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[Dr.Morris79]

Out of those i'd say Housemarque. They've had some excellent games with brilliant replayability. Some top notch sound tracks to boot.

 

[Elder Legend]

Nah

SSM is 2nd best, by far. But ND is still the best in storytelling, tech, attention to detail, modelling, acting, script ...

GOW 2018 is an amazing game, but it had some stilted script sometimes. And from what I've seen from Ragnarok leaked videos, it still has some rough dialogue here and there.

ND is so good at what they do that sometimes they dont even need words. Ellie resting on her guitar at the end of the game tells a whole story just from her animation.

They have achieved a level of nuance that other studios werent able to recreate so far



Abby spared Ellie first, at the theater fight. AND Dina too.

Ellie had already killed all of Abby's friends + "boyfriend" + a baby and yet she still spared Ellie and Dina

Goes to show, again, that people are so hurt by Joel's death that they cant see an inch of the other side's perspective

Yes you are right, Ellie did kill her friends and all that. But this kind of further proves my point - they turned Ellie into a killing machine just like Joel was in the first game. Ellie got blinded by rage and vengence. Only to be a killing machine until the end and then spare your target. Very dumb and silly and way to dragged out. Also, the "boss fight" against Ellie was hilariously bad. Naughty Dog tried to make you play as the other character and feel bad for them... it's such a insane difference vetween the first and the second game. The first game actually had a soul and good plot line. Second felt like they just wanted to piss everyone one and then laugh about it at their office. They sure have succeeded.

Ever since Neil took over ND it has been going down the shitter. TlOU 1 writers were way better.

 

[Hugare]

What do you consider cringe dialogue in God of War 2018 and God of War Ragnarok? You have some examples please?

I've beaten both games, the only thing I find cringe in the dialogue is the cursing in Ragnarok between from the gods. Hearing Odin and Thor saying "fuck" all the time kind of got dumb.

It feels out of place for a Norse Mythology. Other than that, I found the dialogue quite good and never really annoying like most games where a character won't ever shut up.

From my experience the random dialgoue in both games usually relates to what just happened. Mimir is an amazing character for example with great lore related dialogue.

As for the Last of Us 2, yes I get what ND tried to do and symbolize but I don't think they did a very good job at that. The story felt way to dragged out. Abby was a carrot the entire time in front of Ellie that you were told to chase all the way through, the ending just didn't feel satisfying to me. Something about it was off.

And as far Joel dying and triggering everyones emotions I don't think people are upset that he died in the first place. Many, if not most already expected him to die before the game even came out. His death was already written on the wall. He killed so many people in his past that it was bound to happen sooner or later.

I think what pissed most people off is how he died. And that was getting caught by helping a stranger group, then being surrounded and beaten to death by a golf club. That's why you always see the golf club memes.

"Cringy" wouldnt be the right word for it ...

I think it just lacks nuance. That level of polish in ND dialogue that makes it feel natural.

The pauses, the sighs, the facial animations, the directing ...

I was trying to find a TLOU Part II cutscene to use as an example, but seriously, couldnt decide for the best one, 'cause all of them are amazing

 

[Gamer_By_Proxy]

As great as Santa Monica is, it's Naughty Dog pushing things forward, especially in the hyper realism space.

 

[Elder Legend]

"Cringy" wouldnt be the right word for it ...

I think it just lacks nuance. That level of polish in ND dialogue that makes it feel natural.

The pauses, the sighs, the facial animations, the directing ...

I was trying to find a TLOU Part II cutscene to use as an example, but seriously, couldnt decide for the best one, 'cause all of them are amazing

Ehh the "Bigot Sandwich" is really dumb though and uncesseary and was used on purpose to virtue signal lol.

What sighs? Kratos sighs? That's his character though, never bothered me.

Yes ND always had superior tech for facial animations, I won't deny that. TLOU 1 was their best work for dialogue, but that was it.

The sex scene with Abby and her BF was super cringefest and disturbing. 2 ugly frogs fucking, no thanks. No one wanted too see that, awful directing on that part imo.

 

[rickybooby87]

It should be KO_OP with their absolute banger Goodbye Volcano High.

 

[DeepEnigma]

Naughty Dog wins game of the year's too though. They did for TLoU2.

 

[Hugare]

Ehh the "Bigot Sandwich" is really dumb though and uncesseary and was used on purpose to virtue signal lol.

What sighs? Kratos sighs? That's his character though, never bothered me.

Yes ND always had superior tech for facial animations, I won't deny that. TLOU 1 was their best work for dialogue, but that was it.

The sex scene with Abby and her BF was super cringefest and disturbing. 2 ugly frogs fucking, no thanks. No one wanted too see that, awful directing on that part imo.

Dont know what the hell you meant by the first sentence (English is not my first language)

No man, I meant "pauses, sighs" and etc. on ND games. These things add to the realism.

About the sex scene in TLOU Part 2: I didnt think anything by it. Ugly people have sex too. It wasnt gratuitous, it made sense storywise, it was directed alright (surely we had worse depictions of sex in gaming)

But you know, it was what, 2 minutes in a 20h game? My point stands. Every other cutscene in the game was masterfuly done and could be used as an example.

 

[TheGodfather07]

ND are still the best but santa Monica are right behind them.

 

[Elder Legend]

Dont know what the hell you meant by the first sentence (English is not my first language)

No man, I meant "pauses, sighs" and etc. on ND games. These things add to the realism.

About the sex scene in TLOU Part 2: I didnt think anything by it. Ugly people have sex too. It wasnt gratuitous, it made sense storywise, it was directed alright (surely we had worse depictions of sex in gaming)

But you know, it was what, 2 minutes in a 20h game? My point stands. Every other cutscene in the game was masterfuly done and could be used as an example.

Bigot Sandwich was a line said by Ellie at the beginning of the game when they were at the tavern/bar. You don't remember that?

Also, I was asking examples for the God of War stuff, not TLOU 2 lol.

 

[Hugare]

Bigot Sandwich was a line said by Ellie at the beginning of the game when they were at the tavern/bar. You don't remember that?

Also, I was asking examples for the God of War stuff, not TLOU 2 lol.

Oh yes, sure, that line. Don't remember the scene exactly, so I think I wasnt really bothered by it.

Don't know what to say, man. I dont think I can explain why scenes hit harder when ND does them. They just do.

And It's not TLOU bias or anything, I think that they've been delivering since Uncharted 1 days, and they are still the best in this regard.

About GOW examples: again, hard to explain, but it all sounds a little too surface level and not as natural.

ND can make a conversation look natural, but in GOW it always felt like 2 characters in a play

 

[Elder Legend]

Oh yes, sure, that line. Don't remember the scene exactly, so I think I wasnt really bothered by it.

Don't know what to say, man. I dont think I can explain why scenes hit harder when ND does them. They just do.

And It's not TLOU bias or anything, I think that they've been delivering since Uncharted 1 days, and they are still the best in this regard.

About GOW examples: again, hard to explain, but it all sounds a little too surface level and not as natural.

ND can make a conversation look natural, but in GOW it always felt like 2 characters in a play

I think what you are describing here is that God of War feels more "gamey" and ND games feels more like an actual film.

 

[Games of Today]

I have been a fan of God of War for the last couple of decades. I always enjoyed the gameplay and epic nature of the games. But with the recent God of War titles, they have reached a new level and the story and emotional connection for me makes the Norse saga a tier above.

I have also been a Naughty Dog fan, but Uncharted 4 and TLOU2 have felt super bloated to me and Naury Dog seems to have remained stagnant for the last few years.

Insomniac are fast becoming Sony’s most important studio and output quality titles on a very regular basis, but have always seemed slightly lower quality titles.

So GAF tell me, who is Sony’s best Studio.

I agree whole heartedly. I've been a Naughty Dog suck off since Uncharted 1. I mean for me it's hard not to when they create the best looking rain and water graphics in the industry as well as adding tons of physics based objects to every scene that include their own foley audio attached to the specific object.

While I think Uncharted 4 was a better title than Last of Us 2. I still enjoyed TLOU2 due to it's technical might.

However neither Uncharted or Part 2 are as great as the games that came before them in the series.

It's time for ND to create a new IP for only the PS5.

 

[Games of Today]

Oh yes, sure, that line. Don't remember the scene exactly, so I think I wasnt really bothered by it.

Don't know what to say, man. I dont think I can explain why scenes hit harder when ND does them. They just do.

And It's not TLOU bias or anything, I think that they've been delivering since Uncharted 1 days, and they are still the best in this regard.

About GOW examples: again, hard to explain, but it all sounds a little too surface level and not as natural.

ND can make a conversation look natural, but in GOW it always felt like 2 characters in a play

I understand what you're saying but I think the GoW was meant to be that way.

The acting is very obtuse and over the top in that game which matches the grandiose nature of the story.

Also the camera moving around with out cuts and it looks exactly like a play.

 

[Dr. Wilkinson]

I'm not sure this distinction matters at all/ is important. Both studios deliver exceptionally high-quality games, and will probably continue to do so.

What I think is more interesting is this trend in AAA Sony first-party that all of their games are sort of becoming the same thing. In the latest Game Scoop, Sam Claiborn makes a good point about this trend, and I think he is right on the money. I would like to see some more variety in gameplay styles from first-party PS Studios going forward.

 

[EDMIX]

Hard to say really, I love Sony Santa Monica, but Naughty Dog and Insomniac put out masterpieces too.

They have many talented studios.

 

[Hugare]

I think what you are describing here is that God of War feels more "gamey" and ND games feels more like an actual film.

Not exactly, 'cause I'm describing cutscenes only and not gameplay

I understand what you're saying but I think the GoW was meant to be that way.

The acting is very obtuse and over the top in that game which matches the grandiose nature of the story.

Also the camera moving around with out cuts and it looks exactly like a play.

I get what you are saying, and maybe that was their intention, but I dont think that it was

Dont know about GOW Ragnarok, but 2018 wanted you to feel for Atreus and Kratos as much as possible.

Even when you have gods in your story, you want to humanize them as much as you can in order to deliver emotion and to make it "believable"

Will be interesting to see ND's next game, rumored to be a fantasy game. So we will see their talent making fantasy characters feel real.

 

[DeepEnigma]

They are all one trick ponies

 

[synchronicity]

For me, it's Insomniac, and by a fairly comfortable margin.

 

[Games of Today]

Not exactly, 'cause I'm describing cutscenes only and not gameplay



I get what you are saying, and maybe that was their intention, but I dont think that it was

Dont know about GOW Ragnarok, but 2018 wanted you to feel for Atreus and Kratos as much as possible.

Even when you have gods in your story, you want to humanize them as much as you can in order to deliver emotion and to make it "believable"

Will be interesting to see ND's next game, rumored to be a fantasy game. So we will see their talent making fantasy characters feel real.

I actually just played through Gow 2018 this weekend again in preparation for tomorrow. So it's fresh on my mind.

Personally, I very much connected with the characters. I found it very believable in the sense of "Stage" acting as opposed to subtle "Film" acting like ND games gave.

I prefer film style acting myself as it allows more nuanced performances, characters muttering and whispering as well.

As opposed to stage acting in which the actor must project emotion across the stage and into the audience.

Now this being a video game it's obviously very different from a play but if you watch any behind the scenes content even from way back in the Uncharted 1 days, Nolan North and company have continuously said that motion capture acting is nearly identical to performing on stage. It then comes down to the director of how they would like the actors to act.

For GoW 2018 in my opinion, the writing and acting style were done in conjunction with one another purposely. None of the characters speak with any sort of nuance like a real human would.

They sound how the average person would think a God would sound like. Over the top, proper English without stuttering, long pauses of thought before speaking their wisdom.

It was definitely noticeable. When I'm playing a ND game however (mainly The Last of Us Part 1 and onward) I'm not really consciously thinking of the way the characters speak as they are some of the most nuanced performances around.

 

[Hugare]

I actually just played through Gow 2018 this weekend again in preparation for tomorrow. So it's fresh on my mind.

Personally, I very much connected with the characters. I found it very believable in the sense of "Stage" acting as opposed to subtle "Film" acting like ND games gave.

I prefer film style acting myself as it allows more nuanced performances, characters muttering and whispering as well.

As opposed to stage acting in which the actor must project emotion across the stage and into the audience.

Now this being a video game it's obviously very different from a play but if you watch any behind the scenes content even from way back in the Uncharted 1 days, Nolan North and company have continuously said that motion capture acting is nearly identical to performing on stage. It then comes down to the director of how they would like the actors to act.

For GoW 2018 in my opinion, the writing and acting style were done in conjunction with one another purposely. None of the characters speak with any sort of nuance like a real human would.

They sound how the average person would think a God would sound like. Over the top, proper English without stuttering, long pauses of thought before speaking their wisdom.

It was definitely noticeable. When I'm playing a ND game however (mainly The Last of Us Part 1 and onward) I'm not really consciously thinking of the way the characters speak as they are some of the most nuanced performances around.

Beautifully said

That's exactly what I was trying to put into words

Maybe you are right, and that works for GOW because of its themes and the story its trying to tell

I'm obviously ignorant about how to make a game, but I think that the "film" acting is harder to pull of, so that's why I give an edge to ND

With that said, I'm here eager to play Ragnarok as soon as possible, in parts because of the gameplay, but mainly due to the story. So I think that what they are doing are working really well.

 

[Trazyn the Infinite]

stop it you!

No!

But jokes aside, ND used to be one of my favorite developers. Crash, Jak, Uncharted - they could not be stopped. Sadly their games just feel like something is missing since TLOU released. Glad others can love them, but I just can't say they are the best thing Sony has going for them.

Asobi on the other hand has made games that just constantly bring me smiles and make me happy to play. Especially the pack-in with PS5. It was a glorious love letter to classic Japanese platformers while also a love letter to Playstation as a whole. Wish we had more of that!

 

[Carmen Winstead]

Poll is on point.
ND, SSM and Insomniac on top.
But a little surprised to see that few votes for SP and Guerilla. Their games are also pretty good but the real GOTY contenders come from the top 3 ones.
I would rate SSM at 1 though because GOW2018 was my game of the generation.

 

[Yoboman]

Naughty Dog is still on top IMO. 4 GOTYs between 2009-2020 is unmatched.

Not even Nintendo managed that, though I will conceded the Mario games seem to get underrated when it comes to GOTY awards for some reason

Santa Monica is definitely catching up though

 

[blastprocessor]

Very different games however l think ND's animation and graphics rendering are superior.

Ragnarok doesn't appear to improve the characters animation especially during battle, which is a disappointment. Look at the improvement in animation from TLOU1 to TLOU2.