So today I am sad because, last night, I realise why people might rate Remnant 2 a 7/10 or even lower, and why --- despite the replayability, superb game systems, graphics etc -- was I a reviewer, I might have done the same. It's something which is heavily hinted at in the tutorial and, though I missed it, even more strongly hinted at in the various bits of gameplay I have seen - that, like in No Man's Sky, Remnant's ultimate conceit is that the Universe is a computer simulation. I cannot get over how much I hate this idea. It's transformed the game from one saving a universe, to a game about resetting a video game. Nothing in the game world is meant to be real, nothing counts, it's a game about a buggy illusion, soulless computer models interacting, nothing momentous happens, nobody had hopes and fears, they were just simulated to appear as if hey did - ultimately an empty experience … and that makes me sad.

All that weird tech in the worlds you visited, the magic, the mystery, freakin' spirit planes, alternative realities - all the wonder you felt about the crazy Remnant multiverse, how it fits together, what laws operate in these places, all that is gone. It's just a simulation - everything explained, wonder not required.

That's it really, but just to anticipate some responses to my reaction:

"I hate to break it to you but you're just saving computer game characters in every game you've played" - come on mate, that's not the same thing. In the game world the characters have been real, in remnant they're not. Half of one's investment in any game is treating what happens as if it counts, that you're doing something of import and that's why it's worth trying. Worth spending hours going up against mighty bosses, hordes of mobs etc.

"but Elon said the chances of us not being in a simulation are billions to one ..." Elon says a lot of things, I get the feeling he also takes a lot of cocaine before he says some of those things. That doesn't make them true or accurate or that a story based on his premise would be any good: that we're a simulation nested inside billions of other simulations, which would be the obvious extrapolation from what he said. If the chances of us not being in a simulation are billions to 1, it would hold for the world in which our simulation is running and the world in which that simulation is running and so on... billions of them, each simulation adding another layer of unreality, removing us yet further from anything that really matters.

"but there are scientific papers …" no, there are not scientific papers about the universe being a simulation, there are scientific papers about a holographic universe, which is a different thing entirely. These are papers in which they attempt to show proofs that it's possible that the universe is a 2 dimensional surface, e.g. that the entire universe is in the event horizon of something like a black hole, and is not the 3 dimensional space we perceive it to be.

"but hey, the kids like games, the universe is a game, it's a really cool idea, computers and shizzle. " - it's only cool until you think about it.

Anyhoo, don't worry about me. I will probably get over it and be back to playing the game in a day or two, but I can easily understand why some reviewers went cold on it, despite it's many impressive attributes.

At the end of the game a shimmering figure that comes up to the console, and resets the universe. That's Glarbol, a low level IT operative who works a 23 narvok shift for Smellzor and his only jubal was to watch the simulon to see what was causing the resoks...

But he was out grabbing a covak and having a shazlock when it happened, and now he's probably going to lose his bonus and his younglons may not get the latest mezko. Heck, he may even get a reprimand from Bosulak. Silly old Glarbol!

That's the gravity of the story behind Remnant 2. If you can get past it, you'll love this game.

Because otherwise, it is amazing.

So today I am sad because, last night, I realise why people might rate Remnant 2 a 7/10 or even lower, and why --- despite the replayability, superb game systems, graphics etc -- was I a reviewer, I might have done the same. It's something which is heavily hinted at in the tutorial and, though I missed it, even more strongly hinted at in the various bits of gameplay I have seen - [spoiler]that, like in No Man's Sky, Remnant's ultimate conceit is that the Universe is a computer simulation. I cannot get over how much I hate this idea. It's transformed the game from one saving a universe, to a game about resetting a video game. Nothing in the game world is meant to be real, nothing counts, it's a game about a buggy illusion, soulless computer models interacting, nothing momentous happens, nobody had hopes and fears, they were just simulated to appear as if hey did - ultimately an empty experience … and that makes me sad. All that weird tech in the worlds you visited, the magic, the mystery, freakin' spirit planes, alternative realities - all the wonder you felt about the crazy Remnant multiverse, how it fits together, what laws operate in these places, all that is gone. It's just a simulation - everything explained, wonder not required. That's it really, but just to anticipate some responses to my reaction: "I hate to break it to you but you're just saving computer game characters in every game you've played" - come on mate, that's not the same thing. In the game world the characters have been real, in remnant they're not. Half of one's investment in any game is treating what happens as if it counts, that you're doing something of import and that's why it's worth trying. Worth spending hours going up against mighty bosses, hordes of mobs etc. "but Elon said the chances of us not being in a simulation are billions to one ..." Elon says a lot of things, I get the feeling he also takes a lot of cocaine before he says some of those things. That doesn't make them true or accurate or that a story based on his premise would be any good: that we're a simulation nested inside billions of other simulations, which would be the obvious extrapolation from what he said. If the chances of us not being in a simulation are billions to 1, it would hold for the world in which our simulation is running and the world in which that simulation is running and so on... billions of them, each simulation adding another layer of unreality, removing us yet further from anything that really matters. "but there are scientific papers …" no, there are not scientific papers about the universe being a simulation, there are scientific papers about a holographic universe, which is a different thing entirely. These are papers in which they attempt to show proofs that it's possible that the universe is a 2 dimensional surface, e.g. that the entire universe is in the event horizon of something like a black hole, and is not the 3 dimensional space we perceive it to be. "but hey, the kids like games, the universe is a game, it's a really cool idea, computers and shizzle. " - it's only cool until you think about it. [/spoiler] Anyhoo, don't worry about me. I will probably get over it and be back to playing the game in a day or two, but I can easily understand why some reviewers went cold on it, despite it's many impressive attributes. [spoiler]At the end of the game a shimmering figure that comes up to the console, and resets the universe. That's Glarbol, a low level IT operative who works a 23 narvok shift for Smellzor and his only jubal was to watch the simulon to see what was causing the resoks... But he was out grabbing a covak and having a shazlock when it happened, and now he's probably going to lose his bonus and his younglons may not get the latest mezko. Heck, he may even get a reprimand from Bosulak. Silly old Glarbol![/spoiler] That's the gravity of the story behind Remnant 2. If you can get past it, you'll love this game. Because otherwise, it is amazing.