ZTGD Writes: If you like action RPG’s, DMC, or are a fan of anime you will find something good with Scarlet Nexus. Even using the more simplified combat system the game is a blast to play and ultimately tells a really compelling story all in a beautifully done in Japanese anime style.
Gaming has never been better in terms of sheer quality and scale, but folks who fail to take on new experiences always have the opposite to say.
Cherry picking the best examples does not support your argument. The further back you go(within reason, not talking coleco/atari), the easier it is to find a solid, fun, complete experience out the box. Now we literally have charts for releases to let you know if the version u buy is even the full game. Were getting more and more SP games where the game isn't even on the disk, we literally have to research if a game is just a game or a live service platform before getting excited. Sorry no.
Like sure there are still absolute bangers, but they are nowhere near as common and outside those bangers is a sea of trash made by HR departments and investors with no soul, not to mention the AI slop hitting these days. Sure it's always money 1st but 2nd It used to be an industry driven by passion, nerds wanting to make stuff because they had vision, a cool idea, now it's all chasing numbers, data, and trends and examples of too many cooks. I have A broad spectrum of interest when it comes to games and I've always bought all types of games, every generation and this generation. I've bought the fewest amount of games by far, this entire generation and i only have like 15-20games not counting digital only indie games and such. I have over 150ps4 games and over 100 each for ps3, ps2, Wii (great for hidden gems) GameCube, OGXBOX, and other retro consoles.
Things seem to be turning around, i mean look at this years VGAs and Larians speach, but we ain't there yet, and generally speaking, games these days definitely aren't good
@fsfsnosex
Does everyone get to ram it up your ass, or is it only the gaming industry you allow such privilege?
No, it's better to be bitter and negative. No fun allowed. Everything sucks all the time and life is miserable.
Isarai said, "Their target doesn't exist. "
184.3 billion industry. Up 0.2% from last year says different.
And history forgets the garbage. Shovelware was coined before many gamers were born.
thorstein
How much of that figure is selling microtransactions and cosmetics because sports games have become mini casinos where their ultimate teams packages sell and generate more money than the actual games themselves
For example EA makes more money from ultimate teams in profits then they made from most of their games so all money is not the same comparing to past game releases where we used to get complete games
We use to get 2-3 games from a Stellar studio in one generation and now it's 1. And that 1 game costs 300 million to make. I much rather development times to be shortened along with the budgets
@BrettAwesome "fsfsnosex Does everyone get to ram it up your ass, or is it only the gaming industry you allow such privilege?"
Superb retort! 😙👌🏼
To me, this argument only makes sense if you draw the line at PS360.
The current state of the industry is the same as the PS4/XB1 gen. That's where the AAA game releases became very slow e.g. a 6 year gap between inFamous First Light and Ghost Of Tsushima.
Rockstar only released 1 game last gen. Ubisoft fell off in game quality immediately. EA published ten times more good games on PS3 than PS4 (mostly slop). Capcom have continued their resurgence into this gen which started with RE7.
Objectively, the pace of games fell off a cliff last gen. In 2009 alone, Sony published Uncharted 2, Killzone 2, inFamous, Ratchet & Clank: A Crack In Time, Demon's Souls, GT5, etc. 2020 was the closest the PS4 ever got to that.
It was the later years which solidified the PS4's legacy. 2014 was one of the worst years in gaming history. The first few years of the PS4 gen were quite dry. Games like Killzone Shadowfall and Knack were slop, tbh. It was the roughest transition from one gen to the next. Only PS console which started with no backwards compatibility which didn't help.
**Feel like people have had a delayed reaction or something**. One thing that softened the slow pace of releases last gen was Sony having a more transparent roadmap, showing most games off at 3 E3s in a row before release. Now, they'll announce something like Astro Bot just 2 months before release and win GOTY.
But ultimately, hype and a roadmap don't change how many games you're actually getting. It's just PR.
I agree, which is why i say the further back you go. Last gen is really when these issues srarted rearing their heads, but it's STILL easier to go back and find something good, even if just a bit, and even if just for the couple banger years. Pacing has slowed to a crawl, but on top of that, there's just a lot of flops, greatly inflaming that issue aswell. Last gen was definitely a precursor, but this gen has pretty much been a wash for me.
@isarai
We're in agreement on the PS4 gen then.
I could be wrong but I do think that the last few years of this gen are going to be more like the better years of the PS4 gen though. 2025 seems quite good. Let's see.
And for me, a saving grace for this gen is that 3D indie games with tight controls have become more common.
It's allowed Indie/AA games to continue some of the spirit of the PS1/PS2 era. They're reaching a higher ceiling of complexity over time.
But with the exception of a few with nice graphics/details like Indika, The Talos Principle 2, Kena: Bridge Of Spirits (does have a PS4 version), Ghostrunner 2, etc most of them still don't show off the power of the system. But I can live with that, tbh.
Most games about this generation are lower than $30. Small dev shops still have passion to make good games.
There were less games along time ago and the barrier to entry was much higher, but lets not pretend most games for retro consoles weren't just the same reskinned platformer or a floating dot. Nostalgia is a tricky thing.
Things didn't really start to change, for consoles, until around the PS1 and even then there were just as many bad games as good ones, but the good ones were so good and innovative they overshadowed a ton of crap and this is about where gaming has been ever since. A few good ones in a sea of sh%&.
Being passionate doesn't mean the product will be good or innovative. People don't understand how rare innovation and good art is.
Now, the real issues is that monetization is insidious. Games are monetization schemes not games. And those talented passionate 'nerds' need money, so they make these games.
"games these days definitely aren't good"
Maybe it's you. Honestly, think about it. Either every new game is garbage and the industry as a whole is garbage OR it's you.
You sound like the old timers that can't stand today's music, books, styles, language, etc. You're just adding games to the mix.
All those things I've mentioned are awesome and they're no different for today's youth than they were for you, when you were young.
I think COVID is really what caused many of the issues we are seeing in the current generation. For instance, COVID is ultimately what caused PS5 shortages at the beginning of the generation due to supply chain and semiconductor issues. This led to cross-gen releases of most of Sony’s first party titles.
@isarai
Most huge game don't fail, well at least in comparison to smaller games. There are thousands of games that release each year, at best 200-300 of those games are AAA/AA games, the rest are smaller games and a significant majority of them fail. You can have 800 smaller games fail and nobody cares, but when 2-3 huge games fail, all of a sudden, the AAA industry is dying or huge games are failing.
No, huge games are not failing, some will fail, some will succeed. Publishers will always favor huge AAA games, their chances of success are far far higher than smaller games.
Larians speech isn't gonna change anything. Other industry people have been saying that for over 15 years. There is nothing to turn around. Games will continue to get more expensive to make and prices will increase. That's a given.one of the biggest problems i see is that too many people rely on word of mouth to see if a game is good or not. People need to decode for themselves and stop allowing journalist ( that includes those here) to tell us which games are worth our time or dollars.
Never said it would, but it's definitely a sign that the word for change is getting to where it needs to go. There's tons to turn around dude, the shipping of broken games, the same format of terrible writing/humor these AAA games all seem to adopt, the chase for live service greed sacrificing studios in the process. Games are not more expensive to make, publishers are spending more, mostly on marketing, not the same thing. We've seen several examples of lower budget games outdoing these inflated budget "AAAA GAMES" also journalisn is literally the opposite of word of mouth.
That is usual, gaming had its down and up periods. I mean this is hardly the first time. But still, point stands that there are good games around. And I think call for people to look out of their comfort zones and big AAA is valid with general crowd. Yes, you and me know this. Sure I wasn't around yet back at times of Atari and stuff, I only read about that time. But I was around since 90s. Nevertheless, I do also think people remember old times with bit of rose tinted glasses too or rather survivor bias is at play here. We tend to remember good games and forget bad ones. Which time filtered out for us.
Also I do count indie and smaller developer games. In no time in the past it was easier for those to make great games and self publish them. And I am all for those to grow, because those developers aren't tied down to whim of shareholders who couldn't care less about gaming and only care about ESG score and how to fatten the pig before they sell it, not caring if pig dies moment latter after sale. I don't think those big AAA will fix themselves anytime soon. They aren't allowed to. Shareholders can get board of directors fired, board can get CEOs fired because shareholders pressure them. And unlike gamers, shareholders can sue company for not delivering on their promises. Hence why for example games need to launch on certain financial quarter or there is much bigger hell to pay than if they come completely broken. Larians speech won't fix that. Independent developers who only answer to themselves and their customers will. AAA only answers to shareholders.
I agree with pretty much all of this, i just see this as one of those "downs" i don't think ALL games are worse, the good games are better than ever, it's just not that common to find something good AND complete these days imo compared to before the obsessios with monetization and shipping things broken. For example, the new Indiana Jones looks like a great time, but if they never release a physical version that doesn't require you to download half the game, im not buying it. And yeah, never stated Larians speech would fix anything, just saying the mindset that change needs to happen is entering the mainstream, it's a sign among a few others that the want for change is getting to where it needs to go
ah
so it's the old "anyone who disagree's with me is afraid of change" line
same was said when xbox one restrictions and a lot of the crap was annunce
honestly though, whenever I see a title like this my first thought is "must be from thegamer"
usually i'm either right, or it's exputer
People do get old and start complaining more...but things have gone sideways when it comes to always online games and monetization.
Man I'm 45 with kids I think the games these days are great. Granted there are some 💩 games but seeing games turn to what they are now is wild. I still have a lot of my old systems that still work too.
In general, I think the games are better today than before too. I can't play the old stuff anymore, the tech is just too dated for me to enjoy.
The majority of today's games are disappointing, it's actually more surprising to have a great game come out because we have so many AAA flops. Sure there are enough games to play for the year, especially if you dig into your backlog or play indies and AA games, but I don't think most people will look back at this console generation fondly (unless you own a Switch), nor do I think they'll remember 2024 as a good year for gaming.
If the Switch is your watermark, then you haven't left the 80's, which is fine, but I wouldn't include most adult gamers in your opinion.
Is this your way of saying the PS5 and Series X has been a good generation? I really think this has been the weakest generation for Playstation, and Xbox hasn't had a good generation since the 360. I'm pretty sure most adult gamers would agree this has been a pretty weak period for gaming overall.
Personally I moved onto PC after seeing what happened to Playstation, the Switch is easily the best console of this gen though if we're looking at game libraries.
Most of my favorite franchises and studios have disappointed me horribly over the last 5 years tbh
from Horizon forbodden west to ratchet and clank rift apart, god of war, spiderman
all just disappointing crap lately
I don’t think those games were “disappointing crap” at all. So what’s a dev to do?
That’s when you’ve gotta try a different genre. Fighting game, JRPG, maybe a remake that still has one foot on the retro path. That’s what I do.
What made them crap? Bro I played spiderman on atari that was crap lol. God of war how is that crap? Horizon felt like horizon the first game was good 🤷🏾♂️ ratchet and clank was more destruction with pretty graphics what were you looking for?
@FIELDMARSHALL_P
uninteresting stories, annoying characters, god of war Ragnarock having forced bad humor
forced hints / puzzle solutions, constant yelling, literally can't do a single battle without hearing "TO YOUR LEFT BROTHER, TO YOUR RIGHT BROTHER, BEHIND YOU BROTHER"
Nah no thanks I know better what games I enjoy better then a clickbait site.
I also know my tastes are not mainstream so most games don't appeal to me.
Anyway were all different and enjoy different things.
Yup that’s a good mind set.
You know your taste but don’t need to down play others.
The Bits & Pieces boys discuss their favourite games of 2023.
These AAA PS5 games are dirt cheap.
I bought Scarlet Nexus physically a week ago for that price. A very fun and addicting game imo.
I’ve noticed a distinct lack in any reduction to PS+ subs this holiday season. Sony trying to force customers hands into paying the fully inflated price.
This is the longest I’ve ever been a non PS+ subscriber since it began. I won’t be the only one. Protest with your wallet or they will keep shafting the consumer!
They literally just had a reduced price on their official site. It was a 30% discount on all tiers for a year. I paid like $50 for a year of the basic.
Idk man there was a few months recently they knocked it out the park. Like the month we got all those jrpgs. Star oceans, etc. That was a great month.
This isn't true. They had one in December for a week and also Black Friday in November. There will most likely be the usual January one as well.
Last one they had was Black Friday. They didn’t have any in December. The first year they haven’t had one in December.
Seems to be US by the looks of it, can’t see any mention of it in UK and certainly don’t remember seeing anything advertised on the store about it.
Its not really mind blowing deals, more like a bait n switch for clicks news article.
Between this and n4g never working anymore, i question why I even bother some days.
