3d ago

'Death Stranding 2' proves more video games need to get weird, experts say

news.northeastern.edu

Games @sh.itjust.works

Pro @programming.dev

3d ago

'Death Stranding 2' proves more video games need to get weird, experts say

news.northeastern.edu /2025/06/27/death-stranding-2-weird-games/

Gaming @lemmy.world

Pro @programming.dev

3d ago

'Death Stranding 2' proves more video games need to get weird, experts say

news.northeastern.edu /2025/06/27/death-stranding-2-weird-games/

39 comments

Oh god, is the era of corporate weird games about to start?
We don't need more weird games, we need more people who like games in charge of making games.
- Amen to that: I want to play games made by people who like games, by people who play games, and by people who want to make games. Not by MBA suits who like money and just want to make more money...
- We need both; even if passionate developers are put in charge of projects — they are still likely to be stymied by an overly conservative C-suite.
  Successful ‘weird games’ in conjunction with indies would lead to a positive feedback loop in the industry and allow for more creativity across the board.
- IDK about western companies, but Japanese studios built their brand on weird, and I'm all for Capcom and Co. going back to their weird roots. That shit was fun.
- This is the kind of thing that AI hallucinations may actually be useful for? Have it make super weird shit from feedback loops.
  There was a video of AI trying to hallucinate quake, you would turn around and like you were in a dream sequence the entire world changed, that would be trippy as hell, but at the same time could be created by real people.
The “experts” in this case are 2 teachers assistants in game design in one university weighing in on a whole swath of reasons such as financial impacts and other stuff, on which they are totally qualified to talk about.
We have reached the stage where if my son does his math homework, he should be referred to as a “math expert”, article’s a joke.
Oh it's out?
PlayStation 5 exclusive
Ah. Thanks Sony.
- Deep breath
  Mmm. Smells like the 2010s.
  At least its mostly timed exclusives these days.
  
  Just about. I did an audit and about 90% of Sony’s games eventually hit PC. The largest one which has not made the leap yet is Astro Bot.
- Fuck sony all my homies hate sony
- Kojima used their engine and helped him get his own studio get started when his old one wanted to chase mobile gaming.
Fuck off, experts. There's plenty of weirdness in the indy games sphere.
- Not really… only if you play indie genres. We get like one or two good indie action games a year.
  And to avoid any confusion: I mean action a la Bayonetta, Ninja Gaiden II, God Hand… etc. Not roguelikes, zeldalikes, or soulslikes.
  What about fighting games? I can probably name like 3 indies in the past decade that made it big: Skullgirls, Them Fightin' Herds, and Melty Blood/Under Night In-Birth (And I'm being generous here by ignoring ASW's involvement)
  Plenty of weirdness in the genres you play, maybe, but that doesn't cover every genre.
  
  One or two good indie action games a year? Gotta broaden your horizons my dude
  Fighting games however, yeah you right. Same with quality racing games.
  
  You need to find a reviewer who focuses on indie you jive with. They're funnel points for these sorts of things.
  I like boomershooters, so Civvie11 and MandaloreGaming are my gotos.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was the most creative game I've played in years and years. Amazing story, amazing characters, amazing art and world design, all topped off with a beautiful soundtrack. The gameplay was of course good-- not perfect--but, very satisfying when it hit its stride.
All that to say: Yes, I want more weird and creative games of that caliber. I haven't played Death Stranding 2 yet, but I definitely plan to at some point.
I'd be more excited about Death Stranding 2, if it weren't exclusive to PS5. What we really need is more weird games that can be played on as many platforms as possible for that game.
- It might come out on PC at some point in the future. IIRC Death Stranding 1 was PS4 exclusive for about half a year until the PC version came out.
Didn't Yoko Taro said something similar regarding Nier?
- It's probably a reference to that article.
We just need to go back to weird. Games have always been some of the weirdest things in media I have ever seen. And I consume a lot of media. Books are certainly weird, but games tend to go a bit further in the weirdness than even Franz Kafka or Harlan Ellison.
Mainstream AAA games avoid weird. They want to appeal to everyone, so they are, of course, getting to a point where they will not appeal to anyone. Indie games still experiment. Or at least work on some really weird ideas... They don't always work, but definitely are out there lol
Getting weird is why we love Bioshock so much.

39 comments