Korgon

Expedition 33 is number 1 of course. Number 2 though I think I'd have to go with Dispatch actually. Really like that one more than I thought I would. 3rd would be Assassins Creed Shadows followed by Ghost of Yotei and coming in at 5 is Sonic Racing Crossworlds.

A great year indeed!

@Reyzore
I'll certainly agree E33 is a bigger budget indie compared to something like a Hades 2. There are certainly bigger and smaller indies out there. Just like there are bigger AAA and smaller AAA (or AA if you prefer). GTA6 for example has a budget most developers/publishers wouldn't even dream of.😄

@Max_the_German
Well no... Fromsoft isn't independent because they are owned by Kadokawa. In fact if you remember a little while ago there was talk of Sony inadvertently owning Fromsoft's when there was talk that Sony was interested in buying out Kadokawa. (It didn't happen obviously)

I agree that finding a publishing partner is a perfectly normal thing to do. I never said it wasn't. It's just another means to secure funding. Just like grants from a government or starting a Kickstarter.

@Reyzore
Sure thing. Kena Bridge of Spirits
-Financially supported by Sony (hence why it was a timed exclusive)
-Developed on Unreal
-Sure it didn't launch with physical version right away but I think it only delayed a month or two if I remember correctly.
-Technically can be completed quicker than 30 hours but if it's a complete playthrough it could last for around that length. (Also a different genre than an RPG like E33 so not as expected to last that long)
-3D game (not that I think that matters really but I digress)
-I don't know the exact number of people that worked on it but Ember Lab partnered with other support studios to work on the game.

And at the end of the day, Sony doesn't own Ember Lab or the IP. So yes I would say they are independent as well.

It was the only logical choice. An absolute masterpiece.

I see why some folks might argue it isn't "indie" in the traditional sense but I think it still fits the category. Kepler is a publishing partner. They don't own Sandfall Interactive. They just helped provide funds/support. Sandfall could go to any other publisher they want with their next game or they could choose to self-publish if they want. That wouldn't be the case if they weren't independent.

No one questions if a Kickstarter funded game is independent. It's the same concept in my eyes. The money for development has to come from somewhere.

A true masterpiece incoming!

I mean I love Yakuza still and this just looks like more Yakuza so...I'm sold.

Two thumbs way up!👍👍 Great to have you back Croft!

Yeah not exactly the big Sega reveal I was hoping for but oh well. If they aren't ready to show their work there's no shame in keeping quiet.

I thought it was great overall! I got more than a few that I'm interested in so I'm happy. Tomb Raider is finally back baby!

That's so sad. Very sorry to hear this. You were the best Galactic Ranger captain.

Sonic Frontiers 2, Virtua Fighter 6 news, Stranger than Heaven news. Any of those would be great news for me Sega!

@SeanOhOgain
It's the endless cycle. Thing gets popular. People don't like thing that is popular being more popular than thing they like. Say it's overrated to show their distaste for thing that is popular.

I get everyone has opinions but I don't understand the need people have to drag things down. I wasn't nearly as hot on BG3 as most people but I congratulate Larian on their work for the game. I can respect the craftsmanship even if I'm not the target audience. I don't know how anyone can look at E33 and just say "meh, who would want to play something like this? Overrated." Game was awesome.

I really loved Cyberpunk when I played it. I didn't try it until the PS5 version was out though so I didn't go through the rough launch. I remember being so bummed though after hearing how much of a disaster the launch was because I was always interested.

I'm glad CDPR stuck with it though because underneath all the bugs was an absolutely awesome RPG.

I'm not surprised Tokon isn't in this year. We haven't had a new character reveal since it was first revealed. That alone tells me it's further away than most expected. Plus I wonder if the recent beta has made them consider changing some things about it because the general sentiment around the game is a bit...wishy-washy I'd say. I thought it was fine personally but I'm just one guy.

I'm looking forward to trying to attend EVO again this year though. Gotta put my SF6 skills to the test!

No surprise Street Fighter 6 was at the top of my list. It goes...
1. SF6 (391 hours)
2. Persona 3 Reload (111 hours)
3. Assassin's Creed Shadows (109 hours)
4. Clair Obscur Expedition 33 (79 hours)
5. Ghost of Yotei (52 hours)

I think there was a mistake for one of mine. I'm positive I put more hours into Trails through Daybreak 2 than Ghost simply because it's a longer game. Oh well. It describes me well enough. Lots of SF with RPGs and open world adventures on the side.

Awesome looking forward to it!

Definitely in the "I'll believe it when I see it" column. Hope so though.

Good for him. Tekken wasn't ever one of my favorite fighters out there but Harada always demonstrated a clear passion for his work. Stuck with it for 30 years! You don't do that unless you really love it.

Good luck to him in whatever he does next. Maybe he could go over to Team Ninja and get DOA back in business!😄

I really liked Splitgate 2 so I'm definitely at least going to try it. The only real reason I stopped playing was that I just couldn't keep up with everyone else. Maybe I'll do better this time!

It could be the worst selling year COD has ever had and yet just about every other publisher/developer would ecstatic to have its numbers.

It just prints money.🤷‍♂️

Looks pretty good. Might scratch that Infamous itch I've had for too long.

I agree with Astro Bot at least! Not so much with the rest though. Not that they are bad I just wouldn't call them 10/10s.

Sky 3rd for sure is the way to go. Without getting into spoilers, one of the best story payoffs of Zero only makes sense if you have played 3rd. Skipping Sky 3rd would be a real head scratcher.

No worries CDPR. You just keep cooking over there.

A man of good taste I see. FFX is as timeless as it gets. It's easily my favorite still as well. It's aged like a fine wine. Just pure JRPG greatness.

I'm interested in revisiting it. I actually really liked what I played in the beta. The only real reason I backed off was because it got too sweaty. I just wasn't good enough to hang but the game itself was really fun. Maybe with the more unified approach to character load outs I might have a better chance!

This could be good actually. I'm interested.

Please make PS3 a priority soon! No disrespect to PS2 but many of the big hitters from that generation got a collection on PS4 or are on PS Classics. PS3 on the other hand has a plethora of awesome games trapped on that console. Please consider making it a priority at your earliest convenience!

I dearly miss Infamous 1 and 2☹️

@Slideaway1983
No need to apologize. It's actually just funny that I need to specify whether it's an actual disc or not in the first place. In an ideal world we wouldn't have come up with just sticking a code in a box and calling it a day but well...you know...what can ya do?😄

@Slideaway1983
Even if it's not a physical disc necessarily, it's still more encouraging than just some more V-bucks. At least they want an actual game. Not just microtransaction money for a game.

Unfortunate but on the bright side, 37% wanting a physical game under the tree isn't insignificant at least. It's actually higher than I would expect.

I hope so. Sands of Time is a stone cold classic. I'd be very interested in playing it again.

I've sunk many many hours into it and I don't see that changing any time soon. It's just so damn satisfying to play and play well.

It's without a doubt going to be my most played game on PS5 when all is said and done just like SFV was on PS4.

That's pretty nutty that ES4 got best remake over Trails in the Sky. I get that Trails never gets respect at these things but that is a damn tragedy!

Glad to see it did well. It was fun playing a Telltale style game again. Just felt like the right time for something like this.

I also think the 2 episodes a week approach was the perfect balance if your going for episodic content. Not too long of a wait like Telltale used to have a problem with. Not too short to the point of being annoyed and asking "Why not just put it all out at once!?" Good stuff. I'll definitely be there for season 2 assuming that happens.

Honestly looks pretty good. I see the vision. Obviously can't say how the final product will turn out but for a first look I think it's promising.

Man I love me some Tomb Raider and I'll be ready to support when I can but can Tomb Raider alone really save Crystal at this point? They've certainly struggled ever since that blasted Avengers game.

If it's priced within the range of a PS5 currently then I could see it raising a few eyebrows. The way they are talking though, it sounds like it might be around at least $800 or so. It's too expensive at that point. It also is likely to be sold through Steam itself like the Deck was and that alone will limit its potential reach quite a bit.

It's an interesting product but I don't think Sony is too worried for now. Now Microsoft on the other hand might be a bit disturbed as this thing basically sounds like a cheaper version of what they are doing next.

Welp can't argue with that price at least.

The weirdest thing is the mobile game looks like a mobilized MMO Monster Hunter based of what was shown. So is this going to just look like a not MMO Monster Hunter?

Sony must really like Monster Hunter.😅

Now that's just silly. You're funny Rockstar!🤣 Good joke!

@Shepherd_Tallon
It does look pretty impressive for sure. Perhaps a bit too impressive. My phone would probably feel like it's on fire if I tried to run this on it!😅

@Shepherd_Tallon
You make some good points. I know mobile is very big in Asia but I just feel like if you are going to make a free-to-play mmo set in an already established franchise, why wouldn't you make sure that the platform with most of your already established fans are able to play?

It just seems like they are making it harder than it needs to be to get an audience for this. I feel like the better approach would have been to be where the majority of fans already are and expand from there but what do I know?

I don't think anyone thought Guerilla was abandoning console development. I think people are just scratching their heads why this particular game isn't available on PS5 is all. It's just an odd choice.

@Wardenknight133 @get2sammyb
I get that they want to capture the mobile market...but I don't see what that has to do with not releasing it on PS5. Or at the very least confirming a PS5 version will come down the road.

As a Free to Play game, they need to get anyone they can get to be sustainable. Cutting out the platform where the majority of already invested fans of the franchise are seems like a frankly dumb business decision.

Look at Hoyoverse. They make games that work great on a phone but are scalable upwards from there. They figured it out. Why can't NCSoft?

I know its meant for mobile first but it's still a very odd decision to not put this out on PS5. That's where the vast majority of Horizon fans already are. Why make things harder on themselves?

I don't get it but good luck to them I guess.

It actually looks pretty solid. I'm personally not interested but I can see a possible audience for this.

Super excited for this. 2nd Chapter is easily among my favorite RPGs I've ever played. Looking forward to it!

Well...they can't all be good ones. There's always next time.