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[Hobbygaming]

Maybe 7 off that list for me, and about 8 others you didn't mention that shouldn't go overlooked.

Jedi Fallen Order
Borderlands 3 (gameplay is still good)
A Plague Tale
Doom
Greedfall (devs have fixed all the early issues)
Alien: Isolation
Cuphead
Horizon Zero Dawn


So, no it hasn't been a dry generation. But there were disappointments. EA imo has wasted the Star Wars franchise, they cancelled more than they developed. Too many pretty walking sims with not much to do except watch stuff on the rails.

But I'm not going to over complain, we got alot of great games. And in the era of Fortnite...........that's pretty significant.

Yep, those games too I also forgot to add

Control
Resident Evil 3 remake
Sekiro

 

[ShirAhava]

This generation taught me that most gamers will play anything that comes out no matter how average it is and overhype it 10x

Most of the lists people make are C/B level games and then say "look at all these amazing titles" please anything that isn't complete garbage is a modern classic now its sickening

 

[Mr Sky]

I mean, not really. But compared to the previous generations before it? The 5th and 6th gen is hard to beat in terms of originality and sheer number of GOOD releases. If you compare the PS2 library to the PS4 library it's almost laughable how bad PS4 looks in comparison. But on it's own? PS4 is doing pretty good. Switch is doing better. And uh, Xbox, is uh, there.

 

[Klayzer]

I mean, not really. But compared to the previous generations before it? The 5th and 6th gen is hard to beat in terms of originality and sheer number of GOOD releases. If you compare the PS2 library to the PS4 library it's almost laughable how bad PS4 looks in comparison. But on it's own? PS4 is doing pretty good. Switch is doing better. And uh, Xbox, is uh, there.

I don't get this overwhelming need to compare the PS2 libray to every other gen. The sheer size of it will probably never be duplicated again. DLC and costs to develop games, has made it an almost certainty we will never have those types of releases again.

 

[Makariel]

Who knows what will happen in 2021, but as long as CP2077 still comes out this year, this might be the best year in gaming since 2015 (Blooborne and Witcher 3!).

 

[LordKasual]

The fuck? This is one of the most lit eras of gaming ever.

PS4 is going down as one of the greats as far as library goes for me, best since PS2/Xbone/GCN era.

It's like PS3/360 gen, except without even a third of the performance/stability/engine/port issues.


Games these days might be bad, but rarely just broken or ugly like before.

 

[Mr Sky]

I don't get this overwhelming need to compare the PS2 libray to every other gen. The sheer size of it will probably never be duplicated again. DLC and costs to develop games, has made it an almost certainty we will never have those types of releases again.

Because that era was fucking incredible in every sense of the word

 

[Spaceman292]

I own almost every game on that list. I often wonder though, "do most posters even like games." It seems quite a lot would rather share their political opinions, than gaming opinions.

There are definitely people on here who just dont like games. Look at this thread. There are idiots saying that nothing good has come out this entire generation. Imagine feeling like that.

 

[Mr Sky]

There are definitely people on here who just dont like games. Look at this thread. There are idiots saying that nothing good has come out this entire generation. Imagine feeling like that.

Anyone saying nothing good came of this generation is just being a baby. This generation has has it's good moments, it's just not as MANY good moments as the generations prior.

 

[Faithless83]

The year prior to a generation shift is always a little dry, it's "finish you backlog" year.
I'm playing bloodborne for the first time and oh boy... what an amazing and punishing game.
My backlog between all my current gen plataforms AND previous gens (I'm a game collector) kinda makes me consider going into next gen on year 2 this time around.

 

[Eevee86]

Feels pretty normal to me. Dry on info, maybe. I've bought Tokyo Mirage Sessions, Trials of Mana, Animal Crossing, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon, Final Fantasy 7 Remake, and a few indie games, so not terrible.

 

[27thmounti]

I’m reading this thread wondering if anyone plays multiplayer.My wife and I are playing Guild Wars 2, Overwatch, and R6: Siege. I have a gaming group that still plays Starcraft 2 2-3 times a week.

When I actually have time for single player it’s with my kids playing old GCN games I never got around to like Luigi’s Mansion or Paper Mario. These older games have a lot of life left and only grows my backlog more.

Gaming is such a fun and diverse hobby. If you’re finding this year stale I’d recommend giving a new genre a try. I’ve just recently tried out Escape from Tarkov and Mount and Blade Bannerlord. Both very fun and unique.

 

[dalekjay]

On a personal level for me is the driest, I will take with me less than 5 games to great of the greats personal list, but so many game came out on grand scheme of things I think it isn’t the driest

 

[vaibhavpisal]

Doom Eternal just got released. And Half Life Alyx.

I would say this is breakthrough period after long, dark, endless years of casual, play by itself stuff.

Oh and Ghost of Tsushima has done away with map markers and hud clutter. True breakthroughs are being achieved.

 

[recma12]

Great points, great points. Can't really touch on everything.

My prediction of 2021 and 2022 being strong is based on assuming things related to the virus don't get much worse. i.e. that any return in the fall doesn't impact unemployment or the economy any worse than this first wave and shut down. Unlike the 2008 recession where nearly every segment of the economy was impacted, this shutdown has mainly hurt the service industry and other lower middle class and below industries. Most white-collar jobs (aside of sales and in-person customer focused things) are things that are being done from home for full salary, skilled trades like electricians, carpenters etc. are essential business and never shut down etc.

I really hope that your more optimistic prediction will become true.
Problem is that analysts are already predicting a greater GDP loss than 2008 for the Eurozone and the US.... and we don't even know how long this will last and if a second wave will come.
March and April have been very good for video games because you had people spending all day at home at full salary.
Now, slowly the real effect of the pandemic will start to hit people while they start going back to work.
At my workplace (enterprise IT solutions) we initially saw an uptick in business in Feb&March. At the end of March the first projects were delayed by many clients. In April we decided to let people go, because of the bad outlook.
And we don't even have airlines or food service companies as clients.

All that said, I am and was mainly talking about AAA blockbusters as the thread seemed focused on the OP thinking this year was dry for those kind of games. And that's mostly what I play so as long as we're getting those games at a decent clip in 2021 and 2022 I'll be good to go. And I'm confident we will unless something way worse happens in terms of the virus and economy. You're likely right that other types of games may be more impacted, and as I noted I think Nintendo will struggle the most of the AAA publishers as they're already having some difficulties with even producing video events.

Yeah, fully agree here.
No matter how bad the economy will get, there's no way a game like "Uncharted 5" won't be a worthwhile investment for Sony.

 

[IamOnline4Real]

I mean, not really. But compared to the previous generations before it? The 5th and 6th gen is hard to beat in terms of originality and sheer number of GOOD releases. If you compare the PS2 library to the PS4 library it's almost laughable how bad PS4 looks in comparison. But on it's own? PS4 is doing pretty good. Switch is doing better. And uh, Xbox, is uh, there.

False, still have my ps2 and those games were good back then but now they are completely out dated. The ps4 put Sony back on the top. We have great games now. It's not about quantity, it's all about quality...the ps4 is superior.

 

[greenteaforme]

I'm all about quality over quantity, especially since I (typically) don't have the time to try out every game I'm mildly interested in every year. I can't think of a single year in the last decade that didn't produce at least one big hit for me. This year FFVII Remake blew me away, and though my TLOU2 enthusiasm is dead I still have Cyberpunk to look forward to. I wouldn't call it dry, since we're recieving 3 incredibly anticipated titles this year, for better or worse, and Ghost of Tsushima looks pretty fantastic from what I've seen.

 

[ULTROS!]

In terms of announcements: yes, because of COVID-19

In terms of games, are you kidding me, we've had great games that came out like Doom Eternal, Animal Crossing: New Horizons (very very big hit), Trials of Mana, RE3 (debatable), and FFVII Remake.

 

[CuteFaceJay]

We've already had some quality titles release. more on the way. tbh I can't wait for Halo 3 on PC.

 

[Starlight Lotice]

2020 doesn't have that many releases but honestly I have bought more over these last 5 years than any Generation Prior!!!

Of course I had a job at the time but so many things interested me and if the Home Consoles went dry I bought 3DS and Vita games which kept me occupied.

I still buy games that came out 4 to 5 years ago at cheaper prices so I can never say any year is "dry" unless you ignore what came out back on that year.

2020 may have a lot of delays but think of 2021 should Covid die out by then!!!

 

[Spaceman292]

Doom Eternal just got released. And Half Life Alyx.

I would say this is breakthrough period after long, dark, endless years of casual, play by itself stuff.

Oh and Ghost of Tsushima has done away with map markers and hud clutter. True breakthroughs are being achieved.

GoT still has a map littered with random crap. It's basically just like turning the hud off in assassins creed. It's not exactly revolutionary.

 

[Danjin44]

If you can't find any game to like this generation then you only have yourself to blame.

 

[NOLA_Gaffer]

Considering the wealth of content available across multiple platforms, I can't ever imagine someone being without something to play.

 

[Klayzer]

Considering the wealth of content available across multiple platforms, I can't ever imagine someone being without something to play.

First, you have to actually like games to play games. I'm gonna assume, you have no real interest in gaming if nothing this gen was worth playing. Not you specifically, just some head scratching comments in this topic.

 

[Klayzer]

If you can't find any game to like this generation then you only have yourself to blame.

Tell me about it. RPGs (western & jpn), shooters (1st & 3rd), action games, platformers, metrovanias, indie artistic stuff, ftp garbage, remasters of old favorites, cinematic games, and so much other stuff. It's hard to fathom you can't find something to enjoy. Maybe there's people that can only get excited to game, unless its from the latest AAA hype title.

 

[vaibhavpisal]

GoT still has a map littered with random crap. It's basically just like turning the hud off in assassins creed. It's not exactly revolutionary.

If game can guide me by visual cues across the maps instead of markers, it needs to be designed differently. I should be able to reach vantage points easily and they should give a nice bird eye view. If I turn off hud in Assasins creed, my vision is always obstructed by building. It wouldn't be possible to navigate in those games.

I would reserve judgement till I play it though.

 

[IKSTUGA]

I dunno man, clubhouse games is coming out in two weeks, looking pretty moist to me.

 

[Mr Sky]

False, still have my ps2 and those games were good back then but now they are completely out dated. The ps4 put Sony back on the top. We have great games now. It's not about quantity, it's all about quality...the ps4 is superior.

Age doesn't decide weather a game is good or not. If a game is good then it'll stand the tests of time no matter what trends change or how much graphics evolve. Using strictly time as a decider if a game is good or not is completely ridiculous. Only focusing on purely modern games sounds depressing and honestly boring.

 

[Tsukumo]

Certainly is for western games, seeing how they keep adopting design models, marketing strategies and narratives outside of the western gaming tradition. IMHO Most companies are trying to reinvent the wheel, likely driven by the errouneous assumption that the phone audience is some sort untapped gold streak. They keep trying to bring in a bigger crowd by subterfuge with the mtx and by virtue signaling with Twitter-ready plots and characters. As usual, they want to get "the kids" without realizing they are ten years too late, exploiting marketing and social trends which are well beyond past.

 

[alabtrosMyster]

All is fine, we have Gamepass and backward compatibility!

 

[Bankai]

I think you're probably just burned out on gaming in general, if you truly feel this era is "the driest". There is SO much to play and the quality is SO high, especially compared to previous generations which had wayyyyy more shitty games.

 

[Airbus Jr]

2014 Dragon Age Inquitition won GOTY

Remember that?

 

[IamOnline4Real]

Age doesn't decide weather a game is good or not. If a game is good then it'll stand the tests of time no matter what trends change or how much graphics evolve. Using strictly time as a decider if a game is good or not is completely ridiculous. Only focusing on purely modern games sounds depressing and honestly boring.

Age doesn't decide weather a game is good or not. If a game is good then it'll stand the tests of time no matter what trends change or how much graphics evolve. Using strictly time as a decider if a game is good or not is completely ridiculous. Only focusing on purely modern games sounds depressing and honestly boring.

Never said those ps2 games were bad, in the contrary a lot of them are still great, but not better than those on ps4. Been gaming since the NES, got most consoles, and still have my ps2 and ps3 here with me. Completed ICO on my ps2 a couple of weeks ago and it was a fantastic game.
But I personally enjoyed my ps4 more than any consoles I ever owned.

 

[IamOnline4Real]

Patiently waiting for THE LAST OF US 2 ......

Spoiler

On Ps4