Dualmask

I really enjoyed the first one, though I was just discovering roguelikes back then. I keep forgetting they made a sequel. Maybe I'll give it a go.

Been meaning to give this a go. Good to know it's not that different on Switch compared to other versions.

I'm always up for a new Metroidvania. Fortunately I have other means to play these games nowadays. Game Pass on PC or Steam Deck here I come.

I'm not one to beg for a Switch Pro or whatever, but perhaps the time has come.

Yeah, no...as much as I love the character (as my avatar will show) with 2B's dress, they would have had to modify her in some way to appear in Smash. 2B with spats on? Blasphemy...

But I do agree that everyone should play NieR:Automata some way, somehow. It's my favorite game to come out in a very long time.

I bought this for Steam and was enjoying it for a while, but the difficulty became absolutely brutal. The tedious platforming is not a lie; there are numerous areas with spikes or other dangerous surfaces that 'kill' you on touch if your movements are not completely precise. The game is gorgeous, the areas are diverse (albeit a bit too densely detailed in some spots) and has a lot of content, you can reset the skill trees at any save point and respec whenever you want, so the game has a lot going for it. On Steam Deck the loading is pretty tolerable.

I'd say the game is worth a 7 at best if we care about scoring. Not the best, but worth your time.

Gonna make it really hard to be interested in season 4. Even if the new actor does a fine job, switching of the main character, whatever the reason, won't feel right.

An appealing character design if I ever saw one. Suddenly this game interests me...a bit.

This will be a nice cap on a pretty good gaming year. I gotta wait a bit, but I fully intend to get it ASAP.

Can't wait to get my hands on this. The series just keeps getting better and better.

Had to happen sooner or later. I'm not familiar with how she appeared in the first RCG but I'm old school enough to be very familiar with the poor dress-clad woman who always got punched in the gut and carried off (and sometimes killed...but she got better). Hanging around the Double Dragons and taking blows to the belly enough times...the glow-up (do the kids still say that?) makes so much sense.

As an artist myself, I choose not to fear it. Just keep making what I'm going to make, keep attracting the clients I've attracted and keep making the products I'm going to.

I like the idea of using AI to shore up the more tedious elements of art. I'm not fond of drawing backgrounds and scenery. I'd use AI for that if I could. But I wouldn't use it to conceptualize a character or do an animation that I have a specific vision for.

It isn't going away so I'm not going to get wrapped up in the fearmongering. I probably will just figure out how or if I can integrate it into my own workflow without changing who and what I am. Commercial interests may find AI useful and money-saving, but I think AI is going to be another part of the art world, not a replacement or a redefinition of it.

Inspired by what was truly the best era for RPGs and adventure games, and made by a lone developer? Color me impressed. If it plays as good as it looks, I'll be all over it.

It's great that the devs managed to put the game on Switch, and given how popular the console is, it makes sense. But for my money, I'm glad I had the option of getting NMS for Steam Deck instead, on which it plays beautifully.

Although I would never play a game like this, the uniqueness of the idea and the great title are commendable. Never let it be said that there aren't any more interesting ideas in game designs.

Six or seven characters isn't nearly enough to justify more than a few bucks though.

Gotta make sure my RPG schedule is clear by the time this comes out. Between Trails from Zero and Persona 5 Royal, that won't be easy...

I bought this for PS4 and strangely never sat down to play it... by then I was well into my 'tired of being stuck playing on TV' phase and other games held my attention.

Now that it's on Switch, I find myself on the precipice. Nothing like a 100+ hour handheld RPG to fill out the rest of my gaming time in 2022...

Gonna see what this is like on Game Pass. Between that and my Steam Deck, I'm at the point where hoping games work well for Switch is becoming less of a priority.

Thinking purely of first-party Nintendo games... Off the top of my head I immediately thought of Port Town from F-Zero. Perhaps not my favorite but quite memorable. Maybe Ridley's theme from Super Metroid. And hearing the original theme of Legend of Zelda's overworld always makes me feel great.

Been curious about this game for some time, but not curious enough to buy it for PS4 and be tethered to my TV. The idea of playing it handheld is compelling and I may just go ahead and bite the bullet this time...

@SonOfDracula the game world is large, but there is focus for the player who seeks it. You can expedite your push through the game or explore everything and find more (the latter is encouraged). It's open world at first, but as you proceed through the game and 'beat' it the first time, things go in very interesting directions with varying levels of linearity. Without giving too much away, there are plenty of sequences throughout the game that force player urgency and the entire accessible world changes a lot.

NieR: Automata is one of those game experiences you don't want to miss if you're at all into action adventure games and are looking for something that subverts your expectations in a great way.

This game is a certified masterpiece that rewards patience, persistence and digging into every nook and cranny. I would never have imagined it would come to Switch in a near-perfect state.

But since I also have a Steam Deck, I may go in that direction to play my favorite game of the PS4 generation in handheld mode. Though having it on cartridge is tempting...

As this was my number one game on PS4, I'm really struggling with whether or not to double-dip even though I've seen everything. I'll probably break down and do it.

Beats spending years on someone else's IP like ASMR or that Super Mario Bros. 5 fan game...if only barely.

Good luck to the developer, but I would have liked to see something a bit more original.

That being said, I pretty much will play any Metroidvania so if it secures release on a platform that's available to me and the price is right, I'll bite.

After reading this, I'm kind of turned off of the game. I was intrigued at first; I'm not the biggest farming sim fan, so an action RPG with light farming elements is fine (so many RPGs have fishing minigames anyway) but it sounds like the combat is not really there. Maybe they just demoed... not enough of the game or the right parts of it. And the time passage sounds really strict.

Maybe I'll feel differently once I play it myself though.

The demo was okay, but when I didn't feel the need to go as far as I could with it, I knew this was at least a 'wait for sale' title, if not an all-out skip. Never was a big fan of real time strategy games and this hasn't really changed it. The game has some nice ideas, but lots of RPGs are coming out and this one can wait.

I'm into anything Trails. Gonna need to add this to the ol' library asap. I was intrigued by all the mention of Crossbell in the Cold Steel games and I'm looking forward to getting to know what happened.

I've been a fan of Square/Square Enix since my childhood, and it's great to see such quality output, whatever they may have going on behind the scenes in the company. I don't care about any of that, I'm a gamer who likes to play adventures and RPGs so I'm a happy camper right now.

@BloodNinja I suppose a debate could be had about it. For me, deep means there's a lot to do, a lot of ways to approach combat, a lengthy story with twists and turns, a vast world to explore, lots of worthwhile side quests, and so on. At its core, every game has some level of repetition, but is the repetition enjoyable? Some RPGs I've played, I was grateful for an auto-battle function; those would be the repetitive type that's not so great. Others, I look forward to every battle, and a shorter game is a bad thing because it means the experience is over quickly.

But I've played so many it's hard to cherry pick the ones that really qualify, and I'm sure one's definition of deep might vary from another's, so I'm not going to name names.

@BloodNinja yeah I did, and I honestly didn't like them even when I was young and just discovering RPGs. But what did grab me and make me fall in love with RPGs was the first Final Fantasy, although that wasn't much longer in retrospect.

I do prefer my games long and deep, but like I said, this game could be worth the go anyway.

Sounds like something I'd enjoy. Shame such great gameplay is wrapped in a short title (I rarely like short games, and short RPGs almost sound like an oxymoron in gaming to me) but this sounds like it'll be worth experiencing anyway. Fund a longer, deeper sequel, maybe...

Never had the pleasure of finishing any of the games, but I spent a little time with Suikoden I-III on their respective original incarnations. Now that I have more disposable income and a handheld to play them on (truly the best way to play RPGs), I'm eager to sink my teeth into at least the first two games and see all they have to offer.

I enjoyed the first two games, though the second was a bit underwhelming compared to the first. Still going to jump on the third as soon as I'm able. It's a fun series.

The correct answer is the "unofficial" Contra game Hard Corps Uprising which really needs to be re-released and ported to Switch.

But as far as this list goes, I haven't played that many Contra games. I have a passion for the original and Super C, but Contra III is easily my favorite. Short game, but amazing level designs.

I never saw the Japan art before. But I have a huge nostalgia bug for the NA version (Mega Man X is one of the most influential games of all time to me and one of the most amazing examples of a series 'glow-up' of all time).

I do like the presence of all the Mavericks on the box in the Japan art, but it's not enough to sway me from the quality of the NA box art. And Sigma's expression looks a little too weird and not menacing at all.

There are pros and cons to everything. I have a Steam Deck, and yes, it can do what Nintendon't, but it also has that abysmal battery life if you play any game moderately high end. Plus while it can be played on TV with a third party docking solution, certain games have bad input lag because of it (tried playing DJ Max Respect on my TV via SD...it was unplayable). So yeah... pros and cons. If Switch isn't powerful enough to run certain games, just go where they can be run if it's that important.

I played KOFXV...not missing much if you played other games in the series, TBH. Prettier, but that's really all.

For what's probably the most common visual element in all of video gaming, it's really hard to make decent trees. I struggle with them constantly, to the point where I just gave up on creating environments that needed them as much as possible. I hate drawing trees. Hate, hate, hate...

@Anachronism I haven't finished it but I've played enough to get a few upgrades. It's not Devil May Cry smooth, the animation is a bit stiff and can feel unresponsive until you get used to the timing, but the difficulty is not extreme. I've played far, far worse. I'll say it's neither the best I've ever played nor the worst.

It's a really enjoyable and great looking game. If I didn't already have it on Steam (Deck), I'd get it on Switch for sure.

Looks glorious. Guess I'll be nabbing it for Steam (Deck). I'll take all the Metroidvanias I can get.

I'm not even 'into' the Turtles anymore, but this collection just sounds like a must-get for the nostalgia alone. I've spent many hours in my youth with the NES, SNES and Genesis TMNT games, and I never had the pleasure of playing the Game Boy entries, so this sounds more than worthwhile to me.

Artistically very impressive. Thankful it's third person and not first. Not really a fan of the blood effect or the lack of reaction when the player takes damage. Regardless, I'll keep tabs on this one.

The original Espinas already uses fire, so this seems a bit overkill. I would have liked to see them go in a slightly different direction, kind of the difference between regular Zinogre and Stygian (who I'd love to see come back). Ah well, more MonHun is great.

Main character design is a bit mid, but that's a minor thing when the game looks this good and indeed, fast paced. I never tire of well-designed non-linear platformers with lots of stuff to find. Been looking for the next one to sink my teeth into since 100%-ing Blast Brigade.

Very cool. Subscribed immediately.

Shed literal tears when I got this game's true ending. Anyone who hasn't played it, do it. It's far more than it initially appears. (As my avatar shows, I'm a bit of a fan.)

I am curious about how it will turn out on Switch, but I'm not sure I'm curious enough to double dip.

I'm probably one of the oldest folks here... the first Zelda was my first; I was around 8-10 when I first played and beat it. I was so proud of myself when I randomly decided to try shooting Ganon with the arrow I found in Level 9 after failing to defeat him so many times. No one believed I did it at the time because none of my friends or family could figure out how to do it.

I was in love with the series since...although Wind Waker and Skyward Sword were kind of hard for me to love, Twilight Princess was a gem and BoTW made me fall in love with the sense of wonder and adventure the original had all over again.

I'm sure things will improve with hardware over time, but my experiences with Steam Deck have been mostly positive. I'm not ready to call it a full Switch replacement yet. But it's a nice alternative with different options from the Switch...especially with mods and emulators (I personally don't emulate any currently-available games on it, but old school titles play beautifully on it.) Battery life is rarely a concern as I don't play too many 'big' games on it. The most demanding game I've played on it is probably Bloodstained, and that gets me around three hours or more of playtime if not docked to the TV.

I've been playing this on Steam Deck. It really looks amazing in motion when you're in the city environments and the action bits of gameplay are tight, if simplistic. It's pretty good.

@Expa0 I agree. I'm starting to develop a pet peeve with indie games these days that use charming or alluring art for promo but the in-game assets look simplistic, lazy or just plain ugly. I want to enjoy what I'm going to spend most of my play time looking at, but many indie devs seem content to keep acting like we're dealing with NES-levels of limitation for some reason.

The OG. And if it weren't for Metroid (and Zelda), I might have been turned off of NES games as a kid--at least for a while, because Mario and other whimsical arcade-like games didn't really grab me. But the 'serious' sci-fi tone of the original Metroid and the immersive feel of exploring those dark, dangerous tunnels influenced me as a gamer and as a creator for a lifetime.