Modern AAA games are letting me down.

As a completionist, I love seeing my achievements tick away until I’m 90% or higher. Reasonably, I know I can’t earn a good grade in whatever game I’m playing, but it scratches that well-worn itch created after decades in academia.

Unfortunately for me, that means I’m the idiot chasing down the hundreds of collectibles, slogging through the dozens of side quests, trekking across the gigantic map that has just enough that I sound a bit spiteful to call it mostly empty, and keeping occupied for hundreds of hours on a game that stopped being fun after hour ten. And while I know my faults, I’m starting to wonder if the jokes on me because AAA publishers seem to have gotten wires crossed.

Amid their layoff bonanza, they’ve been putting out games where more really has begun to feel like less. They’re charging higher prices, arguing that enormous maps and hundreds of achievements justifies the price. Worse, half those achievements or more are just fluff demanding high quantities of some item to be collected or an ability be used a ridiculous amount of times which aren’t natural to gameplay and are only there to be done rather than as something that adds to the story.

Throwing their development teams to the curb, they bring in AI to upscale without the QA team to catch the mess that sort of sprawl adds, and I’m left running after content that was promised only to face the reality that the volume offered was designed as a feature that’s little more than a mind game.

Hundreds of hours of content does not mean hundreds of hours of fun. Look at Crimson Desert. It’s a spectacular world, but the sheer volume if part of the problem. The game constantly throws systems, exploration, resources, activities, and objectives at players with only half of it creating a cohesive experience, and they’re not the only one. Sony’s recent layoffs affected most of the Destiny team coming off the failure that was Marathon despite Sony being the ones to reshape Bungie’s priorities around that IP. They were so busy chasing the potential of ‘more’ that they didn’t listen to fans, and based on the layoffs, I’m betting they didn’t listen to their own developers either.

This ‘Bigger is Better’ mindset has haunted AA for years. Star Wars Outlaws, Far Cry, Horizon, Assassin’s Creed, and countless others have looked to enormous icon-filled maps to rationalize costs and play-time without consideration to if the games are replayable or simply enjoyable at their core mechanics. What’s worse is that publishers know most players won’t experience all of it, but they’ll still get credit for the potential playable hours.

Star Wars Outlaws, Far Cry, Horizon, Assassin’s Creed, and countless others have looked to enormous icon-filled maps to rationalize costs and play-time without consideration to if the games are replayable or simply enjoyable at their core mechanics. What’s worse is that publishers know most players won’t experience all of it, but they’ll still get credit for the potential playable hours.

Reality is that I don’t want a bigger checklist. Yes, I love completing a game’s achievements, but if I’m slogging through hundreds, I want every single one to be enjoyable. I want to chase achievements as a rationale to keep playing something I love long after I’ve finished rather than as a chore list.

All these AAA companies are looking to AI to solve their production problems, but from what I’m seeing, they’re just chasing the next ‘more’ without consideration to how little these sprawling, crammed games offer.

If you’re a fellow completionist and have been let down, let me know the game that disappointed you in the comments below, and if you’re an AAA publisher, don’t pad your games. We’ll know.

Share your thoughts and join the conversation on Boss Rush Network’s Discord and Facebook.

Featured Image: Eli Celata

The Boss Rush Podcast: The Flagship Podcast of Boss Rush Media and the Boss Rush Network

The Boss Rush Podcast – The Boss Rush Podcast is the flagship podcast of Boss Rush Media and the Boss Rush Network. Each week, Corey, Stephanie, LeRon, and their friends from around the internet come together with other creators, developers, and industry veterans to talk about games they’ve been playing, discuss video game and entertainment based topics, and answer questions solicited on social media and the community Discord. 

New episodes of the Boss Rush Podcast release every Monday morning on YouTube and all major podcast applications like Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Patreon supporters gain one week early access. 

Listen on your favorite podcast application or watch on YouTube!
Anchor | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google | Twitch | Overcast | Pocket Casts 

Follow The Boss Rush Podcast on Social Media:
Twitter | Discord | Instagram | Twitch | YouTube | Facebook Group | Facebook