This seems more like a “RPGs of 2023" list than a “Best RPGs of 2023" list.

If you read the article, it suggests that there’s an inherent contradiction in using AI-generated art to promote indie developers. I’m explaining why that’s not a contradiction at all. Small indie developers are more likely to use AI-generated art than large developers who have the budget to hire full-time artists.

This actually seems like the perfect use case. It’s throwaway promotional art. It’s not intended to be unique, inspired or impressive. Anyone who isn’t an artist specifically looking for stuff to complain about likely wouldn’t notice the flaws because they wouldn’t look at the image long enough to notice any. It’s the…

In 10 years you’ll be wondering “why is everything so bland, why does everything feel so cheap?”. It will be the artistic equivalent of everything being made out of plastic.

Wouldn’t small indie developers be more likely to use AI generated art? Let’s say I’m a solo developer with no art skills and a tiny budget. I could either use AI tools to generate my art or buy generic art asset packs. Either way, the end result is going to look generic and mediocre but being a solo developer with a…

Word of warning: Scratch can be permakilled if you decide to rest in camp while having active summons that explode on death. I unfortunately figured that out too late and now my Scratch is just a puddle of guts. :(

Oh boy, where to start...

Not sure what MP4 is referring to. Metroid Prime 4? That’s basically vaporware as far as I know.

I definitely raged on more than a few occasions while playing on Hard difficulty. That said, when I did eventually succeed, it felt very gratifying. The game’s punchy (literally) combat felt really cathartic as I unloaded my anger on enemies.

I don’t think the benefits of having a completely unique model for every cat would have justified the cost.

Steam’s refund policy would take care of your issue if you had it today. As for not having phone customer service, that’s fairly common for digital services. 

If their next console can run all first-party Switch games at 1440p60 (minimum), it will be a tempting purchase. If it’s still 1080p30 (or lower, as is usually the case), no thanks.

Nice batch this month. Evil West is basically God of War + Doom Eternal. Be warned: the hard difficulty is actually hard. Plague Tale Requiem is the only game to ever make me tear up. Haven’t played Nobody Saves The World but heard good things about it.

Here’s what I actually said:

It’s kind of the opposite of BGS’ previous games. In those games, I spent about 95% of my time just exploring, clearing POIs and doing random side-quests. In Starfield, the exploration and POIs are really boring so you’ll have a much more interesting experience if you just focus on the story and faction quests.

Theoretically, they could add a DLC that’s just one city densely packed with unique and interesting hand-crafted content. It would be akin to a Fallout game. It wouldn’t fix the issues with the larger game but it could provide the experience that fans of their previous games are looking for.

Fortnite was never a Minecraft ripoff. It was more akin to tower defense or horde mode. During the day, you explored the map and scavenged materials to build up your base’s defenses. At night, you used those defenses (as well as guns) to hold out against waves of enemies.

I think that’s kind of the fundamental issue. BGS’ games are known for having dense, detailed worlds with lots of interesting things to see and do. Exploring the world and traveling between POIs was always engaging. The opposite is true of Starfield, even on the planets’ surfaces.

The overall Steam user review rating is Mixed. Only the reviews in the last 30 days were Mostly Negative. “Mixed” seems like a pretty accurate rating.

“Players can use quests with each of the syndicates to manage Kay’s reputation, which will impact the jobs they offer and the impact they’ll have on throughout the story. Each player will have a different profile with each of the syndicates based on how they’ve interacted with them over the course of her journey.”