Why modern games suck

[Raging Justice]

I thought it would be interesting to do a thread where we examine why some of us are so turned off by modern games....since this is a retro site after all. Truthfully, I just wanted a place to rant LOL

However, feel free to use this thread to discuss anything about today's games that irritate the fuck out of you. I'll start with one thing that drives me nuts

So I was just trying out this new game called COGEN: Sword of Rewind. It's sort of 2d, Mega Man, type game (or Mega Man X I suppose). I haven't even finished the first stage and already I hate it. The main character has this sword that seems to be some kind of robot and the whole stage they are talking...talking...talking

SHUT THE FUCK UP ALREADY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jesus. I come across an enemy. They fire a shot at me, I get ready to deflect it with my sword...AND THEY START FUCKING TALKING AGAIN. Way to distract the player in the midst of combat. This happened like two or three times. Then I get to a part of the level where these two characters introduce me to some logs I can read. Oh great, what's better than the incessant chatter interrupting the gameplay? Stupid logs for me to read. This is then followed by yet even more chatter. I turned the game off at that point. Didn't even finish the level

It doesn't help that the main character is a stupid, bimbo...but I guess it's that anime thing of an annoying character being meant to be somehow "charming" to the audience.

Ugh

When I played through a stage in early Mega Man X games, there was no talking until maybe the end of the stage where you'd get some BRIEF dialog from the boss before fighting him. Emphasis on the word BRIEF. There was also the occasional Dr. Light Capsule, but those were few and far between and generally he'd just tell you what the upgrade he's giving you does than he'd fuck right off. Ninja Gaiden games on the NES. You'd play through a level and only then, as a REWARD for you beating the stage, you would get to see a very cool looking cut scene with dialog. It was actually awesome because it gave the game a movie like quality that wasn't common back then. The levels themselves though? Pure gameplay. Not incessant chatter

This seems to be a thing with many modern games, even the ones from the indie scene (like this one) that are supposed to be retro. We have to have so much STORY and TALKING. It's so damn annoying. I just want to kill things!!!!! I just want to...you know...PLAY THE GAME

I'm not watching a Netflix series for fuck's sake, or playing a 80 hour Japanese RPG.

Anyway, rant over. What sort of things turn the rest of you off to a lot of modern games? I still play modern games mind you, but a lot of things about them make me want to go back and play older games instead. Most of the modern games I even play these days are retro inspired. It's like I'm always reaching for the past.

[dsheinem]

It's like I'm always reaching for the past.

your use of “bimbo” made that pretty clear…

also, a wall of text to complain about too much talking? *chef’s kiss*

[PretentiousHipster]

Nothing wrong with it, but I did notice that practically your entire taste is based off of nostalgia, so a bias is involved.

I don't hate games from any era, but I find that I need to slowly adjust to stuff that's like the more in-depth c64 games for example.

I prefer the early CD ROM games. Not because nostalgia though because I am oh so slightly too young for that. The trends from that time weren't set, and thus new tech gave so much more leeway on what to do, so the games end up quite strange, or at the very least interesting.

[Limewater]

your use of “bimbo” made that pretty clear…

Maybe he's from Latin American and nostalgic for the snack cakes of his childhood.

I don't really play modern games, so I don't have much reason to think they suck. Ninety percent of everything sucks. Except pizza. Ninety percent of pizza is just alright.

[Sload Soap]

Just sounds like a bad game. Cuphead is a modern game with retro sensibilities (very retro in its aesthetics) that doesn't faff you about. Streets of Rage 4 was very faithful while building on the past. Swings and roundabouts, innit?

[marurun]

I'm playing FF IX which is definitely not a new game and I am SO tired of all the yammering. The story is fine, but the storytellers think they are better at telling the story than they actually are.

[o.pwuaioc]

Just sounds like a bad game. Cuphead is a modern game with retro sensibilities (very retro in its aesthetics) that doesn't faff you about. Streets of Rage 4 was very faithful while building on the past. Swings and roundabouts, innit?

If someone wore a new tophat, you wouldn't necessarily call it modern, but old-fashioned, or retro, etc. Cuphead is the same. It's only "modern" in the sense that it came out today, but it's actually a true retro game (which is how that word ought to be applied). Retro clothes aren't clothes that are old; they're clothes that are new that look old. Modern fashion isn't fashion today; it's what's fashionable today.

I think that is an important distinction that we ought to be making when we look at criticism of modern media. Every time someone says "X things today suck", they never mean each and every thing X, but rather today's general trend. So "modern games suck" does not mean all games that were made in the past few years ago suck, but rather there are trends with today's games that are displeasing.

I never played this game that the OP mentioned (or for that matter even Cuphead, so the above comment on it is more theoretical), so I can't speak to it per se, but spoken dialogue in games ALWAYS annoyed me, and really is one of the major demarcation lines in gaming for me. That's why I always draw the classic v. modern line with the PS2 and later. PC games, PS1 games, and other CD-ROM games of course had spoken dialogue (as early as King's Quest V), but it felt more in transition back then. Now dialogue is everywhere, and there's a whole lot of bad voice acting to be heard, unfortunately.

Also, OP:

Potential problems would depend some on the particular revision that you have. That said, you may want to consider using a PS3 to play your PS1 collection instead, especially if you don't have good CRT setup. It's not perfect, nor does it achieve the best possible results, but it's the overall easiest way to go. Plus, you have the option to just buy some of the rarer titles digitally.

i refuse to buy a ps3

I like you. Modern games suck.

[SamuraiMegas]

I can feel my age difference with a lot of the posters on here when I read stuff like this. If you think modern games suck you're literally just playing the wrong games.

I also disagree about your point on Cuphead o.p. that's definitely a modern game; having retro influences doesn't take away from it's modernity- especially when that game could never be released on older hardware. Hotline Miami is one of my favorite games ever and it's a modern 2D sprite based game. So is Metal Gear Solid V, and it's got 4k HD textures and shit.


You're missing out on a whole world of games by blindly declaring "new=bad" and you sound goofy.

[o.pwuaioc]

I can feel my age difference with a lot of the posters on here when I read stuff like this. If you think modern games suck you're literally just playing the wrong games.

I also disagree about your point on Cuphead o.p. that's definitely a modern game; having retro influences doesn't take away from it's modernity- especially when that game could never be released on older hardware. Hotline Miami is one of my favorite games ever and it's a modern 2D sprite based game. So is Metal Gear Solid V, and it's got 4k HD textures and shit.


You're missing out on a whole world of games by blindly declaring "new=bad" and you sound goofy.

I think you should re-read what I wrote a little more carefully. I am (and I don't think the OP is either) saying that new = bad. It's not *new* games, it's modern games.

And I was only using Cuphead as an example given the premises above. I never played it myself, so I'm not classifying it per se. Perhaps others might suffice. A good example that comes to mind is VVVVVV.

[Reprise]

Generally, I don't hate or even dislike modern games, regardless of what definition of modern games we are using. I like modern games. I still buy games and enjoy lots of them.

That said, there are a few aspects that I find frustrating.

1. Extended tutorial sections
I don't find these fun or interesting. I constantly find myself thinking "can I just play the real game now?" I'd rather just read a manual to understand the controls and gameplay mechanics. Or, alternatively, something that feels a little more organic that eases you into the game and introduces the mechanics without feeling quite so obvious.

2. Increasingly complex games
Having to remember multiple systems, crafting mechanics, deal with large and sometimes even multiple menus, item management, multiple button combinations, multiple strategies depending on multiple circumstances and all sorts of complicated mechanics just completely overwhelms me and I get exhausted constantly trying to remember how to play games or learn the systems in the first place.

3. Unnecessary and annoying talking, story exposition, characters explaining stuff in an obnoxious way
Lots and lots of talking in games when I just want to play and don't care about the story. Particularly annoying in games that don't really need it.