The Friday letters page is loving Resident Evil Requiem, as one reader is frustrated at how Sony has used Naughty Dog during the current generation.

Games Inbox is a collection of our readers’ letters, comments, and opinions. To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.uk

Surprise hit
Just come back from two hours of playing Pokémon Pokopia and… there’s not much I can tell you at this point, really. I do like the size of the world though and if everything is made out of Minecraft style blocks then it should be very customisable, so I like that.

I also see where the Fallout 4 comparisons are coming from, as seeing the ruined Pokémon Center like that is pretty crazy. I’m not clear what happened though. It obviously wasn’t a nuclear war, so was it an asteroid hit? Or maybe it’s actually a virtual world or something? Curious to find out the truth.

So far, I like the game and I specifically like that I don’t know what’s going on. I don’t know what the game’s limits are or most of what I can actually do as a character. I’m not sure how many different pokémon are in it and I’m not clear whether it’s a game you can win or whether it goes on forever.

As far as I’m concerned, not knowing what’s coming next is the best thing that can happen to you when playing a video game. I admit I didn’t expect a Pokémon spin-off to be the sort of game to offer that level of freedom but then reading all the reviews I get the impression nobody else did either.
Wendel

Saturated market
As far as I understand it there hasn’t been any real growth in the games industry since around the PlayStation 2 era, so I’m not really sure what anyone is expecting to change. Even when the games are free – and that’s what most people are playing – it still isn’t rising. I think we just have to accept that the amount of people playing video games right now are the same percentage that has always been interested.

I guess you could try and open up new markets, like India and such like, but they’re not going to have any nostalgia for franchises celebrating their 40th anniversary, or whatever, so good luck with that. As I always think, if publishers just knuckled down and put out a regular supply of great games they’d be fine, but they can’t seem to bring themselves to do that. Sony seems to be finally realising that truth, but only after wasting five years and who knows how much money.
Bootles

Gaia takes the reigns
So the hits keep on coming in terms of the games industry being in trouble, eh? It seems to me like nature is taking over and doing what publishers wouldn’t. They needed to cut budgets and lower prices but they didn’t so now they’ve got no choice, because no one can afford new consoles, or even PCs, anymore.

I’m joking of course, but if this forces everyone, especially the companies, to stick with the current gen then I think that’s a good thing. No one wants to fork out for a new console right now, and no one wants to see game prices rise any further. The microtransaction angle is a worry but as long as it’s always something you can do without I’ll leave it to the mugs that care.
Futterman

Email your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk

Unreality engine
What a weird pandemic of boring video game reveals. Tweets, no-info blogs, and now nine minutes of a racing game in which there’s no racing. Is it the same company doing the marketing for all of this because whatever publishers are paying them it’s too much.

I assume not but this does highlight one of the problems I’ve already had with open world racing games in general, in that they’re always so empty feeling. It’s all very well being realistic but if there’s barely any cars on the road, and little or no pedestrians, it feels like you’re driving around a model village or something.

I thought this in the UK one for Forza Horizon, where everything looked like real places but there was no life to it. It felt very artificial, beyond the fact that obviously it is. GTA might not have very good driving but at least it feels like you’re driving around a real place, where you can hit people and cars get damaged.

The lack of collision damage is the other big flaw with Forza Horizon, as far as I’m concerned, especially as it only adds to the sense of unreality.
Terry Gold

I’ve made a huge mistake
Interesting that publishers are suddenly going after leakers, but I think it’s probably a coincidence given this Epic leaker was a producer there. I expected him to be a temp or IT guy or something, but a producer?! What was he thinking to risk his job just to tell nerds on the internet when there was going to be an Overwatch crossover?

The worst thing is that Fortnite leaks are all from dataminers, I thought. I didn’t even realise there were really leaks from actual insiders. What’s the point and what a way to ruin your career. And that’s on top of getting sued by a multi-billion company. Some really questionable life decisions there.
Colin

Bad Dog
Thinking about Sony’s problems this gen, and the hope that they may have finally seen sense, I think the biggest problem is how they’ve handled Naughty Dog. They’re the biggest weapon in their armoury and yet they haven’t made anything all gen, apart from a completely unnecessary remake of The Last Of Us Part 1, a cancelled online game, and two seasons of TV (or at least their main guy went off to do that, which I’m sure was very distruptive).

Considering the show saw a massive dip in popularity in its second season it all seems particularly pointless, as that’s what was pushing the big focus on The Last Of Us. So all Sony got out of them was one remake and lots of talk about never doing a Part 3. I don’t know how things could’ve gone worse really.

Well, the initial response to Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet wasn’t great either. We don’t know much about it yet but everything they’ve said about it makes it sound like a pretty heavy narrative game, just like The Last Of Us, whereas what they showed looked kind of goofy and cheesy.

I don’t much care which it is, but presumably it’s not both. Also, the name is terrible. Especially as I thought it was Interstellar, until I just checked the spelling. So, does that mean we’re getting the Bestie Boys on the soundtrack or not?

We hear a lot about how Microsoft are bad at managing developers, being either too strict or too lax, but seems to me Sony is pretty bad at it too. They’ve let their most important developer waste a whole generation and it’s still very hard to get excited about what they’re cooking at the moment.
Wotan

Medium expectations
So what do we think is going to happen if Marathon is a hit? With a bit of luck that will save Bungie, at least for now, but what will it mean for Sony’s live service plans?

I can’t see it being a mega hit but how medium a hit is enough to keep these things running? It’s a problem we don’t see talked about much, where how big is big enough to keep the lights on? Helldivers 2 isn’t massive but it’s always in the top 30 on Steam, so I would say that was more than just a medium hit.

But if Marathon ends up averaging only top 50 or 100 is that enough? Or it is literally all or nothing for these games?
Lentz

Mission complete
I beat Resident Evil Requiem today and just wanted to write in and say how much I’ve enjoyed. There’s so many terrible things going on at the moment, in the games industry and beyond, that sitting back and relaxing, by putting a hatchet through a zombie’s brainbox has been so cathartic.

I can see why you were slightly down on the ending, as it did seem to run out of steam a little in the last hour or so, but it’s a minor dip and the rest of it was 10/10 as far as I’m concerned. The Leon bits, and his dumb as rock one-liners, were amazing but I really liked Grace as well. Leon is like an amped up superhero but Grace is more normal and I think cutting between them really worked.

Resident Evil 4 is great but it can be… I wouldn’t say repetitive necessarily but definitely one note. Requiem mixes things up perfectly and no part of it goes on for too long and many times you’re left wanting more, even though you know that would probably not be for the best (even though I do agree Mercenaries is definitely needed).

It may only have been a dozen or so hours but I was completely entertained the whole time and haven’t enjoyed anything – game, movie, or gig – as much as this for ages. So yeah, a bit of positivity and the same old message: at the end of the day it’s only the games that matter.
Taylor Moon

Inbox also-rans
Do you think the first party Nintendo Direct could be on MAR10 Day? Which is next Tuesday? They have got a new Mario game to announce after all, and everyone assumes they were going to do a proper Direct this month.
Gracke

GC: We don’t think they’ve ever done one on Mario Day before but now you mention it, it does seem a possibility.

I’m so happy that Resident Evil Requiem has been a big hit. Fastest selling entry after 30 years is nothing to sniff. Now do the decent thing and announce the Dino Crisis remake!
Austin

Email your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk

The small print
New Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers’ letters are used on merit and may be edited for length and content.

You can also submit your own 500 to 600-word Reader’s Feature at any time via email or our Submit Stuff page, which if used will be shown in the next available weekend slot.

You can also leave your comments below and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter.

MORE: Games Inbox: Will Resident Evil Requiem get a Mercenaries mode?

MORE: Games Inbox: Is it worth buying a PS5 in 2026?

MORE: Games Inbox: When will the next Legend Of Zelda game be announced?

Comments


Add as preferred source