The games you will keep for your PS4 and Xbox One
In what will likely be a singularly unique trait among the people on this website I have a bit of a game collection, one I actively seek to further. Most of such collection is not aiming at completion for a system, franchise or the like but games that will mean something in 10 years, either because they are still very playable or because they are a great example or early example of a given mechanic and evolutions thereof. I certainly play the annual shooting, driving, vaguely historical themed "action adventure" and otherwise popular bit of fluff but were they lost to my collection then 99 times of 100 I would not seek to replace it, or if I did I would likely pick the current shininess instead (or given the modern prevalence of
This year will be the fifth anniversaries of both consoles, traditionally the final real years of such things, and where at this time in previous efforts my libraries were brimming with games I have nothing to show for myself here. Nobody really expects anything from the first year and a bit to stand the test of time but years two, three and four have invariably produced something before.
I have not moved on from games; I still very much play them and enjoy them. Games have seemingly not moved on from me; everything is still very recognisable and mechanically sound. Everything should be better -- controls are just fine, specs are such that high end devs can do amazing things and mid tier devs can happily do what was formerly amazing or impossible, and everybody else faces fewer restrictions then ever. While we are still pretty far from the same thing that allows nearly anybody to write a book or make a board game it is very much heading in that direction.
I am seemingly not the only one noting this, and for all we might be used to the occasional weak year the notion of a weak generation is something new.
To that end suggest some games that someone coming in cold to the PS4 or xbone should pick up, ones that will stand the test of time or at least be a nice example of something new or evolving.
General idea of this feature
This is the latest entry in GBAtemp's new series discussing game concepts, mechanics (the interesting mechanics thing being the tenuous justification for it being in this series today) and such like. Previous editions saw us discuss games that got better after launch, cancelled games and shuttered devs, and story canon in games.
