OT: Video Game Talk (oh, also the Week before the All-Star Break Pre-Game Talk "archive")

[henchman21]

I get it completely, the PCMR is not for everyone. My wife asked me to build her a new PC, which I did, and she hardly ever touches it. She prefers to play games on the PS5 because she is on a PC at work all day. Which also makes a ton of sense.

One last upside though...with a PC, you'll never have to repurchase a game to play it on the next or future generation(s) of consoles. With games getting more expensive, that'll be a bit more of a pain. Although, I'm not sure how many people aside from my wife actually do that.

I'd say the steam ecosystem is about the biggest upside to PC gaming. Cheap and always portable (sometimes even to SteamDeck!). That's less of an issue today though. Sony has the vast majority of PS4 games able to be played on PS5. Xbox has all of the Xbox One games available for Series... a large chunk of 360 games are available too. I keep all my old consoles so it isn't real important to me, but that idea of being able to play the games you purchased is a good one... and I think both Sony and Microsoft are down that road. Nintendo will Nintendo and make you pay for a 480p, 720p 900p and finally a 1080p version of a game.

One thing that rather sucks on PC is how they are actually more likely to get shafted on some games. GTA 6 won't be a PC game for probably 2 years after launch. RDR2 was a year after. Even College Football 25 isn't going to be on PC initially.

 

[expatriatedtexan]

I'd say the steam ecosystem is about the biggest upside to PC gaming. Cheap and always portable (sometimes even to SteamDeck!). That's less of an issue today though. Sony has the vast majority of PS4 games able to be played on PS5. Xbox has all of the Xbox One games available for Series... a large chunk of 360 games are available too. I keep all my old consoles so it isn't real important to me, but that idea of being able to play the games you purchased is a good one... and I think both Sony and Microsoft are down that road. Nintendo will Nintendo and make you pay for a 480p, 720p 900p and finally a 1080p version of a game.

One thing that rather sucks on PC is how they are actually more likely to get shafted on some games. GTA 6 won't be a PC game for probably 2 years after launch. RDR2 was a year after. Even College Football 25 isn't going to be on PC initially.

Yeah, and EA Sports doesn't do NHL on PC...It's been about a decade since they've had a port.

 

[The Merchant]

Curious question, is the game worth getting (Elden Ring that is)? I never played a game from FromSoftware in my life and only played like 2 hours of Bloodbourne before I dropped it. I didn't hate it, but I am not in the mood to spend constant reloading/dying to eventually get good at something. I feel Elden Ring is sort of similar, but what appeals is the open-world concept where if something is too challenging, I can come back to it which I couldn't do with Bloodbourne.

The die/retry mechanic is still very much at the core of Elden Ring, but it is by far the most accessible game from their catalog. The open world is designed in such a way that if you're really struggling in a particular area you can just go in a different direction until you feel like you're ready to go back. It's also the first game where you can summon NPC characters ("spirit ashes") to help you at virtually any time, in addition to calling in real players to help during boss fights. There are also some pretty powerful weapons that can be accessed early as long as you know where to look. FromSoft "purists" look down on all this stuff, but they're in the game for a reason. As someone who considers Bloodborne to be one of my favorite games of all-time, I would highly recommend you at least try Elden Ring. ER can certainly be challenging, but BB was straight up PUNISHING. They're very different games.

 

[sethro109]

Never let the hardcore SoulsBorn community bully you. Playing with friends and summoning people to help you is extremely fun. Especially on your first playthrough.

 

[henchman21]

The die/retry mechanic is still very much at the core of Elden Ring, but it is by far the most accessible game from their catalog. The open world is designed in such a way that if you're really struggling in a particular area you can just go in a different direction until you feel like you're ready to go back. It's also the first game where you can summon NPC characters ("spirit ashes") to help you at virtually any time, in addition to calling in real players to help during boss fights. There are also some pretty powerful weapons that can be accessed early as long as you know where to look. FromSoft "purists" look down on all this stuff, but they're in the game for a reason. As someone who considers Bloodborne to be one of my favorite games of all-time, I would highly recommend you at least try Elden Ring. ER can certainly be challenging, but BB was straight up PUNISHING. They're very different games.

Agree with this. Elden Ring is a game a lot of people can play if they put in the work. May take some research and a good amount of dying… but possible. Bloodborne was Briarpatch.

 

[S E P H]

The die/retry mechanic is still very much at the core of Elden Ring, but it is by far the most accessible game from their catalog. The open world is designed in such a way that if you're really struggling in a particular area you can just go in a different direction until you feel like you're ready to go back. It's also the first game where you can summon NPC characters ("spirit ashes") to help you at virtually any time, in addition to calling in real players to help during boss fights. There are also some pretty powerful weapons that can be accessed early as long as you know where to look. FromSoft "purists" look down on all this stuff, but they're in the game for a reason. As someone who considers Bloodborne to be one of my favorite games of all-time, I would highly recommend you at least try Elden Ring. ER can certainly be challenging, but BB was straight up PUNISHING. They're very different games.

Thanks a lot for all the info! I will definitely give it a chance because I was going through some gameplay and everything looks superb from the graphics to the actual gameplay. And trust me, Bloodbourne is something I wish I could have loved, I love the game setting and everything about it except the punishing factor as you mentioned. I feel like I waste time getting destroyed by the same sequence every moment I respond lol.

E: I plan on going Astronomer build as the magic aspect appeals to me, but vanguard/samurai also seems fun.

Bloodborne was Briarpatch.

Briarpatch?

 

[henchman21]

Thanks a lot for all the info! I will definitely give it a chance because I was going through some gameplay and everything looks superb from the graphics to the actual gameplay. And trust me, Bloodbourne is something I wish I could have loved, I love the game setting and everything about it except the punishing factor as you mentioned. I feel like I waste time getting destroyed by the same sequence every moment I respond lol.

E: I plan on going Astronomer build as the magic aspect appeals to me, but vanguard/samurai also seems fun.


Briarpatch?

Vietnam POW camp that was one of the worst. Probably only surpassed by the Hanoi Hilton.

 

[Murzu]

PC gaming is the best form of gaming, hands down

 

[henchman21]

PC gaming is the best form of gaming, hands down

You say this like the Gameboy doesn’t exist.

 

[Murzu]

You say this like the Gameboy doesn’t exist.

Funny you say that, as when we flew from Miami to Nairobi I played Pokemon Trading Card Game with an GBC emulator. Nostalgia overflow.

I also saw people critizising Nintendo here. My honest opinion is that they make the best consoles, for example Switch is amazing. They also make FUN games, that you don't get on PC/PS/Xbox. Even thought I'm a hardcore PC gamer I really appreciate the stress-free and fun games Nintendo makes.

 

[henchman21]

Funny you say that, as when we flew from Miami to Nairobi I played Pokemon Trading Card Game with an GBC emulator. Nostalgia overflow.

I also saw people critizising Nintendo here. My honest opinion is that they make the best consoles, for example Switch is amazing. They also make FUN games, that you don't get on PC/PS/Xbox. Even thought I'm a hardcore PC gamer I really appreciate the stress-free and fun games Nintendo makes.

Probably was me… I hate Nintendo’s strategy of older games and ports. But I fully believe they are the best gaming company as a whole. Consistently great output, get the most out of their hardware, and innovative ways to play.

 

[Murzu]

Probably was me… I hate Nintendo’s strategy of older games and ports. But I fully believe they are the best gaming company as a whole. Consistently great output, get the most out of their hardware, and innovative ways to play.

They've done great job with the older games though. New Zelda games for example are awesome. I personally applaud them for building the branda od Zelda, Mario etc.

 

[missionAvs]

PC gaming is the best form of gaming, hands down

You're right and when you're right, you're right.

 

[HartKinnon]

Best thing about Elden Ring is that if you dont want to grind out some boss or difficult area there is always somewhere some lame ass enemies that you can whoop and grind that xp. After a while you can go back to the difficult enemies and show who is the real boss.

 

[henchman21]

They've done great job with the older games though. New Zelda games for example are awesome. I personally applaud them for building the branda od Zelda, Mario etc.

I'm speaking to the full price for a higher resolution Twilight Princess or Donkey Kong. No other real changes, and then a full price tag. They just aren't very consumer friendly with their practices there. Which they are a business, it shouldn't really be an expectation. Just when you see Microsoft not only having the older games work, but be upgraded for free... it stands in stark contrast.

IMO Nintendo does the best job with their IP. They put out consistently good games and their major IP get new and refreshing ways to play... while being cognizant of the history. I don't have a whole lot of complaints there. They let some wither on the branch (IE Metroid and Kid Icarus), but they do a great job overall.

 

[Murzu]

I'm speaking to the full price for a higher resolution Twilight Princess or Donkey Kong. No other real changes, and then a full price tag. They just aren't very consumer friendly with their practices there. Which they are a business, it shouldn't really be an expectation. Just when you see Microsoft not only having the older games work, but be upgraded for free... it stands in stark contrast.

IMO Nintendo does the best job with their IP. They put out consistently good games and their major IP get new and refreshing ways to play... while being cognizant of the history. I don't have a whole lot of complaints there. They let some wither on the branch (IE Metroid and Kid Icarus), but they do a great job overall.

Oh yeah, that kind of stuff I really don't appreciate so I see where you're coming from.

 

[MacKaRant]

I'm speaking to the full price for a higher resolution Twilight Princess or Donkey Kong. No other real changes, and then a full price tag. They just aren't very consumer friendly with their practices there. Which they are a business, it shouldn't really be an expectation. Just when you see Microsoft not only having the older games work, but be upgraded for free... it stands in stark contrast.

I've always wondered why this works. Take the price arc of almost any other AAA game from a company that's not Nintendo:

- Game releases at $70
- - If game does well, it more or less holds this price for 12+ months until the next holiday season, when it's discounted to $20 or $30 (examples: Last of Us 2, God of War, Doom Eternal)
- - If game flops, the large price drop will occur at the latest in the same holiday as the initial release and stay there (examples: Redfall, Forspoken)
- For tentpole releases that do well, they enter the "essentials" or "selects" phase and get permanently discounted to $20-$40 after 3-4 years

Whereas here is a Nintendo game's arc:
- Game releases at $60
- Game stays at $60
- 5-15 years later the game is ported to their new system and sold for $60

 

[henchman21]

I've always wondered why this works. Take the price arc of almost any other AAA game from a company that's not Nintendo:

- Game releases at $70
- - If game does well, it more or less holds this price for 12+ months until the next holiday season, when it's discounted to $20 or $30 (examples: Last of Us 2, God of War, Doom Eternal)
- - If game flops, the large price drop will occur at the latest in the same holiday as the initial release and stay there (examples: Redfall, Forspoken)
- For tentpole releases that do well, they enter the "essentials" or "selects" phase and get permanently discounted to $20-$40 after 3-4 years

Whereas here is a Nintendo game's arc:
- Game releases at $60
- Game stays at $60
- 5-15 years later the game is ported to their new system and sold for $60

The $70 price point is fairly new... my bet is Nintendo will jump to that fully into that with the Switch 2. They already trialed it with Tears of the Kingdom.

My pure guess as to why it works for Nintendo, they always make really high quality games and they've never set the expectation that their games will go on a massive sale. You might see 40 or 50. You might see a selects re-release years later at half... but pretty much without fail, they'll charge near full price for years. People are used to it, and will simply play it. With that strategy, it means Nintendo doesn't have to chase sales as much. The Last of Us 2's ~11m in sales is much different than Splatoon 3's ~11m sales. Link's Awakening;s ~6.5m sales is probably close to comparable in revenues (and most certainly far less cost). It is kinda brilliant and why Nintendo is on the most stable footing of any video gaming company.

 

[S E P H]

Nintendo has had some problems lately and it's their direction, they are going after easy-to-make games instead of putting the time and effort into some classic ones.

Like seriously, do we need another Mario Party game being released this year when a Mother game hasn't been released since 2006? We haven't had an FZero or Starfox game for decades but get another Donkey Kong platform jumper. Sorry, but platformers were cool when I was 9 years old, but now they are milked the hell out by Nintendo. The gameplay is passable, but simply not fun for me anymore except the Mario Maker 2, but I rarely have the time to play that nowadays due to my schedule.

 

[sethro109]

Nintendo has had some problems lately and it's their direction, they are going after easy-to-make games instead of putting the time and effort into some classic ones.

Like seriously, do we need another Mario Party game being released this year when a Mother game hasn't been released since 2006? We haven't had an FZero or Starfox game for decades but get another Donkey Kong platform jumper. Sorry, but platformers were cool when I was 9 years old, but now they are milked the hell out by Nintendo. The gameplay is passable, but simply not fun for me anymore except the Mario Maker 2, but I rarely have the time to play that nowadays due to my schedule.

Fun fact about FZero. Nintendo and the creator says they won't make a new one because they can't come up with any good, new ideas for the series. Nintendo also said they don't want to compete with themselves, since they see Fzero and Mario Kart as the same.

I believe the latter more, because there's no way you can't come up with new and fun ideas for FZero in 21 years.


I completely agree about them cash grabbing right now. That Luigi's Mansion 2 remaster was the most minimal effort remaster in years. At least throw in some quality of life improvements. Same with the Metroid prime Remaster a few months ago. They could have at least added a fast travel system for some time saving.

 

[henchman21]

Fun fact about FZero. Nintendo and the creator says they won't make a new one because they can't come up with any good, new ideas for the series. Nintendo also said they don't want to compete with themselves, since they see Fzero and Mario Kart as the same.

I believe the latter more, because there's no way you can't come up with new and fun ideas for FZero in 21 years.

I’d say as a rule of thumb, Nintendo won’t go through the effort of creating a new game without something new. They’ll just remaster old stuff if there isn’t anything new to do (which they should remaster F Zero GX). I think F Zero kinda falls into that category.

I don’t agree with @S E P H in the time and effort area. This is simply the end of the generation. The a pushing out the final remasters and the final smaller games like Mario and Luigi and Showtime (and the upcoming Zelda where you actually play as Zelda). The major releases are heading to Switch 2 (and cross gen release). That’s where we’ll get Prime 4 and the next 3D Mario.

Also platformers are still great. Mario Wonder was fantastic and a ton of fun.

I would take another Earthbound/Mother game in a heartbeat… I don’t know how you really capture that magic again though.

 

[MacKaRant]

We haven't had an FZero or Starfox game for decades but get another Donkey Kong platform jumper. Sorry, but platformers were cool when I was 9 years old, but now they are milked the hell out by Nintendo.

I feel like 20-30% of the entire indie game scene consists of 2D games with platforming elements mixed with combat and exploration elements. A lot of these developers grew up on 2D platformers (like I did), so there is a natural audience. In terms of pure moment-to-moment gameplay and sheer joy of movement, I don't know of any other genre that can compete. And there is still room for variety and innovation within this field as it seems each year there are 1-2 indie games that add something new or polish existing ideas to a new sheen.

That being said, I thought that Super Mario Wonder was just okay and didn't hit the heights of some of the best recent indie platformers.

For 3D platformers, however, I don't think anyone has truly cracked the code for fun and engaging movement except for Nintendo in their flagship Mario games. Maybe Neon White comes closest although that is first person instead of third person.

 

[henchman21]

For 3D platformers, however, I don't think anyone has truly cracked the code for fun and engaging movement except for Nintendo in their flagship Mario games. Maybe Neon White comes closest although that is first person instead of third person.

Mirror's Edge (08)... if you completely ignore the story is really up there too.

 

[sethro109]

People always bring up GhostRunner 2 when they talk about great 3D platformers. I haven't tried it, but it does look fun.

 

[Bensch88]

Anyone playing Helldivers 2?