Wait, but wasn't BO7 engagement already down by almost 50% compared to BO6 the year prior?

I mean, it makes sense because BO6 was the first COD on Gamepass and was seen as a sort of return to form for some reason (it wasn't) and got high scores everywhere.

On a side note, it's funny how these high scoring COD's are always so on the basis of having a good campaign and a grounded setting, but games that do MP way better like MWIII and BO7 get lambasted for their admittedly abysmal campaigns; the latter is the MP I put the most time in (though I've been playing COD only for a few years), while the former is widely seen as the best MP in years.

I just finished it a couple of weeks ago 😭😂

@Rimebreaker same, it really depends on the period. Looking back, this year for example I have played fewer indies than usual so far, and have replayed a lot more games than I usually do too.

@Ninerguy1608 it got "demoted" from Ultimate to Premium.

@Link41x yes, the wait is killing me! 😄 Have a nice day!

@Link41x sounds like I'm not the only one in a Zelda and DQ mood here ahaahha

My copy of BF6 arrived today so I've played a bit of that, and had fun being useless when I wasn't confused by the UI, challenges and menus lol

On the single player side, I Just wrapped the post game content of DQVII Reimagined on the Series X and man, what a game it is! It was my first time playing VII and it's already one of my favorites, so much so that I'll probably play the 3DS remake as well further down the line.
What can I say, Dragon Quest is one of those rare series that never misses the mark, and I love it to bits!

Now I'm debating what to play next, with too many candidates to choose from lol
I'm thinking of keeping the DQ streak going with either 1+2 HD-2D or DQ Heroes II, but at the same time I'd like something more action/adventure oriented like replaying TOTK via the Switch 2 Edition or Mafia DE via the new Series X version.

So many great games, so little time!

And that's why the industry is in the cul de sac it currently finds itself in: greedy execs + woefully uninformed casual customers = this crap right here.
So I guess thanks to all those dumb enough to pay €100 upfront for a game that hasn't even been shown yet for the progressive further endhittification of this industry we're going to see after everyone and their dogs follow GTA's example.

Also, I've never been a big fan of GTA, but those who are swear by its satire (which I always found very surface level in the first place) and at the same time are willing to bend over backwards for a series that's become exactly what it was meant to criticize. Funny that.

@FraserG thanks!

@FraserG do you have any idea why the Definitive Edition shows up as "S|X Optimized" in the store, but the standard version does not?

Btw I'll try out the free trial later and see if it clicks

@clvr mate, look, the reason I complain is exactly because I love this art form to bits and want to see its immense potential realized.

If you're willing to settle for less, good for you. I'm not.
The fact that millions upon millions also do doesn't make you or them right, it's a basic logical fallacy proven time and time again, and also exactly the reason why publishers pull this BS in the first place.

I hope you and everyone else enjoy the game, but it's so frustrating to see people argue against their own interest and in favor of a mega corporation that only values them as consumers.

@NishimaruX the fact that you're not forced to buy it doesn't mean this isn't a gross business practice, it's a non sequitur used way too often.

I know millions like it, That's exactly why Rockstar and Take Two have taken this path and why they will get away with it and be copied by the whole industry.

@NishimaruX everything about this is a scam, from the code in a box fiasco to the actual complete game costing at least 100 euros.
They're doing it because they know they will get away with it, as the vast, vast majority of people who will buy this game are not enthusiasts like us on these sites and won't know any better.
Although unfortunately it looks like enthusiasts as well don't know any better judging from the comments defending Rockstar.

And obviously the sheep praise it and give it 5 stars while being taken advantage of.
We truly live in a cyberpunk dystopia.

30 FPS in 2026 is unacceptable, end of.

But of course this being Rockstar it'll be praised to hell and back even if it has terribly outdated gameplay and mission design, which it will probably do if V and RDR2 are anything to go by.
I can understand the casuals' obsession with their games, but it takes very little exploring to find way better, more interesting games.

@HonestHick ah yes, it's obviously the devs' fault and not the managers who bought them in the first place!

@HonestHick I didn't like Hellblade either but boy what an ignorant and plain vicious comment.

Pie in the Sky: Quake 1 reboot à la Doom 2016 (but that would be announced at Quakecon, to be fair)

Reasonable: Wolfenstein 3. C'mon, they said they'd been working on it years ago!

Absolutely fantastic game, and a testament to id's incredible ability to switch up meaningfully the gameplay each time while effortlessly pushing technological boundaries.

I still prefer Eternal personally, but they're so different it's really hard to compare them; yet, they both feel like Doom through and through.
I'd really is on another level, I'd love to see them tackle Quake (specifically 1) next!

The Saboteur please!

Some things aren't meant to go on forever, and Halo is definitely one of them.

I'm still angry that The Outer Worlds won't exist anymore. I played 2 last month and it was a blast, infinitely better than any Bethesda game I've played, but for some reason those games get to be excused for being dog water while other, way more worthy RPG's are held to completely different standards. It's insane how much Bethesda can still get away with.

@Banjo- they bashed it because it's simply an embarrassment of a game, especially when compared to its contemporaries.

I personally think Xbox Next would make sense.

Nope, it's by far the most overrated series ever, and they would have to fix a lot from V but I just don't expect them to do any of it.
The fact that it'll likely be locked to 30 fps alone should be telling of how overrated R* is.
Any other game and dev would be torn to shreds, and rightfully so.

@Kezelpaso no news about DUSK finally being out on Xbox?!

One of the worst and most disappointing game I've ever played.
Seriously, I'm still amazed at how much is just plain wrong with this trainwreck of a game.
Thought Bethesda was overrated prior, now I just think they're absolutely incompetent, especially when they don't have other people's lore to work on.

Atomfall, Blue Prince, Avowed.
Have yet to play Clair Obscur and I haven't finished Doom yet, otherwise I suspect they'd be duking it out for first place.
Still, Atomfall was amazing and pretty much what I wanted it to be.

Yeah, because it's anything but a JRPG.
I expected you to be a bit more genre savvy than that, to be honest.

Just wrapped Thymesia and I loved it.
I'm still amazed it was made by only 6 or 7 people.

Lol this must be one of the worst takes of all time, but then again what do you expect from an out of touch a hole who designed games with ridiculous stories and can't even understand a basic Metroid room?
If anything, Starfield is a terrible game on so many fronts, story included. Characters are cardboard cutouts, factions are nearly indistinguishable from one another, the worldbuilding is atrocious unimaginative, and completely at odds with itself (grounded Nasapunk but also space magic? Sure), and the central mystery is never resolved.
If that's a great story to him, I hope he never approaches a writers' room.

I've been playing it for a couple of days and I've already sunk so many hours into it.
While it technically isn't my kind of game, I consider it to be one of those incredibly rare perfect games.

Tried and got bored of it soon enough as I'm not into MH, but I definitely recommend it to anyone with a passing interest in this as it's not often you see a debut game so polished and innovative, way more than any recent AAA game.

@Isolte this is wrong on so many levels.
If you design around consoles first (as Rockstar do) and can't optimise decently for those because of "scope" and "size", well, you gotta rethink your priorities.
Then again, Rockstar games are the most overrated in the whole business, with the same stale and dated gameplay and the excruciatingly limiting mission design, and I don't expect any of that to change with GTA VI. It'll just be prettier.

@Kieduss people like you, who jump to absurd, borderline conspiratorial conclusions based on no evidence at all with the smugness of an expert, and on top of that spew out generalized judgements on a whole group of people, are actually why we can't have nice things.

@clvr I was being ironic.
Do you really think a 3rd person Blade game is a good fit for Arkane?

@Ricky-Spanish I don't even know how to reply to such a non-sequitur.
Did you even read what I wrote?

I'm so freaking mad.
Machine Games is one of the best studios around, so let's not let them do their own thing, no, let's force them onto a stupid license that doesn't fit them so they can deliver a mediocre game based on an outdated series of mediocre movies, great idea!
I'm so looking forward to Arkane's Blade game 🤬

Seriously, **** MS and this industry.
You got a successful new IP like Tango? Closed.
You have a successful series in Wolfenstein? Make stupid Indiana Jones.
You made some of the best immersive Sims ever? Let's throw you in the live service mines, then shut down one studio and have the other make a 3rd person Blade game, perfect fit.

@Tasuki yeah let's blame the players, makes sense!
Just because an infinitesimally small percentage of the community buy this crap doesn't mean all of the community wants it, I feel daft even having to say that out loud.
And let's not forget that they wouldn't buy them in the first place if they weren't offered to them.
Supply decides demand in these cases.

Oh and the "unrealistic" remark makes no sense.
Nicky Minaj and Snoop Dogg are realistic models, but they're still wildly out of place.
It's a matter of having an identity and style of your own compared to being a kitchen sink of nonsensical crossovers, which both Cod and Fortnite have devolved into.

A couple of matches of The Finals are my go to, otherwise it depends on what I'm playing at the moment.
Usually boomer shooters are also good because they tend to have short levels (and I love them to bits lol).

@K1LLEGAL 😂😂😂😂
I bet he's also enhanced now that PS5 Pro is out lol

Definitely Wolfy TNO, and it surely won't be toppled by a stupid licensed game.
I'm so sick of seeing some of the very best teams in the industry forced onto safe, licensed products instead of being able to create their own thing.
Who knows how long we'll have to wait for Wolfenstein III or a new IP because of freaking Indiana Jones, which I personally never found the appeal of.
The nail in the coffin was the announcement of a 3rd person Blade game by Arkane. That's just throwing darts at a wall for sure.
Sorry, rant over.

@Fiendish-Beaver not missing much to be honest.
The fun factor of the PS2 games is completely gone in favour of a "realistic" movement system, that, coupled with the still abysmal controls and average at best gameplay, make for a very clunky experience.
The story is embarrassingly bad, with no satire or bite whatsoever, and not even a shred of coherence.
I could go on but I think I gave you a rough idea lol

Seeing GTA 6 and especially Borderlands 4 at the top is disheartening. Not unexpected, just disheartening. Two of the most overrated and unfun series ever.
Also, they're publishing and giving updates on Judas, but what about Bioshock 4?

@PapaGlitch haven't played Gears so can't comment on that, but I 100% agree on Halo.

Forza: I'm not into cars or racing games.

Gears: I'm not into cover shooters as I find them boring and dull, and the dudebro aesthetics are just terrible to me, so that's one series I have literally zero interest in playing.

Halo: where to even begin...I was hyped to try out this series for the first time via the MCC a few years ago, and I came away with my personal second biggest disappointment (behind Starfield).
None of the games clicked with me as I found very little variance, especially in the first three, and the level design is just abysmal in my eyes, being used to playing tightly-woven boomer shooter levels. I even replayed all of CE in co-op, but both the other player and I came away pretty disappointed.
Infinite I completed and I found quite mid.
I'll always concede that the basics of moving and shooting are very good: I'm not one of those who think Halo sucks because it's too slow and floaty compared to the classics of the '90; on the contrary, I enjoy them and think they give the series its own personality.
But literally everything else, well...is just not for me.

The whole withholding review codes thing is a definite yikes, so not sure how positive the reception actually is.
Not to mention the actually negative reviews from trusted reviewers such as SkillUp.