But what about some of highly acclaimed and commercially successful AAA titles from the past two years? Games such as The Witcher 3 and Uncharted 4 are often cited as examples for modern gaming’s evolution and progress. Certainly, The Witcher 3 in particular has been celebrated as a modern masterpiece of contemporary video game design, and many critics have proclaimed CD Projekt RED’s stratospherically successful RPG as the best of its generation so far. It is perhaps hard to argue with that logic, and The Witcher 3 is especially notable for its stunningly detailed and immersive world of epic proportions, complete with an immensely detailed narrative, impressive voice acting of its characters and movie grade aesthetic.
Yet, you’ll have noticed that in listing The Witcher 3‘s most impressive feats, you won’t find gameplay among those attributes. While it’s fair to say The Witcher 3 is must own title, it doesn’t actually boast stellar gameplay. Sure, the modes through which combat and traversal are implemented are competent, but certainly not its strongest characteristics, and that’s rather strange when one considers that was largely the foundation make a standout video game.
Naughty Dog’s latest critical darling Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End is another title that features relatively weak gameplay in comparison to the other more standout components of its design, even despite its near universal adoration by the gaming community. Uncharted 4 is certainly a super game and quite clearly the pinnacle of that particular franchise, yet its gameplay not only takes a back seat to the immense production quality and storytelling throughout, but is actually fairly mediocre in comparison to other third person shooters.
Again, it’s competent at what it does, but the majority of the game feels like a polished version of what has come before; nothing is particularly innovative or even genre leading in regards to gameplay. In fact, and dare I say it, Uncharted 4 is arguably rather reactionary, as demonstrated by gameplay additions such as enemy marking and obligatory stealth options.