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@Kaloudz @AlwaysPlaying I've tried to squeeze in an hour of play before my work, just to finally try it out. Damn, it's in rough shape on Series S, even after patch. Colorful design, but very simple in details and graphics department. Which could be perfectly fine (Metroid Prime Remastered) if game wasn't so unappealing and soulless. Main voice actor had to be memeing the whole world, there is no way this is their best possible performance..
Out of respect to Bioshock vibe it doesn't manage to properly replicate yet, I'll give it more time. And 200 GB of traffic. Also due to that.

@Kaloudz I was just logging in to say the same! I have limited network traffic, and have wasted over 200 GB since initial preload on this game.. and have yet to be able to run the bloody thing!

@Kaloudz 45 is bad as it is not targeting 40, it's targeting 60. If game had a 40 fps lock in place, it would probably be much better off than with 45 (45 means you are missing the refresh rate of your TV, which results in a stutter, although framerate is technically higher)

Well, that's disappointing. I really had my hopes high for AH, expecting it to be a GP hit.
Is performance at least decent on Series S?

That will surely be a popular decision..
Ignoring resell value of physical edition is just ignorant (there are old Nintendo games that are genuinely worth 4-5 times more than they were day 1)

Tried SW3 on PS Plus while available.. it really isn't very good. Feels like a game 25 years old at it's core, but not in a purposeful way. So to all fellow Series S owners, not missing much.
On a sidenote, less than a week till Atomic Heart!

It figures an indie studio would think so. It's a model tailormade to alleviate the risk of failure from poor performers. Instead of having to test and impress the market, you get a decent but not great return guaranteed.
On the other hand, it's the reason why 3rd party AAA games have been severely lacking lately, as they can predict a commercial success using traditional lucrative sale model.

I'm embarrassed for both of these companies, just reading on the side. It's that uncomfortable feeling you get when you experience second hand shame. Can't all of this just be private?

@belmont I'm not a fan of the Series controller neither, similar reasons. Dpad is too clicky, asymmetrical design not what my hands are used to I guess..
But man, that FH5 controller is a thing of beauty. (I don't have one, I've made my own shell out of few neon green and black parts)

Hi-Fi Rush was great, Monster Hunter too (but I've played through that elsewhere). Everything else, I wouldn't have been bothered even if they skipped GP.

I'm really not that into this game and gameplay trailers have not helped. Something is just off and generic. But, games have came out and surprised me, changed my mind. Maybe Redfall ends up being another one.
Either way, as of right now I don't care if it requires online, because I don't think I'll bother long enough.

This guy should play Two Face in the next Batman movie. You can pay me later DC.

Played through campaign and maybe 8-10 hours online. Campaign was dissapointing, game was buggy, and MP was barebones and generic.
And I was definitely done afterwards (I simply could not see anything unique and/or special to keep me coming back).

GwG are just an insult to subscribers. Put it out of it's misery and merge it all into GP. It hurts seeing it struggle.

@Banjo- Forspoken is a terrible mess. The power of marketing is the only reason that game is not gonna sell just to friends and families of developers...

Awesome shadow drop. I would not go as far as 10/10 but I do think of it as an 8.5 - 9 game. Very fun gameplay and initial presentation, does not take itself too seriously.
My cons are mostly around obvious "invisible" wall design, as there are gaps one should be able to go through but can't due to level design. The same can be said about platforming, there is a lot of "only way to properly do it" mechanics at play. Lastly, scope and length are limited and not in the full-priced game territory. These are normal and expected for a mid-budget game.
I feel like most of 10/10 GOTY scores are caused by such a drought of good new games by MS in 2022. That literally caused people to score High on Life as 9/10 (objectively not even a decent game).
Either way, Hi-Fi Rush is by any metric above average and a big win for Team green!

@Bobarino while I do believe lack of RT is not a deal breaker currently, difference is not something that one needs to zoom in to see. If anything, it is obvious on any resolution as lightning and/or reflections are simply more natural, not necessarily sharper.

It's slightly concerning as XSS is obviously not capable of proper RT support, and it means alternative techniques have to be used. These solutions are going to be less and less prioritized as time goes by, and the quality will probably decrease.
On a separate note, I find RT 40fps a very good middle ground between response time and image quality. Probably not widely feasible on XSS, but it has been great on XSX when used.

@InterceptorAlpha I really don't see it. And I don't mean it is a bad game in any way, if anything it feels like something I would love personally. Quick gameplay, doesn't take itself too seriously, aims for fun over bulls**t. But GOTY qualities or production values it simply doesn't have. Which is also perfectly fine, if they were an indie studio, this game should be a heavy contender in that category.
Anyway, a perfect shadow drop and a great surprise. (but you don't shadow drop a Starfield contender)

Not much for me I guess, but that's ok. I'll try out JoJo and Hi-Fi Rush, maybe I get hooked on either..

Not really interested in either. Basic controllers should be good enough for regular usage.

It is probably too early to announce it on Direct tomorrow. My thinking was that the whole point of Direct was to show off "near complete" stuff. But I might be wrong (I don't care for early in development, CGI trailer stuff either way).
Looking forward to Forza and Redfall though.

9/10 from me, but I've played it on Switch. Ran it on Xbox to check out visual upgrades, but I won't be starting from scratch (would be great if there was a save transfer feature). Anyway, my favorite MH game.

I have a feeling this might not be "my faith restored" kind of event. Hopefully I'm wrong

@Acurisur I'm in a similar situation, with year in the future making me start to evaluate things already. I got GPU for a fraction of a price and it was a no-brainer. However, if the current pattern continues, or actually lasts for majority of year, I won't extend my subscription full price. I feel that to be reasonable.
There is literally a year for MS to change my mind.

@Kaloudz I agree with MHR being a great game, but I've played it on Switch and it was a 20 USD game (recurring sale). So value is a bit doubious there.

Maybe the person doing GP community marketing was let go?
Joking aside, they have been communicating GP plans poorly for a couple of months now.

I don't think he is delusional, but his speeches sure seem to make it look like it to anybody with IQ higher than room temperature. Does he stop to reflect how false and contradictory these things he says sound?
He is working on an acquisition of a company involved in one of the greatest office culture scandals in the industry. Acquisition that is arguably threatening to monopolize aforementioned industry.

Getting fired is an awful thing, but at least in 343's case it has been obvious changes will have to be made.

Weren't these guys supposed to be working on new Twisted Metal?

I don't have a sassy thing to say, it just sucks for people let go.

Well, in all honesty, it is a damn good show everybody should watch.
It might make few people think about getting PS5, but hey.. what can you do. Phil plays his best games there too 🤣

Format always should have been just gameplay and devs, minimum cinematics, no hosts and fillers!
Honestly, if they mess this up, I'm selling the console and cutting my losses.

Pleasantly surprised that there in fact is a curation process and it serves it's purpose.
Game probably wasn't worth what they wanted to charge per download.. (keep in mind people try almost anything that gets added, and MS pays smaller fee even in such cases)

@Lup agreed, this should be a case of justified praise. And it is a bit sad Sony did not mention MS when they released adaptive controller.
However, it has to be said, MS is really not giving anybody a lot of material to praise lately.

@IOI oh, I did not mean that as GP specific problem. My point was that they would release incomplete game that will only become whole once "ultimate edition" gets published.
Calisto Protocol is a great example of a game that would have been smart to exploit GP/PSP route, because at 70$ it is rubbish.

Extensive DLC plan makes me a bit cautious. There is a risk GP release might end up being just a demo/trial, with 1/5 of campaign content..

You are missing none/neither option in the poll.

It has been very interesting to see how fellow gamers think about last 2 years, broken down into detailed categories.
Just wanted to say how refreshing such article was! 👍

I feel like I read the same thing every year. Next one is going to be The year of Xbox. But Godot never comes..

Hardware: B (Series S had some challenges)
Subscription service: C
First party games: E
Brand management and confidence level: E

Somewhere between D and C overall, I opted for C. But yeah, wasn't 2 very good years unfortunately.

@BBB pretty much my experience with Elden Ring. Not sure what all the fuss is about, but since everybody seem to love it.. I guess I'm just too old.
Anyway, topic of the day, indies are great, but I love myself some AAA games. Also, there is this tiny little company called Nintendo doing all these fun and experimental AAA games. So it's not like nobody risked through 2022 it just wasn't MS or Sony (predictably).

Haven't bought any games on my Series S. It was always just going to be a GP machine, so no surprise there.

Awesome result, given there are very few first party games for it. MS is taking a serious loss on S + GPU conversion combo, but they are grabbing market like there is no tomorrow.

Decent list of games, but also constantly on sales.. so I'm not as worried.
Would be nice if additions followed similar quality.

With High On Life specifically, I have a feeling I'm just so distanced from reality. It is getting all these decent reviews, and the game is just plain bad for me. Literally no redeemable qualities.

How can anyone seriously make this argument? MS is only embarrassing themselves with such angle.

@Doublecell it's not, as you do pay for it. Hook for players was that they would get more quality content for less money.
Actually, the selling point for developers is that people will pay for their game, even if it wouldn't sell on the open market because they blindly prepaid for it.
There is an overlap between the two. It's just that I don't believe bunch of junk counts as "more" or "anything" really, if I ain't gonna enjoy it.

Tried High On Life for about an hour. I find it to be an extremely bad game, with so many technical problems it's not even funny. Enemies are shimmering and stuck behind covers watching in opposite direction. Just a mess.
And even the humor I had very high hope for, doesn't really click with me (doesn't feel organic at all). Shame

Absolutely, I'm all in for no filler pure content approach. Unfortunately, it has been mostly opposite with cinematics and hype propaganda.