anubisvel

“…presumably spouting deeply poetic declarations about dense subjects, like life and death.“

@get2sammyb - Might be a good investment for Push Square to get a translating consultant the team can reach out to in future instances so presumptions aren’t needed. Just an idea… 😋

@tomassi I know this reply is late, but I have a couple answers for you.

1. This is not a Japanese game. Studio LARGO is a South Korean development studio and this game focuses on a South Korean talent competition.

2. “Stan” does not mean “stand.” It is a term for highly passionate fans of someone or something, particularly ones who follow what they’re a fan of very closely and who engage in discussion and debates about those things (especially online).

The term originates from Eminem’s song of the same name, which was about a crazy fan who took things to a severe and violent extreme, but the term as it’s known today is more broadly applied and not necessarily a negative thing.

For any terms you see online a lot and are genuinely confused by, I recommend searching for definitions on Urban Dictionary.

@NEStalgia You make valid points about the challenges of change and the importance of reinvention in sustaining long-standing franchises. While FF has evolved over time, embracing growth and experimentation has helped it maintain its longevity and appeal. Square Enix's decision to present FFXVI as a core installment rather than a spinoff demonstrates their commitment to exploring new paths while staying true to the franchise's world-building essence.

FF has never been limited to a single genre, unlike the "souls-like" category. The series intentionally avoids strict genre definitions, which naturally means not every game will resonate with everyone. It's perfectly fine to choose which games to play without succumbing to the pressure of experiencing every hyped AAA release. Each new mainline FF focuses on different characters and storylines, creating an interwoven tapestry of themes rather than strict continuity around a single core genre.

Ultimately, the success of FFXVI will depend on how well its plot, character arcs, and gameplay mechanics come together to create a positive experience for both new and longtime players, regardless of the specific genre it falls into.

A vocal minority of gamers relying on hasty assumptions, becoming outraged, and not seeking confirmation first (despite being chronically online and having tons of resources at their literal fingertips)? I never thought I’d see the day… 😅

@NEStalgia I understand where you’re coming from. However, I do have one question about a sentiment you’ve shared a few times.

You’ve asserted that this “is not an FF game,” but it’s important to clarify it simply doesn’t feel like FF to you. As players, we can decide how we feel about a game, but the creators have complete agency to decide what is or isn’t ”Final Fantasy.” The number of times you’ve expressed it as fact is likely a contributor to why some find it difficult to accept your position as good faith.

Whether you end up enjoying it or not, this IS Final Fantasy XVI. Furthermore, if you struggled similarly with FF XIII because it didn’t feel like FF, but you ended up enjoying it years later by not thinking of it as FF, perhaps there’s an opportunity to reflect on why labels and titles are affecting your experience of games so deeply when ignoring them may allow you to enjoy or appreciate more freely.

Is FF a monolith? I don’t reckon the franchise has ever aimed to be one.

I'm all for whatever they need to do to ensure a polished game. With that said, at this rate it'll take another 6-7 years before we reach the end of the remake story. I'm not sure whether to be intrigued or exhausted by that estimate.

As long as I can play PS5 in bed when I feel like it, 3-4 hours of battery is a non-issue. This product won’t be for everyone and it would be great for Sony to actually re-enter the handheld market, but this is a step in the right direction.

I saw it described as “more Wii U than Switch,” and that makes perfect sense. Here’s hoping there will someday be a successor to the Vita… One that actually sees ample support. The Vita was mismanaged and left out to dry.

Bring it on! 🙌🏼

I understand the skepticism from some, but we’ll just have to wait and see how this unfolds.

Looks like a product title on Wish. 😅

With all the times the game was delayed before the current-gen release (which turned out to be the right decision), I seriously don't have the greatest hope for the last-gen consoles with yet another delay. Switch? I've not been sure how they're going to pull off that version from the start. 😅

@Northern_munkey I appreciate your curiosity about my motivations. I don’t have ulterior motives.

I don’t feel superior, and you certainly aren’t inferior. I’m just as much a member of this community as you are. If your approach, thoughts, and opinions are infallible but mine aren’t, that’s a bit of a double standard.

You’re not my foe. I just chose to speak up against the “not newsworthy” rhetoric you and many others in comments on this site have expressed. There’s nothing to win, lose, or gain. I’m not asking you to agree with me, but I said what I said and we can leave it at that.

I respect your freedom to share your thoughts openly, and I respect the nature of this community in that anything we share can be responded to at the will of anyone else, as equals. All the best. I hope you have a great day/night.

@Northern_munkey — I chose not to ignore your comment, as I’ve ignored a number of similar comments from others in the past. If you’d rather not invite discussion, perhaps a public comment isn’t the best way to achieve that end.

Criticizing the newsworthiness of an article can come across as flippant and condescending, especially if done without offering constructive feedback.

It's important to remember that the writers are real people who put in significant effort to provide a breadth of daily content. They deserve common courtesy, regardless of whether or not we find every article to be of personal interest.

If you were being sarcastic, as you’ve suggested, it should be acknowledged that sarcasm and other nuances of communication can be difficult to detect without context clues.

@Northern_munkey What you're experiencing is a lack of interest in the topic, which is understandable.

However, your lack of interest does not mean something isn't newsworthy. I'll never understand those types of comments.

If you want to decide the content that gets published somewhere, start your own blog. 🤷🏽‍♂️

@NEStalgia Bruce Straley left Naughty Dog in 2017. He announced his own studio (Wildflower Interactive) last year. He's not involved in the development of The Last of Us multiplayer game.

@ATaco I gave feedback to the dev team over a year ago that the title is confusing when the game is more inclusive and not just about “boyfriends.” They scoffed at the feedback and I moved on.

It’s up to them to market their game successfully. I still don’t think the name does a very good job representing the scope, but I won’t be playing it because I wasn’t fond of the interaction with their team.

I was excited back when it was announced, but it's been too long. You snooze, you lose. And to think they didn't even trademark the name of the game before announcing it to the public? That seems to be only the tip of the iceberg at this point.

@Pat_trick The only part of your response that felt personal was you referring to the statement as "extremely disingenuous and condescending." That's your perception. However, what is your context? Do you know him or his motivations? What do you stand to gain from vilifying his comments?

As I see it, a developer is openly acknowledging feedback and shortcomings. That acknowledgment and understanding isn't stagnant. It will continue to grow and develop over time.

CD Projekt Red has repeatedly apologized to players since Cyberpunk's launch. If it's never enough, perhaps we don't deserve the acknowledgment in the first place. The incessant focus on negatives without any appreciation for positives is why the matter of civility even came up in the first place.

Why players believe they deserve the world when they're so ready to trash developers for even minor missteps is beyond me. I respect your feedback, but I don't believe it's productive to accuse anyone of being disingenuous or condescending when you don't have concrete evidence to suggest that's the case.

@Nepp67 Your feedback isn't without merit. It's actually quite reasonable. I just don't think him wording his acknowledgment any differently would change anything about the situation. It's better than what we get from 99% of developers when something doesn't measure up to the expectations that were set. Instead of only knocking down what we see as not good enough, perhaps we should celebrate the progress with equal measure.

@Pat_trick Your experience and perception of the game don’t have to match his. That doesn’t mean he’s wrong or that he’s telling you that you’re wrong. Creators have just as much right to interpret the art they create as anyone else. I imagine you have the capacity to disagree in a civil manner without making it personal.

@Nepp67 I’m not sure what you think you’re achieving here. A developer is directly acknowledging feedback, yet you still feel the need to be combatant. 🙈

It’s hilarious to see people describing this as “god awful” and “trash” when the reviews suggest a middling reception.

There is such thing as an average game, and you can move along without feeling the need to slander Forspoken to hell and back with second-hand opinions.

Not interested? Play something else. It’s not that serious. Or is bandwagoning more engaging than any of your games right now?

Business is hard and the landscape can change quickly. The only way to achieve continued longevity is to balance innovation with a true understanding of what makes video games such a compelling medium to players.

There is absolutely no reason this game should be as divisive as it has been in online discourse, yet it’s not surprising in the least given the state of humanity.

People are so quick to judge and nitpick without giving something new a chance, unless it ticks certain boxes. The toxicity needs to stop.

I’ll reserve my judgment for when the game is out, not based on perceived advertising or demo missteps.

Naughty Dog learned after having to delay TLOU2 a few times.

I wish more devs would follow suit and not provide a release date OR timeline if they aren’t confident they can get the game to the state they intend to release it in by then. Any announced timelines should also include ample built-in time for unforeseen issues.

@PhenomenalOne I don’t think most of PushSquare’s audience are relying on trailers. Your experience is surprisingly one of the few overtly negative ones I’ve seen. Most thoughts and reviews I’ve found have been positive, but no game will be for everyone.

This controller is targeted toward a specific group of gamers, and I'm comfortable admitting I'm not part of that group. I'm perfectly happy with the standard DualSense.

I smell GOTY, despite the major success of Elden Ring. I'm sure both will receive their dues come major award season next year.

@Hindenburg Because they really are the last of us.

I’m not sure if your article was feigning ignorance or just a joke that didn’t land, but the “look for the light” Firefly slogan is one of the most recognized quotes from The Last of Us.

I’ve been intrigued by Frontiers for a while but it’s outside my budget currently. I plan to wait for a sale and whatever patches drop in the coming months.

2023 is stacked with games so I’m not sure where Frontiers will slot in. Something for a rainy day, perhaps.

Racism and a death threat or death wish over a review? What on earth is wrong with people?

I sincerely hope the person or people engaging in this behavior seek help and identify the underlying causes of the negativity they choose to put out into the world. There’s no excuse…

@LiamCroft — The cost-benefit analysis is certainly a top factor for us as your audience. Look back to the heated debates about the cost of the Last of Us Part 1 remake.

I certainly understand that not having to pay for the game negates any personal reason you would have to consider that in your perspective. However, you can't deny it's an important factor to the audience you're serving in a professional sense.

Taking that audience into consideration is certainly of value when creating a well-rounded review, and I hope you'll reflect on it as a fair bit of feedback (not that you have to agree).

As for me, I cannot justify paying $69.99 (+10.25% sales tax where I live) to "roll the dice" (as Khayl recommends in this article). I've been looking forward to Gotham Knights since it was announced, but that excitement has been tempered significantly by this divisive rollout.

The cons in the review seem to support a 6/10, at most. Considering many of us have extensive backlogs and tons of games are on the horizon, we don’t HAVE to buy/play something just because it’s the latest anticipated release. It’s easy to get excited any time something new is dropping, but not all games are for the masses.

Another day, another delay. It’s almost comical at this point. I’d have a lot more respect if we stopped receiving vague reasoning and formulaic apologies. It’s also becoming quite pitiful to see release dates announced so haphazardly… time and time again.

I understand there are challenges in video game development, but I’m not the best at being patient or staying invested when there’s no tangible information to hold on to. 🤷🏽‍♂️

@GreatAuk — I have a feeling Pedro Pascal may have difficulty growing a full beard. Everyone’s genetics are different. I can’t grow a full beard like Joel’s myself, and applying fake facial hair can have tacky results in films and shows.

I think they were focused on which actor was best for the role and his facial hair not being as full was a concession they had to make to cast the actor they felt was the best fit.

@GreatAuk — I'm intrigued at the thought of a full vs partial beard being enough of a point of contention to cast doubt on the rest of the project for you. I'm sorry you're disappointed and I hope the show exceeds your expectations nonetheless.

I’m a bit disappointed by the rampant cynicism in these comments. Nowhere does it say they’re ignoring the source material just because they advised the actors against playing the games.

Why is it so difficult to trust Neil and Craig to have accounted for the fans in their writing of the show?

It’s quite simple. If you want the Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson performances, play the games again. However, this relentless sucking of joy from every announcement is starting to become quite daft.

Perhaps it’s best you wait until an episode is out, that way you’ll at least be arguing about something tangible instead of relying on fear and anxiety to form your opinions.

We should leverage our expectations to some degree. That’s important. But not getting your hopes up doesn’t mean doing the extreme opposite. Try finding a happy medium.

@Juanalf Please don’t patronize me. I can follow your logic just fine without the air of superiority.

I’m sure there are certain directives initiated by executives. However, just like in the film industry, it’s common for studios to pitch ideas to executives hoping for them to get the green light. Example: Bend Studio pitched a sequel to Days Gone that was shot down. Ideas come from the top down and bottom up all the time.

The gist of what I’m saying is that it’s unreasonable to act like anything is being forced on us. There are hundreds of thousands of games and nobody is making anyone buy them. Nor are the studios (or execs) saying their target audiences are specifically people who have already played an earlier version of any games they’re considering remastering.

The opinions that tend to be shared here and on social media are from those who have already played the games in question and are demanding something else. I imagine it’s hard for people to step outside of themselves and think objectively about this stuff, but it’s not impossible.

Thanks for the discourse. Best wishes.

I think people feel a bit too much of a sense of ownership and control over these things. Whether you’re arguing that devs could be “working on something else” or you “don’t want to have to pay again for a current gen experience,” it’s really not up to devs to cater solely to our whims and desires.

If they deem there to be enough of an interested audience, which frankly doesn’t have to include all of us to be worthwhile, nobody’s forcing our hands.

The lack of awareness when it comes to the rampant entitlement and self-absorbed expectations is growing tiring. If we don’t like something, we just don’t buy it… but not everyone has to care that we’re not buying it. 😅

This is why we can’t have nice things.

It's a far cry from Game of the Year. 😬

@frabbit What would excite you? I'm surprised. There's almost everything under the sun coming out next year.

Are you looking for something specific?

This is stunning! The Ravenclaw Common Room already feels like home. 💙

The ability to bring your house and wand from your Wizarding World (aka. Harry Potter Fan Club) account is an incredible touch as well.

@KundaliniRising333 No, it doesn’t. There are numerous mechanics at play that weren’t present anywhere in the original or the PS4 Remaster. Opinions on the price tag aside, let’s not be reductive here.

You’re welcome to play something else without trying to make people feel bad for buying/playing what they want. Good day!

I’ve never played Unleashed. I don’t care about the similarities in any level design.

Intentional homage or intentional repurposing, either way it’s not a big deal. There’s plenty more about the game that will truly determine whether it succeeds or fails. I’m not going to nitpick over a recreated stage design. 🤷🏽‍♂️

If this sours anyone to the idea of buying the game, they can always go play something else.

I’m ready to tell some lies.

I’m sure people will find plenty to criticize or nitpick, but I’ll wait for legit reviews. Imperfect NPC animations and iffy dialogue aren’t enough to turn me off from an entire game.

I want to know how it feels to play. If the traversal and combat are solid and the story is passable, I’m still on board.

@IonMagi Yep! It'll be on PS5. 🙌🏼

Another day. Another delay.

I hate to be cynical, but... With all the other high-profile delays going on these past few years, I wouldn't be surprised to see Gotham Knights notch itself an additional delay as well. It's hard to get excited about release dates anymore. Prove me wrong, Warner Bros.