Tdx

@TrollOfWar 2017 ImSim.

Dropped Prey for the 3rd time. The combat in that game is so poorly done - visuals, sound effects, feedback, etc.

Played a little Rage 1. Just as bland as I remember. I did enjoy the 2nd one though.

Xbox being "back" is gonna have to be like 3-4 high quality AAA games per year, not 6-8 mid-tier forgettable games.

Arkane has to be the most overrated studio in MS. Their games feel so janky to play. Playing through Prey right now - might be worst combat in any game ever.

The reality is that SoD is a niche game and, honestly, the 3rd one looks almost exactly the same as the 2nd thus far.

Asha is just trying to keep Xbox alive, prune waste and prepare to flourish.

They raised the console prices, I didn't care.
They took away day one CoD, I didn't care.
If they significantly reduce 3rd party/indie games on Game Pass, I'm out.

Finished Total Chaos. Solid combat and atmosphere, with several gameplay gimmicks throughout. Like an indie Resident Evil. Recommended for fans of the genre.

Finished Abyssus. Really hooked me even though I don't usually love roguelikes. Fun if you can stomach the repetition.

I have Dragons Dogma 1 lined up next I think.

I think they're also doing this to prepare us for the prices of the next generation. If the jump up in $ for Helix isn't as huge, there won't be as much pushback. Boiling a frog and all that...

I've heard the controller support isn't great on PC so we'll see how it feels on console.

Looks a lot like Roboquest, which has great gameplay but a boring structure IMO.

Edit: I've been playing it and it controls fine - great performance too.

Tried and dropped several survival games that I wanted to like but just didn't. Abiotic Factor (hate the UI), Grounded (weird combat timing), No Man's Sky (zero challenge). I loved Subnautica, Green Hell and Long Dark so it's not as though I dislike the genre. Maybe the co-op/crafting focus isn't my thing either idk.

Also dropped Escape the Backrooms. I enjoyed how weird it was but I got to the office party level and realized everything had just been tedious as a solo player.

Game will be better than Cyberpunk 2077. Tor Frick is awesome and The Ascent was more cyberpunk than 2077.

I don't care about the game, but fascinated to see what kind of performance they get if it looks like the trailers.

Pacific Drive. Cool game with elements of Subnautica. Took a few hours to get used to the finicky controls and learn to ignore a lot of the superfluous text, but now I'm really enjoying it. Has a constant tension. Working on the car is satisfying. Only aspect I don't like are the voices on the radio, which feel out of place.

In other words:

Need to cut several first party studios because they don't contribute enough.

The component costs are an existential threat to all consoles.

Phil was coasting and took short term survival strategies over trying to win long term (vendors, ports, infrastructure, etc.).

More so than in the past, I see companies that aren't really evolving and just rehashing old franchises. How many God of War, Halo, Gears, Resident Evil, Assassin's Creed, CoD and Zelda games will it take for people to want something else?

Don't make me choose between Windows and the Cloud 😢

@oopsiezz I'm sure they'd like everything exclusive but they can't afford it after their huge acquisitions and waning player base. It's better to be in 2nd/3rd place anyway, look at how Sony takes advantage of their users. But I have faith that Sharma wants to win, unlike Spencer who was just coasting and trying to survive.

Clockwork Rev looks less like an open-ended ImSim and more like a cinematic story-driven game, which is a bummer.

State of Decay 3 looks exactly like 2, hopefully they have interesting new systems.

Wo Long 2 will be fun. Maybe Valor Mortis too.

Everything else looked pretty boring to me personally. Gears/Halo/CoD gameplay hasn't changed in like 40 years.

Alters DLC is tempting

Finished Robocop Rogue City. Nailed the aesthetic of the movies but I found it to be too plodding. Maybe I just can't do linear story games anymore.

Vapor World looks interesting

Finished Trepang2 and Winter Burrow (both pretty solid).

Currently playing Escape Simulator (really fun puzzles).

It's a bad sign because I don't think Valve see the SteamDeck hardware as a profit maker - more as a doorway to their storefront. So increases are likely purely due to manufacturing costs from AI RAM siphoning, which will affect every future machine.

Right as I'm almost caught up with the Xbox One gen

OG was 4 years
360 was 8 years
One was 7 years
X/S has been 6 years

Two I'd like to see up there:
1. Add native gyro support
2. Stop auto-deleting captures locally

Do people actually play with the drive line on? Doesn't that ruin the game for you? Like the whole challenge of racing is when to brake and turn.

Yes! I posted this as a suggestion on Reddit years ago and got a million downvotes. Makes so much more sense.

Wuchang Fallen Feathers. Really enjoying it. It felt a little generic and messy at first but once the bosses ramped up I was hooked.

@FarmDog08
GTA was great in the PS2 gen: Vice City, San Andreas, VC Stories were all very fun and innovative.

Then they became these boring cinematic games with laborious controls and physics.

Finished Little Rocket Lab. Great game, loved it. Don't be fooled by the cover art, this is a demanding factory building game. Very rewarding to see your creations go from simple to hilariously complex.

Also Dome Keeper in local coop.Very chill. It didn't hook me in single player but multiplayer makes it a fun balance. Relaxing gameplay and soundtrack.

I'd assume this deal was in place before Asha took over. From a marketing perspective, they need to simplify GP, not add more versions/tiers.

Doom 1, 2, and 64 combined combat with exploration - concurrently - that's what made it so engaging.

Doom 2016 and Eternal separated combat and exploration into different activities.

Finished Expedition 33. Really enjoyed the parry/dodge combat, and a few great music tracks. Wasn't a fan of the story, the pacing and the messy overworld.

Also finished Wheel World. Cool vibe from Sable-esque art and Italians Do It Better soundtrack (very 2008) but the AI, physics and performance (improved since I first tried it) don't really hold up.

Also have been playing Dome Keeper in local splitscreen coop. Very fun, highly recommended if you're looking for a relaxing coop game.

She's really turning the brand around. The last step is making sure the first party studios are putting out the highest quality stuff consistently.

Love the amount of common sense coming out of the Asha dynasty.

No Windows, streamlined startup, quick resume.

Glad Xbox is listening to fans and making the changes that have seemed necessary.

Finished everything + DLCs in Starfield. Took 300+ hours across 5 characters since launch.

Played some New Vegas for nostalgia but dropped it. Definitely like Fallout 3 more personally - better exploration, dungeons, vibe, visuals, world cohesion. New Vegas is all about the quests, dialogue, choices and factions, which is cool but not why I play BGS games.

Just end it. Everything about Halo screams early 2000s. Innovate and move on.

Xbox needs to add gyro aiming. It makes FPS games so much more fun.

Well since most of the gaming press are unapologetic japanophiles, probably pretty high.

@moodmatcha Yeah. That's why I don't mind being in 3rd place

Ensure first party studios are making games that people actually want to play.

I prefer the originals. But pulling the modern day stuff out of AC is a big improvement.

Really appreciate the Ubisoft resolution/fps patches to originals. Just need Wildlands at 60fps.

Starfield. On my 5th character. An amazing world for people with an imagination for role playing.

Be more hands-on with first party game studios. Instead of letting them make whatever they want, enforce quality and innovation and fun.

"Adjust brightness until the Xbox logo is barely visible"

An Indie Pass option would be nice

Yes! Nice job Asha - love how quick the decision was executed.

CoD demographic is fundamentally different than the gamers who love all the variety and experimentation of Game Pass.

The previous reports were likely intentional leaks to gauge customer reactions ahead of the change.

Starfield. Started a new character and eventually played through the new DLC. I have more hours in this game than any other (ever) and I still have plenty of quests I have yet to play.