Falien

I just got the physical version of Absolum and the game is certainly nice, but there are a couple of things to note:
1. Physical does not seem to start without a mandatory update (if you select “Start software” it gives an error that game needs to be updated), so there’s no way to say if it will be playable in the future.
2. On the original Switch, the framerate is not a stable 60fps — it fluctuates between 30-60 fps with no apparent logic, e.g. on the first screen when you take control of your character, it’s 60fps but once you move to the right a bit, it switches to 30fps even though there isn’t anything happening — no enemies, just screen scrolling right. The low-frame animation style of the game makes this less noticeable and it doesn’t seem to impact the gameplay much, but it’s there if you know what to look for — e.g. it is noticeable in the tutorial scene where you are shadows in the foreground and running while the convoy is crossing the bridge in the background. This was disappointing for me as I could have bought the game on PS5, but I read the above review and went with Switch believing it to be “a stable 60fps frame rate” — to be fair, I am not sure if the game has been updated since the review version (see my comment above), but the current version as of 18 Oct is definitely not a stable 60 fps.

Note: the game does not have a native Switch 2 version (yet, at least), but on Switch 2 the framerate is a stable 60fps as far as I can tell, which begs the question if the review was done on Switch 2. If so, please note this for future reviews.

Being a life-long Metroid Prime fan, I was beyond ecstatic with the Metroid Prime remaster on Switch and I would definitely appreciate similar remakes for Metroid Prime 2 Echoes and Metroid Prime 3 Corruption. With the Switch 2 having Gamecube classics I see no reason not to add both original Gamecube games (1 and 2) to the catalogue, while the mouse function in the Joy-con 2 could possibly allow Wii classics on the system (though they could always release a modern Wiimote pack for it as well), in which case Metroid Prime 3 and the Metroid Prime Trilogy could also make an appearance!

@MeloMan On the other NSO classic console apps ZL+ZR is used for the suspend menu so I guess it will be used for this, but you’re right - it would have been best to make it the same as ZR.

@KidSparta I second this and feel the pain myself. Prince of Persia The Lost Crown is one of the best games of its kind AND the team made a fantastic, full-featured, 60fps Switch version. In a better world, we’d have a Switch 2 card (not key) with the complete game and some of the graphical enhancements of other versions (e.g. more reflections). Alas, no.

On that note, I realize that if I was to expect anything from Ubisoft, it would be something from their glory days - a Prince of Persia Sands of Time trilogy remaster (maybe throw in the cel-shaded reboot as well), a Splinter Cell tetralogy remaster (up to the original Xbox Double Agent), the Rayman Origins/Legends duology someone else mentioned… nothing else of their newer stuff really.

Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
Chibi-Robo
Beach Spikers
NBA Street Vol.2
Prince of Persia: Sands of Time (trilogy)
SSX Tricky

@LEGEND_MARIOID Same here! It’s a sometimes overlooked genre that has some great little games on the Switch - my personal favourite being Wizorb.

Now if only there were some Pipemania games as well…

Looks awesome; on my radar for sure! Plus, Sega, it’s about time you hire these guys to do a Golden Axe game in the style of Revenge of Death-adder…

@Yalloo It would be nice if they could release a physical locally here in Europe, as the first game (which I loved) was released as such and I bought it from a local store. I am not really a fan of ordering stuff online, particularly from abroad.

I was looking forward to this game but the European download-code-only “physical” release soured it for me - I mean, at that point, why even bother? I’ll probably get it on PS4 disc as I can’t really afford import prices over here.

I played Dauntless for quite a bit as I love PvE online games - I was playing before they changed the hub town and I had gotten pretty good with the pistols. Then they overhauled the pistols and this coincided with stuff that kept me away for a while, so nowadays I do not remember how to play! Also, Helldivers 2 has become my go-to PvE game and it has significantly raised the bar.

I was looking forward to getting the physical Switch version before they pulled this code-in-a-box crap on us Europeans. This kind of thing should not be allowed. I guess I’ll grab the PS4 disc instead.

With the great job already done on Skyrim on Switch, how about an Elder Scrolls collection with the previous games (Arena, Daggerfall, Morrowind, Oblivion). Or some Fallout titles? I’m pretty sure they’re technically possible on Switch.

Maybe a Warcraft/Starcraft retrospective, incl. the Nintendo 64 version of Starcraft?

Looks good, though I’ll say it once more: LEGO had an Elves series that was perfect for BotW Link/Zelda figures. Having said that, the regular Link figure looks very close to OOT Link.

The recent Nightdive Studios remake of System Shock.

@Dziku Souper!

“Smoke me a kipper”
…you mean “Stroke me a clipper”, surely!

I have always said in similar discussions that there should have been a Zelda collection in LEGO’s Elves variant, whose figures looked a lot like the in-game models of Breath of the Wild (and now Tears of the Kingdom). Alas, I believe LEGO have discontinued the series for a while now.

@mothleaf That comment wasn’t worth the paper it was written on… I’ll get me coat…

Maybe the updates/DLC will address the “plot hole” of Radjen who basically stands around, speaks one line and is promptly forgotten - unless I have missed something. This has always bugged me in an otherwise exceptional game.

Missed opportunity to have called the sequel “Blasphemous: Resurrection”, then a (hopefully) third game “Blasphemous: Ascension”.

First one was great, if a bit tough at first (it got better with patches).

I saw the pic before reading the title and the first thing that came to mind was “Grand Theft Auto”…

@FallenAngelII Me neither - and I have played in portable mode a fair share. However, I can certainly feel them wiggling a bit, which shouldn’t happen with this solution.

I can see the appeal for some and it does look nice, plus it seems it will be more securely attached than the default Joy-cons. But for myself at least, playing on the go is a matter of convenience first, so controller augmentations like this seem unnecessary.

@MrGawain Right after EAFCUT.

@KayFiOS Amen! After seeing the amazing work that was done on Metroid Prime Remastered, I sincerely hope they bring us remasters of the rest of the trilogy. It would be amazing to be able to play them all before Metroid Prime 4 releases.

@Enigk Isaac in Fortnite: “What do you people mean, ‘aim for the head’?”

@Fiyaball Well played, sir!

@Xeraphis I didn’t say they hate me or they’re lying; just that they are not addressing the actual issue, which appears to be in their own net code or server structure rather than the users’ ISP or router settings, which (as I said) work fine with just about any other online game. Nintendo, like any other company, should have worked any such issues out before releasing the game, especially given that it’s a sequel to a very similar game (so they’re not starting from scratch) and that there was a live test in the form of the World Premiere Splatfest.

It’s a new release, it will get better in time..

/s

“We identified an issue where communications with the server are interrupted during a battle or job shift due to settings on the player's network equipment and their internet provider.”

OK, so all other online games have zero connection issues, but when Splatoon 3 disconnects it’s a problem with my network equipment and/or internet provider…

Would be nice to at least let us know which settings are supposedly causing issues, because otherwise the above sounds like you’re just shifting the blame.

Hollow Knight: Silksong please? Thanks!

I see the “combat mode” box is sensibly-sized - did they fix this in the original game as well? I remember it being humongous at first, which was really off-putting.

Well, I guess they could add a “Rocket League”-like mode in Mario Kart 9, when (read: if) it comes around…

How about a remake of Remember Me? I feel that was a game with huge potential that just needed today’s technology to shine.

@SoulChimera Ah, Toilet Princess, the sequel to The Wind Breaker…

Immortals Fenyx Rising is a great game and the Switch version was pretty decent. I liked the main story a lot, but the DLCs were less interesting. While the game does borrow heavily from Breath of the Wild, it nevertheless has its own identity and I definitely enjoyed my time with it.

Prince of Persia 2.5D… there was already such an effort on Xbox Live Arcade if I remember correctly - a remake of the first PoP game with graphics from The Sands of Time. Sounded interesting but I didn’t own an Xbox back then.

@AG_Awesome Falien, his eyes opened. AG_Awesome and Falien on the ocean.

Boulder Dash?

@EarthboundBenjy There was a Zelda retrospective collection that released around the time Wind Waker came out; it featured A Link To The Past, so that could have been such a case.

Not sure if it fits the category, but the Switch version of Death’s Door is quite excellent, in my opinion.

[pouts] But I wanted the OLED model!

She used to be simply old, now she is OLED!

…I’ll get me coat…

Pretty neat and a nice showcase of what GBG can do.

@Zeldinion I think you’re right; I was about to post the same. Silksong was announced Feb 2019.

So, Epic bought PsyoNIX who made ROCKet League; now they bought HarmoNIX who made ROCK Band… hmm… [puts tinfoil hat on]

@Ogbert Something like e.g. “improved particle effects, reduced input lag, reduced framerate drops in stage select screen, increased resolution in docked mode” - that sort of thing.

My gripe is not with the Tetris Effect developer specifically, it’s a general dissatisfaction with modern “patch notes” - I believe they should be as detailed as possible, especially given the contemporary “launch now, patch later” development ideology. At worst, you get things like Spotify, whose “patch notes” have been the same for practically years now; something along the lines of “we’re always making optimizations and improvements, please use automatic updates to always have the best version”, while they add/remove features at will.

If we stop caring about patch notes, it’s a step towards not caring about overall quality, and this is why we get abysmal launches like the GTA Trilogy “Definitive” edition.

@nkarafo I’d say it runs just as well on Switch, with some expected reduction in graphics detail. Specifically, the resolution seems lower (I am not sure if there is any dynamic resolution scaling, but on handheld mode it seems to be slightly below native 720p) and some effects (pun not intended) are of lower quality - most noticeably some objects fade in/fade out using a dithering method. Another thing I noticed is that all cubes that make up the dropped pieces seem to automatically face in the same direction, while on PS4 they face whichever way they were facing when the piece was dropped and there is a periodic “wave” effect that straightens them. However, the framerate is definitely 60 fps, with some very small dips during some stage transitions. All in all it’s a great version of the game.

“[SWITCH] Optimized overall visual quality and performance.“

I remember a time when we got detailed patch notes. Now we have the above. Let’s see how long before the “patch notes” read something like, “It’s better than before”.

That aside, Tetris Effect is a fantastic game and, having played it on both PS4 and Switch, the Switch version holds up very well.

I think they should make this canon - Peach has some unhealthy fixation issue with Bowser that causes her to constantly go after him, then get captured, then Mario has to go save her (or give her her meds or something). Fits with everything we know!

“Let’s get physical… physical…”