Are most mainstream games not very good? or we are all hipsters?

[B-cell]

Hello friends,

I have been noticing something. either old games or new games. mainstream games are either really really suck, or not very good, or just not as good as non mainstream games.

some of examples are

• GTA
• Call of Duty
• Battlefield
• Gears of war
• Uncharted
• Last of us
• Tomb raider
• Resident evil (before 7)
• Halo (except 1 which was ok)
• Far Cry
• Assassins creed
• PUBG
• Fortnite
• Bioshock
• Machinegames Wolfenstein
• Mass Effect
• The Witcher
• etc

All these franchise has common that either they really suck, or they are not very good, or if they are good, they are nowhere near as good as thier non mainstream counter part.

now im not saying all mainstream games are bad. Half life is kinda mainstream and greatest franchise in history. so is Doom. although they are no where near as mainstream as GTA and COD.

so my friends, why are most mainstream games so shallow? is it because more popular game is? bad it become?

lets discuss

 

[Casual Shinji]

Still waving that flag, huh?

 

[Hawki]

Wow, what an argument.

Look, admittedly, a lot of popular games are ones I have little to no interest in, but this is less a discussion of a phenomena and more "these are games I don't like, and I'm going to be oddly specific about which titles. But since I'm commenting:

-GTA: Haven't played since Vice City, don't care about it.

-Call of Duty: I actually quite like all the CoD games I have played, but that's only a handful

-Battlefield: Peaked at BF2, haven't played much since then.

-Gears of War: Really like this series

-Uncharted: Never played

-Last of Us: Never played

-Resident Evil: Still a fan. I actually quite dislike RE7, but the RE2 remake got me back into the series. And the RE3 remake was still fun

-Tomb Raider: Never played (think I played TR3 way back in the day at a friend's house)

-Halo: Still a fan, but it had its apex with Reach, and I have little confidence for Infinite

-Far Cry: Never played

-Assassin's Creed: Played some of AC1, didn't like it. Didn't think it would take off like it would, and I don't have much interest in the series

-PUBG: Never played

-Fortnite: Never played

-BioShock: BS1 is a great game, Infinite is an average, very flawed game. Haven't played BS2

-Wolfenstein: Has very good gameplay with a very poor story. Played some of WS2, appeared to be an improvement

-Mass Effect: ME1 is one of the best games I've ever played. Andromeda...isn't. Still love the universe

-The Witcher: Never played

So, my friends, is Hawki a hipster? Let's discuss.

Half life is kinda mainstream and greatest franchise in history.

I wouldn't call Half-Life mainstream. It's very popular in certain circles, but it's quite niche.

 

[SckizoBoy]

Still waving that flag, huh?

You have to ask?(!)

OT: Games you don't like =/= bad games

You've listed some [operative word, here, 'cos some of them I'll concede, do indeed suck] of the most critically acclaimed and best-selling games of all time and slapped a 'they suck' label on all of them. I mean, seriously?

 

[Agema]

So my friends, why are most mainstream games so shallow? is it because more popular game is? bad it become?

If a company is going to spend $50-100 million (and potentially the same again in advertising) then a failure is financially devastating, so this will tend to drive developers towards "safety" in game design: tried and trusted features with really top end graphics and stuff. Novelty is more going to exist as relatively small, incremental improvements on established game styles and tropes.

Major innovation is more likely to come from independents because they don't have the resources to plough into a consummately slick gaming experience, so they need to appeal to players with something else instead. Although that said, most independents are not creating great novelty, they're making cut-price versions of AAA titles or ploughing well-worn furrows in niche markets. The latter is why I most play independent games: the market for a lot of the games I like just doesn't exist to support the big boys spending tens of millions making the product.

 

[Chimpzy]

Yes. Yes, we are all hipsters. Dirty hipsters. Not to be confused with @Dirty Hipsters, who is simply another dirty hipster, and not a manifestation of our collective ids taking the shape of a dirty hipster ... or is he?

 

[Drathnoxis]

Probably a little of column A and a little of column B. Most AAA games made in the past 10 years are so safe and generic and boring I start falling asleep as soon as I start playing them. Indie devs can afford to target more niche audiences and so when you find something that appeals to you it can hit it's mark much harder than something that casts it's net at the lowest common denominator. Honestly, I don't understand why the big publishers don't have any experimental divisions that create lower budget games that can hit those niche audiences, but these questions have been asked a dozen times before already.

 

[CriticalGaming]

No they are not bad, nor are they generic. They might be the same as the last version of them, but that doesn't make them generic. You are just being stupid, and complaining because you don't like a particular game series. Which frankly is irrelevant because you only like very specific FPS-style games and nothing further, so your opinion in regards to these games means absolutely nothing.

 

[MrCalavera]

By Sturgeon's Law most games period, are not very good.
"Mainstream" or AAA games suffer from flaws specific to them(weird monetizing ideas, design-by-comitee etc.), while "indie" ones have their own set(buggy, unpolished etc.). Sometimes you get a perfect storm and get an entry in huge franchises take takes the worst of both worlds, like Anthem for example.
But if you look for a specific thing in games, like the so-called "authorship" or recognizable style, then you're probably better with small indie projects than huge team efforts in AAA landscape(nowwithstanding something like A Hideo Kojima game).

I wouldn't call Half-Life mainstream. It's very popular in certain circles, but it's quite niche.

You wouldn't call one of the most well recognized, memefied FPS franchises mainstream?

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

All these franchise has common that either they really suck, or they are not very good, or if they are good, they are nowhere near as good as thier non mainstream counter part.

The only thing those franchises have in common is that you don't like them and can't stop talking about it.

 

[Kae]

Is it my imagination or is the Video-Game discussion section basically a "Let's tell B-Cell to shut up club"?

I mean don't get me wrong I've done it too, but I'd bet it's something we all have in common by now.

 

[CriticalGaming]

Is it my imagination or is the Video-Game discussion section basically a "Let's tell B-Cell to shut up club"?

I mean don't get me wrong I've done it too, but I'd bet it's something we all have in common by now.

Is that an "us" problem or a "B-Cell" problem?

Because even though his posts make no fucking sense, his threads always get a crapload of replies. So maybe there is a method to his madness.

 

[Kae]

Is that an "us" problem or a "B-Cell" problem?

Because even though his posts make no fucking sense, his threads always get a crapload of replies. So maybe there is a method to his madness.

Like it or not, we've been had by B-Cell.

 

[XsjadoBlayde]

The truth of the matter is that all videogames are crap and anyone who plays them must therefore be crap by extension, including and especially myself. The only acceptable medium of narrative entertainment is interpretive dance. Feel free to refute this with your own interpretive dance, but please...no cursing. This is a respectable family establishment.

 

[deleted20220709]

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[deleted20220709]

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[Worgen]

Well, the first Tomb Raider reboot game was good, the rest were just kinda meh.

Farcry suffers from being too samey, but if you like open world then you would probably enjoy the series.

Assassins Creed suffers from an almost yearly release cycle but as I understand for every bad one, there is another that is good.

The rest of these you are just wrong on.

Except maybe fortnite. I have't played it but fuck fortnite. It does look really boring when I watch other people play it.

 

[Mister Mumbler]

Is it my imagination or is the Video-Game discussion section basically a "Let's tell B-Cell to shut up club"?

I mean don't get me wrong I've done it too, but I'd bet it's something we all have in common by now.

To be fair, whenever I stumble into one of these threads I try to engage with the topic but yeah, it seems like that a lot huh?

Anyway, I think it's less of a hipster mentality and more of an (personally for me at least) old man type "games back in my day were better" argument.

 

[Phoenixmgs]

Yes, most mainstream (or any category) of games (or insert any medium you want) are not very good. If anyone thinks most games are very good (8+/10), they are delusional.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Last of us

Both games are masterpieces. Fight me.

Why should I fight you - I've already won by being right.