If there’s a sucker born every minute, then there’s a trashy game released every second for them to gobble up. Not just trashy, but effortless, something akin to a couple of Unity assets thrown together with just enough effort so that the computer doesn’t burn down on launch.

The proliferation of third-party and indie developers in the past few years has led to many groundbreaking titles, pushing forward video games as a medium. Unfortunately, the same mentality that allows anybody to become the next Toby Fox or Lucas Pope has opened the door to less savoury aspects of independent content creation. Shovelware has become increasingly prevalent over the past few years, even seeping into the previously highly curated console market. …

Gaming content creation can be an esoteric medium. For many people, especially of the older generation, it’s difficult to rationalize how watching somebody play video games could be more enjoyable than playing them yourself. Even more confusing are the games that get popularized. Elitist sentiments aside, it can be frustrating to see certain games find widespread positive reception when others fall under the radar. What unique qualities do games like Among Us, League of Legends, and Minecraft possess that make them so prevalent in the mainstream?

1. The Competitive Scene

Finishing a good game is hard. By stepping away from the world you’ve immersed yourself in for the past ten, twenty, or even forty hours, you relegate loveable characters and sights into faint memories. You want to keep playing, but artificially stopping the game’s flow only sours your experience. As you reach the ending, a tinge of sadness gets mixed into the emotional climax — something remarkable has just ended, and it might never happen again. After a few days off, you pick up the controller in pursuit of that special feeling. But something’s not right. The gameplay no longer feels as engaging, almost tedious, the level design and enemies leagues below the skillset you’ve developed over hours of playing. The characters seem flat, and the story beats feel predictable. Now frustrated, you start looking around for new games that will hopefully push the same buttons. …

Games are looking better than ever as the new generation of consoles begins. New engines like Unreal Engine 5 can maximize the potential of the PS5 and Xbox X through groundbreaking features like Lumen, which allows rendering of dynamic global lighting in real-time, both large and small-scale. The team behind Unreal Engine has made it their mission statement to achieve realism on par with movie CG and real life, and the demos and games using UE5 are certainly almost there. It’s an exciting time for the industry, but for some, a slight nagging feeling arises in the back of their heads. …