I don't think graphics are the issue on their own. The problem starts when better graphics become the priority instead of making a better game. Some of the games I remember most weren't technically impressive, but they had great gameplay, a unique style, and felt like they were made with a clear purpose.

A lot of AAA games seem to keep getting bigger, yet not necessarily more enjoyable. Huge maps, endless side activities, and dozens of hours of content don't add much if the core experience feels repetitive. I'd happily take a well-crafted 20-hour game over a bloated 100-hour one any day.

Warhorse buying and restoring the actual castle from KCD is the most on-brand thing a studio has ever done. That's a team that genuinely gives a shit about what they're making. The Middle-earth RPG being described as a "living world" is doing a lot of heavy lifting though ... every studio says that. But if anyone can actually deliver it after KCD2, it's probably them. And yeah, Bethesda announcing Skyrim again in 3, 2, 1...

Half these "sold out" stories don't tell you if it was 500 units or 50. Supply was already a mess before the price hike ... AI ate the RAM market and now everything downstream pays for it. The device is great, the timing is just bad.

Honestly? Escape from Tarkov.

I understand what it's going for on paper. The tension, the risk, the realism. But every time I watch someone play it looks like 45 minutes of cautious walking followed by dying to someone they never saw in a direction they couldn't predict.

Maybe I'm just not built for it.

I think part of the issue is that there are simply so many games competing for attention now. Even good trailers can blend together after a while.

What usually gets me interested isn't the trailer itself....it's when I can quickly understand the game's core idea and what makes it different from everything else being shown.

Dredge if you haven't touched it yet ... fishing but deeply unsettling in the best way. Short, cheap, stays with you.

Tunic if you want something that genuinely respects your intelligence. Feels like Zelda until it doesn't.

And if you're okay with losing sleep, Noita. Just go in blind.

Gym equipment: 50kg resistance.

Holding hands: 500kg emotional resistance.

beautiful

It's hard to feel bad for a company worth billions

I think the biggest thing Reddit had was critical mass. Even if you hated the platform, there was always a community for whatever niche interest you had. Lemmy feels healthier in some ways, but it's still missing that depth. The upside is I spend less time doom-scrolling now, which is probably a net positive.

It feels like expectations keep stacking up. Every new release is expected to be bigger, longer, and packed with more features than the last, which probably makes it harder for teams to stay focused on what made the original idea interesting in the first place.

The "vaulted" thing was always just a nicer word for deleted and everyone kind of knew it.

What gets me is they literally couldn't produce the content in court. It's gone. The promise was always empty.

Marathon falling out of the top 100 already says everything.