An IGN Editor made sure to kill hot takes that everybody in the world of gaming seemed to be cheering. Simon Cardy of IGN said the trademark PlayStation titles while good have grown a tad samey. He went on to say that he has always been a titanic admirer of PlayStation offerings, but that whatever had felt like new ground has really come to be “a well-worn road.” And that hit home really hard.
This is producing a stir, getting players in between. Half are agreeing to the premise that Sony’s blockbuster narrative games have become predictable, whereas the rest are defending their favorite games as if their lives depended on it.
This has become the most ridiculous debate, with hundreds of replies coming from the original tweet at IGN concerning this rather popular opinion. Some gamers say, “Finally, somebody said it,” whereas others call out the publication for creating cheap controversies that would lure up some good number of clicks. Classic internet behavior.
Armando flatly stated, “imo none of these games ever really needed sequels either. i liked god of war but it was fine ending it in 2010.” That’s a mood, indeed. How many times can you reboot or continue these stories before they lose what made them so special in the first place?
Jackson Gaines then went for subtle diggs at IGN, saying, “BREAKING NEWS: IGN EDITOR thinks well designed, paced, and through story with amazing visuals is bad! ‘I’m tired of great story games,'” with sarcastic use of uppercase. That passion is real folks.
Interestingly enough, these reactions were so evenly split. Some of these comments completely dismiss IGN’s role in the debate. Who listens to IGN anymore? asks SwayTheLoner; Garrett Brown chimed in with, “IGN doesn’t deserve any serious consideration and hasn’t for years.” But then again, there are those like Bart who commented, “We were just talking about this at the house last week. Lol.” So obviously, people have been thinking about this.
Sure thing, things took a quick turn for platform wars. Meaning, The Illusive Bruv fired off Uncharted as a measuring stick up and down, and indie Xbox vs. Play arguments littered the air. Troy jumps in: “If you’re not a gamebox fanboy you entirely disagree… PlayStation is a major reason physical media is still in gaming.” Meanwhile, Chris from Italy hits back at an Xbox fan: “Poor Xbox fan, hasn’t had a W in over a decade.” So obviously, the console wars have been forever.
Some of these criticisms are quite funny, though. AlexPC_95 says, “Ninja gaiden 4 looks more like more of the same slop with the same generic ass shonen story,” while Vega99923 counters, “Half your gameplay is literally just quick time events and parrying…” in the defense of being unique.
What is really telling here is the number of others raised while defending PlayStation. Dialga Marine92 noted, “And yet y’all will give Mario and Zelda a perfect 10 with each new game?” Fair enough? Each publisher has their formulas that they stick to.
The Nitty Gritty: The thing is, Sony first-party games have really been crushing it for the past few years. Think masterpieces like The Last of Us, God of War, Spider-Man, and Ghost of Tsushima: these are not just good games; they’re system sellers. If zooming out takes a view of the pattern, there is a certain… similarity in terms of approach. Third person action adventure-heavy narrative, cinematic presentation, and emotional storytelling. It works! Yet, even the finest recipe, after a while, becomes repetitive.
Some comments really hit on this: Dust argued, “What bullcrap. All those characters are completely different with completely different stories and worlds. You have to choose to make this insane connection…” Which must have been correct! Kratos dealing with fatherhood in Norse mythology is pretty different from Jin Sakai defending Tsushima from Mongols.
The conversation even touched on some gameplay elements. Taavi Saft mentioned that he had a preference for “madness, where you can use a cat as a silencer. Less weeping and anger, and more crazy plot twists and rampage.” Which honestly sounds amazing; someone make that game.
What is clear from this, though, is that players want variety. They want high-quality Sony production values but maybe mixed up with different genres and storytelling focuses. The success of Returnal indicates that there is a desire for something different within the PlayStation ecosphere.
At the heart of it, this whole debate points out a very important observation about the state of gaming right now. We are in a strange place where technical quality has never been higher, but now, players only get more critical of creative risks- or lack thereof. When every big game feels like it has to be a blockbuster movie, we might be forsaking some of those weird, experimental stuff that makes gaming so special.
Whether you agree with the IGN piece or think it’s nonsense, one thing is for sure: people care about these games with all their heart. The passion in the responses was delightful. PlayStation has made a huge success with its first-party studios; perhaps it’s time to shake up the formula or maybe not- if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
The discussion looks unstoppable with PlayStation’s next wave of games still majorly underwraps. You can guess who they lean toward. More of the same cinematic excellence or something brand new? Time will tell; one thing is for sure; people will be talking!
