Nintendo's switch games makes me realize how little I like a lot of big budget AAA games

Deleted member 8468 · Jul 31, 2019

It isn't just the Switch, we are so lucky to have so many free and easily accessible game development tools available today. There are more and more varied games available almost every single year, and it allows folks to develop experiences big and small. Indie games can focus on a single gameplay element and execute it well, and nit worry about feature creep that AAA experiences.

Glad you've found some great game experiences out there OP.

Wamb0wneD · Jul 31, 2019

Stygr said:
Not all AAA games keep you engaged with tacked RPG systems and in-game currency.

But an increasing number are. Even some of the ones I enjoyed like God ow War and Horizon Zero Dawn do.

yuoke said:
Botw isn't the only aaa game like that.

I never said it is.

Deleted member 5127 · Jul 31, 2019

SG-17 said:
If you want enough hearts and stamina to deal with Ganon without cheesing the game you need to grind out the shrines.

I wouldn't call that grinding, there were actually a lot of fun puzzles in those shrines. They could have scrapped some of the test of strength ones.

Deleted member 8196 · Jul 31, 2019

Thales Targaryen said:
Interesting, BOTW is my favourite open world game, it really felt like they put gameplay first and spent a lot of time on perfecting that, whereas other open world games rely too much on story.

BOTW is a sandbox open world game, the focus is on the gameplay above anything else.
The vast majority of open world games are either aiming for graphics, storytelling or a big and dense open world game, the gameplay needs to be good enough to sustain X hours of gameplay and that's about it.

HardRojo · Jul 31, 2019

NinjaScooter said:
Threads like these always make me wonder if the person making them is trying to convince themselves.

That's pretty much it. It's similar to someone making a "I only had an Xbox One this gen and I don't feel like I missed out on games".

On topic: A fun game for someone is a fun game for someone, so good for you, but to be honest I'm glad I'm able to enjoy different kinds of games on different consoles. The only thing I hate is not having the time to play everything I want.

Edit: Oh and BotW, while a great game, is totally a commitment. Your usual playthrough will last longer than 100 hours, how is that not a commitment? Not to mention some crazy people out there actually bothered collecting all 900 (?) Korok seeds. Stay away from those people.

Puffy · Jul 31, 2019

Good for you

Wamb0wneD · Jul 31, 2019

SG-17 said:
If you want enough hearts and stamina to deal with Ganon without cheesing the game you need to grind out the shrines.

Yeah no lol. "Grind out" the shrines is certainly one way to put it. You could also just explore the world liek it's meant to and stumble on enough shrines to make it work. Not once did I explicitly seek out shrines because I needed more of anything.

HandsomeCharles · Jul 31, 2019

SG-17 said:
BotW is like 90% busywork.

There is a distinction between Nintendo's AAA games and everyone else's, but it's a distinction without a difference.

All games are 100% busywork.

They simply numb the pain of existence until the sweet call of the tomb beckons.

Bundy · Jul 31, 2019

Thales Targaryen said:
Doesn't AAA just mean really huge budget?

Yes.

Skittzo · Jul 31, 2019

SG-17 said:
If you want enough hearts and stamina to deal with Ganon without cheesing the game you need to grind out the shrines.

Funny, to me shrines were the reward for exploration. Not something to grind out.

Why are they a reward? Because they are fun to complete.

AndrewGPK · Jul 31, 2019

I think perhaps what the OP is getting at is that Nintendo really focuses on gameplay, originality, and simplicity over high-end graphics and movie-like experiences or complex experiences that many other big budget games shoot for. And that indy developers also do this. And Switch is home to both Nintendo games and lots of indies and therefore the majority of experiences tend to be centered around gameplay and simplicity and fun rather than a home theater experience, and the OP likes this.

ClickyCal' · Jul 31, 2019

HandsomeCharles said:
All games are 100% busywork.

They simply numb the pain of existence until the sweet call of the tomb beckons.

/r/nihilism

BlueManifest · Jul 31, 2019

Same for me, I haven't bought a AAA game in 2 years

Dekuman · Jul 31, 2019

In an age where Switch gets more PC centric ports than your iterative yearly games, I think the issue goes beyond gameplay

ClickyCal' · Jul 31, 2019

skittzo0413 said:
Funny, to me shrines were the reward for exploration. Not something to grind out.

Why are they a reward? Because they are fun to complete.

That's where it comes down to personal taste. To some, the fun is just wandering around the world. To some, that is busy work.

WhiskerFrisker · Jul 31, 2019

NinjaScooter said:
Threads like these always make me wonder if the person making them is trying to convince themselves.

For real. Like it's cringe worthy.

Anywho, I can't relate.

Skittzo · Jul 31, 2019

yuoke said:
That's where it comes down to personal taste. To some, the fun is just wandering around the world. To some, that is busy work.

Can't disagree with that.

7threst · Jul 31, 2019

dead souls said:
AAA sucks, but I've found Nintendo's Switch lineup to be pretty disappointing too. BOTW is awful and Mario Odyssey/Yoshi/Fire Emblem Warriors/Pokemon Let's Go were all mediocre. Mario+Rabbids is the only standout title I've enjoyed on the system.

Living up to your username I see.

Just joking of course, but seems to me your taste is pretty defined with opinions like that.

Jiraiya · Jul 31, 2019

AtomicShroom said:
Amen. The big AAA industry games can go fuck themselves, they just don't appeal to me anymore. I hadn't had as much fun playing a game as Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night in a loooong while. Traditional game, no bullshit, no lootboxes, no forced online components, no monetizing, standard fully-optional DLC, perfect 20-ish hour length for game completion. Bliss. As long as these little indies keep pushing out these types of games, I'll be a happy man.

Forced online. The hyperbole y'all use to get your point across makes my eye roll.

Klobrille · Jul 31, 2019

thomasmahler said:
Fun is all that matters :)

'nuff said.

Knight in Shining Armani · Jul 31, 2019

"I like Nintendo games and indies" would've gotten the point across too.

AtomicShroom · Jul 31, 2019

Jiraiya said:
Forced online. The hyperbole y'all use to get your point across makes my eye roll.

No seriously. It's great that I can boot up a game and not be bombarded with prompts to create/login to an account, to have advertised DLCs and news tickers on the main menu, time-limited events, and all that other fidelity bullshit that's meant to make you stick around and pay and make you play the game longer than you ever would.

Joe2187 · Jul 31, 2019

As a person not interested in nearly every single "nintendo-centric" exclusives. The switch is seriously lacking in anything worthwhile to play. And nothing I cant play somewhere else.

It's lacking in alot of things honestly. I have a switch and my Vita gets more play than the switch these days.

There's really nothing For Me to draw me in and keep me engaged.

ClickyCal' · Jul 31, 2019

AtomicShroom said:
No seriously. It's great that I can boot up a game and not be bombarded with prompts to create/login to an account, to have advertised DLCs and news tickers on the main menu, time-limited events, and all that other fidelity bullshit that's meant to make you stick around and pay and make you play the game longer than you ever would.

Could you imagine if every aaa game actually that this stuff that doesn't actually happen for every aaa game? Ironically, smash also has this stuff.

Jiraiya · Jul 31, 2019

AtomicShroom said:
No seriously. It's great that I can boot up a game and not be bombarded with prompts to create/login to an account, to have advertised DLCs and news tickers on the main menu, time-limited events, and all that other fidelity bullshit that's meant to make you stick around and pay and make you play the game longer than you ever would.

Ragging on developers for making components that keep you engaged with a title they most likely spent ridiculous hours making is wild. You want to point out actual messed up situations then cool cause I know they exist.

But complaining about substantial content is crazy.

NSESN · Jul 31, 2019

I agree with your point OP but boTW is definitely an AAA game target at the "hardcore" fanbase
Mario Odyssey is an AAA game too, but I feel it targets a a more diverse public so I think it isn't comparable to other AAA games tho

Couscous · Jul 31, 2019

I don't know OP, but having to collect some really easy to get moons to proceed to the next level in Super Mario Odyssey felt like busywork to me. That happened in a couple of worlds in which I didn't gather enough moons to proceed when I just played the story parts.

Joe2187 · Jul 31, 2019

AtomicShroom said:
No seriously. It's great that I can boot up a game and not be bombarded with prompts to create/login to an account, to have advertised DLCs and news tickers on the main menu, time-limited events, and all that other fidelity bullshit that's meant to make you stick around and pay and make you play the game longer than you ever would.

This is arguing in bad faith, your comparisons dont make much sense when there are many AAA titles that dont do any of that in any shape or form whatsoever.

SmittyWerbenManJensen · Jul 31, 2019

Same. Games like Assassin's Creed, etc. are absolutely awful and boring/tedious to me. I vastly prefer Nintendo's output, Indies, and some random AAA games like Souls/BB, etc.

I find most AAA games to be very generic, safe, and rote, not to mention tedious (especially if open world).

Nurovek · Jul 31, 2019

thomasmahler said:
Fun is all that matters :)

"Nintendo Switch"
"Game Director at Moon Studios"

I know it doesn't mean a thing, but still, I like to imagine that Ori could be a possibility on Switch !

Master Chuuster · Jul 31, 2019

Hollow Knight made me realize that. A small indie game made by two people has like 50 hours of top-notch content and is one of my favourite games of all time, and in my opinion is far better than most big-budget blockbuster releases of the last decade.

Quality can find a way of shining through regardless of how big or small a game's budget is.

NSESN · Jul 31, 2019

Couscous said:
I don't know OP, but having to collect some really easy to get moons to proceed to the next level in Super Mario Odyssey felt like busywork to me. That happened in a couple of worlds in which I didn't gather enough moons to proceed when I just played the story parts.

If the moons are easy to get how is this busywork?

9-Volt · Jul 31, 2019

Depends on personal tastes. For me, I'd like to stay as far as possible from 2D platformers. Even in SNES/MD generation, I was praying for 2D platforming age to conclude and staying in 3D era forever. Switch is not exactly an answer to my prayers. But I'm hopeful about future. We will get 3D AAA Kirbys and Yoshi's in the future.

ClickyCal' · Jul 31, 2019

9-Volt said:
Depends on personal tastes. For me, I'd like to stay as far as possible from 2D platformers. Even in SNES/MD generation, I was praying for 2D platforming age to conclude and staying in 3D era forever. Switch is not exactly an answer to my prayers. But I'm hopeful about future. We will get 3D AAA Kirbys and Yoshi's in the future.

9-Volt · Jul 31, 2019

yuoke said:

WarioWare is not a 2D platformer game. This avatar quote has missed the target.

Toriko · Jul 31, 2019

Just because Nintendo games have a cutesy art style does not make them inherently fun. I had more fun swinging in Spiderman than anything Nintendo released last year.

K Samedi · Jul 31, 2019

Master Chuuster said:
Hollow Knight made me realize that. A small indie game made by two people has like 50 hours of top-notch content and is one of my favourite games of all time, and in my opinion is far better than most big-budget blockbuster releases of the last decade.

Quality can find a way of shining through regardless of how big or small a game's budget is.

Yeah Hollow Knight is exceptionally good but very few indie game comes close to its quality. Even indie developers should take that as a shining example of how to make a good video game.

Asbsand · Jul 31, 2019

ReggiePlayTheGame.gif

Fulminator · Jul 31, 2019

are Mario Odyssey and BOTW not AAA games?

in any case, I agree with your statement

Strangelove_77 · Jul 31, 2019

Im happy you've found true love, op.

nib95 · Jul 31, 2019

BotW has a crap tonne of busy work and repetition, arguably more than the vast majority of similar AAA games (900 Korok seeds, 120 shrines, hundreds of Compendium photos etc), it just offers more freedom than other AAA titles, but at the expense of narrative and production values. Hell, now that I think about it, Super Mario Odyssey also has a lot of busy work or collectathon esque design elements about it too (999 power moons, 41 hats, 42 suits, 43 souvenirs (which cost tens of thousands of gold coins), 52 captures, 82 music tracks etc).

KINGOFSHIBUYA Ltd. · Jul 31, 2019

Phantom Thief said:
I mean a lot of Nintendo games qualify as AAA...

People somehow forget that some Nintendo games have large teams, bring lots of other studios onboard to help out, and takes years to make with large budgets.

It's all in their heads.

NinjaScooter said:
Threads like these always make me wonder if the person making them is trying to convince themselves.

Exactly. They like AAA games but want to think that they don't, probably because they don't like the idea of AAA games.

Beuntje · Jul 31, 2019

Yes, playing BOTW & Odyssey was a real eyeopener for me as well, after not owning a Nintendo console for ca. 7 years. Not that I don't see them as AAA-games, but the premise that the funfactor comes first can feel like a difference with other games.

AndrewGPK · Jul 31, 2019

Fulminator said:
are Mario Odyssey and BOTW not AAA games?

in any case, I agree with your statement

As I said above, I think what the OP is getting at is that Nintendo developers value gameplay, simplicity and fun over the movie-like theatrical experiences and complexity in a lot of AAA releases. Indy developers also tend to focus on gameplay and fun because they lack the resources of big budget studios for high end graphics, motion capture, etc.

The Switch experience so far is mostly driven by Nintendo games and Indy games and therefore the gameplay/fun over the more theatrical and high end experiences on the other platforms.

So yes those are AAA, but different design philosophy than a lot of developers.

(Its a reasonable point about the appeal of the Switch. That's not to say that other consoles don't offer fun or that there isn't value in complexity and theatrical experiences.)

Edgar · Jul 31, 2019

Playing AAA games made me realize how much I like playing AAA games

Raijinto · Jul 31, 2019

nib95 said:
BotW has a crap tonne of busy work and repetition, arguably more than the vast majority of similar AAA games (900 Korok seeds, 120 shrines, hundreds of Compendium photos etc), it just offers more freedom than other AAA titles, but at the expense of narrative and production values. Hell, now that I think about it, Super Mario Odyssey also has a lot of busy work or collectathon esque design elements about it too (999 power moons, 41 hats, 42 suits, 43 souvenirs (which cost tens of thousands of gold coins), 52 captures, 82 music tracks etc).

Having lots of music is indicative of busy work?

Did you think that last part through there? Cause that sounds silly to me.

ckareset · Jul 31, 2019

Why are yall so weird about these things

Sense · Jul 31, 2019

Raijinto said:
Having lots of music is indicative of busy work?

Did you think that last part through there? Cause that sounds silly to me.

You are going to ignore the rest of the post and focus on the one silly thing.

Skittzo · Jul 31, 2019

Master Chuuster said:
Hollow Knight made me realize that. A small indie game made by two people has like 50 hours of top-notch content and is one of my favourite games of all time, and in my opinion is far better than most big-budget blockbuster releases of the last decade.

Quality can find a way of shining through regardless of how big or small a game's budget is.

Yeah, Hollow Knight definitely is proof that a clear vision/focus and very talented designers means a lot more than budget when it comes to game quality, at least to me. The value I got from this game made by essentially 3 people is far higher than what I get from games with 100x the budget and 20x the manpower.

nib95 · Jul 31, 2019

Raijinto said:
Having lots of music is indicative of busy work?

Did you think that last part through there? Cause that sounds silly to me.

I was referring to unlocking them all in the music gallery.

Also, I love the fact that you ignore everything else I listed and focus on only the one thing that you think was a gotcha. Try being less jaded.

Nintendo's switch games makes me realize how little I like a lot of big budget AAA games

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