Iām really frustrated with how almost every new game these days is being forced into this ālive serviceā model. It seems like no matter what type of game you want to playāwhether itās an RPG, shooter, or even something traditionally single-playerāyouāre 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 canāt play it offline, period. Youāre expected to pay $100 a year for a subscription to play by yourself, but even then, youāre still online, and any slight hiccup in your internet connectionāor their terrible serversāmeans you get kicked off. Itās absurd. Fallout has always been a solo game experience, but now weāre locked into an online system no one wanted. Who actually benefits from this? Not the players, thatās for sure.
Another perfect example is Once Human. This is a game that could have been incredible, but instead, itās trapped in the live service model from the start. Iām sitting there playing, and thereās no one around. So why am I online? Why canāt I just enjoy the game offline? Itās not like Iām asking to avoid multiplayer altogetherājust give players the option! If I want to jump into a server and play with others, fine. But the fact that Iām 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. Itās like they tried to make a multiplayer PokĆ©mon and failed miserably. The game is fully online, yet itās 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? Itās 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. Theyāre 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 itās abandoned. Itās crazy to me that this isnāt 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.
Itās 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.
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Steam is literally constantly doing showcase events for different genres of small games.
Literally on the front page right now thereās a turn-based RPG showcase. OP seems wilfully ignorant.
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 itās not an exclusively multiplayer game.
Steam does an indie show case almost every week, to the point itās almost annoying. Idk how youāve apparently missed every single one of them
Iām 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 youāve 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.
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.
Thatās 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 youāll see plenty of good games.
Lemmy, friends, YouTube, websearch.
Itās 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 thatās more of a toss up since thereās a lot of sponsored coverage.
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 itāll 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.
It is algorithmic, for sure. Iāve played so many live gamesā¦ TF2, Overwatch, Dota, etc. Now it thinks itās all that I want lmao
If people stop paying for them they will go away