MischiefMaker

Yet to play Hades so I doubt I'll get this over that. Having said that, I can't imagine that the game actually takes a lot of inspiration from Hades does it? Given how long games take to make and how long Hades has actually been out. Perhaps more that both games take similar inspirations?

Well Skyrim and Dead Cells still, but I got a great deckbuilder (real, not video game) called Aeon's End for my birthday which plays well solo, so probably that more than the Switch.

@aznable. Good choices! I hadn't even heard the extended tracks before so checking that out now. My favourite is Epiphany Fields. Gives me goosebumps every time.

@aznable @Teksetter I was thinking Oxenfree too. I love the way you can just play the game through once and get plenty out of it, and it isn't a timeloop. But then play through it again and it takes on this whole other angle. I also got the soundrack on BandCamp and so I relive the game through headphones frequently while working. Some great tunes in there.

Skyrim. The fact I can't climb mountains feels restrictive after botw but I'm enjoying it.

And some dead cells. I can tell I'll probably never beat it but I'm enjoying playing it. A bit like Enter the Gungeon - don't think i ever got past the 3rd level but I've definitely had my money's worth.

Skyrim. I can see that I'll be playing this for months. My quest log is filling up, and I'm starting to get a handle on bits of the lore and get immersed in the world.

Also tried Dead Cells on the free trial. I'm not hugely into action platforming but it's very addictive. Tempted to bite at 50% off even if my backlog is shaking its head at me.

Skyrim. Owned the cart for a couple of years but never played, so I've made a start. Enjoying it so far. I get the feeling that the 3 or 4 hours a week I'll probably get to play it won't really be enough given how deep it's supposed to be, but let's see.

Also played a bit of 'SpaceChem' while home schooling in the week, an old pc game i had from a humble bundle a few years back. Addictive coding style puzzle game.

Splatfest! I go through the same emotions every time I play splatoon 2. "This game is awesome, why don't I play it any more?" "Forgot how terrible I am".

Was playing Lumo but had 1 too many frustrating sections so I've abandoned it. Enjoyed it mostly though.

Super star for me but it was a tough choice.

Lumo, which is super cheap in the sale and been on my list for ages. Couple of frustrating bits but enjoyable overall and I appreciate the 80s references.

Secret of Mana. Almost at the end now, and it's getting a bit repetetive but it's been a great nostalgia trip. My wife got me a mana tree print and an art book for xmas which are brilliant. So once SOM is done I think I might finally start the backlogged skyrim.

My main xmas game memory is Ocarina of time. The title screen with the view of hyrule field and the opening section in the forest... Such nostalgia.

Not much gaming time for me but have continued Secret of Mana.

Carrying on with Secret of Mana, reliving my teens. The combat can get a bit tedious at times but I still love it overall.

Bit late now, but i continued with Secret of Mana. Still loving it, even if my kids and wife don't appreciate the classic music and beautiful graphics!

Started on Secret of Mana on the Mana Collection. Love that game but not played it for soooo long, it's such a nostalgic treat. It's rare I get the Switch to myself these days, luckily my kids decided to play on their tablets this morning.

Also Darkest Dungeon on ipad, and probably resident evil revelations on 3ds if i don't get to go on the switch again this weekend.

As my son is obsessively playing the pokemon sword dlc, I once again don't have much access to my Switch. So I've charged up my 3ds xl and popped in RE revelations which I bought years ago on sale and never played. Quite enjoying it!

Love the Alan Partridge reference. That's the voice in my head when I read the words 'Juraissic Park' without context.

But the real question is how do you feel about the pedestrianisation of Norwich city centre?

Mario Maker 2 (loads of fun) and I also got the 3ds out and downloaded mario land. Completed it on the first go but it was a great nostalgia blast, back to when it seemed almost impossible to have a mario game that you could play in school.

On the last level of dkc snes online. Might do a bit of the splatfest if i have time. Also Kingdom New Lands on ipad.

Snes donkey kong which has aged pretty well and some mario maker if i get time. Been watching The Witcher on netflix which is batshit but pretty enjoyable, and making me want to get the game. Should probably play Skyrim first, which I've owned for almost 2 years now and yet to play.

I've started on Mario Maker 2 - really enjoying the creativity of the story mode levels and getting to grips with the course creator. As always with these sorts of things my imagination gets carried away far beyond what I'll actually create given how little time I have for games nowadays, but the ideas and plans are half the fun anyway.

Also a bit of DK on snes online and mario maker 35. A very ninty focused weekend all told

Surely that's just good coding practice. A tiny thing like that future proofs just in case. Doesn't mean they've given it any more thought than "let's do this just in case we get told to ecoand it in future." After the whole Y2K thing its a pretty standard approach to this sort of thing.

Transistor (sublime with headphones) and Mario 35, when I get the switch to myself.

I have fond nostalgia for this, but it really shows just how far game design can progress as developers get used to a machine. They obviously realised for sml2 that you didn't necessarily need to get as much on the screen, and by going for bigger sprites it gave tbem much more scope for graphics and gameplay design. And you see the influence of smw on the second game, while still retaining that more off-the-wall feel that handheld games seem to get

Not a lot for me. If i get chance I'll play Transistor - feels like I'm getting toward the end but not sure. If I finish it I might start dkc on snes online or doom 2. Also playing Darkest Dungeon in ipad

Transistor, loving it. The music, style, mix of action and strategy. Also some darkest dungeon, but ipad instead of switch.

Started the backlogged Transistor. Liking it, especially the general mood of the game. Not sure what's going on though, but I likenthe way it makes you speculate and try and figure out what's real etc

My son has decided to start zelda botw again so i doubt I'll get much time on the switch over the next few weeks. With that in mind I bought Darkest Dungeon for my ipad which I've only spent about half an hour with so far.

If I get chance I may play a bit of snes on the switch online service, or maybe start Transistor from my backlog

Reminds me of a website used for gambling odds - Odds Exchange. Or oddsexchange in the url

Finished starlink main story and can't be bothered to do any more in it so started one of my backlog games, Grim Fandango. Enjoying the story and characters although not sure I have the patience for the obscure puzzles in this sort of game. Already used a guide a couple of times.

If I get time might playca bit of Splatoon 2 as well.

Starlink again. Starting to get a bit repetitive so i might just mainly go for the story and starfox quests now and cut down on the busywork. But I have enjoyed it, and definitely got my money's worth.

Starlink. Getting into it now, it's fairly repetitive but addictive, exploring the planets, upgrading their facilities and my ships and weapons.

Weirdly it seems that the starter pack (physical) i got also gives a few digital weapons and ships beyond what you get physically. Not sure if that was always the case?

Starlink. Kind of enjoying the busywork although i suspect I'll get bored if it eventually.

Also playing a lot of Slay the Spire on ipad. So addictive, love it.

@Darknyht Yeah that's fair enough. Something's only worth what the buyer is willing to pay. My perspective comes from buying nes and snes games that costed the equivalent of probably 100 dollars or pounds in today's money, allowing for inflation. So when you can get something as expansive, entertaining and time-consuming (ina a good way) as BOTW for half of that my stuck-in-the-nineties mind boggles! Today if a software company wants to get that sort of money for a game it has to be through dlc, microtransactions, season passes etc.

It's hard to be scientific about it. A game might last me 5 hours and be fully worth 15 pounds for the experience. Another could last me 30 hours and feel overpriced at that same price.

My main issue nowadays is more time than money. I try and limit my game buying because i only get a few hours a week to play games, and i think that has a bigger impact on how I value a game. I do like a good sale though

The whole 'test and learn' approach they talk about is very popular in agile IT development and its clearly worked well. But it tends to very much focus on short term results. Try something, if it shows quick returns then do more of it, otherwise drop it.

I wonder if the longer term impacts get lost, i.e. devaluation of video games. It shows here with the number of comments from people saying that they only buy eshop games on discount, as we get conditioned into waiting for a sale. I do the same.

Having said that, the free to play model has probably done more to devalue games than anything else.

People complain that nintendo rarely drop their prices much, but I and many others will pay top dollar for a quality nintendo game.

I played some starlink yesterday, it's not grabbed me in the way that I'm desperate to get back to it but it's not bad.

At the moment my switch is unavailable to me since the kids are taking it in turns on pokemon sword dlc. I've bought Slay The Spire for my ipad instead and loving it.

If i get chance i might play starlink.

Starlink if i get any time on the switch.

I downloaded Terraforming Mars (digital board game) on my ipad and really enjoying that. Looking forward to playing the proper physical board game with bro when lockdown ends, as he has it.

On the nintendo front I'll try and get an hour or 2 on starlink and maybe a bit more super mario world - on the special world now.

Finally started Starlink which i picked up physical on sale a while back. Played a couple of hours so far, seems pretty decent. Not sure if its worth forking out for one of the digital packs for a bunch of extra ships, pilots and weapons or not.
Also a bit of snes online mario world, going for the 96 exits which i remember getting back in the 90s.

My son's 13th this weekend so I've busy setting up an escape room at home, bbq, pitching the tent in the garden etc. Had about half an hour of mario world though.
He got Mario Maker 2 from my dad so I'm looking forward to having a go on that at some point.

Played some splatfest this morning. Forgot how much fun that game is! Other than that I might play a bit of super mario world or maybe start something from the backlog.

I like the idea of this game, but with work, kids, other hobbies etc I only really get a few hours a week for video games. So if I played this and wanted to get the most out of it, it would mean not playing any other games for a few months, or giving up something else I enjoy. It's the same reason I haven't got Stardew Valley, even though I'm sure I'd enjoy it.

Glad its so popular though. Great to see different kinds of gaming experiences doing well, and while Nintendo sell consoles and make money from stuff like this it means they stay in the console business, which is great as I love so much of the stuff they put out.

Civ 6 for me still. Getting closish to a domination victory i think, although the game drags a bit for me later on so as much as I've enjoyed it I'm looking forward to starting something else. I'll deffo be back to civ again though before long.

@JasmineDragon Yeah I noticed! This is my 3rd playthrough so I'm still learning. Had a bad start I think though, spent most of the first 30 or so turns fending off barbarians and now find that I'm kinda hemmed in by Queen Victoria. Still enjoying it, mind. I feel like I've got hours and hours and hours left in this game before I even consider needing to get the expansions.

I had told myself i would play a backlog game before another go on Civ 6 but here I am starting a new game again. Something about the rhythm of the game really drawing me in at the moment.

My 12 year old son and 9 year old daughter have a couple of pokemon startegy guides plus a fee minecraft and terraria books and they love poring over them, learning about the games, planning what they'll do next etc. It's just a different experience to googling something when you're stuck in a game.

Nothing major for me i don't think. Been playing a bit of tetris 99 to get the theme and might play a bit more snes mario world. Probably some ring fit and a bit of just dance with my daughter. As the weather looks a bit rubbish tomorrow we might have a bit of 4 player family mario party or overcooked.

Might just play a little bit of some games I haven't played in a while, like Fast RMX, Splatoon 2, snes online etc. Or I might start one of my smaller backlog games like Old Man's Journey or Transistor.

Got a sort-of-IRL game of 'Taskmaster' over Zoom this afternoon so that should be fun, need to think up some tasks. And might try and convince the kids to play some board games and/or Overcooked or Mario Party. Especially as the sl-sr button thingy replacement I order a month ago is finally due to arrive tomorrow so, all being well, I should have 4 functioning joycons again.

Oh and some Ring Fit Adventure no doubt.