Ainu20

@Nem Great battle and job system though.

He left Square over 2 decades ago and the last Final Fantasy he directed released 30 years ago. Why would anyone think he'd ever work on the series again? That chapter has been closed for a long time now.

Nice, I'm always up for more Ys games. I take it this is the same engine as Ys Origin? Looks very similar in terms of combat, in any case.

Can't watch the video but the article only gives examples of visual enhancements, not anything that would affect gameplay. That's not exactly updated systems.

@Maubari I would argue there's more variety on offer than ever before, just not in the AAA space.

@Maubari Ah, so because it doesn't have enough games you personally like, it has to be a trash console that people shouldn't defend. Have you considered the possibility that those people are actually finding plenty of games they enjoy on it?

@Vivisapprentice Nixxes are a PC studio, porting stuff to PS5 is not their area of expertise.

The comments on here are predictably negative, but I thought those previews - you know, the actual subject of this article - were actually fairly positive. Cautiously optimistic is perhaps the better term, but certainly on the other end of the spectrum than the relentless negativity in here.

Having said all that, games like these aren't for me. Just hope it turns out all right for the people who're into these things.

New IP, single platform, fairly niche appeal, small studio, significantly lower than AAA budget. One million is perfectly fine.

I don't know what everyone else is on about, 1 million for games like these used to be perfectly fine back in the day, and it's not like this particular market has grown since then. It's available on 50 million PS5's, which isn't really a bigger market than mid-cycle on platforms like PS1 or PS2.

Persona romances are awful and contribute nothing. There, I said it.

@nomither6 Why not? It's a great mascot. Instantly recognisable, part of a free game included with each PS5, easily dressed up as any other video game character. Everything about Astro feels like a celebration of Playstation, which is perfect for a mascot.

I own a couple of these Future Press guides for From Software games, including the Bloodborne one. They're as good as any physical guide I've ever had, similar to Piggyback Interactive in quality.

Their utility is probably limited, considering you can find fan made guides that are just as or more comprehensive, but for anyone who likes collecting these, it's an easy recommendation.

@themightyant

Additionally will it be 'excessive' when developers develop for both PS5 and PS5 Pro, or do different rules apply?

The situation is a bit different in that a game designed to run on PS5 and Series X will obviously run on PS5 Pro, but not necessarily on a Series S without additional work.

I know you're referring to having extra enhancements on the Pro, but we don't officially know whether that will be a requirement or just an option. Either way, the baseline development platforms will still be PS5 and Series X.

Sony paying for exclusivity and then not heavily marketing the game makes absolutely zero sense. That tells us enough about this conspiracy.

Despite its flaws, I really loved it. Its heart and soul is its cast of characters and I love each and everyone of them. Clive, Jill, Cid and Gav are fantastic; brilliantly voiced as well of course.

With such a strong cast, it's easy to forgive it a couple of missteps in game design.

@WolfyTn It's hard to say whether you're missing out. If you don't really have an interest in 2D metroidvanias, Hollow Knight might not have too much of an impact on you.

On the other hand, I had no interest in metroidvanias or 2D games in general when I first tried Hollow Knight, but then I played it over and over, became obsessed with it, rank it as possibly my favourite game of all time and have played about 20-30 other metroidvanias since.

It's one of those games where, if it clicks, it clicks hard and you can completely fall in love with it. But if you go in expecting it to instantly blow you away because of all the critical and public acclaim, there's always the risk of disappointment.

I played through the entire game but must be one of the few who wasn't all that impressed with its writing. At times it felt too random, like a word salad of pseudo intellectual and artsy ramblings that I simply couldn't digest in any meaninful way. It made me feel detached from its world and characters.

Nevertheless, it was something different and enjoyable in its own way. Just something I have no desire to experience again.

Anonymous leakers that pop up out of nowhere should always be taken with an ocean's worth of salt. Say what you want about the likes of Jason Schreier, at least his own name and reputation is on the line every time he publishes something, not to mention the risk of legal action if he knowingly spreads wrong information.

@knowles2 Hard to argue against that. Even more insane when you consider they pumped out that entire run in the time it takes to create a single AAA game these days. Or even, let's be honest, in a shorter timespan than that.

I still like/love some of the post FF9 stuff, but that run will never be topped.

@Specky It's not "clear as day". Quality is not a measurable fact in video games. People aren't defending mediocrity, they're defending something they've found value in.

And saying it's only good for the publisher is a bit reductive. If you enjoy something, you'd like to see its creators get rewarded by recognition and commercial success, that's only normal.

@Specky Or perhaps many people just disagree with you about the quality of the game. There is no one truth, not critical review scores, not sales numbers and not even user reviews. The truth is always somewhere in the middle, but what is clear is that game has managed to find a signifcant audience.

It's easy to say if you don't like this, just don't pay. Yeah, sure, that's a given. But as others have said, it's the potential for spoilers being out there that makes it so annoying in this case.

Avoiding spoilers on the internet is always a problem, but if you buy a game day-one, you shouldn't have to worry about it. This is not the type of game that needs an early access version.

@MrGawain That "any even numbered Playstation" sounds like a good quote at first, but it's also (unintentionally?) dismissive of the PS1, which is easily up there as one of the greatest consoles of all time, or outright number 1 for a lot of people.

Origins was more than large enough, so this is completely fine. I'm glad they didn't go even larger after Valhalla, that would've been absurd.

@Intr1n5ic I was immediately intrigued by it because I heard Ben Starr's voice. You can never have enough Ben Starr.

There's always plenty of complaints about Keighley, but if others think they can put on better shows, well, go for it I guess? He's basically the only one who is doing this stuff nowadays. We certainly can't count on the likes of ESA or Reedpop.

If it wasn't for him, the things we would be left with are publisher-specific showcases, but they don't create that singular, festival-like atmosphere that a big event does. He's not perfect but I'm glad he keeps doing what he's doing.

@glennthefrog Technically, Sony could still release a firmware update to enable 8k output. They just won't, because no one owns an 8k set, no one produces 8k games, and no one truly cares.

@glennthefrog Sony can't control what other studios do though. Their first party studios have shown that it's possible to deliver sublime looking games, with excellent image quality, at a flawless 60fps, sometimes even combined with rt reflections. We can't ask for more than that.

The whole 8k thing is one of the most ridiculous controversies I've ever seen in gaming. It's such a non-event that I have a hard time taking anyone who makes a big deal out of it seriously.

It was clear the framerate would never be fixed; it's been out for almost a year now. I do agree this is one game that could see tangible improvements on the PS5 Pro.

I found the first one to be an incredibly boring game, with vapid characters and a complete lack of narrative cohesion. I still want to give the second game a chance, as everyone keeps saying how much better it is, but the whole "8 characters with their own stories" really doesn't work for me.

Yeah, I'm not sure I buy this. You don't let a console that constitutes such a small part of the overall gaming market have such an enormous impact on the core design of your multiplatform game.

Beyond that, the idea of a sequel getting x% larger, when the first game was already huge, simply doesn't appeal to me in the slightest. That's such an outdated concept and when I see it advertised, it's almost a red flag for me.

@ChrisDeku There's definitely some truth in what you're saying. I still think some of the Western AAA budgets have gotten out of hand, but there's absolutely a contradiction in people being angry at reports of crunch and layoffs and at the same time lambasting high budgets and pointing to Japanese studios as the ideal.

If we'd be getting the same sort of in-depth, Jason Schreier-esque reports about the depths of the Japanese video game development culture, I do wonder what the reactions would be like. Of course, it's not just games, the entire country basically has an extremely workaholic attitude. Those devs might not even complain about it, because it's just what's expected of a Japanese employee. But it's surely not something we should be glorifying.

I don't get why this upsets so many people in the comments. If you're not interested, fine, don't watch and read up on the announcements the day after. Why is that a problem?

It's just the state of the industry these days. Games take an incredibly long time to make, and we get smaller showcases, directs, state of plays, etc. dotted throughout the year. That just doesn't leave much room for E3-like events full of big announcements.

I'm still glad we have something like this, just sit back and see what we get. It's better than nothing.

I'm really curious to see what form the FF9 remake will take. Surely nothing like the FF7 treatment. I don't think a realistic style would suit FF9, so hopefully it stays closer to the original, artistically speaking. Could be amazing.

In the words of Robert S. Pearson from PS Access: still the Final Fantasiest Final Fantasy.

@KeanuReaves There's no point debating with those that have made up their minds about Druckmann and just see him as an easy target to blame for everything they personally dislike.

I also find it more than a little ironic that you hear so many voices saying please no more The Last of Us, give us back Uncharted, as if we haven't had 4.5 games in that franchise. I'm just looking forward to whatever new IP they've got in the works.

@Robocrop_Duster There is literally no mention of Sony talking about next-gen in 2026 in that article. None.

@Robocrop_Duster Nothing in there states what you're saying. Don't make up quotes.

@Robocrop_Duster Where does the claim that Sony are talking about next-gen in 2026 come from? I've never heard anything of the sort, and it seems completely opposed to the strong rumours of a PS5 Pro.

@Vaako007 Why would players pay full price for new games to play essentially a beta version, when they can wait a few months to a year to buy the fixed version at a discount? This is a problem caused entirely by the industry itself, pointing fingers at consumers who are looking to get the best value for their money feels all backwards.

@IamJT I'm not entirely convinced Switch 2 is going to sell as well as its predecessor. The Switch has been so good, and so affordable, that convincing a significant portion of its user base to move on to the next one might be surprisingly difficult.

It's a possibility, but not a given. I personally think a lot of the more casual players might just hold on to their Switch 1.

Special thanks to Jim Ryan, of course.

I must be one of the few who puts Ragnarok ahead of GoW 2018. I feel like it "completes" that game. Gow 2018 was a promise, and Ragnarok its fulfillment. Not just in terms of the narrative, but in terms of the scale and variety of (mini-)boss fights it provides as well (one of the few weak points of 2018).

I don't get those who say you barely get any improvements over the PS4. Sure, it's nothing revolutionary, but a combination of factors makes the overall experience so much better that I couldn't ever imagine going back to the PS4.

Everyone's value equation is different and whether the improvements are enough to justify the cost is for each to decide, but saying they aren't there is something I can't agree with.

We haven't shuttered those studios, we just sacked everyone in them.

This sounds like the most normal thing in the world and something that has likely happened every single gen. God knows why people want to turn everything into some sort of meaningful negative.

@J2theEzzo Have to say I did not expect anyone to know her, glad to hear it!

@Sil_Am Don't think anyone will remember your comment, because it's not going to happen and it doesn't make sense anyway.

Switch 2 is almost guaranteed to be a continuation of the current strategy. Nintendo have thrived ever since abandon the power race (WiiU misstep notwithstanding), there's little to gain and everything to lose by suddenly changing.

Now people are complaining about blood as well, seriously? You think if Sony wanted to censor blood, they would've released games like The Last of Us Part II? This is getting more insane by the minute.

Again: if this was censorship, why did they leave other outfits that are just as revealing in the game?

Some people have their minds made up and won't listen to any reason. I still don't see anyone who believes this is censorship give a good explanation why other outfits that are just as revealing, if not more, still remain in the game. It does not make sense.

@Zeldorf Ah yes, GoW, that incredibly prolific IP that has seen a whopping - checks notes - two new, full game releases in the last decade. When will they stop ramming this down our throats!