Indeed. Though there'll be trouble ahead now that the new console generation is out. So far, I knew that my computer would run anything that a PS4 could run, except at lower resolution, a bit less details and usually somewhere between 15 and 25 FPS. The PS4 was a hard performance ceiling that game developers could not afford to cross, so I knew I could pick up anything that struck my fancy (very little did... The Witcher 3, Kingdom Come: Deliverance, Elite: Dangerous and No Man's Sky are I think the only games I bought in the last 6 or 7 years that actually had anything in terms of requirements).
Now with the new gen, games will power up and once more become completely unplayable. Oh well, I mean, they're also mostly just getting dumber. The exceptions that emerge from the graphics vs. mechanics resource conflicts with their priorities intact are getting more and more rare.
Hell, these days my notebook (like, the one you write in with a pen) gets more gaming time than my laptop...
The console gap was, and is, both blessing and curse. In my case, it meant I could get a refurbished Xbox one for 80 bucks and be able to play the vast majority of the games out there on the cheap (there are gaming shops that sell used DVDs for a fraction of the price new). Otherwise, it meant that games were 'handicapped' due to the requirement that a standard Xbox One should be able to run it, despite having come out a decade ago. I think Playstation is a bit better in terms of computing power. That also meant most recent games were nothing new, at least for the console version. Of course, that also allowed companies to get away with charging $$$ for AAA games that had nothing new, technically speaking. Would I have preferred that, say, CDPR just stuck to their initial pledge to make it for next gen only? Yeah, sure. At least that way I would have known I just have to get a new console a year out.
Now, Starfield is coming fast and I don't know whether to finally upgrade my PC or get a cheap Xbox One X for it, given that I will absolutely want to play it, in all its buggy glory. But I think one shouldn't be disappointed if gaming quality also gets an upgrade. I mean, Ubisoft has basically been selling reskins these last few years. AC Odyssey , Origins and Valhalla have pretty much the same engine and feel, with only the story varying. And don't get me going on Far Cry 6, which is basically Far Cry 5 in a tropical setting, as far as the game goes. They didn't even bother to change the vehicles too much, not to mention that it has the feel of Ghost Recon Breakpoint reloaded. Not bad as far as fun goes, but way below the mark for an AAA game.
I mean, when I saw that sweet KSP Xbox One DVD , of course I got it and bought the addons too. 30 bucks total, but it's not worth it. On Xbox , you can use a mouse and keyboard, in theory, so that would make it sort of usable, but it's bugged. Even using the in-game maneuver planner, I simply can't get to plan a flight to anything beyond the moons. That is, with the game fully updated. It kinda behaves like they don't exist. I launch into solar orbit and try to plan a Hohmann to Mars, say. And it does the trajectory, except that it doesn't trigger like it does with the moons. Flew there, eyeballing it, basically pixel close on the map. Looked around, and there was no planet, no trajectory change etc. Same went for Venus, in repeated attempts. Left it with the peri/apohelium at the target orbit, then went max time warp until I got a close pass. Still nothing
Witcher 3 is a hell of a game, tho. Currently playing it, I'm basically clearing up the backlog of quests and contracts before doing Isle of Mists. It's a long game, but I prefer it that way. I'd say Red Dead Redemption 2 is somewhat similar in terms of game mechanics. Big and captivating game world, nice story etc.
It just takes time, frustrating as that can be.
