BenAV

This is one of the games I've really been looking forward to. Going to need to finally pry myself away from Kirby Air Riders.

Don't care about Famitsu scores but excited for the game and will be starting it up launch day (sorry Metroid but you came out at the wrong time).

I've been on the fence about this one for a while and the pretty mixed reviews aren't exactly helping. Playing Octopath first regardless though so I've got plenty of time to decide.

@Thwomp_Stomper I live in Australia and started midnight our time so more like only ten hours.

100 hours and counting in Kirby Air Riders. Still don't feel like playing any other game.

I'm pretty interested in this one but the last few months of this year have been way too stacked with JRPGs I want to play so I don't know if/when I'll find the time to check it out.

@Jayvir Between the checklist and online multiplayer it's tons of content but if you're not interested in either of those things I'm not sure what else you're expecting the game to do. You could do a Super Hard playthrough of Road Trip, that's pretty fun if you're after a bit more of a challenge.

Easy 10/10. I was mainly excited for City Trial as that's the mode I loved in the original but I've been grinding rank in both racing modes and they're both awesome in this game. I've grown up playing Mario Kart games my whole life but Air Ride mode in this game feels better than any Mario Kart I've ever played.

Nothing but Kirby Air Riders for me. The most fun online multiplayer game I've played in a long time.

That's actually kinda funny. I'll keep an eye out on them showing up in City Trial.

I'll be playing the game pretty non-stop for a while anyway so I'll jump into the event when they're on, mainly just to get whatever the reward is.

@lovesushi @JohnnyMind @AverageSnomEnjoyer Enjoy. The game is just pure fun.

@Pillowpants I think that's largely why I enjoy his games so much. Too many games these days play it too safe trying to appeal to the mainstream masses. Just the same old stuff over and over with most of the unique and interesting stuff coming from indie devs.

Kirby Air Riders is a pretty niche game by design. There are pretty of things that could have been done differently to make it easier to get into and understand for casual players but Sakurai just seems to not really care about that and just makes the game he wants to make. Kid Icarus: Uprising is one of my favourite games of all time and it just wouldn't have been the same if it was designed with a more traditional control scheme to please the general audience.

Been playing for a few hours so far. Mostly just doing my first playthrough of Road Trip but also had a few rounds of ranked City Trial online which is even more fun now than in the test ride now that all the content is there.

Incredibly fun game with a ton of polish but it's a pretty unique and different game and wasn't designed in a way that caters to the casual mainstream audience so it's not something that everyone is going to get. But as someone who often isn't into all the big mainstream games, this is right up my alley. I'm a couple of hours into Road Trip and am having a blast with the game so far. Going to lose countless hours playing all three modes online.

@rallydefault I don't think I would have liked it very much based on everything I've seen. Honestly I probably would have skipped it even if it was cheaper but I might have at least been slightly tempted instead of having zero interest.

@turnmebackwards I feel you on the game prices. Back on Switch I found myself picking up most first party games that I was on the fence for but with Switch 2 I've already been skipping games like Hyrule Warriors and Pokemon Legends ZA that I might have been tempted by at a lower price point. This game and DK are the only two so far that I haven't really minded the asking price for.

Super excited to jump into this one in a couple of hours when it releases here. It's not going to be a big hit with the casual masses I don't think but just from the demo I know it's going to be an easy 10/10 for me.

It's going to be by far the best exclusive on the console so far so easy day one for me. My Switch 2 has been mostly collecting dust but now I'll finally have a good reason to play it.

Kirby Air Riders demo, finishing Summer Pockets: Reflection Blue and probably a lot of Monster Train 2.

Really enjoyed the first one as my first ever Trails game so pretty keen for the next entry. Glad it's not going to be too long of a wait.

I should really just wait for the full version at this point but I probably can't help myself playing more on the weekend. The game is too much fun.

Basically a sequel in name only from what I've seen from the Steam early access. It's a completely different game and seemingly nowhere near as good.

@LightSpirit It's going to be a significantly better game but with a significantly smaller player base which is sadly often how these things go.

Pretty solid endorsement for the new engine then as the game feels so good to play. Couldn't stop playing the demo last night. Definitely see myself sinking hundreds of hours into the full game.

Having a blast with the Kirby Air Riders demo so far. This is probably going to be my favourite game of the year. Easily my favourite Switch 2 exclusive.

Aside from that I'm still gradually working my way through Summer Pockets: Reflection Blue. Three routes left till I'm finished I think. Also some more Monster Train 2 runs, checking out the new stuff that dropped in this week's update.

@MeatSauce Breath of the Wild launched on both systems simultaneously so that counts IMO. Plus it was a game that lived up to all the hype for me compared to Mario Kart World which is one of the most disappointing games I've ever played.

There were also other new first party games before Mario Odyssey. ARMS in June was a decent enough game and then Splatoon 2 in July which I ended up putting over 1k hours in.

Add in Xenoblade Chronicles 2 to end the year and it's actually a pretty strong contender for my favourite first party year ever so I don't agree with it being lackluster at all.

I really enjoyed DK Bananza but it was a fairly short game and my Switch 2 has basically just been collecting dust while I wait for Kirby Air Riders.

@bones @electrolite77 @Cakefish I don't think it being 'TBC' is an indication that it won't be a 2026 title or anything like that. These lists tend to just be a recap of previously announced release windows and they just never gave us a window for Splatoon Raiders so it's still TBC until they do. Fingers crossed they finally actually show off the game in the next general Direct and give us a release date/window.

Mostly just excited for Kirby Air Riders at the moments. Still need to know exactly what Splatoon Raiders even is before I can get too hyped and will probably get Fire Emblem and Rhythm Heaven but aren't crazy excited for them. Been feeling less and less sure about whether I'll be getting Metroid Prime 4.

@UltimateOtaku91 It was a bit of a weird choice to drop that randomly on their app out of nowhere and then basically never talk about it again for the rest of the year. They could have just left it as an exciting reveal for a future Direct.

I've been pretty underwhelmed by the game lineup so far but you can't argue with the results. No need to go all out with a lot of big hitters early if the system is going to fly off the shelves just by coming with Mario Kart.

I really don't mind special edition controllers being a little more expensive than the standard one but you could at least put a little effort into making the design look nice. This is one of the ugliest ones I've ever seen.

Finishing up my fourth route in Summer Pockets: Reflection Blue and working towards all card mastery in Monster Train 2.

To be honest, the annoucement of DLC before the game releases just makes it less tempting for me to buy the game at launch. Seems smarter to just wait till I can get it on sale for much cheaper and play all the content.

As much as I love the game, I already put all the time I wanted into it and moved on long ago and I really return to games once I'm finished with them even if they get updates and extra content. I'll just patiently wait for the next game.

@LoroTalby That's what I've been thinking as well as it's a bit of a waste of the series' potential to release it too close to launch. Perfect game to bring new life into the system once the sales start to drop off a bit.

They're busy adding obnoxiously loud engine noises over the top of every track so that you can't properly hear the music before they upload them for a more authentic listening experience.

@Dang_69 That's a good point. The Switch release has been pretty messy with different versions that aren't compatible with each other so it might be tricky to get saves transferred over (or the game upgraded) for all the different versions.

@Dang_69 The Switch version is just Repentance without the plus. This is the first console release for Repentance+ which has been in beta on Steam for about a year now but it's mostly just online multiplayer and some balance changes/QoL improvements.

Hopefully there will be a way for existing Switch players to upgrade to the new version when it comes out without having to buy the whole game again.

@nhSnork Just the previous content. Repentance+ mainly added online multiplayer along with some nice balance changes and QoL improvements but no additional content on top of what's already in Repentance.

@Tibob I think I'm getting close to 4,000 hours across platforms. I love a lot of other roguelites too but nothing else I've played has that level of replayability.

@bluemage1989 Mewgenics finally comes out (on Steam) in Feb though and looks really fun.

Age of Calamity is still sitting in my backlog so not buying another game unless I actually go back and get through that first.

Regardless I don't think I'd be buying this though without a decent sale as it's the sort of game that doesn't seem worth it to me at the higher price point. I'm going to be much more selective about what I buy.

I was playing Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter and Ball X Pit but I finished both on the same day so it's freed my time right up to get stuck into some other games.

I've gotten into Necesse on my Steam Deck over the last few days now that it's out of early access. Been pretty addictive so day so I'll mostly continue to play that.

If I can find the time though I'm also hoping to finally start my 4th route of Summer Pockets: Reflection Blue as it's been a fair while since I've played now. Would be nice to get through the rest by the end of the year.

@LazyDaisy This game is going to get like such a breath of fresh air after suffering through Mario Kart World's horrible design decisions.

Multiple modes that all feel drastically different from each other. Lots of settings to change so that your can play however you want. Single player story mode. Objectives to clear. Vehicle customisation. Music player. It's like game is everything that Mario Kart wasn't and then some.

@Kiliomp To be fair, that's sadly not a very high bar. It does look actually great though.

This is the one Switch 2 game that I've been really looking forward to. I really don't need to even see any more before the game launches but I'll be watching anyway.

Really not a fan of companies deliberately releasing unfinished games. I wasn't buying it to begin with but this would be a deal-breaker for me if I was.

@Lizuka It'll be interesting to see how well new Switch 2 games sell in general compared to their Switch counterparts. My main reason for skipping ZA is just because I don't think the game looks very good but the increased game pricing is also going to result in me being much more picky about what I buy from now on.

I've been really keen for this one since its annoucement so I'm glad it turned out as good as it looks. Downloading it on Steam as I type this.

Legends: Arceus was okay-ish, at least compared to other recent Pokemon games, but this one has honestly looked pretty terrible from the start.