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[Ghost of Caelid]

The smaller games from larger studios that XBOX owns seems to becoming a regular thing...

So far we got Pentiment, Grounded, Hi-Fi Rush and Bleeding Edge.

How are you feeling about the suite of small games and which of their current studios would you like to see do a small project.

 

[AngelMuffin]

 

[Hobbygaming]

It would be good if they were complimentary to some bigger games

If games like Hellblade 2, Fable, Avowed and the others were releasing consistently then these passion projects would be better accepted

 

[RGB'D]

Pertiment has been a great XBox cloud game as I don't have to have volume and can play it on down time at work and it works flawlessly. I tried it on PC at first and liked it but lost track of the game after the first hour or two because I was incredibly busy. Just this week I tried xcloud again and have been pleasantly surprised at how well it works and how excellent Pentiment is.

Grounded is fantastic and my wife and son love to play it. The additions they made since early access are impressive. This got my vote though I was a little torn.

Bleeding edge.... Uninstalled after the first time playing lol. But Hi-fi Rush might be tops on my list. I love indy games and am so glad that Xbox is allowing for these AA releases. They have been very quality and could round out their portfolio if they keep it up and allow for these in between big releases.

 

[BrutalTruth_]

People whine about Halo/Forza/Gears then they drop fun games like Hi-Fi Rush and Grounded and the same people try to downplay great creative releases.

Haters gonna Hate.

 

[tmlDan]

Honestly im not really a huge fan of any of them, but i love that they do it.

It's just not gonna help their bottom line, aka driving up GP numbers - they need bigger higher budget games.

 

[dugdug]

People whine about Halo/Forza/Gears then they drop fun games like Hi-Fi Rush and Grounded and the same people try to downplay great creative releases.

Haters gonna Hate.

You don’t have to like them simply because they exist.

Bleeding Edge was the only one that I stuck with so far, but, haven’t tried HiFi yet. I hate the art of Pentiment so I couldn’t be bothered and Grounded just isn’t my kinda game.

I do think it’s cool that these studios get the chances to make these but I really wonder how long this will last.

 

[RGB'D]

You don’t have to like them simply because they exist.

Bleeding Edge was the only one that I stuck with so far, but, haven’t tried HiFi yet. I hate the art of Pentiment so I couldn’t be bothered and Grounded just isn’t my kinda game.

I do think it’s cool that these studios get the chances to make these but I really wonder how long this will last.

I mean grounded is doing huuuuuuuge numbers for what it is. I hope Hifi does well and Pentiment had great feedback even if it was niche.

 

[digoutyoursoul]

I don’t mind them, in fact I play a fair bit of lower budget and indie stuff. I must say tho I buy new platforms mainly for the games that show off the hardware , the games that get you really excited . In anticipation for their release

Passion projects as it’s called or indies, my mindset is they are a starter or desert to a main course.

Series X has been a disappointment in that big budget showcase regard so far for me apart from that showing of Hellblade 2 a while ago.

 

[bluecowboys]

Beats the shit out of 85% of AAA games. Forspoken is technically a "AAA" game that sucks.

 

[digoutyoursoul]

People whine about Halo/Forza/Gears then they drop fun games like Hi-Fi Rush and Grounded and the same people try to downplay great creative releases.

Haters gonna Hate.

From what I gather from a few of fellow Xbox pals who “whine” as you put it about halo gears forza. They want to see games that excite them in that big budget area that are not those titles, new things with the impact Halo had on OG, Gears on 360 and don’t see passion projects as that.

 

[supernova8]

DJ Caelid!!

 

[bluecowboys]

From what I gather from a few of fellow Xbox pals who “whine” as you put it about halo gears forza. They want to see games that excite them in that big budget area that are not those titles, new things with the impact Halo had on OG, Gears on 360 and don’t see passion projects as that.

Star field and Red fall are around the corner and they are new AAA ips. Sony hasn't released a new AAA ip this generation yet, but MS will very soon. Rules for thee but not for me I guess.

 

[BrutalTruth_]

Honestly im not really a huge fan of any of them, but i love that they do it.

It's just not gonna help their bottom line, aka driving up GP numbers - they need bigger higher budget games.

Hi-Fi Rush will already boost GP numbers, a lot of people are exited to try it.

 

[Represent.]

Complete joke.

If these games are your passion, as in, you wouldnt want to make ANYTHING ELSE but these, even if you could.... then you need to dream bigger.

Disgusted at how developers have zero passion to push the medium forward.

 

[MarkMe2525]

I'm about two hours into Hi-Fi and while it's not for everyone, it's my favorite game since Elden Ring. It's a blast to play, to listen to, and to look at.

I'm playing on hard and while the basic enemies can be ran through no problem, the boss was a great challenge to get Rank A. The rythem aspect really shines in that scenario.

Edit: btw, Hi-Fi should be on the poll Ghost of Caelid

 

[GhostOfTsu]

When did they start making Hifi Rush? Xbox bought Bethesda in Spring 2021. That's a very short development window.

It was probably greenlit and in production by Bethesda.

 

[Lasha]

Complete joke.

If these games are your passion, as in, you wouldnt want to make ANYTHING ELSE but these, even if you could.... then you need to dream bigger.

Disgusted at how developers have zero passion to push the medium forward.

How would you push the medium forward?

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

As an expert in the videogame industry, I believe that while those types of games may be entertaining and pretty cool.

They are not what Xbox currently needs in order to substantially grow its Game Pass subscriber and attract people to buy consoles.

 

[digoutyoursoul]

Star field and Red fall are around the corner and they are new AAA ips. Sony haven't release a new AAA ip this generation yet, but MS will very soon. Rules for thee but not for me I guess.

I’m aware of that and we are talking about games that gamers haven’t played yet which is why I said have the same impact as Halo on OG and Gears on 360, we don’t know if they will. From what I’ve seen of Redfall I’m not sure.

 

[Represent.]

People whine about Halo/Forza/Gears then they drop fun games like Hi-Fi Rush and Grounded and the same people try to downplay great creative releases.

Haters gonna Hate.

You cant substitute AAA games like HaloGearsForza with indie games like this.

Thats not how it works. Give us a variety of AAA games in ADDITION to smaller games like this. Not instead of.

No one is buying a $700 (its 700 in canada) console for fucking Pentiment.

 

[BrutalTruth_]

You cant substitute AAA games like HaloGearsForza with indie games like this.

Thats not how it works. Give us a variety of AAA games in ADDITION to smaller games like this. Not instead of.

No one is buying a $700 (its 700 in canada) console for fucking Pentiment.

You should try Hi-Fi Rush, it's already better than recently released AAA games.

 

[bender]

Expecting studios to churn out iterations of the same game with nothing in-between doesn't seem very healthy and the fact that budgets for major release have ballooned so greatly the last few generations, it's hard to take risks on off-the-wall ideas. A lot of these projects might not be my cup of tea but they are far more interesting than the majority of tent pole releases from most publishers/studios.

 

[MarkMe2525]

As an expert in the videogame industry

Edit: I shouldn't be antagonizing anyone. You do you man

 

[Hendrick's]

Grounded is in a whole different league than those others.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

You're joking...right?

oh i see my mistake. the correct statement is this:

As an expert analyst in the videogame forum industry.

 

[MarkMe2525]

oh i see my mistake. the correct statement is this:

As an expert analyst in the videogame forum industry.

I like it

 

[BadBurger]

I found Bleeding Edge terrible. I haven't had a chance to try the others.

 

[bender]

You cant substitute AAA games like HaloGearsForza with indie games like this.

Thats not how it works. Give us a variety of AAA games in ADDITION to smaller games like this. Not instead of.

No one is buying a $700 (its 700 in canada) console for fucking Pentiment.

Look at these as a supplement and not a substitute. Further, the lack of variety in AAA games comes down to the cost to make them which will naturally make publishers risk averse.

 

[bluecowboys]

You cant substitute AAA games like HaloGearsForza with indie games like this.

Thats not how it works. Give us a variety of AAA games in ADDITION to smaller games like this. Not instead of.

No one is buying a $700 (its 700 in canada) console for fucking Pentiment.

Halo - FPS
Gears of War - TPS
Forza Horizon - Arcade Racer
Forza Motorsport - Racing Simulator
Age of empires/ Gears Tactics - Strategy games
Star Field - First person RPG
Fable - Third person RPG
Hell blade 2 - Action adventure game

I know there is more than what I listed, but it has enough variety games coming out nonetheless. These passion projects actually helps since AAA games take like 5 years to make.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

Edit: I shouldn't be antagonizing anyone. You do you man

If by "antagonizing" you mean recognizing my authority, be my guest. I'll even supply the crown and scepter for the occasion

 

[Ghost of Caelid]

Edit: btw, Hi-Fi should be on the poll

didn't know if it was too soon.

 

[bluecowboys]

didn't know if it was too soon.

Don't add it yet. It isn't fair since we didn't get enough time with the game.

 

[Punished Miku]

Im feeling 100% vindicated. I called this and I was right. Pentiment was my GOTY and Hi Fi is absolutely incredible so far.

If anything I wasnt confident enough in my opinion. Not only is Gamepass unlocking creativity and freedom for devs with a new distribution model, I wasnt forceful enough. Modern retail culture is a cancer on gaming. Raising prices, raising microtransactions, homogenizing games. Making literally everything worse.

Im glad we have multiple options for distribution now but Gamepass has proven that it can be a huge positive for creativity and exposure, and genre diversity.

 

[supernova8]

When did they start making Hifi Rush? Xbox bought Bethesda in Spring 2021. That's a very short development window.

It was probably greenlit and in production by Bethesda.

With how nice the cel-shading looks in Hifi Rush, it just makes me even more annoyed that Pokemon is effectively trapped on shit Nintendo hardware with the lazy fucks that are Game Freak.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

Im feeling 100% vindicated. I called this and I was right. Pentiment was my GOTY and Hi Fi is absolutely incredible so far.

If anything I wasnt confident enough in my opinion. Not only is Gamepass unlocking creativity and freedom for devs with a new distribution model, I wasnt forceful enough. Modern retail culture is a cancer on gaming. Raising prices, raising microtransactions, homogenizing games. Making literally everything worse.

Im glad we have multiple options for distribution now but Gamepass has proven that it can be a huge positive for creativity and exposure, and genre diversity.

While you may be correct on a surface level, the evolution of various business models has enabled a diverse range of successful and creative experiences even before Game Pass existing

However, I must refute your overly optimistic viewpoint:

Game Pass business model (especially for third party titles) encourage "engagement chasers".

Internally; the pressure for growth will result in less of these games being made. (they dont drive subscriber growth).

the point: Game Pass is not going to change the industry (because the industry has been changing already).

creative, small and "risky" games will continue to exist just like they do know.

 

[plip.plop]

I have no problem with MS allowing their Devs to create these passion projects. It is a good step towards crafting a creative and mentally healthy environment. It probably helps with burnout as well.

 

[KXVXII9X]

I am usually lukewarm towards Xbox, but their passion projects are usually *chefs kiss*

Stuff like the Ori series, Cuphead (haven't played yet), Grounded, As Dusk Falls, Pentiment (haven't played yet) and no Hi-Fi Rush are the kinds of games I wish were made more. I'm the same way with Sony's passion projects like Kena and Stray. I really appreciate these games. I may not always play each and every one of them but I'm really glad they exist.

 

[RickMasters]

It would be good if they were complimentary to some bigger games

If games like Hellblade 2, Fable, Avowed and the others were releasing consistently then these passion projects would be better accepted

This. I like what they are doing. But we need some big hitters. its long overdue. but all the same, I love thes passion projects. as a creative, myself I can i understand the need to MAKE these kinds of projects...for creators it gives them a chance to see what really works and some of these idea can in some ways filter out into their big AAA games. As long as its interesting and engaging ill try it.

 

[Meicyn]

Im feeling 100% vindicated. I called this and I was right. Pentiment was my GOTY and Hi Fi is absolutely incredible so far.

If anything I wasnt confident enough in my opinion. Not only is Gamepass unlocking creativity and freedom for devs with a new distribution model, I wasnt forceful enough. Modern retail culture is a cancer on gaming. Raising prices, raising microtransactions, homogenizing games. Making literally everything worse.

Im glad we have multiple options for distribution now but Gamepass has proven that it can be a huge positive for creativity and exposure, and genre diversity.

If Hifi Rush was made possible because of Gamepass, then I am a believer. I am so mad I don’t have an Xbox right now, because passion projects are what Sega used to make, and Hifi Rush gives me the Saturn/Dreamcast era vibes. I sooooo want to play it.

 

[Punished Miku]

If Hifi Rush was made possible because of Gamepass, then I am a believer. I am so mad I don’t have an Xbox right now, because passion projects are what Sega used to make, and Hifi Rush gives me the Saturn/Dreamcast era vibes. I sooooo want to play it.

It 100% has Sega vibes. If you like original and weird games, Xbox has been killing it. Yes their 1st party is slow but they pick a lot of the best indies too. I just have a Series S and have loved it. But X is obviously better. Totally your call. I dont like to pressure people into buying a system. But the game is wayyyyy better than I expected.

And the distribution model is just fun. Didnt even know this game existed until today. The surprise is fun.

 

[ManaByte]

You should try Hi-Fi Rush, it's already better than recently released AAA games.

It makes Forspoken look like AA jank.

 

[Meicyn]

It 100% has Sega vibes. If you like original and weird games, Xbox has been killing it. Yes their 1st party is slow but they pick a lot of the best indies too. I just have a Series S and have loved it. But X is obviously better. Totally your call. I dont like to pressure people into buying a system. But the game is wayyyyy better than I expected.

And the distribution model is just fun. Didnt even know this game existed until today. The surprise is fun.

Heh, seriously tempted. I can afford the X, but only the S is available locally. The better choice is to wait for restock and buy the X… I’ll just have to be patient.

It makes Forspoken look like AA jank.

Yeah, it’s funny how much excitement got generated from a $30 passion project dropped out of nowhere. And because its cel-shaded and has incredible art direction, HR will look stylish forever. Forspoken already looks dated, and it’ll only look worse going forward.

 

[KXVXII9X]

Star field and Red fall are around the corner and they are new AAA ips. Sony hasn't released a new AAA ip this generation yet, but MS will very soon. Rules for thee but not for me I guess.

Returnal? Destruction Allstars?

 

[Rac3r]

 

[sainraja]

Star field and Red fall are around the corner and they are new AAA ips. Sony hasn't released a new AAA ip this generation yet, but MS will very soon. Rules for thee but not for me I guess.

Stop being a fanboy. Returnal isn't a new IP?

 

[MiguelItUp]

I may give Hi-Fi Rush a shot, but other than that, none of them really do anything for me personally. I can say that they're at least more unique looking than a lot of other stuff out there.

 

[BennyBlanco]

Pentiment is sick.

 

[Mattyp]

Grounded was a blast, have just downloaded HiFi Rush for tonight. These game’s absolutely hit harder then expected for out of no where drops and are more fun then triple AAA releases. We need more things like this.

 

[BennyBlanco]

Complete joke.

If these games are your passion, as in, you wouldnt want to make ANYTHING ELSE but these, even if you could.... then you need to dream bigger.

Disgusted at how developers have zero passion to push the medium forward.

what a scorching take. these small scale games are where devs at big studios can actually get creative and try out different things. AAA games take 8 years to make now, and can just turn into flops like forspoken. it's smart to let these studios feed gamepass with small passion projects even if they don't all turn out good.