At least Naughty Dog are doing something new, but this didn’t grab me. Looked like the most generic sci-fi setting ever.
I was gonna say “Yeah, they have a good track record making playable movies.” But that’s not fair to Jak and Crash.
Still, they haven’t made anything with interesting gameplay since like 2004.
I recently played uncharted 4, can confirm there is a lot of interesting gameplay mixed with the mastercrafted, often interactive, cut scenes. It was an excellent experience by any measure and the game is nearing 10 years old.
I swear people are confusing naughty dog with another dev or something, their worst game is still more fun than 90% of other studio’s best.
It’s all relative. Mediocre is still better than garbage, but not necessarily interesting or innovative. It’s just “fine” because the whole point of the gameplay in these games is to progress the narrative forward. Mastery is rarely, if ever, required and gameplay depth is of no interest to players or developers.
You ignore all of that and start comparing their catalog to Ubisoft pumping out generic trash for years (NGL that Prince of Persia game is sick though) and you get a much brighter picture that doesn’t necessarily take all factors into account.
Personally, I play games for the hyper engagement they offer, which I expect from hobbies and cannot get from film or literature. Stories, on the other hand, I can find elsewhere, so I don’t necessarily care for them that much in games.
Again, it’s all relative.
If narrative driven games aren’t your cup of tea there’s nothing wrong saying that, but writing off the extensive gameplay provided in naughty dog games is silly. I think your take would be better directed at something like Metal Gear Solid, that actually locks you in for hour long non-interactive cut scenes.
