New Game+. What's your opinion about them?

Decided to created a normal thread for once, so here it is.


Many games offer New Game Plus after you've beaten the title once. How do you feel about em? How do you think game developers could improve this mode to be more entertaining, and worth replaying the game for?

Personally, i love the idea, but i can't think of a single game that has done it correctly. I'd need too many things to be changed for it to be worth replaying, and that is simply never done.

Go back to making the other threads…

I love it. I think Chrono Trigger was the first implementation of it or it was at least the first game that I played that had it. It’s probably my favourite in how it was utilized. The time travel nature of the game lent itself to many cool ways to go through the game and alter a few scenarios here and there. I believe there were 12 different endings in the original SNES game and an extra 13th ending in the DS version. Chrono Cross was pretty good with the New Game+ stuff as well. The only way to recruit all the characters was to play through the game more then once.

I think NG+ is a great supplement post-game content, but I also like bonus content that isn't a part of NG+; like new levels, new worlds, missions, etc.

Don't really care for it. Once I beat a game I'm pretty much done with it. I can think of a few games I played more than once, but that's all.

Bro... i put so much effort into this one. Now you ruined everything, and i feel Resetera.

@hardwenzen:

Since you're a fan of the Soulsborne games. How do you feel of how they handle new game plus themselves?

I'm a fan of it in general. I don't think it would add value to a bad game, but if you enjoyed your experience the first time, why not give it another go?

It's one of the things that hooked me with Demon's Souls back in the day. I like my first playthrough to be a blind, pure experience. Then I come back, and look up all the stuff I missed. Squeeze ALL that juice out!

Or something like Diablo, where the enemies gain extra abilities, and so do you. Its almost like having multiple games in one. I can't think of anything to improve that.

As far as expansions/add-on content go, I generally don't like them. They rarely feel like the same quality as the main game, and I prefer the purity of the original package... if it's great. I also prefer them to save those ideas and effort for the sequel. But I understand they might not have another project to jump into, and have to do something.

I love it. Nothing like going through the game again with all your shit and wrecking house.

Bad, and a waste of time.

They put zero effort into NG+, and its usually extremely easy compared to your first playthrough. The only Souls game that felt challenging on NG+ was Demon's Souls, but only if your have pure black world tendency, which you have to work to even get it to pure black, and nobody will do that. What they need to do, is what mods do to these games. Shufle item placement, enemies placement (and add strong endgame enemies from the very beginning), add new moves to bosses, etc. If this is not done, you gotta be a fan of replaying games for fun, and i don't really have fun replaying what i've already spent 100h+ on.

Good.

I dont mind it. I very rarely play ng+ as I always have somethign else on the backlog to play but it kind of reminds me of how games in the 80s used to just restart from the begining on a harder difficulty when you finished them while having credits left.

I almost always immediately delete a game after beating it. I don't really engage with ng+ my son does though. I think he sees it as more of his favorite game type outlook. I just want to get to the next gam.

Without New Game+ in Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes, I would not be able to unlock all the playable characters and complete each of the game's three story paths.

I usually don't replay games so I don't have an opinion about it.

I did a NG+ of Dark Souls recently and was surprised by how easy it is, I was expecting it to be super hardcore. But I ended up enjoying going through the game quickly.

Depends on the length of the game. If its under 20 hours, it is always fun to go wreak some havoc with all of your equipment unlocked or whatnot, but when the game is an RPG and I've already spent gazilion of hours in it, I'll be damned, if I will repeat the same thing again.

I like it in a lot of games. Like Archangel, think my first experience with it was Chrono Trigger. Lots of neat elements to it, but allowing you to beat the game for different outcomes at varying parts of the story was cool.

Mostly a biggie for me in action games though. Platinums stuff especially is built around the idea that you'll be replaying. Carrying your full kit over to higher difficulties with remixed encounters, tweaked enemies, late game enemies appearing early, some cases introducing new enemy types. Various unlocks that can't even be obtained on a single run. New weapons, items that unlock new mechanics, other equips that change up how the game plays, be it enemy behavior, stat tradeoffs, etc. And of course unlocking secret bosses that are crazy difficult.

In cases like those, game only gets way the **** cooler after the first run. Credits roll feels more like the beginning than the end.

Unfortunately most games with it are just like ok, now you can faceroll the game, enjoy.

dishonored 2 does it very well.

initially you choose either corvo or emily who both have their own very different set of individual powers / skill trees, all of which need runes to upgrade, and every upgrade grants your chosen power new capabilities, which generally can suit both a low chaos (stealth) or high chaos (high violence) play style depending on how you use them.

but even if you invest in bone charm crafting and upgrade that perk to allow you to craft runes, you'll never get enough runes to get close to maxing out each power in one single play through.

enter ng+ mode, which grants you access to both corvo's and emily's skill trees, and carries over every rune from your first playthrough, so can you respec your powers from scratch and make use of the two skill trees rather than the one. but this isn't just some tokenistic god mode unlock.

first, the powers from the two characters combine harmoniously, and continue to grow in creative possibilities the higher you upgrade them, meaning new combos of powers and play styles for both high and low chaos are there to be discovered. the most enjoyable playthroughs are a combo of both from my experience. ghosting one minute, ripping enemies to shreds the next.

second each level's sandbox-style environment is cleverly and subtly designed to allow you to traverse and tackle scenarios in new ways you can only do through the combination of powers from the two skill trees new game plus gives you.

and thirdly, the granular difficulty customisation options allow you to fine tune the difficulty to offset the extra power new game plus gives you, meaning it continues to challenge the player, although d2 is best played on high difficulty from the off anyway.

full credit to arkane for such well crafted and thoughtful game design that embraces a similarly well considered new game plus system. oodles of replayability

Depends on the game. If i feel OP, that would hurt my enjoyment.

Dead Space games did it pretty well, since you could freely change the difficulty. So you can do first time normal and then jump into a higher difficulty with your upgrades on completion. Plus chances are you didn't use half the weapons first time through.

I really don't bother with them but I'm glad they exist.

I think Outriders would've benefitted greatly from having NG+ instead of the lame endgame they went with.

I like how it was implemented in the original Zelda game, where every dungeon was reshuffled and relocated.

Love it. Gears 5 does it best. 343i take note, Infinite needs the same treatment. :P

Never use it as I'd rather move on to a different game. But it's a welcome addition for those that want it.

@AcidTango: From Software are market leaders in NG+ design. I literally cannot think of more 'replayable' games than DS1-3, Bloodborne, Sekiro and Elden Ring.

So much so that I find it mind blowing every time I hear someone only beat one of their games once (almost never hear it, though...)

I beat Elden Ring 5 times

Demon's Souls 4 times

Sekiro 5 times

Dark Souls 3 three times

DS1 twice

DS2 I haven't finished yet

Bloodborne I haven't finished yet (I am dying for remaster so I can beat it 3-4 times)

I love it.

Rather Valve done this rather than their developer commentary most people don't give a shit about.

It's cool, but I often find it not changed enough or too easy to bother with. When done right it only adds to replayability, which is awesome.

@hardwenzen: I would like to see games evolve this way:

Instead of being a 60 hour game with just some different cut scenes based on your choices, make the game 20 hours long with whole chunks of gameplay based on your choices. Then, entice another playthrough because there is 40 hours of game play the gamer missed based on the previous playthrough's choices. The devs could even have unique weapons/gear based on choices, then allow you to bring those items with you on another playthrough.

Let "Companion X" get killed? Then the gamer goes down path A, with these biomes. Keep "Companion X" alive, then the gamer goes down path B, with different biomes.

It'll depend on the game. Not all games need to have a new game plus feature. Some games are one and done, like God of War. Other games I can replay over and over again, like the Soulsborne games. The only thing I could think that someone like FromSoft could do to incentivize NG+ playthoughs, is perhaps give the players a list of options of how the game should run. For example: After beating the game, a list of options is provided to the player

• Random enemy encounters
• Bosses are all relocated at different spots
• Flip the game map, like Demon Souls Remake did with Mirror Mode

Just a few ideas. You can do this with PC mods, but I would like to see it become an option for customization for console players. :3

ng+ is a great option to go through a second play through and get more out of the game than you did the first run.

I dont bother, too many games to play as it is. Once I beat a game, on to the next.

Or maybe you can do what i am doing in most titles that i care about. On your first run, you play the game on the highest difficulty, and collect/do everything in the game. That way, when you're done, you don't feel like you missed anything the game has to offer.

NG+ is supposed to offer things that are unique to it, not make you replay the same game for fun. At least that is how i see it.

I don't usually complete NG+ runs but I might with GoW!

Another good example of NG+ would be Chrono Trigger.

Which opened up quite a bit in NG+. Then there is also Tactics Ogre PSP and Reborn.

it depends on the game, but in a title like persona 4 / 5, its difficult if not impossible to max out the social links and the social qualities, not to mention getting all the proper fusion monsters on the first run. The ng+ frees up your time to do all that stuff that you wanted to do but couldn't.

Weeb

Yeah, I feel the same. It has be short for me to consider another playthrough -- that or extremely captivating. Now, when I was younger, then I probably played every game a minimum 2-3 times since time was so freely available.

Honestly I think "new game +" should be the default version. Most games have you starting out as this really cool badass guy and yet...you don't have any skills? Unlocks? Cool weapons? Life experience?

It's really lame. You're playing this uber elite spec ops soldier and on the helicopter ride into the mission you're being told "We need the best on this mission, that's why we got you!" and when they drop you off you have no skills unlocked and only a pistol.

*shrug*

I get starting from a place of "0" and earning your rewards but at the same time I've always thought that you should start with those rewards in most games, and the reward should come from how you utilize them (i.e. you have all these weapons, but how you build your character--fast and quick hitting, or slow and big hitting, etc--uses them should be the interesting part).

This mechanic doesn't work in most games, the rare exception being something like an RPG where you are in fact just some farmer who decided he wanted to start adventuring. Then you really would venture off with no skills and little gear.

I think starting from a place of 0 should be a more challenging experience and should become the new "new game +" mode. Like "hey you beat the game, how would you like to play it with absolutely nothing unlocked!".

Overall I enjoy it a lot. I enjoyed my second playthrough of The Witcher 3 in NG+ more than I did my first playthrough.

I rarely bother with NG modes since I try to hit everything the first time around. If it appears that a significant amount of content is locked behind NG modes then there is a good chance that I will not buy the game or wait for a very steep discount.

For me time spent on a NG mode is always better spent on a game I have not played yet.

Like 'em. Kind of annoyed Ragnarok didn't have one... I wanted to jump back in.

My only grip with New Game+ is the fact most developers don't bother including them whenever they are done with the main game and they rather patch it later in few months after the game has been released. By that time, I'm ready to replay it while I have the urge but no New Game+ yet and that really kills the mood. Looking at you Callisto Protocol & God of War: Ragnarok. Got to wait few months for New Game+ when it should have already been in the game.

And for the record everyone, I enjoy replaying my games and I always replay them whenever I can.

Yeah that and in Three Houses, NG+ actually enhances the experience.

Just depends on the game..

For me, From Software has perfected the formula; creating true incentives for playing through the campaign multiple times along with the satisfaction of continuing on with your preferred build.. Plus there's the multiplayer aspect..

Since most games nowadays are level/perk unlock based I think NG+ should be mandatory in every game. I dont want to re-unlock the same stuff over again on a second playthrough of the game. If a game with level/perk unlocks doesnt have a NG+ I wont even bother with a replay

As a Fromsoft shill, i have no idea what you're talking about when you say that they're creating an incentive.

I only play the New Game plus if I’m trying to get the platinum trophy and it’s necessary. I don’t find it offers a whole lot extra or anything new to most games.

I love them because its nice to be able to go from start to finish of a game with all weapons and combat upgrades etc and also not having to refind some stuff again if you have not 100% the game. I would say the biggest issue with new game+ is you are always way over powered to the point where the game is simply to easy.

I like playing Kenshi as a Slave as my starting point. I start from 0. And because well, I am a slave with no real reason to have any combat skills. Me starting weaker than most civilians makes perfect sense. Malnourishment, overexertion and other abuse have resulted in my body deteriorating.

But yeah, too many games prop you up as this massive war hero, yet make no effort to explain why you have no combat skills whatsoever, and run in with basic equipment.

At least Doom explained why you only had a pistol at the start.

I loved it in Path of Exiles where you had Normal, Cruel and Merciless difficulties. However in Demons Souls I never even touched NG+ because the standard game was insanely hard, I didn’t want an even higher difficulty. As soon as I beat Demons Souls I deleted the game straight from my hard drive lol.