September 25th 2023.
Elite Dangerous – it's been a long time since the 80s.
The Monday letters page recently touched on the issue of the Soulslike genre in gaming, and how many games within this genre can seem so similar. One reader even commented on the difficulty of Armored Core 6.
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I have to agree with the Reader's Feature from the weekend about Mass Effect. It's a classic, and it's a shame that Starfield takes so much from it without doing anything new. Mass Effect is old, and space travel is mostly done automatically. I long for a game like Elite or Freelancer from back in the day, something that will really capture the dream games I imagined when I was a kid. Elite Dangerous is a bit too dry and uninteresting, and EVE Online is even worse.
No Man's Sky offers freedom without any real gameplay, and Star Citizen... well, we've already discussed that one. I really hope that Starfield encourages other space games, because right now there's nothing that really captures the ambition of those old 80s and 90s games.
Star Wars Outlaws looks cool, but I don't think it focuses much on space exploration. I want a game like No Man's Sky, but with a proper story, characters, and fun missions. Nothing right now is close to the dream games I imagined when I was a kid.
For me, it's always like this. I've been spending the weekend playing through Silent Hill 2 and it's a masterpiece. The gameplay is fine, but it's the story that makes it so special. The whole hotel scene is brilliant, and I had forgotten how good it is and [spoiler redacted – GC]. I normally don't care about stories in games, but this one is just so good.
The first time I played this game, I got the 'leave' ending and it's a heart-breaking moment. It's really hard hitting and it's something that no other game does. I'm looking forward to the remake, but I think it will be missing the same impact.
This is a quick response to the Reader's Feature on Armored Core 6. He suggested that Elden Ring is easier than Dark Souls due to some order from on top. This is the first I've heard this claim and I have to disagree. Elden Ring is open world, which makes it broader and there are more ways to level up. It's also the fifth Soulsborne game, so muscle memory is a factor.
The skills from different series aren't really transferable, so it's possible that Armored Core 6 was designed with this curve out of necessity rather than to appeal to a broader audience. I'd like to see how many people have completed the game.
GC also pointed out that the director, Hidetaka Miyazaki, is the person 'on top'.
The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist. That same saying can be applied to the Xbox exec trying to convince everyone that he's a gamer himself. I'd love to see a YouTube video of him actually playing a video game with any semblance of skill.
The arrogance of how Microsoft execs talked about Nintendo is staggering. Nintendo are at the core of the industry and responsible for its resurrection, so it's incredibly disrespectful for Microsoft to call them 'the prime asset'. Is Microsoft the company you want buying out the industry?
Instead of threatening to leave the industry, why don't Xbox concentrate on making great games to encourage the growth of Game Pass? They could make indie style cheaper-to-produce games, rather than talking about new consoles when this generation hasn't seen much first party software.
What Bloodborne did in 2015 with the linear nature of its gameplay, carriages, dead horses, piles of bodies and bonfires creating chokepoints did not feel unnatural or contrived. But it doesn't work in 2023 when it's just a few suitcases funnelling the player to the next objective. I'm really hoping Lords Of The Fallen doesn't fall into the same trap of copying an eight year old game.
Elite Dangerous – a lot has changed since the 80s
The Monday letters page is frustrated that all Soulslike games look the same, as another reader comments on Armored Core 6’s difficulty. I have to agree with the Reader’s Feature about Mass Effect at the weekend. It’s a whole lot better than Starfield, despite being over a decade old, and it’s kind of embarrassing how much Starfield steals from it, without doing anything better.
However, not only is Mass Effect old but all the space travel is kind of done on automatic, even more so than Starfield. I’d love to see something that was more like Elite or Freelancer from back in the day. There is Elite Dangerous, but I find it very dry and uninteresting, while EVE Online is even worse. No Man’s Sky is all freedom and no gameplay, and Star Citizen is… well, we’ve already discussed that one recently.
I really hope that Starfield encourages other space games because for me there is nothing close to the ambition of the old 80s and 90s games, which is a real shame. Star Wars Outlaws looks cool, but I don’t get the impression that space exploration is a big part of it. I want a game like No Man’s Sky but with a proper story and characters and some actual fun missions. Nothing at the moment is really anywhere close to the dream games I imagined as a kid.
For me, it’s always been like this. I have spent the weekend going through Silent Hill 2 and it is a masterpiece, without a doubt. The gameplay is fine, but it is the ambiguous story that makes it so great. The whole hotel scene is brilliant, and I haven’t played the game in ages so I forgot how good that whole section is and [spoiler redacted – GC] and how James is still in denial. And he then confronts his demons that manifested in Pyramid Head. I usually don’t care about stories in games, as I just want a reason to go from A to B, but this game is just so good.
I remembered the first time I played this I got the ‘leave’ ending and it is honestly a tear-jerker. It’s really hard hitting for so many reasons. Honestly Silent Hill 2 is a masterpiece – no other game punches you in the face with this stuff. I’m looking forward to the remake but I’m guessing they will change things and it just won’t have the same impact.
This is a quick response to the Reader’s Feature on Armored Core 6, more accurately his suggestion Elden Ring is easier than Dark Souls due to some order from on top. This is the first I’ve ever heard this claim and I have to disagree. The reason I see Elden Ring as being easier is because it’s open world. It’s broader as a consequence of this. Bottlenecks are rare and there is always an organic way to level up while you prod your way through the world and its challenges. There is also the fact this is the fifth Soulsborne game, muscle memory is also a factor if you’re not green to the series.
I can’t speak to Armored Core 6, having not played it myself, but having played all the Souls and Bloodborne I can confidently posit that it was created on this curve out of necessity of design and flow rather than to appeal to a broader audience. I’d like to see how many people have completed the game or seen off Malenia for that matter.
As for Armored Core 6, had he maybe just considered that the skills from the different series aren’t really all that transferable.
Instead of threatening to leave the industry, why don’t Xbox concentrate on making great games to encourage the growth of Game Pass? Make indie style cheaper-to-produce fun games, instead of talking about more new consoles when this generation has floundered in relation to first party software. Make Minecraft 2 Game Pass only. That’ll shift some units I would imagine, although where they can take Minecraft from where it is to a full blown sequel is way beyond me.
RE: The Lies Of P, I played the demo and what Bloodborne did in 2015 with the linear nature of its gameplay, carriages, dead horses, piles of bodies and bonfires creating chokepoints did not feel unnatural or contrived. But it does not work in 2023 when it’s a few suitcases funnelling the player to the next objective. I knew it was going to get hammered by GC’s review. The Soulslike is a relatively new genre but the best will take what FromSoftware started as inspiration to do their own thing, not be looking to copy an eight year old game and fail miserably in the attempt. I’m really hoping Lords Of The Fallen doesn’t fall into the same trap.
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