m76

About 9 of these I never had an issue with. The only one that is a real problem is microtransactions that affect in-game progerssion.

I think the best is by far Cyberpunk 2077

You might not be kidding, but also it's not true, just clickbait. They aren't banning gaming PCs, they are banning inefficient pre-built PCs witch cheap crappy power supplies. And this is not a law specifically targeting gaming PCs.
They dispel most of the false reporting in this video:
 

If you are a newcomer the price is very reasonable. But as someone who owns all three games with all the DLCs except for the cosmetic stuff, I feel insulted that they expect me to pay full price for the legendary edition. I want to play it, but not until the price becomes sg I find acceptable.
I found the first citadel visit tedious and boring on my first try, didn't even get through it. I needed a lot of convincing to give the a game a second chance, but I'm glad I did.  The game really comes into its element when the galaxy map opens up to you.

It was argued that without the big daddies they'd just die anyway, so by "saving them" you are actually condemning them to a much slower crueller death.

It would be something like this
 
 

Probably after you finish the tutorial and you first get access to the base of operations. Maybe earlier but I didn't stop playing before I got there.

I looked at it and immediately though this looks like Hard Truck Apocalypse, and wouldn't you know, developed by the same company.
If it was single player instead of an MMO I'd be intrigued.

The working conditions of employees is a problem of corporate culture, not specifically that of gaming. The gaming industry is the same as any other competitive cutthroat for profit industry. The nasty practices like not giving low level workers employee benefits or paying them scraps exists all over the spectrum not just specifically in gaming. Crunch as they like to call it is not unique to games either.  Any discrepancy is in the reporting. So it's not fair to say that this is a gaming problem.  I have experienced first and second hand what is reported in the gaming industry. If you think mid management who gets off on humiliating employees is unique to the gaming industry then I have a bridge to sell you.
 
What is actually a gaming industry problem, is deliberately making the products flawed, to later sell the fixes for it. No other industry does this that I know of. Sell you a deliberately broken product then sell you a fix for it. Or as we commonly know them as "time savers" and "xp boosts" Yes these aer a type of microtransactions too, and all of those are bad, but not equally bad. By far these are the most heinous.
 
 

The working conditions of employees is a problem of corporate culture, not specifically that of gaming. The gaming industry is the same as any other competitive cutthroat for profit industry. The nasty practices like not giving low level workers employee benefits or paying them scraps exists all over the spectrum not just specifically in gaming. Crunch as they like to call it is not unique to games either.  Any discrepancy is in the reporting. So it's not fair to say that this is a gaming problem.  I have experienced first and second hand what is reported in the gaming industry. If you think mid management who gets off on humiliating employees is unique to the gaming industry then I have a bridge to sell you.
 
What is actually a gaming industry problem, is deliberately making the products flawed, to later sell the fixes for it. No other industry does this that I know of. Sell you a deliberately broken product then sell you a fix for it. Or as we commonly know them as "time savers" and "xp boosts" Yes these aer a type of microtransactions too, and all of those are bad, but not equally bad. By far these are the most heinous.
 
 

Exclusive to the epic game store, or consoles. 
The first one is out of principle.
The second one is because I might have a ps, but I hate playing games on console due to the controller. So except for a very few select games I don't buy games for playstation.
  Multiplayer only games
Games that have no proper single player campaign can F right off.
  The inclusion of current day political debates in the game
No real world politics should ever be a central theme in a game, unless it is historical with no ambiguity around them.
  Games by Developers / creators who have a history of degrading / looking down on the gaming community
Examples: Patrick Soderlund, Adrian Chimleraz, Cliff Blezinsky...

 

It seems to me that most games have at best a bitter or ambiguous ending.
What do you prefer?
 
I much prefer happy ends, I don't like tragic ends to stories. I'm not for foreshadowing either. When a game ends every plot point should be tied up nicely with no open ends and unfinished businesses remaining. If the game was great, people will want a sequel anyway, you don't need to leave breadcrumbs for that.

The problem with cancel culture is that it is indistinguishable from real wrongdoing. You can't even say it is the boy who cried wolf too many times, because it is not those who suffer who cried wolf over nothing, or for personal gain, but the real victims of abuse.

He might be a veteran but also responsible for some of the biggest misteps at bioware. Like the red green and blue ending for ME3, and the consequent artistic integrity excuse for doubling down on it instead of improving it. Also it was under his leadership that they wasted time for years with no clear direction and then had to wrap up both ME:Andromeda and Anthem in basically 18 months after EA stepped on their collective necks.

He might be a veteran but also responsible for some of the biggest misteps at bioware. Like the red green and blue ending for ME3, and the consequent artistic integrity excuse for doubling down on it instead of improving it. Also it was under his leadership that they wasted time for years with no clear direction and then had to wrap up both ME:Andromeda and Anthem in basically 18 months after EA stepped on their collective necks.

Probably after you finish the tutorial and you first get access to the base of operations. Maybe earlier but I didn't stop playing before I got there.

The rules of games are simple that's why we can know the exact path to success. The rules of reality are vastly complex, some of which we hadn't even begun to understand. So obviously we can't have the easy formula for success.
 
p.s.: Besides games have clear goals, what is the goal in reality? You set your own goals, and thus you are always in control of your own success.

The most contamporary universe is GTA, it has no magic, or any outlandish things in it, and its also similar in its indifference to the individual.

Any bright light is annoying, no excptions. I used to tape the power led on some of my displays and other equipment.

The rules of games are simple that's why we can know the exact path to success. The rules of reality are vastly complex, some of which we hadn't even begun to understand. So obviously we can't have the easy formula for success.
 
p.s.: Besides games have clear goals, what is the goal in reality? You set your own goals, and thus you are always in control of your own success.

Protagonist
The most important thing to me is to be able to identify with the protagonist. No, having the same skin color / gender / orientation as me has nothing to do with it.  I mean that they must be likeable, relatable, and most importantly have goals that I think are worth pursuing, the rest is superficial.  Setting
No matter how good or relatable the hero is, if the game is set in an uninteresting, or restrictive environment it won't work. Realism
It is important that the game follows basic laws of physics in all departments. Eg: having a motorcycle engine powered minigun is no bueno (yes I'm referring to far cry 6) Also weapons should have the expected stopping power, so no bullet sponge nonsense. I want limbs flying and minced meat after an explosion, not enemies emerging from the blast unscathed or getting up after two magazines were emptied into them. Let alone surviving headshots.

I wish I could see when I first played each game, and how much I've played them. Sadly the playtime is only kept for more modern games.

That's the reason I don't like watching other people play. It drives me crazy when they do the exact opposite of what I'd do. Or when they don't realize something and keep doing something wrong, not even morally, just a game mechanic or feature.