Board 8 > Is it just my impression, or has there been a lack of variety of great games...

(+) Yeah! (+)

...over the last 3 and a half years?

I look back at what 2014-2017 had to offer, and I can't find much. It's also worth mentioning I'm pretty behind on recent gaming due to me being really low on money, but I don't see much hype towards games + games meeting that hype.

The Wii U was extremely silent for years and didn't last much; the Vita has been even more silent while also going downhill and I can just think of Uncharted and Persona 4 Golden for notable titles; the Xbox One has been hated and overlooked since pre-launch; and the PS4 doesn't have any "console-seller" as far as I'm concerned.

Maybe you can inform me or refresh my mind on that matter, but I can only think of a few well-received games, a bunch of popular-but disappointing ones, a good chunk of HD Remasters, and the rest being scattered with little to no attention at all.
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From what I hear, 2017 has been great. RE7 is the only game I've played but I really enjoyed it
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Yea you haven't been paying attention to 2017 much have you
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Stuff being unfinished or rushed at launch has been a common feature, with patches and dlc being required to being them closer to the expected level. That's a problem I've been frustrated with really since Assassin's Creed 3
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I don't know, but TVLand can do better than two hours of MASH every night. That show is awful.
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Oh but yeah re7 was legit
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This year alone seems to be a complete counterpoint. From the jump we've had:
Yakuza 0
RE7
Kingdom Hearts
NiOh
Persona 5
Halo RTS
Horizon: Zero Dawn
NieR: Automata
Yooka-Laylee
Zelda: BotW
Crash Bandicoot
Hellblade
Hallow Knight
PUBG
a new expansion for FFXIV
ARMS
Splatoon 2

and we're still slated to receive our annual dump of shooters in the later months of the year. This has been one of the best years on record for gaming as far as released software, at least in my opinion. Next year also is shaping up to be impressive.
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Puyo Puyo Tetris
Hatsune Miku Future Tone
Yakuza 0
Tales of Berseria
Breath of the Wild
Nier Automata
Persona 5

All came out this year and IMO are among the best in their genre. 2017 has been godly.
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It's definitely just you. These years have been crazy good.
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There's been sort of a dork phase the past few years where games have been making the same mistakes - probably a case of it being too late to hit the brakes on bad decisions in some cases.

It seems like this year is turning things around, though.
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Advokaiser posted...

The Wii U was extremely silent for years

Smash and Mario Maker came out in that time frame, they were huge.


Also Rocket League, Battlegrounds.
Variety is there
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We live in a time of unparalleled depth of, and access to, games. It is not limited to this year, although this year has been incredibly strong. This depth extends to all genres. It is hard to find an under-represented genre of games. Even under-represented specific niches go on to become huge successes - Undertale, Stardew Valley, Player Unknown's Battlegrounds for example.

We get, on average, two to three worthwhile games a week. A week! It's ridiculous. One of the most-anticipated games of last year, especially around here, was Final Fantasy 15. It was a divisive, but well-received game. According to Opencritic, it was the 112th best-reviewed game of 2016. It shared that spot with 19 other games. There are too many games for any one person to keep up with.

It might be an issue of perception? You mention the lack of must-have games in your post, but you mostly refer to consoles and console-sellers. That framing is largely a thing of the past. Only Nintendo is in the business of making large quantities of console exclusive games.
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Bane_Of_Despair posted...

Yea you haven't been paying attention to 2017 much have you

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iiicon posted...

We live in a time of unparalleled depth of, and access to, games. It is not limited to this year, although this year has been incredibly strong. This depth extends to all genres. It is hard to find an under-represented genre of games. Even under-represented specific niches go on to become huge successes - Undertale, Stardew Valley, Player Unknown's Battlegrounds for example.

We get, on average, two to three worthwhile games a week. A week! It's ridiculous. One of the most-anticipated games of last year, especially around here, was Final Fantasy 15. It was a divisive, but well-received game. According to Opencritic, it was the 112th best-reviewed game of 2016. It shared that spot with 19 other games. There are too many games for any one person to keep up with.

It might be an issue of perception? You mention the lack of must-have games in your post, but you mostly refer to consoles and console-sellers. That framing is largely a thing of the past. Only Nintendo is in the business of making large quantities of console exclusive games.

Yeah there's not really a lot of "EVERYONE who has X console MUST buy THIS GAME!!!" releases because there's so many fucking games that none of them can get that level of attention like games used to, when a console would have only a handful of really BIG games each year. Doesn't mean they're not as good or better, just that they're not the only game in town anymore.
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MrGreenonion posted...

iiicon posted...

[...]
It might be an issue of perception? You mention the lack of must-have games in your post, but you mostly refer to consoles and console-sellers. That framing is largely a thing of the past. Only Nintendo is in the business of making large quantities of console exclusive games.

Yeah there's not really a lot of "EVERYONE who has X console MUST buy THIS GAME!!!" releases because there's so many fucking games that none of them can get that level of attention like games used to, when a console would have only a handful of really BIG games each year. Doesn't mean they're not as good or better, just that they're not the only game in town anymore.

Well, in that case that's probably my problem. I haven't been convinced by the 8th Gen of consoles to buy something of interest. All I've noticed about 2017, honestly, is just Breath of the Wild being a massive success, then Persona 5 to some extent, then anticipated titles like Super Mario Odyssey and Pokemon US/UM (yeah... it seems it's pretty much Nintendo dominating the market right now).

Anyway, what "must-play" games (if there are any) would you recommend me (preferably not HD releases of previous games, although I've got an eye on Crash N. Sane Trilogy)? If I were to start off right now, I wouldn't know where to start other than MGSV and FFXV.
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There are always great indie games being released. I've been enjoying indie games more than major releases for the last 5 or 6 years now, and they're cheaper too which is great.
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Advokaiser posted...

Anyway, what "must-play" games (if there are any) would you recommend me (preferably not HD releases of previous games, although I've got an eye on Crash N. Sane Trilogy)? If I were to start off right now, I wouldn't know where to start other than MGSV and FFXV.

What do you like, and what systems do you have access to?
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OliviaTremor posted...

There are always great indie games being released. I've been enjoying indie games more than major releases for the last 5 or 6 years now, and they're cheaper too which is great.

Which ones, exactly? I lost track since Scott Pilgrim, VVVVVV, Super Meat Boy, and Flower. For more recent ones, I only know about Undertale for obvious reasons.
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Advokaiser posted...

Which ones, exactly? I lost track since Scott Pilgrim, VVVVVV, Super Meat Boy, and Flower. For more recent ones, I only know about Undertale for obvious reasons.

oh my friend. this is a dangerous question.

if you have a PC and $12 a month, you should buy the Humble Monthly. it is an incredible value with a fantastic line-up of games. in July alone, they gave out Armello (an excellent digital boardgame), Hyper Light Drifter (a retro-futuristic Zelda homage), Dark Souls 2: Scholars of the First Sin (the best Souls game, fight me), Kero Blaster (the latest game from the developer of Cave Story), and more. This was not an atypical month.
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iiicon posted...

Advokaiser posted...

Anyway, what "must-play" games (if there are any) would you recommend me (preferably not HD releases of previous games, although I've got an eye on Crash N. Sane Trilogy)? If I were to start off right now, I wouldn't know where to start other than MGSV and FFXV.

What do you like, and what systems do you have access to?

My favorite genre is action-adventure, followed by action-RPGs and platformers. The games I have most hype for playing for the first time (there are lots of 'em across every platform) are:

1._Castlevania: SotN
2._Xenoblade Chronicles
3._Tales of Vesperia
4._Okami
5._Super Smash Bros. for 3DS and Wii U

I also have a very limited budget right now and a very big backlog of classic titles including some that go all the way back to the NES. Believe it or not, PS2 is currently as far as I can go right now (but I also have many PS3 titles on said backlog for when I have the chance). Aside from that, I have a PC that can run more recent games decently (i.e. I've played Murasaki since its 2015 release thanks to OrochimaruFan).

Edit: I also have a Smartphone (Android) and an iPad (original model).
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Yeah it sounds like PC indie games are for you. There are a bunch of great Metroidvanias out there at the moment, and the great thing is that there's a real diversity in what each game focuses on. Ori and the Blind Forest or Guacamelee focus more on platforming, Rain World on exploration, Axiom Verge is a Metroid homage, AM2R is quite literally a Metroid 2 fan remake (and the dude who made it is now working on the next Ori game!), Dust focuses on the combat, Dead Souls is Castlevania reimagined as a roguelike, Hollow Knight and Momodora are more modern takes on IGA games, and La-Mulana is heavy on the puzzles. It's an embarrassment of riches.

Japanese companies are getting pretty good at releasing their games on Steam now. The best of the bunch is Trails in the Sky/Trails of Cold Steel, which have dense worldbuilding in addition to a heavy character focus. I'd liken them to Suikoden with the melodrama of Xenoblade.
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That sounds pretty good for now, thanks!
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Play Ori. It's fantastic.
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looking at my Humble account, I have a spare GoNNER key for Steam if you'd like. it's a pretty solid 2d platformer/roguelike.
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Everyone play Linelight

It looks dumb/simple but it's so incredibly beautiful and well designed
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I can't stress enough how essential Axiom Verge is. It didn't get the acclaim it deserved on b8. Can't wait to replay it on switch - I got the multiverse edition preordered! Guacamelee! is almost on that same level. The platforming there is soooo good

Waiting for the switch release of Hollow Knight before I play that. I.....can't wait
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