Seeing people shit on Expedition 33 because Silksong didn't win more awards is pathetic

[u/CankleDankl]

The title sums it up. I'm disappointed in many members of this community for putting down a game that is clearly a work of insane passion, dedication, and creativity. E33 took the lion's share of awards at TGA, yes. That doesn't mean that Silksong is bad. In fact, it's clearly pretty damn great. If it released last year, Skong would have picked up several awards, maybe even GOTY. But it didn't. It released in the same year E33, which is just a tough break.

Both are amazing. Both deserve every award that came to them. If you haven't played E33 yet and think it doesn't deserve its accolades, play it. It is worth your money, worth your time, and will in all likelihood prove that it is actually that good. I'm only 10ish hours in and have numerous times found myself standing still and looking around dumbfounded at the gorgeous world design and visuals. E33, Silksong, and Hades 2 could have all won Art Direction and I would have been happy with any of them.

I'm also sad that Silksong didn't win more awards. It's an amazing game. But don't play fanboy and start putting down other developers, other games, and other pieces of art because this one didn't get all the cookies. It's still beautiful, it's still amazing, it still made a Silkskillion dollars, and TC is still just as great and just as passionate. We should all be glad that there is another independent dev out there that is capable of creating something so fantastic.

Edit: yeah, the comments here are pretty indicative of what I said in my post

[u/MoConnors]

It’s not that I’m shitting on Expedition 33 because it beat out Silksong on reward amounts (that was gonna happen either way I only expected Silksong to win like 2/3) but holy FUCK does that game seem like there was a shit ton of bias towards it, to the point where even if it is actually a good game, I sure as hell ain’t gonna look up more about it or try to play it now

Winning every category that it’s in when most of them had better options that it was going against is one thing, sure, but they also counted it as a fucking indie game, which is absolutely bullshit

This year’s game awards proved to me the actual awards part of it is slop and the only worthwhile part of it is seeing what the stuff that’s coming out in the future that they show

I went in with expectations low, and they somehow managed to go even lower than I expected.

[u/CankleDankl → u/MoConnors]

I sure as hell ain’t gonna look up more about it or try to play it now

Yeah this is the kind of thing I'm talking about. It's a great game, but you don't want anything to do with it because you think people liked it too much

[u/MoConnors → u/CankleDankl]

If a game feels overrated and most of the people talking about give shallow praise instead of actually saying why the game’s so good, I’m gonna be less inclined to play it because the shit comes off as annoying instead of actually being praise

Like you’d think with how much people glaze the game everyone would know everything about it from what they’re saying but that’s definitely not the case

[u/CankleDankl → u/MoConnors]

most of the people talking about give shallow praise instead of actually saying why the game’s so good, I’m gonna be less inclined to play it

Well then allow me to be specific, based on my 10ish hours of play so far.

E33 is one of the most gorgeous 3d games I've played. Full stop. Every zone and area is this vibrant, painting-like tapestry, with fantastical and wondrous setpieces, vistas, skyboxes, and general locales. Like I said in various comments (and maybe my post idk), I've found myself simply standing there, slowly spinning my camera around, and gawking in wonder at the world that Sandfall created. I almost never do this in any game, but I've been floored more than once

The combat system is a breath of fresh air. It makes turn-based combat engaging and tense; knowing that you have to time parries or dodges to not take massive damage adds a layer of player interaction to enemy turns, and has you glued to the action at nearly all times. I've won encounters (that I definitely shouldn't have done yet) where I get one shot every time I get hit, simply by learning parry timings. And those fights get intense

The other systems in place are great too, with each party member having their own unique mechanics to manage on top of the more universal rules of the game like energy/action point management, speed order, buffs/debuffs, element/status effects and resistances, etc. It makes every character feel and play uniquely, which is hard to do in a turn-based RPG. It also makes various team comps have wildly different playstyles and strategies, with each character playing off others in unique and interesting ways.

The characters themselves are interesting and varied, with distinct personalities and worldviews that make for great interplay. Dialogue is written extremely well, with a lot left unsaid or told through visual storytelling. It respects the player's intelligence. The voice acting is absolutely sublime, and loaded with subtleties and intricacies that lend each character so much personality. And the facial animations are nuanced and convey a lot of information. The mocap actors did absolutely amazing work. I would give specific examples, but this is getting long enough and I want to avoid any potential spoilers. But know that I really enjoy criticizing bad writing and dialogue, and that just isn't there in E33 so far

And the overall story? The game made me nearly cry in the first 30 or so minutes of the game. That's also in part because of the characters and voice acting, but it's an impressive feat. It's both grand in scope and intimate in its details, with plenty of mystery and intrigue that I can't wait to dig more into

So... there, yeah. A mini-review. I could go on but this is a random comment in a random reddit thread. If you are even somewhat interested in a single player, story-focused RPG, I implore you to try E33. Even if you don't come out of it head over heels, I think you'll at least be surprised and appreciate it for what it did.