While watching the movies, I said to myself, "I would love to play a game set in this world." It was SO visually arresting to me.
I've never been a huge fan of survival games, however, so I am extremely hesitant to get too hyped for this. Seeing gameplay, though, gave me some distinct Mass Effect vibes. And previews were saying a lot of the mundanity of the traditional survival gameplay loop has been buffed out or removed.
I'm hoping it hits the sweet spot where I can really get into it. I think it looks amazing.
Why is this news? Gamers have been gifting games to each other for literal decades. Redditors have been doing stuff like this, explicitly, for years. Smh
@Tomato_Goose I had a fun time with it! Didn't like it enough to buy the DLC to experience the "true" endgame (mostly cause I was playing solo), but I had a blast creating my own little build and blowing up monsters. Dumb popcorn movie of a looter shooter.
@Frmknst What rock do you live under? The series sells in the tens of millions. It has 3 mainline entries (with this 4th looming), a prequel, 2 spin offs, and it earned a Hollywood adaptation.
You can argue the quality of all of the above. But to deny the IP is strong and tends to sell better than most titles is willful ignorance.
I'm glad we can all play what we like, because I thought that was the best SoP in ages.
A Returnal spiritual successor, slightly more info on Hell is Us + release date, Borderlands 4 release date + its own SoP, Mindseye, Metal Eden... I'm stoked as hell. But I guess you can't please everyone. [Shrug]
Guess I'm in the minority of people who like to see developers create new games and concepts and IP instead of milking the same old same old for years at a time. [Shrug]
"Smash Bros-meets-MOBA" sounds way more interesting to me than anything Destiny-related will ever sound.
I've personally got my eye on Flintlock. Ashen was the first Souls-like I played and finished, so I am interested in what the studio did with their newest title.
@Thatguyoverthere I hated it. I played about 2 hours before abandoning it.
It's too hard to disconnect it from the Arkham games. It looks and feels like it WANTS to be an Arkham game, but it's just worse.
Thing that broke me: there's no jump button. The combat and basic movement at the beginning felt SO off to me and then it dawned on me that I wasn't able to jump and evade and move about like my brain thought I should be able to.
Nothing in that introductory period (again, I only made it about 2 hours) screamed "this is going to improve drastically."
Mind you, I got it through PS+, so I wasn't even wasting money on it, simply time. Wasn't worth it.
I liked the first one enough, but feel they probably should have gone deeper into action game territory and less into interactive movie. I didn't hear good things about this one and I have no interest in it, which is a shame, because the world building and technical aspects are top tier.
For me, the issue was simply how connected these games all seem to be. Sure, some people love that, but relying on players (and many potential players who may never have played a prior game) to remember or makeup choices from 10ish years ago is just dumb to me. If you won't make games in a timely manner, then don't make them all so deeply connected. Just tell a new story with new characters in the same world.
I only played DAI. I thought it was okay, at best. I remember being so pissed that archers couldn't aim and shoot like a TPS that I ended up playing the entire game as companions who I liked controlling better. That's it. That's what I remember. That and the elf dude ended up evil? Or something.
I'm not so deeply into the lore and characters that I can recall a single damn thing about the story or the world (other than it being very empty). The window of when I'd conceivably give a ***** simply closed.
Then, nothing the game offered in previews and trailers looked like the sort of game I'd expect for the series. Simple as.
I mean... I tried a bunch of their games over the years. I think Paladins probably got the most hours out of me, but that grew stale pretty quickly.
I tried Smite (love the idea of a TPS MOBA) and it was meh. Gave Smite 2 a shot the other week and... it felt literally identical to the game I played years ago. So it was a very quick uninstall.
Putting all their eggs into the basket of a game that, as a SUPREMELY casual player, did literally nothing new or engaging is... a choice. I bet the studio shuts down within 2 years.
Also... Why don't these F2P games advertise? They launch as a beta to barely any fanfare, then disappear into their niche of fans and you just never hear about them. It's consistent across the industry and it's bizarre to me. Do they really all truly just rely on word of mouth? It's so crazy you sell a product but expect success without, you know, informing customers of its existence.
@ThomasHL Seriously. They could have aped Mordor. They could have aped Arkham. They could have aped God of War. A blend of those games and their system could create a really fun action game.
I've seen indie games that they could crib inspiration from, too.
These big studios are inefficient messes top to bottom. They can't get out of their own way. And they wonder why they waste millions.
The Nemesis system is one of the most intriguing and enjoyable gameplay systemsever designed. Ever. It would be PERFECT for a super hero game
I have ALWAYS wanted the next Arkham game to use it. How cool would it be if everyone who played had their own custom, unique super villain arch nemesis weaved into the storyline? They could take a goon from a tutorial section and have them grow into a villain standing alongside the likes of Riddler and Joker and whomever else showed up across the game. It would be incredibly cool to swap stories with friends about how things played out and what sort of villain your game created for you.
I thought Wonder Woman using it would do something like that. It just makes sense!
To hear they've removed it entirely?? No thanks. It was literally the only thing making me interested in playing it.
Shame they don't license the technology out to other developers. That stuff could be all over and create super dynamic single player titles.
Hey execs: you want replayable games. We want replayable games without live service BS. This is the sort of way you achieve that!!
"Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2's Ridiculous Medieval Firearms are Awfully Accurate" would be a much better headline.
It's a an RPG attempting to be as period-accurate as possible. Anyone with a small ounce of historical knowledge would know well in advance that firearms would be an atrocious choice given the time period.
After not connecting with 3 at all, I was worried about whether Gearbox could deliver a solid entry again. But Wonderlands really surprised me with how much fun I had AND how many times I laughed.
Things I'd love to see Borderlands integrate: 1. A free form skill tree/web a la Path of Exile for true customization/theorycrafting (where class determines where you start) 2. A fully voiced protagonist (one of my favorite parts of Wonderlands) 3. Since the game is built for co-op and has numerous vault hunters, let us bring AI companions onto missions a la Mass Effect and have us build a relationship with the other vault hunters; waiting until they appear in a later entry to make them into full characters is a waste and Wonderlands showed having voiced allies is fun, now let them join us! 4. Highly replayable endgame activities like basically every other looter shooter and ARPG on the market: NG+ ain't going to cut it in 2025, Randy, ya hear me???
Just remaster the good NFS games people have been clamoring for to keep that IP alive and then put devs interested in a racing game on Burnout. The fact we haven't seen a Burnout with a modern physics engine is criminal.
I got into Battlefield with Bad Company, drawn by the destruction engine they were using back in that era. When they moved away from what I saw as THE differentiator in the fps space, I lost interest. I've tried BF games here or there since, but I just don't find them compelling when they're just "big COD." That does nothing for me. The dynamicism and variety of what those old matches offered are still unrivaled for me in the space. Until they go back to a focus on that, nothing will matter to me.
I don't care if PS5 games release on PC. I get them where I want to play them and others can enjoy the titles where they want to play. Doesn't matter to me. I'm not out here defending a corporation that doesn't care about me.
However, AS A BUSINESS STRATEGY, I don't understand how they think what they're doing makes sense. They're taking too long to release ports - after literally ALL the hype has died - AND they're releasing poorly optimized/operating software. So they are actively shooting themselves in the foot in a big way, twice, and then not hitting good sales numbers. Like... yeah, no *****.
The whole PSN and regional sales issues are also two HUGE factors/problems that are undeniably their own fault. And I separate them from the technical issues because they are very easy to solve, comparably speaking, and they have begun to, but I fear the damage is done. They misunderstood how much they pissed off PC players with their boneheaded PSN requirement. Sure, they walked it back, but the damage is done. Look at EA and Ubisoft and anyone else who had tried to strongarm PC players: it doesn't work.
I think Sony has a lot to learn. They need to really reflect on who they are and what they want to do, and above all else they need to look at HOW they're doing it. Their execution is their biggest problem.
A game whose progression systems were riddled with anti-player/consumer predatory practices and that didn't respect your time didn't fair well in the market? Color me shocked.
@Medic_alert Look at the rest of what Microsoft does for your answer.
They make PCs and tablets, but it's not their goal to have the biggest piece of the market. They put out halo devices (no pun intended) to show partners what a well made piece of hardware taking advantage of all their software should be like.
I think they'll do the same with Xbox. They'll keep making "Xbox by Microsoft" hardware, but their focus will be the software experience/stack. They simply can't keep dumping R&D dollars into Xbox consoles at the same scale as they have. It's not paying off. Hasn't for years.
The software will be made available, like Windows before it (and like Steam OS on handheld PCs), on partner hardware. So we'll end up with "Xbox by [manufacturer of choice]" hardware, too. It'll be like Valve's Steam Machines effort.
It would not surprise me at all if "Xbox" simply becomes an operating system in a few years. Microsoft Games will simply be a publisher who owns the Xbox OS like how Epic owns a game development platform.
It does not surprise me when 10ish years between titles results in poor sales. These companies create a good thing and then abandon it for a decade and wonder why people lose interest. Not everything needs to be quasi-retired to build mythic levels of fan hype. Not everything can pull that off, but it seems companies seem to think all their IP can do/deserve it.
I played DAI ages ago. On a different system. On a different ecosystem. It was my first (and only) DA game. It was alright.
I couldn't tell you what happened in that game to save my life (besides a lot of boring meandering). Nothing about Veilguard continuing that story mattered to me. I was never going to be able to piece together the events of the story I experienced and carry it forward, so at that point, why would I bother? I "started part way through" once already. I'm not open to doing so again.
Sometimes supporting these overarching narratives can backfire because they only cater to the most hardcore of fans who have been waiting breathlessly for a decade or more to find out what happened. Most people truly do not care. There's a time and a place for narrative throughlines, but they need to be approachable and available within a timely manner, otherwise casual fans will simply forget/stop caring.
A MOBA (popular genre) mixed with a simple and proven Smash-like gameplay system could actually be real fun. Say what you will about personal preferences, at least something like THIS sounds unique and worth trying.
I don't think Sony's failures in the live service space have purely been aesthetic. I don't think they're offering anything fresh and engaging enough for people to care. Say what you will about Concord's visual styling, its true curse was that it did NOTHING new or engaging. This, if rumors are true, could at least be worth playing.
I can't fathom why a Western contemporary to these gacha games hasn't been developed. Can you imagine the money that a Marvel or DC universe Gacha game would print?
Endless characters to add, countless POIs people would be dying to explore, loads of great storylines to adapt for quests and events... It's a no brainer imo. It could be the open world super hero game of people's dreams.
I think Marvel Rivals proves there's very much still an appetite for comic book-led action games, despite the reported doom and gloom of super hero fatigue.
When will companies learn it'd save them a hell of a lot more money in the long term if they fire the decision makers who force this stuff on broader development teams than if they fire the actual, boots in the ground talent that can help them recoup the losses by working on other, future projects?
There's no way in hell the salaries of such staffers comes close to the cost of continuing to employ people who make the bad decisions when the value added by their future potential is taken into account. No suit is going to make you a hit. But they sure as hell will help deliver you utter bombs.
With the right vision, this could lend itself to a pretty great action comedy movie.
They should lean into the fact the divers are faceless meat sacks on the front line. I think it could work really well if they made it with large ensemble cast where you follow a small fire team for like 10-15 minutes before they die a horrible death. Would be great if they marketed it with a singular star (or 4 star squad) only to have them die a horribly cartoonish death randomly, like 5 minutes in. Have the fact the big stars die AT ALL as part of the shock/humor. But then right after one star dies, a new star pops out of a drop pod and BAM you're off and running. (Repeat as necessary for comedic effect.)
OR you make it like Edge of Tomorrow where the singular group of stars die over and over and over and THAT'S a key part of it. Lean into the fan theory that perhaps the divers are clones.
I legit think it could be done well either way. I'm excited to see them tackle this. I think the fact the game only really has the broadest of strokes related to a storyline attached to it could be a huge creative boon to whomever they get to work on it. There will be far lower expectations to properly adapt it unlike something like TLOU. Plus, it's simply a FUN game/premise so I hope they embrace the absurdity, satire, and cartoonishness of it.
Heaven forbid these software development teams ever become more efficient at their jobs.
There's no reason, from a development perspective, that these specific games continue to balloon in cost. The engine gets minimal changes between releases. The gunplay and game systems, too, see only incremental change. They release a small handful of new maps and then re-release content that has existed (and been updated) for years. The rest of the content is skins and AI garbage.
It shouldn't cost hundreds of millions of dollars to create an iterative series entry in ANY game IP. Blockbuster movies with dozens of stars taking home tens of millions of dollars each don't often approach that cost.
You can like the games all you want, but there is literally ZERO explanation for such high development costs outside of legitimately poor management. I say that as someone who works in software. A budget like that for ONE CoD entry is absolutely bonkers.
And that's after they supposedly spent years streamlining the pipeline to make them cheaper/easier to produce! From my perspective, they failed miserably at that effort.
There are a lot of PS5 owners who were a twinkle in their parents' eye when some of these IP last saw a fresh entry. Sony would be dumb not to revive as many of these old franchises as possible and update them for modern audiences.
Not everything needs to be the next big blockbuster. There's no reason some of their fabled IP couldn't get solid entries if they were built with modest budgets and passionate developers.
I've been dying for Sony to do what Nintendo does and license IP out to devs that have a vision. Even if they're middle of the road, that's still better to get the IP back out there in the conscious of gamers and (re)build a modest audience than to let them collect dust forever.
***** it. Give 'em Killzone. Who cares if it's a different style of Killzone game (should they ape the Helldivers co-op gameplay) or a different type of game than Arrowhead makes (if remains an FPS). Give them something with a little more meat and let them cook.
The fact the chode he replied to is trying to push an "anti-woke" talking point at the creative director of a game that completely lambasts and satirizes the sort of fascist ideology whose supporters would take issue with DEI is well beyond my daily recommended dose of irony.
@Max_the_German From what I gather, Mocrosoft brass aren't super pleased with the gaming division's spending with such a long time until they see any ROI.
I think we are already seeing Microsoft's strategy be put in place piece by piece. They are improving the infrastructure needed (up and down the stack) to support putting their games on any device with wifi.
They are going to put far more capital into those investments over hardware development. They will not truly exit the hardware space, but they will adopt Microsoft's broader strategy of producing halo devices for their tech and not expecting a massive place in the market (see: Surface). Any real share is just bonus. The goal is to show other hardware manufacturing partners how to fully utilize their software at a baseline level.
They'll create "Xbox by Microsoft" hardware as we know it. But they'll ALSO let partners create "Xbox by [enter manufacturer]" devices. It'll be more like what Valve tried with the Steambox years back (and where they seem to be going with SteamOS on handhelds).
They can then just focus on making better game UI software than Valve (or trying, at least) so it can go on numerous device types, and improving their support for third party publishing. It's the only way they can REMOTELY hope to make their money back from their spending spree.
I have had this on Switch for a while and, sadly, it just doesn't live up to the promise of the concept in terms of gameplay.
It's just not very deep and the tower defense mechanics are poorly implemented/thought out.
I LOVE the concept (big sucker for videogames where you play as a toy), love tower defense games, love shooters... thought it'd be right up my alley. But, at least last I played it, it was just not up to snuff. It LOOKS the part, but it in no way holds its own on the gameplay side of things.
Okami was, unknowingly at the time, the first Zelda-like game I ever played. And I ADORED it. I never went back and replayed it in fear of scuffing the rose tint on my glasses, but I still hold it in extremely high regard (even after playing plenty more Zelda-like titles).
I cannot WAIT to see how they update the game with modern gameplay elements and mechanics. I feel they could do some amazing stuff.
I've been surprised Farcry hasn't done anything with extraction elements or leaning into more survival-style gameplay sooner. Seems it'd be ripe for a "plane crash and then fend for yourself and build stuff" sort of gameplay loop.
Can't say I'm excited for a time limit, but I'll wait to see how it plays out.
I'm playing it now and am enjoying it. I like the tweaks it made to the formula. It's not revolutionary, but it's real solid. I'm enjoying it more than 3, that's for sure.
All I want from 4 (all of I've wanted since 2), is for a Borderlands game to have a TRUE endgame. I never enjoy replaying story mode. Ever. Especially in such a large game.
They need to have a robust, dynamic, repeatable gameplay system/mechanic that gives it an endgame like Diablo, Division, Destiny, or other ARPGs. I would Borderlands games waaaaaaay longer if there was actually stuff to do after the credits rolled. I absolutely loathe that all they really do is give you New Game+.
Let us loose in the world, generate dynamic missions and world events, let us rerun missions/bosses, and create some unique stuff to do only in endgame. But, for the love of GOD, do not force us to replay the story repeatedly. It's so so boring.
Comments 1,736
Re: Dune: Awakening Has a Release Date, PS5 Fated to Follow Soon After
While watching the movies, I said to myself, "I would love to play a game set in this world." It was SO visually arresting to me.
I've never been a huge fan of survival games, however, so I am extremely hesitant to get too hyped for this. Seeing gameplay, though, gave me some distinct Mass Effect vibes. And previews were saying a lot of the mundanity of the traditional survival gameplay loop has been buffed out or removed.
I'm hoping it hits the sweet spot where I can really get into it. I think it looks amazing.
Re: Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 Is So Good Gamers Are Now Gifting It to Each Other
Why is this news? Gamers have been gifting games to each other for literal decades. Redditors have been doing stuff like this, explicitly, for years. Smh
Re: Reaction: The PS5 Discourse Around State of Plays Is Becoming Draining
Numerous titles piqued my interest. I thought it was their best SoP in ages. To each their own.
Re: Reminder: PS Plus Extra, Premium Lose These 8 Games Next Week
@Tomato_Goose I had a fun time with it! Didn't like it enough to buy the DLC to experience the "true" endgame (mostly cause I was playing solo), but I had a blast creating my own little build and blowing up monsters. Dumb popcorn movie of a looter shooter.
Re: Tides of Annihilation Looks Like PS5's Next Big Thing in Outrageous Extended Gameplay
This looks way better than Lost Soul Aside.
Re: The GTA 6 2025 Release Window May Have Just Gotten Smaller
@Frmknst What rock do you live under? The series sells in the tens of millions. It has 3 mainline entries (with this 4th looming), a prequel, 2 spin offs, and it earned a Hollywood adaptation.
You can argue the quality of all of the above. But to deny the IP is strong and tends to sell better than most titles is willful ignorance.
Re: Warriors: Abyss Is a Budget Dynasty Warriors, Samurai Warriors Roguelite, Out Now on PS5, PS4
I've seen free mobile games that look better than this.
Re: Sci-Fi FPS Metal Eden Will Rip and Tear PS5 in May
I thought this looked dope as hell. It gave me roguelike vibes for some reason, so I look forward to seeing what its gameplay structure is.
Re: Poll: What Did You Think of Sony's State of Play for February 2025?
I'm glad we can all play what we like, because I thought that was the best SoP in ages.
A Returnal spiritual successor, slightly more info on Hell is Us + release date, Borderlands 4 release date + its own SoP, Mindseye, Metal Eden... I'm stoked as hell. But I guess you can't please everyone. [Shrug]
Re: Rumour: New Bungie Game Targets State of Play Reveal, Out on PS5, PC, and Nintendo Switch
Guess I'm in the minority of people who like to see developers create new games and concepts and IP instead of milking the same old same old for years at a time. [Shrug]
"Smash Bros-meets-MOBA" sounds way more interesting to me than anything Destiny-related will ever sound.
Re: 1,500 PS5, PS4 Games Discounted in Latest Huge PS Store Sale
I've personally got my eye on Flintlock. Ashen was the first Souls-like I played and finished, so I am interested in what the studio did with their newest title.
Re: 1,500 PS5, PS4 Games Discounted in Latest Huge PS Store Sale
@Thatguyoverthere I hated it. I played about 2 hours before abandoning it.
It's too hard to disconnect it from the Arkham games. It looks and feels like it WANTS to be an Arkham game, but it's just worse.
Thing that broke me: there's no jump button. The combat and basic movement at the beginning felt SO off to me and then it dawned on me that I wasn't able to jump and evade and move about like my brain thought I should be able to.
Nothing in that introductory period (again, I only made it about 2 hours) screamed "this is going to improve drastically."
Mind you, I got it through PS+, so I wasn't even wasting money on it, simply time. Wasn't worth it.
Re: The Ghoul Says Fallout Season 2 Blows the First 'Out of the Water'
It's been over 8 hours and the man's name is still not corrected.
Re: The Battle Royale That Started It All Has Never Been More Profitable
Which is amazing given that's it's still janky af and ugly as all sin.
Re: The Ghoul Says Fallout Season 2 Blows the First 'Out of the Water'
@Niktaw It very much is.
Re: Xbox Game Hellblade 2 Might Be Out for PS5 'Very Soon'
I liked the first one enough, but feel they probably should have gone deeper into action game territory and less into interactive movie. I didn't hear good things about this one and I have no interest in it, which is a shame, because the world building and technical aspects are top tier.
Re: Hell Is Us Could Be Part of Rumoured State of Play as Pre-Orders Go Live on Xbox
This looks like one of the most intriguing games of the year to me. Definitely high on my list. Can't wait to learn more.
Re: Original Dragon Age Writer Responds to EA's Live Service Obsession with Common Sense
For me, the issue was simply how connected these games all seem to be. Sure, some people love that, but relying on players (and many potential players who may never have played a prior game) to remember or makeup choices from 10ish years ago is just dumb to me. If you won't make games in a timely manner, then don't make them all so deeply connected. Just tell a new story with new characters in the same world.
I only played DAI. I thought it was okay, at best. I remember being so pissed that archers couldn't aim and shoot like a TPS that I ended up playing the entire game as companions who I liked controlling better. That's it. That's what I remember. That and the elf dude ended up evil? Or something.
I'm not so deeply into the lore and characters that I can recall a single damn thing about the story or the world (other than it being very empty). The window of when I'd conceivably give a ***** simply closed.
Then, nothing the game offered in previews and trailers looked like the sort of game I'd expect for the series. Simple as.
Re: Hi-Rez Studio Suffers Significant Layoffs, Drops Everything But Smite 2
I mean... I tried a bunch of their games over the years. I think Paladins probably got the most hours out of me, but that grew stale pretty quickly.
I tried Smite (love the idea of a TPS MOBA) and it was meh. Gave Smite 2 a shot the other week and... it felt literally identical to the game I played years ago. So it was a very quick uninstall.
Putting all their eggs into the basket of a game that, as a SUPREMELY casual player, did literally nothing new or engaging is... a choice. I bet the studio shuts down within 2 years.
Also... Why don't these F2P games advertise? They launch as a beta to barely any fanfare, then disappear into their niche of fans and you just never hear about them. It's consistent across the industry and it's bizarre to me. Do they really all truly just rely on word of mouth? It's so crazy you sell a product but expect success without, you know, informing customers of its existence.
Re: Wonder Woman Game in Turmoil, Is Still 'Years Away from Release', New Report Claims
@ThomasHL Seriously. They could have aped Mordor. They could have aped Arkham. They could have aped God of War. A blend of those games and their system could create a really fun action game.
I've seen indie games that they could crib inspiration from, too.
These big studios are inefficient messes top to bottom. They can't get out of their own way. And they wonder why they waste millions.
Re: Wonder Woman Game in Turmoil, Is Still 'Years Away from Release', New Report Claims
The Nemesis system is one of the most intriguing and enjoyable gameplay systemsever designed. Ever. It would be PERFECT for a super hero game
I have ALWAYS wanted the next Arkham game to use it. How cool would it be if everyone who played had their own custom, unique super villain arch nemesis weaved into the storyline? They could take a goon from a tutorial section and have them grow into a villain standing alongside the likes of Riddler and Joker and whomever else showed up across the game. It would be incredibly cool to swap stories with friends about how things played out and what sort of villain your game created for you.
I thought Wonder Woman using it would do something like that. It just makes sense!
To hear they've removed it entirely?? No thanks. It was literally the only thing making me interested in playing it.
Shame they don't license the technology out to other developers. That stuff could be all over and create super dynamic single player titles.
Hey execs: you want replayable games. We want replayable games without live service BS. This is the sort of way you achieve that!!
Re: Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2's Ridiculous Medieval Firearms Are Awful by Design
"Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2's Ridiculous Medieval Firearms are Awfully Accurate" would be a much better headline.
It's a an RPG attempting to be as period-accurate as possible. Anyone with a small ounce of historical knowledge would know well in advance that firearms would be an atrocious choice given the time period.
Re: Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2's Ridiculous Medieval Firearms Are Awful by Design
Removed
Re: Borderlands 4 Boasts Series' 'Deepest and Most Diverse' Skill Trees
After not connecting with 3 at all, I was worried about whether Gearbox could deliver a solid entry again. But Wonderlands really surprised me with how much fun I had AND how many times I laughed.
Things I'd love to see Borderlands integrate:
1. A free form skill tree/web a la Path of Exile for true customization/theorycrafting (where class determines where you start)
2. A fully voiced protagonist (one of my favorite parts of Wonderlands)
3. Since the game is built for co-op and has numerous vault hunters, let us bring AI companions onto missions a la Mass Effect and have us build a relationship with the other vault hunters; waiting until they appear in a later entry to make them into full characters is a waste and Wonderlands showed having voiced allies is fun, now let them join us!
4. Highly replayable endgame activities like basically every other looter shooter and ARPG on the market: NG+ ain't going to cut it in 2025, Randy, ya hear me???
Re: Need for Speed Series Isn't Dead, But Dev Now Fully Focused on Battlefield
Just remaster the good NFS games people have been clamoring for to keep that IP alive and then put devs interested in a racing game on Burnout. The fact we haven't seen a Burnout with a modern physics engine is criminal.
Re: Significant Assassin's Creed Shadows Spoilers Leak on Hentai Website
You be soft?
WELL NOT ANYMORE!
Re: Battlefield Fans Stand at Attention as EA Teases Community Testing Program
I got into Battlefield with Bad Company, drawn by the destruction engine they were using back in that era. When they moved away from what I saw as THE differentiator in the fps space, I lost interest. I've tried BF games here or there since, but I just don't find them compelling when they're just "big COD." That does nothing for me. The dynamicism and variety of what those old matches offered are still unrivaled for me in the space. Until they go back to a focus on that, nothing will matter to me.
Re: Spider-Man 2's Looking Like Another PC Own Goal from Sony
I don't care if PS5 games release on PC. I get them where I want to play them and others can enjoy the titles where they want to play. Doesn't matter to me. I'm not out here defending a corporation that doesn't care about me.
However, AS A BUSINESS STRATEGY, I don't understand how they think what they're doing makes sense. They're taking too long to release ports - after literally ALL the hype has died - AND they're releasing poorly optimized/operating software. So they are actively shooting themselves in the foot in a big way, twice, and then not hitting good sales numbers. Like... yeah, no *****.
The whole PSN and regional sales issues are also two HUGE factors/problems that are undeniably their own fault. And I separate them from the technical issues because they are very easy to solve, comparably speaking, and they have begun to, but I fear the damage is done. They misunderstood how much they pissed off PC players with their boneheaded PSN requirement. Sure, they walked it back, but the damage is done. Look at EA and Ubisoft and anyone else who had tried to strongarm PC players: it doesn't work.
I think Sony has a lot to learn. They need to really reflect on who they are and what they want to do, and above all else they need to look at HOW they're doing it. Their execution is their biggest problem.
Re: Microsoft Job Listing Suggests Perfect Dark Could Also Be Heading to PS5
My most-played fps of all time. So, yes, please! I have never loved an fps as much as I loved the original Perfect Dark! Sooooo many memories.
Re: Some Think GTA 6's Multiplayer Mode Could Be Sold Separately on PS5
@mariomaster96 That's... exactly what this would accomplish. 😂
Re: MultiVersus Season 5 Will Be Its Final Update, Game Will Go Offline Afterwards
A game whose progression systems were riddled with anti-player/consumer predatory practices and that didn't respect your time didn't fair well in the market? Color me shocked.
Re: Xbox Rips Off the Band Aid, 'Expect Our Games to Show Up in More and More Places'
@Medic_alert Look at the rest of what Microsoft does for your answer.
They make PCs and tablets, but it's not their goal to have the biggest piece of the market. They put out halo devices (no pun intended) to show partners what a well made piece of hardware taking advantage of all their software should be like.
I think they'll do the same with Xbox. They'll keep making "Xbox by Microsoft" hardware, but their focus will be the software experience/stack. They simply can't keep dumping R&D dollars into Xbox consoles at the same scale as they have. It's not paying off. Hasn't for years.
The software will be made available, like Windows before it (and like Steam OS on handheld PCs), on partner hardware. So we'll end up with "Xbox by [manufacturer of choice]" hardware, too. It'll be like Valve's Steam Machines effort.
It would not surprise me at all if "Xbox" simply becomes an operating system in a few years. Microsoft Games will simply be a publisher who owns the Xbox OS like how Epic owns a game development platform.
Re: Xbox Rips Off the Band Aid, 'Expect Our Games to Show Up in More and More Places'
Perfect Dark, Avowed, and State of Decay. Those alone will make me a happy camper.
Re: EA Stock Price Plummets After Dragon Age: The Veilguard, FC 25 Disappointments
It does not surprise me when 10ish years between titles results in poor sales. These companies create a good thing and then abandon it for a decade and wonder why people lose interest. Not everything needs to be quasi-retired to build mythic levels of fan hype. Not everything can pull that off, but it seems companies seem to think all their IP can do/deserve it.
I played DAI ages ago. On a different system. On a different ecosystem. It was my first (and only) DA game. It was alright.
I couldn't tell you what happened in that game to save my life (besides a lot of boring meandering). Nothing about Veilguard continuing that story mattered to me. I was never going to be able to piece together the events of the story I experienced and carry it forward, so at that point, why would I bother? I "started part way through" once already. I'm not open to doing so again.
Sometimes supporting these overarching narratives can backfire because they only cater to the most hardcore of fans who have been waiting breathlessly for a decade or more to find out what happened. Most people truly do not care. There's a time and a place for narrative throughlines, but they need to be approachable and available within a timely manner, otherwise casual fans will simply forget/stop caring.
Re: Reaction: Sony's Live Service Push Has Been a Disaster of Utterly Insane Proportions
Microsoft upcoming first party lineup is looking iconic compared to Sony's right about now.
Re: Sony Cancels Bluepoint, Bend Studio PS5 Games, One Being a Live-Service God of War Title
Herman Hulst is inept. Full stop.
Re: Gummy Bears Details Leak, Bungie's MOBA Taken Under Sony's Wing
A MOBA (popular genre) mixed with a simple and proven Smash-like gameplay system could actually be real fun. Say what you will about personal preferences, at least something like THIS sounds unique and worth trying.
I don't think Sony's failures in the live service space have purely been aesthetic. I don't think they're offering anything fresh and engaging enough for people to care. Say what you will about Concord's visual styling, its true curse was that it did NOTHING new or engaging. This, if rumors are true, could at least be worth playing.
Re: Wuthering Waves (PS5) - Anime-Inspired Open World Has Timed Its PS5 Release Perfectly
@MikeOrator "Can you imagine..."
Yes. That's literally what I was doing.
Re: Wuthering Waves (PS5) - Anime-Inspired Open World Has Timed Its PS5 Release Perfectly
I can't fathom why a Western contemporary to these gacha games hasn't been developed. Can you imagine the money that a Marvel or DC universe Gacha game would print?
Endless characters to add, countless POIs people would be dying to explore, loads of great storylines to adapt for quests and events... It's a no brainer imo. It could be the open world super hero game of people's dreams.
I think Marvel Rivals proves there's very much still an appetite for comic book-led action games, despite the reported doom and gloom of super hero fatigue.
Re: Suicide Squad Dev Rocksteady Suffers More Layoffs
When will companies learn it'd save them a hell of a lot more money in the long term if they fire the decision makers who force this stuff on broader development teams than if they fire the actual, boots in the ground talent that can help them recoup the losses by working on other, future projects?
There's no way in hell the salaries of such staffers comes close to the cost of continuing to employ people who make the bad decisions when the value added by their future potential is taken into account. No suit is going to make you a hit. But they sure as hell will help deliver you utter bombs.
Re: Helldivers 2 Is So Big It's Already Getting a Hollywood Adaptation
With the right vision, this could lend itself to a pretty great action comedy movie.
They should lean into the fact the divers are faceless meat sacks on the front line. I think it could work really well if they made it with large ensemble cast where you follow a small fire team for like 10-15 minutes before they die a horrible death. Would be great if they marketed it with a singular star (or 4 star squad) only to have them die a horribly cartoonish death randomly, like 5 minutes in. Have the fact the big stars die AT ALL as part of the shock/humor. But then right after one star dies, a new star pops out of a drop pod and BAM you're off and running. (Repeat as necessary for comedic effect.)
OR you make it like Edge of Tomorrow where the singular group of stars die over and over and over and THAT'S a key part of it. Lean into the fan theory that perhaps the divers are clones.
I legit think it could be done well either way. I'm excited to see them tackle this. I think the fact the game only really has the broadest of strokes related to a storyline attached to it could be a huge creative boon to whomever they get to work on it. There will be far lower expectations to properly adapt it unlike something like TLOU. Plus, it's simply a FUN game/premise so I hope they embrace the absurdity, satire, and cartoonishness of it.
Re: This Is Why Call of Duty Is Not Gonna Stop Launching on PS5
Heaven forbid these software development teams ever become more efficient at their jobs.
There's no reason, from a development perspective, that these specific games continue to balloon in cost. The engine gets minimal changes between releases. The gunplay and game systems, too, see only incremental change. They release a small handful of new maps and then re-release content that has existed (and been updated) for years. The rest of the content is skins and AI garbage.
It shouldn't cost hundreds of millions of dollars to create an iterative series entry in ANY game IP. Blockbuster movies with dozens of stars taking home tens of millions of dollars each don't often approach that cost.
You can like the games all you want, but there is literally ZERO explanation for such high development costs outside of legitimately poor management. I say that as someone who works in software. A budget like that for ONE CoD entry is absolutely bonkers.
And that's after they supposedly spent years streamlining the pipeline to make them cheaper/easier to produce! From my perspective, they failed miserably at that effort.
Re: Rumour: PlayStation Is Working on Reviving Some of Its 'Deep Cut' Franchises
There are a lot of PS5 owners who were a twinkle in their parents' eye when some of these IP last saw a fresh entry. Sony would be dumb not to revive as many of these old franchises as possible and update them for modern audiences.
Not everything needs to be the next big blockbuster. There's no reason some of their fabled IP couldn't get solid entries if they were built with modest budgets and passionate developers.
I've been dying for Sony to do what Nintendo does and license IP out to devs that have a vision. Even if they're middle of the road, that's still better to get the IP back out there in the conscious of gamers and (re)build a modest audience than to let them collect dust forever.
Re: Helldivers 2 Dev Is Starting to Think About What's Next
***** it. Give 'em Killzone. Who cares if it's a different style of Killzone game (should they ape the Helldivers co-op gameplay) or a different type of game than Arrowhead makes (if remains an FPS). Give them something with a little more meat and let them cook.
Re: Helldivers 2's Creative Director's Latest Comments Have Landed Him in Hot Water
The fact the chode he replied to is trying to push an "anti-woke" talking point at the creative director of a game that completely lambasts and satirizes the sort of fascist ideology whose supporters would take issue with DEI is well beyond my daily recommended dose of irony.
Re: Industry Analyst Argues Either Sony or Microsoft Will Need to Exit the Console Market
@Max_the_German From what I gather, Mocrosoft brass aren't super pleased with the gaming division's spending with such a long time until they see any ROI.
I think we are already seeing Microsoft's strategy be put in place piece by piece. They are improving the infrastructure needed (up and down the stack) to support putting their games on any device with wifi.
They are going to put far more capital into those investments over hardware development. They will not truly exit the hardware space, but they will adopt Microsoft's broader strategy of producing halo devices for their tech and not expecting a massive place in the market (see: Surface). Any real share is just bonus. The goal is to show other hardware manufacturing partners how to fully utilize their software at a baseline level.
They'll create "Xbox by Microsoft" hardware as we know it. But they'll ALSO let partners create "Xbox by [enter manufacturer]" devices. It'll be more like what Valve tried with the Steambox years back (and where they seem to be going with SteamOS on handhelds).
They can then just focus on making better game UI software than Valve (or trying, at least) so it can go on numerous device types, and improving their support for third party publishing. It's the only way they can REMOTELY hope to make their money back from their spending spree.
Re: Action Figure Shooter Hypercharge Is Building Hype for Possible PS5, PS4 Port
I have had this on Switch for a while and, sadly, it just doesn't live up to the promise of the concept in terms of gameplay.
It's just not very deep and the tower defense mechanics are poorly implemented/thought out.
I LOVE the concept (big sucker for videogames where you play as a toy), love tower defense games, love shooters... thought it'd be right up my alley. But, at least last I played it, it was just not up to snuff. It LOOKS the part, but it in no way holds its own on the gameplay side of things.
Re: Okami Sequel Dev Wants to Prioritise Creativity, Keep Investors at Arm's Length
Okami was, unknowingly at the time, the first Zelda-like game I ever played. And I ADORED it. I never went back and replayed it in fear of scuffing the rose tint on my glasses, but I still hold it in extremely high regard (even after playing plenty more Zelda-like titles).
I cannot WAIT to see how they update the game with modern gameplay elements and mechanics. I feel they could do some amazing stuff.
Re: Rumour: The Far Cry Series May Finally Be Switching Things Up in Next Two Games
I've been surprised Farcry hasn't done anything with extraction elements or leaning into more survival-style gameplay sooner. Seems it'd be ripe for a "plane crash and then fend for yourself and build stuff" sort of gameplay loop.
Can't say I'm excited for a time limit, but I'll wait to see how it plays out.
Re: Tiny Tina's Wonderlands Sequel Reportedly Delayed Indefinitely
I'm playing it now and am enjoying it. I like the tweaks it made to the formula. It's not revolutionary, but it's real solid. I'm enjoying it more than 3, that's for sure.
All I want from 4 (all of I've wanted since 2), is for a Borderlands game to have a TRUE endgame. I never enjoy replaying story mode. Ever. Especially in such a large game.
They need to have a robust, dynamic, repeatable gameplay system/mechanic that gives it an endgame like Diablo, Division, Destiny, or other ARPGs. I would Borderlands games waaaaaaay longer if there was actually stuff to do after the credits rolled. I absolutely loathe that all they really do is give you New Game+.
Let us loose in the world, generate dynamic missions and world events, let us rerun missions/bosses, and create some unique stuff to do only in endgame. But, for the love of GOD, do not force us to replay the story repeatedly. It's so so boring.