On paper this is an almost perfect set up for VR. "The Metro" was one of the most atmospheric settings since Rapture in Bioshock. Hope it pans out well.
What I think Sony has been doing - maybe smartly - is prioritizing the younger gamers at the expense of their original customers.
Really insightful post on the whole but I’d push back against this one statement a little and build on the rest. Other than Naughty Dog who were working on multiple games including Factions 2, which by all reports THEY as a studio wanted to make, all Sony’s original single player studios are still making single player games as far as we know. I don’t think they have lost that priority it’s just taking longer to get these games out to the standard they want, and they are later to show them due to their “show don’t tell” policy. But they also, smartly as you say, NEED to engage the younger market who wants a different experience, mostly this has been via their newly bought studios.
Additionally I think one fact a lot of people forget is that the vocal fanbase at sites like this is by and large the older crowd and certainly the more engaged players, but this ignores the millions of younger and more casual players who don’t have as much of a voice but are, in reality, the majority of players. We are in a bit of an echo chamber here and Sony have to make things that the “internet”‘may be vocally against. It’s bigger than just us.
I have to laugh when people say Sony have showed “nothing”. What was Astro Bot? What was Ghost of Yotei? What was Helldivers 2? What about MLB The Show? What about Destiny: Final Shape? What about partnerships like Stellar Blade, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, Silent Hill 2, Horizon: Adventures and more. What are you really expecting? And is it reasonable?
Can anyone HONESTLY say there is a shortage of good games for them to play on PlayStation? The rest is just unrealistic bleeting. Put your expectations in check.
@Rich33 I agreed with a lot of your post. But I’d push back on two things a little
1. While what is deemed a “nice image” is subjective, have we really seen many titles that look visually poor on base PS5. I’d say this is still a minority of titles, most look great.
2. While on paper PS5 Pro does do more than PS4 Pro the perception is the opposite. This is in part because Sony have done a bad job of demonstrating the changes, but more it’s due to diminishing returns. PS4 Pro going from 1080p to 4K output, even though rarely native, FELT like a much larger upgrade to most eyes that didn’t require pixel peeping you could see it clearly. Whereas so far very few PS5 Pro demonstrations have done the same.
@PuppetMaster I’m aware of the source of this but I believe he was talking about the game being one or two people’s idea which then built into a studio and then the game was fully developed. That’s not what we usually would call “in development”’, the 8 years sound bite has been misreported and taken out of context (similar to $400 million). A dev in their Discord corrected this and said it was 4 years.
It’s like when a writer says an idea has been in his head for 2 decades but he wasn’t usually writing it for 20+ years.
@PuppetMaster how could it be in development for 6-8 years when Firewalk wasn’t even founded until 2018? They would have had to form and build the studio which takes time and go through pre-production with a skeleton team, which isn’t often counted, before entering full production with a larger team later than that.
That sounds far more realistic and is from actual journalists who have checked multiple sources. The original $400 million never rang true but almost everyone jumped on the bandwagon and believed YouTuber Colin Moriarty with just one trust-me-bro source. Was maddening to see so little critical thinking.
@Oz_Who_Dat_Dare agreed. PS4 Pro was a virtual must buy for me, the upgrade felt significant, plus it was ‘only’ £349 at launch.
I can afford the Pro comfortably, but only because I’m sensible with my money and don’t buy everything I want. But I also have a few big expenditures coming up in the next 12 months like a new car, new work PC, work on the house, and likely new Switch / next year. So PS5 Pro is still pretty firmly in the “this is unnecessary” camp, but my resolve is wavering. The more third party devs I see supporting it. I’d say I’m 30:70 against today.
However I am also tempted, and if enough games support the Pro and see decent upgrades I may end up doing it. Especially if playing on base PS5 means playing at 60fps with a blurry final resolve like here or in FF7 Rebirth or at dodgy frame rates. I’d rather not spend £800+ but I also don’t want to play my games like that if I don’t have to.
The trouble for me is if I decide I do want to buy one I’d rather that decision is made quickly so I can maximise its use before PS6 which I will almost certainly buy day 1. I don’t see much point buying the pro in a year or two. Hence I need to decide soon after launch else I won’t do it.
Over 70 games now with PS5 Pro enhancements before it’s even released. It seems devs are keen on using the tech which is a very good sign and makes it more appealing. Still £700 + disc drive is too steep for me unless I can sell my PS5 for a good price.
@Kidfunkadelic83 Sorry to hear that dude. Perhaps a game you can play with one hand (get your minds out of the gutter people! lol) like Vampire Survivors?
I've said it before but Sony has been going about pushing the PS5 Pro the wrong way, their own first party games are almost always wonderfully optimised to run at 60fps at (subjectively) near enough to quality settings. The games that the Pro will likely see the largest benefits will be the third party ones like FF7 Remake, Dragon's Dogma 2, Monster Hunter Wilds, and likely even things like Elden Ring etc. Games that don't run anywhere near a locked framerate and have a large delta between quality and performance modes.
@Weez Is Dragon Age dark fantasy? Only in the lightest possible way, it's not been very dark and gritty for a while. Inquisition was certainly pretty light other than a few darker aspects in the world (The blight etc) but characterisation has been pretty jolly since DA2 through DA:I and now onto this.
But I also get it. It's similar complaints to every successive Bioware/Bethesda/etc. RPG that they are dumbing down the RPG elements and choices. I said it for Mass Effect 2 and Oblivion, yet all in all they were better games overall. Not that this will please everyone... but you can't.
@riceNpea 100%. I would say the same about Microsoft/Xbox too, platform warriors will tell you they are dead, while their record revenues (admittedly bolstered by ABK) are strong. They have their own issues, but are coming up with a strategy to solve them. Either way all three console platforms have found their own angles to have their own piece of the pie. The rest is sensationalism.
@Ainu20 You articulated that far better and more succinctly than I did. lol. Completely agree. I just want him to come up for air and see the bigger picture sometimes.
But I also get it when we are disappointed in a game and it doesn't meet our expectations it's hard to not to compare it to what we wanted it to be. I did similar for Starfield, comparing it unfavourably to Elder Scrolls and Fallout... the key difference is i'm not a professional reviewer putting my view out for millions.
Also agreed some treating his reviews, or others, as gospel and suggesting everyone else is a shill. Sad to see, and clearly something Ralph is actively trying to disabuse them of by bookending his video with a warning at both ends that there are multiple truths. Opinions are always subjective.
@Oz_Who_Dat_Dare Completely agree about reading between the lines. This game in particular is a minefield with far too many bad faith takes. Too many pre-decided it was bad for a variety of reasons and are vocally making themselves heard, and in response far too many are over defending it. It makes it harder to see what is real fair criticism.
To be clear I wasn't saying the game itself isn't flawed, it might be, only saying that as a fan of SkillUp I see a theme in his videos when he is really disappointed in a game he goes balls deep into trashing it and is less balanced than usual.
I'll have to wait to find out how I feel about the game, but first I need to play the Inquisition DLC which I bought about 10 years ago! Maybe get to this next year!
Absolutely right. There are many things I wish Sony had done differently, and their profit margins are pretty low, but to suggest PlayStation is going massively downhill is just gamer-rage hyperbole.
I thought the maximum was 3 years to be honest, and I am usually stacked to that and top up when there is a deal.
But 24 years seems a little insane. A lot will happen in that time. Who knows if PS+ will still be a thing or if he's still even interesting in gaming. Circumstances change in life, health, kids family, job etc. Time becomes more precious. This seems more of a stunt than anything, but best of luck to him.
@Oz_Who_Dat_Dare Yeah that is fair. And a common thread between SkillUp and MrMattyPlays videos is they were trying to be an arsehole in the game and it wouldn't let them. I CAN see that being annoying if that is your intention. But lets also be real, most RPGs don't truly give you freedom they give you the facade of freedom but really it's just a limited set of choices often with minimal consequence.
Moreover if the developers choice in this game is you are a paragon, a uniter of people, and you can't be a complete dick then that is their creative choice. I don't see that as a problem necessarily, not every RPG has to have a -100% to +100% hero (rogue/paragon) feature, it's just what these reviewers wanted.
And there absolutely are fair points in his video, I just thought it was a bit more incessantly negative than his usual fare, without the usual balance he offers which is one of my reasons for going there first. He even made a point near the end that he wasn't giving constructive criticism. Perhaps after playing the game I will lean more on his view, who knows, but from my experience with the other games mentioned I usually don't when he's in this mode.
@Oz_Who_Dat_Dare No! Absolutely not. I made it very clear his opinion is his own and as valid as anyone else’s. If he didn’t like the game he didn’t like the game. That’s cool.
However being a fan of Ralph’s channel and having watched virtually all his reviews in the last 5+ years I do see a pattern for a few of his harsher reviews where he seems to focus on comparing the game to what he wanted it to be, not what it actually is. I personally find those reviews of his less balanced than his usual takes.
I.e. in this one he spends a large portion trying to hammer home issues like the visual style and how it used to be better in DA:I or ME2… did that really need a 10 minute segment? His Deathloop video is similar, though worse, where he spends most of the review saying it’s not Prey Mooncrash part 2, which is what he wanted. Yet that’s not the game in front of him, review what it actually is, not what you wanted it to be. One of the reasons I go to his channel first is for the good writing but also the balance, and the later seems less present here to me.
Ultimately I think a range of voices is a good thing, I just find his reviews like this less balanced and fair than his others. More of a rant because he’s disappointed and not up to his usual high bar. That’s just MY take, there is no more truth to it than his or anyone else’s opinion. They are all valid. But it is a repeating patten I’ve observed, and when I see it I take those reviews with a larger pinch of salt than usual, because after I’ve played the games these are the ones I disagree with him on most. E.g. TLOU2, Deathloop and FFXVI which he also hated. Opinions eh?
@Marquez completely agree. It’s why despite not liking his more ranty reviews I still go to him for reviews and respect him. Though a bit of it is also sensible self preservation, whenever he goes hard on a potentially popular game he gets ripped apart on social media.
@NEStalgia SkillUp properly dunks on it in his video. He's one of my go-to reviewers but every now and again he puts out a review where he just rants about a game going balls deep - he did the same for FFXVI and Deathloop, he really didn't like those either.
My take is he's usually less balanced in these videos where all you can hear is him ranting incessantly. Takes one to know one E.g. In this review he spends the first 10 minutes almost solely going on about the graphical style and seems unable to see anything positive in the game past that. While he is of course entitled to his own opinion - if he didn't like the game, he didn't like the game - but whenever I hear him in rant mode like this I take it with a larger grain of salt than usual. He's occasionally the same the other way when he's overly praising a game too and is making it sound like GOTY material. Again his view is his own, but either way I take these reviews of his with a larger grain of salt than usual.
The thing I've noticed all these ranty reviews have in common is he is usually reviewing the game as he wanted it to be, and not how it actually is. E.g. His Deathloop review is filled with saying it isn't the Prey DLC Mooncrash over and over. He has previous!
@TooManyBrownies Did Black Myth give out codes to twice as many people? Based on what... the number of Day 1 review scores? Shall we look at that then...
On August 16th the day the review embargo dropped for Black Myth Wukong it had 54 reviews on Metacritic (internet archive from the 16th) AFTER release that number increased to 91 reviews.
Today, the day the embargo dropped for Dragon Age, there are already 50 reviews. With some coming in late this will likely be very similar to BMW by the end of the day. Certainly nothing like your claim... unless you have some other facts?
As for people not receiving codes. Which people? Fextralife? ACG? Wolfheart? Who else? Not everyone always gets codes, this is true for every game. Meanwhile plenty of reviewers who were positive about the preview, like Luke Stephens, ALSO didn't get codes and some that were negative, like TheGamer, did. That is hardly evidence of some mass conspiracy at EA, but if you're looking to see patterns you will see them. Confirmation bias.
@TooManyBrownies Feels like you WANT this game to fail for some reason. Plenty of people who were negative about the preview got codes. As for number of reviews this is a 50+ hour RPG, yet one thing several reviewers have said is it came in quite late and they had less than 2 weeks to review it, so many are likely going to be late. Lastly whether a game fails of not has little to do with review scores, plenty of 9s have failed financially and plenty of 6s have made a killing.
The spread seems very positive so far with all but 3 of the 50 reviews on Metacritic being 70% and up. It currently has an 84 Metascore distributed as:
100% x 6
90+% x 14
80+% x 15
70+% x 10
60+% x 3
The only really scathing reviews I have seen are from YouTubers SkillUp and MrMattyPlays, yet plenty of other YouTubers like RPG heavy Mortisimal love it... it's currently his personal GOTY. Strong.
@KingPev it really is, and the best in the trilogy. I really hope they don’t fumble the bag with Prime 4, hopeful that they are taking the time to get it right.
Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna - I just finished the DLC for Xenoblade Chronicles 1 (Future Redeemed) and re-watched about 7 hours of cutscenes from XC2 (which is far faster than replaying a 100+ hour JRPG) now i'm onto the XC2 DLC Torna. I want to play Xenoblade Chronicles 3 this year if possible, which I bought at launch, but might need a few palate cleansers after all this. I love this series.
Also replayed Metroid Prime, what a brilliant remaster and hard mode makes the game tough again, each save point is almost like finding a Dark Souls bonfire. Sweet relief.
Lastly finished The Plucky Squire which I was really looking forward to. It was OK. Didn't quite deliver on the promise of the trailers but I enjoyed it regardless. Just felt it could have been a lot better too. .
@Dom_31 dailies definitely don’t take one minute, assuming you want to spend your polychrome too x 320. Then there’s everything I mentioned above. Not to mention new questlines, challenges etc. it all adds up to several hours a week. Don’t get me started on time wasting events like the diner either.
If it was the only live service I was playing that would be ok, but if you play others there’s little time for anything else. I like ZZZ, it’s fun, but while it’s combat is flashy it’s also more shallow than MiHoYos other games, the hollow (tv) gameplay is dull, and as I’ve invested less time here it’s the sensible one to cut.
@get2sammyb that’s the problem I already am!!! And Wuthering Waves to boot. Somethings gotta give, I think it has to be ZZZ, yet these gacha games are hard to drop! Send help. lol
Honestly feel there is too much content in this game right now. Between Dailies, Weekly Notorious Hunts & Hollow Zero, Biweekly Shiyu Defence and more it takes up too much time. Yet I keep trying to drop it but am still here.
Have to agree with Layden here. Far too many gamers with rose-tinted glasses for Japan Studio forgetting their recent work was not the same calibre as what came before. Something had to change, and from the ashes we got Astro Bot the highest rated game of the year. Seems like they made the right call.
@Aelynn Where is the UI in French? I noticed it's mostly in English in this trailer. Though I agree UI's should always be designed with translation, and different lengths in mind.
@BookhouseBoy I also have Game Pass and won’t be playing it day 1. I’ll get round to the campaign in time but haven’t played one since Advanced Warfare, or maybe it was the one after, either way it’s not a priority.
@Dalamar think he’s more saying you don’t need to go into every Horizon article and bash the game if you don’t like it. I don’t like Fortnite or COD or MOBAs but don’t go into those articles to bash the games, i accept it’s not for me and move on.
That city shot… wow, that’s quite an upgrade. Other impressive improvements too. If you can’t see it… well… specsavers.
That said while it does look good generally I’m never very keen on changing the colour tone of a game like they have done, though you will forget that when playing, it’s only obvious on side to sides. And I’ve never been a huge fan of the always on Hero Lighting on Aloy and key characters during gameplay. It means they don’t blend into the world as well. It’s OK for fixed camera dialogue where they can curate the shot but not when we have the camera.
So some good, some bad. I’ll still be picking it up.
@RBMango Completely agree PoP: Lost Crown and Immortals are some of my recent Ubisoft favourites. And PoP:LC I think was their highest scored game in 10 years.
But if reports are to be believed neither sold well either, at the end of the day who it to blame? Hard to know for sure without knowing budgets, sales and expectations, but it does seem like they didn't grab enough gamers attention to sell.
Looks promising to me. Love a bit of Tetris. While I think Tetris Effect is the best for one off single player experience - the euphoria of that music synced campaign is hard to beat - I still think the Gameboy version is the most addictive "just one more run" version.
@Korgon People often forget Sony already have several successful Live Services, not just Helldivers 2, but:
MLB The Show (every year x 10+) includes in-game currencies with a "FIFA Ultimate Team" like mode "Diamond Dynasty" which has been included for a decade.
Gran Turismo 7 which has in-game currency packs. Individual cars can cost around £25+ or more. (3+ million credits)
But the truth is people don't want to hear about those, they only want examples that support their argument that all Sony's live services have failed.
Makes sense from a creative point of view. Most creative people DON'T want to be working on the same thing forever. Though as an IP it would be valuable for Sony to do something with it, even if it was never all that big a deal.
HAD to be done. Sylens is too integral to the whole story. But it will be hard to do well, as Lance also lent his likeness to the role not just his voice. We also know that to get really good mocap the VA needs to match the model somewhat (see Spider-man Recasting and others) so it's not as simple as just getting a new VA. A tough situation all around. RIP
@LN78 "The Digital Foundry breakdown of the base PS5 version put me right off."
Digital Foundry are brilliant at what they do, but they also are pedants, excessively concerned over minor details. Unless you are as hyper-sensitive as them you will likely have a far better time.
E.g. I've seen them call games 'unplayable' because they have poor frame pacing, not ideal granted, but if I listened to them too much I never would have played Bloodborne, Tears of the Kingdom or many other great games with poor performance.
As an individual with experience I like Work From Home, but a lot of companies are Returning To Office a few days a week for valid reasons.
E.g. With WFH most companies are struggling to mentor graduates well and get them to improve quickly. They are behind. We aren't giving the next generation the right training, a lot of it just happens by watching and copying, same as every human or animal. It may be possible to fulfil this remotely but it's harder as so much of it is organic, find someone you trust and ask them questions after work or at lunch.
Additionally it's leading to less stickiness in jobs with people not feeling ties, lower camaraderie from not working in person, leading to many staff just going where the best money is. That is a problem for businesses.
It's a complex situation, no one voice is right, but I can understand why businesses are taking a strong stance on this even if it's unpopular. Hope they manage to find a resolution that suits all parties, but there will need to be compromise on all sides.
Comments 5,452
Re: Metro Awakening Will Be a Reason to Own PSVR2 This Holiday
On paper this is an almost perfect set up for VR. "The Metro" was one of the most atmospheric settings since Rapture in Bioshock. Hope it pans out well.
Re: Sony Adopting 'Show Don't Tell' Strategy with PS5
UnlimitedSevens wrote:
Really insightful post on the whole but I’d push back against this one statement a little and build on the rest. Other than Naughty Dog who were working on multiple games including Factions 2, which by all reports THEY as a studio wanted to make, all Sony’s original single player studios are still making single player games as far as we know. I don’t think they have lost that priority it’s just taking longer to get these games out to the standard they want, and they are later to show them due to their “show don’t tell” policy. But they also, smartly as you say, NEED to engage the younger market who wants a different experience, mostly this has been via their newly bought studios.
Additionally I think one fact a lot of people forget is that the vocal fanbase at sites like this is by and large the older crowd and certainly the more engaged players, but this ignores the millions of younger and more casual players who don’t have as much of a voice but are, in reality, the majority of players. We are in a bit of an echo chamber here and Sony have to make things that the “internet”‘may be vocally against. It’s bigger than just us.
Regardless really good post.
Re: Sony Adopting 'Show Don't Tell' Strategy with PS5
I have to laugh when people say Sony have showed “nothing”. What was Astro Bot? What was Ghost of Yotei? What was Helldivers 2? What about MLB The Show? What about Destiny: Final Shape? What about partnerships like Stellar Blade, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, Silent Hill 2, Horizon: Adventures and more. What are you really expecting? And is it reasonable?
Can anyone HONESTLY say there is a shortage of good games for them to play on PlayStation? The rest is just unrealistic bleeting. Put your expectations in check.
Re: PS Plus Essential Games for November 2024 Announced
@springer17 @KingPev @LazyLombax Reading these bi-polar love/hate/love opinions back to back was hilarious.
We all like different things.
Good month for me.
Re: Baldur's Gate 3 Joins Ranks of Games Enhanced on PS5 Pro
@Rich33 I agreed with a lot of your post. But I’d push back on two things a little
1. While what is deemed a “nice image” is subjective, have we really seen many titles that look visually poor on base PS5. I’d say this is still a minority of titles, most look great.
2. While on paper PS5 Pro does do more than PS4 Pro the perception is the opposite. This is in part because Sony have done a bad job of demonstrating the changes, but more it’s due to diminishing returns. PS4 Pro going from 1080p to 4K output, even though rarely native, FELT like a much larger upgrade to most eyes that didn’t require pixel peeping you could see it clearly. Whereas so far very few PS5 Pro demonstrations have done the same.
Oh and enjoy the Pro!
Re: Concord Cost Sony Over $200 Million, And Didn't Make a Single Cent
@PuppetMaster I’m aware of the source of this but I believe he was talking about the game being one or two people’s idea which then built into a studio and then the game was fully developed. That’s not what we usually would call “in development”’, the 8 years sound bite has been misreported and taken out of context (similar to $400 million). A dev in their Discord corrected this and said it was 4 years.
It’s like when a writer says an idea has been in his head for 2 decades but he wasn’t usually writing it for 20+ years.
Re: Concord Cost Sony Over $200 Million, And Didn't Make a Single Cent
@PuppetMaster how could it be in development for 6-8 years when Firewalk wasn’t even founded until 2018? They would have had to form and build the studio which takes time and go through pre-production with a skeleton team, which isn’t often counted, before entering full production with a larger team later than that.
Re: Concord Cost Sony Over $200 Million, And Didn't Make a Single Cent
That sounds far more realistic and is from actual journalists who have checked multiple sources. The original $400 million never rang true but almost everyone jumped on the bandwagon and believed YouTuber Colin Moriarty with just one trust-me-bro source. Was maddening to see so little critical thinking.
Re: Baldur's Gate 3 Joins Ranks of Games Enhanced on PS5 Pro
@Oz_Who_Dat_Dare agreed. PS4 Pro was a virtual must buy for me, the upgrade felt significant, plus it was ‘only’ £349 at launch.
I can afford the Pro comfortably, but only because I’m sensible with my money and don’t buy everything I want. But I also have a few big expenditures coming up in the next 12 months like a new car, new work PC, work on the house, and likely new Switch / next year. So PS5 Pro is still pretty firmly in the “this is unnecessary” camp, but my resolve is wavering. The more third party devs I see supporting it. I’d say I’m 30:70 against today.
Re: Baldur's Gate 3 Joins Ranks of Games Enhanced on PS5 Pro
@Oz_Who_Dat_Dare I feel the same, mostly.
However I am also tempted, and if enough games support the Pro and see decent upgrades I may end up doing it. Especially if playing on base PS5 means playing at 60fps with a blurry final resolve like here or in FF7 Rebirth or at dodgy frame rates. I’d rather not spend £800+ but I also don’t want to play my games like that if I don’t have to.
The trouble for me is if I decide I do want to buy one I’d rather that decision is made quickly so I can maximise its use before PS6 which I will almost certainly buy day 1. I don’t see much point buying the pro in a year or two. Hence I need to decide soon after launch else I won’t do it.
Re: Baldur's Gate 3 Joins Ranks of Games Enhanced on PS5 Pro
Over 70 games now with PS5 Pro enhancements before it’s even released. It seems devs are keen on using the tech which is a very good sign and makes it more appealing. Still £700 + disc drive is too steep for me unless I can sell my PS5 for a good price.
Re: Poll: Are You Playing the Monster Hunter Wilds Open Beta?
@Kidfunkadelic83 Sorry to hear that dude. Perhaps a game you can play with one hand (get your minds out of the gutter people! lol) like Vampire Survivors?
Re: Go Go Pre-Order the Sublime Power Rangers: Rita's Rewind for PS5, PS4 Now
It looks pretty good, but will wait for reviews, and at $35 maybe a sale.
Re: Monster Hunter Wilds' Beta Is Prompting Fans to Reconsider PS5 Pro
I've said it before but Sony has been going about pushing the PS5 Pro the wrong way, their own first party games are almost always wonderfully optimised to run at 60fps at (subjectively) near enough to quality settings. The games that the Pro will likely see the largest benefits will be the third party ones like FF7 Remake, Dragon's Dogma 2, Monster Hunter Wilds, and likely even things like Elden Ring etc. Games that don't run anywhere near a locked framerate and have a large delta between quality and performance modes.
(EDIT) @OldGamer999 SNAP. Same thought.
Re: Dragon Age: The Veilguard (PS5) - The Best BioWare Game Since Mass Effect 3
@Weez Is Dragon Age dark fantasy? Only in the lightest possible way, it's not been very dark and gritty for a while. Inquisition was certainly pretty light other than a few darker aspects in the world (The blight etc) but characterisation has been pretty jolly since DA2 through DA:I and now onto this.
But I also get it. It's similar complaints to every successive Bioware/Bethesda/etc. RPG that they are dumbing down the RPG elements and choices. I said it for Mass Effect 2 and Oblivion, yet all in all they were better games overall. Not that this will please everyone... but you can't.
Re: Random: Forward-Thinking PlayStation Gamer Spends $2,000 on 24 Years of PS Plus
@riceNpea 100%. I would say the same about Microsoft/Xbox too, platform warriors will tell you they are dead, while their record revenues (admittedly bolstered by ABK) are strong. They have their own issues, but are coming up with a strategy to solve them. Either way all three console platforms have found their own angles to have their own piece of the pie. The rest is sensationalism.
Re: Dragon Age: The Veilguard (PS5) - The Best BioWare Game Since Mass Effect 3
@Ainu20 You articulated that far better and more succinctly than I did. lol. Completely agree. I just want him to come up for air and see the bigger picture sometimes.
But I also get it when we are disappointed in a game and it doesn't meet our expectations it's hard to not to compare it to what we wanted it to be. I did similar for Starfield, comparing it unfavourably to Elder Scrolls and Fallout... the key difference is i'm not a professional reviewer putting my view out for millions.
Also agreed some treating his reviews, or others, as gospel and suggesting everyone else is a shill. Sad to see, and clearly something Ralph is actively trying to disabuse them of by bookending his video with a warning at both ends that there are multiple truths. Opinions are always subjective.
Re: Dragon Age: The Veilguard (PS5) - The Best BioWare Game Since Mass Effect 3
@Oz_Who_Dat_Dare Completely agree about reading between the lines. This game in particular is a minefield with far too many bad faith takes. Too many pre-decided it was bad for a variety of reasons and are vocally making themselves heard, and in response far too many are over defending it. It makes it harder to see what is real fair criticism.
To be clear I wasn't saying the game itself isn't flawed, it might be, only saying that as a fan of SkillUp I see a theme in his videos when he is really disappointed in a game he goes balls deep into trashing it and is less balanced than usual.
I'll have to wait to find out how I feel about the game, but first I need to play the Inquisition DLC which I bought about 10 years ago! Maybe get to this next year!
Re: Random: Forward-Thinking PlayStation Gamer Spends $2,000 on 24 Years of PS Plus
@riceNpea 👏👏👏
Absolutely right. There are many things I wish Sony had done differently, and their profit margins are pretty low, but to suggest PlayStation is going massively downhill is just gamer-rage hyperbole.
Re: Random: Forward-Thinking PlayStation Gamer Spends $2,000 on 24 Years of PS Plus
I thought the maximum was 3 years to be honest, and I am usually stacked to that and top up when there is a deal.
But 24 years seems a little insane. A lot will happen in that time. Who knows if PS+ will still be a thing or if he's still even interesting in gaming. Circumstances change in life, health, kids family, job etc. Time becomes more precious. This seems more of a stunt than anything, but best of luck to him.
Re: Dragon Age: The Veilguard (PS5) - The Best BioWare Game Since Mass Effect 3
@Oz_Who_Dat_Dare Yeah that is fair. And a common thread between SkillUp and MrMattyPlays videos is they were trying to be an arsehole in the game and it wouldn't let them. I CAN see that being annoying if that is your intention. But lets also be real, most RPGs don't truly give you freedom they give you the facade of freedom but really it's just a limited set of choices often with minimal consequence.
Moreover if the developers choice in this game is you are a paragon, a uniter of people, and you can't be a complete dick then that is their creative choice. I don't see that as a problem necessarily, not every RPG has to have a -100% to +100% hero (rogue/paragon) feature, it's just what these reviewers wanted.
And there absolutely are fair points in his video, I just thought it was a bit more incessantly negative than his usual fare, without the usual balance he offers which is one of my reasons for going there first. He even made a point near the end that he wasn't giving constructive criticism. Perhaps after playing the game I will lean more on his view, who knows, but from my experience with the other games mentioned I usually don't when he's in this mode.
Re: Dragon Age: The Veilguard (PS5) - The Best BioWare Game Since Mass Effect 3
@Oz_Who_Dat_Dare No! Absolutely not. I made it very clear his opinion is his own and as valid as anyone else’s. If he didn’t like the game he didn’t like the game. That’s cool.
However being a fan of Ralph’s channel and having watched virtually all his reviews in the last 5+ years I do see a pattern for a few of his harsher reviews where he seems to focus on comparing the game to what he wanted it to be, not what it actually is. I personally find those reviews of his less balanced than his usual takes.
I.e. in this one he spends a large portion trying to hammer home issues like the visual style and how it used to be better in DA:I or ME2… did that really need a 10 minute segment? His Deathloop video is similar, though worse, where he spends most of the review saying it’s not Prey Mooncrash part 2, which is what he wanted. Yet that’s not the game in front of him, review what it actually is, not what you wanted it to be. One of the reasons I go to his channel first is for the good writing but also the balance, and the later seems less present here to me.
Ultimately I think a range of voices is a good thing, I just find his reviews like this less balanced and fair than his others. More of a rant because he’s disappointed and not up to his usual high bar. That’s just MY take, there is no more truth to it than his or anyone else’s opinion. They are all valid. But it is a repeating patten I’ve observed, and when I see it I take those reviews with a larger pinch of salt than usual, because after I’ve played the games these are the ones I disagree with him on most. E.g. TLOU2, Deathloop and FFXVI which he also hated. Opinions eh?
Re: Dragon Age: The Veilguard (PS5) - The Best BioWare Game Since Mass Effect 3
@Marquez completely agree. It’s why despite not liking his more ranty reviews I still go to him for reviews and respect him. Though a bit of it is also sensible self preservation, whenever he goes hard on a potentially popular game he gets ripped apart on social media.
Re: Dragon Age: The Veilguard (PS5) - The Best BioWare Game Since Mass Effect 3
@AhmadSumadi HAHAHAHA! Busted!
Re: Dragon Age: The Veilguard (PS5) - The Best BioWare Game Since Mass Effect 3
@NEStalgia SkillUp properly dunks on it in his video. He's one of my go-to reviewers but every now and again he puts out a review where he just rants about a game going balls deep - he did the same for FFXVI and Deathloop, he really didn't like those either.
My take is he's usually less balanced in these videos where all you can hear is him ranting incessantly. Takes one to know one E.g. In this review he spends the first 10 minutes almost solely going on about the graphical style and seems unable to see anything positive in the game past that. While he is of course entitled to his own opinion - if he didn't like the game, he didn't like the game - but whenever I hear him in rant mode like this I take it with a larger grain of salt than usual. He's occasionally the same the other way when he's overly praising a game too and is making it sound like GOTY material. Again his view is his own, but either way I take these reviews of his with a larger grain of salt than usual.
The thing I've noticed all these ranty reviews have in common is he is usually reviewing the game as he wanted it to be, and not how it actually is. E.g. His Deathloop review is filled with saying it isn't the Prey DLC Mooncrash over and over. He has previous!
Re: Dragon Age: The Veilguard (PS5) - The Best BioWare Game Since Mass Effect 3
@TooManyBrownies Did Black Myth give out codes to twice as many people? Based on what... the number of Day 1 review scores? Shall we look at that then...
On August 16th the day the review embargo dropped for Black Myth Wukong it had 54 reviews on Metacritic (internet archive from the 16th) AFTER release that number increased to 91 reviews.
Today, the day the embargo dropped for Dragon Age, there are already 50 reviews. With some coming in late this will likely be very similar to BMW by the end of the day. Certainly nothing like your claim... unless you have some other facts?
As for people not receiving codes. Which people? Fextralife? ACG? Wolfheart? Who else? Not everyone always gets codes, this is true for every game. Meanwhile plenty of reviewers who were positive about the preview, like Luke Stephens, ALSO didn't get codes and some that were negative, like TheGamer, did. That is hardly evidence of some mass conspiracy at EA, but if you're looking to see patterns you will see them. Confirmation bias.
Re: Dragon Age: The Veilguard (PS5) - The Best BioWare Game Since Mass Effect 3
@TooManyBrownies Feels like you WANT this game to fail for some reason. Plenty of people who were negative about the preview got codes. As for number of reviews this is a 50+ hour RPG, yet one thing several reviewers have said is it came in quite late and they had less than 2 weeks to review it, so many are likely going to be late. Lastly whether a game fails of not has little to do with review scores, plenty of 9s have failed financially and plenty of 6s have made a killing.
Re: Dragon Age: The Veilguard (PS5) - The Best BioWare Game Since Mass Effect 3
The spread seems very positive so far with all but 3 of the 50 reviews on Metacritic being 70% and up. It currently has an 84 Metascore distributed as:
The only really scathing reviews I have seen are from YouTubers SkillUp and MrMattyPlays, yet plenty of other YouTubers like RPG heavy Mortisimal love it... it's currently his personal GOTY. Strong.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 552
@KingPev it really is, and the best in the trilogy. I really hope they don’t fumble the bag with Prime 4, hopeful that they are taking the time to get it right.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 552
Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna - I just finished the DLC for Xenoblade Chronicles 1 (Future Redeemed) and re-watched about 7 hours of cutscenes from XC2 (which is far faster than replaying a 100+ hour JRPG) now i'm onto the XC2 DLC Torna. I want to play Xenoblade Chronicles 3 this year if possible, which I bought at launch, but might need a few palate cleansers after all this. I love this series.
Also replayed Metroid Prime, what a brilliant remaster and hard mode makes the game tough again, each save point is almost like finding a Dark Souls bonfire. Sweet relief.
Lastly finished The Plucky Squire which I was really looking forward to. It was OK. Didn't quite deliver on the promise of the trailers but I enjoyed it regardless. Just felt it could have been a lot better too. .
Re: Gigantic Zenless Zone Zero PS5 Update Brings More Wallet-Busting Waifus, Tons of Events
@Dom_31 dailies definitely don’t take one minute, assuming you want to spend your polychrome too x 320. Then there’s everything I mentioned above. Not to mention new questlines, challenges etc. it all adds up to several hours a week. Don’t get me started on time wasting events like the diner either.
If it was the only live service I was playing that would be ok, but if you play others there’s little time for anything else. I like ZZZ, it’s fun, but while it’s combat is flashy it’s also more shallow than MiHoYos other games, the hollow (tv) gameplay is dull, and as I’ve invested less time here it’s the sensible one to cut.
Re: Gigantic Zenless Zone Zero PS5 Update Brings More Wallet-Busting Waifus, Tons of Events
@get2sammyb that’s the problem I already am!!! And Wuthering Waves to boot. Somethings gotta give, I think it has to be ZZZ, yet these gacha games are hard to drop! Send help. lol
Re: Gigantic Zenless Zone Zero PS5 Update Brings More Wallet-Busting Waifus, Tons of Events
Honestly feel there is too much content in this game right now. Between Dailies, Weekly Notorious Hunts & Hollow Zero, Biweekly Shiyu Defence and more it takes up too much time. Yet I keep trying to drop it but am still here.
Re: Sony's Japan Studio 'Forgot What It Feels Like to Have a Hit'
Have to agree with Layden here. Far too many gamers with rose-tinted glasses for Japan Studio forgetting their recent work was not the same calibre as what came before. Something had to change, and from the ashes we got Astro Bot the highest rated game of the year. Seems like they made the right call.
Re: PS5 RPG Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Sounds Even Better in French
@Aelynn Where is the UI in French? I noticed it's mostly in English in this trailer. Though I agree UI's should always be designed with translation, and different lengths in mind.
Re: PS5 RPG Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Sounds Even Better in French
That VA does sound suitably gruff and sexy, but I will be sticking with Roast Beef. Mange tout, mange tout and all that.
Re: Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Offers $20 Premium 'Pay-to-Hear' Audio Tech
@BookhouseBoy I also have Game Pass and won’t be playing it day 1. I’ll get round to the campaign in time but haven’t played one since Advanced Warfare, or maybe it was the one after, either way it’s not a priority.
Re: Sep 2024 USA Sales: Astro Bot PS5 a Top Seller, Only FC 25 Above It
Beating Madden, NBA, College Football as well as Zelda and Star Wars that's big. Well done!
Re: These Horizon Zero Dawn PS5 Comparisons Are Absolutely Insane
@Dalamar think he’s more saying you don’t need to go into every Horizon article and bash the game if you don’t like it. I don’t like Fortnite or COD or MOBAs but don’t go into those articles to bash the games, i accept it’s not for me and move on.
Re: These Horizon Zero Dawn PS5 Comparisons Are Absolutely Insane
That city shot… wow, that’s quite an upgrade. Other impressive improvements too. If you can’t see it… well… specsavers.
That said while it does look good generally I’m never very keen on changing the colour tone of a game like they have done, though you will forget that when playing, it’s only obvious on side to sides. And I’ve never been a huge fan of the always on Hero Lighting on Aloy and key characters during gameplay. It means they don’t blend into the world as well. It’s OK for fixed camera dialogue where they can curate the shot but not when we have the camera.
So some good, some bad. I’ll still be picking it up.
Re: Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown Team Mostly 'Shifted to Other Projects', Ubisoft Confirms
@RBMango Completely agree PoP: Lost Crown and Immortals are some of my recent Ubisoft favourites. And PoP:LC I think was their highest scored game in 10 years.
But if reports are to be believed neither sold well either, at the end of the day who it to blame? Hard to know for sure without knowing budgets, sales and expectations, but it does seem like they didn't grab enough gamers attention to sell.
Re: Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered Reveals Baddies in PS5, PS4 Trailer
I like the QoL enhancements. Looking forward to this.
Re: Tetris Time Warp Has You Clearing Lines Across Four Different Eras in Tetris Forever
Looks promising to me. Love a bit of Tetris. While I think Tetris Effect is the best for one off single player experience - the euphoria of that music synced campaign is hard to beat - I still think the Gameboy version is the most addictive "just one more run" version.
Re: PlayStation, Bungie Still Going Ahead with Internal Live Service Team
@Korgon People often forget Sony already have several successful Live Services, not just Helldivers 2, but:
MLB The Show (every year x 10+) includes in-game currencies with a "FIFA Ultimate Team" like mode "Diamond Dynasty" which has been included for a decade.
Gran Turismo 7 which has in-game currency packs. Individual cars can cost around £25+ or more. (3+ million credits)
But the truth is people don't want to hear about those, they only want examples that support their argument that all Sony's live services have failed.
Re: Sony's Guerrilla Sounds Completely Done with the Killzone Series
Makes sense from a creative point of view. Most creative people DON'T want to be working on the same thing forever. Though as an IP it would be valuable for Sony to do something with it, even if it was never all that big a deal.
Re: Horizon's Sylens Will Be Recast Following the Passing of Lance Reddick
HAD to be done. Sylens is too integral to the whole story. But it will be hard to do well, as Lance also lent his likeness to the role not just his voice. We also know that to get really good mocap the VA needs to match the model somewhat (see Spider-man Recasting and others) so it's not as simple as just getting a new VA. A tough situation all around. RIP
Re: Black Myth: Wukong Physical Version Now Official, PS5 Disc Included
@LN78 "The Digital Foundry breakdown of the base PS5 version put me right off."
Digital Foundry are brilliant at what they do, but they also are pedants, excessively concerned over minor details. Unless you are as hyper-sensitive as them you will likely have a far better time.
E.g. I've seen them call games 'unplayable' because they have poor frame pacing, not ideal granted, but if I listened to them too much I never would have played Bloodborne, Tears of the Kingdom or many other great games with poor performance.
Re: Alan Wake 2 Adds PS5 Gyro Aiming in Big Anniversary Update
Now they have all expansions hopefully they will release a physical complete edition.
Re: Vampire Survivors Gets Huge Castlevania Crossover DLC, Arrives Halloween on PS5, PS4
I thought the Dead Cells crossover was great, but this is perfect.
@Overmind I feel ya buddy, that just-one more feeling is insane, but it's cathartic when you break free.
Re: Ubisoft Labour Woes Spread, Milan Office Strikes in Solidarity
As an individual with experience I like Work From Home, but a lot of companies are Returning To Office a few days a week for valid reasons.
E.g. With WFH most companies are struggling to mentor graduates well and get them to improve quickly. They are behind. We aren't giving the next generation the right training, a lot of it just happens by watching and copying, same as every human or animal. It may be possible to fulfil this remotely but it's harder as so much of it is organic, find someone you trust and ask them questions after work or at lunch.
Additionally it's leading to less stickiness in jobs with people not feeling ties, lower camaraderie from not working in person, leading to many staff just going where the best money is. That is a problem for businesses.
It's a complex situation, no one voice is right, but I can understand why businesses are taking a strong stance on this even if it's unpopular. Hope they manage to find a resolution that suits all parties, but there will need to be compromise on all sides.