Migoshuro

@Oram77 I've read it, even before commenting on you. But I don't really think Gabe's statement here adds anything meaningful to the conversation.

And just because AI (which is also a buzz-word, investors love now, so that it's tacked on systems, nobody would have called them like that six years ago) is used already in the last few years, doesn't mean, we shouldn't keep on pushing against it.

And for people, who say it's inevitable, like new tech always seems to be: It's simply unsustainable. It can't be used like now or in even much greater capacity for much longer, because it will wreck nature and the economy and will very likely lead to the next worldwide financial crisis very fast. And for what? To save some time on producing movies or videogames?

@Oram77 Because you asked: The extensive usage of generative AI demands an insane amount of energy and water and is simply extremely bad for the environment. And that impact on the climate and the water shortage is first and foremost felt in countries or regions you probably don't live in. So, yeah, it costs lifes or makes it at least a lot harder for many people. The child labor comparison therefore is not too far fetched, regarding the ethical implications.
Also, the whole hype about AI is pushed by big companies, because in the end it's meant to spare them the costs for as many actual human employees as possible.
The "it helps them"-argument doesn't have any weight (and it's also quite the opposite in the long term). It's not helping them with essential stuff for their life. It just makes things faster, easier and cheaper in videogame development. But that's a small outcome for all the problems it causes. And why do we act like people haven't been making games without the use of genAI for like five decades, now? Nobody tells them how big and expensive their games have to be. They decide that all by themselfs.

I don't know, something about the trailer seems fishy. Can't put my finger on it, but wouldn't expect this to become a good game and would be equally unsurprised to see that genAI has been used creating it or at least the trailer. Could be wrong, though.

@Fiendish-Beaver You have good taste, I'd say.

Pfft, twisted reception, here. Rockstar surely delayed GTA6, because they knew, they can't compete with Ghost of Yōtei.

The genre term wuxia is very common among Chinese literature and movies, even internationally for at least half a century. It (roughly) refers to stories about (wandering) knight-like heroes, who are awesome swordfighters and dedicate their skills to the good, usually set in historic scenarios, often with fantastical elements.
It might be widely unknown for people (in the gaming world), without an affinity for Chinese or Hong Kong media. But with the rising amount, quality and popularity of Chinese games who belong to that genre, I think it's rather adequate to further establish that term in the videogaming space.

Reads like casting by people who have no ***** clue what they are doing.

@nessisonett Yeah, isn't it a shame? I'm not a fan of Football/Soccer (What is actually the right word? English isn't my first language and I saw people correct "Football" to "Soccer", just to specify it against American Football.), but I especially dislike the sometimes aggressive culture around it.
Anyway I didn't want to come off as combative. I just think, Rematch has probably some potential for a long life as a service game, just because it's Football/Soccer and a quite distinct game in that regard.

@nessisonett Nah, I don't know where you live, but I think you underestimate to popularity of soccer. If anything, I worry more about that SloClap will support Rematch till eternity, because it will be their most successful game, ever and we will never get anything else from them. They deserve the success. And the game looks actually good.
But personally I need more SloClap-martial arts games in my life.

It's a masterpiece and always has been. It has flaws in it's storytelling, which can appear heavy-handed or forced (the killing of a pregnant woman, for example). It's not as perfectly told as it's prequel, but it has the more ambitious narrative and manages to deliver it's story and with it it's themes in a way that, while perhaps not unique to the medium, would probably not be working as it does outside of videogames.
And for all the haters: Ignore the story and you still have a brillant survival-horror action-game, with some of the best level design and combat out there. You have to play it on hard or higher, though. Trust me.

@Nexozi While I get your point, I guess what's actually meant here is, that it probably doesn't require any engagement from the player beyond pressing a button. So that you just mindlessly collect all stuff in sight and simply have enough when it's needed. It would already be a difference if collectable stuff was somewhat rare or hard to reach. Then the act of how to get it into your inventory would be secondary. Also, there is pressing a button and make the stuff vanish into your bag in an instant (like in Ghost of Tsushima) and having an animation played out, which makes your character vulnerable for a few seconds, like in the Horizon, which at least requires some timing consideration when in a fight.
Avatar - Frontiers of Pandora actually has more complex interactions to gather plants, which change the resource output based on your performance, if I remember correctly.
But I think the important points here are the amount of collectibles, how to get them and not to inflate their value.

@PapaGlitch The question now is, which kind of frottage you had on your mind?

I would appreciate it if they add cooking or just being able to eat, maybe at certain locations.

Why does this game exist? I don't want to be rude, because it makes me genuinely sad. Resources and work went into it and maybe some people really wanted to make this. But in a few weeks we will get news that it flopped and future content will be canceled. And then some people will be dejected, others will act surprised and disappointed. But I don't know how this isn't completely obvious to everybody. I'm certainly not the target audience here. But I feel, like in every announcement show or whatever we get like five of these and 98% of them fade into oblivion. I don't get why Remedy is making it and how they expect people to be excited about it. Are people excited?
I don't even think that it will be bad. It just looks generic as hell, doesn't bear any character and has a terrible nothing of a title.
Some games scream dead on arrival. FBC Firebreak is one of them.
Hey, but good if I'm proven wrong, I guess.

To me, it was the best State of Play, yet. Nothing was absolutely mind blowing, but it was full of interesting announcements. A good mixture of new gameplay of already announced games, first looks on completely new games and some cozy old stuff, I always welcome in those presentations. They had me the moment a new Lumines was shown.
Very well done!

@Propaperpusher
"Further proof that this garbage of a title is a money grab and most "new gamers" are supporting this grift!"...
And I'm a bot?...

"Stop defending the gift!"
You bought a PS5 Pro, didn't you?...

@Atreus97 Okay, I can see my wording wasn't clear, due to my resentment that people seem to generally give in to the trend of mid-gen console upgrades, which I despise.

So let's give you my perspective: I do fully understand that buyers of a PS5 Pro expect a technical better game, because that's the promise of the system.
However, my concern is, that in the foreseeable future PS5 Pro owners don't get a better game, but standard PS5 owners get a worse one.
That's a difference. Because, what many people don't seem to understand when it comes to performance in relation to hardware: It's mostly a choice by the developers (maybe influenced by the publisher). They say, "Oh damn, game xy isn't running at 60fps/full HD (let's be realistic here, although, you could probably change that with upscaled 4k). We need a stronger console." But the developers choose fidelity over performance and resolution. That's it. You could have fullHD/60fps on PS3. Heck, F-Zero X for the N64 ran at 60fps.

Now, the argument by Sony is, as Mark Cerny told us, developers didn't want to choose between fidelity and performance. And yet, Pro versions of PS5 games still get two graphic modes or even more.
Not to forget, when the rumors about a Playstation 5 Pro started, we also got news, that developing studios didn't see the reasoning, since they weren't even pushing the standard PS5.

I know, this discussion is already over. But since I still think all this is unnecessary capitalist *****, that hurts consumers more than it profits them and is ultimately a solution in search of a problem, disguised as service, I occasionally do applaud and absolutely don't worry studios who don't jump on the bandwagon and just don't give an F about making Pro versions, so we get a small chance that this could be the last mid-gen upgrade. I doubt it, though.
And yes, my compassion for people who bought an insanely priced piece of small upgrade, probably including at least some who joined in on the ***** storm about said pricing, is pretty limited.

To be clear, that Nightreign lacks technical polish like most From Software games is a whole different story and more or less supports my point that performance and so on is a choice by developers.

I don't get how this is a worrying precedent? In my opinion, it's quite the opposite. But that's just me, hating on the genuinely worrying trend of mid-gen console iterations. 🤷‍♂️

As I'm currently replaying the Uncharted-series, which I like, but I do think has it's fair amount of flaws and with a new sci-fi-IP on the horizon, I would like to see a new Uncharted with either Chloe or an adult Cassie as the main protagonist. But they really need to shake up the formular and make the gameplay less restricted and more open and systemic.
But, I guess, it will be at least an interesting game, no matter what they choose. Something historical would be nice, too.

@JustMyOpinion Since Ghost of Tsushima was an unusual huge hit in Japan for a game from the west and is very much inspired by samurai fiction, which originated from the native country of samurais, I don't really think that "westerners" get a fantasy fulfilment here, that Japanese don't share the same affection for. Seems like an unwarranted elitist perspective to me.
I mean, it's not like American western films show a very authentic depiction of their respective time period in most cases.

Agree with all the points in this article, except for the story, which - despite it not being super original - I found to be very competently and most of all actually maturely told. But I guess, that's pretty subjective.

I already get a female protagonist, a new location/time period and more weapons. What I also would like to see are more distinct differences between combat and stealth, perhaps even to the point, that you can really specialise. That may be too restrictive, I don't know. But it would be very welcome to have more variable and elaborate stealth options and transform Atsu into a genuine Kunoichi.

Other than that, definetly more assets, and a more believably simulated world. Seeing like three types of houses and people sweeping the floor right next to a bloody corpse did hamper the immersion in Tsushima somewhat. An actual densly populated town would be nice.

As a fan of climbing and platforming in games, I'd also like some more freedom and challenge in that regard and more use of the grappling hook.

And underwater sections. But I assume, that's a very exclusive wish.

They just were too afraid to release it around the launch window of Ghost of Yōtei.

No, I will wait for the next price hike after the upcoming one. I'm not a peasant. I don't have to buy things cheap. Also, more expensive consoles contain more nutrients.

@Bluetrain7 You don't find a genuine apology all that often on the internet, especially when it comes voluntarily. But you made a good example. Respect.

@Titntin Thank you! Likewise!

@Titntin Yeah, I got your point, though. In my reception review scores kinda inflated a lot over the last 20 years. So, I'm sometimes kinda relieved seeing a review outlet not going all out and tossing 10/10s left and right.

Personally I think, review scores are a plague and should be whiped from the collective consciousness. But since that is very unlikely (and mankind would probably reinvent them), we all should return to use the whole scale of a rating system and give more attention at how it's brought into perspective. I don't mean you, specifically.
Just my two cents on the whole topic of review scores.

@Titntin "The reviews from others range from good to exceptional..."

I mean, it literally says "good" right next to the score. Sooo...

@Northern_munkey Is Vulcan Venture not just the American name for Gradius 2? In that case, it's on there.

Way too slowly edited. I could almost tell what's happening.

Does anybody know if there's an option to change to the original graphics? From what I've seen, I guess, there's not, but I always appreciate that feature. The Tomb Raider collections are exceptional in this regard. Some remasters/remakes have a tendency to what in German we would call "verschlimmbessern" (make it worse through trying to make it better) the graphics, where the vibe of the original get's somewhat lost. And I'm not entirely convinced by the look of the Suikoden remasters. It appears objectively moke advanced, but has a slight RPG Maker feel to it. But maybe I'm seeing things.

Just hope it's made by the same people or at least with the same care as the predecessors. Unless that is save, I'm cautiously excited.

Very fitting that it looks like the new God of War games, since Lords of Shadow was basically a (very good) rip-off of the old ones.
Could be excellent, but looks somewhat generic in terms of artdesign.

Total disgrace to the source material. Like Spike could afford a whole Pizza...

Anyway, they really want me to play Fortnite, don't they? Super surprising. And very nice to see Cowboy Bebop still being in the cultural consciousness. Give me a proper game ASAP.

@ZeD Thanks for your reply. I wasn't serious, though. It was just my (maybe failed) humorous way of saying, that I think it looks like GOTY-material. But I guess the market for inventive platforming games is not as huge, as I would hope for. Yeah, and multiplayer-requirement may also come into play, here, as you've said.

What's wrong with mankind, that Split/Fiction is not at 98%?

As someone who thinks Elden Ring or Hollow Knight are too hard (because they are cheap AF, but that's just my unpopular opinion) and absolutely stand for developers deciding for themselves what they want to offer with their games, to all the people that in recent times automatically claim that all games and especially all Souls-likes should include difficulty options, because, you know, "accessibility" (which isn't really about difficulty, but well...) I want to ask: Do you genuinely believe the Souls-series, beginning with Demon's Souls, would be as popular, as beloved and as impactful to the point of spawning it's own new sub-genre, had it provided difficulty options right from the start?
And yes, I know From Software's games in particular have many further distinct strengths most of the competition fails to match or even acknowledge. But the difficulty has always been the most prominently cited quality, which makes the games such rewarding experiences.
And yes, I also do think some of the fanbase has it's heads high up their own gluteus maxima.

Eventually, not every game has to be for everyone. And to always name accessibility or inclusion as the main reasons, why developers are morally obligated to include further difficulty levels seems missing the point and honestly kinda hypocritical to me.

I hate rogue-likes. I think they are a huge waste of time. Many love them. I just don't play them.

Split Fiction, hands down! And I think in terms of what has actually been shown, it's not even close.
Witcher IV or Intergalactic - The Heretic Prophet (which is a remarkably lame and generic title) live solely by the pedigree of their IP and/or creators. It's perfectly fine to be hyped for those games. But best of show? Nah!
Ninja Gaiden was another pleasing surprise with enough gameplay as was Project Century. Those are my three favorites.
Elden Ring looked awesome, too. But that is almost boring at this point because every From Softwwlare game does.

I also want to spread a little bit of love for the terribly named Thick as Thieves, which looks like a fun concept and mention how insane it is that we get a new Screamer game, even though it a) appears nothing like the original games, b) doesn't look very appealing on it's own and c) gets extra minus points for not fully embracing the anime-cel-shading style in it's graphics. But I do love that it exists. Shows that even the most forgotten franchises can make a comeback.

@get2sammyb Yeah, and apparently videogame sites don't rate those games very highly, which could contribute to lower sales.

But really man, this is such a weird takeaway on multiple levels. The indie game scene has proven contrary time and time again, which makes your statement immediately obsolete.
People tend to bring up this argument repeatedly regarding Immortals of Aveum for instance, completely ignoring that that game looks generic and unappealing as hell.
In the case of Kunitsu-Gami, blame it on marketing, like Capcom is doing in an act of applaudable self-awareness. I had been interested in the game, but couldn't tell what you actually do in it until I played the demo and read some reviews. And even then...
People often overestimate the amount of well informed gaming enthusiasts vs. the mass market. The former can't carry the whole success of a game.
Also, the keyword here is "sales expectations", because we all know publishers tend to expect too much. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth didn't meet it's expected sales, either. So, apparently it can also happen to super big, triple-A, open-world-game,s who also happen to be remakes of the most beloved games of all time.

To blame that on the gaming community seems just a little out of touch.

The headline were my thoughts exactly, when I heard about it today.
Lonely Mountains Downhill is a straight 10 out of 10 in my book.

Hard to judge the animation, when we don't get at least two uninterrupted seconds of it in this trailer. Anyway, watched it twice, now and think it looks really promising. I don't expect a masterpiece. But when I get solid action-adventure entertainment that captures the spirit of the games (which it does look like in my eyes), I'm fine. And who knows, maybe it's actually great. I think Netflix does better with animation, than with most of the live-action stuff it puts out.
A little sad that Camilla Luddington doesn't voice Lara anymore. I think she absolutely nailed it in the last games. But Haley Atwell will probably do a good job as well.
Can't lie, I'm looking forward to it.

Yeah, yeah, it's humor and all. But given that a good number of Trump-supporters are conspiracy theorists (even here in Germany many of those ***** see him as some kind of messiah), who are to dumb and to lazy to read beyond some lurid headlines, this is not the most clever choice for an article or at least headline.
For example, over here, a left newspaper once wrote a satirical article how left extremists get beer and busses funded by the government to drive to their demonstrations and actions. And to this day, some right wing idiots state and spread this as fact.
They can't differentiate a stone from a turd. And when they wan't to believe something they believe it. No need to give them some more ***** to feed their bigot members with.
And don't tell me, I'm exeggerating. The pandemic has shown the endless stupidity of mankind on an unseen level.

I'm absolutely in love with Lara's appearance in the last trilogy and especially Camilla Luddington's acting. Strong contender for the most beautiful female character in a videogame, ever, according to my tastes. Absolutely didn't need a change, particularly not to the clothes of 90s Lara.
Despite all that, this is just an artwork. We no nothing about how she will actually look in the game.

I'm curious how people will react, when "GTA VI" will only run at 30fps on current-gen systems, because it will and how that will impact the sales, because it won't.

@Thrussted Germans. German PC-gamers in particular. Piranha Bytes has a huge cult status over here, mainly due to their "Gothic"-series, which set the template for every following game they made. In another dimension PB and their type of games could have become what are now From Software with the "Soulsborne"-style. They are unique and undeniable clunky (and infamously buggy), but also very dense, fascinating and rewarding.
Their closure is kind of a big deal in most German PC-gaming outlets.

Loved the original and "Shadow Tactics". This looks promising. I'm optimistic.

Personally I will never ever get tired of pixel graphics and I think in the indie game scene they haven't even reached the level of awe some of the examples from the 90s could provide. Still, a lot of potential for that technique.
That said, it all depends on the artstyle. Not every pixelated game is visually appealing as much as every game with modern graphics (or just smooth polygonal graphics if you will) isn't either.

About "The Last Faith": Looks promising. But I guess it looks more promising than it might turn out to be actually great. For example, the backgrounds look a bit pale, bland, lifeless and lacking in variety. The elaborate (and impressive) animations might impact the actual timing or tightness of the gameplay.
But on the other hand, it might also turn out to be the next indie masterpiece.
Hope for the latter of course, because these types of games are totally my jam.

@Cashews It's definitely in a race for first place (or last, if you will) in that category with the remakes of "Monkey Island 1 & 2".

That's really depressing to hear. "Shadow Tactics" is an amazing game, with a level of polish, that puts some AAA-games to shame. It brought my faith back in German game development. I bought "Desperados III" only on sale and haven't bought "Shadow Gambit", yet. And now I do feel bad about that. I really like these games and Mimimi's commitment to the genre. Maybe it would have been a better choice to go for different settings. Outside of a few super hyped mega games like "Red Dead Redemption" or "Assassin's Creed" western and pirate stories aren't the biggest sellers. I wonder, what could have been, had they been given the opportunity to make a new "Commandos".
Anyway, this is sad news.

@awp69 And before that "Pikmin 4". That was the first one with a perfect score, after they changed the system.

I wonder if the voice over text was the first field test for Ubisoft for script written by an A.I.. Cringe as hell and bears the cynicism you'd expect from Ubi.
Anyway, gameplay-wise this looked solid. And as a HUGE fan of the movies, I will keep an eye on this.