Everything you can see in Borderlands 4 should also be accessible – and this might not only apply to the planet you are on. This comes from an interview with Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford.
What is this interview about? Jordan Ramée from GameSpot was allowed to talk with Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford and Creative Director Graeme Timmins about Borderlands 4 a week before the Game Awards. The game was presented with a new trailer at the show.
You can see the trailer for Borderlands 4 from the Game Awards here:
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Looter-Shooter Borderlands 4 showcases its action-packed gameplay in the trailer
An open world without loading screens
What was the focus of the interview? A key theme of the interview was the game world. According to Pitchford, it should be as open and free in Borderlands 4 as it has ever been in the franchise. This indicates a different approach than in part 3, which, despite different planets, feels less open.
During the interview, a trailer was also shown. At one point, Pitchford paused it to reveal more about the construction of the game world.
If you look at [this] scene [in the trailer], you can see the characters looking at a view. In every video game you’ve ever played, that’s a backdrop, right? In Borderlands 4, you only see playable space that you can reach without loading times.
Randy Pitchford, CEO of Gearbox Software
When Pitchford said this, a moon was also visible in the background. The interviewer jokingly addressed this, stating that such a claim seemed a bit exaggerated, especially with that image. Pitchford only replied: “Everything in the scene, Jordan. Everything in the scene.”
So can you seamlessly travel to this moon in the finished game or not? The CEO’s answer remains quite vague. However, Jordan Ramée seems to assume that Pitchford meant exactly that.
The CEO does not speak of an “Open World”
So does Borderlands 4 have a classic open world? According to Pitchford, certainly not. He himself does not refer to it as such, as it would differ too much from what other games have established as open world. There are things that they deliberately do not do because they are Borderlands.
The game world of Borderlands 4 is said to be seamless, extensive, and larger than anything they have ever made, but it should not feel systemic or like it was filled by an algorithm. Whether this is just marketing talk or not cannot be assessed without real gameplay.
The release of Monster Hunter Wilds is gradually approaching, and fans are starting to prepare for it. They discuss whether they should take vacation time for this or whether it might be wasted after all.
Why is the community asking this question? Many players want to get as much as possible from their highly anticipated game and ideally be there from minute 1. Some are even taking extra vacation to effectively use the time and enjoy the game for as long as possible in its early hours.
However, the question arises as to whether it is worth taking vacation from the release day.
With the ever-approaching release date of February 28, 2025, fans of Monster Hunter Wilds now face a dilemma. In various threads on different platforms, players (for example on Reddit) are discussing various arguments for and against taking time off in this case.
In the latest video, actress Daisy Ridley introduces you to the story of Monster Hunter Wilds:
Start video
Monster Hunter Wilds: Daisy Ridley explains the lore
Vacation or no vacation?
What supports taking vacation on release? Reasons they mention for wanting to take a week or more off include:
Many want to be there from the very beginning and share their experiences with other hunters and enjoy the game
The release day is a Friday, so taking that day off gives a long weekend for gaming
They fear missing out or getting spoiled if they’re not there from the start
In the comments, there are mostly fans advocating for vacation, some of whom have already submitted their requests.
What does the opposing side say? In their discussion, the proponents also encounter the following counterarguments:
Players have concerns that Monster Hunter Wilds won’t be unlocked exactly at 00:00, which would mean they might not have the whole day to play, potentially wasting a significant portion of their day
Since the release day is a Friday, some think the vacation day would be wasted as the weekend starts the next day and most players will start then
Some fear bugs and problems that could make the game unplayable or ruin their enjoyment – these could be addressed with a potential hotfix or patch after the release day
The most common argument against taking a vacation day right on the release is the potential instability of the game servers. Players fear there might be outages that could make the game unplayable for a longer time on that day, thus wasting their free day.
Many games, especially around the release, struggle with initial problems that often need to be resolved through day-one patches. Additionally, online games often suffer from server issues at launch (like Throne and Liberty), which is frequently discussed, for example, in this thread on Steam.
What counters these arguments? Many from the community are trying to reassure other fans about exactly this concern. To prevent issues, there was a beta at the end of 2024, which served as a stress test for the servers.
In the beta, over 360,000 players participated within 20 minutes and there were lobbies with up to 100 simultaneous hunters. Additionally, some fans point out that there have been rather few issues in the past with Monster Hunter games (via Reddit).
The issue of the timing of the game release is also on many people’s minds and is a reasonable argument. However, if you look at the official product page of Monster Hunter Wilds, you can see the times until which you can receive the pre-order bonuses.
This could provide a hint as to when the game will be available. Accordingly, players on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S would be able to start hunting monsters at midnight – PC players would have to wait until 7:00 AM (CET).
Also, the other bugs and problems that existed in the beta have been addressed or are the focus of further development until the release. Therefore, the community sees little reason to worry that a vacation day for the release would be wasted. Ultimately, whether it is worth taking vacation for the game and how long to take it, everyone will have to decide for themselves.
The finale of a gangster icon: While the reactions to EA’s adaptation of the gangster film The Godfather were mixed, a former main character agreed to collaborate on the project. Marlon Brando dedicated the last performance of his life to the game.
What game is it? The Godfather is a game by EA, which was released on March 21, 2006. While it drew inspiration from games like Mafia or GTA, its storyline is mostly tied to that of the original film. Players complete missions, earn respect, and can upgrade their abilities through collected experience points.
During the development, EA integrated actors from the film, such as Robert Duvall, James Caan, and also Marlon Brando, into the game, who lent their voices to their characters through newly recorded dialogue. However, with the latter, there were some difficulties due to his health.
Here you can see the trailer for the original film, which was shared for the 50th anniversary by Paramount Pictures:
Start video
Paramount Pictures releases a anniversary trailer for 50 years of The Godfather
Mixed enthusiasm from the participants
How could a sick Marlon Brando contribute to the project? At the time of production, Brando was in a fragile health state but still agreed to record lines for the game. Therefore, EA visited the actor at his estate on Mulholland Drive in February 2004 to work with him on site.
However, the recordings would have been unusable due to the buzzing of the oxygen tubes in his nose, as audio producer Ken Felton admits. For this reason, a professional impersonator ultimately had to be hired to voice Vito Corleone.
Nevertheless, one of Brando’s recordings was incorporated into the final version of the game, preserving his last performance, even if it is hardly understandable.
Where can you see Brando’s final performance? A scene in the seventh mission of the video game shows Vito Corleone lying in a hospital bed after an assassination attempt, reflecting on the game’s situation. Thus, the last recorded lines are Brando’s final appearance: “Well, that’s life. Everyone has their own story of suffering.”
Brando died on July 1, 2004, just under a year and a half before the game was released. One of the estate administrators of the actor revealed that Brando was fascinated by technology in general and experimented with all sorts of things. He simply found the idea amusing.
What was the reaction of the actors and filmmakers of the original? Almost all the actors from the main cast of 1972 agreed to participate in EA’s adaptation. James Caan told the New York Times that he would love for his children to be able to continue playing with him in this way after his death.
Al Pacino is the only actor from the ensemble who declined to participate in EA’s game, which is why a different face and voice were created for his character Michael Corleone.
But Coppola, the director of the Godfather trilogy, also criticized EA for the lack of prior warning about its production. He did not participate in the realization in any way, nor does he like or approve of what he has seen of the result. (Source: Vida Extra)
Anyone wanting to read more about new and older films can find it here on MeinMMO. Just recently, we published an article ranking all 9 films by the popular filmmaker Quentin Tarantino. Here you can read the ranking: All 9 films by Quentin Tarantino ranked – Which is the best?
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Valve has surveyed the users of Steam about their hardware. By the end of 2024, new statistics have emerged, which have now been published. Particularly interesting: although 4k gaming is frequently advertised, most players are still gaming at 1080p.
The “HD P.U.R.E. Black Panel” by Pioneer from Japan is considered the first 1080p screen for the mass market. It was introduced in April 2006 (via Pioneer).
The Xbox 360 released last year and the PS3 released in 2006 were already “Full HD” capable. Since then, this resolution has become the standard in gaming.
Where do the numbers come from? Steam surveyed users about their systems in a hardware survey in December 2024. It turned out that 1920 x 1080 is the most commonly used resolution at 56.12% for the primary display.
Even with multiple monitors, 1080p remains on top. Here, the resolution 3840 x 1080p leads the list with 55.10%. This is slightly less than in May 2024 (via notebookcheck.net), but still a bit more than in November.
Although there is now significantly newer technology that promises a cinematic experience, gamers apparently prefer to stick with the now over 18-year-old standard. For some gamers, 1080p is even a dream whose fulfillment brings tears of joy.
NVIDIA and AMD are getting competition, by the way:
Start video
Battlemage: Check out Intel’s new graphics cards in the video
Not even 1 in 20 play in 4k
Interestingly, the often-praised 4k gaming (3840 x 2160) is only in third place with just 4.21%. WQHD, which is 2560 x 1440p, is significantly ahead with 19.56% usage, but also still far behind Full HD. A few more interesting data points:
NVIDIA leads the graphics card rankings on Steam anyway. The first AMD card comes in at number 14.
The most popular VR headset is the Oculus Quest 2, followed by the Meta Quest 3. Valve’s own VR headset, the Valve Index HMD, comes in third.
Also interesting: although German players like to play in German, the language is only in sixth place in terms of usage with 3.62% – behind English, Chinese, Russian, Spanish, and Portuguese.
Ubisoft is currently going through a difficult time that doesn’t seem to end. The next problem comes in the form of a Windows update that is causing crashes and black screens in some Ubisoft titles.The community is frustrated and expresses this through review bombing of a game that was actually popular.
Which game is unplayable? It is Assassin’s Creed Origins. It was released in 2017 as a “reinvention” of the Assassin’s Creed series and was very popular. On Steam, it had a “very positive” overall rating for a long time.
Players take on the role of Bayek and his eagle Senu, exploring ancient Egypt, which represents the origin of the Assassins. But the fun ended a few weeks ago, as the game can no longer be enjoyed without crashes, freezing, or black screens.
Here you can watch a trailer for Assassin’s Creed Shadows:
Start video
Assassin’s Creed Shadows: Der offizielle Trailer zur Open World in Japan
Windows Update Causes Frustration Among Ubisoft Players
How did this happen? The reason for this is a Windows update, specifically the 24H2 update for Windows 11. Microsoft released it a few weeks ago and it has significantly impaired the performance of certain games.
Other Ubisoft games are also affected by the issues:
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
Star Wars Outlaws
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora
The community is angry: Players are expressing their dissatisfaction with the problems of Assassin’s Creed Origins through review bombing.
Review bombing refers to a practice where a large number of negative reviews are left on platforms like Steam to express their anger and dissatisfaction. Thus, the negative reviews don’t necessarily have to directly relate to the quality of the game, but rather serve as a means for players to vent their frustration.
The review bombing for Assassin’s Creed Origins has led to the game’s overall rating on Steam being downgraded from “very positive” to “mixed” (via steam).
The reviews are more aimed at Ubisoft:
Hard-Joe states (via steam): “It’s a shame that Ubisoft doesn’t pay attention to its old games.”
Zorax says (via steam): “Steam should seriously remove this game from the store.”
hellionb finds (via steam): “Ubisoft has been ignoring this problem for 3 months without a solution.”
Potato is also angry (via steam): “Good game, but DON’T BUY IT!!!”
Who is to blame for the problems is not yet fully clarified. Ubisoft is trying to figure out the cause of the crashes while simultaneously working on hotfixes for the games. This has already worked for Star Wars Outlaws, while for others it is still pending.
Within the community, there is discussion about who is at fault for the disaster and who is responsible for the repair. For example, on X:
The only solution so far is to avoid downloading the update or to roll it back.
Since mid-2024, the beta of Dune: Awakening has been running continuously for a small number of selected testers. Developer Funcom has now released some data about the test, including a shocking number: many mice had to die for players to live.
What kind of game is this?
Dune: Awakening is an ambitious project that aims to combine MMORPG and survival. However, you play in a world where Paul Atreides was never born.
The game is developed by Funcom, the studio that created Age of Conan and Conan Exiles. The developers were able to learn a lot for Dune: Awakening from Conan Exiles.
The game is set to be released in 2025. Currently, a closed beta is running, but under NDA. So, there is not much information coming from the game itself. You can find all info on the release, beta, and content of Dune: Awakening.
Start video
Dune Trailer Shows Gameplay – From Survivor to Spice Hunter
This is why players kill mice: In a blog post from December, the developers shared some data about the game. Among them is a quite specific statistic: the beta testers have extracted over 1.5 million liters of water from corpses.
Thirst is a big enemy in Dune: Awakening. As in most survival games, you need to take care of your hydration. In the desert, this is harder than anywhere else. Therefore, there is the option to let corpses bleed out to obtain water.
This does not only work with human NPCs but also with animals – such as the cute little desert jumping mice, the “Muad’dib”. Dozens of them are said to have died to acquire their water.
The developers are shocked: “Nearly a hundred Muad’dib have had their blood drained (so the kangaroo mouse, not the son of Duke Leto, who does not exist in our world). How could you?”
The main reason for player deaths is not even that they are dying of thirst. Thirst is only in third place, as the developers’ statistics show. Worse are the gigantic sandworms and especially other people:
NPC opponents are responsible for 58% of player deaths
27% were eaten by sandworms
“only” 22% of players ultimately died of thirst
proudly, 2% have not died (yet) after 10 hours of gameplay
The figures are the official numbers from the developers – although we are not quite sure how they arrive at 107% deaths.
When you can finally see the game for yourself, we do not know yet. The beta is still closed, and you can sign up for it on the official website, but access is not guaranteed. The release date is only narrowed down to sometime in 2025.
The Witcher 4 is going to be quite large again – but we already know one monster. Because the developers revealed what Ciri is actually fighting against.
When the trailer for The Witcher 4 was presented at the Game Awards 2024, the excitement was great. Finally, we’re going back into the universe of the Witcher – although this time without Geralt in the lead role. Ciri takes up the mantle as the protagonist and travels through the world to defeat monsters and protect people.
Right in the trailer, we see one of these monsters and have now learned what the developers were thinking.
Start video
Trailer for The Witcher 4 shows Ciri as the protagonist
What kind of monster is it? The monster is called Bauk and is based, like much in the Witcher universe, on Serbian mythology, where creatures dwell in the darkness waiting to devour their victims. It is said to be a sly bastard that plays with the fears of its victims.
The creators of Witcher 4 are also proud of how the definition of “monster” has evolved in the last games. The game director Sebastian Kalemba said in an interview with Gamertag Radio:
If you look at The Witcher, the way we handle the word “monster”, we now approach it from a completely different perspective than we did in The Witcher 1. [At the beginning] you had to fight regular monsters, then against humans who behaved monstrously. Then, here, you have the inner demons that you need to fight before you can find and kill [the Bauk].
That The Witcher 4 will also play with the different interpretations of monsters has already been shown in the big trailer. Because there, Ciri not only fights against the Bauk but also against the behaviors of humans. Although Ciri saves the girl who was chosen as a victim from the Bauk, she is killed by the humans. Just as the Bauk had previously announced with “Fate cannot be changed”.
How big will the game be? Even though the exact scope of The Witcher 4 is still unknown – that is, the number of hours of gameplay in the story – it is already clear that the size of the game world will be approximately the same as The Witcher 3 (via gamesradar). While there are brand new regions that have never been seen before, the size of the map will be roughly the same. However, that should be enough to keep fans engaged for many hours – because some found Witcher 3 already too big, especially when wanting to explore and loot every point on the map. By the way, the woman in the trailer is a character of great significance …
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the summer of 2017, the game Friday the 13th: The Game suddenly became the mega-hit on Twitch. At its peak, the trashy-looking asymmetric game had 125,000 viewers. However, the game is now losing steam, the servers are shutting down on Steam, not because of a lack of players, but because of the Warhammer problem: the expensive license is expiring – many fans of the game are saying goodbye.
What was it like in 2017? The game seemed cheap at that time, and the gaming press criticized it. It received only 61% on Metacritic. Games with such ratings are usually flops that no one cares about.
At that time, it was still somewhat new that games could do so well on Twitch despite poor reviews, boosting sales on Steam. Later, games like PUBG and Fortnite made this a new phenomenon.
Friday the 13th: The Game was completely overwhelmed by the influx of players; the developers had not anticipated such a surge. The servers crashed.
Yet on December 31, 2024, the lights went out for the horror game, with about 450 players saying goodbye – many speak of a legend being laid to rest.
Dead by Daylight has long established itself as a better alternative in the niche of Friday the 13th: The Game:
Start video
Dead by Daylight: The Dog Master is not for Animal Lovers
The deliberately trashy look made the game’s appeal
This was the appeal of the game: Friday the 13th: The Game is a very similar game to Dead by Daylight, but with familiar characters from the “Friday the 13th” film series: More or less defenseless civilians fleeing from a relentless, powerful killer.
In 2017, it was a huge amount of fun on Twitch because the game was exciting to watch but quite trashy. The appeal stemmed from a 70s horror film aesthetic and the screams of streamers when the killer caught them.
However, the game was never particularly high quality – Dead By Daylight quickly surpassed it. Still, few games evoke such a good feeling among fans as the nostalgia trip: On Steam, it eventually had 79% positive reviews.
There were bugs time and again, but they contributed to the entertainment:
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Why is it closing now? Friday the 13th: The Game must now close because the license for the films is expiring, and it apparently does not make sense to invest more money into it.
In the reviews on Steam, many are bidding farewell to the game. They say they spent so much time with the game – it had great potential. Many found the game really enjoyable.
The servers went offline on 12/31, with about 453 players online one last time to say goodbye. The peak player count on Steam of 16,077 concurrent players was reached in May 2017.
A man reports how he discovered his love for gaming after an operation and how the shooter Helldivers 2 on the PS5 saved his life.
Note: The title image is a symbolic image via Pixabay.
What kind of story is this? A user named “niles_thebutler_” reported on Reddit on December 31, 2024, about the worst year of his life. He required two life-saving surgeries. During this process, a large part of his inner ear was removed and reconstructed.
He already had tinnitus before, but he hardly noticed it. However, due to the damage caused by a tumor and the surgeries, the ear noises worsened to a “catastrophic” level.
He describes the ear noises as if he were constantly wearing headphones at maximum volume, playing overlapping and varying ringing tones – during every movie and every conversation. While he was recovering from his surgery and getting used to his new reality, he discovered his love for gaming.
What was tinnitus again?
Tinnitus refers to ear noises that are not caused by an acoustic stimulus and are perceived over a longer period. Depending on its severity, “ear ringing” can significantly negatively impact the quality of life of those affected.
Through Helldivers, he found new joy in life and made friends.
Start video
Ein Entwickler von Helldivers 2 erklärt den „Tag der Freiheit“
As he recovered from his surgery, he discovered his love for gaming
This is the role gaming played: As niles_thebutler_ reports, he never really had much to do with gaming. However, after the life-saving surgeries, he had 10 weeks of “couch time” ahead of him. The crazy shooter Helldivers 2 had just been released at that time and dominated social media.
So he spontaneously ordered a PS5 along with Helldivers 2 and did his part in the fight for democracy. For him, it was the perfect distraction from the pain and the constant noise in his head. For one to two hours a day, the tinnitus turned into just background noise, and he was able to have fun.
Through the game, he also met new people with whom he initially played for hours and who have now become close friends outside of the game.
The Reddit user says: “When I say it saved my life, I truly mean it.”
In his post, he also shared the Christmas gifts he received from his partner: a new TV with a new soundbar, a PlayStation Portal, and an Xbox to try out both consoles.
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In the comments, many users report similar problems. Some have been suffering from the annoying ringing in their ears for decades. They assure the poster that it will get better over time.
Damseletteee: “In the first year, I thought my life was over from all the buzzing and clicking, but the brain adjusts, really quite fantastic.”
Wayland935: “Yes, I have severe tinnitus, which has put me in a pretty bad situation. It couldn’t get worse. The great news is that time really is a great healer, which is a cliché, but it helps with tinnitus.”
tmb83: “The same fate befell me. Six years ago, I suddenly got tinnitus. It was terrible and caused me anxiety, I couldn’t sleep or think clearly. Over time, I got used to it and don’t perceive it as strongly anymore. […] It definitely takes a while, but you will get used to it, and life will feel normal again. Just hang in there.”
niles_thebutler_ expresses surprise in the comments at how widespread his suffering is. While it’s not pleasant, it makes him feel good that other people can understand what he’s going through and share their experiences.
In the current episode of Dragon Ball Daima, Vegeta showcases a new form that fans have never seen him officially exhibit before. However, indirectly, this form has been seen once before – even by adult Vegeta.
What kind of form is this? Vegeta transforms into the triple Super Saiyan in the 12th episode of Dragon Ball Daima. He fights against the Tamagami from the second demon world and has to give it his all.
You can see what he looks like in the following image:
Vegeta gets longer hair and loses his eyebrows.
In the triple Super Saiyan form, the hair of the Saiyans grows rapidly compared to SSJ2, while they lose their eyebrows. This visually indicates that Vegeta is using SSJ3. This has never happened in the anime before, probably, because this Saiyan form costs so much energy.
But finally, Vegeta manages to use the triple Super Saiyan form. Unfortunately, the Z-crew around Son-Goku has shrunk, so we only see this special form of Vegeta as a child. However, there has already been an appearance of Vegeta transforming into SSJ3 as an adult.
The trailer for Dragon Ball Daima clearly shows the shrinking problem:
Start video
In Dragon Ball DAIMA, Son Goku and his friends shrink
And it is in this manga that Vegeta was seen. In chapters 21 and 22, Majin Vegeta reached the state of SSJ3. He teamed up with Spopovich and Yamu to defeat his own version in SSJ4 form.
You can see his appearance in a tweet from DBZcom:
An excerpt from Dragon Ball Heroes Victory Mission, via X.
This form has even longer hair than Vegeta does in his child version. So, fans got an impression of what Vegeta looks like as SSJ3 10 years ago.
What kind of manga is this? Dragon Ball Heroes: Victory Mission is a spin-off of the Dragon Ball manga and tells the story of a boy named Beat. He lands in an arcade game of Dragon Ball, where many characters from the anime appear.
Here, the wildest combinations and forms that never existed in the official manga are possible. This also made the fight of SSJ4 Vegeta against SSJ3 Vegeta possible. At that time, the form was not 100% official, but it already showed 10 years ago that Vegeta has mastered the triple Super Saiyan and what he would look like.
However, you have to envision the black M on his forehead as absent when imagining Vegeta in his normal state as a triple Super Saiyan. Where he got the M from and what it means is explained by MeinMMO in a separate article: Dragon Ball: This is the meaning of the M on Vegeta’s forehead
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Anyone who wants to cash in big should hurry. Because a good token exchange in World of Warcraft is only available for a few more days.
In World of Warcraft, the 20th anniversary of the MMORPG is currently being celebrated – but only for a few more days. In less than a week, the event will end and many rewards will no longer be available. However, even those who think they have everything should act now and exchange excess tokens to receive a lot of future rewards.
Last chance for the birthday event:
Start video
WoW celebrates its 20th anniversary – Here’s what you can earn
Which tokens should be exchanged? During the birthday event, you collect “Bronze Dragon Celebration Tokens” through almost all activities. They are primarily needed for the many rewards of the event, but they also have a secondary use. You can exchange all excess tokens for Time-Warped Badges – the currency you receive for Timewalking dungeons and can trade with the corresponding vendors.
Where can you exchange the tokens? This can be done in Tanaris. At the vendor “Historian Ma’di” at the festival grounds, you can buy three different chests, each containing Time-Warped Badges. For 25 Bronze Dragon Celebration Tokens, you get a hefty 500 Time-Warped Badges.
Ma’di sells several chests – with plenty of Time-Warped Badges.
Note that you can bundle all your Bronze Dragon Celebration Tokens on one character via the currency menu. Then, you only need to visit the vendor once.
Until when can this be done? You only have a few more days, until January 7, 2025. Then the birthday event ends, and the Bronze Dragon Celebration Tokens will likely expire.
What can you buy with the Time-Warped Badges? Time-Warped Badges can be exchanged for rewards at the active vendor for Timewalking. Depending on which vendor you visit, you’ll be offered different toys, mounts, or transmogs. Blizzard recently updated all these vendors with new loot, so you need several tens of thousands of badges to truly own everything.
It’s also important to note that Time-Warped Badges are an “evergreen currency,” which occasionally proves useful. From time to time, Blizzard introduces new rewards that often cost several thousand badges. If you already have a hefty stockpile, you can treat yourself to a lot right when the new rewards are introduced, without having to farm for a long time.
Studying has been the goal of more and more young people for decades. However, a change in thinking is currently taking place in Gen Z.
Is no one from Gen Z studying anymore? No, the change is not that extreme. However, according to a report from CNBC, young people aged 18 to 25 are making different choices in their career paths compared to previous generations, particularly Millennials. Instead of studying, more are opting for trades. This includes training as mechanics, plumbers, or welders, among many others.
And there are at least the first signs of a change in thinking among Gen Z in Germany as well.
Who exactly belongs to Gen Z? The people also known as Zoomers were born no earlier than 1996 and no later than 2012. Following them is the so far theoretically describable Gen Alpha; however, most are still too young for real insights. The Millennials (Gen Y) came before Gen Z.
Many from Gen Z still find their way to universities, and some of them have initiated a project to demonstrate the dangers of AI and surveillance in everyday life:
Start video
Students spy on passersby with hidden cameras and AI, find name and address in seconds
Something tangible with good prospects
What exactly is Gen Z doing differently? According to data exclusively obtained by CNBC from data collection service Gusto, since the end of 2023, the proportion of hires of 18- to 25-year-olds in the so-called Skilled Trades has been increasing. These can largely be compared to our training professions, with a focus on crafts or related industries.
In general, in the USA, skilled trades/industry are referred to as Blue-Collar-Workers. Our translation for this would be overalls. In contrast, there are desk jobs, also known as White-Collar Jobs. You can read more about “Skilled Trades” at Berks.
From a low of around 24 percent in November 2023, the most recent figure for May 2024 was 31 percent of all new hires that month. However, this is not the highest value for the years 2018 to mid-2024, which was 37.5 percent in May 2021. However, the current development looks more stable and less erratic than before. This might indicate a stabilization of a trend observed for years.
Why is Generation Z behaving this way? There does not seem to be a definitive, conclusive answer to this. CNBC describes that the economic conditions under which Gen Z leaves school and enters the job market are completely different from earlier. Millennials, let alone Gen X or Boomers, were offered far more predictability to lay the foundation for their careers.
Furthermore, education or university in the USA is rarely fully funded by the state or companies. Costs can run into tens of thousands of dollars to obtain a degree. Entering “Skilled Trades” is much more affordable than going through college.
However, data from Gusto also shows that many younger workers are taking jobs from older people. In both the USA and Germany, baby boomer generations are now retiring. Employers in trades or industry also need to fill a significant portion of these positions with younger workers – and Gen Z seems ready to do so (via Destatis).
How is the situation otherwise in Germany? The statements about the USA cannot simply be transferred to Germany. There are simply too many differences in the labor market, laws, universities, and training standards. However, according to Statista, the proportion of first-time students in a year has stagnated at around 56 percent for about eight years. Additionally, the number of applicants for training positions has recently increased for the first time in the last decade (via Labor Agency).
In Pokémon GO, trainers want to evolve Parfi. To do this, you actually need to use a smoke, but there is a trick for it. We will show you all the information about the Parfi evolution.
Anyone who prefers to save the smoke can resort to a trick and unlock the evolution with it.
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The Pokémon World Championships 2024 in Hawaii
Evolving Parfi – The Requirements
What you need to do: Parfi forms the base form of Parfinesse. However, to obtain a Parfinesse, you need to make a few preparations for the evolution. In the main Pokémon games, Parfi is evolved by trading it with other trainers. In Pokémon GO, though, the mechanics have changed.
In the game, it says Go on adventures together to trigger the evolution. Then, when you tap the evolution button, the error message Complete a challenge with this buddy appears. In Pokémon GO, it works like this:
Use Parfi as your buddy Pokémon
Use a smoke
You can now evolve Parfi into Parfinesse by pressing the evolution button on Parfi
The evolution will cost you 50 Parfi candies. Anyone who doesn’t want to spend a smoke for the evolution and wants to save this item can use a trick.
If you follow our guide, you can evolve Parfi – even without smoke using a trick
Tip: To change your buddy, tap on the small photo of your buddy on the main screen and scroll all the way down. There you will find the button Switch buddy.
Use the free Meltan Box (Wonder Box) and save smoke
This is the trick: Right now, anyone can unlock the Meltan Box (Wonder Box) for free in Pokémon GO and activate it every three days. It works similarly to a regular smoke and unlocks the evolution for Parfi just the same. This way, you bypass using the normal smoke and use a rechargeable item instead.
For this, set Parfi as your buddy, ignite the Meltan Box, and then start the evolution normally with Parfi.
The Wonder Box is normally needed to attract Meltan – In this case, it serves another purpose
This is how you get the free Meltan Box: To get the box for free and without using a Nintendo Switch, you just need to follow a few steps. For this, download Pokémon Home, create a free account, and then connect it with Pokémon GO. You can transfer one Pokémon every 3 days to receive or activate a Meltan Box.
We from MeinMMO have tried the trick ourselves and can confirm that the Wonder Box works as a substitute for the smoke. Whether this possibility will last forever or Niantic will adjust something and negate this trick cannot be said at the moment. As soon as something changes, we will update the article. Speaking of evolutions: Do you already know all tricks to evolve Eevee in Pokémon GO specifically?
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Diablo 4 is currently giving away boosts to returning players. They are meant to help you quickly see the new content. However, a couple wanted to experience the whole Diablo experience and found: you can accidentally make yourself stronger than planned.
This happens when you press the button:
Since November 19, 2024, there have been character boosts in Diablo 4 for all returning players.
Anyone playing on the Eternal Realm can boost a character to level 50. Owners of the Vessel of Hatred even get two boosts.
The character then receives one of three pre-made builds including suitable Legendary items, a million gold, 1,000 obols, and crafting materials. Additionally, all altars of Lilith are unlocked.
Vessel of Hatred has its own altars:
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Diablo 4 Vessel of Hatred: Lehren von Akarat sammeln – So geht’s
This happened to the couple: A user on Reddit explained that he hadn’t played since July 2024 and wanted to check out Diablo 4 again with his girlfriend. The characters were still at level 23.
A visit to the tavern and just a quick click on one of the three options caused the characters to be fully equipped at level 50. Unfortunately for the couple, they actually wanted to play through the story together. The user writes:
I know, it’s not a big deal, but it wasn’t entirely clear what the outcome would be. We are now starting with new characters. Otherwise, we find that the game is significantly better than Diablo 3.
While the current max level is 60, the grind after getting the right equipment is already part of the game in the last levels.
Other players say that level 23 is luckily earned back quickly. Nevertheless, that one accidental click is pretty annoying, and they are not the first players to get boosted unintentionally.
In the over 160 comments, Reddit users discuss the free boost. There is a pop-up when logging in after a long time, but otherwise, there’s really no guide for the boost.
The game somehow pushes you back there repeatedly. Because: the boost is listed as a priority quest and sneaks constantly into the active quest log. If you simply follow the markers, you will inevitably end up at the reliquary where the boosts are located.
That’s not really a big problem in itself, but for those who want to explore the world on their own, the boost can ruin a lot. While you can simply start a new character, at least all altars remain uncovered. Thus, exploration falls flat. Also, there is only one or two boosts per account – one mistake can quickly waste that.
Actress Milla Jovovich portrays protagonist Alice in the Resident Evil films. However, her character never made it into any of the games. The actress sees this as a missed opportunity, as an appearance by Alice would have made perfect sense in the games.
Why did Alice never appear in one of the games? When director Paul W. S. Anderson had the opportunity to make films based on the popular video game franchise, he opted for an alternative version of events set in the world of Resident Evil.
While well-known characters like Leon S. Kennedy, Jill Valentine, or Ada Wong appeared in the films, none of the characters from the films made it into any of the games. As a result, the film character Alice never had the chance to make an appearance in any of the Resident Evil games.
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Resident Evil 4 Trailer
A Bursting Dream
Why would an appearance have made sense anyway? There are indeed characters in the Resident Evil universe who have used viruses to gain superhuman abilities and strengthen themselves. For example, Albert Wesker used them to acquire abilities such as excessive strength, speed, and regeneration.
Nevertheless, it was not intended to blend the universes of the films and games too much, as, even though well-known game characters appeared in the films, they only served as supporting characters and did not play significant roles.
This is what Milla Jovovich says about it: The actress playing Alice regrets that her character never made it into any of the games. Because even though the universes are supposed to remain separate, the games also borrow some elements from the films. She stated in an interview (via Game Rant):
They use pieces from the films in the games, but for some reason, they don’t want to bring my character, Alice, into the game… That’s a shame because I played the game years ago with my little brother, and it would be so cool to be in a game.
Whether Alice will ever make an appearance in a game set in the Resident Evil universe is uncertain, but also unlikely, given that this opportunity has not been utilized over the years. Thus, an appearance of her character in a video game will likely remain an unfulfilled dream in the future as well.
Last night from January 1st to January 2nd, 2025, a record was broken on Twitch: the record for the most successful hype train of all time. In numbers, the chatbot Neuro_sama received over 84,000 paid Twitch subscriptions through a subathon, which amounts to about €215,000. The special thing is: Neuro_sama is not a human, but a chatbot operated by AI.
What is a hype train? The hype train is activated when Twitch registers an increase in bits or subscriptions within a certain time frame. All viewers can now help keep the hype train alive and continue to fill the hype-o-meter.
A hype train is actually just a pure money-making scheme by Twitch: If a streamer receives continuous financial support from viewers, a fictitious hype train continues to rise and “rewards” viewers and the channel with certain emotes. A countdown runs to signal: Quickly throw in more money now, or else the hype train will run out.
Twitch receives a share every time streamers get money from their viewers, so it’s all just a huge advertising campaign for Twitch – without any real relevance. But it is always a big event for a streamer’s community and a financial blessing for the respective streamer.
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Prime Gaming, the secret behind Twitch’s success
So many donations came in that the chatbot lagged
This was the previous record: The former Blizzard developer Jason Thor Hall, who performs as PirateSoftware, set the previous record on Twitch in April 2024. At that time, he reached hype train level 106, primarily through donations that came in with the Twitch currency “bits.”
Neuro_sama has now reached level 111, mainly with subs. Because there was a subathon where each additional paid subscription extended the stream by 11 seconds.
The timer went up to over 250 hours during the flood of donations.
For Neuro_Sama, apparently a random element was built in, where a subscription was worth increasingly fewer seconds, which would have ended the stream “very quickly.”
Ultimately, a partner of Vedal tried to save the stream by initiating a hype train, which then escalated completely.
These are the reactions: Once again, Vedal is congratulated for creating such an entertaining AI that even outshines the best products of tech giants.
In comments on reddit it says: “Please don’t kill me, Skynet.”
“This is insane. This is just totally insane. This is so crazy.”
What is special? Neuro_sama is a chatbot that speaks with viewers through a language model. The bot has the avatar of an anime girl. Neuro_sama is known for its cheeky remarks and regularly tries to drive its programmer Vedal into financial ruin.
Viewers admire Vedal’s achievement in programming this bot and find it extremely entertaining to listen to Neuro_sama, especially when it interacts with other streamers, such as programmer Vedal himself. We recently reported on MeinMMO about Neuro_sama when the chatbot was technically the most successful streamer on Twitch: The most successful streamer on Twitch is a man
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the strategy game simulation Crusader Kings 3 (Steam), things are usually realistic. Players can step into the shoes of historical figures from the Middle Ages, perhaps playing as the Viking lord Björn Ironshield or Alfred the Great, the English king. But there are also quirky characters. Today we present to you possibly the quirkiest character in Crusader Kings 3.
This is how the characters in Crusader Kings 3 are: There are 3 different start dates in Crusader Kings 3 and a huge number of pre-made, fixed characters. When starting in the year 1066, the game features 22,418 characters on day 1.
Every historical figure that held a noble title and possessions at that time is represented in the game, with appropriate age, skills, and attributes that match the historical counterpart.
There are also over 100 known historical figures who, while they did not own land, were significant. They appear at certain times through events. These include warriors and warlords like William Wallace from Braveheart or poets, bards, and famous clergy.
In addition, there are randomly generated characters who are born or randomly created when figures are needed for the storyline, such as the NPC created for the “Kaspar Hauser” event.
From these tens of thousands of characters, the player recruits their court, selects their knights, lovers, clergy, or turns them into bitter enemies who then attempt to eliminate them through assassination.
Here you can watch the announcement trailer for Crusader Kings III:
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Crusader Kings III: Legends of the Dead – Announcement Trailer
All negative traits are combined in one character
This is the quirkiest character in the game: In the start date 1066, there is a character named Ewan “the Trustworthy” Cowhig Croft in the English province of Heartfordshire.
The man is 27 years old and has some of the worst traits one can have in Crusader Kings 3: he is a drunkard, a weakling, a dimwit, has only one leg and one arm – furthermore, he has a terrible education, being an amateur. Cowardly and stubborn he is as well.
He has a mediocre score of 11 points in Intrigue, a fair rating in all villainous and mean attributes, and is otherwise of no use.
The character should actually fall dead immediately, but no one lives longer
This is the special joke of the character: Many who stumble across the trustworthy dimwit will notice that he lives remarkably long, even though he is so heavily marked by fate that he should actually have a low life expectancy.
A player noted, for example, that Ewan was still alive and going strong at 77, despite all his ailments. Normally, at his age, with his condition, he should either have been dead long ago or at least at death’s door.
But in Crusader Kings 3, there is a hidden value “health,” which usually hovers around 5. However, for Ewan, it shows a 14. This means that the man can live up to 150 years old – as experiments show, this is the maximum age for characters.
Other characters in Crusader Kings 3, like the marauding Viking Haestein, also have artificially increased health values and therefore regularly live up to 80 years old, while normal mortals often check out around 60.
A YouTuber has brought the character with all longevity traits to his 147th year of life:
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Ewan is actually a developer at Paradox in Stockholm
What is behind the character? Ewan belongs to a fourth, special category of characters in Crusader Kings 3 – he is an “Easter Egg” character.
Ewan is “in real life” a developer of Crusader Kings 3, who was written into the game as a gag.
The man works in real life in Stockholm and has risen from game tester to game designer at Paradox over 6 years. One can only speculate what kind of reputation he enjoys among his colleagues to earn this virtual version.
Another employee of Paradox says of the character on Steam: Our people just think it’s funny to pack an absurdly ridiculous number of negative traits on their Easter egg characters.
Epic Games wants to keep Fortnite as free from cheaters as possible and bans cheating players, like most shooters do. However, sometimes errors occur, and an innocent player gets punished. One player has now shown that Epic apologizes commendably when they have banned sincere players.
What kind of apology was that? A player reports on Reddit that he was banned by Epic Games for 2 weeks in Fortnite without reason. Subsequently, he received an email from the developer of the battle royale shooter.
In the email, Epic Games apologizes and informs the player about a compensation he receives for the wrongful ban: “We mistakenly took action against your account. We have reversed this action and granted your Fortnite account 2,000 V-Bucks as compensation for the error, and we apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.” (via Reddit)
So the player received a compensation of 2,000 V-Bucks, at least that is shown by the screenshot shared on Reddit. 2,000 V-Bucks are roughly equivalent to 18 € (2x 1,000 V-Bucks for 8.99 €).
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The trailer for the Winterfest event in Fortnite creates a cozy atmosphere with a fireplace
V-Bucks are the in-game currency in Fortnite that you can buy for real money and exchange for skins. For 2,000 V-Bucks, you can for example acquire the new skin styled after Johnny Silverhand from Cyberpunk 2077.
Would get banned again for 2,000 V-Bucks
What does the affected player say about the apology? The Reddit user seems very satisfied with Epic Games’ apology and writes: “I would take that anytime for 2k V-Bucks.” He would thus be willing to accept another ban if he would receive 2,000 V-Bucks again.
What does the community say about it? Other players also see something positive in the ban and the resulting compensation. One user jokes: “Epic sent you on paid vacation.” This is likely a reference to the fact that many develop a sort of love-hate relationship with the game and a temporary break can be beneficial.
Other Reddit users report that even more players have received the same compensation. It does not seem to matter whether they were banned for several months or just a few days. They apparently always received 2,000 V-Bucks. Some find this unfair but are nevertheless glad that there is even a compensation.
Fortnite is not an isolated case with false bans. There are also ongoing reports from other games like Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 or Warzone about players who have been banned incorrectly. This could be due to the fact that the affected player is reported en masse. This is followed by a kick from the lobby and a shadow ban: CoD: Players fight against cheaters in Black Ops 6 and Warzone – being kicked from the lobby for it
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The MMORPG Star Citizen earned three times more money in 2024 than the total development cost of Black Myth: Wukong – and it’s still the best game of the year according to PC gamers on Steam.
The $114 million is slightly less than what was earned in 2023, where it was still $116 million.
Nevertheless, it is an astonishingly high sum. It is the second highest annual revenue of Star Citizen ever. The significance of this amount is emphasized when comparing it to the costs of developing other successful games.
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Star Citizen: The new capital ship Polaris in trailer
Star Citizen earns enough money in a year to finance Witcher 3
How does this money compare to the budgets of other games?
The most successful game of 2024, in terms of peak player numbers on Steam, is the Chinese action RPG Black Myth: Wukong. At its peak, over 2.2 million people played it simultaneously. In the Game of the Year awards on Steam, it also faced tough competition.
Black Myth: Wukong is said to have cost $43 million in development. With the revenue from Star Citizen in a year, it could have been financed almost three times.
The budget for The Witcher 3 was significantly lower, at $81 million back then, compared to what CIG earns in a year.
Defenders of Star Citizen often use the exorbitantly high budget of the Western epic Red Dead Redemption 2 as a comparison, which is said to have cost between $370 and $540 million. The game was developed for about 8 years, and 2,000 people are said to have worked on Red Dead Redemption 2, which is considered one of the best video games of all time.
Star Citizen sells no ships, only pledges that the ships will come
How much money has Star Citizen earned in total? Currently, the revenue from Star Citizen stands at $774,481,284. Especially in November during the CitizenCon and in December around Christmas, quite a bit more “donations” came in.
Star Citizen refers to its revenues as “Pledges”. It implies that players are not actually buying real items, but are making promises that these items, especially ships, will eventually exist. Star Citizen claims to offer a ship for every playstyle. In the past, Star Citizen has been criticized for weakening a ship sold in the past to sell another, new ship that seemed more suitable for a specific playstyle.
What fans of Star Citizen say: Defenders of the project argue that not just a game is being developed here, but two games are being created: alongside Star Citizen, the single-player spin-off Squadron 42 is also in development.
Additionally, a new, modified engine is being created, which is necessary for the technological revolution behind Star Citizen, and the company’s infrastructure is also being built up.
MeinMMO demon Cortyn played the Persona successor Metaphor. However, why this means not only fun but also frustration can be read here.
During the holidays, I thought I should give in to my urge for JRPGs once again. One cannot currently avoid Metaphor: ReFantazio. The game from the creators of Persona has received fantastic reviews everywhere and is described as a masterpiece. Since I loved Persona 5, my confidence was quite high, so I decided to purchase it.
I was aware that Metaphor would also take quite a while to get into. The Persona games already have the reputation that the first roughly 10 hours of the game are a torment, and only afterward does everything “really get going” and you slowly lose yourself in the story while all the game systems finally interconnect. This is the case again this time – I was prepared for that.
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Metaphor: ReFantazio AWAKEN shows action-packed battles in the trailer
What I was not prepared for was the multitude of small and larger flaws that I would not have expected from a new game in 2024. Because in many, very many ways, this JRPG simply feels outdated. As if it were hanging on old systems that suited a different time, which they are now desperately trying to force into modern games. Sometimes it works better – and sometimes less so.
However, in global reviews, the game is fantastic. On Metacritic, it has 94 / 100, with many reviews that give either 5/5 or 10/10. Something I simply cannot comprehend.
Metaphor: ReFantazio is by no means a bad game, despite all its flaws. It is actually quite good. But it has so many small problems and quirks that add up to diminish the fun, leaving me asking: How the hell did this get released like this? Am I the only one who finds this strange?
Small quirks everywhere
Here follows a small list of many details that, in my view, prevent the game from being a true masterpiece. Some things are surely a matter of taste and subjective, while others can objectively be categorized as “not optimal”.
A colorless, boring game world
The most notable criticism, the first thing that catches the eye for me, is the monotonous game world.
This is especially evident in large squares in the game. When standing in the royal marketplace of the capital, Metaphor feels as if it has fallen out of time. Everything appears monotonous, has only a few colors, and looks as if its graphics come from the last or even the decade before that. That despite this outdated graphics, textures still need to be loaded occasionally is simply incomprehensible to me.
If I approach a bush in the wild and it suddenly gets a better texture at a distance of about 10 meters to my character, I cannot imagine that this would have been necessary.
Places often appear disillusioning and monotonous.
Equally bad are the “side quest dungeons.” They look – and I mean this without any sarcastic exaggeration – often so carelessly and outdated that I cannot explain how this came to be. Literally, the dungeons from ancient games like “Grandia 2” or “Final Fantasy X” visually look more appealing. In Metaphor, these dungeons are monotonous, visually simply boring, and often appear as if only 20 assets could be created per dungeon and then repeatedly connected in different ways. What a shame.
Difficulty levels in ping-pong mode
My next point is the difficulty level of the game. As usual, I play JRPGs in my first playthrough, if available, usually starting on “Normal” and then on a higher difficulty in my second run.
However, even on Normal, it becomes clear how far the actual difficulty level of individual battles can often diverge.
Whether you attack an enemy yourself or get surprised by the opponent has drastic effects that I usually only know from Soulslike games.
If I start the battle, the enemies are stunned, and generally all foes are dead before they even get a turn.
If the same enemy attacks me, however, the exact opposite can happen: You are hopelessly at a disadvantage, and if you do not have the perfect archetypes for the fight, even trivial enemies can suddenly lead to a game over.
Yes, these advantages and disadvantages have always been part of Atlus games, but never have they felt so drastic and thus so frustrating. When in a turn-based, tactical battle system the fight is decided by whether I dodged at the correct moment before the fight, like in an action game, it feels highly out of place.
The monster design is, typically for Atlus, somewhat quirky.
Additionally, there is a certain “tipping point” after which all planning is irrelevant anyway. Because as soon as you have the archetypes “Mage” and “Merchant,” you essentially have infinite mana to heal yourself and an infinite amount of money to buy anything you want.
You can literally renew the generally limiting resource of mana points (or “Magla”) infinitely or generate infinite money. You do not even have to “exploit” or unintentionally take advantage of game mechanics – it is the absolutely logical and obvious step to take once it is possible.
This also means that due to the lack of limitations, you can farm before any boss until you are 100% replenished and significantly outlevel the boss, trivializing the fight anyway. That is simply not well balanced.
This frustration with the battle system leads me to my next point …
No “reload” option in battle – Who messed that up?
What I find utterly incomprehensible is the lack of the option to bring up the main menu during a battle to reload a save. Because very often, during a boss battle, you realize: “Ah, I have the wrong archetypes for this fight. I can’t accomplish this like this. I need to reload and prepare the team differently.”
This is simply not possible. I can rewind the battle to the beginning – but only back to the start of the battle, meaning I cannot change any preparations. And as I cannot return to the main menu (at least in the PS5 version), I am doomed to either quit the game directly via the PS5 menu and restart or click through a hopeless battle for another 1-2 minutes until all my party members have finally died.
There’s hardly anything that robs you of joy more than having to continue an obviously hopeless battle in a single-player game for several minutes when you already know after just a few seconds: I need to reload and change my setup.
There are also curious politicians.
The calendar system – forced and simply ridiculous
Anyone who has played the Persona series knows that in Atlus games, there is almost always a kind of time limit in the form of a calendar system. Per day, you can only perform a certain number of actions while time progresses. Do you want to spend the day with your comrades or work on your character stats like eloquence or courage? Do you visit a dungeon or spend the afternoon cooking food for the next outing?
The time limit is never really annoying; in most cases, it is even good and sensible – if you could do everything without restriction, the whole game would not function.
However, in many cases, the system seems like it is artificially overlaid on the story, making it at times ridiculous.
There’s the case of kidnapped children, who are thrown to a monster and that must be stopped as quickly as possible so no more children are sacrificed – but don’t worry, you still have 12 days. So, on day 1, you go into the dungeon, play through half of it, and at the emotional peak of the dungeon story, you can then say: “Alright, enough. Now I’m going to spend the next 10 days discussing things with my friends before we save the children here.”
Comedy at the wrong moments
Additionally, there’s what I like to affectionately refer to as “anime bullshit.” Because in exactly the wrong, really dramatic moments, the game suddenly stops taking itself seriously.
When we get lured into a trap by the villain who feeds children to a monster after just hearing a dramatic backstory about unplanned pregnancy and child murder, it is simply very poorly received when our group of heroes is lured by the villain onto a trapdoor in the best “children’s show” manner.
Even worse if our companion, a perpetually flying fairy, also falls through the trapdoor and comments: “I’m falling too, ahhh!”.
I have nothing against comedic inserts – and in many cases, they are solid – but too often I find myself thinking: Hey, how can you consciously kill the atmosphere like this?
Sometimes the comedy in Metaphor is really good – but sometimes also misplaced.
The issue with sound
A big point that bothers me massively is the lack of voice acting. While the main story has voice acting for almost all passages (but not everything), this is not the case with the side missions. I understand that you cannot fully voice every insignificant side character in a large RPG. But the fact that even the character stories of the hero team, meaning all the quests that should bring you closer to the background of Hulkenberg, Strohl, and Co., are also not voiced is really, really uncomfortable for me.
Reading long dialogues that are completely silent felt outdated in JRPGs even 10 years ago.
However, even when there is voice acting, the mixing is simply not good. The (mostly) bombastic music is frequently so loud during dialogues that it completely drowns out the speakers. Yes, I could certainly adjust this manually by reducing the background music volume and increasing the voices. But adjusting this manually should somehow not be my task.
Additionally, the sound effects in cities become very annoying very quickly. NPCs in cities have small “sound snippets” with which they draw attention to themselves when you stand at a certain distance to them or pass them.
The problem here: Most NPCs have exactly one single sound for this. This results in having 1-2 annoying NPCs in towns constantly playing their same sound over and over:
“Hey, over here.” “Ugh, an eldan boy …” “Hey, over here.” “Hey, over here.” “Hey, over here.” “Ugh, an eldan boy …”
I really want to love Metaphor. It is also quite good, the story is solid, and the combat system is really interesting at its best moments. But it has so many small quirks that show everywhere that the typical “Persona formula” slowly but surely feels a bit outdated.
I don’t think I ever want to play a game with the calendar system of the Persona series again.
I believe I expect significantly more voice acting from an extensive JRPG than Metaphor offers.
I believe game environments of a full-price title should not look so lifeless today as they did at the turn of the millennium.
I believe once I get through the game, I will be quite satisfied. But Metaphor: ReFantazio lacks the evolution I wished for from JRPGs – and other games, like Final Fantasy XVI, have tackled much bolder. Metaphor: ReFantazio would have been a masterpiece – if it had come out 8 years ago and not just a few months ago.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
