AnCapSqrl

Assuming this is a criticism of the "yellow paint" complaint, while technically correct, it's missing context. Super Mario 64 (as well as Ocarina of Time) did indeed have "yellow paint", but those games were made during a time where the medium was making a major shift, and thus devs couldn't be certain how gamers, who were mostly kids at the time, would respond. Going from 2D to 3D, you're not gonna instinctively know what all is possible and what things to try out, especially if you're a kid. Not saying the paint was absolutely necessary, nor that gamers at the time would never have figured things out without the paint, but it was more reasonable back then to doubt their abilities. The point is, the paint was still for people who wanted to play the game and face a challenge. Modern gaming has long since navigated away from being mostly for kids, and has been in a 3D space for so long that immersion breaking railroading is an insult today, meant for those who just want to move from dopamine hit to dopamine hit with minimum challenge, if any. Also, following the yellow paint in Mario 64 isn't the only criteria to getting to the goal of the level; it's more of a suggestion or informing of a possibility than a straight up direction necessary to proceed. Also also, something bad is more forgivable and even outright ignorable if done in a small enough dose. Also also also, mistakes/bad decisions made earlier in a medium's lifetime are more excusable than when they're made later.