TheGamer’s Slack involves a lot of talking about, well, games. Whether people are jumping into a classic from their backlog or checking out the latest in𓆏die that they intend to make their entire personality, games are always on our collective brain.

But we aren’t some anonymous hive mind, one big groupthink experiment who all play the same games and have the same tastes. I love 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:indie RPGs and any game that tries something 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:mechanically fresh or 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:artistically daring. I love p🌠icking the brains of those w🤡ho make such striking, intentional games, and playing anything that tries to take a risk.

One of the potential playable characters in Citizen Sleeper with a bunch of cables attached to them.

Otherꦬs on the website feel differently. We have platforming passionistas and fighting game freaks writi🎃ng shoulder to shoulder with puzzle perfectionists, cosy connoisseurs, and – the backbone of any gaming website – immersive sim idolisers. This is what builds our balanced and varied coverage of each and every gaming release, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

Our latest discussions have involved talking about our favourite games of the year so far, specifically the ones that have gone under the radar. As I implored everyone to play 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:1000xResist, my colleague 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:James Kennedy countered with Eiyuden Chronicle: 100 Heroes.

His initial pitch was slow and meandering, but as soon as he got to the good stuff – there’s a shark lady and it’s on ꦿGame Pass – I was in. I set the game to downloaღd and jumped in.

A castle in the sky held by chains in Eiyuden Chronicle

Here I get to the problem. Eiyuden Chronicle: 100 Heroes starts incredibly slowly. I’ve played ab🃏out six hours of the game🎉 and found plenty I like, parts that I don’t, but no semblance of a story. The opening hinted at powerful items that will inevitably become important later, and war is clearly brewing in the north, but where is Nowa’s (or my) motivation to press on?

I’ve given it a chance because of my peer’s recommendation, and I’m continuing to play because I like the writing and (most of) the characters – Kuroto’s gruff Yorkshire accent stands out like a sore thumb and I would die for him – but the narrative is barely present. I’m the kind of person who needs a good story to pull me i✨nto a game, and Eiyuden isn’t doing that right now.

By ‘good story’, I don’t necessarily mean a cinematic triple-A masterpiece akin to The Last of Us. Celeste has a good story, immediately apparent from the first few platforms you jump across. She’s trying to get up the mountain. That’s enough. Quickly, you realise that she has her ow🤪n demons to battle, too, and the premise becomes even more gripping. To contrast, Eiyuden has no narrative grip on me at all. I get that some stories are a slow burn, but this is unne🧸cessary.

This isn’t to say I hate the game – I like the characters, the combat, and the dungeon design. The whole thing is presented beautifully. I can’t wait to min/max runes and work out p𝓡owerful team-up skills🐓 to strike down any foe who dares cross the path of the Eltisweiss Watch.

However, in this day and age, games need to be immediately gripping. None moreso than games that release on Xbox Game Pass, a system where players are encouraged to dip in and out of games a🉐t will. I know that’s what I use the se🉐rvice for – trying out games that I’m not sure if I’ll like or not. I give them a few hours to get their hooks in me, or get out.

Xbox Key Art Logo

My friends feel the same. As we all grow older, we no longer have entire weekends available to dedicate to the latest Call of Duty campaign. Work commitments mean we can’t stay 𓄧up until the early hours playing Left 4 Dead 2 on voice chat. As gaming time becomes more precious, we get more picky about the games we play. If something doesn’t immediately grab us, we move on. It’s not a good way to engage with media, but it’s the reality of the modern gaming landscape.

While 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:The Plucky Squire was by no means perfect, its inventive mechanics immediately drew me into its world and compelled me to finish it. I Am Your Beast opened with possibly the best tutorial I’ve ever played, thick with booming narrative beats and visceral gameplay. I’m told Eiyuden Chronicle: 100 Heroes gets better from here on out, but if it wasn’t for numerous respected opinions tellin🌌g me to persevere🌞, I think I’d be moving on already.

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Is Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes A Worthy Suikoden 🐼Successor?

Suikoden fans everywhere rejoiced at the announcement of Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Her♑oes, a spiritual successor from series creator Yoshitaka Murayama. (RIP, buddy.) After years in developme💧nt, it finally launched in 2024. Does it live up to Konami's long-dormant RPG epic?