Do you think games like LIMBO, Journey, Dear Esther are pretentious?

I was just wondering, since they seem to get a lot of hate for that exact reason.

If so, how are they pretentious? How can a game be pretentious?

They cant. Butthurt cancels out common sense.ispeakfact

[QUOTE="ispeakfact"]They cant. Butthurt cancels out common sense.Blabadon

[QUOTE="ispeakfact"]They cant. Butthurt cancels out common sense.Blabadon

I don't get it, why would they be pretentious?

What are the arguments of those who claims that?

Whenever there's a game that aspires to be more than simple entertainment, people are quick to call it pretentious. Not to say these people are wrong all the time, but this is part of the reason why this particular medium can't be taken seriously.

It's bad enough that a lot of people don't even know what the word means, and instead come to the lousy conclusions that being artistic = being pretentious. Always.

I don't get it, why would they be pretentious?

What are the arguments of those who claims that?

Rocker6

[QUOTE="parkurtommo"]

I was just wondering, since they seem to get a lot of hate for that exact reason.

If so, how are they pretentious? How can a game be pretentious?

SNIPER4321

People are bashing LIMBO? Que? Not only was that game artistically potent, but it was a cleverly designed platformer. Great stuff.drinkerofjuice

[QUOTE="drinkerofjuice"]People are bashing LIMBO? Que? Not only was that game artistically potent, but it was a cleverly designed platformer. Great stuff.organic_machine

[QUOTE="organic_machine"][QUOTE="drinkerofjuice"]People are bashing LIMBO? Que? Not only was that game artistically potent, but it was a cleverly designed platformer. Great stuff.parkurtommo

[QUOTE="parkurtommo"][QUOTE="organic_machine"] Which is the polar opposite of Dear Esther which I would say is the defenition of a pretentious game, but it isn't really much of a game. It's more like pretentious guff which has some interactivity.organic_machine

I have to agree with this, when I finished Limbo I couldn't help but ask myself "that's it?"

and I'm not even sure if it's correct to say that Limbo has a story, more like, it has two short silent scenes and you're supposed to pretend it's a story

Now that you mention it, I do get that kind of bad vibes from when I looked up screenshots of Limbo. Side scroller in black and white is kinda like pixelated side scrollers, they just scream "Yeah we don't even like 3D or modern graphics, we're indie. Look how indie we are, big corporations are evil, we represent the gamers!" and that kind of crap.


As for Dear Esther, nope. As for Journey, nope.

Own and beat LIMBO and Dear Esther. I enjoyed Dear Esther because of it's amazing atmosphere. Is it much of a game? not really. Is the story pretentious? possibly. That is all opinon. Was it worth it just for the amazing atmosphere? Yes.

LIMBO on the other hand is awesome in the game aspect. I think it is a very good game, the art is nice, and the story (or lack thereof) never felt pretentious to me. I think LIMBO and BRAID are both awesome games. Journey I have never played.

Boring games with boring ass gameplay that try to rely on atmosphere and emotion, I'd definitely say are pretentious. Terrible games like Limbo getting such high praise just make me smh.

Boring games with boring ass gameplay that try to rely on atmosphere and emotion, I'd definitely say are pretentious. Terrible games like Limbo getting such high praise just make me smh.

Renegade_Fury

Limbo and Braid have great gameplay :?

[QUOTE="Renegade_Fury"]

Boring games with boring ass gameplay that try to rely on atmosphere and emotion, I'd definitely say are pretentious. Terrible games like Limbo getting such high praise just make me smh.

NaveedLife

Limbo and Braid have great gameplay :?

[QUOTE="parkurtommo"][QUOTE="Heirren"] Yes. Flower, Limbo, Braid, and many other hyped psn/xbla games. A lot of the praised games just aren't very good. They remind me of iOS games.Heirren

LBP and all those games like Limbo and Braid have poor art direction? Holy hell, you need to have your eyes checked :P. I enjoyed all of these games more than Donkey Kong Country Returns.

[QUOTE="Renegade_Fury"]

Boring games with boring ass gameplay that try to rely on atmosphere and emotion, I'd definitely say are pretentious. Terrible games like Limbo getting such high praise just make me smh.

NaveedLife

Limbo and Braid have great gameplay :?

lol, sure bud. If you like slow uninspired gameplay that consists of trial and error, by all means call it "great." Games that have to rely so much on aesthetics to pull you in, I'll call boring and terrible.

[QUOTE="NaveedLife"]

[QUOTE="Renegade_Fury"]

Boring games with boring ass gameplay that try to rely on atmosphere and emotion, I'd definitely say are pretentious. Terrible games like Limbo getting such high praise just make me smh.

Renegade_Fury

Limbo and Braid have great gameplay :?

lol, sure bud. If you like slow uninspired gameplay that consists of trial and error, by all means call it "great." Games that have to rely so much on aesthetics to pull you in, I'll call boring and terrible.

Braid had some of the best gameplay this gen. Uninspired? Did you even play it?

[QUOTE="Renegade_Fury"]

[QUOTE="NaveedLife"]

Limbo and Braid have great gameplay :?

NaveedLife

lol, sure bud. If you like slow uninspired gameplay that consists of trial and error, by all means call it "great." Games that have to rely so much on aesthetics to pull you in, I'll call boring and terrible.

Braid had some of the best gameplay this gen. Uninspired? Did you even play it?

They're not pretentious at all, That would mean they're trying to impress you with something that isn't all that good. These games are most certainly good and the devs who made them are talented and know what they're doing.

It would be pretentious if the makers of LIMBO and the game itself got bad reviews and then the devs said something like "You just don't get it" or thought they were better than they actually are.

I don't think a lot of people actually know what pretentious means

[QUOTE="Heirren"][QUOTE="parkurtommo"] How are they at all like iOS games? Braid I can sort of understand since it's aesthetics are a pretty solid 2D. But Flower and LIMBO, they are legitimate games... LIMBO has a fantastic art style, great atmosphere, heavy, meaningful platforming and controls (when I say meaningful I mean that you can really feel the controls, like you can feel the weight of what you're doing), I can't defend Flower since I haven't played it, but it looks like a good game, though I'm not interested in it.NaveedLife

LBP and all those games like Limbo and Braid have poor art direction? Holy hell, you need to have your eyes checked :P. I enjoyed all of these games more than Donkey Kong Country Returns.

[QUOTE="Renegade_Fury"]

[QUOTE="NaveedLife"]

Limbo and Braid have great gameplay :?

NaveedLife

lol, sure bud. If you like slow uninspired gameplay that consists of trial and error, by all means call it "great." Games that have to rely so much on aesthetics to pull you in, I'll call boring and terrible.

Braid had some of the best gameplay this gen. Uninspired? Did you even play it?

Yup, just a bunch of shallow fluff that heavily relies on tunes to pull the player in. Sorry, I don't hand the title of "great" to games like that.

they are very pretentious.

[QUOTE="NaveedLife"]

[QUOTE="Renegade_Fury"]

lol, sure bud. If you like slow uninspired gameplay that consists of trial and error, by all means call it "great." Games that have to rely so much on aesthetics to pull you in, I'll call boring and terrible.

Loegi

Braid had some of the best gameplay this gen. Uninspired? Did you even play it?

Oh man. Now I am remember why I stopped using the forums. It takes way too much of my time with battling people about topics :P.

TO each their own, and none of these games are perfect, but they are all very visually pleasing and interesting titles, with creative and fun gameplay. I think Limbo and Braid are more enjoyable than the majority of Nintendo's platformers this gen, which is just sad.

They're not pretentious at all, That would mean they're trying to impress you with something that isn't all that good. These games are most certainly good and the devs who made them are talented and know what they're doing.

It would be pretentious if the makers of LIMBO and the game itself got bad reviews and then the devs said something like "You just don't get it" or thought they were better than they actually are.

I don't think a lot of people actually know what pretentious means

seanmcloughlin

personally I don't feel that the gameplay in Limbo was all that good