Topic: The Nintendo Switch Thread

What a mess, Bayonetta 1 physical sold out in like a minute.

Bayonetta 3 getting rave reviews.

Most say it's the best in the series (which I would think the score would reflect but it seems much harder to break 90 nowadays).

Like half a dozen perfect 10's, and not just from no-name sites either. Destructoid and NintendoLife come to mind.

Sounds like our GotY has arrived. Got the Trinity Masquerade edition preordered at GameStop, and the EU-exclusive steelbook ordered from eBay. I'm ready to go!

I think at this point, the three GOTY contenders are Elden Ring, Bayonetta 3, and GoW Ragnarok. I think Elden Ring is going to win, but it'll be interesting to see how it pans out.

@Grumblevolcano Where? In Europe? Bayo 1 has available to preorder for over a month in Murica and Japan.

@Magician Yeah, Europe. The schedule was originally planned for September like NA but in late September it was announced there was a delay until 1st half of October. When it came to end of that time period, the XC3 Special Edition mess happened (store went down for most of 3 days) and then the day after the Bayonetta VA controversy started which delayed it further. The end result of the Bayonetta 1 physical version was it went up today and got sold out almost immediately:

@Grumblevolcano
Just import the JP version for $30 (less if you buy on Amazon Japan). It has English.

https://www.play-asia.com/bayonetta-english/13/70fky3

Or if you want English on the side of the spine, get the Asian version for $40

https://www.play-asia.com/bayonetta-english-mde/13/70fmk7

@Eagly I'm not completely sure if Xenoblade 3 will be a contender. It got really great reviews, but I just don't know how it could hold up against the other 3 games I mentioned. Would be cool to see it make an appearance, though.

My current prediction for Game Awards GotY nominees is:

• Horizon Forbidden West
• Elden Ring
• God of War Ragnarok
• Bayonetta 3
• Lego Star Wars The Skywalker Saga
• Tunic

First 3 are certainly going to appear, Bayonetta 3 reviews are looking very positive and Bayonetta 2 was nominated in 2014, Skywalker Saga seems like a popular multiplatform pick and Tunic would be the indie pick.

As for the winner, no doubt it'll be Elden Ring. The show will pretty much be "The Elden Ring Awards" much like how 2020 was "TLoU2 Awards".

@Grumblevolcano @JaxonH I'd argue that you cannot really rate Nier Automata as long as you haven't finished at least 3 of the main endings since the Story picks up that much. Going only by Gameplay, i would definitely pick Bayonetta 2 over all the other Platinum Games

Lego Star Wars? Nah. Nomination for family game of the year for sure but overall GotY? It's only 82 on Metacritic.

Xenoblade 3 should get that spot but given it's a Keighley show, Xenoblade getting nominated for best RPG will be a feat.

@KryptoniteKrunch Lego Star Wars is the one I'm most unsure about but it's hard to think of an alternative given the kind of stuff that gets nominated (e.g. outside a certain few franchises Nintendo is rarely nominated for GotY) and how big releases like Gotham Knights fell apart. Unless Geoff's judges decide to go down the rabbit hole of nominating an Activision game for GotY (Modern Warfare 2, Overwatch 2, Warzone 2) which would be damaging to the show's reputation.

@Grumblevolcano

Yeah, that last slot is a tossup. There are several games that have a shot I suppose (Last of Us 1, Sparks of Hope, Xenoblade 3, Neon White etc.) but they'll probably be in other categories. Cuphead DLC rated high and Cuphead usually has a decent presence at these Keighley shows, but I don't they believe they ever nominated DLC for GotY.

My favorite films rarely get attention at the Academy Awards. It follows that the same would be true with video games.

My tastes are boring enough that much of my favorite games would've been GOTYC in their day. Though the fact that Trials and Tribulations wouldn't be one of them is morally wrong.

I have no idea about the actual Game Awards though, since its the Elden Ring awards and basically any other AAA game win competing with it will be because the contestants felt bad for it rather than merit. It's hard for me to care even compared to usual because popular games have barely felt like they even existed outside of the Nintendo sphere the past 6 months, and I've yet to play a game released this year anyway.

Neon White and Return to Monkey Island will duke it out for best indie game of 2022.

Mass market Game Awards have lost all value to me. What could have been (and should have been) something where genuine greatness is recognized across all platforms, all genres, all budgets, it's instead become something where genuine greatness _among publisher-approved mass market titles[/em] is recognized, with a token indie and Nintendo exclusive each year to keep up pretenses... if they're popular enough and in the "correct" genre, of course. Not sure why ppl give it so much attention (aside from those who are actually heavily into mass market AAA). There's only so many years I can watch games with the best soundtrack not even get mentioned, games best in their genres not even be nominated, and select games propped up by gaming media shoehorned into the spotlight claiming double digit awards, then after the game goes multiplat or ppl just move on, everyone admits it wasn't really that great after all.

Anyways, I forgot about Neon White. The summer had some great titles.

In fact, with Bayonetta 3 we can shut the book on the greatest spread of Switch games in a 4 month time frame... ever.

These are just the highlights. There was much more, both critically acclaimed and more moderately received. But these are my personal highlights that made this 4 month span my own golden era of gaming...

I just watch the Game Awards for the cringe and the Muppets. BTW anyone wanna do a watch-a-long this year with me?

@Eagly I'll start one, if there isn't already one.

@Eagly Okay, I'm open to do it whenever.

@JaxonH I think this really sums up Switch's strength more than anything. A strong mix of Nintendo at their (usually) best and whatever cool usually more medium tier game is either the current new thing or has maintained long-term relevance that is now debuting on Switch.

And again, especially this year, where it really feels like AAA games have largely vanished anyway.