Exactly. As long as the games can bought (preferably physically, but at least digitally), I see no issue for this.
People should stop to keep their subscriptions when they do not use it. I subscribe to gamepass for 1 or 2 months, play all the games I am interested in, then stop it. If more people do that, the only way for Microsoft to keep subscribers is by improving its service to stay relevant.
I still remember the first time I played it. I was still living with my parents, and they left for a few days. I started the game in the evening, and couldn’t stop until I reach the end of it … in the morning. It’s very uncommon for me to do so (even at the time), but it was so … captivating. I could not stop and go to sleep 😅.
And then, they will blame the studio when the game fails :/. There is no point to force a studio specialized in single-player games to develop a multiplayer one. And using an existing IP for that is not very effective imo (it reminds me a lot when, during PS360 era, all single player games had an uninteresting multiplayer mode solely to justify the online membership, like Fable 2 or Mass Effect 3). It’s exactly like the last Crash game no one cared about.
It feels like they are buying lottery tickets, hoping a winning ticket will cover all their expenses.
It’s sad, but I think the only way to preserve video games is through piracy and emulation. The companies do not care, states do not care, and most people do not care until it’s too late (and the games are seen as consumables by most people, which imo explains why they are « happy » to buy the same games again and again).
At the beginning of this generation, I planned to buy a used PS5 when the Pro version was coming. I did not know that the PS5 would have almost no games for me (especially because they released the big ones for me on PC), the base PS5 would cost even more, and most people will not upgrade to the Pro because of its absurd pricing (note because it’s not worth it, but because the market for it is likely very niche).
I guess I will just skip Sony’s platform for this generation.
Probably one of my all-time favorite RPG. It’s a good classic RPG with good graphics and music. The gameplay is good and unique as well, but I remember from my first playthrough back in the days that it took me some time to get used to it. The game is not easy at all (because 2/3 bosses in the game are very hard).
It’s important not to make a big pause when playing this game. The gameplay starts slow and becomes very fast at some point. It is so unique that, if you stop and play again after a month or so, you will likely have a hard time to become fast enough again (when I played it for the 1st time when I was young, I did this mistake and had to start the game from the beginning).
I can’t comment about the 2nd game because I never played it.
Depends how you see it. TCG is by itself a lootbox game, but with physical cards instead. However, it does not seem that the Pokemon Company wants to turn its TCG game into a digital business, but instead use those apps as promotional products for TCG. Personally, I think it’s a much better model than the one pursued by everyone else. The apps are more a bonus / promotional stuff than a real thing. For this particular app, I won’t be surprised if there is no other way to get packs than waiting for the next day.
I don’t think so. The TCG online has no micro-transactions. You have to buy real packs to get digital packs in the game.
I believe this new game will just be advertisement for the TCG by itself, without the F2P stuff we are used to in other games. Giving people this app for free, and expect to convert some of them into TCG players who will buy real packs.
I loved Lost Odyssey at the time but, at the same time, it’s probably one of worst JRPG I have ever played when you only consider the beginning. The game is so slow to start, and sometimes a bit too difficult (especially because it does not let you grind, which is very annoying at the beginning because you have not many options).
Besides that, It has a lot to share, with a touching story, very interesting reflections about immortality and harsh/intense moments. The gameplay is good as well, proposing its own mechanics and bosses that forces you to use them.
It’s not easy to recommend because it’s one of those games where you have to play many hours to get in.
As long as it remains an option among others, I don’t see any issue with the subscription model. I play video games for 20+ years, and I can say it’s impossible for me at this point to play once again to most of the games I played in the past. A subscription model is the cheapest way to play most games if you do not play it more than once (which is the case for most games, at least for myself).
Even in the rare case where I would like to play again a game I did not buy at the time, between discounts, remake / remaster (or even emulation), and even if I have to buy it 5 years after its release, it will still be worth it compared to the dozens of games I had not bought.
I am much more concerned about DLCs, season pass, bugged games on release and so on. Releasing incomplete or imperfect games (and this also count for BG3) implies that one day, using a physical copy of nowadays in 20 years will be a subpar experience because you won’t have access to any of this content by legal means (assuming Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo shutting down their online services for old generations, which has already happened and will likely happen again in the future). Retrogaming for games released nowadays is kind doomed if you do not follow the piracy route (which is probably the only secure way to keep track of both DLCs and patches in the long run).
I kinda agree. Back in the days, I was waiting for new games. Now, there are dozens of games waiting for me every time I complete one. It seems to be impossible to play everything nowadays even if you only do that. It’s not a big issue for us of course (we just have to accept we cannot play everything, and choose wisely how to use our playing time), but I can see this being an issue for the industry.
I had the chance to play it at the time, and since I hadn’t played SM64 yet, this game was even more impressive to me :). I wouldn’t change anything to it, mixing up 3D platformer with mini-games and a moveset that evolved through out the game, combined with an amazing OST and funny dialogs … it was perfect <3.
Yes, it seems to be it. I personally do not like this way of thinking. Marketing is always going to put up some lies in order to sell the product. It feels strange to me to judge a game from what the marketing said about it, instead of what the game truly is. Of course, it would be very disappointing if you can only rely on what the marketing said when deciding to buy or not buy the game. But with all the options available nowadays (reviews, streams, test it for 10€ thanks to the gamepass instead of paying 80€ directly), it seems strange to me to spend so much money, without informing yourself enough, and be this angry afterwards.
As I said, it’s not like the game is perfect, but it’s far to be as bad as those « user reviews » depicts.
I personally really enjoyed the trip. Far from perfect, and more a 2010 game in its core, but quite entertaining. However, I would have been disappointed if I had to pay 80€ for it (especially because this game lacks polish). I had no hesitation thanks to the gamepass, and I have no regret playing 100h to it :).
I think the backlash is a bit excessive. It feels like people expected this game to be exceptional, having huge expectations that were never met. It’s Bethesda, how can we expect a master piece from them on day one? Besides, it’s not like a success like Skyrim can be reproduced that easily. It’s not bad to have expectations, but if the game is different than what you had in mind, it’s not the game’s fault imo (and it happens too frequently those years, as if all major releases are bad games that should never be played).
I love Dark Souls, but Sekiro was very frustrating.
The main issues I have with it is that (I) you have one playstyle (vs. the dozens weapons in Dark Souls), meaning that if you don’t like it, you are stuck, and (II) after a while, you only fight bosses (finding your way to reach a boss was part of the fun in Dark Souls, and this has been dropped after the first half of the game I would say).
The game is also much more difficult, because the parrying system allows your enemies to heal after a while. You have to be very aggressive and master all the patterns, otherwise they heal.
It took me around 50 hours to complete, among which I was stuck 15-20 hours on the final boss. It’s not a bad game, but if the gameplay does not match with your playstyle, it can almost be impossible to complete.
What’s a bit disturbing, is that I loved Sekiro at first. It was very fun for the first 10 hours I would say. I could totally imagine people love Sekiro for those first hours, and gave up before it becomes « annoying » (since we know most people do not complete their games).