Dromosus

Dragon's Dogma 2 does not run at all on the Steam Deck. I don't think Monster Hunter Wilds is not going to run on Switch 2. Capcom has two teams working on Monster Hunter, one for the main games (World/Wilds) and another team for portable (Generations Ultimate/Rise). Switch 2 will get it's own Rise follow up from the second team.

@jamesRainbowBoy I think it is relevant in the sense that the issue of a Switch hardware update becomes more of an issue as time passes and that the Deck has stepped in to fulfil one IP that the Switch had at launch (current gen third party support) but chose to let slide. Nintendo are doing great right now in a financial sense but they were doing great with the Wii as well and a lack of third party support (as well as terrible branding and launch) left the Wii U without a chance.

It took a big effort to get third party devs on board for the Switch after the Wii U and as Nintendo digs their feet in with the same hardware they’re going to have to make a massive effort again to get those devs back on board with the next console.

@Rudy_Manchego I’d probably chose my Switch over the Deck for travelling too but more because I’m absolutely terrified of losing or damaging my Deck. I can at least find a new Switch in stock somewhere if something terrible happens to it. I don’t think my Deck is going to leave the house for a while yet.

I love my Deck and Switch but the idea that it can emulate every Switch game smoothly is just not true. The Wii U versions of most Switch games run great (when you see BOTW and MK8 running on the deck, it’s almost certainly the Wii U versions). Otherwise the Switch and PS3 mark the point where emulation on the Deck starts to get a bit more ropey. Some PS3/Switch games run great and others barely hit 15fps. I personally haven’t run any Switch games on my Deck (I personally don’t emulate games when the console is still in its current life cycle) but I’ve seen enough from those that have to know that the idea that the Deck smoothly emulates every Switch game is nonsense.

The Deck is amazing though. I’ve had great fun installing emulators and rival launchers and seeing what can run. It runs a lot of last gen and cross gen Steam games (I’m agnostic about how it will perform with proper current gen/UE5 games when they finally arrive). It’s also the best Indie machine you could wish for with all those Humble Bundle and early access games like Core Keeper and Vampire Survivors.

I think Nintendo might be undervaluing the third party appeal that the Switch had on launch. First party had always been its strong suit but the longer it shuts out third party games with its hardware limitations, the harder it will be to get those developers back on board when the next hardware step comes along, as happened with the Wii U.

@dewokkel My Switch was my preferred console until latest gen and then a lot of the games I wanted to play were too much for the Switch to run. Now that I have my Deck, it feels a lot like when I first had the Switch. Nintendo will always be the first party king but I think they neglect the initial appeal of the Switch at their peril.

That said, the game I’ve been playing most on my Deck has been Vampire Survivors, which I’m sure would run just fine on the Switch. Maybe the other factor is that a lot of good indies debut on Steam before they cross over to Switch which was the go to Indie handheld at one point.

I’m about five hours in and really enjoying it. I’m invested in the story so I don’t mind the cutscenes as the dialogue is well written and made me chuckle. It really gives a sense of the characters within the world and adds to the story. I would go so far as to say that you’re probably better off playing something else if you feel that you’ll just want to skip through it and get straight to the action.

A mere £9 more than an Xbox Series S!

To be fair, a Series S/Switch combo is a lovely set up to have.

I played it a bit on Apple Arcade where I haven’t really ran into any bugs but the gameplay itself is frustrating and awkward. It also has the most ugly and unnecessary Game Over screen I’ve ever seen. This seems like a minor quibble but it ruins the immersion and rhythm of the game, especially on the occasions when you die seconds after walking into a room. They should just throw you straight back in as Celeste does or at least give you a beautiful game over screen (hello Death’s Door) rather than the bright red/orange type face that seems to have been picked from an instruction manual.

@Moistnado I will! I read ebooks and online versions of newspapers too. I’m so out there that I even leave bits of virtual text at the bottoms of virtual pages that simulate gaming magazines.

@Moistnado

If I wanted to go platforming, I’d leap between the planks and scaffolds of the nearest building site.

If I wanted to go cart racing, I’d go to my local Pontins in a gorilla outfit.

If I wanted a brawler, I would wear ripped denim while walking through Croydon as the pubs let out on a Friday.

This man never sleeps, works insane hours, only drinks Coke Zero and still he doesn’t age.

At first I thought that this must be some kind of black magic but then I read elsewhere that he doesn’t have kids which pretty much closes the case for me.

I still love my OG Switch to bits and was dithering on whether to buy an OLED but then the Steam Deck came along and I got my reservation order in. If a more powerful Switch had been announced, I probably would have gone for that instead. Right now I’m happy to have a portable Fire Pro machine sometime this winter.

@RadioHedgeFund I can only speak of my experiences of London transport but anyone who sits down next to me and wants to talk about the game I’m playing is probably aiming to grab my console and leg it at the next stop.

@Mr-Fuggles777 I played Fallen Order on the Xbox One S and, while it was playable, it was very buggy with performance.issues. If a game barely runs on the base PS4 or Xbox One it has no chance of running well on the current Switch.

@Reprise Fire Pro is such a natural fit for the Switch. They're a small developer and have had their hands full with DLC for PS4 and PC for the past couple of years. Hopefully the Switch might see a port or a bespoke new Fire Pro soon. Retromania looks fun but it won't have a creation suite at launch and while I'm a fan of Zack Sabre Jr and the Road Warriors, the roster is pretty underwhelming, though understandably so.

Now with the possible updates for Battlegrounds, I'd love to see some bare bones kind of GM or Universe Mode, nothing too fancy, having something similar to the original Smackdown versions would be fine for me. Otherwise I could always go full on pen and paper booker like the Fire Pro geeks do.

I bought this on Friday and have been playing it with my kids over the weekend.

I agree with pretty much everything said in this review and yet I have to admit that I have enjoyed it.

Call it a form of video game Stockholm Syndrome but I really enjoy unlocking characters through grinding, be they wrestlers or superheroes.

The reviewer is absolutely right that the grind-to-currency ratio is infuriatingly unbalanced but it's something that seems to exist deep within my psyche from my gacha game phase. I am a glutton for this particular kind of punishment.

Ultimately, my biggest frustration with gaming this weekend was, and remains, the camera in Mario 64.

@ritouf no worries, there will be no roguelites, metroidvanias or pixel art. Promise.

NOW ENJOY THESE FINE RHYTHM GAME VERSIONS OF WELL LOVED FRANCHISES THAT AREN'T OTHERWISE AVAILABLE ON SWITCH!!!

MWU- HAHAHAAHAAAAAA!!!!

I see you have some expectations all tucked away there. There they are, just poking out of your pocket, expectations. I see them. Please excuse me for venturing some unsolicited advice, but it might be prudent for you to take those expectations and put them in this little box here. Don't worry, I'll give them back afterwards. See you in a little while.

waits until no-one can see

pulls out hammer and flamethrower

I have already invented all the little narratives in my head that paint this as an entirely practical and justified day one purchase.

I went from screaming in delight to realising that it wasn't Mario Kart 9 and then wondering whether it was possible to un-s**t one's pants.

MONSTER HUNTER MELODIES, A BRAND NEW RHYTHM GAME FEATURING ALL YOUR FAVOURITE MONSTER HUNTER TUNES, COMING EXCLUSIVELY TO SWITCH IN 2022!!!

Spiritfarer is a really lovely game, worth every penny on Switch unless you have Game Pass. I reckon I'll be getting Silksong and The Red Lantern when they drop.

Also, where the hell is Baldo on this graphic?

@pip_muzz I don't think it can be a con if it's an actual game that they work on for four years and then show you the gameplay.

If they only released it on physical and the cartridge ended up being a piece of cardboard and when you asked for a refund you found that their business address was a kennel at the back of an abandoned scrapyard ... then you could call it a con.

For what it's worth, this just got 9/10 on IGN.

The developers for this game were really endearing. Normally, getting a developer to talk about their game tends to have a negative effect (normally some middle manager monotonously informing you about how passionate their team is). But in this case I went from thinking it was a bit of an Ori clone to thinking about buying it because they seemed so genuine and passionate about it.

@Collette I admire the patience of anyone who waits for a sale on a first party Nintendo game!

@OorWullie pretty much how I do it now. I have my Switch for first parties and Indies and.my Xbox One S (a dirt cheap refurb I bought last year) for Game Pass and the odd AAA. I'll probably get the rumoured Series S next gen and whatever Switch upgrade comes.along eventually..

@H3X3NH4MM3R I've been playing Moonlighter on my laptop for the past week and I am absolutely hooked on the dungeon/shop loop. Great little game. Lovely soundtrack too.

@RasandeRose Good for you and everybody else that has the New Switch. I, like many others, have Ye Olde Switche which barely gets me two hours of SWitcher fun.

Not on topic but it looks like a ton of decent games have just gone on sale on the EU/GB eshops. Worth a look.

@Kanbei Could be because people who have other consoles or a gaming PC will buy Witcher 3 and Outer Wilds on Switch for the handheld aspect as they can have a better TV experience elsewhere. Whereas XC and XC2DE are Switch exclusives so there's more motivation to ensure a better docked experience.

Seems like Witcher 3 has pointed the way for how we'll get current gen games on the Switch. The visuals will have that blurry, almost painterly quality but it will run well enough with a good enough frame rate. The game will look better in hand held but the battery will probably drain quickly. I can live with this.

Doesn't really surprise me as far as Jedi Fallen Order is concerned. It's meant to suffer from performance issues on the Xbox One S. This would be a bigger challenge than porting Witcher 3, which runs well on base 4th Gen consoles but pushes the Switch to the limit.

@Dwarfette or someone out to make a few hundred quid from a quickly knocked out 800 words of hate-bait, as his own tweet admits?

Boot HIll Bounties looks like Red Dead Stardew. That is in no way a bad thing.

Well worth checking the South Africa prices too, much cheaper than the EU/UK prices in quite a few cases (Thronebreaker £8, Diablo 3 £18, CIV6 £16, Ys VIII £17 to name a few)

My favourite thing about sales threads is when someone complains about the noninclusion of a game that was on sale a week ago.

@ImagineerNik Put all the ones you want on your wishlist and then you'll see if any are discounted if you check it on sales day. You should get an email notification too.

There's really no choice but the eshop for many people now so I'm glad they're still doing sales.

@GoblinKing86 Because leaving your home for nonessential reasons will spread the contagion and infect more vulnerable people. This will in turn overwhelm hospitals and health providers and when Intensive Care wards fill up, doctors have to choose who lives and who dies. Also, while younger healthier people stand less chance of experiencing severe symtoms there are still very healthy young people needing to go on respirators and some of those people are dying. Flu (the common flu rather than a strain such as SARS) kills about 8k people a year in the UK. UK authorites now predict that 20k Corvid-19 deaths this year would be a good result. So yeah, stay home and read a book.

Drastic method of avoiding leakers.

@MetaBunny You are infinitely wiser than I am. We're a week in noww and I just don't have the bribery leverage during a lockdown!

Things are okay now that a certain character has arrived and set up but I do wish there was a "Don't let your seven year old daughter be the first player" warning screen at the beginning.

@Darkyoshi98 Fair enough, I'll stop basing my purchase decisions on other people's opinions. Now, based on the descriptions and screen shots on the e-shop, I'm going to spend my hard earned money on the switch versions of Ark: Survival Evolved and WWE 2K18. What could possibly go wrong?

Ended up getting Slay the Spire on Steam a few weeks back for a very good price. Now that I'm completely, hopelessly hooked I would happily double dip on Switch if cross-save was an option.

Looking forward to when the yanks have a similar sale a month after this one ends so the EU peeps can moan about never getting a decent sale like the yanks do.

For now I’ll appreciate all the yanks moaning about how the EU get all the decent sales.

I just enjoy the general misery and gnashing of teeth that accompanies Nintendo’s occasional decisions to charge less for something than they normally do for a while. It really points out what’s important in life.

@Balta666 if this was any other game crashing at these intervals, I'd be very tempted to quit playing or would be moaning about it a lot more. But this is the Witcher 3 on the freakin' Switch! It's the game that shouldn't exist. I hope they sort it, but I'll play this game to completion and beyond, crashes be damned.

My only issue with this port is the occasional crash. I've had about three of them this weekend. It's the one thing that keeps me from wholeheartedly recommending it, though I'm having a whale of a time with it otherwise. Hopefully this is what they're fixing.

@Nego No worries. I only remember because I was really tempted to bite but I thought the discount wasn't at the sweet spot yet. Now I wish I'd just bought it!

@Nego Europe got a discount on Cadence of Hyrule for the Black Friday sale, about a week or two before the American sale.