https://www.thegamer.com/pine-a-story-of-loss-preview/

Note the "Insert Game Title Here: a game about loss" example fits.

https://adventuregamehotspot.com/review/2331/closer-the-distance

Grief, sadness, loss, blah etc. Absolutely boring. If I wanted to see that, I'd look at obituaries. Games should be fun and unrealistic like the Sims where you can own a house! (Sarcasm begins).

Or Stardew Valley where you can talk to girls! (Sarcasm intensifies).

Or Silent Hill 2 where you can deal with your guilt! (Sarcasm rises).

Only when pickle rick makes a comeback.

Sorry, Reznov. I don't buy it. Thus far, this reminds me more of the frequency illusion. Or every banal games news website just being a carbon copy of one another, with some companies owning multiple publications.

You find cathartic relief from comedy, and I from tragedy. Can't they both coexist, like in the Dionysia, or when I look in the mirror?

If I wanted to see comedy, I'd refer to the posts of FarkFarkBarkBark. [sarcasm ends]

Funny am I?

Of course! Your buffoonery provides great comedic relief. How'd you like to become a court jester in my sultanate?

I sadly lack the time, what with needing so much of it to act bufoonish then cry myself to sleep at night and all.

Ah, but you see: My reference predates that silly cartoon that's basically BBT if it was a cartoon.

BBT isn't a cartoon? Could've fooled me.

Alice (2000).

It can be easily to mistake a caricature for a cartoon, I will admit; especially in that they've given the neuerodivergent a rather sorry name, shows like it and The Good Doctor.

Found out the name of the one with the dead girl and guitar boy: Afterlove EP.

Bleh.

Well... I can speak from experience that there was once a period in my life when there was so much tragedy in life, that any game which had even remotely a happy vibe, was right off.

So in that sense even if 99.9% of the "games about loss" seem boring and bland and there seems to be little sense
for their existence... It kind of just hits differently when you do have life circumstances so tough that you are not sure
you want to see tomorrow.

Anyhow. Some game devs can certainly be ripping off on the trend, and just hop on the money train.

It's quite a dualistic thing, the game ... just fashionable? ...or really, really, actually doing some healing while you play it.

I'd say there are both. Trick is to just find what you enjoy, and not diss too much games you don't like.

Except Cyberpunk: that game is rubbish. Just joking ! :D

Cyberpunk is rubbish. They still refuse to fix the game and have abandoned it in favor of making an equally broken sequel.

I haven't seen that trend, but I welcome it instead of the usual quirky protagonist with Marvel Jokes.

Oversimplifications aside, maybe they are exploring more the human and sentiment side of storytelling in video games, sometimes Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Post-Apocalyptic get saturated and some would prefer to go into a more grounded experience. Everyone has and will have to deal with loss and it is bound to happen. At least a third of the video game community is in their 30's and it's usually around this phase that people start to deal with loss: elderly members of the family, discovering that a childhood friend has passed away, plus it's a phase were people are more introspective regarding their youth, past years and years to come.

A game dealing with loss also connects the players and community, so no one feels alone in that matter. Some kind of kinship grows in these moments, as with all art.

Anyway, I find it hard something be a trendy other than genres (Looking at them TPS), specially about video games because you have very distinct genres and subjects that you can work with each. Maybe your Steam or YouTube Algorithm got you bad, or maybe its really trending in the narrative-driven games and you are part of that public. Various reasons.

You are entitled to your opinion. Maybe it is broken yeah. But I've watched hours and hours of streams of the latest update and looks pretty good to me. Especially since I used to be a DM for the pen 'n' paper original. Haven't played it and am in no hurry to since I don't have a card for it but looks cool.