-to-understand manner, with only the bare necessities presented, such as: number of lives, health, currency, and ability charge, with alternative menus for more in-depth mechanics such as inventory, dialogue (interacting with other characters), etc.. This allows the player to ease in and not be overwhelmed, while still providing the deeper mechanics and options that are needed for such a game. It explains and details things where it needs to, but is otherwise intuitive and not overbearing; leaving a clean and sleek user interface as a result. This is where the UI really boils down to the genre. Already, the stark differences between them are dramatic. Although, if you look closer, there are still the same essential components such as level, health, ability charge, map, and objectives. It just looks a lot different because it is overlaying a different view point. The UI typically accompanies the mechanics of the game, which a game like Borderlands definitely has more of. However, you can definitely find a pattern: there are always alternative menus for the nitty-gritty information and specs versus the bare necessities displayed on the main-view UI. Borderlands does a fantastic job at blending the UI to the 3d environment without excessive contrast, and at presenting the needed information in an intuitive way. Lastly, is Among Us, which is a bit harder top ascribe into a particular "type of game" category. It is a 2D game with some 3D aspects. The Among Us user interface revolves around the game mechanics, such as movement controls, action commands, objectives, and a progress bar. What makes the UI unique is that its designed for cross-platform gameplay and uses more buttons keeping in mind mobile players, whereas other games would not typically have a setting button in a corner since it is usually a designated button on the keyboard or controller. This also makes it a little more convenient and less hands-on with focus towards casualty. Among Us has the extra touch of outlining every task in the top left corner, which can be seen as a bit rudimentary in terms of design choice; on one hand, it is intuitive, but on the other it is a bit congested and superfluous. This could be better incorporated in an alternative pop-out menu or in an abbreviated way that takes up less screen space and time to read. Overall takeaways:
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Valorant is a free-to-play, competitive-multiplayer, FPS game. It was released by Riot Games, who are most reputable for their game League of Legends. However, Valorant is much different from any other games they have done in the past. It is most comparable to Overwatch or Paladins combined with CS:GO. Going into the match, each player on the team will chose a different hero/character, who all have different abilities. The match is broken up into 25 rounds, and ends when one team wins 13 of the rounds. The opposing teams also switch sides (defense or offense) half way through the match after 12 rounds. Going into the rounds, each team member is given a certain amount of currency to buy guns, shields, or abilities. They can chose to save up for later rounds, or they can spend more to buy a better weapon in the current round, and therefore potentially have an advantage. The objective is to kill the other team and to either plant or diffuse the bomb. Valorant hero selection. The shop/store between rounds. Starting from the very beginning, the first thing I noticed, and disliked, is that Valorant is not attached to any other launchers or stores, and has its own stand alone launcher. This is much less convenient and not as community-involved as is connecting through Steam or Epic, among other platforms. Also, loading into the game can also be harrowing and tedious, especially with the many updates that set you back 20 minutes any time you want to get on for the first time in a little while. However, on the plus side, the cover and character art were both very enticing to me and Valorant uses a unique graphic style. Looking more into the gameplay and mechanics, it is first important to address that the game runs smoothly. The UI is very well organized, visually appealing, and easily navigable. In terms of graphic design and visual appeal, the game is done nearly to perfection. The maps are also very immersive and stylistic, while carrying adequate realism. The characters are also interesting and unique in appearance. A screenshot of the player's screen while in combat. Although the premise of the game grabbed my interest since I enjoyed the diverse character cast/selection of Overwatch, which made for varying and exciting gameplay, and I also generally enjoy FPS, I was severely disappointed by the monotonous and unexciting gameplay of Valorant. Not only did the characters not offer anything new besides a few limited abilities, and they all only have access to the exact same arsenal of boring guns, but the gameplay was slow and overly repetitious. Each round your life is one-and-done. This means that the enemies dwindle quickly and regularly you will only take out one or two of them, if you're lucky, or you will die and be sitting most of the round watching your teammates tiptoe around (literally). The good news is that the rounds are short. However the bad news is that each round feels the same and are each very slow paced and not very eventful. Whereas with something like Overwatch, the gameplay builds up as you group-up and push the offensive, or hold the defense against a big push. Plus there is respawning. Even if you do have an encounter with an enemy in Valorant, it will likely come down to who can hit the other first, standing still (since your attacks are heavily impaired in compromise for mobility), and after a few bullets it will be over. To an extent, it falls too far into realism and there isn't a good balance. The objective of the rounds is also very rudimentary and there isn't any creativity to any aspect of the story or goal, nor any variation. Outside of the matches, the main reward system of the game is ranking and skins. Both of these have their appeals to different audiences, however I personally prefer to get a fun experience or to go through a cool story rather than earn cosmetics that anyone who pays money or plays incessantly can have. Ranks can also be ephemeral and are only judgements of skill in one particular game that has no real application or value to anything else in life, plus is often skewed by flawed matchmaking systems. Overall, there wasn't much unique or exhilarating to Valorant, and it is an extremely overhyped game. My final ranking would be a 1/5 and I would honestly never pick this game up again, even though its free, nor would I recommend it to anyone. There simply wasn't anything engaging about it. Main points:
An integral part to any game design is the overall concept and the story/plot. A game can have stellar graphics and great gameplay, which may work for online competitive multiplayer games like Overwatch or Valorant, though the greatest games do not solely rely on those things. RPGs in particular require a good concept and story, and also remain my favorite type of game because they can completely emerge/immerse players into an entirely new world and as a different character, within a suspenseful storyline. Delving into entirely new worlds and playing through engrossing narratives, or playing through various missions and conquests, is far more memorable and impactful on players than merely shooting away at other players in online co-ops. In those type of games, matches become repetitive, dull, and forgettable or enraging. On the other hand, a good story in a game can teach a variety of lessons or just be a fun experience full of surprise and adventure. What makes a good story though? Every story must remain logical and avoid major holes or gaps in the story or events. However, especially with things like fantasy and sci-fi, it is okay to veer away from realism and stretch certain ideas even if they may not be scientifically plausible in our modern world. This adds a new layer to the game and makes an experience unique and different from what we are used to in real life, also making it a better escape from reality. However players may obsess on details that are not well explained or may not be believable, so things have to be integrated and conveyed in a way that does not halt the players attention and sense of immersion. A good story also involves plot twists and surprises. Audiences wont enjoy stories that are predictable and follow too many cliches or basic, two-dimensional, plotlines. There should be suspense and intrigue in what happens next, without players rolling their eyes or feeling like the story is shallow. Another important thing is developing relatable characters with flaws and shortcomings. This way the players are not overpowered or against unstackable odds, and also can feel more connected to their protagonist that they're playing as, increasing the immersion and making a more memorable/impactful experience. This is also important with villains. Villains often fall under a power-craving cliche, as I would call it, where they are shallow and just want to rule the universe or obtain some sort of power. However adding more depth to the villains motives and viewpoints can help boost the concept and storyline. Adding side characters that work well in conjunction with the main characters or storyline is also crucial. Creating balanced power systems. Especially in fantasy magic books, it is important to have a magic or power system that is not overpowered for certain characters and that makes sense with no discrepancies. This is important to the gameplay and keeping the game balanced and believable. Being unique. Overall the most important critique is to make the game stand out from others, while also to absorb some of the best elements inspired from other games, shows, or books. In a nutshell:
Recently, I started playing Rocket League. Essentially players face off as cars in a closed off stadium and try to hit the ball into the other team's goal. The rules are simple and straightforward. However the gameplay is a lot more complex/extreme and evolves drastically over time, the more you play. As you go around hitting the ball, you also collect boosts and can use those to shoot your car faster, and also potentially momentarily fly in the air. The game was simple enough to learn, however it gets far more complicated as you delve into more advanced gameplay and mechanics. At the beginner level you mostly will chase the ball or camp/defend the goal, and use boosts to go faster. You can also demolish cars who will then respawn, though take them out of the midst of action for a few seconds. Driving along walls is another fun aspect of the gameplay and it is simple to do, however can take a little bit of getting used to. The gameplay is very smooth and the physics work well. However, the ball's physics can be a bit annoying and also take getting accustomed to. As players advance, they may begin learning new tricks and strategies that emerge into entirely different gameplay. At pro levels, players use boosts and adjust/angle their cars to fly into the air and hit the ball in particular angles. They can also squeeze or "pinch" the ball against the floor or other players to make it shoot off faster/stronger. Positioning/strategy also become a lot more prominent and you have to know where to be at the right time, rather than just chasing the ball. It can be extremely difficult to learn how to dribble or angle the car, as well as fly in the air with control. However the matchmaking and ranking system ensure that you play with people of similar levels, giving you time to practice and get experience in order to become better. Even without learning the full extent of the mechanics/gameplay, it is still extremely fun, exhilarating/fast-paced, and immersive. The maps also add unique scenery and are really well designed, adding a nice visual appeal. Players may also earn new cars, as well as decals and accessories for them in order to customize them. This adds a fun aspect to the game and works as a good reward system to incentivize playing. However I found that it is rather slow to accumulate or come across any custom items and it mostly comes in the form of blueprints which you must pay real money to actually unlock, which is annoying. However paying does not affect your success in the game, and although you can unlock new cars, everyone starts with a good enough selection to get to any rank. Decals and other customizations do not affect the gameplay, which makes it fair and not biased towards those who pay or play much more. Overall, Rocket League is a good mix between strategy and action, and feels very immersive. it does not get boring and the challenge continues as you play or improve more, creating a good sense of flow. It feels well balanced and there is plenty of stuff to earn, whether it be rank or customizations. There are many game modes and I find it fun to play with friends, which also makes it easier to coordinate/communicate. I would give this game a 4/5 because it is well made in every regard, however isn't my favorite style of game and I feel like it can get a bit aggravating or repetitive/boring over time. In conclusion:
I'm sure everyone has played or heard of Among Us. Recently it has blown up as people are looking for ways to stay in touch with their friends and family during quarantine. In my opinion, this is one of the best games to play for family gamenights and for staying in touch with friends due to the customization, social interaction, simplicity, exhilarating gameplay, and casual demeanor. Among Us has grown so popular do to its casual genre and how easy it is to learn, yet it can delve into pretty advanced strategic gameplay as well, helping to keep more experienced players continually challenged and entertained. To begin, players each chose a different color avatar, and can also personalize with hats or skins. They then wait in the lobby for more people to join, which can be random strangers if the server is set to public, or just friends/family members you invite with a given code. Anyone can create a server and customize it to their liking, making it great for people with different preferences or levels of experience. The ideal number of players to play with is 6 with 1 assigned as imposter or 10 (the max amount) with 2 people as imposter in order to make it the most balanced. The host can then start the match after they get enough people. Once the game begins, one or two people, depending on how many people are in the server, will randomly be assigned the imposter role. The imposter's role is to blend in with the crewmates and silently kill them without being seen or given away. They have more abilities than the crewmates, such as being able to use vents to quickly travel between spaces, as well as kill or sabotage. The rest of the players will be assigned as crewmates who simply go around trying to complete tasks or hoping to catch the imposter without being killed. Each role has a different objective and opposing goals in mind. The job of the imposter is to kill all the crewmates or sabotage the ship and prevent the crewmates from fixing it in time. The crewmates on the other hand must complete their individual assortment of tasks to collectively get through the taskbar. They can also win by catching and voting out all of the imposters. An interesting twist is that players can only talk after meetings are called or dead bodies are reported. This way its harder for players to team up without the imposter knowing and they cannot discuss behind their back. The meetings add a great social element and allow for social skill to come in. Good communication can help prove your innocence and it is important to share information with others in order to collectively reach a good conclusion on who to vote. For example tasks can be used to prove innocence such as by saying which ones you have done or by having others clear you by seeing your visual tasks (such as medbay scan which proves innocence). Players can also communicate who they were with and those people could be cleared if they were together and someone died in a different location. Also, if someone saw the imposter or suspects a certain person, it could take some convincing and good argumentative skills, along with proper evidence. The imposter on the other hand must be adept at lying and deception or good at shifting the blame to other people. If a player dies, they become a ghost and can continue doing tasks and spectate the game however can no longer physically interact with others or take part in meetings. The mechanics and overall gameplay of Among Us is very intuitive. It also incorporates the perfect balance between challenge and fun, so the game does not feel too competitive, yet also takes skill and attention. The combination of tasks and trying to stay alive also make it more tricky and force players to be even more strategic about when and where they do things, and doing tasks efficiently is crucial. The graphics and characters are also very stylistic and visually appealing due to the simplicity. The murder-mystery aspect of the game keeps players on their toes, wary of being killed or being caught if they're the imposter, helping the game engage players and be very exhilarating. The customization of the settings can also give more advanced players added challenge such as by changing the vision of the crewmates to lower or by making there be more challenging tasks. Additionally they can add anonymity for voting and the game will not reveal the role of someone who was ejected or how many imposters are left. Furthermore, there are currently two other maps that require completely different gameplay. The ease of joining and finding servers also makes the game more appealing, and matches are relatively short. This way people can play something even if they dont have much time or do not want a large commitment. Since the game is compatible with mobile, it can also be easily played anywhere and doesnt require a fancy setup. There is no penalty for leaving so it isn't super pressureful either, and you can easily drop out. Although Among us is great, there are definitely some drawbacks. For one, there is virtually nothing you gain except experience and having a good time. Playing in random servers can feel pointless because there is no reward for winning and there is also no friends system for adding new people you meet. Also, there are many technical glitches and malfunctions. For example servers often show they have room but it will say "Failed to join. Server is full" when players try to join them. People often randomly disconnect or are kicked as well from a glitch. Lastly, there is no moderation system. This way people who leave often, because they do not get imposter, are not punished. The same applies to people who are toxic to others, although they can be kicked through the vote system or by the host. Overall I would rank Among us a 4.9/5 for playing with friends or family since it is easy to learn, well balanced, exciting, and involves a lot of social interaction all bottled up in a very casual, friendly experience. However drawbacks such as the glitches and lack of reward system hold it back slightly. For playing in random servers I would rank it a 3/5 simply because there is no friend system, poor moderation, and no real reward, making it feel like a waste of time. Conclusion:
Game design is a very complicated process, and at the heart of it all is the concept of a game and the elements or types of fun that make it up. Every game designer seeks to make the perfect or ideal game, which is something that depends in the eye of the player. For me, the ideal game would be somewhere along the lines of a cross between Borderlands and Overwatch. Although these are two completely different games and it seems like a weird crossover, I think both games exhibit some of the strongest elements, over the rest of the competition, in their respective genres. Lets start with Borderlands. Although I have already thoroughly analyzed this on our class discussion boards and done several game review blog posts on the franchise, I want to go back into what makes it arguably a near-perfect game. First off, it has an amazing storyline with one of the most famous main villains of all time, Handsome Jack. It also has a ton of variation in scenery and gameplay, with beautiful maps and hundreds of diverse, spectacular, side missions. These aspects combined with the constant thrill of action and loot collection make it extremely entertaining and memorable. The loot pool is one of the largest of any game on the market and offers tons of unique and fun weapons. Borderlands maintains an incredible flow channel, straying away from inducing too much anxiety or boredom on the player, while also providing a measurable challenge. It gives the player a lot of choice with their gameplay/style by providing a plethora of different types of guns as well as multiple characters to chose from to play through the game. There are also several different difficulty modes and extension levels. However, what really makes it stand out is the unique graphic style and humor. Both of these elements compliment each other extremely well. The unique cross between cel-shading and hand drawn textures is very unique and also offers a very balanced feel, between realistic and cartoonish; the environment and characters feel almost like they're out of a comic while simultaneously retaining a very realistic look. This makes the game more relaxing if anything, by making it feel less real, but still immerseful and visually appealing. The humor is also very chaotic, and makes fun out of the violence in the very cruel and dystopian wastelands that makes up the Borderlands. For example Tiny Tina is a great character who adds a lot of flare with her quite literally explosive personality. Borderlands' plot and major events flow channel. On the other hand, there is Overwatch. What more could this add that Borderlands doesn't have to offer? Well for one, Overwatch is extremely competitive and has top tier mechanics and gameplay. However, its demise comes from a poor ranking system and a toxic community. Borderlands' main weakness on the other hands comes from being slightly outdated and not drawing in enough skill based gameplay. Although this helps keep it relaxing and not super intense, the higher caliber mechanics of Overwatch would have a lot to offer. Overwatch also offers one of the best pools of unique heroes, who can suit to the players mood or playstyle. For example if they're in a mood to play the bow-and-arrow, Hanzo is a great champion, or if they are looking to play a much more melee-oriented playstyle, then there is Reinhardt. Overwatch also incorporates team communication and more social interaction based gameplay. All of these make for really strong components, and simply offer the player more advanced gameplay with even more extensive variation to suit their style or mood. Adding in these elements of Overwatch, leaving behind the toxic competitivity and ranked system, to the plot, style, and personality of Borderlands would make for the ultimate game that offers a compromise between competitive gameplay and memorable story. Conclusion:
Not too long ago, I revisited Clash of Clans. I had previously played a couple years ago up until I got to Town Hall 10 where things began to progress too slowly and the game lost my interest. However since then, over the past few years, developer Supercell, has implemented many new balances and additions to the game that have tremendously improved the overall gameplay. How to play: Clash of clans is the most iconic build-your-village game and has amassed, and maintained, massive popularity as one of the most dominant mobile gaming apps. The objective is to progress your base by upgrading your town hall which then allows you to unlock new defenses, troops, and more upgrades for your village. You can then use your troops to attack other villages and steal their loots, which is then put towards upgrades. However you need to protect your newly gained loot with your defenses. Here are examples of what a village can look like: (both of these are my own bases/screenshots) As you can see, both bases are strategically layed out to defend their resources. Players can configure their layout in any manner they want, which adds a layer of creativity and design to advancing, one of my favorite aspects of this game. The bottom image shows a Town Hall level 10 while the upper one depicts a Town Hall 11, which is stronger. As you can see, the defenses and visual elements differ for each town hall. Clash of Clans uses this to their advantage in making a visually appealing game, and also is known for their own unique graphic style which is very cartoony and geometric. One of the most defining aspects of Clash of Clans however is the clans. You can join a clan with your friends or some random strangers from around the world. The social element to this game helps make it much more interesting and exciting. With clans, you can get troops donated from your clan-mates as well as team up with them to war against other clans, in order to gain loot and perks. Now that I have outlined the objective and gameplay of Clash of Clans, I want to dive into how updates and balances helped save it. Previously, the gameplay was much more strategic and bland. Now, however, they have added magic items, clan war leagues, clan games, new town hall levels, and a season pass. All of these helped accomplish different goals in adding more layers of fun and balance to the game. Magic items in particular offer way more strategy to advancing, while also cutting down waiting times so that players are more actively engaged and have more control over their progression. Supercell also released the Season Pass which helps players obtain a considerable value of these items over the duration of a month, for only $5, giving everybody an affordable ability to progress much faster. Other crucial changes were the Clan Games and Clan War League which offer an extra layer of intimacy and collaboration with clanmates, with the bonus of free rewards for participating. This also added a new element of competitivity along with the clan interaction. Overall Clash of Clans is a great game, perfectly developed to work on a phone. It is very well balanced and offers competitive gameplay, social interaction, and a casual experience that works great for just logging in every once in a while. It has a very unique and defining graphic style, and the interface is well designed and very easy to navigate. I would greatly recommend Clash of Clans, as it is my favorite mobile app and comes in hand with Clash Royale, another well made game by the same developer. In a nutshell:
Supecell is one of the leading mobile app developers, with huge hits such as Clash of Clans, followed by Clash Royale, Boom Beach, and Brawl Stars. I have poured tons of time into both of the Clash games, especially Clash Royale. First, it is important to acknowledge the limitations of competitive gaming on mobile and how hard it is to compete with console and PC games. Despite this, Supercell managed to make games perfectly tailored to the capability of a mobile device and better yet, are in my opinion competitive of mainstream console/PC games. To start I will summarize how to play Clash Royale, which is a super unique card-based game. The goal of the game is to collect cards to unlock, upgrade, and then use them in battle to increase your rank. The gameplay revolves around building a 8-card deck with the cards you own and then taking it into battle, hopefully with enough capability to beat your opponent. Each card acts differently, whether its a wizard that can attack both air and ground troops with tons of splash damage, or a golem which is a strong tank that targets buildings and breaks into golemites upon its death. Cards are assorted into 3 distinct categories: Buildings, Troops, and Spells. During the match each player has an elixir bar that can reach up to 10 and that slowly builds up over time. A deck is made up of 8 cards that cycle out as you use them in the match. Each card has its own elixir cost as well, so it may take time to be able to play them. Both players use their cards to build up attacks, or a defense in order to protect their own towers, and destroy the opponents towers which are made up of two archer towers (destroyed for 1 crown each) and a crown tower in the back, which is the final defense (if destroyed, the opponent wins 3 crowns and the match immediately ends); whoever has the most crowns by the end of the 3 minutes wins. If it is still a stalemate, the match will go into overtime. There are almost a 100 different cards, thousands of different deck combinations, and many different ways to combo the cards in your deck while battling, offering the game tons of variation and constant new ways to play. The winner receives trophies that contribute to their rank, some gold, and a chest which can be unlocked to get cards. There are multiple different types of chests to win; the better the chest, the more rare it is and the longer it takes to unlock. Outside of the actual matches, there are also cool unique game modes with slightly different objectives or ways to play, as well as a card and chest shop. Carried over from Clash of Clans, is also the aspect of clans which can enact clan wars, while clan mates can chat, donate cards, and share replays of their battles. Overall this pretty much covers how the game works, so now I will go into its downfall.
There is a game that was behind the scenes far before Clash of Clans took over the mainstream; Edgeworld is an online, sci-fi themed, defense-building game where you join clans, attack enemies in order to help your clan take over the map, and build up your base. Edgeworld is the first video game I ever played, starting since I was in 2nd grade. I logged in EVERY day for the rewards no matter how hard it was to get to internet. Not only was it addicting, but it was also better than Clash of Clans would ever amount to be. Edgeworld is an extremely fun community with hundreds of different servers and clans. The goal is to build up the strongest base and be on the best clan, which is the one that has most of the map. To get territory on the map you had to take over regions by surrounding bases and building up troops to attack and steal bases from enemy clans. Similar to Clash of Clans, you focus on upgrading your town hall which subsequently leads to you being able to upgrade your defense units and resource units more. However Edgeworld is a sci-fi themed game and also involved taking over the map which Clash of Clans never adopted. However, Edgeworld's demise was the factor of luck and paying-to-win in getting crates and the best upgrades for your towers.
Overall Edgeworld never gained popularity to the same extent as Clash of Clans even though it was created first, and in my opinion had many cooler aspects such as claiming bases on the map which I would spend hours staying up doing. Edgeworld was a large part of my childhood and is still one of my favorite game concepts of all time. In conclusion:
Going into Borderlands 3, there was already a huge fan-base and they started with a preestablished storyline with infinite potential in a game series with an amazing reputation and a cult of followers. As someone who poured nearly 900 hours into Borderlands 2 (yes, it is sad), was extremely excited for this release and pre-ordered the season pass. However after completing the story I was soon to regret this and ended up quitting soon after. In this review I'll be going over some of the successes and failures of this game As you may see by these two screenshots, the screen format and menues are almost exactly identical as the ones in Borderlands 2. This game is very similar to Borderlands 2 in design and this was a success, considering that Borderlands 2 was extremely navigable and it was unnecessary to change the layout. This game definitely did a good job retaining many essential characteristics of what made Borderlands 2 so great, which is a massive win. However in some aspect it could be argued this game is merely an extension of Borderlands 2 and lacks any originality which becomes boring, ultimately contributing to it having less intrigue. Another success is the cosmetics. I personally love customizing and adding collectible cosmetics to guns and expanding the skin variety for characters was a huge win and lots of fun. I also love the new variety in the skill trees and more options in terms of skill points, however this game struggled balancing some of the characters and is arguably too easy. For example one shotgun I came across can kill bosses in just a handful of shots (The Flakker). The game did a good job expanding the loot pool and overall brought in some great new guns while redesigning older ones or bringing fan favorites back. However even though the loot pool is super large and unique, it has little intrigue and lost tons of value considering how easily legendaries are obtained in Borderlands 3, and is maybe even too much variety to handle. I often earned about three legendaries per boss fight which was cool at first but became boring and removed the fun of grinding hard which was a large part of my time put into the predeceasing games. To add on, all characters share the same bank and storing guns becomes a much larger inconvenience to where creating new characters to store your unique weapons on is super time consuming, especially considering there is no longer a skip option for watching the intro upon creating a new character. There are also less mission items so you cannot swap out your weapon as was a common strategy for overloading your inventory in the previous games. Overall collecting loot is harder which doesn't help anything. Another large downside of this game is the storyline. It is somewhat a continuation of Borderlands 2, however leads in a completely different direction. Rather than hunting for vault and treasure, you find yourself saving the universe single-handedly and ultimately the end is a tragic disappointment to where it makes no sense and is just very shallow. There are also few side missions which is missed potential because it is fun to get disracted from the main story while strengthening your arsenal by getting new rewards. To get back on a positive note, the gameplay was a huge success. The mechanics are more functional and they added more movement abilities such as climbing and sliding. Overall this game suffers from being unbalanced, which is easily fixed through patches. It also has a long and dragging plot that isn't very suspenseful nor does it really grasp your attention like Borderlands 2's iconic plot and main villain. It retained the identity of Borderlands 2 while adding cool new aspects, however compromised some essential parts of Borderlands 2 without even realizing their importance. The intrigue of loot collection the Borderlands series is known for was somewhat ruined and that is where this game suffers most. Summary:
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AuthorMy name is Quinn Peterson! I will be reflecting about my art work in this blog! Archives
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