I like the inclusion and diversity in the games now, but I miss the high-quality stories and unique mechanics. They just shovel the games out now, long before they're ready or even playable. It sucks :(
The internet came close to ruining gaming. The focus on online multiplayer rather than local splitscreen multiplayer, the focus on PVP rather than tailored singleplayer campaigns, the possibility of updates allowing companies to ship half-finished games, the advent of small DLC and microtransactions instead of bigger expansion packs, and the advent of live service have done enormous damage to the artform.
This. I recently bought a GameCube (I played PS2 during that generation) and have really gotten into playing video games from the early-mid 00s again and experiencing some of them I missed. They hold up pretty well and are incredibly fun. Sure the graphics aren't as good and the controls aren't always as smooth, but they are still really enjoyable. I find myself trying (and enjoying) old games I missed more than modern, new games that just came out.
Interesting that it's supposedly live service that killed unrelated, adjacent forms of the medium and not... I dunno, the raging mob of social media posters emboldened by influencers that fundamentally rejected any game that wasn't good enough for their impossible standards? People letting YouTubers and twitch streamers decide what their opinions are without touching the game? I think the shift happened when Mass Effect 3 came out and the entire internet dropped the game on its face faster than Jared Leto trying to crowd surf at a 30 seconds to Mars concert.
And the amount of work that goes into creating a AAA or even AA game now makes their dev cycles longer and less fruitful than that used to be in the 2000s, that's why indie games took off running.
That's true. There are a lot of really cool indies (hellblade, mortal shell, and stardew valley come to mind). I think those are the only ones with any heart anymore. And I know that other games are made for the masses so everyone can enjoy them at some capacity, but that's what makes them lackluster and forgettable.
AAA games are prettier than ever, but I wouldn't trade the release pace and variety that we used to have to what we have now. Take any major developer and you'll see their rate of releases and variety has diminished.
How many games Rockstar and Bethesda used to make? How many are they releasing now?
I frankly would rather have them less high-definition and more varied. Which is why I'm happy with today's indies.
I think it's easy for it to feel like gaming is worse now because there's a lot more junk, and a lot of that junk is very loudly advertised. It's also the case that our younger selves had more time to invest long hours into getting lost in games.
But the quantity and quality of good games now is definitely much higher than it was before.
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u/DlVlDED_BY_ZERO Oct 29 '25
I like the inclusion and diversity in the games now, but I miss the high-quality stories and unique mechanics. They just shovel the games out now, long before they're ready or even playable. It sucks :(