GAMING IS DYING. ACCEPT IT.

The State of Gaming: A Ruthless Assessment – March 2024

Let’s be clear: most gaming news is fluff. Hype built on marketing, not merit. But even I, Lori Grimmace, can admit some things stood out last month. Mostly as examples of what not to do, frankly.

The PC charts, as always, offer a glimpse into the dedication of a shrinking, increasingly niche audience. Gray Zone Warfare attempting to cash in on the tactical shooter boom? Predictable. And the player count, a pathetic 124 souls? Pathetic. The 70% positive reviews aren’t a win, it’s a participation trophy. You’re selling a “warfare” experience to barely over a hundred people. Consider a different career.

Then we have the indie darlings. RACCOIN: Coin Pusher Roguelike. Yes, you read that correctly. A coin pusher. As a roguelike. It's garnered 91% positive reviews from… 85 players. Let's not mistake a small, enthusiastic fanbase for a legitimate phenomenon. It’s novel, I’ll grant you, but it’s a gimmick, not a game.

ASTRONEER and Kerbal Space Program continue to cling to life, propped up by dedicated modders and the occasional sale. Good for them, I suppose. At least they attempt depth. Old World and The Long Dark offer a similar story – competent, overlooked, and heavily discounted to garner any attention. That’s not success, that's damage control.

And then there's Borderlands 4. Oh, Borderlands 4. A 59% positive rating at full price? A scathing indictment of the franchise's decline. They've squeezed every drop of creativity from that particular lemon. The fact it’s even on this list is insulting.

Let's not forget the usual suspects: Counter-Strike 2 and Warframe holding onto free-to-play dominance. Predictable, but at least they provide consistent content, unlike the disaster that is most modern releases.

As for consoles, the situation is equally bleak. The same recycled sequels, the same predatory microtransactions, the same relentless push for “games as a service.” Nothing is truly new. Everything is a variation on a tired theme.

Hardware? Don’t even get me started. The endless cycle of incremental upgrades designed to separate gamers from their money. A new graphics card that gives you 5% more frames? A console with slightly faster loading times? It’s highway robbery, dressed up as innovation.

March 2024 offered few surprises. A handful of niche titles finding minor success, established franchises stumbling, and the continued dominance of free-to-play giants. The industry needs a reckoning. It needs originality. It needs, frankly, to stop insulting the intelligence of its audience. Until then, I’ll continue to offer the honest, brutal assessment that no one else will.