8 Video Games Fans Didn't Deserve
Sometimes the classics are what no one wants or expects.
Humans are predictable. They appreciate comfort, and rarely change by choice. This truth extends to fandoms too, having a more passionate appreciation for specific comfort zones.
Fans revere their demographics to the point of denying what they dislike in sequels or reboots as "non-canonical”. The 21st century has seen an overabundance of film and TV series veer hard into the danger zone of despair.
Star Wars, Game of Thrones, the DC Extended Universe - the list goes on.
With video games, it's a thin line to walk for developers to honor what came before whilst still innovating in gameplay, taking risks in storytelling, executing universal themes and writing "acceptable" character development. Even introducing a new IP that is clearly inspired by a particular game, series or genre welcomes the odd paradox of "too familiar".
It is in this paradox that fans often proclaim their outrage, but honestly, some of that is just the old-fashioned, self-entitled privilege of gatekeeping. What follows are video games that have hindsight on their side, slapping the privilege of "deserve" out of the way to cement their places in video game history as fantastic challenges to - and progressions of - the medium.
Note: Spoilers ahead.
8. What Remains Of Edith Finch
What Remains of Edith Finch is a "walking simulator", a genre often tedious with slow movement and an overabundance of dialogue or reading over action.
Translation: Boring.
Well, Giant Sparrow's title certainly relies on dialogue and walking, but when Edith visits each of her family members' rooms to tell the story of a supposed "curse", we step into that person's imagined past, playing them for a time.
It is with these memories that the gameplay ascends. A young girl who imagines herself as a cat, a baby playing in the tub and conducting a symphony with his toys, a man creating a fantasy world in his head whilst working at a fish factory, etc. However, the player inevitably experiences each family member's unavoidable and tragic death.
What Remains of Edith Finch is depressing and often grim, but always validating and expressive in its artistry. Only three hours long, it leaves the player equally shaken, yet steeled, ready to face mortality.
Ultimately, it is THE walking simulator detractors never expected, expanding the genre to reflect on death, the power of the imagination and the validity of what it means to live. All of its themes are tied into engaging gameplay.