I won’t be discussing live-service in this article. That horse has been beaten to death; we all know why many players dislike it. Yet, with successes like ARC Raiders, it would be naive to think developers and publishers will stop chasing the dream of millions of copies sold and constant 100k+ player counts. But this topic is exhausted. While we might see Concord 3 before Grand Theft Auto VI, many other trends have emerged in gaming over recent years that also deserve to be relegated to the past. From questionable development practices to player behaviors that need rethinking, here are some of the worst recent gaming trends we must leave behind.
Chasing the Dragon (Unfounded Imitation)
Even setting aside the live-service model, there’s a growing tendency for publishers to invest heavily in marketing to position their “new” games as being “like” an established success that defined a genre. This approach, while commercially understandable, sometimes borders on embarrassing. How many games have proudly labeled themselves “Soulslikes” over the years, showcasing their attempt to emulate FromSoftware’s RPGs, while implicitly acknowledging their inferiority?
The idea of desperately chasing and imitating the success of a superior product rarely leads to a fulfilling outcome. If recent years have proven anything, it’s that developers excel most when they focus on their own passionate vision, rather than replicating the work of another great studio. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, for example, draws inspiration from Sekiro without appropriating a Japanese setting, adding stealth, and a giant monkey that throws its own excrement. Inspiration is healthy; creating something entirely new is almost impossible nowadays. However, desperate attempts to capitalize on others’ success should cease.
Difficult Bosses Without Real Purpose
This observation applies to many game mechanics, but it’s particularly glaring when a game, without apparent justification, throws “Mallowbold, the impious king of fire, death, and suffering” at you when you’re already struggling against basic enemies. This isn’t just a complaint about difficulty – though I’m getting older and have less time to repeatedly bash my head against a boss wall – but rather a question about the objective and reasoning behind designing challenging yet rewarding encounters.
The problem arises when bosses or other mechanics are integrated without this sense of purpose. Without the logic that helps you understand why you’re being defeated, and that motivates you to persevere. Even FromSoftware doesn’t always design bosses perfectly, as evidenced by the Fire Giant or Radahn before its patch. It’s therefore strange to see similar combat types added to games because developers believe players will like them, rather than viewing them as a narrative and gameplay device that elevates the experience. Of course, you want your game to contain elements players will appreciate, but you shouldn’t turn it into an indigestible stew of popular features, because by trying to impress everyone, you please no one.
The Illusion of “Bigger Is Better”
This trend was more pronounced in the 2010s but still persists. Some games present you with a massive map, or even an entire galaxy (like Starfield), promising hours of exploration. But when you ask about the content within this universe, emptiness is often the only answer. A great game doesn’t require 100 hours of gameplay, nor a map that takes five of those hours to traverse. Many titles offer gigantic maps, worlds, and stories, giving players the impression they’re getting their money’s worth. However, I believe that getting excited solely by marketing touting a “big map” means missing the essential.
Games are more expensive than ever nowadays, and spending $80 for a ten-hour experience can feel insulting. But there must be a middle ground. We achieve it in some areas, but I aspire to an industry where it’s not the size of the map that matters, but how it’s utilized.
Anger Bait and the Quest for Negative Engagement
The world has become negative, hasn’t it? This article itself is quite critical. I can tolerate observing bad practices or clumsy marketing these days. What I can no longer tolerate is the proliferation of bad-faith discourse, misinformation, and a refusal to grasp the most basic human emotions in today’s gaming climate. From years of “anti-woke wars” to incessant battles against writers, influencers, and media, it feels like no one has taken a breath in far too long. Your favorite game didn’t win GOTY? The world didn’t collapse then, either. I don’t want to be condescending, and I won’t be further, but it seems easier than ever for people to get upset about things that, in the grand scheme, don’t really matter.
This negativity has also infected developers: some games and studios, which I won’t name, base their marketing on the fact that they are indeed adding stylized breastplate armor, or medieval women with modern makeup, or any other feature that attempts to “strike back” at the industry as a whole. The problem is that the industry is so vast today that you can literally play the games you want forever and never run out of titles. If the goal is to make a statement rather than create art, then you are merely doing what you claim everyone else is doing.
Incredibly Long and Irrelevant Game Shows
As a Brit, The Game Awards can be tough to watch. You have to stay up too late, and each year, the event tries harder to set you up for years to come, rather than celebrating the year that just passed. We are where we are, but if Mr. Keighley, Mr. PlayStation, Mr. Xbox, or Mr. Nintendo could cut even 10% from their shows, it might make them a little more exciting.
Or, they could do what Xbox has done with its Developer Directs. Showcasing a few developers in detail helps you remember everything you’ve seen. Otherwise, people jump onto a stream, see (or don’t see) the game they want in a flood of so many titles that you feel like your memory is being erased, then move on, waiting for the next broadcast.
Ignoring Certain Genres Under the Pretext of Unprofitability
It seems this trend is on the decline, thanks to recent successes in some formerly niche genres. It’s easy, when looking at overall best-selling game statistics, to conclude that people only like shooters, sports games, and Minecraft. But that would be overlooking a large portion of players who are not only willing to buy a game in a genre they haven’t seen in years but will then remain loyal to the developer who brought their favorite game type back into the mainstream.
Disco Elysium and Baldur’s Gate III are excellent examples. The demand for remakes and remasters of old classics should show us that players don’t just want to replay what they already know, but also discover new titles capable of providing similar sensations. Note that I said “similar,” not “identical,” so as not to contradict my first point. What’s important in these two examples is that they heavily draw upon the genres that inspire them, while also bringing their own unique vision.