Pretty please can we have the final installment of the Adam Jensen Deus Ex trilogy now. Left us hanging in the middle of what might be one of my favorite neo noir, cyberpunk series because open world story driven games were losing out back then. There's clearly an appetite now given recent releases and their success.
Square-Enix sells all of its Western game studios and their games to Embracer
61–70 of 264 posts
Re: Square-Enix sells all of its Western game studios and their games to Embracer
#62In comparison to other recent sales of big studios and publishers the price just seems absolutely and insanely low. Gearbox 1.3B, Bethesda 7.5B, Insomniac $230M, Wth is Square thinking.
Letting Eidos and Crystal Dynamics go for about the same price as Insomniac? Wild just wild.
Re: Square-Enix sells all of its Western game studios and their games to Embracer
#63Earlier quoted context omitted.
The thing about Deus Ex is that there's nothing particularly special about the "IP". Anybody could make a near-future cyberpunk conspiracy-oriented immersive sim, and call it whatever. The modern Deus Ex games were really average, and (as detailed in the recent hbomberguy video) failed to grasp the key principles of level design that are required to make games like that work.
And yet cyberpunk and watch dogs aren’t close to being the same despite the similar aesthetic/theme.
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Re: Square-Enix sells all of its Western game studios and their games to Embracer
#64Earlier quoted context omitted.
Am I the only one that can't stand these games? They are so restrictive in their gameplay, so linear! It feels like watching an interactive movie more than playing a game.
Linear games are better in my opinion. Linearity isn’t the problem though. Mario is linear and very fun. Tomb raider just sort of takes away you doing anything. You have no real agency for a lot of it. Just told what buttons to press indirectly and then you do it.
There's linear gameplay and then there are linear games. Linear games are preferable, for many games, because there is a story that you can impact in meaningful ways, but with 'an' outcome. That outcome will morph or change based on inputs you make and decisions you make throughout the process. Linear gameplay is boring, in that you don't get any agency. You are simply completing a series of steps to feel a sense of accomplishment, when in reality all you have done is push the approved buttons at the appropriate time.
Linear game that's awesome: Pillars of Eternity.
Linear gameplay that's not awesome: Tomb raider games.
Or maybe different games are made for different people. That could also be an option.
Re: Square-Enix sells all of its Western game studios and their games to Embracer
#65Earlier quoted context omitted.
Cruelty Squad nails it though, despite having LSD visual projectile vomit aesthetics.
Visual vomit for real, that looks grotesque!
Yeah, it's trippy and looks like a low-effort meme game, but it has surprising depth both in terms of gameplay and arguably also in terms of philosophical consistency.
The sensory assault that is the audiovisual aesthetics are very intentionally crafted and fits with the world and the message.
Re: Square-Enix sells all of its Western game studios and their games to Embracer
#66Western... Didn't they own the first or second "Dune" game?
First Dune game owner is Virgin, currently owned by EA
Second Dune game owner is Westwood, currently owned by EA
So... no.
Re: Square-Enix sells all of its Western game studios and their games to Embracer
#67The newer tomb raider games are the most AAA games I’ve ever seen. Not saying they’re good, or bad, but every other moment is a handcrafted moment. It sort of works. A lot of it is platforming through crumbling environments. Which is pretty cool. It’s sort of overdone too. SquareEnix felt legendary growing up.
> The newer tomb raider games are the most AAA games I’ve ever seen uncharted, horizon, god of war, last of us etc
I've never really liked those franchises, even though they do have AAA production value behind them. Uncharted and God of War in particular just feel like button-pressing simulators to me; they feel like 8 hour long cutscenes with a few QTEs and points where you can wiggle your joystick. Maybe I'm just spoiled by gameplay-heavy titles as of late, but a lot of Sony franchises feel like they'd be better as movies instead. That being said, the new Uncharted movie bombed at the box office so I don't know who's at fault here...
Re: Square-Enix sells all of its Western game studios and their games to Embracer
#68>The Transaction will assist the Company in adapting to the changes underway in the global business environment by establishing a more efficient allocation of resources, which will enhance corporate value by accelerating growth in the Company’s core businesses in the digital entertainment domain. In addition, the Transaction enables the launch of new businesses by moving forward with investments in fields including b…
They need to fire their loser NFT-deluded president and let YoshiP run the company.
It looks like all CEO's have agreed on legalizing pyramid schemes.
Re: Square-Enix sells all of its Western game studios and their games to Embracer
#69Earlier quoted context omitted.
Then you should play uncharted and the last of us. This is peak AAA
Am I the only one that can't stand these games? They are so restrictive in their gameplay, so linear! It feels like watching an interactive movie more than playing a game.
You're not alone. These sort of games offer very little opportunity for players to creatively express themselves. This is more like watching a movie than playing a game.
Re: Square-Enix sells all of its Western game studios and their games to Embracer
#70I'd be interesting to see the full list of IP they've sold. The article only gives three examples, one game I've never heard of, one recycled shooter from the 2000s and then there is Tomb raider - a series with twenty instalments, already milked to dust for pre-sequels, squeals and reboots more times then seems fair. Clearly someone thinks they can squeeze a few more dollars out of people here but personally im not s…
I can't speak for the intention of the purchaser, but in their position I'd be looking to just unlock the teams. My impression of Square-Enix is that they've frankly just never been a company comfortable with being international, and it has shown for a very long time now. Just let the teams go produce something without the Eastern and Western design, management, marketing... heck, nearly all the philosophies clashing and producing much less than the sum of the parts.
(Since I know how things work nowadays, I'm not saying the philosophies necessarily intrinsically clash or that they can't be reconciled by other entities, just that to my eye, Square-Enix in particular is a company with a multi-decade track record of failing to do so.)