Phil Spencer Congratulates Naughty Dog On Game Awards Success

@BrilliantBill you played cyberpunk? Trust me it wouldn't of got any awards with the state its in

Game awards were the perfect example of why people don't trust game journalists & rather go watch YouTubers.

I still think Naughty Dog are the most overrated game studio in existence. To clarify, their games are most certainly very good, but the praise and awards they get is unfathomable. The gameplay on every single one of their games is simply average. I don't see the pinnacle of video games as a game imitating a film. I think the best video games have a gameplay first focus, and this is something Naughty Dog don't do. Baffling why they are lauded as one of the finest developers in existence.

@pip_muzz The issue is not about trying to bring down Naughty Dog games - they are absolutely perfect for what they are trying to produce. You should start asking the question as to why there aren't other devs capable of reproducing the same level of quality to their games in order to challenge them.
I understand someone not enjoying the gameplay if its just not their thing, but there is no way to criticise their quality in every technical aspect. They are geniuses when it comes to getting every last inch from the Sony machines.
Who knows, perhaps Halo Infinite will be that game. I'm not massively into first person shooters compared to third person games and I may complain about the gameplay being overrated in Halo but if it technically squeezes everything out of the Series X then it will start winning these awards ahead of Naughty Dog and will deserve it.

@Medic_Alert Agree. And that's why their games are undeniably fun and I would say well worth playing.
But we're gamers, and whilst the package every game of theirs is wrapped in is genuinely brilliant, the core gameplay is just simply...ok.
The amount of praise bestowed upon them is disproportionate to the quality of their games in my view. Whilst all their games are well worth a play, I fail to see anything particularly special beyond the story, characters and narratives. All very well done, but story characters and narratives are not why I game, gameplay is.

@StonyKL See my reply to Medic-alert above too. I'm not saying Naughty Dog aren't good developers. I just don't see the technical advances they make to be what defines a game as "good". I don't play video games for state of the art motion capture, brilliant writing and emotionally involving characters. All of those are certainly very good things to have in games, but they are all secondary to what I believe makes a game truly great which is "gameplay".
To each their own, but it always surprises me how many video game journalists don't prioritise gameplay as much as they should. The awards they won for Audio Design, Narrative... Clear as day they deserve it. But GOTY and Best Action/Adventure... That is where I question.

@pip_muzz

I completely agree.

Uncharted 2 was their best game, by far, in my opinion.

I played the first Last Of Us & thought it was the most overrated game I have ever played.

Phil is so classy.

@pip_muzz I really like the Uncharted and TLoU franchises - can you provide some examples of similar games you find have “better gameplay”? I’m not asking to debate, I’m asking because I probably want to play those games

Considering TLOUPII is the only new game I've played and finished this year (not got round to DOOM Eternal, Ori and the like yet), it is by default also my GOTY.

I'm not going to lie, Naughty Dog are probably my favourite game developer. I get why some people aren't as keen on their games, but they've always clicked with me. I can see an argument for their games being average mechanically, but I've always found them to be more than the sum of their parts. In the case of both TLOU games, I don't think I've ever played a game that's made me as tense during gameplay, with their brutal combat, scant resources and flexible stealth, while also sweeping me up in the story, thanks to their deft pacing, brilliant writing and top performances, not to mention their cinematic presentation and technical prowess.

Yes, other games do some things better, no doubt, but Naughty Dog's games will always live long in my memory, which for me is a mark of their quality.

Looking forward to all the hate.

@pip_muzz I think the issues is with the game awards not necessarily with the game.

First, people vote for what’s “in their heads” and second there aren’t enough categories and understanding of those that do exist that people get the difference in gameplay. For instance, platformers/metrovanias etc are staple of gaming and the way the awards are set up, they can’t win. Ori? Hollow Knight? Celeste? And all of these are story driven, but their game genre doesn’t allow for a sort introspective that leaves a lasting impression on the player. And non story driven games are at a larger disadvantage because people think narrative not gameplay. Cuphead is a game that sets the bar for difficulty; people will play this game for years to come but it would never win no matter how good the game play was.

But again that’s not the game issue; it’s the awards themselves. The Last of Us 2 is a game that leaves an impression that people will talk about for a long time.

@everynowandben Not a problem. If by similar I presume you mean third person shooter games?
Vanquish is amazing and still brilliant with the HD version. For another gameplay focused TPS I recommend MGS V. Otherwise recently even Gears 5 and Control have slightly more depth in the gameplay department as well.

@mousieone That's a very good point. It's the industry patting Naughty Dog on the back that rubs me up the wrong way much more than their games I have to say. I think it'd because every time they get GOTY I can think of several other games much more deserving. This year I'd put Hades, Ori above LOU 2

@pip_muzz right but if they had a best core “gameplay mechanics” award then it might be something. Which is funny because they have narrative, audio design, art direction, Keighley just seems to forgotten the biggest part of what makes a game a game animation, design, etc. Look I have no issue with ND winning but the award show just isn’t the best example of video game award show. If you want the DICE awards that actually look at game design etc Honestly, it’s a much better example of how video game awards should be.

@pip_muzz The only one of those I’ve played is Control, which I just played through this week and loved it. I’ll take a deeper look into the others you mentioned. Thanks!

@BrilliantBill idk. I am seeing yellow and red scores on consoles metacritic reviews. Can't win if you dissapoint half of the voters.

@agito1987 Sorry, but more opinions are more valuable than your favorite 3 or 4 youtube reviewers.

@pip_muzz They don't get many awards. They lost to gta5 in 2013, and to overwatch in 2016. Overwatch...

Disagree. Tlou2's strongest asset was its stealth and action-ish gameplay.

@pip_muzz
Then prepare to the next upcoming xbox games, that will imitate sony games and their cinematic story telling. It's what sells and a game can be good as a game and a story at the same time and most people prefer both than just 1.

mgs5 is not gameplay focused. It's a Kojima game. Story is veeeery important to him.

@StonyKL I disagree. ND gets challenged in their own type of games. Rockstar, other sony studios, some nintendo studios and square enix are examples.

@LiterallyDoNotCare Regarding Kojima he definitely puts an emphasis on story, however pretty much all his games (bar death stranding) also have deep gameplay. I recommended MGS V in particular as it's essentially an open world game with third person shooter elements along with stealth. From a gameplay perspective, there are a lot more options for the player in game scenarios in MGS V as opposed to something by Naughty Dog

@pip_muzz Why did you assume I did not play it?

mmm. Maybe. I put mgs5 above tlou 2, but give both 9/10s. I prefer tlou 2's gameplay.

Tell you this. Tlou2's multiplayer will be more alive than mg5's online and that proves the gameplay argument.

Love the first game, love Naughty Dog as a studio but honestly didn't think TLoU Part II was Game of the Year. To be fair, in a lot of areas it is an easy 10/10. The shooting mechanics are much improved over Part I and there are some outstanding shootout segments, melee and stealth are excellent, the sound design is terrific, the world building for the expanded lore is tremendous and Naughty Dog absolutely deserves to be applauded for all the accessibility options it offered. The main story, however, has some severe issues that hamper the overall experience because this is such a story-heavy game. Joel acts way out of character for a survivor (people can say what they want, you don't get by in a world like that and then just suddenly go stupid as you get older) and the last handful of chapters suck. The game itself was indicative of Naughty Dog last generation. Flashes of its old brilliance but the studio was at the top of its game in the PS3 era where as PS4 only got three games and the best of them was the spinoff Uncharted: The Lost Legacy.

@KelticDevil
Yeah, Uncharted 2 is still, undeniably, Naughty Dog's best game.

Well deserved imo. They push the boundaries in storytelling and gameplay etc is decent...

@Gamer83

It was my favorite PS3 game & still think it’s the perfect linear 3rd person, action/adventure game.

Unfortunately, for me, part 3 was a huge letdown.

Time for Phil to buy ND for $20B lol.