Has this been a weak year for video games? (Death Stranding rant)

[marvelvscapcom2]

I don't know if it's only me, And I always hate the "video games sucked this year" guy.  So I wanted to ask everyone to be sure     But I really can't help but think gaming fell flat this year. 


It really seems like last year we had such a high of quality games.  Red Dead Redemption 2 redefined what we thought of realism in an open world sandbox game. It completely blew up the gaming universe.  Pure unfiltered amazingness.  And won so many GOTY awards and then God of War and Spiderman turned their franchises into a place they were destined to go.  Just impeccable adventure games from Sony.   From Shadow of the Tomb Raider to games like Far Cry 5.  Just so many heavy hitting incredible games. 


This year,  the game of the year contenders for the video game awards are Death Stranding (One of the most disappointing games since No Mans Sky, maybe even worst since it was by Kojima and everyone had high hopes for a silent hill caliber or maybe a MGS caliber entry into the long running legacy of Kojima greatness.  Instead we got a UPS simulator where you take on the task of playing as a post apocalytpic delivery man who has to walk 200 miles and initiate 3 cut scenes to fast travel as if that made any sense, with such mundane game mechanics as traveling empty desolate roads for hours on end to deliver things per quest requirement. Truly a shame.  Then Hideo has the nerve and sheer audacity to say "It's not my fault Americans play FPS and can't appreciate a real game, they are too stupid to understand good games. It's not that I made a mediocre game.  Its Americans only like shooters and shooters dominate the american market" type of childish blame shifting.  Of course not verbatim. But that's essentially what he was poking at.  When games like Pokemon and Spiderman massively appealed to our masses and aren't shooters at all.   Games like BOTW.  I lost plenty of respect for that man.  I wish he could accept criticisms with the same tact that the producers of the sonic movie did.  And not like an 8 year old boy. 

 Smash Ultimate is really great,  But it's kind of odd a party game is in the running.  It's very rare plot driven games take the back seat in GOTY runnings to games like Smash or Mario Kart.  But the well ran dry for the big cinematic entries after Crackdown flopped,  ghost of tshushima got delayed as did TLOU 2.  Outer Worlds which is a fantastic Fallout esq game that I loved a lot .   It's the one I think is worthy of the list.  I think it would have my vote.
 Outer Worlds was like a golden beacon of hope in a sea of micro transaction EA games and delays from Sony.   


2017 we had BOTW, Odyssey, Horizon Zero Dawn, Cuphead. 
2018 we had GOW, Spiderman, RDR2

just pure gold.

This year we got a few flops,  Luigi's Mansion 3 and a Resident Evil 2 remake. 


I could just be bitter because TLOU 2 got delayed again.  But who else thinks this year was pretty cold and lonely for gamers?

[kamikazekeeg]

I disagree with that take on Death Stranding, it's a really good game, it just offers up a gameplay experience that people won't enjoy.  It's incredibly well crafted and the general story is good even if we set aside the gameplay aspect.  I dumped a ton of hours into it.  I'm pretty sure I remember that quote from Kojima running around and it being mistranslated in general.  He's very self-aware of himself in terms of the experiences he crafts, more so than ever with this game, and I think he knew he was going to be making a divisive game when he took out most of the combat in favor of building a game around delivery and mobility mechanics.

That said, this wasn't a big year for gaming, which is fine, they happen.  Every year can't be a big year and next year will end the generation with a bang with games like Final Fantasy 7, The Last of Us 2, Cyberpunk 2077, and numerous others.

[bikingjahuty]

I can't speak for Death Stranding, but overall it's been a decent year.


- Resident Evil 2
- Samurai Shodown
- Mortal Kombat 11
- Bloodstaind
- Zelda: Link's Awakening
- Indivisible
- Pokemon Sword/Shield
- Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order
- Shenmue 3
- Terminator Resistance
- Mechwarrior 5

[NickAwesome]

I've really been enjoying Death Stranding.  The storytelling is heavy handed and the limited combat is a bit too easy, but I find the core gameplay fun.  It's interesting to see a game that really makes you think about inventory management and everything you carry actually take up space.  Sneaking around BTs is pretty exhilarating too, especially when they spot you and the whole area turns black and tries to swallow you up. Definitely one of the best things I've played all year, besides Untitled Goose Game.  I find myself playing more retro/handhelds these days because lots of modern releases are just the same shit I've been playing the last 10 years. Even if the experience is ultimately not good, I'd rather play something new and different than the same rehash semi open world shooter/ action adventure game we keep getting from AAA releases.

[kamikazekeeg]

I've really been enjoying Death Stranding.  The storytelling is heavy handed and the limited combat is a bit too easy, but I find the core gameplay fun.  It's interesting to see a game that really makes you think about inventory management and everything you carry actually take up space.  Sneaking around BTs is pretty exhilarating too, especially when they spot you and the whole area turns black and tries to swallow you up. Definitely one of the best things I've played all year, besides Untitled Goose Game.  I find myself playing more retro/handhelds these days because lots of modern releases are just the same shit I've been playing the last 10 years. Even if the experience is ultimately not good, I'd rather play something new and different than the same rehash semi open world shooter/ action adventure game we keep getting from AAA releases.

Yeah Death Stranding is likely my GOTY right now and I've played most of the big games that have come out.  It's satisfying getting through a hectic traversal area, past a group of BT's, maybe dodging some Mule, while keeping your deliveries intact, and then getting a nice upgrade or new gear item.  Also the character stuff in this game is great, it's ridiculous, like Deadman, Heartman, Mama, Die-Hardman, these are crazy written characters, but they are incredibly memorable and standout and certain ones have incredible acting moments and as heavy handed as the story can be, there's great stuff towards the end.

[weirdfeline]

I feel like this year had a lot of good to great titles for many different interests but not much in terms of 10/10 universal acclaim.

[redblaze57]

I had a lot of fun with games that came out this year. I mean my Top 5 this year is

5. Astral Chain
4. Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night
3. Fire Emblem: Three Houses
2. Devil May Cry 5
1. Judgement

And there are plenty of other games i can name i had fun with
- Resident Evil 2
- My Friend Pedro
- Wargroove
- Pokemon Sword
- Indivisible
I can go on

Even at the lowest for me being Days Gone and Travis Strikes Again I would not at all call those bad games

(Outsider's perspective on Death Stranding)

 I honestly feel (as someone who isn't a kojima fan) that everyone was way overhyped for Death Stranding to a point where there was no way it could live up to the vision everyone had as to what the game was going to be. It felt like all the hype was because of the names involved in the project and hatered towards Konami.

[shfan]

Since the mainstream gaming scene has changed so massively in the past few years, the likelihood of any particular year feeling barren if your main interest is big-budget single-player games has gone through the roof. Many years during this console era have seemed barren to me, but that's because I'm looking at titles like Fallout 4, Resident Evil 7 etc. and not so much the double-A which has had to try to fill the void. So, if only a few of the big hitters really grab you, it's going to seem pretty dead.

[throughtheiris56]

On the contrary, 2018 didn't have many games I was interested in, whereas 2019 has a bunch like CTR: Nitro Fuelled, Sekiro, DMC5, Concrete Genie and A Plague Tale that I've enjoyed.