Please prove me wrong and suggest me some modern ones that stand up to the older ones.
Also, why are there no 3rd person shooter/3D platformer hybrids aside from Ratchet & Clank / Jak series? This seems like an untapped genre hybridisation that works well together. Like literally why is no one making games like this. I would love some examples of 3rd person shooter platformers to prove me wrong again.
Edit: It’s not a nostalgia thing. The quality of the PS2 platformers was actually better. Even ones I discovered recently that exist on PS2 or that I hadn’t played before. If I compare them side by side with modern 3D platformers, they look like s*** compared to the PS2 ones. And case in point, there are literally no open world 3rd person shooter-3D platformers with detailed worlds/graphics outside of PS2 (that I know of) and those are the kinds of 3D platformers I enjoy most… give me an example to prove me wrong. Ok technically I know of a few examples which meet some but not all of this criteria (only because I’ve looked far and wide for them) but they’re very basic and nowhere near as intricate as these games.
I think the platforming zeitgeist has shifted to 2D.
- Metroid Dread, Hollow Knight, Mario Wonder, Shovel Knight.
But 3D platforming is still alive as a genre.
- Mario Odyssey, Sonic Frontiers, Yooka-Laylee.
And the remake scene for 3D is popping off right now.
- Crash, Spyro, Ratchet, Mario 3D All Stars, Metroid Prime Remastered.
Specifically for the subgenre of 3D third-person platform-shooters, check out Splatoon 3. For 3D first-person open-world platform-shooters, Metroid Prime 4 is in development.
But for “3D open world third-person platform-shooter,” that genre is essentially Ratchet & Clank. But these days I think Insomniac is busy with Spider-Man. You can maybe count Jak in there, but Naughty Dog hasn’t touched that franchise in ages.
I think the take away is that each franchise has it’s own niche. What you’ve described is so specific that you’re really just talking about Ratchet. Open your requirements a bit more, and you’ll find plenty of great, new platforming experiences.
Also, if you think there’s untapped potential, I encourage you to make something! Unity is actually pretty easy to use.
If I could make games, I would definitely be making a Ratchet & Jak styled game, some kind of 3rd person shooter-platformer with detailed environments. But I just don’t understand why big studios don’t jump on the opportunity, instead the Jak franchise is dead (or dormant, still hoping for a return) and they only make Ratchet games occasionally, and no one seems to even attempt to make an original IP like those games despite their success and appeal and huge potential in next gen. It’s mind boggling
