Game Inbox: Are there too many hero shooters?

A shrinking circle
Judging by the reception for Concord and the poor reviews for Marvel Rivals, I think it’s become clear that the problem is not necessarily too many direct service games but too many hero shooters. Overwatch’s formula is pretty simple and unfortunately, it’s also easy to copy. Add to that the fact that they are pioneers of paid cosmetics and it’s just a target lure.

The problem is, no matter how good the game or the characters are, without some real new ideas, it’s just going to fail. I played Concord beta and, yes, it was well made and some of the characters were quite smart, but it was blatantly just an alternate world of Overwatch I found it very hard to get involved with.

People have been cloning popular games for decades, but when it looks like this, it takes you out of the game and ruins your immersion. That’s how I feel. There are too many and I will definitely be a case of reducing the return with each new one that is similar to different characters.
Gant

Empty Rivalry
I’ve also played the Marvel Rivals beta and I agree with GC’s review that it’s clearly a copy of Overwatch. I also agree that the game is too far on the screen to really keep track, with all the specials and all. Although this is just a sign that the game isn’t holding my attention as much as it should, and I’m not paying as much attention as I should.

For me, it’s just typical of the sort of lazy, copycat games I’ve come to expect from free-to-play games and I’m really not surprised to find it by a publisher of mostly mobile games. It feels like it and I’m sure the final game will be filled with useless cosmetics and pass battles that cost a fortune and cause the children of the land to raid their parents’ credit cards.

It’s not even that bad, it’s just bland and manipulative and lazy. I didn’t play Concord, so I can’t say whether it’s better or worse but at least it seems to be a real video game. Marvel Rivals is not. It’s a tie-in game and it’s a rip-off of Overwatch, there’s just nothing of its own at all.
Kodak

Sarah Connor was right
I really don’t understand why there are no laws protecting people and their jobs from AI. We have detailed and complicated rules about most aspects of people’s work lives (well, maybe not many in America) but there’s absolutely nothing stopping companies from not only ripping off people’s work, but then firing them and replacing them with algorithms. which will only continue to tear off the work forever, unable to invent anything new on its own.

Who will copy if all the artists are fired? And how close to the bread line is the company that let go of 20 important people for the business plan? If he has too much trouble keeping the lights on, he might as well pack them in there.

Of course, I know that only the constant search for infinite growth is behind it all, but it all seems pointless and dangerous. I thought AI was meant to do all the boring jobs, not the creative ones?
Cranston

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Start small
So what’s the consensus on the best FromSoftware games to start with? I’ve heard that Elden Ring is the easiest, but I find the size and length of the game very daunting and I’m really not sure I want to spend 200+ hours on a game right now.

So it doesn’t count that what everyone will recommend is the easiest and therefore the best to play for newbies? It’s not so much difficulty that I’m worried about but the time it will take me to get through everything. I especially do not feel that summer is the time to get stuck into a massive new game.
Eaglescott

GC: We will say either Bloodborne or, if you do not have a PlayStation 4 or 5, Dark Souls 3. Elden Ring used to be considered the easiest though, even if it is easy in this size it is still very hard indeed.

Try before you buy
As an FYI to everyone, however, there is now a Rise Of The Rōnin demo on the PlayStation Store. It’s a little late, but I recommend it to everyone, because it’s a great game. I am willing to admit that it is probably not necessary to open the world, as many have pointed out, but it is a small problem.

The battles are incredible, some of the best I’ve ever seen, and the story is just the right side of ridiculous to keep you interested while still being historically accurate. I hear it’s good for Koei Tecmo games, but obviously not a big seller like other PlayStation exclusives. I’ll definitely give the demo a try, as I’m sure the full game can be bought cheaply these days.
Feverdr

A lonely hero
I thought about Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom, which I liked, and I thought about what could be done to develop the characters of Metroid, the only major Nintendo game with a female protagonist. Samus hardly ever speaks (especially not in English) and all the male characters are douchebags, just like the fan-favourite Adam.

The problem is that if you introduce someone better, then the temptation is to make them a love interest, which can be considered a cliché. But if they’re not a love interest that doesn’t leave much room for drama or tension. Even Ripley has a thing for Hicks, after all.

So, my question is is it best to leave Samus almost silent, and the game with little story, or is there a way to expand things at least to the level of Zelda? I’d like to see them try but I don’t think serious storytelling is Nintendo’s specialty.

It’s also not necessarily what I want to see from Metroid, but then it also has to be overly stupid. It’s a tough situation and I wonder if the fact that they haven’t solved the problem yet is what made the game mainstream.
Hoskins

heritage studio
I hope Davide Soliani gets a job at Nintendo or starts his own studio, because I really like the Rabbids games and he looks great in interviews. Perhaps they can do both if Nintendo helps them set up a studio and then use it like a second or first party studio.

I think Nintendo should do more of this stuff. He had a very positive influence on the developers he worked with and certainly could do with other Western studios. Helping to set up something new in Italy seems good to me, especially because of Mario’s legacy.
builder

Perfect hype
I’m still debating whether I’d prefer games to be announced a year or two before launch or whether it’s better to do it only six months or so in advance, which is the more common way these days. Or so it seems, what happens is a game is announced for a year or two, then we barely hear about it again for six months.

To me, this seems like the worst of both worlds. Because you get the hype from the initial announcement but then forget the game even exists and are just confused when you actually hear about it again. This happened to me with Star Wars Outlaws, which was a year between the actual news and just started getting previews just two months before the release. It seems like a very strange way to handle things, especially for such a large license.

I bet they try to stop people getting sick of hearing about the game before it comes out, but they’ve gone too far the other way as far as I’m concerned. Hype can be fun, and with some games looking forward to often more than the end result, but that can’t be quite the way it is used to now.
Frankie

Inbox well-rans
Is there a scenario where the smell of ‘smoke’ is good. People get weird about Steam Decks. I don’t even know about nostalgia, I don’t associate certain smells with old fun. Is the NES steam-powered or something, and I don’t know?
Grafton

GC: The smoke of freshly baked bread is wonderful.

I really don’t think the Olympic organizers really understand esports. Why are people playing obscure mobile games at the Olympics? Who cares who’s the best at Tic Tac Bow?
Heathcliffe

Email comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk

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