I’m sure some of you will want to reply to this post and say “don’t you really mean single player games are dying ?” While that’s partially true I think there is more to it than that.
Games use to made with world building in mind. Characters , stories arcs maybe in some cases a message to share. Games did this with a combination of a story and a single player campaign to get you acquainted and a multiplayer component to keep you coming back. Yes in many cases multiplayer was just tacked on but in many cases it added value and further established world building. In the end you’ve at least experienced a cool story.
To me these days most games are made in service of a battle pass or an excuse to release a permanent “early access game”
Oh look a new battle royal survivor game with the unique twist of combining other games mechanics into one. You can play with your friends ! You can farm things and make things ! Does making these things really move any needle in any significant way? Does the farming open up new locations and enemies to fight ? Or better yet special story moments ? Most of The time nope. And the worst of times you just get a shiny new hat!
I see little value in investing time into another game when I can see bar move another 3 percent. I understand there a social aspects but I’d argue the games do little for them and those social aspects can be had without the game to begin with. Or everyone playing their own game. To me all you’re doing is killing time with yet another run of the mill game.
I’d like to see a resurgence of games made with a singular intent and purpose. In service of telling a story and building a world. And seeing profits come in from there. No battle pass no service …
No nothing was ever perfect and there was always junk games. To me now it just feels like it’s getting worse.
Any way I’ll go back into my retirement home now and stop yelling at that cloud…
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So true! Remember the good old days with games like Expedition 33, Baldur’s Gate 3, Resident Evil 9? Those were the best. It’s a pity games like that don’t get made anymore.
WTF are you talking about.
Not a fan of those games …
Fuck off then, stop hiding your “I don’t care for the current trends in gaming” behind a boomer-ass “they don’t make em like they used to” take. There’s tons of good games and there’s always been a bunch of low-effort garbage to sift through. We used to call it “shovel-ware”.
1970s: Space Invaders comes out with deep, story-driven world building
1980s: Super Mario Bros comes out with deep, story-driven world building
1990s: Mortal Kombat comes out with deep, story-driven world building
2000s: Counterstrike comes out with deep, story-driven world building
2010s: Minecraft comes out with deep, story-driven world building (this one is funny because you dig deep and build worlds)
2020s: There are no good games that really build a world with a good story! Definitely not Elden Ring, BG3, Ghosts of Tsushima, DOS2, Clair Obscura, etc…
I keep thinking that everyone who complains about video games today either has awful taste or only learns about the industry from media outlets. I personally think we’re in something of a golden age. Death Stranding 2, Elden Ring, Balders Gate 3, Zelda Totk, Alan Wake 2, UFO 50, Donkey Kong Bananza, Balatro, Silksong, Kirby Air Riders, Clair Obscur, the Alters.
And that’s only in the last 3-4 years. If you pay attention to all kinds of budgets, there’s a ton of great new games coming out all the time. Get out of your little corner of the Internet and you’ll find PLENTY of great new games.
Is every leisure activity not just wasting time if viewed through this lens?
They are not “most games”. They might be most games you’re aware of, because those games spend the most money on marketing. The type of game you want is downright abundant, and even some of the games you’re ranting about have more substance than you give them credit for, though they may not be your cup of tea.
From last year, check out Split Fiction, The Alters, Kingdom Come: Deliverance II (it has a season pass, but you can take it or leave it), Dispatch, or Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. From this year, I can recommend Escape from Ever After first-hand, and I’ve got plenty on my radar that I hear good things about.
4 good games doesn’t make up for 500 other absolute trash ones.
I did say it was a hot take didn’t I ?
Hot take: This post belongs in unpopular opinion. While I don’t agree. You’re entitled to your opinion. If you’re enjoying spent time I don’t think it’s wasted. If you enjoy sitting for hours waiting for fish, even though I think it’s a waste of time, it’s time well spent for the one spending it.
Indies still seem to tackle such.
Major games, at least by production value or how much they could spend on ads, are usually bland, and/or if carrying a message, it’s dubious at best.
Meanwhile, indies are more free to do what they want, instead of having to follow orders of someone pushing an agenda or that just cares for profit based on brand.
If you’d be willing to sift through, you can find way too many good titles on places like Steam, GOG, and in a surprising quantity even on Itchio, plus other places, sure.
Games use to made with world building in mind. Characters , stories arcs maybe in some cases a message to share.
My first videogame console was an Atari 2600, there wasn’t even a single thing of your list in any game there
Do you still play those games? A lot?
No, very sporadically, then the nostalgia hits me hard enough. I was just ponting that maybe your nostalgia is kinda skewing your viewpoint too.
Kingdom come deliverance 2, clair obscur, silksong, split fiction, citizen sleeper 2, ball x pit, blue prince, dispatch, hades 2, silent hill f, escape from duckov, outer worlds 2…
And that’s only last year and only the games I’ve played. I don’t have the time or the energy to try all the games that I want to… But sure, focus only on the bad stuff…
I am not saying there aren’t any good games. My argument is there are fewer and fewer year in and year out. Especially at high production levels.
For every 4 decent games I find 500 absolute rubbish. Not to mention the high profile games that had their servers up for a month or less. can’t say I’ve heard that often in my life time.
Sure you can point out to 4 games and claim victory and piss on my grave. But from perspective you’re missing the point…
Yes, ofc there’s lots of rubbish, it’s easy to make games. There’s tons of shit music. There’s tons of shit paintings, there’s tons of shit in every type of art. But there’s also more good stuff than ever before. And the previous stuff hasn’t gone away either, it’s just more and more. You can’t possibly enjoy all the good art that’s out there. Are you sure you still enjoy video games? Maybe that’s the issue…
Look up the year 2005 or whatever. Tell me how many you’ve played and how many you’ve enjoyed from that year. Some years are better than others especially if you have very particular tastes, but there’s no way there were more good games before than now.
Most of the games I’ve mentioned had budgets in the millions, but here’s some more big budget games from last year that were well received:
Mario kart world
ghost of yotei
ninja Gaiden 4
south of midnight
arc raiders
Death stranding 2
donkey Kong bananza
stellar blade
Elden ring: nightreign
metal gear solid delta
Dying light: the beast
And that’s only a few that come up in a quick search. I’m not trying to piss on your grave… but just because EA, Ubisoft and Activision aren’t making good games anymore doesn’t mean others aren’t.
At PAX 2017, I was disappointed by the overwhelming number of battle royale games. There were a handful of games that stood out for story or in-person party play, but the biggest booths were all for MMOs and battle royale games.
I’ve long said that MMO games are so common because storytelling and world-building are hard. Also, Sturgeon’s Law: 90% of everything is shit.
I’m guessing the downvotes are because people fail to see or deliberately ignore the generalization. Of course there are stellar story-driven, single player games still coming out, but 90% shit is to be expected.
My only shred of disagreement here (more of a qualification) is time-wasting. Of course games are for sucking down time. It’s one of the circuses in “Bread and Circuses.” But the same applies to novels, hobbies, and lush green lawns. :D
Another qualification I’ll add: I think we’re just getting more of everything with better coverage and more ubiquitous advertising, so it’s easier to see the shit games. It’s easier than ever to build a game, so of course the tide of garbage rises. But so do the standouts, unfortunately in roughly equal proportions. :D There have some great story-driven games recently as one other commenter noted. For me, “The Expanse,” “Cyberpunk,” and “Become Human” leap to mind (yes, I’m a very late adopter). Two of those are basically visual novels with choices, but the stories hit hard and get into complex moral and social issues.
When you’re ready, I’ll be out on the retirement home patio with a cold one waitin’ for ya. We’ll gripe about it some more.
Sorry to get all “ok grandpa time for your meds” on you, but 2017 was 9 years ago. A whole decade has passed in the industry and the art form. XD
