Mr. Hands

Games are getting bigger than ever, more expensive to make than ever, and becoming bigger flops as a result:

• Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League was in development for nine years, and its player count is currently (two weeks after release) lower than Batman: Arkham Knight, a game nine years old.
• Marvel's Avengers, the live service game from the makers of Tomb Raider, was shut down two and a half years after release. The game was in development for five years.
• Live service pirate game Skull and Bones is coming out this week after a 10+ year development cycle, and critical reception so far is "Skull and Bones’ open beta hasn’t sold me on this game being worth the long wait"

Everyone wants to be Destiny, the money-printing live service game. But even Destiny players don't like playing Destiny all that much anymore.

While perusing Reddit, as one does, I encountered some whining and moaning about the upcoming Suicide Squad game, specifically the HUD. Fun fact: The screengrab is from this IGN preview, which is surprisingly fair and balanced!

The Reddit comments suck, but that's to be expected from the general public. However, I don't think the HUD is bad; this is just what happens when you have to shove in the insane amount of mechanics that live service games require on the same screen. Continue reading for a breakdown of what's being conveyed here on this screen, with the caveat that I haven't actually played the game.