Xbox – Genesis Gaming and More

The Steam Deck is Apparently an “Xbox Switch,” According to Phil Spencer

Don’t be fooled by the title – I know that when the Steam Deck was announced last month we all had the same thought immediately pop into our heads, and that thought was that it’s basically a Switch that plays PC games. However, in the coming moments after that somewhat misconceived notion formed in my head, more and more thoughts and ideas came to me. The thought-snowball started with the recollection that the Switch OLED announcement was a disappointment in almost every way imaginable, with its unchanged, underpowered specs and lack of any truly meaningful upgrade, even to a cosmetic extent. It’s obvious that the Steam Deck, after taking a look at its specs, is actually trying to exist competitively in the gaming market and make an impact on a wider gaming audience. As such, Nintendo is not Valve’s main competitor here; the companies serve two distinct gaming groups that could not be further apart from one another: those who just want to play Mario and Zelda and those who want gaming experiences from a vast array of genres and eras. Of course, the Steam Deck serves the latter market, and it will most likely succeed wonderfully at being the best of all worlds in that regard.

So then, the PS5 and the Xbox Series X are the Steam Deck’s main competitors, as they are near-functionally equivalent and have a fairly similar library of games on a genre and graphical spectrum. However, the Steam Deck, on the basis of actual games available to play, blows both of them out of the water with 1000s of games for PC from many eras being available, and, more importantly, current-gen games for both PS consoles and Xbox consoles – in fact, most of if not all Xbox games. And that’s where we run into a big problem: why buy a Series X for $500 when a Steam Deck can do everything it can and more? On a Steam Deck, I can play Halo, Forza, and the new Flight Simulator, but I can also play games like Death Stranding, Horizon Zero Dawn, Persona 5 Strikers, and every PC game ever made. The value of the Steam Deck is therefore practically limitless, with the only games absent being Nintendo exclusives and PlayStation exclusives, the latter of which may be going out of style if Sony’s previous generation releases are anything to go by. So, where does Xbox go from here?

When the Steam Deck was announced, I figured that Microsoft might be upset about the Steam Deck, because not only did their mobile cloud gaming plans get upstaged almost immediately after they launched, almost every recent Xbox exclusive exists currently on the Steam platform. It seems to me that this development should be, at the very least, mildly troubling for them, as their proprietary console lineup’s value has been endangered as a result of the Steam Deck’s very existence. However, as revealed by a recent tweet by the head of Xbox, Phil Spencer, the reaction at Microsoft is the exact opposite. He tweeted the following:

Was @valvesoftware this week talking w/ Scott, Erik, Gabe about Steam Deck. After having mine most of the week I can say it's a really nice device. Games with me on the go, screen size, controls all great. Playing Halo and Age feels good, xCloud works well. Congrats SD team. pic.twitter.com/q4hWBvkk85
— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) August 13, 2021

Is that it? A polite congratulations, a warm handshake, a nice chat and a Steam Deck is all Phil Spencer needs to not care? What then is Microsoft’s strategy for making the Xbox line of consoles a success? Or have Microsoft executives accepted that they are destined to be hardware non-competitive and completely given up? That seems more likely.

In an article I wrote a few weeks ago, I said the following:

“. . .Microsoft will stop making consoles after the Series X, and specialize in cloud gaming with Game Pass and publish games under the Xbox name for PCs. While you may think it unlikely because of Microsoft’s massive pockets, they’ll do it if it makes financial sense, and, if the Series X doesn’t sell well (which, if you look at it from the aforementioned value perspective, it shouldn’t), it makes perfect sense that Xbox would forego console production.”

While I really don’t want to be right in this case, with the Phil Spencer-acknowledged gaming revolution that is the Steam Deck, it just makes sense for Microsoft to stop making consoles and be the company that actually gets game-streaming right. Google has tried, Amazon has tried, Facebook has tried, but these companies don’t really understand what makes gamers tick; Microsoft, at least to some extent, does. In that sense, I believe that Microsoft will eventually – most likely sooner rather than later – stop making consoles and specialize in PC games, just as it used to before the first Xbox. At this point, the only great card that Microsoft has left in its hand to play is Game Pass, which still retains some value, but even that is now in question with PS Now becoming a serious competitor. I certainly have more to say about this, so keep an eye out for more articles with Xbox news!

So, what do you think of the current Xbox situation? Is the Series X still on your console radar, or are you a Steam Deck convert? Leave a like and follow the site for more gaming articles right here on Genesis Gaming!

The Souls Series – Ranked

Whenever I boot up an old console to play a classic game like Mega Man or Castlevania, I am immediately welcomed by a level of soul-crushing difficulty I’d think would be best left in the past. NES games are great and the console had some of the best ever made, but the limitations of the medium and constraints on the length of games made cranking the difficulty knob to 11 necessary to lengthen players’ experiences, a method that felt cheap but was certainly effective. As such, it took me months of daily playing to beat Mega Man 2 back when I was a kid, and while that’s a nostalgic experience I look back on fondly, I can’t see how I put up with it back then; Quick Man’s stage nearly drove me to break my controller upon revisiting it.

And while I may seem spoiled with more recent generations due to their somewhat less punishingly difficult nature, I don’t think it’s difficulty that I dislike, it is difficulty’s relation to a game’s genre that is off-putting to me. An insanely difficult platformer or shooter feels cheap because of the cookie-cutter nature of the genre, and the lack of anything unique in their mechanics. Some games in these genres are exceptions, but for the most part, if you’ve played a platform/shooter, you can pick up and play the next one in relatively the same way and succeed (or fail, in my case). However, Dark Souls is a completely different beast entirely, and is in my opinion the one series that perfectly melds superb action-based gameplay with a reasonable level of difficulty that results in a difficulty level that’s not too overbearing and feels perfectly fair.

Dark Souls, created by Hidetaka Miyazaki at FromSoftware, is a medieval fantasy adventure series that has set the standard for games of the genre and continues to impress to this day. Gaming historians and critics alike have had field days analyzing the convoluted story the series has become famous for, and the gameplay has set itself apart from the rest of gaming as being seamless, brutally difficult and intensely rewarding, with the simplicity of it all being the glue that holds it together and keeps players coming back just to experience it one more time. On that note, let’s talk a bit more in detail about these games in a ranking-based format to decide, once and for all, which Souls game is best?

Honorable Mention: Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

I know, I know. Sekiro isn’t a Souls game. But FromSoftware made it and it is clearly much like its Souls predecessors. Therefore, I wanted to talk about it a little bit to give some perspective on it in relation to Souls series games. On that note, I absolutely love FromSoftware and love what they were trying to accomplish with this game, but the sad truth is that Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is a bit of a broken mess.

So many complex gameplay systems have been wrapped into one here, with even a stealth mechanic tacked on in an attempt to develop more “three-dimensional” gameplay. The combat system of Souls titles was stripped down to brass tacks and is now merely composed of blocking and attacking, with the only true dynamic feature being a limited-use prosthetic arm with very few viable attacks. While there are some subtleties to the combat system as Sekiro progresses in his journey, most of the nuance to be found in Darks Souls is lost in a wave of skill trees and items that upgrade your character but are locked to a linear progression path. As a result, the player’s connection to the game’s story and gameplay becomes somewhat faded, as the overarching meta-game of the stat system and its relation to player progression is quite overwhelming.

But, even with all of those pet-peeves and relatively big issues with the core gameplay, I see the merits of Sekiro; being victorious over a very difficult boss does feel quite rewarding indeed. I just didn’t enjoy most of the journey because victory is pretty much the only aspect of the game that feels at all satisfying. In Dark Souls, just playing the game in its entirety, even when losing, was a satisfying experience. In Sekiro, everything is a joyless slog until you finally kill the boss you’ve been stuck on for the past few days, then all you have to do is move on to the next brick wall you have to slowly chip away at with your samurai sword. I will give it this, though: it does a pretty good job of bringing Tench-like gameplay into the modern era.

5: Dark Souls II

The first Dark Souls was quite the amazing success story for FromSoftware. It released as a new IP and a spiritual successor to an IP that was less successful, so the fact that Dark Souls was such a runaway success was actually quite astounding, especially in a world of gaming where independent, non AAA developers are often looked over by consumers. As Dark Souls needed a follow-up that was just as amazing, and while it’s obvious FromSoftware tried, the second game in the Souls series leaves a lot to be desired.

The first and only game in the Souls series so far to not be directed by Hidetaka Miyazaki (who was off directing Bloodborne at the time), Dark Souls II is the weakest title in FromSoftwares entire post-King’s Field repertoire as it actively employs the mantra “one step forward, two steps back” in its mechanics. In the first Dark Souls, the player plays an active part in a gameplay system that emphasizes fundamentals rather than difficulty, but is difficult because of its fundamental-centric game design philosophy. As such, most of the bosses devolve into a roll and hit then run and heal fest. It truly is tough to give the boss design good marks due to the fact that too many have a cheap tactic to make them difficult – ofttimes one that is too obvious or simply doesn’t work. Many victories and deaths in Dark Souls II feel unearned as a result, a quality that is abhorrent in a game all about both things.

Furthermore, I would like to point out that areas and bosses, masterfully crafted in other games mentioned later in this ranking, feel unequivocally mismatched. For instance, in one portion of the game you start in a desert-like poison-filled area filled with green gas. Your destination as you traverse the area is large windmill that is clearly visible on the backdrop of a clear blue sky. Upon reaching the windmill, the player finds an elevator and rides it up to the top of the windmill, and somehow exits into a huge area filled with lava. My question is this: how does this volcano-based area exist geographically relevant to the previous area? We could see the windmill before riding the elevator upwards and there was nothing but blue sky above and behind it, but after riding it to the top there is a new lava-themed area there? As such, the interconnected feeling of the game world that was present in the first Souls game and returned in later installments is lost here, as these kinds of geographical errors pop up time and time again in Dark Souls II, with areas and their relation to one another making very little, if any, real-world sense.

To clarify, I understand that these are technically just video games. But Dark Souls and Dark Souls III go to great lengths to try and make you forget that and experience them as the amazing experiences they are rather than just “games.” Dark Souls II fails in this regard and, while it is otherwise enjoyable as a game (key word), is therefore not deserving of much respect as a Souls game.

4: Demon’s Souls

Demon’s Souls is a different beast altogether in the Souls series, as it is the first game FromSoftware released with the name “Souls” in the title. First released in 2009 exclusively for the PS3, Demon’s Souls became a bit of a cult classic and nabbed the coveted “PlayStation Greatest Hits” title. While technically not connected to the Dark Souls Series through its storyline, it shares a number of gameplay mechanics with it, some of them being even harsher than the games that came after. For instance, when you die in Demon’s Souls, your health is reduced to half until you find a rare item or defeat a boss. However, the first time you die after recovery, it goes back down to half again! This is an extremely harsh punishment for the player, even by Souls-series standards. So, in short, Dark Souls is far more refined than the original Demon’s Souls on PS3 – but what about the PS5 version?

Well, that’s kinda difficult for me to talk about, because to this point I have not been able to grab a PS5. Disappointing, I know. But, I have watched several reviews and gameplay videos of it, so I’ll speak about it generally here. The PS5 edition clears up some of the graphical “grime” that the original release was covered in, resulting in one of the first and best-looking next-gen releases for the PS5 console. Even now, 10 months after its release, it is one of the best-looking next-gen titles and still, one of the only. However, some of the more annoying, two-gens-ago bugs are still there, with a few bosses being outright broken, just as they were back in 2009. Other than the bugs and the somewhat annoying fact that there is almost nothing new added in the remake, it looks like an amazing game and a well-deserved remake for a great game that I once thought had been lost to time. I’ll certainly have more to say about this when I am actually able to get my hands on a copy – stay tuned!

3: Dark Souls

Ah, the original; the sweet, sweet original Dark Souls. Truly a masterpiece in both story and game design, Dark Souls surpasses many other great action-RPGs in almost every way imaginable and was my first introduction to the series. While it can be clunky at times (it is ten years old, so I believe we can forgive it for that), that same clunk gives it certain charm that I wouldn’t trade for the world. Furthermore, the overall mixture of story, gameplay, and the underlying “meta” in the game’s core mechanics (such as the unique bonfire death/undeath system it pioneered) is second to none in both the Dark Souls series and the whole of video gaming, setting a bar that, in my eyes, has yet to be matched by another game.

Bosses set the bar for the action-RPG, and still hold up to this very day, with Ornstein and Smough coming to mind as one of the tensest boss fights I have ever been able to conquer. World exploration is particularly excellent, as the world construction possesses a very “vertical” quality that allows for an enhanced feeling of interconnectivity. Although the game sends the player spiraling through several distinctly themed areas of varying distances from one another, the player is still always able to find a shortcut that leads them back to familiar lands, a touch that to this day makes Dark Souls the most unique and marvelous games in the series.

Regardless, the aforementioned clunk is the only reason this game isn’t higher up on the list; in fact, a part of me wants to rank this one in first place. It just did so much for gaming at the time and set the series up to be as legendary as it is! There’s just nothing like stepping into the world of Lordran for the first time and somehow managing to make it to the end by the skin of your teeth. Truly a masterpiece, and without a doubt worth several playthroughs.

2: Dark Souls III

Dark Souls III was the follow-up the original Dark Souls deserved, and was set to serve as the epic conclusion to one of the greatest series of all time, so where did it fail to only be #2 on this list? Well, honestly, it didn’t fail in many ways, but some of its new and renewed mechanics made it feel like a rushed hodge-podge of what made the games before it so special, and therefore, at least in my opinion, was a not-so-fitting conclusion to the series overall. That doesn’t stop the game from being amazing though! In fact, it is quite the opposite; Dark Souls III did so much right it has become one of my favorite games in the series, to the point where it has beat out, as you’ve seen, the original Dark Souls!

Firstly, the game’s combat is vastly improved upon after the clunky mess that was Dark Souls II, and is able to carve out its own unique space in the Souls series with its fast, hyper precise combat. Combat is now based around rolling around enemies and bosses’ swings in order to punish them after they miss, creating a tense, adrenaline-dripping combat system that sets itself apart in more ways than one from the rest of the Souls series, and gaming in general. This is especially noticeable during the game’s boss fights, which are varied, masterfully designed and pulse-pounding to play through. While I’m not going to talk about them specifically, I will say that the bosses are an absolute blast to fight; nothing beats landing the final blow on a particularly difficult boss as the epic score swells to a triumphant crescendo.

That being said, the game has its flaws, which is why it lands itself in the runner-up spot. For instance, the game feels far too linear for a Souls game, with many areas feeling like straight lines toward an obvious destination that isn’t too hard to get to upon a bit of exploration. Other areas feel like cheap attempts to confuse the player, with many simply being poorly designed pools of poison with somewhat obvious traps and puzzles, and others simply being mazes to get lost in for hours. As such, the game is directionally binary: you either know exactly where you’re going or you haven’t the foggiest idea which way is up.

Regardless, Dark Souls III is an amazing game that closed out the Souls series on a relatively good note. Worth mentioning is that the final boss is the ultimate in fan-service from series-creator Miyazaki, featuring callbacks to the first game that kind of discredit the second game from the series continuity entirely and say: “This was Dark Souls. That is all.” The final fight is honestly one of the greatest boss fights in gaming history and Dark Souls III is arguably worth playing just for it. As such, I have to recommend you pick this up and play it immediately; you won’t regret it!

1: Bloodborne

Bloodborne is essentially a much better version of what Dark Souls III was trying to be. The combat is fast and frenetic, but retains that same sense of emphasis on the fundamentals the series was built on starting with the original Dark Souls. Featuring new mechanics that meaningfully expound on the mechanics of the Dark Souls series in almost every way, Bloodborne is not just the spiritual successor to the series, it is its natural evolution.

The faster combat is balanced and far better than Dark Souls III’s; for instance, shields are no longer a viable item, with only one terrible one being present in the entire game. This massive design change is a perfect complement to the fact that combat moves so quickly, conveying the appropriate message to the player – “you really need to get used to not using this” – in a way they’ll understand on-the-fly. Other drastic gameplay changes include the new rallying system, in which a player can regain all HP lost from an enemy attack by striking back within a few moments. This opens up the player to taking far greater risk, creating a risk-based dynamic that previous Souls experiences did not have. In short, combat is fast, fun and risky, and will leave your “gamer brain” very satisfied for tens of hours of adventure.

Speaking a bit on the story and world design, they’re weirdly even darker than their Dark Souls counterparts, featuring Lovecraftian monsters such as werewolves, insects and grotesque aliens, and sometimes what look like weird combinations of all three, just to spice things up a bit. The story is convoluted to the “nth” degree, with mystical beings of many forms, both human and alien, converging and reeking general havoc on the Yharnam population, with blood-borne blights and otherworldly threats throwing curveballs at the player throughout their journey. I don’t want to spoil any of it here, but if you must know more, check out my full review of Bloodborne here.

If I am speaking critically, I’ll admit that Bloodborne does have a few of Dark Souls III’s issues, with the world feeling more like a straight line than the interconnected masterpiece that was the first Dark Souls. However, the combat and story of Bloodborne set it apart from the mainline Souls series in ways that are unique enough to discredit that issue entirely, as the combat is truly the main focus of the game and is enough to keep the player focused and intrigued. Also, the experimentation with otherworldly themes and strange, arcane magic is territory the series has rarely delved into before, if at all, making it a breath of fresh air for a series that suffered from a bit of early-onset franchise fatigue as a result of its brutal, difficult nature and relatively short development cycles.

Regardless, Bloodborne is one of the best games of the last generation and a top 3 PS4 exclusive to be sure. Give it a play and all of the games mentioned previously, as I truly believe the Souls series is one of if not the best set of games of all time.

So, what do you think? Am I right? Or does my list need rearranged? Leave a like and follow the site for more gaming-centric articles right here on Genesis Gaming!

Xbox Game Pass August Games – Game Pass Fights Back

In an article I posted recently discussing the new PS Now games that were announced this month, I said that Xbox Game Pass was losing steam. While that’s still true to some degree, as the fact that GTA V, arguably its best game, is leaving the service is still true. However, this month’s additions are certainly going to help fill in that void, and one of the games is a day one release. Let’s talk about them!

Hades

Launching on August 13th, Hades is a day- one release for the Xbox platform, launching on Game Pass the same day it comes out in stores. Set in Ancient Greece, the player plays as Zagreus, son of Hades, on a quest to escape the underworld. With rogue-like, action-based, RPG gameplay and a unique visual style, Hades has impressed on other platforms and is sure to impress again on Xbox One and Series X/S.

Skate 3

A legendary game for the Xbox 360, Skate 3 is all about fun, seeing the player skateboarding through an open world trying to pop sick tricks off of every unsuspecting park bench. While there is kind of a story mode, as the intent of doing tricks everywhere is to raise awareness for your skateboard manufacturing company, most of the fun to be had is from jumping from ridiculously high places and tricking all the way down, and creating custom skate parks. A great game all around and a great nostalgic trip back to 2010.

Katamari Damacy Reroll

The remaster of an old retro classic for the PS2, Katamari Damacy Reroll thrusts rolling giant trash balls into the modern era, where the player can now roll giant trash balls in HD! On a more serious note, the Katamari series is oddly quite fun and addictive, appealing to my arcade-gamer side with its repetitive but entertaining gameplay and its general sense of “odd.” The oddness in both its concept and gameplay exudes a certain charm, and you can definitely tell the game is trying its hardest to just be weird. Definitely worth a try if you’re into the bizarre!

So what do you think of Game Pass’s August Games? Do they match PS Now’s recent additions? Leave a like and follow the site if you enjoyed the article and stay tuned for more from Genesis Gaming!

August PlayStation Now Games Announced – Can PS Now Become a Worthy Rival for Xbox Game Pass?

In the past few years, gaming platforms have been locked in an intense battle with their subscription services, to the point at which those services are actually a thought when you buy a console. After all, gamers want to get the most value out of their most recent $500 tech purchase, and value-based services like Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Now seem like the best ways to do it. Game Pass has been the frontrunner in most aspects of the online game service, featuring online play, 100s of games with Xbox exclusives joining the fray on day one, and, now, cloud streaming on an endless array of devices. Seems like it sells itself, doesn’t it?

However, in recent months, Xbox Game Pass has been losing steam, with its one of of its biggest games, Grand Theft Auto V, leaving the service in the coming days. While Game Pass’s struggle doesn’t mean much on its own, PS Now has been doing the exact opposite, exceeding espectations with its monthly gaming additions. July saw 4 blockbusters being added to PS Now in Read Dead Redemption 2, which has been off and on Game Pass for a while now, Judgement, God of War and Nioh 2. August’s games certainly match the momentous gaming occasion that was July, as Sony has absolutely hit it out of the park once again. Here are August’s monthly games.

Nier: Automata

Available until November 1st, Nier: Automata is a wonderful RPG oddity from Square Enix. It was the black sheep of the RPG community when it launched back in 2017; Square Enix didn’t expect it to sell well, and the game itself divided RPG fans with its multitude of gameplay systems, camera angles and environments. But, with time, the game won a lot of people over once they came to understand Nier’s unique style of storytelling and its gorgeous visuals and soundtrack. In my opinion, Nier: Automata and its predecessor Nier Replicant are nothing short of masterpieces (reviews on the way!), and the former will make a fine addition to the PS Now service.

Ghostrunner

Released last November, Ghostrunner is one of the newest games on the PS Now service, and while the game has received mixed reviews since its release less than a year ago, this is a a wise and bold move from Sony to add it to their online service. Set in a cyberpunk, dystopian future, Ghostrunner’s gameplay revolves around split-second parkour and katana-based decisions in which a single move can lead to a gruesome end for either you or your enemy. It’s fast-paced, frenetic and fun, and will certainly be appreciated by PlayStation gamers as one of this month’s offerings.

Undertale

Beloved by many RPG enthusiasts around the world, Undertale is a staple of indie gaming, showing the immense potential of the independent development and old school, minimalist 8-bit graphics. Undertale uses these graphics in very unique ways and pushes their ability to tell a cohesive and genuinely moving story, and it succeeds wonderfully. As such, Undertale is best played when you don’t know too much about it, so I won’t spoil anything here. If you like RPGs or indie games in general, you should simply go into the experience knowing that it is one you will never forget.

So what do you think of this month’s PS Now lineup? Is it enough to match Game Pass, or is Sony still missing something? Leave a like if you enjoyed the article and come back tomorrow for more from Genesis Gaming!

Every Console I’ve Ever Owned – Ranked

Throughout my relatively young gamer life, I have strived to remain in contact with past generations of game consoles and to explore a diverse collection of genres. Typecasting oneself into an “Xbox gamer” or a “PlayStation gamer” just becomes stale after a while, and while the next generation of gaming looks stellar and groundbreaking, it never hurts to look back with nostalgic fondness on generations past. And that’s what I intend to do today.

While I don’t own every console known to man and have taken years to “procure” my collection (I’m not made of money after all), I do own a relatively large number of past consoles and play them all frequently. So without further ado, here it is: a comprehensive ranking of my console collection!

14: Game Boy Color

Released in 1998 as a follow-up to the original Game Boy, the Game Boy Color finally added color graphics to the world of handhelds. With a variety of amazing titles released for the console, such as The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages, Pokémon Gold and Silver, and Mario Golf, the GBC sold like hotcakes in it day, and for good reason: there was nothing else like it. It improved upon its predecessor in almost every way and carved out a much larger space in the gaming industry for handheld as a result of its innovation.

However, here is where we diverge onto a more critical path, as this console is surely not without its flaws. I apologize to anyone I offend by ranking this so low, but it’s due primarily to one huge flaw in the console’s design: the lack of a backlight. I’m sure this console was a blast to play back in the 90s when there was nothing better, but today it’s hard to stomach when I can play some of the console’s best games on my backlit Nintendo 3DS. There’s no denying that the system’s games were second-to-none, but playing them on their original device can be quite difficult, which isn’t knocking the experience of the games, it’s knocking the console itself.

This may be a hot take, but I think we can all agree that if the GBC just had a backlight, the console would be legendary, and certainly better than what we got.

13: Nintendo DS

While still low on the list, the Nintendo DS is quite the handheld, with its library packing a punch, mostly because it wasn’t just Pokemon this time around. While Nintendo handhelds prior were mostly considered Pokemon machines, the DS featured quite a few new IPs that brought new life to Nintendo and created a new, casual audience for the brand, such as Brain Age, Electroplankton, Drawn to Life, and Scribblenauts.

The Nintendo DS was actually my first gaming console, and it forever cemented my role as a gamer. However, after getting my hands on a 3DS later on in life, I can’t help but to see the shortcomings of the console when I look back on it, something that the 3DS now suffers from post-Nintendo Switch. The graphics, even though they are 3D, are often quite ugly and drab in comparison to other handheld consoles released around the same time, like the PSP, which boasted near home console level graphics.

However, the lineup of games is stellar, with handheld Nintendo staples from the Game Boy era returning (e.g. Pokémon) and new IPs popping up everywhere featuring touchscreen support, something that truly did push the handheld gaming scene forward in a new, innovative direction. More JRPG titles were popping up for the DS, and unique genres like puzzlers (e.g. Professor Layton) and visual novel-based courtroom dramas (here’s looking at you Phoenix Wright) made an appearance that would make them lasting handheld staple series.

In short, while the DS certainly pushed the handheld gaming format forward in a new direction, it has a few flaws that hold it back from being legendary.

12: Sega Genesis

The Sega Genesis, in its day, was essentially the “Xbox” of the console world; it had its die-hard fans, but it was constantly on the losing end of an over a decade long fight against its main competitor, in this case Nintendo. Nintendo, as we all know, won the fight in the end, and for good reason: Sega didn’t really know what they were doing with their own console. Over the years, Sega botched several console releases, and decided it would be best to market underused, add-on peripherals to the Genesis, like the Sega CD and Sega 32X, which had limited use and didn’t really change the formula enough to be of any interest to consumers. But, that doesn’t mean Sega didn’t do some things right.

The lineup of games for the Genesis is very well-loved, and every game had a very unique visual and audial style that Nintendo couldn’t really match. Sega just screams “80s” with its vector based, 16-bit graphics and its loud, punchy music, and the console featured some of the best games of the era in their best versions. Everyone knows that the original Mortal Kombat only had blood – it’s main selling point – on the Sega Genesis! Vector Man and Ecco the Dolphin were highlights of the system, and the Genesis had far more sports-centric titles than than the Super Nintendo. And who can forget Sonic the Hedgehog!

So, the Genesis, while it was ultimately defeated, poorly supported by Sega and had a tenure that was overlong, is truly an amazing system that was very reflective of its era (this website is even named after it!). As such, it’s great if you love retro time-pieces and even better if studying gaming history is up your alley.

11: Nintendo Entertainment System

Many love the Nintendo Entertainment System, and some herald it as the greatest console of all time. While I can understand that nostalgic sentiment, as I certainly have my own, I simply don’t agree. I know it ruled the relatively niche gaming world of the 80s, but you can’t get around acknowledging the console’s many faults, something Nintendo themselves did when they released the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, which you will see later on this list. And I’m not blaming the fact that the NES had some quality-of-life issues, such as the lack of saves on some games and the limited storage capacity of cartridges that limited the scope of games – those are understandable and expected; after all, the NES practically invented the modern video game medium.

What I’m talking about is the lack of variety in games for the console, and the insane difficulty of most titles that was utilized to artificially increase the length of each game. While the medium was quite limited in its day, most games were either platformers, RPGs, or action games, with only a few games really breaking the mold and innovating with the medium (the first Metal Gear comes to mind). Furthermore, every time I’ve booted up my NES to try and play Battletoads or Bubble Bobble, I walk away a few hours later feeling an odd combination of confusion and frustration. That may just be my spoiled, modern-day gamer brain talking as I’m sure NES purists would claim, but I think it is a deeper issue with the console itself, brought on by its limitations and the lack of developer knowledge back then.

Nevertheless, it was the best console of its day and invented the game console as we know, so it has to receive credit for that. A lot of games that we love today got their start there as well, namely Super Mario Bros. and Final Fantasy.

10: Nintendo Wii

The Nintendo Wii was my first ever home console, an upgrade from the Nintendo DS, and is therefore one of those nostalgic attachments that I myself have. The console was great if you loved Nintendo games, and the Wii Shop Channel was innovative as all hell. The ability to buy retro and new titles and download them to your console? Yes, please!

But the Wii had far too many fatal flaws to be considered a “home-run success,” and was probably the worst console of its generation, even though it outsold all of its competitors. The reason for this is that Nintendo decided it would begin to target a new market, casual gamers (kids, their parents, and their grandparents), making the Wii marketable to literally everyone with enough money to buy one; and boy did a lot of people buy one. Over 100 million Wiis were sold during its generation, about 20 million more than the Xbox 360 and about 10 million more than the PlayStation 3. Games like Wii Sports, Wii Fit, Super Mario Galaxy and The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess brought people into the Nintendo ecosystem, and groundbreaking features like the Wii Shop Channel, Photo Channel, Mii Maker and constantly updating weather and news apps kept people interested and amazed.

But third-party support for the console was absolutely terrible, with copy-cat games and absolute garbage being released for the console and marketed to Nintendo’s audience of parents and grandparents, who didn’t know any better. First-party Nintendo games like Wii Sports and Wii Fit were mimicked and shamelessly released by noncreative third parties who were looking for easy cash-ins, and for that the Wii suffered greatly. It also didn’t help that the Wii alienated an entire audience of gamers that wanted to see an actual generational update for Nintendo, who opted for low processing power, AV cables only and odd, somewhat gimmicky motion-based control schemes to save money on console production.

So while the Wii was a good business move for Nintendo, it was ultimately a step backwards for them that continues to affect them to this day, with their newest console, the Nintendo Switch, also being a bit of an underpowered mess. But, like the Switch, the Wii was an underpowered mess with some great Nintendo games, so if you’re a Nintendo fan, you couldn’t go wrong with this one.

9: Super Nintendo Entertainment System

If you love to watch gaming console rankings and opinion videos like I do, you’ll know that the popular consensus among most gamers is that the king of all consoles is the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Now, you can tell by its place in this ranking that I disagree with that sentiment, but I’ll give them credit, this is a great system.

Alongside it’s main competitor Sega, Nintendo revolutionized gaming by releasing its new, 16-bit followup to NES, and it blew everyone away back in 1991. Titles like Super Mario World, Star Fox and Pilotwings whet gamers’ appetites, then Nintendo drove it home with The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past and Super Metroid. Third-party support from developers like SqareSoft and Capcom made games like Secret of Mana and Mega Man X possible, and they carved out a space for the JRPG genre. As such, there is no doubt that the console was and is legendary. The problem is that the SNES retains the same issue the NES had: a lack of variety in games.

Again, most games for the console were platformers, RPGs and action games, and while a few new genres were thrown into the mix and crude 3D experimentation was tried, the SNES is largely the same as its predecessor, albeit with prettier visuals. If the SNES is your thing, go for it, I completely understand why you love it. It’s just not for me.

8: PlayStation

The first PlayStation was one of my earliest introductions to the gaming medium, and while I never played the PS greats back then (I didn’t have the greatest collection), the experience stuck with me as a highlight of gaming history. And while revisiting it is rough due to the jagged graphics and low resolution, I remember why I loved it so much: it’s just fun to sit down and spend some time with the console.

The console is a matte grey color, exuding no standout visual qualities, and yet possesses an undeniable aesthetic that is, quite literally, the 90s defined. PlayStation adopted CDs as their storage medium and, as such, set an industry standard until the revelation of Blu-ray, which Sony also pioneered. Sony bought and partnered with studios, beginning a decades-long monopoly on exclusive games and stealing the spotlight from Sega and Nintendo, becoming synonymous with gaming and innovation. And, speaking of innovation, PlayStation practically reinvented the wheel with their new dual-analog stick “DualShock” controller.

Games for the system included Spyro the Dragon, Crash Bandicoot, Final Fantasy VII, VIII and IX, Silent Hill, Resident Evil, and countless other classics. There’s just nothing quite like playing on the original PlayStation, and while future Sony consoles are certainly better tech-wise and game-wise, nothing really competes with the sheer joy one feels when playing the PS1.

7: Nintendo 64

That’s right, I went there: I ranked the Nintendo 64 above the PlayStation. Why? Because the graphics of the console were better, the titles were more memorable, and the first-party output for this console crafted legendary games that will be remade and re-released in perpetuity until the end of time or Nintendo, whichever comes first. Also, this is one nostalgic attachment I have that I just cannot let go of – playing Ocarina of Time and Wave Race 64 as a kid blew my mind and left me a lifelong 90s retro fanatic.

While I’ll admit the third-party support was not great for the console, some notable second-parties did exist to make the console worthwhile for more than just typical Nintendo games. Rare comes to mind as one of the console’s best developers, and it was a second-party of Nintendo for the entirety of the N64’s life, producing amazing titles like Banjo-Kazooie, Conker’s Bad Fur Day, and Killer Instinct Gold. Nintendo’s games made history by breaking convention and setting new standards for the medium, with games like The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask, Super Mario 64, Wave Race 64, and more.

While, I’ll admit, the controller is an odd 90s experiment that received mixed feedback and the cartridge medium of the day was already outdated when the console launched back in 1996, the console is quite amazing and it is astonishing how many of its games still hold up to this day. An amazing console to be sure, and one of the 90’s best.

6: Xbox 360

While many consider the Xbox 360 to be Microsoft’s best console, a sentiment which I fully understand and almost agree with (which I’ll explain later when we get to the Xbox One), the 360 had some issues at launch and throughout its life that sets it back from being the best. As everyone knows, the 360 launched with some really bad, console-breaking issues due to a rushed launch in an attempt to beat the PS3 to market. While that definitely paid off (the 360 is the best-selling Xbox console of all time), it wasn’t without one huge tradeoff: most of consoles were broken within a year. The original line of 360s had a critical flaw known as the “Red Ring of Death,” during which the system would overheat and case a red ring to replace the typically green power button’s light. As such, while Microsoft got a pretty big market share to start, they had to institute a multi-billion dollar warranty plan to save face in the wake of their own botched launch at the hands of the Red Ring of Death, a setback that would make many leery of the brand.

Other than that, the 360 was practically flawless, bringing about a number of positive changes to the world of gaming. For instance, the idiotic nature of the original Xbox’s “Duke” controller was changed to a much more refined, sensible wireless version that was comfortable to hold and play with for extended play sessions. Graphics were now in full HD, and Microsoft, like Nintendo did with their Wii, made their own digital store where brand new games could be purchased and downloaded to the console. The 360 also boasted a massive library of amazing games, including 4 Halo games, Gears of War, Forza Motorsport and more, exclusive IP that even today remain exclusive to the brand.

Back in 2012, a year before the Xbox One, Microsoft looked set to become a true superpower in the world of video games. But 2013 proved challenging to the brand and quite damaging to their name. Alas, we will always have the Xbox 360 to look back on with fondness – well, at least until they all red ring.

5: Nintendo Switch

A lot of people absolutely love the Switch, and so do I. After all it is in my top 5, and while I do have some serious issues with it, I absolutely love it. Many games stand out as some of the best: Breath of the Wild is one of the highlights of the system for me, with all of its Zelda charm packed into a giant open world that I am honestly shocked can even run on a handheld system like the Switch; Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is the greatest Smash game ever made, and has occupied me for hundreds of hours, remaining entertaining to this day; Pokemon Sword did a superb job of reinventing the series without losing its original charm; and Super Mario Maker 2 is the best thing to happen to the Mario franchise since the very first one. In short, I have a lot of love for this little console, and it has been one of my go-to systems for games of all kinds since I got it. However, that doesn’t stop me from disliking a few things about it.

The Switch was designed with many flaws, a few I’d like to detail here. For being so new (it released in 2017), it has a criminally low power level (far under 9000, if you’re asking) and can barely run some games, with The Witcher III: Wild Hunt, which came out two years before the system, looking very blurry and glitchy at times. Sometimes games will dip well below 20 FPS, something that should never happen in games priced at $60. The console also launched with an obscenely low amount of storage, with only 32 GB on the console. MicroSD cards were therefore required if you planned to own more than 5 games, which are an added expense.

Speaking of added expenses, Joy-Cons are $80 for some reason, and they tend to break very quickly due to their cheap construction. On launch, the dock scratched the screen of the device, which means you’ll need a screen protector, which is another added expense. If you want to carry it around with you and use it as a portable system, you’ll need a protective case, which yet another added expense. In short, $299 is the asking price, but it’s not what you’ll pay to own a Switch. When you add up necessary things like a case, a screen protector, a microSD card, an extra controller and a game, you’re going to pay somewhere between $420 and $500, plus or minus the extra set of Joy Cons.

So while the console has an excellent library of games and is very versatile given its portability, the price of admission may not be worth it depending on what kind of gamer you are. A PS4 or an Xbox One X has the same starting price, and unlike the Switch, there aren’t any hidden fees (except maybe a game or two, but you knew that when you bought it) and they are very powerful, with the ability to play far more groundbreaking games.

4: Xbox One

The Xbox One was a flawed console from the very beginning, what with its aggressive DRM strategies, forced online connectivity, and lack of exclusive titles alongside an emphasis on streaming media. While two of those things were cancelled before the system launched, the latter of the three was omnipresent throughout the console’s life. As a result, the Xbox One was notorious for its lack of a real reason to buy it – after all, how many times can one play Halo? While, looking back, there were several hidden gems you could only find on Xbox (Ryse: Son of Rome and Quantum Break just to name a few), this statement largely still holds true, even after the release of the Series X last year.

But enough of the bad, what makes the console deserve a top 5 spot? Easy: simplicity. The user interface is simple and easy-to-navigate, every streaming app you have can be easily pinned to and accessed on the home menu, and games can too. It’s quite similar on PS4, but there are no extra frills here. No themes, folders or anything – just your games and apps, where you want them to be. And there are quite a few games and apps to be found! Some streaming apps are only on Xbox consoles (such as Sling TV), and while the Xbox One lacked many exclusive titles, save Halo, Forza and Gears of War, third-party supported came to the rescue, with many great games like Devil May Cry V, Resident Evil VII and more launching on the console.

As such, it’s a great, albeit hugely flawed, console, and was my first introduction to the eighth generation. As such, I have a nostalgic attachment to it, even though I have grown to resent it somewhat because of its current over-reliance on subscription-based services. Game Pass has simultaneously made gaming easy and far more user-accessible, but also devalued the medium in a way I have trouble finding the words to explain. More on that in an article soon! Regardless, Microsoft seems to be learning from its mistakes with the Xbox One and making it and its successor in the Series X far better as consoles.

3: Nintendo 3DS

The Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo’s last true handheld gaming machine, is the greatest handheld console ever made. It is versatile, easy-to-use, and has what is arguably the greatest lineup of games ever to grace a handheld console, featuring genres formerly never seen on handhelds, with many games being of an absolutely massive scope (think Monster Hunter and giant 3D Pokémon worlds).

While the console did get off to a rocky start because Nintendo confused people with their naming schemes – many thought the 3DS was a new and improved DS, and thus didn’t buy one because they thought it unnecessary – this was Nintendo in their prime. Featuring a circle pad for thumb stick functionality, the 3DS brought full 3D worlds into the Nintendo handheld ecosystem and allowed the player to comfortably explore them in 8 or more directions. The console featured backwards compatibility with all Nintendo DS games and allowed use of said circle pad, making even older titles more comfortable and modern to play. The 3DS also opted into adding online functionality in a web browser, friends list, and an eShop, making buying brand new games digitally possible, making handheld gaming even more convenient.

Featured games included three generations of Pokémon, Super Smash Bros. for 3DS, The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, Animal Crossing: New Leaf, Fire Emblem Awakening, Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies, and more. In short, the gaming lineup is so diverse in both genre and gameplay that there is no end to the entertainment. That’s why it is my favorite handheld console ever, and my favorite Nintendo console.

2: PlayStation 2

The PlayStation 2 is often cited by gaming journalists and gamers in general as the greatest console of all time, and that’s a concept I can totally get behind. While on my list it is ranked as second, the PS2 absolutely deserves the top spot, and the only reason it isn’t number one is because of the greatness of the console I have slotted there, which we’ll obviously get to in a minute. But first, let’s talk about the pros of the PS2.

For starters, the PS2 has one of the greatest, most varied game libraries ever created, featuring stellar racing games, action games, JRPGs, platformers, and more you could only find on the PS2. World-renowned series like Devil May Cry and God of War got their start there, and series from the PS1 like Resident Evil and Gran Turismo came back with a vengeance in Gran Turismo 3 and Resident Evil 4. The graphical capabilities of the PS2 were some of the best of the era, breaking convention and making next-gen experiences never thought possible…well, possible!

Other notable aspects of the console are the revised DualShock controller, called the “DualShock 2,” now featuring adaptive, pressure-sensitive buttons and a more comfortable design, with only a few other minor changes made. While the console still used memory cards, the game discs themselves pioneered the physical medium this time around, using DVDs instead of the previous generation’s CDs. Speaking of which, the console could still read both, meaning it functioned as an all-in-one physical media hub with the ability to read music CDs, DVD movies, PS2 games, and every PS1 game ever made, making it a console with hard-to-beat value – which, ironically, no one was able to beat. The PS2 remains the bestselling console of all time, selling over 150 million units worldwide, as compared to Sega, Xbox, and Nintendo’s combined 54 million – a mere third of the PS2’s sales!

In short, the PS2 is a legendary console with such a varied library and diverse amount of uses that every gamer should own one sometime in their life. It’s a retro throwback that always delivers a unique experience, and it’s just amazing to see how great gaming was in the 2000s and just how far we’ve come from there. Speaking of how far we’ve come. . .

1: PlayStation 4

. . .the PS4 is the best console of all time. I know that many people will put the PS2 on the top of their list of gaming consoles because of its diverse library and their nostalgic attachment, we’ve already been over that; but I just can’t bring myself to do it. Yes, I love my PlayStation 2, but I can’t argue that it is better than the best console ever made, the PlayStation 4. The PS4 isn’t better because it has newer, better graphics or because it has a new controller with a fancy touchpad (which was severely underused as a matter of fact), it simply had the best games of its generation and was the only console of the era that bothered to innovate the gaming medium and craft a library of amazing games that will last forever.

With a unique gaming atmosphere set up by an easy-to-understand, user-customizable, welcoming user interface and specializing in well-written and engaging story-driven gaming experiences, the PS4 will go down in history as the best console ever made. It’s not flawless, but most of its flaws stem from things that were not included in the package, such as backwards compatibility with the PS1, 2 and 3 or the lack of an optical audio port on the console itself. Other than small complaints that are somewhat mediated by PS2 re-releases, Sony-made wireless studio headphones, and the presence of PS3 titles on PlayStation Now, the PS4 is for the most part without issue. And, while this may be opinion, the best games of all time released exclusively for the system. With The Last of Us, God of War, Shadow of the Colossus, Gran Turismo Sport, Bloodborne, Horizon Zero Dawn, Days Gone, Final Fantasy VII Remake, Persona 5, and more, Sony simply can’t be beat in the games department, and that’s why we buy consoles, isn’t it?

I’m sure the PS5 will be similarly stellar, but I don’t actually own one yet and am locked in a seemingly eternal battle with online checkouts at the moment. Check back soon (hopefully) for an updated list featuring the PS5 to see where it places!

What’s your favorite console, and do you agree with my list? Come back soon for more articles right here on Genesis Gaming!

Xbox Is Back to Being the Black Sheep – Let’s Discuss

When the Series X was announced and throughout the first 7 months of its life leading up to E3 2021, the Microsoft console had a lot going for it. It is slightly more powerful than its main competitor, has 6 exclusive games coming out in the next six months, all of which are coming straight to its flagship service, Game Pass, which also features 100s of games available for download at any time on any Xbox or PC device connected to a subscription. And yet, even with all of those developments that should make Xbox the obvious console choice of this generation, the Series X is still the black sheep. Or at least it is now, after the Steam Deck was announced last week. So let’s talk about it! Why is this console that should be great so bad?

The Steam Deck Problem

I had a bad feeling when Microsoft initially announced that every Xbox exclusive would be coming to PC, and this is why. The Steam Deck is a brand new console by Valve that allows users to download and play their entire Steam collection wherever they go and also on their televisions with any controller they want. Pretty enticing, right?

And that’s just the problem: you don’t need an Xbox to play Xbox anymore, thus completely destroying the value of the brand. Why would I spend $500 on a Series X when Valve has me covered with the Steam Deck, on which I can also play every PC game ever made and some PlayStation games too. From a value perspective, the Steam Deck is the clear winner here. The only value that Microsoft’s Xbox has left is Game Pass, but even that is questionable now.

The Game Pass Problem

Game Pass Ultimate initially seemed like a great concept, with a seeming infinity of valuable features and reasons to subscribe. After all, you get Xbox Live Gold, Game Pass and EA Play, with online play and 100s of on demand games baked into the service. But now, Game Pass is everywhere, and you don’t need a new Xbox Series X/S to use it. You can also play on iPhone, Android, PC, and, soon, smart TVs, proprietary Xbox streaming sticks, and other streaming devices.

While I still think Game Pass is one of the best values in gaming services right now, I don’t agree with the majority of other games writers who believe it’s the best selling point of the Xbox, because I believe it is its greatest weakness. I don’t like gaming as a service. It cheapens the gaming experience, makes it purely value-based and removes the magic from playing new games. I’m not a purist and I’m not against change – cloud gaming is an inevitability and most likely the next logical evolution of the gaming medium – but Xbox will not succeed because of Game Pass.

While Game Pass is valuable, it cannot be such at the cost of devaluing the Xbox brand, and, in tandem with the Steam Deck, that’s exactly what it’s doing.

A New Theory

While the Series X is enticing on paper, if you look at it from a value perspective – $500 for exclusives and services you can find elsewhere for less – you may rethink your initial inclination to purchase it. Game Pass is awesome, and Xbox’s slew of all-new exclusives are amazing; the problem is that they’re not actually exclusive. If you want to play Halo Infinite and way more worthwhile PC and PlayStation games on the same device, you can get a Steam Deck, and if you want to play Game Pass games, you can do so on your phone, computer, and even your smart TV (soon).

Therefore I present to you this gaming industry hot take: Microsoft will stop making consoles after the Series X, and specialize in cloud gaming with Game Pass and publish games under the Xbox name for PCs. While you may think it unlikely because of Microsoft’s massive pockets, they’ll do it if it makes financial sense, and, if the Series X doesn’t sell well (which, if you look at it from the aforementioned value perspective, it shouldn’t), it makes perfect sense that Xbox would forego console production.

Take that with a grain of salt, it’s pure speculation and simply a hot take I wanted to share.

So what do you think of the Series X? Are you on “Team Xbox” this generation? Leave a like and follow the site if you enjoy my content, and be sure to check back soon for more from Genesis Gaming!

The Steam Deck – What You Need to Know

Just a few days ago, Valve did the unthinkable and announced a device that many have been clamoring for for ages and just didn’t realize it: the “Steam Deck,” a Nintendo Switch-like console for PC gaming. While it sounds a bit silly, this is actually quite revolutionary and could change the gaming market, if you can get over the price – but we’ll get to that later! First, let’s talk about what the Steam Deck actually is, and then we’ll talk about why it’s the best thing to happen to the gaming world for quite some time.

The Steam Deck: An Unusual Step for Valve

The Steam Deck, seen above, is basically a Nintendo Switch that can play all of the games your PC can play. It adopts a Linux-based OS that looks similar to Steam on PC when ran in Big Picture Mode, and can either download games directly to the device or stream them from a PC. Steam has assured buyers that the new handheld console will be capable of playing “all the latest AAA games,” assuring that it will pack as much punch as a decent gaming PC. But that doesn’t mean the system is without problems.

One issue is the storage of the device, which seems to be quite commonplace across all handhelds as of late. Gamers, including myself, complain about the Nintendo Switch’s measly 32 GB of storage, and are now complaining that 64 GB isn’t enough after Nintendo’s surprise “Nintendo Switch OLED” announcement. Therein lies the issue: the base model Steam Deck only has 64 GB of storage. Even worse is that the 64 GB model costs $400, equal to the all-digital PS5, but with far less storage. If it is any consolation, the storage is expandable via microSD card. Therefore, the only real issue is that, if you want faster, SSD-based storage, you have to upgrade past the 64 GB model to either the 256 GB or 512 GB model, but those come at quite the hefty cost: $529 and $649 respectively, far more than one would pay for a Switch, Xbox Series X or PlayStation 5.

But, here’s where the problems stop and the benefits truly come to light. Steam has released the specification details of the Steam Deck, revealing the true power the system has to offer. Equivalent to the PS5 and Series X, the Steam Deck features 16 GB of LPDDR5 RAM, a historic number for a handheld device, as well as Bluetooth 5.0 (far better than the Nintendo Switch OLED’s 4.0), and an AMD APU Zen 2 processor, the same brand of processor Sony and Microsoft are using for their new consoles. Essentially, this is an Xbox/PlayStation in your hands that plays every PC game from the past 30 years; a massive backlog to be sure. Furthermore, Valve will also be releasing a first party dock that allows you to play your Steam Deck on your television, which means you can play Horizon Zero Dawn, Forza Horizon 5, and every Halo game on your television using the Steam Deck with any controller you want. That means this console is actually a huge deal, and I’ll explain why.

What does the Steam Deck Mean for Gaming?

The effects this console could and likely will have on the gaming world are enormous. Because Microsoft has decided all of its Xbox games should go straight to PC, and therefore Steam, no Xbox exclusive is actually an Xbox exclusive anymore. The fact that this is true essentially makes the Xbox Series S and X completely valueless, except for Game Pass, which is something I don’t mind trading away for the outright convenience of the Steam Deck and its ability to play far more games than the Xbox and PlayStation combined.

Speaking of PlayStation, even some of Sony’s games, such as Horizon Zero Dawn and Death Stranding, can also be played on the system, along with every PC game ever released on Steam. Furthermore, the power of this console and its status as, effectively, a Nintendo Switch lookalike and substitute would make Nintendo a footnote of the gaming industry and the Switch an antiquated piece of machinery if not for Nintendo’s exclusive games. After the reveal of the laughable Nintendo Switch OLED, Steam has definitely appealed to an entire market of gamers that want more power in their handheld, and Nintendo will now be forced to coast on their games until they can release a new console, which will now have to be something huge if they want to stay in the console race in any meaningful capacity.

Therefore, if the Steam Deck can sell well enough, it could make Valve a big player in the console race, which would definitely shake some things up, devaluing Nintendo and Microsoft as console-makers and giving PlayStation a run for their money. The magnitude of this development cannot be understated, and if you’re in the market right now for a new console, the Steam Deck should absolutely be near the top of your list for things to consider.

What’s your opinion of the Steam Deck, and will you be buying one? Stay tuned for more info and articles right here on Genesis Gaming!

My Top 10 Favorite Games of All Time (as of July 11th, 2021)

I’ve been writing this blog for about a month now, and while I’ve covered tons of gaming news across every console and gaming event that has been held so far, I haven’t talked about some of my personal favorite gaming moments and games in general. So, what I’ve decided to do today is to walk you through my top 10 favorite games of all time and why they hold that position. I’ve always found it fun to read other people’s experiences with the games I love, and I hope you’ll find this list to be entertaining. Maybe you’ll see your favorite game in here too!

So, without further ado, here are my top 10 favorite games of all time!

#10: Halo 4

Perhaps the oddball on an otherwise star-studded list, Halo 4 and it’s sequel, Halo 5, are two of the most hated games in the series. And while I can understand why people dislike 5, I can’t fathom why no one liked Halo 4.

Halo 4 tells the story of the reawakened Master Chief on a quest to save his AI companion Cortana from her time-based degradation. To do so, you have to travel to many planets on the UNSC Infinity, taking out as many members of the Covenant as necessary on your way. But unlike previous games in the series, Halo 4 tells a nuanced, character-driven tale of melancholy.

I won’t spoil the ending or any of the story bits, but this game deserves a shot, even if you’ve never played a Halo game before, and will always remain my favorite of the series

#9: The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

I was late on The Elder Scrolls series as a whole, and played the entire series through The Elder Scrolls Anthology, a box set of all five games, on a severely underpowered Windows PC running Windows 7 in my teen years. The first game I played from that collection was Morrowind, but it’s early 2000s clunk made it hard to get into at first, so I advanced to the latest game, Skyrim. While the graphics were excellent, I wasn’t a fan of the story and the slow start to the adventure, although I’ll admit that both of those games grew on me quite a lot throughout the years, eventually becoming staples of my gaming library. But Oblivion was truly where it was at.

The atmosphere was more akin to Dungeons and Dragons and other medieval period pieces, and the actual gameplay was far more like an RPG than Skyrim, while being much more accessible than Morrowind. Essentially, it was the perfect mix of RPG, open world, and pure gaming magic, albeit with miserable graphics – but graphics don’t make the game! Let me explain myself further.

The music of Oblivion, its questlines, its story, and overall atmosphere, combine to make a perfect game. I mean, even the bad graphics give off a sense of nostalgia, and playing nowadays just makes me feel like I’ve returned home. I know, that seems a bit extreme for an RPG that came out in 2006, but it’s a good one, and you owe it to yourself to play it.

#8: Civilization V

In my opinion, Civilization V is greatest game in the Civ series, the best strategy game ever created, and one of the greatest games ever made. I know, that was quite the intro, but it cannot be understated: this game is amazing and can ruin the rest of your productive life if you’re not careful. Its just that good and that addicting.

Each game starts out with a barren Earth; empty, beautiful, and unreformed by human hands. Until you come along that is. You start by building a city and exploring the land around you, harvesting resources and building up more aspects of the city, then building more cities and, eventually, a military. Soon, you meet another civilization controlled by either the computer or a human in online play, and will have to be as diplomatic as possible to prevent war. But sometimes war happens, and you must end it when it starts.

As such, Civilization V is a game where you have to play the good guy and the bad guy all at the same time. Every new development in your civilization comes with a consequence, which is almost always bad for you or someone else. Such intrigue makes each game you play an unforgettable experience that you can remember vividly enough to concoct a story about and tell to everyone you know! So give it a shot – I don’t think you’ll be disappointed!

#7: Dark Souls

Often called “the most difficult game of all time,” Dark Souls will certainly leave you shaking your controller and holding back from throwing it into the screen. But that’s not what makes it a good game; not by a long shot.

Dark Souls is such a legendary game because of its unique storytelling method, by which I mean there pretty much isn’t one. To summarize the story to a pretty much meaningless degree: you start out in an asylum knowing that you are the “chosen undead,” and set out on a journey across the medieval land of Lordran, slaying boss after boss in an attempt to rekindle a dying flame – the flame that keeps the world alive. High concept, to be sure, and that concept is not without merit. Exploring the lore surrounding a vague concept offers plenty of intrigue and is very exciting, with every boss and enemy slain getting you closer to a better understanding of Dark Souls’ world and the secrets held within.

But the story isn’t all that makes Dark Souls legendary, it’s really the gameplay; the same gameplay that makes the game difficult revolutionizes the way you interact with the world and the way you unravel the story, making for one amazing experience. Every time you kill an enemy, you earn its souls – an arbitrary number that is added to a souls-ometer on your screen that can be used to level up at a bonfire. Every time you level up, you choose a stat and your character gets better at whatever that stat dictates, be it wielding strength weapons, dexterity weapons or casting spells. Combat is slow and steady, with plenty of swordplay but even more strategic shield-wielding, and one wrong move means near-certain death. Death brings with it a variety of punishments – but the chief punishment is that you lose all of the souls you have accumulated and are respawned at the bonfire you last rested at. Such punishment brings great intensity and unparalleled tension in the most heated of battles, with huge boss battles punctuating each area’s end.

I know that was a long explanation, especially for a simple ranking, but I feel it critical that you understand what this game is so you can understand why it’s great. If you’re into RPGs and games that will challenge you greatly, look no further than Dark Souls as your next adventure.

#6: Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

While I have talked about this game before on this site, I have never got the chance to talk about it in length. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain was Hideo Kojima’s last game in the Metal Gear series and his last game with Konami. While, sadly, he and Konami cut ties before the game was even finished, MGSV went on to be one of the most critically-acclaimed games of all time, and rightfully so. There are so many unique gameplay mechanics at work here that it is hard to talk about them concisely, but I’ll try. Here we go:

The game is open world, set largely in Afghanistan and parts of Africa, with Venom Snake exploring the areas, capturing outposts, and completing side operations to make operations at Mother Base easier. Mother Base is an off-the-grid outpost built and operated by Snake and his right-hand-man, Kazuhira Miller. At Mother Base, resources such as petroleum, metals, diamonds and other useful materials are held and protected from foreign invasion. Meanwhile, an entire epic story is playing out and Snake must be deployed in tens of story missions with one overarching goal. A game of cat and mouse with a chilling villain: Skull Face, whose motives are not known, but the results of his actions are found throughout your adventure.

While this barely scratches the surface of what Metal Gear Solid V has to offer, I hope it’s enough for you to consider trying it. The story takes a while to get started and the some aspects of the gameplay – especially the stealth – are an acquired taste and tough to get used to at first. But when you do, everything clicks and one of the greatest games of all time opens up. Give this one a try – it’s an adventure you won’t forget.

#5: Persona 5

One of the greatest RPGs I have ever played, Persona exudes class and style. The music is jazzy as hell and the gameplay effortlessly segues from fighting and world exploration to everyday student activities, making for a unique experience you won’t find anywhere else.

The game’s main protagonist, an unnamed high school student with an undeserved criminal record, discovers he has the power of the Persona – creatures and spirits with unique elemental, physical, and psychological abilities – and can unlock the power held within his heart. When your friends discover they too possess the ability, you band together as the “Phantom Theives,” a team that fights evil in people’s hearts and makes them answer for their crimes and misdeeds.

When you’re not exploring story dungeons (called palaces) or hanging out with your friends around the town, you go to school and take on jobs, trying your hardest to blend in and live a normal teenage life. During these segments, there are a variety of things you can do that bolster a stat system that dictates your confidence in life. Upgrading abilities like Knowledge helps you do better in school, and upgrading stats like Guts and Charm can help you do all sorts of things, namely going out on dates. That’s right: Persona 5 has an entire dating meta game to add to its multitude of gameplay systems; the depth of which still absolutely blows my mind.

So, give Persona 5 a shot – even if you’re not an RPG fan, this is one you might like anyway, and absolutely my favorite JRPG of all time.

#4: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Although it’s a bit cliche at this point to have this game as a favorite due to its universally recognized status as the “greatest game of all time” – I’ll be honest, for a while I did think it was the greatest game of all time. After all, it was the game that made me a gamer. I bought it on the Wii Shop Channel and played it for hours on end, and almost cried when I finally beat Ganon, a fight that I had to do over and over again because he was just so difficult. I was literally shaking when I dealt the final blow and watched the credits roll, a sequence that is burned into my brain.

Now of course, things are different. The game is a walk in the park, and even some of the harder dungeons’ puzzles aren’t that confusing anymore – namely the infamous Water Temple, my favorite of the dungeons and, for some reason, the most universally hated. The bosses and their mechanics are quite easy to understand and figure out, and it only took me around 15 hours to beat it the second time around, a play-through that I took slow and savored, accumulating only a few deaths due to freak accidents outside of the boss battles.

Regardless, as the first 3D Zelda game, the game was legendary when it came out and set the standard for pretty much every future 3D adventure game. The game still, surprisingly, holds up to modern gaming standards, albeit with a bit of 90s clunk. I have replayed it several times and can’t get over how easy it is to reinsert myself into the world and get used to the controls again, even when I played the original N64 version.

In short, regardless of whether or not you think it’s the best game ever made, there’s no denying it is one of the most historically significant video games ever released and one that set a very high bar for every other game release for quite some time. Nostalgia may blind me to some degree, but you can’t argue with this legend.

#3: God of War (2018)

This is another one I was late on, having just played it this year. However, after completing the main story and exploring most of what the game had to offer, it has quickly became one of my favorite games ever.

You play as Kratos, once an anti-hero who slaughtered most of Olympus, now a reformed, Godly dad-figure caring for his sickly son, Atreus. After the sudden death of your wife and Atreus’s mother, you go on a journey to the tallest peak in all the realms to scatter her ashes, as she wished. Through several twists, detours, and pulse-pounding battles, you and your son fight, bond and grow with one another until the game’s unbelievable conclusion.

Since the game is hard to talk about as it is story-driven and any errant detail can spoil something, I’ll put it simply: if you have a PS4, this game is an absolute must-play, no questions asked.

#2: Shadow of the Colossus

There has been a multi-decade long conversation in the art and media world concerning whether or not video games can ever be considered art. And while there have been many differing answers to that question, if there was ever a game to make an amazing case for artistic video games, it’s this one. Shadow of the Colossus follows the story of Wander, who brings a dead maiden, Mono, into the Forbidden Lands to seek out Dormin, a mystic being said to be able to revive the dead, though at a price. The method of Mono’s rescue turns out to be quite the arduous one: killing 16 colossal monsters scattered throughout the land with nothing but your sword and your bow. Quite the feat, to be sure.

But how is it art? The entire land is a barren wasteland home to several biomes, with its only inhabitants being you, your trusty horse Agro, Mono, and the 16 colossi you must slay. The entire game is empty, and your quest is an intriguing exercise in aimlessness and confusion. Who is Dormin? Why does he want these beasts dead? Have they done anything wrong? Is it worth it for you to kill them? Who even is Wander, and who is Mono that he would do this to save her? And why are the Forbidden Lands forbidden!? There are so many questions, but not very many answers.

And, like an art piece, the game will leave you feeling a variety of feelings due to its experimentation with themes of loneliness, emptiness, violence and love. You’ll admire the beauty of the world as you explore it, but that beauty will be marred by the confusion and emptiness you feel in your journey, and every wondrous discovery will be met with a wave of melancholy as Wander murders each colossus.

Think what you will of video games and their ability to be artistic, but this one is absolutely a masterpiece and a work of art, without a doubt. So give it a try if you’re in for one emotional ride, and brace for one of the most melancholy stories ever told.

#1: Bloodborne

This is a game that I have talked about in length before – I have actually written a full, in-depth review of it on this very site (check it out here). Regardless, I’ll break it down: Bloodborne is a spiritual successor to the Souls series of games, expounding on the gameplay mechanics present in that series in very meaningful ways while creating an entirely new story to unravel in an equally cryptic fashion. Instead of taking place in a medieval setting, Bloodborne is set in the Lovecraftian world of Yharnam, featuring dark swamps, desolate forests and gothic towns full of beasts and alien-like creatures from worlds unknown. Some of the beasts are created as a result of experimental blood transfusion that creates a drug-like revitalization of its user, and other beasts are strange and other-worldly.

Instead of slow, shield-filled combat as in its spiritual predecessors, Bloodborne drops the shields and instills in the player a sense of safety in a lack of safety, with your character being vulnerable at almost all times. Expert timing in ones side-dodging, replacing the roll when locked-on to an enemy, is now required to succeed in combat. Parrying is now done with a gun instead of a shield, and magic is now done by using bullets. These changes are absolutely huge and change the game from top to bottom, regardless of how simple they may seem.

So, play Bloodborne and experience the greatest game of all time (in my “expert” opinion at least), I think you’ll love it. And if you don’t, that’s fine too. But at least you can say you tried.

So, what do you think of my list, and what are some of your favorite games of all time? Leave a like below and make sure to follow the site if you like my content! New gaming articles all the time, right here on Genesis Gaming!

Xbox Game Pass New Games Announced

While certainly not as exciting as PlayStation Now’s monthly additions, Xbox announced that six games would be added to Game Pass in its various forms this month. Those games are:

The Medium (Coming to X-Cloud, already on Xbox and PC)

Dragon Quest Builders 2 (Coming to X-Cloud, already on Xbox and PC)

UFC 4 (Coming to Xbox)

Blood Roots (Coming to Xbox, PC and X-Cloud)

Tropico 6 (Coming to Xbox, PC and X-Cloud)

Farming Simulator 19 (Coming to Xbox, PC and X-Cloud)

My only issue with these new additions to the service is that many of them aren’t new, with the most notable ones already being on the platform. In fact, The Medium has been on the platform since it’s release earlier this year and Dragon Quest Builders 2 has been available for some time as well. While I think it’s a good idea to make them available on the X-Cloud platform, I don’t think it’s great for these to be the headliners for this month’s games. Tropico 6 and UFC 4 are the most exciting of the actually new games, and the others are a bit indie and oddball, which, while they are appreciated, don’t really add too much valuable to the service that wasn’t already present.

Are you happy with the new Game Pass games? Let me know if you enjoyed this article by leaving a like, and be on the look out for a new article later today here on Genesis Gaming!

PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X?

Which console is the better fit for you?

Before I actually start comparing and contrasting these two, I think it is worth it to preface this article by saying that both consoles are absolutely amazing pieces of technology, and you’ll be quite happy with either one. They are both extremely powerful, state-of-the-art machines that are well-worth the purchase price and will pay for themselves with the entertainment you’ll receive. Near-equivalent in power, the only real difference are the available games. As such, your taste in games will absolutely decide which one of these consoles you’ll get.

I know these consoles have been on the market for quite a while now, but many people have not been able to get one yet and may still be on the fence about which one to purchase. Hopefully this article will help you with that decision! So, without further ado, let’s talk consoles!

Pricing and Technical Specs

	PS5	Xbox Series X
Price	$399 (Digital), $499 (Disc)	$499 (Series X)
CPU	8-core, 3.5 GHz AMD Zen 2	8-core, 3.8 GHz AMD Zen 2
GPU	10.3 teraflop AMD RDNA 2	12.0 teraflop AMD RDNA 2
RAM	16 GB GDDR6	16 GB GDDR6
Resolution	8K Maximum	8K Maximum
Storage	825 GB Custom Sony SSD	1 TB Custom NVMe SSD
Frame Rate	120 FPS Maximum	120 FPS Maximum

A quick spec comparison of the PS5 and Series X

Spec-wise, both consoles are pretty much the same, with only a few slight differences that are for the most part unnoticeable in practice. The Xbox Series X has a slight edge in power over the PS5 with a slightly better CPU and almost 2 teraflops more graphical processing capability (fancy words for “a bit more powerful”). The Series X also has a bigger SSD for games storage, which, while it seems small on paper, is probably the biggest technical difference and the only one you’ll notice, as that extra 175 GB of space means several more games on your console. Other than these differences that lean towards the Series X’s favor, the two consoles are essentially equal.

Regardless, if power and performance are your thing and you won’t be able to live without having the “fastest console,” get a Series X. While I think the majority of people aren’t like that and won’t care about losing a little bit of power, the Series X is a great choice of console anyway and will serve its intended purpose.

The Series X’s CPU
Image credit: Microsoft

However, a console’s power is not really the true test of its greatness. Last generation, the most powerful console was the Xbox One X, but the Xbox platform still lacked in exclusive titles and games in general, making it a questionable console purchase at best. Regardless, the next generation of consoles are quite similar. Except for their controllers; those are really different.

The Controllers

While on previous consoles the controller seemed irrelevant as a criteria for the purchase of the console, such is not so this time around, with one of the console’s selling points being its revolutionary controller. Which one? The PS5.

The PS5’s controller, dubbed the “DualSense” by Sony, has changed the game by revolutionizing what controllers can do with its new haptic feedback system. The vibrations and sensations the controller produce are now far more detailed and feel far more immersive during gameplay. Also new is is the force feedback of the triggers, which will resist against pressure depending on in-game situations. For instance, when firing a gun in a game like Call of Duty, the player will feel resistance when shooting, making for an unforgettable experience. The only downside of the trigger feedback is that it is spring-loaded and has a tendency to be quite loud. Luckily, the feature can be turned off if you’re playing at night and don’t want to be annoying.

The Xbox controller is not-so-revolutionary, adopting a mantra of “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it.” A few quality of life changes were made, however, with the d-pad now having 8 directions and triggers and bumpers now being textured. A share button, much like the PS4 controller’s share button, has been added for easily taking quick screenshots and game clips. Other than this, nothing is different, and there are certainly no groundbreaking updates like haptic feedback and adaptive trigger resistance.

Games – Where the Battle is Truly Waged

Demon’s Souls, one of the PlayStation 5’s most anticipated and critically acclaimed exclusive games.
Image credit: PlayStation

If you’re a PlayStation fan already, you know where this is going. The PlayStation platform has always been best known for one thing: having amazing exclusive games that you simply can’t play anywhere else. It’s how PlayStation manages to consistently be the best-selling console brand, regardless of generation. In fact, every single PlayStation released so far except the PS3 has exceeded 100 million units in sales, with the PS3 still winning its respective generation with over 87 million consoles sold and featuring groundbreaking exclusive games that helped it achieve those sales.

The PS5 looks to be no exception, already cementing its status as the home of many exclusive titles, including Demon’s Souls, Spider Man: Miles Morales, Returnal, Ratchet and Clank: A Rift Apart, and more, with even more games confirmed for release soon, such as Abandoned and Final Fantasy XVI.

The teaser image for Bethesda’s upcoming game, Starfield, a now-confirmed Xbox exclusive title
Image credit: Bethesda

However, the Xbox Series X is certainly not lacking in the games department, as can be seen from this year’s Xbox/Bethesda E3 showcase. In fact, it can be argued that this is the biggest year for Xbox when it comes to exclusives ever, with there barely being any time to breathe in between exclusive announcements during that show. Some notable announcements from that show include Halo Infinite, Starfield, Forza Horizon 5, Microsoft Flight Simulator, and Psychonauts 2. Trailers for all of these titles can be viewed by following each of their links.

Also, one simply can’t not talk about Xbox and not mention Xbox Game Pass, which is by far the greatest subscription service in all of gaming at the moment. All Xbox Game Studios titles will launch on both Xbox and PC on Game Pass, which is quite a value considering you it only costs $14.99 a month, only a dollar more than the most popular Netfilx plan. Game Pass’s value simply cannot be denied, with over 100 Xbox games already on the service and even more to be added every month and whenever a new Xbox exclusive releases.

Final Verdict

While the power of the Series X and the value of the Game Pass service cannot be denied, the PS5 still wins this fight, albeit by a slim margin. The main reasons for this verdict are the PS5’s absolutely amazing controller and the exclusive games you can only play on the PS platform. While the choice is really all yours and the Series X is an amazing choice if its games appeal to you, as a gamer and a fan of the groundbreaking experiences that the PS5 has the potential to offer, I have to formally recommend the PlayStation 5.

So, which console do you like more, and are you going to purchase one? Leave a like below if you enjoyed the article and check soon for another article from Genesis Gaming!