GYSO Reviews Part 7 - Minecraft Let’s Play

Published: 2023-02-12

The Good

Thor:

Minecraft! The game we all know and love. If you haven’t played it, we all probably have at least one friend or acquaintance that has been nuts about this game that’s all about chopping wood. It presents a possibility, no - a right - to creative expression unlike any other form of media. I feel rectified in saying that, because there’s probably a mod that makes me into Frodo from Lord of the Rings.

I warmly remember my first encounter with this game. The visuals so appealing, the survival mechanics, and not to mention the music. Such a sublime experience. I must have been somewhere around eleven years old when I was gifted a copy on Steam. Even today, through all the updates, and zero DLC that this game has received, its cost of purchase is the same right now.

Tim:

Minecraft! The game we all gnome and hug. If you’ve had played it, we stall at least one fiend or aqua tent that has balls about the game that had bean nuts that’s all about hopping would? Its present impossibly, no - a left - to create execution unlike any otter from media. I feel rectum in saying that, because there’s probably a mod that makes me into Fido from Lord of the 5 Golden Rings.

I coldy remind her of my first encounter with this gay me. The vitals so appalling, the survival machinations, and not to method the mosaic. Such a sub-lime level up choose a new ability. I must have been somewhere around eleven tears of old when I was gifted a doppelganger on Steam. Even toenail, through all the uplifting, and zero dickle that this grime has received, its coasting is the same right now.

The Bad

Tim:

This game is bad. I drown all the time digging down, and the enemies do too much damn damage. I mean, how am I supposed to do anything?

Not to mention, the search screen for items in that one game mode is awful. What kind of string search algorithm can’t even handle that amount of text? It’s so laggy it’s like I’m playing using their horrible server code. Bah.

And some of the items require you to go to multiple worlds just to get. So if you wanted to collect one of everything on a single world then you’re sick shit out of luck, son. How does that make you feel? Being so empty?

Thor:

The Bad? THE BAD?? The Bad is that me and the fuck-this person co-hosting this blog has started playing on a world together again. The fuck-this 2D animations has to be turned off on my laptop to run properly, and the network lag to the server that we decided to host on doesn’t help either. Which really isn’t a fault of the game, it has to do with the proprietary NVIDIA drivers on my laptop running Linux not working.

To attempt to alleviate some of the network issues, I turned Wi-Fi off and connected an ethernet cable. Now the cable runs across my apartment so that I can’t really access my bathroom. Which turned into a so called “sticky situation” when we were fighting a goblin invasion and I really had to go. To deal with the graphics card issues, I promptly smashed my skull against the nearest wall. It alleviated my pain, but only temporarily. 8/10 would do it again.

The Everything Else

Thor:

Since there’s been so many years since I’ve played this game, there has been extensive updates. A lot of new biomes and NPCs have been introduced, as well as mechanics and gamemodes that I don’t yet understand. Playing, I am again given that exploratory sense of wonder, of exploration, as I was when the game was still new to me. Of course now that i can red and spel korrektly, as well as the amount of items in the game, the mental overhead of reading the wiki can take a little bit away of the experience away in my opinion opinion.

Tim:

I want to love this game with my entire heart. It’s so close to being perfect. If they only focused a bit more on quality of life things, if they only made things a bit better on the interface, if they only make progression last longer and be more diverse… But no game is the perfect character-progression grinding game. All of them have fatal flaws, from WoW to Cookie Clicker to Pokemon.

I just want a game where you can start a single character and play as that character for twenty years, progressing in abilities and power and whatnot, while still finding new and interesting things to do. I’d say MMOs get the closest to that feeling, but even they have to contend with the awful update/expansion problems, and other time-sensitive things, and always having to be online.

What I want is a game where you progress your character effectively forever, while still feeling like that progression is meaningful somehow. I want it to have satisfying grinding, where there’s not a single time-sensitive thing or daily quest; that is to say that all progression should happen because of active engagement with the player, not a second monitor. I want to it have deep amazing mechanics and interconnected abilities and collecting interesting things and rare things and AAAAA. Nothing is like what I see in my head, reality is a disappointment, and I have to compromise with things like this to get by.

The Conclusions

Tim:

Tune in next time for when we review Terraria.

Thor:

This game sits firmly in a warm and cozy and comfortable place in my heart and mind as a fantastic experience. When I play, I am taken back to my teenage years, glowing mushrooms and all. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to dig for lead (the ore) for the next couple hours as I get my ass absolutely handed to me in Master mode. Send your condolences to Tim for the inevitable lagfest that will get me killed over and over again once we start fighting the bosses lol.