Polygon.com / 30.11.24

2024 turned me into an RPG sicko

I began 2024 as a casual RPG dabbler. I enter December as a hollow-eyed obsessive, forgoing sleep to grind a few more dungeons in a remake of a NES game from 1988. How did this happen? The obvious answer would be that the sheer abundance of exceptional RPGs released in a short period was bound to convert some nonbelievers into frothing-at-the-mouth zealots. That I was a sandcastle standing before a tsunami. Im tempted to agree. But what developers who specialize in the genre accomplished this year, collectively, is more interesting and complicated than scale. My metamorphosis began in January with Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth.  The latest entry in the Like a Dragon née Yakuza series is built upon my (formerly) least favorite genre of video game: the turn-based RPG. Why would I take turns managing a menu, I had once thought, when I could be walloping a dude with a street sign? Im not alone. Many beloved turn-based RPG developers have switched to real-time action, hoping to appeal ...
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