5 ms·

2d side scrolling games are still popular today*

by b1ue64 4y ago

Insanity 4y ago
I’m not sure if it is at the same level though. Both in terms of how mainstream they are and the calibre/size of the development studios behind them. I can’t off the top of my head think of a modern “AAA” sidescroller.
- bee_rider 4y ago
  Have they done a 2D Mario recently?
  - lostgame 4y ago
    They're rumoured to be working on it: https://comicbook.com/gaming/news/mario-games-2d-nintendo-switch-report/ https://comicbook.com/gaming/news/mario-games-2d-nintendo-sw... There was also New Super Mario Bros. and New Super Mario Bros DS which were fantastic. There's also Super Mario Maker...so; yeah.
  - simongray 4y ago
    The last two installments of Mario had 2D sections and prior to that Nintendo had several releases of 2D Mario games used as launch games for their platforms.
- HideousKojima 4y ago
  Sonic Mania?
- gmnash 4y ago
  Metroid Dread maybe? Amazing game either way.
- spywaregorilla 4y ago
  Metroid Dread is probably the latest significant AAA sidescroller.
  - hoherd 4y ago
    Samus Returns was also incredible.
  - wincy 4y ago
    Lol that game makes me so stressed. When the robot shows up I experience dread, so mission accomplished. I had to stop playing it after awhile I just didn’t find the “Dread” parts fun. I’ll go play something less stressful like Elden Ring.
  - ghostwriter 4y ago
    Aside the name, what does make Metroid Dread a triple-A title, though? After playing Blasphemous, Huntdown, Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth, and a few others for the past year, I can't say Metroid Dread has a distinctive trait that would make it standing out as AAA. The competition from indie studios is tough nowadays, many of them release AAA-grade titles without labelling them as such.
    - spywaregorilla 4y ago
      AAA used to simply imply good graphics. These days it tends to refer to that and the hand-craftedness of things. Like every moment being designed for some player impact. The new Tomb Raiders are the most emblematic of this imo, though not in a good way. AAA games tend not to feel like a set of standard mechanics and actors arranged in different levels. They have a lot more special circumstances. Worst case this is just cut scenes. Commonly it's special control schemes for specific situations that break the standard game design and may be cool or may suck. I haven't played any of these titles, including Metroid so I can't comment. But... idk Hollow Knight was an excellent 2d side scroller with beautiful art that was clearly not AAA to no detriment, imo. Nintendo does things their own way too so it's always funky. In my headcannon this transitioned most clearly with the cultural shift of Halo 3 being AAA to CoD4 being AAA.
      - filoleg 4y ago
        > AAA used to simply imply good graphics Often, yeah, but it doesn't feel like that's what people mean by it in this comment chain. For a specific example, I would say that the recently announced Hades 2 is an AAA roguelike, even though it isn't trying to be michael-bay-tier in the graphics department at all. Disclaimer: not to be confused with artstyle and the overall visual presentation, both of which were just fantastic in the original Hades, and I expect just as much from Hades 2.
- CM30 4y ago
  Not sure if Wii U is modern, but since it's on Switch too... Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze? That's 100% a triple A 2D platformer, with incredible graphics, some damn impressive level design that takes advantage of multiple foreground layers and numerous interconnected level specific mechanics and one of the best soundtracks in recent times.
  - 8n4vidtmkvmk 4y ago
    there's a newish crash bandicoot too
- unixhero 4y ago
  Trine
- lightedman 4y ago
  "I can’t off the top of my head think of a modern “AAA” sidescroller." Dead Cells is great.
- semi-extrinsic 4y ago
  Rayman Legends on Nintendo Switch (2017) is one example, I guess?
- LegitShady 4y ago
  Ori and the blind forest?
- syntheweave 4y ago
  They really don't have to be "AAA" to be a decent product. My nieces and nephew(ages 4-6) are all playing a Hotel Transylvania app on their tablets, which is a pretty straightforward collectathon platformer with a gajillion levels and a three-star ranking to encourage them to speedrun it. There are a lot of games like it, but as a plain-vanilla flavor of platformer it definitely does the job, and those kinds of games are F2P and generally well produced, with plenty of animation; the mobile market has some of the most extravagant budgets for 2D gaming, it just doesn't read as "premium" because of the business model and positioning. When we go upmarket from that it's more often a sidestep into indie games, which can address a specific niche better.

2d side scrolling games are still popular today*

by b1ue64 4y ago

2d side scrolling games are still popular today*

I’m not sure if it is at the same level though. Both in terms of how mainstream they are and the calibre/size of the development studios behind them. I can’t off the top of my head think of a modern “AAA” sidescroller.

bee_rider 4y ago
Have they done a 2D Mario recently?
- lostgame 4y ago
  They're rumoured to be working on it: https://comicbook.com/gaming/news/mario-games-2d-nintendo-switch-report/ https://comicbook.com/gaming/news/mario-games-2d-nintendo-sw... There was also New Super Mario Bros. and New Super Mario Bros DS which were fantastic. There's also Super Mario Maker...so; yeah.
- simongray 4y ago
  The last two installments of Mario had 2D sections and prior to that Nintendo had several releases of 2D Mario games used as launch games for their platforms.
HideousKojima 4y ago
Sonic Mania?
gmnash 4y ago
Metroid Dread maybe? Amazing game either way.
spywaregorilla 4y ago
Metroid Dread is probably the latest significant AAA sidescroller.
- hoherd 4y ago
  Samus Returns was also incredible.
- wincy 4y ago
  Lol that game makes me so stressed. When the robot shows up I experience dread, so mission accomplished. I had to stop playing it after awhile I just didn’t find the “Dread” parts fun. I’ll go play something less stressful like Elden Ring.
- ghostwriter 4y ago
  Aside the name, what does make Metroid Dread a triple-A title, though? After playing Blasphemous, Huntdown, Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth, and a few others for the past year, I can't say Metroid Dread has a distinctive trait that would make it standing out as AAA. The competition from indie studios is tough nowadays, many of them release AAA-grade titles without labelling them as such.
  - spywaregorilla 4y ago
    AAA used to simply imply good graphics. These days it tends to refer to that and the hand-craftedness of things. Like every moment being designed for some player impact. The new Tomb Raiders are the most emblematic of this imo, though not in a good way. AAA games tend not to feel like a set of standard mechanics and actors arranged in different levels. They have a lot more special circumstances. Worst case this is just cut scenes. Commonly it's special control schemes for specific situations that break the standard game design and may be cool or may suck. I haven't played any of these titles, including Metroid so I can't comment. But... idk Hollow Knight was an excellent 2d side scroller with beautiful art that was clearly not AAA to no detriment, imo. Nintendo does things their own way too so it's always funky. In my headcannon this transitioned most clearly with the cultural shift of Halo 3 being AAA to CoD4 being AAA.
    - filoleg 4y ago
      > AAA used to simply imply good graphics Often, yeah, but it doesn't feel like that's what people mean by it in this comment chain. For a specific example, I would say that the recently announced Hades 2 is an AAA roguelike, even though it isn't trying to be michael-bay-tier in the graphics department at all. Disclaimer: not to be confused with artstyle and the overall visual presentation, both of which were just fantastic in the original Hades, and I expect just as much from Hades 2.
CM30 4y ago
Not sure if Wii U is modern, but since it's on Switch too... Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze? That's 100% a triple A 2D platformer, with incredible graphics, some damn impressive level design that takes advantage of multiple foreground layers and numerous interconnected level specific mechanics and one of the best soundtracks in recent times.
- 8n4vidtmkvmk 4y ago
  there's a newish crash bandicoot too
unixhero 4y ago
Trine
lightedman 4y ago
"I can’t off the top of my head think of a modern “AAA” sidescroller." Dead Cells is great.
semi-extrinsic 4y ago
Rayman Legends on Nintendo Switch (2017) is one example, I guess?
LegitShady 4y ago
Ori and the blind forest?
syntheweave 4y ago
They really don't have to be "AAA" to be a decent product. My nieces and nephew(ages 4-6) are all playing a Hotel Transylvania app on their tablets, which is a pretty straightforward collectathon platformer with a gajillion levels and a three-star ranking to encourage them to speedrun it. There are a lot of games like it, but as a plain-vanilla flavor of platformer it definitely does the job, and those kinds of games are F2P and generally well produced, with plenty of animation; the mobile market has some of the most extravagant budgets for 2D gaming, it just doesn't read as "premium" because of the business model and positioning. When we go upmarket from that it's more often a sidestep into indie games, which can address a specific niche better.