I remember an incident in Red Orchestra where we were on a tank map. A teammate hopped in a tank. So, I did too. He jumped out of the tank and into another; so I joined. He jumped out and started shooting at me, basically insisting I get my own tank. Apparently, his level of tactical sense and reflexes in a tank vastly outweighed the value of having a second player in the gunner’s seat; even though the game was realistically meant to depict tank crews cooperating.
It’s unfortunately a case of developers being required to stay “on mute” because of their inherent power - much like being rich, male, and white.
I play a lot of Dead by Daylight, and many friendly content creators will offhandedly say comments like “If you can’t outrun a Hag who’s not using her traps on Garden of Joy, you should probably uninstall.” It’s an exaggerated sentiment, definitely in a mean spirit; but unfortunately that brand of sarcasm won’t work with everyone, and in the case of most people, they could react with “Well, fine, I don’t care about YOU - surely the developers agree with me.” But people feel MUCH more powerless when developers speak, even if it’s for a topic the community has consensus on. Even Dead by Daylight had its period of outcry when the developers effectively stated through changes “Camping survivors that are downed is not fun and we’d like to discourage it.”
OneShot is very much based on its story and immersion. Contrary to the title’s implication, there’s not so much potential for risk during play, even if it’s themed that way, but it does feel like any efforts to repeat the game would ruin some of the immersive thoughts present.
If you go by standard inflation, games purchased in 1998 would now cost over $100. And, given reduced visuals, those games needed much fewer people to finish.
Selling games for $100 is one idea, and some publishers have even shifted that way. But, that’s not so fair for low income gamers (especially since even since 1998, the minimum wage hasn’t really gone up).
The solution they came up with is changing the entry fee, and giving semi-pointless extras on top. What I’ve generally seen is that the things games sell within them are in no way “Half the game’s content”; usually things more like skins and cosmetics. Levels, story, and gameplay items are very commonly accessible to everyone. There are expansion packs, just as there were in 1998, that usually represent significant development efforts, new voice acting, and new levels.
Skins are not “nothing”, so I understand the frustration of having them unavailable, compared to old days when they were unlockable by doing a kickflip between the schools in Tony Hawk or something. But in those old days, games effectively cost $100. Which would you prefer?
That’s definitely a fair opinion - just unfortunate that enough people wouldn’t agree, or wouldn’t be able to afford $100 games, that that will probably never happen.
The other issue is that developers these days keep working on games after their release - often using information gained related to launch reception.
One other thing I think people forget about older games is that they made a lot of sequels. They have the assets for a mid-sized game and a lot of unused ideas, so to put out more content they remix what they have in new ways for a shorter development cycle. That kind of thing now becomes more suitable for an expansion pack; but whichever way it’s sold, the timeline for its release would never have made it to the first game’s production deadline.
That’s actually a very fair point. I don’t play fighting games, but this is a common theme for many multiplayer games now. A lot of developers have worked to make the newer character options “fair”, but even when they work to balance new with old, just having confusing tactical options that some players can’t play as is enough to mess with someone’s strategic skill development.
Have you been spending hours trying to pass a level? Or maybe you are completely addicted to a newly bought game. Do you have a question about a game or would like to share something else? In the Weekly Discussion Thread, you can do it all!...
I’ve been playing Division 2, finding a lot of fun gear that promises skill enhancements to the team on various activations - but it ends up feeling irrelevant when most players you team up with use rush tactics that dump everything into damage, meaning there’s no time to process those.
I really like the feel of action games that punish players for acting too quickly; rewarding more deliberate gameplay (even if the net result isn’t really “hard”). I wonder if Helldivers would meet that, but I didn’t like the first game and it sounds like they have server issues.
I liked the card tactics, but I got very quickly bored of all the story conversations; given the way they seem to be connecting to the most obscure Marvel comic lore and characters. I’m sure it’s amazing to some people, but I could not give less of a shit who the “Original Midnight Suns” were, or even the lore behind my playable character.
Maybe when I return to it I’ll just start skipping any dialog not related to the core story.
My experience in ROR2 was, in the tutorial, I was told “You did it! Now head to the teleporter that takes you to the next level.” I had no idea where it was or what it looked like, and could not consider the question for 10 seconds because the level quickly built up with more and more infinite enemies.
I hate roguelike games in general because that randomization leads to some very, very uncontrolled and uncurated experiences where it throws the worst shit at a new player.
I enjoyed what I played of it, but…ran into a game-breaking bug. Not sure what else to say. They’re probably right that if city builders are best on mouse, you can’t easily enjoy that on Switch.
pretty much the title. i have played most of sierra, lucasarts and telltale catalogues so if you are suggesting one of their games i’ve probably already played it. it doesn’t have to be a copycat, homage or in the same style as these companies’ games either, just that it must satisfy the vague definition of being an...
It’s a big stretch on the definition, but try the Hitman Trilogy. There are tons and tons of solutions to achieve the kills without trying for tricksy, difficult stealth challenges - just by recalling a bunch of hints you’ve seen/heard by wandering around the region, and combining them in fun ways.
Basically, if you see that the target is inside a complex guarded by two armed men, you shouldn’t be trying to flick a coin to see if you can turn a guard just long enough to use your garrot on one, and hide him around a corner, all in 10 seconds. You SHOULD, instead, look for options like:
Find a pizza delivery guy, get him alone, knock him out, take his uniform and pizza, and greet the guards so they let you in
Set off an alarm in a nearby room that causes a guard to go shut it off
Call the target on the phone and tell him you want to meet about his secrets. Then, he leaves the complex himself with one bodyguard to your proposed meeting spot “right underneath the suspended ornamental anchor”.
What’s often misleading about the games is they orient themselves around all this equipment you can bring in, but the best way to explore a lot of levels is with no equipment at all (sometimes not even a pistol). Granted, the game changes in speedruns and other challenges, but it DOES feel like playing a Monkey Island game at times.
If you don’t like the jank of emulation or the risks of going to pirate sites: An Xbox Series S, Game Pass, and a few controllers is an okay replacement. There’s a bunch of Rare games on Game Pass, classic Goldeneye, and they even have stuff like Timesplitters in the store.
I noticed there’s now a Batman Arkham Knight port on Switch. As you might expect, like a lot of other AAA ports, it doesn’t run so well. Seems there’s demand for these games on there, indicating a lot of players only end up with one console. Even if Nintendo can work with their low-power devices, I get the impression third party developers will generally need more to get Unreal Engine going smooth.
I don’t expect it’d even be worth $20 to me, but I can sort of understand the online appeal. Sometimes having a relatively basic game happen in a shared open world, where people can choose to cooperate, adds some fun moments. The Division and Sea of Thieves would be examples of that. Watch Dogs 2 also had some very good times where you might be driving around, and without any “prompts” or loading, have a chance to join a midcity chase with/against another player.
It’s such a tragedy that Xbox controllers are the only major controller not to have any gyro. We could’ve had cross-platform shooters that allow for gyro ironsight aiming, or even allow it on PC (it’s currently a common option on Steam Deck, with some tinkering)
Payday 3 launched for Windows PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X | S in September 2023 but has seemingly struggled to win over players. The title currently has a ‘mixed’ rating on Steam with over 36,000 user reviews, although the vast majority of recent reviews have been ‘mostly negative.’...
If they wanted to focus on live service, I’m surprised they made a trilogy of games. In the meantime a bunch of other devs just kept adding content to the one game their players play.
Not good for Payday’s fans to compete within their trilogy for attention.
I think the process of taking your time and flipping off the marketing managers is a good one; but I’ve also seen signs that if development takes TOO long, the internal creative momentum can kind of grind to a halt or even be overtaken as they become outdated against advances in game design.
The developers are generally gamers too, and the passion for development is often fueled by excitement for the concept - excitement that can fade the same way as with fans (granted, they have to be more patient than most fans). Sticking with something too long can even lead to low confidence in that concept.
I can be patient, I just hope their approach hasn’t lead to internal burnout.
From article notes, it sounds like disjointed artistic messaging between departments, in this case development and marketing.
For what it’s worth, it is RARE for a developer to directly throw marketing under the bus by saying anything other than “We stand by our messaging blah blah”, so for the president to agree the trailer is bad is kind of significant, and might even get him internal flak.
Even if I agree some games have gone too far on censorship, I don’t like having this totalitarian attitude to any kind of “offense”.
There are certain weird themes I really like in niche games, but I acknowledge if they were “thrown in” to a game about shooting or adventure, would sour the experience for a lot of common players. I’d point to perverted character designs as a common one - sexualized character designs are obviously appealing to some players, but to others they can actually make it hard to get absorbed in the story of a game like Xenoblade Chronicles 2 or Nier Automata. Even for a series like Persona, there have been players that decided “What weeb shit” and abandon the game because of the way female characters get harassed at times.
It’s easy to call it “political”, but politics comes from personal opinions - and it can genuinely affect how people view the media. These days I have a much more vehement reaction to stereotyped Native-American depictions (“Indians”) over when I was a kid. I doubt it’d make me hate Tomb Raider, but I can see why they’d have a warning.
Given some of the fair-use-adjacent fan work the Team Fortress voice actors have done, I sometimes wish there were more fictional characters out there that actors had the rights to represent as outside of media.
I recall interviews where the guy who does Dr Eggman just politely refused simple fun requests because they wouldn’t be approved by Sega, which is too bad.
I remember Half-Life 2 opening with a walk around a city, and it was so memorable to me. I guess in part because it was reliant on its own atmosphere, and still let the player be an interactive part of it rather than bound to a tight track.
I’m guessing none of these shares were purchased from Tencent’s 40% stake? That’s often been the main reason I limit my interaction with Epic where possible.
This is why I still kind of appreciate digital downloads in their own way. I can’t think of any format of purchasing a game that has 100.00% chance of working 20 years in the future. Steam, at least, has been able to get those purchases reliably for that long.
Who wants to bet how long it takes for someone to post a victim-blaming comment that claims this is an exaggeration to detract from some other anti-consumer behavior of theirs?
It’s going to be interesting to see if this is more about the chase, and getting the other to admit their feelings, or contending with the challenges of a long term hedgehog relationship in a world that still exhibits homophobia.
Which indies did you discover and would love more people to know about? I’ll start: The Pale Beyond. Not sure if it’s a hidden gem tbh, but it’s such a good story rich game. I laughed, I cried and felt the characters struggles. If you like story rich games/ choices matter, check it out.
It honestly feels like a very strange world where Palworld isn’t investigated by Pokemon for infringement, but DnD is investigated by Nexon. Granted, I don’t think either claim has validity.
The announcement they made seemed more like a statement of awareness than any foreboding of litigation. They already filed a takedown more specifically for the mod that changes to Pokemon models.
In a bad-vibes moment, they’re denying a huge outlet like IGN a review code. No matter what I think of IGN in particular (nothing good tbh), that’s not something I can find a real explanation for other than “We made DC’s Gollum and want to avoid bad press as long as we can”.
I have seen it happen before when review outlets don’t get copies, but the game still turns out awesome. I think it happened for Doom Eternal.
It feels pointless to play devil’s advocate here though, since one way or another, I’m basically sure it’s going to be terrible. I just don’t like consigning internet opinion based on anything other than gameplay and actual reviews.
Okay let me start with two heavy hitters right from the get go and don’t forget these are only personal oppinions and I absolute understand if you like those games. Good for you!...
Yeah, I never once felt that any scenes in Near A Tomato actually connected to one another. In a good mystery game, you make a discovery rife with questions, and then slowly answer more questions that lead to other questions. Nier is just about constant random shit involving attacks from the machine life forms - which are all promptly forgotten.
I don’t know how we’re supposed to care and worry so much about 2B and 9S dying when it literally happens once in the prologue, and the very first lines of the game are about how annoying it is to keep dying and being reborn.
I mostly agree, but I have seen real diamonds. It’s just hard to discern whether the appeal is genuinely from a surprising and unexpected story, or exactly as you say, a noncommittal showcase of characters.
One benefit of a medium like games, as opposed to movies, is that the method of delivery can be accomplished more independently. Anyone watching a movie, be it a new Disney release or a Sundance film, will probably want it on their TV, where they have limited walled-garden devices. Give them an MP4 file to download, and they might not even know how to quickly use it.
But some famous games like Factorio and Minecraft were first sold with independent download systems, because the game will at some point involve its own executable file; it doesn’t have to fit in some larger play framework. Launchers like Heroic let people set up their own system for downloading games from places less popular than Steam.
So, to conclude the tangent: Suppose in the future, Xbox has tripled its Game Pass offerings and other publishers have followed suit. Other indie developers spotting out the subscription frustration can still release their own games breaking from the formula. This isn’t a remedy for the major AAA games we’d like to preserve, but it does mean the worst case scenario isn’t as bad for games as it is for movies.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky (Part 1 + 2) are really the first ones that come to mind for me. They reignited some of the feeling of excitement I have for JRPGs, where you become deeply invested in the struggles of the characters and enjoy every last “Big damn heroes” moment and sudden twist they pull out. The villains in those games are pathetically irredeemable, a far cry from some of the better written ones, but their amazing quality is in forcing out the most dramatic possible circumstances from the characters. Combat keeps its pace and was generally enjoyable for me, plus it had an XP catchup/slowdown system that stopped the game from ever feeling too grindy.
Funny thing is, I personally bear no recommendations for any games in that series beyond those two. They are, to my mind, a testament to good singular stories that leave the opportunity for future ones - even if those follow-ons didn’t click with me.
For Metroidvania style, Aquaria is one I don’t see mentioned much. I got it in one of the classic Humble Bundles, and it had a LOT more content than I was expecting for an indie game. Many different abilities to gather, a soundtrack and appearance that all blended together so well, and even optional bosses hidden in the waters.
And then, it comes up every so often to divisive opinions, but there’s plenty of shooter players that still need to try Spec Ops: The Line. It’s not terribly well-done in terms of gameplay, but tells a very compelling story about heroism and violence - even if it is NOT the one you hope to see. Much of the controversy over the game’s ranking has to do with how much it offers freedom of choice - but I’ve always felt that freedom of choice starts in the type of adventures you choose to play. You see the assault rifles on the cover. You’re planning for this.
Never did like the expectation of constant updates to a game. I always saw the new stuff that came from live service updates as a bonus to a game, not a requirement.
I was pretty hyped for the new prince of persia game (the lost crown), but come to find out it’s only available on ubisoft’s proprietary launcher or epic games. Nope, and nope....
I can’t say I agree with the approach. Someone like Sony can perhaps get away with this knowing that even with routine mechanics, they can reliably sell a good story.
But Square is sort of discovering their niche for modern Japanese RPGs; if their singular high budget games are going to be like Final Fantasy 16, there’s definitely some risk of overinvestment in stories people are “meh” about. Meanwhile, if people were asked to name their favorite JRPG stories, I imagine a lot of them were not ridiculously high budget.
Adding a bit more to the discussion on whether game subscription can be “the future”, it looks like despite the heavy push made in the past decade, subscriptions only make up 10% of total video game spending in the US....
I just looked up one of Netflix’s star movies, Nimona, and yes, I can still buy blu-rays of it.
All mediums have had exceptions where the license holder is a fickle, or ineffective, ass at selling; rare books, games with soundtrack licensing complications, unloved movies. They’re generally exceptions by individual work, not from having signed on to the Great Netflix Prison.
Generally, where there’s demand, they still let you become its permanent owner. (In the topic of anime, they even overcharge for it because it’s such an uncommon choice made by super-fans as a prestige item)
I feel like I’m constantly wading through raw brain damage from how often I see lines like “selling an unfinished game” repeated.
Singleplayer games with stories get “finished”. Sometimes, they get ideas for other small little, less important stories to tell in addition. Fighting games and pretty much all competitive online games are not that.
Helldivers 2 boss apologizes for 'horrible' dev comments, says Arrowhead has 'taken action internally to educate our developers' (www.pcgamer.com) angielski
What are some good games with *zero* replayability? angielski
I want to try and play some more games. That feels more fulfilling if you play games that you can finish and be done with....
Microtransactions angielski
I don’t know about you chaps but I absolutely detest the modern approach companies have with their franchises and games....
Five Years Ago, Anthem Was A Warning (kotaku.com) angielski
TL;DR:...
Respawn's Star Wars FPS Is Canceled, But Work on Next Jedi Game, Black Panther and Iron Man Will Continue (www.ign.com) angielski
The Weekly 'What are you playing?' Discussion (lemmy.world) angielski
Have you been spending hours trying to pass a level? Or maybe you are completely addicted to a newly bought game. Do you have a question about a game or would like to share something else? In the Weekly Discussion Thread, you can do it all!...
Thunderful says SteamWorld Build underperformed, reveals it's looking to sell Headup (www.gamedeveloper.com) angielski
Nvidia’s finally replacing GeForce Experience with this all-in-one ‘Nvidia app’ - The Verge (www.theverge.com) angielski
RIP Gamestream?
What adventure games do you recommend? angielski
pretty much the title. i have played most of sierra, lucasarts and telltale catalogues so if you are suggesting one of their games i’ve probably already played it. it doesn’t have to be a copycat, homage or in the same style as these companies’ games either, just that it must satisfy the vague definition of being an...
Nothing is stopping you from this right now (lemmy.world) angielski
Nintendo Is Telling Game Publishers Switch 2 Will Be Delayed (www.bnnbloomberg.ca) angielski
Reports were saying the Switch was coming q4 2024, but now Nintendo is reportedly telling its partners that it’s been pushed to q1 2025
Skull and Bones - Skill Up Review (youtu.be) angielski
Let’s see how the industry’s first quadruple A game pans out.
Xbox Next-Gen Console Confirmed, Will be 'Largest Technical Leap in a Hardware Generation' (www.ign.com) angielski
Rumors of Xbox not wanting to continue their hardware are now confirmed to be false.
Diablo 4 is coming to Game Pass on March 28th (www.rockpapershotgun.com) angielski
Starbreeze admits Payday 3 is massively underperforming (www.gamedeveloper.com) angielski
Payday 3 launched for Windows PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X | S in September 2023 but has seemingly struggled to win over players. The title currently has a ‘mixed’ rating on Steam with over 36,000 user reviews, although the vast majority of recent reviews have been ‘mostly negative.’...
It's Been Five Long Years Since Hollow Knight: Silksong Was Officially Announced | Nintendo Life (www.nintendolife.com) angielski
And there’s barely been any communication from team cherry in those 5 years. I just hope they’re doing okay.
Silent Hill 2's latest trailer "does not reflect the spirit of the game", Bloober Team president says (www.videogameschronicle.com) angielski
Damage control time
Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered has a warning about racial and ethnic stereotypes (www.videogameschronicle.com) angielski
Deus Ex star says that Eidos asked him not to talk about Adam Jensen in public any more (www.pcgamesn.com) angielski
EA flop Immortals of Aveum reportedly cost around $125 million, former dev says "a AAA single-player shooter in today's market was a truly awful idea" (www.gamesradar.com) angielski
Personally I would not call Immortals of Aveum an AAA game. 😅...
Positive ‘Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League’ User Reviews Split Unusually From Critics (www.forbes.com)
Ubisoft CEO defends Skull and Bones’ $70 price despite its live service leanings, calls it ‘quadruple-A’ (www.videogameschronicle.com) angielski
Disney to take $1.5 billion stake in Epic Games, work with Fortnite maker on new content (www.cnbc.com) angielski
PSA To Rip Your Games If You Can. This Disc Is Borked. (lemmy.world)
I found this big chip on this copy of SSX3. I no longer consider it safe to use; don’t need it shattering inside my console and ruining that, too....
The Last Of Us Part II Actor Says Fans Threatened Her Son (kotaku.com) angielski
Sonic X Shadow Generations - Announce Trailer (www.youtube.com) angielski
Suicide Squad Kill The Justice League adds Denuvo DRM before launch (www.pcgamesn.com)
What are some hidden indie gems nobody knows about? angielski
Which indies did you discover and would love more people to know about? I’ll start: The Pale Beyond. Not sure if it’s a hidden gem tbh, but it’s such a good story rich game. I laughed, I cried and felt the characters struggles. If you like story rich games/ choices matter, check it out.
Dark and Darker dev says Nexon's "trade secret and copyright" lawsuit against it has been dismissed (www.eurogamer.net) angielski
This means the game will probably get sold on Steam as well as other official stores. They were previously unable to due to the lawsuit.
Where's Our Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League Review? (IGN denied review code) (www.ign.com) angielski
In a bad-vibes moment, they’re denying a huge outlet like IGN a review code. No matter what I think of IGN in particular (nothing good tbh), that’s not something I can find a real explanation for other than “We made DC’s Gollum and want to avoid bad press as long as we can”.
Bloodborne Kart isn't allowed to be called Bloodborne Kart anymore, but it is still coming (www.eurogamer.net) angielski
Unfortunate. The game will be removing anything bloodborne-licensed but will probably still look similar.
No More Avatar Reckoning, it has been cancelled (gengamer.in) angielski
Which games do you dislike, but the rest of the world loves them? angielski
Okay let me start with two heavy hitters right from the get go and don’t forget these are only personal oppinions and I absolute understand if you like those games. Good for you!...
deleted_by_author
Your personal Masterpieces angielski
Hello Lemmings!...
Genshin Impact review bombed in China after underwhelming Lantern Rite event rewards reveal (www.eurogamer.net) angielski
Fuck Ubisoft. angielski
I was pretty hyped for the new prince of persia game (the lost crown), but come to find out it’s only available on ubisoft’s proprietary launcher or epic games. Nope, and nope....
Square Enix Wants To Make Fewer Games – New CEO Takashi Kiryu wants to focus on making AAA and indie titles and marketing those titles better (kotaku.com) angielski
Veteran Videogame Analyst: Subscription growth has flattened [in video games] (files.catbox.moe) angielski
Adding a bit more to the discussion on whether game subscription can be “the future”, it looks like despite the heavy push made in the past decade, subscriptions only make up 10% of total video game spending in the US....
deleted_by_author