I think there are more than a few factors here but it mostly has to do with the natural loss of talent game studios have endured over the last decade.
Arkham series had 3 games on the same engine that were able to have multiple iterations of each title allowing the codebase and talent to grow naturally with the games. It’s been 8 years since Arkham Knight. If I recall that game was poorly received at launch. Though it’s made a lot of money, it didn’t make as much as it should have. After that I can imagine the entire team getting a shake up at rock steady.
The first Arkham game came out in 2009, with the way that layoffs and churn works in the game industry, I can’t imagine many people left from the original series being left on this new title. Who is going to make the same Batman game for nearly a decade and a half?
The effect of the inevitable loss of talented individuals was something the game industry was forecasting 10+ years ago. I really think this is what we’re dealing with more so across the board.
I’m going to skip this game. Maybe I’ll play something simple like Momodora or go touch grass.
I know artistic style is typically a point of choice but I can’t help but wonder what sorcery and how many sacrifices made to the game gods Rocksteady had to use and commit to get Arkham Knight to look that freaking amazing… even more so now that their following game looks just as shit as Gotham Knights does. Oh how far you’ve fallen.
Edit: grammar and phrasing.
What’s sadder - the PS2-esque textures or the fact that Harley’s walk cycle looks like a copy-paste job from Arkham?
Profit, profit, profit, can’t make as much if we spend it to make the game look great!
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All that matters is mvp, you aren’t going to make more money going past that
Didn’t Nvidia do the fancy work on Arkham Knights? Probably explains why.
New one has more reflections and specular highlights but otherwise they look like the same game. 4k and HDR are not the core of what makes a game good (TF2, Minecraft, everything from Zachtronics, …)
I’m not seeing what you’re seeing. The new one is on the right, just to be clear.
Oof
Doesn’t look that bad. Suicide Squad is just missing some more contrast to pop up the environments on the screen, the lighting is sort of flat so it doesn’t look that impressive from a distance.
It’s not just contrast though. It’s weather effects, particle effects, details in textures on the roads, buildings, and other objects.
Camera effects are better, animations are more dynamic, lighting is way more contrasty, but tasteful. There’s also much more detail in distant buildings, making the world feel much bigger than it is.
Rocksteady did a killer job with the Arkham games and the suicide squad game is just not even close.
I’ll be honest, I’ve not watched the video - but the thumbnail alone is either clickbait or misrepresenting the game.
The thumbnail just had to be Harley’s ass comparison.
