I assume it’s in part a consequence of Blow’s newer self-definition as a game-programming iron man: after all the work on the custom engine you probably feel the need to get as much mileage as you can out of it. But as others have said https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50115215 , presumably they could have applied some razzle-dazzle like staged releases in “seasons” to make the large amount of content feel more like ongoing fun than a huge homework assignment.

Another poster here said the first thirty hours were great, but after 40 it started feeling repetitive.

If you change your perspective from “I’m not gonna spend 500 hours on this” to “30 hours of great gameplay for 30 bucks” maybe it isn’t so bad.

Long and complex games are good if you can choose how much of them you want to play. Crimson Desert is the most extreme version, but Skyrim and Elden Ring are better examples because you can do a couple boss fights and get straight to the end without exploits skipping most of the story.

Haven't played this one so I don't know if it's like that too. If it forces you to get through the whole 500 hours then it's really bad.

I didn’t either until i started playing but its length and size isn’t just for the sake of it. It’s that size because it’s that complex. It’s like The Witness dialed up to 11

Short games can be the best experiences. There are a lot of horror titles that barely crack 1 hour and still feel worth the purchase.

There is also an argument that this is why PvP multiplayer is so compelling. The game is adaptive in its complexity, and every round of play is a relatively brief, self-contained experience not quite like the others. If you are going for bang-for-buck, it's really hard to beat the emergent properties of a MOBA, BR or RTS.

I think those who reject multiplayer games on principle are missing the forest for the dead tree. There is an incredible amount of upside if you can tolerate the occasional bad mood. The dream is when the entire team comes together without any explicit communication and executes perfectly. Nothing beats that sensation. Especially when you can tell that the enemy team is also executing well. I have to seek it out in video games because I can't find it in a real business anymore. Games like League of Legends and CS2 are eternal experiences. I fired up LoL classic the other day and I could easily see myself putting another 5k hours into lux. WoW forever is also looking compelling with its PvP ruleset and unified realm architecture.

Haven't played it yet, but from what I know my impression was that this game was as much a test bed for his new programming language as it is an artistic expression. I wouldn't be surprised if some puzzles made it in because they were a good test of some novel comp time feature (i.e. the real puzzle game was making the language, not playing the game).

And I bought it day one without reading reviews. Whether or not the game is good, personally I'm happy to support someone who's completely self-funded working on PL design. Not that many people are in position to do that kind of work, and even fewer with a documented history of finishing things.

I sort of feel the same. I also don't understand why - it seems quite natural to make it smaller and cool and they for example release new level packs, maybe free even (or for a small price). I've also never understood why he didn't make a sequel for Braid. Such a cool game. You're not milking it if you make a sequel it deserves.

I played the demo and it blew my mind how cool the puzzles felt. I'll definitely get the full game later, though I doubt I'll invest 500 hours into it.

I'm with you on this boat, but I believe I see the point in the way it's marketed. An average person who makes regular game purchases likes long games. They want value for their money, and the number of hours is a big factor. This game has a big piblisher behind it, and I believe they know exactly what they're doing with the marketing!

Well... it's more about how many interesting permutations there are, not really just about length or quantity for the sake of big numbers. In other words: it's not about "look how many puzzles there are" it's "look how many INTERESTING puzzles there are"... which may seem like a small distinction, but when the claim of the puzzles being "interesting" is true, and being said in a genuine non-marketing way, it means a lot.

> a big step backwards compared to Braid and The Witness

It was already there in the Witness. One secret challenge involves you watching a movie and slowly tracing a light for 56min straight.