The Wednesday letters page wonders why Konami is making so many different Silent Hill games, as another reader approaches the end of Elden Ring.
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Worst of the best
I got into an argument with a co-worker (friend would be a stretch) this morning about which was the best exclusive. He was convinced it was Horizon Forbidden West and I said Returnal. We got no agreement on that, but it was pretty obvious which is the worst: .
We’d both played it free on PS Plus but it didn’t seem to count given it was never a full price game and was clearly a much smaller, lower budget affair.
The question as to which is the next worst though was difficult and we bonded a bit on trying to come to a logical conclusion. Deathloop seemed to fit the bill for me but he hadn’t played it, and besides it’s a timed exclusive and not a real first party game.
That left Sackboy: A Big Adventure, which neither had played because neither of us liked the look of it, and Gran Turismo 7, which he’d bought but had got bored of quite quickly. It’s not my thing at all so I think that easily gets the vote.
It’s interesting though that really none of the games are terrible, not even Destruction AllStars. Sony are getting a lot of criticism at the moment, a lot of it earned given their poor communication, but even if things have dried up for now I’d say the line-up for the PlayStation 5 so far has been really good.
Campher
The more the merrier
I’m going to assume that Bully remaster is also a strong possibility for Take-Two, since there are still rumours that there’s going to be a sequel. What all eight are though I couldn’t say. I mean, is a lot! Especially if some of them turn out to be remakes.
Unlike movies though I largely see this as a good thing. Even now game preservation is very hit and miss and there’s a lot of older games that while technically playable today are hard to appreciate in the same way as when they first came out, due to problems with frame rate, controls, cameras, etc.
The only time I object to them is when the original developer makes them, which seems like a waste of their time. I think this is why so many people are upset at the idea of a Last Of Us remake. If it was someone else doing it, it wouldn’t be so bad, but it seems like a poor use of Naughty Dog’s time and talent.
Gaston
Unknown success
Interesting that we still have no real idea what the demand is for the PlayStation 5 versus Xbox Series X/S, since there’s no way to tell until both are easy to get hold of. I think most people would assume that the PlayStation 5 was more popular, just going by how much it’s talked about online, but it seems its lead is not unassailable.
What I’d really be interested in seeing is the sales of the Xbox Series X versus Series S. I suspect that the Series X is relatively unpopular and well behind the PlayStation 5. The Series S though is fantastic value and perfect for now in particular. And yet I just looked on Amazon and it’s actually in stock, which suggests it’s not selling out or anything.
It’s really frustrating Microsoft not releasing any sales figures, not for the sake of fanboy arguments but for the important task of choosing which console to get. These things aren’t cheap and no one wants to back a loser, but how can you even know in this situation?
Trimer
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Embarrassment of riches
RE: Elden Ring. I think I might be approaching the end having reached a certain area and here are my thoughts so far.
For an open world game From’s first attempt at the genre has hit the ground running. The design and imagination put into it is immense. It’s like a really dangerous Zelda: Breath Of The Wild.
I’m north of 200 hours into it first playthrough (I take my time with From’s games) and I still get surprised or realise what I’d overlooked before.
The best thing about it though is the amount of diverse content included for just buying the game. Other publishers would’ve probably realised how great the game was and said to From: ‘We’re giving them too much! All optional stuff like Deeproot Depths is future DLC.’
Kudos awarded to From and Bandai Namco for creating a brilliant game with no sign of corporate greed.
Chevy Malibu (PSN ID)
Goodbye to the king
Sad to think that could be Bruce Campbell’s last performance as Ash, now the TV show is over. I’d love a big budget Resident Evil style single-player game but I realise that’s not going to happen, considering the show effectively proved that not many people care about Evil Dead anymore.
I might try and pick up the game if I see it cheap but all these 4 vs. 1 games seem to be almost exactly the same, just with different graphics and characters. It’s not the sort of thing that seems like it has any longevity to me, and I’m surprised they’re successful enough to keep making them. Maybe these licences aren’t expensive as I assume, because they still seem like big names to me.
Jumfer
Same old race
Interesting . Though not sure why ‘no new ideas’ would stop Nintendo developing a new one, given how despite the very high quality their new entries in long established franchises (that aren’t 3D Mario or Zelda) are usually very conservative. What new ideas has Mario Kart had since the GameCube era?
Metroid Dread would be an obvious path to follow, having a third party studio with experience of working with Nintendo produce a new entry that is a restatement of the core design in modern technology. There is already a candidate in Shin’en Media, who put out Fast RMX at the Switch’s launch and with the underrated Touryst have already shown they can bottle a bit of the Nintendo design magic.
I’m also sure an online HD port of the GameCube’s F-Zero GX is in the pipeline, since Nintendo seem to have decided a drip feed of HD remasters of GameCube and Wii titles is the way to go when bringing those games to Switch, over, say, an emulated app solution like N64 online.
Marc
GC: It’s a bit disingenuous to use Mario Kart as your only example. Racing games in general haven’t seen any significant innovation in generations and at least each sequel has it’s own gimmick.
Mostly definitive
Does anyone know where I could find a definitive list of upcoming releases, including smaller indie titles?
I plan to interview some developers as part of my degree, but places like Wikipedia only cover more notable, big releases. Any help would be much appreciated.
ANON
GC: We’ve had an up-to-date for years.
Like buses
Does it not seem odd to anyone else that after years of not making any at all, Konami is suddenly going to make two or more Silent Hill games? Shouldn’t they make sure people actually want one before they commit to remakes and spin-offs and whatever? All that’s going to happen if they find out they’re not interested is that we’ll then get no more new games for even longer, and Konami will be putting off making any new games of any kind.
I don’t remember any Silent Hill being that big a seller, it was always more a cult hit. I guess it could be that Sony is part-funding the remake, I think that was one of the rumours, but even so it seems and odd way to go about this sort of thing for a series that has never really been mainstream.
There’s obvious problems in making a new Metal Gear game but at least that series was more widely popular. I mean, isn’t it worth trying out a new game that’s similar to the old ones but with no five-hour cut scenes or nonsensical stories. Metal Gear Survive was just a weird spin-off so we’ve not really seen anyone but Kojima have a crack at the series.
I’d even say Castlevania was a more marketable name than Silent Hill now, thanks to the Netflix show. It just seems weird to me to make multiple games at once, without first testing the water.
Jute
Inbox also-rans
A pre-WWI Mafia game set in Sicily? What are they going to be using? Muskets and a horse and cart? I don’t think I could be less interested.
Goku
Weird to think I haven’t thought about Fall Guys in over a year. I was really into that when it first came out but, yeah, it’s got a pretty short half-life. Free-to-play seems like a good idea but I don’t know what the DLC is going to be because most of the costumes were pretty bad.
Bisquit
This week’s Hot Topic
The subject for this weekend’s Inbox was suggested by reader Tony T., who asks what’s the longest you’ve waited for a video game to be released?
With the news of Starfield’s delay – which is unlikely to be the last such announcement this year – what’s the most disappointed you’ve been with a game delay and how long did you keep following it until it was out? If it even did come out.
Do you generally follow a game all the way from its announcement to its release or do you tend to only pay attention closer to launch? What game has most rewarded your loyalty and which one do you wish you hadn’t wasted your time on?
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The small print
New Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers’ letters are used on merit and may be edited for length and content.
You can also submit your own 500 to 600-word Reader’s Feature at any time, which if used will be shown in the next available weekend slot.
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