Let me start by saying that I don’t like seeing games that I’ve been excited about turn out to be disappointing. But the truth is, our AAA, mega-hit-obsessed industry doesn’t allow any room for failure.
The bigger the stakes, the more it needs to be resolved. To do this, games need to appeal to as many people as possible to maximize the chances of recouping their investment. That’s business, that’s how things work.
A group of talented developers all dedicated to delivering something that anyone can somehow find interesting. Maybe you don’t care about the franchise, or find its gameplay compelling, but isn’t it a great way to show off your expensive new console and overpriced TV? The kind of thing you can show off to your friends, point frantically at the crappy 4K graphics and particle effects, and say ‘Look! Look! ’ over and over again.
Major publishers have been doubling down on this approach for over a decade, and the result is amorphous, edgeless games that might as well be spheres — a content soup you won’t really hate, but won’t find anyone enthusiastic about regardless. how.
This is the reality in our current game that I hate the most, not server issues or monetization scandals (as horrific as they are). This is indifference. This is the death of a gigabyte.
It’s rare to see players complaining about bad games these days, because they’re not as common anymore. Even the dreaded Gotham Knights are perfectly playable. I put in over 40 hours, amassed points, and unlocked most of its achievements. But I don’t like it. I can’t believe someone actually did this.
I’m not here to argue about the quality of the game, but how uninteresting, disappointing, and boring it is.
The B-grade, double-A games we rarely see these days almost always have one thing in common that makes me want to play them more than any Assassin’s Creed or Far Cry: They fail in interesting ways.
I’ve been playing Wicked West lately. I gave it a middling rating because while I enjoyed my time with it, I can see all the ways it could be better. I know the team at Flying Wild Hog made better decisions in other games, so I know the five-star version of Evil West were able exist.
Despite my misgivings, I started a new save and tried playing with a mouse and keyboard–not a controller. The game’s combat is compelling enough and its tools diverse enough that I want to play it again–even knowing all the irritating design elements I’m about to encounter.
Today also marks the release of a similar game: Gungrave GORE, which you won’t mistake for a AAA product either, but will still be of interest. I know I am. Its animations, dated visuals, and (possibly) poor localization all dampened my interest. They pissed it off.
Herein lies the crux of the argument. I know the Wicked West and Gungrave GORE of the world will challenge me – mechanically, intellectually, spiritually, chemically…whatever.
Well, being motivated enough to say something about these games is part of the reason I play them. This drama – if you will – was much more interesting to me than the “I guess it’s okay” that I spent ten hours in New Horizons and then shrugged and failed.
So, dear reader, join me in celebrating the midrange games of the world, and the publishers who continue to invest in them, while avoiding the temptation to force every studio they own to make The One Big Game (looking at you here, call-of-duty).
Let’s raise a glass to Game Pass too. Let’s focus on celebrating a service full of those great mid-range games that feels like it was designed just for people like me: people who want to play these games without having to wait for price cuts or miraculous additions to Games With Gold or PS Plus.
Gungrave GORE, at least, is on Game Pass now – and I’m sure Evil West isn’t far from it. Until then, Game Pass won’t be short on games to keep you busy.
