This is JUST a RPG, right? No Social Edutainment?

[Blk_Mage_Ctype]

I've been following this game for awhile and it looks right up my alley, but before I buy it I just want to make sure that it isn't a Trojan Horse for a bunch of stuff that I don't want.

I'm all-in for a fun, EarthBound inspired RPG, but that's it. I don't need to be educated on how to be a decent human being, nor am I particularly interested in the socio-political beliefs of the developers, I just want to play a video game in which the characters aren't going to start preaching at me out of nowhere or clumsily shoe-horning in analogs to stressful real-life issues that I get my fill of in my day-to-day life and thusly would rather not have to think about during my free time.

Oh, and I'd rather not have to sign off on any intrusive terms of service agreements either, nor download anything besides the game. (i.e. Denuvo, etc.)

[Stoibs]

What sort of boring zero-conflict RPG are you even interested in with all of those parameters?

[War Eternal]

The old fashioned kind. Azzhat de first is trying to kill everyone. We need to do things to kill him first. I'm with this guy. I'm not interested in morally grey.

[Artemis]

go play tetris then if you want that lol

[Stoibs]

Originally posted by War Eternal:

The old fashioned kind. Azzhat de first is trying to kill everyone. We need to do things to kill him first. I'm with this guy. I'm not interested in morally grey.

I mean sure, but nuanced relationships and characters/situations making waves is the benchmark of storytelling.

I guess it comes down to what you guys consider 'politics' vs just general everyday curveballs and drama.

Personally I like to have my viewpoints challenged and maybe walk away from a piece of media learning something new in the interest of personal growth.

[Blk_Mage_Ctype]

Originally posted by War Eternal:

The old fashioned kind. Azzhat de first is trying to kill everyone. We need to do things to kill him first. I'm with this guy. I'm not interested in morally grey.

Thank you! That's precisely the kind of RPG I'm looking for! I'm so over the "deep storytelling" that's honestly nothing but regurgitated analogs of modern-day socio-political issues with zero imagination behind it.

Some folks obviously love that drama and cannot get enough of it, ergo they will defend it far past the point of reason and even attempt to argue that some ham-fisted subplot involving racism between elves/humans or some non-binary race of aliens being disrespected by an otherwise binary galactic community is totally clever writing.
If you like that in your games, then fine, do you, but some of us don't, and prefer to play "simplistic" games without a bunch of stuff we already get our fill of in everyday life.

Now my only question is, should I buy it now for 20% OFF or wait and see if it goes on sale for a higher discount sometime between Black Friday and Christmas?

[Blk_Mage_Ctype]

Originally posted by Stoibs:

I guess it comes down to what you guys consider 'politics' vs just general everyday curveballs and drama.

Personally I like to have my viewpoints challenged and maybe walk away from a piece of media learning something new in the interest of personal growth. :conwayshrug:

That's just it though, I don't want everyday curveballs and drama in my videogames because I get enough of it in my everyday life!

It would be one thing if I were up for a debate and actually disagreed with the message, my issue is that it starts to feel insulting when you're not a bad person yet the game presumes that gamers in general are ignorant, bigoted dirtbags who need to be educated on how to behave.

To me, it's sort of like this... Imagine playing a game in which the developers literally talk down to the player as if they were a child, so characters will take time out from saving the world to have a conversation about the importance of cleanliness/personal hygiene, or how you shouldn't play with matches, how you should brush your teeth, eat your fruits/vegetables, and for a 1:1 comparison, to be nice to each other.

Keep in mind, these sequences occur frequently, interrupt gameplay, tend to drag on, and only apply to a small portion of the playerbase which is most likely beyond help at this point.

[Stoibs]

I'm giving you an award because it's so refreshing to have a normal conversation on steam amongst the 99% of other rage-fueled arguments that pollute every other game forum.

Truth be told and for the record... I don't actually know about this game :/
I bought this one at launch since I enjoyed the Next Fest demo but have yet to find the time to get around to playing it due to this year's absurd RPG backlog. (Which in hindsight worked out for the best, yesterday's patch just included a bunch of QoL improvements that will be nice to have on a first playthrough)

I'm trying to wrack my head thinking of a JRPG that just plays it as straight laced as you are talking about and it's actually a bit of a challenge.
Maybe like... Live-a-Live? It's as 'good people vs evil presence' as it comes with a decent twist/storyline without any real preaching in it (as far as I can remember from my playthrough anyway).

Probably a cop-out answer but a lot of the stuff made for younger audiences probably fit the bill also; I'm currently midway through Mario+Luigi Brothership on the Switch and it's just some good old fashioned 'beat the baddies' fun with some hijinks along the way.

Hmm, I maybe want to say SMTV also since the 'story' in those games are as barebones as they get really (Angels vs Demons with Humanity on the sidelines) and you can generally pick which side you want to end up on anyway. There's a demo of it these days too to check out if you're curious.

[Blk_Mage_Ctype]

Right back at you. It's certainly nice, different, and appreciated to be able to post a thread like this without getting swarmed by people who angrily defend modern gaming trends by attempting to shame/vilify anyone who dares to so much as say that they're tired of IRL drama topics and indie games trying to tell deep, thought-provoking stories that there's really no guarantee the developers are actually capable of delivering.

I'm honestly in the same boat with my RPG Backlog, but I've been wanting to mix it up with something new and different. Bloomtown reminds me of the MOTHER Series, which definitely ticks the "different" checkbox all on its own just with the more modern setting, strange enemies, and deliberately weird/wacky atmosphere.
Alas, these days game devs in general are following a trend, — sometimes to their detriment — by attempting to tackle issues or cover complicated subjects they're not actually well-informed enough on to comment on, and I'm not in with the crowd who thinks that the more people who raise awareness of things the better, even if the commentators have no idea what they're talking about, so I don't trust indie developers to do so in an informed, unintrusive, inoffensive way that won't break immersion.

Besides, as someone who has actually faced discrimination/hate, I can't fathom how anybody who can get through a day of having to deal with miserable, bigoted people, would want to go home and play a videogame in their free time featuring caricatures of such people, complete with an out-of-touch developer including dialog which essentially talks down to the player as if they behave that way and need to be educated on how to be otherwise, courtesy of a commentator who clearly has never been on the receiving end of it themselves.

So yeah, I'd much rather play a simple RPG, in which I get to play as heroes who save the world from an evil overlord.

My brother actually bought Brothership recently, so I could borrow it from him if I wanted. Thanks for the recommendation.