I really hope, with all of that success they invest in upgrading their engine, meaningful pre/post release optomization, enriching their staff and refraining from the continued practice of egregious full price asset flip releases (and no, I'm not referring to Night Reign).
***UPDATE: after playing and testing all three graphics modes on a Base PS5 *** :
I first want to mention that in the graphic settings toggle there is a developer note that says if you choose balance mode they highly recommend putting your TV into 120hz mode and locking the frame rate because they know that screen tearing can occur if you don't. Which is at least cool they acknowledge there is a problem and offer solutions to mitigate it.
However I have found the opposite: With 120hz/Vrr the game runs best in my eyes with framerate target lock off, as well as sharpening turned off or at least 2 or less(the default is at 7 and artifacting, ghosting, etc are worse the higher it is but far less noticeable lower). I also left depth of field off as well as motion blur. Those may improve your experience or performance even more if it seems needed for you.
On a launch PS5 I'm getting the following:
I'm getting at or slightly above 60 fps all the time in prioritize framerate mode.
48-78 fps in balanced mode but it holds
most close to 49-62 fps
In prioritize graphics mode it hovers mostly between 47-55
Other things of note I've noticed:
there's a little bit of artifacting and stuttering if you slow Pan the camera but just moving normally you don't really notice it and as far as screen tearing I'm not seeing any of the screen tearing that this very short review said was so terrible. Mind you that's with vrr on, however this review was allegedly done with a PS5 Pro and I assume they would test those settings especially since the developer put in the settings menu to utilize 120 HZ features...
On a base PS5 with this level of detail I think the performance is pretty damn good in actually all three modes aside from some what looks like upscaling artifacting/ghosting around the protagonist during movement. I also can't stress enough how much better the game seems to run in any of the three modes using 120 hertz, vrr, alongside toggling off frame rate target lock.
Now to address some of the other comments in this very short review, especially environments looking awful. I don't know how the reviewer could possibly say such a thing. The game environments are more detailed than any from softgame put out to date. Even with the settings obviously reduced for console compared to PC this game has a great level of environmental detail and strong design.
I will update if I start seeing anything resembling the screen tearing the reviewer suggested(perhaps it was the ghosting they mistook for it, which again looks like old versions of fsr or similiar upscaler based artificating/ghosting. Much like jedi survivor.
I recommend prioritize fr mode (or balanced mode at the very least), 120hz, vrr on, framerate unlocked 1-off sharpening, motion blur off, depth of field low-off (haven't tried hdr, as it's usually garbage on Ps5). In performance mode the framerate stays within ps5's limited vrr window (above 48fps needed to see it engage), and ensures a smoother ride. 6ft away from your TV also a smart move for any sub 4k res /up scaling heavy game played on a 55 inch or greater TV.
So far I'm enjoying it, the combat animations are decent, but the overall quality as a soulslike remains to be seen. It's not lies of P level visual and technical polish by any means. For a 50 dollar debut offering from the devs, it's impressive regardless.
@Northern_munkey agreed
100% getting this, despite the lazy review.
The more I read about this one, it sounds like a gem, perhaps even better than lord's, despite the technical issues, which plagues Fromsoft's subpar and aging visuals, copied and pasted animations and base models in every game they put out.
Someone else already said it here in the comment section but how is it that some games that basically identically mimic other games, get in depth, specific, and often praiseworthy reviews.......yet other games in specific genres just seem to be treated like some second rate b tier fair even if they do basically the same thing that they're inspired from And do a decent job at it.
You couple that with here getting a a clear and significant downgrade in overall review Impressions based on its technical State and yet other games get a complete pass on that s***. Basically if you're not a first-party studio, major AAA outfit, indie darling going viral, or fromsoft you just get absolutely slandered by some of these Outlets...
@thefourfoldroot1 agreed. I would have bought it day one if it wasn't double dipping full retail with a year's old game.
Glad to see Clair Obscure on there. The rest are a given although for those touting AC Shadows,... Take a look at the sales of the last 4 installments before you assume that's a successful number for the franchise. It's a fraction of what Valhalla did by this amount of time.
I didn't really want a sifu sequel but I certainly didn't want the devs of that game and the unique talents that made it, to move onto some live service football *****.
However you do you. Anything is better than being a sequel factory.
@gingerfrog agreed. It's side content is another 30 hrs of repetitive and eventually mundane filler. I really hope they trim that out or add far more variety.
@SeaDaVie the point of my post was to share my opinions on Iki, revisiting the game 5 years later. It's of course my personal take, and as I suggested I had a decent opinion of the game overall when it released and completed it to platinum.
However I do find it odd that I brought up specific points that I now find underbaked, repetitive, and clunky. Yet your response was merely that most liked it so my opinions are null. However, in reality I'm not sharing my thoughts to be reviewed for your personal validity. As all opinions are just that, and often differ. The comment I made about glazing is in reference to opinions I had then, and still hold now: that this game got a pass in terms of criticisms around it's very generic open world side missions/activities even for that time. Where as a Ubisoft game, that I'd argue does some of it better or at least with more polish or traversal ability, yet those game get hard criticisms for the very same things Tsushima does.
Either way I stand by how it feels playing right now, which is in all honesty surprising even to me, based on how I remembered it. I remembered the side activities being repetitive and a slog in the end, however I'm surprised how clunky the stealth, combat and traversal feel, alongside the bird chasing feeling far worse and hand holding than I remember.
The games combat and traversal was pretty fun actually. Had I not fallen into the trap of chasing all the side content, and the ubi slog setting, I think I would have pushed through and finished it.
I'll definitely give this new mode a try and hopefully see it through.
Good God! I never played iki island so I decided to boot it up over the weekend and give it a try. I hadn't played Tsushima since a 100% play through during launch.
I'm actually blown away at how much worse it feels to play now. It's nothing like I remember it. It's insane how clunky the combat feels just 5 years later. The repetitive bird chasing acting as a crutch to completely negate their advertised exploration innovations, and man the mundane repetitive side actitivities and quests are even more a slog 2 hrs into iki than they were dozens into the base game. The systems and traversal in this game are so basic and undercooked.
At the time I considered Tsushima about a 7 or 8 with. An artistically exceptional work built upon a very generic open world Foundation. However, by today's standards if they double down with a very iterative sequel on their hands only implementing a few refinements, it is not going to be up to modern day standards. Despite all the glazing that will occur from Sony stans. I'm actually genuinely worried now having seen in the preview for Yotei.
Was Iki island considered worse than the base game?
I'll have to watch that interview they did recently just to see what else it is they're improving because man there is a lot of room for improvement when you set aside nostalgia
I never played iki island so I decided to boot it up and give it a try. I hadn't played Tsushima since a 100% play through during launch.
I'm actually blown away at how much worse it feels to play now. It's nothing like I remember it. It's insane how clunky the combat feels just 5 years later. The repetitive bird chasing acting as a crutch to completely negate their advertised exploration innovations, and man the mundane repetitive side actitivities and quests are even more a slog 2 hrs into iki than they were dozens into the base game. The systems and traversal in this game are so basic and undercooked.
At the time I considered Tsushima about a 7 or 8 with. An artistically exceptional work built upon a very generic open world Foundation. However, by today's standards if they double down with a very iterative sequel on their hands only implementing a few refinements, it is not going to be up to modern day standards in my opinion. Despite all the glazing that will occur from Sony stans. I'm actually genuinely skeptical on this being worth picking up during release based on this preview.
Was Iki Island considered worse than the base game?
I'll have to watch that interview they did recently just to see what else it is they're improving because man there is a lot of room for improvement when you set aside nostalgia
It's still a solid 7-8 for me. The combat, production values, art direction are what elevate it. What always held it back is the fact that it employs some of the most repetitive generic open world tropes and really doesn't make them any better. Many just chose to give it a pass despite having those very Ubisoft inspired elements because it's Sony/sucker punch.
However for me it's all about is the game enjoyable and if there are aspects that are not then what are they. With sushima it was absolutely and almost identical feeling towards the end that I get when playing an open world Ubisoft where the handful of side activities are so overused, but really the only impetus for exploration, that by the end I just kind of wanted the whole thing to be over because it started to feel like a slog.
@Oram77 no one is saying tsushima copied it they are suggesting yotei is representing itself as having A Very similiar story just in it's narrative. Especially to hunting down these targets that killed your fam or some loved one. It's very very much the formula AC has been using since origins in some form. However him clarifying it's more linear in doing so is definitely encouraging.
Aside from that, many other aspects of ghost and ac are very similar: fog of war clearing on the map, icon population of map, repetitive outpost clearing, reaching a high point to unlock/reveal something, following something for a reward, etc.
If it's anything like Ubisoft's formula, which if the first is anything to go by, it absolutely is despite biased thinking you may hold (fog of war, icon populating map, repetitive overused activities, samey assets in repetitive outpost clearing, etc); then the "more" is icon chasing/side content.
The problem is, Tsushima's side content was minimal, repetitive, and often boring after it's initial charm. Especially when the incentive to explore is largely for cosmetic nonsense. I've no doubt the quality will be better than most of the Ubisoft slop it mimics, but I absolutely noticed the same Ubisoft open world induced feeling of the side content being a slog that I just I wanted to end as I neared the conclusion of Tsushima.
Granted, I did do everything. However that shouldn't matter. Put more meaningful side content in games and less repetitive bloat to pad out what's on offer.
The problem is that we live in a world where goods and services are created not to add value, solve problems, or whatever else. They are in stead all designed to prey upon you and extract as much cash as long as possible.
So not only are people losing their jobs to AI in order for these greedy ***** to increase their profit margins; they are at the same time raising retail prices for customers despite being cheaper and faster to make.
Performance aside even, I really wish they had truly moved alway from the level scaling system of that time. It just ruins the progression feel of an rpg. Back in the day I think I was just so enamored with a big first person open world RPG to explore and it was somewhat fresh and idea aside from Morrowind or even kingsfield. However, playing it now, older and wiser, it's just a garbage system that really just makes all the repetitiveness that is in Oblivion a chore to do more than fun because the power fantasy of an rpg diminished.
It's interesting to look at bgs titles through a more modern-day lens. you start to realize how much they have relied on procedural generation and other shortcuts throughout the years. Reluctance to modernize or evolve any of these features is really starting to show their incompetence as a developer but also just their reluctance to grow in favor of very basic iteration. It's insane how long these games take to make considering those shortcuts. It really suggests poor management.
In the case of this release it's also kind of a double hit the fact that virtuos is working on it because they're also known for not really being able to improve what they remaster or Port once it's released so I wouldn't hold my breath on this getting any better than what it is right now especially when you couple that with bgs's patch record in terms of performance.
It's certainly kind of concerning to look at what they did with this release and know that they have Fallout remasterakes in the pipeline, as it's 100% going to be the same case and they don't really have much of an incentive to not do that because this really sold so well And sadly i was part of that.
@Rich33 yeah DF literally called the patch a "nothing burger."
It's near the very top of my game buyers remore pile. It's essentially the equivalent of them painting over an aging rust bucket of a of car, advertising improvements mechanically, but in truth doing near none of it yet charging a premium for it.
It's likely not going to be fixed, as the core foundational issues of bgs engine are now further burdened by essentially laying on ue5 on top of it.
Turning on another device to use apps already installed on every TV in the last decade makes zero sense logically or financially in terms of power consumption.
The 3 seconds faster that YouTube may refresh is not worth it.
Sony desperately needs new first party IP. They've really narrowed themselves into these very samey 5 to 10 year Dev cycle sequels that are getting more undwhelming with each new installment.
How, after all this time they don't have these talented Dev teams working on new IP alongside old IP is crazy to me. it's not just Xbox that has a real issue with managing development pipeline. Sony is just as bad, this generation is a testament to that.
@Northern_munkey same. One of the worst day one purchases I've ever made. I'm not surprised they are trying to cash in even more though. The game sold massively even on digital.
The game runs like garbage and they didn't improve any of the originals major shortcomings and so far they have put zero noticeable effort into fixing it. Knowing BGS and virtuous, it will likely never get those technical shortcomings addressed.
Fyi: the latest patch didn't address any of the technical shortcomings related to performance (per DF today)
Many have already said it but for me I will play this for sure but I'm definitely not buying it day one. And for those trying to defend it with comments like 'it was a perfect game' and 'what were you expecting with a the sequel' blah blah blah. that doesn't really make sense as this game's been in development for some time and when you are Crossing into a new generation you expect a generation leap, refinement of systems and improvement on shortcomings. Especially with the dev time here. This looks near identical to the ps4 original. Which is crazy that it has so much aliasing and such a visually obvious short LOD on a ps5 in this gameplay footage.
This is exactly what they did with Spider-Man to Spiderman rrmaster/miles to Spiderman 2 (here it being tsushima to directors cut rerelease/iki to now yotei) . Where they really don't push next-gen Hardware at all in favor of just using the same systems they have in place to churn out yet another iterative sequel. I feel like if anything, this is what Sony has essentially pushed themselves into. This bizarre iterative sequel Factory of just a handful of ips they are just milking they become less interesting and exciting.
While ghost of Tsushima was a good game and had excellent art design it was by no means pushing graphical boundaries and absolutely had open world shortcomings preventing it from being a greatbgame. for this game the look essentially identical it's kind of hard to be blown away.
More than that though, for me it's the other stuff they're doubling down on. The side activities that I thought were really poorly done when you consider that it's a large open world game. When you're going to have us chasing wildlife to a shrine or visiting some sort of hot spring which has been done before countless times in many games, you can't have that be one of only like three side activities in a massive open world. it's just bloated out with the exact same thing over and over again and often times the reward being cosmetic is just lame as an incentive for exokoration. In fact my biggest gripe with Tsushima was the fact that nearly all exploration rewards aside from skill points was just cosmetic nonsense that I didn't give a s*** about.
I can't stress enough, that Tainted Grail Fall of Avalon is leagues better a game and far more fun to explore.
If you can stomach some pretty glaring technical issues on console. I highly recommend it. The devs have already put out like half a dozen patches since release and the game has an active discord community.
For an indie effort it's a flawed triumph and it's a shame it got so little press.
@EfYI for the most part agree with you but we need to at least push back against this idea that waiting for a patch or a long-term cycle of fixes and support to be the Benchmark when it's okay to purchase the game if they're selling it at full retail. I expect a finished product. Shouldn't we all? Or this idea that it's just normal Bethesda to not actually polish their f****** games, so let's keep making that a stereotype rather than what it is. Selling an untested/faulty product.
I too wait for sales and rarely jump into anything day one especially after doing so with the PS5 itself and it being one hell of a letdown generation. However it's pretty sad that we're in a state where we as consumers just go into releases assuming they're going to be garbage because the industry has made that the norm just to save a buck or two. Even more so what's concerning is it seems like releases are now put out unfinished intentionally to see if it sells enough to be "worth," actually finishing and polishing based on sales numbers and that's just frankly disgusting.
The norm in our predatory economic system is of course to build in things like planned obsolescence and or some form of degradation over time or monetizing usage Parts etc etc but can you imagine if someone released a TV or a dishwasher or a dryer, toaster, or an oven that just didn't work correctly even just 15% of the time. The product would fail, returns would be on Mass. I feel like video games is like the only industry where new Products are released faulty with the hope that it will be finished post sale. now it seems to be this brainwashed notion with the gamer base that this is normal.
Look at a TV is a good example actually because there you see where there's certain things that come up or features that aren't working right or aren't fully implemented and you get a firmware update. gaming is on a far different extreme.
Capcom for example, intentionally releases an unfinished product technically speaking, to appear successful in quarterly financial earnings deadlines, alongside having the most profitable period in their entire history.
Yet they're applauded like some industry darling despite them essentially saying it's fanbase are not worth giving a finished product at release, or ever really with Capcom.
Massive AAA outfits should not be getting a pass on this practice.
For me, it wasn't just the performance but the gaslighting they and sites like this did suggesting changes to level scaling that turned out to be pretty much nothing.
Level scaling completely ruins the progression systems in any rpg. Its just so lazy. That coupled with the performance being garbage because they just slapped on a coat of paint onto a game with many issues that could have been addressed is just sad. To even call this a remaster is laughable. It's just an engine upgrade that we were gaslit to believe it more and they made millions off of that bait and switch shadow drop.
This immediately went into my pile of shame list as a game I regret supporting with early adoption. So glad I discovered tainted grail fall of Avalon right after this dumpster fire. A far better game in terms of combat, atmosphere, and story than any bgs ai/procedurally generated slop.
@Nakatomi_Uk yeah I'm exploring the same. Likely targeting this fall for a pc build. It doesn't make sense to personally condone an ecosystem that has largely been disappointing this gen. I'll get to play third party titles better looking and more performant, and first party Sony titles after a short wait. Win, win. The games cost reduction will pay for the hardware investment increase fairly quickly.
An interesting side note a couple months ago I did the math just to see how much money I would have saved on some games that I really didn't want to buy but I ended up buying them because it was the only option in Sony's ecosystem. Games that we're actually free on Game Pass as day one releases. It turned out to be nearly $500usd I would have saved.....
Sony has a lot of course correction to do for me to feel it necessary to be an early adopter into a given generation again.
Such nonsense. This is like the 4th story this year where the developers have used the same excuse when found to be using Ai assets and not being up front about it.
Looking like corporate lawyer input for plausible deniability has been found
The minute they moved to the tiered scheme and monipolozed how to subscribe in order to eliminate discounts it became absolute greedy garbage. Where it remains to this day.
The offerings don't justify the massive price hike. I only sub for a month or so if there is a title released on their I was interested in but not at full price.
The only individuals this is a value to are people just entering the PlayStation ecosystem for the first time ever or at least missed out on the last two generations.
This is a perfect example of current Gen Sony. Rather than eat a minor reduction in profit due to market conditions they would rather pass the cost onto their player base.
Nearly every decision Sony has made this generation has followed the same strategy to the extent that it has become quite clear that they see player sentiment as a non priority. A direct result of their dominant marketshare.
The sad reality is, they won't change anything until that pendulum swings to be noticed. Eventually they will push enough away to have to care about customer satisfaction again.
I would argue they have already significantly damaged their reputation with their decisions this generation, so hopefully come ps6 time they see less early adoption because of it and start giving a ***** again.
This will go nowhere yet, although I do agree Sony have plans to further an agenda just like the one discussed in this lawsuit.
However there really needs to be an independent investigation and likely lawsuit into the construction of their dual sense controllers. The drift I have experienced in 4 dual senses is unacceptable and feels by design. Almost an electronic drift rather than drift of old. 1 I can understand, 2 is iffy, but 4?! Gtfoh.
Oh and before any of the mindless Sony Allegiant come at me the last two I actually rotated so they were used even less because I rotated between two every play session and yet the Drift actually occurred sooner in each
A controller they are charging that much for of which the price has increased should not have a shelf life that can often be less than a year. I finally bought a third party pro controller with hall effect at the expense of haptics just to stop giving Sony money for an obviously Nintendo level of defective stick design.
It's crazy to me to think about the fact that this is literally bloober team's third release this generation and yet the majority of PlayStation Studios haven't even put out a new game this gen....
To be fair the gameplay allows for those visuals in some aspects. When you are traversing largely barren locations at low speed, one can afford to make those locations look stunning for what they are.
Given that the series is largely a glorified walking simulation driven by a story told through flashy cutscenes I'd say visuals absolutely need to be on point given landscape traversal is the core gameplay loop.
Comments 2,975
Re: Immense Elden Ring Success Makes Its DLC, Nightreign Top Sellers Too
Elden Ring/Erdtree success is well deserved.
I really hope, with all of that success they invest in upgrading their engine, meaningful pre/post release optomization, enriching their staff and refraining from the continued practice of egregious full price asset flip releases (and no, I'm not referring to Night Reign).
Re: Mini Review: Wuchang: Fallen Feathers (PS5) - Decent Souls-Like Suffers Technically
@Northern_munkey thanks man. Enjoy Banishers, I spent an ungodly amount of time on that one. Decent game, great story!
Re: Mini Review: Wuchang: Fallen Feathers (PS5) - Decent Souls-Like Suffers Technically
@Deadlyblack Nice! Hope your enjoying it. Happy gaming!
Re: Mini Review: Wuchang: Fallen Feathers (PS5) - Decent Souls-Like Suffers Technically
***UPDATE: after playing and testing all three graphics modes on a Base PS5 *** :
I first want to mention that in the graphic settings toggle there is a developer note that says if you choose balance mode they highly recommend putting your TV into 120hz mode and locking the frame rate because they know that screen tearing can occur if you don't. Which is at least cool they acknowledge there is a problem and offer solutions to mitigate it.
However I have found the opposite: With 120hz/Vrr the game runs best in my eyes with framerate target lock off, as well as sharpening turned off or at least 2 or less(the default is at 7 and artifacting, ghosting, etc are worse the higher it is but far less noticeable lower). I also left depth of field off as well as motion blur. Those may improve your experience or performance even more if it seems needed for you.
On a launch PS5 I'm getting the following:
I'm getting at or slightly above 60 fps all the time in prioritize framerate mode.
48-78 fps in balanced mode but it holds
most close to 49-62 fps
In prioritize graphics mode it hovers mostly between 47-55
Other things of note I've noticed:
there's a little bit of artifacting and stuttering if you slow Pan the camera but just moving normally you don't really notice it and as far as screen tearing I'm not seeing any of the screen tearing that this very short review said was so terrible. Mind you that's with vrr on, however this review was allegedly done with a PS5 Pro and I assume they would test those settings especially since the developer put in the settings menu to utilize 120 HZ features...
On a base PS5 with this level of detail I think the performance is pretty damn good in actually all three modes aside from some what looks like upscaling artifacting/ghosting around the protagonist during movement. I also can't stress enough how much better the game seems to run in any of the three modes using 120 hertz, vrr, alongside toggling off frame rate target lock.
Now to address some of the other comments in this very short review, especially environments looking awful. I don't know how the reviewer could possibly say such a thing. The game environments are more detailed than any from softgame put out to date. Even with the settings obviously reduced for console compared to PC this game has a great level of environmental detail and strong design.
I will update if I start seeing anything resembling the screen tearing the reviewer suggested(perhaps it was the ghosting they mistook for it, which again looks like old versions of fsr or similiar upscaler based artificating/ghosting. Much like jedi survivor.
I recommend prioritize fr mode (or balanced mode at the very least), 120hz, vrr on, framerate unlocked 1-off sharpening, motion blur off, depth of field low-off (haven't tried hdr, as it's usually garbage on Ps5). In performance mode the framerate stays within ps5's limited vrr window (above 48fps needed to see it engage), and ensures a smoother ride. 6ft away from your TV also a smart move for any sub 4k res /up scaling heavy game played on a 55 inch or greater TV.
So far I'm enjoying it, the combat animations are decent, but the overall quality as a soulslike remains to be seen. It's not lies of P level visual and technical polish by any means. For a 50 dollar debut offering from the devs, it's impressive regardless.
Re: Xbox U-Turn the First Step Towards Gamers Rejecting $80 Games
This is exactly why being outspoken on issues within the industry is crucial. A solid win for gamers.
Re: Mini Review: Wuchang: Fallen Feathers (PS5) - Decent Souls-Like Suffers Technically
@Northern_munkey agreed
100% getting this, despite the lazy review.
The more I read about this one, it sounds like a gem, perhaps even better than lord's, despite the technical issues, which plagues Fromsoft's subpar and aging visuals, copied and pasted animations and base models in every game they put out.
Re: Mini Review: Wuchang: Fallen Feathers (PS5) - Decent Souls-Like Suffers Technically
What bizarre review .
Someone else already said it here in the comment section but how is it that some games that basically identically mimic other games, get in depth, specific, and often praiseworthy reviews.......yet other games in specific genres just seem to be treated like some second rate b tier fair even if they do basically the same thing that they're inspired from And do a decent job at it.
You couple that with here getting a a clear and significant downgrade in overall review Impressions based on its technical State and yet other games get a complete pass on that s***. Basically if you're not a first-party studio, major AAA outfit, indie darling going viral, or fromsoft you just get absolutely slandered by some of these Outlets...
This didn't even get full review treatment...
Re: 'Increasingly Selective Consumers' to Blame for Underperformance of Blades of Fire
I 100% agree with the selective gamer suggestion. I'm one of them that thought it interesting but not at full retail.
Re: Xbox Port Forza Horizon 5 Is the PS5's Best-Selling New Game of 2025
@Northern_munkey is it better than dirt 5?
I thought that game was absolutely terrible.
Re: Xbox Port Forza Horizon 5 Is the PS5's Best-Selling New Game of 2025
@thefourfoldroot1 agreed. I would have bought it day one if it wasn't double dipping full retail with a year's old game.
Glad to see Clair Obscure on there. The rest are a given although for those touting AC Shadows,... Take a look at the sales of the last 4 installments before you assume that's a successful number for the franchise. It's a fraction of what Valhalla did by this amount of time.
Re: 'PS5 Makes the Most Sense': Ori Dev Explains Why It's Swapping Xbox for Sony
Lmfao the reality is, if it's on pc it's on Xbox. That's there whole direction going forward. So this all makes total sense.
Re: Rematch Dev Acknowledges 'Disappointed' Sifu Fans Who Wanted a Sequel
I didn't really want a sifu sequel but I certainly didn't want the devs of that game and the unique talents that made it, to move onto some live service football *****.
However you do you. Anything is better than being a sequel factory.
Re: Ghost of Yotei PS5 a Similar Length to Ghost of Tsushima, Same Scope
@gingerfrog agreed. It's side content is another 30 hrs of repetitive and eventually mundane filler. I really hope they trim that out or add far more variety.
Re: 'Everyone Focuses on Steam Concurrents, But PS5 Is by Far Our Biggest Community': Test Drive Unlimited Dev Hits Back
@Northern_munkey yah I figured you may have thoughts as our resident racing Sim enthusiast 🤣
Re: Ghost of Yotei's State of Play Has Been Watched More Than Sony's Summer Showcase
@SeaDaVie the point of my post was to share my opinions on Iki, revisiting the game 5 years later. It's of course my personal take, and as I suggested I had a decent opinion of the game overall when it released and completed it to platinum.
However I do find it odd that I brought up specific points that I now find underbaked, repetitive, and clunky. Yet your response was merely that most liked it so my opinions are null. However, in reality I'm not sharing my thoughts to be reviewed for your personal validity. As all opinions are just that, and often differ. The comment I made about glazing is in reference to opinions I had then, and still hold now: that this game got a pass in terms of criticisms around it's very generic open world side missions/activities even for that time. Where as a Ubisoft game, that I'd argue does some of it better or at least with more polish or traversal ability, yet those game get hard criticisms for the very same things Tsushima does.
Either way I stand by how it feels playing right now, which is in all honesty surprising even to me, based on how I remembered it. I remembered the side activities being repetitive and a slog in the end, however I'm surprised how clunky the stealth, combat and traversal feel, alongside the bird chasing feeling far worse and hand holding than I remember.
Re: 'Everyone Focuses on Steam Concurrents, But PS5 Is by Far Our Biggest Community': Test Drive Unlimited Dev Hits Back
@Northern_munkey
You play this? If so what's your take? As this one really came and went with zero discussion.
Re: Avatar PS5 Game Gets a Third-Person Mode, New Game+ in Huge December Update
The games combat and traversal was pretty fun actually. Had I not fallen into the trap of chasing all the side content, and the ubi slog setting, I think I would have pushed through and finished it.
I'll definitely give this new mode a try and hopefully see it through.
Re: Poll: 5 Years Later, What Do You Think of Ghost of Tsushima?
Good God!
I never played iki island so I decided to boot it up over the weekend and give it a try. I hadn't played Tsushima since a 100% play through during launch.
I'm actually blown away at how much worse it feels to play now. It's nothing like I remember it. It's insane how clunky the combat feels just 5 years later. The repetitive bird chasing acting as a crutch to completely negate their advertised exploration innovations, and man the mundane repetitive side actitivities and quests are even more a slog 2 hrs into iki than they were dozens into the base game. The systems and traversal in this game are so basic and undercooked.
At the time I considered Tsushima about a 7 or 8 with. An artistically exceptional work built upon a very generic open world Foundation. However, by today's standards if they double down with a very iterative sequel on their hands only implementing a few refinements, it is not going to be up to modern day standards. Despite all the glazing that will occur from Sony stans. I'm actually genuinely worried now having seen in the preview for Yotei.
Was Iki island considered worse than the base game?
I'll have to watch that interview they did recently just to see what else it is they're improving because man there is a lot of room for improvement when you set aside nostalgia
Re: Ghost of Yotei's State of Play Has Been Watched More Than Sony's Summer Showcase
I never played iki island so I decided to boot it up and give it a try. I hadn't played Tsushima since a 100% play through during launch.
I'm actually blown away at how much worse it feels to play now. It's nothing like I remember it. It's insane how clunky the combat feels just 5 years later. The repetitive bird chasing acting as a crutch to completely negate their advertised exploration innovations, and man the mundane repetitive side actitivities and quests are even more a slog 2 hrs into iki than they were dozens into the base game. The systems and traversal in this game are so basic and undercooked.
At the time I considered Tsushima about a 7 or 8 with. An artistically exceptional work built upon a very generic open world Foundation. However, by today's standards if they double down with a very iterative sequel on their hands only implementing a few refinements, it is not going to be up to modern day standards in my opinion. Despite all the glazing that will occur from Sony stans. I'm actually genuinely skeptical on this being worth picking up during release based on this preview.
Was Iki Island considered worse than the base game?
I'll have to watch that interview they did recently just to see what else it is they're improving because man there is a lot of room for improvement when you set aside nostalgia
Re: Poll: 5 Years Later, What Do You Think of Ghost of Tsushima?
It's still a solid 7-8 for me. The combat, production values, art direction are what elevate it. What always held it back is the fact that it employs some of the most repetitive generic open world tropes and really doesn't make them any better. Many just chose to give it a pass despite having those very Ubisoft inspired elements because it's Sony/sucker punch.
However for me it's all about is the game enjoyable and if there are aspects that are not then what are they. With sushima it was absolutely and almost identical feeling towards the end that I get when playing an open world Ubisoft where the handful of side activities are so overused, but really the only impetus for exploration, that by the end I just kind of wanted the whole thing to be over because it started to feel like a slog.
Re: Official Ghost of Yotei Popcorn Bucket Triggers Tedious Takes on PS5 Exclusives
@dskatter exactly
Re: There's More to Ghost of Yotei's Story Than Its Revenge Quest
@Oram77 no one is saying tsushima copied it they are suggesting yotei is representing itself as having A Very similiar story just in it's narrative. Especially to hunting down these targets that killed your fam or some loved one. It's very very much the formula AC has been using since origins in some form. However him clarifying it's more linear in doing so is definitely encouraging.
Aside from that, many other aspects of ghost and ac are very similar: fog of war clearing on the map, icon population of map, repetitive outpost clearing, reaching a high point to unlock/reveal something, following something for a reward, etc.
Re: There's More to Ghost of Yotei's Story Than Its Revenge Quest
If it's anything like Ubisoft's formula, which if the first is anything to go by, it absolutely is despite biased thinking you may hold (fog of war, icon populating map, repetitive overused activities, samey assets in repetitive outpost clearing, etc); then the "more" is icon chasing/side content.
The problem is, Tsushima's side content was minimal, repetitive, and often boring after it's initial charm. Especially when the incentive to explore is largely for cosmetic nonsense. I've no doubt the quality will be better than most of the Ubisoft slop it mimics, but I absolutely noticed the same Ubisoft open world induced feeling of the side content being a slog that I just I wanted to end as I neared the conclusion of Tsushima.
Granted, I did do everything. However that shouldn't matter. Put more meaningful side content in games and less repetitive bloat to pad out what's on offer.
Re: Worried About AI in Game Development? It's Here, and It's Only Getting Worse
The problem is that we live in a world where goods and services are created not to add value, solve problems, or whatever else. They are in stead all designed to prey upon you and extract as much cash as long as possible.
So not only are people losing their jobs to AI in order for these greedy ***** to increase their profit margins; they are at the same time raising retail prices for customers despite being cheaper and faster to make.
Re: Oblivion Remastered Patch 1.2 Out Today, Adds New Difficulty Options, Improves Performance, More
@DennisReynolds agreed
Performance aside even, I really wish they had truly moved alway from the level scaling system of that time. It just ruins the progression feel of an rpg. Back in the day I think I was just so enamored with a big first person open world RPG to explore and it was somewhat fresh and idea aside from Morrowind or even kingsfield. However, playing it now, older and wiser, it's just a garbage system that really just makes all the repetitiveness that is in Oblivion a chore to do more than fun because the power fantasy of an rpg diminished.
It's interesting to look at bgs titles through a more modern-day lens. you start to realize how much they have relied on procedural generation and other shortcuts throughout the years. Reluctance to modernize or evolve any of these features is really starting to show their incompetence as a developer but also just their reluctance to grow in favor of very basic iteration. It's insane how long these games take to make considering those shortcuts. It really suggests poor management.
In the case of this release it's also kind of a double hit the fact that virtuos is working on it because they're also known for not really being able to improve what they remaster or Port once it's released so I wouldn't hold my breath on this getting any better than what it is right now especially when you couple that with bgs's patch record in terms of performance.
It's certainly kind of concerning to look at what they did with this release and know that they have Fallout remasterakes in the pipeline, as it's 100% going to be the same case and they don't really have much of an incentive to not do that because this really sold so well And sadly i was part of that.
Re: Oblivion Remastered Patch 1.2 Out Today, Adds New Difficulty Options, Improves Performance, More
@Rich33 yeah DF literally called the patch a "nothing burger."
It's near the very top of my game buyers remore pile. It's essentially the equivalent of them painting over an aging rust bucket of a of car, advertising improvements mechanically, but in truth doing near none of it yet charging a premium for it.
It's likely not going to be fixed, as the core foundational issues of bgs engine are now further burdened by essentially laying on ue5 on top of it.
Re: Talking Point: What Do You Want from God of War Maker Sony Santa Monica Next?
Something other than God of War
Re: Oblivion Remastered Patch 1.2 Out Today, Adds New Difficulty Options, Improves Performance, More
It has already been confirmed to NOT in fact improve performance.
Re: Sony Says PS5 Is the Best Place to Watch in TV Centric Ad
Turning on another device to use apps already installed on every TV in the last decade makes zero sense logically or financially in terms of power consumption.
The 3 seconds faster that YouTube may refresh is not worth it.
Re: Sony Santa Monica's Next Big Thing Not a New IP But May 'Feel Like One'
Sony desperately needs new first party IP. They've really narrowed themselves into these very samey 5 to 10 year Dev cycle sequels that are getting more undwhelming with each new installment.
How, after all this time they don't have these talented Dev teams working on new IP alongside old IP is crazy to me. it's not just Xbox that has a real issue with managing development pipeline. Sony is just as bad, this generation is a testament to that.
Re: Bethesda to Put Oblivion Remastered on a PS5 Disc in New Physical Edition
@Northern_munkey same. One of the worst day one purchases I've ever made. I'm not surprised they are trying to cash in even more though. The game sold massively even on digital.
The game runs like garbage and they didn't improve any of the originals major shortcomings and so far they have put zero noticeable effort into fixing it. Knowing BGS and virtuous, it will likely never get those technical shortcomings addressed.
Fyi: the latest patch didn't address any of the technical shortcomings related to performance (per DF today)
Re: Poll: Are You Sold on Ghost of Yotei?
Many have already said it but for me I will play this for sure but I'm definitely not buying it day one. And for those trying to defend it with comments like 'it was a perfect game' and 'what were you expecting with a the sequel' blah blah blah. that doesn't really make sense as this game's been in development for some time and when you are Crossing into a new generation you expect a generation leap, refinement of systems and improvement on shortcomings. Especially with the dev time here. This looks near identical to the ps4 original. Which is crazy that it has so much aliasing and such a visually obvious short LOD on a ps5 in this gameplay footage.
This is exactly what they did with Spider-Man to Spiderman rrmaster/miles to Spiderman 2 (here it being tsushima to directors cut rerelease/iki to now yotei) . Where they really don't push next-gen Hardware at all in favor of just using the same systems they have in place to churn out yet another iterative sequel. I feel like if anything, this is what Sony has essentially pushed themselves into. This bizarre iterative sequel Factory of just a handful of ips they are just milking they become less interesting and exciting.
While ghost of Tsushima was a good game and had excellent art design it was by no means pushing graphical boundaries and absolutely had open world shortcomings preventing it from being a greatbgame. for this game the look essentially identical it's kind of hard to be blown away.
More than that though, for me it's the other stuff they're doubling down on. The side activities that I thought were really poorly done when you consider that it's a large open world game. When you're going to have us chasing wildlife to a shrine or visiting some sort of hot spring which has been done before countless times in many games, you can't have that be one of only like three side activities in a massive open world. it's just bloated out with the exact same thing over and over again and often times the reward being cosmetic is just lame as an incentive for exokoration. In fact my biggest gripe with Tsushima was the fact that nearly all exploration rewards aside from skill points was just cosmetic nonsense that I didn't give a s*** about.
Music was sick though!!!
Re: Oblivion Remastered Patch 1.2 Detailed, Adds New Difficulty Options, Improves Performance, More
I can't stress enough, that Tainted Grail Fall of Avalon is leagues better a game and far more fun to explore.
If you can stomach some pretty glaring technical issues on console. I highly recommend it. The devs have already put out like half a dozen patches since release and the game has an active discord community.
For an indie effort it's a flawed triumph and it's a shame it got so little press.
Re: Oblivion Remastered Patch 1.2 Detailed, Adds New Difficulty Options, Improves Performance, More
@EfYI for the most part agree with you but we need to at least push back against this idea that waiting for a patch or a long-term cycle of fixes and support to be the Benchmark when it's okay to purchase the game if they're selling it at full retail. I expect a finished product. Shouldn't we all? Or this idea that it's just normal Bethesda to not actually polish their f****** games, so let's keep making that a stereotype rather than what it is. Selling an untested/faulty product.
I too wait for sales and rarely jump into anything day one especially after doing so with the PS5 itself and it being one hell of a letdown generation. However it's pretty sad that we're in a state where we as consumers just go into releases assuming they're going to be garbage because the industry has made that the norm just to save a buck or two. Even more so what's concerning is it seems like releases are now put out unfinished intentionally to see if it sells enough to be "worth," actually finishing and polishing based on sales numbers and that's just frankly disgusting.
The norm in our predatory economic system is of course to build in things like planned obsolescence and or some form of degradation over time or monetizing usage Parts etc etc but can you imagine if someone released a TV or a dishwasher or a dryer, toaster, or an oven that just didn't work correctly even just 15% of the time. The product would fail, returns would be on Mass. I feel like video games is like the only industry where new Products are released faulty with the hope that it will be finished post sale. now it seems to be this brainwashed notion with the gamer base that this is normal.
Look at a TV is a good example actually because there you see where there's certain things that come up or features that aren't working right or aren't fully implemented and you get a firmware update. gaming is on a far different extreme.
Capcom for example, intentionally releases an unfinished product technically speaking, to appear successful in quarterly financial earnings deadlines, alongside having the most profitable period in their entire history.
Yet they're applauded like some industry darling despite them essentially saying it's fanbase are not worth giving a finished product at release, or ever really with Capcom.
Massive AAA outfits should not be getting a pass on this practice.
Re: Oblivion Remastered Patch 1.2 Detailed, Adds New Difficulty Options, Improves Performance, More
For me, it wasn't just the performance but the gaslighting they and sites like this did suggesting changes to level scaling that turned out to be pretty much nothing.
Level scaling completely ruins the progression systems in any rpg. Its just so lazy. That coupled with the performance being garbage because they just slapped on a coat of paint onto a game with many issues that could have been addressed is just sad. To even call this a remaster is laughable. It's just an engine upgrade that we were gaslit to believe it more and they made millions off of that bait and switch shadow drop.
This immediately went into my pile of shame list as a game I regret supporting with early adoption. So glad I discovered tainted grail fall of Avalon right after this dumpster fire. A far better game in terms of combat, atmosphere, and story than any bgs ai/procedurally generated slop.
Re: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Story Leaves The Last of Us Director 'In Awe'
Nothing has even come close to this in terms of just a damn fun game in a long time. Sure as hell not this year.
Re: Digital Sales Make Death Stranding 2 PS5 Estimates Much Stronger
How many digital sales did the first one have though? 🤔
Re: Rumour: PS5 Disaster MindsEye Wants 'Redemption Arc' Despite Hundreds of Jobs Being 'At Risk'
I mean if the scumbags at an established long-standing studio like CDPR got such grace, it's only fair to give it to a debut studio's first outing.
Re: Blackpink's Lisa Is the New Global Face of PlayStation
Lmfao wtf was that. So this kpop star is supposed to make me buy into Concord street fighter Mtx edition, and cash grab drift sense releases?
Yah no.
Re: Brazilian Gamers Infuriated by Sudden PS5 Price Hikes
@Nakatomi_Uk yeah I'm exploring the same. Likely targeting this fall for a pc build. It doesn't make sense to personally condone an ecosystem that has largely been disappointing this gen. I'll get to play third party titles better looking and more performant, and first party Sony titles after a short wait. Win, win. The games cost reduction will pay for the hardware investment increase fairly quickly.
An interesting side note a couple months ago I did the math just to see how much money I would have saved on some games that I really didn't want to buy but I ended up buying them because it was the only option in Sony's ecosystem. Games that we're actually free on Game Pass as day one releases. It turned out to be nearly $500usd I would have saved.....
Sony has a lot of course correction to do for me to feel it necessary to be an early adopter into a given generation again.
Re: Generative AI Never Intended to Be Part of PS5's The Alters, Studio Will Fix Issue
Such nonsense. This is like the 4th story this year where the developers have used the same excuse when found to be using Ai assets and not being up front about it.
Looking like corporate lawyer input for plausible deniability has been found
Re: Poll: 15 Years of PS Plus - What Do You Think of Sony's Subscription Service?
The minute they moved to the tiered scheme and monipolozed how to subscribe in order to eliminate discounts it became absolute greedy garbage. Where it remains to this day.
The offerings don't justify the massive price hike. I only sub for a month or so if there is a title released on their I was interested in but not at full price.
The only individuals this is a value to are people just entering the PlayStation ecosystem for the first time ever or at least missed out on the last two generations.
Re: Brazilian Gamers Infuriated by Sudden PS5 Price Hikes
This is a perfect example of current Gen Sony. Rather than eat a minor reduction in profit due to market conditions they would rather pass the cost onto their player base.
Nearly every decision Sony has made this generation has followed the same strategy to the extent that it has become quite clear that they see player sentiment as a non priority. A direct result of their dominant marketshare.
The sad reality is, they won't change anything until that pendulum swings to be noticed. Eventually they will push enough away to have to care about customer satisfaction again.
I would argue they have already significantly damaged their reputation with their decisions this generation, so hopefully come ps6 time they see less early adoption because of it and start giving a ***** again.
Re: Random: Stellar Blade Dev Gives Insane Anatomically Accurate Explanation of Why Butts Are Beautiful
Removed
Re: Poll: Are You Happy with Your PS Plus Essential Games for July 2025?
I wouldn't pay a dime for modern day Diablo, so that's nice. I was already very interested in Jusant so that's a huge win👍
Re: Sony Sued for 'Abusing Its Dominant Position in the Console Market'
This will go nowhere yet, although I do agree Sony have plans to further an agenda just like the one discussed in this lawsuit.
However there really needs to be an independent investigation and likely lawsuit into the construction of their dual sense controllers. The drift I have experienced in 4 dual senses is unacceptable and feels by design. Almost an electronic drift rather than drift of old. 1 I can understand, 2 is iffy, but 4?! Gtfoh.
Oh and before any of the mindless Sony Allegiant come at me the last two I actually rotated so they were used even less because I rotated between two every play session and yet the Drift actually occurred sooner in each
A controller they are charging that much for of which the price has increased should not have a shelf life that can often be less than a year. I finally bought a third party pro controller with hall effect at the expense of haptics just to stop giving Sony money for an obviously Nintendo level of defective stick design.
Re: Assassin's Creed Shadows Update 1.0.6 Out Tomorrow on PS5, Full Patch Notes Revealed
Still waiting for this mindless junk food to go on sale lol.
Re: First Dying Light Game Still Receiving Upgrades, Retouched Update Out for PS5, PS4 This Week
Yah this is a pretty cool update for sure
Re: PS5 Horror Cronos: The New Dawn Is Dead Space in All But Name
Looks pretty cool.
It's crazy to me to think about the fact that this is literally bloober team's third release this generation and yet the majority of PlayStation Studios haven't even put out a new game this gen....
Re: Tech Experts Call Death Stranding 2 'One of the Best Looking Games of This Generation'
To be fair the gameplay allows for those visuals in some aspects. When you are traversing largely barren locations at low speed, one can afford to make those locations look stunning for what they are.
Given that the series is largely a glorified walking simulation driven by a story told through flashy cutscenes I'd say visuals absolutely need to be on point given landscape traversal is the core gameplay loop.