Sacred Symbols+, Episode 245 | PlayStation 5's and Xbox Series' First Two Years
Added 2022-11-26 17:00:08 +0000 UTCIt's time once again for Sacred Symbols x Defining Duke! This time, a trio of us -- yours truly (Colin), Cog, and Dustin -- take some time to go through our ecosystems' two dueling consoles, the PS5 and XSX. With two years on the market and lots of user engagement and promising numbers for both machines, we thought we'd reflect on how they've done over the last 24 months: The highs, the lows, the games we loved and those we thought missed, and more. We also delve deeper into games we've been playing as of late, from God of War: Ragnarok and Pentiment to Warzone 2 and Somerville, to get some more of those good old-fashioned opinions out into the atmosphere.
Comments
We all have blind spots. None of us, including myself or you, are truly unbiased. But in our honest attempts at analysis it is not weakness to give credence to other views even when we don’t agree. Nothing I said invalidates your criticism but I think they are reasonable nuances to consider. Keep up the great work.
Raymond Stuart
2022-12-02 19:37:26 +0000 UTCWhatever you say, my man.
Colin Moriarty
2022-12-02 01:34:51 +0000 UTCThis is probably true.
Colin Moriarty
2022-12-02 01:34:34 +0000 UTCIt's an optical failure, at the very least.
Colin Moriarty
2022-12-02 01:34:25 +0000 UTCGreat episode. But COG, my man, you missed some key points on Xbox and Colin’s view that “these aren’t Xbox’s games” - Psychonauts 2 - dev said without Xbox, they would have had to cut 30% of the game - Starfield - probably would not have been allowed to be delayed without Xbox backing; Bethesda would have been under more pressure to generate revenue - Grounded and Pentiment probably wouldn’t have been created without GamePass and Xbox support And Halo Infinite is not the complete disaster that people say it is. Just compare Battlefield 2042 vs Halo Infinite Launches and, as much as multiplayer has been panned, had an 87 on metacritic despite not having coop or multiple biomes for the single player campaign. Phil Spencer has created a culture that empowers his teams, gives them support and freedom, and is truly focused on the player.
Raymond Stuart
2022-12-02 00:11:17 +0000 UTCI think the people "sleeping" on Forbidden West and GT7 are entrenched in the gaming community. All the normals are buying these titles and loving them. We just don't hear because they aren't listening to podcasts or in message boards. Forbidden West is easily my game of the year, and I had a fun reminiscent of GT3 with GT7. Ragnarok has definitely gotten way better and I think it'll jump over 2018 for me, but so far 25 hours in, it's still second fiddle to Forbidden West, which to me, is a great thing for PlayStation. It shows that even when they start to make live services titles, these core games will resonate with the audiences well outside of our tiny super niche community.
Dennis Johnson
2022-12-01 17:32:01 +0000 UTCHalo is simultaneously 343s best offering for a Halo game (it is a good game) but also one of the worst attempts at a live service in recent memory. I remember after the game launched and HCS Raleigh happened the Halo community was energised, there was so much good will and excitement for the future...... shame.
Craig Mcguire
2022-12-01 13:09:08 +0000 UTCIt's always fun to be with Cog.
Colin Moriarty
2022-11-30 18:30:55 +0000 UTCI honestly have no idea what's even going on in God of War half the time.
Colin Moriarty
2022-11-30 18:30:44 +0000 UTCI still buy a lot of games individually but it's a nice service to try stuff out and play first party games
thefury4815
2022-11-30 11:12:27 +0000 UTCI don't think anyone doubts it. However they've got a lot of room to maneuver before it's so expensive I'd rather buy games individually again.
Mark Whittington
2022-11-30 11:08:19 +0000 UTCWe need more of Colin and Cog together so I feel less like an old git compared to all the younglings. Agree with Colin though, platform holders are best when their backs are to the wall, when they're on top they get lazy, greedy and complacent. MS were guilty of this going into the XBO gen, and we got Gamepass out of it as they tried to come back, same as we got PS+ when Sony needed to claw back PS3 market share.
Mark Whittington
2022-11-30 11:06:51 +0000 UTCI think the reason Horizon doesn't quite work for me and others is because the characters are just awful. Alloy and side characters are just really bland and unlikable. The other issue is that the game is gorgeous....but the premise of the game is absolutely ridiculous. So it just feels off. We have these hyper realistic characters that talk like Joe from down the street....yet they are dressed like they just came from a bad comicon. It just doesn't work for me. If the art direction was more stylized, it wouldn't be so intrusive. That said, only a crazy person would think the story and characters are worse in God of War
Ryan Zimm
2022-11-29 22:22:23 +0000 UTCI 100% believe that gamepass is gonna go up in the next 2 years. If you don't have an Xbox going through all access is the best way to get one because it comes with 2 years of gamepass at a flat rate. I pay like $35ish a month for the series x with gamepass. I could pay it off faster if I wanted but it's interest free. And it'll not go up in price. Even when gamepass goes up it doesn't matter because you got 2 years upfront with the purchase of your Xbox.
thefury4815
2022-11-29 11:53:10 +0000 UTCI don’t know if maybe you misspoke Colin, but why would you think God of war ragnarok and horizon forbidden west couldn’t be played on Series S when they are playable on ps4?
MethHaven
2022-11-29 03:42:13 +0000 UTCThank you for listening.
Colin Moriarty
2022-11-29 01:40:46 +0000 UTCIt looks great.
Colin Moriarty
2022-11-29 01:40:40 +0000 UTCI'm glad those that like it, like it.
Colin Moriarty
2022-11-29 01:40:36 +0000 UTCGotta keep things honest.
Colin Moriarty
2022-11-29 01:40:25 +0000 UTCThis was a great discussion. Regarding God of War, I actually agree with Colin in that I significantly prefer Horizon Forbidden West (and Zero Dawn) over both God of War games. To each their own though.
Jim Capron
2022-11-28 21:50:54 +0000 UTCCannot recommend pentiment enough too, colin. The only satisfying murder mystery I’ve ever seen in a game.
Tick Dickler
2022-11-28 20:23:40 +0000 UTCThe worst part about Halo is how beautiful that first amount of time with it was, despite the issues. It is appalling. Forge is awesome but way too late.
Noah Friscopp
2022-11-28 13:44:36 +0000 UTCDefinitely did not have 'Colin shouts out Kotaku for good writing' on my 2022 bingo card, but here we are. What a time to be alive
Out_Of_Focus_Bigfoot
2022-11-27 22:32:47 +0000 UTCLets see how Factions does as a game and with its live service……and that’s much easier since they don’t have to build a whole story campaign off of it also….it should be phenomenal with no issues.
Shane Geis
2022-11-27 17:34:24 +0000 UTCThey struggled with live service elements like almost every single live service game ever has……but to act like it’s not a phenomenal game that was critically reviewed and dominated gaming for 6 weeks is just funny
Shane Geis
2022-11-27 17:27:19 +0000 UTCI'm not outraged; I think it's hysterical a company that big couldn't even handle their biggest IP. Embarrassing.
Colin Moriarty
2022-11-27 17:25:22 +0000 UTCI just wanna see a real PlayStation 5 game.
Colin Moriarty
2022-11-27 17:24:51 +0000 UTCGlad to hear it.
Colin Moriarty
2022-11-27 17:24:35 +0000 UTCI'm nearly 20 hours in and I can't believe I'm only halfway through. -_-
Colin Moriarty
2022-11-27 17:24:29 +0000 UTCI'm glad you enjoyed it.
Colin Moriarty
2022-11-27 17:24:16 +0000 UTCIt's definitely boring and plodding, but when it lets me play it, I dig.
Colin Moriarty
2022-11-27 17:24:07 +0000 UTCAlways. =)
Colin Moriarty
2022-11-27 17:23:53 +0000 UTCCalled Halo a 7 lmfao it scored a 88 was peoples choice GOTY…..DOMINATED the gaming industry for 7 weeks at the holidays……it lacked content…..Lmao at Colin smarmy faux outrage over halo….worry about your sad dad simulators
Shane Geis
2022-11-27 16:04:15 +0000 UTCWeird gen so far for sure. Feels slow and the consoles themselves have just felt like buffed versions of their predecessors. PS has me so far but to your point, we gotta see what they can really do when it’s just PS5 exclusive. I really hope Xbox can deliver on their games because they’ve bounced back great. I know you’re not so hot on Phil Spencer, but the guy is turning the ship around and for that I have to give him credit.
NeO JD
2022-11-27 14:01:00 +0000 UTCLove the dynamics of this smaller group together :)
Cassandra
2022-11-27 09:38:43 +0000 UTCI was 25 hours in GoW Ragnarok and felt like it was building up to the climax in the next 3-4 hours. I’m now 31 hours in, and after a couple of random interludes it’s introduced new mechanics ands new characters, and doesn’t seem to be in any hurry to get to the end. It’s fun, but it absolutely doesn’t benefit by being this long. Also on normal there are loads of difficulty spikes and troughs. Some arenas are a cakewalk, whereas some enemies almost feel like sub bosses and I could only beat them with cheese tactics.
Rich Price
2022-11-27 09:12:36 +0000 UTCI do get why people shit on Halo Infinite, but as a guy who only plays the campaign I fucking loved it. Was up there with the original trilogy, and the combat was easily the best in the series. Not having campaign coop at launch sucked, as I am still itching to play on legendary with my son. co-op just dropped so I will get to it after GoW, Pendiment, plagues tale2, Gotham Knights (Black Friday purchase) etc. Would have been nice to have it during the quiet summer.
Andrew McGregor
2022-11-27 05:04:02 +0000 UTCI got about 20 hours into Ragnarok and honestly I got bored. I didn't care about what was going on in the story and I ended up just watching the rest of it on youtube. I just wasn't having fun. I started playing Evil West and I am already having way more of a good time than I did with Ragnarok. I think I'm over the seriousness of Sony exclusives. But I'm glad other people enjoy it.
Grimm Carousel
2022-11-27 01:09:47 +0000 UTCSounds like I’m further than Colin in GOWR. The story is incredible… but even if the last half/third that I haven’t played is the greatest piece of fiction ever written…. Forbidden West is still the better game. I’ll give GOWR for story & character… but HFW is the better game. I’ll cherish this god of war story forever… I’ll replay forbidden west, because it’s a good game. #colinwasright
Kenneth Koepnick
2022-11-26 22:43:43 +0000 UTC
