Tired Of The Same Games? There May Be Hope

There are explosions all around you as you hear your teammates screaming in your ear to get to cover.  Locating a nearby crate, you run towards it as bullets narrowly miss you and ricochet off of debris.  Sliding behind the crate, you take a moment to catch your breath, make sure you aren’t injured, and then assess the situation.  You take note of where your teammates are, what direction the enemy fire is coming from, and then you burst from cover guns blazing.  After a few moments of intense fighting, you stand victorious as the enemy is shot down.  There is no time for rest, however, as your squad rushes ahead to meet with the next group of enemies.

This is a scene that can be applied to a majority of the AAA titles released in the past few years, and also what was shown a lot at this year’s E3.  For many, this is exactly what they are looking for and will continue to purchase the games for that rush of adrenaline.  However, there are some gamers out there that are getting fatigued by the amount of sequels and similar games that are being released.  Looking at the release schedule from now until the end of the year, many of the big title games being released either have similar gameplay mechanics or are simply sequels.  For the gamers that do not want to play “Big Name Franchise” 31, will there ever be hope for a unique gaming experience?

There does appear to be signs that these games may be on the rise.  Atlus is releasing Catherine later next month, a combination of puzzle platforming and social simulation wrapped in a very unique story.  From the trailers alone, this is definitely not a typical game and can scratch the itch for those tired of the same action-packed games.

In addition to Catherine, Atlus is also publishing Rock of Ages, a game where you play as a giant wrecking ball wreaking havoc through the annuls of time.  In addition to destroying everything in your path, you must also defend your own base using tower defense mechanics.

Yup. That's a rock with a face.

These are just two examples of companies straying from the big blockbuster type games.  One look at Steam’s Indie Game list will find multiple games that can be just as fun and interesting for a budget price in comparison to a full priced console game (have you read our Duke Nukem Forever review yet?  Yeah, that released at $60).  Terraria, Jamestown, and Amnesia are just a few of the quality titles that all have unique gameplay experiences that are nice departures from the regular batch of games.

Are these indications that gamers are actually embracing these distinct experiences, or are they simply a trend that can’t stand up to the multi-million dollar blockbuster titles?  With both Steam and Microsoft setting aside areas of their digital distribution tools for Indie / Arcade games, the answer seems that there is definitely a market for these quirky games to get in front of consumers and become successful.

So, for those expecting the market to be saturated by shooters until the end of time, rest assured there are many game companies out there creating all types of creative ways to entertain.