Topic: Your Latest PlayStation 5 Purchase

@KilloWertz That's my new thing I learned for today, that there's a pun book in The Last of Us. Had no idea there was any kind of levity in the series, to be honest!

Am glad the TV show is pleasing gamers as well as newcomers. It's usually one or t'other.

@RogerRoger It's from the DLC of the first game, so I guess I can let you off the hook for somehow not knowing that.

True, it is usually one or the other for the most part (The Witcher and Halo being recent examples), but they have done good so far at least with The Last of Us. I'm still scared about Season 2 since I didn't like the story of Part 2, but that doesn't take anything away from Season 1.

@KilloWertz You might have to let me off more than a hook, as I've never played (nor watched a playthrough of) any game in the series! All of my knowledge comes from scanning a couple posts around these parts, and brief chats with a gamer friend who's a fan.

That being said, I am aware of the controversy surrounding Part II. With any luck, the TV show might do a better job of presenting its narrative, or give it more context to help it stick...?

Same here. Being able to fit so many games on PS5 is a bit of a god send, as there is such a thing as having too much choice some times. I much prefer have only a smaller numbers of games to choose from, rather than the dozens when I had a PS4 and external storage. Games don't take too download on PS5, so I'm sure I can't wait a couple of hours to play if I have an itch for something particular.

@JohnnyShoulder It's that same "analysis paralysis" thing that happens on Netflix. You end up spending more time scrolling and deciding what to watch than actually watching anything.

@RogerRoger And you call yourself a PlayStation fan...

I was not aware of that, but it's whatever. I'm actually a bigger fan of the first game now than I was when I first played it on the PS4, between the PS5 version and the TV show. I was not a fan of the first game's gameplay, but did think it had a really good story. While they didn't really modernize the gameplay, it at least felt like a better experience finally.

My problem with Part II's story is not really going to be helped by it's presentation. If it all ends up the same, then I will still end up hating the end result. It's so much longer than the first game that it will have to at least be two seasons (it will be a disaster if they try to cram it into one season), but my problem is how the game's story treats Ellie leaving her entirely alone and literally broken in the end. I get that both neither her or Abby are good people, but it's still quite cruel when the fan favorite character of the series and the reason I was playing the game is left the way she is in the end. It's still a video game at the end of the day.

@KilloWertz Ah, so you're who the remake was for! Kept seeing comments like "nobody wants this" and "anyone who cares has already played the game twice" but it's awesome that you were finally able to enjoy every aspect of the experience on PS5. Real glad it helped!

Hmm. Yeah, that's an interesting last point there. Speaks to the power of agency in gaming, and how we get way more invested when we're the ones in control. It becoming a passive viewing experience might soften the blow, at least for the newcomers and non-gamers in the audience. I'd be curious to see how non-gamers react, especially since I'm sure the wait for Season Two won't be as long, either.

@RogerRoger Funny thing is I was one of the people heavily criticizing the release when it was revealed that the gameplay wasn't modernized like they basically said it would be. It basically felt like they flat out lied until right before release. I'm sure some people may remember my several posts against the release in comments sections, but then Sony finally added it to the Sony Rewards site. While I heavily criticized the release and the price, I couldn't complain about getting it for free. While I will always be slightly disappointed we didn't literally get the combination of Part I's story and Part II's gameplay, as that could have been one of the best games ever made, it was still a better experience and an enjoyable one in the end like I said already. I am glad I used the reward points to get it for free, even if playing it after playing Part II does take some of the impact away from the ending to Part I.

People get really attached to characters and people nowadays, so I would imagine some people would still be upset even if all they ever did with the series was watch other people play it. Still, I would think if you were a person that just watched a person stream both games on Twitch or YouTube, it would be an easier pill to swallow. Same thing as if they are experiencing it for the first time via the TV show. Obviously plenty of people will defend the story, and I can't say they don't have any right to even if I heavily disagree. I'm still really looking forward to Season 2 even if I end up as disappointed with it in the end like I was with Part II.

@KilloWertz I too am slightly humbled by my short-sighted protest of the remake of Part I. Although I’ve not played the new version, I do now see the value in having that as a jumping in point for all those who are either A) caught up in the hype of the show and want to replay the game or B) are new to the franchise and new to PS5. In the context of the HBO show catching absolute fire, the decision to have a PS5 version of the exquisite quality of the remake ready to buy is actually turning out to be marketing genius. The PC port is also nearly ready to go and should also prove profitable for Sony.

I’m personally fine to wait until the inevitable PS+ release to replay the game on PS5, but I have to admit the show has tempted me big time.

Perhaps the reported Horizon Zero Dawn PS5 remake is a similar situation. Even though it makes much, much less sense from a game preservation perspective, it’s possible Sony catches lightning in a bottle again when that show drops.

@Th3solution From a business standpoint, it definitely has made sense, especially since the TV show has become really popular. I remember seeing multiple articles on here about how sales of the game massively surged after the TV show started. I still kind of wish we got the "perfect" version of the game that I described, but it is still a really good version of the game and obviously profitable for them.

It is definitely possible that Horizon Zero Dawn will be a similar situation, although it obviously remains to be seen whether the TV show will come close to the popularity to create a similar situation. I'll possibly be guilty of buying the rumored PS5 remake as I'm a huge fan of the series like some of the people that bought The Last of Us with no issues, but there really is 0 need to do it other than to try to make more money. If it helps the series become even more popular and/or helps the TV series, great, but I can't see any need for it whatsoever from a purely gaming perspective.

@KilloWertz Honestly, I think the Horizon IP has more potential in the TV space. The Last of Us show has been really good and exceedingly well-received, but if you take it at face value, post-apocalyptic zombie shows aren’t exactly trailblazing. I’d argue the post-apocalyptic zombie setting of The Last of Us is secondary to the actual character study and story of love and loss, but for the casual viewer the zombie backdrop is unlikely to carry the show on its own.

Horizon on the other hand has a much more unique setting and a totally novel set of story circumstances. The art design is quite unlike anything else you’ll come across in modern TV viewing, and the spectacle of the robots juxtaposed to a prehistoric style of existence is something that can capture the attention of a casual viewer, I suspect. It will all come down to the quality of TV production, and it’s definitely a tall task to take on.

@Th3solution I'm just afraid they might not pull off cool robot dinosaurs on a TV budget, and that's like 80% of the appeal

@Voltan I forget which service has the project - Netflix or Amazon, but either way it will be a challenge. I’d put slightly more trust in Amazon from a production quality standpoint but so much of their content seems fairly forgettable.

@Th3solution pretty sure it's Netflix

@KilloWertz The pun book is not from the DLC!

@Th3solution The Last of Us Part I is probably my favorite 2022 purchase. I hardly ever replay games, like maybe only 10 or so during my life, and I had not expected it to be The Last of Us, but the remake goes a long way to making me completely change my mind about the first game. I thought the game was neat, but replaying it, with the new face animations and better details, makes me appreciate so many things I didn't even notice during my first play.

And yeah, 10 years after the games initial release was never really weird to me anyway. Pretty much the same Nintendo did for Zelda Wind Waker, another game that I think everyone should have played in their life.

@RogerRoger I laugh a lot during The Last of Us. The interaction between Ellie and Joel results in a lot of funny moments. Playing The Last of Us is very cosy!

@Voltan @Th3solution Yeah, I worry that Horizon and God of War could look too fake or corny as tv programmes as too much CGI can age really quickly and just get a bit tiresome/boring to watch for me.

@KilloWertz I think it's when people confuse their attachment with a sense of ownership that things start to go wrong. Unfortunately, the folks that do often end up drowning out other reasonable or legitimate criticisms with their nonsense, which in turn makes creators double-down on defence. I think gaming sees the most extreme cases of this phenomenon specifically because of the immersion that "being in control" affords, even when that control doesn't concern narrative direction and players are merely helping protagonists along a pre-defined path. This is just me speaking about the reception in general, by the way! From what you said earlier, you simply didn't like how Ellie's story ended, which is of course fair enough.

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@Kidfried That's the first time I've ever seen somebody describe a bleak, post-apocalyptic zombie survival horror game with a shocking, brutal narrative as "cosy" but hey, each to their own!

@RogerRoger You wouldn't call Metal Gear Survive cosy in any way?

@Th3solution The name is well known after the controversy over Part II and the fact that the series was already popular, but I actually do think the zombie part of the story is still a draw even though the genre has been overdone for years. So, it had that going for it while Horizon will be completely new to anybody who hasn't played the games (no zombie apocalypse). So, I guess in a way I'll just agree to disagree there. If done right, I won't disagree that Horizon has plenty of potential on TV though, especially with the giant machines.

I really do hope that Horizon ends up being a really good TV show though obviously as the series is the biggest reason why I'm here and not on another platform.

@Kidfried You are right. My bad. I had just played the DLC again at the time and her reading it in the mall was fresh in my mind, but she gets it in Pittsburgh. Again, my bad.

@Kidfried Um... no?!

Outside of its Base Camp feature, of course. That's something I understand The Last of Us is lacking, as it's more of a road-trip kinda deal, right? But no, when creeping around trying not to die, the word "cosy" is at the bottom of a long list of other words, most of which I can't type in polite company!

Thing is, I think I know what you mean, though. It's kinda like how I find Sonic games relaxing, yeah? In that they're not supposed to be, they're supposed to be frantic and fast.