PS4 and PS5 games are all the same

[Hermiöne Granger]

Game mechanics have barely changed if at all since the PS2 era for a number of genres in particular Metroidvania games.

You want game mechanics change for your Metrovania game, here it is...

 

[Sneak 'n' Snore]

To me the comparisson of FF7R and Rebirth shows how much graphics have stagnated and that it'd be much better to prioritize actual distinct artstyles over muh realism.

 

[Email]

I fucking hate gaming nowadays..-

If you could make your own game (or delegate others to just do it for you) that scratches your itches and desires, what would it be like? What do you envision in your mind's eye?

 

[The Ugly One]

So maybe don't do that?

Then nobody buys it unless you're Nintendo.

Microsoft told you that 1080 was unnecessary

It was. COD ran in 600p and didn't injure anybody except tender hearts who can't handle being called a nigger.

when megapublishers like Ubisoft said that 30 FPS is fine

It was. Always has been. Wait until you find out what screen resolutions and frame rates N64 and PS1 games ran at. You will never again see talent like John Carmack or Ken Silverman at a small operation.

the modern industry, with thriving indie and AA scenes,

lol no, indie/AA has never recovered from the costs of 3D HD. Peak small studio gaming was the PS2 era, if not the 90s.

preservation of older titles

The modern industry gets zero credit for the achievements of the past. If they weren't selling us these ancient relics, we'd just be pirating them.

 

[LazyLizard]

all playstation games from the last decade has either been bloated ubislop or movie games

 

[Saint Agustin]

If you could make your own game (or delegate others to just do it for you) that scratches your itches and desires, what would it be like? What do you envision in your mind's eye?
View attachment 6766242

I grew up playing PS1 games, especially RPGs like Chrono Cross, FF8, Legend of Legaia.

I'd love a simple game, easy to play, long, complex things getting added as you progress and a deep storyline but not cringe.

... So basically your average RPGs from the 90' and early 00'.

 

[foam rolla]

Getting a PS5 to just have a PS4 emulator with locked framerates is not as dumb an idea as i sounds, that's basically what my PS5 does.

Couldn't I just buy a PS4?

 

[BradeRunna]

I bought a PS4 and what the fuck happened to gaming?! Is it me or every game is the same mechanically? Same engine, same movement, same quirks, same gimmicks.

For example: Watchdogs plays the same as Skyrim. The Crew 2 plays the same as Forza. all shooters are the same. Even RPGs feel the same

What the fuck happened?! I remember in my teen years where I had my PS2, games were varied and all of them felt differently, even sequels like DMC1-2-3 had something different to offer... Nowadays all feel the same iteration of the same formula of ULTRA CRISP REALISTIC graphic (that makes you confused as to where to go cause everything grabs your attention, so you need a big fucking arrow pointing the way) or the same 2d indie pretentious crap.

... Even Sony knows they make shit, they put PS1, PS2 and PSP titles behind the deluxe subscription.

That's not the graphics the arrows and other handholding measures are done because of the mainstreaming of video games. Developers and publishers wanting to sell games to more people. People who might not be "hardcore gamers" and would need the arrows. Remember when people were sitting around cheering in the mid and late 2000's about how game was becoming more mainstream and popular? That's about when it happened. Just look at STALKER 2, they put yellow paint on the ladders to tell people they can be climbed or they should climb them. Sure, it's distressed paint and all scuffed up but it's still there and they didn't do this in the older games.

Bingo. Game mechanics have barely changed if at all since the PS2 era for a number of genres in particular fighting games, racing games, Metroidvania games, ARPGs, turn based RPGs, platforming games, etc. FPS and Hack and Slash games have barey changed since the PS3 era. As far as I'm concerned, VR is probably the only area where innovation could happen.

There is only so many ways you can make an FPS fun or an RPG. They are all going to share some basic mechanics. Walk forward and shoot.

I was thinking a few months ago about getting a PS5 as they're getting some what cheaper. But then realized there's nothing good in the library. Most of the library is on PS4 or on PC.

The only PS5 thing I guy is their controllers to be used with my PC and emulation. But sony aren't really convincing me to part with $500+

You can always just get a PS5 controller for $80 and use it to play the PC ports.

All the good games have been made already.

Not really. There are still good games being made there is just less of them now. Less games being released over all really. They used to drop several games in a year. It was normal to see 2-3 Need for Speed games in a year or two. But people said they didn't like that.

View attachment 6765309
That'd be fine. 6th Gen was the perfect mix of graphics, soul, and experimentation. Not filled with greedy DLC, foe-stealth sections, walking simulators, State propaganda, and bland U/Is.

Having to use your imagination would breed a better generation of artists. Modern art design in games also sucks a circumcised tranny cock. It's just brown culture blobs lacking any sort of uniform vision, relying on the polygon count to get them the rest of the way.

I was playing Odin sphere with RPCS3 the other day.

The 2008 market crash scared the fuck out of virtually all companies but especially game companies to be creative, reaching its apex with the seventh gen. I do think in the last year or two we are finally seeing some AA games, indie games that aren't just walking sims, and the big mega corps losing real money. No matter what as long as ESG and DEI exists there will be slop like most of the shit Sony produces but there are options now. You just have to either put in some effort to learn emulation, play stuff outside of AAA, or dust off the old PS2 or Gamecube and hook it up to a TV. That's what I've been doing.

The video game industry went through a mini crash back then as well. Hardware and software sales fell.

 

[foam rolla]

You can always just get a PS5 controller for $80 and use it to play the PC ports.

That's what I've been doing. Use to use Xbox 1 controllers for PC and emulation stuff, but I found the build quality not the best. Switched to a PS5 controller and it's been great for multi purpose gaming.

 

[Diesel Boogaloo]

I found a blogpost from 4 years ago that talks about the exact same thing I mentioned in my previous post and others were echoing as well: https://www.davideaversa.it/blog/convergence-aaa-games/

The Great Convergence of AAA Games​

As you may know, I am on a slow and steady mission of completing famous big games I missed in the last generation. Playing so many AAA games back to back highlights the similarities between them. However, I really realized how much all AAA games gameplay converged in the last decade or so when I started playing God of War (Santa Monica Studio, 201 .

I decided to call this behavior The Convergence, and it is an annoying phenomenon, especially when I face new entries in the old series that I love. I think it is time we address this problem.

The Convergence​

If you play some AAA game from time to time, you may have noticed this transformation: almost every game genre collapsed into a single meta-genre that we can simply call the AAA-genre.

Sympthoms are evident. Action games increasingly became more RPG. RPG games increasingly became more Action. Every game must have pieces of equipment with fancy (often weird and immersion-breaking) cosmetic elements. Every game must have an “open hub” (if not an entire “open world” element). Every game must have a skill tree and experience points. Every game must have some kind of crating system with a full set of collectible materials with different rarities. Every game must have some sort of (often pointless and annoying) side quests.

All these are must have for… how many AAA games? I lost count of them. They are everywhere and, after playing them a lot, I feel like I am playing the same game over and over; just with different “skins” and setting.

These games blends into my mind. They started separately, and now they are one. This is The Convergence.

The God of War (201 case​

As I said, the motivation for this article was triggered by God of War (201. I like the God of War series a lot, and I have played almost every title.

The last one I played was God of War 3 (Santa Monica Studio, 2010) : the game was a liner, very action-packed game. No shit, no talking, only beating the crap out of mythological creatures. It was an obvious successor of God of War 2 (Santa Monica Studio, 2007) and the original God of War (Santa Monica Studio, 2005) .1

God of War (201, on the other hand, feels like a completely different game. It is slower, less linear, with long relaxing boat travels in a big lake and occasional fighting.

In some sense, the more paced and nuanced game makes sense from the story point of view: Kratos is no longer blinded by vengeance and is trying to be a better being. The game is not about blind revenge and violence; instead, it is about a parental bonding and the Kratos desire of teaching his son not to commit his same mistakes. Therefore, because the story supports the change of pace and game-style, this is not a big issue, and, in the end, I think it is a delightful game, and I still liked it very much.

However, there are many other aspects that The Convergence added nothing to the game.

Figure 1. Seriously. What the F is this abomination??!!
Let’s talk about the bane of my gaming existence: crafting and side quests. Was it worth to have a bunch of almost useless different armors? Did that add something to the game message and gameplay? In an action game, armor swapping is not a kind of complexity I enjoy. I do not want to stop before every fight to swap to the armor most useful against the enemies I am facing. It butchers the rhythm.2

Are side quests really worth it in a God of War game? Luckily, there are very few side quests in this game. However, half of them belong to the usual dull, uninspired side quest I always complain about. The other half could have been integrated into the main storyline reducing the branching factor.

The Price of The Convergence​

In theory, I could endure The Convergence: yes, every game looks the same, but if it is a good “same” I could still enjoy it.

The real problem is that The Convergence is not free. Again, this is very obvious in God of War (201.

God of War (201 is incredibly less varied than his predecessors. Enemies are mostly the same in some “fire/ice/poison” variants. Boss fight (except for Baldur) are the same 2/3 monsters repeated over and over (still on fire/ice/whatever variants). The game variety pales in comparison to God of War 3 (or even the first one, in my opinion).

Figure 2. One of the 10494930 identical trolls you will encounter in the game. They are interesting the first 3 times. Then you’ll get sick of them.
The cause is The Convergence. It reduced the narrative and game design space by chaining the game to the many constraints of this new AAA Genere. The developer was “forced” to spend design and development time on 20 different armor sets or in useless side quests, and all that time was subtracted from monster and boss fight design.

In the end, The Convergence made God of War a weaker title, not a stronger one. It reduced its unique style and crippled the possibility of new novel game design directions.

Can we stop The Convergence?​

To be honest, I do not think there is a way to stop it. Many many gamers want this kind of standardized experience. It is part of the growth of the videogame medium as a mainstream entertainment channel. With a more extensive and varied user base and a long history behind, software houses have a lot of data on what works and what not if they want to spend a lot of money on a “safe bet.” And honestly, it is okay. They just are not games “for me.”

Personally, however, I will still cherish any game house trying to look for new paths or that can maintain their original direction.

Other than that, The Convergence is just one more reason to love and admire the indie developer scene and their struggle to innovate in an increasingly convergent gaming world.

---

1. To be fair, The Convergence already started to creep in the third chapter with the introduction of different weapons and extensive upgrades and skills. But it was subtle and limited: the action genre was still apparent. ↩︎
2. And, in fact, I ended up forcing the entire game with just a couple of armor sets. ↩︎

 

[The Hardest R]

The 2008 market crash scared the fuck out of virtually all companies but especially game companies to be creative, reaching its apex with the seventh gen. I do think in the last year or two we are finally seeing some AA games, indie games that aren't just walking sims, and the big mega corps losing real money. No matter what as long as ESG and DEI exists there will be slop like most of the shit Sony produces but there are options now. You just have to either put in some effort to learn emulation, play stuff outside of AAA, or dust off the old PS2 or Gamecube and hook it up to a TV. That's what I've been doing.

The problem with the 2008 market crash was that new ideas were rarely profitable but the newest Call of Duty would break sales records. Nobody was going to finance anything that wasn’t the safest options that would reach multiple demographics.

The Shalamaladingdong twist is that this model now has hit its zenith and the AAAA model thus far has been a disaster. They have no idea how to advance from here other than add more niggers and uglify the women. If their latest slop doesn’t sell more than five million copies in the first 48 hours, they immediately start planning layoffs.

 

[Maeis]

Couldn't I just buy a PS4?

but ps4 framerates dip

 

[Unarmed Gunman]

I upgraded my PS4 to a PS5 so I could play Minecraft in all it's modern glory, but it still feels blocky.

 

[DefinitelyNotMe]

What are you taking about
Havent you played [insert 3rd person action game with crafting and stelth mechanics gameplay of wich 60% are cutscenes]
It was my fa-avorite

 

[BradeRunna]

That's what I've been doing. Use to use Xbox 1 controllers for PC and emulation stuff, but I found the build quality not the best. Switched to a PS5 controller and it's been great for multi purpose gaming.

I have a bunch of controllers. I have an old 360 wired controller I bought used from GameStop like 6 years ago. I have 2 OEM PS3 controllers (yes, I know how to spot the fakes from China they are real 100% OEM) I use them when I play games with RPCS3 or PCSX2. They are basically just PS2 controllers with extra features so they work well with PS2 emulation. I bought an Xbox One controller (black) probably around 2018. I bought a PS5 controller a few months back. My recent controller purchase was a FlyDigi Vader 4 pro. It's a pretty nice controller. I use it with racing games flying games and some third person and first person games that don't require the use of guns. It has nothing Star Wars related on it, so I have no idea why they used Vader in the name. It has hall effect sticks with adjustable stick tension.

 

[Chapalapachapa]

To me the comparisson of FF7R and Rebirth shows how much graphics have stagnated and that it'd be much better to prioritize actual distinct artstyles over muh realism.

View attachment 6765946

maybe im a retard but the old one looks better

 

[Sneak 'n' Snore]

maybe im a retard but the old one looks better

The environments might look a little better in Rebirth but I do think Cloud himself looked a bit better in 7R on the left.
But really, I don't think Rebirth can boast about a jump in graphics because there is so little to improve if they're aiming for realism. I'd sooner advertise the game as being more than just a sightseeing tour through Midgar.

 

[Saint Agustin]

There is only so many ways you can make certain genre of games playable. This OP is kind of like complaining about how all racing games have you driving fast. Of course they do that's what you do in a racing game.

Nope. Not at all.

Even with racing games, you can distinctly feel the difference between Need for Speed or Gran Turismo or Midnight Club.

Style, substance, soundtrack, gameplay, everything was distinctive and original.

Now you have same companies, working on games using the same engine, same control layout, and almost same art style.

 

[Grub]

What the fuck happened?! I remember in my teen years where I had my PS2, games were varied and all of them felt differently,

I agree with a lot of what you say about modern games but I'm not sure about that about ps2 games. I went on a binge not too long ago playing ps2 games again and a lot of them do kind of feel the same and a lot of those hack and slash action type games really don't feel much more advanced gameplay wise over arcade games even. Sure the graphics are fancier, the levels are bigger and there's cut scenes and shit, but really, it's the same old shit as the 2d games, just in 3d.

I even remember bitching about cut scenes on the ps2 back in the day. I remember playing Final Fantasy X the first time and being bored shitless by the amount of cutscenes and the watered down linear game world. The worst was fucking Xenosaga Episode 2. I remember renting it not realizing it was basically just a movie and I think in the 15 or so hours I ended up playing it before it had to be returned maybe like 2 or 3 hours of that was actual play time and the rest was cut scenes.

Then there were the endless GTA clones. Open world action sandbox games with vehicles. Or all the 'realistic' shooters with the samey looking assault rifles, limited ammo, you could only carry two guns, boring brown and grey environments.

That's not to say there weren't unique games on the ps2 or anything but there was also a lot more bland generic repetitive shit than you probably remember.

 

[Neodanthril]

what the fuck happened to gaming?

Game development companies stopped being treated like garage bands and started being treated like pop music avatars