Arc Raiders and The Alters should be two of my favourite games of the year, for reasons that most who've played them can probably understand. They're fun to play, and in the case of The Alters, the story was fascinating, to say nothing of the musical number at the end of act one. I should be praising these games! But several months later, as we look back at the year and pick out our favored games, I can't do it, and you probably know why.
How a piece of art is made is, in many ways, just as important as the end result. Beautiful music can't really elevate and soothe the soul after you find out the percussion was made by bashing orphans with hammers. And both Arc Raiders and The Alters have poisoned themselves in my eyes by involving AI in their creation. As much as I initially liked both games, I just can't get past that black mark. And the more I think about it, the less I feel I should have to.
