But it’s a problem in single-player games too. If I’m losing a game in Marvel Snap I can retreat and I won’t lose as much rank, but if I have a challenge to play cards in the last turn, I have to see it through to the end, even when I know I’m going to lose. In these instances I have two competing objectives - win the game or play a six-cost card. When you’re playing as though you’re trying to do something other than win, you’re engaging in deviant play. Games should not encourage this, yet almost all of them

Does anyone actually enjoy doing daily challenges in games? I for one resent logging in to play and finding a list of chores to do. Even trivial challenges - something I would accomplish through normal play - rub me the wrong way. I don’t know what I’m more upset about: that someone invented such an anti-player progression system, or that every developer in the world took one look at it and said "Yep, that’s good enough for

Likewise, anyone who follows the FIFA community even a little bit is cutting inside to trivela from the edge of the box. It’s one of those things that would be fun if you stumbled across it with your mates, but is less fun when it’s the only way anyone in the world tries to shoot now. Ironically, despite the bulk of my complaints here, the trivela is a perfect example of something that needs to be patc

Overwatch 2 launched with an account merging feature, which would bring along any cosmetics and leftover currency from the previous game. Unfortunately, this feature hasn't been working as intended , and some players still don't have access to skins they bought back when Overwatch launched in 2

The bone of contention was a soft salary cap that the company put on Overwatch League teams. While the Department of Justice was making ground, it seems that negotiations have come to a standstill. Reportedly, Activision Blizzard "refused to make certain concessions, including anti-salary cap rule changes that would last beyond the company’s impending acquisition by Microso

"I feel like I'm missing out simply because I'm unable to pay up or grind it out with the little free time I have," says int0th3v0id. "It feels so scummy, unrewarding, and unfun. I find myself resentful towards OW for making the game so stressful. I've found myself becoming more toxic because I want to win to complete the challenges, when I used to not care about winni

And of course, it must be said that loot boxes weren't simply disliked because they were annoying. A study in 2021 also stated that loot boxes are "structurally and psychologically akin to gambling", and suggested that a third of players buying loot boxes could be classed as "problem gamblers". However, with this many Overwatch 2 players complaining about the new system put in place, the battle pass hardly seems to be an improvem

Part of the tinkering feels like vanity too. In Horizon Forbidden West , Aloy was too chatty when she was alone , remarking that items will be sent back to storage (somehow?) and repeating the same few lines over and over. People said it was annoying, so it was taken out. But surely they knew it was annoying? Surely part of the point was to make Aloy endearing in this way? I’m sure people think Aloy shutting the hell up is an improvement, but mostly it just feels like fixing something for the sake of it. It doesn’t feel like developers have the license to be creative and eccentric if a few people joking around online is enough for the studio to mandate changing the game. Gaming is becoming more risk averse, not less, in the presence of a constant safety

With how Blizzard is handling these issues, Overwatch 2 players are worried that their favourite Hero will be the next to get sidelined. Plenty are already theorising on who is next in line for the temporary chopping block, with Brigitte being the common consensus . She can create an invincible shield with the help of Kiriko – a major exploit that could potentially ruin ga

To cap off the week, players don't seem too happy with the new maps that came along with Overwatch 2 achievements|https://overwatch2tactics.com/ 2, especially those for the Push mode. Many have complained that the maps are too big for the mode , resulting in players having to walk long distances to make it back to the action after getting kil

"It's a really weird direction for them to make such massive maps while removing 2 players from the match. Push doesn't appear to be designed for 5v5 at all," said one of the comments on the discussion thr

Things only got worse when players found out that they would have to grind all the way to level 55 - which is over halfway - on the Overwatch 2 Battle Pass to get access to Ramattra, much like Kiriko. Many accused Blizzard of making it so that players would need to pay for the premium pass to catch

Online shooters aren’t usually my thing. Overwatch having set heroes takes away from the meta and the stress of having to care about loadouts, and means you can pick to a certain extent based on personality. The reason I play as Ashe is as much because I love westerns and wry cowgirls as it is her gameplay abilities. Overwatch’s aesthetic, low barrier to entry, and quick, varied matches means it’s keeping my interest longer than other online games do. TheGamer is going to have its own Overwatch showdown soon too, so I need to keep up even if I won’t dominate the way I did on Tekken nig