GraniteFraggle

That looks absolutely boss. Time for Ciri Regardless of it making Switch 2 or not I'm really excited for this.

I love Kirby and this is surprising a 3DS remake that has taken my money written all over it! Definitely my favourite Kirby game which is saying something. Love to see Wooly World (this late in the day we're obviously not getting on Yoshing on Switch). Played Crafted World from start to finish with my wife and we really enjoyed it. Cute, charming and just fun.

At this point we have such a Switch backlog but very happy to add Kirby to it. I wonder if this could be one of the cross compatible 1 & 2 titles - although aside from 4k (maybe) I'm not sure how the S2 version would be better/boosted.

Maybe the likes of Wooly would be 30/60fps? Backwards compatibility though does give Ninty the advantage of a huge installed base to carry on releasing some of the overlooked 3DS/Wii gems which I can only see as good news.

It looks like it has potential but there's times when the differences between levels shown is really stark - some look like badly uprezzed N64 while some look absolutely lovely. The frame rate seems all over the place as well. Cue motion-sickness & headache for me

There needs to be a curating process - either Nintendo do it and set a basic level of quality or somehow let me design and save my own filter. The only way I use the shop now is to search for something by its title name that I already know. Life is too short for keyword/combination searches as it's just chock full of crap. This is bad news for smaller developers and is a real step backward. The chances of stumbling across a gem are vanishingly small unless it happens to have been reviewed on NL. The only people this benefits are the shovelware/AI generators not genuine vendors. This late in the cycle we're going to have to shrug our shoulders and hope things improve.

Yeh the first one is difficult but with practice the timings become pretty natural. The artwork & world building is first class - and make it worth persevering with. Great to know there's a sequel coming - definitely going to see if there's a physical of the deluxe edition.

edit Just had a look at the trailer - looks like they've kept the lovely animation & artstyle from the first. Looks smooth as butter as well. Definitely reminded me its time for another playthrough of the first one. Its an overlooked gem.

That's a shame - the first Ubisoft game I've bought in years! I guess I'm not their target demographic - so they'd rather churn out tired sequels to series that have no interest to me. Let's hope the someone else picks the team up. Sadly I think the IP which had a new lease of life will be sat unloved now at Ubisoft & that's the end of that

Shoddy treatment of the employees & the team feel awful for them.

Just hoping we FINALLY get Blood from Nightdive.

Big fan of the Raiden series and this looks great. Pleased to see the Purple Wangy Thing of Doom (tm) present. I'll go for a physical JPN release rather than chance waiting for a physical release here and the inevitable involvement of scammers LRG.

You can prize my DS originals from my cold dead hands ... but count me in I was in before the chance to play a new 2D Super Castlevania entry! Now let's hope Play Asia get hold of a Japanese physical release so I don't need to sully my sword arm with LRG.

I played the demo of TLC and really enjoyed it ... then put off buying it due to my inherent dislike of Ubisioft. I caved (I was going to wait for a sale) and I'm glad I did - its brilliant.

I missed out of SoT - it was on my list of things to play so I'm kinda looking forward to it now.

Rouge/Rougelite games just aren't my thing - I don't enjoy them at all. While it'll be great to play SoT I really would like more TLC - or a sequel.

I vaguely remember playing these on PC waaaay back in the day to see what the fuss was about. I felt "meh" at the time as the controls were clunky, levels felt dead and controls were frustrating.

My initial thoughts on these was "man that looks bad" - then I had to remind myself that again back in the day they were pretty good looking

Not for me, but I totally get why there's so much interest. As much as the games themselves there's an atmosphere and feeling that comes with playing them. I'm sure there's games I love to play which are terrible now for everyone else - but to me that nostalgic feeling makes them great.

For those of you looking forward to your nostalgia trip - glad you like them and enjoy!

My ONLY concern with Switch Whatever is a move away from physical to "always connected" and/or cloud gaming. It wouldn't surprise me - especially given how much of a money spinner SNES/N64 games are I.e. not a one off purchase but a subscription model ala psplus and game pass.

Provided they don't go down that route they can call it Super Happy Nerd Box.

Woah I picked up some wonderful games this year! Easily Metroid Prime Remaster for me, my only solid 10.

Interested to see where the other games I picked up are. Dredge I hope is in there & Blasphemous 2.

If I had to pick the biggest disappointment for me it'd be the Last Faith. So excited for it .... and then it was dull and the switch port utter crap, borderline unplayable on some boss fights due to slow down/frame skips.

Anyway I need to finish Prime and jump into Dredge DLC for Christmas!

I recently rinsed both Quake I and II on the switch - so much wonderful extra content!

Very much looking forward to QDoom carnage today! I hope we get the other episodes at some point as well (and yes I'd pay!) but what a way to do retro!

The switch releases of both Q games were worth every penny.

I'm assuming these are just FMV mockups of the "reimagining" as opposed to actual in game? Or am I being too cynical?

They also (Shinobi aside) look a bit too much for Switch?

Like so many others ... Skies of Arcadia please!

And I'm also guilty of forgetting that Powerstone/Powerstone 2 were Capcom. I'd always in my mind thought of them as SEGA.

Obviously NOT Nintendo published I have really happy memories of Pinball Challenge Deluxe on the GBA - which was all the tables from Pinball/Dreams Fantasies from the Amiga. Stones & Bones in particular was amazing fun. A real pity that it didn't have battery backup for your scores though!

@cakefish (and others) Simply not acceptable but seems to be becoming more of a standard as "switch being underpowered" is becoming a regular excuse. Games like this should be buttery smooth as Switch (IMO obvs) is the obvious platform for them.

I was really looking forward to this so picked it up on release. Really disappointed., especially given the time/backing. You've seen the best of it already in the pre-release videos etc. Clearly had some great art ideas, decided to do Bloodborne in 2D and instead produced an unoptimised & what feels like a rushed out by the numbers metroidvania. The slowdown in some places borders on unplayable.Game balance is all over the place from near impossible to ridiculously easy. Worth playing if you like the art .... but yeh. Huge let down!

There's some super lazy level/enemy design - time gated "challenges" which, like exploding blobs seem just put it to try to stretch out the levels somewhat Despite the odd nice enemy/backdrop design I'm finding myself at 56% and having to make myself continue. I'm experiencing some severe "I payed for this goddamit so I'm going to keep going." Mind, I have had a similar issue with Afterimage and that is HUGE.

Very tempted by the Ruined Kind as a) It looks lovely b) Both myself and the wife love the Arcane animated series. We've just started our re-watch (number 3!). Looking forward to season two (especially as Norwegian pop-black metallers have recorded Jinx's theme!) & anything which opens up more of the lore of this glorious world is sorely tempting.

@Yoshif3 I'd LOVE an updated F-Zero too! Unfortunately I think it's unlikely given how we'll MK8 has sold. Producing a sequel on Switch 2 will be their priority. We can but hope!

@Rainbowjames Thanks for the suggestion - I will give that a try. Luckily never suffered from drift but this bluetooth nonsense is a right pain!

I have loved videogames since I was a kid. I was lucky enough to have an Atari 8 bit computer - which meant freedom from the console wars which are as old as our hobby. Back then it was BBC vs Spectrum with the odd Commodore (Vic 20 & sometimes the C64) in the schoolyards. I ignored them all - and enjoyed some amazing experiences that pushed 8 bit gaming to the edge. When I entered my working life I could afford what I wanted although I had a tendancy to alternate platforms between generations. Overtime I've gone from Atari 8 Bit, SNES, N64, Xbox, Gamecube, PS2, Dreamcast, 360, PS4, Switch. Handhelds Gamboy, GBA,DS,3DS.

Each time its been whatever has offered me the best experience, very much driven by my person l experience & taste. In recent years I have to say the PS4 is my least played. There's the odd gem that gem which has tempted me back on - Elden Ring/Lies of P being the last but most of time is spent either handheld or docked on my switch. For me, I think the future is definitely in the hybrid future (at least for me). I've no interest in the franchises like COD, FIFA, Ubisoft etc.I'm hoping that with the power of handhelds catching up that the more interesting titles - the From Soft et als that either Switch 2 or the next gen of Steam Deck will look after those needs.I'd certainly not welcome Microsoft's involvement in Nintendo going forward - I think that their offering to the gaming world in recent years can be best described as "beige". As someone genuinely brand neutral they offering nothing.

Never mind drift, does anyone else suffer with Bluetooth interference with their switch when docked? I have to switch speakers & record deck off when playing Mario Kart or face random direction changes.

I can tell you all exclusively what this title ....

... is not.

Definitely NOT Power Stone 3, worse luck.

Played the demo on steam (there's an extended one been released as of today) and it was great. Very much in for switch physical when it arrives.

There's definitely something for being able to read something in physical format - maybe it's my age but I really like it. Switch Player was great - having a book format works for me & will certainly be easier to file and enjoy looking back in future years. Backed

Oh I totally get where you're coming from. There's definitely the air of a quick buck around some of the games coming out, although by their nature a modern 'Vania definitely needs more work than say an action platformer in order to achieve the bare minimum (watch a plethora of them now appear on the e shop).

The nature of the effort to make modern games - even ones based around pixel art - I think does throttle invention.

Referring back to the old 8 bit days where's our next Necromancer or Alley Cat going to come from? That said there's zn awful lot to be said for running the likes of the Witcher 3 or Skyrim on a handheld. I dread to think what that would have done to 14 year old me's mind!

@Smiffy01 I think they're here to stay - it's my favourite genre of games so obviously that makes me happy - and judging by the success of the decent ones I'm not alone. They're as much a part of the landscape now as rpgs, vs fighting, fps ... As some who grew up with Atari 8 bit games in 16 - 48k the sheer breth and depth just blows me away.

If you showed the 14 year old me Starfox his brain would melt (well it did anyway when at the age of 20 I bought a SNES for this and Super Castlevania) given that Star Raiders at the time was state of the art.

The reward loop of 'Vanias is digital crack to me. Its all about what the next area looks like what are the new inhabitants etc. Like any genre I think it's matured. Gone are the days when 'Vania nerds like me would buy anything .... now there's a decent choice.

I played Rayman 2 : The Great Escape on Dreamcast and my goodness what a game! It had so much charm - the world, the sound, the art. Absolutely sublime and an utter joy from start to finish. I picked up Legends on PS4 and whilst I started off enjoying it the difficulty curve seemed insane. I only got a little way in before banging my head against (proverbial) brick walls and after that I've not even thought about trying it on Switch. I'd love to replay Great Escape at some point - but I'm clearly too rubbish to properly enjoy Legends

@Smug43 Absolutely. There's a reason Microsoft had to give away JSRF on the Xbox ....

.... and yes I know that probably feels harsh. I'm not decrying anyone who loves it but I remember thinking it was yet another Edge's new clothes type game. I found it confusing, wanted to like it but meh. Judging from the sales of JSRF I wasntbthe only one. Then what do I know - I loved Headhunter

One thing we can all agree on though - Dreamcast. Yum.

I think part of the problem is this constant trickle of "the switch is underpowered" statements across the net. It's definitely given some devs an excuse for poor conversions. The solution is simply to not support these releases.

Loved the Pocky and Rocky remake (Japan import). Intrigued as how it was censored in the west?

Generally if I want a physical release ands it's cowboys and con artists LRG I pop over to one of the import sites and get it from there, that way you're not paying the LRG premium or waiting 12 months

Just a word of warning - there is a fairly late game breaking bug in this. Its overall a fun metroidvania and I really enjoyed it - until I got the Arena (you'll know when you get there).

Essentially you can't ever finish it - one of two things will happen.

An enemy will not die - not matter how much damage (they keep taking damage and handing it out though) you put in. Only solution - quit to main menu reload.

The second is that an enemy will be "killed" but the sprite stays on screen. It can't take damage or deal damage - but again you can't progress.

I've tried different saves etc. but its definitely broken.

There's a lot of crashes too - again in the later stages of the game where you will get an unexpected error and you're taken the Switch home screen. Its almost like they only playtested the first half the switch conversion. Its a shame as I say I was enjoying it but I'm holding off for when these get patched, I'd also hold off buying it until it gets fixed.

Kirby and Blanc for me. Blanc looks utterly charming and very much looking forward to co-op with my wife.

Good grief there's some dross on e-shop. Even with stock assets etc. will Farming Real Tuk Tuk Extreme Simulator (sic) actually sell enough copies to even cover the cost of plugging said assets all together and dumping them onto the e-shop?

One day we'll finally get a new Castlevania, a new F Zero and Metroid Prime Trilogy switch

So much for the MP remaster being here for the "holidays".

Never mind the courses - we can FINALLY switch off blue shells and lightning.

There is much rejoicing in our household this evening.

@JustMonika

Good one Yeh its a rough old thing to have sometimes. Still as I was spending a lot of time in hospital earlier in the year it was the reason I ended up with a switch OLE. I'd been wondering about picking one up especially with Metroid Dread so that was the perfect excuse. Hope you're currently in remission!

@Rykdrew

Thanks for that - its a really detailed overview and sounds like its perfect for pick up and play sessions. It looks like the publishers are selling the physical edition for around £20 which is essentially the game post-DLC rebalancing/updates.

Lovely job - thanks again for taking the time to to run me through it.

@Rykdrew

Always on the lookout for co-op games (like you with my wife) how's Isaac? I never really clicked with it back in the 3DS days.

Hello long time lurker here! I ended up in hospital with yet more gastro/colitis problems and decided I needed something to completely take me away from being there. Picked up Thumper on a whim and my goodness with headphones on it completely pulled me in and I forgot where I was. Since I've been home its probably going to be some Mario Kart with my wife (she's a gamer too). We've been having an absolute blast with Yoshi's Crafted World co-op - so much fun playing together, a bit of co-op Diablo and back into Death's Gambit Afterlife when I'm looking for some solo play. I have a Metroidvania pile of shame (my favourite genre) that I'm slowly working my way through.