You have to wonder what happened to AAA gaming. I have complained about this many times before, but somehow, the state of AAA games just keep getting worse and worse. Beyond all the controversies involved, like DEI, making female protagonists man-like both visually and in behavior, and just poor writing in general, the industry at large seems incredibly stagnated. It seems almost dead-like, with games being copied ad nauseam with a minimum effort of making sure it’s fun or providing anything new. All to serve the almighty dollar, and push it as far as possible doing so.
Remakes as far as the eye can see
It’s already known we live in the year of remakes and remasters, and yes, you can argue that it’s justified at times, but damn, if most of these just don’t feel like soulless husks. Check the latest remake by CAPCOM, the Dead Rising remake. You can say the graphics, and such are improved on a technical level, but to me, it just looks like a student Unreal 5 fan remake that you can spot on YouTube from time to time. Not to mention, Frank is ugly as sin now, and does not even have the same voice actor. That voice actor made that character what he is. The new one is just weak. It also seems they replaced one of the psycho bosses (Larry Chiang) with a white guy, since you know, we can’t offend anyone in this day and age – not that I think anyone sane would be offended, but hey ho, it’s for the mythical modern audience – if this is the case.
It’s either remakes, or the same old franchises being revived time after time. Back in the 360 area, you got a few games in between. Now it’s reruns of the same old crap, or number 35 in a long line of reboots, which always seem to be so much less than the original. You also have to wait a hilarious amount of years between each game/sequel. It’s somewhat cruel to have the fans wait for 10 years or more, then to announce prime slop like Dragon Age: The Veilguard. You can argue that the Dragon Age series has been dead for a few years now, from the release of Dragon Age 2 and onward. However, these games kept to the same tone, while not being the greatest titles, perhaps. Trust me, I’m not defending Dragon Age 2, nor Dragon Age: Inquisition, yet, they felt like games set in the same universe.
The latest showing is beyond the pale compared. The dark brooding world, and atmosphere has been replaced with typical Marvel sarcastic humor and writing. Tonally, it’s way off and just looks miserable. I truly feel for the fans, being abused for this long already, and then to be presented this. There is no denying it, either. Coping and hoping on the lack of gameplay videos and such, because they released clips, and I watched them. Everything from the hideous purple aesthetics to the gameplay looks poor and rushed, and it wouldn’t surprise me if this is the game that finally kills BioWare.
Then we have Obsidian Entertainment, which is just a shambling corpse at this point. Living on as a memory of good games from the past, and now the very non-gamey and autistic art game Pentiment. I can see people enjoying this, as I enjoy the occasional walking sim myself, but it’s not a game. It’s treated by its developer (Josh Sawyer) and game media outlets like the Citizen Kane of gaming. If this is truly all Obsidian Entertainment has to show for nowadays, Microsoft might as well put them out of their misery. From cool thought-provoking RPGs, to walking simulators and pure anti-hype titles like Avowed. Not one person I know is excited about Avowed, and it doesn’t feel like the developers are either. There is no hyping of it on their streams, and they seem to downplay every aspect of it in interviews. From gameplay videos shown, it’s The Outer Worlds again, but way worse. Since it seems this time they are just making a product because they have to, with zero passion or cool ideas involved. Avowed feels like a major disaster incoming, set in one of the most boring fantasy worlds created; Eora.
Palate cleanser, please
I know there is more coming, and some games might actually be good, who knows? But my point, at least from a personal perspective, is that something major has shifted in this industry. I have not paid full price for a new AAA game in years, and I used to with no issue. I had no trouble forking out money if it looked cool and interesting, but now? Nothing, zip, nada. Sure, we always have the indie scene, and they do remarkable stuff, well, some of them. However, that market is oversaturated and filled with questionable people just out for a quick buck, too (Early Access scams anyone?). Yet, it’s the only place for my weary gaming eyes because it’s the only scene that has games coming out with any kind of hype. It’s just a shame that the bombastic nature of AAA gaming is harpooned and left for dead in the water.
Indies only go so far when you want something BIG with a massive budget that you can feel and see. For example, The Last of Us: Part II. I didn’t enjoy this game thanks to its story, and massacre of lore and characters, but there is no denying that the game felt costly to make. Excellent environments, lots of cool and realistic animations, good voice acting and so forth. There is no way of getting this in indie games, and while indie games still provide, it’s like eating fries without the juicy hamburger… for years. That’s how it feels to me. I need a good AAA game, just like I need a big movie, between all the smaller releases. So, the industry being what it is currently, saddens me. I do enjoy shitting on it, don’t get me wrong, but I would much prefer fun games, and a healthy industry to what we have now. Time will tell where it all leads us, hopefully to a good place. Yet, I see a lot more pain before we reach that stage. Until next time!
Thanks for reading.
/Thomas
Tom's Gaming Vault 