Terrible Gaming Trends That Will Not DIE

Summary

Not all trends are good; some, like Tower Climbs, have overstayed their welcome.
Trends like Remastered Remakes can feel like a cash grab by publishers.
Rising game prices, like those over $70, may alienate gamers and hinder accessibility.

Occasionally, fads can be beneficial. They stimulate conversations, offer a shared experience, and sometimes unite individuals under favorable conditions. These phenomena are typically driven by popularity, meaning they gain traction because people appreciate them. Although there is a risk of excessiveness, the eventual exhaustion of fads is inevitable. This paves the way for new fads to emerge, which is advantageous.

It’s not ideal when fads persist stubbornly. They cling on for dear life, often becoming awkward or even loathsome by the time they fade away. These fads are prevalent in gaming as well as other areas, and while some of them were not problematic initially, their prolonged existence has made one yearn for their eventual demise.

Season Passes

From Transparency To Predatory

In recent times, season passes (often referred to as Battle Passes in certain games) were generally viewed as a progressive move towards making live-service monetization clearer and less like gambling. Although they didn’t completely replace loot boxes, the intention was to transition gradually from unpredictable rewards to a more foreseeable system. For a while, this approach seemed effective.

Initially, season pass perks moved from providing tangible prizes such as skins, sprays, and emotes towards granting in-game currencies. These currencies are doled out intermittently along with tangible rewards, and they can later be used to purchase more enticing rewards than those available within the season pass once players have accumulated enough. While it’s not the most egregious monetization strategy, there should be a better approach to both acknowledging player investments and ensuring transparency about the rewards, without concealing them behind multiple currencies that primarily encourage additional spending.

Tower Climbs

Reach The Place To See The Map

In the year 2007, the game “Assassin’s Creed” immersed its players into a vast open world full of activities, yet most of it was hidden from the game map. To discover these hidden treasures and side quests, players were encouraged to scale the highest points in each area and synchronize, allowing them to view the entire region and thus fill in the map. This engaging approach to exploring the game world proved successful, prompting Ubisoft to adopt similar mechanisms in their subsequent open-world games.

Over time, this mapping strategy expanded to open-world games developed by other prominent AAA studios, and it still hasn’t faded away. From games like Horizon Forbidden West and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, players often find themselves scaling nearby towers to uncover the map of the area. Even Death Stranding 2 employs a similar concept, with players connecting each region to the Chiral Network instead of climbing towers. However, Elden Ring demonstrated that players are content with discovering and navigating their way to a map-revealing item. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 further showed that simply exploring undiscovered regions can be an engaging way to uncover the map. It appears that tower climbing isn’t the only successful approach in this regard, yet developers still tend to rely on it heavily.

Remastered Remakes

Does Every New Console Need A Full-Price Re-Release?

Occasionally, an aged video game can significantly gain from a revival or enhancement. Games such as Resident Evil 2, 3, and 4, Silent Hill 2, and Demon’s Souls have proven to be exceptional examples of breathing new life into classic games by incorporating modern gaming elements and high-end graphics. On the other hand, Final Fantasy 7 took it a step further, transforming the original game into a series of remakes that not only built upon the existing storyline but also delved into fresh narrative realms.

It’s understandable why these remakes are happening, as they provide players with opportunities to revisit beloved classics. However, some remakes seem unnecessary, such as the quick decision by Sony to remaster Marvel’s Spider-Man within just two years of its release. Similarly, Until Dawn received a complete makeover less than a decade after it first came out. The frequent remakes, remasters, and ports of games like The Last of Us are becoming so numerous that they border on being confusing. This pattern is starting to resemble a strategy for publishers to extract additional money from their older titles, rather than focusing on new releases or innovative intellectual properties to generate profits.

Sales On Deluxe Editions Only

More Expensive Editions Reduced To Standard Edition Prices Isn’t Really A Sale

As a budget-conscious gamer, I often find myself holding back from splurging on brand-new, full-priced games at launch. The world of AAA video games can be pretty pricey, and when you factor in the costs of consoles, controllers, and other hardware, gaming becomes quite an investment. Fortunately, many games offer discounts within a year of their release (with some notable exceptions like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe), which makes it possible for gamers like me to join the fun without breaking the bank.

Unfortunately, a frustrating pattern has emerged in the gaming world too. Rather than lowering the regular price of games, some titles only discount their deluxe versions. This leaves players with a dilemma: either pay full price for the standard edition or buy a now-discounted deluxe version, which costs the same as the standard one. With so many games available, many on sale, it feels like a disappointing trick to wait for a new game’s release to go on sale, only to find that the purchase cost remains as high as it was at launch.

Bonfire Takeover

The Homogenization Of Checkpoints

Today, it’s hard to overlook games that resemble “Soulslike” titles. What started as a unique take on the action RPG genre has essentially evolved into the action RPG genre itself. If Summer Games Fest 2025 had one key observation, it was the abundance of Soulslike games currently available and many more in development. Even games not classified as Soulslikes frequently incorporate mechanics inspired by FromSoft’s groundbreaking work, like stamina systems, challenging boss battles, and checkpoints similar to Dark Souls’ bonfires. From Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 to Control, “bonfires” have become the preferred respite system in gaming.

The current checkpoint system is functioning well, providing players with all necessary tools for equipment and skill management in a convenient location, while still requiring effort to progress. However, its widespread use presents two concerns:

Firstly, it may hinder game developers from experimenting with fresh ideas, as they might assume “if this system works, why change it?” FromSoftware initially introduced bonfires as a workaround for the frequent autosaves during combat encounters.

Secondly, overuse of such a system can lead to monotony, especially in games where it doesn’t fit seamlessly. For example, when a game features a series of checkpoints, a playable cutscene, and then another checkpoint, they lose their original purpose as safe havens. It would be refreshing to see developers innovate and diversify the concept of checkpoints to keep gameplay engaging.

Gamer-To-Gamer Hostility

We Don’t Have To Like The Same Things, Because We ALL Love Video Games

It’s not a fresh observation, but there often exists an uncalled-for animosity among gamers that seems out of place. This hostility might be unique to few other hobbies, as it’s not uncommon for enthusiasts to engage in rude exchanges with each other. Whether the topic is debating Game of the Year contenders or expressing personal preferences, a “my way or the highway” mentality can spoil discussions about the gaming world – whether they happen online or face-to-face. For instance, take the reaction of one gamer who dared to admit enjoying Dragon Age: The Veilguard. Even experienced game reviewers were branded as “paid shills” for expressing favorable opinions towards BioWare’s latest production.

While it’s true that only one perspective is being presented here, it’s essential to keep in mind that game developers share our passion for video games. They put their heart and soul into creating games they believe players will find enjoyable. However, this doesn’t guarantee smooth sailing, as sometimes games may not be fully finished or simply lack fun factor. Yet, regardless of a game’s launch condition, the creators behind it don’t deserve to receive death threats. From CD Projekt Red to Naughty Dog, the lives and well-being of the people involved in making these games are more valuable than any game itself. This unfortunate trend tends to tarnish the reputation of all gamers.

Gradual Price Increases

The Ceiling Has Been Reached

In simpler terms, it used to be that brand new AAA games cost $60 when they were first released. However, around the start of the current console era, which coincided with the 2020 pandemic, the price was bumped up to $70. Now, even before the end of this same generation, there’s been a further increase in game prices.

Notably, the debut game for the hypothetical Nintendo Switch 2, dubbed “Mario Kart World“, was initially priced at $80. Meanwhile, The Outer Worlds 2 has retracted its earlier stated price hike, but there are whispers that other highly-anticipated titles like Grand Theft Auto 6, Fable, and Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, may follow suit and sell for the same $80.

This trend could potentially transform gaming from an affordable pastime into an enjoyment reserved for those with substantial financial means. It’s challenging to rationalize such price hikes, not even for highly anticipated titles like GTA 6, when a game like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 debuts at $50 and thrives. Essentially, the typical cost of video games has peaked, and continued efforts to raise prices further will likely discourage consumers from purchasing new games.

2025-08-07 13:08