Board 8 > Game of the Decade: 2010-2019 Contest Analysis Crew - Part 2

(+) Yeah! (+)

I wouldn't say "definitely." Both Zero Escape games were near the bottom of the X-Stats in 2015!

---

They are definitely more popular than STreet Fighter 5, though!

It just seems like people talk about 999 and Virtue's Last Reward more often than they mention Ghost Trick

---

thats because the plot is so bonkers. the end plot twists are kind of equally baffling between vlr and ghost trick though

---

Wildspark posted...

It just seems like people talk about 999 and Virtue's Last Reward more often than they mention Ghost Trick

Oh, I'd take them to beat Ghost Trick. I just don't think it'd be a massacre unless there was some weird VN SFF.

---

ZeldaTPLink posted...

And yet, Pokemon killed the noble nine twice.

Be careful of absolutes. What this site likes isn't that easy to define.

Pokemon past like, Gen II is weak. First gen Pokemon breaking the Noble Nine has nothing to do with whether something like Sword and Shield was #1 for the site and still didn't even make the contest.

I'm not talking in absolutes at all. There's a huge overlap between the kind of people who play Animal Crossing and the ones who play Undertale, and they don't tend to frequent this site. It won't be worthless, but again, social media buzz and being a huge game at the moment won't make it into some sort of juggernaut. It will be stronger than in the past, though.

---

Surskit posted...

There's a huge overlap between the kind of people who play Animal Crossing and the ones who play Undertale, and they don't tend to frequent this site. It won't be worthless, but again, social media buzz and being a huge game at the moment won't make it into some sort of juggernaut. It will be stronger than in the past, though.

I think you need to look at the poll.

I was worried about Animal Crossing > RDR2 at the freeze but it's come down quite a bit since then already.

---

ZeldaTPLink posted...

I think you need to look at the poll.

I did. It's at 68%, which sounds about right? It'll probably bleed a little more %, this has to be its best time. SFV is total garbage too.

---

so I guess judging the first matches is judging Tomb Raider, SF5 and... Disco Elysium

cya kh3

---

Surskit posted...

I did. It's at 68%, which sounds about right? It'll probably bleed a little more %, this has to be its best time. SFV is total garbage too.

What are you even arguing against then? The whole point people were making is that AC will double SFV because AC is big nowadays.
---

Surskit posted...

I did. It's at 68%, which sounds about right? It'll probably bleed a little more %, this has to be its best time. SFV is total garbage too.

I mean you came to this thread to complain about people overrating AC and so far the 2nd highest pick is the one closest to the result.

I was thinking you expected a close match?

I was arguing against the idea that it's strong because of its current popularity on the Internet, which has little impact on the GameFAQs userbase, and more on the fact that SFV is terrible and a new well-received AC game just came out.

I just don't think there's much of an overlap between the demographics between the people who are making AC the huge hit it is and the people of GameFAQs. The playrate as of 20th March was of about 20% of the site. It will be stronger than ever for sure. Like, AC should have been able to win this match handily even if New Horizons hadn't come out yet.

---

I know it's all a popularity contest (and most of the votes were probably from brand recognition) but disco elysium losing to kingdom hearts 3 of all games is still extremely depressing.

Yo my prediction percentages have been on point so far

---

Wildspark posted...

It just seems like people talk about 999 and Virtue's Last Reward more often than they mention Ghost Trick

Yeah. It really surprised me that VLR and ZTD both made it and 999 didn't.

---

I wish ZTD were here but at least we got the best game in the trilogy in

---

Previous Results: Persona does well, AssCreed redeems itself, Sonic disappoints, and Meat Boy does okay.

Crew Predictions: 39/44

Next Round Thoughts: Sonic in trouble next round? Unless Ys is stronger than most of us give it credit for, Meat Boy has a good shot at making Round 3.

Crew Prediction Challenge:

Kleenex: 39
Moltar: 38
transience: 38
Leonhart: 36
Guest: 36

Crew Accuracy Challenge: transience gets the point for Persona and AC, Leon gets the point for Sonic, and Moltar/Kleenex gets the point for SMB.

Moltar: 14
transience: 8
Guest: 7 (spooky96, Hbthebattle (2), Black Turtle, ctes (2), MetalmindStats)
Kleenex: 7
Leonhart: 5

---

Feels weird getting the Sonic point when I was still like 7% off

---

Round 1 Dark Souls vs. Hotline Miami

Moltars Analysis

Another match, another blowout. Dark Souls is going to be one of the stronger games here, and Hotline Miami will be lucky to avoid the tripling here. Dark Souls III doing well makes me think the even stronger Souls game can go even bigger.

Moltars Bracket: Dark Souls

Moltars Prediction: Dark Souls 82%

____________________________________________________________________________

transiences Analysis

Hey, it's Dark Souls! Dark Souls is a good bit above the rest of the Souls games. It's like the FF7 of its series and DS3 is like.. I don't know, maybe FF9 or something. Dark Souls has an outside shot at making a big run so it'll be good to see how it does. It's certainly gotten stronger from 2015 to now.

Hotline Miami is well-known and fairly liked in the indie space. It has a style that really draws some attention, especially with that killer beated soundtrack behind all of the game's murder. I think it might be about as good as Dishonored, maybe? Probably not quite as good. Dark Souls is a good bit higher than DS3 which means that this should be at least a tripling.

transience's prediction: Dark Souls with 78.67%

____________________________________________________________________________

Leonharts Analysis

Souls type games have been doing really well so far, so expectations should be pretty high for the original here. I cant imagine Hotline Miami is worth anything here, except for maybe some people voting for it because it has a funny title. With Bloodborne going for 80% on CoD:BlOps earlier in the round, Id be stunned if Dark Souls does anything less than that.

Leonharts Vote: Dark Souls

Leonharts Prediction: Dark Souls with 84.15%
____________________________________________________________________________

Kleenexs Analysis

Something something indie game. Weve seen this before a ton of times thing contest already, and while Hotline Miami is probably a *little* bit stronger than some of the lower-tier indie games, its still going to be pretty weak. Dark Souls...Im still not entirely sure where it stands. The game should be pretty strong. DSIII did fairly well a few days ago, and the original Dark Souls had a decent run in 2015 before getting smashed by LttP. There really isnt a lot stopping Dark Souls from sweeping this division, and it should start its campaign off with a pretty strong showing in round 1.

Kleenexs Prediction: Dark Souls with 73.75%

____________________________________________________________________________

Guests Analysis Nintendogs

____________________________________________________________________________

Crew Consensus: Dank victory for Dark Souls

---

Oh, is that a no-show?

Tsunami's Emergency Guest Analysis

After all these other quality showings by action games, including a later game in this very series, seeing Dark Souls itself should be a treat. Expect lopsidedness.

Guest pick: Dark Souls with 80%

---

Round 1 Rocket League vs. Dragon Ball FighterZ

Moltars Analysis

This is such a weird match. GameFAQs doesnt care about Rocket League but this game is EVERYWHERE now. It has gotten far more relevant and way more exposure since its release. In terms of playrate, far more people are aware of and have played Rocket League on this site than DBF.

GameFAQs likes anime and DBZ is cool and all, but fighting games are death on this site. I dont think DBZ gets killed here because GOKU and friends, but unless people are voting for the franchise and not the game itself, Rocket League is somehow the favorite here.

Moltars Bracket: Rocket League

Moltars Prediction: Rocket League 55%

____________________________________________________________________________

transiences Analysis

I spent way too long thinking about this stupid one point match and I'm excited to get it off my mind. On one side you have Rocket League, a... multiplayer car soccer game, and on the other a fighting game. Let's start with the fighting game because that's easier to gauge. It's so hard to look at the other fighters and just go "ewww, hell no." Tekken 7 got destroyed, MK11 got obliterated and SF5 is getting doubled by a portable Animal Crossing. I actually think all of those games have convenient excuses - Ultimate and Odyssey are probably 2 and 3 on the site, unless Witcher or Skyrim has something to say about it, and Animal Crossing is unusually hot right now (not to mention that SF5 is just bad).

Rocket League is a weird one, one without an obvious parallel. It's an indie game but it has major crossover appeal to the point that it's not really thought of as one. It was recently bought out by Epic which feels more in line. Rocket League is funny because it's a highly competitive online game, something that we usually go way the hell away from. The thing is, so is DBFZ? DBFZ is at least from a genre that people have some familiarity in, but Rocket League is unquestionably more popular with the masses. The question is if it plays here.

There's one part we haven't talked about - the Dragon Ball part of DBFZ. It might be that Dragon Ball ends up being the factor that trumps two weak games. This poll is going to be voted on a broader audience, one that knows Dark Souls and Metal Gear and not much else. Are they going to vote for the car game without any lineage, or for the picture of Goku? I mean, probably the car game, because it's so well known. But I'll roll with my bracket and take DBFZ even though I'm pretty skeptical. Fighting games are definitely more our thing than car combat games, at least theoretically.

transience's prediction: Dragon Ball FighterZ with 52.41%

____________________________________________________________________________

Leonharts Analysis

This one is interesting. Overall, Rocket League is an internet phenomenon. Even some of my friends who arent really gamers have gotten into this thing. That doesnt mean too much for us here since were old fogeys who dont care about what the latest online craze is, but I dont expect this to get the same sort of backlash that Fortnite, Destiny, or Dota 2 got. I think were mostly indifferent on Rocket League. We know it exists, but we dont have any reason to hate it.

I havent heard any argument for Dragon Ball FighterZ to win other than people will see Goku on the front page and theyll vote for it! In general, I dont buy that, but I suppose in a match like this where most of us will be apathetic to both options, it could affect some voters. Ive also seen some people say we hate sports games, but I think that applies more to traditional sports games, which Rocket League isnt. But if theres one thing we seem to dislike even more, its fighting games that arent Smash Bros. (and to a lesser extent Street Fighter II)! I actually feel reasonably confident in Rocket League here, but Ive been wrong a lot so far!

Leonharts Vote: Rocket League

Leonharts Prediction: Rocket League with 57.67%

____________________________________________________________________________

Kleenexs Analysis

Im surprised Rocket League hasnt been in more pollZ than it has. It looked pretty rotten in the few it appeared in, honestly. I know the game exploded in popularity after its release, but it doesnt strike me at the kind of game that GameFAQZ really cares too much about. Not that this site cares about fighting gameZ much either. DBZF lost to Assassins Creed Odyssey - a game that got absolutely murdered a few dayZ ago. I...really dont know which way to go here. I think a year or so ago, DBZF would have had a much better chance - it was more popular, more hyped - but Dragon Ball fandom seemZ to have died down quite a bit since then. I guess Ill just go with Rocket League, but I have no idea how to actually evaluate either of these games.

KleenexZ Prediction: Rocket League with 51.25%

____________________________________________________________________________

Guests Analysis spooky96

This is probably the most debated match of Round 1, as its a 51-49% split in Gurus in favor of Rocket League. You can't really be super confident in picking either of these games as they're hilariously weak. I checked the polls for both of these games and they were absolutely destroyed, 3-7% in any given poll. Whenever a fighting game/character loses we love to remind others how we don't give a crap about fighting games not named Smash, but we don't really give a crap about casual games either.

Anyway, I'm siding with Dragon Ball Z here, simply because of the brand name. Now I know its not a smart or a wise thing to do, but we'll have to see! As the contest has turned out, the results seem to favor Rocket League, plus it has a higher playrate and rating on GameFAQs, if that matters. As I'm writing this I'm getting increasing paranoid about DBZ failing miserably here and scoring some in the ranges of low 40s. I should hit 'Send' before I change my mind about the winner of this match.

Dragon Ball FighterZ with 50.01%

____________________________________________________________________________

Crew Consensus: It has been a while, but weve got another Crew split! Rocket League is the slight favorite this time.

---

Oh wow a legit split

What a nostalgic feeling

---

Dark Souls might get a higher percentage in round 2 than round 1. Not that Hotline Miami is going to be anywhere near decent, but I'd take it over a multiplayer indie casual sports game or an anime fighting game on this site.

---

I didn't really want to think about this one so I just took Dragon Ball because I like it. No interest in the game though!

---

I was hoping for a crew curse in my favour on this one, what a shame

---

This is an interesting match, because I feel like the "What if Goku and Batman were in the character contest" is an argument that I used to see all of the time, and then we kind of got to see that with the Batman games and the theoretical strength of the character didn't necessarily translate to the game. Odds are that happens again, but for some reason I just can't help but think that people are going to see Goku and say "oh shit, it's Goku", which might be enough to win a match.

Goku has to be worth something, right? I think the match pic is going to help as well, because it's a pretty good one.


---

I don't see Goku or Batman breaking 30% on Link.

---

The Arkham games had decent strength because they're among the most highly-regarded games of their time.

---

davidponte posted...

then we kind of got to see that with the Batman games and the theoretical strength of the character didn't necessarily translate to the game.

I don't think this matters for the actual popularity of Batman. Characters =/= Games applies just as much here as anywhere else.
---

spooky96 posted...

I don't see Goku or Batman breaking 30% on Link.

I think the number of characters who break 30% on Link can be counted with one hand, tbh.

LeonhartFour posted...

I don't think this matters for the actual popularity of Batman. Characters =/= Games applies just as much here as anywhere else.

That's the point I was trying to make, but I guess I didn't really phrase it right. I was typing on my phone while having dinner.

The second half of that sentence I think kind of conveys that, where I said that the strength of the character ended up not applying to the games, because they've either done poorly or done as expected based on them being solid games, which is an argument against DragonBall FighterZ. I would absolutely believe Batman the character is stronger than Batman the game, just as Goku the character is stronger than Goku the fighting game.

I just meant that even saying that, I feel like Goku's face has to be worth something to some voters, enough to win against another game with little to no strength.

Unless my point did come across and I'm confused by your response, in which case I'm lost.

---

ZeldaTPLink posted...

I think the number of characters who break 30% on Link can be counted with one hand, tbh.

the number of characters who can break 40% on 2018 Link can be counted on one finger

30% is a different story altogether; in the 2018 X-Stats there were 20
---

Round 1 Yakuza 0 vs. The Witness

Moltars Analysis

Now a Yakuza game is in a position to win a match? This bracket is wild.

The Witness is going to be low on the indie game scale. In the one post-release poll we have on it, it lost to INSIDE, which got killed earlier. Yakuza, while a weak series on GameFAQs, at least has the name recognition here.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/poll/6730

Hey if Nioh can win a match despite this result, so can Yakuza 0!

Moltars Bracket: Yakuza 0

Moltars Prediction: Yakuza 0 65%

____________________________________________________________________________

transiences Analysis

Look, man, I don't know. Kiryu made the 2018 contest and wasn't horrible? The Witness is a poor man's Braid? Yakuza seems like more this site's kind of game? All I can see in my head when thinking about this match is that Kiryu dancing gif?

Yeah, let's go with that. The Witness has the pedigree of a good game and certainly had the buzz around it for years until it came out and was a bunch of line drawing puzzles. Yakuza 0 seems like it could win this one big, but maybe it falls flat on its face and Witness's indie cred makes it look bad, I don't think Yakuza can lose but the range is pretty big.

transience's prediction: Yakuza 0 with 65.31%

____________________________________________________________________________

Leonharts Analysis

Man, what do you even do with this match? We saw two separate Yakuza characters in the 2018 Character Battle, and they both finished near the bottom of the X-Stats. However, The Witness literally got doubled by INSIDE in a GOTY poll. I know nothing about this game at all, but looking it up, its made by the same dude who made Braid, and its apparently inspired by Myst. That made me wonder how Myst would do if it ever made a contest. It was the best-selling PC game of the 90s, but I know this site didnt care about the PC back then. Still, even if you didnt play Myst, you knew what it was. It was a big deal.

Huh? Oh right, this match. Yakuza wins, I guess. By how much, I have no idea.

Leonharts Vote: Yakuza 0

Leonharts Prediction: Yakuza 0 with 62.25%

____________________________________________________________________________

Kleenexs Analysis

Make no mistake - Yakuza is going to be weak. That said, The Witness is going to be weaker. Yakuzas popularity in the west has probably tripled in popularity over the past couple years, from an infinitesimally small number to one thats...slightly higher than that. Yakuza has at least had characters make it into the last character battle. The Witness lost to INSIDE in the only real poll it has ever been in. And we all saw what happened to INSIDE. Yakuza could actually put up a pretty big number, but I wouldnt expect that to mean much in the long run. Its lucky it got thrown in a pretty weak division overall.

Kleenexs Prediction: Yakuza 0 with 70%

____________________________________________________________________________

Guests Analysis Dilated Chemist

This match sounds like it was put together intentionally. I haven't had the chance to play either game but I have heard of them. One is from a franchise that seems to follow in the ways of games like Grand Theft Auto and maybe Shenmue.The other some type of puzzle Myst-ish artsy game. The only puzzle game people care about on this site is Portal but The Witness did get a lot of praise when it came out so I can see it doing OK here. I do remember seeing a badass clip of a Yakuza turn-based RPG, but come to find out it was just an April Fools prank. Maybe one day that'll be a real game. The Rat ---err Witness - gets chopped up and fed to the sharks.

Yakuza 0 wins with 58.88% (Crazy 88s!)

____________________________________________________________________________

Crew Consensus: Yakuza snuffs out The Witness.

---

If Santa can almost break 40% I think Batman can easily do 30%

Goku idk because I don't have a good read on the DBZ fandom of gamefaqs.

---

Seriously, how would Myst do in a contest?

---

bad

---

I don't think people like Myst

but Witness is really nothing like Myst

---

transience posted...

I don't think people like Myst

but Witness is really nothing like Myst

Hey man I'm just telling you what I read from a Wikipedia blurb!

I do my research for these writeups

---

Probably like a slightly stronger Oregon Trail minus the meme appeal.

---

Guests Analysis Nintendogs

Dark Souls has been considered one of the most influential games of last decade, well known for its engaging combat as well as very high difficulty, in a time where games have been considerably much easier thanks to tutorials and mechanics to keep you alive for a long time. The influence is so strong to the point where companies have marketed their games as the "Dark Souls" of a genre as a way to grab attention from buyers. My only experience with the game is getting crushed by the first boss in the game, but I can see why it's become such a critical and commercial success.

Hotline Miami on the other hand, while also well-received, is simply a "happy to be here" indie title that might've had a chance to win a match if it were placed at a good spot in the bracket. Alas, it's facing Dark Souls, considered the favorite to win its division. But maybe it could put up a percentage to show that its not total turbofodder. Or not.

Prediction: Dark Souls at 79.44%

---

Round 1 Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain vs. Dead Cells

Moltars Analysis

MGSV is going to eventually disappoint, but it has such a layup path that it should look good for a while. Its first match is against an indie game, which actually didnt look terrible in its GotY polls. Still, MGS is way too popular to blow it against one of those.

Moltars Bracket: Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

Moltars Prediction: Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain 67%

____________________________________________________________________________

transiences Analysis

MGS5 bombed in 2015 relative to expectations but thankfully got a pretty easy road to round 3 and a rematch with Dark Souls. Phantom Pain has great gameplay but this game proves that people don't come to Metal Gear for gameplay. They come for crazy Solid Snake/Big Boss/Kojima madness and MGS5 largely does away with all of that in place of a great open world game. Modern gameplay mechanics aren't a replacement for good atmosphere and storytelling and so this is a bit of a bomb with us.

It won't matter against Dead Cells, a run-based Metroidvania that's pretty hard and not really our thing. It's really highly respected in the right circles and is an example of Steam early access success in the 2d space. But.. that's not really what we want. We like Symphony of the Night but we like it because it's got a great feel and sense of place, not because the dash and dodge mechanics are tight as hell. MGS5 probably can't blow it out like other weak indies just because MGS5 left a bad taste in a lot of people's mouths but it won't have any actual trouble with Dead Cells. I don't think it gets embarrassed quite like KH3 or Sonic Mania.

transience's prediction: Metal Gear Solid 5 with 73.01%

____________________________________________________________________________

Leonharts Analysis

I appreciate the joke Allen made here by pairing Dead Cells with a Metal Gear Solid game. I assume he did it on purpose anyway! Anyway, Metal Gear Solid V was widely viewed as a disappointment, although it still has its ardent fans who defend the quality of the gameplay despite the fact that the story was blatantly unfinished. Its so weird to see it being given one of the weakest fourpacks in the contest where it wound up being the favorite to advance, but here we are.

Can Dead Cells be the next indie game to score a big upset? Its so hard to tell when its going to strike! Its apparently a roguelike Metroidvania that was inspired by the Binding of Isaac, the last indie game we thought was going to beat the mainstream game but flopped. The game apparently sold really well on the Switch in particular, and it did quite well in the indies poll a couple years ago, finishing a close second to Celeste. Has MGSV deteriorated even more in the last five years since the last time we saw it in a contest? Its very possible since it might now be viewed as the game that killed the series. I still think the Metal Gear name is enough to get it through, but I wont be surprised if Dead Cells pulls it off.

Leonharts Vote: Metal Gear Solid V

Leonharts Prediction: Metal Gear Solid V with 55.55%
____________________________________________________________________________

Kleenexs Analysis

Weve already seen MGSV in action in a few contest matches, and theres only so far attaching yourself to a popular series can take you. I dont think MGSV is all that well regarded after the fact, and its definitely losing to Dark Souls (again). But how will it fare against Dead Souls...er...Cells? I think Dead Cells is on the higher rung of indie games in the bracket. People like that game, and it was pretty popular for a while during the summer it came out. The game also just had some DLC come out not too long ago, which might help things. I dont think its capable of beating MGSV, but I definitely think it can do a good job of embarrassing it. This almost sort of feels like a Dragon Age/Ori situation, but MGSV probably hasnt rubbed people the wrong way as much as Bioware has, so itll probably be fine. Probably.

Kleenexs Prediction: Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain with 57.50%

____________________________________________________________________________

Guests Analysis MetalmindStats

This match in a series of contrasting bullet points:

• The big question here is about Metal Gear Solid Vs strength; the game scored 26% on Link to the Past through Dark Souls in 2015, which is respectable by GotD II standards.
• However, that was during its brief honeymoon phase, and MGSV has become wildly divisive since then. From what I gather, its actually a solid sandbox game, but it totally misses the essence of Metal Gear Solid. Combine that with the whole Kojima/Konami drama, and I anticipate MGSV having turned into an antivote magnet and dropping off hard.
• Then again, Fallout 4 and its 71.5% on VVVVVV does provide some light at the end of the tunnel for antivote-susceptible games against mid-level indies. Perhaps Metal Gear Solid V will prove more analogous to Fallout 4 than to Dragon Age: Inquisition or Final Fantasy XV.
• On the other hand, a Fallout 4 comparison does not look good for Metal Gear Solid V - the former bested the latter on all platforms in 2015 GotY voting, even for the PS4, which is MGSs primary platform versus Fallouts tertiary platform. Also, Fallout 4 at least stayed true to its predecessors, and so should have less backlash than MGSV right now.
• Opponents also matter in these types of matches. Dead Cells is a rather new roguelite, whereas VVVVVV was a player in the indie boom, and the latters funny title might have swayed some apathy votes.
• That being said, Dead Cells is also a Metroidvania, and voters have grown to appreciate that genre in particular, as evidenced by the last few contests. On top of that, Dead Cells almost beat Celeste in the indie poll of 2018 GotY voting, and Celeste has a certain prestige and particularly fanbase thats never really been there for VVVVVV.

I tried to make those bullet points balanced, but I think its become obvious which way Im leaning here. Metal Gear Solid V should win alright, but not exactly with a bullet - more in a fashion befitting its subtitle.

Prediction: Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain wins with 55.58%

____________________________________________________________________________

Crew Consensus: Snake yells at Dead Cells

---
<cite>Master Moltar posted [p:936963774] in Game of th... [t:78534198]...</cite> <quote>Round 1 Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain vs. Dead Cells Moltars Analysis MGSV is going to eventually disappoint, but it has such a layup path that it should look good for a while. Its first match is against an indie game, which actually didnt look terrible in its GotY polls. Still, MGS is way too popular to blow it against one of those. Moltars Bracket: Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain Moltars Prediction: Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain 67% ____________________________________________________________________________ transiences Analysis MGS5 bombed in 2015 relative to expectations but thankfully got a pretty easy road to round 3 and a rematch with Dark Souls. Phantom Pain has great gameplay but this game proves that people don't come to Metal Gear for gameplay. They come for crazy Solid Snake/Big Boss/Kojima madness and MGS5 largely does away with all of that in place of a great open world game. Modern gameplay mechanics aren't a replacement for good atmosphere and storytelling and so this is a bit of a bomb with us. It won't matter against Dead Cells, a run-based Metroidvania that's pretty hard and not really our thing. It's really highly respected in the right circles and is an example of Steam early access success in the 2d space. But.. that's not really what we want. We like Symphony of the Night but we like it because it's got a great feel and sense of place, not because the dash and dodge mechanics are tight as hell. MGS5 probably can't blow it out like other weak indies just because MGS5 left a bad taste in a lot of people's mouths but it won't have any actual trouble with Dead Cells. I don't think it gets embarrassed quite like KH3 or Sonic Mania. transience's prediction: Metal Gear Solid 5 with 73.01% ____________________________________________________________________________ Leonharts Analysis I appreciate the joke Allen made here by pairing Dead Cells with a Metal Gear Solid game. I assume he did it on purpose anyway! Anyway, Metal Gear Solid V was widely viewed as a disappointment, although it still has its ardent fans who defend the quality of the gameplay despite the fact that the story was blatantly unfinished. Its so weird to see it being given one of the weakest fourpacks in the contest where it wound up being the favorite to advance, but here we are. Can Dead Cells be the next indie game to score a big upset? Its so hard to tell when its going to strike! Its apparently a roguelike Metroidvania that was inspired by the Binding of Isaac, the last indie game we thought was going to beat the mainstream game but flopped. The game apparently sold really well on the Switch in particular, and it did quite well in the indies poll a couple years ago, finishing a close second to Celeste. Has MGSV deteriorated even more in the last five years since the last time we saw it in a contest? Its very possible since it might now be viewed as the game that killed the series. I still think the Metal Gear name is enough to get it through, but I wont be surprised if Dead Cells pulls it off. Leonharts Vote: Metal Gear Solid V Leonharts Prediction: Metal Gear Solid V with 55.55% ____________________________________________________________________________ Kleenexs Analysis Weve already seen MGSV in action in a few contest matches, and theres only so far attaching yourself to a popular series can take you. I dont think MGSV is all that well regarded after the fact, and its definitely losing to Dark Souls (again). But how will it fare against Dead Souls...er...Cells? I think Dead Cells is on the higher rung of indie games in the bracket. People like that game, and it was pretty popular for a while during the summer it came out. The game also just had some DLC come out not too long ago, which might help things. I dont think its capable of beating MGSV, but I definitely think it can do a good job of embarrassing it. This almost sort of feels like a Dragon Age/Ori situation, but MGSV probably hasnt rubbed people the wrong way as much as Bioware has, so itll probably be fine. Probably. Kleenexs Prediction: Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain with 57.50% ____________________________________________________________________________ Guests Analysis MetalmindStats This match in a series of contrasting bullet points: The big question here is about Metal Gear Solid Vs strength; the game scored 26% on Link to the Past through Dark Souls in 2015, which is respectable by GotD II standards.However, that was during its brief honeymoon phase, and MGSV has become wildly divisive since then. From what I gather, its actually a solid sandbox game, but it totally misses the essence of Metal Gear Solid. Combine that with the whole Kojima/Konami drama, and I anticipate MGSV having turned into an antivote magnet and dropping off hard.Then again, Fallout 4 and its 71.5% on VVVVVV does provide some light at the end of the tunnel for antivote-susceptible games against mid-level indies. Perhaps Metal Gear Solid V will prove more analogous to Fallout 4 than to Dragon Age: Inquisition or Final Fantasy XV.On the other hand, a Fallout 4 comparison does not look good for Metal Gear Solid V - the former bested the latter on all platforms in 2015 GotY voting, even for the PS4, which is MGSs primary platform versus Fallouts tertiary platform. Also, Fallout 4 at least stayed true to its predecessors, and so should have less backlash than MGSV right now.Opponents also matter in these types of matches. Dead Cells is a rather new roguelite, whereas VVVVVV was a player in the indie boom, and the latters funny title might have swayed some apathy votes.That being said, Dead Cells is also a Metroidvania, and voters have grown to appreciate that genre in particular, as evidenced by the last few contests. On top of that, Dead Cells almost beat Celeste in the indie poll of 2018 GotY voting, and Celeste has a certain prestige and particularly fanbase thats never really been there for VVVVVV.I tried to make those bullet points balanced, but I think its become obvious which way Im leaning here. Metal Gear Solid V should win alright, but not exactly with a bullet - more in a fashion befitting its subtitle. Prediction: Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain wins with 55.58% ____________________________________________________________________________ Crew Consensus: Snake yells at Dead Cells </quote>

The burden of proof is on roguelikes to show that they are not turd in this site.

I don't know how to predict these matches

Round 2 can't get here fast enough

---

On the other hand, it seems Metroidvanias are the killer genre for indies here.

So Dead Cells has both the best and the worst genre in the indie hierarchy.

If Dead Cells is almost as strong as Celeste, a blowout here would mean bad things for Celeste, right?
---

wow how did I miss the dead Cell mgs joke here

time to turn in my crew card

---

Ill be shocked if Dead Cells can get to 40% against a well known series. KH3 is facing a similar thing today and still got the doubling.

---

Mac Arrowny posted...

If Dead Cells is almost as strong as Celeste, a blowout here would mean bad things for Celeste, right?

I'd take MGSV to beat Rayman, too.

transcience posted...

Ill be shocked if Dead Cells can get to 40% against a well known series. KH3 is facing a similar thing today and still got the doubling.

I think Dead Cells has more traction than Disco Elysium right now.

---

Haha, I more meant that for the people who're calling for a tripling.

Leonhart4 posted...

I think Dead Cells has more traction than Disco Elysium right now.

I wonder if KH3 vs. MGS5 would be close at all?
---