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Oddly enough I’ve been playing High on Life on the Steamdeck. I give it a solid 6/10.
The art style is cool and the characters aren’t as annoying as I thought they would be, but damn is it shallow.
All levels are basically the same but the gunplay and movement are nice enough to keep me around. I just play it while watching TV with my girlfriend. Nice mix of a wave shooter and platforming. It really reminds me of Doom in a way
HMM III was the first game I played in the turn based strategy genre. I had never played anything similar really, but I wanted to get into the genre and I decided to start with one a lot of people consider a classic.
My gaming knowledge started with the PS1 era playing games like crash bandicoot, THPS, and others like that. I didn’t get into PC gaming until around 2016 and now games I play are Death Stranding, DOOM 2016, Skyrim, BOTW, CSGO etc.
I’ve tried a wide variety of games besides those, and I truly didn’t know what the game was asking from me until I looked it up. Maybe the game gave me enough and I just didn’t connect the dots in my head. I’m not sure, but all I know is my experience which I struggled with
All I’m saying is that I’ve never met anyone who didn’t understand a game like DOOM or the classic Marios. There’s clearly a difference in language that isn’t as common in modern/more mainstream games. Not saying HMM III wasn’t mainstream during it’s time, but I’ve never heard anyone of my generation who has played it or heard of it
I was just thinking this exact same thing… but about Red Dead Redemption 2. I had to stop playing it because it had no respect for my time.
I’m used to driving to places to start a mission like in all the other GTA games, but in RDR2, it would be about 10 minutes of riding a horse before the real mission started.
The animations take way too long sometimes, and cutscenes and a lot of dialogue are unnecessary and feel like padding. Those 1-2 second animations add up when it’s a 50+hr game
I haven’t played it, but it’s interesting that it’s too difficult.
A lot of the games I go back to from the NES era are often too difficult for me. I find a lot of them to be unfair and I wonder if the difficulty something that was brought over from the arcade games form right before it
Either that or padding to make the game longer. If that’s the case, I prefer side mission padding because at least that’s usually optional lol
Reminds of me of when I watched 2001: A Space Odyssey and was confused because I had heard great things about the soundtrack, but it was just a bunch of songs I had heard before.
About halfway through the movie I realized that it was an original soundtrack and it was so influential that it became a cliche. 2001: A Space Odyssey was a cliche, not because it followed a saturated trend, but because it itself was copied by everyone else.
AC1’s concept and maybe even story has held up, but you’re right that the later entries feel miles better.
Bro I was playing on the director’s cut.
The context of the conversation was the director’s cut so I didn’t think I had to specify.
Also these companies get private investing for the games they create. The ads just sound like long-term monetization of a product. ‘Passive income,’ some would say lol. They’re definitely not paying for their next games with ads on a 4 year old game if that’s what your implying
Looking back, I’m happy at how much time I had to play games this year. The Steam Deck (SD) has definitely helped since I finished almost all of these on the steam deck. Some games I started last year and finished this year, but I will still add them to the list. A couple I have played multiple times so completing them was fast & easy
1. GTA V 6/10 (SD)
I really enjoyed the characters and writing even if the story was a little weak. Gameplay and humor definitely carried. Had fun going back to it after not playing it for almost 10 years.
2. Mario 64 10/10 (RG351P Emulator)
I can finish this game in a day at this point. I don’t usually get all 120 stars since I skip the ones I find annoying. I’ve been playing it yearly for about 5 years.
3. Katana Zero 8/10 (SD)
Like Mario 64, I can run through this game quite easily at this point. I’ve finished the campaign countless times. Super smooth and responsive gameplay. Great story
4. Furi 8/10 (SD)
This is the last of my replayed games this year (kinda). I can also rush through this game quite easily in a day. Feels like dancing in gaming form lol. Want to finally play my first fromsoftware game next year. Already have Sekiro in my library so I’m ready.
5. Assemble With Care 5/10 (SD)
This game took me less than an hour to complete. Got this game through a bundle and it caught my attention. A cute story game, but not too much going on gameplay wise. As you can probably tell by my other game selections, this didn’t end up being my cup of tea lol.
6. Need for Speed Unbound 7/10 (PC)
It feels like Need for Speed is REALLY close to creating another classic, but they’re missing something. It feels like this game needed another year or two to add more content because this game’s gameplay is pretty polished and satisfying.
7. Risk of Rain 2 9/10 (PC)
Finished it solo and with a friend. Both times were really fun and addictive. Easy to jump into, but hard to put down. Might be my game of the year
8. Wolfenstein New Order 5/10 (SD)
Controls were meh and story was meh. I liked the game, but there are so many better games at this point, that I was kinda sad I spent my time and money on this one.
9. GTA IV 8/10 (SD)
The story was great, and the characters like always were amazing. The start was a little sluggish, but it made the the later parts of the game more satisfying and rewarding. I played this on my PS3 when it first came out, but I don’t think I ever played the campaign.
10. Tomb Raider 7/10 (SD)
It had a lot of charm, and it was just pure fun. It disregarded most logic and reasoning in exchange for fun scenarios.
11. WWE 2K23 8/10 (SD) & (PC)
I played the showcase mode where you play through John Cena’s career highlights, but what I’ve been having the most fun with is getting high, putting on a movie, and playing through the matches I used to come up with as a child. It has been a blast that I can admit has been mostly nostalgia fueled.
12. Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1 + 2 Remaster 9/10 (SD) & (PC)
I also have a lot of childhood memories with these games. Finished the campaign in about a week and I’ve been on a mission to get in the top 1500 on every map on the speedrun mode and it’s been a fun challenge. Multiplayer is also very fun even though I almost never win. What can I say that hasn’t been said in the last couple decades since this game originally came out.
Maybe you’re not as excited because you’re not the target audience anymore.
Think of the biggest games of the last 10 years, they’ve all been community centered games. Among Us, Minecraft, Call of Duty, Fortnite, GTA Online, Fall Guys, etc.
I think we just grew up in a different era. I grew up playing on the PSX but my younger brother grew up on the PS4. I’m still playing the Tony Hawk remaster by myself and my younger brother is playing online games with like 6 people in the call.
I look forward to the story, but my younger brother looks forward to the online where he can have his own character and create his own story with his friends.
Gaming in general is moving in a community direction and I don’t blame Rockstar for moving in that direction as well.
Yeah not sure why people want the single player to last forever lol. To me it makes sense for them to focus on the Online afterwards since that’s what will stay alive after people finish the single player.
I don’t see an open world game lasting as long as a sandbox game without a ton of bloat… kinda like those super long and repetitive Ubisoft campaigns people always complain about…
I haven’t played online since like 2015, but I personally liked playing through the missions with my friends
Currently, I’m in between games. Tried Divinity Original Sin 2, my first CRPG, but it felt overwhelming. Planning to revisit it during Christmas break.
Gave New World a shot, found it boring, got a refund. I would rather spend those $20 on something better.
Enjoying the Tony Hawk remaster, likely to finish it in the next week or so.
Playing GTA IV, but it’s gotten dull after 3 hours. The story is interesting, but the gameplay feels like I’m just running errands.
I can personally imagine a better screen, speakers, controls, ergonomics, cooling, another USB C port, slimmer and lighter, etc.
I know that most of these things are already good, but they can always be improved. We’ve already seen other handheld PCs do some things better so I imagine Valve can improve as well
Whenever I hear this quote I also think of the developers/publishers. They need to have a good reputation so people buy their games.
I think that’s why EA, Blizzard, Ubisoft, Activision, etc sales have gone down. I will not say that gamers react fairly when it comes to unfinished game releases, but it takes one bad game to ruin a developer. Especially when you consider how small the margins are or if they are publicly traded. Even developers with good games have recently been going out of business because it’s not sustainable.
I also think of their legacies. Especially in a post-steam world, a game with a good legacy will continue to sell for much longer. I don’t think a game like Watch Dogs ever got rid of the stink surrounding it, even though it isn’t a bad game to go back to nowadays.
I agree with you for the most part. I do believe that mobile gaming is the future just bc of cheap it is to produce. I can see more and more games being optimized for ARM chips every year.
Yeah mobile gaming is the reason why gaming is a bigger industry than Hollywood or even the music industry. It’s just far more accessible than any console or PC will ever be. It only makes sense that businesses will start to focus more on it.
I believe that the only reason Microsoft paid so much for Activision Blizzard isn’t for COD or the other IPs they have, but more for King. The owners of Candy Crush and plenty of other mobile games.
I really respect mobile gaming. There are a lot of good and entertaining games.
They are really accessible to most of the population even in third world countries, and the communities are generally really nice. I’ve found them to be nicer than PC gaming communities at least.
It’s really really incredible how good people can get at certain games and I like how a lot of their communities are run on mobile. A lot of the mobile gaming youtubers even edit their videos on mobile.
Games like COD Mobile and all of the SuperCell games are examples with great communities and games that don’t have any ads. Sure they still be toxic, but it doesn’t compare to communities like Overwatch.
There are also a lot of beautiful games out there. Mobile gaming is a now niche gaming space where the game has to actually be fun or else it won’t grow all that much.
They can’t just buy their way into being popular through the name of the IP or through beautiful graphics. The mentality of Art Style over Graphic Fidelity is still alive on mobile. Look at games like Monument Valley, Kensho, Pirate Outlaws, Rusty Lake, Pocket City, Mini Metro, etc. and you’ll see what I mean.
It’s also a great platform for indie games with low spec requirements.
Years ago I put in hundreds of hours in Call of Duty Mobile and got really good at it. I even joined clans and eventually started my own clan.
I really liked it honestly, but I tried it recently and I seriously have no idea how I was so accurate at one point. Honestly it’s not as uncomfortable as it seems once you find a good hand position, but there is definitely a high learning curve
Not sure what games you’re playing that you don’t get straight into the action. Whenever I play, I get into a gunfight within the first couple minutes all the time.
Also, since the rise of battle royale games the maps have gotten better and there is more action more often. Not only that, but the games are generally more balanced nowadays. That’s one of the benefits of the constant funding: there will continue to be constant updates and the game will continue to be tweaked and improved as long as people play it.
Just like every other game genre, they have improved. The first platformers didn’t come out of the gate being like Mario Wonder or Celeste. There has and will continue to be more progress in the genre.
The only console I’ve bought since the PS3 has been the Switch and it hasn’t been absurdly expensive. I’ve bought almost all of my games second hand.
It can take a while to find them at the right price, but I’ve had good luck finding people selling multiple games at once and bundling a couple together for a good price. I bought Mario Kart 8 and BOTW for $25/each
Also, the games don’t lose much value if you ever want to resell them. I imagine I could still get ~$30 for each one if I really wanted to and in the future they’ll probably go up to about $50-$60 once they stop manufacturing them
If you only judge games based on graphics, I understand your point of view.
But I think it can be argued that Nintendo’s gameplay/design is pretty often up to date, if not ahead of it’s time. And tbh to me that matters the most.
Ex: Mario Wonder, Odyssey, BOTW, TOTK, Metroid Dread, Animal Crossing, etc