Games Inbox: Is Ghost Of Yōtei a disappointment?

The Thursday letters page asks what’s next for the Silent Hill franchise, as a reader worries about the future of Rare under Microsoft.

Games Inbox is a collection of our readers’ letters, comments, and opinions. To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.uk

Spectre of regret
I’ve just finished Ghost Of Yōtei and I’m not really sure what to make of it. It looks amazing and the developer clearly put a lot of effort into it, but after about 10 hours you’ve really seen everything it has to offer and yet that’s not even close to halfway through it.

I’m not sure I would call it old-fashioned exactly, as I’ve heard some people say, but it’s definitely not pushing anything forward except the graphics. They really are fantastic, and I think you could argue that alone is worth the price of admission. But the thing is there’s nothing actually wrong with any of it, it’s just there’s nothing amazing either, other than how it looks.

I know that problem is as old as gaming itself but it’s always a shame when you see a game that looks so good and has so much stuff in it, but most of it is actually kind of basic. With so few Sony exclusives nowadays I really needed this to have more meat to it. It’s definitely a disappointment for me. Not one that gets me angry, but it’s definitely not a game I’ll be looking back on with much nostalgia.
Jerry

Two options
Maybe Gregg Mayles is just retiring but if he doesn’t, and he does go to Playtonic, that will be a huge loss for Rare and Microsoft… not that they’ll probably even care. I don’t get the impression anyone at Microsoft gives a damn about Rare or anything they do. They should be doing anything they can to keep someone like Gregg on board, but they just let him slip through their fingers.

I only really see two outcomes now. When Sea Of Thieves starts to lose popularity (I assume this has already started, because I can’t remember the last time I heard about it) Microsoft decide to either a) let Rare make a new game or b) shut Rare down.

Given how things are at the moment I think it’s probably most likely they go for the second option. After all, they’ve just cancelled one of their games, most of the best people have left, and none of their old franchises are popular anymore. It’ll be a sad end for Ultimate Play the Game but it seems inevitable at this point.
Grackle

Portable-ish gaming
£800 to use Windows 11 with a touchscreen does not sound like a great deal to me. You can easily get a decent gaming laptop for that price, and it doesn’t sound like it’d be much smaller than the handheld. I’m sure it’s a fun novelty to have a recent game running perfectly on a portable but we’re not talking something the size of a Game Boy Advance here, the thing is massive and barely portable.

For those that are into it, more power to them but it’s obvious why these things are not catching on with anyone but the hardcore. So yeah, I don’t really understand Microsfot’s interest them. Unless, as you suggest, all they’re going to do from now on is sell high-end consoles and PCs to the well off, since not enough people are interested in their normal consoles.
Ishi

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Pocket monster
Wondering if you or the community have any say on Switch 1 or Switch 2. I have two boys under seven who want to play Pokémon Legends: Z-A and my wife and I are thinking about them sharing it as a Christmas/birthday present.

They won’t play online at all and will mostly right now play Pokémon games (Z-A, Arceus, Scarlet, etc). Also, is there a best time to get a Switch? Will it be in Black Friday sales? Haven’t owned a Nintendo console since the N64, so a bit out of the loop with them.

Also, thanks again Simundo for the Xbox Essentials code. Really appreciate it.
GC

GC: If you’re asking whether the Switch is worth getting, it’s unquestionably one of the greatest consoles ever made. Although increasingly few new games will be made for it, now that the Swich 2 is out. Nintendo hardware and software is rarely discounted that much, but it’s not long till Black Friday now, so you might as well wait and see. Although if you can stretch to the cost of a Switch 2 that would be the best option, from your boys’ point of view at least.

Of its time
There’s no question the Saints Row reboot was a terrible idea but I’m not sure we should be treating the series like it was some all-time classic that got disrespected. It was always kind of trashy and very much of its era, i.e. mid-2000s. Saints Row 2 was the only really good one, with the first being too serious and the third too silly.

I guess that makes it more understandable why they had trouble finding the tone with the reboot, but I think the biggest problem by that point is that people had just moved on. It’s 14 years from Saints Row 2 to the reboot and people that were kids at the time are now adults and people that were adults definitely didn’t want to play as obnoxious teenagers, rather than the characters they liked from the series.

I’m happy to let the whole thing just pass on now. Red Faction too, before anyone mentions that, although I wouldn’t mind seeing Descent return. That was always Volition’s best game.
Gimble

Hardcore decision
I have flipped between Battlefield and Call Of Duty for 20 or so years. Battlefield was always a favourite because of the large areas used and the ability to use aircraft and tanks. Until Battlefield 1 there had been hardcore mode, which took away some of the visual aids and made it easier to kill with well-aimed shots. Without Hardcore mode, having to empty a whole magazine into an opponent to kill them is plain daft and is great for console or inexperienced players with auto-aim, but I prefer more realism.

I switched back to Call Of Duty because they maintained hardcore mode and I will probably get Black Ops 7 because I really miss the experience, and I believe there is a way of getting hardcore. In my view, Call Of Duty has become to kid oriented, even though it is 18+. I don’t want to battle with cartoon characters, aliens, and sharks or zombies with silly weapons – Call Of Duty is trying to be Fortnite and for me it’s not working anymore.
Jay

F is for follow-up
I’m so shocked that the Silent Hill revival actually worked. After some truly terrible games they then surprise us with two really good ones. Who would’ve thought?

Given how successful Silent Hill f was I kind of expect some kind of sequel or at least DLC, because I think Hinako has been very popular. But I guess that’s going to take some time. So what’s next? Is it the Silent Hill 1 remake? I’m kind of interested in that, if only to see if they change any of the plot aspects, which were pretty whacky for what became a very serious franchise.
Onkle

GC: There’s no word on any kind of Silent Hill f follow-up, but the next game is Silent Hill: Townhall, which is rumoured to be out in March. Either way it’s by British studio Screen Burn (née No Code) who made Stories Untold, which we really liked, and Observation, which we did not.

Quality levels
I know we’ll never find out unless it’s another leak or hack but I’d love to know what the budget is on other Nintendo games. Pokémon is obviously super cheap but while I’m sure it’s well below the average they do seem to have spent quite a bit on the recent Zeldas and Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza. I imagine that’s the reason they made them more expensive, rather than just straight greed.

Why Pokémon gets singled out I don’t know. I guess maybe it’s because it’s not directly under Nintendo’s control but it seems a very odd thing for any company to do. Call Of Duty games are clearly not cheap to make but to give Activision the credit, they spend the money and the games, whatever you think of them, clearly have a budget – because they know it’s going to sell and fans expect a certain level of quality.

For whatever reason Game Freak seem to assume that Pokémon fans expect nothing but 2000 era graphics and no voice-acting, and they’re going to be perfectly happy with that forever. From their perspective I guess you could say that people buy the games anyway but why risk them get disgruntled? Why not just spend a little extra money on the games and make them as good as proper Nintendo games?
Taylor Moon

Inbox also-rans
So what’s going to be the reason for fans to turn against Battlefield 6? You know it’s going to happen but will it be because they go back on their no-unrealistic skins promise or some other microtransaction related extortion? You know EA won’t be able to control themselves. I give it six months, tops.
Meister

Speaking of Until Dawn, did that movie of it ever come out? I thought that was meant to be the reason they did the remake, but I don’t remember hearing anything else about it. Was it any good?
Wotan

GC: It came out in April. We’ve never seen it though.

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The small print
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