I have read dozens of these threads for dozens of games over the years but never bothered to write one myself. Nothing especially exciting is coming up on Google for Cyberpunk yet, so I figured I might as well give back to the community, so to speak. So, here are a list of tips and tricks for new players. Many of these may not stay true as CDPR patches the game but they're up to date as of 1.06.
If you have stuff I missed, throw it in the comments and I'll try to edit it in. And if I'm wrong, correct me! I'm not an expert, just a fan. Some of this stuff is a matter of opinion, playing "optimally" is a bias of mine that not everyone may share. You may want to beat the whole game hacking everything in sight with 5 intelligence (good luck lol). This is just as valid a playstyle as being a min-maxing degenerate like me, the point is to have fun :)
Attributes:
- The game files tell you that you get an attribute point every three levels. This is a damn lie. You get one every level. By level 50, which you can attain well before beating the game, you can raise three stats to 20 with 4 points left over.
- You can have an attribute up to 20 by level 15. Game's level cap is 50.
-Body and Technical Ability both let you open doors. DIFFERENT doors. It's rare that they'll both work on the same door. If you wanna open every door, you should max 'em both out. That said, this is mostly just for bonus loot, so it's not mandatory.
- Every attribute has perks enough for a viable build, though technical ability can be rough going. You should consider leveling one skill to 20 before you start leveling another because the high level perks in many of these trees are bonkers. The two exceptions to this are "Breach Protocol" under intelligence and "Crafting" under technical ability. Good, but not necessarily your best first priority.
For example, at the end of the blades tree is a perk that makes you do double damage to enemies with full health (at rank 3) and another perk that increases the damage you do by 3% per 1% health the enemy is missing. So assuming it works as described (big if, lol) if you take 50% of an enemy's health off with your opening strike, you'll do 150% bonus damage. Throw in the bleeding effects and you'll be ginsu knifing your way to victory in no time.
- Attribute pairings: Some attributes have a bunch of synergies. For example, Cool synergizes well with Reflex for blades, sniper or silent pistol builds. Cool also synergizes relatively well with Quickhacking. Technical Ability pairs well with Reflex because the engineering tree buffs smart weapons and tech weapons - though there are some tech shotguns, which pair with Body, most guns are buffed by the Reflex trees.
Comparatively, Technical Ability has less to offer a melee build - stealth melee should be Reflex and Cool, while 'charge TF in' melee benefits from Body and Reflex.
- If you want to craft, you need to raise technical ability to 18 for best effect. If you want to use tech weapons, take it to 20. Quickhacks are crafted in their own tree, and are not a part of normal crafting.
- Not much advice here overall because it's mostly a matter of playstyle. You wanna have a dude with 13 in every attribute? They'll be a great all-rounder. Wanna specialize? You'll get some outrageous power perks.
Skills + Perks:
- Skills level as you use them although Athletics is currently really hard to level apart from some buggy stuff. The other slightly counter-intuitive skill to level is engineering which levels when you deactivate cameras manually, need to be standing very close to them. You can also level it by firing tech weapons through walls and by using grenades.
- Perks level as you put points into them. You get one perk point whenever you level up. You get perk points as you level skills (7 per skill tree, if you get it high enough). edit: Crafting, Breach & Quickhacking have 6 for some reason.
There are also a number of 'perk shards' that give you free perks.
- To buy a perk, you need to have a high enough level in the associated attribute. All skill trees have at least one perk that requires 20 in the associated attribute (Body, Reflex, etc). Sometimes that perk is just ok, but sometimes it's bonkers powerful. Take the time to read the trees. Basically all builds are viable right now so I don't have any "best" build tips, just level one attribute to 20 and then figure out which one you wanna do next.
- Skills cannot level past their associated attribute. For example, Blades is in the Reflex tree. If you have Reflex 4, it doesn't matter if you vivisect every enemy in the game, you will level to blades 4 and stop there until you raise Reflex to 5. This is one of the reasons it makes sense to level an attribute to 20 ASAP. Keep an eye on the skills you wanna use all game - if they stop gaining experience, you need to bump the attribute.
-Leveling skills will reward you with bonuses. Sometimes the bonus makes you better at the skill (for example, reducing recoil on a kind of gun). But each skill tree has (afaik) 7 "bonus" perks in it. This means that there are more total perks available to characters who level Body and Reflex (which each have three associated skills) as opposed to other attributes (which only have 2).
- Every tree has some ridiculous skills that are must-have, and some that are useless. One or two are even actively harmful, like the one that automatically disassembles junk. Some junk sells for 750 ED, so scrapping it automatically robs you. Avoid that perk (it's in Crafting).
edit: Matter of opinion. There's a lot of junk in this game and if you're speccing into crafting, you can easily make money, so taking the 'scrap all junk' perk can save some time. Ultimately the only junk you need to scrap is the cans you buy from vending machines, which (with the current UI) is the fastest way apart from using the perk. Your mileage may vary.
-If you read through the skills it's pretty obvious which ones are awesome; usually it's a huge buff to damage or crit chance. They give out crit chance like candy in this game.
- It's worth making sure that your primary combat skill (pistols, blades, etc) is always capped - so if you have 10 reflex, you should have 10 in blades. This way you'll get the most from the perk system, but also have 'best' fighting style at your disposal. The game gives you all these great playstyles but in my experience, if you don't level them, they become progressively less useful.
- You can respec perks for 100,000 ED. This will not reset your attributes. 100,000 ED will always be a stupid amount of money. You're better off just farming up some more perk points and spending them.
- There is always an ultimate perk unlocked when you reach 20 in the skill (need 20 in the attribute first). These are enigmatic and poorly worded. To be clear, they give you an up front buff of varying quality. Then you can keep putting points in them generally for a 1% buff. I haven't doubled checked all of them, but after that first rank, it's highly unlikely you'd ever want to put another point into them.
- Cold blood makes you good at everything, a little bit. It's in Cool, so it's most efficient to pair it with pistol sneak or blade sneak, but really you can go hog wild. It has some preposterous bonuses.
- You will never need to swim underwater AFAIK so ignore that perk.
Weapons
- All builds are viable and so are all weapons. Still, I think they put shotguns and lmgs in the same tree because the range on shotguns isn't optimal and they are not sneaky weapons. I'd carry one of both, and I also carried a pistol, a sniper rifle and an assault rifle on my Reflex build, though this spread me a little thin.
- Weapons come in a tiered system: common (grey) uncommon (green), rare (blue), epic (purple) and legendary (orange.) Wonder if they'll pay Blizzard royalties. If anyone will, really.
- There are also iconic weapons. They can usually be upgraded to legendary, but not always (RIP Lizzie pistol). This costs a lot of mats. But not as much as upgrading a level 40 gun to a level 41 gun.
- Using crafting to upgrade weapons is so expensive / tedious that you should just craft new weapons instead. You should also keep your Iconic weapons at the rarity you find them, and upgrade them to level 50 at the lowest possible rarity, to save on mats.
- You can have three weapons (plus unarmed / gorilla arms) equipped at once.
- Power weapons can ricochet and are most common. Tech weapons can charge and shoot through walls. They discharge automatically at full charge until you get an engineering perk to fix that. This makes them WAY more useful.
- Smart weapons paint dots on a target and then they'll hit the target. The dots (little and red) need to appear before you start firing. If they do, the bullets may even hit around corners or cover. If you don't, the bullets are wasted.
- You can craft ammo. The carry limit is high, 400 pistol, 700 rifle, 100 snipeshotgun on PS4 according to u/Eggtastic_Taco, I thought I'd had 500 pistol ammo on PC before but IDK.
- Weapons can be modded. Replacing a mod destroys it. Scrapping a weapon destroys the mod unless you have a perk (from crafting.) The perk is worth it. Modding weapons is generally worth it. I wouldn't bother putting a silencer on a pistol.
edit: As withoutapaddle points out, silencers are awesome if you are speccing into them, generally with a Reflex / Cool build focused around pistols. You can easily overcome the damage debuff, especially with the rare silencer, where the debuff is only 15%.
Armor
- There's no transmog so you're gonna look ridiculous until endgame, and maybe then too.
- Armor seemed to me like it made little difference til I passed 4000 armor, at which point I became an unkillable tank. Main appeal of crafting, IMO.
- But mods can make a big difference by buffing critical damage, critical chance, etc. Also plenty of useless mods (breathe underwater longer).
- You can pick up resistance to damage types, and even immunity, from item mods - but also from certain perks and cyberware.
- Armor can be iconic too, though far less often. Same advice from iconic weapons applies.
Hacking
- Not much to say here - use breach protocol to debuff enemies and make quickhacks cheaper. Many quickhacks are non lethal.
- Quickhacking costs RAM. It recharges out of combat, and in combat with the right perk.
- The game teaches you this in an optional tutorial but it is VERY important: you can quickhack people while seeing them through cameras. And when you do, they can't do a damn thing about it. They can't detect you unless they see you IRL. So hack a camera from across the street, cycle through their camera network killin' em all. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.
Crafting
- When you craft an item, it randomly has mods (or maybe none) and randomly has mod slots. Far as I can tell, 4 is the maximum number of mod slots. Mods are fairly easy to come by, and some of them are ludicrously OP (Can find 6 15% crit chance mods and have 100% effective crit, I think).
- But they're random! So you may need to craft and recraft those legendary pants until you get one with 4 mod slots. edit: max 4 for torso slots, max 3 for everything else
- Crafting in general is broken in good ways and bad. The main tip is that you can scrap drinks, but not food, for some reason. So go to every drink machine you see and buy them out of drinks (10 ED a drink). Then scrap all the drinks for common and uncommon components. Craft a bunch of uncommon sniper rifles, sell them to a merchant, repeat til you're at 20 crafting. Good way to make money too.
- As mentioned above, upgrading things is expensive as hell, though at higher levels it also gives you huge chunks of crafting XP all at once.
edit: When you upgrade an iconic item, it seems to reset the cost of components to upgrade it again, and as a bonus, raises it to one level below yours. So if you don't want to farm mats forever, consider waiting til you're level 50 before raising your Iconic gear to Legendary status. Then you'll only need to upgrade it once.
- Items can only be crafted one at a time but you can edit a config file to make that happen instantly. This'll get patched, I hope.
- There are crafting specs scattered through the world. The best ones are usually free from drops but you might buy one for a niche build.
Here's a mod table, h/t to u/theherrhuml
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Work and Stack	Armadillo, Backpacker, Osmosis, Plume
Work but Don't Stack	Fortuna, Bully
Work	Coolit, Antivenom, Superinsulator - not for EMP, Panacea
Don't Work	Deadeye, Predator, Resist, Zero Drag

Cyberware
- It'll make you a beast. It's the main use for 'street cred', too, a system that barely needs explaining. Kill dudes, get street cred, unlock new Cyberware. Other stuff too but mostly pretty pointless by comparison. The best cyberware requires 49 street cred; the cap is 50.
- The wrist mounted missile launcher is sick but it also seems to disable the use of grenades (mapped to the same hotkey on my controller anyway). The missiles, however, are bottomless.
edit: Probably my biggest error here. I thought my grenade option had disappeared, but you can switch grenades into the slot if you want. If I'm understanding u/theherrhuml correctly, this means you can't use both at once? IDK.
- Slowing time is very handy. The synaptic accelerator does it when you are spotted by an enemy. A must for sneak builds. Sandevistan slows time when activated. Mostly useful for combat but you can also rush right past enemies (but be aware that slow time means doors open slow too). There's also Kereznikov, which slows time when you dodge, slide or do some other stuff idk man, I forget. Obvious combat applications.
- Your initial cyberware lets you hack. The cyberware in the OS slot, to be specific. If you replace it with a Sandevistan model, or a Berserk, you will lose the ability to hack. The game does a very poor job of warning you of this. It SUCKS to suddenly not be able to turn off cameras by hacking them.
- Cyberware has mod slots. Maybe this explain this at one point but it's easy to forget. You'll find lots of cyberware mods in any case.
- If you're using quickhacking, most quickhacks have to be equipped in your deck, which goes in the OS slot. They have their own parallel crafting system which is under Intelligence. They'll make you a cybergod among men.
- Overall cyberware is meant to compliment your build. Wanna do blades? Mantis blades go in the arm slot. Wanna hack? Buy the best OS. Don't care about hacking? Stick a Sandevistan or Berserk in there and shoot / chop your enemies to bits. The monowire, counter-intuitively, is a 'blunt' weapon and benefits from the associated perks, as well as being buffed by cool.
- Double jump, or charge jump, are mandatory. Why wouldn't you want the high ground, as Ben Kenobi taught us?
- Like I said, it compliments your playstyle, so it also gates the best cyberware behind attribute requirements. 20 body nets you an implant that gives +60% health, which is huge. You'll never be able to equip all the "best" cyberware, but you'll have what's best for your build.
- Every ripperdoc has a specialty, but they don't always have their legendary quality item. This is kinda annoying because it's one of a number of easter egg hunts they implement for buying stuff, real MMO tier game design. I have the money, gimme the damn thing. Anyway, check the internet for guides on where to buy legendary cyberware.
Questing + Side Content
- Personally I'd recommend finishing all the side content in Watson (the first area, in which you are trapped) before proceeding to Konpecki (you'll know when you know.) This gives you a lot of tools in your toolbox for a pretty challenging series of missions, and give you lots of practice playing the game .- Alternatively, there's little punishment for burning through all the story content up to the final mission, and in fact, no real punishment for beating the final mission as soon as it's available. The game just drops you right back before the final mission, so that you can unlock the other endings. Up to you.
edit: A certain Hollywood actor shows up to make commentary on your quests once you finish Act 1, including quests in Watson. So depending on how thirsty for Keanu you are, consider holding off on doing sidequests in Watson until after Act 1.
- Like the Witcher, the story quests are worth way more experience, so if you're in a hurry to level then get after it.
- If you bought this game because of the political dimensions of Cyberpunk then READ THE SHARDS. All of them. Great stuff in there. If you bought it for pew pew lasers, then only read the shards with smutty titles, they're funny.
- The level design's pretty good. Often I'll finish a dungeon only to notice that there was a sneaky back way in that I never even noticed because I didn't bother looking. Of course, with double jump, you can usually make your OWN way in.
- Overall, the level design combined with the shards made even clearing reported crimes fun for me all the way through to endgame. I highly recommend doing most of the sidequests ( hear racing sucks which checks out because driving sucks ). Also clear all the organized crime bosses because they drop awesome loot.
Cars
- You can get a free Caliburn, one of the game's fastest cars, in the Badlands, hard to explain so just google the video.- Fixers will text you about cars they have for sale. This sucks. The cars then show up as quest markers. This also sucks. You do not need to buy all the cars (could be fun to do so), any one car will suffice.
- Motorcycles are great. They can ride in the gutters or down the center line of roads, totally ignoring traffic.
- If you park your car in the road it creates a traffic jam.
- Look both ways before you cross the street.
- You can steal cars but there's not much reason to since you can call your own car to your location.
Misc
- Some missions require you not kill anyone. You can easily get an implant mod that makes all your weapon damage non-lethal. This allows you to never worry about this again. You very rarely get in trouble for bringing someone in alive; apart from some flavor commentary IDK if it's ever happened to me. Alternatively, you can use blunt weapons or certain quickhacks.
- Pay Vic back. Partially to upgrade your eyeballs but mostly because it's the right thing to do for a friend.
- In general, dialogue checks relating to your attributes are there for flavor so you can use them with impunity, but without material reward.
- Street cred: literally just kill criminals and do quests and it'll level faster than your character level. I hit 50 SC around level 30, as I recall. That unlocks the best cyberware and the highest level gigs, then there's no reason to think about it ever again.
- If you possibly can, wait 2 years for the finished version of this game with all the DLCs. I love it, but I think it'd be more fun to experience the finished product fresh. I only played Witcher 3 last year and it was amazing.
- There are free legendary mantis blades and a free legendary monowire kicking around in the game world.
- Don't let Cyberpsychos or other bosses hit you in melee, obvs.
- Those little icons over people's heads at the beginning of the game are telling you that you can fight them but also how difficult they are. I spent an hour trying to figure this out when I bought the game, lol.
- Cops will aggro if you get too close for too long. Gangs will aggro if you get too close usually.
That's it for now! Let me know what I missed.
Thanks for updates from: u/theherrhuml, Eggtastic_Taco, withoutapaddle

In 2016, I bought Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare Legacy Edition, it comes with a code for Modern Warfare Remastered (MWR). The IW disc is required to access MWR. I only bought the game for MWR not IW. When Playstation made MWR as a free game in March 2019, I download the PS+ version to avoid having to use the disc. I’ve since deleted the PS+ version and would like to use my original copy that I paid for. Im not always going to have PS+, however, I would like to play MWR, which I paid for, in the meantime.
When I load my copy into the PS4 and try to access MWR through the IW menu, it takes me to the Playstation store to purchase the game. I already bought this game though.
I cannot play MWR since it is shown as a PS+ game on my PS4 and the online store. My purchase has been overwritten. I cant launch the game b/c it just takes me to the store instead.
I’ve tried all the troubleshooting steps like restarting/signing out/restore licenses/power cycling/activate primary console etc. My legacy edition worked great until I download the PS+ version.
I’ve talked to multiple PS LiveChat representatives and nobody has given me a solution or seem to know what the hell Im talking about. I've asked them to revoke the PS+ license so I can try to launch from my disc without it recognizing as the PS+ version and they refuse to do that. I've been contacting Activision since September and have gotten no where. Nobody has provided actual resolution so Im coming here. Any ideas? Possible solutions? I paid $80 for this game and now I cant play. It's very frustrating.
Edit: Im going to include updates into the post to avoid digging the comment sections.
​
Update 1: I deleted the save and re-downloaded the game. It's still the PS+ version. I can confirm, the single-player progress does get wiped. Good news is, my FNG score still shows up.
Update 2: I made a brand new account. For offline, MWR didn't appear in the menu. I connected back to the internet and MWR appeared but it took me to the store page for the IW disc upgrade for whatever price it had. My main account takes me to the MWR page.
Update 3: Asked for them to revoke access w/o the backstory. Agent tells me it’s impossible for them to revoke access to the game and they cannot do it. Then later tells me the only way to revoke access to a game is to refund me the price of the PS+ version (a refund on nothing really) which will then revoke the license from my account.
I still see the game on my account and he tells me I have to wait for it to take effect.
I really don’t believe him but I’ll wait and see.
Update 4: They gave me a case number and sent my issues to their specialist or whatever they called it. I haven't received a response back and chat agents don't want to talk to me. In my experience, Playstation Support is absolutely useless.
Update 5 1/23/21: Never heard from Playstation and I highly doubt I will ever hear from them. That $0 refund the PS Chat Agent gave me did nothing at all. Mike R. from Activision Support has got back to me the other week and surprise, surprise, Mike R from Activision, doesn't know what to do either. A back and fourth and he last asked "what region Im in?". I never heard back.
Activision support is an absolutely useless bunch of people.
Playstation support is an absolutely useless bunch of people.

For last 5 years or so I used laptops and nothing else. Recently I started getting more seriously into Blender and Game Dev and after chocking on simple models I realized I need to get a more powerful machine than a slim ultrabook. The reason for choosing PC is purely financial - I heard that PCs are twice as fast for the same price as laptops and for the first time in my life speed is what I want and deep pocket is what I don't have.
I don't ask for specific suggestions. I know how to make a PC, how to match parts and more or less what to look for. I'm also a programmer and work close to the metal, so most(all?) parameters of PC components make sense to me at least in the abstract. But after 5 years of not caring about CPUs, graphic cards etc. I feel lost with all the names and brands. I see listings on the internet shops with titles that, supposedly, should get me excited for the build and parts within it, but all I see are meaningless letters and numbers.
Can someone point me to a resource or guide to all those products available on the market - what's old, what's new, what series are out there and how they compare to each other, what should be avoided or what to pay attention to. Most important thing to me is someone saying things as they are, without marketing buzzwords and useless gimmicks. I guess what I'm looking for is a list of raw power for a price with assurance that whatever I choose, it will work without issues.
Another question, since I'm already here - how low can I go with CPU without hurting a performance of BlendeKrita/Godot (which are mostly GPU-based)? If I want to make games, I guess I also need to be able to run them so this is also a consideration - would equivalent of PS4 CPU be enough? Most games don't get much improvement from additional CPU speed other than FPS, they either work in a minimal recommended configuration or don't, so I don't need to worry about it too much, all I want is not go to low and later regret it.
I use Linux BTW (and plan to work inside virtual machines), but today it's hard to find a PC component incompatible with Linux anyway.

__This is a guide, so best you read it full thoroughly to get some information and some tips. It's for new players or for those who are quite late in PS4 era who are confused deciding whether to buy PS5 digital or PS5 Physical edition? While old PS4 players are also welcomed, who knows what might change your mind?__
Let's get this straight! I will be telling pros and cons of digital games, while cons being obviously pros of physical game. This guide will then proceed forward to next topic of who should switch? Ending with important NOTES.
**Pros:**
*Digital games are not physical entities, therefore they are damage proof, scratch proof, water-proof, dust-proof, overall they can't be destroyed, which means in case something like natural calamity happens like a earthquake your huge physical library will just came crashing down with all your sweet games discs shattered into pieces (off topic but Nintendo users are safe from most this stuff). While over time your physical games will accumulate scratches and small damages which may render them useless or make them full of problems to play on a console as it couldn't read the disk properly.
*Digital games are very easy to access. Imagine you want to play all your games just for fun and you have this huge ass physical library. With digital games, and with now the power of PS5 fast SSD you don't have to stand up, and sit down again and again in your couch for changing the disks just exit the game and start next one. Laziness on another level, but that's what every one wants right? But with many games you might end up using HDD which will slow down your load time, but hey! You still haven't stood up from your cozy couch, so it's a win win!
*Digital games let's you experience a true day one launch. Imagine you have this game (CYBERPUNK 2077) and you are so hype for this you decorated your whole room with posters, changed wallpapers of your devices to that damn beautiful night city and now just waiting for the release to happen. But wait? If you have digital copy, you can just pre load the game on to your console and start playing exactly from the time the game is launched! HYPE ++, but alas you have ordered physical copy, which will take days to come. While all your fav youtubers and friends are enjoying the game while you are sitting and just waiting for your game to come. HYPE : (
*Digital games go wherever you go! Let's say you are rich af and have over 1000 games in your library, or not so rich but still have a nice 50 games in your library. Now you are going to a vacation for few weeks to a nice spot but don't have enough space to carry all your 1000/50 games with you at once, leaving to you only mere 10-20 games you have. Well Digital games have no problem like that, no matter how many games you have you can take them with your PS5 anywhere and whenever you like, just pick up PS5 and go. (considering you have enough storage solution to store all the games, otherwise you could download them too, I mean not bad considering you don't have to worry about disks right?) Even bad when you are shifting your home you have to take headache of taking them too, and if some mishappening occurs, your disk, well goodbye.
**Cons:** *Enough I guess, let's make all physical gamers too happy about themselves too!*
*Digital games are just yours, which means you can't lend them to your far off friends, and in case you made a bad purchase and refund system is not available or you just don't want that game anymore, well you can't resell them. With digital games your money spent is just spent and you can't get it back anyway , while physical games can be shared, re-sold, and can be given for rent, Overall you can do whatever you want , keep, throw whatever, which means you are in CONTROL! And who doesn't like being in control ?
*Physical games have not to be downloaded again and again. Imagine you need to download a new game, but you don't have space, and you delete a digital game. But later you got some space and you need to download that 50GB game again. Well congrats! The game you just downloaded before have to be downloaded again with net you paid for. While physical games have no such things. Just insert the disc, download minor updates*, or hell even start playing without updating the game. No need to worry about deleting a game and thinking you need to download it again. Physical games save so much data for real. (*doesn't consider updates of modern warfare 2019). And if you live in a bad internet area, then well buying a digital console is just like Going to school without books.
*Physical games get cheaper faster. So you are not rich af and can't own 1000 games, but you are a gamer by heart and need those sweet juicy exclusives for your ps5, and luckily you are a physical gamer! Well physical games get way faster cheaper than digital ones. Both launch at same prices, but the digital stays on that grossing 60 dollars for months. Even after a year they hardly go below 30 while physical games can be get for like 10-15 dollars from ebay. Now that's what i call a deal!(NOTE: I only took data of around first two years based on my country experience, for more time than this, digital games get way cheaper than their physical brothers most of the time, with few exceptions. Results might differ in your country so see a little statistics of prices of games)
*Physical games are great for show-off. Now you got some guests in your house, or a annoying child who treats you like shit when you are at his home. They all see your huge gaming library in all it's glory with those physicals cases and those fancy artwork and names written in their spine reading (GRAND THEFT AUTO V). And they all just see that awestruck while you stand their smiling on your beautiful collection. With digital games, meh. If you decided to open your PS5 then it's only possible moreover those fancy cases with artworks and physical items are still no match for those digital photos (it's another level feeling to hold a game in your hands). Physical games are just good for anyone who likes to praise their collection and see them all day and say, it's beautiful, I have seen it for 5 hours now.
*Physical version doesn't steal your digital fun right? SO yeah by spending 100 more dollars you can get a console that do both physical and digital, and if you are kind of hybrid guy, then this is a extra pros of physical version for everyone.
So that's all I guess. If there are enough please tell me, I will add them here. And I hope that answer much of your questions, so you either have decided till now which is better and what to go with. But you still confused? Well then here comes PS PLUS
**PS PLUS:** I tell you about how good is ps plus actually, consider reading it or skip to conclusion.
*I intend no console war, these are just my opinion. Xbox game pass is great but that doesn't make PS PLUS weak anyday. Read full.*
It's a subscription service which gives you 2 free games every month (oof everyone knows that, now's the real deal) For just 60 dollars a year you get 2 top titles to keep every month. Fall Guys, Morder warfare 2 remastered, Street fighter V, PUBG are some of the recent amazing games that this subscription has given. And if you are having this subscription for multiple years like 4 years then you have probably made a 100+ games library which has games even better than whole xbox game pass (except flight sim ofcourse, that game is too amazing imo to be beaten by any PS exclusive). So when you think critically PS PLUS is much more financial and give you much better games than xbox game pass. HOW? LEMME EXPLAIN!
You get two great games, say fall guys, you played it for month and then you get another games while you keep all your previous games. You can continue playing whatever you like. Like this a casual gamer will be happy with these offerings, and don't need to worry about running dry of games, and occasionally you will get top hits like uncharted 4, last of us, or hell even blood borne (GOD OF WAR isn't free until now, so get your damn horses cause it will most probably follow every other exclusive and be free before ragnarok release, only prediction though but quite undeniable). So a see you just pay 300 dollars for 5 years and get over thousands of dollar worth of games while xbox game pass for consoles cost 120 dollars a year(as it cost 10 dollars a month) i.e. 600 dollars for 5 years (holy hell) , with those extra 300 dollars you could buy so great exclusives during sale, while ultimate cost 900 dollars for 5 years . If you don't have pc, then very well, microsoft played you very well (considering some games exit the service too, and xbox live games are so bad most of the games are not even recognizable by many people). And if you have pc powerful enough to play those games, then this is ever better than PS PLUS any day handsdown. In PS PLUS games are being added in your library one by one. Now in xbox game pass they throw all games at once, and as I know you won't be playing every game right? Only 10-20 or ok even till 50. But you still paying for others game you don't play? See the point? That's the secret behind game pass successful model. No console wars here, but to proof that PS PLUS is a very great and financial subscription model for all casual gamers and that many people actually play the game they paid that 60 dollars for. You can buy just exclusives and few other top titles like cyberpunk while all other gaming needs would be fulfilled by a cheap 60 dollars subscription service which grants more than those free games for a whole year wow. See your library once, they are full of gems and you didn't even notice them. PS PLUS is literally a very great subscription service I ever came in hand with considering you not only get free games but other benefits too! (This is all obvious when you see the long run and not short run. This doesn't mean Xbox game pass is bad it's great, but I just wanna prove that PS PLUS is very great subscription model, and I love sony for this as much as I love xbox for their services)
In PS5 you get a PS+ collection which give you instant access to more games, even some you have missed in regular giveaways.
**So after all this we can come to 3 conclusion:** These are my opinion.
1: If you are totally new, then go with digital (but not when you have bad net. No chance. See if you have some cyber cafe or some place with fast net nearby to download games, otherwise you only have one option). Digital is only best option for casual new gamers rightaway. Sure cost of exclusives are 70 dollars? But you can either stick with you PS PLUS games, and wait for a sale, or just buy that yeah. I mean how often are exclusives released? Trust me, PS PLUS games will keep you busy for months and now you have that PS PLUS collection along with free gta online for first free months too! As you are totally new, you probably wanna buy old games which are obviously dead cheap during PS PLUS double discount sales
2: If you are PS4 gamer, and have quite small physical collection and wanna play new games rightaway, then go with digital. Prices are same for both version initially so it wouldn't bother you much. While see how many games you want from you small physical collection, sell all of those and buy digital version on sale (as they will be very cheap now, mostly).
3: If you are either rich af physical guy, or wanna buy exclusives/games for very cheap just after few months of release, go with physical. Although i would suggest try bending towards digital as i don't see physical games working for such huge budget games in future, but as for now, yeah physical PS5 edition is quite viable and you can enjoy them surely for next console genration.
​
**NOTES:** These are some important thing i wanna share, suggest me more if you think so.
*DriveClub digital edition is not available. So if you wanna play this game badly, go with physical or just ditch this game for good.
*With games getting update and patches as big as MODERN WARFARE, moreover blu-ray disk achieving their capacity , it is safe to assume digital media is what everyone have to do mostly. Honestly if you could update modern warfare then you could download any game (except if your intentions are far beyond my imagination)
*This guide as told was designed for totally new players or quite late players in PS4. Although I have gave conclusion covering as much audience available.
*Overall you are the one to decide I just given you a direction, but ultimately you have your own decisions so make whatever suits you best. I hope I helped you significantly with this guide.
*(Physical gamers)Also if the game is asking for mandatory update, try deleting the game, and then open your PS4 offline and then insert disk and start game upon installing. Most of the time it will work, but you just have not to go PS4 online again if you don't wanna update. But if not possible it's probably because of NOTE number 2
*Don't Buy PSNOW and EAPLAY with PS PLUS at all. PS PLUS is great and you need just time to make a good library. Sony licensing thing is quite messed like PS5 pre-orders, and if some game is given free by EA PLAY or PS NOW, and it was previously given free on PS PLUS, the current license of PSNOW and EA PLAY will override the PS PLUS license and if the games exit the service, there are high chances your PS PLUS library game will also be gone. SO don't buy any other service as it messes all sorts of licensing things. PROOF: https://www.reddit.com/PS4/comments/ivt6mz/i_got_bloodborne_on_psplus_a_while_back_but_now/
Read the thread by user JakolZeroOne
​
**EXTRA TIP FOR PLAYERS WHO READ TILL LAST:** Hmm did I wrote this good or you felt click baited?
Ok, now time for a extra tip which is legal (ooh!) and might be life savior. For all you players who read till here, cause that's what heroes do right?
Say you got a whole bunch of library of digital games. But one day you do something and you get permanently banned, and literally you become now broke af, frustrated af, and angry af. But all of that could be prevented, if you did this one thing.
First of all make two legal accounts on PSN (by legal I mean everything you enter should be 100% accurate and no faking of anything, seriously). One with which you purchase games, and another with which you will play games now. Log both accounts in to your PS4. Now with you main account, buy games , PS PLUS membership and set it as primary. And with your play account play your games. Now if you get banned you will lose all your game progress. But hey those sweet games and your PS PLUS library are still saved in your another account right? Make another account and play your games (again from starting though, rip my 2000 hours in SKRIM)
However I honestly condemn racial shit and slurs, in online gaming. If you do it, you are the lowest scum in this earth. However I found out this method because company can ban you many times for no obvious reason, and then we have nothing to do except remorse.
So this was my method, it's working great from 2 years for me. And it will do so cause it's not illegal to buy games in an account and don't play it in it lol? And hope this method will make you feel more good about buying digital games, as it was considered one of the biggest problems of digital gaming, that your whole library is whoooshed if you get banned. That's why I didn't state it as a pros or con, cause here is the solution (for anyone wondering). And save files are lost both in physical and digital method as they are tied to your account.
So that's it all I had to share. I hope it was much helpful for you, and I hope you have a great next gen gaming experience. Was having free time so decided to spend it by helping others.
#PS5 IS COMING BABY!

First of all – I am a passionate Destiny 2 player like all of you guys out there reading this here. I can´t point out enough the strengths of the game like the amazing gameplay loop with the feel of the guns, the sci-fi feeling etc. But I don´t want to highlight the good stuff - the reasons why we keep coming back to this game.
I want to tell you my unfiltered story of my recent D2 PvP experience and the reasons BUNGIE can´t continue like this anymore. After realising that I wrote almost 1500 words with a lot of sentences with mostly sarcastic or what I consider funny outcome – I highly recommend you to grab a beer before you begin reading.
To begin with I´ll tell you something about me. I am a PS4 player who started playing again somewhere in the middle of the last season. I paused with playing the game somewhere after the Shadowkeep release, because mainly I coulnd´t cope with the skill-based match-making system anymore (and also because that was not that great of an expansion). Not gonna talk about this one though – sometimes there are things in existence, even Joseph has forgotten and forgiven.
Over the years I advanced from an average player to the „Unbroken stupid no-skill German sweat“ with 13k kills on Erentil, you sometimes encounter in your lobbies. BTW: Before you start with the no-skill bullshit – Erentil was my only defense against T-bagging NF-DustRock jumpy jumpy Hunter mains. And I love my Dire Promise or -insertyourfavouritesnipe- way more than I could ever love a fusion.
As you´ve just read - I missed the season when Felwinter´s Lie came out. „Sad thing, but nevermind“ I thought, „I will grind another good shotgun…“ Little did I knew that there is no other f**** weapon that can compete with it. Everything that could, is now sun-setted without adequate replacement. Europa weapons are trash and you know it BUNGIE. The raid stuff is great, but yeah, good luck convincing my even sweatier Flawless clanmates to do a raid… (no complains here at this point I could use LFG, but there are a lot of other people without a clan or solos who maybe think similar).
Instead there is this option for us PvP players: the new pool of weapons we got with the expansion that we can farm with tokens from Lord Shaxx and the powerful new guns Lord Saladin hands us out during our greatest fights in the Iron Banner.
Just kidding – there is f**** nothing…
I notice that my sentences become shorter, my blood pressure higher, the rage meter is increasing and my rhetorical level is tremendously shrinking. Fortunately after an argument in my head with Osiris, and hardly insulting him, that this season I only have half the season left to chase the Flawless title (which will be really hard BUNGIE, maybe even close to impossible), I am now willing to list my proper criticism:
​
1. No motivation to grind crucible besides of getting better. I got my Unbroken seal seasons ago and since then there was no effort made to get me back into the comp playlist except for fun purposes or helping other players out on their D2 PvP Comp journey. I see some people cringe about the word „fun“ – but it is not half as bad as it used to be when Forsaken launched. Plus there is Freelance – give it a shot little PvE Warlock.
I wanna go to the crucible and have a goal again. Is it really that hard to add a new PvP-title BUNGIE? If you want ideas, message me – we´ll give you plenty. Even if it is the grindy mastery of weapons. I want to do something… just something besides of stupid, repetitive bounties. Before you ask – yeah, i did almost all of them during the old triumph system. It was a little incentive to keep me motivated, which is now also lacking. Do you remember that great reward you got for hitting your first We Ran? Neither do I. I really don´t wanna start with the endless possibilities to keep players motivated - regardless of their skill level. You all thought about that at least once....
​
2. Can you listen to feedback once? Even your beloved steamers have been talking about this: Make Felwinter´s Lie availiable to all players. I also want to git gud at the game immediately, god damn it. Jokes aside: make it a hard quest. A grind. A total disgust when you look at your Quest Tab. An immediate cringe – but at least it will be something to do. You introduced the kiosk where you can buy EVERYTHING ELSE. Why it is not in there? dmg04, you know it - so tell us. Don´t crouch in the corner with a handheld supernova and a shotty!
​
3. The lack of new armour, guns, and PvP maps. Is it that hard to design and implement 15 more (AND NEW!!!) armour pieces for us to chase? Especially after paying 50 Euro for the expaxion plus the useless season pass? Well BUNGIE, if you don´t have enough time you could also make them 10. The Hunters don´t really need new sets. They need better aim assisst… Also: new PvP maps for us? Nope. Not happening. Instead giving us old maps from D1 since… I don´t even know anymore and I don´t want to think about it. Never saw a Titan crying, don´t want to be the first one.
​
4. The absence of Trials, which I can partially understand though. The criticisim lies somewhere else – releasing broken supers and guns that bring you out of map in PvP shows the lack of testing and the lack of interest of BUNGIE towards crucible. There are people who would work for you for free in their spare time and test things like this day and night to get your game better. Yeah… but it is due to COVID i guess. [And instantly I remember how many times Telesto broke the crucible when there was no pandemic.]
​
And now the grand finale, that brings tears into my eyes and the number one thing. The stuff that made me delete the game today and keep it uninstalled until Trials will finally come. The reason why one day eventually I will move on and leave all the nostalgia behind. When the online friends (who became my real-life friends I regularely meet in person) I made during my obsessive, almost 2000 hour journey with D2 won´t be enough to keep me playing. Ladies and Gentlemen:
​
5. The Servers.
Do you know the feeling of gambling in a casino? Putting 2,45 Euro, the feelings of your ex-girlfiriend and a dead pidgeon on red when it hits black? I don´t. But thanks to BUNGIE´s peer to peer system I can imagine. And I really want my dead pidgeon back...
The better you get in crucible, the more important your internet connection becomes or the connectivity in general. You speak about the future, about an MMO, your vision of the game, BUNGIE. So why don´t you start with something that is as essential as dedicated servers ? Nobody complains if you hit a Cabal around the corner with an Arbalest. In PvP you do. Your third Dire shot doesn´t connect but you get double damage and die? This sh*t is reality now on PS4.
„YoU cOMpLAin BuT TodaY wAs ThE New uPdATe“ – today the game had frequent fps drops, plus connectivity errors. You can handle it from time to time, but every play session there is something shady. Everyone I play with, is complaining about it frequently (not the fps-problems though – that was something new, YAY!)
You want to keep D2 going for another 2-3 years? Cool! I want to hit a crit on a head of a Warlock if I aim there. Lack of content is one thing, but technical issues are another. And i can´t close my eyes to the second issue anymore, it kills all the fun this game has to offer. Now – playing with less than 30 fps against lagging 60 fps PS5 Hunters soon? This idea killed something inside me today. And it killed it so badly that I created a reddit account for the first time and wrote this…
It´s written by a fan, destiny nerd and a person who is deeply disapointed after thinking about all the potential. I´d really love to see some changes. You made those amazing games BUNGIE. You build this awesome crucible, so why do you treat it like this? You make it look like you don´t care about us PvP-players. Do you even have professionals who are themselves playing crucible? Someone with an idea, because your obvious lack of concept is scary… Can we really expect a change? Is it really the time to stop t-bagging wannabe Flawless Hunters? I sincerely hope that just the second question here can be answered with a clear NO.
Thank you fellas for comin´ and watc… I mean, your precious time and stay safe and healthy during this pandemic.
PS: if you are triggered by the exaggerated, abusive bashing of Hunters, you lack humour and you should play Call Of Dawnblade: Stasis War instead.
PPS: I used to be a Warlock main in D1 – so there is hope for all of you. And remember: Lord Shaxx sees everything…

I hate that everything moving to cloud and everyone pretends like its gonna solve everything without factoring in the speed of internet. i am not a boomer, I grew up with the internet and always thought going digital is the way forward but with time my views are changing. Like today after 1month I had a few moment to play games on my PC turned it on and guess what none of the single player open world games opened beacuse 1. The god forsaken clients (steam, epic store, uplay etc needed updates) 2. Few games themselves had updates (even though I was fine with my previous version). Then I thought f*ck it I am gonna play fallout 4 on ky ps4 (last turned it on 8months ago) and guess what again another update and my internet is so slow ( 1.5-2.2 MBps). Guess I am not gonna play any games today. . . Another bad experience was a few months back when I went to a site inspection (our firms is an environmental friendly firm and instead of papers gives us refurbished ipad mini 2 wifi instead of papers as we waste papers whenever the clients seems to change they mind . Which seems to be everytime a cow farts) , that I had lost my flash drive (I use my phones OTG ) and asked for someone in the office if they could give me one , but they were like " dude "use the company shared google drive link we have all the models there and you are not going out of the city so data coverage will be fine .." grudgingly I went without a flash drive. Behold by the time I got to the site it was thundering and the client wanted to see or wanted me to check things which I weren't there to check that day . So, I had to get the site specifications amd 3D models and guess what??? No internet service (Edge+) had to use the a worker's phones hotspot to even download a few useless pdfs beacuse the client is always right policy . But the client seeing me fondling my phone and running in the rain has given him the expression I am an Incompetent engineer who forgets to bring plans of things which I am not even in charge of or told before . . Lastly, I am gonna talk about the boomer gen (my father). My father is a lawyer and due to pandemic the court went online and they were brief on a online portal where they have to apply for an account and submit application for court hearing. My dad is 65years+ so he asked me for help and I did so perfectly. The weekend goes by and we were one of the 1st to create and submit an application ( case serial was xxx.xxx.xxxxx.xx.001a.xx) but to our surprise, we were not getting any schedule for our cases. Later I called the IT and they were like "sorry sir your district's server seems to have some issue, we would suggest mailing to cjm to get a schedule". My dad lost 3clients beacuse of this as they thought that he being ancient won't be able to conduct cases online. I know it's a long boring post but outside USA and europe internet is not a basic necessity rather a luxury. People treatenting papers like papers and disks as ancient tech really boils my tech. Large corporation still store their backup critical data's in tape and invoices in written form. I believe its largely based on the notion the big american YouTubers give where "uGh you still use offline!!! Ewww primitive" bro it litterly took me 18hr+ to download lumion 10 and 48hr to download fallout 4 on my pc. Which previously would have taken me go to the nearby CD shop get a disk put it in your pc . Bam ! Done . And not to mention online update are giving developer (some) that they can spit out shitty games and give a 40gb patch on the launch day . And samsung sticking a god damn assistant which needs an update to even simply scan a stupid QR code. I am not liking where the world is going. I guess its my opinion . . . Ps. Sorry for my bad english . . TLDR- MOVING EVERYTHING ONLINE SEEMS TO INTRODUCE MORE PROBLEMS WHICH LEADS TO MORE FAILURE POINT

THE PROBLEM

I saw that Logitech executive interview, Harmony is only 6% of keyboard sales - it’s deprecated. We all know it. The elite is ancient, it looks like a DEC cordless phone from 2006.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.theverge.com/platform/amp/2019/10/8/20905042/logitech-ceo-harmony-universal-remote-streaming-smart-tv-voice-assistant-bracken-darrell
Not only that the quality is so lacking now. Everything is so slow. I’ve tried disabling internet access and nothing works properly then - so as soon as Logitech close the servers, it’s game over.
They just closed Harmony Express less than a year old and are offloading old unsellable Elite stock to those users. Probably in a year or two at best, it’s game over. Logitech Pop is also dead, their one other smart home item. They are a keyboard company now, let’s face it.

WHY WE NEED HARMONY OR SIMILAR

I (like I suspect most of you) have high standards! I have many items in a single TV and two HDMI hubs to fit it all in. It’s nothing crazy. An Apple TV, an NVidia Shield and a few gaming consoles. But to manage it all via the LG TV remote, Apple TV remote, various game controllers and nvidias shield remote — its too much to handle for me, who understands it all, and not worth trying for guests or my partner who simply wont use it in that instance. Remembering what hub, what number, what TV input, what remote - it’s too much.
I’m not happy with smart TV apps (like I imagine most of you aren’t either) so I want to keep my streaming boxes, and not much I can do about all the consoles if I want to keep them all as they all do get used very regular by myself and with friends.
So I need harmony hub and nothing else does it. If anyone knows of anything let me know — but all I know of as alternatives are either too simple, or too complex, or require their own HDMI switch which doesn’t support 4K 60fps HDR or some other deal breaker like that.
I just want a single remote for direction and select which works with any device. Which switches my TV and hub inputs on activity change. And has universal volume control. THATS IT. No servers which can be shut off either, please.
And I need a new solution soon, as Will Harmony truly support PS4, Xbox Series X and other new devices at all or for much longer?

WHY WE NEED A TRUE OPEN SOURCE SOLUTION

So what’s the solution?
Long term - to stop this happening over and over (product dying) - it’s open source.
There is homebridge/assistant, yes. But have you noticed that they need you to configure devices in the (awful) official Logitech app? And have you noticed that app requires Logitech’s (impending death) servers?
You cannot as far as I know add new devices or activities without Logitech servers. Every open source project for Harmony relies on user setting up activities and devices via Harmony app which needs their stupid slow ass servers.
So if Logitech pull the plug - which they 100% will (they may very well refund us all, they are pretty decent about that in the past - but it won’t solve our TV problems if it doesn’t exist anymore even if we are refunded) - when they pull the plug, we are without a solution, and back to multiple remotes and remembering which hub and which HDMI input. Which is not acceptable to me.
I am not convinced we even need a server either. It’s ridiculous. Servers shouldn’t be needed to blast a few IR and Bluetooth commands. So I’m not even sure I want another “commercial” alternative to step in.

A SOLUTION!

So here is my todo list as I’m taking it on myself (as I don’t think enough people apart from us in this sub even care about this stuff in a crappy smart TV world).
I propose a new open source - server free! - alternative.

1. It will need a decent - ideally RF/USB - hand held remote. Menu, back, directional, power, a few generic buttons for flipping activities. I can’t find such a remote. Many use IR, or a mixture of keyboard commands and IR, and almost all have built in “air mouse” and other things needless for our needs. I want something like the Logitech harmony companion remote — but with a USB dongle or Bluetooth - and support for Linux via keyboard commands.
   
2. A Bluetooth dongle for Linux - easily found (and cheap!) - can’t use Pis built in as will be for receiving but cheap Bluetooth dongles are plentiful
   
3. A raspberry pi and a IR blaster hat for it - easily found (and cheap!) - IR blaster like this could work Energenie ENER314-IR Infra Red Controller PCB https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00T9JPA4O/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_QaUmFb9N0TR1H
   
4. An open source project. Define activities via JSON. What commands should be sent, in what order, with what delay gap? Can be IR or Bluetooth keyboard emulator paired to a device like Apple TV / nvidia shield / PS4 (so needs ability to connect to and swap between various Bluetooth devices - like harmony do it, so is very possible). I want it so I just define inside a folder activityName.json and inside there define a start routine, and an end routine, made of simple IR and Bluetooth commands, which specify which Bluetooth device to send them too. No scenes, no devices, no servers, no nonsense. I’ll get the IR data online googling to copy and paste in, or use a tool for the pi which can read them and save them into the json file. Bluetooth is even easier - just send up key, down key, return key or whatever. Probably made with Node for easier compatibility with other projects.
   
5. A Bluetooth keyboard optional... which when paired with the pi, forwards the button presses (or built in trackpad movements) to one selected Bluetooth device per activity, all for text entry and use on Mac / windows outputs to TV.
   
6. Some default mappings for the hand remote which never change per activity but can be overridden by an activity optionally... for volume buttons and such.
   
7. A Homebridge and home assistant plugin would be nice to bring this setup into those platforms.
   
8. An optional graphical user interface, probably via web server, so people can more easily set things up visually could come later.
   

And there we go, bingo, a workable solution. That won’t die suddenly for no reason.
The code would take time but is within my abilities. I imagine could be a group effort eventually.
The hardest and missing element is what seems to be the easiest but really isn’t — finding the decent RF/USB or Bluetooth single hand remote without any nonsense or useless features (must NOT have IR as the pi will handle that).
I really do worry about the remote too as the rest is software which can be handled by us but a hardware remote is super hard to develop from scratch so let’s hope a good one exists!!

NEXT STEPS

If anyone wants to help me please reach out.
I’m fed up with Logitech. It’s slow, buggy, and if I change a device or activity I panic as I know it will probably crash and break making a tiny adjustment. My elite remote is as good as useless too. Spontaneously stops controlling Bluetooth based devices and says to setup on an iOS or android device again. So stupid.

SUMMARY

My setup is many devices but not complex. It’s a series of a few button presses to swap around HDMI ports and Logitech are fucking it up.
Servers are the death of all smart homes too so we need this as we need a solution which will last forever and be easy to use and respect our privacy.
Great thing about this too is people will be able to mix and match what remote they use, have as may remotes as they like, and perhaps even include zigbee/RF usb dongles eventually too.
I don’t care for Alexa or google home myself but I’m sure somebody could create plugins for those if needed via homeassistant which supports them.
So - who’s with me?
We simply cannot rely on Logitech. And there is no alternatives.
A cheap free open source solution which runs on cheap and easy to access raspberry pis — with a Bluetooth or RF/usb remote (if one exists) would be lovely.

HOW TO HELP

I have started a few experiments with good success. But before I progress much further I really need to source hardware remote which is not what I expertises in.
If anyone knows of a Bluetooth or RF with USB dongle hand remote with media controls and volume etc (and not much else... and no IR! That part is important. Must have zero IR built in as we will do that via the hub instead), please please let me know if it.
Few people suggested Yio which is very nice and with a screen - but that’s a different project on a different path I think (see below) and I personally like remotes which are buttons only and last on regular batteries for a long time. For screen uses, there can be a mobile app! But if a great screen remote exists - please let me know.

UPDATES

Edit: formatting and layout and spelling, other small fixes
Note on Yio Remote: A few people just mentioned Yio. Very nice remote!! But it seems to not have a hub and do everything via the remote? Seems on first impression to be a remote to control existing hubs - “YIO Remote allows users to directly interact with their smart home hubs by using our modular integration system and extend its usage.” — I don’t have one but my initial impression is this is the Harmony Elite handheld remote but what we really need is the Harmony Hub to blast IR and Bluetooth and be “always on” ready for remote access. Perhaps though this Yio remote could be used in conjunction with an open source hub! But as it stands - it wouldn’t replace a Harmony Hub at all, unless I’m mistaken, because it won’t always be powered on and pointing at your devices. And if your devices need IR and are inside a cupboard, how can it control them? It needs a hub. We need an open source hub. But maybe this could be a lovely open source remote to control that dream open source hub. I’ll certainly take a look at Yio more to see if that’s possible. Looks pretty open, so maybe it will be possible to develop a hub, and a plug-in for that hub to be controlled via Yio. All initial thoughts. Need to research.

POTENTIAL REMOTES

Please suggest remotes to me, I will log them here
OSMC Remote + Nice design + RF and USB so works through cabinets etc - Some IR (Maybe volume is? Would mean you'd be stuck with single device IR volume control which needs line of sight too) - No power off button, and no suitable buttons for activity buttons https://www.amazon.co.uk/OSMC-XBMC-Remote-Controller-Raspberry-Black/dp/B01KR48RU8/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=OSMC+Remote+Control&qid=1597240882&sr=8-4 --
Yio Remote + Nice design with screen + Smart features - May clash with scope of this new project and be much harder to integrate - Frequent charging like Elite

Hello everyone! This is my first time posting in this sub, but I'm a long time Crystal Chronicles fan.
I'm sure a lot has been said already about things people like and don't like about the remaster of Crystal Chronicles. To keep things as brief as possible, I'm not going to talk much about general grievances that have already been said by everyone, but I would like to share some comments with visual aids about how Crystal Chronicles could have evolved into the more modern game it deserves to be.
CONTROLS
How Chrystal Chronicles could take advantage of modern controller capabilities.
When Crystal Chronicles was first released, it was designed to support every feature of gameplay on nothing more than the buttons possessed by a Game Boy Advance.
Since then, the standard number of buttons on controllers has evolved significantly, to the point where even a single sideways Joy-Con has more button inputs than a Game Boy Advance.
Regrettably, the fact that Crystal Chronicles Remastered remained faithful to the original game's control options means that many of the buttons on modern controllers go completely unused (ZL/L2, ZR2, etc.) or serve redundant functions (Left Stick and D-Pad).
Additionally, because this game is not releasing on Xbox One but is developed for PS4/Switch/Smartphones, that means that every single device that can run the game has the ability to support touch gestures and motion controls, yet Crystal Chronicles Remastered doesn't take advantage of those either.
The control scheme I outlined above takes advantage of more button-dense inputs by giving fundamental actions their own dedicated button (separating Attack and Block from the Command Menu). Additional QoL features common in modern ARPGs like target locking could have been another useful way of utilizing these extra buttons. I included only basic up/down swipe gestures, but combining those with motion controls could have enabled any number of interesting features.
I am aware that adding new functionality to older games isn't as simple as flipping a switch, but user unfriendliness in a game released in 2020 is definitely something that should be addressed before putting it out to market.
MULTIPLAYER CARAVANS
There is a large uproar about the state of multiplayer in Crystal Chronicles. Much of this discussion hinges on the progression (or lack thereof) available to co-op partners who join a host's game, but are locked out of progression available to the host in later towns and cities that co-op partners cannot access until advancing their own game.
I am not sure what the ideal solution for that may be, but I am sure of one thing: When a group of players form a party, they should be allowed to enjoy all parts of the game together.
For this, I envision a host-centric multiplayer caravan that seeks to emulate the advantages of playing multiplayer on the GameCube.
To start, this means allowing co-op partners to remain together outside of dungeons. When out in the field, the host controls the caravan, but all members of the party are able to observe the journey and any interesting moments that occur along the way.
When visiting towns, all players should likewise be free to explore the area simultaneously. Players on separate devices can wander off on their own to do whatever errands they need, and couch co-op players can visit shops and talk to NPCs together.
If a player on their own device means to perform any important action within a town, such as returning to the world map, other players in the party may receive a notification informing them and requesting permission before continuing. Once all players agree to proceed, the game advances and the host determines the next course of events.
CONNECTIONS
Unfortunately I don't have pictures for this part, but I think an explanation is good enough.
In an ideal world, connecting to devices through the internet would always be fast and reliable. In the real world, we know that internet connections are often unreliable and difficult for connections with poor latency. In a Covid-19 world when many businesses and institutions have transitioned to remote work/learning/conferencing/etc., the internet becomes sporadically bogged down for many people, and sometimes unbearably useless for gaming.
When push comes to shove, it helps to have alternative means of connecting together to play. Many games get around this by means of LAN (Local Area Network) connections. LAN gameplay bypasses the need to use the internet altogether, allowing the devices to communicate through just a router by means of WiFi (or also ethernet in the case of PS4).
For the Nintendo Switch, there is even support for ad-hoc WiFi connections, where both devices may communicate directly using WiFi without having to go through a router at all. This is the most direct means of multiplayer possible without actually playing on the same device.
If Crystal Chronicles Remastered supported either of these options, it would enable users playing locally to enjoy much improved connections, creating an experience that feels a lot closer to true local co-op.

I'm really picky with anything, to be honest. If I'm interested in something, I'll pull up the reviews and will read a lot or all of them if there aren't many. But whenever I see a game on the Switch, I have to pull out my phone, get up steam or the playstore. And if the game is only released for Switch I'm stuck with articles about it, written by a someone who doesn't want to review the game based on different aspects/category but completely based on their own taste. Even if there is a believable, good and fleshed-out article, it takes so much time to finally find it after digging through endless useless articles.
I know that the reviews on the e shop probably wouldn't be very reliable, mostly written by kids. But at least you had some kind of orientation without pulling another advice out and going on the hunt for reviews.
The playstore has it, applestore probably has it, too. Steam has it. I believe PS4 also has it? Not entirely sure. I know that the reviews on the PS4 aren't comments, but thumbs up and down, which, at least, gives an orientation.
It just bugs me out.
*Edit Number 1*:
Basically, the comments are saying the same thing, so it's easier to answer everyone in this edit, than to answer individually.
A lot of you worry about reviews in the e shop being unreliable and completely all over the place since anyone can say anything. I understand that, but as example: On the Google Playstore you can easily review a game without actually having bought it. Which means it should be unreliable, especially if there's a controversy around it. But besides maybe 2 or 3 bad experiences, I could always trust the reviews.
It would also make sense, that people on the e shop could only review it if they bought it on the e shop. No one would buy PKMN Sword/Shield, as an example, just to trashtalk it.
And I totally get looking for other references. And gathering trustful sources. But sometimes I don't want to scroll through article after article after article for over an hour for a 10$ game just because a lot of articles don't focus on my picky preferences and it doesn't gather the experience of hundreds of people having played the game, but only the author of the article.
*Edit Number 2*:
People are still pointing out, that the reviews on the e shop would be a mess. But also said that games got trashtalked and got bad reviews on third site parties because they were able to review it without actually playing it beforehand. After those reviews we're deleted, the game got its deserved rating.
But that's what I said in the first edit. Let people on the e shop only review, when they have the record of buying the game on that account. This would rule out the mess that would happen when a controversy around a game would come around.
Other than that. What difference does is make if a game gets BS-reviews on, let's say, metacritic. Or if out of 100 authors 30 really disliked the game and those are the articles that promptly show up when you Google critics about it. It would also leave a bad impression. But you'd have to invest more time in reading those 30 articles, than you would reading 100 small reviews, where you could filter BS from good review, if Nintendo didn't actually filter them.
*Edit Number 3*:
It's still such a big concern that the reviews would be a mess. Steam reviews are sometimes a mess aswell. Sort them out and don't get triggered by a kid saying: "That sucks." but focus on the good reviews.
A system could be added, like Amazon, where we could mark reviews as helpful, which would automatically sort the worse ones out.
I've read so many shitty reviews on Amazon, Steam, Google Playstore, etc. You know what to do then? Ignore them, move on, read the next one.
It's the internet, people will say BS.

Part 2 of 3
You'll notice that I used the word "champions" instead of "apologists" this time. It denotes all the same things, but hopefully it will alienate fewer people. Please remember this small gesture as you read what follows.
Part 2: Story Structure
You'll probably notice that this section is not simply called, "Story." A lot of whether we like a story or not is heavily subjective, and we could quibble for a long time (indefinitely, if the internet is any indication) over what constitutes a "good story." Instead, I want to focus this section explicitly on the structure of the story, specifically in regard to how it serves or fails (but mostly fails) its main themes and characters. I'm also not here to criticize those themes; I want to discuss their interaction in more detail in Part 3, but for now I'm going to take it on good faith that the game has important things to say and cares about saying them well.
Similarly, and to reiterate: I'm not here to attack the characters. They might have made decisions we think are stupid, and they might have done things that we're sure real people wouldn't have done (like, you know, running headlong into every dangerous situation in Seattle in the interest of repetitive gameplay scenarios—but I don't want to repeat myself), but we'll give them the benefit of the doubt and assume that they're well-realized, thinking people with robust inner lives who just made some questionable decisions. The only character issue I want to touch on here concerns their use in the final act of the game, where the agency of the characters seems very suspect and they (along with the players) all seem more like props than people.
My impression of The Last of Us Part 2 is that it has a few major thematic goals. The simplest but most represented by volume tackles the high cost of revenge and the cycle of meaningless violence that it engenders. I would argue that the game also prizes mercy and forgiveness as necessary elements in healing, and that all of this is only accomplished through an examination of the complicated emotional ties we have to our friends and loved ones. The other major theme (and, despite its placement in this paragraph, the one that is probably 2nd-most important in this game) deals with perspective; this game is an examination of the internal lives of those we might otherwise be willing to write off as others, attempting to force us to deal with our brutal dismissal of those who we think are not like us.
It's possible that I've omitted other minor themes, but it's the intersection of these two major themes (perspective vs. the cycle of revenge) that I want to deal with here. The central conflict of the story is driven by the cycle of revenge, while the structure of the plot is dictated by the game's focus on perspective. So the game starts in earnest when we leave Jackson as Ellie to seek vengeance against Abby over a 3-day span, and halfway through it rewinds and obligates us to play through the same 3 days as Abby and see it all from the other side.
These two chunks of the narrative occupy the majority of the game; the introduction and final act together probably amount to no more than 20% of the total playtime. So roughly 40% of the time is spent with Ellie in Seattle, after which the next 40% of the time is spent there with Abby. But because each of those chunks of gameplay cover the same 3 days' worth of time, the second major chunk of that action—something like 15 hours in total—is all flashback.
I don't want to imply that there's something wrong with flashbacks in principle. They can be excellent vehicles through which to introduce pertinent backstory or strengthen character relationships without having to compromise the pacing and efficiency of the main storyline. And some of the flashback scenes in this game succeed at doing just that; the museum flashback is particularly touching, and Abby's flashbacks with Owen at the aquarium had their moments. Video games in particular can make use of flashbacks to serve as story-appropriate tutorials, and this game does just that when we swim as Ellie in the past before we ever have to do it as Ellie in the present.
But for every success in this game's use of flashbacks, there are numerous failures. On the other side of the "tutorial" coin is the sequence where Ellie borrows Tommy's rifle to practice shooting infected at ultra-long range. This sequence feels like it should be training us for something, but the encounters take place at a distance that is never reproduced in any of the game's main combat set pieces. Furthermore, there is no possible way for any of the infected in question to ever reach or even find us (so there's no threat), and we gain nothing by dispatching them. Let all of that sink in: that flashback sequence has us practice a skill we'll never use again against enemies that can't hurt us in a situation with no stakes. Why was that sequence there? To teach us that Tommy knows how to shoot at long ranges and is the kind of guy who will teach adolescent girls how to handle a rifle?
The flashback containing the useless sniping exercise also contains Ellie and Joel's trip through an abandoned hotel and the game's first fight against a bloater. In addition to my complaints about the way this plays out (this is one of the game's more "cleverly" disguised limited-resource boss fights), it is also a fight with absolutely no dramatic tension. After all, we have seen Joel, Tommy, and Ellie alive and doing stuff in parts of the game that take place after the encounter with the infected at that hotel. We know for a fact that none of them are killed or permanently injured during this encounter. Outside of a possible collectible or two, we know instinctively that we won't be acquiring anything in this flashback that will impact gameplay—anything Ellie found in that hotel she would have already had at the beginning of the game proper. So there are no stakes one way or the other, and no real likelihood that this fight will have any bearing on the story as we understand it. Forcing us to play through it feels pointless and arbitrary.
And that, in a nutshell, describes Abby's entire section of the game. Since we already know everything Ellie accomplished during her 3 days in Seattle, we already know what's going to happen to Abby and most of her friends during the majority of her gameplay. We know that she lives, and we know that Owen and Mel and Nora and Alice and a bunch of other WoLFs all die at Ellie's hand. This destroys the tension that should exist in the game, and makes me feel like every life-and-death struggle Abby enters into is a shameless facade. The scene where she and Lev have to cross the sky bridge was beautifully rendered; the sound and graphics perfectly captured a feeling of height and I (as a person who really doesn't deal well with heights at all) became distinctly uneasy. I even over-corrected Abby's balance near the end of one bridge and toppled over the edge. Of course, much of the drama of this situation was drained away by the fact that I knew deep down that Abby was safe. The story as I'd already seen it played out put her back in the theater in a day or so, shooting Jesse and Tommy and holding Ellie at gunpoint. How long it took me to get her across that bridge was irrelevant.
And that's every fight and every challenge in Abby's section of the game. None of them are really tense and none of them have any real consequences, because I already know (for the most part) which of her friends will live and die. Outside of Lev and Yara (over whom some uncertainty lingers), there is no reason to be invested in the fates of any of the characters, and that renders all of my actions hollow. It makes Abby's whole section drag, because it feels like a pointless detour into ground we've already covered. Flashbacks are for short, revelatory scenes that add context to an ongoing story—not for adventure-filled, 15-hour romps full of characters whose ultimate fates are already known to the audience.
What's worse is that the pointless slog that is Abby's section of the game is peppered with short, revelatory flashbacks that might have worked under others circumstances. But since we already resent being pulled out of the main story to watch three days of filler starring the first act's villain and a bunch of soon-to-be corpses, we resent even more being pulled back further to watch these people's backstory. I already can't invest seriously in the relationship between Owen and Abby because I know he's about to die, so I'm definitely not going to get excited about seeing how their love triangle with Mel (who is also about to die) affected their most recent Christmas season. There's a reason that most successful books and movies don't put flashbacks into their flashbacks, and it's not because it's too groundbreaking or too confusing or no one's ever thought of it before. It's because it grinds away any momentum your story might have developed and gives your audience no reason to care about anything you're doing.
A likely counter to this line of reasoning will be to pull back to the second major theme of this piece: the importance of perspective. We set out on Ellie's quest to get revenge on the monster who murdered Joel, but by forcing us into her shoes and making us see what she experiences, we won't be able to hold on to that picture of her. So it isn't about the ultimate fate of these characters, it's about the little details that make up the rich tapestries of their lives; when we confront those details, we'll learn a valuable lesson about how other people have their own hopes, dreams, friends, lovers, dogs, etc. Which would be fine, I guess, if it weren't for the game's other major recurring theme: the high cost of revenge.
The first leg of this game does a lot of work establishing how empty, bloody, and cyclical vengeance can be. Early in the game, Joel dies horribly—and we know that this is in some way connected to the actions he took saving Ellie at the end of part 1. His killing is a revenge killing, and it likely strikes us as senseless and cruel. Whether we agree with his decision to save Ellie or not, his sin is in the past, and killing him now won't retroactively generate a vaccine to stop the fungal infection that ended human civilization. So when Ellie decides that she's going to hit the road and get some revenge of her own, we already have at least one concrete, in-game example of why that's a bad idea.
The game argues pretty steadily against her decision. Tommy tries to convince her not to go (he wants to go himself, but I think we should read that as self-sacrifice instead of selfishness), and Maria only grudgingly equips her in the interest of getting her husband back safely. Dina accompanies Ellie, but she's more interested in keeping her new lover safe than in seeing Joel's murderers punished. As Ellie begins to murder her way into Seattle, we learn that Dina is pregnant, and this trip is endangering both her health and the health of her unborn child. This revelation, in turn, strains her relationship with Ellie. The risks here are great, but the game has already shown us concretely how very little her revenge will accomplish. The best we can hope for in Ellie's case is that she doesn't lose everything.
It should be noted that the game is also already doing a good job of dealing with its second major theme (the importance of perspective and the danger of "othering" our opponents) during Ellie's portion of the game. Before she ever fights against a WoLF, Ellie finds scraps of notes they've left behind: drawings, messages, journal entries—the same sorts of scattered tidbits she's collecting in her journal. When she starts dispatching WoLFs in combat, they scream and gurgle and cry and call out to each other by name, just the way we would expect people to. When we kill handlers before their dogs, the animals will whine and cry at the side of their deceased companions. Ellie has basically become a mass murderer, and the enemies she's dispatching are all real, feeling people. The shot we get of Ellie as she prepares to torture Nora is telling, because it shows her as a twisted, violent monster.
Now, take a moment to consider what that means when we switch over to Abby's perspective. If we took the message of Ellie's journey seriously, we've already been shown how hollow and costly revenge killing is. If we paid attention to the suffering of all the WoLFs Ellie's been dispatching, we already know that the people in Seattle are as human as the people in Jackson. So what are we supposed to gain from playing as Abby? Indeed, why should we identify with her at all? Her motivations for killing Joel are ultimately just as stupid as Ellie's motivations for killing her, and her involvement in the WoLF/Seraphite conflict is just as blind and territorial as anything Ellie has been doing. So after 15 hours hunting this woman down, we're suddenly forced to start playing her, even though her motivations are ultimately bankrupt and we should have all already learned the lessons she's trying to teach us. As Maddy Myers rightfully pointed out in this review on Polygon, it quickly begins to feel as though the developers think we're slow.
What makes this arrangement (and the repeated claims that this is a well-written game) so infuriating is that it could be improved with a few simple structural revisions. Some commenters online have recommended that we should have started with Abby, and while I admit that that would have been better, it still would have made Ellie's section seem just as pointless, redundant, and ham-fisted as Abby's does now. Instead, the easy solution to this game's composition problems would be to interlace the experiences of the two main characters. The game could open on Ellie's first day in Seattle; we find out through dialogue and her journal that she's on a quest for revenge—maybe even revenge for Joel—but the specifics of what has happened are only revealed as the story unfolds. We then play through that same day with Abby before we know exactly what she's done, so that we can develop some attachment to her character and her friends before we're asked to accept the considerable weight of their poor choices.
This alternating structure would require a little editing; a few conversations would need to be changed, flashbacks would have to be reordered or removed (I'm looking at you, Joel and Ellie wasting time at that hotel), and a lot of the early game Jackson stuff might have to hit the cutting room floor. However, the content of the story would be almost entirely preserved, and it would have a whole host of advantages for the narrative. First, the game would begin in media res, which is usually a far more engrossing, exciting way to tell a story. Second, it would generate an early game mystery as to exactly what happened to Joel, allowing players to speculate and investigate and giving them the thrill and pang of discovery mid-game. Thirdly (and this one is so important that I was tempted to make it last), it would make Abby's actions immediate and relevant instead of confining them all to a flashback and thus blunting or negating their impact. And finally, this would allow the game to develop its major themes and characters in tandem, instead of trying to hype the importance of perspective so late in the game that it's either already obvious or made irrelevant by the work that's been done exploring revenge.
I'm not pointing this out in an attempt to garner acclaim as some kind of genius storyteller. Indeed, this approach to structuring the story is so obvious that I would be shocked if at least one member of Naughty Dog's writing team didn't suggest it. The ultimate decision to build this game as they did—front-loaded with Ellie, then back-loaded with a bloated Abby-centric flashback sequence—is just a bad decision. It ruined the game's tension, soured many of us as players on one of the game's protagonists, and undercut the successful deployment of the game's themes. Any attempt to defend this game as a narrative work will need to address its ill-conceived structure.
As long as we're talking about this game's failure as a narrative, we have to address the final act. After Abby is convinced to let Ellie and Dina go, the two young lovers return to Jackson to live on a farm and raise Jesse Junior. It looks like a best-case scenario for a nascent family in the post-apocalypse (provided no hordes of infected show up), except that Ellie is still horribly scarred by what she's gone through over the past few months. After Tommy shows up with a lead on where Abby might have gone, and then after we get over our shock at seeing Tommy alive after taking a bullet to the head, Ellie gradually recovers her insatiable thirst for vengeance and prepares to leave Dina and her son behind.
I should stress at this point that everything that happened after Seattle felt like the end of the game. While I had reason to believe that there was more gameplay coming (I had not earned the "find all the workbenches" trophy, but I was pretty sure I hadn't missed any), I still expected to see credits rolling at any time. Ellie didn't get the revenge she wanted, but the attempt already cost Jesse his life and Tommy his marriage, and making it back to Jackson in one piece with a partner and child seems far more valuable than checking "Kill Abby" off your bucket list. Indeed, if we've taken the messages of the game so far seriously, we're dead-set against the idea that Ellie would go after Abby another time. It's senseless and cruel, and it's likely not only to cost a lot of human lives, but also Ellie's relationship with Dina.
But the game makes us play through Ellie's next revenge trip anyway, and it employs a pretty underhanded narrative trick to make us okay with it. Before Ellie goes out to try to kill Abby one last time, we get a scene of her intended victim exploring Santa Barbara. Importantly, both Abby and Lev are captured by slavers, and their fates are unknown. So when Ellie goes off to try to kill Abby, we can all actually be rooting for her to find Abby and Lev and rescue them from their captors. Everyone can walk away safe and whole, and our protagonists can all be (somewhat) reconciled, and we can get the happiest possible ending.
But should we want that? We, as an audience, know that Abby is in danger, and that makes us more willing to play the last chapter. But if we hadn't seen Abby and Lev get captured, I think we would all rightly be incensed at the idea of Ellie leaving her life behind on another revenge trip. The last one cost her so much, including her peace of mind and her humanity, that there's really very little incentive for her to go out on another one. And narratively, there's very little of value that you could get out of showing that last chapter. If the writers wanted us to know that Ellie never recovered and that her relationship was failing, they could have ended on that scene of her freaking out in the barn and cut to a shot of Dina looking tired and distraught over the shoulder of her crying baby. Or if they wanted to show that Ellie was too damaged to let go of her revenge and it was going to cost her everything, they could have ended on a shot of her slinking out after their meeting with Tommy and shown Dina watching her go and twisting off her wedding ring (or whatever).
The point is, the writers could have communicated everything they needed to about the future state of Ellie's life and her relationship without ever forcing us to play one second of Santa Barbara. Abby and Lev don't really grow or change at all in the final act of the game; they find a lead about where Fireflies might be, but they'd done that before day 3 of Seattle had concluded, so moving that goal post from Santa Barbara to wherever the next location ended up being means very little in the long run. But the writers showed us Abby and Lev getting captured to dupe us into going along with Ellie's painfully stupid decision to seek revenge (again), and they chose to make us play that last section instead of just suggesting the results through cut scenes—so what was it, exactly, that we were supposed to take from the game's final chapter?
Ellie goes to great lengths and suffers grievous personal injury infiltrating the Rattler base to find Abby. She kills another couple dozen people, liberates a few slaves, and finally limps her critically wounded self down to the beach where Abby and Lev are being held. Here, she comes to some sort of realization, and instead of murdering her prey (or leaving them to die), she lets Abby go. This decision seems plausible; after all, we all realized that her revenge was pointless and excessive several hours of gameplay ago, so we can understand if she's finally caught up with us. It's a weak ending, because she came all this way to achieve nothing but some emotional closure that a reasonable human being probably would have put together long before now, but we can buy it. It's a bit of a cop-out, but it's not totally unbelievable.
But wait! Before Ellie can let Abby go, she suddenly remembers what Abby took from her and decides she has to make a last-ditch try at vengeance after all. She forgets about all of her guns and shit and challenges Abby to a ridiculous fight on the beach (the designers didn't come all this way to let us play the game on our terms, after all), and every player at home probably dies a little inside. This is a miserable, unpleasant way for the game to end: Ellie has lost whatever shreds of humanity she has left, and she's going to throw away her life and Abby's and Lev's just to accomplish something that she already should have realized was meaningless.
When I thought I was going to have to drown Abby in the surf at the end of this game, I was almost physically ill. There was nothing about that act that was satisfying, redemptive, or appropriate. I could, however, make sense of it as a part of the definitive statement being made by this game. It was one final brutality, senseless and gratuitous, heaped atop a pile of similar brutalities to make a perfect monument to nothing. In that moment, I was closer to liking this game than I was at any other point in the 30 or so hours I played it—it had finally coalesced into a picture that made sense. Actually, that's not quite right. I still hated it, but all that hatred finally felt like it had a direction.
But Ellie changes her mind. Again. She realizes (finally) that her revenge trip was stupid and that it cannot actually give her the closure she wants. Abby and Lev speed away in a boat, Ellie kneels, deflated, on the beach, and the player at home realizes that all of their actions over the last few hours (and if we're being honest, the rest of the game) have been a monumental waste of time. Let's walk Ellie's decisions back one step at a time. That last fight on the beach was a waste, because Ellie just gives up on it when she's almost finished. If she'd just realized when she found Abby how pointless her revenge trip had been, she would have saved herself two fingers and saved us a stupid, gimmicky boss fight. Or, if we want to go back further, if she'd realized before she left the farm how stupid revenge is/was/always will be, she could have saved herself a lot of personal injury and a loving relationship. Some might want to point out that Abby and Lev needed to be rescued, but Ellie didn't know that. We only know that because the writers were trying to manipulate us into feeling okay about a final act that accomplishes absolutely nothing.
Ellie somehow makes it back to her farm, which is now deserted, and forlornly looks at a guitar that she can no longer play because she lost two fingers. Really? She appeared to be dying of sepsis on the beach just a minute ago, but she somehow managed to clean up her wounds and cover the hundreds of intervening miles so that she could moodily paw at the strings of her guitar? What has this trip really cost her? Or, from a writing standpoint: what has this trip really cost her that we couldn't have shown without wasting a couple of extra hours on a tacked-on, fruitless trip to Santa Barbara?
When Frodo returned to The Shire at the end of Lord of the Rings, his missing finger was a reminder of how close he'd come to losing everything. His humanity, which he'd struggled for so long to protect against the constant corrosive effects of Sauron's ring, had finally failed him, and it was only the intervention of a creature even further gone than he that maimed him physically and saved him spiritually. Ellie, on the other hand, can wear her missing fingers like a medal. She consistently and gleefully failed to retain even a shred of her humanity, flaunting her repeated bad decisions and chasing after something so base and so horrible that no one in the audience even really wanted her to catch it. That she gets to walk out with even a shred of her life and sanity intact is shocking, and that she would only lose two fingers in the process is kind of a travesty.
My understanding is that Ellie was supposed to kill Abby on the beach originally, but the developers changed that ending to what it is now. I hope that that's true, because it means that there was at least one person in the writing room at Naughty Dog who understood that actions should have consequences and final acts should meaningfully impact the lives of the characters involved. (In my version of events, it's the same theoretical person who suggested that they tell Abby and Ellie's stories concurrently instead of one after the other. In my version, that person quit and went to work writing somewhere else where good work is appreciated.) That writer was ultimately shouted down, and we were subjected instead to an ending that jerks us around for no real payoff and uses two of its main characters as little more than props in a cheap bid at our emotional investment.
These major elements (the 3 days/3 days in flashback structure that breaks all tension and the totally useless, emotionally manipulative final act) seriously tried my patience as an audience member, and their existence in this game stand as major obstacles to any claim that this is a thoughtful and effective piece of narrative art. When people say that the story in this game is bad, I suspect that they are thinking of these elements even if they can't quite put their fingers on them. If there's a defense of these structures that I haven't considered, I'd love to hear it.
I can imagine, even at this late stage in the game, that one possible answer to my criticisms of the game's story would be to say that I haven't fully understood the second of the game's major themes. All of my hang-ups about humanity and redemption and meaning are merely old-fashioned artifacts caused by my limited perspective. Perhaps this isn't a game exploring how different perspectives can impact the construction of meaning; perhaps, instead, this is a game emphasizing the ultimate meaninglessness of human existence by pointing out that the only possible meaning is the one that any individual constructs. Next time, we'll consider how wrong that possibility is.

This started out as a simple reply to a comment but turned into a 10+ hour long writing session of a huge wall of text! Hope you can still read it, though, as it will answer all your questions and doubts :) ------------------------------------------------ CONTEXT I made a video on why Master Chief in Smash makes perfect sense as a marketing buzz for xCloud on Switch (as well as Halo: Infinite, especially since it's F2P), but then Phil Spencer (head of Xbox) seemingly said Game Pass/xCloud isn't coming to Switch/PS4 in an interview. Let's analyze that!
Video on why Master Chief in Smash makes sense Phil Spencer's interview (6:11) ------------------------------------------------
TL;DR: read headings "In Conclusion" and "Final Conclusion"

== Analysis ==

People seem to be jumping to conclusions from Phil Spencer's statement, so let me clear this up after carefully analyzing his words:

The thing about other gaming console platforms is we're not able to bring a full Xbox experience on those platforms

According to him, they've brought the "full Xbox experience" on PC and mobile devices:

In places where we have [been able to bring a full Xbox experience], like mobile phones, like we're doing now with xCloud coming to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate [and] what we've done with PC and bringing our full Xbox experience there.

so, What does "full Xbox experience" exactly mean?

(continued directly from last quote) Because we know when somebody is playing one of our Xbox games there is an expectation that I've got my Xbox Live community, I have my Achievements, Game Pass is an option for me, my first-party library is there, is completely there...
And the other, you know, competitive platforms, aren't really that interested in having a full Xbox experience on their hardware. But for us, we want to be where the gamers want to be.

"Full Xbox experience" consists of:

• Xbox Live (community, achievements, etc.)
• Game Pass option
• 1st party titles

He mentions this list twice in the full interview! But is he sure about Nintendo not wanting such an experience on Switch? Let's tackle these one by one for Switch.

Xbox Live

• Xbox Live is already implemented in Minecraft for Switch (Bedrock edition). You can sign in with your Microsoft account (required for cross-play and servers), earn achievements, join Microsoft friends' worlds, and online doesn't require Xbox Live Gold (only Nintendo Switch Online)! The achievements you earn and skins you buy will be saved to your Microsoft account (aka cloud saves).
  • Xbox also officially stated that Cuphead for Switch would receive Xbox Live support (March 2019), but as of writing, that still hasn't happened
• Voice chat and text messaging shouldn't be an issue either, because some games like Fortnite have native messaging and voice chat, which is NOT a part of Nintendo's app

Game Pass

• He doesn't specify Game Pass through xCloud or directly, but I'm assuming that on Switch it's Game Pass through xCloud, since that's the most feasible technically
• Game Pass would seem to be the biggest barrier as people say that it would cannibalize the sales of Switch games in three ways:
  • Switch and Game Pass have a shared library of indie games that people think will see less sales of on Switch, which means Nintendo lose out on sales (because they get like a 30% cut of every sale).
  • Having a great library of 100+ games available for $10/month would seemingly render buying games useless on Switch, which again means Nintendo losing sales because Game Pass is plenty enough.
  • 3rd party ports and AAA titles would seemingly decline as they can just release their games on Game Pass and tell Switch users to "play it on xCloud".
• But does Game Pass on Switch really need to have the same library as on console/PC to be considered as a "full Xbox experience"? Can't they just release xCloud on Switch with a limited library to mitigate competition with Switch sales? Turns out Phil Spencer considers Xbox console as a "full Xbox experience" AND also PC as a "full Xbox experience" ™.
  • The problem is that Xbox Game Pass for PC and for console are two different services. They offer different games, even if many are shared, but you can't say they're the same. The fact that Phil Spencer still refers to both of them as the "full Xbox experience" means that the number of titles in Game Pass isn't part of the "full Xbox experience".
  • PC-only games include: Halo 3, Halo MCC, Saints Row IV, and Age of Empires II
  • Xbox console-only games include: Halo 5, Soulcalibur IV, Kingdom Hearts III, Red Dead Redemption 2, Nier:Automata, The Witcher 3, Devil May Cry 5, Mortal Kombat X, Tekken 7, Fable, DiRT 4, PUBG, Quantum Break, and Banjo-Kazooie
  • Clearly you CANNOT call them the same!
• Yet, he is calling both the Xbox console and PC as a "full Xbox experience" each, meaning the Game Pass libraries don't have to be identical to be considered as part of a "full Xbox experience"!
• So, what's really stopping Xbox from having a separate Game Pass library of games for xCloud on Switch?
  • If Nintendo aren't "that interested in having a full Xbox experience on their hardware" because of competing sales of shared titles, then simply remove those titles from Game Pass on xCloud for Switch!

1st Party Titles

• First-party Xbox titles should definitely not be a problem for Nintendo. More AAA titles on Switch are always welcome, and being 1st party Xbox titles would mean nothing to compete with on Nintendo eShop.
• Halo, Gears and Forza on Switch would only help drive Switch sales!
• These games wouldn't otherwise be ported, so cloud streaming is the only way.

In Conclusion

• Xbox Live is already mostly implemented in Minecraft for Switch, and planned for other titles like Cuphead
• Game Pass doesn't need to have an identical library across platforms to be considered as part of a "full Xbox experience"
• 1st party Xbox games shouldn't be a problem for Nintendo to have on their platform
• Which means:
  • There's already a "half Xbox experience" in place on Switch (Xbox Live)
  • If Nintendo is having an issue with the other half of the experience -- Game Pass through streaming -- then Xbox should simply remove the games Nintendo don't wish to have on Switch as competition. According to Phil Spencer, that should still be considered a "full Xbox experience" ™.
    • Xbox likes to offer choices to players (a large part of the interview), which is why Xbox games are published on Steam, as well as on their own Microsoft store and Xbox Game Pass for PC (separate app), because gamers want that choice.
    • However, people who buy Xbox games on Steam won't get the benefit of cross-buy, though. That means they'll have to re-buy the game on consoles and other platforms. With Microsoft store/Game Pass, it's buy once, play anywhere. This benefit is not carried over to Steam.
    • Xbox is willing to accept sacrifices on their services if it means giving players choices.
  • There should really be no problem for Xbox to give into this criteria of limiting their Game Pass library for Switch.

Conclusion: release Game Pass on Switch through xCloud with a limited Game Pass library, and it should still be considered a "full Xbox experience", meaning Phil isn't being 100% honest about Nintendo not wanting a "full Xbox experience" on the Switch.

B-but, Nintendo gains NOTHING!!

Then there are those who claim that Xbox Game Pass coming on Switch is a loss for Nintendo, as they wouldn't get a cut from the monthly fee of subscriptions, and it would only take over Nintendo's sales.

• Technically, they could reach an agreement where Nintendo gets an x% cut of each subscription made through Switch, OR they could get an x% cut of every microtransaction made on Switch through xCloud
  • In Minecraft on Switch, buying coins leads you to the Nintendo eShop where you perform the transaction, meaning Nintendo already get like a 30% cut of every microtransaction made on Minecraft for Switch!
  • If Xbox is serious about putting xCloud on every device imaginable, then they must've prepared for platform fees and royalties. This shouldn't be a problem for them.
• Hulu on Switch (USA only) has been there since 2017, but AFAIK it's not possible to login or buy memberships through the Switch app. You have to login through a web browser on your PC/smartphone, just like how logging into/registering a Microsoft account in Minecraft for Switch works. Nintendo seemingly don't profit off of this (unless there's a separate deal in place).
  • These services just serve as hooks to get new users onto the Switch platform, where they hopefully will buy 1st part Nintendo titles and other games.

But still, wouldn't Game Pass cannibalize Switch sales?

• Actually, it's been proven time and again that putting a game on Xbox Game Pass increases its exposure, playtime, and most importantly, its sales across platforms!
  • Death Squared put their game on Xbox Game Pass and witnessed the sales of their Switch version increase exponentially (-90% off also helped, though)! [sales graph]
  • Descenders experienced their weekly sales rise to 5 times as much after putting their game on Xbox Game Pass. Their total Xbox sales have TRIPLED after joining Game Pass! This is a game that's only available on PC and Xbox atm, but slated for PS4 and Switch soon.
  • Oxenfree, which is available on every platform, were worried about Xbox Game Pass cannibalizing their sales, but they discovered it didn't; and what's more, it increased their sales everywhere else on every platform!
  • Clearly Game Pass is amazing for indie titles and exposure!
• The same argument can be made for the Xbox console: wouldn't putting a game on Xbox Game Pass cannibalize sales of that game on the Xbox console?
  • But that's not the case. Descenders, as mentioned above, is a great example of an Xbox game being added to Xbox Game Pass and actually increasing its sales greatly!
    • Phil Spencer said in 2018 that putting a game on Game Pass raises its awareness, which generates word-of-mouth, which then starts trending on Mixer, Twitch, people talk about it on Discord, etc., and that helps bring in more sales, because people "play based on what everybody else is playing". Here are hard numbers for Game Pass (2019) -- most notably being 25% increase in preorders, and 10% increase in franchise sales.
• If anything, Xbox Game Pass through xCloud on Switch might just increase sales of games, thereby giving Nintendo more revenue!
  • Analogy: eBooks were thought to replace physical books completely, but in 2019, it was reported that only 20% of total book sales come from eBooks. The rest, 80%, are still from physical books! Cloud gaming isn't replacing local gaming anytime soon..

The most convincing argument, that many seem to fail to grasp, is that cloud gaming is the future, it's coming in hard and it's here to stay. How is Nintendo, with its portable Switch, prepared for this wave?

• Switch will lose even more if xCloud comes to mobile phones and NOT the Switch, because that would be in competition with Switch's and casuals wouldn't have a reason to get a Switch. Gaming AAA games portably on their smartphones for only $10/month will be a viable and cheaper alternative to Switch, especially to parents and casuals/non-gamers. Nintendo will face competition regardless of what they do, so by not putting xCloud on Switch they would be losing out on the growing curious non-gamer market.
  • xCloud with its amazing games line-up and value for money would definitely pose a threat to console gaming because of the extremely low entry barrier, both economically and accessibly -- especially to Switch, because of portability. More and more companies are most likely coming with their own cloud gaming services, so preparing for this wave is inevitable for Nintendo.
  • I realize that Stadia isn't a success AFAIK, but xCloud has a much better pricing and value for money, and thus a much better chance at capturing the market!
• and Let's face it, who's going to pay $300 for a Switch and then only use xCloud?? That'd be like paying $1000 for a MacBook/iPhone just to use Facebook, or get a Switch just to play Fortnite and watch YouTube... oh, wait...
  • Jokes aside, those who've bought a Switch must've been allured by its unique aspects, like portability, offline play, its hybrid nature, different playstyles, 1st party games and their creative playstyles (like Super Mario Party), etc. The rest is icing on the cake. Cloud gaming won't just come and replace that! Maybe it will replace some 3rd party games purchases for some, but the gameplay will be heavily dependent on internet and a good stable connection, which will limit portability!
• The best case scenario for Nintendo is to embrace cloud gaming early on and let people experience it through Switch with xCloud. They can't compete with it.
  • Microsoft has the perfect cloud infrastructure to pull this off, while Nintendo still struggle with their horrible netcodes (read: Smash Bros Ultimate). They'd be wise to jump on the superior cloud gaming service than to try and cook up a half-baked version of their own later down the line.
    • Besides, if they do try cloud gaming, it's highly unlikely they'll make their own cloud infrastructure. They'll anyways have to go with something like Microsoft's Azure cloud infrastructure, just like how Sony have partnered with Microsoft for their own cloud streaming service, because that's Microsoft's main business.
    • And let's face it, Nintendo's 1st party games rarely go on sale, except for on the eShop, because they know their games keep selling for $60. I don't think they would want to make an Xbox Game Pass replica and sell their 1st party games for $10/month. Heck, they recently stated that they're focusing less on mobile games because it's not quite working out for them and the recent success of Animal Crossing has them realize where the true money lies -- on their hardware.
    • But, Nintendo have in fact acknowledged that cloud gaming will be widespread in the future, and that they "must keep up with such changes in the environment". But they emphasize on their unique aspects as selling points, even if cloud gaming is to take over the industry. Also cloud gaming will only increase the number of gamers, so Nintendo will have even more people to sell their hardware to, or so they believe. But just like how they lagged behind in the mobile market, it'd be bad if they embraced cloud gaming too late.
  • Game Pass has already 10 million subscribers, reportedly, and it's only going to grow since Xbox is pushing it as their true next-gen "console". Nintendo had better jump on that before it really takes off with xCloud on every device without them getting any exposure from it.
• If Nintendo don't accept xCloud now, which will anyways come to every device out there, they risk losing out on potential Switch buyers from the user base of xCloud subscribers on mobile! It's only in their best interest to embrace xCloud on Switch now, as they might get a share of xCloud users on to the Switch, because once casuals have tried xCloud on mobile, they might look for Switch with its dedicated gaming controllers as one of their many devices to play xCloud on. This also holds true for Xbox owners, who might be inclined towards getting Switch as a portable extension to their Xbox consoles. And once they're on Switch, Nintendo can push their 1st party titles and unique aspects.
  • Nintendo's 1st party games are still the biggest revenue makers on Switch. Almost 50% of Switch owners have bought Mario Kart 8 Deluxe! Besides, the unique aspect of Switch's many forms and playstyles isn't something cloud gaming can replace. So once people are onboard on Switch, they may buy other games, and thus increase Nintendo's revenue.

The last argument remaining for why this is bad, is that 3rd party developers can just put their games on Game Pass and tell Switch owners to play it there through xCloud

• One question: do developers get paid for every time someone plays their game on Xbox Game Pass? -- NO! They most likely get paid once upfront, and have to rely on microtransactions to keep revenue coming in. Yes, xCloud on Switch might increase player base and thus revenue from microtransactions, but indie games with no microtransactions will suffer from this.
• The whole point of Game Pass is to raise awareness and thus increase sales! Meaning they want the exposure to translate into hard sales. Otherwise they probably won't earn anything from it.
• Putting 3rd party games on to xCloud and just telling Switch users to play them on Game Pass is a horrible business model! They need to make ports/Switch versions available as well so people can actually buy them from all the exposure. This way the developers actually earn cash, AND Nintendo get a 30% cut from the revenue -- win/win!
  • unless we're talking about EA here -- this would only incentivize them to halt all future Switch ports, save money on that, and milk microtransactions...
• However, that's not to say that some developers may still tell Switch owners to play their games on xCloud. That way they can test the waters and get a better insight on engagement from Switch users, to assess if making a Switch port is worth it. This means more 3rd party games having a higher chance of getting a Switch port, which is only great for Nintendo!

Final Conclusion

• The cloud gaming revolution and games subscription model is coming and it's here to stay. It will compete with the Switch as a viable and affordable alternative. Nintendo have no choice but to embrace it, either now or later on.
  • They can't compete with it, however.
• Nintendo ought to put xCloud on Switch to act as a hook and a gateway to their own Nintendo ecosystem.
  • As Game Pass is growing with its currently 10 million subscribers, it's going to be everywhere with xCloud on mobile devices, and Nintendo need to tap into that user base to not lose out
  • By putting xCloud on Switch, Nintendo give xCloud/Game Pass subscribers an option to use xCloud on a Switch -- which has dedicated gaming controllers and a portabie form factor better suited for gaming than smartphones -- thereby pulling them in Nintendo's ecosystem.
• xCloud on Switch won't cannibalize sales either, but may rather increase sales!
• Xbox should put xCloud on Switch with a limited Game Pass library (or not limited), and Nintendo should embrace the coming age of cloud gaming and take advantage of it while they can!

---------------------------- There you have it! Can't believe I sacrificed my sleep for this, haha, but would love honest criticism if there is any :)

To help hold us over until the Harvest League drops, I decided to critique each of the 19 ascendancy artworks and rank them. Below is my ordered tier list along with my review of each one. This ranking is based purely on the impressions I get from looking at the art, and it has no bearing on the actual in-game power of each one. This was purely for fun, and I appreciate GGG for working through the current health situation to provide us with new content.
The definition for each tier is below. The ascendancies in each tier are ordered, and I will be starting with the worst one first and finishing with the best one.
S TIER: Super badass. When you look at these portraits you say to yourself, "Yeah, that's me."
A TIER: Pretty cool. These portraits have elements that make you feel something when you look at them and you get excited about the possibilities of becoming these ascendancies.
B TIER: These portraits get the job done at communicating what the ascendancy is all about, but ultimately there isn't much substance to make a lasting impression.
C TIER: You feel disappointed when you look at these portraits, and they primarily exist for memes. You wish to not be identified with these portraits when you play these ascendancies.
C TIER
19.Pathfinder
First on the list but definitely in last place is this homeless crack-addict. I know that the Ranger in general is very eco-sexual, but by god the Pathfinder looks like she hasn't taken a shower since the fall of the Vaal. In a way it is surprisingly fitting, that the girl that drinks mysterious liquids all day ends up looking like a drunken mess wandering the woods in search of fresh meat because she doesn't have sufficient transmutation shards to buy some ramen from Yeena. The bow might give off the impression that this girl has some semblance of dexterity and grace left, but I wouldn't want to be within a 10 mile radius of a girl with a knife and those tired, bloodshot eyes. A complete mess of a person whose art just reeks as much as she probably does.
18.Ascendant
Unfortunately, the ascendant doesn't even get to show herself on the passive skill tree. To view her mug shot, you'll need to open up the character panel or join a party. There isn't even a way to view the whole picture in-game, which really takes away from the excitement a new player might have when they investigate what the ascendancy option is for the Scion. Let's assume we're looking at the complete artwork, which can be seen here
Not bad, but the jack-of-all-trades shtick doesn't lend itself to creative expression. She wields a thrusting sword in one hand while bearing a blue flame in the other, but her jealous scowl is what ultimately steers your eyes. She looks like she's about to exact vengeance on the other ascendancies for having all of the cool stuff that she never got as a kid. Or she's about to kill you, the player, for cheating on her with some irl girl. Edginess always has a place in art, but the ascendant just looks like a teenager at a cosplay convention.
17.Hierophant
Though we joked the ascendant of old for having the death stare, this crotchety old man has been rocking it since the beginning of ascendancies. In the background, one can only barely make out what appears to be the wreckage of a fallen church. The lack of detail and focus instead makes it look like the Hierophant is standing in a vaporous, blue aether without much of anything going on. The saintly golden armor does score a few points though as it lets other exiles know what those charitable church donations went to. What the viewer wants to know is this: what is he staring at that warrants that expression? Since he is looking down and brandishing his staff with a magical flame, you could guess that it is something short and heretical. I don't know, maybe a Kauri totem? You know... the very thing that he specializes in mechanically! For someone that also boasts a big mana-storing brain, I don't detect intelligent life anywhere in this art.
16.Inquisitor
Whether or not you were around for the briefly-lived headband meme, this artwork leaves your brain as a mirror image of itself: filled with burnt rags and debris. By definition, Inquisitor can simply mean someone who poses inquiries or questions. The sundered badlands of a background and absence of any elemental power on the Inquisitor himself does force the viewer to inquire: What am I supposed to get from this artwork? His hammer looks as pristine as the day he rolled it out of the crafting bench, suggesting that he hasn't ever hit anything with it. The unoriginal lifelessness of the image reminds me of a typical action movie trailer, the kind of movies where it's one protagonist's fate to save the world from an uninspired villain. The swinging necklace and gaudy, immobile armor will serve him well for his Facebook profile picture, but it would be a profile that had zero friends and thus was indistinguishable from that of a bot.
15.Saboteur
If Pathfinder is the crack addict, then Saboteur is the crack dealer. The immense pyre in the background brings forth images of the iconic Burning Man festival. If the Saboteur was in a desert and the climate was insufferably hot and dry, then who is to say that he isn't completely nude underneath that bedsheet of a robe? The only thing the Saboteur is sabotaging are his dating prospects because who would want to associate with a smoker whose face was so covered in soot that it looks like he came crawling out of a coal mine? Though that profession is actually admirable, more so than setting something aflame and then walking away like some teenager pulling a terrible prank. The robe has no color or detail, so the viewer can't even form a fragment of understanding in how this man operates. The French are associated with rich history, exquisite cuisine, and poetic expressions of affection; but the Saboteur doesn't do the French-origin of his title any favors. Poor colors for a poor boy.
B TIER
14.Juggernaut
All J U G G memes aside, this unstoppable force of a man really is an immovable object: one that refuses to adapt to the aesthetic sensibilities of the players. If strength and endurance truly were this man’s forte, then I should be seeing it at first glance. Since there is no other object in the frame, we don’t perceive a sense of motion at all. The Juggernaut might as well have taken 5 whole seconds just to lift his right arm for the photo-opp. The act of donning stiff, excessive armor is commonplace in the cosplay world, and often it comes to great effect. The photographers rush in, the crowd cheers on the dedication of the craftsperson, and the fans swoon over the internet for these kinds of cosplays done right. But this is a body-builder who has bitten off more protein than he can digest, and whatever pride he has left might as well be as useless as armor is in POE. He’s big which is nice, but he’s also bad. I don’t mean Michael Jackson’s “Bad”.
13.Guardian
Three nearly back-to-back placings taken by the Templar shows you just how out-of-touch this old man is with the ever-evolving, artistic world. One good pass through DeviantArt would fix things, but I doubt this man knows how to operate machinery as complex as a computer aside from commanding his minions to do it for him. That unfortunately would imply that his allies were smarter and more capable than him, which is actually the original design intention of the Guardian. The broadside of a shield covers most of the Guardian himself, as if he is ashamed of his clothing because he forgot that it was school picture day. The luminescent mace does draw our attention, like moths to a lantern. What is this godly power? Questions like this are the fragile strings that suspend the Guardian just above c-tier just like Juggernaut.
12.Champion
Contrary to his name, the Champion is anything but a winner in this competition. Where this piece excels is the background, as the washed red banners waving behind the warrior clad in steel cements this heroic icon firmly in our mind. An ornate shield and the plain broad sword with a small shimmer of light help frame our Champion and his combat readiness. Though like the Juggernaut, the lack of visible eyes means that the viewer subconsciously dehumanizes the metal figure. This is in opposition to the inspiring force that a Champion should be bringing to his people. Strutting in with a big name like Champion takes a lot of guts, but this man fails to lead our hearts to anywhere but B tier.
11.Berserker
Disregarding self-preservation in the pursuit of raw, unbridled strength and fury is the Berserker’s path. But if that truly was the Berserker’s mantra, then why is he wearing a sturdy breastplate and shoulder pads? Swinging weapons one-handed with that short grip doesn’t generate much leverage, so is he travelling from one location to another right now? The testosterone-driven male dominance of primitive societies should have been center stage in this art, but all the viewer gets is some dirt kicked up in the air and drops of blood on two ordinary axes. The man looks like he calling out to his water boy on the sidelines to get him a life flask because he is running 5 damage/utility flasks. Tattoos used to be taboo, something soldiers would get to demonstrate the mental and physical struggles that they endured in war. Nowadays, tattoos are a non-thing. Everybody has them, and the Berserker has the unfortunate circumstance of looking like a muscular lesbian with the way the tattoos envelope his head.
10.Raider
The first ascendancy to convey motion, the Raider sadly doesn’t deliver the shock and awe that she was hoping for. The circular stream of blood would let you know that she means business, but the victim is concealed by the passive points when viewing the artwork in-game. It’s almost unnatural how perfectly the blood forms a circle in the air when the victim was cut with a thrusting sword, so the viewer might have their suspicions that the Raider used photoshop for her debut. The Raider’s hair is surprisingly neat and in order, but this shouldn’t even be noticed if her goal was to breach defenses and kill those inside like her name implies. The background is a forest, which is fine but it is unoriginal as all of the Ranger’s ascendancies use it. The Raider fails to break into my heart, but I can clearly see that she’s making some moves.
A TIER
9.Chieftan
Kaom may be our savior, but the Chieftain is the one that lives on. The spirit of the ancestors has manifested itself as flames in his eyes and hands, and he summons an army of furious effigies outlined in orange. His connection to nature is signified by his bear pelt, a primal display of leadership over a tribe consisting of both loyal warriors and wooden soldiers. In the age of technological advancement, one could easily dismiss the Chieftain as being clueless and helpless to the inventions that could better his way of life. The Chieftan is unwavering in his devotion, and even his face is decorated with ritualistic markings that surge with the same sweltering power as the rest of his muscular body. Tradition is a powerful thing, but it doesn’t make up for the bland, gradient background that I assume to be a smoke cloud illuminated by flames of his own creation. Like most people on planet Earth, we have moved on to better and brighter things, so Chieftan just barely skirts into A-Tier.
8.Deadeye
A word that has only recently garnered usage is “deadass”, and it is used as a synonym for "serious" or "seriously". There are aspects of this composition that I deadass enjoy. The streaks of wind slashing across the portrait provide metaphorical tension that is complementary to the Deadeye’s physical draw of the bow. The splatter of blood on her face and leaping posture demonstrates how in-the-moment she truly is. The next shot will surely not miss, and her eyes have faded away into a perfect white. What I deadass don’t like is the weird belts running vertically across her torso. What could they possibly be used for? Are they for strapping in the player as she speeds through zone with full magic-find gear and Queen of the Forest? Though jumping off of something and firing a trickshot is cool, that lack of other objects means there is no context to her endeavor. The art would be improved by including a victim in the foreground. He would miss his weapon swing, and the Deadeye would dodge out of the way before delivering the final blow. The Deadeye may have missed this opportunity, but she deadass didn’t miss A-tier.
7.Trickster
Different people have different opinions about capes. One as long as the Trickster’s could aid his escape in close-quarters by stunning and distracting enemies, but it could just as easily hinder him by getting caught on doorknobs or railing. I only mention this because his flowing cape consumes such a large fraction of the frame. I have always been a fan of hoodies for their simplicity and comfort, so I can easily relate to a guy who is just trying to look cool and murder in style. The towers in the background suggest that the Trickers is leaping from rooftop to rooftop like a true thief of legend. A dagger and katar find their way into his hands, and this makes his building hopping heists even more impressive as he is doing it without even needing to grab onto objects in the environment. Parkour is hard enough, but imagine doing it without using your hands. The Trickster sneaks a few splashes of purple onto his outfit, which I assume was to impart a sense of royalty in his actions. A gentleman thief is a common character of detective fiction, but this cool cat is stealing lives rather than stealing treasure. He definitely has stolen my heart. Shoutouts to Persona 5 Royal.
6.Occultist
The first of Witch ascendancies claims an impressive 5th place, which will clearly demonstrate her dominance in the world of aesthetics. When one hears the word "witch" many different things may come to mind. The most popular image may be one of a wretched old hag residing deep in a rancid swamp, stirring a foul concoction in a metal cauldron. Animal skins and bones and even mystical herbs may line the walls of her abode as she murmurs some curse that is sure to ruin the rest of your life. The Occultist image takes that description and gives it the POE rendition, so you have a picture that is complete with human skulls, a girl wearing another skull, and her fist clenched around blue light. Is the light a product of her own willpower, or of a small luminescent object? The questions you ask when looking at the Occultist are part of the conversation that art has with its audience. Her unkempt hair and lifeless eyes are like chilling vortexes that suck the viewer into a dark place, one where she controls your fate. She has decided that she will place herself at the top of A-Tier.
S TIER
5.Gladiator
Get ready for a god damn party because this man has brought the confetti and he is already double-fisting two 40s. And by 40s I mean two 40 inch swords. Typically I don’t find that concealing your eyes does you any good in this ranking, but his helmet is unlike the other ascendancies earlier on this list in that he has honeycomb viewing ports. His head looks like it was plastered on from a golden bug, and bugs are pretty creepy bro. Also, this man is such a chad that he hardly wears any armor over his torso, exposing large portions of his chest and back for all the colosseum girls to fawn over. The exhilarating feeling of victory is captured in the image, as the Gladiator raises his weapons confidently to greet the audience of the clearly identifiable arena around him. The color choice for the confetti is genius, as the baby blue is effortlessly distinguishable from the rest of the composition. This concept of color choice to improve visibility is something GGG has learned from, and as such has implemented neon colors into the Harvest league. Maybe that is the victory that the Gladiator is celebrating?
4.Assassin
In the western socio-cultural world, emotions are most easily identified from the mouth. But in eastern cultures like Japan, emotion is expressed primarily through the eyes. The Assassin conceals his mouth because he won’t need to speak a word when he ends your life. That or he is aware of the current health situation and is taking the proper precautions to ensure his safety. The Assassin sneaks his way to the upper echelon of the tier list by replacing his irises with LEDs, which is an interesting choice. One would think bright eyes are the opposite of what an assassin would want, as the light would give away his position before he strikes. On the contrary, his decision showcases his confidence: that he can kill even with this handicap. The experience must be similar to detecting a wild animal in the dark of night; that is, the first thing you’ll see is the reflection of the moonlight in the beast’s eyes. He is also seen playing with blades, which suggests that he is aware of what some of the most powerful skills were of POE's past: Bladefall, Blade Vortex, and Blade Flurry. He is truly cultured, and he shares his delight with the beholder of this art.
3.Necromancer
I would give this art first place in terms of background, as stoically commanding a horde of zombies to overwhelm the opposition is exactly the kind of thing you'll be able to accomplish as this ascendancy. For all you weebs out there, she is doing that thing with her hands where the index finger and pinkie are separated from the adjacent middle and ring fingers. I don't know what this hand position is called or where it comes from, but I see it fairly often in anime fan-art. Regardless, it looks ominous and conveys the sense of mystery that comes with delving into the dark arts of necromancy. Conveying fear through the lack of information is often more terrifying than any visible threat. What did this girl have to sacrifice to gain this power? She must have lost some part of her humanity, as her eyes and hands have transcended their fleshy, earthly forms. Her choice of armor is perfect. Though bones don’t seem like the ideal material with which to protect oneself, the cryptic dread that is injected straight into the hearts of the onlookers will surely be the best defense.
2.Elementalist
Personally my favorite class gameplay-wise, but it is difficult to argue that this art doesn't instill a hopeless dread in the viewer. This depraved girl is so pissed off that she is levitating electrified molten boulders all around her, and there is no doubt that she is gonna have a field day with whatever sparked her rage. Her eyes, hair, outfit, and the background all coalesce into a fine projection of power through the careful use of purple, red, blue, and gray. All ascendancies aim to accomplish the same thing: complete and utter annihilation of anything that stands in their way. I can tell that the Elementalist wants more than that though. She wants to destroy in way that has never been done before. She wants to mercilessly erase you so that you wish you never existed. I get a greater impression of anger, hatred, and wrath (no pun intended) from this art than I do from any other, and it is this emotion that propels the Elementalist to the runner-up spot.
1.Slayer
Hardly anything has to be said about this one that you don't already get from just glancing for a moment. This dude is cutting a man's head AND hand off at the same time, which makes this the only art that demonstrates the violent imagery of POE. Using forensic analysis, it can be seen that the victim was raising his hand(s) as if to communicate to the Slayer in a last ditch effort. Maybe he was trying to say, "Wait, please don't kill me." But alas it was too late, as it was the Slayer's destiny to dramatize how POE actually plays. He transformed this purposefully repetitive ARPG game into a brutal bloodbath in one viscous attack. This art is so good that GGG decided to use it for the splash screens for the PS4 and XBONE versions of POE, so in essence it is the very first thing a new player sees when they start up the game on console. The only thing that would make this art better would be some kind of background, perhaps a trail of dead bodies who each suffered the same fate as the man in the foreground. This is the art piece that best conveys the sense of motion. The tracks of blood following the wide sweeping arc of the two-handed sword indicate the great speed of the swing, which also symbolically represents how the Slayer really "hit it out of the park" with his artwork (like a baseball player striking an incoming baseball). This artwork sets a high standard, but it's not something the others can't achieve.
TL:DR
C TIER
19.Pathfinder
18.Ascendant
17.Hierophant
16.Inquisitor
15.Saboteur
B TIER
14.Juggernaut
13.Guardian
12.Champion
11.Berserker
10.Raider
A TIER
9.Chieftan
8.Deadeye
7.Trickster
6.Occultist
S TIER
5.Gladiator
4.Assassin
3.Necromancer
2.Elementalist
1.Slayer
I look forward to Harvest League! Let me know what your favorite ascendancy artworks are and why in the comments.