Hey, thanks a lot, both NewPipe and FreeTube have been giving issues lately thanks to YouTube constant fuckery.

they're BDSM Test scores

Those are excellent grades, I'm glad their post-grad is going so well /j

So game companies have several ways to increase the ROI for their products: decrease costs, increase price, or increase audience size. As it is hard for single-player titles to signficiantly icnrease the number of players, Novak believes that publishers will continue to charge more for their games. The new $70 base price already seems too much for many customers, so companies try to come up with tricky monetization methods, including various deluxe editions priced at $100 or even higher.

Absolute imbeciles. We're living in an era where customers have less and less purchasing power, where people can - and should - make more precise decisions when buying products, with wide availability of other options that aren't AAAA titles, so what are execs thinking of? Charge more, obviously.

It is unrealistic to invest 150 millions in a game and expect a profit because you're disconnected from your customer base. And you have the bare minimum of self awareness to consider that investing less and expecting less growth is an option, but choose instead to ignore it and push ahead with infinite growth. The development schedule of your average AAAA title is already almost as long as a console generation, there's nothing that can be done if suits are staring at this wall and choosing to bash their head against it, rather than try alternative options.

I don't think I've ever seen Okami featured in one of these lists. Just to be sure I looked up some of Polygon's and even in their Top 500, its not there, which is kinda depressing?

I'm not a fan of Zelda games - or most Nintendo games - but I do love when people take inspiration from them and make their own thing - Tchia, Darksiders, Oceanhorn, Tunic, and Ittle Dew all come to mind just as Zelda 'clones' - and I think there's no higher example of that than Okami, a game that takes its inspiration and surpasses it in every way. The graphics were at the time mindblowing(frankly, still are), with its japanese classic art style cel shading, the soundtrack is phenomenal and Amaterasu has an excellent mobility, zipping across battlefields or simply open areas with easy and fluidity. The paintbrush is a stellar tool, both to use in puzzles and in combat, and the game boasts a charming cast of characters and engaging story. Probably the saddest tidbit about it is that it was also Clover's farewell game, after its previous, unfairly lambasted, gem God Hand and two attempts at the beat'em up Viewtiful Joe series.

Nowadays the Zelda series has gotten a whole different kickstart with its open-world entries, burying these inspirations even further, but I still believe Okami easily stands atop most entries of that series, and on its own as well.

Not only are Kinguin and other key resellers notorious for having scamming cases - to the point of having "protection fees" you can pay while purchasing from them - they're also pointless in any way except for adding a library entry for Steam - and even then, one that might be removed

Even developers would rather people pirate than buy from key resellers

https://www.pcgamer.com/developers-tell-people-to-pirate-their-games-instead-of-using-g2a/

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-48908726

There's an absurd gender dimorphism in most games where every guy is a mountain of muscles by default. I don't enjoy that body type - for myself, as a 5'5 dude, or even romantically - and women are usually on the softer, thinner side, so I tend to pick them at first.

If its a game where I can easily change genders, I'll flip around to my tastes, depending on which clothing looks better on whatnot. - Aliens:Fireteam Elite and Dragon Quest Builders 2 come to mind as examples that did that. Also games with intricate character creators, like Saint's Row (RIP) are welcome, but rare.

Eastern games tend to have softer men, so those tend to be exceptions. I recall picking male options in both Genshin and Path To Nowhere, and I usually enjoy the male leads in jRPGs.

This is an 11 year old article, so hardly "news"

This article coming out on the same day as another wave of layoffs, this time from Bungie, is an excellent view on the state of gaming criticism. Even if it were the best year for the products (there are several titles in the article that are curious), it's definitely one of the worst years for the people who work on them.

I hope the current wave of unionizing keeps manifesting and spreads to the gaming industry, because this situation is dire and it's only getting worse.

I wondered why I had heard no fanfare or announcements (not even the Steam banner changing, its still Shmup sale up there) but on checking the page this seems to be the Overwatch school of sequel? Just update a current game and put a 2 on it?

Well. On one hand, doesn't seem like it needed fixing (Its not my type of game but its popular enough, certainly more than most other Valve ventures) but also geez. At least artificially pretend its big news.

For a game that's a full comedy romp, West of Loathing consistently ruined me with laughter. The spittoon descriptions are probably the most derangedly funny writing ever put into the world. I've got to remember to play the sequel one of these days. Its also extremely mechanically satisfying, with several enticing roleplaying moments (as well as the occasional dramatic or scary moment that hits just as well as the comedy)

For a game that's not explicitly only comedy but still hits strong marks, Yakuza 0 is a full meal. While most Yak games are fairly wacky when it comes to sidequesting (1 being perphaps the single exception, as the beginning of the series was quite dry), 0 feels like the one where they really hit their stride. There's so many flat out ridiculous moments (you've most likely seen the chicken, and that's just one of many) that you even forget this is also a heavily dramatic story and a full blown action beat'em up.

Warframe explains very little of its systems, and what it explains is generally poorly done. Upgrading and optimizing your abilities, acquiring proper mods and frames, how the levelling system actually works, generally anything that isn't "shoot at enemy until it dies" needs to be taught by another player or read upon.