My friend called my favorite old game 'a weird, janky mess' and it made me look at it differently

He said 'the controls feel like you're fighting the game itself' about 'Voodoo Vince' on the original Xbox, and now I can't unsee it. Anyone else have a game they loved that a single piece of criticism totally reframed for them?

3 comments

3 Comments

wade7671mo ago

Ever have someone point out a game's weird sound design? My buddy said the weapon sounds in our favorite shooter sounded like "wet farts," and now that's all I hear during firefights. It completely ruined the immersion for me because I can't take the action seriously anymore. A single offhand comment can just get stuck in your head and poison the whole experience. It's funny how something that small can change how you see a game you've played for years.

richard_shah1mo ago

Oh man, "wet farts" is a killer. That's the kind of comment you can't un-hear. Now every time you reload, it's just a sad little puff. You go from feeling like a tough soldier to a guy who ate bad chili. It turns epic battles into a comedy bit real fast.

jade2715d ago

Yeah, that "wet farts" thing really sticks with you. It's like once someone says it, you can't unhear it. Makes me wonder though, how much of game immersion is actually about sound design vs just our own expectations? Like, does the game lose its magic because the sound is genuinely bad, or is it more about us being primed to notice it? I think a lot of it is mental, right? Once your brain flags something as silly, it's hard to get back in that serious headspace. @richard_shah, you ever try to force yourself through a session ignoring it, or do you just give up and joke about the chili soldier bit?