ARC Raiders previews pretty well, perhaps because its design conservatism makes it so instantly familiar. There’s absolutely nothing here to challenge what came before, but sometimes, that’s okay. Overall, the ARC Raiders loop seems pretty well tuned to satisfy: make it to the surface to loot and kill, bring your goods and experience back underground to improve your abilities, head back up stronger to find stronger gear, and repeat.
If you think the only way to find fantastic games without microtransactions is to pirate, then you’re missing tons of great games.
We probably have different tastes and standards for our entertainment.
Just about every game released in at least the past 10 years that interests me has some form of microtransactions or DLC.
I think you’re having trouble finding the good stuff in the first place then. We’re flooded with more great games than ever. And microtransactions are one thing, but something like a DLC expansion isn’t pressuring you to buy it if you like the base game. Even still, if you had a problem with the existence of any DLC for a game whatsoever, there’s still tons to play.
Oh, if you’re going to ignore the problem that is DLC then we’re just going to have to agree to disagree.
I wait until games are finished before pirating them. There are plenty of good games these days now, but almost all of them have microtransactions and/or DLC.
I’m not particularly interested in most indie titles, which is where a lot of the disconnect comes between me and the average PC gamer.
Is DLC a problem if a game had been “finished” for years and then they go back and make one for an old game? It’s been known to happen. I don’t see it as a problem, because it’s arbitrary. In many ways, a DLC can be reactionary for what a game needs after they’ve had time to observe the completed thing. It also depends on your definition of indie, since there’s as wide of a range in production value among games called “indie” as there is among “AAA”. Kingdom Come: Deliverance II probably cost one tenth what the next Grand Theft Auto cost to make, and a game like Indika or Clair Obscur could fool plenty of people into thinking they were made by enormous teams.
But like I said, even if I filtered for games without any sort of DLC, there’s still tons to play.
What games do you recommend that don’t have DLC or microtransactions?
That depends on what you’re looking for. From this year alone, there’s Split Fiction, Avowed, and Knights in Tight Spaces, and I haven’t finished Blue Prince yet, but it’s pretty cool so far. What is it about indie titles, however you define that term, that doesn’t interest you? Because at this point, it’s most video games (AAA games take a long, long time to make these days), and that would go a long way toward explaining how you feel most good games have microtransactions, if you’re willing to ignore most good games.
I don’t like the trend of having to accept cheaper entertainment just so that the businesses behind it can make more money with less effort.
Games like God of War, Crash Bandicoot, Metal Gear Solid, Legend of Zelda, those all take monumentally more effort to make than indie games and it shows in the final results. I could get all philosophical on ‘what makes good art,’ but I don’t think that’s the discussion you’re trying to have.
You’re not accepting more expensive entertainment either. You’re pirating it. None of these games were made with less effort; they’re typically just made by fewer people. Adding more people to the project doesn’t make the game any better, or else Ubisoft games would be the greatest games ever made. I think I see why you’ve got this perspective that’s completely divorced from reality. Yes, most games have microtransactions if you completely disregard most games. I’d encourage you to give some of those games you’re ignoring a try.