The Hot Topic Returns

[Nag]

I'm not sure I agree with 2023 going down as a classic year for gaming at all to be fair... it's been a very quiet year for me in regards new releases with only Dead Space and Dead Island 2 standing out.

 

It's fair to say that Resident Evil 4 disappointed me more than anything, I honestly don't think that needed making at all. 

 

As for upcoming games... I've got Starfield and Spider-Man 2 that I'm looking forward to and not much else to be honest.

[mfnick]

1 hour ago, Nag said:

2023 going down as a classic year for gaming at all to be fair...

It absolutely will. Personally there’s not been much I’ve really been into but the general consensus seems to be this year is going to be an all timer. Just look at how many 9-10/10 games there’s been already and theres still loads more big releases on the horizon.  
 

But like I said, I’m with you personally. There’s not been much I’ve really clicked with. My #1 is easily Hi Fi Rush. I fucking adore that game. Then it’s LAD Ishin. But then there’s a huge gap before my #3. 

[spatular]

Yeah i think its fair enough not to think its going to be a great year, depends what youre into. im basing my thoughts that its going to be a stand out year on stuff i havent played or isnt out yet so should really wait till the end of the year and see how it turns out.

 

also cyberpunk dlc this year iirc.

[Maryokutai]

It's also dependent on how much or little you care about Nintendo (and how nostalgic you are about them), because their lineup for 2023 is one of the best they've had in a while with the likes of Metroid Prime, Advance Wars, Baten Kaitos, Mario RPG, Mario Bros. Wonder, Pikmin 4 and Tears of the Kingdom. Only three of those are new games, but the other four are among the best in their respective genres.

[radiofloyd]

I’ve only played Tears of the Kingdom so far.

 

In terms of other games that have been released, I’d most like to play Hogwarts Legacy, FFXVI, Diablo 4, Fire Emblem Engage and A Space for the Unbound. 
 

The year is about to get busy with Baldur’s Gate 3, Cyberpunk DLC, Starfield and Amored Core all coming out soon.

 

Without actually having a PS5 or powerful PC, I might not be able to play some of those games for a while, but on paper it’s been a good year.

[Nag]

1 hour ago, Maryokutai said:

It's also dependent on how much or little you care about Nintendo

 

And that's pretty much the crux of it for me... Nintendo aren't on my radar. I can see why people are excited for their releases this year but it makes very little difference to me and my gaming habits thus this year has been a bit of a damp squib for me and I can't see that changing.

[DANGERMAN]

On 09/07/2023 at 20:44, Nag said:

 

And that's pretty much the crux of it for me... Nintendo aren't on my radar. I can see why people are excited for their releases this year but it makes very little difference to me and my gaming habits thus this year has been a bit of a damp squib for me and I can't see that changing.

Yeah, that line up looks dull to me, really uninspired as though they just need to fill out this year before their new console. Which is fine, we've seen worse 

 

There's still time for there to be some amazing games this year though, Baldur's Gate could end up being a 10/10, the first of the year, then who knows from there 

[one-armed dwarf]

I dunno, do people consider that old version of Prime unplayable? I know software availability with old titles is at an all time low, but I don't feel very strongly about remasters when talking about the quality of new releases. I'm sure Prime is amazing, I have it and should get into it. But it's still a game that has already existed. It's not the same thing as what Capcom did with RE4.

[Maryokutai]

Prime Remastered has zero playability improvements, it's the exact same game that's 'available' on Gamecube and Wii (depending on which control scheme you pick – having that choice is an improvement I suppose).

 

But I'm looking at this pragmatically: it's one of my favourite games, it's the best-looking version of it and I don't have to hook up a Gamecube or a Wii via their analogue outputs to my digital TV and play it in 480p/576i. You often complain about picture quality and issues along those lines, and I think cleaning up otherwise still perfectly playable games from the 6th gen in particular is a worthwhile effort. But the perceived value of any given remaster is always subjectively linked to how big your attachment to the original is anyway.

[one-armed dwarf]

I mainly complain about image quality wrt there been too much information on the screen, which in turn gets fucked up by the terrible motion clarity of these systems (due to things like FSR, and inconsistent framerate), which to me really is only an issue that becomes apparent with modern games with all their particle effects (which I firmly believe is tied to selling people on HDR, but maybe it's just me). See also: any gameplay video of FFXVI

 

Both versions of Prime are very clean and easy to look at imo, in fact I'd say games from that generation remain the easiest on the eyes. As far as looking at low res games go I was just playing Blood Omen 1 the other day. I'm not sure what resolution that runs in but it sure is low lol. Still not hard to parse what's going on, mostly 

 

That's a whole other Hot Topic question though

 

Anyway I take your point, Nier Replicant was one of my GOTYs when it came out and while that has more enhancements than Prime (like a whole new character) it's also largely 95% the same thing, but made available once again

[Nag]

 

Quote

@Sly Reflex says "What trends in gaming are you sick of seeing?"

 

Short and sweet today.

[mfnick]

Gathering and Crafting!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Fuck off picking plants is not fun. 

[one-armed dwarf]

Screens like this. Also while we're at it, that fucking Destiny cursor in the Harry Potter screenshot. FFXVI has this as well

 

 

 

I wonder based on current events if in the future the annoying trend will be AI voice acting

[OCH]

Repetition

Remake, remaster, reimaginings etc, etc, etc

[shinymcshine]

When you do an action that triggers a bunch of map markers to appear - so any free exploration is reduced to just going from point to point (I don't mind it late in the game or in NG+ as a reward to help find missing collectibles, but early in the game is a big no-no).

 

I felt that AC, TR (2013 onwards) and HZD were poorer because of this mechanism.

[one-armed dwarf]

That was another one I was thinking about, games where you spend more time looking at UI than the world

 

Tho BOTW and TOTK do a good job of having both (UI aids, and a world that reveals POI itself). Prey 2017 also does the exact same thing as this.

[Maryokutai]

Probably "post-launch content". I hate that term. It either implies that the base game isn't complete or that a complete, self-contained base game isn't desirable anymore and I dislike both of these assumptions. My soul died a bit when I recently read that Square Enix was starting to think about developing DLC for FFXVI, despite having had no such plans prior, because fans have been asking for it. It's a trend that's become a necessity because an entire generation grew up expecting it.

[OCH]

^ I read a comment online, when Square first said that FFXVI would have no DLC. Someone wrote a disparaging comment saying "Oh great. Back to paying 70 bucks for a 30 hour game"

 

I just don't get that mentality?

[AndyKurosaki]

Weapon Degredation can fuck right off.

[one-armed dwarf]

You guys realise though that near half of Final Fantasy games has received some sort of special edition with extra stuff

 

If anything DLC has just made a better business model to add content like that onto a game. If DLC existed in 2006*, we would not have had to wait a decade for the Zodiac Age edition, which is far better than the original game.

 

See also, MGS2 Substance/MGS3 Subsistence

 

* I mean, technically it did, but not on PS2