Hoodie718

Not interested in a new Mass Effect game from a company owned by Saudi Arabia and Jared Kushner. What a sad, slow end to BioWare.

@AdamNovice My friend had the same problem. He had his PS5 set up vertically, and it went away when he put it on its side.

BioWare was the last shred of interest I had in EA, and I wasn’t feeling too hopeful about that anyway. Easiest boycott ever.

@Vaako007 what makes you say they’re not hiring “proper talent based on merit?” And what do you mean they’d be in a “completely different position” if the protagonist were a “normal straight Japanese man?” I think Yasuke and Naoe are interesting characters, and the game seems to be selling well, despite the anti-woke crusade.

@Olmaz The content is optional, and your explanation doesn’t work. This is not a change in mechanics (and even if it were, the phrase “forced inclusion” is never used to describe changes in gameplay). You might as well say that the setting itself is “forced inclusion” because it has never been used in an AC game before.

And the “negative feedback” isn’t important, just obnoxious.

The most unseemly thing to me is that AAA gaming is already in a crisis, as is Ubisoft, so the odds are seemingly already stacked against this game. And the “anti-woke” mob is dying to swoop in a claim any perceived shortfall as vindication for their bigotry. It’s pathetic.

The campaign against this game definitely had the opposite effect on me! I haven’t had time to play it yet, but I made sure to pre-order it as soon as the (positive) reviews dropped. Looking forward to diving in this weekend!

@Olmaz “Forced inclusion” is such an odd concept. Every element of the game is “forced” in – these games are made by people who will them into being. People only say non-heteronormative elements are “forced” in because, in their view, heteronormativity is the natural state of things, and any representation of anything else is an unnatural deviation that is being forced on them.

@PuppetMaster I just notice that when it comes to non-heteronormative elements in games, suddenly people become extremely invested in whether something serves the story or not. Lots of games have romance options that are non-essential and thus do not serve the story. They are just there for people who enjoy that aspect of role-playing.

As for whether romancing a non-binary character in particular serves the story, I don’t see why it needs to. Maybe non-binary people just exist and sometimes people fall in love with them.

EDIT: It’s an Ubisoft open-world game. It’s likely packed to the brim with things that are not important to the story. And personally wouldn’t have it any other way!

@PuppetMaster are there groups that shouldn’t be satisfied? I assume the option is there because it would appeal to some folks. Is there a reason why it shouldn’t exist?

I’m really happy with PSVR2. RE Village and 4 Remake are outstanding, as is No Man’s Sky. And the more casual titles are really fun. The OLED is stunning and the headset and controller tracking are light years beyond PSVR1. I feel like I have plenty to play on it. It’s just that VR in general can just be kind of awkward and claustrophobic. There’s a part of my brain that just resists effectively being blindfolded in the middle of my living room.

@FutilityInExcellence “most people” don’t play any game! Is there any game in existence that reached more than half of gamers? This metric is meaningless! For what it’s worth, Veilguard is the highest-ranked single-player game on the US chart.

@FutilityInExcellence weird I’ve probably already sunk 30 hours into this “bad product” and I’m a lifelong gamer in my 40s.

@FutilityInExcellence You just admitted to trying to suppress games that don’t conform to your cultural agenda.

@FutilityInExcellence And these are the people who will decry censorship if their waifu’s sideboob gets patched out.

@FutilityInExcellence [wishlists Avowed]

@FutilityInExcellence You’re not willing to have an actual discussion about why you want the game to fail because, as you already said, the majority of your actual reasons are things that would get your comment removed. And without straying further off topic, I don’t think the election went the way it did because of the cultural issues you’re so fired up about. And the outcome was not a shock - it was always extremely close.

@FutilityInExcellence Nobody is making bad games on purpose to ruin franchises. That’s nonsense. And if they were, and the game is as unsuccessful as you say, then wouldn’t they be the ones who won?

It seems like a lot of your problems with the game are things you aren’t willing to articulate here. To which I’ll just say, there are tons of transgender and gender non-conforming people who are into gaming and fantasy. This hobby belongs no more to you than it does to them. And nobody’s stopping you from playing Kingdome Come if that’s your bag. The only anti-gamer sentiment being expressed here is rooting for the failure of a game.

@FutilityInExcellence It’s not about feeling bad for them. It’s about hoping that a franchise I enjoy can continue. And calling out people who are somehow offended that a game that doesn’t cater to them exists and want to gatekeep this hobby.

@FutilityInExcellence A game can bomb and still be good, though. When I say they pulled it off, I mean they have made (in my opinion) a good game despite what I assume were shifts in direction and scope over the course of a very long development. It’s the first good BioWare game in the 10 years since Inquisition. AAA development is so dicey these days, it seems in poor taste (and agenda-driven) to root against a beloved AAA franchise and developer.

@FutilityInExcellence “Against gamers” – I’m guessing you have political reasons for disliking the game. BioWare fans know that the developer has always been at the forefront of representation in AAA games. And it’s no secret the game had a protracted and difficult development. Considering the way these things can go (Suicide Squad), I’d say they pulled it off!

@FutilityInExcellence I enjoyed Inquisition and picked Veilguard up. Took awhile to get going, but I’m really digging it now! And with the state of the industry these days, it seems odd to root against a developer.

I hope this momentum toward Bluesky keeps growing. It’s hard to get an entirely new social media platform off the ground these days, but there has to be a viable alternative for those of us who don’t want to hang out in Elon’s personal dystopian playpen.

@cuttlefishjones How so? I haven’t finished the game and don’t want to spoil it, but a quick google for trans character in Veilguard seems to only return results referencing the option for the player character to be trans. Which actually seems like a step back from the previous game where there was a trans party member.

Either way, the whining about inclusion is beyond tired at this point. Considering that we just elected a fascist president here in the US after he campaigned on fearmongering about trans people, it’s actually incredibly dangerous.

@Sveakungen “Forced” gender politics is when you give people a choice they can completely ignore? Sounds backward.

The industry is on its knees because game development is prohibitively expensive. If Sony can make a quick buck here bringing this game to a new audience, I’m all for it. Nobody’s forcing you to buy it.

I never got into the original, and Blow’s public persona is so off-putting, I didn’t even think about giving the game a second look with this remaster. It’s not a game that seems like it would particularly benefit from a graphical refresh, and the only other meaningful update is the opportunity to hear him talk all the way through it? No thanks.

@daveofduncan yeah I played it on iPhone when it came out and was shocked that it was so janky when it dropped on Switch more than a year later. I’d really been looking forward to playing it on console.

At this point, it’s not unusual for games to release in an unoptimized, buggy state. What is weird is that they don’t seem to have given the Switch version any attention in the past several months.

I hope I’m wrong, but it feels like they had to kick this out the door quickly so Epic could put them to work on whatever they’re doing in Fortnite. The first one was amazing and got showered with support for what seemed like years. We’ll be lucky if they even patch the performance issues and RT bug on Switch. At least on PS5 it should run well.

I loved the last game, but the sequel seems to be starved for support. Probably because Epic bought the developer and I guess put them to work on Fortnite’s racing mode or whatever. Such a shame, because the first game ran great and got tons of content updates. I might pick this up on sale just in hopes of having a version that runs smoothly.

At first I rolled my eyes at this, but then I thought about how annoyed I’d be if they censored Gale’s cleavage in Minthara’s armor. But THEN I remembered that Gale isn’t a melee fighter and doesn’t need the coverage, so my outrage would be totally valid 😌

It continues to be odd to see people complaining of “lazy devs” when crunch and layoffs are an ongoing issue in the industry. Games are more elaborate, cheaper and more plentiful than ever, but some people will always complain.

The original DD was something of a cult game for a reason. Personally I’m enjoying the hell out of the sequel, and I’m glad I bought it at full price so we hopefully won’t have to wait another 12 years for another one.

@SgtTruth I don’t know what you’re talking about man. The true blacks combined with HDR make games like RE Village really shine and heighten the immersion. As much as I would prefer more games without such dreary settings, it can be really effective in PSVR2. It may not be something you appreciate or value, but it’s not just a marketing myth. In Village, when that grinder at the beginning cuts through your handcuffs and sparks start flying everywhere, it was unlike anything I’d ever seen in almost 40 years of gaming.

I love the Metro games and am glad to see PSVR2 getting some love. At the same time, I can’t help but wonder why so many of the most lavish VR games spend their budgets on transporting us to some of the last places I would ever want to be.

@__jamiie We don’t know what all of Sony’s studios are making. Some could be working on PSVR2 games that have yet to be announced. We just don’t know. I wouldn’t expect for Sony to sink a ton of development resources into PSVR2 though. The VR market is just so limited.

Also, remember that beloved PSVR1 games like Astro-Bot and Blood & Truth released a couple of years after the headset’s launch. Sony is funding VR modes for games made by other studios, which is great! Unfortunately, I think Sony’s first party support across the board is going to suffer because they made such a big bet on live-service games.

@ryanburnsred I hope you’re joking. If I had a dollar for every time someone said PSVR2 was looking like another Vita I could personally fund development of a VR-exclusive God of War game by now. I don’t think it’s a good comparison though.

This is literally the first time I’ve ever heard anyone refer to FCE as a AAA developer. There seems to be a ton of confusion around this term as it applies to VR.

This self-perpetuating gloom cycle around PSVR2 is so annoying. There’s a lot of great games on PSVR2. It’s given me some of the most genuinely thrilling gaming experiences in years! It doesn’t need costly AAA first-party exclusives to succeed. Those just aren’t feasible financially, especially with the financial turmoil in the games industry right now. I wish people could just appreciate PSVR2 for what it is. With hybrids, we actually have some true current-gen AAA games playable in VR.

And on that note, I genuinely hope that Push Square will find some time to write up the VR Mode for Resident Evil 4 Remake. It’s incredible!

I’m looking forward to this one! It looks like a slick and replayable arcade experience. It would also be great to get a review or at least impressions of the VR Mode for RE4 Remake 🙏

If I somehow didn’t have a PS5 already, I’d probably get a Pro, but I don’t see myself selling my PS5 to get this upgrade. Games are already stunning on PS5, at least in a 65” screen. Would maybe be nice for some VR games but that’s it.

@SgtTruth Nexus is an AC game in much the same way that COTM is a Horizon game (though less linear and with less spectacle, from what I’ve seen) and AW2 isn’t even out yet. I’ll definitely stick with the “tacked on” VR modes for two top-tier honest-to-god AAA Capcom titles. RE4 Remake is much more than a graphical update by the way – the campaign is fleshed out and there are new gameplay mechanics to go along with the multi-generational leap in graphics.

Not to mention, AW2 isn’t even optimized for Quest 3 and neither of those games are exclusive to the new hardware. There’s no exclusivity deal for Nexus so you may still get your chance with that one anyway.

I might pick up a Q3 one day if the library of exclusives fills out, but there’s no way I’d trade, personally. Especially since you already have a library of Quest games! Dude what were you thinking selling your Quest in the first place?

Not seeing this sale in the US. Would love a deal on Armored Core 6!

I feel for them, and I think we were robbed of the moment as well. It looks great though.

I’m so hyped for this! Based on how awesome the Village port was, it looks like it’s going to be absolutely outstanding and quite possibly a high water mark for VR. It’s incredible that we’re getting a full VR port of a GOTY contender in the year of its release. I hope it gets the attention it deserves as a system-seller for PSVR2.

I really don’t think the PSVR2 situation is so dire that it warrants jumping ship to Quest 3. With few exceptions, the best Quest games seem to be making their way to PSVR2 and in better (albeit wired) form.

Meanwhile the PSVR2 exclusives, while few, are truly outstanding and leverage the PS5 hardware to achieve things that would be impossible on the standalone Quest (especially since all Quest games currently have to be able to run on Quest 2). Most of the Game Awards VR GOTY nominees are PSVR2 exclusives. Not to mention, the Quest 3 launched without a single big game that shows off the hardware.

There are definitely some good things about the Quest 3 and I can certainly see the benefit of having both. But the grass isn’t necessarily greener over on that side.

Anyway, looking forward to this game!

Maybe it’s just me, but if more people were spending money on the game, there would probably be fewer layoffs. The game development industry seems pretty exploitative overall, but pulling financial support for struggling projects doesn’t seem to be in anybody’s interest.