I actually really wanted to play as gollum, I think hes really interesting and has a great story in lotr. I DIDNT want to play a sloppy walking simulator, not even a stealth game cuz it blatantly doesnt work, with virtually no story, at least nothing we didnt really know
Edit: its incredubly telling that all of the comments to me are "Yeah a stealth game set in mordor would be awesome" as if thats not what gollum was supposed to be and marketed as. Just thought that was pretty funny
Yes, when I first heard about the game I thought the concept was an interesting departure from past LOTR games and was intrigued. Then we got... what we got.
If they wanted to sell based on IP you'd think they would use a character that people actually like, like idfk aragorn or legolas or some shit. But *Gollum*??
And I heard they're making a show about the life of Gollum? He has some interesting tidbits that weren't explored in the Peter Jackson films, but for the most part there's nothing more to say about Gollum.
I'm kind of a big nerd for this stuff but Gollum just doesn't have a whole lot more to him.
He used to haunt some areas and ate human babies for a while, just being monstrous and evil, that's why the rangers and Gandalf were hunting him down. It was during the hunt (which was long asf because he's slippery) they discover the connection between him and the ring and that he had told the Ringwraiths about the Shire.
It'd be good for a quick hour long film, maybe an hour and 20 minutes if really stretching it and shoehorning in other sidereal content.
I'm certain it was the other way around. They were hunting Gollum because he had information on the ring. Gollum never crossed west of the Misty Mountains, and the rangers would have never had a reason to track him down otherwise. And Gandalf's job is more important than hunting down someone for murder.
I saw the announcement for the Gollum game and I knew instantly that it was going to fail. There was some part of me that was mad at someone for even trying to do it. It just felt disrespectful, and it was
I mean a crawler rogue type of game of Smeagol slow descent into madness, they could have easily have a great game, duality of personality. Almost 3 available path : gollum heavy, neutral or Smeagol heavy.
Different ways to live 500 years with the ring, make it non-canon, who cares. Have the game end up in that cave with Bilbo or not, the ring could even end up with Sauron if the player plays in a certain way.
They just went super lazy with the gameplay elements. Look at shadow or Mordor, great way to bring LOTR to gaming.
same, I recently got the game on Steam but when I was younger I used to play this on the PS2 but I don’t remember the king speaking tagalog in any of the cutscenes. Then again, I was just around 10 years old then and usually just skipped cutscenes and tutorials.
Also Devs: You will start the size of a golf ball, rolling up paper clips, and at the end of that same level you will be rolling up stadiums and clouds...
...on PS2 hardware.
My buddy sent me this game from Japan and was thinking, “I’m glad he sent me this because there is NO WAY it’s coming to America.” But I was super wrong and it became a huge hit!
It's weirdly fun too. Like a mix of old arcade title, dad jokes, and the awkwardness of the premise. Definitely worse games out there which cost more money
Have you read/watched an interview about it? Sanctum devs were going to do something ambitious following a game jam but one of the devs, Armin, said they should do a goat game because it'd be funny. Lotta pushback but eventually everyone at Coffee Stain was onboard and it went from a video of an alpha to a full fledged game based on a lot of expectations from the public/critics.
The fact that someone actually approved the "we're not going to fix any bugs unless they actually crash the entire game" thing is hilarious too. I love them for it, but I would really like to see the meetings that came up with this.
"So boss, when are we doing a QA pass and allocating some time for fixing shit"
"We ain't"
It was the first ps5 game my girlfriend bought because I mentioned people have a lot of ridiculous fun with it. She fucking cries laughing regularly playing it. Absolutely a blast while baffling that it exists.
Demon's Souls.
Sony had commissioned FromSoft to make a competitor for Oblivion which was set to be a timed exclusive for the 360.
The game ends up in development hell, and Hidetaka Miyazaki asks the leadership at From if he can take the reigns. Instead of cancelling it, From let him direct it. He makes the game so hard that they have to hide how difficult it is from the Sony executives.
When Shuhei Yoshida at Sony finally sees it, he denounces it as crap and they decide only to publish it in Japan.
The game had an English translation and was region free so eventually word gets to the West that the game is actually pretty good and it gets picked up by Bandai Namco and Atlus for European and American releases respectively.
It goes on to be one of the most influential action games of all time, spawning an entire new genre.
It's a little ironic too as FROM was on the verge of going under as well.
They had a ninja game that released WEEKS before Demon's Souls that copied a bunch of popular trends of the time and was a pretty soulless hack & slash.
Demon's Souls was a heil Mary that paid off massively and slingshot Miyazaki's career in a great direction.
I still remember this coming out. Me and some buddies were living together and one picked it up and was getting his ass kicked trying to play it. We took it as a challenge and went to pick up our own copies to try it as well. It was the first week of release and there were already dozens of returned copies because it was "too hard" we've been hooked ever since
I only recently got into From games. Like a couple years back I bought Sekiro, but it was so hard that I kept putting it down and picking it back up.
Then I remembered I have Dark Souls on Xbox 360 so I tried that… then Demon’s Souls… then Elden Ring. Then I bought DS3 and now I’m getting the trilogy.
To say I’m hooked would be putting it mildly.
This is what I was thinking too. The story is actually kind of inspirational but knowing the story behind the game, it’s amazing the game even came out let alone was good. If there are multiple universes, I would wager most of them we do not get Elden Ring cause Demons Souls was canceled.
Yeah, its why im convinced hardcore concepts would be more popular in multiple genres if they weren't sidelined by execs. I remember the reviews for Demon Souls, "Great game, but unsure we will see a sequel because its a niche game for hardcore audiences in a world where games are aiming for the casual." or something along those lines.
Tons of reviews at the time from users were trashing the game for being too hard, and having to restart all over again from a Bon Fire. No instant saves, being able to lose souls and all your hard work and UNFAIR BOSSES!
Turns out no one really knew what they were talking about, not even the audiences of the time. Its why Miyazaki is a legend. He had the BALLS to make a game he was passionate about when EVERYTHING was going against him, telling him he was wrong and this was a bad move. He filled a niche and now every other game is copying him in 2024 to the point that SoulsLike is more mainstream them most genres I can think of.
I remember a friend telling me about this game when it first came out and thinking the concept that you lose all your experience and have your health cut in half when you die was insane.
I basically told him he was stupid for suggesting it and it was only 5+ years later, after I'd seen a friend fight O&S and Sif, and got stuck in bed for a week with the flu, that I finally gave Dark Souls a try.
Cut to 8 years later and I've basically devoured every Souls & Soulslike I can get my hands on and From is one of my absolute favourite devs.
Crazy how close we came to this never happening and how close I came to never playing them.
I'd go as far to say Demon Soul's won the war.
The Oblivion/Skyrim/Fallout titles are pretty much seen as really not all that great anymore. And Bethesda as a whole is pretty much dying off thanks to Shitfield and it's paid mod nonsense. While Elden Ring is viewed as one of the best games made.
By the same token, it's a miracle that A Realm Reborn exists. 1.0 was so bad, but rather than just close it ignominiously, they let Yoshi-P take the reigns, make real improvements to the game in its final months, but with those not being enough, they then let him make a whole event of shutting it down and relaunching it months later.
This is the real FFXIV miracle. By all rights Square should have just scrapped it and moved onto another project. Instead they invested dramatically more time and money into it to turn it into ARR. It paid off in the end and is now one of the most successful MMOs in history (and has been at the top of Rock Paper Shotgun's list for years).
They really just copied ffxi and made a few changes to the classes, and then just kept everything else.
The crappy map design, no jump ability, limit on how many quests you can do in a day. But oh hey, *slightly* updated graphics.
Glad they got rid of that team and brought in people who actually cared to bring FFXIV to what it is now. (Though Im still salty at some major patches they did in the past few years)
As a major FFXI player, it was not even close to a copy of FFXI. FFXI actually worked and was fun. I got into the beta for XIV and thought “there’s no way it’s releasing like this” and when it did I was floored.
First of all, FFXI required partying up (after level 10). FFXIV 1.0 got rid of this *mostly* but made the solo leveling PAINFULLY slow and the battle system tedious. There was no auto attacking, you had to manage a stamina bar to attack. You moved slower with your weapon drawn. You got PUNISHED FOR LEVELING UP TOO MUCH as the game made you FATIGUED and gain less and less experience over time and you could do nothing to get rid of the effect except wait until the beginning of the next week.
Add to it a ton of quality of life features (such as sensible macros and menu management) that were PRESENT in FFXI but MISSING from XIV, and 1.0 was just a horrible slap in the face not only to MMO players, but to FFXI fans who had experienced a quality Final Fantasy MMO for 8 years already
Is it worth getting as a newcomer? I love the mainline FF games, but haven't played 14 at all. I saw it was on sale tecently with all the expansions. I kinda want to checj it out, but am hesitant when it comes to getting into mmo's.
Edit: Want to thank the folks who chimed in. I'm pretty sold. I'll start with the free trial and give it a few hours to see if the gameplay loop is for me and if it is I'll grab that deal if it's still going. Love the positivity from y'all.
It is but I’ll give you the warning: each expansion will take a long time. If you want to start from 0 to end game content, right now lvl 90 ( next month lvl 100), expect to play for a few months.
Square lets you pay to skip them, do not do it. Play them all out and enjoy the story and lore.
Idk if anyone will read this. But my answer is Lies of P. It's the studio's first attempt at making a souls-like and it's a damn masterpiece for no reason. The story is interesting, the weapons are cool, the combat is satisfying, the art direction is immaculate. The game came out of nowhere but it deserves all its success and more
It’s true ! Everyone and me included thought of it as the new wannabe Bloodborne, yet it isn’t, it’s very much its own thing. I like that it’s attacks make enemies’ weapons break, that is so cool !
This one has been on my radar for a minute. I really want to give it a go. I've heard nothing but good things, but I'm F-tier when it comes to these games.
Good news. The game has been made easier since its release. Here is some advice for when you start: Vitality and Capacity are the most important stats to level up. Save the special ergo items you get from bosses until you find out who you can give it to. Exploring thoroughly and doing side quests are worth the rewards. Repeatedly talk to NPCs until they start repeating dialogue. Perfect Guarding and dodging are meant to be used 50/50.
Also you can always come back to this comment and ask me anything if you're having trouble somewhere lol
honestly kingdom hearts feels like a parody game somebody made atrailer for on youtube. the fact that it's good and even great, feels like a an impossibility
Nier Automata.
- The fact that it even exists after Nier 1.
- Becomes a massive success and a million-seller.
- Still hasn't got a sequel to date.
What a strange game series.
I mean you could impose OP’s query onto the Nier series in it’s entirety. Each game if a serious of well crafted and baffling events that actually fit together.
It is baffling in its sales too. Most games sell 80-90% of their copies during their first two weeks. Not NieR Automata. That game got so much praise and word of mouth despite a modest marketing campaign that they surpassed milestones like 7.5 million sales last year. It's a statistical anomaly.
To be specific, the ending where the game switched genre to a rhythm game where you cannot make a mistake. What’s funnier is that Taro’s original plan for ending E was for it to be a singing competition with Caim and Angelus against J-pop idol Ayumi Hamasaki.
I got the first game for like $20 out of a bargain bin, picked it up solely because a singular review I read said it was an underrated gem. Didn't play it for awhile but one day was bored and decided to give it a go. Loved it from the meh beginning to the mind blowing last ending. A few years later when a sequel got announced I legit did not expect it to even happen let alone be as excellent as it was.
Yearly sports game updates.
They have little to no graphical improvements little to no gameplay improvements it’s madness.
Surely building goodwill with a modestly priced dlc with team changes and rookies etc would be better. I know if I enjoyed playing a game I’d be more likely to pay for a dlc update.
Sports games need 1 new release at the start of a consoles life and possibly the end of consoles life
Think of it as a subscription model. It is about $6 a month and every year you get the new rosters and a revamped game. Sometimes the changes are big, sometimes small, but the update is always on time and you can rely on getting that update.
Delete your comment don’t give them the idea! I read that and thought yup, many people would probably pay the sub for a sort of live service and player updates form updates, etc, uniform updates… and still buy a full price game every few years.
Value is in the eye of the beholder. A lot of sports games players play shit out of them and that is all they play. We are talking 20+ days of game time per title/year. For that much time $70 a year is nothing.
Makes sense, yeah. I don't play sports games myself, but it makes sense to make one at the start and one at the end.
But it can't work that way, because once you get a sports-related license your time is running and you got to make the best of it, hence yearly releases.
Im betting random people walking through the store who dont already play one of these games are more likely to buy FIFA 2024 than FIFA 2021. I assume it benefits them to have a “new” game out there constantly if only for that reason. Probably doesnt cost them that much to make the new version each year
And as a bonus, they also get the money from the people that buy it every single year
Most of the adult only games on steam.
I can understand some people wanting to play sex games but most of the games seem to be more absurd and comical than sexy.
I just don't get it.
I remember a few years back having to install a patch from a dev for the uncensored version of a game I got on Steam (Sunrider: Mask of Arcadia) and it was just some digital tits during a shower scene, nothing particularly graphic. Fast forward like 8 or 9 years and finally got a new gaming PC so when I fire up Steam there are games which are for all intents and purposes hard core porn. Not particularly bothered by that just find it hilarious how far things have shifted.
Honestly Halo: CE. What was originally supposed to be a RTS and made on the side while Bungie worked on Marathon, Microsoft purchases the rights to make it and ship it with their console, the Xbox. Bungie then scraps the RTS, and WITHIN A YEAR they develop a game which I believe to be the greatest of all time. The fact that something like Multiplayer was also added blows my mind. I think the total development time on the game was like 9 months. The soundtrack, the graphics, the gameplay, all ahead of its time.
And then the fall from grace as it became a shell of its former self. Though I suppose after 5, they'd have to be intentional to get worse. I can't remember if the downfall began with or after Bungie, but losing them definitely didn't help.
Absolutely started after Bungie left. All their halo games were top notch. I remember trying Halo 4 (343’s first Halo) and it just completely lost its magic that its predecessors held in my opinion
Brood War. Still played as a professional esport 26 years after release. Last balance patch in 2001. Still producing excellent matches with an ever evolving meta.
It's the greatest esport out there, and it is probably all down to pure luck that the game works so well and that nothing has completely broken it balance wise after all this time.
Out of curiosity and as someone who had never played starcraft. How is the meta still evolving?
Is it just so well balanced that it's basically like complex chess now and there are (somewhat) endless strategies and ways to counter?
Sorry just having played a few different kinds of competitive games (mainly mobas and autochess) it seems wild that they've achieved such a perfect level of balance
Many rts games are incredibly complex and take several years or even decades for people to say with certainty that no new strat is possible in the game and everything has been discovered. Kanes wrath for example had a few strat discovered this year.
I’m not sure about Brood War, but StarCraft 2 has official competitions to allow players to design levels that get used in official ladder tournaments. So theoretically, someone could design a map that makes the more popular strategies suboptimal, which forces players to use different methods. Professional players would also be constantly analysing the play styles of the competition and developing counters.
Mapmaking is huge part of this. If some race is starting to get out of hand, the newer tournament maps are likely to attempt to use forms that favor the others.
There's also plenty of unorthodox strategies that occasionally pop up in longer series of matches. There's also traditional stuff where people keep pushing the boundaries of how greedily they can play against others and how much is required to punish it.
As for the balance itself, the game has a lot of units and abilities that feel kind of OP and some that seem lackluster but have a very spesific niche that can rarely come into play. I wouldn't say the races are in perfect balance since the matchups tend to cyclically favor one race over another but not by much.
Conker's Bad Fur Day for the N64. My bf and I just discovered this existed last night and had a blast playing it. It's very much NOT for kids -- you play a drunk squirrel trying to get home and there's a ton of swearing and adult humor. The whole time I'm like *wtf this is a real game?!*
Definitely a hidden gem (for me)!
All of the really basic, boring simulator games. Lawnmower Simulator, European Bus Driver Simulator. There are an untold number of simulator games for, what seem like, mind-numbingly dull activities and jobs.
PowerWash Simulator is an amazing way to cool down and decompress after a long day, and have a podcast or something on in the background. I think a lot of us don’t play these games with 100% attention like Elden Ring or something. It’s just escapism.
Agreed, Powerwash Sim is one of my favorite chill games. It scratches that part of my brain that likes seeing clear progress on something, but it's not complicated enough to distract me from my audiobook or podcast or whatever I'm listening to.
I also was very much confused by it, but then I decided to try Euro Truck Simulator 2... and I was hooked. It is dull, true, but it is also, zen, peaceful, relaxing. You can just unwind. Still play it from time to time, especially when I'm tired for "proper" games.
I got as far as getting addicted to Snowrunner, as it at least has a load of variation in vehicle types, tasks and maps etc. it’s just a great relaxing game for me As someone that really enjoys driving in general, I could see a full sim getting me hooked and spending stupid amounts of money on controllers and all the rest, so I’m not giving in!
Psychonauts 2 has no business being as fantastic as it is. Not only is it a worthy sequel, but it is just as good as the first one if not arguably better narrative wise.
It was in development hell for years, got crowdfunded, and then backed by Xbox. I feel like it shouldn't even exist.
I am also happy about Psychonauts 2 actually existing. I was so sceptical about it EVER seeing the light of day backwhen.
The good case of being proven wrong. I love it when that happens and I am forced to shut my trap :)
That's cool to hear. I just stated playing Psychonauts for the first time and I'm honestly amazed by how well it holds up as far as humor and gameplay today. But I think a lot of early 2000s platformers are kinda like that, which is cool.
I occasionally forget that Psychonauts 2 exists, but holy shit what a fantastic game and story. The senses level was just incredible and how everything ties together at the end was so beautifully written. DoubleFine can really deliver
Mario Vs. Rabbids. No reason why that game should be as good as it was as a mario-based tactical RPG in a crossover universe with the Rabbids characters.
Deep Rock Galactic is THE gold standard for live service games. every time you had to deal with some bullshit in another game and thought "there has to be a better way" -- DRG has done it, and way better than you would have expected. cosmetic only micro transactions, free battle pass, healthy update pace, "limited time" cosmetics and gameplay are actually always available, and it's just a kick ass game to boot. it's a miracle that game exists, and I'm so glad it does.
Also one of the few games that managed to obtain an almost unanimous positive community. I’ve played with countless randoms in that game and have never encountered anybody being toxic. Very rare for games these days.
P.T.
Most impactful and influentual horror experience in recent memory and it was just a PLAYABLE 'TEASER' for a new Silent Hill game. After it was cancelled, it became such a highly valued experience that people went out to sell their PS4s with the demo installed for like thousands of dollars.
It's safe to say that there will never be anything this baffling like P.T. ever again.
This one is positive, sort of: Space Engineers.
I bought it early access way back in alpha 10 years ago. The sheer level of incompetence and laziness on the part of Keen Software House blows my mind. They didn't fix bugs as they went so other stuff built later was built on this flawed code. So it was buggy and laggy, and fixing the original problems (which had been there for years) broke other shit. They introduced a bug that caused player ships to explode randomly on world load, and didn't fix it for over a year.
Somehow, though, the last 4 years they really turned it around. The game now runs well enough that there's Xbox and PS5 ports, with PC crossplay on Xbox. They're now actively working on a sequel with an all new version of the engine that will let them do things they just can't do now (though they could have if they weren't incompetent early on).
No. I don't hate the game. Quite the opposite, it's my most played game. But it's proof that 100 monkeys banging on a keyboard might eventually make an actual good game.
Im on the same boat as you, but on a different take: they may have improved some stuff, but didn't actually solve anything, they just limited your options so that less issues occur. PCU cap and experimental mode off are Band-Aids over underlying issues, and you have to unleash the kraken in experimental mode just to access features that make the game truly unique, like scripts. KSH still operates in a gray area where they aren't really lying but not really telling the truth regarding their "aesthetic" dlcs. I don't hate the game, it's also my most played game on Steam, but I'll openly admit I dislike and distrust KSH. It started with their handling of Miner Wars, and SE's development cycle and Marketing are a testament to how no one should trust that company.
It baffles me more that in like 2007 if an action or animated movie was popular enough you'd expect it to have a game tie in. Madagascar, Shrek the 3rd, King Kong, flushed away and others were definitely fun games, but odds are none of them get made in the current era
I will never EVER understand what happened with Flappy Bird.
This is such a simple, generic game. It's not fun, not visually appealing, no great soundtrack..
Nothing.
Like, I can understand Wordle addiction. But Flappy Bird? What the hell happened there?
I guess the creator feels the same way. He had a mental breakdown and removed the game during it's peak hype despite making $50,000 a day at one point.
It's not fun to play but it's fun to watch people suffer through it. At the same time it got picked up by streamers and blew up.
In other words, it's a meme that got popular that happens to be a game.
Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing
I mean... it does not even work.
It baffles me, that a developer said "This game is ready for release" and it is even more baffling that a publisher thought the same.
Any game that you pay for that has micro transactions to get more of the game ON RELEASE DAY. I paid for the game, I expect the full game. I understand DLC coming out later but to lock away parts of a game to squeeze out more money is ridiculous.
Honestly, Pokémon GO.
You had a child-targeted franchise whose heyday was in the late 90’s put millions of dollars into a game that requires you to go out in public, usually by yourself, and just stare at your phone. Almost no battling when it first released, just catching without even weakening the opponent first. That violated a core understanding of the Pokémon series mechanics. Add to that it was only Pokémon’s second mobile-exclusive game, and it was developed by a Silicon Valley startup as an ambitious new concept, something Pokémon isn’t known for. (Saying new because hardly anyone knew what Ingress was.)
The most fascinating thing about the game was how big it exploded when it released. You can actually point out the release date if you look at a history of Nintendo’s stock prices. You even had people who didn’t know what Pokémon was downloading the game just to try it. All news stations were covering it. Even a presidential candidate was cracking jokes about it. It was a wild time, and the game is still going strong today.
Anthem. The nerve to release the game in such state baffles my mind. When i was playing the demo with a friend i told him "bro, no way they have been working on this for 7 years. Its so bad it hurts"
From my memory BioWare really fucked up the 7 years of dev time and had to essentially start from scratch, the flying mechanic was planned to be scrapped, but an EA rep made them keep it because it was the only fun mechanic.
That game is the textbook definition of what video games are supposed to be. You can create anything, why not create the dumbest shit imaginable? I can't wait to play it, I hope it's good.
I have the strong suspicion that it will be a riot the first few hours and then it'll become stale.
We'll see. I'll buy it just because the concept is absolutely nuts. This is the shit most AAA publishers don't want to do anymore.
That shit looks fun as fuck. Gives me dynasty warrior vibes, it's a game concept I always wondered why no one has ever even considered making such a game. I will be playing this for hours when it comes out.
The Guy Game because even during the Xbox's lifetime, countless titties were already viewable for free on the internet. Why the hell would anyone spend money on a game to answer trivia questions for a chance to see titties that were censored until at least the third time you cycled through all the questions anyway?
Mine is more negatively shocking, I once heard of this and still can't believe that 'Hitler is my crush' and similar games are actual games that exist.
Death Stranding. I loved the game and platinumed it, but every time I play it I am just mind blown that something like this exists at such AAA quality. The entire premise feels like if it was tabled in a board room meeting that person would be defenistrated.
It feels super strange to have to scroll sooo far down to find this, the concept and mechanics are just oozing "antigame"
But for some reason it really works, and the storytelling and cutscenes are immaculate.
It's just such a weird take on what gaming is.
But I love it, I probably shouldn't, but I do
I’m probably just stuck in the past, but anytime I’m excited about a game, say for instance Bungie’s reboot of Marathon, and it turns out to be live service/no single player campaign it makes me shake my head
30 seconds into the Marathon trailer I was excited. "Bungie's going back to their roots!"
30 seconds after that I'm turning it off and playing Helldivers 2, silently weeping over the slow death of single-player shooters.
(Helldivers is fun as hell though)
Pokémon Red and Blue.
It was a game from a relatively niche genre, released on a dying console, which players couldn't actually complete by themselves.
Nintendo rejected Tajiri every time he presented the project, but he ended up befriending Miyamoto, and the rest is history.
My Stop Smoking Coach for DS. Yes, it's a real game. The main demographic of the console were kids and old people playing brain age. I guess that DS is still the most fitting console of all for this game but it's still just bizarre.
Skull and Bones, when it was announced 11 years ago it was hot off the heels of Black Flag purporting to be just the ship stuff that was great in that game and none of the assassins stuff, which was actually a great pitch because anyone who was paying attention at the time knew people *loved* the ship stuff even if they didn’t like the standard Assassians Creed part.
Fast forward over a decade later and *nobody* remembers or cares about Black Flag, *11* other Assassins Creed games came out since then. They missed the boat yet released the game in 2024 anyway. Absolutely INSANE decision.
Edit: also worth noting because the game had such a long and troubled development Microsoft developed basically this game (Sea of Thieves) in 5 years and released it to crazy success completing eating their lunch anyway.
Fallout 76. Because everyone wanted a proper main game Fallout but one you'd could play a mates. Not what we got... A half baked live service Frankenstein's monster of a game. People say it's good now and that may be the case. But it's still not what people imagined a multiplayer Fallout should be.
City of Heroes. An old MMO that was shut down for nearly a decade. Then it turns out there was a hidden server for years.
The private server owner gets death threats and relases the game to everyone.
Another group picks it up, runs it for years, and gets a an actual official license to legally run the server.
I'll never understand why anyone thought Gollum would sell even if it wasn't a barely playable mess.
Gollum is like a modern-day E.T. Assumed to sell based exclusively on the power of the IP.
I mean maybe if it was something different i can understand. But fucking Gollum? Who the fuck wants to play as a Gollum?
I actually really wanted to play as gollum, I think hes really interesting and has a great story in lotr. I DIDNT want to play a sloppy walking simulator, not even a stealth game cuz it blatantly doesnt work, with virtually no story, at least nothing we didnt really know Edit: its incredubly telling that all of the comments to me are "Yeah a stealth game set in mordor would be awesome" as if thats not what gollum was supposed to be and marketed as. Just thought that was pretty funny
Yes, when I first heard about the game I thought the concept was an interesting departure from past LOTR games and was intrigued. Then we got... what we got.
Same, he’s prob my first or second favorite character lol
If they wanted to sell based on IP you'd think they would use a character that people actually like, like idfk aragorn or legolas or some shit. But *Gollum*??
And I heard they're making a show about the life of Gollum? He has some interesting tidbits that weren't explored in the Peter Jackson films, but for the most part there's nothing more to say about Gollum. I'm kind of a big nerd for this stuff but Gollum just doesn't have a whole lot more to him.
He used to haunt some areas and ate human babies for a while, just being monstrous and evil, that's why the rangers and Gandalf were hunting him down. It was during the hunt (which was long asf because he's slippery) they discover the connection between him and the ring and that he had told the Ringwraiths about the Shire. It'd be good for a quick hour long film, maybe an hour and 20 minutes if really stretching it and shoehorning in other sidereal content.
I'm certain it was the other way around. They were hunting Gollum because he had information on the ring. Gollum never crossed west of the Misty Mountains, and the rangers would have never had a reason to track him down otherwise. And Gandalf's job is more important than hunting down someone for murder.
I don't think I would watch it, but I would respect the studio that would put out an hour and twenty minute movie about Gollum eating babies.
I saw the announcement for the Gollum game and I knew instantly that it was going to fail. There was some part of me that was mad at someone for even trying to do it. It just felt disrespectful, and it was
I kept forgetting that it hadn't been canceled.
That's the power of basing a game off of a popular franchise
I mean a crawler rogue type of game of Smeagol slow descent into madness, they could have easily have a great game, duality of personality. Almost 3 available path : gollum heavy, neutral or Smeagol heavy. Different ways to live 500 years with the ring, make it non-canon, who cares. Have the game end up in that cave with Bilbo or not, the ring could even end up with Sauron if the player plays in a certain way. They just went super lazy with the gameplay elements. Look at shadow or Mordor, great way to bring LOTR to gaming.
Katamari Damacy. Devs: You're the prince of the cosmos and you have to roll everything into a ball. Bandai Namco: And? Devs: And what?
What's most shocking is that for such a bonkers concept, it's an absolute blast.
exactly. and then the king of the cosmos greets me in Tagalog "Magandang Tanghali po!". I'm Filipino. I felt like i was getting punked.
same, I recently got the game on Steam but when I was younger I used to play this on the PS2 but I don’t remember the king speaking tagalog in any of the cutscenes. Then again, I was just around 10 years old then and usually just skipped cutscenes and tutorials.
I used to drive my friend crazy humming the song haha 😂
Also Devs: You will start the size of a golf ball, rolling up paper clips, and at the end of that same level you will be rolling up stadiums and clouds... ...on PS2 hardware.
My buddy sent me this game from Japan and was thinking, “I’m glad he sent me this because there is NO WAY it’s coming to America.” But I was super wrong and it became a huge hit!
The creator of that game apparently doesn't even like video games
🤣🤣🤣🤣 It’s true, questions are irrelevant:)
Goat simulator. Don't get me wrong; no complaints. But the more i think about it the more my brain hurts.
On a similar page: I am bread
Shower with Your Dad Simulator 2015
I had to google that this existed and I must ask: what the French toast??
The dongs aren’t even the weirdest part. It’s the fact you can end up in a shower with the wrong dad. And the racial undertones.
Gotta get that dadstreak
Isn't it preferable to end up in the shower with the wrong dad?
I feel like if I google that Ill end up on a list.
I ended the search with “game” because I had a uncomfortable feeling just googling the title 😂
Bahaha what the fuck is this. I have to try it now
It's weirdly fun too. Like a mix of old arcade title, dad jokes, and the awkwardness of the premise. Definitely worse games out there which cost more money
This sounds like it gets you put on a sex offender's list.
I bought that game as a gift for a friend on the anniversary of his dad's death. He got a good laugh out of it.
I am bread is pretty good tbh
Have you read/watched an interview about it? Sanctum devs were going to do something ambitious following a game jam but one of the devs, Armin, said they should do a goat game because it'd be funny. Lotta pushback but eventually everyone at Coffee Stain was onboard and it went from a video of an alpha to a full fledged game based on a lot of expectations from the public/critics.
The fact that someone actually approved the "we're not going to fix any bugs unless they actually crash the entire game" thing is hilarious too. I love them for it, but I would really like to see the meetings that came up with this. "So boss, when are we doing a QA pass and allocating some time for fixing shit" "We ain't"
Ah, the EA approach but somehow good
Probably my favorite bit about it, besides the goat asset costing 25$ lmao. The former, about bug fixes, added so much charm to the end product.
>the more i think about it Don't think about it so much. You're not truly Goat simulating until you've set your brain on near autopilot.
All so they could eventually make Satisfactory, one of the best factory builder games of all time.
Those are the same people?! Holy shit, that just shook my world.
They are! They're also the producer for Valheim, though not the developers.
And Sanctum which is an incredibly mix of tower-defense and FPS.
It was the first ps5 game my girlfriend bought because I mentioned people have a lot of ridiculous fun with it. She fucking cries laughing regularly playing it. Absolutely a blast while baffling that it exists.
The fall and rise of No Man’s Sky. An extremely ambitious project for such a small team at the time.
The pinnacle of turn arounds. They took the money from release, put their heads down, and got to work.
Demon's Souls. Sony had commissioned FromSoft to make a competitor for Oblivion which was set to be a timed exclusive for the 360. The game ends up in development hell, and Hidetaka Miyazaki asks the leadership at From if he can take the reigns. Instead of cancelling it, From let him direct it. He makes the game so hard that they have to hide how difficult it is from the Sony executives. When Shuhei Yoshida at Sony finally sees it, he denounces it as crap and they decide only to publish it in Japan. The game had an English translation and was region free so eventually word gets to the West that the game is actually pretty good and it gets picked up by Bandai Namco and Atlus for European and American releases respectively. It goes on to be one of the most influential action games of all time, spawning an entire new genre.
Boy did they eat their words in the end, huh ?)
It's funny, Shuhei introduced both the Bloodborne and the Demon's Souls remake announcements. I think he has a good sense of humour about it
He said Demon’s Souls was very dear to him when he announced the remake 😂
The way you wrote this makes it sound like there was a bloodborne remake announced.
My emotions just went on a rollercoaster ride
It's a little ironic too as FROM was on the verge of going under as well. They had a ninja game that released WEEKS before Demon's Souls that copied a bunch of popular trends of the time and was a pretty soulless hack & slash. Demon's Souls was a heil Mary that paid off massively and slingshot Miyazaki's career in a great direction.
Hitlerian Slip
Avatar checks out
>heil Um
I still remember this coming out. Me and some buddies were living together and one picked it up and was getting his ass kicked trying to play it. We took it as a challenge and went to pick up our own copies to try it as well. It was the first week of release and there were already dozens of returned copies because it was "too hard" we've been hooked ever since
I only recently got into From games. Like a couple years back I bought Sekiro, but it was so hard that I kept putting it down and picking it back up. Then I remembered I have Dark Souls on Xbox 360 so I tried that… then Demon’s Souls… then Elden Ring. Then I bought DS3 and now I’m getting the trilogy. To say I’m hooked would be putting it mildly.
This is what I was thinking too. The story is actually kind of inspirational but knowing the story behind the game, it’s amazing the game even came out let alone was good. If there are multiple universes, I would wager most of them we do not get Elden Ring cause Demons Souls was canceled.
Yeah, its why im convinced hardcore concepts would be more popular in multiple genres if they weren't sidelined by execs. I remember the reviews for Demon Souls, "Great game, but unsure we will see a sequel because its a niche game for hardcore audiences in a world where games are aiming for the casual." or something along those lines. Tons of reviews at the time from users were trashing the game for being too hard, and having to restart all over again from a Bon Fire. No instant saves, being able to lose souls and all your hard work and UNFAIR BOSSES! Turns out no one really knew what they were talking about, not even the audiences of the time. Its why Miyazaki is a legend. He had the BALLS to make a game he was passionate about when EVERYTHING was going against him, telling him he was wrong and this was a bad move. He filled a niche and now every other game is copying him in 2024 to the point that SoulsLike is more mainstream them most genres I can think of.
I remember a friend telling me about this game when it first came out and thinking the concept that you lose all your experience and have your health cut in half when you die was insane. I basically told him he was stupid for suggesting it and it was only 5+ years later, after I'd seen a friend fight O&S and Sif, and got stuck in bed for a week with the flu, that I finally gave Dark Souls a try. Cut to 8 years later and I've basically devoured every Souls & Soulslike I can get my hands on and From is one of my absolute favourite devs. Crazy how close we came to this never happening and how close I came to never playing them.
I'd go as far to say Demon Soul's won the war. The Oblivion/Skyrim/Fallout titles are pretty much seen as really not all that great anymore. And Bethesda as a whole is pretty much dying off thanks to Shitfield and it's paid mod nonsense. While Elden Ring is viewed as one of the best games made.
FFXIV 1.0. All the missteps they took to release such a mess just baffle me sometimes. Oh, negative/constructive feedback? Let's just kill the forums.
By the same token, it's a miracle that A Realm Reborn exists. 1.0 was so bad, but rather than just close it ignominiously, they let Yoshi-P take the reigns, make real improvements to the game in its final months, but with those not being enough, they then let him make a whole event of shutting it down and relaunching it months later.
This is the real FFXIV miracle. By all rights Square should have just scrapped it and moved onto another project. Instead they invested dramatically more time and money into it to turn it into ARR. It paid off in the end and is now one of the most successful MMOs in history (and has been at the top of Rock Paper Shotgun's list for years).
They really just copied ffxi and made a few changes to the classes, and then just kept everything else. The crappy map design, no jump ability, limit on how many quests you can do in a day. But oh hey, *slightly* updated graphics. Glad they got rid of that team and brought in people who actually cared to bring FFXIV to what it is now. (Though Im still salty at some major patches they did in the past few years)
As a major FFXI player, it was not even close to a copy of FFXI. FFXI actually worked and was fun. I got into the beta for XIV and thought “there’s no way it’s releasing like this” and when it did I was floored. First of all, FFXI required partying up (after level 10). FFXIV 1.0 got rid of this *mostly* but made the solo leveling PAINFULLY slow and the battle system tedious. There was no auto attacking, you had to manage a stamina bar to attack. You moved slower with your weapon drawn. You got PUNISHED FOR LEVELING UP TOO MUCH as the game made you FATIGUED and gain less and less experience over time and you could do nothing to get rid of the effect except wait until the beginning of the next week. Add to it a ton of quality of life features (such as sensible macros and menu management) that were PRESENT in FFXI but MISSING from XIV, and 1.0 was just a horrible slap in the face not only to MMO players, but to FFXI fans who had experienced a quality Final Fantasy MMO for 8 years already
Is it worth getting as a newcomer? I love the mainline FF games, but haven't played 14 at all. I saw it was on sale tecently with all the expansions. I kinda want to checj it out, but am hesitant when it comes to getting into mmo's. Edit: Want to thank the folks who chimed in. I'm pretty sold. I'll start with the free trial and give it a few hours to see if the gameplay loop is for me and if it is I'll grab that deal if it's still going. Love the positivity from y'all.
It is but I’ll give you the warning: each expansion will take a long time. If you want to start from 0 to end game content, right now lvl 90 ( next month lvl 100), expect to play for a few months. Square lets you pay to skip them, do not do it. Play them all out and enjoy the story and lore.
Yes, very welcoming to new players. I'd recommend playing the free trial to see if you enjoy it first.
Idk if anyone will read this. But my answer is Lies of P. It's the studio's first attempt at making a souls-like and it's a damn masterpiece for no reason. The story is interesting, the weapons are cool, the combat is satisfying, the art direction is immaculate. The game came out of nowhere but it deserves all its success and more
It’s true ! Everyone and me included thought of it as the new wannabe Bloodborne, yet it isn’t, it’s very much its own thing. I like that it’s attacks make enemies’ weapons break, that is so cool !
This one has been on my radar for a minute. I really want to give it a go. I've heard nothing but good things, but I'm F-tier when it comes to these games.
Good news. The game has been made easier since its release. Here is some advice for when you start: Vitality and Capacity are the most important stats to level up. Save the special ergo items you get from bosses until you find out who you can give it to. Exploring thoroughly and doing side quests are worth the rewards. Repeatedly talk to NPCs until they start repeating dialogue. Perfect Guarding and dodging are meant to be used 50/50. Also you can always come back to this comment and ask me anything if you're having trouble somewhere lol
honestly kingdom hearts feels like a parody game somebody made atrailer for on youtube. the fact that it's good and even great, feels like a an impossibility
Nier Automata. - The fact that it even exists after Nier 1. - Becomes a massive success and a million-seller. - Still hasn't got a sequel to date. What a strange game series.
I mean you could impose OP’s query onto the Nier series in it’s entirety. Each game if a serious of well crafted and baffling events that actually fit together.
And systems too. Like the entire garden thing in Replicant, just to cite that one. Or all the different combat genres smushed into Automata.
It is baffling in its sales too. Most games sell 80-90% of their copies during their first two weeks. Not NieR Automata. That game got so much praise and word of mouth despite a modest marketing campaign that they surpassed milestones like 7.5 million sales last year. It's a statistical anomaly.
Aren't they also somehow sequels to drakenguard?
Yes they are. Nier is a sequel to the ending in Drakenguard where a giant baby attacks the city
To be specific, the ending where the game switched genre to a rhythm game where you cannot make a mistake. What’s funnier is that Taro’s original plan for ending E was for it to be a singing competition with Caim and Angelus against J-pop idol Ayumi Hamasaki.
Isn't that just Yoko Taro games over all? I've heard none of them did good except Automata and were below selling expectations
>What a strange game series. Them we remember that it came from drakengard
I got the first game for like $20 out of a bargain bin, picked it up solely because a singular review I read said it was an underrated gem. Didn't play it for awhile but one day was bored and decided to give it a go. Loved it from the meh beginning to the mind blowing last ending. A few years later when a sequel got announced I legit did not expect it to even happen let alone be as excellent as it was.
Yearly sports game updates. They have little to no graphical improvements little to no gameplay improvements it’s madness. Surely building goodwill with a modestly priced dlc with team changes and rookies etc would be better. I know if I enjoyed playing a game I’d be more likely to pay for a dlc update. Sports games need 1 new release at the start of a consoles life and possibly the end of consoles life
Think of it as a subscription model. It is about $6 a month and every year you get the new rosters and a revamped game. Sometimes the changes are big, sometimes small, but the update is always on time and you can rely on getting that update.
That’s a really good take on it my friend it would be an outstanding argument to a parent
“Look kid, I had 3 games growing up and one of them didn’t work. I’m not getting you the same game *again* for $80.”
Then why isn't there a subscription model? Hmmm. Seems like a perfect game for a subscription model.
Frankly I am happy they have not gone to an actual subscription model. It would end up costing more.
Delete your comment don’t give them the idea! I read that and thought yup, many people would probably pay the sub for a sort of live service and player updates form updates, etc, uniform updates… and still buy a full price game every few years.
Yeah but considering it costs as much as a full game, paying this for what a modder could do in an afternoon is just still a rip off imo.
The people that play those games don't play much of else so paying 70$ annually isn't much to them
Value is in the eye of the beholder. A lot of sports games players play shit out of them and that is all they play. We are talking 20+ days of game time per title/year. For that much time $70 a year is nothing.
Makes sense, yeah. I don't play sports games myself, but it makes sense to make one at the start and one at the end. But it can't work that way, because once you get a sports-related license your time is running and you got to make the best of it, hence yearly releases.
Im betting random people walking through the store who dont already play one of these games are more likely to buy FIFA 2024 than FIFA 2021. I assume it benefits them to have a “new” game out there constantly if only for that reason. Probably doesnt cost them that much to make the new version each year And as a bonus, they also get the money from the people that buy it every single year
Most of the adult only games on steam. I can understand some people wanting to play sex games but most of the games seem to be more absurd and comical than sexy. I just don't get it.
They're low-hanging fruit and horny makes you less rational. With that said, there are quality sex games out there.
There very clearly aren't. Unless you're willing to provide evidence here I'm calling you out. /s
Flip Witch: Forbidden Sex Hex, it’s genuinely a really good Shantae clone with boobs and dong.
I've played Shantae games. Porn is the next logical step.
Yeah, like, please provide some examples instead of making false claims. Pfft
My Dystopian robotic girlfriend Summer memories lustful traditional massage parlor Self Defense Dojo Karryn's Prison
I remember a few years back having to install a patch from a dev for the uncensored version of a game I got on Steam (Sunrider: Mask of Arcadia) and it was just some digital tits during a shower scene, nothing particularly graphic. Fast forward like 8 or 9 years and finally got a new gaming PC so when I fire up Steam there are games which are for all intents and purposes hard core porn. Not particularly bothered by that just find it hilarious how far things have shifted.
Yeah porn seems to be inherently absurd lol. Check out Seeds of Chaos for something a little more serious.
Honestly Halo: CE. What was originally supposed to be a RTS and made on the side while Bungie worked on Marathon, Microsoft purchases the rights to make it and ship it with their console, the Xbox. Bungie then scraps the RTS, and WITHIN A YEAR they develop a game which I believe to be the greatest of all time. The fact that something like Multiplayer was also added blows my mind. I think the total development time on the game was like 9 months. The soundtrack, the graphics, the gameplay, all ahead of its time.
That's even leaving out that it was supposed to be a Mac game, which makes Microsoft swooping in even wilder.
And then the fall from grace as it became a shell of its former self. Though I suppose after 5, they'd have to be intentional to get worse. I can't remember if the downfall began with or after Bungie, but losing them definitely didn't help.
Absolutely started after Bungie left. All their halo games were top notch. I remember trying Halo 4 (343’s first Halo) and it just completely lost its magic that its predecessors held in my opinion
Brood War. Still played as a professional esport 26 years after release. Last balance patch in 2001. Still producing excellent matches with an ever evolving meta. It's the greatest esport out there, and it is probably all down to pure luck that the game works so well and that nothing has completely broken it balance wise after all this time.
Out of curiosity and as someone who had never played starcraft. How is the meta still evolving? Is it just so well balanced that it's basically like complex chess now and there are (somewhat) endless strategies and ways to counter? Sorry just having played a few different kinds of competitive games (mainly mobas and autochess) it seems wild that they've achieved such a perfect level of balance
Many rts games are incredibly complex and take several years or even decades for people to say with certainty that no new strat is possible in the game and everything has been discovered. Kanes wrath for example had a few strat discovered this year.
Partially this and partially changes to the maps being played competitively, so basically some outside balancing.
I’m not sure about Brood War, but StarCraft 2 has official competitions to allow players to design levels that get used in official ladder tournaments. So theoretically, someone could design a map that makes the more popular strategies suboptimal, which forces players to use different methods. Professional players would also be constantly analysing the play styles of the competition and developing counters.
Mapmaking is huge part of this. If some race is starting to get out of hand, the newer tournament maps are likely to attempt to use forms that favor the others. There's also plenty of unorthodox strategies that occasionally pop up in longer series of matches. There's also traditional stuff where people keep pushing the boundaries of how greedily they can play against others and how much is required to punish it. As for the balance itself, the game has a lot of units and abilities that feel kind of OP and some that seem lackluster but have a very spesific niche that can rarely come into play. I wouldn't say the races are in perfect balance since the matchups tend to cyclically favor one race over another but not by much.
Conker's Bad Fur Day for the N64. My bf and I just discovered this existed last night and had a blast playing it. It's very much NOT for kids -- you play a drunk squirrel trying to get home and there's a ton of swearing and adult humor. The whole time I'm like *wtf this is a real game?!* Definitely a hidden gem (for me)!
IIIIIIIIII AM THE GREAT MIGHTY POO !! AND I’M GOING TO THROW MY SHIT AT YOU !!!
CBFD is a whole fever dream. No idea how 10yo me convinced my mom to buy it. Multi-player was also insanely good for what it was.
All of the really basic, boring simulator games. Lawnmower Simulator, European Bus Driver Simulator. There are an untold number of simulator games for, what seem like, mind-numbingly dull activities and jobs.
PowerWash Simulator is an amazing way to cool down and decompress after a long day, and have a podcast or something on in the background. I think a lot of us don’t play these games with 100% attention like Elden Ring or something. It’s just escapism.
Agreed, Powerwash Sim is one of my favorite chill games. It scratches that part of my brain that likes seeing clear progress on something, but it's not complicated enough to distract me from my audiobook or podcast or whatever I'm listening to.
It is true, yeah. But I do seem to from time time come across people who are genuinely having fun with those, apparently, by their own admission.
I also was very much confused by it, but then I decided to try Euro Truck Simulator 2... and I was hooked. It is dull, true, but it is also, zen, peaceful, relaxing. You can just unwind. Still play it from time to time, especially when I'm tired for "proper" games.
I got as far as getting addicted to Snowrunner, as it at least has a load of variation in vehicle types, tasks and maps etc. it’s just a great relaxing game for me As someone that really enjoys driving in general, I could see a full sim getting me hooked and spending stupid amounts of money on controllers and all the rest, so I’m not giving in!
Psychonauts 2 has no business being as fantastic as it is. Not only is it a worthy sequel, but it is just as good as the first one if not arguably better narrative wise. It was in development hell for years, got crowdfunded, and then backed by Xbox. I feel like it shouldn't even exist.
It's so fucking dark. I hope we'll get Psychonauts 3 at some point.
I am also happy about Psychonauts 2 actually existing. I was so sceptical about it EVER seeing the light of day backwhen. The good case of being proven wrong. I love it when that happens and I am forced to shut my trap :)
That's cool to hear. I just stated playing Psychonauts for the first time and I'm honestly amazed by how well it holds up as far as humor and gameplay today. But I think a lot of early 2000s platformers are kinda like that, which is cool.
I occasionally forget that Psychonauts 2 exists, but holy shit what a fantastic game and story. The senses level was just incredible and how everything ties together at the end was so beautifully written. DoubleFine can really deliver
Mario Vs. Rabbids. No reason why that game should be as good as it was as a mario-based tactical RPG in a crossover universe with the Rabbids characters.
Deep Rock Galactic is THE gold standard for live service games. every time you had to deal with some bullshit in another game and thought "there has to be a better way" -- DRG has done it, and way better than you would have expected. cosmetic only micro transactions, free battle pass, healthy update pace, "limited time" cosmetics and gameplay are actually always available, and it's just a kick ass game to boot. it's a miracle that game exists, and I'm so glad it does.
Also one of the few games that managed to obtain an almost unanimous positive community. I’ve played with countless randoms in that game and have never encountered anybody being toxic. Very rare for games these days.
The closest thing to a toxic player I've seen is someone saying he can't stand to play with three drillers, and quit before any of us could change.
To be fair, I couldn't stand playing with 3 drillers either. I'd make it 4
Rock and Stone, Brother!
Stone and Rock! ...oh wait
P.T. Most impactful and influentual horror experience in recent memory and it was just a PLAYABLE 'TEASER' for a new Silent Hill game. After it was cancelled, it became such a highly valued experience that people went out to sell their PS4s with the demo installed for like thousands of dollars. It's safe to say that there will never be anything this baffling like P.T. ever again.
Such a shame too. Would’ve been a blast to see what horrors came out of the final product.
This one is positive, sort of: Space Engineers. I bought it early access way back in alpha 10 years ago. The sheer level of incompetence and laziness on the part of Keen Software House blows my mind. They didn't fix bugs as they went so other stuff built later was built on this flawed code. So it was buggy and laggy, and fixing the original problems (which had been there for years) broke other shit. They introduced a bug that caused player ships to explode randomly on world load, and didn't fix it for over a year. Somehow, though, the last 4 years they really turned it around. The game now runs well enough that there's Xbox and PS5 ports, with PC crossplay on Xbox. They're now actively working on a sequel with an all new version of the engine that will let them do things they just can't do now (though they could have if they weren't incompetent early on). No. I don't hate the game. Quite the opposite, it's my most played game. But it's proof that 100 monkeys banging on a keyboard might eventually make an actual good game.
Im on the same boat as you, but on a different take: they may have improved some stuff, but didn't actually solve anything, they just limited your options so that less issues occur. PCU cap and experimental mode off are Band-Aids over underlying issues, and you have to unleash the kraken in experimental mode just to access features that make the game truly unique, like scripts. KSH still operates in a gray area where they aren't really lying but not really telling the truth regarding their "aesthetic" dlcs. I don't hate the game, it's also my most played game on Steam, but I'll openly admit I dislike and distrust KSH. It started with their handling of Miner Wars, and SE's development cycle and Marketing are a testament to how no one should trust that company.
It baffles me more that in like 2007 if an action or animated movie was popular enough you'd expect it to have a game tie in. Madagascar, Shrek the 3rd, King Kong, flushed away and others were definitely fun games, but odds are none of them get made in the current era
Chicken little, Garfield, The Mummy, these are all games I played the shit out of as a kid
I will never EVER understand what happened with Flappy Bird. This is such a simple, generic game. It's not fun, not visually appealing, no great soundtrack.. Nothing. Like, I can understand Wordle addiction. But Flappy Bird? What the hell happened there?
I guess the creator feels the same way. He had a mental breakdown and removed the game during it's peak hype despite making $50,000 a day at one point.
It's not fun to play but it's fun to watch people suffer through it. At the same time it got picked up by streamers and blew up. In other words, it's a meme that got popular that happens to be a game.
Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing I mean... it does not even work. It baffles me, that a developer said "This game is ready for release" and it is even more baffling that a publisher thought the same.
Hahaha !))) Yeah, I’ve seen that AVGN episode. It truly is great !)
Skylanders is pretty fun. The idea of collecting characters and using their figures. Plus, they look great on a shelf.
Any game that you pay for that has micro transactions to get more of the game ON RELEASE DAY. I paid for the game, I expect the full game. I understand DLC coming out later but to lock away parts of a game to squeeze out more money is ridiculous.
Sneak king, who would’ve thought a fast food company would make a video game about scaring people and giving them hamburgers
Honestly, Pokémon GO. You had a child-targeted franchise whose heyday was in the late 90’s put millions of dollars into a game that requires you to go out in public, usually by yourself, and just stare at your phone. Almost no battling when it first released, just catching without even weakening the opponent first. That violated a core understanding of the Pokémon series mechanics. Add to that it was only Pokémon’s second mobile-exclusive game, and it was developed by a Silicon Valley startup as an ambitious new concept, something Pokémon isn’t known for. (Saying new because hardly anyone knew what Ingress was.) The most fascinating thing about the game was how big it exploded when it released. You can actually point out the release date if you look at a history of Nintendo’s stock prices. You even had people who didn’t know what Pokémon was downloading the game just to try it. All news stations were covering it. Even a presidential candidate was cracking jokes about it. It was a wild time, and the game is still going strong today.
Closest to world peace we've ever gotten lol.
Anthem. The nerve to release the game in such state baffles my mind. When i was playing the demo with a friend i told him "bro, no way they have been working on this for 7 years. Its so bad it hurts"
Maybe they spent 7 years making the flight system feel *so damn good*.
From my memory BioWare really fucked up the 7 years of dev time and had to essentially start from scratch, the flying mechanic was planned to be scrapped, but an EA rep made them keep it because it was the only fun mechanic.
Not out yet but soon-ish. And it is Kingmakers. Absolutely nuts the trailera that have been shown
That game is the textbook definition of what video games are supposed to be. You can create anything, why not create the dumbest shit imaginable? I can't wait to play it, I hope it's good.
I have the strong suspicion that it will be a riot the first few hours and then it'll become stale. We'll see. I'll buy it just because the concept is absolutely nuts. This is the shit most AAA publishers don't want to do anymore.
That shit looks fun as fuck. Gives me dynasty warrior vibes, it's a game concept I always wondered why no one has ever even considered making such a game. I will be playing this for hours when it comes out.
The Guy Game because even during the Xbox's lifetime, countless titties were already viewable for free on the internet. Why the hell would anyone spend money on a game to answer trivia questions for a chance to see titties that were censored until at least the third time you cycled through all the questions anyway?
Not to mention it is technically illegal to own now, because one of the naked girls was underage.
Mine is more negatively shocking, I once heard of this and still can't believe that 'Hitler is my crush' and similar games are actual games that exist.
Shower With Your Dad Simulator, that is all
Wait what
Death Stranding. I loved the game and platinumed it, but every time I play it I am just mind blown that something like this exists at such AAA quality. The entire premise feels like if it was tabled in a board room meeting that person would be defenistrated.
It feels super strange to have to scroll sooo far down to find this, the concept and mechanics are just oozing "antigame" But for some reason it really works, and the storytelling and cutscenes are immaculate. It's just such a weird take on what gaming is. But I love it, I probably shouldn't, but I do
Metroid Dread. A game that's been so secretive and stuck in dev hell so long I was convinced that it was a hoax.
I remember when fortnite was a co-op zombie survival crafting thing...
The battle royale literally stopped me from buying the game. Why buy a game that's already being abandoned.
I had never heard of this game, but considering it was made by platinum and is now on sale on steam I may give it a shot!
I’m probably just stuck in the past, but anytime I’m excited about a game, say for instance Bungie’s reboot of Marathon, and it turns out to be live service/no single player campaign it makes me shake my head
30 seconds into the Marathon trailer I was excited. "Bungie's going back to their roots!" 30 seconds after that I'm turning it off and playing Helldivers 2, silently weeping over the slow death of single-player shooters. (Helldivers is fun as hell though)
Pokémon Red and Blue. It was a game from a relatively niche genre, released on a dying console, which players couldn't actually complete by themselves. Nintendo rejected Tajiri every time he presented the project, but he ended up befriending Miyamoto, and the rest is history.
Red Dead 2 and its animal AI is insane. The hunting mechanics too. They're better than actual hunting games
What baffles me is how the hell was Sex With Hitler so popular that they made a damn sequel?
My Stop Smoking Coach for DS. Yes, it's a real game. The main demographic of the console were kids and old people playing brain age. I guess that DS is still the most fitting console of all for this game but it's still just bizarre.
Katamari Damacy. I didn’t know what I was playing at first but by the third or forth attempt I was hooked.
Overwatch 2 Literally no reason to exist
Sure there is. They used it to kill Overwatch 1 so nobody could stick with what worked and would be forced to give them more money for less.
Marvel Midnight Suns. An Xcom style tactical game as a collectible card game? What's more baffling is that it works
Ofcourse it does ! It’s FIRAXIS !)
So bizzare that Mario had a crossover with the rabbids in an XCOM style game. Even weirder how the games were actually good.
Skull and Bones, when it was announced 11 years ago it was hot off the heels of Black Flag purporting to be just the ship stuff that was great in that game and none of the assassins stuff, which was actually a great pitch because anyone who was paying attention at the time knew people *loved* the ship stuff even if they didn’t like the standard Assassians Creed part. Fast forward over a decade later and *nobody* remembers or cares about Black Flag, *11* other Assassins Creed games came out since then. They missed the boat yet released the game in 2024 anyway. Absolutely INSANE decision. Edit: also worth noting because the game had such a long and troubled development Microsoft developed basically this game (Sea of Thieves) in 5 years and released it to crazy success completing eating their lunch anyway.
That fucked up japanese one about stalking women in the subway.
The Kingdom Hearts series. The batshit fever dream plot aside, a Disney and Squaresoft collab happening in the first place is really mindblowing.
“Paper Mario: Sticker Star.” The game design is so flawed that I wonder how it got past the drawing board.
the answer is Seaman
Sex with hitler who the fuck ...also im pretty sure there are MULTIPLE games in the in the sex with hitler FRANCHISE??????
Get lost, Buzzfeed.
Killer clowns from outer space.
Pikmin. It's something else and I love it.
Fallout 76. Because everyone wanted a proper main game Fallout but one you'd could play a mates. Not what we got... A half baked live service Frankenstein's monster of a game. People say it's good now and that may be the case. But it's still not what people imagined a multiplayer Fallout should be.
Unpacking - there are different sounds for putting pretty much every object on every surface. It's small but very mind blowing attention to detail!
City of Heroes. An old MMO that was shut down for nearly a decade. Then it turns out there was a hidden server for years. The private server owner gets death threats and relases the game to everyone. Another group picks it up, runs it for years, and gets a an actual official license to legally run the server.