Setting first, gameplay second
As long as it takes place in a beautiful world, I’m not too fussed about gameplay in games. I’d prefer a boring game than a depressing atmosphere.
I like moaning about annoying game mechanics, such as brain-dead enemies, stupid companions or crafting. And yet I can live with them. Under one condition:
the setting’s right.
If a game world is visually charming, it captivates me. I marvel at the scenery and explore what’s around me.
Source: Ubisoft
The Caribbean – my dream destination
Let’s take Far Cry 6 as an example – it’s consistently rated as the worst game in the series. Yet, I played through it anyway and loved it because it takes place on a beautiful tropical island. Pelicans fly over white sandy beaches, fishing boats chug through turquoise waters and rebels drink rum in a jungle bar. I love driving around the island with the Latino car radio on, brushing past the occasional soldier with my bumper and throwing the occasional Molotov cocktail out of the window. I feel free!
Coconut palms, sandy beaches, sunshine and jungles are right up my alley. I’ve been a Caribbean fan since Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag. The pirate game and Far Cry 6 let me immerse myself in this distant world without much effort. And I have total freedom because (almost) every area is accessible and explorable. If I discover an island while sailing in Black Flag, I simply stop and swim ashore briefly to find myself on a pristine private beach. Amazing!
Source: Ubisoft
Dishonored gets me down
The opposite to my tropical feel-good oases: dark, depressive worlds. Crossing dark castle ruins in Dark Souls? Even the thought of it makes me shudder. Sneaking through the post-apocalyptic, infested city in Dishonored? No way. Riding for hours across the misty, dark plains in Shadow of the Colossus? I can’t imagine anything more dreary.
Not a single ounce of me wants to explore worlds like that. I can see fog and rain any day. Not a sandy beach, though.
Source: Arkane Studios
For me, gaming is always an escape from my everyday life. I’m like a child marvelling at floating castles, oriental bazaars and forests of giant mushrooms – wonderful things that aren’t right on my doorstep IRL. Especially when it’s cold and raining outside, I escape to the virtual sun for a few hours. That’s why I often return to dream destinations I’m familiar with.
What counts is the vision
Sometimes I create a new Blood Elf character in World of Warcraft just to see the start again – the Immersang Forest. I could spend hours hurling fireballs at floating mana wyrms in this mystical forest. With no purpose at all, but in complete bliss.
I also don’t mind that I only have one spell at my disposal, always press the same key combinations and the mana wyrms don’t seem to learn anything from their mistakes. The gameplay aspect of my experience is so mindless and repetitive that it sinks into insignificance.
Source: Blizzard Entertainment
This brings me back to Far Cry 6: I don’t really care how satisfying the weapons feel, how realistically the enemies react to my actions or how repetitive the gameplay is. I spend most of the time flying over the volcanic island in my wingsuit, feeding the pelicans and watching the sunset on the beach. If the game world appeals to me, I forgive the gameplay even for its more serious slip-ups.
«You have to imagine Sisyphus as a happy man», philosopher Albert Camus once wrote. The longer I think about it, the more I understand it. Roll a boulder up the mountain for all eternity? I guess if the view’s right, it’s not that bad.
My retreats have names like Middle Earth, Skyrim and Azeroth. If I have to part from them due to IRL commitments, their epic soundtracks accompany me through everyday life, to a LAN party or to my D&D session.