80°

The State of Horror Games: A Dark Future Ahead?

Sean Halliday of Pixel Gate writes:

''here are a number of things that a lot of modern ‘horror’ titles get wrong. For example, the player isn’t treated like a victim; they are the one in control of the situation. This is often a result of arming the player to the teeth and throwing waves of enemies at them. There’s nothing scary about out-gunning everything that comes after you.

The elements of horror have become too tightly entwined with the staples of the action/shooter genre. Players are often put in a position in which they are exposed to the enemy regularly. The enemy itself is often one of many, further detracting from any sense of horror they may carry. The player is often equipped with various firearms that are more than capable of killing anything in sight, and the resulting experience is more ‘intense action’ than ‘heart-pounding horror’. But this just seems to be the modern day method–’action horror’ rather than just ‘horror’''

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pixelgate.co.uk
GentlemenRUs3822d ago

Action horror just sucks...

Just go back to its roots...

Pixelgate3822d ago

I think action has it's place...but that doesn't mean it should dominate the market :(

Conzul3822d ago

Dead Space 2 was VERY good.

Pintheshadows3822d ago

You must of missed the horror genre's resurgence on PC over the last few years.

Pixelgate3822d ago

Given the nod towards indie efforts I'd hardly call that missing them

Pintheshadows3822d ago

I know you nodded towards them but the article as a whole has a very pessimistic outlook whereas I think it should be more optimistic.

Pixelgate3822d ago

It's aimed mostly at main stream, you have to remember that there's a ton of people that pay little attention to indies, or own PC's for that matter.

TheFirstClassic3822d ago

Just asking since I'm in the market, what horror games on pc would you recommend? I've played through Amnesia, which was freaky as hell, but I was looking around for some more horror.

s45gr323821d ago

Besides Amnesia dark descent, I recommend Lucius (is the Omen in gaming form), lone survivor (silent hill in 2D), Doorways, any version of slender, Alan Wake, Limbo, Outlast, just pretty much it be on the lookout for among the sleep.

SweetDangos3821d ago

Get Silent Hill 2 on PC. Once you get past the controls it's the best horror experience gaming can offer. You'll have to torrent it though since it's not available on steam and the hard copies are hard to find.

s45gr323821d ago

This article was spot on in the sense is true indie game developers are the ones that bring horror games the major studios not anymore unless "the evil within" turns out to be a huge success. I am looking forward to play Outlast, among the sleep, Constantine, Asylum, Dread Out, etc so many indie horror games so little time.

SweetDangos3821d ago

AAA horror sucks nowadays. The indie scene are the only places that offer a horror feel but even then most of them just offer scares and lack storytelling and good character development. The golden age of horror will always be PS1-PS2 era.

100°

70 percent of devs unsure of live-service games sustainability

With so many games fighting for players' attention and interest losing out over time, time sink games are at risk of eventually losing steam.

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gamedeveloper.com
thorstein5h ago

It was worrisome to begin with.

It's a niche genre with only a handful of hits that can stand the test of time.

CrimsonWing694h ago

What’s to be unsure of!? Look at the ratio of success to failure!

shinoff21833h ago

Yes. Stop all the live service bs.

jznrpg3h ago

Only a few will catch on. You need a perfect storm to be successful in GaaS and a bit of luck on top of that. But a potential cash cow will keep them trying and some will go out of business because of it.

MIDGETonSTILTS172h ago

Helldivers 2 manages just fine…

Keep production costs low… don’t just make custscenes until the mechanics and enemies are perfected first.

Make so much content that you can drip extra content for years, and the game already feels complete without them.

Most importantly: make weapons, enemies, levels, and mechanics that will stand the test of 1000 hours. This might require more devs embracing procedurally generated leveled, which I think separates Helldivers 2 from Destiny’s repetitiveness.

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60°

The Battle Pass Is The Worst Thing To Happen To Modern Gaming

Nameer from eXputer: "Some exceptions aside, I don't think the battle pass is a net positive for gaming with how they're implemented in most live service titles."

got_dam7h ago

Battle passes AND meta gaming both.

DivineHand1255h ago(Edited 5h ago)

I like the way Helldivers 2 does battle passes. It allows you to make purchases on each level of the battle pass and gives you the option of choosing which item to unlock first. The more purchases you make using medals the further you progress. There is no timer and you can earn medals towards purchasing stuff via personal orders and Major orders.

I haven't played much live service games that have battle passes but I remember some games that have battle passes where you progress through it linearly using an exp system. What makes it really bad is that the battle pass will have like 50 or more levels with the cooler stuff being closer to the end. They also have an in-game shop that sells exp boosters so you can reach the end of the pass before it refreshes. Everyone ilse will have to grind their way through.

lucian2294h ago

battle pass in fortnite is perfect; buy one and it buys the rest for every other season as it gives you more money than the first cost. so 8.50 and season ends with you getting 13.00, it pays for the next and you have some pocket change to save up for cash shop. All of which is optional

470°

PS5 Pro specs leak video taken down by Sony

Sony is taking actions as video by Moore’s Law is Dead, has been issued with a copyright claim.

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videogameschronicle.com
andy851d 1h ago

And people say it's all fake because Sony haven't said anything 😂 conveniently forget the PS4 Pro was only announced 2 months before release.

BeHunted1d ago

It's fake. There's no factual evidence other than his own made up specs.

Hereandthere1d ago

What were the specks Sony was afraid of showing?

Shikoku23h ago(Edited 23h ago)

Digital foundry put a video out saying what he leaked was exactly what they also knew about the PS5 PRO. So no it's not just stuff he made up

Babadook720h ago(Edited 20h ago)

If it’s fake what copyright does MLID infringe upon?

😂

andy8520h ago

Aye because they'd go to the effort of copyright claiming it if it didn't exist 🙃😂 you'd have to be a special kind to be thinking its not a thing by now

Cacabunga20h ago

They need to reveal it with uncharted killzone or a heavy hitter like this

Ironmike19h ago(Edited 19h ago)

U mean the specs that we'll established digital foundry which said these are the actual specs published a video on 2 weeks ago I mean they are only one of most trusted sites for tech information but they just made up a video for the sake of it

Christopher6h ago

I would love for it all to be fake, but lots of people are saying they've seen/heard the same thing. But, man, we 100% don't need mid-gen upgrades when we're failing hard to optimize current hardware.

+ Show (4) more repliesLast reply 6h ago
Seraphim1h ago(Edited 1h ago)

if I recall Sony lowered sales expectations for PS5 earlier this year. if that is the case we won't hear anything about a Pro until next year or shortly before/when it's dropping. After all, if the Pro was dropping this year/fiscal year they wouldn't have lowered expectations.

As for squashing rumors. Yeah, shit like this prevents potential buyers from adopting now, just like slim rumors in the past. It only makes sense to keep things under wraps from a business perspective. Despite living in a technological age of unfettered access to information we don't need to know whats going on behind closed doors be that at Sony, Nintendo, MS, or amongst any development studios. When the steak is done we shall feast.

JackBNimble56m ago

By the time games are actually made to take advantage of the pro spec's the ps6 will be released or close to it.

jznrpg23h ago(Edited 23h ago)

Just announce it already! I want to preorder one asap. But in reality they don’t want to lessen PS5 sales until Pro is ready to launch so I understand the business part of it. September is probably when they announce it with an early November launch like the PS4 Pro

Ironmike19h ago

Pro won't lessen sales sames ps4 pro never and the ps4 pro was more relevant at the time cos move to 4k this not needed

RaidenBlack13h ago(Edited 13h ago)

Yea, my brother got his PS4 (coz of a good deal) after the PS4 Pro's release.

darthv729h ago

^^same here. I got a base 4 for only $100 off a guy who bought the Pro. then a few months later I found a guy on craigslist selling a pro for $100 because it was left behind by his former roommate who moved out. That was the beginning of my obsession to buy up the different variants of the PS4 that were released.

As of now I am really only missing the 500m one and the gold slim but otherwise I have pretty much all the other retail ones. https://consolevariations.c...

crazyCoconuts3h ago

Anyone with 4K that appreciates 60fps is gonna disagree about it not being needed.
DLSS is a god send for Nvidia, and there's been nothing like it for AMD...yet ...

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 3h ago
DeadlyFire8h ago

They will announce it around E3 timeframe about May-June whenever they do a showcase for the year.

neutralgamer199223h ago

Just announce it this thing will sell well

Ironmike19h ago(Edited 19h ago)

I don't think it will pll still haven't seen the potential of ps5 yet

Cacabunga6h ago

agreed, but it might sell if they announce some 1st party games to lead the way. if people see the difference with the base version they can move on. for my sake I am still gaming mainly on PS4 (still not finished with RDR2 due to lack of gaming time). I have a huge backlog on PS5 I am hoping to get into.

mark3214uk15h ago

why? game makers havnt even come close to maxing out current spec yet, were getting al lthese new TFlops and game maker are making crappy remakes not worthy of the ps3

Minute Man 72110h ago

The guts of the 5 and X are 5 years old

fr0sty3h ago

People keep saying that, yet we still have games running at near HD resolutions, 30fps, and ray tracing features turned off.

PRIMORDUS20h ago(Edited 20h ago)

I would take that video and upload a torrent of it, fuck that copyright bullshit. If your going to do something that has a chance of being taken down, make a torrent first share it. Then Sony or any other company is helpless and you can laugh in their faces, taunting them to try to take it down 🤣

LoveSpuds13h ago

With kind of analysis and advice, you could be a lawyer for Trump!🤣

tronyx1213h ago

As much as the PS4 Pro didn't represent a major % in the playerbase, announcing a 'better' model will hinder sales from the 'base' model. They are right, business-wise.

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