This seems like the kind of conversation we were having 10-20 years ago. Are we not a bit beyond that now? Over the last few days I played:
- Anno 1800 (AAA, highly regarded, more-of-the-same sequel)
- World of Goo 2 (Indie, highly regarded, more-of-the-same sequel)
- Valheim (indie, highly regarded, one of any number of survival/crafting games)
- PlateUp! (indie, highly regarded, fairly unique concept except for Overcooked)
- Elden Ring (AAA, highly regarded, more-of-the-same sequel)
- Blue Prince (Indie, highly regarded, unique)
- BF6 (AAA, so-so regarded, more-of-the-same sequel)
And I enjoyed all of them.
I don’t give a toss if you aren’t impressed by graphic quality and fidelity. Elden Ring is a beautiful game and it does impress me. Somehow people will praise the soundtrack of games but it’s still faintly taboo to want high-fidelity, beautiful graphics. I have absolutely zero issue with paying good money to buy a sequel which is giving my similar content to what I’ve already played: improved graphics, tweaked gameplay and a couple of new mechanics, and my friends all joining in on the latest thing are all worth it.
98-2005 was the gaming golden era.
'98 was definitely a high point. I would argue PS2/Xbox had a really bleak period between '01 and '03.
Also, gotta say, the indie era didn’t really pop off until '09. The Obama Era was fantastic for gaming.
Not to mention nickel-and-diming the customer.




