RBRTMNZ

I really hate that any colorful game with a jump button is labeled a platformer. This games asks you to make like 4 skilled jumps in the entire playthrough. The gameplay is oriented around exploration not jumping. It's an adventure game.

Compliments on the poll design. I'm really impressed that you could capture most of the complexity in choosing games and how length impacts our choices in one poll with just five possible responses.

This seems pointless. If they are going to make any changes it shouldn't be to the format which is already great. They just need to copy Sony and shrink the tiles so you see the title card. That's why people like PlayStation's interface more even though it's a mess to navigate.

Is it really review bombing to criticize this mess? Having a persistent stream of new content is essential for a live service game. They don't have that essential feature so it's a bad game even if the bones are solid.

We get it. We just don't care.

@Oggiedoggie I don't think the existence of Elden ring precludes Sony and Nintendo from having amazing years. I realize that may not be your opinion but based on subjective criteria like critical and popular reception Sony and Nintendo have released a bunch of bangers and have more scheduled for this year.

I also think your comment about delays misses the mark. Sony delayed one game to 2023, Forespoken. They indicated that it is finished but they delayed it because they don't want it to compete with their other fall releases. They literally have too many games this fall. Nintendo delayed Zelda but they had Pokémon on deck to fill the spot. They can still slot in Advanced Wars if they have an empty month. And rumor has it we are getting a Metroid Prime remake.

It is simply not true that the other console makers are failing in 2002. They are having great years. Xbox is the only console maker having a ***** year. They should have delayed Halo to this year and released it with coop and a steady stream of multiplayer content. 2021 would have still been great without Halo, 2022 wouldn't be barren, and the people would not have abandoned multiplayer due to the lack of content.

Neon White is the best game this year.

@d0x3601 So if I'm understanding this missive correctly you have two main points...

1. The popular and critically acclaimed games released on other consoles are not as good as everyone says they are and to support this you offer your personal (Seemingly biased) opinions on the popular and critically acclaimed games.

2. Microsoft, a 2 trillion dollar company, deserves a pass on GP having a down year because They were consistently outbid by a company 1/20th their size.

Those aren't good arguments.

@d0x3601 I definitely do not think it is true that all the consoles are having a bad year. If anything Sony and Nintendo are having banner years while Microsoft languishes. Sony has God of War, Horizon, Sifu, Stray, Gran Turismo, Last of Us Remake, Valkyrie Elysium, Babylon's Fall, Ghostwire Tokyo, PSVR 2 news, and a new subscription service that rivals GP. Switch has Pokemon Arceus, Kirby, Neon White, Splatoon 3, Xenoblade 3, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, Bayonetta 3, Mario + Rabbids 2, Switch Sports, Triangle Strategy, Live A Live, Mario Kart DLC, Kirby Dream Puff, Mario Strikers, Fire Emblem Three Hopes, Monster Hunter Sunbreak, N64 added to online, and a bunch of smaller releases. Xbox has Pentiment, Tunic, Rogue Legacy, and a fine but definitely down year for GP.

@GoninChelsea No, I'm just expressing my empathy for anyone who has to do the very hard work of finding exciting Xbox news in 2022. It is possible to be critical of the ***** year Xbox has had without it being fanboy nonsense. I love my Xbox but this year has been bad with major delays, Halo failing, a weak GP slate compared to previous years, and little else to generate excitement.

Running an Xbox website in 2022 is rough.

I don't understand why anyone cares about this. I spend maybe 2 seconds/day on the dashboard. What on earth are y'all doing with your consoles besides launching game or streaming apps?

@Somebody That trailer was a roller coaster. I went from instant hype at the start to zero interest when I realized it was a co-op shooter. There are like a million of those that have come out over the last couple of years.

I don't mean to disparage GTA games when I say this because they are fun but I don't find these games to be particularly creative. If anything they are kind of reductive. They feel like you're playing "Video Game: The Game."

Lol imagine being so much of a console warrior that you voted for the games with gold over ps plus essential free games.

@JayJ I'm lucky enough to be able to have all three and like them all but I only play exclusives on ps5 because the controller is awful.

I really hope Microsoft doesn't feel compelled to copy the PlayStation controller gimmicks. On every Sony game I play I turn off all the dumb ***** the second the opening cut scene ends. It's all so distracting, kills the battery, and in the case of the adaptive triggers very uncomfortable for my hands and almost certainly contributing to long term damage.

The map is the only thing 5 does better than 4.

Not to disparage any of these games but I really expected Xbox to come out with fire this month after the delays. I know there are games here people will love but this definitely is not the response to the delays that I thought we would get.

They really should have held Halo until this year. They still would have had a great 2021 without Halo, 2022 would not be so barren, and it would have given them time to prep co-op as well as get ahead on making seasons for multiplayer so they could have had a tighter release schedule after launch.

Yoku is kind of a perfect offering for games with gold. I would be jazzed if I didn't already own it.

The combat and art look great. I was so hyped before learning it's a rogue lite. I think I just need to force myself to love roguelites because this Keeps happening.

I know delays are the norm but they seem to be particularly bad at hitting their dates.

@themightyant thanks for the tip! A site I use for tracking my switch library dekudeals.com recently added Xbox and PS games so I am tracking everything there now. They have a helpful label for when things are on Game Pass.

@HungryHungryHomer And I decided I am definitely going to add PS Plus Extra to my growing confusion. It's still a better problem than I had in my twenties which was being too damn broke for any games.

Even worse. I have purchased games on other consoles, not realizing they were currently on Game Pass.

This seems like a non story. The smoking gun they found from reviewing slack and emails is something they say is very clearly a joke when read in context and their interviews with former employees amount to "it was a bunch of small things." It sucks but it just sounds like normal work *****. I have a great union job with ample worker protections but my boss still sucks to deal with.

I love Game Pass

Games Purchased
Switch - 5
PS5 - 2
Series X - 0

Hours Played
Switch - 45
PS5 - 10
Series X - 200+

@Krzzystuff They really need to move away from this long ass format. Just put out an exciting 20 minute video akin to what Nintendo and Sony do. If I need reactions from streamers (I don't) then I can just find those on youtube.

@tanaka2687 I am not a big fan of the constant hype machine but Jeff seems super reserved. Basically all of his rumors are accurate and timely.

I highly recommend giving Touhou Luna Nights a quick play through. It is a good action platformer and it only takes a few hours.

Imagine limiting yourself to tiny handful of AAA games and then having the audacity to tell others they have bad taste. How do you even know what a good game is when you automatically reject 99% of games?

@Dezzy70 Indy games also have beautiful environments, the quality of the game, the perfection in movement and control and gameplay. In fact I would say indies frequently have the best gameplay and controls.

@BBB every video game should let you punt enemies straight to hell. I'm playing AC Odyssey right now and spartan kicking never ceases to be hilariously awesome.

None. I say we must move forward not backward, upward not downward, and always twirling, twirling, twirling towards freedom.

How is this list missing Ori?

For those of you across the pond, "virtue signaling" is a phrase used exclusively by the absolute worst Americans. It is used to escape responsibility by accusing good people of only acting good so other people think good of them rather than acting good because they are good people. Phil is not your friend. He is just another rich dude who won't do anything besides the most profitable thing.

@GunValkyrie it really does. I've been eyeballing forever.

@Dusk_Actual I considered that but it's the devs and support staff walking out of their jobs and putting their names on the line so I feel the need to stand in solidarity.

I wish Activision blizzard would fire their awful CEO so I can buy Sekiro, Crash 4, and Tony Hawk. I waited all year to buy them on sale and now it feels unethical.

I just put an hour into Guacamelee 2 and it's great so far. I think I'll definitely sprint to finish it before it leaves.

@MyThoughts31 Cool you found an edge case. This doesn't change that it is true that MOST trophies are either collectathons or require you to do x thing x number of times and they have very little to do with the reasons people played and enjoyed the game in the first place. Developers have also been moving away from skills based trophies in an effort towards making trophies more inclusive.

How to get a platinum trophy -

1. Play game
2. Beat game
3. Continue playing game doing the boring stuff that wouldn't do without some added incentive

@themightyant I am not saying it is a mass conspiracy. You're replying to a straw man you constructed. I am saying that the dude who is friends with Sony execs and developers probably uses whatever influence they have to help their friends. It's not a conspiracy, it's just normal rich dude *****.

@themightyant Even if TGA does not directly pick nominees it doesn't mean they have zero power to influence who gets picked. They choose who votes, they chose the cutoff date that excluded one of the biggest releases of the year, they chose the order in which info is presented to voters, and they chose which info to highlight. They have a lot of ability to game the system. It's easy to influence a secret vote.

@armondo36 yes I know the trillion dollar company will be fine. They'll be fine if they never sell another Xbox. That doesn't mean that it is untrue that this could have turned people away from storage expansion by presenting an option so expensive that people learned to go without.

The exorbitant cost of this proprietary storage has just taught me that shuffling things in and out of my SSD is really not that bad so now I will never buy an expansion even when prices drop. I can't be alone. They played themselves.

If oculus came to Xbox I would buy it day one.

@Dezzy70 I don't think it makes sense to rebrand just to sell extra merch. The green looks great for marketing needs. But I do agree with you that it is an impediment to selling merch. Maybe they should just use olive green for merch as it is a much more flattering color for clothing.

Maybe it's the color green or something but Xbox has the ugliest merch. Definitely losing the console merch wars.