If (and this is a big if) I was a 6'4" space marine built like a brick shithouse, with a legendary arsenal of futuristic weaponry on my back and enough weapons-grade testosterone coursing through my veins to bench-press a cruise liner, I wouldn't let anything come between me and my objective. Unless, of course, there was like a branch flopped in my path. Or a waist high pile of debris blocking an alleyway. Or a door that's been locked from the other side. That would probably put a stopper in things.
Even if I weren't a hulking soldier boi, I still think I'd be able to hoist my feeble frame over a small wall, hop over a branch or y'know, knacker open a door that was stopping my progress rather than spending a couple of hours searching for a way around or for a very specific key that gets me to the other side.
While we're on the subject of doors, a series well known for being utterly littered with cryptic keyholes is Resident Evil. And wouldn't you know it, Resident Evil Village has just released, and we've got a review right here for you to enjoy:
Before you go thinking that I'm a complete idiot who's just having a moan (though you're correct on both fronts) - I get it. I get why developers use these path-blocking devices (that's the official technical term) in video games. They help disguise inaccessible areas that would otherwise make painstakingly crafted environments look weird, or they help eke out gameplay to stop hulking soldier bois from rattling through the level at a speed of knots. But, in this age of bleeding-edge technological advancements, can we not think of something a little... I dunno, better? Less mundane?
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A lot of gamers like to talk about 'immersion breaking' when they're deeply invested in a hot-off-the-presses title, and for my money, having something so trivial as a locked door stop our hero, who's likely armed to the teeth and seething with rage, is downright ridiculous. Occasionally you might happen upon a door that's sealed itself magically, and I don't mind that at all, if it fits within the context of the game universe. But in a post-apocalyptic world, you cannot tell me that our survivor couldn't introduce a flimsy wooden door to their size 10s or the big iron on their hip, rather than just shrugging their shoulders and bimbling off to the next zombie-infested house?
Anyway, I'm off to the locksmith - I lost the key to the shed and I can't be arsed descending the nine circles of hell to get it back.
Featured Image Credit: Bethesda/CapcomTopics: Feature