With many modern JRPGs, what you see is what you’ll get – but does familiarity breed contentment or contempt?
The best games give players something they didn’t know they needed. But there’s always a market for those that provide precisely what their target audience wants. Currently, it’s the ones that try to be all things to all people that are struggling. Development on BioWare’s Anthem –a game with several good ideas in dire need of a hook – has been discontinued. And the servers for Gearbox’s hero shooter Battleborn (lest we forget, an “FPS; hobby-grade coop campaign; genreblended, multi-mode competitive e-sports; meta-growth, choice + epic Battleborn Heroes!”) were switched off in January. It pays to specialise, in other words, and that partly explains why the JRPG increasingly seems to be leaning into its niche and is enjoying plenty of success in the process.