Olmaz

The achievements of Baldur's Gate 3, both in itself and for gaming in general are too huge to ignore.

@NarutosBiggestFan Because here the bad is not so deep for a lot of people. To many people, the fact it's a "superhero game" is not enough anymore after the stellar examples we got in the last 10 years.
To many, this game looks very bland and generic in its design (pseudo-realistic with no flair and very neutral costume designs).
The story may be its best feature, and I said so before, but we have had too many examples of good stories lost in bad storytelling, especially with games that mix too much game mechanics or are pure live service.
As for the action, to many again, this looks very repetitive and uninspired, where characters that could have brought diverse and original gameplay are just a coat of paint over archetypal classes we've seen countless time before.

These are opinions, and opinions can be negative. Voicing our criticism of what we are showed is paramount if we want the industry to change and hear in another direction than the one it's taken.

Why are you so bothered by people simply voicing their opinion, especially after seeing long detailed posts by multiple users showing these opinions were well thought and constructed?

@AdamNovice I didn't mean to doubt that the nickname was used, I just said I've never heard of it before this article, that's all. ; )

This is literally the first time I've heard Druckmann being referred as "Dr. Uckmann". WTF really?!

This man oozes the arrogance you find in people who, at one point had a lot of creativity, but lost themselves in a power trip thinking they were above the others. Not saying it's the case, it's just the impression he gives me every time I see him or learn anything about him.

@NarutosBiggestFan @Olmaz By the way, you've criticised users because of their "negativity", and got multiple replies detailing in length why these users thought the game was a let down and viewed negatively.

But we're still waiting for what exactly you see in this game as positive... "This game is a new concept" is enough, as you'd have to explain how another hero based co-op live service shooter is anything "new".

@Olliemar28 Of course you can, and maybe "manipulated" wasn't the best term (English is not my native language).

What I meant is that, early on, we were sold on this game as the great return of Rocksteady to the Arkham franchise, with an incredible premise : be the bad guys against the full Justice League. This was made to be salivating for fans.
But what we got is what looks like a very generic co-op shooter live service game, everything that most of the Arkham fans would dislike. This created a justified frustration in the community, and nothing has been shown since to help us think Rocksteady and WB understand what fans want. This is not a side game like Gotham Knight, this is the next big Rocksteady game, and it should have been better.

Hence the very heavy, and in my opinion fully justified, criticism and the feeling of being "manipulated" (please help me find a better term if you think this one doesn't fit).

@NarutosBiggestFan @Olliemar28 Instead of criticising people for criticising a game (on a gaming news site at that!), maybe just express what you like about the game, so that some of us may come to change their mind, or at least see what they don't right now.

It's normal, healthy even, for people to express their frustration when they feel they are being manipulated or let down, isn't it?

The gameplay looks extremely boring and an empty city after the Spider-Man games is unacceptable... which is a shame as I'd loved a good single-player game from Rocksteady with this story!

Also, is it me or are the colors a bit washed out, like some bad HDR or something?

If I have to go only PS4 (and nothing after the PS5 came out), I'd go with the three games I spent most of my time on my PS4 :

• Red Dead Redemption 2 (the game of the decade for me)
  • Dark Souls 3 (yeah, the art design of Bloodborne was better, but I prefer the Dark Souls type gameplay)
  • Titanfall 2 (the only multiplayer FPS I've not only managed to enjoy, but better, to have some success with)

Honorable mentions to : Dead Cells / Crash Team Racing Nitro Fueled / Bloodborne / Horizon Zero Dawn / What Remains of Edith Finch... and so much more. What a great console generation!

@danzoEX I'd say cel shaded graphics age a lot better than other style of 3D graphics. Even some PS2 era cel shaded games are quite enjoyable to look at (DBZBT3 or Dragon Quest VIII for example).

But it still can look dated in the sense we should expect more in 2023 on a PS5...

Wait, so this isn't a compilation of the previous 4 games + a pseudo-story mode?

I really thought they would have, at least, added all the story modes of the previous games (like in the first game with so free roaming), but what you say makes me think it's just short scenes in stills between boss fights... That can't be right? Right??

Also : when you start a versus game for example, are all the characters of all the previous game on the same roster screen?

@SteveJameson Never underestimate the length of virtue signaling these outlets will go to be on the "good side".
It's a shame really, Hogwarts Legacy has been some of the best fun I had this year with a 2023 game, and I say that as someone who is not really into the franchise (I just saw some of the first movies, I'm not even sure how many).

I have a kid on the way, this could absolutely be on my radar for short sessions whenever/wherever I can in the house (I've already lost my home theater/gaming room to the baby, but it wasn't a fair fight).

But 200€ is too much for just a WiFi streaming device. At half the price, I would start to think about it.

This is one of my most expected game! This looks so so fun a every silly ways possible!

I'm pretty I will get more fun from this than from AC Mirage, SW Jedi Survivor and Lord of the Fallen combined! (these are the last 3 AAA games I tried to play, so...)

Hopefully there is no wonky weird BS going on that will hinder the enjoyment of the game, as can happen with some indies.

@DennisReynolds Maybe not for the GOTY award (even if I personally would put it there) but it should have been a nominee at least for Best Art Design, Best Music and Best Action/Adventure, for sure.

@UltimateOtaku91 Hogwarts Legacy not getting even one nomination is a crime.

I predicted it, but it's sad to see the state of the industry where such a fantastic game doesn't get recognize because of ideological issues within most of the gaming outlets.

@NinjaNicky The issue here is that you can't put all the blame on the consumer. These companies are spending huge money to research the best way to make microtransactions as addictive as possible.
There are videos of John Ritticello showing how these executives want gamers at their most vulnerable when the decision to buy or not comes up. Not saying gamers shouldn't have more self control, but that everything needed to make them lose that self control is done by publishers.

"Now the firm has said it “appreciates your feedback” on the game, and as a make good, it’ll provide anyone who purchased the Halloween Fatality with a bonus Thanksgiving Fatality and Winter Fatality. These will be sold as part of a Seasonal Fatalities bundle from next week, but it’s not yet confirmed how much it’ll cost."

The news here is not that they are giving "free" fatalities (they are not), but that there is going to be a "Seasonal Fatalities Bundle". This is what should have been in the title of the article. There is no "win" for the consumer here.

@JohntheRaptor His fambloyance is what irked me a lot. I had to do all I could to stop myself leaving him on that beach at the start, that's how annoying and obnoxious he felt to me (which, in fact, shows how good the performance of the actor was!).
But I'll admit he gets to grow on you (even in a playthrough where I almost never took him out the camp) and the end of his storyline was moving.

@DennisReynolds I agree, everyone will have their favorite, which makes this cast flawless really.
But still, Karlach is my winner... I'm trying an evil Dark Urge playthrough now, and seeing her go away just broke my heart...

Look Baldur's Gate 3 is my GOTY without any doubt, as it's a phenomenal achievement in gaming, but :

• no way it deserves Visual Design : there is nothing special in itself in the design of the game, it's all about how everything coalesces together.
• no way Neil Newborn as Astarion should get the award, Samantha Béart as Karlach should win. She actually managed to turn my generally neutral playthrough into a lawful good one : what an incredible performance for a fantastic character!

I played it during the summer and it's a great game. Incredible production values all around, and a far better game and story than GoW2018.

@JimbobLink Clearly! : )

The only issue with the new model is not whether its size has been reduced enough or not, but how come a device with same processing power is not cheaper (and worst, more expensive) than it was 3 years ago.

Oh come on, the pic is clearly taken to minimize the difference between both models as much as it can (the angle of the oic, the fact the OG is put a little in the back, the way the rear of both models are lost in the background, etc). Breakdown videos have shown that the new model is almost 1/3 smaller than the OG.

I have no interest in buying the new model since I'm very happy with my OG, and I think both designs are ugly, but this is trolling.

@LiamCroft But who in the "casual market" will suddenly want to buy a PS5 after looking at this ad? What is there to see here that could make the main audience of Playstation break their restraint and finally buy a PS5?

@Geep Sorry what?

@nhSnork "I see commenters here turn up their noses even towards it now - based on a Metacritic "score", no less! Did fans not swear by this game when they needed it to bark at the third entry in comparison? Face it, even a lineup of Horizon, Spider-Man and GTA 5 will be "scraping the barrel" in your eyes."

As I think this was directed towards me, I'll answer a bit. While I'd agree Metacritic is not the end-it-all of scoring sites, it can gives you a general idea of the appeal of a game (with some surprises, of course). I also in subsequent comments pointed out Pushsquare's scores. And yes, scoring games will always be a flawed endeavor, but it's sadly the only way to summarize the quality and appeal of a game without going through a lengthy explanation.

As for you last sentence, that's just very silly. I have applauded what PS+ offered before, and I've always made it clear it was an excellent deal a few years before. But yes, Sony going into the sub 7/10 games for all 3 games on Essential is "scraping the barrel" (see it as an hyperbole if you want, the message stands).

@Dusk_Actual OK, I'll grant you the hyperbole, that's generally the way I express disappointment.
As for the rest, I guess I can't confirm without trying any of the games, but from the reviews and let's play I've seen, I'm far from convinced by "it’s still a good story", "good mindless fun" and "run-of-the-mill asymmetrical hide-and-seek".

As per this site (to avoid advertising for other sites) :
Mafia II : 4/10 - this is the worst remaster of the PS4 generation

Aliens Fireteam Elite : 6/10 - It’s a fun squad shooter with just about enough features at launch to keep you coming back to replay missions and tackle the horde mode. However, it’s not the strongest game of its type and really doesn't seem to fit the license.

Dragon Ball The Breakers : 6/10 - Poor tutorial / Obtrusive camera / Janky controls / High cost for in-game items / Even basic items require grinding

I'm sure each of these games may have qualities that appeals to fan of their genre/IP, but I'm really don't think they can be called pretty good in any way. I'm glad some people will enjoy them, but I doubt this will be the majority of PS+ subscribers.

This shouldn't be what we're ok with for the price of PS+ Essentials, even before the price hike. And unless we make our disappointment very clear to Sony, there's no reason for them to stop this.

@Dusk_Actual I expect from Essentials the same level of quality I was getting in the PS3 era. A good mix of high ranking AAA, AA and indie games.

If I had "made my mind", as you say, would I be asking for other's opinions? Would I admit I may be wrong?

You don't "need" to do anything, but just saying "you're wrong" to someone doesn't really get the conversation going...

@Dusk_Actual Really? Ok, would you care in selling me these games? Everything that I heard is this :

• Mafia II was pretty good 13 years ago, but today even the remaster feels very dated
• Aliens Fireteam Elite is a below average team shooter that wouldn't be on anyone's radar without the Alien franchise stamp

But since I haven't played any of these games, I may have the wrong impression. What does make you say these games "pretty good"?

I generally don't whine over PS+ games because I have enough of a backlog to not care, but damn that's a terrible month.
Mafia II DE : 72 on metacritic
Aliens Fireteam Elite : 69 on metacritic

Really scraping the barrel here...

@PixelDragon Good for you. I was booted from both Kotaku and EG a few years ago and never went back. There's no point in forcing your way into an echo chamber. You're better off here, where we cam still have conversation with people who have a different opinion from our own (even if, sometimes, the mods can get a bit zealous).

@Mephisto2869 I always thought the same : as a big sci-fi fan, why am I not fully into Avatar?

My guess is :

• the setting is too predictable : while it's gorgeous to look at, it's just a slightly different Earth. I prefer really alien sci-fi, either in tech or landscape
• it's too moralizing : I mean, we got it, white people are awful colonizers and killers, while the native are living in harmony with each other and nature... it feels tired and too on the nose to have any value
• the story itself is very basic, to the point I couldn't even finish the second movie : I knew how the next 2+ hours would go without watching it

A waste, I think, as with such a budget we could have gotten a wonderful new epic sci-fi IP.

@Vil I very much empathize with you, really. Not only artist and others that work in creative endeavours, but everyone will be heavily impacted by AI.

But, at the same time, unless you are an incredibly talented and creative artist, there is absolutely no reason (other than ethical ones) for a company to employ you. I have followed midjourney's Reddit for a year now, and I have seen creativity and originality that I hadn't seen for years. Knowing it's easier and cheaper to do this than to employ an army of artists makes it a no-brainer for companies. And it's only going to get worse.
One issue is that artists, being professionals and experts in their field, have a hard time understanding that for the general consumer, what is appealing is not always the thing the artist think is the best.

So how do we solve this? New laws? We know lawmakers are in cahoot with lobbies and any law will contain the way to use it to profit from AI. Appealing to human decency and ethical norms? In 2023? When the most prominent ideology in media is one of fierce individualism and moral relativism?

Sadly, and I wish I was wrong, I don't see how we can stop the AI spread... Even I, as a teacher, know I will be made obsolete in a few years (a decade or two if I'm lucky) because even if a great teacher is irreplaceable, the vast majority of teachers aren't great...

@TanookiLeaf Really? I know tastes are different, but there is an amateurish look in NaughtyDog' drawing that I can't shake... Knowing the incredible artists the studio must still employ, I'm surprised they didn't output something better.

What's happening at NaguhtyDog? Is this really the best art they can produce now? This is weird...

YES YES YES YESSSSSS!!!!! I can't scream enough how hyped I am about this! BT3 is the only PS2 game I go back nowadays (with emulation it can look "glorious").

It is the perfect embodiment of Dragon Ball Z : quick and tactile combat with a need for strategy. Perfect controls, a huge roster and wonderful graphics.

Let's hope BandaiNamco doesn't make it something akin to the combat of Kakarot (good enough, but nothing compared to BT3) and that it forgets, for once, that microtransactions exist.

I generally tend to be cynical and to restrain my hype, but for BT4, I'm all in!

I am stuck in the "no new game beats it" curse with racing games :

Retro racing : Horizon Chase on PS4
Karting : Crash Team Racing on PS4
Pure arcade : Split/Second on PS3
More realistic : Driveclub on PS4
(I don't play sim racing games)

No other games have managed to grasp my attention for more than a few hours so I keep going back to them... again and again...

@KundaliniRising333 Incredible how we stopped talking about the demented price increase of PS+... just like that!
One day it was a "huge blowback", the next day nobody would have even known it happened...

"we'd hope combat animations get tightened up a bit before launch"

Yeah, the world design looks gorgeous, but a Soulslike lives or dies by its combat, and even if the devs say they have made great strides in making it better, it still looks very janky.

Hopefully they will take the time to make it better, I'm always in for a good indie Soulslike!

Nice to see Hogwarts Legacy up there. And there is still Halloween and Christmas to boost its sales even more. It's really a fantastic game, I hope it will get some awards (but not really hopeful, looking at the industry trends).

@Titntin @Nightcrawler71 I tried the trial for The Crew Motorfest and I'm far from convinced. I had to change the the driving settings again and again to come close to something arcadey enough to my taste (but kudos to the devs to offer these settings) and I got overwhelmed by all the "events and activities" exploding all over the map 10 minutes after the start. Add to this the cringey dialogue and NPCs, and I guess it's another racer not for me.

I really miss old school arcade racing games where you would drive around carefully designed tracks with unrealistic but bombastic driving... to be honest, I just want my Split/Second remaster!

I finally got to play a game of TF2 yesterday and how did I miss it!

Thank you to you anonymous dev that finally fixed it.

TF2 is, to me, the one and only multiplayer FPS that I can play and enjoy. It just clicks at every level : the movement, the shooting, the gameplay mechanics, the diversity due to the Titans, etc.

As someone who never ever play multiplayer, I am the first one who is shocked at how good TF2 is. It's dirt cheap almost all the time, do yourself a service and go get it if you haven't already.

For the ones who already got it, let's meet on the battlefield again!

@Anke Thanks for all the info. As a big Driveclub fan (I'm still playing it form time to time), any positive comparison for it is a big win for me.

Would you care to share your detailed control settings? I prefer arcade racing games and anything I can do to change the controls that way would help a lot, so I can play the trial and see if it clicks with me.

I never played an Inazuma Eleven games, but but I'm very interested. I just hope it's a bit better than the last Captain Tsubasa game (which was fine, but far from great).

If anyone has played the Captain Tsubasa game and some Inazuma Eleven games, would they care to explain in what way they are different?

@Terra_Custodes You know what, I was extremely suprised to find out DigitalFoundry's claim that the Atmos lag on PS5 was negligible was... true!

I am quite sensitive to audio lag (on my pc, even a 30-40ms lag triggers me) and there was no way I could play with the PS5 set to Dolby.

But with Dolby Atmos, if there is a lag, it is not noticeable at all (at least to me). So I'm happy all around with it. It has really make a difference for some games.

FYI, my setup is PS5 -> LG CX -> JBL 9.1 soundbar.

@ShogunRok Is there a Dolby Atmos option available now that PS5 supports it?

I have a question on a topic never mentioned : now that Dolby Atmos is available will Cyberpunk 2077 offer the option on PS5?

@Ravix The thing is, since BG3 doesn't support 3D audio, there will be no difference between choosing Dolby or Dolby Atmos when playing it.

Loïc Coulthier, senior sound designer at Playstation Studios, confirmed it :
https://x.com/LoicCouthier/status/1702077940534513668?s=20

@Cashews The game is running perfectly fine on PS5 (unless some rare fps dips are an issue for you). I've played itat 30fps with RayTracing and it's gorgeous (even if I'm salivating when I see how it looks on PC), but I admit I'm not someone really bothered by low fps (I'm more bothered by unsteady fps).

As for the fun factor, this game was one of my most enjoyable gaming experience of last year. I was completely immersed in Night City (what a fantastic sandbox!) and invested in V's story. The implementation of Johnny Silverhand (Keanu Reeves) really blew my expectations out of the water.

Really great game, if you like sci-fi, go for it, you can find it very cheap nowadays. But I'd wait for 2.0, which should make the game even better.