GoodOlDubs

Put it in my veins.

The game was better this year, but in so many ways it was another reminder of why it needs a competitor. It was mostly better because it fixed mistakes.

The grass and sky textures have gone unchanged for years, and compare unfavourably to Minecraft. New fielding animations are nice, and the mode tweaks welcome.

As long as people like me keep buying, there isn’t much reason to do anything but iterate. And I will be buying—I just wish I had more reason to look forward to doing it ; )

It would be so nice to see an effort made to truly make this game a sequel, or even a soft reboot. Graphical upgrades would be really nice—there’s a Japanese game that puts the show to shame, but I’d imagine that would require abandoning less powerful systems — and I dream of having a clubhouse or something to fit out. Facilities to add like batting cages. A pad to hang out in, to hang up trophies, etc. I dunno. Let me walk around my home stadium in all that stuff we collect.

A new collaboration with Topps: I buy or pull a baseball card in real life, I get that player in game, too.

Mini game modes in the mold of rocket league.

It doesn’t need to be Fortnite, but something to bring more meaning and personality to the grind.

Ok, rant over. Happy to hear the news of these cards carrying over. I’m writing this from near Toronto, so I’m in still in my feels a bit, too. 😂

GS3 is a glitchy, story-less, juvenile mess. It’s also a delight. If you have young kids and you’ve gotten them addicted to YouTube through the pandemic (uh, not me), it’s borderline cinema.

Very naive question alert! I’ve found it hard to play games such as these with a traditional PS5 controller. Planet zoo, Tropico, et. I want to try but I keep running out of patience. Just something I need to get used to?

Apologies if this isn’t really the point, but it’s the turn-based thing that I just can’t seem to get into. And I hate that about me! I love rpgs. Expedition 33 looks great and of course I should be playing Baldur’s Gate. Is there a way to train myself to like the play style? Or am I just too based to rescue.

Probably a dumb question but do the pros and cons listed at the bottom represent the basis for the overall score? Poor performance options on the ps5 pro wouldn’t necessarily be a deterrent for obvious reasons. (My broke a$$ included.) Thanks!

YESSSSSS PLEASSSSSSSSSE.
(Yes, I am interested.)

I do not at all mean to yuck anyone's yum, but I felt like it was missing some of the magic of IT2. Not saying it's bad by any means! I'd probably still give it a 7.5/10. Just felt like the story was relatively shallow (maybe the daughter was more important to IT2 than I remembered) and the settings weren't quite as wondrous. But maybe I've become grumpier

@ThrashBlade ah, so this is good to know. I was considering it as a way to play MLB The Show but hitting is already hard enough. Minuscule lag is basically a non-starter. Dang! Do you (or anyone reading this!) know if steamdeck has this issue? It’s more money than I’d like to spend but maybe we’ll get more use out of it.

Just here again to say that trans rights are not irrelevant to this discussion. It’s only irrelevant if you have the privilege of seeing it that way. Discouraging comments like this not only erases many of your readers’ real challenges and lives, but debases video games as an art form. If we want video games to be held in the same regard as media such as film, literature, painting, etc., — in the way many of us have argued for so long — we need to engage in them as we would any of those artistic creations. What I am offering is genuine criticism meant to be constructive in nature. If others choose to respond in an uncivilized manner, those are likely the people who feel pushsquare supports their belief that context has no bearing on these works of art, which is literally and objectively impossible, and that their perspectives and experiences are the only ones that matter.
This conversation is more important now than ever, and pushsquare has the opportunity to support inclusivity—which helps everyone by fostering more consumers and more output—and to seize this moment as an opportunity to show the world why vgs are a vital form of art.
I hope this comment won’t be deleted, and that it will not be seen as “off topic” or meant to inflame. I’m hopeful it will at least merit consideration from someone reading this or on team PushSquare. Thanks.

I suppose the next elder scrolls might be a dream too far?

To a layperson (me is layperson) I’m still not sure I’m sold on ps5 over ps4. (Ducks.) Thinking back to that Matrix demo and comparing it with AAA games on offer now. I’m sure there are all sorts of technical things I’m not considering but I might save my money until a console comes along that is powerful enough to come halfway close to bridging that gap. Or that can at least produce people in games like dragons dogma 2 who don’t move and act like laggy broken animatronic puppets. (Or at least has a new motorstorm game!)

I love my ps5 but I’m curious: has anyone looked at which Sony console accounted for the biggest leap over its predecessor? Maybe I’m just getting old and playing the wrong games. Honestly, not trying to yuck anyone’s yum. Suffice to say I’ll be waiting on PS6

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. For me, these graphics and animations are … concerning? I hope I’m wrong. I really, really, really want to like this game. Really!

Dumb question: If mlb the show continues to come out on switch and other last-gen consoles (and why wouldn’t it, given how many people play on those consoles), is there reason to think they’ll ever bother with making use of new-gen tech? I don’t ask for much, but having the grass look like grass would be nice.

You’re right about the context, and I think it should be framed that way. I’m a business journalist so for once I know what I’m talking about. This is not a flex; it’s just nice to finally know something relevant here

Sony is laying off X employees as the industry grapples with soaring interest rates and etc etc etc

Sure, those are the economic circumstances in which Sony found itself. But whenever a company decides to lay off employees, it is exactly that: a decision. In this case, it is a decision to protect (sizeable!) profitability in order to appease investors.
Layoffs aren’t an act of nature; they’re a decision. As it is, it’s like saying a tax hike happened to a government, or a fart happened to me.

I think Sony would be very happy with this framing. The company wasn’t struck by anything; it actively decided to lay off employees.

Is the VR2 meant to attract casual/traditional gamers, or mostly still VR fans? I wanna feel covetous about this, but it’s just not there. After seeing a few years of VR systems and games, maybe it’s just down to preference, and always will be? It can’t be that I’m old…

I’d love to see a new Astro’s Playroom. Still one of my favourite PS5 games. 🤣

@get2sammyb Oh, ok! Thanks.

Hi, there. Just wondering if you were planning a review of the game. I’ve also noticed very few reviews from mainstream sites in general; wonder if that’s because it’s more or less the same game every year?

"Somebody wanna call a goddamn paramedic?" Man, always happy to see more Robocontent but I feel like I watched a different trailer. It just felt ... muddy to me: threadbare areas, dissociated voices. Hope I'm wrong.

I don’t know if this is just me, but I struggle with audio: NPCs will be super loud but I can barely hear normal conversations between Geralt and other main characters. I went in knowing the movement was going to be bad (and it is, oof), but I didn’t expect audio to be such a hang up. Anyone else or am I just old?

♥️

Thank you. This means so much.

@danlk1ng Precisely. Wanting to side-step this discussion completely is what I take issue with. Trans folk don’t have that option.

And I’m sorry if this conversation is boring to some folks here. I get that we all just want to enjoy video games. I know I’ve attracted the attention of dudes who just hope I go away. That’s fine. Their opinions will never change because they refuse to imagine a world that is different than theirs. My sincere hope is that whoever is deleting these comments, as was confidently predicted by those dudes (why so confident?), takes a second to read and think. Maybe even discuss again with your colleagues. There are other models to look at and learn from. It’s possible—maybe even easy—to do the right thing. Thanks for reading.

“People like this.” I’m a guy who thinks people should be loved and supported for who they are, and I’m the one who’s going to have his comments deleted. I’m glad you don’t have to worry about it. Enjoy your great community (that isn’t trusted by its moderators to comment freely and in support of trans people.)

“The disclaimer is there for people who falsely believe“ does not make for a good-faith argument, but I suspect you know that.

Who are “the posters on this thread,” in your mind? Pushsquare’s policy ensures it will be the people who can freely comment on frame rates without feeling the publication and its allowed readers hate them. Must be nice.

@GreatAuk That is demonstrably false. And who’s “we”?

You can choose to not buy this game, and choose not to support a very rich and powerful person who doesn’t believe trans men are men and trans women are women. Not being able to discuss this simple fact—that her beliefs are dangerous and absolutely cause harm and worse—is enabling her. Moderate or close the comments if you don’t feel you have the resources to maintain a safe space for everyone.

We respect some of you may have opinions on the beliefs of the creative involved in this painting, but if we could please keep the discussion focused on the brush strokes and not ask any questions about the initials “AH” in the corner, that’d be great.
-Pushsquare

@TeapotBuddha hey, thanks. Appreciate it. And I agree. That or an unwillingness to entertain other perspectives. I’m hoping they will see a little work will go a long way.

@marnelljm Nice.

@pushsquare, This what you want for people to read? I’m offering constructive feedback to make this website better. What you’re doing instead is made people like this feel more emboldened.

@Richnj 🍻

@Logonogo the fact you can’t see how one is related to the other is one of the problems here.

@Gloamin gotcha. I’ve already given some ideas in my previous comment. Hopefully someone is reading and not immediately binning em

@Gloamin with respect, this tagline you are celebrating misses the mark. I know I am coming off as unchill or whatever, but I think it’s important to explain these concerns in every venue possible. It references, for instance, “the views and values of some of the creatives involved with the Harry Potter universe,” which includes the belief from their most important and visible creative that trans women aren’t women — misinformation that leads to those women becoming victims of violence and hate crimes at a frighteningly frequent rate.

This disclaimer would have it that we just ignore all that and just focus on the gameplay. My point is that a great many are not in a position to do so, and to ignore this dynamic fails trans people and misses a chance to be bold with coverage. There are some very simple things this blog can do to achieve that, including a story examining this issue, a page with resources for people in need of help, and so on. I’m not saying pushsquare needs to stop covering news around this game — it just needs to be smarter about it.

This argument doesn’t work: you feel safe because you aren’t affected. You can talk about the game and the game alone because you have that privilege. Enjoy, everyone. Glad you feel safe. You’re not going to hear from anyone who doesn’t feel the same way, for obvious reasons.

I’ve been called “pal” and “bud” in two responses urging me to “give it a break” or to “chill.” You don’t know me, you don’t know my gender, but you make assumptions: we’re all just dudes here talkin “vidyuh games.” That is interesting to me, and I think the crux of this problem: this decision is made from a cis male perspective and assumes everyone coming here shares it. That’s a shame. For some reason, as an avid reader over the years, I expected better.

@nicc83 “Pal.”

And yet, I’m sure it’s my comments that will be deemed rude and deleted. Guess we’ll see.

@nicc83 @gloamin Because trans people no longer feel safe here — “gamers” are the priority. Congrats?

This editorial decision is personally upsetting and possibly dangerous for others. Really disappointing. Other gaming websites have figured out how to cover this responsibly, and I wonder if that is reflective of more representation at the decision-making table. This means enough to me to no longer visit this website after several years of loyal readership. I wonder how many more feel the same way, but don’t feel comfortable saying so? It pays to do the work.

I’d also note a comment supporting this decision is still up, so already you’re breaking your own rule as long as it suits your needs.

@Northern_munkey thanks for taking the time, friend. I share in your optimism. I just think it’s a wasted opportunity to acknowledge real-world issues people are experiencing—which is, ironically, what makes video games and art so special: they reflect society’s issues, and help us to confront problems both at that level and a personal one. Severing the game off from reality does the game and its coverage a disservice—and ignores the real problems people and potentially many readers of this website are facing. Anyway! My two cents. I’m probably up to eight cents by now, come to think of it. But I appreciate your response.

Editing to add this: Write one story acknowledging this dynamic, and link to it from stories moving forward. Include links to resources for people in crisis. These are just a couple of ideas. Not perfect but better than ignoring the issue completely, imo

@Northern_munkey who are you afraid will be toxic here? This decision emboldens toxic people, if anything, as well as people who prefer to leave “uncomfortable” things aside so they simply can enjoy a game. What it does most? Encourage trans people to feel uncomfortable here. That’s a real shame.

My position: If you’re already moderating comments, perhaps use that time to delete actual transphobic content. If you can’t afford the time or resources to do that, do not cover this game. That would be entirely understandable, and not unprecedented.

I’m sure this comment will be deleted, but I have to say this: as a fan of this website, I continue to be disappointed you are still not getting it. It is an extremely narrow and privileged thing to be able focus just on the game. Those who are being repressed, abused and snuffed out of existence merely for who they are do not have this choice. So, sure, delete this. But please keep it in mind as you continue this coverage. (And if this is indeed deleted, know you are also deleting a long-time reader. This is my favourite website, and no longer being able to come here to enjoy it would suck. But it is what it is, I guess.)

@get2sammyb this presumes a lot of your readership won’t be bothered by the things bothering you. The ability to just enjoy the game as it is represents a huge privilege: I don’t have these problems, therefore we don’t need to talk about them. Please discuss with experts around you before deciding this is the path you want to take. So disappointing.

I think they should not have had it the same day news came forward of eight more women alleging sexist behaviour at PlayStation. They had to have known this was coming today. https://www.axios.com/sexism-playstation-lawsuit-sony-e0f42c61-8467-4940-884a-1885eb8189ff.html

@B_Lindz I’m…kinda with ya! Otherwise looks cool, though. Looking forward to seeing more.

I’m stoked! HFW isn’t really my bag so I’m really excited to give this a go on the PS5.

@Shakybeeves I’m sorry to see a few people seem to think this is a good point. Chronicling what is happening is not criticism, and even if it were, it’s criticism coming from a place of care. One of the best parts of pushsquare is that it’s more than a mouthpiece — it challenges Sony and others to do better not just for the company but for its fans. Hagiography helps no one.