Yup here from the future it's only getting worst luckily for those of us that look there are enough great games out there that you can completely ignore the AAA industry
Something we need is a return of the A or AA games. Not everything has to be the biggest game ever, or a huge production. There needs to be room for smaller games that aren’t “indie” in that sense, and have a professional look and feel to them, but don’t have to have hundreds of people on the team. The indie space is awesome, and I want to support it, but in reality, it can’t just be AAA and indie, and then mobile games. If we had something in between, that would help bridge that gap. I think we’re starting to see some of that now, but after the PS2/Xbox/GC era, that kind of went away. I’m hopeful that dev tools and kits will be inexpensive enough to where talented folks can start making quality experiences that rival older AAA games, with modern quality of life features, but not have to be so polished that they’re not profitable to make. I’d like to see a return of those middle-ground games.
I gave up on mainstream gaming years ago. Just doesn't float my boat. I've always been about arcade style gaming and that just doesn't get attention from studios anymore. It's all about won and done Hollywood film wannabe experiences with almost as much time spent on creating cut scenes as the gameplay :( Nothing wrong with that - it gives pleasure to a lot of people - but it's a shame it's at the expense of releasing more arcade style games. I don't hate it . I just ignore it.
Good talk and a legit view a lot of folks agree with. I'm one of those people that enjoy long story driven experiences and RPGs as well, but most likely as I don't see them as games per se. They don't provide the gameplay like a good shmup or platformer do, or a sense of accomplishment or challenge. If it's a good story, I enjoy it like I would relaxing to an interactive novel or film. Almost like the old point and click PC games. It's what I do in the evenings to chill with my wife. She enjoyed the story for games like Horizon, Witcher, Mass Effect etc. and we play it in bite size pieces every evening. She put hundreds of hours into Zelda BoTW just exploring, while I chilled and helped her out through tough sections. She didn't care for finishing the game, or any frustration that comes with a technical, challenging experience, but simply exploring and enjoying the world. There will always be a place for that, where gaming is like an interactive story, and it's a big part of games being more mainstream for all types of people to enjoy. Like you, I can't see myself making videos about it, as I have nothing new or interesting to add. Even for a game like Bloodborne, which is my favorite game of the entire PS4 gen, as it ticked all the boxes for me in terms of challenge, unique atmosphere, and exploration, what could I really say or add that hasn't been already? Indie games are the future of innovation though you're right on with that. Unconstrained from large budgets and meeting performance numbers. And that innovation comes in all forms, not just for us. We just played Gris on Switch a month or so ago, and just like Journey and other unique experiences, there was no technical challenge to be had. It was simply a level of emotion and creativity that you'll not see come from a big studio release. It will bore anyone looking for technical gameplay, but was near transcendent for my wife who will remember it like any other great anime, film or book. After a long day of getting my ass kicked by any number of actual brutal games I may be playing, it's a nice way to relax and I hope those experiences never disappear either. The Indie scene seems to be doing a great job fueling the arcade style games we love so much. It's hard to imagine many big studios doing them justice these days.
Yeah it definitely does come back to what you are looking for in a game. You are right about big studio games feeling like an interactive movie, and I do understand that is what a lot of people do enjoy. For me I am always drawn to media that hits me and makes me really connect with it. For a lot of these major studio games it s like they are stuck in between goals, the story telling isn t compelling enough on it s own, but the gameplay isn t going to stand on its own merits either. But I can see how people can enjoy these games causally. I just can t get into it the same way. Even the games that I like to play causally, like harvest moon or Pokemon, still have defined purpose behind their game design.
Agree in general that The big studios don’t make games for us. They make games for Kotaku and Polygon. However, I must disagree about the people attacking bad games. You’re right It would help more to cover good games, but negative attention does not help bad games that already dominate the media. There is such a thing as bad attention. That’s why Naughty Dog was falsely flagging vids.
I think the thing with shmups or even SFV that mainstream media does not really ever mention is the incredible buzz you get from playing these sort of games that you just don't get in these modern day behemoths games. The buzz I'm meaning is say playing against another human online or in the same room and stylin on them with a great and hard combo, or clearing a boss in a shmup without dying, you get this instant buzz that modern day gaming just doesn't give me at all. All this hand holding for the first 3 hours of a suppose AAA title is just not needed to me, let the player figure it out themselves and maybe then you'd get the "buzz" from finding out that "oh shit, I can do this, that's so cool". So in conclusion I think arcade style games give you a instant buzz that these massive games just do not.
I feel the same. Tried soo many AAA games last three years. Getting back into shmups now. Ordered ESPrade although i still need a PS4-Stick. Another stick. Never got into scoring but i love the feeling of accomplishment and the lovely PixelGraphics. And of course the Soundtrack of many older games. Grew up on the Mega Drive: Thunderforce 4, Revenge of Shinobi, Streets of Rage 4 mainly! Or later Parodius on the Saturn. R-Type 4 on PS1?! After that i lost the genre for 20 years! F...ing PC: FPS´s, then AAA gaming, and it never worked for me, except Soulsborne! Remember when games had real catchy Music? OK, i love SoR4, but anyway, wanted to mention that Graphics & Sound is a big part of the appeal of shmups for me, not yet got into scoring, or commited to one game to really train, but i love: X-Multiply, Shienryu, Garegga, Raiden DX, Blast Wind, Musha, Gunhed... A modded PS1 & the Saturn Atlas + AR Softmod as well as FreeMCBoot PS2 & a little bit of commitment in buying the sticks really helped me to get into shmups, because it delivered the important opportunity of trying different ones, when you are hitting yet another brick wall :) the same goes for the later added turbo duo, which i rgb-modded ;), another system where you could get a lot of different games. Have not played muchwith my 360- the last shmup-related and modded console i got, but now i will get back to this genre, great videos, thank you.
And people thought shmups all looked the same? There are AAA titles that are literally the same game. After playing shmups for a while, I realised how much more fun games can be when difficulty is balanced properly. Neither victory nor defeat is certain until the end, so defeat doesn't feel like nothing more than an annoying waste of time, and victory doesn't feel hollow. Winning and losing is an integral part of gaming. Yet, AAA studios ignore this in favour of scummy monetisation or story, and difficulty becomes an afterthought. As a result, the games are either boringly easy or frustratingly difficult, with no sweet spot in between. And when it comes to story, I can't get invested in it if I hate the gameplay to begin with.
God of War is a sad example for me. I know they aren't amazing but they were fun and were one of the games my dad would play with me when I was young. Now its become that same old bland open world movie stew that reviewers lose their damn minds over. At least I found out before I bought it.
9:00 Fortnite battle royale mode was a hail mary "throwing stuff at the wall to see if something sticks" play to save their failed base-building versus FPS by ripping off PUBG, which was the standalone remake of the Battle Royale mod for Arma2/Arma3 (made by PlayerUnknown originally). It was basically brokeboy F2P PUBG for kids and Epic's marketing & content production team snowballed it into a colossal financial success.
@@DOGEELLL It's not even a subgenre, it's just King of the Hill with a small ruleset change. Hill starts as the whole map then shrinks with each move. That's the only change from something like Halo:CE KOTH. It's 95% the same gametype as KOTH. Honestly saddens me to see hundreds of thousands of manhours put into remaking in new engines with new codebases the same FPS/TPS shooter skeleton with slight ruleset modifications & a new set of models & textures. What a waste of human lives. There really must be a better way.
Nothing to really add to the conversation, I just appreciate your point of view *especially* because I now am no longer the only one calling them "movie games." Fuck, sometimes I hate being out of the zeitgeist because I don't play Red Dead or Last of Us or any of those games, but if I want to watch a movie I'll watch a movie 🤦♀️
@@TheElectricUnderground If you have a moment you might enjoy this (older) video. He goes into great detail why Thief was such a good game and why so many games since are not, and it has a lot to do with you're saying. Modern "AAA" games have no real direction or vision. Oftentimes developers just chuck everything they can in to appeal to as many people as possible. ruclips.net/video/jPqwDGXxLhU/видео.html
25:52 Nintendo is still the 2d platformer king. A lot of indie platformers are the same strict linear level design like Celeste or Super Meat Boy. Mario's level design is far more complex and layered which is why there are so few games that are even comparable.
AAA game studios aren't interested in you playing $15 games that have deep, addictive gameplay. They want to sell you flashy semi-interactive movies, so you bore quickly, and then quickly buy the DLC, skins, and sequels. Also most kids these days have been brainwashed into thinking a challenge is a bad thing. So REALLY it's a win-win for the AAA billionaire Aholes.
I remember when my last PC died, I made sure to replace it with a pretty cheap one (it's alright but if I tried to play any modern AAA game on it it might just legit explode) and honestly, I've been getting by with it just fine. Pretty much every game I've played on it has been an indie and I don't feel like I'm missing out on much by ignoring AAA stuff completely. There's some Nintendo exclusives I'd love to play but I'm not gonna invest in a Switch just for those. There's tons of amazing indie games out there for cheap or even completely free and it's always heartbreaking when I stumble upon something I end up really loving only to find out that barely anyone knows about it. Like, I found this Megaman-sytle game called Shippu Senki Force Gear 2 recently and I'm in love with it, it's Japanese only but it's a lot of fun to play and I'm genuinely shocked by how little attention it's gotten. Not only is it inspired by a well-known series, it's also pretty recent (came out this year) and completely *free*, but somehow there's still barely any coverage of it online, not even in Japanese. I honestly don't understand how AAA games have been overshadowing indies for so long. Yes, there are some great AAA games out there but so much of it is just generic, money-grubbing fluff that I struggle to understand how they continue to sell as well as they do.
I definitely agree with smaller games not getting enough, like, real, "deep" attention. Beyond just a generally positive review or a speedrun community picking it up. But I think studio games still have plenty to offer, it's just the triple A stuff that feels pretty consistently iffy. But I feel like double A so-to-speak still delivers easily. Sekiro, Nioh, Nier, Monster Hunter(maybe this one is triple A), I feel like larger Japanese studios came back hard this generation. But that said, with Sakuna coming out next month, in November of all months with Cyberpunk coming out, I just know it's easily going to get drowned out, and it definitely deserves more attention, being made by the guys who made Astebreed. So I get where you're coming from in my own way at least. And I think even people that play big games are starting to fight more, look at Battlefront 2 for example. And then you have examples like Genshin Impact that are entirely steeped in gacha culture, and man, you should see how some people that normally play mobile games try to defend things like in-game systems that limit how much you can play or defending gambling for characters... I really have no idea if people as a whole actually care that much.
I've been saying this like decade ago. I am glad someone else saying this. At this point, I am pretty much disinterested in modern games all together. Not because its bad mainly because it is straying away from what I was looking for. Nintendo is definitely prime example of this. Nintendo used to make great classics and now everything what they create is watered down pandering towards casual gamers that has really no gameplay depth whatsoever (I played majority of the Switch games and only thing that stood out at least was Botw because at least its got some possibilities in terms of wide variety of interaction) Sony in other hand, they do seems have good gameplay design (believe it or not new God of War do offer some good gameplay design), the issue is its just so much unskippable cutscene that just kills the mood (yeah like literally no skippable cutscene). And rest of third party studio? Just basic FPS games or 3rd person Action stuff that doesnt hold for that long. And my mind has made up.. I will be committing to Gradius III arcade and Beatmania IIDX I would rather just dedicate myself for specific games rather than playing many different games for couple days and done.
Non skipable cutscenes should be a crime ha. I still can t accept they turned god of war into a adventure game or whatever it is ha, especially when I was really hoping for another really fun character action game.
@@TheElectricUnderground Actually I did had same thought back in when God Of War 2018 was revealed. But my opinion towards the game somehow changed. This is because I played God of War Trilogy again quite recently. And I dont think I am actually liking it all that much either. Dont get me wrong I like the idea of Thrid person view beat em up like action stuff. But compare something like Ninja Gaiden or Devil May Cry. None of the trilogy ever really accel at anything. DMC is very in depth with learning combos and NG is more of learning survival and these games are actually quite in depth. God Of War didnt do any of this IMO. At least the resent installment, quite reminded me of God Hand though. May be not exactly. But it was nice to try something else since it was getting to the point where combat in God Of War was getting stale. And another game I like from PS brand was Bloodborne. And I dont think Fromsoft will ever top that game any time soon.
People I know look at me weird for liking these smaller unique indie/arcade/JP games over those big studio AAA movie games. Those cinematic AAA games just doesn't do it for me. I like playing my shmups, beat em ups, rhythm games, etc. Plus I'm a working adult who doesn't have time for story driven games these days and prefer something quick to play but still have substance.
I think it also has to do with time investment and priorities in life, I can jump into an indie game and enjoy myself for 15-20 mins, I cannot say the same about most AAA games sometimes just setting up each session can take that much
Too many cut scenes, constant interruptions of gameplay, rpg mechanics being forced into most games (even the new Serious Sam has a skill tree in it). Systems upon systems.. these things are ruining the beautiful flow of gaming. I wouldn't expect major sites to start giving these games much coverage though, they don't generate enough views. Regarding shmups, I'm not sure I would like IGN to review a game like Ketsui, they wouldn't look deep enough into the nuances of the design to give it an accurate score, judging it only on a surface level as a quaint, basic little game that doesn't have a compelling narrative (or Troy Baker playing a guitar). We need enthusiasts like you to do these games justice.
Very agreed. Last year was especially bad with how out of control the mainstream gaming community and industry was, I got insanely burned out around October and even just had to stop reading any news or following any of the communities I was a part of that even mentioned the more mainstream titles, and I still haven't really come back. I've been struggling with the mess of being a games writer with a pretty respected but ultimately niche website and trying to keep my focus always on the stuff that's more indie and less mainstream and bringing attention to those smaller projects that most other writers give no importance or respect to. Glad to see another person trying to do this in the RUclips space (I won't touch RUclips content creation with a 10-foot pole, besides some collaborations with other people here and there)
Yeah the mainstream gaming "journalism" has become an ugly cesspool that's much more dominated by drama and politics than the games themselves, which is a big shame. Focusing on smaller games will probably be less instantly popular, but I do believe that substance will be appreciated over time, the starting point is just tough.
I just started following you recently, because I got into shmups and am glad to see that you are trying to expand. Definitely stay within the niche of indy games and the types of games you like the most with as much depth as you you want to go into (which is compelling). I think there is definitely an audience out there for this kind of content. I am loving it so far. One thing that would be interesting to see is your take on competitive gaming scene and the inside look into it all, specifically in shmup and fighting categories.
I agree with you on most of what you said. I have a gaming buddy that calls me and asks what game am I looking forward to. I tell him not much. I too am very disinterested in triple A gaming. Only triple A for me (,besides Nintendo ) that I want to play is TLOU 2 and Star Wars Fallen Order. The last several games I bought were Blazing Chrome, River City Girls, Esprade and Streets Of rage 4. I'll take all those over 95% of triple A stuff. Where I disagree though , is with the big N. Yes they are a huge company, but I feel with Nintendo, I still get my money's worth. Their games are always polished and complete. Their philosophy has always been gameplay over graphics. Mario Oddessy was the only game that made me want to 100% complete it. I am 40 something and the older I get, the more I go back to my roots. Nintendo and arcade style games. Anyway, interesting topic and thought I'd chime in.
Thanks for the topic! Yeah I think Nintendo s games are still quality for most people, but I m not particularly interested in them, though I did really enjoy star fox zero and felt it got an unfair treatment by the press
cool channel. i hate walking sims with a passion! the best modern 2D platformers are all indies; celeste, hollow knight, sonic mania. and mania is the best 2d sonic by a mile. and guess what? it was made by an indie dev.
I think what emphasizes to me why i'm so turned off by big studio shenanigans these days are the current games for the PS5 in which only 2 interest me. Demon's Souls (which is a remake of a 10 year old game) and Astros Playroom (which is, despite its evident quality, essentially a bundled tech demo meets loveletter to playstation). That's it.
Agree wholeheartedly. With the upcoming console generation looming on the horizon I've been thinking about this more and more. The priorities that the mainstream gaming scene has set for itself in both game development and in its overall relationship with and treatment of its customer base (digital/physical ownership becoming a topic of debate, pricing going completely out of whack, DLC mutating into an expected part of any and all games etc.) have come to the point where I just don't feel like I am in any way part of the target audience at all anymore. Ever. I am genuinely considering quitting this hobby that I've loved for about twenty years now. I will certainly still find and support smaller game projects in the future, but there is a massive schism there between what I enjoy and where the money apparently goes in this industry these days. It's alienating and disheartening, tbh.
I feel the same way my dude, every Monday I watch the Jim Sterling show and he seems to be steadily losing his mind because of the industry (though the show is entertaining).
Issue is the decline of Konami and Capcom. Japanese developers are simply better full stop. Western devs idea of being brave is by wedging politics into their vanilla af game. Japanese devs have generally innovated on game play like Shinji Mikami with Vanquish and God Hand. Nintendo stuff is great really...Odyssey / Zelda easily the best "big" games this gen.
@@TheElectricUnderground Same here its the worst bits from all their other games combined...when I heard Atsushi Inaba was producer I got v interested but it was a real duffer (not that you'd know it).
@@TheElectricUnderground AC gets a lot better past the 2-3 hours mark.. You just have to hold on a bit, as it has a wonderfully creative combat system that gets better from chapter to chapter.
You do like Metal Gear Solid then despite the cutscenes and codec calls? The gameplay is solid enough to meet your standards? Id be interested to hear your take on the MGS series and how the games evolved over their span.
It's funny how popular story based games are when you consider the largely dead Adventure game genre. I guess it comes down to ease of progress, as I figure beating Last of Us 2 is an easier feat than figuring out Riven. I also think a lack of horrific violence may be a factor. One thing that's nearly universal about current AAA games is that they're packed to the brim with over the top gore, and you just can't get that from Monkey Island.
Man I agree with you 100% in this video. There just isn't much originality in AAA releases and that's why I'm always going back to either Indie games or old school games. I see a lot of reviews now on mainstream sites or RUclips channels where you can tell the individual couldn't be bothered to actually learn a game or even finish a 20 hour game, yet they'll spend 100 hours on animal crossing and pump out endless praise for popular titles. They rarely ever give fighting games, shmups, or beat em ups more than a glance! Most AAA games lack actual gameplay and just try to mimic Hollywood.
Interesting because I pretty much play nothing but indie games...big expensive Triple AAA games with expensive DLC Is not for me...I also mostly enjoy retro style games so that’s another reason I love indie games..the Switch is a good system for Shmups and Indie games..a good amount of selections..
Marketing and social media are a thing on its own, I do not have to add anything to this hysterical culture. You were talking about Platinum and Team Ninja, I would add From Software to the mix. Sekiro, Bloodborne and Dark Souls are fantastic current generation games, which are heavily based on skill. I would consider them AAA titles and I'm very happy From Software is not a Indie Game Developer, but following their own philosophy. I think the industry grew to what it is now, because games were addressing more and more people and selling an experience, but not something you have to learn. In my opinion the spirit of learning mechanics of the game is still here, for example finishing the valkyries in God of War or playing Biohazard 2 Remake on higher settings, but to have to actively try. I hope From Software made it more sexy again, to make AAA titles with a challenge. Retro (style) games do add to this fantastic diverse culture.
I've been here for a few years as well. I cant get interest in next gen. Maybe if M2 does some ports. I havent played most of the AAA games released in the last few years as I find them boring.
I needed a video topic like this. Thanks Mark! This is why I'm a "hipster" gamer usually sticking to indie and retro games. Unfortunately I'm always alone with these games because my friends have no idea what games im playing lol
With big indie studios increasing in quantity, triple A really doesn't do anything a quality indie studio can't besides Hollywood casting, expensive trailers and ad campaigns etc. And even then certain studios grow over time and pull certain things off that blow our minds, I like to think Arcsys is kind of an example of this, maybe the warframe devs too.
Western studio games are generally pretty awful these days :-( Once upon a time, we had great studios like blizzard, but blizzard has become awful since diablo 3
@@TheElectricUnderground I’ll check this out. I’ve been playing Garegga, DoDonPachi and a few other Shmups using FBA and over clocking to 500mhz. I’m very impressed, the input lag feels low and some Shmups have little to no slow down 😍
I should also mention I actually don't mind cinematic/story focused games, though I prefer when that's 100% their focus instead of masquerading as an action game However I don't like this penchant for multiplayer grindy forever games with microtransactions. Marvel's Avengers could've just been a good action game. Instead, it's the nonsense that it is.
I like arcade rooted genres HOWEVER I can't say triple A sucks in so consciousness. Indie developers do innovate or refine genres such as rougelites/shmups but you'll never get anything as ambitious as Resident Evil 2 Remake, Cyberpunk 2077 or Monster Hunter World from an indie dev on that level of quality. That said Risk of Rain 2 is the most ballin shit I ever played in years. That game has everything I love but as a rougelite. Its a 3D run and gun that actually works with dynamic rank of shmups like Garegga.
I'm tired of the cycle but see at some point in recording the truth behind it if people just want to know which version of a game has certain content (Censored Gaming have a bias against cuts and benefit from them in the sense that it gives them stuff to talk about but have a flat and honest approach). Jim Sterling is well intentioned but sometimes ends up making more noise or misinformation (it is hard to not be a controversial personality but he has years of baggage even if small and basically never uses his platform to highlight smaller games which is his right but does no favours to up and comers) which should be avoided. I'm gearing up to make some steps so traditional indie games and more can catch up in how they get noticed, so I do agree with your general views on the topic. I also think DMC4 is better than 5, but wonder how much of your viewer viewerbase would follow along for a video on that subject even if I'm someone who actually doesn't do much shumps that follows along. My criticisms for 5 relative to 4 would be based on Nero's physics for Snatch being gutted for platforming and space manipulation relative to enemies. Inertia is a big deal, but I'm more bugged by how enemies felt better in 4 (minus Blitz I guess, I don't like Chimeras but I don't hate them enough to trade mobile mini-Credos). Some people focus on the campaign to make a point on 5 being a better game but the poorly told narrative and reuse of content don't hurt as much as one may expect. At least for me.
1000% agree with everything you are saying. This is why i subscribe to you. Also thanks a lot for showing off Fight N Rage, i’ve been looking for good beat em ups lately.
What I want to know is why there no “ console club” like an arcade with consoles where you can meet and play arcade games in person You could charge a venue fee or donations surely!?.
Nintendo, indies, and lesser known AA titles for me. AAA gaming is dead to me. AAA only care about star power, stripping away single player content to please the multiplayer community, and RUclipsrs played like suckers blowing their money on an broken product and advertising it telling their followers to buy their garbage.
i think u are missing the most important thing about this conversation: what does the majority of people like to play? and sadly, the majority of people just do not like to play skill based games. thats why they will always be niche, and thats sad for us all, but it is the truth. and u cannot change that by coverage. if u do not like to play shmups, u wont ever play a shmup, no matter how many people talk about it
Yes that is true that the majority won t jump on shmup, but we don t need to hit critical max, we just need to reach a healthier niche status , like fighting games or Speedeunning, which I do think is possible with community support :-)
@@TheElectricUnderground i absolutely agree, but i find it difficult to believe that it is possible... maybe i am just too pessimistic but i just doubt that more people would really care, i think the people that care are already here... but i will say i hope i am wrong haha
“where’s ninja gaiden” when sekiro actually won goty lol. there’s just as much trash in indie games as the big studios. even if you believe that the more interesting stuff comes from indies, it’s mostly the same trends and wanting to please the same demographic. fight ‘n rage is an anomaly that just happened to turn out on par with its arcade inspirations
That s true. What really digs at me is how even the really really good indie / small studio games tend to get almost no mainstream attention other than a few exceptions. Games like the shot trigger ports, blazing chrome, fight n rage, and the countless indie shmups like Zeroranger, blue revolver, ccwi, etc
@@TheElectricUnderground 2016 is great, but if you like games like Bayonetta, DMC, you'll probably enjoy Eternal more. It's kinda like a first person "character action" game in a way. Loads of fun.
I would call Doom 2016 and Eternal more like AA games. They are technical marvels on the engine side but created with smaller budget than the more expensive AAA titles. You can see some rough edges here and there (such as human models being of lower quality than in many games) but they really come up the shortcomings with strong a sense of style. Also iD games usually have the best lighting tech
@@PiesliceProductions Doom games are 100% AAA games and they had huge budgets and massive staff counts and were backed and funded by one of the biggest game studios in the world. They are very much AAA.
Damn, your children don't give a damn about pokemon? My 4 yo is so into pokemon. I guess I can see a time when pokemon is no longer a giant franchise, but I'm not sure that could ever happen, unless they really take a wrong turn, like star wars did. My kid doesn't really like star wars at all. Anyway, as technology gets better, making games will get easier, thus allowing talented devs to make super awesome games for not much money.
Ha not in the slightest, though the hungry caterpiller is making a comeback :-) I m really curious to see how star wars plays out, I don t think the sequel series was as popular with kids as the prequels were. At least from what I can tell
I couldn’t agree with your statement more!!! I haven’t bought a major studios current work in at least 6 or 7 years. I have hundreds on physical switch games and just as many physical PS4 games and they are all Indy/low print games and shmups. Screw those AAS devs. They insist on putting their crappy politics and SJW garbage in the games and are constantly fighting with each other. Don’t get me started on the bulls**t macro-transactions and cut content that they sell you back in bits a bobs. In the words of Eric Cartman - “Screw those guys”. ;)
Larian Studios is a perfect example of what you're talking about. They've stuck to their guns making old school style CRPGs and now it's paying dividends. Their newest game, Baldur's Gate 3 is pretty successful despite being only early access. Even if isometric rpgs aren't your cup of tea, you gotta hand it to Larian. They've succeeded by NOT following the trends.
This video is 3 years old and everything he is talking about with big game studios and indies is happening right now.
It's only going to get worse.
@@chozochiefxiii3298You mean better for us
Yup here from the future it's only getting worst luckily for those of us that look there are enough great games out there that you can completely ignore the AAA industry
10:30 Mark predicts Palworld! So cool!
Something we need is a return of the A or AA games. Not everything has to be the biggest game ever, or a huge production. There needs to be room for smaller games that aren’t “indie” in that sense, and have a professional look and feel to them, but don’t have to have hundreds of people on the team. The indie space is awesome, and I want to support it, but in reality, it can’t just be AAA and indie, and then mobile games. If we had something in between, that would help bridge that gap. I think we’re starting to see some of that now, but after the PS2/Xbox/GC era, that kind of went away. I’m hopeful that dev tools and kits will be inexpensive enough to where talented folks can start making quality experiences that rival older AAA games, with modern quality of life features, but not have to be so polished that they’re not profitable to make. I’d like to see a return of those middle-ground games.
100% agreed, yes like team ninja or platinum
I gave up on mainstream gaming years ago. Just doesn't float my boat. I've always been about arcade style gaming and that just doesn't get attention from studios anymore. It's all about won and done Hollywood film wannabe experiences with almost as much time spent on creating cut scenes as the gameplay :( Nothing wrong with that - it gives pleasure to a lot of people - but it's a shame it's at the expense of releasing more arcade style games. I don't hate it . I just ignore it.
Good talk and a legit view a lot of folks agree with. I'm one of those people that enjoy long story driven experiences and RPGs as well, but most likely as I don't see them as games per se. They don't provide the gameplay like a good shmup or platformer do, or a sense of accomplishment or challenge. If it's a good story, I enjoy it like I would relaxing to an interactive novel or film. Almost like the old point and click PC games. It's what I do in the evenings to chill with my wife. She enjoyed the story for games like Horizon, Witcher, Mass Effect etc. and we play it in bite size pieces every evening. She put hundreds of hours into Zelda BoTW just exploring, while I chilled and helped her out through tough sections. She didn't care for finishing the game, or any frustration that comes with a technical, challenging experience, but simply exploring and enjoying the world. There will always be a place for that, where gaming is like an interactive story, and it's a big part of games being more mainstream for all types of people to enjoy. Like you, I can't see myself making videos about it, as I have nothing new or interesting to add. Even for a game like Bloodborne, which is my favorite game of the entire PS4 gen, as it ticked all the boxes for me in terms of challenge, unique atmosphere, and exploration, what could I really say or add that hasn't been already? Indie games are the future of innovation though you're right on with that. Unconstrained from large budgets and meeting performance numbers. And that innovation comes in all forms, not just for us. We just played Gris on Switch a month or so ago, and just like Journey and other unique experiences, there was no technical challenge to be had. It was simply a level of emotion and creativity that you'll not see come from a big studio release. It will bore anyone looking for technical gameplay, but was near transcendent for my wife who will remember it like any other great anime, film or book. After a long day of getting my ass kicked by any number of actual brutal games I may be playing, it's a nice way to relax and I hope those experiences never disappear either. The Indie scene seems to be doing a great job fueling the arcade style games we love so much. It's hard to imagine many big studios doing them justice these days.
Yeah it definitely does come back to what you are looking for in a game. You are right about big studio games feeling like an interactive movie, and I do understand that is what a lot of people do enjoy. For me I am always drawn to media that hits me and makes me really connect with it. For a lot of these major studio games it s like they are stuck in between goals, the story telling isn t compelling enough on it s own, but the gameplay isn t going to stand on its own merits either. But I can see how people can enjoy these games causally. I just can t get into it the same way. Even the games that I like to play causally, like harvest moon or Pokemon, still have defined purpose behind their game design.
Incredible foresight. Discovered the channel last week and had to check the upload date after 10 minutes of watching.
I think the term you are looking for is
“Cut scene em ups”’!. Lol.
10:36 Mark predicted Palworld. Holy s@#$
Agree in general that The big studios don’t make games for us. They make games for Kotaku and Polygon. However, I must disagree about the people attacking bad games. You’re right It would help more to cover good games, but negative attention does not help bad games that already dominate the media. There is such a thing as bad attention. That’s why Naughty Dog was falsely flagging vids.
👍👏👏👏👏👏. Loaded with their SJW crap on top of everything else!! Indy is where it’s at!
I think the thing with shmups or even SFV that mainstream media does not really ever mention is the incredible buzz you get from playing these sort of games that you just don't get in these modern day behemoths games. The buzz I'm meaning is say playing against another human online or in the same room and stylin on them with a great and hard combo, or clearing a boss in a shmup without dying, you get this instant buzz that modern day gaming just doesn't give me at all. All this hand holding for the first 3 hours of a suppose AAA title is just not needed to me, let the player figure it out themselves and maybe then you'd get the "buzz" from finding out that "oh shit, I can do this, that's so cool". So in conclusion I think arcade style games give you a instant buzz that these massive games just do not.
I've just found your channel TEU, and it's right up my alley so I'll be looking through what you have reviewed etc and watching them.🤙
I feel the same. Tried soo many AAA games last three years. Getting back into shmups now. Ordered ESPrade although i still need a PS4-Stick. Another stick. Never got into scoring but i love the feeling of accomplishment and the lovely PixelGraphics. And of course the Soundtrack of many older games. Grew up on the Mega Drive: Thunderforce 4, Revenge of Shinobi, Streets of Rage 4 mainly! Or later Parodius on the Saturn. R-Type 4 on PS1?! After that i lost the genre for 20 years! F...ing PC: FPS´s, then AAA gaming, and it never worked for me, except Soulsborne!
Remember when games had real catchy Music? OK, i love SoR4, but anyway, wanted to mention that Graphics & Sound is a big part of the appeal of shmups for me, not yet got into scoring, or commited to one game to really train, but i love: X-Multiply, Shienryu, Garegga, Raiden DX, Blast Wind, Musha, Gunhed... A modded PS1 & the Saturn Atlas + AR Softmod as well as FreeMCBoot PS2 & a little bit of commitment in buying the sticks really helped me to get into shmups, because it delivered the important opportunity of trying different ones, when you are hitting yet another brick wall :) the same goes for the later added turbo duo, which i rgb-modded ;), another system where you could get a lot of different games.
Have not played muchwith my 360- the last shmup-related and modded console i got, but now i will get back to this genre, great videos, thank you.
That s awesome to hear!! Yeah freemcboot is awesome! Gotta get doj,white label on ps2 backed up ;-)
And people thought shmups all looked the same? There are AAA titles that are literally the same game.
After playing shmups for a while, I realised how much more fun games can be when difficulty is balanced properly. Neither victory nor defeat is certain until the end, so defeat doesn't feel like nothing more than an annoying waste of time, and victory doesn't feel hollow. Winning and losing is an integral part of gaming. Yet, AAA studios ignore this in favour of scummy monetisation or story, and difficulty becomes an afterthought. As a result, the games are either boringly easy or frustratingly difficult, with no sweet spot in between. And when it comes to story, I can't get invested in it if I hate the gameplay to begin with.
Calling Last of Us a walking simulator is brutal. Hard agree, though.
That s how it felt to me ha. I have tried to get through it many times over the years, but it really that way to me.
God of War is a sad example for me. I know they aren't amazing but they were fun and were one of the games my dad would play with me when I was young. Now its become that same old bland open world movie stew that reviewers lose their damn minds over. At least I found out before I bought it.
ironic considering now the story is about a father and son
Yo what remixes of the DOJ music are being used? Or are the speed and pitch just changed to fit the video?
I believe it is the 360 arrange. I have also slowed and pitched them to chill the tempo out a bit ha
This man literally predicted palworld
9:00 Fortnite battle royale mode was a hail mary "throwing stuff at the wall to see if something sticks" play to save their failed base-building versus FPS by ripping off PUBG, which was the standalone remake of the Battle Royale mod for Arma2/Arma3 (made by PlayerUnknown originally).
It was basically brokeboy F2P PUBG for kids and Epic's marketing & content production team snowballed it into a colossal financial success.
A garbage like fortnite would died back in the 2000s when people had standards battle royales are pure hot trash worst shooter subgenre of all time
@@DOGEELLL It's not even a subgenre, it's just King of the Hill with a small ruleset change. Hill starts as the whole map then shrinks with each move. That's the only change from something like Halo:CE KOTH.
It's 95% the same gametype as KOTH.
Honestly saddens me to see hundreds of thousands of manhours put into remaking in new engines with new codebases the same FPS/TPS shooter skeleton with slight ruleset modifications & a new set of models & textures.
What a waste of human lives. There really must be a better way.
All good points, but doesn't indie gaming suffer from some of the same issues? How many Super Metroid clones can they make?
absolutely! Indies are not immune from these issues either :-)
Nothing to really add to the conversation, I just appreciate your point of view *especially* because I now am no longer the only one calling them "movie games." Fuck, sometimes I hate being out of the zeitgeist because I don't play Red Dead or Last of Us or any of those games, but if I want to watch a movie I'll watch a movie 🤦♀️
Yeah exactly ha
@@TheElectricUnderground If you have a moment you might enjoy this (older) video. He goes into great detail why Thief was such a good game and why so many games since are not, and it has a lot to do with you're saying. Modern "AAA" games have no real direction or vision. Oftentimes developers just chuck everything they can in to appeal to as many people as possible.
ruclips.net/video/jPqwDGXxLhU/видео.html
25:52
Nintendo is still the 2d platformer king. A lot of indie platformers are the same strict linear level design like Celeste or Super Meat Boy. Mario's level design is far more complex and layered which is why there are so few games that are even comparable.
AAA game studios aren't interested in you playing $15 games that have deep, addictive gameplay. They want to sell you flashy semi-interactive movies, so you bore quickly, and then quickly buy the DLC, skins, and sequels. Also most kids these days have been brainwashed into thinking a challenge is a bad thing. So REALLY it's a win-win for the AAA billionaire Aholes.
very true!
Pure facts only fake gamer will disagree
I remember when my last PC died, I made sure to replace it with a pretty cheap one (it's alright but if I tried to play any modern AAA game on it it might just legit explode) and honestly, I've been getting by with it just fine.
Pretty much every game I've played on it has been an indie and I don't feel like I'm missing out on much by ignoring AAA stuff completely. There's some Nintendo exclusives I'd love to play but I'm not gonna invest in a Switch just for those.
There's tons of amazing indie games out there for cheap or even completely free and it's always heartbreaking when I stumble upon something I end up really loving only to find out that barely anyone knows about it.
Like, I found this Megaman-sytle game called Shippu Senki Force Gear 2 recently and I'm in love with it, it's Japanese only but it's a lot of fun to play and I'm genuinely shocked by how little attention it's gotten. Not only is it inspired by a well-known series, it's also pretty recent (came out this year) and completely *free*, but somehow there's still barely any coverage of it online, not even in Japanese.
I honestly don't understand how AAA games have been overshadowing indies for so long. Yes, there are some great AAA games out there but so much of it is just generic, money-grubbing fluff that I struggle to understand how they continue to sell as well as they do.
Yeah for sure, I do wonder how long gamers will tolerate the steady drop in studio game quality before the sales do start dropping
I definitely agree with smaller games not getting enough, like, real, "deep" attention. Beyond just a generally positive review or a speedrun community picking it up. But I think studio games still have plenty to offer, it's just the triple A stuff that feels pretty consistently iffy. But I feel like double A so-to-speak still delivers easily. Sekiro, Nioh, Nier, Monster Hunter(maybe this one is triple A), I feel like larger Japanese studios came back hard this generation. But that said, with Sakuna coming out next month, in November of all months with Cyberpunk coming out, I just know it's easily going to get drowned out, and it definitely deserves more attention, being made by the guys who made Astebreed. So I get where you're coming from in my own way at least.
And I think even people that play big games are starting to fight more, look at Battlefront 2 for example. And then you have examples like Genshin Impact that are entirely steeped in gacha culture, and man, you should see how some people that normally play mobile games try to defend things like in-game systems that limit how much you can play or defending gambling for characters...
I really have no idea if people as a whole actually care that much.
Yeah there are still some gems in larger games, like nioh! I was disappointed with nioh 2 though. It was 1 step forward 2 steps back with the gameplay
@@TheElectricUnderground Well, we're gonna have to disagree there lol
They are not doing anything to fight for good gaming
They accept gambling battle pass and trahs gameplay
I've been saying this like decade ago.
I am glad someone else saying this.
At this point, I am pretty much disinterested in modern games all together. Not because its bad mainly because it is straying away from what I was looking for. Nintendo is definitely prime example of this. Nintendo used to make great classics and now everything what they create is watered down pandering towards casual gamers that has really no gameplay depth whatsoever (I played majority of the Switch games and only thing that stood out at least was Botw because at least its got some possibilities in terms of wide variety of interaction)
Sony in other hand, they do seems have good gameplay design (believe it or not new God of War do offer some good gameplay design), the issue is its just so much unskippable cutscene that just kills the mood (yeah like literally no skippable cutscene).
And rest of third party studio? Just basic FPS games or 3rd person Action stuff that doesnt hold for that long.
And my mind has made up..
I will be committing to
Gradius III arcade and Beatmania IIDX
I would rather just dedicate myself for specific games rather than playing many different games for couple days and done.
Non skipable cutscenes should be a crime ha. I still can t accept they turned god of war into a adventure game or whatever it is ha, especially when I was really hoping for another really fun character action game.
@@TheElectricUnderground Actually I did had same thought back in when God Of War 2018 was revealed. But my opinion towards the game somehow changed. This is because I played God of War Trilogy again quite recently. And I dont think I am actually liking it all that much either. Dont get me wrong I like the idea of Thrid person view beat em up like action stuff. But compare something like Ninja Gaiden or Devil May Cry. None of the trilogy ever really accel at anything. DMC is very in depth with learning combos and NG is more of learning survival and these games are actually quite in depth. God Of War didnt do any of this IMO. At least the resent installment, quite reminded me of God Hand though. May be not exactly. But it was nice to try something else since it was getting to the point where combat in God Of War was getting stale.
And another game I like from PS brand was Bloodborne. And I dont think Fromsoft will ever top that game any time soon.
What's the background music in this vid?
People I know look at me weird for liking these smaller unique indie/arcade/JP games over those big studio AAA movie games. Those cinematic AAA games just doesn't do it for me. I like playing my shmups, beat em ups, rhythm games, etc. Plus I'm a working adult who doesn't have time for story driven games these days and prefer something quick to play but still have substance.
For sure! I m like that as well
I think it also has to do with time investment and priorities in life, I can jump into an indie game and enjoy myself for 15-20 mins, I cannot say the same about most AAA games sometimes just setting up each session can take that much
Too many cut scenes, constant interruptions of gameplay, rpg mechanics being forced into most games (even the new Serious Sam has a skill tree in it). Systems upon systems.. these things are ruining the beautiful flow of gaming.
I wouldn't expect major sites to start giving these games much coverage though, they don't generate enough views.
Regarding shmups, I'm not sure I would like IGN to review a game like Ketsui, they wouldn't look deep enough into the nuances of the design to give it an accurate score, judging it only on a surface level as a quaint, basic little game that doesn't have a compelling narrative (or Troy Baker playing a guitar).
We need enthusiasts like you to do these games justice.
:-)
The only way IGN can do a shmup justice , is if they hired an actual enthusiast of the genre.
Very agreed. Last year was especially bad with how out of control the mainstream gaming community and industry was, I got insanely burned out around October and even just had to stop reading any news or following any of the communities I was a part of that even mentioned the more mainstream titles, and I still haven't really come back. I've been struggling with the mess of being a games writer with a pretty respected but ultimately niche website and trying to keep my focus always on the stuff that's more indie and less mainstream and bringing attention to those smaller projects that most other writers give no importance or respect to. Glad to see another person trying to do this in the RUclips space (I won't touch RUclips content creation with a 10-foot pole, besides some collaborations with other people here and there)
Yeah the mainstream gaming "journalism" has become an ugly cesspool that's much more dominated by drama and politics than the games themselves, which is a big shame. Focusing on smaller games will probably be less instantly popular, but I do believe that substance will be appreciated over time, the starting point is just tough.
I just started following you recently, because I got into shmups and am glad to see that you are trying to expand. Definitely stay within the niche of indy games and the types of games you like the most with as much depth as you you want to go into (which is compelling). I think there is definitely an audience out there for this kind of content. I am loving it so far. One thing that would be interesting to see is your take on competitive gaming scene and the inside look into it all, specifically in shmup and fighting categories.
Yes for sure!!! Thanks for the great comment, I am glad to hear you are enjoying the videos!
I agree with you on most of what you said. I have a gaming buddy that calls me and asks what game am I looking forward to. I tell him not much. I too am very disinterested in triple A gaming. Only triple A for me (,besides Nintendo ) that I want to play is TLOU 2 and Star Wars Fallen Order. The last several games I bought were Blazing Chrome, River City Girls, Esprade and Streets Of rage 4. I'll take all those over 95% of triple A stuff.
Where I disagree though , is with the big N. Yes they are a huge company, but I feel with Nintendo, I still get my money's worth. Their games are always polished and complete. Their philosophy has always been gameplay over graphics. Mario Oddessy was the only game that made me want to 100% complete it. I am 40 something and the older I get, the more I go back to my roots. Nintendo and arcade style games. Anyway, interesting topic and thought I'd chime in.
Thanks for the topic! Yeah I think Nintendo s games are still quality for most people, but I m not particularly interested in them, though I did really enjoy star fox zero and felt it got an unfair treatment by the press
Fight'n Rage - purchased on Nintendo Switch.
cool channel. i hate walking sims with a passion!
the best modern 2D platformers are all indies; celeste, hollow knight, sonic mania. and mania is the best 2d sonic by a mile. and guess what? it was made by an indie dev.
I think what emphasizes to me why i'm so turned off by big studio shenanigans these days are the current games for the PS5 in which only 2 interest me. Demon's Souls (which is a remake of a 10 year old game) and Astros Playroom (which is, despite its evident quality, essentially a bundled tech demo meets loveletter to playstation). That's it.
Agree wholeheartedly. With the upcoming console generation looming on the horizon I've been thinking about this more and more. The priorities that the mainstream gaming scene has set for itself in both game development and in its overall relationship with and treatment of its customer base (digital/physical ownership becoming a topic of debate, pricing going completely out of whack, DLC mutating into an expected part of any and all games etc.) have come to the point where I just don't feel like I am in any way part of the target audience at all anymore. Ever. I am genuinely considering quitting this hobby that I've loved for about twenty years now. I will certainly still find and support smaller game projects in the future, but there is a massive schism there between what I enjoy and where the money apparently goes in this industry these days. It's alienating and disheartening, tbh.
I feel the same way my dude, every Monday I watch the Jim Sterling show and he seems to be steadily losing his mind because of the industry (though the show is entertaining).
Issue is the decline of Konami and Capcom. Japanese developers are simply better full stop. Western devs idea of being brave is by wedging politics into their vanilla af game. Japanese devs have generally innovated on game play like Shinji Mikami with Vanquish and God Hand. Nintendo stuff is great really...Odyssey / Zelda easily the best "big" games this gen.
Exactly my dude! Platinum have been kind of slumping as of late. Astral chain I couldn't put in more than 2 hours
@@TheElectricUnderground Same here its the worst bits from all their other games combined...when I heard Atsushi Inaba was producer I got v interested but it was a real duffer (not that you'd know it).
@@TheElectricUnderground AC gets a lot better past the 2-3 hours mark.. You just have to hold on a bit, as it has a wonderfully creative combat system that gets better from chapter to chapter.
You do like Metal Gear Solid then despite the cutscenes and codec calls? The gameplay is solid enough to meet your standards? Id be interested to hear your take on the MGS series and how the games evolved over their span.
It's funny how popular story based games are when you consider the largely dead Adventure game genre. I guess it comes down to ease of progress, as I figure beating Last of Us 2 is an easier feat than figuring out Riven.
I also think a lack of horrific violence may be a factor. One thing that's nearly universal about current AAA games is that they're packed to the brim with over the top gore, and you just can't get that from Monkey Island.
Yeah for sure ha
Man I agree with you 100% in this video. There just isn't much originality in AAA releases and that's why I'm always going back to either Indie games or old school games.
I see a lot of reviews now on mainstream sites or RUclips channels where you can tell the individual couldn't be bothered to actually learn a game or even finish a 20 hour game, yet they'll spend 100 hours on animal crossing and pump out endless praise for popular titles.
They rarely ever give fighting games, shmups, or beat em ups more than a glance!
Most AAA games lack actual gameplay and just try to mimic Hollywood.
Yes exactly!
Interesting because I pretty much play nothing but indie games...big expensive Triple AAA games with expensive DLC Is not for me...I also mostly enjoy retro style games so that’s another reason I love indie games..the Switch is a good system for Shmups and Indie games..a good amount of selections..
Marketing and social media are a thing on its own, I do not have to add anything to this hysterical culture. You were talking about Platinum and Team Ninja, I would add From Software to the mix. Sekiro, Bloodborne and Dark Souls are fantastic current generation games, which are heavily based on skill. I would consider them AAA titles and I'm very happy From Software is not a Indie Game Developer, but following their own philosophy. I think the industry grew to what it is now, because games were addressing more and more people and selling an experience, but not something you have to learn. In my opinion the spirit of learning mechanics of the game is still here, for example finishing the valkyries in God of War or playing Biohazard 2 Remake on higher settings, but to have to actively try. I hope From Software made it more sexy again, to make AAA titles with a challenge. Retro (style) games do add to this fantastic diverse culture.
Yeah that s very true, there still are some solid choices out there for sure
I've been here for a few years as well. I cant get interest in next gen. Maybe if M2 does some ports. I havent played most of the AAA games released in the last few years as I find them boring.
Yeah for sure!! I was even disappointed in nioh 2, which was my big studio game of interest this year
I needed a video topic like this. Thanks Mark!
This is why I'm a "hipster" gamer usually sticking to indie and retro games. Unfortunately I'm always alone with these games because my friends have no idea what games im playing lol
Yeah I feel the struggle too ha
With big indie studios increasing in quantity, triple A really doesn't do anything a quality indie studio can't besides Hollywood casting, expensive trailers and ad campaigns etc. And even then certain studios grow over time and pull certain things off that blow our minds, I like to think Arcsys is kind of an example of this, maybe the warframe devs too.
Yes for sure! Arksys is a great example, and now they are basically leading the way in terms of fighting game graphics right now!
Absolutely agree! As for not only did I give up on mainstream games but almost on all western games
Western studio games are generally pretty awful these days :-( Once upon a time, we had great studios like blizzard, but blizzard has become awful since diablo 3
Indie games are the main reason why I’ve fallen in love with my PS Vita all over again 😍
Yeah vita is awesome. I think you can even get am2r on it
@@TheElectricUnderground I’ll check this out. I’ve been playing Garegga, DoDonPachi and a few other Shmups using FBA and over clocking to 500mhz. I’m very impressed, the input lag feels low and some Shmups have little to no slow down 😍
I should also mention I actually don't mind cinematic/story focused games, though I prefer when that's 100% their focus instead of masquerading as an action game
However I don't like this penchant for multiplayer grindy forever games with microtransactions. Marvel's Avengers could've just been a good action game. Instead, it's the nonsense that it is.
Yeah once upon a time a gsme like that could have been a decent tie in, but now it s all about monetization
As usual, very thoughtful and insightful content from TEU.
Oh thank you for the kind words! This is one of my fav topics that I have covered!
Cool that you're doing a review for Fight'N Rage. Fight'N Rage and Phantom Breaker Battlegrounds are really good Beat 'em ups
For sure!
I completely agree!
I've felt this way about indies for a while... It's the future of gaming!
I like arcade rooted genres HOWEVER I can't say triple A sucks in so consciousness. Indie developers do innovate or refine genres such as rougelites/shmups but you'll never get anything as ambitious as Resident Evil 2 Remake, Cyberpunk 2077 or Monster Hunter World from an indie dev on that level of quality.
That said Risk of Rain 2 is the most ballin shit I ever played in years. That game has everything I love but as a rougelite. Its a 3D run and gun that actually works with dynamic rank of shmups like Garegga.
I'm tired of the cycle but see at some point in recording the truth behind it if people just want to know which version of a game has certain content (Censored Gaming have a bias against cuts and benefit from them in the sense that it gives them stuff to talk about but have a flat and honest approach). Jim Sterling is well intentioned but sometimes ends up making more noise or misinformation (it is hard to not be a controversial personality but he has years of baggage even if small and basically never uses his platform to highlight smaller games which is his right but does no favours to up and comers) which should be avoided.
I'm gearing up to make some steps so traditional indie games and more can catch up in how they get noticed, so I do agree with your general views on the topic. I also think DMC4 is better than 5, but wonder how much of your viewer viewerbase would follow along for a video on that subject even if I'm someone who actually doesn't do much shumps that follows along.
My criticisms for 5 relative to 4 would be based on Nero's physics for Snatch being gutted for platforming and space manipulation relative to enemies. Inertia is a big deal, but I'm more bugged by how enemies felt better in 4 (minus Blitz I guess, I don't like Chimeras but I don't hate them enough to trade mobile mini-Credos).
Some people focus on the campaign to make a point on 5 being a better game but the poorly told narrative and reuse of content don't hurt as much as one may expect. At least for me.
I agree 100% I play the arena modes the most anyway ha, and I didn t mind the dmc4 backtracking that much
1000% agree with everything you are saying. This is why i subscribe to you. Also thanks a lot for showing off Fight N Rage, i’ve been looking for good beat em ups lately.
What I want to know is why there no “ console club” like an arcade with consoles where you can meet and play arcade games in person
You could charge a venue fee or donations surely!?.
That would be pretty cool! My FGC locals were kind of like that :-D
I play vr and indies triple a isnt for me anymore.
Tried out Fight N Rage today....wow its a lot of fun - great recommendation...plays a bit like ninja baseball batman!
12:25 and a cygni prediction :)
Nintendo, indies, and lesser known AA titles for me. AAA gaming is dead to me. AAA only care about star power, stripping away single player content to please the multiplayer community, and RUclipsrs played like suckers blowing their money on an broken product and advertising it telling their followers to buy their garbage.
Yes, for sure!
id like to see the mentioned dmc4>dmc5 video but i can imagine there would be a lot of hate
i think u are missing the most important thing about this conversation: what does the majority of people like to play? and sadly, the majority of people just do not like to play skill based games. thats why they will always be niche, and thats sad for us all, but it is the truth. and u cannot change that by coverage. if u do not like to play shmups, u wont ever play a shmup, no matter how many people talk about it
Yes that is true that the majority won t jump on shmup, but we don t need to hit critical max, we just need to reach a healthier niche status , like fighting games or Speedeunning, which I do think is possible with community support :-)
@@TheElectricUnderground i absolutely agree, but i find it difficult to believe that it is possible... maybe i am just too pessimistic but i just doubt that more people would really care, i think the people that care are already here... but i will say i hope i am wrong haha
“where’s ninja gaiden” when sekiro actually won goty lol. there’s just as much trash in indie games as the big studios. even if you believe that the more interesting stuff comes from indies, it’s mostly the same trends and wanting to please the same demographic. fight ‘n rage is an anomaly that just happened to turn out on par with its arcade inspirations
That s true. What really digs at me is how even the really really good indie / small studio games tend to get almost no mainstream attention other than a few exceptions. Games like the shot trigger ports, blazing chrome, fight n rage, and the countless indie shmups like Zeroranger, blue revolver, ccwi, etc
Copium
Indie has way better games gtfo enjoy your walking simulators no skill crapfest fraud
I've stopped playing all western AAA games besides maybe Doom.
They've become genuinely boring, uninspired experiences to me.
Yeah doom is a diamond in the rough for sure, I liked 2016, need to play the new one as well
@@TheElectricUnderground 2016 is great, but if you like games like Bayonetta, DMC, you'll probably enjoy Eternal more. It's kinda like a first person "character action" game in a way. Loads of fun.
I would call Doom 2016 and Eternal more like AA games. They are technical marvels on the engine side but created with smaller budget than the more expensive AAA titles. You can see some rough edges here and there (such as human models being of lower quality than in many games) but they really come up the shortcomings with strong a sense of style. Also iD games usually have the best lighting tech
@@PiesliceProductions Doom games are 100% AAA games and they had huge budgets and massive staff counts and were backed and funded by one of the biggest game studios in the world. They are very much AAA.
Great to hear!
Bayonetta 3 still stuck in step 1
I know ... :-(
Damn, your children don't give a damn about pokemon? My 4 yo is so into pokemon. I guess I can see a time when pokemon is no longer a giant franchise, but I'm not sure that could ever happen, unless they really take a wrong turn, like star wars did. My kid doesn't really like star wars at all.
Anyway, as technology gets better, making games will get easier, thus allowing talented devs to make super awesome games for not much money.
Ha not in the slightest, though the hungry caterpiller is making a comeback :-) I m really curious to see how star wars plays out, I don t think the sequel series was as popular with kids as the prequels were. At least from what I can tell
Nice video.
I couldn’t agree with your statement more!!! I haven’t bought a major studios current work in at least 6 or 7 years. I have hundreds on physical switch games and just as many physical PS4 games and they are all Indy/low print games and shmups. Screw those AAS devs. They insist on putting their crappy politics and SJW garbage in the games and are constantly fighting with each other. Don’t get me started on the bulls**t macro-transactions and cut content that they sell you back in bits a bobs. In the words of Eric Cartman - “Screw those guys”. ;)
Facts macro transaction are the end of gaming
After that i knew gaming was doomed for good people will eat it all up like idiots
Okay boomer
Probably more along the lines of hipster ha, too young to be a boomer
@@TheElectricUnderground not hipster but just being smart ❤
Larian Studios is a perfect example of what you're talking about. They've stuck to their guns making old school style CRPGs and now it's paying dividends. Their newest game, Baldur's Gate 3 is pretty successful despite being only early access. Even if isometric rpgs aren't your cup of tea, you gotta hand it to Larian. They've succeeded by NOT following the trends.
Yes, I love stories like that!