WHAT’S A GIRL TO DO? SO MANY LIFESTYLE GAMES AND I DON’T WANT TO SETTLE DOWN WITH ANY OF THEM.

Even single-player games aren’t safe from microtransactions

During a recent interview, president of Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment David Haddad revealed that the company will be moving further towards games as live services. Judging by the meteoric rise and success of titles such as Fortnite, it’s not difficult to fathom why. Developers and publishers are borrowing many lessons from such a business model, even for single-player titles that wouldn’t traditionally warrant it, such as Final Fantasy XV. It’s fair to say that the game as it exists today is very different to its 2016 launch incarnation, for better and worse. As a continued revenue stream, it’s certainly to Square Enix’s benefit.

While I’m no stranger to giving my hard-earned Gil to Square Enix, I’m not quite ready to commit to a long-term relationship with its most eligible lifestyle title, Final Fantasy XIV. You can play a lot for free before hitting that lofty cap of level 35, but by that point, I reckon you’re already in deep. Besides, I’m still nurturing a fun and flirty fling with Fortnite and I honestly want to see where that ends up… maybe a victory royale with cheese.

Honestly, I still feel bad for ghosting Let It Die and leaving Warframe on read, especially as other titles are so much needier with the passive-aggression of their daily rewards. Perhaps, at the ripe old age of 25, I’ve become old-fashioned and set in my ways but I find the prospect of more and more live service releases prematurely exhausting; I’ve become quite the fan of the self-contained experience and I simply don’t have the stamina for anything more involved. I enjoy Fortnite’s Battle Pass freebies as much as the next person, and the Elder Scrolls Online usually allows you a few days off without necessarily breaking your streak, but even that is a bit too much commitment for me.

LIFE OR LIFESTYLE?

While the major players are generally less pernicious in their pursuit of microtransactions now than the heads of the herd years ago, that isn’t necessarily saying much. As with all trends (especially the particularly lucrative ones), there comes a point when the market gets oversaturated. Despite not having dipped a toe much past the cuticle into the pool of lifestyle games, I’m already feeling overwhelmed and out of my depth. Perhaps I’ve just not met the right one yet, but I also don’t think that’s going to actually happen. After all, I already find myself gripped by a paralysing sense of existential dread when the claws of microtransactions sink into one of my happy little single-player adventures… as much as I enjoy Noctis running around with a cup of ramen on his head or learning more about his bros.

There have been some phenomenally strong DLC offerings, from Death Of The Outsider to Blood And Wine, as well as the more recent Mooncrash; I’m definitely not against a good side story. What I am against is the encouraged hoarding of virtual tat and an incessant deluge of optional add-ons. I know microtransactions are here to stay, that even when the bubble bursts they shall continue to exist in some form, but I’m still in no hurry to step aboard what I feel will one day be a sinking ship. Choosing quality over quantity, I’ll stick to my standalone games for now.