Gaming Goals for 2019

[Yacobg42]

I consider Breath of the Wild to be one of the absolute worst games I've ever played.

So that I can digest this statement better, can you sum up (very briefly) why ??

Big, dead open world, glass weapons, no dungeons, copy/pasted textures overused to the point it feels like an Itch.io Unity game, no story, boring minimalist score, stupid game design choices like not being able to climb in the rain, just... So many bad, lazy game design choices that people excuse just because it's Nintendo.

I was expecting a game that would feel like hiking and adventuring in a fantasy world, but instead I got this open world thing full of outdated tropes western open world games got tired of a decade ago with limitations defenders call "realism" that are nowhere near realistic. Like... You CAN climb a mountain in the rain IRL. You CAN smack something with a sword more than three times before it shatters. It's just an abysmal experience all around, and the single most disappointing game I've ever wasted money on.

It makes Start Fox Zero look like a masterpiece.

As a personal rule, I really try to avoid the "lazy" route. Even the classic "worst games," like Ride to Hell Retribution, are almost always the victim of underfunding and short timelines.

It's totally fine to not get on with a game, even/especially a critically acclaimed one. I found very little to like about 2018's God of War. But I know how much time was spent on it, and I knowhow considered every design choice was. Brushing off decisions as lazy isn't only unkind towards the real humans behind the game, it's a fundamentally reductive view of games as a whole.

I want developers to be able to make choices. I want them to take risks. And while it certainly won't always equal a game that personally resonates with me (e.g. God of War), I still want those aberrations in the formula to take place.

[ratsoalbion]

I’m also going to say that the 63 reviewers who awarded BotW an average of over 97% weren’t all biased, stupid, in collusion, victim to an Emperor’s New Clothes style collective delusion or some other combination of circumstances which led them to lavish the game with copious yet completely undeserved praise.

If we learned anything from covering all the Zelda games up to this one on the podcast is that every single entry in the series is wildly divisive.

For the record, the CaR team is somewhat split between BotW worshippers and dissenters, but those who didn’t enjoy certain elements wouldn’t suggest that the game was objectively ‘bad’, and certainly not lazy.

Whatever the makeup of the panel though, we’ll give the widely heard criticisms plenty of discussion as usual.

[Magical_Isopod]

I can't see how every single shrine having identical texturing, identical mummified bloke with orb at the end, etc. is an intentional design choice. It certainly FEELS like corner cutting. Same with all the towers being the same, sans a few minor tweaks in higher level areas for difficulty"s sake. And the four Divine Beasts having more or less the same boss - and the same textures to boot. It makes the whole experience feel rote and retitive beyond measure, and when you look at other Nintendo games of past and present, it's rare you can point and clearly identify recycled assets. You could say, "Well, that's because the world is bigger in this one." Fair - but that's kind of the issue at the core of BOTW. It's a big, empty nothing, lacking the detail and "fullness" of past entries.

I should also qualify too - when I say "BOTW is one of the worst games I've ever played", I should note that I try not to play bad or even mediocre games. So as a result, a lot of the game I consider "worst" are still generally going to have very high review averages - if something reviewed terribly in the first place, I'd have never bought it. So that subjectivity should be applied here. When I game, I game in hopes of finding the next Wayne Gretzky of games - it's a case of very high and *very specific* standards.

[Yacobg42]

On the contrary, Majora's Mask, consistently listed as one of the series' highlights, is built on the bones of Ocarina. And you could, uncharitably, call that corner cutting, but that seems like a narrow view of the process of development. Majora used the tools available to make an experience that felt fresh.

Every game is made up of resource allocation choices. Where you remember BotW's repetitive textures and bosses, I think of a world that genuinely filled me with awe and a constantly delightful series of interactions between all the systems built into it.

"Lazy," or "corner cutting" assumes a kind of objectivity in game design. But if those "lazy" choices (which still took an enormous team years to create) filled me with joy and wonder, then I can't help but think that there must be better adjectives to use when critiquing it.

[Sinclair Gregstrum]

Sinclair - Have a look at my backlog guide posted a couple days back. If you're not enjoying a game, there's no shame in bouncing on it. Like, no hyperbole, I consider Breath of the Wild to be one of the absolute worst games I've ever played. It's "a classic", but it's something I personally find absolutely nothing enjoyable about. Why waste hours of my life on such a thing?

Totally agree (not with the Zelda opinion I’m afraid!) - I absolutely don’t play things for the sake of it or if I’m not enjoying them anymore. Haven’t done for a long time. I just know it’s a cycle some can get into.

[Senorb123]

I am very excited to play RE 2 remake so that's on my list and I'm a huge Division fan so I see the Division 2 taking up a lot of my time. I want to play along with the podcast as well so FF 8 and 9 are definitely on my list this year as well.

[Joshihatsumitsu]

With gaming the culture is so involving and consuming sometimes - wanting to be part of the conversation around the latest releases, getting swept up in the excitement around upcoming ones, being knowledgeable about games from the past, and that's all aside from actually trying to be any good at the games you play!

I know I've felt the pressure in the past to play more, know more, be better. And then I had a word with myself and remembered the whole thing is just about having fun. Or least it should be for me personally. The most important thing was being firm with myself that I wouldn't play games just because I feel like I should anymore, whether that's picking up and playing a new game on release, or sticking with a classic I felt like I should play even if I wasn't enjoying it. Or just playing anything at all if I didn't really feel like it.

Am I bonkers or do/have others felt the same way?

I do have similar feelings with that pressure to be part of the conversation. And, like yourself, taking a step back and reminding yourself that really, this should be something to enjoyed. Perspective is important: I love gaming, but at the end of the day, they're just games. Life is much bigger than our comfortable little corner of the world.

[Beck]

A dozen or so completions ain't bad for a slump mate! I did 15 last year and was pretty pleased with myself!

Seriously though, if you're not enjoying it then why not take a break and wait for something that really pulls you back in?

I think it's an interesting topic for discussion - feeling tied into gaming in some way. I guess the same can be said for any hobby or activity. You do something for so long that it becomes part of who you are, but it's always worth the occasional reality check to make sure you're still getting what you need from it.

With gaming the culture is so involving and consuming sometimes - wanting to be part of the conversation around the latest releases, getting swept up in the excitement around upcoming ones, being knowledgeable about games from the past, and that's all aside from actually trying to be any good at the games you play!

I know I've felt the pressure in the past to play more, know more, be better. And then I had a word with myself and remembered the whole thing is just about having fun. Or least it should be for me personally. The most important thing was being firm with myself that I wouldn't play games just because I feel like I should anymore, whether that's picking up and playing a new game on release, or sticking with a classic I felt like I should play even if I wasn't enjoying it. Or just playing anything at all if I didn't really feel like it.

Am I bonkers or do/have others felt the same way?

Not bonkers at all bud, I seem to have fallen into the same trend and whilst maybe before it was possible to keep up with the latest releases it definitely isn't possible as I get older. Work, other commitments and just the sheer volume of games coming out at the moment can make the hobby a big stress, especially if you add a backlog.

I seem to go in cycles of being really into something before burning out and moving back to something else, usually rotating between Games and Music but nothing like last year. Thankfully a friend lent me God of War over the Christmas break as it's really got me motivated again. For the first time in an age, I am excited to get home to game and it's a good feeling.

[countstex]

Ah, not a bad idea to lay things out in black and white for 2019.

My wife and I have set a limit of only purchasing 3 games in 2019. Between us, not each! That includes DLC, or season passes for that matter. No idea if we will be able to stick to it but with most of the games coming out this year being rush jobs of games that publishers need to get out before the next gen hype kicks in in 2020 perhaps the easiest of years to do so in a while.

As for platforms, well with the exception of the No Man's Sky update I didn't boot up the PS4 in 2018, so I'm shelving that as a gaming platform now, even to the point of allowing my PS+ sub to expire. And PC too, despite the hundreds of games I have on Steam, GOG, Origin, UPlay, Battlenet & now the Epic Store, I played maybe 3 games on PC last year. FrostPunk, Crusader Kings II and the always ready Dwarf Fortress are those I recall with any clarity. And with even games like Stellaris moving to XBOX I really don't have much calling me to the desktop these days, other that the super indie games that never appear anywhere else.

So the XBOX will be my only true home for 2019, and thankfully we have TrueAchievements to help with organising a plan of attack. I've already made a good start to the year by increasing my games completed to 50, up from 40 and am now aiming for 60. For context I've have an XBOX since 2008. However it will be my completion percentage that will be the real gauge of my success this year. It's spent most of it's existence in the 30-40% range so I am determined to raise that to a minimum of 50% this year. Hard as that goal moves further away with each unplayed game I obtain an achievement in.

This has meant, and will continue to, that I've been returning more and more to the 360 games. I have my 360E hooked up, however it is those games that hit backwards compatibility which see the most light of day. Some of course are no longer completeable due to servers disappearing but I'll be doing what I can.

Now I said at the beginning that we were only buying 3 games this year however we will of course be picking up games via both Games for Gold and GamePass, because not having those services would be too big of an oversight at this point. I would guess that a good 50-60% of my games played in 2018 where via GamePass and/or Gold. So the burdon is not as great as it might otherwise appear.

So heres to a 2019 of goals and slightly less moving goal posts.

Good luck on and all on your own personal journeys.

Stex.

[Chopper]

As for platforms, well with the exception of the No Man's Sky update I didn't boot up the PS4 in 2018, so I'm shelving that as a gaming platform now, even to the point of allowing my PS+ sub to expire.

Interesting post as a whole, but just reading this bit....do we think that, what with Gamepass and Games with Gold, 2018 was the year that the XO caught up with/surpassed the PS from a competitive standpoint? I think it's important that there is competition in the market, to keep both big players on their game (not to mention Nintendo, who've had a dramatic impact with the Switch), and anecdotally, it seems that MS have finally gotten there for this gen.

[ratsoalbion]

Except that PS4 had almost every one of the highly rated, big selling exclusives, and multiformat games still sell far more on PS4.

I love my XOX - that’s where I get multiformat stuff now for the most part, but if I had to keep one machine it would undoubtedly be the PS4 Pro, for the strength and depth of its library.

[Magical_Isopod]

I honestly want to buy both the X and the Switch, but both of them just continue to make me shrug in utter disinterest. Anything I could get on XBone, I'd rather have on PC or PS4. The Switch still doesn't have a single exclusive I care about, outside Xenoblade 2. Sony could headline 2019 with an HD re-release of Extermination (a PS2 launch title) and still win the console war by default at this point.

[countstex]

As for platforms, well with the exception of the No Man's Sky update I didn't boot up the PS4 in 2018, so I'm shelving that as a gaming platform now, even to the point of allowing my PS+ sub to expire.

Interesting post as a whole, but just reading this bit....do we think that, what with Gamepass and Games with Gold, 2018 was the year that the XO caught up with/surpassed the PS from a competitive standpoint? I think it's important that there is competition in the market, to keep both big players on their game (not to mention Nintendo, who've had a dramatic impact with the Switch), and anecdotally, it seems that MS have finally gotten there for this gen.

I think we could say we've reached that point in the cycle where the the 'trailer' catches up and surpasses, as Sony did with the PS3. However from a personal stand point MS have had the stronger platform for me pretty much the entire generation. The majority base the 'winner' on exclusives, but I've never been excited by exclusives, I like good games on a solid enjoyable platform. I always buy both systems on launch, but I invariably pretty much exclusively use one of them for a period of time. I started strong on Sony this gen as they seemed to be the ones backing indie devs, but it felt like as soon at they had won people over they gave up trying. MS on the other hand have been fighting tooth and nail since they buried the Kinect to re-establish themselves and pretty much every move has be a positive for me.

Of course it helps that a have a far large back catalogue of XBOX games, a good percentage of which I can now play better than ever on the One. And I've even been able to enjoy some XBOX Originals, games I never played on a console as I didn't jump over until the 360.

I must admit I'm unsure as yet what I will do when the new machines appear. Like I said I usually buy them all (excluding handhelds) however Sony is going to have to do something pretty special at this point to get me on board. I gave up on Nintendo after the Wii, though we own a Wii U it never got played. And the Switch is for a demographic that is pretty much 100% not me.

With the strong likelihood that both next gens from MS and Sony will support the current games of the One and PS4 I can see the idea of being tied in to one ecosystem or the other only becoming stronger and stronger. In the same way I pay for Netflix all year round, but only dip into HBO Nordic or any other streaming service when required, in a world of games as a service the cost of supporting multiple platforms becomes less and less appealing.

What would be interesting is is Sony follow MS with the idea of having a streaming only SKU (and don't abandon it like the Vita TV). Maybe then I'd buy my dedicated hardware from MS and a streamer from Sony so I could check out their games... hmmm a possibility there.

[ratsoalbion]

As ever I am platform agnostic and I choose (and am just about financially able) to keep all the major formats available to me.

Right now, for me and my tastes, all three platforms (four if you count PC) are wonderful, and each has a multitude of stellar reasons to own them - and actually play on them too!

[countstex]

Except that PS4 had almost every one of the highly rated, big selling exclusives, and multiformat games still sell far more on PS4.

I love my XOX - that’s where I get multiformat stuff now for the most part, but if I had to keep one machine it would undoubtedly be the PS4 Pro, for the strength and depth of its library.

Oh I'm well aware I'm in a minority. But when I look to the things I find important in a system MS win hands down. Now obviously I'm sounding somewhat fanboy-y but I certainly don't hate the PlayStation, however it's to me, it's cold blue-ray player style menus and disinterest in allowing you to play older games unless you pay for them all over again are real turn offs for me. I like my games system to look like a games system. Bold, brash, customisation menus with happy chirps and notification sounds. Oh and being excessively powerful keep my old PC side happy and content.

I realises this is all just, as we say in Denmark "Smag og behag", or a simple matter of personal tastes but they are what they are. I may play God of War and Spiderman one day.. or I may not. I don't get any sense of FOMO. I've more than enough to keep me busy gameswise.

Hmm, I wonder if that's it. I wonder if this is my reaction to knowing it's impossible to keep up with the wave these days, both due to my age and the massive number of releases, and it's more fun to ride behind it on a pedalo picking up recommendations and never having to play anything crap anymore!

As ever I am platform agnostic and I choose (and am just about financially able) to keep all the major formats available to me.

Right now, for me and my tastes, all three platforms (four if you count PC) are wonderful, and each has a multitude of stellar reasons to own them - and actually play on them too!

Oh indeed. I wouldn't begrudge anyone that. I certainly not saying anyone no preferring SM is wrong, far from it. I think just for me given the time I have and more importantly these days the money I need to focus in just a single direction and just enjoy the other platforms vicariously through listening to you guys and gals here at C&R HQ and on the socials.

[ratsoalbion]

The big issues with XO were (for me and others) obviously, as you know, that the bottom line was you were getting a notably less capable machine (where multiformat games looked and ran visibly worse) for more money (with the Kinect of course which many of us never wanted).

I’ve owned a launch XO, an S and now an X and I still don’t think they’ve got the dashboard sorted out myself. Obviously the aesthetics of the UI are an entirely subjective matter, but I cannot comprehend prioritising that over the games themselves.

Even if the PS4 had the most hideous UI ever, the fact that (until X) it had all the best versions of multiformat titles and a raft of ‘essential’ exclusives made it an easy choice when recommending to friends and family.

Things are less straightforward now when you factor in the X, although we’re back to the price point again with that!

[countstex]

The big issues with XO were (for me and others) obviously, as you know, that the bottom line was you were getting a notably less capable machine (where multiformat games looked and ran visibly worse) for more money (with the Kinect of course which many of us never wanted).

I’ve owned a launch XO, an S and now an X and I still don’t think they’ve got the dashboard sorted out myself. Obviously the aesthetics of the UI are an entirely subjective matter, but I cannot comprehend prioritising that over the games themselves.

Even if the PS4 had the most hideous UI ever, the fact that (until X) it had all the best versions of multiformat titles and a raft of ‘essential’ exclusives made it an easy choice when recommending to friends and family.

Things are less straightforward now when you factor in the X, although we’re back to the price point again with that!

All good points. And of course the games are more important than the experience of the system, but I never felt I was not getting enough of them from the One. Perhaps the fact I was still using a 1080P screen until after I had a One X meant I never noticed any significant issues with the launch One. And again I was playing on the PS4 for the first year of the One's life as it was a delayed launch in Denmark. (I picked up one without the Kinect because I could see the way that was going from the start) And indeed it was probably a gradual shift for me, but every move they've made has been something I've appreciated. Again possibly just the needs of being behind this gen

Perhaps even the fact I've been 100% digital this generation has played into it as MS have always led in infrastructure for obvious reasons, who knows!

(Just had to check the list of essential PS4 exclusives and other than Horizon: Zero Dawn I don't recall any of them being super interesting to me, so that would obviously have played out very differently for other people. Oh and I was lucky that Hellblade went multi-platform also!)

[ratsoalbion]

I mean I think that there is an incredibly strong list of ‘must play’ PS4 only stuff, but of course, that all comes down to personal taste.

I can’t help but wonder if at least some of those titles might not tickle your fancy if they were to appear in Xbox land though!

[countstex]

I mean I think that there is an incredibly strong list of ‘must play’ PS4 only stuff, but of course, that all comes down to personal taste.

I can’t help but wonder if at least some of those titles might not tickle your fancy if they were to appear in Xbox land though!

For sure Spiderman and God of War would, but talk about long shots
But then again I have so many games still to be played that in some ways, less is more!

[Joshihatsumitsu]

All this talk of Xbone vs PS4: Dawn of Justice, and rumours of the next generation possibly arriving as soon as 2020... the only thing I'd like more of is time (oh, and money)... there's certainly no shortage of content!