The chocobo race is absolutely brutal, best of luck

Maybe cheating a bit but there are several genres of games that are named after the games that popularized their mechanics such as roguelike/roguelite, souls-like, metroidvania

Bombas judging by the hexagons

This article might be a bit late? Other news media saying the decision has been reversed already

Not mentioned in the title or the preview is there’s a time limited event from 10/27-10/31

It’s not required to play the previous games, there is some reference to them and the emotional impact of one scene may be diminished but that’s about it. I’m sure there are video recaps you can watch if you decide to skip the previous titles

Hard to disagree with the article, it seems it’s safer to wait at least a few weeks or months to play a new game because there are often things to be fixed after launch. Many games have multiple ambitious and complex systems that need to be tuned post launch. Combine this with high expectations/hype that marketing teams foster and you have a recipe for regret and disappointment on day 1 experiences

If EA is willing to cut me a check for telling you that games are getting more expensive and take longer to make then tell me where to sign

It’s mind boggling when the costs of games get leaked (or revealed during court cases). It makes me sad that so many studios have pivoted to the strategy you’ve described because it means we’ll have less games of a franchise I enjoy since the development takes so long or the developement is never even started because people have decided the profit won’t be as high as making a blockbuster game. Hell, look at Rockstar milking whales with GTA V, that’s a slightly different conversation, but it’s crazy how long the gap between GTA V and GTA VI are

I get everyone’s sentiment here, boiling it down to “better games are better” but also keep in mind the development costs and times for making new games are constantly going up. Yeah of course there are fantastic indie games out there (and I love them myself) that have a fraction of AAA game budgets and dev time but those are the gems in the rough, not the norm.

I’m all for better gaming experiences but they do come with tradeoffs. Also, flops are now death sentences for studios so the pressure to perform is even higher

One of the funniest ones that happened to me was when I ran my cyclops aground in the shallows and I tried to deploy out of my prawn to push it but the hatch was right next to the seafloor so I immediately clipped through the ground while in my prawn and fell through the entire game world. Good times

As someone who played and enjoyed most of the PS exclusives, +1 for the take. What games do you think are “the best ones”?

I can’t personally recommend them yet but I’ve read great things about the lock on “magazines” (they look more akin to coffee table books) and have a set in my cart that I’m going back and forth on

That’s not the conversation you initially raised but sure we can talk about that too. What they did was despicable and yet kotick is still there, and I want him and the others responsible brought to justice. He stands to be paid out millions when the merger is completed and that is rewarding him rather than punishing. The pessimist in me says that he will find another company somewhere willing to hire him because look at the disgusting things he’s gotten away with and subsequently rewarded for by being paid out. So yes I want them to be out of ABK but not with him getting another 0 in his bank account.

I very much agree competition is good but this should be brought about by Microsoft producing competitive games/services rather than purchasing more of the industry. For the record, I don’t like the idea of Sony or another large corporation buying other studios or publishers either

Genuinely asking, do you think the “profiting off of users in predatory practices” that ABK does now will change unde Microsoft? I’m conflicted on the acquisition but I would be highly surprised if that is something Microsoft changes.

Personally, yeah, I would like the status quo to remain because as shitty as ABK is, I can make the choice not to support their practices by not buying or playing their games. Yes, I realize that by being acquired by Microsoft doesn’t somehow allow them to put a gun to my head to play their games but it does discourage competition now that they are under the same umbrella.

Not sure if that’s sarcasm but Bungie is working on Marathon