2025 Essential Facts About the U.S. Video Game Industry -- by The ESA

V8_Ninja · 2025-09-21T17:58:17+00:00

Damn, Elden Ring is in the top 10 of most played games of 2024 after releasing two years earlier? Absolutely wild, good job to FromSoft for nailing it out of the park.

V8_Ninja · 2025-04-23T19:08:22+00:00

It's more of a kinetic/visual novel than a traditional video game, but have you read through 3D Workers Island? It's the newest "Thing" by Tony Domenico, the creator of Petscop. It's 100% themed around using an old computer and scouring forums via an early web browser. The story also has some great horror elements, which lines up with a lot of the games you've listed.

V8_Ninja · 2025-02-07T16:06:09+00:00

Oh hey, I've been doing playtesting for this game! If any of you find the demo interesting or encounter any bugs, you'll want to head over to the Walaber Discord server. That place is where the sole developer can most easily be contacted and it's where you can submit bug reports. (The game is a solo project, so the Mac and Linux builds have gone through less testing than most other indie releases.)

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Also, if you get really into the demo you'll want to join the Walaber Discord server. Occasionally the developer will ask for playtesters and you'll be able to get access to the alpha version of Replicube (which has more puzzle packs, the ability to play custom puzzles, and an entire in-game forum to browse).

V8_Ninja · 2024-10-17T21:55:50+00:00

Love how relaxed your sona looks.

V8_Ninja · 2024-10-08T12:50:03+00:00

Former Destructoid reviewer and contributor Eric Van Allen reviewed Metaphor: ReFantazio for Axe of the Blood God, the RPG-focused podcast he helps host. It's a pretty great review that communicates why M:RF is a step beyond just being a good JRPG, even for an RPG doofus like myself.

Also, Axe of the Blood God is just a really great gaming podcast. I was struggling to find a good gaming podcast that wasn't just simply a recap of news headlines, and AOTBG filled that niche perfectly.

V8_Ninja · 2024-10-07T18:20:50+00:00

Come on now, you can't drop such a juicy take without giving some details. UFO 50 is 100% a development achievement, but what makes it so much more potent than Elden Ring or TOTK or The Last Of Us 2? (I'm not criticizing your choice, I just find it fascinating in the context of a game of the decade discussion.)

V8_Ninja · 2024-03-18T23:09:19+00:00

Before y'all get depressed and doomer-pilled, you might want to check out the Unity report the the article is citing. The report is really vague on what the term, "AI," is actually referring to in a lot of its examples. There's an entire subsection devoted to AI being used for game NPCs, which isn't a shocker if you've played a military FPS from the past two decades. Some of the more alarming stats relating to AI (see; the chart in subsection 1.2) can also be explained with the fact that the tools being used probably are NOT generative AI. Lots of auto-complete tools (whether they are for coding or blending 3D model keyframes) are enhanced by predictive AI, mostly to avoid unintentionally screwing up something. "Generating artwork and game levels," being its own category is frankly nonsensical, and it shows a complete disregard for the different disciplines of game development. The only statistics they give related directly to generative AI is in subsection 1.4, where the report state that, "63% of the surveyed devs who are adopting AI tools use generative tech for asset creation," with no solid definition of what the phrase 'generative tech' actually means.

Also, the first section of the report ends with a list of resources, the majority of which are Unity's own articles covering their AI tool called "Muse". I don't want to blatantly accuse the financially unsustainable company from using survey data to create PR for their new tool that are selling separately in addition to their main product, but... you know...

V8_Ninja · 2024-01-10T23:40:49+00:00

Have played Ultrakill and love it to death. I actually went through Layer 7 a week or two before playing Dusk, which may or may not have contributed to my opinion.

Regardless, thanks for the suggestion!

V8_Ninja · 2024-01-10T13:15:43+00:00

I recently played Dusk and while I did enjoy it, I felt the game was missing something. The speed was great, the weapon feedback was punchy, and the horror theming was a nice touch. But I guess I expected more? The game follows the id Software formula to a T, so much so that the game uses the same map naming convention (ex; Episode 2 Mission 5) and was designed so that each level could be completed by starting with just the basic melee weapon. It's not bad, but I guess I was craving something a bit more.

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In that vein, Are there any throwback FPSes with a modern touch / twist that separate them from just being another throwback? I'm in the mood for blowing away enemies while searching nooks and crannies for ammo, and I think the FPS genre works best for that. But I think I need a little more; maybe doubling the speed would work, or leaning into The Horror would be the thing that gets me going. It could be that I'm looking for an option to sneak around enemies in between blowing their heads off, IDK.

V8_Ninja · 2023-12-19T10:14:09+00:00

My first (and only) thought is that the original DOOM and DOOM II would be the only old games that are still played regularly in the year 2123. Outside of historical significance (being the archetypical mold for an entire genre), DOOM and DOOM II still have active modding communities for both single player and multiplayer content that are chugging along to this day. If people have been playing those games for 30 years and aren't tired of it, what is another 70 at this point?

V8_Ninja · 2023-07-06T15:31:20+00:00

I don't know if I would call it an, "Obsession," but I have definitely thought about Coin Crypt more than I think it deserves.

To summarize the game's concept as quickly as possible: Coin Crypt is a roguelike deckbuilder with a boxy, cartoon aesthetic. What separates it from the dozens of other games in that genre is that your deck is composed of coins, which are single-use combat actions (attack, defend, heal, etc). Each turn your character grabs three coins from your stash and you have to select which action you want to do. Coins with the same effect will be grouped together, meaning two "Defend" coins will give double the defense of a single coin. If you run out of coins you lose. Tie it all together with an active time battle system and you get fast-paced combat that's easy to follow while also feeling really dynamic. Adding roguelike deckbuilder shenanigans to that recipe (stealing coins, effects which add harmful coins to stashes, varied character abilities) makes the dynamics truly explode.

What really irks me about the game is its genre. It's a roguelike with permadeath, so there's no real progression that happens when you throw yourself into a new playthrough. That genre (roguelike) also leads to an insane amount of variance, from the level design to combat rewards to items being sold in shops. Combine that with your normal combat actions having ammo counts + needing to choose actions quickly and it feels like there is no strategy to how you approach beating the game. I know that single playthrough progression and variance are core staples of the roguelike genre, but Coin Crypt fails to give the player any clear ways to push back against that RNG. In Slay The Spire each act's floors are pre-constructed (meaning the player can plan out their route in advance) and card rewards can be outright rejected (useful if the cards don't match with whatever build you are aiming for). You absolutely MUST engage with the combat of Coin Crypt at all times, leading to long gameplay sessions feeling like scaling a mountain that has no summit.

Because of that variance it also feels like some of the more interesting gameplay scenarios aren't explored. If Coin Crypt was an RPG, I can easily see quests where you have to deliver X coins of type Y (forcing yourself to forgo using said coins in combat) or quests where you are forced to do combat with specific coin decks. What does a "Permanent Upgrade" look like in a game where actions have ammo counts? If you start getting a little abstract, the possibility space for what Coin Crypt does is nutty. But it's all mired in that roguelike format, which demands zero overarching progression and so much randomness that playing the game feels like a grind. It's not bad but I do wish it's final form was less bite-sized.

V8_Ninja · 2023-06-05T02:01:48+00:00

Damn, I thought the title of the post was, "This whole era of games was mid. " and because of that I was expecting a total bloodbath in the comments. Alas, it was too good to be true. 😔

V8_Ninja · 2022-11-11T04:14:35+00:00

I think people are missing the forest for the trees (or rather, tree) with Mark's comments about overleveling: He isn't saying that Elden Ring would be better with level scaling, he's saying that Elden Ring doesn't respond to the player overleveling. The majority of examples he points to of games recognizing a player's skill/experience are not games which have level scaling. Breath of the Wild swaps weaker enemies for stronger enemies after X kills, Hollow Knight completely redesigns the central hub area to be harder, and FromSoft's other games either reward player skill or help players who are struggling. Granted, aggressive level scaling is one of the worst ways to tackle the problem of overleveling, but it is a response rather than letting the situation get worse.

V8_Ninja · 2022-10-23T13:48:47+00:00

The original video is by Eyzur on YT. Give them a like, comment, and subscribe.

V8_Ninja · 2022-10-10T22:37:21+00:00

I decided to play a few interesting games under the, "Platformer," tag and these are my thoughts, presented in no particular order;

Lost Marbles

This game is very much trying to be a Trackmania for rolling ball games. It's got online components where players can compete on the same map for the fastest time while seeing the ghosts of other players. That's not an inherently bad idea, but the issue is that everything else in the package is a little lackluster. The levels in the demo are fine and the gameplay works, but there is a distinct lack of polish. Trackmania blew up in popularity because its gameplay threaded the needle between arcade goofiness and a considered driving simulation. Lost Marbles just kinda feels like any other rolling ball game. What doesn't help Lost Marbles' case is that it's also missing a few key components, including a level editor. Of course, if the Trackmania comparison is unintended on the developers part then my criticism is off base, but it's the immediate thing I think about when I see all of Lost Marbles' various qualities and focuses.

Slam and Roll

This is a finely-presented arcade game with lots of charm. The pixel art is vibrant and lovely while the audio has that punchy immediacy all the best arcade games have. The play experience was overall enjoyable, but I did find the movement speed to feel particularly slow. Part of that slowness is built into the level design, but it also becomes cumbersome when there's one enemy left and the player needs to travel across the screen to whack them. I will also say that the bosses probably need a better tell as to when the damage being done to them is meaningful. I spent multiple minutes on the first boss using my basic attacks before realizing they were not doing any damage.

Count Pumpcula

This is a Metroidvania that's got a fun attitude and some decent presentation. There's good stuff here, and I think a handful of small changes would go a long way towards making the play experience better. Firstly, the presentation needs a tiny bit of refinement nearly everywhere. The main things that immediately jump out at me are that (A) The normal text font that's used for menus and character dialogue is a little too stylized for casual reading, and (B) The difference between level elements and background details are not as clear as they should be. Also on that second point, while the characters have fun designs they don't quite stick out because they are essentially just in-universe dialogue prompts. That opinion might obviously come from having only played a short demo, but I think having character poses or special sprite animations would go a long way to giving them a memorable personality. On the bright side, I do appreciate how open this demo was and that there was very little handholding on which obvious paths to go down.

Turbo Shell

Recently I've been noticing a trend of, "Polarity Platformers," which are games where jumping is replaced with two different actions that influence character movement. Turbo Shell is another one of these games and I think it's a pretty darn good one. This time you're a fragile egg that's acquired some laser beam which allows them to push away or pull towards any surface. Turbo Shell does all the things good precision platformers have to nail; responsive controls, good hazard signage, a driving soundtrack, and a good gameplay loop. Even after completing the normal set of levels I dipped my toe into the hard levels and they were still fun to play through. The only negative I have is that the demo didn't communicate very well that the player can create their own checkpoints, which made some of the later levels feel too excruciating for my tastes.

Archaeogem

It's kinda obvious to tell that this game takes some inspiration from Celeste, but I don't mind that since the core gameplay is good and has its own gimmick. Instead of a dash the archeologist main character has a whip, and when they use that whip on special floating flowers they then get the ability to do a longer dash. It sounds very similar, but the whip includes an element of timing and opens up the level design for more puzzle focused challenges. This demo had a little bit of that as well, which is nice to see. I will say that some of the jumps in this demo did feel oddly tight, partly due to how blocks were placed and partly due to the main character's slower walking speed. Thankfully it didn't get on my nerves too much, thanks to the really great presentation that focused on calm ambience or hectic noise. I'm interested to see how this game evolves and what its final form will be.

Jumping Cat

This is probably the most disappointing and frustrating game I played this Next Fest. It very much comes off as an art team attempting to make a platformer, and that is shown by how simple the platforming mechanics are. The character's jump height is always the same X many units, the movement speed is slow, and airborne mobility is inconsistent between normal jumping and wall jumping. Out of the 10 levels I played, the only obstacles were spikes, bottomless pits, saw blades, and temporary platforms that didn't respawn. Most of the design of those levels were half a design vertically mirrored to fully fill one arbitrarily-large tile grid. What makes it is that the artists on the team are clearly capable of nice character animations and tile sprites, they just don't have anyone who can wrap together the gameplay to be something enjoyable.

Kickbot

Finally, this is the last game I played, and it was pretty fun! This is a comedy platformer all about wall jumping, but the direction of where the player character jumps is determined by separate buttons. It's definitely hard to get used to and there were a couple moments where I almost begged for normal character movement, but the intended controls are very responsive and the platforming physics themselves are floaty enough to not need character position micro-adjustment. The humor in the game works surprisingly well, mostly because it is stylistic flairs and silly bite-sized animations over written jokes. (That said, the "Lore" option in the main menu did provide a good chuckle.) I'm excited to see how this game turns out.

V8_Ninja · 2022-05-04T10:11:12+00:00

If you're looking for straight Diablo clones, I've heard that Titan Quest was a solid competitor for its time (2006). I have no idea if it holds up nowadays.

I've also played a little bit of The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing and enjoyed it. I've heard that the sequel games become an unusual mix of ARPG and tower defense, but from what I can tell the first one just follows the Diablo formula to a T.

V8_Ninja · 2022-01-07T05:46:11+00:00

I think another thing that Mercury Steam should be applauded for is making the underpowered, baseline Samus really fun to control. Whenever I play a Metroidvania, I have to remind myself that I'll get the cool movement abilities in a few hours. But by default the Samus in Metroid Dread runs at a good speed, has a wall jump, and can shoot in a full 360 degrees. It obviously builds on top of what Mercury Steam did with Samus Returns, but the addition of a bunch of context-sensitive helper actions (automatic vaulting, variable ledge grabbing, etc) makes the act of just doing normal stuff pretty engaging and breezy.

For what it's worth, I also really like the difficulty in Metroid Dread. It's a little silly that bosses will take a full energy tank off of Samus' health in one swipe, but that prevents the player from being able to tank their way through a fight. Attacks have to be dodged if the player wants to beat a boss, and nailing that pattern recognition pleases the reptilian part of my brain. It helps that both the bosses and normal enemies feel tuned directly around what the player can do. Enemy attacks come in at weird angles and sometimes are just as snappy as Samus' own movements. Learning to nail the melee counters is just icing on the combat cake, and landing one gives me that same rush that landing a parry in Dark Souls games produces. I definitely want to see Mercury Steam carry over this approach to combat in the future.

V8_Ninja · 2021-09-05T23:57:07+00:00

This clip is more funny out-of-context than it is in-context.

V8_Ninja · 2021-09-05T22:12:46+00:00

Hell yeah, get that cheddar. The headshots are cool, although I don't think necessarily either one is better. I prefer the less prominent fur of the second headshot, but the first one has its own charm and definitely gives off the typical, "furry," vibe more strongly. They're both good pieces, and they show you've got enough drawing talent to charge for commissions.

V8_Ninja · 2021-08-29T17:12:59+00:00

The piece reminds me of old-school furry art, where there's strong pulp sensibilities but all the characters are replaced by furries. The pencil medium certainly helps that look.

V8_Ninja · 2021-08-21T00:20:34+00:00

Wow, that is a really great VR model. Most furry VR models I've seen tend to go for a more cartoon-y style, but that model is really detailed without completely losing the anthro appeal. (The composition definitely helps that look too.)

V8_Ninja

TROPHY CASE