Topic: Nintendo Switch 2

@BeyondKnight
Nice. What games are you getting first?

Obviously Mario Kart World is exceptional. I also highly recommend Donkey Kong Bonanza and Metroid Prime 4: Beyond. Absolute bangers, the both of them.

As for 3rd party titles I don't know what your tastes are, but let me just give a diverse sample of recommendations to cover all bases.

• Cyberpunk 2077 is probably the best 1st person shooter story driven rpg adventure money can buy. And the gyro/mouse aiming makes it so much more enjoyable.
• Split Fiction is exceptional. The best co-op game I've ever played save Monster Hunter. Let's just say it's the best story driven co-op adventure I've ever played. And it has Gameshare for local wireless, splitscreen for local MP, and a free downloadable friend's pass version anyone else can play for free as your co-op partner online.
• Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter is on the level as a JRPG, and the 60fps performance mode on NSW2 makes it so much more enjoyable. This is a game you really don't wanna play on the original NSW1 because it can't hold 30.
• Yooka-Replaylee is not a remaster, it's a re-do. A reimagining. And it fixes every single problem the original had.
• Tomb Raider is cheap, and quality. It's a cinematic story driven adventure with light metroidvania elements and Metroid/Zelda like shrine puzzles found in tombs, and the mouse aiming really works well for combat. The seamless integration means you can play split joycon and just set the right joycon down into mouse mode whenever needed, then lift it right back up when combat is over.
• Persona 3 Reload is just a fantastic JRPG. I kept hearing all this stuff about framerate, but from what I played it was fine. I talked to someone else too who had been playing and they told me they hadn't had any issues either. So idk what people were talking about. Maybe the complaints about not being 60, after working it's way through the telephone game, somehow warped into "it has framerate drops"? Who knows.

Star Wars Outlaws is better than the internet led me to believe, and has gyro aiming. Street Fighter 6 is a superb game and astonishingly high quality port as well. Hogwarts Legacy is great and has gyro/mouse aiming, but it does have some pretty bad framerate issues when doing the broom racing side quests, so I avoid those. Hades II, Fantasy Life i and all 3 Yakuza games are worthy of consideration too.

@JaxonH I'm getting Donkey Kong Bananza and not gonna really use it for 3rd party games and as all those you recommended I have on the PS4/PS5

NSW2 Mario Kart World Bundle essentially $400 by purchasing $500 Target Gift Card (10% Off) for $450, then buying the already discounted $500 bundle for $450 with it. Use the remaining $50 on the gift card for a NSW2 game.

So $450 gets you a NSW2, the $80 Mario Kart World, and $50 toward a 2nd game or accessory.

NSW2 MKW Bundle + $50 Gift Card for $450

@BeyondKnight
Gotcha. Some (like myself) prefer gyro aiming and the freedom of playing anywhere, so I stopped buying 3rd party on other consoles a few years ago in anticipation of inevitable NSW2 ports down the line.

But as for exclusives, DK Bonanza is 🔥 as is Metroid Prime 4 and Mario Kart World. I like Hyrule Warriors Age of Imprisonment and Pokemon Legends Z-A is actually surprisingly fun, but to me they're not games I would prioritize over the aforementioned trio. And Kirby Air Riders, tbh, I wasn't digging it much. But there are others who go nuts for it so, you'll have to decide whether that's your style game or not.

An update to my earlier post about eshop chart positions. Prime 4 fortunately returned back to #1 spot on the Switch 1 charts when the game launched and has stayed there since. Right now, combining Switch 1 and 2 the top 20 charts is:
1. Prime 4 (Switch 2)
2. Prime 4 (Switch 1)
3. Football Manager 26 (Switch 1)
4. Legends Z-A (Switch 1)
5. Assassin's Creed Shadows (Switch 2)
6. Octopath 0 Digital Deluxe Edition (Switch 2)
7. Minecraft (Switch 1)
8. Marvel Cosmic Invasion (Switch 2)
9. Octopath 0 (Switch 2)
10. Octopath 0 (Switch 1)
11. Animal Crossing New Horizons (Switch 1)
12. MK8 Deluxe (Switch 1)
13. Kirby Air Riders (Switch 2)
14. Galaxy 1+2 (Switch 1)
15. Switch Sports (Switch 1)
16. Legends Z-A (Switch 2)
17. Super Mario Party Jamboree (Switch 1)
18. Marvel Cosmic Invasion (Switch 1)
19. DK Bananza (Switch 2)
20. Red Dead Redemption (Switch 2)

@Grumblevolcano
Ya, Metroid Prime 4 is #1 on both NSW1 and NSW2 eShop charts, with the NSW2 Upgrade at #9 in the NSW2 charts.

It's also continued to climb the sales ranking charts on Amazon. The week or two leading up to release (ever since controversy broke out) it spiked up to #33. Then on release day jumped to #19. The day after it was #15, and today it's #9.

That's really impressive, as I wasn't expecting a game from such a relatively niche series that isn't know for high sales to perform so well, and not just that, but continue climbing the ranks.

It won't last- once the fervor dies down a bit it'll start it's inevitable descent, but I have this strange feeling it's going to have longer legs than previous Metroid titles. It just feels like this one is more appealing and approachable to non-Metroid fans.

I told myself it needed to hit 2m sold to turn a profit. I feel confident it'll crack 2m over the course of the generation, and am now curious to see if it can land in the 3-4 million range like Dread. After all, it's got a good 7-8 years ahead of it to sell.

So, I just watched a video with a demo of Ocarine of Time Remake in Unreal Engine 5, with a cartoon art style that still maintained the spirit of the original, and all these commenters were saying how amazing it looked.

And I thought, "hmm... as a fan project it is incredible, but if Nintendo released this it would get all kinds of criticism- one of the biggest things standing out to me was the lack of animation frames when running. It seemed to imitate the original and just went back and forth with arms swinging, almost no fluidity.

And I realized at that moment, critical reception is highly correlated to expectations. Because a fan project has much lower expectations people are blown away. When Nintendo releases a game, perfection is expected to the point any niggling imperfection is magnified into a seismic issue.

And once I began to digest that realization, everything made sense to me. The reason people have such divergent opinions on games. I think, aside from different people having various preferences, it boils down to them also having different expectations. Those who expect perfection for every game they play will end up with a laundry list of grievances. Whereas those like myself who go into every game expecting nothing end up with a laundry list of praises. And then there's the majority of people who fall somewhere in between. And even I can't say I expect nothing- I do expect to at least have fun. I hope for more, and that's what leads to hype and excitement, but I never expect it.

It explains Mario Kart World- a game I absolutely adore and have struggled to comprehend all the backlash. Not to say I don't understand where people are coming from with their criticisms- I can see their perspectives, I just don't find them to be an issue or something that bothers me. Same thing with Pokemon Legends Z-A. Same thing with Hyrule Warriors. Same thing with Metroid.

It's all a matter of expectation.

@JaxonH Expect the worst.

If it is, you'll be happy you're right.

If it's not, you'll be pleasantly surprised. That's how I look at it.

@JaxonH @Haruki_NLI I would argue that expecting the worst could also have disastrous results. So many people go looking for the worst in things and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy.

I do agree that measured expectations go a long way though. That and a mix of self-awareness when it comes to gaming preferences, and knowledge of the product you're buying into.

I have some examples from my own experience this year:

• Pokemon Legends Z-A: I went in with pretty measured expectations - knowing that I'd at least somewhat enjoy it based on my prior experience of the franchise - but not really knowing how I'd feel about some of the things more unique to this game (city setting, wild areas, new battle system, etc.) My expectations were completely smashed and it has ended up as my favourite Pokemon game since the series went 3D.
• Clair Obscur Expedition 33: I went in not-so-much based on my own personal interest in what the game was specifically offering, but based on my love for JRPGs and the hype surrounding the game at release. I was therefore expecting something phenomenal and...while it does seem like a great game, I quickly felt that the game wasn't for me and grew a bit frustrated with it.

@Haruki_NLI
I get what you're saying Haruki. Though Buizel has a point- maybe it wasn't worded precisely enough, but ya. Basically going in not expecting some divine miracle of a video game is far more conducive to an enjoyable experience. Obviously, expect games to be fun and worth your time if you're buying them, but anything more is a cherry on top, rather than setting the bar at the ceiling and viewing anything less as a disappointment.

@Buizel
Well said. I haven't played Expedition 33 yet (I'm waiting for the inevitable hybrid release- I can't afford double dipping across platforms anymore so if I'm gonna play a game, it's gonna be on my terms). But with all the unanimous praise I can see how that could definitely lead to disappointment. I've guarded myself against such expectations for that game, and when I do eventually play it, I'm going in with the same mindset I had with Metroid Prime 4, "This will be fun and worth my time; anything more it can offer me will be a pleasant surprise".

But it's not just divergent expectations. People can become so hyper-focused on "critical analysis" it completely ruins their experience with a game. It's kinda like... back in the day nobody cared about "micro-aggressions" because they were like, "dude, people are getting lynched around here, who the heck cares if someone didn't address me as sir? I got REAL problems to worry about".

That may be a weird analogy but follow me for a second. I have REAL problems like games such as Mighty No. 9, Sonic 06, Balan Wonderworld... and you expect me to be outraged over some nit-picky thing where, even at the game's worst and most boring it's still 10x funner than those other games? Why? I want to enjoy my entertainment, not scour for any potential attack vector to critically deconstruct my entertainment.

I should have used a better analogy but, you get my point.

If I genuinely take issue with a game, I'll just stop playing it. Kirby Air Riders is a perfect example. I just didn't like it very much. And I fully concede I'm in the minority- that's ok. If others are having a blast with it, I'm glad. I'm happy for them. And I'm not going to come here to endlessly rant about every little thing I disliked about it. Rather, I'm going to move on and play something else, come here and talk about that.

And that, I think, has to do with a mindset that doesn't take joy in scavenging for vulnerabilities to exploit critically. Whereas some, it seems, do take joy in such discussions. So it's not just expectations, it's also a divergence between those who find their joy in video games, and those who find their joy in critically deconstructing everything they can dig up which they dislike in their video games.

I've been a fan of narrative reviews since... like, forever. I think the perception of consistency and professionalism in gaming journalism would benefit from it, and it would relegate contentious websites like Metacritic to just being the place where all the reviews are collected for easy navigation.

Just get rid of the numbers and scales and all that - it's so stupid and subject to the personal whims and expectations of the reviewer/organization.

Just... write a review with your thoughts. Make a video with your thoughts. Have a detailed profile or something where people can get a feel for your game preferences and gaming history and all that. I think that's the way to go.

When I was a kid reading EGM and Nintendo Power, it was fun to see the scores, but as I got older it pretty quickly showed itself for the farce it is. I applaud the various publications that went narrative-only with their reviews, but unfortunately the internet has steered us back towards numbers because that's what generates the clicks and comments.

Precise scores are mostly meaningless, but when I see a 40/100 aggregate, it's a good reason to not waste time reading reviews for that game. There are thousands of games and I have limited time, so triage is useful. I treat the review scores as the starting point, not the ending point.

The score is certainly no substitute for reading the review.

Still, it can be a useful indicator of sentiment, and it helps to identify different takes at a glance because they've got outlying scores.

Ya... on the one hand, I completely agree that gaming as a whole would be better if aggregate sites just gathered written reviews, and sites abolished all numeric scoring systems, instead relying on a summary blurb gamers could turn to for a quick synopsis.

On the other hand, I do find numeric assessments useful with regard to disqualifying terrible games from consideration. Any game that aggregates 7-10, I base my decision on what I see in terms of gameplay, and what my 3 most trusted reviewers, whose taste aligns with my own more times than not, have to say about it.

Any game I'm interested in that scores 6-6.9 I may seriously question, but if in my judgement I determine the criticisms to be less applicable for me, I will still buy.

But anything scoring 0-5.9 I pretty much just write off entirely. Not saying I've never bought a game my entire life that aggregates under a 60, but it's extremely rare.

Abolition of numerical scores would make ruling out terrible games more of a hassle. So despite the benefits I think it would bring (wouldn't see fanatics weaponizing scores as ammunition to justify their opinions or trolling others interested in something by declaring it "mid" or "horrible" as matter of fact), I don't think the benefits outweigh the downsides.

The only time I ever consider review scores much at all is when a game that wasn't on my radar gets an overwhelmingly positive critical reception. In which case I'll bank that into memory and consider it down the line. Same deal with music and movies, if the critical reception is positive at some point it's worth your time to notice it

But negative or middling reviews for stuff I was already considering? At that point it has already passed my filter so a negative response doesn't really change much for me. Unless it's something that was hyped which then gets universally panned I guess. But those are pretty rare

I will admit I have all of the Pokemon games since Sword/Shield (excluding Arceus). But in that case it was not the review that made me skip them. I was already fairly underwhelmed by where Pokemon had got to and then the videos showing the game just tipped me over the edge. I don't think I looked at any actual review scores of it

Quick question. Can game data for a GKC be wirelessly shared between Switch 2 consoles without an internet connection? (similar to how one can wirelessly share game updates with other consoles)

I strongly doubt that it will be the case that it will, but it would make my opinion of GKCs ever-so-slightly less scathing.

@SillyG
Not for the base game- only for updates.

But once installed, it should last as long as any game on a cart would last, with the benefit of being able to download to any system you want for at least the next 30 years (possibly in perpetuity but I think at 40 years, or half a lifespan, they'd probably cut off downloads... then again I could be proven wrong, after all even the rented WiiShop still allows downloads 20 years later with no indication of that changing any time soon).

Personally I'd rather just buy digital, but I can't deny the benefits of popping in another console (though to be fair, virtual game carts kinda allow that now also), or more importantly, reselling. Digital only does make one more selective with purchases, since you only want to buy games you for sure will want to keep.

@SillyG
I stand corrected. There is a way... sort of

You can actually do this IF AND ONLY IF the game's icon is already on the other system. Thing is, the icon doesn't appear until it starts the download. But once it does- let's say you cancel the download or archive the game at some point, to where the icon is present, then YES, you can then rely on a local wireless transfer.

So basically as long as the other system is able to get the icon, you can do it.

@JaxonH : Does the game's icon normally not appear immediately when the GKC is inserted in the system?

Yea, just not for me anymore (numbered review scores). Half these outlets say a 5 or higher is decent, others say only a 7 or higher is decent, and even the 7 is now in danger. Are we going by the school system or just upper and lower halves? Re-releases get lower scores than the original releases because… society has changed? The price is higher? The game is suddenly less fun? Some outlets don’t consider outside factors, but others do.

It’s all for the clicks. It’s all about money and eyeballs and market share for these gaming websites. They’re all buying each other up (look where we are). They know what gets people riled up, and a controversial review score does it better than anything else.

I mean lol - seriously - it’s so ridiculous. And then you squash em all together on Metacritic? Pure farce, and we all support it.