![]() If not for an meaningful soundtrack to reward him and further attach him the world he is playing, he might just suddenly sit up and exclaim, "This is stupid" and quit playing. Compare that to a videogame, where the player can be stuck scraping around a certain area for a long time, or battles can drag on for quite a while. Sure, movies have music too, but they are awfully short, and so much important story is condensed, that the audience rarely has time to appreciate the soundtrack. ![]() They can all have engaging characters, a riveting narrative, humor, adrenaline-pumping action, shooting, explosions, or whatever, but only a video game can have a living 3-D environment where it's audience can experience the world with the freedom of choice. Let me explain: the greatest advantage that a video game has (or may have) over competing mediums (books, movies, television) is the presence of a live 3-D environment. I consider Okami to be the best game ever made, and accordingly it has the best soundtrack. Music can enhance the atmosphere of a video game. If you want more details (or you have 10 minutes to kill (no pun intended) ), DEFINITELY watch the Errant Signal video I linked above. Through this, the game is, arguably, saying that a game with plot can be just as good as a game without plot, so long as the gameplay is good. But here's the thing: the gameplay is just as fun when there's negligible plot and when there's a clear plot. The protagonist isn't killing everyone just for fun or because the voice on his answering machine tells him to, but rather so he can track down the person/people who killed him and his girlfriend (I think it's been a while since I beat the game). The levels after that one have more plot. That level is a turning point, after which the game becomes more plot-driven. The game continues on like this until you hit the hospital level, where the gameplay changes from manic, cathartic chaos to disorienting, slow-paced stealth. The only plot you're given is a phone call at the beginning of each ``job'' that tells you where to go to get your killing on. In the game, the first half is carefree, cathartic fun. A quite well-made video I saw argued that Hotline Miami wasn't satirizing plotless ``murder simulators'' that focus on gameplay over plot, but rather arguing that a good game can be good with or without plot. I agree that it's meant to discuss violent video games, though I don't think it's a satire of them (a deconstruction, maybe, but that's arguing semantics). r/CoOpGaming - A community for co-op gaming r/xboxone - Xbox-specific subreddit for general Xbox news and discussion r/playstation, /r/PS4 & /r/PS5 - PlayStation-specific subreddits for general PlayStation news and discussion r/pcgaming - PC gaming-specific subreddit for general PC gaming news, discussion and gaming tech support r/nintendo - Nintendo-specific subreddit for general Nintendo news and discussion r/shouldibuythisgame - Find out what's worth getting. r/gamingsuggestions - Go here to help you find your next game to play r/gaming4gamers - Discussion, bar the Hivemind
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