I don’t try to criticize people for pirating games. They’re expensive and a lot are greedy.
What I do tell people though is support good games.
If you end up playing a pirated game you really enjoy, you should try to support it if you can, even if it’s from one of the bigger publishers. It’s basically our only way to truly tell a publisher that we like something and to keep making it.
Not counting un reasonably priced re-releases though. I totally get that (looking at you Nintendo for Galaxy 1+2)
I tried CP2077 (post fixes) and No Man’s Sky pirated. Within 3 days I bought the retail versions because I loved them. Played a LOT of shitty pirated games since, usually no more than 2-3 hours. Steam wouldn’t refund me for that amount of time, so I figured this was fair.
I’m planning on yo-ho’ing CP2077, but no way an I paying even if I enjoy it. CDPR has fucked me over enough with The Witcher trilogy that they owe me a free game to make up for the time and money wasted.
After that, I might be willing to give them money again for something else, but I’m not paying for Cyberpunk
May have been suggested already but Arc the Lad: Twilight of the spirits
It’s an interesting story who’s main overarching theme is messy families. The protagonists family gets separated very early at their birth, fathers lose their families and vice versa.
The hell does "piracy against big companies" even mean?
Man, pirate what you can't afford if you must, just... you know, be honest about it. I'm always annoyed by people doing the thing they wanted to do anyway and presenting it as activism. That's not how that works.
For the record, while I think there's plenty to be critical about in modern gaming, "DLC", "game has a launcher" and "game is ported from other platforms" are not that. "A game I played on the PS3 was too expensive when I wanted to rebuy it" is somebody giving you bad value up front, not some ideological stance you're taking.
For the record, I also didn't buy it because I also didn't think their launch price was right. In fairness, it has since been on sale for 30 bucks multiple times, which is a lot more reasonable.
And again, I'm not saying don't pirate it. Do what you want. Just don't be weird about it.
It's a "me" problem in that "I" think the indies vs AAA lines are increasingly inconsistent and nonsensical. "I" also find the concept of "pirating against" to be extremely disingenuous, which is why there is a whole post explaining that after the line you quoted.
If you want a wacky, unique rhythm game: Gitaroo Man
For the PS2 entry into one of the best shoot em up series of all time: Gradius V
For a fun, anime themed, voice acted tactical RPG that you can just literally play forever because it seemingly invented the “looping, start over but with better base stats” mechanic that idle games use these days: Disgaea
(As a bonus, the original PS2 version of Disgaea has a different voice for one of the characters than it does in other releases because they lost the rights or some thing like that, so you get to experience it in a slightly different manner than most other people.)
God Hand is probably the most underrated game on the platform. Dont let the visuals or the crass humor turn you off. It’s made by Clover (the same devs behind Okami and Viewtiful Joe) and is mechanically deep to an absurd degree. Easily the best beat-em-up on the console.
I’m a big fan of the R-Type series, and R-Type Final plays very well on the Deck.
Also:
Katamari Damacy - Really weird concept for a surprisingly fun game. Roll up the world!
Devil May Cry - The high-speed brawler that launched a genre.
Tales of the Abyss - A good RPG with likeable characters and some great twists.
Bunch of good Shmups on the PS2, Gradius V, gradius 3 and 4. Darius gaiden and G darius are on a taito collection. Bunch of cave stuff, the Dodonpachi DOJ port is good. Bit psyiko stuff too I think it has Dragon blaze.
If you’ve never played the genre before, I’d throw dynasty warriors at you. Pick whichever was the highest number available, because quality of life improved so much for each one. It’s an endless sea of mooks that you smash through until you come up against the wall that is… LU BU!!!
Sometimes day to day life sucks, we need to escape into games we like and look past all the privacy and annoying bullshit. But when nearly all games are this way, easy to step back and go “wait a minute…”
When (not if) enshittification takes over, I’ll pirate their shit.
You can't blatantly assume all games are like what AAA is. Indie development is the beacon that says that games can still be made simple, without all of the corporate fluff and shit jammed into it.
I truly hate to even consider this, but indie games have already started to turn, and will start to go more towards the same issues.
What valve did for gaming and capitalism in 2004, they need to undo or come up with a new solution or something, or maybe somebody else. I’m not sure if communism or anarchy or a new capitalism or a creative solution that fixes everything and makes everybody happy and is ethically sound and sustainable. But the amount of AI slop and desperation that current capitalism is fucking everybody with is only going to get worse.
The “indie games are our salvation, our guiding light” was ten years ago, and AI is here to stay, for whatever effects and changes it brings, because it’s affecting literally all aspects of our lives because we live in a capitalistic society where tech and information is utilized by and affects the entire planet and every single human being, plant, and animal.
bin.pol.social
Aktywne