Is anyone else noticing how much gaming is being taken too seriously these days?
Is anyone else noticing how much gaming is being taken too seriously these days?
I enjoy classic titles. I just wrapped up a great time in Initial D Arcade and Scud Race. Honestly, the new stuff doesn’t really stand out as exciting.
Multiple factors influence this situation: the media you engage with, the gaming groups you join, the specific titles or styles you enjoy, and the platforms or stores where games are available. These elements can shape what you notice or avoid. Gaming content often promotes trends and new tech, which can amplify certain opinions. Besides personal preferences, tools like Reddit allow filtering—such as on /r/patientgamers—to hide genres or playstyles that clash with your tastes. On Steam, privacy settings let you obscure games from particular categories, affecting what you see and interact with. Ultimately, it depends on how well you can filter out the parts you dislike while staying open to the aspects you appreciate.
Naraka felt like a messy dumpster, almost like you could reach the end game and then face sudden special moves that dropped your health from 100 to 20. It seemed off-balance and just another typical BR game. I’m not sure why it was considered special. If you enjoy that vibe, Ghost of Tsushima is coming out now. I’m considering grabbing it because the reviews look good—it was definitely one of the better PS releases.
Neither word has a clear meaning, so that’s okay. It’s really tough for me to pin down what I’m interested in. My preferences don’t fit into a single category.
I understand the differences in how categories are defined, even though "AA" used to exist. This often complicates conversations, so I was just highlighting the variety beyond those extremes. I’m not completely against calling a game "indie," but if it’s heavily marketed as such, I see the same warning signs as with mainstream titles. When a publisher is one of the major companies—like Sony—I quickly lose interest or my concerns arise. Still, there are many enjoyable games out there, both new and old. I also like discovering indie titles outside typical channels, reading reviews, and exploring actual storefronts. This approach tends to be more focused than watching YouTube lists. P.S., that’s how I recently stumbled on Beyond Citadel—it wasn’t my usual genre, but it offers a fresh take on a classic "doom shooter" style with nice old-school visuals. The demo had some bugs, which made me lose interest, but those small games often catch my eye and keep me engaged for longer than expected.
I understand it's a personal take, but I thought Resident Evil Village had a strong appeal for me. It's not the latest release, yet it feels fresh.
Yeah, agreed. Guess the big studios figured out people like indie, so they market their titles as indie despite not being independent of anything. A game I've played a lot on my steam deck recently is Stardew Valley, which would actually fit the term I think. I also enjoyed the first Ori a lot, but of course Moon Studios got published by Microsoft, so not sure you'd call the indie at that point.
I think it’s a bit outside my usual vibe, kind of mainstream. That doesn’t mean they’re bad—maybe I’d enjoy them. A good way to discover new games is through mods, right? I mostly stick to modded titles, so that’s a solid source too (plus other mod platforms). Even sites like crackwatch can be useful if they’re cracked.
If something’s getting cracked, it might actually be worth it—just not because I’m ready to pay. It feels more like another independent way to find fresh games.
I also often try instant refunds because I usually don’t need much time to decide if a game is worth my effort. I’m probably the person who gets the most refunds ever!
Another helpful tip: a friend who knows what I like sends me random links. Mostly they’re just “western trash,” but sometimes they land exactly where I want. So yeah, the issue isn’t not knowing what to play—it’s that there’s so much of what I actually want out there!
The studio operates independently from the publisher. Moon Studios and their titles are clearly indie, even though they're published by MS.