Community MetaSteam | October - The size of this adventure is spooky

[ezodagrom]

I really wouldn't count any of those as JRPGs for the purpose of looking at this market segment.
I mean, if you count Dragon's Dogma 2 then you basically have to count Elden Ring, and then the discussion is just over.

True, it's the problem of a genre that is so broadly defined, what counts as JRPG, what doesn't count as one, where do we draw the line.
Granblue Relink, I think is kinda in-between traditional JRPGs and something like Monster Hunter, so I wonder about counting it too?

On another note, Metaphor just broke the Persona 3 Reload CCU, likely to surpass Like a Dragon Infinite Wealth soon too.
EDIT: Just surpassed LaD:IW.

 

[Mivey]

There is a very simple and universal yardstick: if it has fishing, then and only then is it a JRPG. By that objective metric, Trails through Daybreak is also the first non-JRPG entry in the Trails series.

 

[ezodagrom]

Metaphor is close to 50k now.

There is a very simple and universal yardstick: if it has fishing, then and only then is it a JRPG. By that objective metric, Trails through Daybreak is also the first non-JRPG entry in the Trails series.

Wouldn't that mean monster hunter world is a JRPG.

 

[Mivey]

Wouldn't that mean monster hunter world is a JRPG.

The Rule of Fishing is never wrong, so yes, objectively it is a JRPG. Do we know for sure that Metaphor even has a fishing mechanic?

EDIT:

Just checked: How to Start Fishing in Metaphor: ReFantazio
It has fishing, so no doubt about its exact genre.

 

[STHX]

Metaphor since the announcement felt "underrated" by many (which is something I disagreed on considering the dev's pedigree), and way more people never thought it could be a GOTY contender since the first announcement, yet the game is on its way to be the fastest selling Atlus title (it already is on pc)
For me, this is a testament on how much "marketing" has changed. This has been a year with a high amount of high profile bombs, some very catastrofic. It feels like the "old" type of marketing is no longer working. If a well known streamer did a paid Concord stream at launch it lost subscribers, if a game you don't care about appears at the TGA or SGF you just tab out and pretend it never existed, twitter engagement or youtube views mean nothing, "I didn't even knew this came out already" is one of the sentences I read the most this year and in many cases it was referring to games that had multiple trailers in many high profile streams, critic reviews have basically no value. And yet "unexpected" games are doing amazing numbers on Steam since the year started
I can only speculate we're seeing the first steps in a new kind of marketing:
1) The first reveal is the most important and it's imperative to have all the pages ready to go to get as many wishlists as you can
2) Early sales and pre-sales help the game appearing more on a store main page, making it easier for people that missed the announcement or release to notice it
3) Actual player interactions seem to have a much bigger impact instead of critics and professional streamers, which makes the 2 above points even more important
4) Launch numbers and comparisons give the "unc0nvinced" a bigger picture on how the game is doing and when you can expect the first sale, which may convince some of them to get the game early, further improving on point 2

Ironically, all 4 of those points are also in Steam favors. I'm more and more convinced Steam is doing a much better "marketing" than the actual companies may think. Of course there is also the opposite side in how Steam is also much better at doing "anti-marketing" when your release sucks

 

[Hektor]

Might do 100 later today or tomorrow

 

[jads653]

With Sparkling doing 120k and Metaphor doing 50k, I welcome our new anime overlords. Will probably buy Sparkling when it goes down in price.

Spoiler

Rise up and join the resistance !

 

[Cacher]

I have over 1500 hours worth of unplayed RPGs on my backlog, don't need another 100 hour game.

I bought 8 JRPGs during Golden Week sale in late April.

I have completed... (check note) none of them.

Wouldn't stop me from getting more games though

 

[CommodoreKong]

Metaphor passed Final Fantasy XVI's peak concurrent in 45 minutes. Who knew day 1 PC releases were a good thing?

Who could have guessed that releasing a game during it's peak marketing hype will maximize full price sales on all platforms?

 

[STHX]

More classic Lara Croft

 

[Kyougar]

I really wouldn't count any of those as JRPGs for the purpose of looking at this market segment.
I mean, if you count Dragon's Dogma 2 then you basically have to count Elden Ring, and then the discussion is just over.

I kinda want to do this (because I like shitting on it) and kinda don't want to do this (because I like that it bombs so hard in comparison):

But we have to take FF16 out of the comparison. Because it is also not a JRPG.

 

[lashman]

 

[edin]

Pretty good update for me since I use 2-3 diff PS5 licensed controllers on my Steam Decks when docked alongside 8BitDo stuff - Steam Deck - Steam Deck Beta Client Update: October 10th - Steam News

• Mode Shifts now support Track Pad Touch on DualSense/Edge, DualShock, SteamController and SteamDeck
• SIAPI DualSense Glyphs are now Monochrome to match controller and BigPicture UI

 

[STHX]

The achievement list for TR IV-V-VI is out and it confirms 2 things
The Times Exclusive level for IV is in
They are restoring some of the AoD cut content

 

[Le Pertti]

As I understand it, some of the Disco Elysium devs in a new studio!

 

[kio]

New generations will be able to experience the glorious achievement of game design known as Tomb Raider Angel of Darkness

 

[dex3108]

Aaand i got banned on era again for pointing how stupid Square Enix was for running FF into the ground. That is apparently platform wars now XD

 

[Parsnip]

So are the AC Valhalla dlcs good? Thinking about grabbing the complete edition.

 

[ezodagrom]

New generations will be able to experience the glorious achievement of game design known as Tomb Raider Angel of Darkness

I FEEL stronger now.
My legs feel stronger.

 

[dex3108]

So are the AC Valhalla dlcs good? Thinking about grabbing the complete edition.

They are basically more of the same. I kinda didn't bother with hem even though i have season pass XD I got burned out just by playing main game so more of the same was too much for me.

 

[sprinkles]

I played three-ish hours of the Metaphor Demo on my OLED Deck - liked the game, but quit because of the performance issues. Did they (or rather the modders) fix the performance so it's at least stable 30 now on Deck? Fomo hitting hard with those launch numbers...

 

[edin]

Metaphor crossed Tales of Arise then.

I played three-ish hours of the Metaphor Demo on my OLED Deck - liked the game, but quit because of the performance issues. Did they (or rather the modders) fix the performance so it's at least stable 30 now on Deck? Fomo hitting hard with those launch numbers...

The new patches helped a lot. What I recommend is 100% render scale. 30fps cap. I retested the entire game on my build and it barely drops below 30 in two locations and not below 28/29fps in my experience.

 

[Hektor]

New generations will be able to experience the glorious achievement of game design known as Tomb Raider Angel of Darkness

I remember early in the game you are hunted by cops through an apartment building, with gas rising from the floor.
You can literally save yourself into a dead-end where you cant escape the gas anymore, basically breaking your playthrough.

 

[NarohDethan]

I FEEL stronger now.
My legs feel stronger.

LEAVE ME ALONE IM BUSY

 

[kio]

I remember early in the game you are hunted by cops through an apartment building, with gas rising from the floor.
You can literally save yourself into a dead-end where you cant escape the gas anymore, basically breaking your playthrough.

 

[Ge0force]

Remnants 2 is very good indeed. I didn't like the first area on the misty planet, but the levels after that are incredible. The burning towns even gave me Bloodborne vibes, incredibly well done!

So are the AC Valhalla dlcs good? Thinking about grabbing the complete edition.

The base game wasn't long enough for you?

 

[KingKrouch]

Giving Metaphor's demo a shot again on the Steam Deck to see how it performs, and it still wildly fluctuates between 40-50FPS in the cave area. I think the optimizations they did were rather minimal compared to what that rendering blogpost mentioned.

 

[dex3108]

 

[Mivey]

Giving Metaphor's demo a shot again on the Steam Deck to see how it performs, and it still wildly fluctuates between 40-50FPS in the cave area. I think the optimizations they did were rather minimal compared to what that rendering blogpost mentioned.

lock it to 30. Before, it wasn't even possible to run it at a locked 30, now that's possible with ease. It's a turn-based game, so 30 should be fine.

 

[Parsnip]

They are basically more of the same. I kinda didn't bother with hem even though i have season pass XD I got burned out just by playing main game so more of the same was too much for me.

More of the same sound good to me tbh.
I haven't played an AC game since Odyssey which was sometime in 2020, and only a few other open world games in between then and now so I think I'm ready for some open world slop.

The base game wasn't long enough for you?

I haven't played it.

 

[Panda Pedinte]

Not gonna lie, I'm surprised by the numbers Metaphor is pulling because it's a new IP.

Angel of Darkness being remastered was also a big surprise for me and I hope they fix the bugs

 

[Alexandros]

Remnants 2 is very good indeed. I didn't like the first area on the misty planet, but the levels after that are incredible. The burning towns even gave me Bloodborne vibes, incredibly well done!

Is the game fun when playing solo?

 

[NarohDethan]

Is the game fun when playing solo?

yes

 

[Ge0force]

Is the game fun when playing solo?

Yes. It's Dark Souls with guns.

 

[Mor]

The achievement list for TR IV-V-VI is out and it confirms 2 things
The Times Exclusive level for IV is in
They are restoring some of the AoD cut content

YO????? Ok, I want to try that out then lol

 

[Arc]

I finished the first main dungeon in Metaphor. It's good. I'm also playing on hard and it actually lives up to its name. I think I've died more times in the first ~10 hours than all my Persona playthroughs combined.

 

[Snakethesniper]

Is the game fun when playing solo?

It is , but consider that it's badly optimized since the dev "thought" it with dlss in mind

 

[curi0usBystander]

lashman I'm sorry to inform you that anime has won.
Steam has been changing between these two banners for a while:

Spoiler

I think I've died more times in the first ~10 hours than all my Persona playthroughs combined.

Fantasy is dead.

 

[gabbo]

New generations will be able to experience the glorious achievement of game design known as Tomb Raider Angel of Darkness

I don't think they could make it any worse than it was at launch, so I'm all for this kind of remake.
Do it for old games that actually need improving.

 

[lashman]

@lashman I'm sorry to inform you that anime has won.
Steam has been changing between these two banners for a while:

 

[lashman]

 

[NarohDethan]

yeah we hate anime now

 

[lashman]

yeah we hate anime now

good!

 

[Parsnip]

You know I've heard from some folks over the years that Angel of Darkness is actually not that bad after fan patches, but I never got around trying it myself.
So I'm very curious about the remasters in that sense too.

 

[kio]

You know I've heard from some folks over the years that Angel of Darkness is actually not that bad after fan patches, but I never got around trying it myself.
So I'm very curious about the remasters in that sense too.

I've said this many times in the past and I'll reiterate it once again that AoD was never a bad game and it might, in fact, be the best TR game since the TR2. It's certainly better than 3, 4 and 5 and it was a much needed change in the right direction that the series was desperate for at the time. Was the execution perfect? No but considering all the restraints and limitations they had to work with it's almost a miracle we got something as good and as coherent to what we got, with an excellent plot, music, characters and level design.
I'll die on this hill and after all this time I grew accustomed being up here alone.
I'm genuinely happy it's getting a remaster. Hopefully they can iron some of the kinks out and the game finally get's the appreciation it rightfully deserves, even if it comes almost 20 years later.

 

[Dandy]

https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/theres-now-a-third-studio-boasting-disco-elysium-veterans-trying-to-follow-up-the-beloved-rpg-here-with-a-a-spiritual-successor-psychogeographic-rpg/

https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/a-disco-elysium-successor-studio-has-been-announced-for-the-second-time-today-meaning-there-are-now-4-companies-battling-for-the-title-of-za-ums-true-inheritor/

Two ZA/UM successors announced in one day. One of the directors for the second one is the brother of Kaur Kender, who played a role in what happened to ZA/UM and the ousting of the main people behind Disco Elysium.

They are making a detective RPG that looks very familiar.


Edit:

Oh... There's a third one... also revealed yesterday?!

https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/a-third-disco-elysium-successor-studio-has-gone-public-today-but-this-is-the-one-to-get-excited-about-multiple-writers-from-the-first-game-and-a-manifesto-to-create-an-rpg-with-complexity-and-ambition-to-rival-our-wretched-and-wonderful-world/

This one was founded by one of the main writers on DE. He's the one who was not ousted, with Kurvitz and co, but was featured in the People Make Games documentary, and left AFTER it was filmed because apparently management humiliated him for what he said in the doc.

There is also Red Info, which was founded by Robert Kurvitz and Co. but they haven't revealed anything yet.

 

[Hektor]

I'm very excited for Kurvitz' landlord and local bakery founding their own studios and making Disco Elysium spiritual successors.

Nightshift is the exact same opening as Disco Elysium, which apart from being lame, already gives a direct comparison to see that it doesn't have the writing.

 

[Parsnip]

I've completely lost track of everyone and everything in the whole ZA UM thing.

 

[Mivey]

I'm very excited for Kurvitz' landlord and local bakery founding their own studios and making Disco Elysium spiritual successors.

Nightshift is the exact same opening as Disco Elysium, which apart from being lame, already gives a direct comparison to see that it doesn't have the writing.

as long as it let's me play as a communist, rock-star, depressive cop, who runs around naked, they can make as many of these kinds of games as they want and I will buy them

 

[Dragon1893]

So I had a refund pending for almost a month, first time I ever used the feature.
Today I tried again and it was almost instantaneous. Weird.