There's a reason why not a single arena fighter has managed to attract a playerbase dedicated enough to keep a competitive scene going. They focus on quantity over quality and it shows.
It's not like licensed games can't succeed, but something has gone deeply wrong with the arena formula. More people are still playing JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Heritage for the Future, an arcade game from 1998, than any of these modern arena games.
I''m that guy who's been disgruntled for years about how Sega has been handling Puyo Puyo. After so many years of waiting, we finally got a new standalone game that isn't a crossover... but they made it exclusive to Apple Arcade.
The game was so dead on arrival that if you try to play online, you simply get matched with bots. Which means Sega knew the game would be dead on arrival and tried to cover it up, as opposed to, I dunno, not taking the damn exclusivity deal then.
I primarily play competitive fighting games, so I'd just be looking for a steady stream of opponents to challenge myself against. That's something I can grind for five years.
Damn, no multiplayer hurts like hell.
Slay the Spire - I could grind Packmaster forever. And everything else on the Workshop. And vanilla.
Stepmania - You said I have access to all existing mods and content, so I've basically got a trillion charts to play. Maybe I'll even have time to actually get good at a rhythm game?
Crypt of the Necrodancer - Had to think long and hard about a third game. Been a long time since my Cadence speedrunning days, but I guess five years on a desert island might give me time to try and shoot for Coda.
Under Night In-Birth II [Sys:Celes] - Uzuki is here! I haven't been playing much since Combo Breaker, but now I gotta boot it back up to check out the funny girl with the big hat. She's an absolute blast to play, I just love big buttons. Streamed an open lobby night, have some highlights: 1 2 3 4 5
Splatoon 3 - Had a long session with our coach picking apart two replays from our last LUTI set, they ~~thoroughly exposed how incompetent we all are~~ gave us a lot of helpful advice on what our team needs to work on.
Persona 4 Golden - Still early in, finished Kanji's dungeon. My attention's getting split between too many other stuff but I will finish this thing eventually.
Mahjong Soul/Riichi City/IRL mahjong - Last two weeks have been rough at the local club, I am not doing so hot in league standings. Shoulda drawn better tiles.
Summon Night Swordcraft Story - Browsing through what to play next on my Miyoo Mini Plus, just felt like revisiting an old childhood favorite. Still waiting for the third game's translation patch...
Slay the Spire - Packmaster runs are second monitor content while I watch Youtube. Chill comfort game.
I don't think that analogy makes sense. The parent and child would be two players with a massive skill gap between them. The point of matchmaking is that you don't match them against each other to begin with, rather than asking the parent to hold back.
But then somehow devs started getting it in their heads that what people really want is noobstomping
What dev ever said that?
Yeah so matching players with opponents at their skill level is a good thing. Should've been obvious to anyone with half a brain, but somehow there was a whole saga where people were radically opposed to it for some reason. And it turns out they were full of shit.
I mostly play games that are so niche that the matchmaking simply consists of "whoever's available". But the idea that being matched against opponents at your skill level is somehow a negative might be the most bewildering discourse I've heard in a long time. Genuinely why?
It's somewhat embarassing to admit how much this game resonated with me when it came out. I think I'm afraid to see if the cripple porn game still holds up today though.
Under Night In-Birth II [Sys:Celes] - I'm back on my bullshit again. Uzuki arc was fun, but when it comes time for bracket I gotta lock in. And by lock in, I mean still play like a clown.
Them's Fightin' Herds - Glue Cup was short on commentators this week, so I volunteered to fill in. Been a long time since I've done proper tournament commentary, I've honestly really missed doing it.
Mega Knockdown - Took 4th in the second anniversary bracket. Shoutouts to Stealphie's $100 airthrow.
Splatoon 3 - Didn't have too much time to practice this week, but had one good session. Really trying to work on more actionable callouts, coordinating with our specials and planning a push together rather than merely announcing things after they happen.
Summon Night: Swordcraft Story - Man, forgot how annoying it was that you have to always go for weapon breaks against bosses or else you miss their blueprint forever. Also, RHDN shutdown has me wondering, if/when the third game's translation patch ever gets finished, where do I even look to find out about it?
Slay the Spire - I can quit any time I want, I swear.
Mahjong Soul/Riichi City/IRL mahjong - Came dangerously close to losing my Master 1 rank on Soul, but got a few wins so I'm safeish now. I know I'm too reckless and I'm trying to work on that. I did play one of the best games I've had at club this week, had the discipline to fold several tempting hands and it turned out to be correct every time. Sometimes protecting second place through smart play is more satisfying than lucking into first.
Kitsune Tails - Cute little platformer, but maybe too on the nose for how much it copies SMB3. Kuribo's Shoe, really?