You know a game is soulless when...

[Sumea]

When there is no souls in the title.

 

[CocaFeca]

When there is no souls in the title.

*Chalmers voice: BLOODBORNEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

 

[Waffles's iconWaffles]

The only format I feel has some justification for gradual content introduction are fighting games, because balancing for competitive play takes years of sustained development post launch.

Funny you'd say that because I REALLY wanted to get that BlazBlue Cross Tag Team game for PS4 and it's basically giant DLC, but I didn't mind one bit.

 

[Sumea]

*Chalmers voice: BLOODBORNEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

It was a bloody good time though.

 

[moonbits]

When there is no souls in the title.

/thread
past all the pretentiousness romanticized game development, the most "soulless" games I've seen are those Chinese knockoffs on Android store that steal assets.

 

[DecoVsMyGPA]

I don't know how to describe it, but its sort of a vibe, the "Realistic but whimsical" the smell of "We used gen-ai" text to please shareholders, the "games are like cinema!" (not cinematic games but the "games are like X (art that the dev finds most valuable)"), but all of this is more of a "damn triple A games kinda sucks more than anything. Obviously the Monster Hunters and etc are some exceptions, but damn I kinda don't feel anxious anymore for game announcements.

 

[Sfjeov]

The way rpg mechanics gets hamfisted into other games as if every AAA shovelware needs multicolored loots to grind or pay for.

 

[moonbits]

I do feel the term soulless has been overused by grifters on youtube. So I try not to use that term much.

It is quite stupid, the internet has a way of making up a new word to sbstitute their lack of finesee and actual critical writting. Because dude, you read this thread and jus go "buddy you didn't like it, that's not soulless" It's like high tier slop term, metaphysical spiritual trump card

but discussing what soul is, is the most time wasting crap you can do today and it can derail this at mach speed.

 

[CocaFeca]

It is quite stupid, the internet has a way of making up a new word to sbstitute their lack of finesee and actual critical writting. Because dude, you read this thread and jus go "buddy you didn't like it, that's not soulless" It's like high tier slop term, metaphysical spiritual trump card

but discussing what soul is, is the most time wasting crap you can do today and it can derail this at mach speed.

I get your point and definetly agree, but the word "slop" definetly falls in the category you critique

 

[Blamhammer]

Yeah, Deus Ex is also, most likely, my favourite game in my collection. Still got the big box version I got new for £5 yeeeeaaaah!!!
Invisible War was quite the letdown. Same with Thief Deadly Shadows, the need to cater for the larger audience to break even and profit is gonna compromise on the collaborative artwork.

And games are pieces of collaborative artworks that don't quite work when a checklist from upper management takes priority.

I was replaying Sands of Time again, that game really pulls you in. Okay the combat is barebones but the environments, platforming, and characters are great and charming.
...
I'm not sure what happened with Warrior Within but I just stopped playing halfway fighting the first boss.

 

[BrawlMan]

but discussing what soul is, is the most time wasting crap you can do today and it can derail this at mach speed.

I get your point and definetly agree, but the word "slop" definetly falls in the category you critique

Hence why I tend to not bother with either term.

I'm not sure what happened with Warrior Within but I just stopped playing halfway fighting the first boss.

Early to mid 2000s edge no one asked for. My older brother loves this game for the combat, but it's not enough nor worth doing a second playthrough.

 

[Graves Ruinwalker]

For me is a game soulless when the game doesnt focus what it wanna do and becomes this mish-mash of different genres and doesnt succeed with its chimera-concept or does only mediocre/surface level stuff .

Another point would be the presentation . If it doesnt underline what this game in its setting is supposed to be and goes against its concept it promised , it just comes to me as dishonest and extremly shallow .

The last new game i was extremly hyped and happy to have it was Splatterhouse 2010 on the Xbox 360 and Valfaris on the ps4/pc/xbone . Those promised me unrelentless brutality , absolute banger heavy metal soundtracks , badassery and heart for what it is . While Splatterhouse had some rather vulgar and very dark comedy , it just fits perfectly in and underlined this madness ride of badass monster massacres and eldritch phenomenas .
Valfaris stayed rather serious even with its Heavy metal refferences with the weapons and equips while having an super underrated soundtrack ( composed by Curt Victor Bryant from Celtic Frost ) which just oozes badassery and underlines the hard and awesome game perfectly . No Bullshit , just pure badassery and fun .

Man ... i miss fresh and cool horror-games that tries to be more interactive and had vastly different gameplay approaches like Fatal Frame and the camera combat , ObsCure with its team-gameplay and RE outbreak with its own team-gameplay approach and own system how dead or infected NPCs can sabotage your whole run .

 

[BrawlMan]

The last new game i was extremly hyped and happy to have it was Splatterhouse 2010 on the Xbox 360 and Valfaris on the ps4/pc/xbone . Those promised me unrelentless brutality , absolute banger heavy metal soundtracks , badassery and heart for what it is . While Splatterhouse had some rather vulgar and very dark comedy , it just fits perfectly in and underlined this madness ride of badass monster massacres and eldritch phenomenas .

I tried to like the Splatterhouse 2010 so hard, but the load times made me lose so much patience. I got Shadows of the Damned, and that felt like the better version, but as an arcade 3rd person shooter. I still like the classic trilogy though.

Your reasoning is why I still love Grasshopper Studios. People and so called professional critics doubted them, or expected them go out of business by 2013-2015. Yet, they've been doing great, and more than just 'surviving'. GS nor Suda51 are never afraid to get weird nor crazy, and don't fear going into deep subject matter.

 

[Graves Ruinwalker]

I tried to like the Splatterhouse 2010 so hard, but the load times made lose so much patience. I got Shadows of the Damned, and that felt like the better version, but as an arcade 3rd person shooter. I still like the classic trilogy though.

Your reasoning is why I still love Grasshopper Studios. People and so called professional critics doubted them, or expected them go out of business by 2013-2015. Yet, they've been doing great, and more than just 'surviving'. GS nor Suda51 are never afraid to get weird nor crazy, and don't fear going into deep subject matter.

True , bro .
The loading times were truly disgusting but i didnt/dont care them because the game still hits the spots what i like in this game . This game had an development hell and the so-called bottlerocket version looked even much better overall but it still perfectly alligns my taste and i love jim cummings lines that he dropped .

I already love the 3 Splatterhouse games before and the Reboot just spoke to me on a deeper level . This game introduced me the bands Municipal waste , The Accused and Goatwhore .

Another game that sadly got cancled but would be definitly a huge banger would be Four Horsemen of the apocaylpse for the ps2 and xbox .

Now i miss those cool edgy games again .

 

[BrawlMan]

Now i miss those cool edgy games again

They're still there, but it's mainly the indie and AA crowd doing those.

You ever played Evil West? It's not the edgiest came ever made, but there are some moments. Though the edge isn't the point, but more so the gameplay feel of 7th generation. Yet so much better in controls and game design. It's a third person shooter, over-the-shoulder brawler hybrid, with a dash of Norse GoW combat. EW still does its own thing, and I love it! The game has a heavy use of using the environment to your advantage. Including environmental kills and hazards.

 

[CocaFeca]

I'm not sure. I think of examples from the Yakuza games:

New game + was locked behind a paid DLC pack for Yakuza 8, when it had been a staple feature of the series up until that point, only requiring you to finish the story once to unlock it.

Or them releasing a "Director's Cut" version of Yakuza 0 with a tacked on multiplayer mode to justify charging full price for it again, when these games have always had a single-player focus.

I think it just comes down to marketing and how companies want significantly more money for significantly less effort. I remember taking this screenshot on my PS5 before the Silent Hill 2 remake came out:
View attachment 144203
It just stuck out that the tagline wasn't hyping up the game itself. It wasn't saying something like "A survival horror classic remade" or whatever. It was telling you to check out all the pre-order incentives, and that really makes a game feel soulless.

What they did to silent hill 2 Is absolutely fucking disgusting, too bad now the 7th gen is considered "nostalgic" alongside other crap from the late 2000s, and i say it as someone who likes a game no matter the era, but in this case: 6TH GEN FTW!!!!!! (The NDS too BTW)

Post automatically merged: Yesterday at 4:14 AM

The NDS, PSP and the Wii were the last truly good consoles, even with the whole dlc crap the PSP catalogue doesn't feel as abusive + the games were at most less than 2gb, so it felt justified, unlike the 3ds and vita where the catalogue isn't nearly as good, but the dlc and addons feel More abusive and the design of the consoles felt worse and cheaper, still though better than the "current" gen alongside the ps4

 

[BrawlMan]

What they did to silent hill 2 Is absolutely fucking disgusting,

The SH2 Remake is great. It has some flaws, but nothing that offends me. Everyone knocked it out of the park. I did play the original back when it came out. Though it's not my favorite SH game. I started with the first game btw. The remake did great, and we got Cronos: The New Dawn, and Bloober is now working on SH1R. I am in.

now the 7th gen is considered "nostalgic" alongside other crap from the late 2000s,

Just so we're clear, I don't hate all of 7th generation. Just a majority of the cover shooters, and the COD clones. I take the good with the bad, but there are plenty of 7th generation games that have aged gracefully. Be they Wii, 360, or PS3. I see no issue with 7th generation being nostalgic now. Especially with the good that is out there. 7th gen did bring us the introduction and flood gates of indie games. Most starting from XBLA or Steam. Now the indie circuit has been thriving better than ever since the mid 2010s, and not stopping anytime soon.

The NDS, PSP and the Wii were the last truly good consoles, even with the whole dlc crap the PSP catalogue doesn't feel as abusive + the games were at most less than 2gb, so it felt justified, unlike the 3ds and vita where the catalogue isn't nearly as good, but the dlc and addons feel More abusive and the design of the consoles felt worse and cheaper, still though better than the "current" gen alongside the ps4

I wouldn't go that far as "last good consoles". The Switch is great, despite its limiations. It's pretty much my indie and beat'em up machine. Along with many great exclusives. I don't regret my PS4, and found it much better than PS3. Ironic, as many PS3 exclusives got upgraded versions when ported to PS4 due to the lack of backwards compatibly. I didn't have PS3 (still got a 360 elite), so jumping to it was easier. Especially after MS fumbled the ball with XONE.

The 8th generation saw the return of Japanese gaming, and got into full swing again by 2017-2018. There are so many niche Japanese games that made it across the world and states, that it really almost felt like the PS2 era in that regard. Capcom got out of there funk, and just make the games that made them household names in the first place. So it wasn't all bad, depending on where you were looking and playing.

I get the PS5 has diminishing returns for people, but I am glad I got it as a gift for my birthday back in 2023. I literally got it just to keep playing certain PS4 games, their upgraded for free variations, and for the exclusives. I know DLC can be problem, but there are plenty of games that have either done it right, or at least put in more than enough proper content in the base game. With the DLC being made or started after the base game is done. Not every game does this, but we've seen plenty where a game does great, and those sales numbers allows DLC or expansion content to actually happen.

Take it out however you want, but I rather not being negative on every single little thing. It's why I stick with mostly indie and AA. The only exceptions are Capcom, Platinum, Nintendo, and Sony whenever they put out an actual single player game.

 

[CocaFeca]

This. The boardroom mantra seems to be "Sell them less game, have them pay more."

*Item bounce starts playing

 

[paprikamaster]

Generally speaking, I think remakes where a game tends to remove core parts of what gives a game it's identity. Many people tend to disagree but generally speaking I found Persona 3 Reload to really fit the term soulless. The removal of mechanics like exhaustion made planning out trips to tartarus pointless because you could knock out large blocks in one go and spend the rest of the month doing whatever. It kind of killed the pacing compared to the original and made the dungeon crawling feel more so like an after thought. I also disliked the way they removed a ton of the animated cutscenes and replaced them with in game ones instead. Last thing I would really complain about is just the lighting feeling much brighter than in the original which kind of removed the sort of loneliness the original game made you feel when traveling around. For me at least it felt like a bit of a disappointment, especially because I loved the original Persona 3 FES.