do new games suck or am I cynical?

It's not the graphics. I find all of these indie titles that people so revere to be shallow and/or not fun. Shovel Knight is an excellent example. I so tried to get into it because I loved the art style and story, but the gameplay mechanics, especially the movement, just felt so off to me that I wasn't having any fun. I spent far too much time trying to adapt to the movement mechanics that I was missing what the rest of the game had to offer.

Super Meat Boy is another example, but with the opposite problem. I found the gameplay and movement mechanics to be quite excellent, but I didn't find the monotonous gameplay loop to be all that engaging and I lost interest about half way through the original game. The challenge of the game can only get you so far.

One indie I absolutely love is The Binding of Isaac. Simple gameplay mechanics and gameplay loop, but each playthrough is different and doesn't overstay its welcome. I really enjoyed finding new items, learning what they do, and then strategizing on what I wanted to pick up and what I wanted to skip on subsequent playthroughs. The difficulty curve was just right. Loved it. Also loved Axiom Verge. Perfect Super Metroid clone that added its own uniqueness to the formula. Really nothing else to say about that.

SOMA is in my backlog, but I loved the Amnesia series and other games that followed that formula like Conarium.

It's really a mixed bag. While indies are more likely to bring unique ideas created with passion to the market, AAA games are more likely to provide a consistently engaging experience. My takeaway is that many indie developers have grand ideas, but do not have the experience to understand gameplay theory and the "why" of actually playing video games.

Hmm, I thought Shovel Knight was spot-on for control mechanics. Even better in Specter of Torment. Axiom Verge is absolutely flawless IMO. Did you try The Messenger?

Hyper Light Drifter, Dead Cells, and Sundered would be some others of my top recommendations. (but then, I probably sound like a broken record) :D

I actually think many of the indies go beyond just ideas. Some of the games have such precise execution that they're beyond even some of the greatest 16-bit era games. I'm a HUGE classic gamer too, and I still find many of the classics deficient when I go back to them (even when using original hardware). Well, maybe deficient is the wrong word, and doesn't cover what I'm getting at quite right. There will be minor differences of course. It's hard to rival software that talks directly to hardware. Maybe I just adapt easily or something, I don't know but I haven't felt like any of my modern favorites were off in any way.
 
It's not the graphics. I find all of these indie titles that people so revere to be shallow and/or not fun.

I can definitely see that point. Some indie titles are definitely not that good. But then some are just really good games. The issue is that you don't know what to expect so it's a bit more of a risk / reward thing. I've definitely returned a few games that I thought just didn't have merit, but then there are other ones that I feel are really undervalued. The biggest caution is that just because it's popular doesn't always mean that it's good. The problem is that when an indie game gets recognition, you start seeing mass appeal. The masses are the ones who keep all of the big AAA games going that everyone is showing dislike for in this thread. Some games can also be a tad buggy, or have some rough edges. But we used to play games that were terribly built, but they were so much fun you could ignore the rough edges. (Just about anything that MAXIS ever made fits that description)

The best part these days is that you can try out more games than ever before. Rather than dropping $60 - $100 on the latest AAA shovelware, you can pick up quite a few indie titles for the same money. Some might have potential, but just need more time to develop. Investing in them now might help them further polish the game, and some times you can revisit a game you played before and it will get better. Good indie titles tend to have decent support, so things will eventually get fixed. Some of them will just die out and you just won't get your investment back from them. But it's a lot easier to be out $15 than $60 on a bad title. I wouldn't necessarily be the first to just jump on board of completely new unknown games, but you can usually get a feel for them if you do a bit of research.

Personally none of the games you listed are ones I've even looked at. I know they are popular, but they don't really appeal to me.

My short list of indie games worth checking out are:

Factorio
Amazing strategy game, well polished, very addictive and complex gameplay

Banished
Slow paced single player strategy, very mellow game with a great soundtrack. Fairly simple in gameplay

Monaco
Very short game, top down escape room style game. Worth a couple bucks for a simple game that you could get a couple nights fun out of

Terrorhedron
Tower defense game, definitely on the buggy side but has some interesting aspects to it. Can be played with friends but is still fairly short for gameplay. Worth a couple of bucks, but definitely not something you'd want to play full price for.

Running with Rifles
Top down fps style game. Can get stupid hard to win on, so it can prove to be challenging. Usually best played with a couple of people so you can cover each other.

Don't Starve Together
Unique art style, 2d survival game that will constantly leave you in a frenzied panic to try to get things done. Every minute of the game is stressful and there is almost no downtime. Together is MP Co-op, Don't Starve is single player.



Of those games one is obviously way ahead of the other. I have a boatload of hours in Factorio, and it's one of my favorite games of all time. The other one in my list that I think deserves a special mention is Banished. It's quite a lesser known game, developed by a single person. There are a couple weird things that happen with villagers if you try to get carried away with the game, but it's just a fun relaxing game that you can enjoy. You can't micro manage everything, so it presents a unique style in that you can tell the villagers what you want them to do, but they don't always like to listen to you. Gives you something to be frustrated about their silliness, but if you can get over that you'll likely enjoy it.
 
I can definitely see that point. Some indie titles are definitely not that good. But then some are just really good games. The issue is that you don't know what to expect so it's a bit more of a risk / reward thing. I've definitely returned a few games that I thought just didn't have merit, but then there are other ones that I feel are really undervalued. The biggest caution is that just because it's popular doesn't always mean that it's good. The problem is that when an indie game gets recognition, you start seeing mass appeal. The masses are the ones who keep all of the big AAA games going that everyone is showing dislike for in this thread. Some games can also be a tad buggy, or have some rough edges. But we used to play games that were terribly built, but they were so much fun you could ignore the rough edges. (Just about anything that MAXIS ever made fits that description)

The best part these days is that you can try out more games than ever before. Rather than dropping $60 - $100 on the latest AAA shovelware, you can pick up quite a few indie titles for the same money. Some might have potential, but just need more time to develop. Investing in them now might help them further polish the game, and some times you can revisit a game you played before and it will get better. Good indie titles tend to have decent support, so things will eventually get fixed. Some of them will just die out and you just won't get your investment back from them. But it's a lot easier to be out $15 than $60 on a bad title. I wouldn't necessarily be the first to just jump on board of completely new unknown games, but you can usually get a feel for them if you do a bit of research.

Personally none of the games you listed are ones I've even looked at. I know they are popular, but they don't really appeal to me.

My short list of indie games worth checking out are:

Factorio
Amazing strategy game, well polished, very addictive and complex gameplay

Banished
Slow paced single player strategy, very mellow game with a great soundtrack. Fairly simple in gameplay

Monaco
Very short game, top down escape room style game. Worth a couple bucks for a simple game that you could get a couple nights fun out of

Terrorhedron
Tower defense game, definitely on the buggy side but has some interesting aspects to it. Can be played with friends but is still fairly short for gameplay. Worth a couple of bucks, but definitely not something you'd want to play full price for.

Running with Rifles
Top down fps style game. Can get stupid hard to win on, so it can prove to be challenging. Usually best played with a couple of people so you can cover each other.

Don't Starve Together
Unique art style, 2d survival game that will constantly leave you in a frenzied panic to try to get things done. Every minute of the game is stressful and there is almost no downtime. Together is MP Co-op, Don't Starve is single player.



Of those games one is obviously way ahead of the other. I have a boatload of hours in Factorio, and it's one of my favorite games of all time. The other one in my list that I think deserves a special mention is Banished. It's quite a lesser known game, developed by a single person. There are a couple weird things that happen with villagers if you try to get carried away with the game, but it's just a fun relaxing game that you can enjoy. You can't micro manage everything, so it presents a unique style in that you can tell the villagers what you want them to do, but they don't always like to listen to you. Gives you something to be frustrated about their silliness, but if you can get over that you'll likely enjoy it.


Monaco is amazing!! I bought it for all my friends, and my kids. We don't play it nearly as much as I'd like, but I'll still hop in once in a while, and play a few rounds on my own. So good.
 
I agree I think games r not as good bc we in our 30s lived thru all the major evolutions of gaming to this day. I started to delve into old nes, super Nes ,gba, ps1 games I never got around to beating or playing and it's been fun! There are sum fun pc Games like cup head,bloodstained etc that have brought back those old school memories for me and I really like this. I still need to play hollow knight, megaman 11, re2 remake hyper light drifter. Honestly what I miss most are the rts games that we got back in the golden age of pc gaming. I wish we could get a modern day supreme commander, command and conquer etc bc rts gaming was so fun for me. But just please get rid of microtransactions! I recently purchased Witcher 3 and still having trouble seeing what's so amazing about it! I kinda hate the open world stuff and like more side scrollers bc I end up aimlessly running around lost!
 
I just read a review of Black Desert Online saying the game is Hollow game. Part of the problem is trying to improve the graphics without sacrificing immersion.
Ashen I haven't played the game but it's a Dark Souls clone going for a clean style yet improving on graphics. Just because the developers spend all day in the art department doesn't mean the game will have more immersion which is why alot of games suck today and games from 2005 have more immersion then games from 2015.
 
Being in my late 30s w/a kid having a learning curve is a deal breaker for me. Gonna need to look into these casual games you guys have mentioned.
 
Being in my late 30s w/a kid having a learning curve is a deal breaker for me. Gonna need to look into these casual games you guys have mentioned.

You know, you've just made me think...

Back in the day, there'd be a well printed and well written 'manual', that you could indulge, but because it had more than just the basics, it was part of the art. And then you got into the game, now with a bit of basic grounding and some appreciation of it all.

This 'modern' era of making games so dumb you don't need a manual is actually WAY for the worse.

Makes everything shallow.
 
Being in my late 30s w/a kid having a learning curve is a deal breaker for me. Gonna need to look into these casual games you guys have mentioned.

Pretty confident you'll enjoy Dead Cells.

Also, Binding of Isaac is a good one.
 
This 'modern' era of making games so dumb you don't need a manual is actually WAY for the worse.
.

Is that it? Or are you just smarter now? :p

I miss the boxes that games used to come in more than the manuals. Psygnosis games were the best.
 
I go to arcades with my son and realize that I don't want to play any of the games. Most are these crappy ticket type games that are made for you to waste money on. The video games are mostly shooter games where there is a mounted gun. House of the Dead is my favorite arcade video game if I had to name one. I still like Ski ball, air hockey and Down a Clown.

A lot of games have learning curves I don't like because you can play a game once and then play it again in a week and forget how to play it. Or my son will play the tutorial levels of the game and ask me to play level 5 and I have no idea how the game works.

Guess I am too old for games. Say what you want about Call of Duty, it is one of the more enjoyable games out there.
 
I go to arcades with my son and realize that I don't want to play any of the games. Most are these crappy ticket type games that are made for you to waste money on. The video games are mostly shooter games where there is a mounted gun. House of the Dead is my favorite arcade video game if I had to name one. I still like Ski ball, air hockey and Down a Clown.

Well, to be fair, that's what arcade games were designed to do. :D I guess it really depends though. I still really enjoy certain arcade games, but they're mostly older ones. I still like a game of Mappy, Strider, Final Fight, Air Buster, etc. (for a few examples). I think the reason you see so many mounted gun games now (and other physical control games) is that it's really the only way they can differentiate them from something you can play at home.
 
ive been feeling this way for years.... 50 year old gamer...so ive seen my share of great games and well... i did play ET on atari...talk about frustration. I first noticed a change back when PCgamer magazine changed its format... it went from in-depth well written articles to... some sort of non-uniform mess of incoherent ramblings and photos randomly placed everywhere as if someone threw them against a wall. I could not even read it anymore... Had a subscription for years... loved getting my mag in the mail... with a demo disk. lol. The core market changed... i remember watching my son play xbox... just buzzing through a game and getting board with it in a couple of days or less, selling or trading for another.. wash rinse repeat. I remember playing Dark lands, and having the thick manual/book on my desk for references to maps, lore and such, playing for house on end late into the night... every game was a different experience and the graphics were and are really bad, but the music and sound and story was amazing, letting your imagination fill in the blanks. I used to say that the worst thing for computer games...was the 3d accelerator, after a while it was all about eye candy and less about gameplay and substance. Sure there have been some great games since, but few and far between... unless you are into MMO's and PvP games... which i am not, everything just seems like the same-ol same-ol crap. I do love my Rift though, it makes me smile every time i use it... but it needs more games.
 
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I see that you joined almost 20 years ago, maybe that has something to do with your view on newer games. I bet 15 year olds don't think games suck.

I just got Mafia 1 for $10 on steam, one of the best games ever.
 
I have the same problem, and I'm pretty sure it's just because I am getting old lol.

I don't like most indie games, platformers \ side scrollers don't do it for me. I don't play enough to still be competitive at shooters which is frustrating. Online communities are generally toxic for most new games. No one releases new interesting AAA titles anymore, etc. I've accepted that I am unhip and have outgrown the target audience. Cyberpunk is the only game I am currently excited for.
 
Don't feel this way at all. Been gaming since Atari's E.T. and Combat were a thing. I may hit a slump and take a break for awhile. I've never completely quit.
 
Being in my very late 30s now, with two little kids at home, it's not like I don't long for a bit of mindless gaming fun once in a while. Gaming has been ingrained in me since my early teens, I played and discovered so many wonderfully rewarding and entertaining titles over the last two decades. What I find ultimately challenging now is that I have no more patience to climb the learning curve necessary to get good enough at a game to the point where it's not frustrating to play. Life itself offers enough RL challenges that require focus, dedication and attention, and these are things that actually matter for me and my family. Learning the dynamics of new titles just is tedious and the reward just doesn't seem to be worth the investment. Perhaps this is merely a sign of getting old. Not that there is anything wrong with that....
 
for the most part i think what is missing today is length of the games. I really feel like older games were just longer, they tossed in more content at launch. There wasn't this here is the game but we already built the DLC that will add content we already have finished but decided not put in there game so we can make more money.

even games that seem large aren't really that large.

I think my biggest peeve right now is that EVERYTHING is multiplayer focused even if it has SP elements.
 
for the most part i think what is missing today is length of the games. I really feel like older games were just longer, they tossed in more content at launch. There wasn't this here is the game but we already built the DLC that will add content we already have finished but decided not put in there game so we can make more money.

even games that seem large aren't really that large.

I think my biggest peeve right now is that EVERYTHING is multiplayer focused even if it has SP elements.

Try No Man's Sky or Conan Exiles.

Endgame is up to you, multiplayer totally optional.
 
no mans sky is a bit different though, isn't more like a never ending game?

Absolutely. It is what you make of it. Bunch of new stuff arriving this summer too with a major free content update.
 
those don't really appeal to me. I guess I like start and ends.
I think that goes for a lot of us even many who do not realize it.
Also, I play the original 2D Mario Brothers games and find they stand the test of time better than most 3D games because I remember their maps almost by memory. Can't do that with most 3D games because there is too much to remember.
 
I’m in my mid 30’s and my first gaming experiences were on the Atari and an old 8086. I don’t feel that new games suck, but I have had to make some changes in the games I will commit my time to. I have pretty much cut out all multi player FPS games (co-op FPS games excluded). I just don’t have the time to play them frequently enough to get decent, which leads to frustration when I do play one.

I tend to play a lot more rpg and action/adventure games these days. As someone who played a lot of DnD style games on pc In the late 80’s/early 90’s, the revival of Baldur’s Gate style games over the past decade has resulted in some of the best gaming experiences I’ve ever had. D:OS 1/2, PoE 1/2, Tyranny, Wasteland 2, Dragon Age Origins, and the list goes on.
 
I don't know if "suck" is the right word...as it is "lazy." Even then, I hesitate to call them that because I'm aware of the hours put into making them. However, the copy and paste nature of the AAA market has me completely uninterested in most $60 games. I get tired quickly of the recycle and constant releases from a franchise. I'd prefer a bit more breaks between releases. It's absurd the amount of releases Ubisoft has done with it's franchises and I'm baffled that people play them.

Luckily, they aren't the only games in town and my interest seems to align more with the indies. Which, needs to be mentioned because the plethora of indie/throwback FPS coming this way is exciting. It's like someone understands that not everything needs to be these AAA scripted Michael Bay events.

It's also nice because not every game needs to be $60 or have a 100+ mil budget to be worthwhile.
 
Late response, only read the OP.

Your being cynical, I'm 35 as well, have a 10 year old and have an xbone, ps4, switch and PC. I still play PC weekly, on Friday nights, and throughout the rest of the week, I do 30 minute or more sessions on the switch or ps4 on the regular. You need to find games that are easy to put down and pick up sparingly so you do not burn yourself out. Games like Spiderman, I can do a 30 minute session on and get a bit accomplished. Minit or Enter the Gungeon, stuff you can do rounds of and feel decent about. Just depends on you, but it sounds to me like you burned out and need to reevaluate your gaming style.
 
The problem is a lack of original content and new gameplay and I think VR can someday change all that. However I was hoping VR would be better implemented by now but due to various (price, development) reasons it doesn't seem it is, at least not yet.
 
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