I absolutely love video games. I’ve been a collector of games and gaming systems since the days of Atari and the Atari 2600. As Atari gave way to NIntendo and Nintendo gave way to Sega, I found an incredible community that I would call my family even to this very day. I have just about every video game system you can name and some you didn’t even know existed. I love my Xbox Series X as much as I love my PS5. To me, every system provides gamers with the key to a fascinating world only limited by the user’s own preferences. One key I particularly love to turn is the first-party PlayStation games that Sony has been cranking out since launch.
Sony is widely known and regarded for their first-party titles. Whether it’s MLB The Show or Ghosts of Tsushima, Sony has shown that their love for their first-party titles means the consumer will receive a game that is not only finished upon release, but largely free of any complications that normally plague titles at launch. Their games also tend to be Game of the Year candidates as evidenced by Spider-Man, Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Horizon: Forbidden West, God of War, and God of War: Ragnarok. When you buy a Sony game, you’re buying a quality title with top notch writing, tremendous level design, and gorgeous environments. But there is one thing you also tend to get that didn’t bother me initially, but now it drives me up a wall. What is that thing? Repetition of plot anchors.
If you’re confused, don’t worry. I’m about to clear things up for you. Let’s take Ghost of Tsushima and God of War: Ragnarok as a prime example of what I mean. Both games feature a protagonist traversing wide open spaces where they fulfill missions and collect gear towards a primary goal. But there’s something that both of these games favor and it’s something that all Sony games have come to rely upon as a crutch for story-telling. Have you noticed that, regardless of the Sony title, your characters all seem to have to gather up a group of friends that eventually aid you in the final battle? It’s a relatively new thing Sony has begun doing, but once you notice it in their games, it’s impossible to unsee.
The basic story for many Sony games now seems to revolve around the idea of the protagonist traveling from region to region, recruiting people who will eventually aid them in the end. It’s a weird trend I started to notice about a year ago and as I look over my Sony titles, the games that use this mechanism stand out more and more. Looking at my collection of games, here are some titles that all rely on this mechanism: Ghost of Tsushima, God of War: Ragnarok, Horizon: Forbidden West, Uncharted 4, and others. It’s not even that I hate this mechanism, I actually like it, it’s just been used too often at this point.
I get why Sony does this. It provides a linear experience for fans and they know what they’re getting from each release. But as we’ve seen with the far too chatty NPC’s in God of War: Ragnarok, sometimes the consistency and insistence upon uniformity leads to an unpleasant overall experience with the game. It’s even more baffling with a franchise like God of War, which is built upon clever puzzles that the player has to figure out to advance. Now the player barely gets two seconds before some NPC shouts out the answer.
I’m always going to be a huge supporter of Sony titles. They provide me with hours and hours and hours of entertainment and great memories. Even if Sony doesn’t make an adjustment and continues with this basic overall outline of plot points that they aim to put in every game, I can promise I’ll still be lined up around the corner to buy their games. The games find success for themselves, as well, proving that people do like the model in some way, shape, or form. Given the fact that Marvel used a rigid model to great success, who can blame Sony for employing a similar method.
Gaming is probably at the best point it’s ever seen since the console wars of the mid-90’s. Video games, video game news, and video game creators dominate the entertainment headlines. Gone are the days where the phrase “movie based on a video game” makes people cringe and fear for the worst. There is serious money being poured into projects of all different types and it’s great for the industry and gamers alike. So, yeah, my complaint is a minor one in the overall grand scheme of things, but it is one that could help game stick around dominate the scene for even longer.
Kane Webb is an entertainment journalist for @BSO and @TheMarvelReport. He also writes about the USC Trojans for @AthlonSports and has been featured on @FanSided, @Scout, @Rivals, the Bakersfield Californian, Wisconsin State Journal, and much more. You can follow him on Twitter: @FightOnTwist