I have to agree with Rick, certainly play a game that’s say ten years old and it doesn’t look as different as a game ten years apart 1995-2005.
I believe the engines used to build a lot of games today are largely the same as they were nearly 20 years ago. The graphics have improved as more powerful computers mean the graphics can project light and how it bounces around. For example, in the game Control which is already 6 years old, if you walk up to characters you can actually see your reflection in their eyes! The games do look better but it is much less noticeable. It also costs more to model graphics so accurately so even if the computing power is there developers may not bother as they got to make a profit.
Whenever I play an older game the main thing I notice is the menus or the HUDs look dated, but the actual graphics don't look dated. I played Dishonored a couple of years ago for the first time and I was really impressed how good the controls were and how good it looked. Similarly with the Mass Effect trilogy which I played recently.
It's all good. I'm not wishing for further advancements, I just like playing fun games. I typically enjoy a charismatic indie game with pixel-art graphics over a huge budget AAA+ game.
On the gaming front for me, I finished Dead Space a few days ago. It's a good game but despite being only 10 hours long I still felt it went on too long. The start and ending were good, but the middle bit was just going from end to end rerouting power. It was great fighting enemies and the bosses were cool but I feel they could have cut a lot of it out. I typically play games on PS+ meaning I paid no extra to play Dead Space, so getting value for money is less of an issue for me. I can understand if someone paid £60 on release they would be annoyed if the game took 5 hours.
There were lots of things in Dead Space that reminded me of Resident Evil but it lacked the 'fun', for example the stupid puzzles of positioning paintings and opening up a huge secret passage to a high tech lab, then having to run through a sewer in high heels and a cocktail dress. Dead Space took itself too seriously although the setting wouldn't really suit a campy vibe anyway. It was a good game but I would have enjoyed a typical Resident Evil game more.
After that I picked up Citizen Sleeper 2. I'm a bit puzzled why because I didn't enjoy the first Citizen Sleeper as much as I was expecting. People were telling me it was the next Disco Elysium (which I adored) so I was excited to play it but all the things I loved about DE such as the music, the deep characters especially the self-depreciating inner monologue of the fucked up main character, the artwork and the setting. Citizen Sleeper had too much text for me, the music and backgrounds didn't change as you travelled to place to place.
Despite all that, so far I am enjoying CS2. It is very similar to the first game and I realise I did actually enjoy rolling the dice in the first game after all, it was just that I was expecting a different game. It is also less overwhelming that the first game as I understand how it works. Looking forward to playing through the rest.
