Cakefish

@SirVick there are countless articles discussing the difficulty of From Software games though. Here’s just one example from PushSquare: https://www.pushsquare.com/features/soapbox-i-tried-so-hard-to-like-elden-ring-but-i-just-couldnrt-do-it

Now I just gotta say that your suggestion to slap a clown emoji of shame on the save files of people who use accessibility options is frankly a little bit ghoulish. I’m sorry, not attacking you personally here, but this concept of shaming disabled people I disagree strongly with. I do not want to see any developer discriminate against disabled people for using accessibility options just for the sake of a few people’s online bragging rights. Any developer that tries this will lose my respect and support.

The original was far too difficult for me, so I haven’t even bothered with the sequel lol

I’ll stick to Elden Ring and Dark Souls. That’s not sarcasm, I genuinely find From Software games easier than Hollow Knight (I guess Sekiro on par as I could never master that one either!). Team Cherry found the threshold where it crosses over from being very challenging to simply being inaccessible for me.

Finally! Will there be a Switch 2 version? I sure hope so.

Oh boy just reminds me that I really would like an HD portable version of Orta too.

Kirby & the Forgotten Land at silky smooth 60fps 💖

I’m saddened to hear there’s still no fix for Nier Automata

I don’t really want to score it yet because I don’t feel as though I’ve played enough yet. I’m still on Natural Plains, but I definitely like what I’ve played so far! Love the 60fps and higher resolution vs the demo version that I’d played previously.

Surprised there’s no UK price confirmation. Current exchange rate points to £17.99 as equivalent to confirmed US pricing.

It’s finally Metroid Prime’s time to shine! 🍾🎉🎈

Playing Kirby & the Forgotten Land for the first time. It had always lingered on my eShop wishlist for years, but figured now was finally the right time to give it a try with Switch 2.

I downloaded the demo years ago, thought it was quite nice, but ultimately never pulled the trigger on a purchase. It’s just been chilling in my eShop wishlist ever since. I think this might just be the thing that tips me over the edge and gets me to buy my first Kirby game. I really do loves me some 60fps goodness. I’m travelling soon and this would be the perfect travel game that can be played in short bursts.

Unless it’s intended to be the Roman numeral, I’m pronouncing it as x. Sonic x Shadow Generations. That’s how I pronounce it and I’m not sorry.

Nothing on Switch 2 right now. I completed Sonic x Shadow Generations last month and just impatiently waiting for Metroid Prime 4 now. Might try out Kirby & the Forgotten Land if the reviews of the Switch 2 edition are positive enough.

@N00BiSH much better to have a Switch 2 edition that has a Game Key Card than no Switch 2 version at all.

Love it! Good old classic Katamari vibes, wouldn’t have it any other way.

I just wish it had a Switch 2 version. Such a misssed opportunity 😭

I’ll abstain from the poll because I haven’t played it, though the fact it failed to convince me to purchase probably effectively communicates my opinion on the game; it’s definitely not for me.

Happy for Kirby fans but good lord, Nintendo is sure giving us everything except for a Metroid Prime 4 release date. Why must we Metroid fans suffer so? 🥲

Nah, I’m good. Sports games might well be the genre that least appeals to me, it’s tough to think of a genre that I’m less interested in off the top of my head.

This lad is fast becoming one of my favourite indie developers. Crypt Custodian and Islets were fantastic games.

My excitement is tempered somewhat by the lack of a Switch 2 version though. Not as important for a game like this obviously, but still means the game won’t be able to make full use of the Switch’s display. Nintendo’s irrational hoarding of Switch 2 development kits strikes again.

As many Switch 2 games as possible, though I fear it will mostly consist of Switch 1 games, much like the recent partner direct.

I guess I’ll wait for reviews before I can give a definite yes, but I’m certainly very interested. The original has been on my wish list for a long while. The free demo felt polished but a little basic in the gameplay department, that’s why I held off buying the original Switch version.

@neo9eo thanks for the info, great investigation work! Shame that it’s bad news though, ugh. I got We Love Katamari on Xbox because of the 30fps situation and I’m going to have to do that again. Such a shame as Katamari gameplay and vibes are absolutely perfect for Switch, but I can’t justify paying full price for a 30fps Switch game when I know the Switch 2 is capable of so much more.

The people yearn for a Nier Automata fix.

I’m still in pain that there’s no Switch 2 version of Katamari. What a missed opportunity 😭

When is Metroid Prime 4, Nintendo? Tell meeeee

I’m part of the 3.2% of Switch 2 owners who don’t have Mario Kart World. I didn’t realise I was in such a tiny minority! I’ve played it on my brother’s Switch 2, so I didn’t feel like I needed to buy it for myself.

@TryToBeHopeful the trailer doesn’t mention Switch 2 so I’m assuming no until proven otherwise. Key question is whether it runs at 60fps on Switch 2 in backwards compatibility. If it doesn’t then I’ll have to get it on Xbox instead. I’ve got no time anymore for games that fail to utilise Switch 2’s full capabilities and are locked at 30fps because of Switch 1. Switch 2 is here, third party devs need to catch up with the times.

Does it run at 60fps on Switch 2?

@Orwellian87 more than just a partner, they’re a wholly owned subsidiary. So no chance of Metroid Prime in this direct

I have a mixture of excitement (as the Switch 2 is a desert when it comes to third party games currently) and crushing disappointment (at the fact we’re STILL going to be in the dark on Metroid Prime 4’s release date).

Nintendo Direct Thursday just started looking more likely 👀

Finally, Metroid Prime 4 release date!

This time around, with Switch 2, I’m mostly going to stick with third party games that offer performance modes. Sonic x Shadow Generations plays very well at 60fps, for example. I did get Borderlands 1 & 2 on Switch, but XSX has since spoilt me and so my tolerance for 30fps has dramatically decreased. I’ll maybe grant the odd exception for a game I adore like Elden Ring (we’ll see how that performs) that I want portable access to, but for the most part I need to put my foot down and insist on ~60fps. If that means Switch 2 is mostly relegated to Nintendo and indie games then so be it. That would be a great shame though, I was really hoping we’d see a few more 60fps games with the arrival of Switch 2, especially AA class games.

@ShinG67 woah cool your jets man, where did I say I thought it was a bad game? It’s on my eShop wishlist, I’ll get it soon enough. Answering the question truthfully and being unable to fairly rate it because I haven’t played it yet makes me a childish loser? I’m not going to apologise for not giving it automatic 10/10 out of sheer blind optimism!

I haven’t bought it yet, so I’ll just give it banana out of 10.

As others have pointed out; fewer Switch 2’s in the wild right now vs Odyssey launch, summer release vs autumn release, and it’s DK rather than Mario. #1 is still a stonking good result and I’m sure Nintendo is happy. Also unsurprisingly #1 on the eShop charts too.

When Nier Automata fix?

Keep them coming Nintendo!

I like Oliver but this is one of the weakest DF videos in some time.

Half of it is simply rehashing their dedicated Switch 2 hardware review. The battery tests are certainly interesting, but there’s little else of substance in there that hasn’t already been discussed extensively previously. Load times are one aspect that could’ve been looked at, but instead much time is devoted to docked comparisons even though in reality only the minority of Steam Deck users will frequently make use of that mode.

Honestly, I’m bored of seeing Hogwarts Legacy yet again, they already have a dedicated video for the Switch 2 version of that game. Couldn’t we have something new? It gets boring when Cyberpunk and Hogwarts are the only games anyone ever bothers analysing.

The analysis concludes with (paraphrasing here) ‘Switch 2 is best suited for people who enjoy Nintendo exclusives while Steam Deck is for people who want access to their Steam library’ - Oliver, my man, is this really the grand insight here? Usually DF videos have a bit more depth than this.

Finally, it’s noteworthy that Oliver heaps praise on the Steam Deck here for giving users free rein in deciding game visual and performance settings. However, he’s always been a staunch advocate on the weekly DF podcasts that he thinks that games on modern consoles give users too many modes to choose from. Pick a lane Oliver, is user choice good or not?

Okay, rant over. Again I’m a big fan of DF and I typically really appreciate Oliver’s contributions, but this particular one just felt a bit weaker than his usual standard.

Sonic x Shadow Generations

R.I.P. Switch 2 battery

Reading through the comments you’d quickly assume that Digital Foundry must be some real moustache-twirling, Nintendo-hating villains of the highest degree - when the sad irony is that John actually has a very positive overall opinion of this game. I’m just left baffled why DF analyses always seem to ruffle so many feathers. It’s just objective data, why does that cause so much offence?

I think it was designed with VRR in mind and then they were caught off guard by the hardware team having to drop it at the last minute. Hopefully docked mode VRR will arrive in a future firmware update. It won’t magically solve the frame drops but it would make them less noticeable.

Just announce them already, I’m starving out here in this information void!

I’m more bummed out by the drought of third party content, both in terms of actual releases and new announcements. It’s been so quiet ever since the initial April direct with so few further announcements made.

I bought Sonic x Shadow Generations at full price just to have something fully Switch 2 optimised to play. It’s a good game, but being forced to buy it at full price is unfortunate when it’s been on sale on other platforms recently. Desperate times call for desperate measures though.

How are these still so delayed in UK? ETA 5-6 weeks on the Sandisk website. That’s almost September territory. Brutal. I’m glad I decided to import the Lexar card from USA, and I didn’t even pay any extra over UK RRP. UK SD express market is broken currently for anything =>512GB.

The wait is painful. The dearth of information means my brain is starved of dopamine hits that I’m craving.

This would’ve been an ideal use case for docked VRR support… hint hint Nintendo

About twice as fast as Switch 1 on WiFi 5 in my experience. Still fairly slow though, as it can only utilise half my network’s full download speeds, whereas other gaming devices (PC and Xbox) can use it all. I guess you need a WiFi 6 router to see its full potential.

I hope we get as many 60fps games as possible and the CPU doesn’t hold that back too much. 120fps, VRR display would completely go to waste if everything just ends up capped at 30fps just like the vast majority of Switch 1 games.

@OldGamer999 Metroid Prime 4 is just as Nintendo as any other game in their lineup, more so than many others even. Retro is wholly owned by Nintendo, so it’s ‘more Nintendo’ than Metroid Dread even and ‘more Nintendo’ than Pokemon or Kirby too. It’s as first party as you can possibly get!

@Oldstalk @Blast16 I completely agree with you both. Those rumours of a three-phase 2025 plan sounded hard to believe when they surfaced, but all the evidence is lining up perfectly with them now. I think intentionally suppressing third parties until October (which is the plan according to those rumours) is a huge mistake on Nintendo’s part. I’m not buying Drag x Drive Nintendo, just because you’ve sabotaged the third party market 😬

@Grumblevolcano those don’t register on my radar because I find them boring to be brutally honest. Which is absolutely fine, not every Nintendo game needs to appeal specifically to me. Not every game genre is my cup of tea. That’s where a healthy third party ecosystem would usually be able to step in and offer up something interesting while I wait for the Nintendo games that appeal to me, but currently this is where Switch 2 is faltering. There’s not nearly enough quantity there currently to guarantee something that I’m interested in. It’s a real slow start for third party support. This will all be forgotten by 2026 I’m sure, but the excitement of Switch 2 launch has been dampened for me by the very limited options available to play over the summer.

At least I now have Sonic x Shadow to keep me entertained for a while, but I begrudge paying full price for that when it’s currently notably cheaper on other platforms.