KoopaTheGamer

@Krlozgod I think Raikou definitely has some feline characteristics, but Entei and Suicune? I don't see it.

@Lizuka Gran Turismo 7 released on PS4, so it should be doable on Switch 2 as well.

Very happy to see that they look as expected. I think Pokémon games have been consistently ugly since 3DS generation, but the older games still look great. And I'm glad that they are a separate purchase. Sure, 20€ is not cheap for an old game, but at least it's widely available and far cheaper than physical GBA versions are these days.

This looks kind of awful. It's way too wide to be comfortable.

@nhSnork Increasing resolution or framerate does not increase the filesize. Filesize is affected only if this version has upgraded textures/models. But currently there is no reason to believe it does, as they only mentioned the framerate and resolution.

@Anti-Matter I appreciate having physical version as an option, but for 50€? No thanks, I'll get the digital version for half that price.

I know that some people are not happy with game key cards, but I think they make a lot of sense if the alternative is paying a very high premium for a "true" physical version. But hopefully things will improve now that they (allegedly) make smaller game cards.

@EarthboundBenjy It goes for sort of a retro-futuristic look. Low-poly models and pixelated textures but with modern lighting effects. Looks very cool, although we'll have to wait and see how the Switch 2 version runs.

Valheim is excellent, highly recommend it!

@Nao120 Well, FF XVI runs on a completely different engine that may or may not support Switch 2. I think it's also a fairly demanding game.

This looks quite impressive. I already have the game for PC so I won't be getting it for Switch 2, but happy for those who are.

Gotta say, both Fallout 4 and Oblivion Remastered look kind of awful on Switch 2.

Could be a fun game, but I don't really like the art direction. Glad to hear that they got it running smoothly, though.

I think some people will really enjoy it, but this isn't a game for me.

@Dark-Luigi To be fair, I don't think any of those hentai games on eShop have any actual nudity.

Censoring a middle finger is kind of silly, though.

@Earl_Grey Because analogue triggers aren't objectively better in all games. Plenty of games (most, I'd argue) benefit from the responsiveness of digital triggers.

@aniki66 Huh? Microswitches are amazing for controllers. Very responsive and satisfying to use.

@JayJ Oh yeah, adaptive triggers on DualSense are amazing when used well. I was talking about standard analogue triggers. Those don't have as much potential since they can't limit the movement of the trigger, and they also can't replicate multiple functions on the same trigger without it feeling imprecise.

Obviously you can use analogue triggers in any genre you want. But in most games they're treated as completely binary on/off buttons, same as digital triggers.

Either way, I think it's fair to say that both digital and analogue triggers have their advantages. I just think the benefits of digital triggers outweight the benefits of analogue triggers. That said, I do enjoy racing games a lot, but I mostly play them on other platforms.

@Skunkfish Maybe. But it's not unusual for companies to make more energy efficient versions of their hardware (like 2019 revision was). Not only because of environment, but because it allows them to save material cost due to smaller chips and less beefy cooling system.

I'm sure there will be at the very least a minor revision at some point (similar to 2019 Switch v2 with Mariko chip). Wouldn't be surprised to see an OLED model either, but definitely not this year.

@Scollurio Shoulder buttons are not as comfortable to use, since triggers are at the position where your fingers rest. And some games require a lot of buttons to work, so having both shoulder buttons and triggers makes a lot of sense.

Again, analogue triggers are great for most racing games, but I prefer digital triggers for vast majority of games. Even some racing games like Mario Kart (where ZL/ZR are drift/item buttons) benefit from digital triggers.

@massimax The thing is, in most games digital triggers are far superior. Racing is the only genre where analogue triggers are truely useful. But in games that benefit from immediate presses analogue triggers are only in the way (and also make button presses less satisfying).

Some controllers allow you to switch between analogue and microswitch triggers with a flip of a switch. But I doubt we'll see that in 1st party controllers any time soon, if ever.

@KazooieTooie Only the Switch 2 upgrade (higher resolution + support for mouse mode and camera) costs money. The 3.0 update with new content and fixes is free.

@TrueFantasia 60fps would be a great option for sure, but in a slower paced game like this I think it makes a lot of sense to put the extra horse power into making image quality as good as it can be.

@Milk_ Maybe "in the background" was a poor choice of words from me. I mostly just meant something that would be more or less optional for the user. But yes, what you described is something that threatens us no matter if the AI bubble bursts or not.

@Milk_ The things is, even if the internet bubble had not burst, the internet still would've grown bigger. Maybe the players included would've been different, but it wouldn't have changed how people are on their phones all the time. Same applies to AI. If the bubble does not burst, we're still being fed AI even if we don't want it. And alarmingly, AI is already largely controlled by the big tech giants like Google, Microsoft, Facebook and OpenAI.

But I'd argue bubble bursting at the very least gives us something valuable. When smaller creators aren't so into AI (and maybe AI is even seen as something to be ashamed of), they make something real and valuable. Sure, AI will likely still be there supported by Google, OpenAI etc but when it's not as "in" anymore, rest of the world can continue without being bombarded by AI everywhere you look.

Take a look at Consumer Electronics Show. So many of the products have "AI" in the name, and it's key part of their marketing. I personally can't wait until you can buy a new phone without reading about it everywhere. Yeah, AI will still be usable on them, but it'll be on the background, easily ignored. Small victory perhaps, but a victory nonetheless.

@Milk_ Bubble bursting means that it will largely go away since there is not as much money in it anymore for the companies. Some will survive, sure, but there will be less AI pushed down our throats. It happened with cryptocurrencies, it happed with NFTs, and it will eventually happen with AI too. And I very much look forward to that day.

I think these look plausible, just very uncomfortable. Could be just a case of unfortunate camera angles, I suppose.

I prefer the original look. Subtle, yes, but stylish.

They look good, but I have no need for additional Joy-Con right now.

I had fun with Shovel Knight Dig, but having already bought it digitally, I don't see a reason the get it physically.

Nothing against the writing or voice acting of Miles, but him calling every two minutes in the desert got old very fast. In general, Metroid Prime 4 was just extremely mediocre game. I think Metroid Dread was much, much better, so I hope MercurySteam will keep Metroid alive.

This looks so much better than anything GameFreak has done in the last 15 years or so. Honestly, I unrealistically wish they would go back to pixel art since it's become clear that their 3D tech is (politely said) kind of rubbish. They could even partner with Square-Enix to create HD-2D remakes of the gen 1-3 games. One can always dream...

@Moistnado Not sure if you've played through Prime 4 but the part about Samus being psychic during Fusion/Dread is false based on the events of Prime 4. No contradiction there whatsoever.

Please, don't ruin Professor Layton. Love the series, but I don't feel comfortable supporting it if they use generative AI to make it.

@Reprise I play plenty of fighting games, beat 'em ups and some arcade shooters as well. I prefer playing pretty much all 2D games with a leverless controller, but Joy-Con style direction buttons work extremely well as well. Unfortunately Joy-Con are otherwise uncomfortable to use because of their shape/size.

I actually prefer the separate direction buttons these days. No accidental diagonal inputs when the buttons are separate.

Yes, I'm extremely bothered by it.

My highlights of the year are Hollow Knight Silksong, Absolum, Shinobi: Art of Vengeance and Ball x Pit (+Blue Prince and Lumines Arise that are not available for Switch/Switch 2). I also enjoyed Mario Kart World and Kirby Air Riders. Metroid Prime 4 and Donkey Kong Bananza were kind of disappointing, though. But overall a very good year for gaming.

I would be more or less fine with 30fps in such a slow paced game. But I can't stand input lag and this seems pretty much unplayable to me.

@JaxonH Funny how you mentioned Trials Rising, because the developer of the Trials series (RedLynx) also worked on the Switch 2 port of Star Wars Outlaws.

Fast Fusion would otherwise belong to this list but the image quality is awful. Honestly, Fast RMX kind of looks better because of the image quality even though the models, textures, lighting etc are worse.

That's pretty cool, even if the game was just ok in my experience (played it for a few hours through GamePass). Reasonable price too!

@Stormkyleis Based on the Directs, this was the plan the whole time. Sakurai said that the game was finished at launch and wouldn't be getting any DLC.

@CurryPowderKeg79 Pretty bad as a cash grab since a lot of people will get it for free...

Well, at least it looks a lot better. 60fps would have been great but better resolution, better textures, improved lighting and better draw distance for foliage are very nice things anyway.

Haven't beat it yet, but I've played close to 5 hours. It's a good game, but not great. The first few areas are fairly linear and the desert area is pretty boring and doesn't really fit a Metroid game. That said, visually it's stunning and runs great. Atmosphere is also pretty strong. Love the bosses as well, they're well designed.

Maybe a 7/10 then.

I will carefully asses whether I'll be buying Sega games in the future then. If they want my money, they should stay away from AI.

@larryisaman I played it when it was new, and I remember being super disappointed. It was great on a technical level, but gameplay was not what I was looking for. That said, I wouldn't mind a multiplayer/deathmatch mode as a DLC for Metroid Prime 4. Or even a standalone game.

How on earth is Metroid Prime 4 below Metroid Prime Hunters? That makes absolutely no sense. Don't get me wrong, Hunters did some things right. The controls work amazingly well, it has multiplayer, and it's visually among the best DS offers. But as a singleplayer experience, it's extremely mediocre. No proper upgrades (only weapons), only two different boss types etc make it one of the worst games in the series.

Edit: I disagree with the list in other ways as well. I much prefer 2D Metroids over Prime series.

@Elitepatriot I would be extremely concerned if it was 40h, that would be way too long for a Metroid game.