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July Update: There's Only One?!
🕑 Added 2020-07-31 15:08:57 +0000 UTCHey team!
A Single Video
So right after saying "maybe a video every week is too ambitious, let's treat two a month as the floor" I went and released only one video in July: the (recently-retitled) adventure games about jesus. There's no grand reason for this: there's the same mild burnout of living through ~3 apocalypses at once, the same wrestling with slightly higher ambitions with some videos, the same occasional scrapping of scripts that aren't as interesting as I thought they'd be. No single one of these has been more pronounced recently, but they seem to have converged into a less productive month.
I'm not suuuuuper sweating it? No one but me is expecting more than the one video per month the Patreon promises, and I'm still happy with what I'm putting out. The nagging voice that says "always be maximum productive" is there, but possible to ignore.
Anyway, got some good stuff in the works! I've paused the semiotics of "cuck" video to work on a small collab with RagnarRox which will be up on his channel sometime in the next couple months. Hoping to get that done this weekend, then I'm back on my usual bullshit.
AAA
So after many months of using my Sick Gaming PC to play indie games that hadn't come out/played like crap on Mac, I've finally started, uh... playing AAA games? Which is a thing? I hadn't done? Since around 2002?
Like, occasionally, upon getting a new computer, I could play games from 6 years ago that had finally gotten Mac ports, i.e. Portal, years after all the best reveals had been spoiled by The Discourse. But, for the most part, expensive, high-polish releases have just... not been part of my life since high school. And, even then, my access was limited by what my parents were willing to buy and what would run on my still-somewhat-mediocre PC. But I was able to play Half Life and Deus Ex and Grim Fandango if I could ignore the cutscenes stuttering!
But here are some quick-takes on the cool stuff that's come out in the last few years that I am finally getting to:
Doom 2016: Mostly agree with Errant Signal's take that the gameplay is very fun but also kinda samey. Was also disappointed that the player character's anarchic disregard for the seriousness of the plot became less pronounced as the story continued. And, after Dusk and Project Warlock, Doom's ostensibly-frenetic arena fights honestly felt a little slow. On the flipside, I'd forgotten how compelling a plot can be when revealed piecemeal! Getting bits and pieces of The Doomslayer's lore from audiologs and codex entries made what was, in retrospect, a very simple story feel alive and intriguing. (Also found it easier to take the plot seriously when the game made it clear I didn't have to.) And I will face God and walk backwards into Hell if the music there is this good.
Bulletstorm: I'm the heretic who thinks Painkiller is not actually that good? I played it a couple months ago - bless you, Sick Gaming PC - and it was... fine, I guess? So I didn't go into Bulletstorm with the sense of pedigree everyone else did. And I know I'm being Your Dad right now and saying something everyone complained about 15 years ago, but the big spectacle sequences just kinda feel like pointing a reticule around a cutscene? Like, am I playing Rebel Assault? Whatever. The game is at least colorful, many of the weapons are really creative, and the various ways you can link the weapons, the leash, the kick, and the environment together are pretty fun! Just feels like the game is so terrified of you getting bored that it never lets you properly sit and explore its broad and enjoyable possibility space, constantly pulling you into some gimmick sequence or refocusing on the fairly execrable story with its exhausting sense of "humor." I kinda want some indie dev to take all the good ideas contained herein, cut out all the chaff, and make something fun and distilled.
Titanfall 2: Titanfall 2 has a somewhat similar problem as Bulletstorm in that it has pretty fun mechanics but mixes things up so frequently you never really feel like you get good at any of them. But it outshines Bulletstorm in several key areas: the mechanics are just more in-the-moment fun, the aesthetics are just plain prettier, and the story is genuinely good. I still wish it was less of an amusement park ride pulling you towards the next thing and would let me really dig into its various weapons and mechanics, though I guess that's what the multiplayer is for. But there were some real shining moments in this one.
Prey: This is the one I'm currently playing, and, hoo boy, I am in love with Prey. The only immersive sim I've sunk more than an hour into before is Deus Ex, which I've always more respected than loved, so Prey is benefiting from me not just falling for the game but being the conduit by which I fall for an entire genre. And I could talk about the story, the themes, the creative gameplay, the worldbuilding, the writing - which are all great - but, honestly, what's won me over is just the feeling of being in a place. After a bunch of shooters where environments are really just backdrops for action, meant to be pretty but not dwelt upon, Prey's sense of being somewhere, of Talos I as a space with people and stories and history, and of myself as an embodied individual, full of fiddly little mechanics to make things just a little more real, is what's getting me. Everyone says it falls off in the final third, which I'm not looking forward to, but I got the deluxe edition so hopefully I will enjoy Mooncrash when and if I need to wash a disappointing finale out of my mouth.
That's all the big name stuff so far! I've got Control, Wolfenstein: The New Order, and Jedi Fallen Order lined up for after Prey, and Sekiro and Nier: Automata down the line. If there are any other standout AAA things from the last 5ish years you think I should sink my teeth into, post them in comments!
-I
Comments
Amee
I never remember which games are AAA or not, especially w/ the big players helping indies get made now? Anyway, seconding the Horizon Zero Dawns: good basic plot, interesting characters, gorgeous world
Vincent Aaskov
Oh right I remember that now! Then I’ll just wait for your take on Inside ;)
Ian Danskin
My take on Limbo went up four years ago! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQ6H8GJBT1k
Vincent Aaskov
Don’t know if it counts as AAA, but the two games by Playdead: Limbo (2010) and Inside (2016) are masterpieces, and though they might be short they are some of the games I’ve played that are most densely packed with quality - and I would love to see your take on them.
Kass Fireborn
HZD fistbump. My second playthrough (regular new game V Hard, which was fun because I can't aim worth a damn) and was suuuuper tempted to immediately NG+ Ultra. I just love the mechanics of it so much I want to see them pushed to the wall and how much that kills me.
Kass Fireborn
The grin I got at that Nier: Automata, man--I recently shepherded a friend through it on Twitch spoiler-free and the experience of *that* was so incredible in itself it curbstomped all other candidates and now luxuriates as my #1 game. Ending E never fails to make me cry--and is, in fact, worth entire essays itself, except in that weird way where you kinda want to preserve it for anyone who hasn't been there. I still am so grateful, Nuclear_Anys. I am curious, though, if anyone who hasn't played Nier:A (or can clearly remember) could tell me the things they have heard about the game? I'm perilously close to a video essay of my own on an aspect of that. It gets talked about... oddly. Oh! But one very important bit of advice. The keyboard mapping for PC is rubbish. The dodge is ... very non-ideal. At least try it with a controller to get a feel for how it *should* work. I have absolutely no idea how you'd even pull certain moves off with default keyboard settings there. As far as big-budget recents, gotta also encourage Horizon Zero Dawn, which I think is now my #2 game. Just how *staggeringly* good the moment-to-moment combat felt alone is amazing, and there's a lot more to love. There's a genuinely good science fiction plot that actually startled me there. It's the first system-seller I've ever had: I'm buying the HFW PS5 and that's that. Usually I wait quite a ways into dev cycle. I will not wait for this. I'm not at the Nier: A or Enter the Gungeon or Subnautica (SPEAKING of a sense of place) point, where I buy copies I can't even use because I want to give value commensurate to my pleasure, but it's *close*.
Joe Wise
Excited to see what you think of Nier: Automata! It's a very weird game
I third death stranding - I would looove to hear your thoughts on it.
Shieldwall
omg, I wanna hear your opinion of Nier: Automata so much
Berettadin
Best Death Stranding comic: https://terminallance.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Strip_DeathStranding_web.jpg
Ben Wilcox
Not all AAA games, depending on how you define that, but some of the best/most interesting games I've played that you need a decent PC for in the last few years: The rebooted Hitman games - fun puzzles with multiple clever solutions Dishonored/2/Death of the Outsider - Similar to Prey, clever immersive sims Divinity Original Sin 2: One of the best RPGs ever made The Witcher 3: Ditto Horizon Zero Dawn: Open world done relatively right Hellblade: Mind trip Life is Strange and its spinoffs: Great take on a story/adventure game Stellaris: One of the best 4x games in recent memory Total War: Warhammer/2: The best the Total War series has ever been, and the best Warhammer games ever made XCOM/2: Great tactical combat games with a lot of fun mechanics Yakuza 0: A great intro to a wonderful Japanese series, finally available on PC Persona 4 Golden: One of the best JRPGs, finally available on PC Stardew Valley: Will consume your life Factorio: Ditto A Plague Tale: Innocence: Another great modern story/adventure game, darker than Life is Strange Heavy Rain/Beyond Two Souls: David Cage's..."idiosyncratic" take on adventure games, also now finally available on PC - maybe not that great, but definitely interesting
Berettadin
Sounds like you've got plenty of excellent choices but as a "AAA Dark Horse" suggestion the 2016 Mad Max game is surprisingly good. It's not deep, but it is fairly singular. It has that "feels like a place" quality going for it. It is also strictly Max's story. No Furiosa or Brides or Mothers, alas There are definitely people who aren't hostile about being important, but this is a story strictly about Max. That doesn't end well -as it should not.
Berettadin
The Mass Effect trilogy. Part one is mechanically rough, but as mega-narrative sci-fi operas go this is the top tier. It's about love and people, man. The Dark Souls trilogy. As far as narratives that unspool in pieces are considered this is a strong entry that also basically launched a new genre. The world is moody and complex, the characters are strange and sometimes almost subtle and the combat is sometimes punishing. For me the division between Dark Souls and The Elder Scrolls is that TES is a strong candidate for a refined version of what's already accepted and Dark Souls is a hard-swerve to Elsewhere. Go to Elsewhere. Climb the terrible peaks and stare down as your vision of what's going on subtly shifts time and time again.
Oh, Control is incredible if you like David Lynch-like storytelling. And the action is super satisfying (especially around the last quarter of the game or so, when you have all/most powers unlocked) and fun in itself. Also, if you like The New Order, definitely play The New Colossus: it's quite similar, but streamlined and improved in mechanics, and the story and characters are much better! I honestly don't give a rat's ass about FPS, so I played in the easiest setting to kill every nazi in sight and see the story bits. And it was super enjoyable, so that's something!
Colin Ferguson
Jannis Tenbrink already mentioned Death Stranding, and I'm going to second the recommendation. It's already out on Steam, and I think you'd probably have interesting thoughts on it, one way or another. It's definitely not everyone's cup of tea, but there's also nothing quite like it. It has a very meditative tone, the challenges are mostly those of hiking across rough terrain with a heavy backpack, having to adjust your load and watch the placement of your feet and balance your speed and when to stop to drink, etc. But what sets it apart is that it has a very indie, arthouse kind of gameplay and story going for it... but with the budget, presentation, and the absolutely ostentatious casting of a summer blockbuster. It's an odd beast, and I'm sure you'd find something interesting to tumble around in your brain there.
It's already a bit old, but I have find memories of Dishonored, and wager you'd enjoy it
Eric Hula
Omg, listening to Damnatian while I read this. Ty!
Pam Kessler
This isn't a AAA title, but I'd love to see your take on Hades by Supergiant Games. Apart from being a really enjoyable action roguelike, it has one of the most interesting approaches to failure that I've seen in awhile, in that you're actively rewarded for dying - both in resources and unlocking parts of the story.
JinxedJoker
If you haven't already played Horizon Zero Dawn yet, that's coming to PC now surprisingly. I LOVE that game. One of 2 games I've ever finished and IMMEDIATELY started seriously playing a 2nd play-through. (the other was Transistor)
JinxedJoker
Is The Witcher 3 on your radar? It's SUPER cheap to pickup and a delightful take on 'pulp detective novel in a fantasy world.' Jess and I have been lost in this one in sessions since before COVID and it's been a great ride, even better with some light modding (virtually out of the box these days). :-)
JinxedJoker
One thing I REALLY enjoyed about Titanfall 2's campaign is the combination of most of the objectives being 'reach a place' not 'kill these mooks' and the most robust parkour system I've played with since Mirror's Edge (there's a fun one to check out!). I played through the entire campaign in one sitting avoiding as many on-foot fights as I could, because: 1) I was there for mech battles, not the CoD shooter 2) Parkour courses with bullet obstacles were WAY more novel and interesting to me than clicking heads 3) Who doesn't love a good pacifist/minimum kills run? I have to say, I HIGHLY recommend anyone try this for at least a chapter as it was a great, if goofy experience.
Leighton Carden
It's not AAA, but if you haven't played Outer Wilds you absolutely must. It's my game of the decade and I wish I could wipe my mind and experience it again.
Kasra
Excited to see what you think about these, Nier especially! You've already covered all the AAA games I would have recommended, but there a bunch of more indie games that need fairly-beefy PCs, so in case those count, I can't recommend Outer Wilds enough! (Not to be confused with The Outer Worlds).
Matt Cramp
I cannot wait for you to get around to Nier: Automata. It _might_ be my Game of the Decade? It is a masterpiece, despite it being frankly a passable action game (with an amazing soundtrack). I'm still shocked how it rendered some of gaming's most enduring arguments _irrelevant_.
Will Bower
witcher 3 is great! not sure if that counts as triple a (and cd projekt red sucks) but if you’re playing big name titles from the last five years it’s worth getting too eventually, even tho it’s super long. i also really liked what i played if horizon zero dawn. i didn’t finish it (was playing it on my brothers ps4 but then i moved out of my parents home) but it’s very fun. i think there a pc port of that one coming soon which i may pick up when that happens
WGM
On Wolfenstein: It does not balance difficulty as well as Doom 2016, so I would recommend setting it on the lower end just to keep the gameplay flow.
Luis
Hellblade Senua’s Sacrifice is more double-a than triple if you wanna get ~technical~ but it’s an unmitigated masterpiece. Also, I have this nagging, lukewarm take that the Just Cause games have been a zombie franchise since the second one came out and I feel like there’s more to be said there but also I’m a dumb dumb and also also I don’t want to play more Just Cause
Nikki
I'd recommend Detroit: Become Human, even if just for the visuals. Everyone should play a David Cage game at some point to see where white intellectualism leads if left unchecked, and playing one where he got so much money shoved up his ass that he wasn't involved in as much parts of the process anymore as in his other games means that more of the game is actually good while it's technically superb. Also, Death Stranding is releasing on PC soon too, so you might want to have a lookout for that as well, if you're interested in that game.
Oooh, I love RagnarRox's videos, really excited to see your colab now!
