Bugs and glitches are to be expected in gaming experiences. Afterall, there is quite a bit that is subject to go awry when developing a game. However, some glitching can absolutely ruin gameplay for some players, being much more than a minor incovienence.
I personally like big cinematic games. I prefer gaming experiences that have a well developed narrative and visual concept. Bugs can be absolutely game-breaking in games like these, and in some cases completely turn gamers off from playing them because bugs make it very difficult for gamers to invest themselves emotionally in such glitchy games.
Games that are so dependent on story and visuals, should not have glitches that completely disengage the player.
Here is a list of some of the glitches that I’ve been experiencing in recent games.
The Game of Thrones by Telltale
Telltale’s most recent episodic games hinge on user choices to shape the world around the player character. Thus, it is truly awful when in between episodes, the game fails to import the decisions the player made in a previous episode. I experienced this particular glitch while playing Game of Thrones episode 4. The game failed to import my choices correctly, and this drastically altered my storyline. Some players have had success simply closing out and restarting the game, however I was not one of these lucky people. After restarting my game 5 separate times, I decided to give up on it and just play this new completely different storyline.
In an interactive, narrative-based game, its selling point is giving players the ability to make choices. When the game fails to import the players choices correctly, it distances the player from the storyline. This is a really big problem that Telltale has yet to address in Game of Thrones.
Life is Strange by Dontnod
While I can sing praises about Life is Strange all day, it is however, no stranger to glitches. Many of the games bugs seem to be sparked when the player attempts to reverse time, which is a main part of gameplay. Some users have complained about objects suspended in animation and characters disappearing from view. One particularly bad glitch occurs in both episode 2 and 3. In certain scenes, when the player attempts to reverse time, time will just stop. Every character, except for Max will be completely frozen, and the player can wander around the frozen scene as Max, completely unable to interact with anyone. The only way to fix the issue is to restart from a previous save point, and play the scene over again.
This became particularly frustrating for me, as I had to restart the game many times and watch the same scenes repeatedly before the the bug corrected. Glitches like this take you out of the experience, and make playing much less enjoyable.
Ori and the Blind Forest by Moon Studios
Ori and the Blind Forest is a platformer in which your character Ori must travel all sorts of different terrain. In the game you must pass through different bodies of water. Once Ori was in the water a glitch occurred that made the player unable to get Ori to jump out of the water.
This ruins any further progress for players, including myself. Sadly players had to wait a full month for a game patch so that we could continue playing this otherwise beautiful game.
Bloodborne by From Software
Bloodborne has had a series of glitches spotted by players which is no surprise for such a massive game. Bloodborne is a truly challenging game, that gamers often like to make even more difficult. Players discovered a camera glitch that causes the camera to go into a top down view of the game. This glitch would also sometimes mirror the controls of the game, but not surprisingly many players were up to the challenge. This is not an unfixable gltich mind you, if you die or restart the game, the camera should correct itself.
While some gamers think this glitch would make an excellent mod, I found this a bit irritating when it happened to me. I have trouble with my depth perception, and top down view is not ideal for someone with troubled eyes like myself. I had to get into the habit of dying every time I started the game.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt by CD Projekt RED
Some players have found a glitch in The Witcher 3 that prevents them from gaining experience. Not all players are effected by this bug, but it’s a problem for those who do.
I sure hope the next Witcher 3 update comes out soon! I have the XP glitch after 180 hours into the game!
— Techno Fabulous (@john_place) June 2, 2015
I am very pleased that the 1.05 update patch should be released in the next couple of days, and that the patch will correct this glitch as well as a number of other issues players, like myself have been experiencing.
What game-breaking glitches have you been experiencing? Let us know down in the comments.
