Iā€™m really frustrated with how almost every new game these days is being forced into this ā€œlive serviceā€ model. It seems like no matter what type of game you want to playā€”whether itā€™s an RPG, shooter, or even something traditionally single-playerā€”youā€™re stuck with always-online requirements. And for what? It adds nothing to the experience for most players and, if anything, it makes the game worse.

Take Fallout 76, for example. You canā€™t play it offline, period. Youā€™re expected to pay $100 a year for a subscription to play by yourself, but even then, youā€™re still online, and any slight hiccup in your internet connectionā€”or their terrible serversā€”means you get kicked off. Itā€™s absurd. Fallout has always been a solo game experience, but now weā€™re locked into an online system no one wanted. Who actually benefits from this? Not the players, thatā€™s for sure.

Another perfect example is Once Human. This is a game that could have been incredible, but instead, itā€™s trapped in the live service model from the start. Iā€™m sitting there playing, and thereā€™s no one around. So why am I online? Why canā€™t I just enjoy the game offline? Itā€™s not like Iā€™m asking to avoid multiplayer altogetherā€”just give players the option! If I want to jump into a server and play with others, fine. But the fact that Iā€™m forced to connect even for big chunks of the game that should be playable offline just feels unnecessary.

One of the worst offenders in recent memory is Temtem. Itā€™s like they tried to make a multiplayer PokĆ©mon and failed miserably. The game is fully online, yet itā€™s a ghost town. Steam shows fewer than 100 players on at any given time, but they still force everyone to play online. And one day, the servers will go offline entirely, and what happens to your game then? Itā€™s completely gone, and so is your money. It feels like a scam.

The worst part is, nobody seems to be fighting against this trend except for the EU. Theyā€™re already working on passing laws that would require games to be playable offline if the servers get shut down. Imagine that! A game company actually having to care about whether you can play the game you paid for after itā€™s abandoned. Itā€™s crazy to me that this isnā€™t already standard everywhere. The fact that we even need a law to ensure you can still enjoy your purchase after the servers are gone is telling.

Itā€™s just sad to see so many great games ruined by forced online connectivity. Live service works for some titles, but not everything needs to be connected 24/7. Developers need to wake up and realize that players want the choice, not a one-size-fits-all approach that makes everything worse in the long run.

    • @Meltrax@lemmy.world
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      58ā€¢6 months ago

      Steam is literally constantly doing showcase events for different genres of small games.

      • @catloaf@lemm.ee
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        30ā€¢6 months ago

        Literally on the front page right now thereā€™s a turn-based RPG showcase. OP seems wilfully ignorant.

    • @JovialSodium@lemmy.sdf.org
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      19ā€¢6 months ago

      Almost everything on my store page is AAA or liveservice trash.

      Very little on my Steam page is. This is just one data point but still it suggests their suggestion algorithm somewhat works for this.

      Just an observation on that specific thing not a disagreement with the problem. Live service is trash and needs to go away if itā€™s not an exclusively multiplayer game.

    • @kboy101222@sh.itjust.works
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      11ā€¢6 months ago

      Steam does an indie show case almost every week, to the point itā€™s almost annoying. Idk how youā€™ve apparently missed every single one of them

    • BougieBirdie
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      9ā€¢6 months ago

      Iā€™m pretty dialed into indie games. What kind of games do you like? I might be able to recommend some. I get most of my indie recommendations through word of mouth or curators.

      The steam store page has an algorithm tuned to your preferences. If youā€™ve already been playing a lot of live service games, then it assumes you must like them. Once you start showing an interest in other games, you can probably just cruise through your discovery queue.

      To skip the algorithm, you can try looking at the steam store web page in a private / incognito window. But if most of the money makers are live service or free-to-play then that may just be the default offering.

    • @rtxn@lemmy.world
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      7ā€¢6 months ago

      Look at what pirate repackers like fitgirl and dodi are putting out. They have a much lower throughput and often focus on popular indie or small studio titles.

    • @Phen@lemmy.eco.br
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      5ā€¢6 months ago

      Thatā€™s not my experience with steam at all. Only one or two options of the steam store tend to show AAA games over indie games. If you browse by category or using the dynamic recommendation youā€™ll see plenty of good games.

    • Iapar
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      5ā€¢6 months ago

      Lemmy, friends, YouTube, websearch.

    • @darthelmet@lemmy.world
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      1ā€¢6 months ago

      Itā€™s mostly just finding some reviews/word of mouth sources that you trust and which align with your tastes.

      On the review side of things Second Wind covers a decent spread of indie games. I also occasionally see some new stuff from streamers, but thatā€™s more of a toss up since thereā€™s a lot of sponsored coverage.

    • @atrielienz@lemmy.world
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      1ā€¢6 months ago

      I think this may be algorithmic. Like steam gives suggestions based on what you have already purchased, and what other people who purchased the same games also like. Additionally itā€™ll tell you what your friends are playing if you friend them on steam. This sort of gives everyone a different picture of steam suggestions that is tailored to them. It might be a good idea to find older non-live service games you like, add them to a new profile or wishlist, and then see what new information pops up for you.

      • @Buttflapper@lemmy.worldOP
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        -2ā€¢6 months ago

        It is algorithmic, for sure. Iā€™ve played so many live gamesā€¦ TF2, Overwatch, Dota, etc. Now it thinks itā€™s all that I want lmao