This past weekend, my brother texted me, psyched that Dying Light 2: Stay Human had finally launched. He’d put dozens of hours into the first game’s multiplayer mode, which was relatively seamless. Rarely would he have to brave the zombie hordes alone, and more often than not, could count on a friend at hand to team up.
This past Saturday, though? Aw, no. After convincing a few of his friends to buy the game, most of whom would play it on different platforms, he coordinated the timing required to get everyone past the mandatory solo objectives to unlock multiplayer. Then the group had to find a time to meet up. After about a day’s lead up to actually forming a squad in-game, Dying Light 2 tipped its disappointing hand. Multiplayer simply isn’t available across generational hardware or platforms. Meaning that for now, two friends, one with a PS5 and one with a PS4, simply can’t meet up in Villedor. Even worse, there was no warning of this restriction any of them were aware of throughout the processes of buying, downloading, and accessing multiplayer until it was too late.
Finding current gen hardware is enough of a chore that more and more people are simply giving up the chase. Coincidentally, the barrier to entry for joining a multiplayer game simply hasn’t lowered as the hobby has evolved. Rarely do I feel like dropping into a co-op or PvP session of any current game is easy, or even reasonable. It seems like snags in the process are so common that when a game implements online multiplayer well, it instantly becomes an exception to the rule.
From platform incompatibility, to buggy lobbies and wait times, to dropped sessions or fellow players who grief, quit, or just seem to be in their own world, online play feels as though it hasn’t progressed since Halo 2 brought it to the mainstream.
Do you struggle with the technical issues of playing games online? In your opinion, what is the worst obstacle a game has put in the path of multiplayer bliss? Sound off in the comments or use the QR code below to bring your take to the Boss Rush Discord.
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