I am finding myself enjoying lower storage games than the big clunky 60-120 GB games. It is a lot of space just to feel 'meh' about a game. I get that graphics are a big draw but I feel like developers aren't optimizing the storage like they used to.
Back in my early console days, a memory card was 2MB and saved games would fit on there easily enough. That makes sense because the technology to make bigger storage wasn't around yet but that didn't mean the developers hadn't figured out a way to optimize a save file size to accommodate the storage requirements.
I mean, Having a huge download size just bogs down my machine and reduces the amount of games I can play at the current time. Not too long ago I had some hefty 'Triple-A' tier games on my computer but because their storage requirements were so massive, despite my Terabyte SSD, I could only have probably 4 installed. 5 if I got rid of some old folders with previous ventures (Audio, Video, Edits, ETC). but I've gotten tired of being let down by major game companies and those tripe-A rated games themselves for whatever reason.
I uninstall one 'triple-A' and suddenly I have so much storage space that I feel spoiled being able to install so many "lower-tiered" games that provide me more gameplay options.
My current conundrum is this: I want to play an isometric ARPG, no problem! I have several in my library but some haven't reached their full potential, others don't quite hit the mark, and the rest are just a mess. While they are 'newer' (1-4 years) many of these ARPGs are a whopping 60-90 GB with one being 137GB!
Why haven't these games done a storage squish yet? they've had time to optimize some parts of the game I would think.
What the hell is this? An Isometric style shouldn't be 'too' much of a file size. And that just about kills the rest of my storage to hold 'one' game. It's too much storage.
The big 'storage' requirement just kills my willingness to install a game now. First I gotta commit my computer to that one game, I have to take the time to install a HUGE game, and the worst part is: I just wanted to play that genre of game for a short while to scratch the 'itch' that game genre gives out.
Just because there is empty space doesn't mean it should be filled or that lazy developers get a free pass.
I've actually 'retired' some games from my library because the file size is just too massive and have downright refused to play games with previous friends because the game they wanted to play (ARK) would've been the majority of my hard drive storage.
So now I am stuck wondering if I should even bother downloading an ARPG to scratch the ARPG itch, All because of the file size. It's a ridiculous problem that can be fixed with some care and attention from a developer or coder.
After a bit of searching I discovered two games that are low file size but have massive return on Playtime, variety, and general input.
Grim Dawn (ARPG), a game that has a small file size even with the expansion packs, and Over The Top: WW1, a game that features 200 players in a single server/match and vehicles, VOIP, destructive terrain, and other fun things that ensure a single match is never exactly the same.
^These sizes are appreciated in todays climate of storage hogs
I know these games are way more complex than Over The Top but it is still a lot for a modern intricate version of battlefield and another semi-realistic WW2 mil-sim
These both sort of tickle that little game genre itch that occasionally occurs WHILE not being huge bogs on my hard drive.
I'm finding myself enjoying these older/indie games and what they provide more than the 'Triple-A' studio created games because they are more tolerable to store, play, and start up.
I also have an inkling of a conspiracy that the big storage requirement is a sign of 'commitment' to that game and the developers want to ensure their players only have a limited amount of games to choose from. But thats neither here nor there.
Anyway, just a rant. Thank you for reading.
