I remember growing up playing Nintendo games up and other AAA games until I started watching YT. Particular TB and adjacent YouTubers.
Now-a-days, especially watching most of Summer Games Fest, I feel like I really am not excited about AAA games as I used to be and generally prefer indie games
Think it’s a combination of time, DLC, gamba bs, same game released 7 thousand times and broken games at launch that have mostly turned me away from AAA games. Nintendo, Ubisoft, Blizzard, SquareEnix and others, have further tainted the appreciation I once had for these companies with the level of abuse to their fanbases and even their own employees.
How you all feel about AAA vs Indie games? Which do you prefer, and has this changed for you over time?
I’m firmly in the indie games camp. There are so many excellent, affordable, unique experiences in the indie world, and I know my money goes directly to individuals who worked hard on the game. Almost all of my favorite games in the last five years are from smaller studios or even individual creators.
I still dabble in AAA titles (looking at you, Tears of the Kingdom) but overall I’m pretty wary of blockbuster games.
As a 38 year old who used to game a lot but stopped about 10 years ago, the steam deck has rekindled my love of gaming. The accessibility it offers, particularly with indie games has been wonderful. The deck is a more open and budget friendly version of the switch (to me at least).
I find triple a games try to do too much, combined with their virtually insatiable hunger for maximizing profit (through dlc, in game micro transactions, loot boxes, etc.) really turns me off of them.
There’s very little I care about from AAAs. Pretty much just Nintendo really, and only a few of their IPs.
I think what I miss most though is the space that existed in between. Small spinoff projects from large studios. Those mostly flourished on handheld, and when handhelds died so did an entire class of games.
I find myself gravitating toward indie games a lot more due to the homogeneity in the AAA space. It feels like AAA games are like half storefront half game these days, and their prices are just getting more expensive.
Meanwhile indies and small studios with publishers are pumping out games that take risks, and offer unique experiences, and they’re like $20. I can get three of those and a six pack for the same price as one broken-at-launch AAA game.
@zauri27 I’ve been burnt too many times by fancy trailers and beautiful graphics… I mean, I’m a Star Citizen backer, I was fooled by pretty JPEGS! 😂
Most of the innovative things happen within the Indie community it seems, with people who are truly connected to their projects. They are driven by love for their craft AND the profit, unlike AAA-studio executives that focus only on the profits.
