If I were a dev, that wouldn’t be my priority in a first person Game either.

I repeatedly spend time deciding on clothing choices etc for my character only to proceed to never actually see them outside the menu.

BotW was originally developed for the WiiU, which it also released on. It is not a “handheld game”, and tbh I’d take it’s gameplay loop over Nier Automata or Shadow of War any day of the week.

Handheld mode is really not great for extended periods.

I got it for (business) trips, so I appreciate that I can easily connect it to a hotel room TV, or put it upright on a train or plane table.

One disconnected joycon in each hand IS pretty comfortable, since I can avoid the static “controller in front of you” arm pose.

I’m in my 30s. I’m gradually getting calmer. But seriously, if a game doesn’t induce the urge to throw objects around the room from time to time, it probably won’t make my list of favourites.

Because you don’t wade through hordes and hordes of individually weak enemies. (There are many but compare it to Diablo.)

I don’t get why Diablo-likes are called ARPG’s.

We used to call them “Hack 'n Slays”. I guess studios didn’t think that term marketing friendly.

Funny you should say that. It’s usually my line when I tell people to not buy games from companies like that. We’ve been telling people these things would happen at some point back when steam was starting up.

That is exactly the point. “Hmmm, maybe it’s fine if some high quality mods can make some money” no! This is “it’s just cosmetics” all over again. Give them a finger, they’ll be taking the arm and suing you for the other one soon. Don’t! Just don’t! If you want creators to make money, donate.

Someone donates $1, 200 times. Then charges them all back. Paypal charges you $15 processing fee for each chargeback

Don’t use PayPal. That’s a good policy in general.

Stardew Valley is on switch though? It’s also on gog.com which is preferable anyway. No launcher required.

Stat blocks don’t make an RPG.

Part of the definition is that you in fact play a role. This means making decisions from their perspective as if you were them and their world was your reality. Any game that doesn’t allow you to make informed, meaningful decisions isn’t actually a role playing game.

Naturally, video games can’t really give you total freedom in that regard, as any option you can pick needs to be anticipated and coded by the developer. But there are candidates that fit the requirement somewhat more and those that definitely don’t.

Cyberpunk, while being a fun experience, doesn’t really give you a lot of meaningful choices, at least not in the bigger quests, especially not the main plot. Most often different dialogue choices only lead to slightly different answers and the same outcome. You can’t decide to rat Panam out to Militech when stealing the tank for example. You’re not really playing the role of V, you’re watching their story play out and maybe deciding what to do first and last.

CDPR have their own inhouse example of a better RPG to compare against.

Then you respec your character.

Or does each game just build on top of working knowledge of previous similar Games?

This. There is a sort of gaming DNA that you just internalize over time. I’ve been gaming for 30 years, I just know how that one breakable wall looks, that you need to come back to once you get bombs or whatever it is. I know the difference between a caster, a fighter and a rogue when I see them without knowing the exact details of their ability mechanics in this particular game. My intuition as to how a given ability is most likely going to work is also usually pretty close. Because they are often very similar across different games.

Also if you don’t know and don’t have to have the absolute optimal combination from square one, just pick what looks cool and try it. If it doesn’t work out, try something else. Most games allow respecs nowadays. We learn through failure and repitition.