I don’t know why I’m obsessing over this, but maybe it’s because they’re just too cute. I would actually be interested in playing that Fall Guys game, even though it’s a paid-up-front multiplayer-only server-tethered game, and it has microtransactions to purchase certain cosmetics, and it follows that “better play right now” season pass system with short seasons to boot, but those are also the reasons why I don’t want to get into this. It’s all the tellings of something that’s going to go horribly wrong, because it has before, with other games.
I’ve explained this before in prior posts, how Rocket League effectively ruined the idea of a multiplayer game in general, let alone a paid one, all because of the encroachment of certain things that, naturally, manifest in full in that one meme royale game, that also just happens to share its corporate roof with Rocket League. But this is a different publisher, a different developer, a different game. Yet it doesn’t seem right. If you’re wondering why I keep having that doom response to the state of the industry, it’s repeat trends in everything. The industry doesn’t seem to know its own history. Instead of a century-long cycle as with general life, it’s feeling more like a 40-ish year cycle.
Still, something about living in the moment, I guess, right? That’s what video games are for. And I guess they’re more meant to be taken temporarily now given all their external connections. However, me being the old-fashioned type who enjoys the idea of owning things and also going back to old games at whatever times the mood just feels right, instead of waiting for an online service or a remake, it doesn’t sit right. The consideration that the likes of that Scott Pilgrim game, or that P.T. demo thing, suddenly getting to those is needlessly difficult for arbitrary reasons, either some random license runs out or everything related to a canceled game gets purged.
I would like to play this Fall Guys game, but I need to convince myself it would actually be worth it, and it won’t be an utter “betrayal” like Rocket League selling out, ditching everything but Windows (yet I normally use Windows), and then ditching Steam (yet I still have it on Steam and it’s said to still work), as well as the boredom factor that led to me dropping the game for what was intended to be just a little while but that grew way past that thanks to everything. I need a table diagram to process these aspects and explain this more visually.
| Fall Guys | Rocket League |
| Differences | |
|
|
| Similarities | |
|
|
Noting that even Rocket League is more playable offline, it makes me wonder about Fall Guys, again, that being a paid game at the moment. With that consideration, I really can’t be jumping into this like this. According to the main thing I’m facing against myself, I don’t want to help out something that could possibly backstab later, or be a thing I get tired of in about three hours. Yet I’m still interested. The best way to resolve this dilemma would be a demo.
Currently, it can be played at no additional cost on PlayStation Plus. However, that’s additional cost. I’d still have to pay for PlayStation Plus, and that hits another one of my considerations, where I want to avoid paying for any of these paid online services, to the point where I’ve been subsisting on occasional week-long trials for Nintendo Switch Online whenever something’s come up on there. There seems to be no such thing on the PS4, at least as far as I can tell, and that fact seems to also be limited to how I’m trapped in a country of which I’ve practically disavowed my former nationality. I have reasons for doing so and having no affixed loyalty to any country, especially any where the lack of a free trial specifically by country location is something that can be gotten away with. Therefore, PlayStation Plus is definitely not an option.
This just leaves Steam. I know I’m not going to be buying this for $20 blindly. Or even on sale. At this point, my best bet at a demo would be to wait for one of those free weekends. Now I’m wondering if this is how the people spoiled by all those Epic free games feel. Yet I’m only looking for a demo. Even if I was willing to go to the high seas to try out a game I’m unsure of, it probably doesn’t work for this multiplayer-only server-based thing, or at least well enough to be worth the effort of setting it up. So it’s just time to play the waiting game, not drive myself any crazier than I’m already going, and focus on beating more of the singleplayer games I already have. And no, I’m not looking for a handout of this game either, I am definitely capable of spending money, I just don’t feel like it, or feel like having someone else spend on my behalf. I’d rather that goes to something more useful like a proper charity or purchasing supplies for whatever apocalyptic event comes next.
Go figure, though, my 100th post on this thing where I dump out my thoughts in a better format than a billion tweet threads and it’s about thinking too much about cartoon beans. They’re cute cartoon beans, and I wonder about actually getting merchandise of these if it was to happen. Then again, independent third parties can already do that, and while I’m stuck in capitalism, I do like to support small businesses. Once again, a scenario where I like characters in a game but am unsure of the game itself.