Comments 1,881

Re: Feature: 15 PS5 Predictions for 2026

Max_the_German

I think the new PSSR will be a huge improvement, based on what we can see from the existing FSR 4. Static scenes will look much crisper, and the ugly „pumping“ will be almost gone. The technologies of the AMD Redstone suite are not quite yet where they should be, but we see steady improvements!

Re: Game of the Month: Here's Every Winning PS5 Game for 2025

Max_the_German

I‘ve said it many times: KCD2 has the potential to become a stone cold classic. All I know about this game is from reading and watching videos, not first hand, so don’t hesitate to attack me (and probably rightfully so). But what I’ve seen is a long, not easily accessible, but highly memorable game which can create unique experiences. Everyone can tell their own story about it, as it is the case for Witcher 3 and Breath of the Wild. And this is what only video games can do.

My backlog is small, I‘m only interested in very few games, and KCD2 is one of them.

Re: Fans Can't Believe How Much Sword and Fairy 4's Remake Looks Like Clair Obscur

Max_the_German

@HaveTheSauce

Your conparison is debatable. Demon‘s Souls and Dark Souls created with their new gameplay - slow third-person action RPG where even a single standard enemy can be a real threat - a distinct genre. E33 is a turn-based RPG with some button action in the style of Super Mario RPG and later Mario RPGs. A unique artstyle is not enough for me to found a „Clair-like“.

Re: Game of the Year: #8 - Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2

Max_the_German

I haven’t played neither the first nor the second game, but this looks a lot like a scratch for my Witcher itch.

My question: Does playing the first game before enhance the experience in a great way? Or is it not good enough to spend my precious free time on it?

Re: Game of the Year: Best PS5 Indie Game of 2025

Max_the_German

I haven’t played Silksong yet, because I wait for the physical version for Switch 2. But this whole hype about it (no preorders etc.) turned me off a bit.

And then I read the review in Edge, where it got the score 8/10 (Hollow Knight got 9/10). The main complaints were 1) a less interesting lore and 2) an unbalanced difficulty, which is higher in the first half of the game.

Long story short, I‘m still looking forward to play it in 2026. But after so many years, my expectations were higher.

Can you confirm these two points? What were your impressions?

Re: Sony, Honda's Electric Car Will Be the First Vehicle with Full PS5 Remote Play Integration

Max_the_German

I would NEVER integrate a streaming solution in a car. A car is expensive enough: Why not integrating a full PS5 board instead?

I get it, they want to easily replace the PS5 with a PS6 when available. And that requirement would constrain the design of the PS6 board in an unacceptable way. But streaming is a bad compromise either.

My main takeaway: There is a strong indication that PS6 will support PS Portal.

Re: Japan's New Language Locked PS5 Hasn't Made a Massive Difference to the Format's Domestic Fortunes

Max_the_German

The Japanese market is not important due to its significant size, but because some of the most influential studios are located there.

But both the world market and the studio landscape change. Maybe the next game with an influence on Dark Souls level will come from China.

Having a good market position in China should be more important, both from a financial and creative perspective.

Re: Naughty Dog Forces Crunch to Get PS5 Exclusive Intergalactic 'Back on Track' for Mid 2027 Release

Max_the_German

@PuppetMaster

With „remaster“ I was imprecise, I didn’t mean the PS4 port of the PS3 original, but Part 1 (which isn’t a remake for me, because it uses the basic gameplay code).

Part 1 was a lot of work for the asset team. Was it inspiring to recreate existing assets? Maybe not.

Remastered and Part 2 Remastered were/are important from a financial perspective, no doubt. And smaller projects like them help to get the grip on new technologies (like PS4 and PSSR, respectively).

Many of these developers are real artists. They need constant inspiration and time for experimentation. I think, they got neither.

Re: Naughty Dog Forces Crunch to Get PS5 Exclusive Intergalactic 'Back on Track' for Mid 2027 Release

Max_the_German

I don’t think it’s the studio‘s fault.

Big Jimbo pushed ND to
1) a remaster/remake nobody asked for and
2) a multiplayer game that was cancelled after a huge amount of nerves and lifetime was spent.

These developers made some of the best, boldest and most ambitious games in the world. And their talent was wasted by Big Jimbo.

And now, Hermen Hulst pushes them to be „motivated“.

Jimbo und Hermen damaged some of the best studios out there.

Re: 'I Don't Think Prompting Is Art': The Last of Us Co-Creator Isn't a Fan of Generative AI

Max_the_German

@47Levi

I think it will be mostly interactive art, on websites or in art museums. And I think it won’t be static prompts but prompt generators, created by the artists, which analyse the AI results and continually reprompt to modify the results automatically, with the results morphing into something surprisingly over time.

Think of the demo scene. Some of these people are genuine artists, no doubt, and their products can be stunning and inspiring.

Re: PS5 Wins a Nightmarish November for All Console Hardware in the US

Max_the_German

@SeaDaVie

I asked ChatGPT about the tariffs for the PS5, and it said something around 20%. The manufacturing costs didn’t sink as much as for prior generations. The inflation increased worldwide, and therefore labour costs.

I wouldn’t be surprised if the return to original MSRP is brutal for Sony, while profits of Switch 2 for Nintendo are razor thin.

Re: PS5 Wins a Nightmarish November for All Console Hardware in the US

Max_the_German

High discounts for consoles in the US mean that Sony „bought“ a high market share. Because under the new (permanent?) tariffs, these discounts could result in no profits or even losses for Sony. I think that Switch 2 is still popular, but Nintendo wasn’t willing to give profits away as Sony did.

The fact that PCs are exempt from tariffs could result in higher numbers for gaming PCs. Are there any numbers available for that?

Re: Talking Point: With Expedition 33 Winning Best Indie Game, What Does 'Indie' Mean to You?

Max_the_German

I don’t see why using a publisher should disqualify for being an indie game. In my understanding, publishers are especially useful for small developers:

Handling the whole struggle with platform holders, age ratings (in case of physical releases), physical releases, music studios and orchestras, voice acting, motion capture studios, localisations and translations (-> poor Chinese translation for Silksong), trailers, advertisements on the Geoff‘s, …

There is a reason why independent authors („indies“ by definition) still need publishers BESIDES the need for printing and selling the books.