Been there, done that: Oversaturated Genres

[ConanTheDestroyer]

It's not a specific genre but I am kind of tired of these sandbox games that are a mishmash of a dozen other things. They have open worlds with huge maps ( filled with hundreds of icons) and tacked on stealth mechanics. Throw some crafting in there for good measure too. And not to forget thousands of collectibles. They try to do so many things and end up doing poorly in all of them, much prefer if they would stick to refining just one thing. This mostly goes for the Ubisoft games that have been coming out these past few years, really annoys me since I used to be a big fan of their games.

Post automatically merged: Dec 18, 2024

I would prefer if pure stealth games got more focus instead of just being part of these games which are considered stealth just because you have the ability to crouch.

 

[RageBurner]

It's not a specific genre but I am kind of tired of these sandbox games that are a mishmash of a dozen other things. They have open worlds with huge maps ( filled with hundreds of icons) and tacked on stealth mechanics. Throw some crafting in there for good measure too. And not to forget thousands of collectibles. They try to do so many things and end up doing poorly in all of them, much prefer if they would stick to refining just one thing. This mostly goes for the Ubisoft games that have been coming out these past few years, really annoys me since I used to be a big fan of their games.

Post automatically merged: Dec 18, 2024

I would prefer if pure stealth games got more focus instead of just being part of these games which are considered stealth just because you have the ability to crouch.

A lot of open world games fall prey to this I'm afraid. Icons galore, trivial objectives, bland combat (this one being a particular sticking point for me) and just an overall lack of direction. A lot of developers in the AAA space have taken to likening a sandbox experience to emptiness, rather than openness; both are very different, but they don't see it.

 

[ATenderLad]

A lot of open world games fall prey to this I'm afraid. Icons galore, trivial objectives, bland combat (this one being a particular sticking point for me) and just an overall lack of direction. A lot of developers in the AAA space have taken to likening a sandbox experience to emptiness, rather than openness; both are very different, but they don't see it.

Horizon: Forbidden West resembles that remark at times, and I think a lot of it boils down into too much money being on the line. The end of the game is fascinating, and hints at a game that's more Mass Effect 2 than anything, but it has to be the same open-world title with only small differences to the original title, can't afford the risk.

(It is jaw-droppingly gorgeous though, and the combat with robot fucking dinosaurs remains excellent. Probably my favorite Sony franchise.)

 

[RageBurner]

Horizon: Forbidden West resembles that remark at times, and I think a lot of it boils down into too much money being on the line. The end of the game is fascinating, and hints at a game that's more Mass Effect 2 than anything, but it has to be the same open-world title with only small differences to the original title, can't afford the risk.

(It is jaw-droppingly gorgeous though, and the combat with robot fucking dinosaurs remains excellent. Probably my favorite Sony franchise.)

I guess someone at Sony is a Zoids fan.

 

[Noon]

Actually i'm not much up-to-date with recent games at all, and never follow their news...

But i can tell what genre of games i like the most!
I like a mixture of RPG and VN, where each action can have a natural and logical influence and outcome in story!

I like even its battle system to be story based!
which means each battle to be unique, and with ability to talk with party members and enemies during battle in a meaningful way! (which might translate to they killing you as soon as you open your mouth! if that's the natural thing!)

I wonder if such a game exists at all...

Another WRPG Torment Tides of Numenera sounds up that alley, I’m usually not big on multi choice but that game is cool cause there really aren’t any “wrong” choices, and the characters and world are really wild.

 

[Darklink]

I've just gotten so sick of seeing any kind of game showcase that shows off indie games, and when something even mildly catches my attention, it turns out to be yet another roguelite.

And I can like a roguelite. Dead Cells was fun, I enjoyed One Way Heroics a ton, I've put an embarrassing amount of hours into Paper Mario Black Pit, Balatro is addictive, etc.

The problem for me is that it just feels like so many indie devs are using the procedurally generated levels/worlds as a crutch so that they don't actually have to make compelling game/level design for their somewhat unique gameplay mechanic they're basing their game around. While also having the benefit of making their game "hard" to pump up playtime.

Because people aren't gonna buy a five-to-ten hour action side-scroller with great level design, when they can buy a "infinite" hour action roguelite with randomly jumbled levels that they'll never finish.

 

[Tbest25]

Damn open worlds with nothing but rocks, and trees

Shout-out to a certain nasa punk game out there

 

[Cu-Neo]

I think one genre it would be Hero shooters or at least shooters where you are in a team of four and there's some military thematic involved. And also games (any genre) where the main selling point is something like "From the creators of that very known game but the guys who made it left the studio 20 years ago" (looking at you Obsidian)

 

[Teone]

And congratulations on the title of the thread: it is very clear and precise: it already explains everything, really...

No need to be sarcastic here (if it was the case), his title was a creative attempt to represent the feeling of repetitiveness... but I edited it anyway to make it more objective for everybody!

Since the PS4 I'm not being able to keep up with new releases, so I can't tell what would be a currently oversaturated genre... I think this feeling is something I wouldn't apply to retro games because, even though some genres were reeeeeally spammed in the past, we are exposed to them only as much as we search for them. The saturation feeling, in my perspective, comes from us being following news and new releases, and it will be inevitable because any product of mass culture will be inserted into some zeitgeist.

 

[RageBurner]

I've just gotten so sick of seeing any kind of game showcase that shows off indie games, and when something even mildly catches my attention, it turns out to be yet another roguelite.

And I can like a roguelite. Dead Cells was fun, I enjoyed One Way Heroics a ton, I've put an embarrassing amount of hours into Paper Mario Black Pit, Balatro is addictive, etc.

The problem for me is that it just feels like so many indie devs are using the procedurally generated levels/worlds as a crutch so that they don't actually have to make compelling game/level design for their somewhat unique gameplay mechanic they're basing their game around. While also having the benefit of making their game "hard" to pump up playtime.

Because people aren't gonna buy a five-to-ten hour action side-scroller with great level design, when they can buy a "infinite" hour action roguelite with randomly jumbled levels that they'll never finish.

The really good roguelikes stand out even among the dredge of copycats. Honestly, I like procedual content, but the snag is that it gets overused like you said. If it were used as an alternative mode to hand crafted content, then everybody wins.

 

[Another Iori]

About twenty years ago, it was terrible to live in this world, because Microsoft set things in motion so that shooter games went from being a nearly exclusive ecosystem for PC gamers, to the main course of anything that existed at the time on any other market: every protagonist had to have a firearm in their hand; looking threateningly at someone and have the games which had a excessively dark graphical contrasts or looking like piss/bricks.

Then the nail in the coffin, it was the walking simulators in an empty world or filled with details in backgrounds where you can't interact (similar to those forced pre-rendered backgrounds from the fifth generation of home systems).

Speaking of that historical period, why did the most popular and best-selling games like "Assassin's Creed" or "Batman", have such an unsatisfying combat system?

I mean, we went from "Devil May Cry" to this whole new generation of titles and I was like "what the fuck is this stuff? And why did the first 'Bayonetta' struggle to carve out its own space, when it's a perfect spiritual successor to Dante's adventures?".