CJD87

Not wanting to sound ungrateful, as the re-map option for N64 games is absolutely essential.... but why on earth wasn't remapping included at launch of the app?!

any word on dimensions?

I am actually still quite looking forward to this. MHRise is my most played game ever, and this could scratch my itch??

I’m actually quite excited by this one, as a huge fan of MH Rise. I poured 800+ hours into Rise/Sunbreak, topping out at AR Level 300 (max) before finally hanging up my Greatsword. It was/is the ultimate side-game, a perfect accompaniment to more meaty ‘main games’. I probably played daily for the years since release, if only for 10-15 mins (quick hunt/build update/crafting)

Tried out World on Steamdeck and just couldn’t gel with it… Rise has spoilt me, and I just missed so many of the more arcade-ish nuances of Rise. Don’t get me wrong, ‘objectively’ World is awesome - but the slower nature of the game wasn’t for me.

Wilds remains unplayed, as currently only playing Switch/Steamdeck (actually just sold the deck, to fund impending Switch2)

Has anyone here played Wildhearts? IIRC - it actually reviewed fairly well, albeit of course not as good as the MH series (but perhaps the best contemporary iteration of it?)

I’ve got the Switch2 bundle with MKW, and will grab Cyberpunk at launch also. I’d like to also grab Streetfighter 6 and maybe Wildhearts

Can anyone here advocate WH? Impressive imitator or lacking pretender??

@OldGamer999 Yeah I agree, and have 3 on order (not for scalping, 1 is for me, and other 2 are for friends)

But yeah, wasn't too rough. TBH, could have probably had 5-6 on order in total if needed

Isn't this a very similar story to the recent delay incurred by the latest Broken Sword game? (remaster of BS1)

I remember being desperate to grab it on Switch at day1, but release was held back for reasons pertaining to rating/classification?

IIRC - Original launch date for BS1r was 19th Sept, and eventually it landed on Switch ~5-6 weeks thereafter.

Hoping Old Skies doesn't incur the same delay time!!

I’ve never played this, as I skipped the GC/Wii/WiiU generations, but hear good things.

I like the franchise a lot, but really bounced off SSHD… found it really quite dull!

I replayed the native-Steam versions of OoT and MM recently - these really still hold up I think

In regards to re-mapping of controls, and being able ton have "per-game" profiles (ala steamdeck)....Will there be "per-game" profiles available for the individuals games in the various NS0 apps?

eg in N64 app, could i have separate profiles for controller setups accross Mario 64 / Ocarina etc...

This is great news, and terrific to hear that N are cribbing from Valve’s homework here… it’s a great function

Question - is there any confirmation on being able to have per-game controller profiles for the individual games INSIDE the various NSO apps? Eg it would remember a specific setup for Ocarina of Time; and a separate setup for Mario 64??

I'm very excited for the Switch2. Honestly, from a hardware perspective it is everything I'd hoped/wished for.... minus a few omissions (UI personalisation, ala SteamDeck, would have been wonderful!)

I think there should be a distinction though between what could/should be considered 'expensive' and what is actually 'overpriced'.

The hardware itself, is definitely an expensive pricetag - but arguably the Switch2 as a singular console is not really over-priced, considering the market and competition. LCD Steamdeck at launch was similarly priced? Also a terrific piece of kit, well worth the admission cost.

The software however, alongside the peripheral accessories, I would argue have veered into 'overpriced' territory.

In my mid-thirties, and fortunately having the income to allocate, I'm very lucky to be able to afford S2 at a launch + a few games. But considering the younger audience, it seems insane that by the time a kid has got a Switch2 + MKW + Pro-Controller + Webcam + Carry Case... looking at potentially 600£+?

I am a million times happier that WW is included in the NSO/Expansion.... vs Nintendo doing a classic repackage/port and selling as a singular game for +50£GBP.

I've never actually played it, and as an existing subscriber to NSO/Expansion I'm thrilled.

To go off on a tangent.... this is actually the first time that I've considered NSO/Expansion to be good value for money - considering Switch2 brings in the GC library, alongside the free S1->S2 upgrades for games like BOTW/TOTK. Along with all the previous Switch1 content, this is now a pretty good deal I think

On a separate note - I actually think that the NSO+Expansion subscription is now pretty essential, but also pretty solid 'value for money' considering the annual cost.

At launch, NSO Expansion was seriously lacking... and the drip-feed of N64 titles was (and to an extent, continues to be...) lacklustre.

However, considering from S2 release - NSO+Expansion will include free S2 upgrades for some/most titles, including BOTW/TOTK, alongside access to the Gamecube titles + voice chat.... this seems a pretty sound deal? Not to mention online play, cloud, SNES/NES/N64 and all the legacy titles in those arenas.

Having never played Windwaker, F-ZERO GX or SoulCalibre2... I am excited. Not to mention future titles

Mind blowing to consider the announcement was 2019… 6(!!!) years ago.

IIRC - the development time for Baldurs 3 was circa ~6years!

I appreciate that the 2 devs are different companies, with varying time and resources, but surely a 2D Metroidvania shouldn’t take longer than something as humongous as BG3?

@Mana_Knight Ubisoft the same right..! Prince of Persia Lost Crown is usually a a crazy low price, especially considering how quality a game it actually is!

I am all for this. The franchise needs some 'new life' breathed in to it...

IMO, Pokemon either needs to strip back fully to the basics... or become enriched with new mechanics/changes (similar to FF7 Remake/Rebirth)

Arceus was the best entry in years IMO, they need to build on this I think

@JohnnyMind I'd be inclined to agree that excitement is well justified here...

THPS 1&2 was (IMO) an absolute 'poster-child' of what a full-scale remake should entail. An absolute labour of love, true to the originals and brimming with updated QoL features and incredible graphics. I played on PS5 and was blown away. THPS 1&2, alongside Demon's Souls, are pinnacle remakes I think.

In terms of 'remaster', I think Metroid Prime is a solid example of how to undertake such a remit.

Less exciting for me are games that receive remasters/remakes in instances were the original titles are <10 years old.... Horizon (!) for example.

But I played the original THPS on PS1 as a kid, adored those games and played them to death, so I'm slightly biased. I even remember THUG 1&2 being pretty decent.

A new TH game would of course be great, but the originals are so old it makes sense to remake.

@Tasuki or both…!?

@rvcolem1 how is ToI1? I have both EM and ToI2 in backlog, can’t decide on which to play…

I’ve just come out of finishing Nine Sols, which was an amazing ride… albeit the final boss took me about 2 weeks, roughly 30 mins worth of attempts per day lol

I love this series, but I genuinely prefer Rise massively vs World.

Granted, Rise was my first MH game (and entry to the franchise) and I adore the more arcade-ish nature of the game. World felt a bit sluggish after Rise.

I'd love the portable team to take their time and perhaps do a similar optimised game that is designed for handheld play...

Wilds plays like a slide-slow on Steamdeck, I couldn't believe how poor it was! So chance of it running well on Switch2 is slim

Since recently beating Nine Sols, and still suffering from the PTSD that came from several weeks vs Eigong (final boss) - I’m currently playing 2 puzzle games concurrently:

1) Loco-Motive: a Lucasarts-inspired P&C adventure game, gorgeously crafted with solid voice acting and strong gameplay. A little on the easy side, and doesn’t quite capture the same magic as recent genre peers (Return to MI, Thimbleweed Park, Lucy Dreaming etc) - but a nice chilled enjoyable time.
2) Rise of the Golden Idol: never played the predecessor, but this game is top tier. Sort of a detective-style mystery puzzler - in which you fill in the gaps of various crimes by deducing elements of crime scenes. A high recommend, best puzzler I’ve played since Lorelei & the Laser Eyes

Finally beat Nine Sols, after a couple of weeks getting smoked by the final boss! Practice makes perfect, finally got her done after what felt like 100s of attempts. Proud to say I didn’t drop the difficult and managed to beat her on Standard/normal mode! It was a hard lesson though in terms of just how important exploration is…. And my lack of this meant being severely underpowered upon reaching ‘the point of no return’ - which lead to an even rougher ride with the last boss. An amazing game though, like a 2D-Sekiro. If you love MV titles and Souls difficulty, Nine Sols is an easy recommend.

Now playing the excellent Loco-Motive, a point-click game that clearly wears its Lucasarts influences on its sleeves. About a third through and loving it - the VA work and art style is really great. Maybe a tad on the easy side, although a few puzzles have had me scratching my head for a bit. Maybe feels a bit easy due to Lorelei being the last game I played from this genre, which was remarkably tough!

After Loco-Motive I’m torn between starting the new Ender Lillies sequel or instead Rise of Golden Idol…‘can’t quite decide!

@dartmonkey same, I had a look online and difficult to find reliable measurements for either...! thanks

To the reviewer... how does size/shape compare with the HORI Split Pad Compact? (NOT Split Pad Pro)

I currently use a great TomToc case which is made for the HORI Split Pad Compact, wondering if it would fit the Hyperion 2?

@Max_the_German Yes and I suppose this is one of those cases where the very definition of ‘what constitutes a side quest’ will shape the discourse! I suppose by virtue of being able to complete W3 without touching Bloody Baron, would make it eligible?! Either way, it beats rounding up cats in FF7 Remake

Could it be that Nintendo has struck an exclusivity deal with Team Cherry? (timed exclusivity perhaps?) And that SilkSong would be a potential exclusive launch title for Switch2?

W3 "The Bloody Baron" - cited in the article - is probably the highest benchmark for side quest standards.

BS1 Reforged was an excellent example of a terrific remaster. Re-vamped visuals, QoL features (hints/difficulty options) alongside a slicker control system for consoles etc. A gorgeous way to replay a classic, or alternatively a terrific entry point for newcomers... "the best way to play" this classic IMO.

This admittedly looks pretty great, but I’ve just come off the back of Nine Sols… and next week I believe we have Ender Magnolia landing, which I’d expect to be excellent

I’ve added BC to my DekuDeals list, will definitely grab when a considerable sale prices hits. As others have said though, the MV market is so oversaturated right now…. And I definitely don’t have the scope to play any and every new MV release, by virtue of how many drop each month!

This is a nice article and a good list

Personally I would have stretched to 10, added Mario Odyssey and MHRise… the former being an amazingly innovative 3D platformer, and the latter being a great showpiece for ‘Switch (timed) exclusivity’

I'll watch this for sure as a big fan of both...

BUT - I don't think it will reach the dizzying heights of quality that Brian Cox brought to his recap of the Tekken series! (genuinely great, channeling his inner Logan Roy)

Ah this seems genuine enough, and a classy ‘nod’ to the inspirations at hand. Whilst it wasn’t my personal GOTY (here’s looking at you Balatro..) I’m delighted Astro won. I hope it sends a message to the industry that there still exists a large appetite for well crafted single player games, and potentially leads to a genre renaissance for 3D platformers.

I loved Erdtree, but don’t think DLC should be in the conversation here. Also, Rebirth was decent enough but I don’t think it quite landed well enough to justify the win (a lot of genius in that game but equally a lot of bloat).

@Zaphod42 Ship of H is amazing right? I played this year on Steamdeck, even the 'moveable camera' feature (full motion using right stick) is absolutely a game changer.

EDIT - ShipOfH are also soon to do Starfox64 a similar treatment.!

2024 has been a hugely surprising year for me in terms of ‘expectations vs reality’…. And my final GOTY year list leans much more into the Indie space than previous years.
2020 was Hades, 2021 was Returnal, 2022 was Elden Ring and last year 2023 was Baldurs 3. I kind of expected to love all those games, and genuinely was delighted with them all.

2024 though…. I feel like the AAA space is becoming a bit of a hive of homogeneity - with more developers leaning towards ‘sure fire’ tropes and safe bets… assumedly to support yielding enough sales to justify the huge budgets. I’m really yearning to be fed something new, or something I’ve seen before but with a unique twist.

Therefore my top 3 list for 2024:
1) Balatro - as a poker player myself, and a lover of Spire, this game blew me away.
2) Nine Sols - plays like 2D Sekiro…. Which is great as Sekiro is my favorite From game
3) Lorelei & The Laser Eyes - like Resident Evil and Myst had a baby..! A must play for any P&C adventure gamers who want a challenge. Got this on a whim after seeing the Game Awards nomination and also reading the interview with the devs on this site

Honorable mentions - Tekken 8 (release version, before MTX elements for their claws in)…. Prince of Persia Lost Crown (criminally good, I wish Ubi would invest more resource in games like this instead of shutting down studios!)…. Hades2 (early access but still amazing)…. Erdtree (somewhat disappointing but still time well spent)

I'm toggling between Nine Sols & Loco Motive.... absolutely spoilt by 2 of my favorite genres here!

Switch Heavy weekend…

Nine Sols for a Sekiro-fix, and then concurrently playing the new P&C adventure game ‘Loco Motive’ (to help me come down from the Nine Sols adrenaline!)

This is a great game for anyone who loves Hollow Knight and/or Sekiro, and is looking for a challenge.

Gutted, as this game is genuinely pretty great.

But Ubisoft clearly plan to become the 'Assassins Creed machine' and plough all focus into the safe bet IP

Love this, and JM is an absolute talent. Whilst not the best movie ever, his work in Split and playing all the multiple personalities (and flipping between them) was amazing

Mana is one of my childhood faves, delighted that JM is giving it a platform!

@kendomustdie in my top 5 games of all time (Returnal!)
Can’t wait to see what Housemarque develop next, especially as the Sony acquisition should provide extra cash injection

I can vouch this is an awesome time, but probably only for gamers who enjoy the masochism of 'hard games'. Definitely not as casual-friendly as Hades (which the review alludes to also) but equally rewarding in terms of progress.

As a huge Returnal fan, and generally an enjoyed of rogue-style games, this is/was fantastic for me

@Dm9982 100% agree...

If Switch 2 can match SD power (or even slightly less) and be able to run the likes of Elden Ring, CP77, Baldurs 3 etc.... I'd bite Nintendo's hand off!
I think if Nintendo just pushed for as much 'oomph' as possible, it could pave the way for some great porting opportunities.... and might make developers consider back-catalogue transfers (Dark Souls trilogy? Fallout series? RRDR 2? GTAV?...)

I'll likely still keep my deck though, as the sale prices for games are insane... and you see £££ drops that you would never find in Nintendo lol.

But yeah, plan is to keep the deck and get Switch2 day1... assuming it meets the criteria. Full back catalogue support with S1 should really be mandatory also, same as PS4/5 etc

@Dm9982 I have the same setup, Switch and Deck... albeit I pulled the trigger on the 256 LCD - just 1 month before OLED was announced! (woe is me...)

LCD Deck is still a powerhouse, albeit battery life is pretty shocking. But I agree, those 2 handhelds give me access to pretty much all I'd want to play.

If Switch2 is basically similar (or higher?) power to SD I'd be thrilled

Finishing off Broken Sword Reforged, and also planning to start Divinity 2…. I’ve been missing CRPGs since Baldurs 3, and I hear that DOS2 from Larian is pretty great!

I'd give it a solid 7, but nothing more. I think the splicing of elements from the later open-world games alongside 'traditional' 2D Zelda is smart - but the transition to playing as Zelda herself feels a little gimmicky and uninspired.

The performance in general (minor FPS dips aside) is admirable, and I appreciate that Nintendo are thrashing the 7year old hardware to its limits. Graphically beautiful, and whole presentation i incredibly charming.

For me though, the gameplay just feels a little... boring perhaps? I like the novelty of the echoes, but am also missing traditional sword/shield combat.

Its a good game for sure, but doesn't feel like a 'great game'. I can't see this ever being remembered like BOTW for example

I'd take a locked rock-solid 30FPS over a sketchy/blippy 60FPS any day...

I respect Nintendo in some ways for pushing this hardware to its absolute limits, and the fact that TOTK plays as well as it does is testament to the hard development work at play.

However, I'd honestly wish they'd maybe scale back some of the graphical fidelity/effects to allow alleviate the stutters in Echoes. I've yet to play, but I know people who kicked it off today and have said similar to DF.

These charts are physical only right?

GTAV and MK8.... people must be buying multiple copies by now??

Broken Sword "Reforged" (aka the new remaster)...

A great poster-child for everything a good remaster should involve - graphical upscaling, improved UI, QoL/accessibility features etc. Also an easy/story mode for those who don't want too much of a challenge. A beautiful game! (Playing on Deck due to Switch release delay)

Aiming to have Broken Sword done by Thursday/Friday so I can get stuck into Echoes

Wonder what has caused Armored Core to creep back in?

No shade here, I loved that game... just surprised to see it in the top 10 nearly a year(?) or so post-release

Having a SteamDeck break this week, with lots to play on Switch

Currently alternating between the newly released ‘Nano Apostle’ - an awesome isometric boss-rush game, with a hectic difficulty curve and an excellent challenge. Very reminiscent of Eldest Souls, with similar skill tree elements + infinite re-spec scope. Nano Apostle is a must-buy for any fans of Cuphead and/or Souls difficulty games.

On the side I’m playing Machinarium, a great P&C title from 2010s…. Logical but very hard!

Next 2 weeks are looking good, with Broken Sword Reforged next week and then Echoes the following

Nah come on - let these 2 games/franchises exist in their own space, and lets appreciate them both for what they bring to the table.

I respect Sony for taking this direction with their IP, especially at a time when every new release seems to be a Soulslike, Metroidvania and/or online shooter (these are all genres I enjoy btw).

Great to see some market diversity, and perhaps a renaissance for the 3D platformer landscape??

I have not played Astro personally, but the consensus seems overwhelmingly positive...