Lord_Potato
Arcane
So, not the studio, but one of the devs. That seems more probable, though I still doubt there was any actual 'apology'.
-
Welcome to rpgcodex.net, a site dedicated to discussing computer based role-playing games in a free and open fashion. We're less strict than other forums, but please refer to the rules.
"This message is awaiting moderator approval": All new users must pass through our moderation queue before they will be able to post normally. Until your account has "passed" your posts will only be visible to yourself (and moderators) until they are approved. Give us a week to get around to approving / deleting / ignoring your mundane opinion on crap before hassling us about it. Once you have passed the moderation period (think of it as a test), you will be able to post normally, just like all the other retards.
Which modern WRPG studio do you despise the most?
- Thread starter Skinwalker
- Start date
I almost forgot Bioware existed until they started promoting that Dragon Age game. Voted for them because they killed the Anthem Next overhaul project to develop that piece of shit. Still believe Anthem was salvageable and I'd rather they make looter shooters than continue masquerading as a studio that makes RPGs.
A brief summary of each one, in descending order of offense.
CDPR:
Honestly, I like their games. The Witcher series was never known for its gameplay, but it does have sufficiently interesting dialogue. Cyberpunk was a disaster on consoles, but hey, I play on PC, and the game is currently in a good state. The direction of the company’s future games is debatable, but so far, I honestly don’t see much reason to despise them. I haven’t regretted playing any of their games up to now.
Larian:
I know Codex loves to hate Larian, and I understand the reasons to some extent. Larian’s games are like big sandboxes for you to play in, with some questionable mechanics and a hit-or-miss humor style. That said, it hits the mark for me. I haven’t played much of BG3 yet to give a solid opinion. They also had some stumbles here and there, like Beyond Divinity, but overall, it’s a company I can still look at with some level of optimism.
Owlcat:
Both Pathfinder games are perfectly acceptable. Not great, but not terrible either. Finally being able to play a party-based RPG with a tabletop RPG system and character creation freedom is pretty interesting, even if the games end up overwhelming you with redundant and tedious content to the point where, by the end, you’re no longer as invested. I haven’t played Warhammer: Rogue Trader, so I can’t confirm if they’re in decline, but I’d say they’re middle-tier on this list: sufficiently interesting games, albeit with their own issues.
InXile:
InXile embodies the concept of mediocrity. When they’re doing well, they can create games that are perfectly in the “eh, it’s okay, I guess” range. Good enough to play if you have nothing better to do, bad enough that you don’t even care to criticize them because it’s not fun enough to bother. When they fail, they make games like The Bard’s Tale IV, which you don’t even remember exist until someone brings them up. (Before I mentioned it, did you remember this game?) I’d say they’re at the low point on the list, but there’s still far worse out there.
Obsidian:
As many have already mentioned, Obsidian is the champion of making sequels to games that other people created. Sometimes literally, sometimes spiritually, but almost always in a mediocre way. To be honest, I don’t think PoE is as bad as many on Codex claim it to be, and Outer Worlds is undoubtedly a worse New Vegas in every aspect, but from this list, they are the first company that I truly see a consistent decline in most of their releases. I didn’t expect much from Avowed, but it still managed to fall short of all my expectations. I don’t see much of a future for them, but given that they’re a small player in the broader RPG scene, they’re not the most offensive case.
Bethesda:
Making worse games for as long as I can remember. Honestly, I’ve never been a Bethesda fan. I remember playing Arena and Daggerfall, but they didn’t leave a strong impression on me. My first big conscious and direct experience with them was with Oblivion with Guns and the entire (predictable, yet still regrettable) catastrophe involving Fallout 3. I must acknowledge that I managed to get some hours of fun out of Fallout 4 and Skyrim, but more due to mods than the games themselves. Bethesda has essentially been releasing big, disguised engines for years and leaving it up to the community to complete their games. However, their games have been getting progressively worse and have finally reached the point where not even modders want to spend their time and energy on them. It’s a pitiful state, and short of some improbable positive intervention from Microsoft, I wouldn’t be surprised if the studio ended up shutting down in the coming years.
Bioware:
For me, as others have already mentioned, Bioware rightfully earns the trophy for the worst Western RPG company. Bioware’s decline has been consistently growing for decades, with some positively surprising exceptions like DAO. But ever since Mass Effect 3 with its hilariously terrible ending, Bioware has managed to make one worse game after another, Inquisition being an MMO disguised as a WRPG, Andromeda generating memes and jokes for years, Anthem being Bioware’s biggest failure (so far), and Veilguard trying really hard to be the next Concord. Bioware certainly deserves the trophy for worst company on this list for its entire trajectory, going from classics like BG1/2 that still top almost every best CRPG list to whatever these recent abominations they’re trying to launch are. And the saddest part is how much they have influenced and continue to influence the entire industry.
CDPR:
Honestly, I like their games. The Witcher series was never known for its gameplay, but it does have sufficiently interesting dialogue. Cyberpunk was a disaster on consoles, but hey, I play on PC, and the game is currently in a good state. The direction of the company’s future games is debatable, but so far, I honestly don’t see much reason to despise them. I haven’t regretted playing any of their games up to now.
Larian:
I know Codex loves to hate Larian, and I understand the reasons to some extent. Larian’s games are like big sandboxes for you to play in, with some questionable mechanics and a hit-or-miss humor style. That said, it hits the mark for me. I haven’t played much of BG3 yet to give a solid opinion. They also had some stumbles here and there, like Beyond Divinity, but overall, it’s a company I can still look at with some level of optimism.
Owlcat:
Both Pathfinder games are perfectly acceptable. Not great, but not terrible either. Finally being able to play a party-based RPG with a tabletop RPG system and character creation freedom is pretty interesting, even if the games end up overwhelming you with redundant and tedious content to the point where, by the end, you’re no longer as invested. I haven’t played Warhammer: Rogue Trader, so I can’t confirm if they’re in decline, but I’d say they’re middle-tier on this list: sufficiently interesting games, albeit with their own issues.
InXile:
InXile embodies the concept of mediocrity. When they’re doing well, they can create games that are perfectly in the “eh, it’s okay, I guess” range. Good enough to play if you have nothing better to do, bad enough that you don’t even care to criticize them because it’s not fun enough to bother. When they fail, they make games like The Bard’s Tale IV, which you don’t even remember exist until someone brings them up. (Before I mentioned it, did you remember this game?) I’d say they’re at the low point on the list, but there’s still far worse out there.
Obsidian:
As many have already mentioned, Obsidian is the champion of making sequels to games that other people created. Sometimes literally, sometimes spiritually, but almost always in a mediocre way. To be honest, I don’t think PoE is as bad as many on Codex claim it to be, and Outer Worlds is undoubtedly a worse New Vegas in every aspect, but from this list, they are the first company that I truly see a consistent decline in most of their releases. I didn’t expect much from Avowed, but it still managed to fall short of all my expectations. I don’t see much of a future for them, but given that they’re a small player in the broader RPG scene, they’re not the most offensive case.
Bethesda:
Making worse games for as long as I can remember. Honestly, I’ve never been a Bethesda fan. I remember playing Arena and Daggerfall, but they didn’t leave a strong impression on me. My first big conscious and direct experience with them was with Oblivion with Guns and the entire (predictable, yet still regrettable) catastrophe involving Fallout 3. I must acknowledge that I managed to get some hours of fun out of Fallout 4 and Skyrim, but more due to mods than the games themselves. Bethesda has essentially been releasing big, disguised engines for years and leaving it up to the community to complete their games. However, their games have been getting progressively worse and have finally reached the point where not even modders want to spend their time and energy on them. It’s a pitiful state, and short of some improbable positive intervention from Microsoft, I wouldn’t be surprised if the studio ended up shutting down in the coming years.
Bioware:
For me, as others have already mentioned, Bioware rightfully earns the trophy for the worst Western RPG company. Bioware’s decline has been consistently growing for decades, with some positively surprising exceptions like DAO. But ever since Mass Effect 3 with its hilariously terrible ending, Bioware has managed to make one worse game after another, Inquisition being an MMO disguised as a WRPG, Andromeda generating memes and jokes for years, Anthem being Bioware’s biggest failure (so far), and Veilguard trying really hard to be the next Concord. Bioware certainly deserves the trophy for worst company on this list for its entire trajectory, going from classics like BG1/2 that still top almost every best CRPG list to whatever these recent abominations they’re trying to launch are. And the saddest part is how much they have influenced and continue to influence the entire industry.
BosanskiSeljak
Augur
None. There are more than enough interesting RPGs for me to play so I don't have to touch AAA trash.
Haven't spent even a second on new Bethesda trash (except ~15mins playimg Skyrim on xbox when i was visiting a friend). Haven't touched a Larian game except Divine Divinity. The nu-BioWare shit I played I went in knowing what to expect (guess I was in a masochist phase). Last Obsidian game I played was Alpha Protocol, never touched banal shit PoE or anything after. CDPR is only Witcher, everything after can pretty much be considered a different studio.
If you're spending time "hating" any of these developers you're wasting your own time. There are dozens if not hundreds of good RPGs you haven't touched, cut this blockbuster shit out of your life and enjoy the hobby.
Haven't spent even a second on new Bethesda trash (except ~15mins playimg Skyrim on xbox when i was visiting a friend). Haven't touched a Larian game except Divine Divinity. The nu-BioWare shit I played I went in knowing what to expect (guess I was in a masochist phase). Last Obsidian game I played was Alpha Protocol, never touched banal shit PoE or anything after. CDPR is only Witcher, everything after can pretty much be considered a different studio.
If you're spending time "hating" any of these developers you're wasting your own time. There are dozens if not hundreds of good RPGs you haven't touched, cut this blockbuster shit out of your life and enjoy the hobby.
Sir, this is the RPGCodex. Reason won't work!
Hey man, any decent list? I could use some things to play.
BosanskiSeljak
Augur
Look through pages in GRPG and check out any indie/obscure game not posted by Infinitron. It's a system that works surprisingly well
Lord_Potato
Arcane
The RPG Codex's Top 70 PC RPGs (And Some Hidden Gems) is always a good place to start. It's extremely likely that there are several games on this list that you haven't played yet.
Lord_Potato
Arcane
NecroLord
Dumbfuck!
- Joined
- Sep 6, 2022
- Messages
- 15,505
Just ignore Infinitron posts entirely.
Works like a charm.
- Joined
- Oct 1, 2018
- Messages
- 8,735
All indie games released in the last decade, all better than the slop AAA developers are shoveling:
Grimoire: Heralds of the Winged Exemplar
Voidspire Tactics
Kingsvein
Underrail
Age of Decadence
Dungeon Rats
Colony Ship
Zorbus
Legends of Amberland
Legends of Amberland 2
Titan Outpost
Realms of Antiquity: The Shattered Crown
Nox Archaist
SKALD: Against the Black Priory
Brigand: Oaxaca
Caves of Lore
Monomyth (still in EA)
If I have to choose one game from this list that is criminally overlooked, even on the Codex, it's Realms of Antiquity.
KeighnMcDeath
RPG Codex Boomer
- Joined
- Nov 23, 2016
- Messages
- 15,699
Isn't Skald still EA too? ;p
Do we have a studio hate thread of ALL TIME yet?
Do we have a studio hate thread of ALL TIME yet?
Lord_Potato
Arcane
Skald is adding more content but is no longer in early access.
I think there will be a big update in December.
Late Bloomer
Scholar
- Joined
- Apr 7, 2022
- Messages
- 4,000
I would like to mention Dragon Ruins. It's made by a fellow codexer and is quite fun.
Last edited:
KeighnMcDeath
RPG Codex Boomer
- Joined
- Nov 23, 2016
- Messages
- 15,699
Ah! Seems GOG has it as well. Wishlisted.
GentlemanCthulhu
Liturgist
- Joined
- Aug 10, 2019
- Messages
- 1,479
The last time BioWare released an RPG was in 2009 so it's not so easy to call them a "modenr" WRPG studio. I'm sure my vote will change once DA:V comes out, but for now it'll go to Bethesda. I'm just so sick of their flaccid, boring, milquetoast, and lame "products".
Nas92
Augur
- Joined
- Oct 20, 2014
- Messages
- 630
It's a difficult choice but the ones that stand out to me the most are Larian and inXile.
Larian obviously because all their shit is massively overrated and their writers really think they're funny. I wanted to play D:OS for the tactical turn-based combat but they want to shove their mid writing down my throat. Also Baldur's Gate III? Are you seriously going to create a sequel that has little to nothing to do with the originals gameplay-wise? Let's not even mention the story.
inXile, I remember Fargo jacking himself off to Wasteland 2, I bought it day one for 60 bucks or so, fucking waste of money. Shit, soulless writing, terrible combat and mechanics.
I'd also vote Bioware but do they even exist aside from the name? What have they been releasing? The 9999th Dragon Age spinoff?
CDPR gets a pass because I like the existence of GOG and I realise that there must be something in The Witcher games that I just can't see that makes them special for a lot of people.
I'm still waiting to see on Bethesda. I have a soft spot for them, yes, even Skyrim and Oblivion. Their Fallout games suck cock, Starfield was a huge flop and a failure, but I still have some hope for TES VI.
Larian obviously because all their shit is massively overrated and their writers really think they're funny. I wanted to play D:OS for the tactical turn-based combat but they want to shove their mid writing down my throat. Also Baldur's Gate III? Are you seriously going to create a sequel that has little to nothing to do with the originals gameplay-wise? Let's not even mention the story.
inXile, I remember Fargo jacking himself off to Wasteland 2, I bought it day one for 60 bucks or so, fucking waste of money. Shit, soulless writing, terrible combat and mechanics.
I'd also vote Bioware but do they even exist aside from the name? What have they been releasing? The 9999th Dragon Age spinoff?
CDPR gets a pass because I like the existence of GOG and I realise that there must be something in The Witcher games that I just can't see that makes them special for a lot of people.
I'm still waiting to see on Bethesda. I have a soft spot for them, yes, even Skyrim and Oblivion. Their Fallout games suck cock, Starfield was a huge flop and a failure, but I still have some hope for TES VI.
And it wasn't a very good one either.
ColossusCimmerian
Educated
- Joined
- Dec 30, 2023
- Messages
- 162
LoL are they developers?
In the last 10 years:
Strapon Age 3: Cisquisition (delighted pink-haired reddit whales, mostly flopped otherwise)
Ass Effect 4: Androgyny (hard flop)
Anthem (some pathetic multiplayer game that's a hard flop)
Strapon Age 4: Vilefart (will be a hard flop)
ColossusCimmerian
Educated
- Joined
- Dec 30, 2023
- Messages
- 162
Eldrin
Novice
- Joined
- May 28, 2024
- Messages
- 90
Just search for some articles about the future remake of Witcher 1. I remember one full of "many themes weren't appropriate", "needs to be updated for modern audiences" coming from the supposed devs.
CD Project was already going down the path of woketards for a long time, and it gave the rights to remake it to a studio with a similar track record.
As an Amazon Associate, rpgcodex.net earns from qualifying purchases.