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"All about the execution". Tell me a game that doesn't do anything new, but it nails it's execution regardless
- Thread starter Lightjolly
- Start date
Because executing at a much higher level IS something new? Or another reason?
How many JRPG allowed us to replay and end the game differently based on when you choose to complete it?
Naughty dog are super good at this.
Jak 1 is my favourite 3D traditional platformer.
Uncharted is my favourite third person adventure series.
Last of us is one of if not my favourite stealth series.
Non of them did anything particularly new. They just combined and polished old ideas to a mirror sheen.
The swing and a miss for me was crash. It's not my favourite anything really. It certainly wasn't a good 2D game. And it wasn't a particularly good 3D game either. It always felt like a game made without really knowing what to do when they were handed the third dimension.
Jak 1 is my favourite 3D traditional platformer.
Uncharted is my favourite third person adventure series.
Last of us is one of if not my favourite stealth series.
Non of them did anything particularly new. They just combined and polished old ideas to a mirror sheen.
The swing and a miss for me was crash. It's not my favourite anything really. It certainly wasn't a good 2D game. And it wasn't a particularly good 3D game either. It always felt like a game made without really knowing what to do when they were handed the third dimension.
I think Nioh. The game has piles and piles of specific mechanics and systems, and the easiest way to describe any of them is to compare them to other games.
The color switching was unique/the selling point, wasn't it?
I thought of Horizon Zero Dawn when entering this thread. The game doesn't seem to do anything new with its open world and combat, but it executes its world fairly well.
Then I'm sure there are plenty of sequels that could be mentioned in this thread, since plenty of them are just building off their predecessors, often refining concepts and mechanics. For example, Super Mario Galaxy 2 is a well-executed game, much like the more original Super Mario Galaxy.
Chrono Trigger has New Game+, which I don't think any game before it had. The lack of random battles and seamless battle transitions also felt pretty new back then. I think that Chrono Trigger executed basically everything really well, but I wouldn't say it was without any new ideas.
Then I'm sure there are plenty of sequels that could be mentioned in this thread, since plenty of them are just building off their predecessors, often refining concepts and mechanics. For example, Super Mario Galaxy 2 is a well-executed game, much like the more original Super Mario Galaxy.
Chrono Trigger has New Game+, which I don't think any game before it had. The lack of random battles and seamless battle transitions also felt pretty new back then. I think that Chrono Trigger executed basically everything really well, but I wouldn't say it was without any new ideas.
Mixing genres and mechanics is still something new, like art in general. Don't think i've really played something with the looting, fighting and souls-like progression (but mission based).
Dragon Quest XI and Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers. They're pretty much the ultimate refinements of their respective genres, nothing new, but absolutely perfect in every way.
I would say the majority of games I've played that have prioritized refinement over innovation have felt hollow and unfulfilling. I personally need something new and interesting, even if it's a unique repackaging of existing ideas.
Death's Door.
Another Isometric slasher honed from a pedigree of chasing the souls-lite genre, with very little variety in style or depth.
But man, it fucking nails it. It is a truly excellent "one of those".
Another Isometric slasher honed from a pedigree of chasing the souls-lite genre, with very little variety in style or depth.
But man, it fucking nails it. It is a truly excellent "one of those".
Oh I'd say SOR4 is doing a LOT different considering how hard people making games in the genre are chasing Kunio games.
Or travel thousands of years back and forth through time? And the seamless battles in Chrono Trigger are still rarely seen in JRPGs, most turn-based games still have separate transitions.
I think the case with ME2 is where you draw the line concerning something new.
Mass Effect 2 nailed the narrative RPG to perfection. Not only it improved ME1's dialogue system, but it created a gameplay structure that both enhances the narrative and is enhanced by it in return.
I feel like most of my favorite games actually don't do anything new. They just take pieces of other games and execute them masterfully.
Some examples would be most of Sony's first party games like Horizon, God of War, Spider-Man, etc
They're not reinventing the wheel but I really love what they do
Some examples would be most of Sony's first party games like Horizon, God of War, Spider-Man, etc
They're not reinventing the wheel but I really love what they do
Castlevania Order of Ecclesia is in essence the same metroidvania Iga made half a dozen times before. It's also one of the best games ever made.
All souls games after Demon Souls? The formula can clearly be copied, but nobody has done it as well.
Yeah... even putting aside how "doing nothing new" in one game still requires different solutions, there's a lot of innovation one has to gloss over to say these games are merely "just more of the same"
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What other games had Chrono Trigger's NG+ system that also opened up its multiple ending system? Or its same map turn based battles? Or actually let the protagonist die and had endings for that occasion at the time it was released?
At the time it was released I doubt very much there were many games like it
While I still don't like FFXIV's quest/map design, its combat uses the common MMO global cooldown system but does it really well. Every class comes with non-global cooldown skills (oGCDs and instant casts) leading to tight rotations, which can become complex when faced with tough fight mechanics (like Savage/Ultimate encounters)
And they did it again with 4Streets of Rage 2.
Mechanically, SoR2 isn't doing anything to reinvent the wheel within the genre. What it does, it does extremely well, though.
Assassins Creed Origins.
The only thing I could really pin down that they do thats unique is an open world that you are only supposed to see each area once. If you play the game as intended, you move from area to area following the main story, and doing a few side quests in each little area along the way. It feels like this epic road trip through ancient egypt, and I LOVED that you never feel overwhelmed by the size of it, as each area is very digestible, only has a few side quests, and the stories are good enough that you actually want to do them.
I feel like some games have smaller open world maps that you see one at a time, but this one just feels different because its all connected in one massive map. So its not new really, but the execution for me was really great.
I'm halfway through Odyssey and its still really good, although I feel the overall world design has lost some of that road trip feel, I am playing it in the same way in that I will never go back anywhere unless I feel theres a story reason to.
The only thing I could really pin down that they do thats unique is an open world that you are only supposed to see each area once. If you play the game as intended, you move from area to area following the main story, and doing a few side quests in each little area along the way. It feels like this epic road trip through ancient egypt, and I LOVED that you never feel overwhelmed by the size of it, as each area is very digestible, only has a few side quests, and the stories are good enough that you actually want to do them.
I feel like some games have smaller open world maps that you see one at a time, but this one just feels different because its all connected in one massive map. So its not new really, but the execution for me was really great.
I'm halfway through Odyssey and its still really good, although I feel the overall world design has lost some of that road trip feel, I am playing it in the same way in that I will never go back anywhere unless I feel theres a story reason to.
Dark souls 3
There is not a thing that you can't point to previous souls game and claim at least minor inspiration but it perfected almost everything becoming my favorite game in the series.
There is not a thing that you can't point to previous souls game and claim at least minor inspiration but it perfected almost everything becoming my favorite game in the series.
Every Sony in-house first party game in the last few years: Horizon, God of War, Spider-Man, Days Gone, the Last of Us 2, and the most emblematic of all: Ratchet and Clank
I feel alot like this is Blizzard. Hearthstone BG's come to mind for certain pretty much instantly.
They were able to do this with WoW for yeaaaars to. In many cases straight up copying mechanics from smaller competing mmo's but managing to implement them better or well enough to completely siphon off players and remain the best game in the genre.
Nintendo does this a ton too. Fighting game genre entry, Racing game genre entry, 3rd Person shooter genre entry, RPG genre entry. They have huge hitters in these genres with their own execution that have made them massive franchises. I distinctly remember mocking the idea of Nintendo making a fighting game in the old days on IRC gaming rooms. The idea of a Nintendo made fighting game was a joke when Virtua Fighter, Tekken and Soul Calibur were big. Nintendo was kiddy and couldnt manage such a thing. Then a few years later we were all playing the shit out of Smash Bros.
They were able to do this with WoW for yeaaaars to. In many cases straight up copying mechanics from smaller competing mmo's but managing to implement them better or well enough to completely siphon off players and remain the best game in the genre.
Nintendo does this a ton too. Fighting game genre entry, Racing game genre entry, 3rd Person shooter genre entry, RPG genre entry. They have huge hitters in these genres with their own execution that have made them massive franchises. I distinctly remember mocking the idea of Nintendo making a fighting game in the old days on IRC gaming rooms. The idea of a Nintendo made fighting game was a joke when Virtua Fighter, Tekken and Soul Calibur were big. Nintendo was kiddy and couldnt manage such a thing. Then a few years later we were all playing the shit out of Smash Bros.
I'm not sure about these tbh, but maybe it's just my ignorance.
Uncharted 2 was the first time I was really impressed by "cinematic" moments that were actually playable (stuff like the crumbling building section, the train level or the one where you jump from vehicle to vehicle).
Hollow Kinght had the dream nail mechanic, which allowed you to see what the npcs were thinking and giving you access to special places/fights (including the true final boss).
Regarding GOW, there's just nothing like its combat system. It's not the same as a Souls-like (which sucks against multiple opponents and fighting in small spaces) but also not like a DMC/Bayo (huge freedom of movement, juggling opponents). Not to mention the Leviathan Axe.
Sony 1st party the thread; and I don't mean that as a knock against them, they took what was already established in the industry and polished it to GOTY/GOTG worthy:
Spiderman
Uncharted 2
Ghost of Tushima
Horizon ZD
And they were all fantastic.
Spiderman
Uncharted 2
Ghost of Tushima
Horizon ZD
And they were all fantastic.
This is my pick as well.
Guardians of the Galaxy doesn't do much new, but what it does it does with more honest to god feeling and character then most games out there.
Metroid Dread. The game feels like a time capsule from early 2000s action platformers in the best way.
Ori's abilities and analogue controls were/are pretty unique for the genre afaik. Custom save points was different too. Escape sequences instead of bosses (though you can argue Metroid typically ended with one).
Breakers Revenge feels like Street Fighter down to the specific characters - like, Dao Long is Korean Guile, Condor is Native American Zangief, and so on. But it's just a blast to play; it's got a nice pace to it and pretty loose combos. Oh, and fast charge inputs, which is always nice.
I disagree with Uncharted 2 as some have said. It doesn't do any of its core gameplay cycles in a new way, but its cinematic flair and vertical shooting gameplay were unmatched back in 2009.
I would say Marvel's Spider-Man is probably a game that doesn't bring anything new to the table besides nailing the Batman Arkham combat system with the web-swinging and Raimi-style storytelling. Ghost of Tsushima is another, barring setting and open-world design, (not quests).
I would say Marvel's Spider-Man is probably a game that doesn't bring anything new to the table besides nailing the Batman Arkham combat system with the web-swinging and Raimi-style storytelling. Ghost of Tsushima is another, barring setting and open-world design, (not quests).
I think Nioh is distinct enough to be its own thing, especially after nioh 2. it's why looking at stranger in paradise I thought "this is a nioh" instead of "this is a souls"
Kero Blaster, hands down.
Pixel, the creator of Cave Story, nails the scrolling shooter gameplay to perfection.
Pixel, the creator of Cave Story, nails the scrolling shooter gameplay to perfection.