Schedule 1, Peak, and REPO lead a big year for small games
Silksong launched at €20.
I could buy the best game of a generation at full price FOUR TIMES, or Forspoken once. Tough choice
Indy and small budget games are where all the innovation in game mechanics is occuring. The AA/AAA industry has become a conveyor belt of ever more expensive graphics on the “omni game” mechanics.
Consoles are the rich man’s platform these days. If you have a bit of technical know-how, it’s not hard to find a cheap old PC and get some games running on it.
Weren’t they always?
When I grew up, the surgeon’s kid had an Xbox, the software engineer’s kid had a PS, and everyone else pirated PC games or got them from the bargain bin.
I got the whole Blitzkrieg Anthology for the equivalent of 5 EUR
Like, I appreciate the effort that goes into big AAA releases. I really do. I get wrapped up in the stories a lot easier when the game is nice to look at and the voice actors are really good.
But if a game isn’t fun, it isn’t fun. A lot of indie games are fun first, and that makes all the difference in the world.
“AA” games can look fantastic though, with incredible voice acting.
See: Expedition 33.
I think “too much budget” is a thing. There’s just a point where it hurts more than helps, and now AAAAs (as I dub them) are smacking into it.
I’m still waiting for a decent sale on Expedition 33 before I buy it.