I’m on a thousand downers now, I’m Drowzee

If you love somesomething, apparently, you’re supposed to set it free. Yet this month’s Play crop serves as an unsettling reminder of how rare that attitude is in modern-day videogame fandoms. On this evidence, to love something is to put it in shacshackles; to insist it always stay the same lest your passion for it wither away to nnothing. Or, you know, make death threats.

The fuss around Pokémon Sword & Shield (p106) has been remarkable, and thoroughly depres depressing given the nature of the games its community purports to adore. Yes, it’s disappointing to see the mainline series’ first home-console appearance be th the first to not include the entire Pokédex. But there are more than 1,000 of the critte critters now, and at some point something had to give. We’re not sure it needed a g global hate campaign, but welcome to videogames in 2019. We see similar in Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare (p110). As the title suggests, it sees Infinity Ward seek a return to first principles, with a slower, more tactical pace and less gimmicky action than recent CODs have displayed. To players of a certain vintage, who found themselves less able to keep up with each new COD’s progressively faster SMG murder carousel – cough – this is manna from heaven. The supposedly passionate core, however, are up in arms, unable to side with a developer seeking to slow the sad decline of a former king if it means taking their toys away. Worse still, if early updates are any guide, Infinity Ward is giving in.

It’s all exhausting, honestly. The way the internet has given communities a rallying point has been wonderful, bringing people together and enabling passionate fandoms to foster. But maybe being a longterm fan of something is a recipe for disaster, and it’s time to find something new. If anyone needs us, we’ll be out there stanning for Planet Zoo (p102).