I remember that article about Sony's obsession with blockbuster games back when the news of the remake of TLOU broke and the more time goes on the more I realize that that was a two way street. It feels like games aren't allowed to JUST be okay or good anymore. Granted I understand gaming is expensive so people want the best of the best for their money, and game dev is costly as hell, but it's no wonder that companies are too afraid to deviate too much.
In the Forspoken thread people brought up a few Square games that were being considered as flops and I just spent a month off from work playing those very games and having a blast, jank and all. Callisto had issues but I really had fun with it too and it was refreshing playing this wide variety of games with varying quality after something like GoW. As someone who played games their entire life it reminded me so much of why I enjoy this hobby, getting to experience all sorts of different games.
Thank God for indies for sure but that middle ground for higher end games is crumbling and I'm not sure what the solution is. People say Gamepass and sure it'll allow for the occasional smaller game from studios but even that service has to put out major titles to drive up subs. So eh. I dunno. I'm not full doom and gloom at all, gaming is GOOD right now but I often lament the direction the industry is going.
I definitely felt a disconnect between my opinion of the Forespoken demo (for example) and others. I actually enjoyed it, and there was a thread not long after which highlighted a ton of combat moves that the game just didnt explain (well) so I know I'll still enjoy the game (once I turn down/off the dialogue). I have a higher tolerance for "ok" games, or jank, or whatever you call it... I see a game get a lower MC score and I'll still play it, probably enjoy it more than expected (for all its faults I actually enjoyed most of Agents of Mayhem)
I have Callisto to play. Funnily enough it was a harsher review that sold me on the game because I actually liked the sound of how the combat was handled lol. The One Piece game that just released is another I eagerly look forward to playing (I mean, for a OP game, it got great reviews, the demo seemed promising as well).
But yeah, there does feel like a gap in between the BIG AAA stuff and the AA/B games we got in abundance in gens past. The PS2 especially was amazing for that, so many oddities, one offs and smaller series... Capcom alone had me hooked with Killer 7, God Hand, Okami, Crimson Tears, Haunting Ground, Under the Skin etc. That sort of experimentation is lacking in this past gen, looking at Capcom's output, its safer stuff - Resident Evil, Monster Hunter etc. Amazing games (some of the best they've ever done), but yeah, not much variety. This year actually could change that if both Exoprimal and Pragmata pop up, seeing as those are actual new series, and in Exoprimal's case, is actually fun to play for the most part going by the beta.
But yeah, indies do lots of heavy lifting for me these days. Those smaller/different experiences? Those basically all come from indies now. We have Tchia and Season coming soon, Power Wash Sim is out next week and its honestly super fun in a relaxing sort of way, and heck we've actually had a decent number of 3D platformer games recently which is nice (a couple of great PS1 feeling ones as well!)
I do miss getting more than 1 Rockstar game a gen though... didnt know how good we had it back in those PS2 days!
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