Been playing King's Field 2 recently.
It's an oldschool PSX RPG. You play in the first person the whole game without fail. The graphics are dated. The character, the combat, the action is SLOW..........
And yet there is something magical about this game. There's NO hand holding, none whatsoever. You start the game and literally, you're on your own for what to do next. Sure, the NPCs will tell you what you NEED to do, but not where to go or how to do it.
The game is mostly non-linear. There are no "scripted boss fights" where you MUST defeat an enemy to proceed. The game is completely willing to let you run out into the wild, go into an area far above your ability, and die horribly. 75% of the amazing weapons, armors and items in the game are optional; they're so well-hidden sometimes that you must SCOUR the game looking for them. Every area is riddled with secret passages that you have to put the leg work into finding.
In essence, the game is all about DISCOVERY. It isn't some pre-plotted experience that the devs insisted everyone approach the same way, that everyone has the same epic boss fight and gets the +20 sword of awesome. You can still DO these things, but King's Field 2 leaves the decision up to the player. It says "It's ok if you don't see everything, do everything, acquire everything....otherwise what's the point of playing the game?"
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Modern games don't believe in this at all. If there's a secret, the player damn well better find it. No player should ever be left to figure something out for themselves. The most modern games will accept is dumping you in a room with obvious puzzle element, a giant neon question mark that no one can overlook. No player should ever have to "wander" to get anywhere, they should always know exactly where they need to go, what they need to do and what they'll get for doing it.
In King's Field 2, I've put in 14 hours easily already, and at one point I realized I was still wearing the crappy starting leather helm. Why? Because I'd forgotten about a chest midway through that contained a better helmet. I also didn't save up the requisite cash to buy a better helmet because there were so many other demands on my money, either. Of course, if I really needed money, I could just sell one of the 10 or so unique game items like keys or QUEST OBJECTS for ridiculous cash. What game even lets you do that anymore? Willingly sell off the "ITEM THAT WILL SAVE THE WORLD." Most games would be like "Fuck no, are you crazy?" King's Field 2 says "I'll give you 15,000 for it. If you want it back, be prepared to pay 45,000."
Granted, some parts of the game are like pulling teeth, compared to today's modern slickness. Yet King's Field 2 does what so many games today fail to....they keep the future a mystery for me. They make me want to explore the world because they haven't illuminated its every corner for my convenience. And it makes me feel like the choices I make are my own.