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There's a lot you don't learn from watching gameplay videos. You don't learn what the controls feel like, how responsive it is. Many games look like a confusing

There's a lot you don't learn from watching gameplay videos. You don't learn what the controls feel like, how responsive it is. Many games look like a confusing mess if you haven't played through the tutorial stages yourself to understand what the player is doing and what drives the decisions they make. And unless it's a first-time playthrough, you don't learn what it's like for a new player. There's a great big pile of streamers who've been playing Dark Souls for thousands of hours, and you will get a very very wrong impression of the game's difficulty if you just watch them. A good review gives an accurate impression of a game's strengths and weaknesses in 5 minutes of reading. I've bought games based on overall negative reviews before, because the writer was even-handed enough for me to judge exactly how my tastes differed from his, and see that I could live with the bits he hated and love the bits he thought were just decent.

dkersten 9y ago
I agree with this. The Dark Souls reference is so true (but applies to every game) > here's a great big pile of streamers who've been playing Dark Souls for thousands of hours, and you will get a very very wrong impression of the game's difficulty if you just watch them. Hell, when I play dark souls now, I just kinda ignore all the enemies. They're like flies that get swatted if they get too close, but that's it. This is NOT the experience a first time player will have. Instead of flies, each enemy is an angry bear with a time bomb strapped to its back, with robot claws. Every enemy strikes them with fear and apprehension. All of this goes away as you become accustomed to the game. When you watch an experienced player play, you obviously see the former and not the latter and what you see is NOT the experience you will have. (Although, you can of course watch a video where someone new to the series is playing... but the majority of videos are by existing fans)

dkersten 9y ago

I agree with this. The Dark Souls reference is so true (but applies to every game) > here's a great big pile of streamers who've been playing Dark Souls for thousands of hours, and you will get a very very wrong impression of the game's difficulty if you just watch them. Hell, when I play dark souls now, I just kinda ignore all the enemies. They're like flies that get swatted if they get too close, but that's it. This is NOT the experience a first time player will have. Instead of flies, each enemy is an angry bear with a time bomb strapped to its back, with robot claws. Every enemy strikes them with fear and apprehension. All of this goes away as you become accustomed to the game. When you watch an experienced player play, you obviously see the former and not the latter and what you see is NOT the experience you will have. (Although, you can of course watch a video where someone new to the series is playing... but the majority of videos are by existing fans)