Patches are here to stay in gaming, and they are important for fixing huge errors, balancing live-service games, and removing online exploits being constantly abused. They also help games ship on time then get a little polish here, a little spit shine there later on. But it’s increasingly obvious that games are afraid to be imperfect, and that risks making them bor

In the run-up to the Resident Evil 4 remake, fans have been sharing their favourite Easter Eggs online. The game was full of strange little quirks, both accidental and deliberate. After the mine cart section, there’s a skull which, when interacted with, will give you piles and piles of money. Some claim these are the takings from the enemies slain in the aforementioned cart level, others that the money was there regardless. I’m not sure if it will be back in the remake, but I’m leaning towards ‘no’ - it just seems a bit too silly for games these days to keep

I didn’t care much when Overwatch 2 strategy|https://Overwatch2Tactics.com/ 2 launched. I fell off the original game a while ago, and it seemed like switching to a sequel when the game functioned perfectly in the live-service space was not only a bad idea, but downright irritating to players who needed to transfer over their data, own the correct type of phone, not to mention that the original version was shut down forever. Despite all that, I’ve been hooked back in like a Roadhog victim, but I’m not sure how much longer that can last. I think I’m ready for the single-player campaign now, ple

Whether I bother in competitive with support is up in the air right now. It’s still a headache dealing with angry and ungrateful teammates who splinter across the map and somehow expect to get healed all at once, but at least now I’m enjoying the role again. The rush of scrambling to a critical marker to fill up their health bar while fighting back enemies is exhilarating in a way you just don’t feel with DPS, and the key role you play in ensuring your team’s survival is a wholly unique responsibility. I doubt I’ll ever be a Mercy main again or voluntarily choose healer with my friends when Roadhog and Orisa are right there for the taking, but at least I know that if I gotta pick healer, I have someone I’ll actually enjoy play

Part of the tinkering feels like vanity too. In Horizon Forbidden West , Aloy was too chatty when she was alone , remarking that items will be sent back to storage (somehow?) and repeating the same few lines over and over. People said it was annoying, so it was taken out. But surely they knew it was annoying? Surely part of the point was to make Aloy endearing in this way? I’m sure people think Aloy shutting the hell up is an improvement, but mostly it just feels like fixing something for the sake of it. It doesn’t feel like developers have the license to be creative and eccentric if a few people joking around online is enough for the studio to mandate changing the game. Gaming is becoming more risk averse, not less, in the presence of a constant safety

I also finally understand why people give a shit about these characters beyond their battle abilities . I feel a kinship with Junkrat. He’s a wildcard, like Charlie in Always Sunny. He’s just a silly little guy, and I love him for it. I’m going to read up on his story before I dive back in tonight - I never thought I’d do that for any hero shooter. I couldn’t even count how many heroes there were, and Junkrat has made me hopeful I’ll find more I love, but if I don’t, I’ll happily main this wacky pyromaniac until he runs out of li

Playing support in Overwatch is like crawling through mousetraps to help your little brother up after he’s fallen, only for him to kick you in the face and call you a twat. It’s a thankless job, no matter how much you heal, and if you’re playing with randoms, you’ll often be hung out to dry in front of an ulting Moira and a hook-happy Roadhog. I swore off the role a couple of years ago, but Kiriko has roped me right back in, angry chat messages and thanks-spamming teammates be dam

I tried her out because she was new and the daily quests keep asking me to queue for all roles which, as we know, really means support. She can shred through squishy DPS characters and heals plenty, at least enough to scratch my Mercy itch. Being able to reach upward of 9,000 healing in quick play while getting eliminations is like playing DPS with a bit more utility, and that’s what makes Kiriko so refresh

His bear trap is wonderful too, though I’ve not quite figured out how best to incorporate it yet. For now, I like using it to cover my flank, as it alerts me when destroyed or activated, letting me know if someone’s trying to sneak up on me and my team. Both these abilities teach the importance of positioning with engaging mechanics. I’ve been learning where the key battlegrounds are because I’m experimenting and having fun, not just because people are shouting at me for being an idiot who’s going the wrong