Browsing Polygon’s best games of the decade list, it was surprising to see a lack of either Uncharted 3 or 4, considering the amount of acclaim that those games have received. It was also somewhat surprising to see The Last of Us, a game that’s often considered to be the greatest game of all time, only took the 59th position. Given how scripted these games are, one has to wonder if players are starting to become tired or exhausted from heavily automated or scripted games. Critically acclaimed games being seen as outdated isn’t a new concept. The original Tomb Raider game was very well received at the time but over the years, players couldn’t stand the clunky controls and constant backtracking. The original Resident Evil spawned a franchise and revolutionized the survival horror genre, but is now criticized for its awkward cutscenes and camera angles. Uncharted 2 revolutionized cinematic AAA gaming. Quick time events, set pieces, frequent cutscenes, breath-taking visuals, etc. The game had it all, and many franchises like Tomb Raider, Resident Evil and Spider-Man would take note.
Do You Actually Get to Play the Game You Loved?
Now the thing is, these games tended to play themselves more than they were actually willing to let the user play. Behind the breathtaking visuals and adept writing were linear level design, easy to solve puzzles and frequent hand holding throughout the story. The quality of writing and cutscene direction basically hid the fact that there wasn’t much for the player to do but hold forward on the analog stick and shoot some bad guys every now and then. Gone were the days of exploring the level to find clues on how to progress. The level designers told you exactly where you needed to go.
Cinematic Games and their Gameplay
Death Stranding and the polarizing reception surrounding that game is the perfect showcase for how far these cinematic games have come. The reviews seemed to be split in half between people that said that the games story made up for the weak gameplay and those that thought that the gameplay mechanics weren’t worth the hype; Interestingly enough, even those that praised the game said that the gameplay wasn’t that great. Playstation Lifestyle gave the game a 9.5 (out of 10) but said “Death Stranding is not an especially “fun” game. It’s tedious at times, frustrating at others, and can feel like one of the biggest gaming slogs.” Unlike other AAA cinematic games, Death Stranding actually does feature a fairly open environment. The problem is in how the game presents itself in a manner where the story and it’s high production value justifies its lack of engaging gameplay. The hype was huge but players were ultimately frustrated at what they perceived to be a “UPS Simulator.” People finally started to look past the quality of graphics to notice the rising shift from gameplay to story.
Only time will tell whether the trend of overtly cinematic games will continue. This past year saw games like Resident Evil 2 and Control being praised for their lack of hand holding and their level design that favored exploration and encouraged players to take more initiative, all the while, having engaging stories with AAA production quality. A reasonable balance can be made, but the studios are only going to support what the players buy. If people really want less story and more gameplay, then they’ll have to speak with their wallets.
