Games Inbox: Xbox Game Pass flaw, The Last Of Us Part 1 cash grab, and Bloodborne disappointment-GameCentral-Entertainment – Metro

Can Game Pass influence you to play less games? (pic: Microsoft)

The Tuesday letters page enjoys some Monster Hunter Sunbreak in the summer sun, as a reader dreams of an Xbox/PlayStation crossover console.

To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.uk

Everything and nothing
The Xbox Series X has been transformative. The single most powerful piece of computer hardware I’ve ever owned, the console I’ve spent the most time playing (and I’ve owned them all), and yet this console, along with Game Pass, has destroyed all interest in modern gaming for me.

It starts in the high street store. I browse the shelves, looking for a game to buy, when I see games for £50 that I know I have at home on Game Pass. It makes me ask, what am I shopping for? I should go home and play the 90 Game Pass titles I haven’t looked at. But I go home and play the same handful of games. It’s like loading Netflix, browsing for 10 minutes then sticking Fawlty Towers on again.

Game Pass offers so much choice that I can’t be bothered with any of it, so I fly a plane in Flight Sim for 15 minutes before loading up Netflix. I’m looking forward to the conclusion of Better Call Saul more than any forthcoming game. My console has become a video player.

I can’t get it straight in my mind why having Game Pass, a genuine bargain putting over 100 games at your fingertips, has created such apathy. But the anticipation of a new release, followed by the launch day disk purchase feels so real and tangible to me, and for whatever reason, the incredible choice on offer has left me staring at a long list.

If I install one, it has five minutes to utterly get my attention, or I try something else. It’s ruined it. When games are £50, you buy one and play it. When you have them all, you barely play anything.
Anon

Out of the game
Maybe it’s just me but the idea of The Last Of Us Part 1 being a cash grab is the least of my concerns with it. Obviously Sony want it to make money but as GC said, the primary reason is as a tie-in to the TV show. What upsets me, and I think a sizeable number of fans, is that it’s taking up so much of Naughty Dog’s time. That and a stupid live service game that nobody wants.

That’s not going to be out until at least next year, which means it’s going to be absolutely ages till we see anything of a ‘proper’ new game. That to me is the real shame in all this, that one of the world’s best developers is putting itself out of the game for so long. The Last Of Us Part 2 was 2020 and this means we won’t get a major new game out of them until 2024 at the very earliest, and probably not till several years after.

They can grab all the cash they want, as long as it’s not from me, I just want them to make something new and like they’re know for.
Spectroment

Bless us with blood
I’ve never wanted to disbelieve a rumour more than the one about Bloodborne not having any kind of remaster or remake. But if it’s true, and you’d have to say it looks like it is, then why no patch? It just makes no sense to have neither. Sadly, it makes the suggestion that Sony and From have had a falling out seem all too believable because I can’t believe they wouldn’t do something to give the game a boost.

Most people buying a PlayStation 5 have probably never heard of Bloodborne and Sony’s doing nothing to promote it or encourage them to give it a go. I’d say it was somewhat understandable given that pre-Elden Ring most of From’s stuff was considered pretty niche but Sony did a remake of Demon’s Souls. For the launch of their no console, no less!
Whatever’s going on I hope Sony sorts things out soon and old blood can become the new blood once again.
Korey

E-mail your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk

Everyone was patronised
Interesting Reader’s Feature from Cornball RE: easy mode. They find it patronising to have an easy mode in games, I found their whole attitude toward it patronising.

The point of gaming, for me and I’m sure many others, is to have an enjoyable experience. If you enjoy yourself by playing a game on the easiest or most extreme difficulty setting, it doesn’t matter. All that matters is enjoying yourself.

I’d also argue that sales figures do not at all prove that people enjoy difficult games. It proves they are willing to give them a chance, provided they are the most hyped game of the year. I’d be interested to see the figures of how many have completed it.
James

Semi-pro
I am no pro gamer, but last night I got the platinum for Elden Ring and it’s given me a chance to reflect on it. Three full playthroughs and some amazing moments. The Land of the Giants is breathtaking in its scale, I love that it’s all joined with giant chains to run across and the area boss is one of the more memorable.

But my actual favourite place is really small… The Cave of the Forlorn. It’s a different design to all the other caves and opens on a beautiful frozen lake where you can see the jellyfish underneath.
NuggetTim

Star Wars hardware
After reading the Reader’s Feature about Xbox buying PlayStation I disagree totally. Just say Xbox bought PlayStation, Xbox could charge whatever they like. Take Netflix vs. Amazon Prime and all the streaming services out there, because there is a few out there they keep prices in line – which means they don’t charge the earth four their services.

It would be the same for consoles if Xbox, or even PlayStation, bought out the other. There would only be to companies for gaming, the other being Nintendo. So Xbox could charge at least double for each service they supplied. Competition laws are there for a reason and it’s so consumers are charged a fair price for a fair service.

In all honesty, they would be better doing a console together, that way it’s a 50/50 split and you get all games but that won’t happen. Sony think they’re unstoppable and Xbox are going, ‘Right, you wait Sony.’ The gloves are off, maybe in a galaxy far, far away there is a PlayStation/Xbox console but in this one it’s pick your side
David

Cheap money
This has already been mentioned in the Underbox by Simundo but you can get a digital copy of God Of War Ragnarök for £60.46(!) by buying a £20 PSN code and £50 PSN code from ShopTo as the PSN vouchers are discounted.

Or you can buy any £70 game on the PlayStation Store for £60.46 by using this trick. Here’s the PSN vouchers.
Andrew J.
PS: PlayStation 5 console disc version is currently in stock on ShopTo (Monday afternoon).

Merry summer
I hope everyone in the UK has been enjoying this amazing weather. Feeling the need to be out in the sunshine has ironically been the only thing tearing me away from Monster Hunter Sunbreak. As a huge fan of the series this expansion feels like it targets all the minor gripes I had with Rise: the forced Rampage missions and how easy the main storyline was to finish, especially with a party of four.

The new monsters are great and the changes to each weapon really does open up new gameplay options. Hopefully the promised additional content will keep me engaged for many months to come.

My favourite addition has to be the follower quests, which add what was very much missing in the game for solo players and I agree that it would have been good to bring them along in the multiplayer quests.

For what is proving a pretty dry season of games across all platforms I for one am very happy with the recent Switch releases and the Switch is definitely my go-to console while Microsoft and Sony really need to ramp up their release schedule.

To the GC community: I hope you are all having a good summer, whatever you are playing at the moment.
BristolPete

Inbox also-rans
Now it’s summer and the temperatures are soaring high do you play less video games now than ever before?
AJE

I feel there should be more games set in around water. The ones I know about, from Wave Race to Subnautica are all great and graphics have got really good at waves lately. And no, Skull And Bones is not what I had in mind.
Tesla

This week’s Hot Topic
The subject for this weekend’s Inbox was suggested by reader Campbell, who asks what upcoming game are you most looking forward to?

We’ve just passed the halfway mark of the year, and what few not-E3 preview events there were are all done, so what upcoming game are you most excited about at the moment, whether it’s coming out this year or not?

As long as the game has been officially announced you can talk about anything you like, but do explain why it’s caught your imagination and what more you’d like to know about it before it’s released.

What are you most looking forward to in the second half of 2022 and how bothered are you by the smaller number of releases, compared to previous years?

E-mail your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk

The small print
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