this post was submitted on 24 Dec 2023
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I can't seem to find that one comment explaining the issue with them...

But for the sake of promoting conversation on Lemmy, what's the issue with Epic, and why should I go for Steam or GoG?

Note: Piracy is not an answer. I understand why, and do agree to a certain extent... But sometimes, the happiness gained by playing something from a legitimate source is far greater 🥹... coming from someone who could never ever afford to purchase games, nor could my parents... Hence I've always played bootleg, or pirated games.

TL;DR

What's wrong?

  • Their launcher has a terrible UI AND UX.
  • They make exclusive deals with studios to prevent other platforms from getting games. (Someone mentioned that Steam did the same thing in their infancy. Also, I have another question; why is it ok for Sony and Microsoft to make exclusive games for their consoles but not ok for these PC platforms to do so?)
  • They have been invested in by a Chinese company, Tencent. (Someone mentioned that it isn't that big of a deal, but idk.)
  • They are actively anti-linux for some reason.
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[–] MiDaBa@lemmy.ml 5 points 2 years ago

There needs to always be multiple game stores to keep prices in check. Steam can not be the only option or prices will skyrocket. See game console stores for reference. I use Playnite to seamlessly bridge my game libraries from Steam, GOG, Epic, Amazon Prime, itch.io etc. This is the way.

[–] SuperSpruce@lemmy.zip 5 points 2 years ago

I just don't like the launcher. It's absurdly slow and bloated even though it doesn't contain many features. On fast hardware, it takes 30s to open and lags harder than Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. It also eats up my CPU for no reason and has an invasive privacy policy. I try to use the open source Heroic launcher instead, it's much better.

Although recently Steam has moved from slow to within a stone's throw of the launching speed of the Epic Games Store. I'm now looking for an alternative to launch my Steam games.

[–] BigVault@kbin.social 5 points 2 years ago (2 children)

I just don't use Epic myself but do use Gog and Steam (with the ultra shitty EA launcher and Ubisoft Connect bundled with some of my games) and Playnite has changed everything unifying it all into that single launcher.

Full screen mode in Playnite works fine on my HTPC and as a launcher it does consolidate all of them into one place easily. Worth trying if you use multiple stores.

As for why I'm not using Epic, the whole paying for exclusivity with third parties really didn't appeal to me at all.

If the free offerings from Epic do appeal to you, or if they do better deals on localised currencies (especially if you do struggle to pay for things), don't worry about using their services. I wouldn't want you to deny yourself some entertainment just because other people have issues with them as a business.

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Honestly, if their launcher wasn't so buggy and didn't refresh itself every 10 seconds, I would use Epic a lot more. They have given out a bunch of great games over the last few years I'm trying to play.

[–] TootSweet@lemmy.world 4 points 2 years ago (6 children)

what’s the issue with Epic

Enshittification.

why should I go for Steam

Not sure you should.

or GoG?

I hear GoG tends to be less DRM-y.

[–] ElPussyKangaroo@lemmy.world 5 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (8 children)

Fair enough.

I'll have to take a look at GoG anyway... I don't remember but I heard it's like an aggregator of some sort too, right? Like, you can access games from your steam account too or something?

Edit: Bruh this is dope.

[–] brawleryukon@lemmy.world 5 points 2 years ago (5 children)

I don't remember but I heard it's like an aggregator of some sort too, right?

GOG the store is just that - a store. They only sell games that have no DRM at all, which means a couple of things. One, they almost never get AAA games at release (the exception being games developed/published by CD Projekt, as CDP owns GOG), and two, there's a high likelihood that GOG will offer game versions that are out of sync with or missing features from the same game sold on other platforms (for example, if a game uses Steamworks for its multiplayer, many devs will just strip out multiplayer altogether for the GOG version rather than patching something new and store-agnostic in).

What you're thinking of with the aggregator is GOG Galaxy, which is their (completely un-required) launcher software. Unlike Steam and EGS, GOG's DRM-free nature means you can just buy games on their site, download the installers directly, and go on about your business. Downloading games, starting games, etc., is all just done manually. If you want a dedicated launcher software similar to the Steam and EGS clients, that's what GOG Galaxy is for. And as a value-add, they implemented aggregator features where you can have it pull in your library from Steam, EGS, EA/Origin, Ubisoft, etc., and just view and launch everything from the one spot. I've generally found Playnite to be a little better at being a one-stop launcher, though everyone's mileage will vary of course.

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