What will be the next generation defining game in your opinion?

This gen has been great, lots of great games in the pipeline, but what will be the first game to define this generation? The one game that comes to mind is Breath of the Wild 2. This is Nintendo's baby, the one franchise that they really can't screw up (but are capable of doing so). Presumably, it will come out with the next Switch, although Nintendo has stated a 2022 release date, so who knows what's going on lol.

What say you, SW? What will be the next generation defining game in your opinion?

For me, it could end up being Instinction but time will tell. I hold Ghost of Tsushima as the PS4 gen's defining game and it came out at the end of the gen. The defining game for the new systems probably hasn't even been announced or maybe even begun development.

The next Zelda game isn't next gen. At the moment, no game or company has shown anything that is close to generation defining at the moment.

Deathloop. it will be innovative and genre defining game. After that prob Stalker 2.

Whatever it will be, it hasn't been announced yet. Way too soon in the gen for anything coming soon to be labeled as that.

Sorry but this is too early to tell as this gen is still in it's infant stage. I wasn't WOW on BOTW2 anyway and what I called "next generation defining game" either.

I haven't seen anything of that caliber, yet.

Whatever it might be, it sure as hell won't be on the Switch, a system with specs on par with my AA battery charger.

Most certainly gonna be from Sony, they're always the ones that put effort. Even right now, they have the best animations in the whole industry (tlou2), the best facial expressions (tlou2), the best visuals (Ratchet), the best particle effects (Returnal), the best voice acting (tlou2, gow), etc, etc. This is making hermits so mad. Their 3090 is irrelevant, and there's nothing they can do about it.

Next generation? We won't see anything of that caliber until... next generation.

Yes we will, it will be made by Sony, and most likely by ND. What's your opinion about it?

Cinematic games are not "next gen defining" games. Game mechanics and design are more important, along with originality and creativity. Simply making a game with good graphics in an open world, ala Ubisoft formula isn't ground breaking in the least.

Agree.

Forza Motorsport.

As GT is cross gen, FM is going to be the first racing game built from the ground up for current gen.

@gym_lion: yeah I was about to say the same thing, probably going to be Forza. I just see it showing off the newest tech in the best way.

Final Fantasy VII Part 2.

Maybe GOW2? Not sure tbh, it’s kind of hard to really see the differences between this gen and the last so fare!

"Gen-defining" and a Naughty Dog production in the same sentence is such an oxymoron at this point.

Whatever lame ass thing becomes trendy and takes the place of Battle Royale.

There wasn't much good that could be considered generation defining recently. Minecraft? CoD? Fortnite?

You'd probably have to back to the N64 / PS1 with something like SM64 , Ocarina, MGS1 or FF7. Maybe Halo.

The Witcher 3 did it last gen and I have not seen any game yet that will have that kind of impact.

Destiny 1 defined the generation microsoft + halo needs bungie bad

I never heard anyone talk about halo 4/5

The Witcher 3.....😂🤣

I guess my answer is this: the game that defines the generation will be the one that defies it existing trends and it successful.

A game that isn't AAA yet sells AAA volume; a game that doesn't try to nickel-and-dime their customers with microtransactions or "services"; a game that is released whole and polished and doesn't break any promises; a game that is multiplayer-focused but doesn't feel compelled to have a BR mode.

That's what I'd like to see, at least. Gaming is stuck in a rut; we have good games, but I feel like I haven't seen a great game in years. Last truly great game that legit blew me away and impressed me and made me say "This is why I play games" was HL Alyx.

Witcher 3 and BoTW defined last gen to me, similarly I have yet to see anything wow this much since then.

If Squadron 42/star citizen is actually formally released AND delivers on its promise it could very well be gen defining.

Big if i know :P.

thats the closest i can think of anyway. nothing else demonstrated really shouts "NEW GENS HERE!!! LOOOK AT IT!!!!!".

So you're describing Returnal? Glad you like it, i like it too. Now that Housemarque has Sony budget, they will create an unmatched next generation masterpiece. Where can you play it? On a Playstation 5 and a Playstation 5 O N L Y.

@jaydan: Nice opinion, dude. Wish i had as many as you do.

God of War 2. Just wait for it

BOTW was the generation-defining game of last gen. It was revolutionary.

But BOTW 2 isn't revolutionary, but more evolutionary. So I doubt it would be generation-defining like BOTW was.

@hardwenzen: Well, when that happens my man, I'll gladly pick one up.

But who said you deserve to own a PS5, tho? Don't think for a second that you can bash the shit outta Sony on SW, and find a PS5 on sale. You will never have one, its the cold truth.

Opinions are for those that have a brain that they actually use.

Unless they're coming off of you ass😭

Exactly. That’s why I always planned on my backlog being huge. Not only does it save me money, it also saves me when gaming is in a rut and I’m no interested in “modern” gaming so to speak.

Nothing yet.

I'll go with, Perfect Dark. :P

RDR3. RAGE engine is the only thing video game related thing that can still impress me. Hopefully, it'll have that same passion and not the soulless GTAV shit.

The next God of War.

Games don't feel generation defining anymore. When we jumped from 8-bit to 16-bit to 3D to GC/XBOX/PS2, there were huge differences in both how games played and looked. Now my PC games just slowly and constantly become better looking. Seems to be the same with PS/Xbox. And my second gaming device after PC is from Nintendo, which are 1-2 gens behind hardware wise.

Games are stale. Something big needs to happen. Bigger than Alyx. Definitely not a slightly better looking God of War. And not a BotW2 either.

Right? I can get that, Nintendo figured out a way to do open world fun. Not sure how BotW2 could be considered generation defining..

I'm going to say Black Myth ... not because they are doing something that different but because if the game is a hit they could show the world that AAA games can be made outside the usual publishers and it could open the way for a new player, China, in terms of big mainstream games.

It was NBA 2K20 for $70 with microtransactions.

Welcome to the next generation of triple-A-for-ass-hole monetization.

......jokes aside....

What is this new generation of consoles all about, anyway? We finally got SSDs, but that was really a gen later than it should have been. We got Ray Tracing, tho these current-gen consoles aren't really ready for prime time yet. I expect we'll see a mid-gen upgrade to keep up with ray tracing on PC.

I'd say a truly generation-defining game would have to be something like Cyberpunk 2077, but you know if it had come out in 2023 instead of 2020, with all the missing systems and features. What it was 'supposed' to be ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

It has to be something that gives you the freedom to really test the limits of the engine and explore, but all while seamlessly streaming in assets no matter how far or fast you go. It has to have an impeccable ray tracing implementation and expertly crafted material textures. On top of all that the game should scale well across all modern platforms, thus demonstrating the devs mastery of their engine and graphics APIs.

Probably not in sales, but Elden Ring if it lives up to the hype.

Deathloop is innovative. nothing like deathloop happened to FPS genre before.

Elden Ring and Starfield look like the next games with gigantic potential... we shall see

Excited for BoTW 2 for sure, but not really "next gen" imo.

I have yet to see anything in development that truly screams "next gen" to me.

I mean, it's not something that you'll see coming most of the time. Tends to be a title that blows up out of nowhere. Often times a new IP, sometimes a sequel that uses an existing franchise to cut a completely new path.

Not sure why some are hinging this on technical aspects or "next gen" shit either. The recipe is usually a game with fresh takes on design that also goes on to garner mass appeal. When you look at generation defining games of the past, a lot of them weren't exactly technical marvels. Of the few that were, was just icing on the cake.

And finally, the "it's too early" takes. Nah. A lot of generation defining games happened early on in their respective generations. Again, comes down to some novel design approach. This can happen any time.

There are so many great games coming out these days, that i don't thing there will be a defining one. There will be amazing indies, amazing AAAs, fantastic sequels, VR will get even better, etc, etc.

To answer the question, one particular game that i would love to see on consoles (once/if it gets finished) would be Star Citizen.

Excited for both, but what's so next gen about them? STALKER2 and the Chinese Sekiro game feel more next gen than anything currently announced.

Black myth wukong.