EfYI

Are people overlooking the fact that the entire team of reviewers are rating Spiderman 2 higher than a single reviewer who also scored it too low? On the other hand, Alan Wake 2 probably scored a bit higher than maybe it should. So it is two 9's competing.

@LiamCroft
You are wrong. You go love that game.

I left it in Act 1 to play Cyberpunk. Will come back to my gate.

I played the original Street Fighter II on PS1 or was it my... Sega Mega sumthin'?

I am still the best with Chun Lee. I have a retro bar where they have the OG game and it fun to revisit nostalgic memory.

I love both Henry's and Liam's list, a good surprise for me is the inclusion of two VR games.

At nr #2 and #1 no less.

It makes sense.

Everyone of a certain age knows and respects the games.

Everyone new will be picked ud and be ready to buy the inevitable sequels to remade IPs.

The developers will have an easy time following a recipe they get to tweak, making them capable of making better sequels.

The game design is a bit limited, so games will be stuck in these easily contained spaces without bigger or even incremental changes to the formula, which is up to these new development teams to figure out.

Having some stables allow companies like SONY to try new things too.

A game you couldn't help but notice, and one that took up space in the news flow. Many of these game of the years this year, however, are some I'll never play.

I don't know anything about souls games. I have tried Demon's Soul and ... Nioh for like five minutes-1 hour each. For me, they're all the same: you are going through a limited space and have to avoid clunky attacks you cannot really deflect or survive, so you kinda move outta the way. To attack you have to time your attack somewhere in the enemy type's animation. It is boring and lifeless with weird barebone stories.

If you count the Star Wars game, then I sort of get it, that was good. Maybe I'll get to Survivor one day.

@Nepp67

Admit it, you managed to read that one little paragraph and nothing more😂

Your comment reveals your limited reading capacity and also understanding of what the original was all about: loading screens.

@AndroidBango
Wash your mouth, Bingo.

You clearly didn't read and understand what the thread was about. It was an ultra detailed criticism going into the technical aspects of the remake too. Way above your level of understanding or reading capacity, perhaps, but also way too detailed for a casual summary.

I tried the Sea of Stars.

Cute little game for children who can read, or learning to. I got to where the chef rejoins the two protagonist and then I thought: This is super boring. I wonder if the game opens up OG FF7-style?

Anyways, this is a great list. You have philosophy, retro-love and VR innovation which also are readily available through PLUS-subscription. The real surprise is Danish design at nr#1! Denmark! Denmark! Denmark!

@Puketapu

Allow me to explain. Disclaimer: I haven't played the remake.

Source of info: Locked steam comments. The cogs of capitalism cancelled the criticism, so that you would consume. ( https://steamcommunity.com/app/1693980/discussions/0/3714937078843366671/ )

Apparently, the game's tense dialogue and relationships has been altered to pander to whatever needs pandering. Thus, for some, the magic is gone. Also, the glass ceiling of this fictional world seems upended and you'll find women in leadership and oh, the iconography of the game is updated to reflect and enforce the changes.

This is an old game, surprising to see it feature in a 2023-list. I am sure you liked replaying it a lot. I have a few predictions which really is veiled criticism of the ideosyncracies of capitalism in gaming.

• The VR game RE4 is new. Should be on the list too. Game of the year #3?
• I fully expect Cyberpunk (much newer, also remade and sharpened like Japanese steel, even has DLC with story ending) to be at n#1 or #2.
• Heck even The Witcher 3 was remade this year. But yeah, it didn't get a juicy price tack of 70$ You tellin' me that Dead Space, because EA can make 70$ on it, is a better game? 😂

Feel free to comment, Mark from Marketing.

Awesome list, I'd like to try Warhammer and Aliens. I have BG3.

My wishlist is longer than my backlog which means my theoretical backlog is giant.

And I just spend Euro Dollars on new VR games.

Amazing article, it whets the appetite and you have done a lot to put this game on the map.

Unfortunately, I have yet to try it.

I don't mean to start a whole debate, but who benefits from stealing this much data from SONY? Microsoft. Who would be able to plant an inside man or fund groups of hackers? Limitless pockets M$. Did they do it?

PS: Don't bother replying to me, I won't respond. No matter the circumstances, the direct competitor stands to gain and has shown they will also do anything legally possible to extract information from SONY that they do not want to divulge.

And apologies to the moderators of this crosses boundaries, I feel the criminal act has been of such an unbelievable magnitude that I have a hard time wrapping my head around it especially with this trickle down information trend.

It completely undo years of media strategization and takes agency away from SONY and hands it to a legion of douchebags.

I skimmed this thread and there are some downright criminal opinions in here.

To express a desire to illegally obtain stolen data is reprehensible.

I hope the 'ignore' button works. I never want to hear from them again.

@dv_xedge

I came here to write just that. I feel like I have been poking this site's journalists whenever I felt their standards dropped below professional and it is great to read spoiler free reporting on issues. I read them as warnings.

It makes sense to not repackage stolen data.

• Their job is lessened by having a douchebag shadow organization of data brokers control the news. By ignoring them and not reading spoilers themselves they can operate within the field of commentary that plays off of publicly intended announcements - educated guesses, wishful articles, reaction commentary, analysis, preview, review and post-production content creation.
• They make their patronage proud and make a strong case for us to start subbing yearly to support their ethical reporting.
• They help contain what little magic this world has left to tell through fiction and art.

Keep fighting the good fight.
"[And do not cross the boundaries into true corruption. (...) 'Cause if you do, one day you will look beneath your work and see the community's angry responses and you will reap/read it; and we will send you towards whatever god, you wish.]

@Old-Red

How on earth is it embarrassing that people appreciate what seems to be an excellent game?

I think that an award given out by the PlayStation community is by FAR the most significant and interesting. Why? Because these are the opinions that matter.

I have had an amazing 2023 with much choice. I gave up on following suit with SONY's releases. I am stuck 15 per cent into Forbidden West and have only touched the surface of my PSVR2. My game of the year is Cyberpunk, as it finally reached it potential and.. quite frankly.. outdid what I could even imagine.

Baldur's Gate 3 was very excellent, but I set it aside to fully immerse myself in Night City.

All of this to say: I have no idea when I'll ever catch up to GOW: Ragnarok and Spiderman II.

My The Finals experience: I load in. I have no idea what is going on. An enemy appears. I shoot at him, he doesn't take damage, he kills me instantly, I uninstall immediately. Never again😂

I hate this data piracy that is so rampant. It is truly game changing in the worst way. And the criminals doing it that are caught play dumb and plead autism.

My condolences to Insomniac.

@MattBoothDev
"I said it was only polarising to the terminally online."

This is somewhat a nonsense sentence, but I digress.

I need hard data to refute the underlying premise, which I why I said let's pick this up at a later date. I hear the music playing.

@naruball
You got me! I'm old! Most of my venting comes from many, many decisions and priorities within the SONY conglomerate I disagree with. Too many to mention.

However, most of my posts are probably answering others critizing/factchecking my opinion(s). I welcome that.

Sad to see that for some reason Cyberpunk isn't part of any reviewer's game of the year.

I waited so long to play Cyberpunk and finally, I finished it together with the DLC Phantom Liberty. I went with an old ending, and immediately restarted the game from scratch. To try a new gender, new romance, maybe new choices for the base game, definitely new choices for the DLC and of course a new ending.

Night City is the most impressive virtual place I have ever been to.

If it isn't anyone's game of the year, we can't be friends 😁

@naruball
Where would people go to voice their criticism if not a public space like the internet? Are you sending bottles across the ocean containing your Letterbox'd reviews?

@MattBoothDev

1. First things first. You came into this debate labelling the criticism as belonging to those who are terminally online. I think there are varying degrees of criticism, and so I feel your rhetoric is reductive. By the way, I checked Neil's Instagram. There are numerous examples of deplorable behaviour towards him which is inexcusable and there ought to be severe consequences for that. That is the 'polar' to which you are referring which contrasts the ridiculous criticism thrown at Hogwarts, I agree. I am questioning if you need to moderate the sincere narratological criticisms out there.

2. Sure, it sold well. A TECHNICAL marvel, and many, like me, avoided spoilers. As it should be. However, the story soured the experience for many (I am not claiming a majority here, but enough to make a dent in their fanbase). This is an opinion based on anecdotal evidence, I haven't done a survey😂

I rest both mine and your case. Please wrap it up.

Wow, this feels really frustrating knowing how great it was to the hearts and soul of Naughty Dog. Nobody in management is taking their time to address their leadership failures and bad decisions in regards to this.

If that is because, they will fold it into TLOU 2 and scale the 'live service' down, the average SONY patron will be happy. And that is, to me, the best decision. Make Factions 2 real, please.

@MattBoothDev

Your arguments are beginning to stretch a little thin. "Terminally online" is a term like "basket of deplorables" and it conveys unhealthy contempt. Besides, who isn't online!? It is a very wide category.

@Porco @Porco
🤔 Maybe, but that would make me the lowest-tier tech enthusiast out there.

I think console gaming is a bargain, and I wouldn't shell out for PC gaming.

I honestly think that if you are stuck with PS4 and are old enough to have some form of job - get a PS5 asap. You won't regret it.

@MattBoothDev

You and many others are Neil Drugman apologists. However, he was very quick to defend the project:

'Neil Druckmann assured fans that the project would be ‘worth the wait,’ and earlier this year Druckmann said that The Last of Us Online is by far the ‘most ambitious‘ game that Naughty Dog has worked on.'

Not all is lost, in my opinion. They need to fold the game (without a ***** battle pass) into the re-re-remastered TLOU2 that is coming next year.

@MattBoothDev

It seems that not ALL is well at ND, so much we can agree on, I'm sure?

If you are right (and I get the sense you think the show will be well received overall with no controversy of import), then the SHOCKING turn of events will only fan the flames of fandom canonising Neil Drugman into auteur stardom.

We will pick this up in a year or two and one can have a laugh over the other, deal?

Naughty Dog's management by Neil D and Jim R has been a ***** show.

For me, TLOU 2 remains a polarising game and I'm sure the HBO show will face a similar reaction ALL over again. Why? Because the show will market Joel and make it seem like the season will be about him. Just like the game's marketing did.

The way forward is without Neil. Fold the cancelled game into a single player game. Make it uncharted. A female protagonist would fit the series really well and rival Tomb Raider. Kill off TLOU. I don't want to know what happens to Lev (?) and Abby. They can stay in purgatory.

@Porco

Second opinion: The person in question have certainly been missing out. I went from OG PS4 to pro to PS5 and each upgrade has improved the quality of my gaming. Saying otherwise is to appease the unfortunate who can't afford the relatively low-entry fees that are attached to console-gaming.

My playstyle is described as 'going against the grain, playing what I feel like' which equates to 'The Feinschmeicker'. The fact that the category "connoisseur" also exists is puzzling. They are synonymous.

1. This should be the last mention of that pathetic bunch of criminals on this website, if you have any integrity.

2. Do not report any leaks and don't report about other news sites reporting. Limit their criminal act by acting like professionals.

3. I think that users comments like "came here to see the leaks" are to be deleted as being inappropriate.

I hope this is self-explanatory. Some clicks are not worth chasing.

@Casco
What do you like about that game?

Oh, if you like gameplay centered on traversal, there's this fun comedy game about walking that's coming. Was in a state of play.

It is going to be super pretentious.

I gave Death Stranding a try for a few hours. It was about walking. The monsters couldn't really be fought. It was a giant waste of my time.

To be fair, MGS bordered on bizarre at times, but someone at Konami made sure the gameplay was there and the story beats were great and artsy.

So, I might skip this documentary😂

I played and enjoyed the first Pillars of eternity on Plus. It took me a couple of tries to latch on to it and remain hooked.

With Pillars of Eternity II I couldn't get very far and I don't why. It is one of my favorite genres and I would have liked to try to get back into it again.

Also, I wonder if there's any replay value to the first one... hmm.

Also, a Dev named Darcy something expects that the leaks about them pushing a ***** DLC for full price should somehow make everyone kiss their arse!?

They haven't earned any award or even nomination as far as I remember, so why are they watching a Game Award show that celebrates passion, creativity and awards innovative, new ways of playing.

COD is the antithesis to this.

@3Above

Yeah, f* this Limaye guy. He should be fired for working against the interest of his employer. All he has done is to churn out the same *****, different season for years on end, presumably.

COD is cancerous trash. I hate the franchise, and how it consumes the player playing it both in terms of bloatware but also how little else COD players reportedly play.

Rampant cheating and try-hard sweatiness is the main ingredient in the product they cultivate.

Shockingly, after not doing any work but knitting and rehashing old content, the remaining bungie staff are no longer afforded huge wages + huge bonuses and knitting courses and not only that there will be an expectation to actually do some work.

Perhaps most worryingly, no-one has created a go fund me on this, because "Jaden Raymond already did that".

What a morning. Woke up unspoiled to a news story featuring the official video for GTA VI and a hot rumour read in the comments about a pro console.

The style of VI is to try and copy the real world, crazy as it is. What a terrifying game it might make, indeed.

One day Sony will say to us all: ***** you and your digital collection of games. Right now, they probably cut content because of expensive new deals, but the time will come when they will try and take away your digital property in other ways. By that time, the legislation set in place all over the world will hopefully prevent them from thinking it financially viable ieg. they'd have to pay back the full, current value of it.

Damn. The sheer audacity of this. I might post three times in a row, just venting my anger, haha.

We need iron-clad legislation that HEAVILY penalise companies like SONY that would steal from normal citizens. So disgusting.

I am nearing the end of a first playthrough, notwithstanding a trial run with Desert kid background.

I will probably start it all over again just to get the full experience from start to finish. I might finish it quickly second time around.

I have been unfortunate enough to now see many of my gut reactions are still sort of valid. It isn't a good thing when negative Nellies are right in their complaining.

• Didn't like the funding of Jade and her little haven.
• Didn't see the need for acquiring Bungie and the waning Destiny-games.
• Didn't want the push in direction of GaaS, and now we have an Xbox scenario going on. Sony, where are the games!?
• SONY backing that scamming company with the dead-eyes developer who swindled his way to some funds

Haha! Powerwash is one of the games that grab your attention. Weird title and probably the only to interest me. I will not miss PS Essential and Extra-content, but it does diversify my gaming experience.

A smart bit of marketing.

I am saddened to read that the game journalist are praising the likes of Fortnite and Roblox.

For me, the concern is how reductive it must be to only play one lousy free-to-play game with the same gameplay loop and general surroundings all the time. What development does these games offer to kids, youngsters and adults? Are there any reason not to worry about this aspect?

I love the game. Came quite far. Then stopped to chip away at other corners of my gaming charter. And these updates are great. I love that my game improves as it waits for me. Would take a finished product with patches actually being new content but beggars can't be choosers.

For new owners of TLOU2 - it is an awesome proposition and quite enticing for the upgrade path. Most people highly rate the graphics, ambience, and mostly, the slightly aging gameplay the franchise offer. It is uncontroversial and serves so many different purposes.

• Bringing it up to the standard of Pt. I.
• Remarket for the fans of the TV show.
• (I assume it's on PC) profit from out of ecosystem sales.
• Continuing the (re)education of the studio ensuring everyone has delivered a top-of-the-line game development.
• Testing the waters: How popular is this TLOU2 entry really? Will people reinvest and spend 10€ at a high ratio and how will that affect expectations for the next entry? Are the very vocal critics swayed by this diplomatic package?
• Possibly in terms of job creation, they might need a small work force for maintaining and expanding the rogue lite experience?