The Coming AAA Video Game Crash of 2025

[@TantrisHumble]

This video took two months to write between the three of us. Special thanks to Adam and Len (aka Maigo) for helping out. I’ll post a link to my new album here soon. Thanks again and scrutly mutly! Also here’s our DISCORD for those wanting to join the community: discord.gg/kF9zfFCc5u Find Adam here: www.youtube.com/@@AdamBorseti For Len, check him out here: www.youtube.com/@@len_doraneko

[@fishlightbulb7048]

Sutnoid

[@toongamer2810]

Thank you egoraptor

[@radandpaisley]

i was going to say that lol

[@staraptorflock3661]

WHAT GAMING IS CRASHING!?! Wait a minute I don't play modern games.

[@thecompareablezombie]

AAA gaming crash, Indie devs are doing decent and well.

[@Retrofuge]

Not to fault the video. It's not your fault, but maybe the correction is that AAA gaming is crashing rather than gaming as a whole. Honestly, these talking points sort of have been done to death. It's really a question is, why don't people just consider titles in the AA or indies scene which more akin to games of yesteryear, or take more risks? It sort of feels like, everyone who goes on about gaming dying are very narrow minded in what they consume. Honestly, with so much choice, I'm surprised you can come to the conclusion gaming isn't good anymore. I feel like people should be playing games which they like, rather than chasing the same feelings which got them into gaming. There's a lot of faults with the industry, but there's a point you have to ask, I am getting sick of the hobby or I'm just not looking hard enough? Stop playing games because everyone else is talking about them. Especially with the slop AAA games. It's such a simple solution which the gaming community doesn't follow.

[@len_doraneko]

this is actually exactly how i feel! i wanted to mention this in my part of the video, but it went on for too long, so i had to scrap it...

[@GodOfOrphans]

AAA also controls the platforms people play on aside from the high seas as well as most of the engines most people including indies rent out, the collapse of AAA is and will have a knock on effect on indie so don't mistake this as an isolated problem. It's also just kinda harder to sort the indie games you actually like from the rest, best example being how indie are still very pigeonholed into a handful of genres turn based RPGs, Metroidvanias, 2D platformers, roguelite/likes, and survival crafting schlock, they're getting better slowly but surely but it's still a process and people who prefer certain genres like open world sandboxes are gonna be waiting a loooooooong time because those are notoriously hard to make with the resources of most smaller devs, and Indie Fighting games still haven't truly established themselves and probably won't for awhile.

[@PerkinsVR]

i agree with all this, except i can't help but believe theres this swirling mass of ultra-normie gamers out there making up 60% of the consumer base, that don't partake in gaming media like this, and don't even know what the term indie game means; they only care about 4 things, most recent multiplayer shooter, most recent sports game, Nintendo IPs, and most recent open world game. we've seen the writing on the wall for a decade or longer, but only a small percentage of them are just now starting to have an eerie feeling like something might be wrong with NBA 2k25 costing 80 dollars and charging for random chances at getting more basketball players (i dont actually know if this is what NBA games are like now, i dont play sports games.)

[@lordofthebored3660]

I think your right on people being closed in when they say gaming isn't fun anymore but only partially. There is also a noticeable rise in a gaming burnout of the hobby itself, I've noticed it with myself feeling that there's not much to do when I still have quite a few unfinished games. It's also a bit of stress on free time. I feel like I don't have as much of it and that I should be doing something more with my life rather than just playing videogames. I know it's been memed to hell but maybe we need to touch some grass

[@ys3606]

Because the bigger issue isn't that anymore, it doesn't matter anymore what title comes out, AAA or Indie when it's all but clear that the gaming industry as a whole is on a downwards trend. At that point, why bother with the hobby at all when it's in a recession?

[@liammcnicholas918]

0:22 There’s your problem

[@elledotcom4437]

Some games that I've gotten immersed recently in recently just to answer the question. Hi-fi Rush, Ghostwire: Tokyo, and Metaphor: ReFantazio, all of which are absolutely passion products, and the last one being diverse in a way that actually serves the story. I personally like diversity in my stories, and by extention, my games. I myself am a "diverse" person. I'm a half mexican, autistic, bisexual and trans, so I do enjoy seeing characters that display those traits. But the problem is that you can't force developers to include characters they don't want to make. A lot of developers will still make those kinds of characters, the main difference being they'll actually care about them enough to make players also care about them. Despite the fact that I'm against developers including diverse and ethnic characters just to fill demands from the publishers, I still have issue with people using terms "politically correct" and "forced diversity" in discussions of gaming. A lot of the times, they almost feel like dog whistles for bigoted people, at least here in the states. Sure, a lot of people who are just disillusioned with the practice, like myself and I feel like OP, use these terms in the most correct way, but a lot of other people will use these terms and then immediately also say the most bigoted trash nonsense I've ever laid my eyes upon, and so naturally I tend to be weary of both. I also especially dont like it when a game is obviously not forcing diversity in anyway, but rather just creating characters they want to create, that also just happen to be diverse. There's a huge huge difference, and the fact that people will see those projects and still cry "forced diversity" just feels like ignorance and bigotry for me. For example, in my opinion, naughty dog includes diversity very well in their stories and it doesn't feel like it's forced in any real way. Especially when they released the Left Behind dlc for the original tlou and revealed that Ellie was gay, it was a relatively new thing for the industry at the time. So there's no doubt in my mind that they're going to handle their main character with respect and like shes a real person, which, people like her exist. But literally all I see online lately is being crying about how she's not pretty, she's mixed black and asian, she has a shaved head so she must be a lesbian and all of these things are Bad and Forced, when I don't think it is coming from a company like naughty dog who has always put gameplay and story first. Like literally who cares what the main character is like physically as long as the game is actually fun and she isn't written to be as bland as bread. To be honest with you, those kinds of comments are just as exhausting to me as what the industry is doing

[@JGNäz-y5l]

Jesus christ.

[@matheu6848]

I’ve been playing mostly Jrpgs since 2018 when I discovered P5, since then every year I’ve changing between retro games, new releases and indie games. This is my golden era of gaming, in the past I only played shooters and multiplayer games (for the most part) now I play visual novels, jrpgs, platformers, roguelikes, tactics, shooters etc…

[@xcom_rx7241]

90s to 2012 was the golden age of gaming

[@711ramen4]

@@xcom_rx7241 1988-1991.

[@WinspearUltima]

So true it just not the same now

[@atomic_bomba]

There's a semblance of that goodness in the indie scene, but as a whole- for larger titles, the "soul" of gaming really is dead.

[@SyeuBdjk]

First thoughts after you asking when I've been immersed in a game, for me it's been very recent. About a week ago I was playing ace attorney apollos justice, just seeing everything connect so seamless to the final case had me captivated the entire time. I've mostly been playing older games, but I do think there are some really newer good ones out there, I just haven't looked for them because I have a large catalog of older games to play. (I really want a ps4 to play gravity rush)

[@perfectpasta3155]

Maybe try broadening your horizons and trying some indie games?

[@arandompasserby7940]

The issue isn't about indie games, though; it's about the fact that the AAA industry is beginning to implode under the weight of massive ballooning budgets and under-delivering products in an unsustainable cycle that's only kept afloat entirely off of microtransactions aimed at stupid kids with access to mommy & daddy's credit cards. If a gaming crash happens, it's the indies who will be in the best position.

[@perfectpasta3155]

@ I guess, but i never thought there was a rule that states you have to play triple A games exclusively. Like yeah, triple A games kinda suck rn. So stop playing them, there’s plenty of stuff to play outside the triple a sphere of stuff

[@FilthyTea]

Is it unreasonable to want better AAA games? I play a lot of indie games, but I still want AAA games to be better, and I’m incredibly dissatisfied with the industry lately. Just because I can order chicken instead doesn’t make it okay that the steak tastes terrible.

[@perfectpasta3155]

@@FilthyTea No, and I never said or implied that, but if the steak tastes bad then I would just go to a different restaurant next time that made it to my liking

[@kerbecks5076]

8:20 as a small thing, "corporatism" is actually the term for the economic philosphy of Mussolini's Italy, the more accurate term I think would be "corporatocracy". Great video btw

[@brastionskywarrior6951]

Cant believe fascism ruined videogames

[@rm64_studios19]

Shitting on valve is crazy at 11:26 . The reason valve made steam for hl2 is because they wanted to do something new which they thought wouldn’t affect anybody, that’s why I think in the late copies of hl2 steam wasn’t needed because of this problem.

[@AdamBorseti]

Steam was out before HL2 was and they were trying it with CS: Source. The idea that they didn't think it would effect anyone is absurd. It was a complete industry shift! Valve is a tired old hag of a company that hasn't released anything I've been remotely interested in since 2007 ish, but they sure as hell got the monopoly on PC gaming as a whole, whether it's a Valve game or not. People worship Gabe Newell like Jesus Christ. It's boring. Let me download my game and play it without people watching me and running CPU processes in the background.

[@theforgeryttv6449]

@@AdamBorseti Exactly. Most Valve fans have a cult mindset, and it's tiresome to see how much they keep hyping Half-Life 3 even though the game was cancelled years ago. Valve just didn't want to admit it for the longest time in order to avoid backlash and revenue loss nor do they want to make the game as they couldn't risk releasing a story that fans would dislike. Steam isn't any better than other storefronts and digital platforms, although it's arguably the most used one. Still, it's filled with poorly made and abandoned games that makes browsing uninteresting as there's too many asset flip cash-grabs. Reviews are easily manipulated which makes filters and review scores unreliable.

[@BloodVixen]

Zennial gamer who's first console was the Atari 2600 when I was 4, here. This whole vid has been a vibe that brings me back to the glory days of all those artsy shareware titles of the mid 90s. Great watch! This was a fun topic to listen to.

[@astrunkman6988]

I think it's not really the downfall of gaming, but the uprising of indie gaming. Take a look at some of the most popular games. Undertale, stardew valley, terraria, minecraft, and others. All of them have at least started as indie (minecraft) but every one else is completely indie.

[@its_heeho]

Lately I've found myself moreso playing older and obscure Japanese games because they feel and look so different compared to what I've played before. It feels like there is more immersion when I don't know how a game is made.

[@AdamBorseti]

Absolutely WICKED video, T. 6:19 made me chuckle lol 11:56 is the strongest point I can ever make on the topic. Goodoldgames or bust! Let me own my goddamn game without shackles.

[@h0rrorscope]

You talk like you read homestuck

[@Ratface0007]

A surefire way to turn your brain into a neuron smoothie

[@TheOnlyPedroGameplays]

@@Ratface0007not true, there is some SUPER schizo subtext in the comic that if you don’t get, you’ll get fried. I think Andrew Hussie himself got fried by it, but there are clearly some fans that understand what most things in the comic mean.

[@TheOnlyPedroGameplays]

He does, it’s giving me flashbacks

[@TheOnlyPedroGameplays]

@@Ratface0007 I guess my other thing was deleted but since I’m based an awesome and correct I’ll say it again Homestuck has a lot of compelling narratives that are obtuse to the wider audience and even the writer himself. If you read too far into it, your brain melts. If you don’t read enough into it, your brain also melts but not as much. It’s all about the balance

[@61tmd]

Bro what did he do to you

[@rm64_studios19]

Man sees gordon freeman on a thumbnail, man click video.

[@grandmarquee]

I've been playing games from 02-2012. I feel like that was the golden age and it became too corporate and greedy after. Then began lack of new gameplay ideas, less innovative in house engines, and basically loss of vision and soul.

[@ms.ladybird]

"Old games" Okay so. Retro games.

[@elledotcom4437]

Retro is typically over 20 years, I think he's using "older" to apply to like ps2/xbox era and ps3/360 era

[@ms.ladybird]

@elledotcom4437 Oh yeah. Well thanks for the reminder. But at some point he does mean old games as in retro. But yeah he did also mean as you said, the ps2/3 and Xbox games. Those would be "old games".

[@bazzy5644]

Everything older than five is somehow considered old nowadays. It's actually shocking to me to read comments on other videos here talking about Cyberpunk "holding up" as a game. These "gamers" derserve every little bit of shit they get forced down their thoat! I recently played Max Payne 1 and 2 as well as replayed F.e.a.r., Deus Ex and heavily modded Stalker. Who still consumes triple A only should be laughed at, pointed at and shamed on to the streets just like the good old days. Gaming needs to shrik itself healthy!

[@SabbathSad]

People take gaming way too seriously to the point of ruining their hobby over what random people on the internet have to say about the games they play. Gaming crash? DEI? Backlogs? Indie/AAA? It's video games, it's not that deep. You are the curator on how you enjoy video games. Buy what you like, don't buy what you don't like. The online gaming community and the offline gaming community are night-and-day when it comes to how they enjoy games. "Normies" can buy 1 game and dive into that one game for six months and enjoy it, I rarely if at all hear this same enthusiasm from " real gamers" on fringe gaming forums, when they talk about games its always at the expense of something else i.e. "I like (insert indie game) because it's better than (insert AAA game)" and then they will proceed to write a ten-page essay on why other people enjoying playing games they may not like is bad and how they are uncultured or are not real gamers for it. People get legitimately vitriolic over video games. The best thing I did was go full normie and unsub from damn near all gaming channels, video essayists, became ignorant to gaming news and block any forums I used to post on. By doing this, I now enjoy video games again.

[@torreyholmes7205]

This is top quality. Well done.

[@emmanuelwolfmusic410]

Your channel is a breath of fresh air buddy, oh finally, someone who gets it .😊

[@diegoaespitia]

well, games were created by a bunch of nerd programmers back then. the reality of it is that video games have become a legit career industry. gone are the nerds and in come people from all different walks of life. and when the business majors come in then....well..

[@spear1504]

"As they say, evil is the root of all money... money trees, that is! Big, green money trees!" Meowrice Percy-Beaucoup from upa cartoon movie by chuck jone Gay Purr-ee 1962

[@BboySquidfoot]

This comment section deplorable asf lmao

[@DanielMonteiroNit]

For people who never experienced Pac-Man on the arcades, the 2600 port was just fine.

[@WinspearUltima]

This is because the current generation which I just can not stand at all, and it’s a lot the fact that I think older games have more of a personal touch to any gamer than modern games.

[@NopeNNope]

I enjoyed the video, but man this comment section is hilarious XD. Merry Christmas mate, i hope thing are going well.

[@ericbethard2473]

Buy GOG. Download the backup files. Or use galaxy. But I would still download the backups. Thanks for the video.

[@AdamBorseti]

My man.

[@janky477]

To answer your first question: Literally this afternoon when I was playing New Star GP. Yesterday when I Remoted YS X Nordics through my BFs PS5. ALL DAY ON MY DAY OFF IN HOGWARTS LEGACY. Just because you don't know how to use Metacritic properly and only watch KZbin for your Gaming entertainment doesn't mean that Gaming is dead.

[@alexanderlafrance3626]

I don't think you're a gamer and I don't think live in Japan and your friend made this video go from a actual thoughtful thing to now. It just sounds like an old man ranting. It's the same thing that's happening to anime.

[@gjergjaurelius9798]

Chapter 2 applies to you...GAY!

[@alexanderlafrance3626]

@gjergjaurelius9798 wtf?

[@mamoyapomegranate]

The last time I found myself truely immersed in a video game was a romhack of oot called master of time.

[@carlschrappen9712]

Was not prepared to see a section of Gigaboots ripped out wholesale.

[@wantedasylum1091]

One of my favorite web series of all time was made through a trojan let's play of an indie game turned third party cross-gen game between two dudes from Britain. And I consider that the pinnacle of fiction. No other game has had that sort of machinima home video style pedicure, let's just say that.

[@PlusUltraAdrian]

Dude, we don’t even know the full narrative of the new Assassins Creed game and you’re already saying his blackness has nothing to do with the story. How about you wait and see what the full story is before making a comment like that. And did you forget that there’s a playable Japanese woman in the game too? Also, Assassins Creed has had there main characters in countries they weren’t from before (Assassins Creed 4: Black Flag). And finally, where’s that energy with the original Nioh? You play as a white Samurai in Japan in that game? You’re gonna complain about that too?

[@wasteurtime5677]

Don't feed the troll man. Ppl gonna hate for views always.

[@Vincent_Rabbit]

As if the color of a character would have any mind blowing plot point in the story to begin with, at best there would be something about racism or culture shock but knowing Ubisoft they'll probably play it safe.

[@keijijohnson9754]

@@PlusUltraAdrian FREAKING THANK YOU!!! FINALLY, someone else with some god dang sense here regarding this game!

[@AdamBorseti]

They literally made the game about a black samurai complete with an 808 in the soundtrack. Do you think he'll be a minor character? If his blackness really had nothing to do with the story, they'd have made a Japanese character. It staggers the imagination the lengths people will go to defend a dopey agenda which couldn't be more obvious if they called it Assassin's Creed: Black Guy Edition.

[@BlackForceTrainer]

I'm glad D.A.M. Champion got released before any gaming crash

[@gavinlew8273]

I can't believe people are still bashing steam in 2024 😐

[@keijijohnson9754]

@@gavinlew8273 STILL? That's a first for me.

[@AdamBorseti]

The Overton window of ownership has certainly shifted since I was a kid.

[@shiethegal]

29:40 in a video decrying "wokeness" in video games, I find it funny you mention Night in the Woods as a positive example of what you're looking for in games, when a lot people would consider that game to be incredibly woke. With that, I don't think you entirely understand the argument you've been trying to make for the past 30 minutes.

[@Indi_51]

Okay, but the videogame landscape has been predominantly white people as main characters, for decades. Having inclusion in games is NOT the problem. The problem is that these new games are being made with really crappy ethics from a game design and writing perspective. We have already established that videogames are a form of art, and art is inherently political, as it tends to express the ideas and concepts of the artist. You're gonna say you want "politics" out of your videogame, but youre gonna tell me that METAL GEAR for example, is a bad game series because it was political? NO. you won't say that. People are using this whole "going woke" thing as just another way to say they're angry that theyre not the only ones being portrayed in their videogames... Black people, and queer people ALSO play videogames, man. And when you say "you don't want politics in your game" youre just saying you dont want politics you *don't agree with. Which is a completely different thing.The games industry is falling apart due to these bloated budgets, and greedy corporations doing shady business practices, while not putting the work into making a game for the sake of making a good game, but making videogames for 10000% just money.

[@Мот-з9л]

I'd say the issue for me is not the ethnicity or preferences of a character and more of how they are written, either barebones, annoying, 'sexuality = personality', self-insert, mouthpiece, etc. Any character can be good or bad in execution, no matter the ethnos, gender and preference. Simply appealing character that is a person who just happens to be [INSERT FLAVOR HERE].

[@thecompareablezombie]

I want well made games, people who made games in the 80s, 90s and 2000s can make any kind of video game. There have been men and women who were skilled game developers.

[@JamesConrad-qi6gn]

To answer your first two questions: Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, Far Cry 3, (maybe Far cry 5 a little bit), Sundered, Halo 3, Need For Speed Hot Pursuit 2, Twilight Princess, Silent Hill 1, Metal Gear Solid 1, Halo 1, Halo 2, Halo ODST, and most importantly Halo Reach and Rayman 2.

[@ZestyZeldere]

Nine Sols is currently the closest thing I have to being immersed in

[@rainbowdash3419]

ok first off, you are upset that you have to update Steam and use WiFi? I don’t think you are using the right game if the game requires WiFi because Half life is a single player game, second there will be no video game crash tho I do believe what will happen is AAA crash and Indie is going to rise up, it won’t kill huge corporations if AAA crash happens but it will leave a dent or at least a wake up call, there are some studios that do care for AAA, and lastly this video feels like those Fear monger video’s that say video games are coming to an end or nonsense stuff.

[@keijijohnson9754]

@@rainbowdash3419 It was already a nonsensical video the instant he uttered DEI and the whole ridiculous controversy with Yasuke in AC Shadows.

[@AdamBorseti]

You misunderstood. Try running your single player games without steam. I'll wait.

[@keijijohnson9754]

@AdamBorseti You can with steam being in offline mode for one thing.

[@AdamBorseti]

@@keijijohnson9754 You can't run it in offline mode indefinitely, and it still needs to be connected anytime you use the store. My point is that it's tethered to the platform. I'd be totally pro-Steam if it was just a store, but it's DRM and all the extra shit that comes with it. You don't own the games, and it's not even a secret, read the EULA. If Steam goes, your games are gone. If they want to take stuff from your library, they can and you can't do shit about it. Imagine like you have a lawn gnome that you bought at Wal-Mart. It's yours, right? But last night, people from Wal-Mart drove to your house, adjusted the gnome and painted a mustache on it, then disappear into the night. I know I'm an old man screaming at the clouds, but I have my virtues and I'm standing by them. I want to own my games, not rent them.

[@keijijohnson9754]

@AdamBorseti Well that much is obvious in itself. These ganes are tied your accounts in the end. Even so you could still access them offline if they're installed and accessed in offline mode.

[@Eninaaa11]

Welcome back Egoraptor

[@5150hold]

Yes Im gay

[@OrylliMerylli]

my condolences

[@dreamer72]

7:30 Sir what "loathed agenda" are you talking about? It's just a game that's not your normal feudal japan story. You can just play Ghosts of Tsushima. You might actually just watch too much Asmongold because here in the real world no one believes getting a black or bald woman to star in your game is "political". It's only "political" for those that divide us, and you along with many other gamers are falling for it. Games are being ruined by big corporations and their greed. It's literally that simple. Gamers are noticing we are putting locked paid DLC on the disc? Start Gamergate lol. In fact take the disc away, fire the devs, cut corners, destroy third party studios, and then while all this is happening, pull your pants down and blame the woke mob. This anti-woke brainrot is simply an easy way that corporations use to trick Gamers into screaming at shit that doesn't matter rather than the layoffs. This goes for every other market with a culture war wedge in it. Your too busy talking about "agendas" and nostalgia that your missing the point entirely why things are as bad as it is. Theres no creativity because executives fired dream teams long ago. Getting employees to swap out every 6 months. Interesting stories like Yasuke are easy targets and diminish the creativity you actually want. Pandering is an issue, even the most progressive people can see it from a mile away. But when your attacking a game simply for having a black samurai or a bald lady alone, with the game not even being out or even showing gameplay, it's disturbing. Gaming critique is dead and the anti-woke mob killed it. Anyways this is mostly for the AAA game industry. Executives have destroyed their own companies to the point I don't see them surviving. Indie and small budget games are the way to go.

[@wiva.]

Ain’t readin allat

[@ZestyZeldere]

5:22 THATS WHY SPARKING ZERO WAS SO GOOD THEY DID WHAT THEY HAD TO DO TO MAKE A GOOD GAME

[@hiruyabebaw807]

0:11 dustborn isn't triple a lmao

[@Tyler-sf4kv]

You had me until you mentioned DEI. Then you bring up concord, insinuating that DEI and inclusivity were the main faults of that game, and not just a general lack of passion or originality

[@zomebody5529]

Thanks for the heads up. Won't be watching this video. I expected some actual serious commentary

[@no.1spidey-fan182]

Focusing on peoples superficial qualities and not hiring based on merit IS a problem. Acting like it isnt is delusion Turning minorities into a commodity to sell so you seem like some "moral" person...is also really weird

[@AdamBorseti]

As if DEI hasn't been killing passion and games for the last decade?

[@Tyler-sf4kv]

@@AdamBorseti bringing in a diversity of human experience? Including more walks of life to create art? You think this is what is killing creativity and passion? Oh brother

[@SmokedRye]

I simply tend to enjoy more games developed by AA studios for the past 8 years due to the fact they tend to take more risks in making something they enjoy, instead of purely following whatever is going on now. Literally enjoyed a game called Greedfall developed by Spiders Studio that seems to capture the same spirit as earlier Dragon Age titles from Bioware. After seeing the recent disaster by Bioware it honestly makes me lament for both Dragon Age and Mass Effect. Anyways apologies for my needless ramble, I'm just being an older dude yelling at clouds.

[@GodOfOrphans]

To answer the question posed at the beginning that would be Pathfinder Wrath of the Righteous for me, with a close second being playing Wild ARMs for the first time I played both around the same time and both made me feel similar to how I did during the golden age of gaming and both occured within the past 2 years with no nostalgia to factor in.

[@linklickz]

cope, no crash is gonna happen

[@ByasSano]

I still play games, I really like & enjoy Early Access Multiplayers PreAlphas/ Betas. Heck some are fully modded / community driven. In terms of Singleplayer I have nothing new, newest console I have is PS4 & honestly I just in process of just abandoning console gaming altogether unless major changes happen that can actually compete with Steam. Hint: Free non subscription Multiplayer & ability to buy games from any generation. Old console & Computer. But overall gaming needs some major changes to move forward. Physic engines, better services that go away from subscription model, better development teams that create more on prospect of fun.

[@raptorskilltor4554]

Me but with cartoons

[@stepik0dvo]

I absolutely dont understand this video. Even though game development takes longer and longer, we have a Great year with a capital G before us, 2025 game year full stacked with a huge and awesome games and bro is stuck 20 years ago with Zelda. I personally start my appetite Orcs Must Die on 28 Jan and play it with my friends. I will continue with Great KCD2 on 4 Feb as one of best RPG ever. I will try AC Shadows a few weeks later because I tried AC Odyssey and I loved it (Kassandra, story, Greece culture, combat, ...). I will definitely play and enjoy Mafia the Old Country in summer. Looks great! And of course, the Great, Greatness and biggest and fu ckiing awesome GTA 6 from my most beloved studio Rockstar North! Finaly a freckyn GTA that I can play day one because I am no longer a poor student so I won't spoil the whole game like I did with GTA 4 and GTA 5. And I know that probably another 30 epic and great games will be released but those are not in my personal portfolios yet and we all cannot buy and play everything so we must choose. But maaan, these 'all modern games sucks crying videos' are just sad. Its like stop dating if you had two bad relationships... No my brother, there are many options

[@brastionskywarrior6951]

Dave from homestuck… dude

[@checo8383]

history will repeat itself and nintendo will save us

[@plutoniumrocks]

I think this video makes the whole DEI issue bigger than it actually is. Really, no matter what political take is plastered over the game, it's not going to change if the game is good or bad. I think that it's mostly corporate involvement that is the reason behind these games degrading into slop so fast. Microtransactions, battle passes, absurd pricing; all of these won't change if a woman is bald or not. I also feel that this video lacks much direction. Just sort of bouncing from topic to topic without ever really reaching too much of a conclusion. Since this IS a video essay, it's a lot easier to follow if it hits those same checkboxes a normal essay would have. Nonetheless, this is a pretty good video. I think you have a lot of potential in the future.

[@AdamBorseti]

This is valid criticism. Maybe we could have focused a bit more on shit like battle passes, micro-transactions and shit like that, and not quite so much on the DEI aspect. These videos are largely made from a bunch of us in the discord server, so we all bring our various takes into things. Maybe you should join the server, it's pretty chill.

[@disposablealienbrains7010]

I love the Windwaker! Plus the original NES.

[@brandongovreau9218]

since small pieces of epic games is owned by Sony and Disney they could make marvel rivals a game on fortnite

[@Jojo-nq3bp]

I don't think people actually understand what a video game crash is just spitting antiwoke rubbish talking points

[@Johnmrobinson-vb5vd]

Yeah

[@bazzy5644]

This guy for sure does not. But in theory he has a point. Bloat, less skilled workers and decreasing quality leading to shit products not selling or outright killing studios. This spiraling out of control is happening for at least five years at this point. But all he wanted is do current thing click bait without a single valid asrgument.

[@torreyholmes7205]

"If buying isn't owning, then piracy isn't stealing." -- this is wisdom

[@LastStockNairRest]

"""DEI""" isnt the reason why video games are failing. Nobody who isnt online cares about a black, gay, or not conventionally attractive women in a game. Only people who get upset at it are people who are insecure. If the games fun, people don't care. The real problem is the lack of creativity and share holders not understand that if you make a game fun with interesting characters people will buy. if having a minority in your game makes it "political" than you're just an ass. No video game has ever been like "tax the rich" or whatever. You could literally just made a 5 minute video about how minorities upset you and you cry like a baby when one is in your precious vidya.

[@FilthyTea]

I mean I think it’s fine if there’s diversity in games, I just think that when it gets annoying/preachy is when it becomes an issue. Something like that one scene in the new dragon age would be an example.

[@lucymorrison]

@@FilthyTeadragon age as well as all other bioware titles have always been overtly political. you're just now realising it.

[@FilthyTea]

@@lucymorrison I’m not even necessarily against politics in games, though. I think they’re fine to have. Metal Gear Solid & New Vegas do them spectacularly.

[@AdamBorseti]

Really? Are you sure? Are you suuuuure DEI hasn't been fucking games up left and right for years now?

[@nickl6373]

Tired argument bc indie games are better rn than ever Its just the end of consooming, not the end of video games No i didnt and wont watch the whole vid

[@711ramen4]

Generic dudes whining about video games.

[@thisguysgaming7246]

Generic no pfp user complaining as always

[@711ramen4]

@thisguysgaming7246 hilarious, given that your content is COD slop. Is lamenting 'The Current State of Gaming 😞" your next video.

[@CaptainFancyCat]

Who is going to break it to that Len guy that many JRPGs, including Metaphor, are high fantasy? His examples, quotes, and clips were just the typical "weeb" arguments of why everything Japanese is better. I love JRPGs and anime, but the people who make that who they are, do a lot of harm to the genre and medium. As someone who basically grew up on ffxi and then has played ffxiv since 1.0, I'm way too familiar with the type and all the points he made.

[@len_doraneko]

i think i said that i *wasn't* a fan of high fantasy in that clip!

[@LIKEFRITOS]

I think you’re right

[@Johnmrobinson-vb5vd]

I think the problem is that game companies actively attack thier players

[@keijijohnson9754]

6:54 - Okay dude, the DEI stuff is one thing, but you're already made this a heckuva lot more pointless by resorting to this nonsense about Yasuke in AC Shadows. 🤦🏾‍♂️

[@plutoniumrocks]

It's a cool story that hasn't been told in a game before. There's a million games that play like a picture-perfect representation of feudal Japan. There isn't a problem with telling Yasuke's sick ass story instead of Jimmy Japan's.

[@FilthyTea]

@@plutoniumrocksbut like was he a samurai though? I hear conflicting reports about it all the time. I’d think it’s cool if he was but I have no clue.

[@keijijohnson9754]

@@FilthyTea Many have considered him such and he's served as the inspiration for many characters akin to him even though the 2000s and 2010s. Heck even Koei Tecmo and Omega Force acknowledged him as such when they added him in as a playable character in Samurai Warriors 5. If even a Japanese studio acknowledged that, it's ridiculous not allowing a western studio like Ubisoft to see him as such too.

[@lahuk1194]

@@FilthyTeaYasuke was basically just a curiosity, being a Black East African in 1500s Japan. Brought over a slave of the Jesuits, Oda Nobunaga borrowed him for a year, and when Oda died Yasuke was sent back to the Jesuits who were soon forced to leave Japan. IIRC, he is only known because theres a single paragraph in a book mentioning him.

[@pizzasuits]

Another facet of big-tech sucking off capitalist. The non-ownership of your games. This shows that old Ted Kaz was spot on. Technological Slavery 2008 , good book. Window into the future.

[@jibbityjobbity1954]

do you watch acerola

[@GoodasCoffee]

13:02... Freaking nailed it!

[@lesseregyptianjabowa2048]

Marcel rivals

[@eduardostapenko6808]

last time was yesturday in Combat Master cus i had few good matches there.

[@len_doraneko]

THE AUDIO FOR MY PORTION WAS OUT OF SYNC AHHHH IT'S ALL OVER I'M COMMITTING HARAKIRI thanks for letting me on, i really like video games. something i actually wanted to mention in my part, but had to ditch for time reasons, was that i feel like a lot of people have a very narrow view of the games industry, i keep seeing people call games that aren't AAA "irrelevant". i think more people should seek out smaller games with lower budgets that they like. please support smaller studios whenever possible! that black guy sounds like a total queer

[@REALps2controller]

3:45 can you link me the video to this clip? its total dystopian trash.

[@PUMPKINMANJACK]

this SUUUUUUCKS lol

[@ediosmollai8785]

Most modern games today just feel ... Bland like if you try to compare games coming out today from games of the early 2000's to 2018 most games today feel so .. safe samey and boring in some games it feels like watching paint dry. They only way i have actually gotten enjoyment out of games today is by abandoning AAA and just playing indie games instead, not only are they cheaper to make and also buy but the devs behind them actually put in effort love and dedication into their games. Indie game devs are 95% of the reason i still have an interest in gaming cause the way AAA is now ?? Nah that aint it cheif, and if im coming out as hateful understand that this comment is coming out of love and concern for the future not hate i remember when indsutry names like bethesda,cdpr,ubisoft, activission,blizzard,EA and many many more were actually sinonimous with words like quality and money well spend,when you would buy a game from them you get your socks blown off, and now looking at it today ? I just dont see that most of the companies i mentioned are hated by the community now and that makes me sad because those companies were the ones that gave me unforgettable childhood experiences. I ranted for too long i just hope that things change soon for the better.

[@akirapink]

cool, a bigot!

[@AdamBorseti]

Oh PLEASE! You wouldn't know a bigot if you found a Klan uniform in your dad's closet.

[@NiohArcadia]

Your mom

[@711ramen4]

So is this a cottage industry of dudes who grew up with a 360/PS3 going old man yells at clouds cuz they can't scream racial slurs while playing COD? Waiting for an original video where real gamers reminisce about actual good games like Goonies 2, Kid Icarus, or Rygar.

[@desuretard8654]

Lol I knew this was coming, but thought it would take 5 or 10 years at least. Yeah I dont think younger people are gonna be playing these long, drawn out chore-like games. Pretty sure they're just playing competitive games like Fortnite and Call Of Duty. Lol well deserved.

[@TheRealSlayerOfFate]

answer to youre question i beleve that star wars jedi 3 or hogwarts legacy and if not that its astro bot or horizon zero dawn or ff7 rebirth witch i want to get around to finishing, before that it was doom eternal and thats not counding any of the super smash bros ips owned by n-dog. but yeah i do think that you are right that alot of modern games are boring but there are a few dimonds in the rouph.

[@lilbroomstick7914]

Best game I play rn is Osrs, SAD!

[@AshnSilvercorp]

I will never forget my culture shock in Japan, where someone's young one pointed at a barbie doll and just said that word in Japanese for the chest of a woman. The entire family laughed at what she said. And I was fascinated she wasn't scolded. It was a Christian family too. The west does not know how to think differently about women at all.

[@jarrellfamily1422]

3:37 😐🙄🙄😤😠really dei are you mad about black trans lesbians being in your games are you going to complain about pronouns next

[@degrengolada2360]

And the sub it is!

[@Markm8]

Vr chat

[@Markm8]

I feel super immersived when walking around drunck or high

[@cybernescens]

I don't really play games, but this video is interesting to me nevertheless. Don't they call the phenomenon of all games looking and playing similar today "the Unreal Effect?"

[@maggotsworryguts]

Scrutly Mutly

[@sandrohernandez4401]

19:07 TantrisHumble becomes woke.

[@handsomeboi3767]

Propagandistic left wing politics, is either a very mediocre game or is just bad, micro transactions that affects gameplay for a game you paid for, and over inflated budgets for these low or middling quality games. These are four horseman of modern gaming and I just hope when this crash happens these companies learn and start making good games again.

[@Kitsune2Megafan1086]

What about just left wing politics?

[@711ramen4]

Does not compute; Microtransactions are pure Capitalism.

[@georgebushlover]

based..... so freaking based .....

[@aragornii507]

Minecraft, league of legends and indie garbage ruined gaming

[@lucymorrison]

go play cassette beasts or i was a teenage exocolonist