Maybe it's Time to Give Up on Triple-A's

I was trying to think of which new, upcoming titles I'm excited for and most of them aren't the big budget bangers.  With the recent news that Redfall, Arkane's newest release, is an utter flop (and, a $69.99 at that!), I'm feeling a bit skeptical about the state of triple-A gaming.  Firstly, this $69.99 thing is ridiculous.  I realize that we're living in a period of high inflation, but for $70, I better be getting a regular masterpiece that offers up something magical.  Secondly, I can't help but think that this is tied to the fact that so many of these studios started off small, had success by making great games, and then promptly got gobbled up by the corporate powers and now, sadly, have lost what made them great in the name of profits.  Maybe it's time to start looking to smaller, indie studios for truly great games.

With that said though, there are a couple big name games that I'm interested in (however, I'm not pre-ordering, I'm not going to day 1 jump on the boat--that ship has sailed and everyone should be cautious given the current track record of recent big releases).  Bethesda's Starfield currently has a release date of September 6th and I'm intrigued by the idea of a space-Skyrim.  At the same time, I'm feeling a tad on the skeptical side thanks to a few things I've read.  Awhile back they were semi-bragging about the fact there are supposed to be a large number of "unique" explorable planets (like thousands!).  I seriously have my doubts about their "uniqueness" given the number.  My personal tenet when it comes to some of these games that like to brag about the massive size of their playable areas is that "size ain't everything."  Who cares about planet #9,000 if it's a slight variation of the other #8,999 planets?  You need a solid story and enjoyable gameplay to bring it all together, and sadly, too many of the uber-games seem to focus on a big, pretty world that is lacking in depth.

A story this week revealed that there won't be any actual sex scenes in Starfield, but apparently your character can wisecrack about the experience afterward.  Am I disappointed about this fact?  Not at all--video game sex scenes are generally cringey at best.  This news was thanks to the ESRB revealing the fact that it will release with a M (mature) rating.  No boning, but there is drug use and swearing.

Even though I'm pretty sure Diablo III is responsible for giving me a mild case of carpal tunnel syndrome, I'm also a bit jazzed for Diablo IV.  I spent many an hour giving myself that carpal tunnel as I (poorly) fought through the legions of hellish enemies with multiple characters and classes.  I haven't played the beta, but I also haven't heard anything devastatingly bad about it, so I'll be keeping an eye on it.

On the indie front, I'm excited about SteamWorld Build, a new city builder in the SteamWorld universe.  If you're unfamiliar with the series, it's a very interesting one.  The games stretch out over multiple genres but take place with a set of characters based in the same universe--SteamWorld Dig is the first and is an action/platformer; SteamWorld Dig 2 is the next chapter with similar gameplay and carries over the characters from the first game.  Then the series branched out into SteamWorld Heist--a turn-based RPG set in space (it's my favorite!).  The most recent game, SteamWorld Quest: Hand of Gilgamech, is a deck builder/card battler.  (FYI, the whole collection is currently on sale on Steam--you can get all these great games + their soundtracks for $21.97).  I'm excited to see if they can keep the SteamWorld magic rolling with a city builder.

If you are a fan of the tabletop-like RPG Wildermyth there's a new DLC that features tons of new armors and skins for just $5.  Just five bucks to make your unique heroes even more unique!  Totally worth it--plus, I enjoy the fact that it was developed by group of family members and I'll gladly throw more cash at them.