10 Things AAA Games NEED TO BRING BACK
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Date: 2024-10-23
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Comments and reviews: 20
gameranx
With a huge backlog, I don't buy games day 1 or pre-order anymore, but for people that mostly do multi-player, yeah it's a big problem when it's broken, because those folks can't wait a long time to buy on sale when the online player count dries up. Bring back the 10 to 20 hour games that have a great story and stop with all the fluff fetch quests that make games 100 hours to complete. Also, how many IPs are actually still great after a sequel They are the exception, not the rule. Come up with new IP, do a good job with 2 games and move on to something different. You have your exceptions like Uncharted, Tomb Raider, Resident Evil, Assassin's Creed to some extent, God of War, but most franchises 3rd game ends up a dud. Not only do gamers start getting bored with it, but also devs. Publishers keep sticking to safe bets, and the devs lose their passion from doing the same shit.
Backwards compatibility is important to game preservation, and stopping the never ending flow of remasters and holding back the new hardware if they just put the emulators into the box.
Bring back staffing of QA and play testers instead of using the customer to be the guineapig.
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With a huge backlog, I don't buy games day 1 or pre-order anymore, but for people that mostly do multi-player, yeah it's a big problem when it's broken, because those folks can't wait a long time to buy on sale when the online player count dries up. Bring back the 10 to 20 hour games that have a great story and stop with all the fluff fetch quests that make games 100 hours to complete. Also, how many IPs are actually still great after a sequel They are the exception, not the rule. Come up with new IP, do a good job with 2 games and move on to something different. You have your exceptions like Uncharted, Tomb Raider, Resident Evil, Assassin's Creed to some extent, God of War, but most franchises 3rd game ends up a dud. Not only do gamers start getting bored with it, but also devs. Publishers keep sticking to safe bets, and the devs lose their passion from doing the same shit.
Backwards compatibility is important to game preservation, and stopping the never ending flow of remasters and holding back the new hardware if they just put the emulators into the box.
Bring back staffing of QA and play testers instead of using the customer to be the guineapig.
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MidytheimpGaming
The menu one actively angers me. If I wanted a cursor on my menus, I'd play PC. But games don't work on my PC all that well (it isn't a gaming computer) and consoles are better for me to operate (one and done until the next gen. Controllers are NOT made for those types of menus.
I agree with local co-op needing a comeback BUT also games NEED to also have an option to be played with a friend online. Some games don't allow this and still don't when they really should (Lego games for example)
Friction is fine but it should be a toggle in settings for those of us who have issues remembering where we're supposed to go and how to get there. Memory problems due to medical complications is a real thing. Games are supposed to be enjoyable not stressful. Options without it being tied to trophies/achievements is a perfect balance for those who like challenge and those who still want to play without getting stressed out (which stress is bad for your health as well no matter who you are but for some, it aggravates existing health problems)
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The menu one actively angers me. If I wanted a cursor on my menus, I'd play PC. But games don't work on my PC all that well (it isn't a gaming computer) and consoles are better for me to operate (one and done until the next gen. Controllers are NOT made for those types of menus.
I agree with local co-op needing a comeback BUT also games NEED to also have an option to be played with a friend online. Some games don't allow this and still don't when they really should (Lego games for example)
Friction is fine but it should be a toggle in settings for those of us who have issues remembering where we're supposed to go and how to get there. Memory problems due to medical complications is a real thing. Games are supposed to be enjoyable not stressful. Options without it being tied to trophies/achievements is a perfect balance for those who like challenge and those who still want to play without getting stressed out (which stress is bad for your health as well no matter who you are but for some, it aggravates existing health problems)
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Torin2Sequel
Too often I hear about canceled games, or game ideas that were pitched but were given up on. And not because they wouldn't sell. But because they wouldn't break records or become the next fortnite. At least that is sometimes the excuse given. 'Oh this wouldn't have sold well'. Well now we won't know at all! You miss all the shots you don't take. Like, I still remember hearing about that strategy rpg Zelda idea where you have Gorons, Gerudo, Ruto, Zora, and all kinds of other characters on your party. And I would have bought that immediately, even if the strategy rpg elements were basic. It didn't need to be super complicated, it would have been FUN. And thats a thing that sometimes gets lost in all the discourse for video games. Playing to have fun. Which for every person is a different thing.
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Too often I hear about canceled games, or game ideas that were pitched but were given up on. And not because they wouldn't sell. But because they wouldn't break records or become the next fortnite. At least that is sometimes the excuse given. 'Oh this wouldn't have sold well'. Well now we won't know at all! You miss all the shots you don't take. Like, I still remember hearing about that strategy rpg Zelda idea where you have Gorons, Gerudo, Ruto, Zora, and all kinds of other characters on your party. And I would have bought that immediately, even if the strategy rpg elements were basic. It didn't need to be super complicated, it would have been FUN. And thats a thing that sometimes gets lost in all the discourse for video games. Playing to have fun. Which for every person is a different thing.
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hegcho
I think aaa studios should make smaller games, like what ubisoft did with child of light, pop: lost crown, rayman games, or that zelda copy, these games are way better than their big budget titles. EA does the same, they have a division responsible for smaller titles. Capcom just released kunitsu-gami, and they plan on releasing smaller titles, and i would be happier for an oldschool resident evil game, than a resident evil 9 release, i don't need mocap, ray tracing, or 8k texture models, capcom really trying to change their resident evil formula all the time, it helped the franchise to stay afloat, and i'm fine with that, but they could really toss a bone for the older dogs too, by making a lower budget classic spin off, even metroid fans got metroid dread, which was great.
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I think aaa studios should make smaller games, like what ubisoft did with child of light, pop: lost crown, rayman games, or that zelda copy, these games are way better than their big budget titles. EA does the same, they have a division responsible for smaller titles. Capcom just released kunitsu-gami, and they plan on releasing smaller titles, and i would be happier for an oldschool resident evil game, than a resident evil 9 release, i don't need mocap, ray tracing, or 8k texture models, capcom really trying to change their resident evil formula all the time, it helped the franchise to stay afloat, and i'm fine with that, but they could really toss a bone for the older dogs too, by making a lower budget classic spin off, even metroid fans got metroid dread, which was great.
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ocherki
Number 5 - yes! Game development takes waaaay too long nowadays. From one side I understand the complexity of modern game development, but from another side, I don't really need too realistic visuals or too complex mechanics. Give me another Skyrim, or Fable, or Witcher 3 with the same atmosphere and I would be happy to go back to that world. Create a new story, use the same assets, same map, I don't care. I just want to go back to those games with a new character and a new story. Use everything that you have in Hogwarts Legacy, add simulation school mechanics, so I could actually feel like a student in Hogwarts and I would gladly buy it. It takes 10-15 years now to wait for a new Skyrim or GTA, It's so sad. I'm afraid I won't live long enough to see GTA 7.
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Number 5 - yes! Game development takes waaaay too long nowadays. From one side I understand the complexity of modern game development, but from another side, I don't really need too realistic visuals or too complex mechanics. Give me another Skyrim, or Fable, or Witcher 3 with the same atmosphere and I would be happy to go back to that world. Create a new story, use the same assets, same map, I don't care. I just want to go back to those games with a new character and a new story. Use everything that you have in Hogwarts Legacy, add simulation school mechanics, so I could actually feel like a student in Hogwarts and I would gladly buy it. It takes 10-15 years now to wait for a new Skyrim or GTA, It's so sad. I'm afraid I won't live long enough to see GTA 7.
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gameranx
AAA will collapse into itself. Kojima is not afraid to take risks.
6: 10 The Last of Us 2 got remastered Why
Game companies should not chase trends. It makes their game stale or just suck. Sometimes the game is outdated when it tries to follow a trend like Concord.
I usually don't get games in a broken state. Even Jedi Survivor on the PS5 was pretty stable for the most part. Glad I didn't get it on PC.
Wouldn't Baldur's Gate 3 be a AA game if they aren't Indie or AAA
I think games are taking too long to make because they try to look as realistic as possible. You can dial it back a bit if it shortens production time.
I hate it when games add on more stuff. Atlus charges too much just to have extra outfits in Metaphor >_
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AAA will collapse into itself. Kojima is not afraid to take risks.
6: 10 The Last of Us 2 got remastered Why
Game companies should not chase trends. It makes their game stale or just suck. Sometimes the game is outdated when it tries to follow a trend like Concord.
I usually don't get games in a broken state. Even Jedi Survivor on the PS5 was pretty stable for the most part. Glad I didn't get it on PC.
Wouldn't Baldur's Gate 3 be a AA game if they aren't Indie or AAA
I think games are taking too long to make because they try to look as realistic as possible. You can dial it back a bit if it shortens production time.
I hate it when games add on more stuff. Atlus charges too much just to have extra outfits in Metaphor >_
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Reuraku
Instead of friction I call them edges because those edges give a game character, make id different and unique, but as games become more and more polished they sand down those edges until everything is the same, safe ball. Yes it looks nice and plays well but it has no soul or character, which has become apparent in remakes recently, like the Resident Evil remakes, for 2 and 3 they made it so they now only have one ending instead of things changing depending on how you played, with 4 they took out a lot of the cheesy stuff like hacking your coms and quipping back and forth. In a vacuum they look better and feel smother without these things but they loose things that make them unique and they just feel like each other.
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Instead of friction I call them edges because those edges give a game character, make id different and unique, but as games become more and more polished they sand down those edges until everything is the same, safe ball. Yes it looks nice and plays well but it has no soul or character, which has become apparent in remakes recently, like the Resident Evil remakes, for 2 and 3 they made it so they now only have one ending instead of things changing depending on how you played, with 4 they took out a lot of the cheesy stuff like hacking your coms and quipping back and forth. In a vacuum they look better and feel smother without these things but they loose things that make them unique and they just feel like each other.
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Frost4Real
I'm sorry, I see where you're coming from, but the points for #9 are BS. You can't compare 2024, a year which hasn't even finished, to 1994, when the market was super oversaturated. Thats just one extreme to the other. On top of that, games nowadays are super expensive, so of course they'll play it safe to avoid losses compared to when games were cheap and a loss wasn't a big deal. It was worth the gamble of making a hit. Plus, the Internet culture now will rip apart any failure to the point it can't come back (Concord) whereas in '94 a slow starter could grow to become a hit without all that herd mentality hating.
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I'm sorry, I see where you're coming from, but the points for #9 are BS. You can't compare 2024, a year which hasn't even finished, to 1994, when the market was super oversaturated. Thats just one extreme to the other. On top of that, games nowadays are super expensive, so of course they'll play it safe to avoid losses compared to when games were cheap and a loss wasn't a big deal. It was worth the gamble of making a hit. Plus, the Internet culture now will rip apart any failure to the point it can't come back (Concord) whereas in '94 a slow starter could grow to become a hit without all that herd mentality hating.
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roxstar5088
The current day development cycle:
> A small indie studio has a hit new idea as they don't play safe and make passion projects with interesting idea's.
> a lot of corporate indie's will copy it trying to capture that magic.
> 3 years later the AAA industry will try totally missing the point.
> The big AAA game fires a studio because they missed the expected sales figures.
> The AAA industry will try to pump out this game, keep missing the mark and fire people as result till a new small indie game makes something good again.
And sometimes, we get a actually okay AAA game.
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The current day development cycle:
> A small indie studio has a hit new idea as they don't play safe and make passion projects with interesting idea's.
> a lot of corporate indie's will copy it trying to capture that magic.
> 3 years later the AAA industry will try totally missing the point.
> The big AAA game fires a studio because they missed the expected sales figures.
> The AAA industry will try to pump out this game, keep missing the mark and fire people as result till a new small indie game makes something good again.
And sometimes, we get a actually okay AAA game.
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xelusprime
Long development times are all thanks to the obsession of games wanting ultra high quality graphics, making all of the assets takes a ton of time and effort.
Give me LAN option back, just wanna play with friends of mine, without having to connect to a server on the other side of the planet that gives us ridiculously high ping because there isn't a local server in our region and having to share the game with a bunch of randos that spoil the game, or having to host your own server through some convoluted port forwarding process and needing to program your own server nonsense.
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Long development times are all thanks to the obsession of games wanting ultra high quality graphics, making all of the assets takes a ton of time and effort.
Give me LAN option back, just wanna play with friends of mine, without having to connect to a server on the other side of the planet that gives us ridiculously high ping because there isn't a local server in our region and having to share the game with a bunch of randos that spoil the game, or having to host your own server through some convoluted port forwarding process and needing to program your own server nonsense.
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SirKnowsalot
Honestly I think game devs are probably frustrated about number 2, I've seen so many streamers and friends stumble around with the solution basically highlighted and flashing in their face and they still spend 2-3 minutes being frustrated that they can't figure it out, I imagine devs watching that are going I don't want to use the yellow paint, but holy hell man I just watched a player run around in this room for 10 minutes before they tried the only door with a spotlight and a bloody handprint on it, I get frustrated watching that and I didn't spend hours making the thing.
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Honestly I think game devs are probably frustrated about number 2, I've seen so many streamers and friends stumble around with the solution basically highlighted and flashing in their face and they still spend 2-3 minutes being frustrated that they can't figure it out, I imagine devs watching that are going I don't want to use the yellow paint, but holy hell man I just watched a player run around in this room for 10 minutes before they tried the only door with a spotlight and a bloody handprint on it, I get frustrated watching that and I didn't spend hours making the thing.
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gameranx
Need to dial back the graphics and bring back a focus on the gameplay. SSX, NBA Street, Numerous platformers, hack n' slash (DMC/OG God of War style, arcade racers and such that just control great and feel fun despite mediocre graphics was the best. A lot of modern AAA games just feel safe with how they control.
I honestly struggled to finish the newer GoW, Tomb Raider, Assassins creeds or even Horizon Zero Dawn and Ghost of Tsushima, because while I loved them, the way the characters controlled made the gameplay too similar and I got bored.
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Need to dial back the graphics and bring back a focus on the gameplay. SSX, NBA Street, Numerous platformers, hack n' slash (DMC/OG God of War style, arcade racers and such that just control great and feel fun despite mediocre graphics was the best. A lot of modern AAA games just feel safe with how they control.
I honestly struggled to finish the newer GoW, Tomb Raider, Assassins creeds or even Horizon Zero Dawn and Ghost of Tsushima, because while I loved them, the way the characters controlled made the gameplay too similar and I got bored.
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MCernoble
I gotta say, I liked how long number 10 was. I think Gameranx should make video essays about certain topics in longer form. It’s funny because 10 is about taking risks, and making a video essay about topics in gaming would be a risk from gameranx formula. Both Falcon and Jake Baldino have a lot of valuable things to say. Better to stop focussing on Top 10s, a trend from 2016, and start innovating towards video essays. For the massive audience that exists to hear your opinions specifically. That is, if you guys have ideas for video essays.
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I gotta say, I liked how long number 10 was. I think Gameranx should make video essays about certain topics in longer form. It’s funny because 10 is about taking risks, and making a video essay about topics in gaming would be a risk from gameranx formula. Both Falcon and Jake Baldino have a lot of valuable things to say. Better to stop focussing on Top 10s, a trend from 2016, and start innovating towards video essays. For the massive audience that exists to hear your opinions specifically. That is, if you guys have ideas for video essays.
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jayjonesrgaming
I feel number 3 so deeply. Cost of AAA games in CAD is over $100 after taxes. Haven’t been able to justify getting a lot of my favourite games at release. I’m dying to play Sparking Zero and DA: Veilguard but realistically probably won’t for months cause I’m putting $ away for Monster Hunter Wilds like I’m investing in a new home.
Edit - grabbed Dragon’s Dogma 2 a few weeks ago and absolutely love how much friction is still in the series. It’s part of what made the first game one of my favs.
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I feel number 3 so deeply. Cost of AAA games in CAD is over $100 after taxes. Haven’t been able to justify getting a lot of my favourite games at release. I’m dying to play Sparking Zero and DA: Veilguard but realistically probably won’t for months cause I’m putting $ away for Monster Hunter Wilds like I’m investing in a new home.
Edit - grabbed Dragon’s Dogma 2 a few weeks ago and absolutely love how much friction is still in the series. It’s part of what made the first game one of my favs.
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X08-Chill
With Number 2, I really hate in GoW: R when atreus or mimir will tell you a puzzle solution straight away. It's annoying too because in Jedi: Survivor you can turn automatic hints on or off and BD-one offers a hint if you're stuck on a small puzzle. It means I've personally avoided getting any hints and it has felt really satisfying when I figured out the puzzle with no assistance.
I fully understand if some people want the hints and easy solutions so do what Survivor did and just make it a toggle!
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With Number 2, I really hate in GoW: R when atreus or mimir will tell you a puzzle solution straight away. It's annoying too because in Jedi: Survivor you can turn automatic hints on or off and BD-one offers a hint if you're stuck on a small puzzle. It means I've personally avoided getting any hints and it has felt really satisfying when I figured out the puzzle with no assistance.
I fully understand if some people want the hints and easy solutions so do what Survivor did and just make it a toggle!
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gameranx
Point 1:
I noticed this is exactly what Ubisoft is doing. I just started playing Avatar (and honestly Im really enjoying it actually) and they are so clearly heavily inspired by Horizon Zero Dawn, from the weapons and crafting arrow types in a wheel, to hunting big dinosaurs and fkying on a dragon it just feels very similar, with a Far Cry edge to it, which is honestly a lot of fun. I just wish instead of being inspired by games and doing a lighter version of them, they should go HARDER into it.
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Point 1:
I noticed this is exactly what Ubisoft is doing. I just started playing Avatar (and honestly Im really enjoying it actually) and they are so clearly heavily inspired by Horizon Zero Dawn, from the weapons and crafting arrow types in a wheel, to hunting big dinosaurs and fkying on a dragon it just feels very similar, with a Far Cry edge to it, which is honestly a lot of fun. I just wish instead of being inspired by games and doing a lighter version of them, they should go HARDER into it.
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teletesselator
The $40 to $60 dollar games of the past came with a cart, CD, or DVD. A manual (often full of color art, a CD case to store everything, very often a poster too, and, there were never any additional costs. The companies and distributors had to pay shipping and distribution not to mention all of the costs for the physical goods.
Current games are typically digital only and pretty close to zero cost for distribution and duplication. The difference at LEAST makes up for inflation.
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The $40 to $60 dollar games of the past came with a cart, CD, or DVD. A manual (often full of color art, a CD case to store everything, very often a poster too, and, there were never any additional costs. The companies and distributors had to pay shipping and distribution not to mention all of the costs for the physical goods.
Current games are typically digital only and pretty close to zero cost for distribution and duplication. The difference at LEAST makes up for inflation.
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gameranx
I miss whdn games had different or harder things to do in the more challenging difficulty modes. Take GoldenEye 007 on N64 for example, higher difficulty modes had different objectives and or time restraints, not just making the enemies tougher, and you weaker. Adding objectives to those difficulty settings brings higher replay value and can actually challenge and engage a character and potentially play the game differently than they normally would have.
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I miss whdn games had different or harder things to do in the more challenging difficulty modes. Take GoldenEye 007 on N64 for example, higher difficulty modes had different objectives and or time restraints, not just making the enemies tougher, and you weaker. Adding objectives to those difficulty settings brings higher replay value and can actually challenge and engage a character and potentially play the game differently than they normally would have.
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gameranx
The game developers don't take into account the cost of internet access. The thing that is ruining games for me It's a game. I shouldn't need to work ninety hours to afford a game. If I do need to work ninety hours to play video games Guess what I don't have the time to play video games. I need to sleep. So, I'll just stop purchasing games. There's no reason to purchase something that I can't use. Sanity needs to come back to the gaming industry.
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The game developers don't take into account the cost of internet access. The thing that is ruining games for me It's a game. I shouldn't need to work ninety hours to afford a game. If I do need to work ninety hours to play video games Guess what I don't have the time to play video games. I need to sleep. So, I'll just stop purchasing games. There's no reason to purchase something that I can't use. Sanity needs to come back to the gaming industry.
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ocherki
what I miss in games is being funny and sarcastic and ironic and crazy and trying new stuff. Modern games became too serious, bringing politics, inclusivity and other things. it's like they forgot what they meant to be for. Now instead of escaping from reality in games, going to another universe, I have the opposite feeling, like somebody just smacks your face into these modern society problems and says look, that's what you should care about.
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what I miss in games is being funny and sarcastic and ironic and crazy and trying new stuff. Modern games became too serious, bringing politics, inclusivity and other things. it's like they forgot what they meant to be for. Now instead of escaping from reality in games, going to another universe, I have the opposite feeling, like somebody just smacks your face into these modern society problems and says look, that's what you should care about.
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