Today's game is Playdead's INSIDE but today's blog is really about the disappointing shift over the past generation towards pretending like massive "AAA" games are the only ones that matter. Remember when the console makers were falling all over themselves to prove how much they loved indie games? Well, that push seems to have only made the divide between "real" games and indies even wider in the minds of consumers, and that's a damn shame. Read on for more and to watch INSIDE gameplay.
Hey kiddos, news flash. God of War or Red Dead Redemption 2 or Breath of the Wild or whatever other crap games have won Game of the Year over the last decade or so aren't the best games of the decade or even of the year they came out. They're just big overrated overhyped bloated "AAA" trash. Sort of kidding - they're fine - but they aren't the best games we've had over the last few years.
But these big "AAA" games are the only ones that ever get any consideration for Game of the Year or are appearing on Game of the Decade lists, and that sucks. The Last of Us, for example, is a freaking stealth game at its core with mediocre shooting and a mediocre story. Disqualified. Red Dead Redemption 2 is one of the worst playing games I've ever touched. Disqualified. God of War is bloated with pointless collectibles and upgrade nonsense and is 2x as long as it should be. Disqualified. Breath of the Wild has a big boring empty world and weapons that break constantly. Disqualified. I could go on and on and on.
The actual best games of the decade are things like Journey, Abzu, RiME, What Remains of Edith Finch, Dead Cells, Rocket League, INSIDE, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, Hyper Light Drifter, and other indies that each pack more heart and soul and actual quality than all of the "AAA" games combined. Oh, and also Dark Souls because F-you, Dark Souls 1 wasn't a "AAA" game.
Most of these games aren't ever even considered to be Game of the Year despite the fact that they are, objectively, the best. Here's the truth about Game of the Year awards and video game website content in general - they cover whatever gets them clicks. Indie games don't get clicks, because people are idiots, and websites don't bother to cover most of them because it isn't worth it, despite the fact that by covering them they would legitimize them and ultimately make it worth it. So, instead, we get 100 articles about whatever the popular flavor of the month is while the actual good games are forgotten. Or lame meme games like My Friend Pedro or Untitled Goose Game get attention despite being crap.
Goddamn, video games suck.
