I understand what you're getting at OP, honestly, sometimes I feel the same way, but only with AAA studios and games.
The cost of AAA development is insane. So a lot of the time AAA devs/pubs just want to develop projects that they KNOW will sell. It's why we see so many remakes, sequels, and games blatantly inspired by other successful titles.
That being said, the nice part is that we DO still get a solid AAA title that feels unique and screams originality. It's just not as frequent as we would like. But at least they DO exist! You just gotta look for them.
Indie games are definitely carrying the torch when it comes to stuff like that, and they have been for several years. However, I feel like in this particular timeline (at least the past few years) we've seen a lot of games inspired by other games. Which, is to be expected, even if it's a bit on the nose. But like all the things, it fluctuates.
Great original games come and they go, it's the nature of the beast. Some years feel better than others for sure, but I feel like it's been that way ever since I began playing games as a child. Though I admit as an adult it just feels different, and sometimes it just kind of makes me sad. Because I'd love to see games like X or Y, but I just have to accept the fact that something like that may never exist. At least the way I'd want it to.
It's understandable man, and I'm there with you. I personally feel a lot of AAA devs and pubs don't want to risk their studio potentially taking a hit or closing because they focused on an original but risky project. Along with, well, some just want to make money and be popular. So AAA is an interesting pool for sure. But man, it was so much better when the cost of development was cheaper. It felt like we saw a lot of big names putting out interesting titles one after another.So yeah... amazing games are still being made... but the cancer of GaaS and microtransactions has jaded my view on modern gaming... I will totally admit to that. I just need to learn to look past that and enjoy the great games that are being released
Yeah no you're just tripping on nostalgia. Games today are brilliant.
Honestly. They used to be better. I'm talking back in the 90's and early to mid 2000's. Back when gaming was still a niche market (early 2000's wasn't so niche). Yes I know, there were a lot of "bad" games back then, just like there are now, but I am talking about the "good" games... compared to the "good" games of today.
Games weren't mainstream then. As such... they were made by people who had a passion for what they were making. The driving factors were to make a fun experience... and they were made by talented people who wanted to get their artistry to the masses. Back then there weren't terms like "AAA" experiences and *shudders* games as a service. Most devs weren't driven by making money. They just wanted to make a fun game that people liked. There's no more perfect embodiment of this than James Halliday in Ready Player One. The Halliday character was inspired by late 80's, early 90's devs who just wanted to create fun games. There was a lot of experimenting going on back then. Lot's of new and fresh things, so most devs didn't really know what would make money anyways. Their thought process was just "We made this game... we hope you enjoy it"
Modern gaming is driven by money. The shareholders and executives make the decisions now. Not the creators. Not the people putting their hard work into the games. It's all so clear to see with a few games nowadays.
They weren't purposely designing mechanics to be addictive and predatory to make you "feel like you need to buy this cosmetic or boost." Most all "AAA" games today have some form of predatory mechanics.
And listen... I'm not saying ALL MODERN GAMES ARE WORSE.... just making an observation that it used to be a simpler time. Games used to be just about having fun.
I left out a bunch of stuff for brevity... but hopefully it will lead to interesting discussion points. What do you think GAF? How do the "good" games of today compare with the "good" games of yesteryear? Can you feel that something is missing?
Sounds like he playing gamepass fodderSounds like OP isn't playing the right games
Gamepass is full of great games, console warrior.Sounds like he playing gamepass fodder
truly spoken as a magician.
We had better movies
We had better music
We had better games
And none of that contemporary euphemistic-infested-artsy-fartsy-$60 multiplayer only bullshit.Onimusha, GT, TXR, DMC, RE, Suikoden, FFT, HL2, Ridge Racer, BurnOut waaay too many to list ... etc.etc. all got replaced by indie-mbile-GAAS-crap. Back then, we had every year 10x damn good games.
Now we have 1x every 5 years or so of a Bloodborne, Witcher 3 caliber.
Replaying Half Life 2 today feels like playing something new, fresh.
For each Kena, Little Devil Inisde, Cuphead there are 10,000 shovelware, mobile, indie games. Games are way too long these days, every asshole wants to have an open world, every dipshit need to have an online mode else they wont buy it, most games are not fun anymore.
I have seen, played all of them already.
VR better be the next big thing.
Yours truly, Betty.
the golden era of mechanics is over, i'll give you that much
everything stalled around 2006
AAA games have gotten less risky as budgets have gone up, it's true, but that has to be weighed against the fact that there's now a really big range of budgets and price points that are considered viable.On average, games got better, there's less chance for companies to release complete garbage because they can't take risks anymore.
The highs however are much lower than the older ones. Most of the 90-98 metacritic games don't deserve that score and will age poorly or get completely forgotten, which is pretty much what happens to big movies with bs reviews after a month or two and what happened to a huge chunk of the PS360 era.
That's why every few weeks/months you have a thread like this, and people immediately rush to indies.
MS low quality first party games is due to gamepass. Their games have been lacking and them shifting to more a games as a service is hindering their first partyOP is probably confusing good games and AAA games. There are plenty of absolutely fantastic games nowadays.
Gamepass is full of great games, console warrior.
NopeRemember Majorca’s Mask?
Are you even aware that Gamepass has a lot of third party games ?MS low quality first party games is due to gamepass. Their games have been lacking and them shifting to more a games as a service is hindering their first party
Blanket stating that games used to be better is just looking at the past through rose tinted glasses.
Yes, there were some pearls, like Zelda Alttp, or Super Metroid, and many others, but as the Angry Video Game Nerd teaches time and time again: there were a ton of turds too, many more than these days.
Well Fortnite is definitely trash compared to past games, so you have a point.Title of the thread is a blanket statement yes (clickbait) but if you look at the OP, I specifically say I am not talking about all games. Mainly the "good" games of today compared to the "good" games of the past. And comparing the heavily marketed games of today (Fortnite, Halo Infinite, Madden) to the heavily marketed games of yesteryear (Super Mario, Crash Bandicoot, Metal Gear Solid, Halo CE).