site banner
PaperclipPerfector  3d ago (text post)   1325 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for November 21, 2025

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

1
Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

Requesting help to decide how to spend the next 100 hours of my video game time. I just want a game that makes me feel something (anything, really: wonder at visual spectacle, curiosity for the world, some sort of emotional engagement with story or characters, satisfying movement mechanics, etc.). Preferably would like a game not requiring sweaty gamer skills, since I don't have the patience to replay a boss 20 times to move on. Current backlog leaders in no particular order: Elden Ring, Cyberpunk 2077, Metaphor Refantazio, Clair Obscur, Mass Effect Trilogy, Death Stranding 1&2, Spider-Man 1&2. Open to other suggestions as well.

I vote for Mass Effect and Clair Obscur, both outstanding games.

I loved the originality of Death Stranding but hated the gameplay loop.

Hated the controls of Metaphor Refantazio so much I refused to play it.

CP2077 consistently fails to grip me. Now that I'm done with my first EU5 campaign maybe I'll give it a go after Dispatch.

I loved the originality of Death Stranding but hated the gameplay loop.

Hated the controls of Metaphor Refantazio so much I refused to play it.

You should include a disclaimer that you played with mouse and keyboard rather than with controller, so your experience may be highly unreflective of others'.

Well, I have always assumed most PC gamers play with KB&M.

According to Steam's statistics, the proportion of PC gamers who use controllers varies widely based on the genre of game that is being played.

  • Overall: 10 percent

  • Real-time strategy games: Less than 1 percent

  • First-person shooter games: 7 to 8 percent

  • Third-person adventure games: 40 to 50 percent

  • Sports and fighting games: More than 70 percent

  • Racing and skating games: More than 90 percent

Those numbers are from year 2021. As of 2024, the "overall" figure has increased from 10 percent to 15 percent, but Steam has not seen fit to provide per-genre numbers again.

I personally played Death Stranding 1 with a controller. And I have seen several 4chan threads laughing at people who try to play action RPGs like Dark Souls and Nioh with mouse and keyboard, fail, and leave bad reviews on that basis.

I actually like the left part of the gamepad with its thumbstick. It's the right part that I hate. I have five fingers, and you expect me to press four buttons with my thumb, including buttons like jump/dodge and attack that I might want to press in very rapid succession?

It depends on the game. Yes, in Gundam Battle Operation 2 or Nioh you will need to have a very quick right thumb in order to switch between weapons/stances and to dodge enemy attacks. But IIRC Death Stranding is significantly more slow-paced, even during its (rather annoying) boss fights—it puts the action into slow motion while you have the weapon-select menu open, and its combat does not involve split-second dodge-rolling. And Metaphor Refantazio obviously is not an action game at all.

Also: Nowadays, some controllers have two or four extra buttons on the back. These can receive custom remappings in order to duplicate face-button functions, shifting load from the player's right thumb to his middle fingers (and his brain, to remember which back buttons have been remapped to which face buttons, since the game will still give face-button prompts).

What is this place?

This website is a place for people who want to move past shady thinking and test their ideas in a court of people who don't all share the same biases. Our goal is to optimize for light, not heat; this is a group effort, and all commentators are asked to do their part.

The weekly Culture War threads host the most controversial topics and are the most visible aspect of The Motte. However, many other topics are appropriate here. We encourage people to post anything related to science, politics, or philosophy; if in doubt, post!

Check out The Vault for an archive of old quality posts. You are encouraged to crosspost these elsewhere.


Why are you called The Motte?

A motte is a stone keep on a raised earthwork common in early medieval fortifications. More pertinently, it's an element in a rhetorical move called a "Motte-and-Bailey", originally identified by philosopher Nicholas Shackel. It describes the tendency in discourse for people to move from a controversial but high value claim to a defensible but less exciting one upon any resistance to the former. He likens this to the medieval fortification, where a desirable land (the bailey) is abandoned when in danger for the more easily defended motte. In Shackel's words, "The Motte represents the defensible but undesired propositions to which one retreats when hard pressed."

On The Motte, always attempt to remain inside your defensible territory, even if you are not being pressed.


New post guidelines

If you're posting something that isn't related to the culture war, we encourage you to post a thread for it. A submission statement is highly appreciated, but isn't necessary for text posts or links to largely-text posts such as blogs or news articles; if we're unsure of the value of your post, we might remove it until you add a submission statement. A submission statement is required for non-text sources (videos, podcasts, images).

Culture war posts go in the culture war thread; all links must either include a submission statement or significant commentary. Bare links without those will be removed.

If in doubt, please post it!


Rules


Recommended Posts And Communities

Recommended Realtime Chats