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I’m guessing I’m in the minority who want Nintendo to just go very Nintendo with their next console. Screw being safe!
On the PlayStation and Xbox side of things all their consoles have just blurred together, I want the consoles I get to feel distinctive and memorable, not just what I had before but a bit clearer.
This is coming from someone who considers the switch to be his second favourite console of all time.

Played this on game pass. I saw the credits but I didn't 100% it due to legends Arceus and Elden Ring releasing.
Really good game, too be expected from the guacamelee team of course. I might pick this up and just backlog it. I could see myself going through this game again someday.

I have the divine edition pre ordered but it isn't arriving until Saturday 😞
I think I will miss the relationship building of previous games and I think I'll likely prefer three houses and awakening to it in tone but I reckon I'll still enjoy this a lot.

Got to chapter 5 in Xenoblade 3 after nearly 90 hours in. Just unlocked a very cool explorable area. Can't believe how big this game is ....
Other than that not much. Definitely feels like a quiet time gaming wise for me.

I've ordered them both! Can't wait. Should be with me later today.

I’m guessing they’ll announce their next console in early 2024 and release it later that same year which I think would be the perfect timing.
I feel like the switch has a lot of life in it yet, especially when you look at its lineup, and I’d rather wait for a more meaningful upgrade than just a resolution/frame rate boost. Hell if they want to wait until 2025 go for it as far as I’m concerned.

Ye.... I want too many of these and more 😅
Zelda and Silksong though ... Those are the 'I'm ill and can't go to work' games!

@cammers1995 I've wanted a fallout 3/New Vegas collection for switch since the beginning or hell even fallout 4. But at this point I'm guessing it ain't happening.

@johnedwin switch 2 will likely be out by the time persona 6 launches but this is atlus. Persona 5 was meant to be a PS3 exclusive in 2017.... The PS4 came out in 2013. They've done similar things with other games too.
Too me that's not such a bad thing as their games are hardly tech pushers.

My 2023 predictions for Nintendo;
-TOTK to have one final delay to September where it will release alongside it's OLED special edition. I believe it's reception will be similar to Majora's Mask or Fallout New Vegas, the general opinion at launch will be that it wasn't as good as the last one but after a few years opinions will flip and will be loved more than BOTW.
-I also believe there will be amiibo based on Links new Arm which shall be mine!
-Silksong will also miss it's 12 months after Xbox conference mark and release November.
-Pikmin 4 will be a early 2024 game (I know.... I foresee a lot of delays!) But I also feel like this game will drastically simplify the game, leaving long time fans conflicted!
-Pokemon S/V will get two expansions. Neither of which will bad but neither brilliant.
-Xenoblades Story expansion will launch and I will complain I don't have enough time for all this and that I haven't finished the base game yet but I'll get it anyways.
-Persona 6 will finally be announced (Not launch) for multiple platforms including Switch!
-Nier Replicant port will be announced.
-The first big direct will be in April!

@Aurumonado I know the feeling! I just hit chapter five in xenoblade Chronicles 3 after 75 hours.... I'm really doubtful I'll beat it in two weeks.
On top of that I have Kirby and Three Hopes I haven't even started yet.

I've got the divine edition pre ordered ready! (Which is a rare thing for me to do).
I wasn't sold on this one staright away but the more I've seen the more I think it'll be great.

"Way to go Joker!"

I'll have to keep my eyes glued to this. Really want some of those amiibos but their current prices I can't justify. The Wolf Link Amiibo will be mine! And maybe a few others too!

Zelda would be cool, might finally get a Sheik game!
But the year of Luigi 2 would be pretty damn good. The year of Yoshi would also be appreciated.

Nintendo's 2022 was great. Outside of Eldon ring and Ragnarok all of my gaming was on switch.
So many games came out for it there are still a few I haven't even started like Kirby and Three Hopes. I'll get to them when I finish Violet and Xeno 3.

I like the longer console life. I bought the Xbox one X when it came out and thought it was awesome. After 3 years a new one came out. Thanks to that short life cycle it just felt like the console came and went. There wasn't as much attachment to it so I'm glad the switch is going for 7-8 years. Not only that but when they do finally do have an upgrade it will feel more impactful. Or at least that's how I see it.
If Nintendo can keep the 1st and 3rd party support I'm all for the switch lasting another few years.

I don't know if I have games I definitely return to every year, but I got a list of games I return to every 2-3 years or more.
The first four gens of Pokémon are childhood favourites... And I always try to build new teams to make it fresh!
Journey is perfect to replay with its 1 hour long playthrough. As is Smash Bros, mario kart, tetris and Splatoon 2/3 with their pick up and play feel.
Mass effect trilogy of course. Dragon age 1 and 2. Batman Arkham games. The og Gow games. Dead Space 1.
I usually jump into BOTW for a little bit most years.

Happy new year!
From the Nintendo side of things gaming is looking very promising! Too promising really.
Fire Emblem plus Personas in January (wait! It’s January already?), Zelda in May! HollowKnight is hopefully inbound, Pikmin 4 will hopefully stick its landing. A bunch of awesome looking indies. Would say I’m looking forward to it but my backlogs getting out of hand!

@GrailUK Switch 2..... Now let's see you try and "slap around my chops"! 😜

Haven't had much time to play games over Xmas (in a good way). Someone gifted me Devil May Cry 5 for Ps5 which was nice, I played the game ages ago so it'll be nice returning to it when I get the chance.
I should probably get back to Ringfit Adventure too cos Xmas ..... Or at least go for some very long walks 😅
And then there's my current playthrough of Xenoblade 3 and Pokémon Violet which I've almost finished.

Not a bad wallpaper. Was thinking of changing mine up.

My list
1. Neon White
2. Legends Arceus
3. Xenoblade 3
4. Shredders Revenge
5. Citizen Sleeper

Personally I found the roster of Pokémon in this one to be dissapointing but there where one or two I liked.
The new Touros variants are awesome, called mine Moxley after the Aew wrestler, just felt they had the same energy.
Clodsire is no.2 which I called Whoper. I was very pleased with his that one turned out.
Tatsu is no.3. I really didn't think much of it when I saw it but then it hit my team hard and I ended up keeping it on my team. Didn't expect the dragon typing so that was a really cool surprise!

@NorwegianMate damn! I’ve been keeping an eye out but I must have missed it… thanks for the heads up.

@BlackMayge This game seems to have popped out of nowhere. It looks really cool. I’m gonna add it to my backlog but probably won’t get to it until next year.

@CammyUnofficial “I cleared my backlog” Impossible! There’s no way! It can’t be done!

Played some Crash Bandicoot and Mortal Kombat on ps1 last night with my nephews and sister. Retro gaming nights > Fortnite nights! Even if my nephews don’t fully understand what the big deal is (guess I’m getting old!)
For the rest of the weekend I don’t know. Would like to say Ringfit but I’ve been putting it off today, not feeling it 😅
I got a bit of endgame stuff left in Ragnorok but considering the next ps5 game I want isn’t until next March I won’t rush it.
With a Splatfest in January I probably won’t boot up Splatoon too much until then. I’m still chopping away at Xeno 3 but I like the pace I’m taking it. It’s gonna take me like half a year to finish it but that cool, makes it feel like the grand adventure it’s meant to be not just a game that comes and goes.
So my answer is….. dunno 🤷

Should I be buying more games? Probably not but that won't stop me!
Excluding Zelda my most anticipated switch game is Silksong (which wasn't available to vote for!)
The first really took me by surprise. I just thought it would be another indie metroidvania that had a pretty art style. Completely wrote it off but then I played it on a whim and for over a month it's all I played. Whenever the sequel comes out I'll drop whatever else I'm playing for it (unless it's Zelda in which case I'll pull a double time on my gaming!)
Other than that I'll probably double dip with persona 3 and 4. If Sly and the og Gow games found their way to more modern consoles my vita would be completely irrelevant now.
The Plucky Squire looks really cool, as does Sea of Stars. Engage is growing on me, even the protagonist slowly!
After playing Pikmin 3, 4 is a day one buy no doubt.
I can't remember if Rain Code will be on switch but if it is that's where I'll be getting it. (This is quite a list!)

#TeamSweet!
Hopefully my team doesn't get completely smacked like last time.... I was on a two winning streak before that!

I've been waiting for the Sethiroth and kazuya ones for ages! Any idea when they'll be available to pre order?

@Lony85 some great choices. Mine would be
2017 - Splatoon 2
2018 - Super Smash Bros Ultimate
2019 - Fire Emblem Three Houses
2020 - Age of Calamity
2021 - Little Nightmares 2
2022 - Neon White

Really good year for switch this year.
I think my Nintendo goty is either Neon White or Xeno 3... I think I'll go Neon White as I've finished it (100% actually 👍).
Legends Arceus was great and probably takes spot no.3. It has flaws but the pros heavily outweighed them. One of the coolest games in the series. Loved so much about it.
Shredders revenge was pure nostalgic joy! And the six player co-op was an absolute blast!
Splatoon 3 was great even if it is a bit samey.
Nobody saved the world and Citizen Sleeper where excellent but I played them on Xbox.
And I've got Kirby and three hopes recently but haven't got around to them yet.

My most played game is one I'm yet to finish 😅
That would be Xenoblade 3 at 70 hours. And Ringfit Adventure and Legends Arceus come in second and third, though I imagine Splatoon 3 is right behind Arceus and is likely to overtake it soon.
RPG was my most played genre.
Overall a very good year for switch, only 2017 and 2019 would be better in my opinion. Next year will have Zelda, pikmin and Fire Emblem so.... Who knows that could outdo it 👍

Starting my gaming early this weekend! Too cold to go outside or do anything! Just saw the credits for Ragnarok after 42 hours playtime since launch.
Without spoiling anything I'll say I'm not sure about that last chapter. Felt a bit disappointing to me and I'm a bit worried about the direction it might be pointing towards for future entries. But overall a class game! Worthy of the God of War name.
Ringfit is continuing as always. Perhaps even more so as it's about the only thing keeping my blood going (as I said, Cold today.)
I've got the Forspoken demo ready to go but I imagine most of my time this weekend will be dedicated towards Splatoon 3's big run event. Maybe a sprinkle of Xeno 3, Violet and Ragnarok end game throughout.

8 from me. My playthrough so far is around 7-8 hours and I'm enjoying it.
The opening hours with the academy are.... Painful.
The performance is decent for me, at least in handheld mode. Docked mode is a little rougher but still playable.
The open ended structure however is excellent, and having co-op to go with it makes this game stand out from the others.
Spent a few hours last night going to an area that's way too high a level for us but we brute forced our way through, even caught a bunch of pokemon 15+ levels higher than us. Very fun and rewarding 👍

I'm not seeing a performance catastrophe myself, at least in handheld mode it runs decently for me and the person I'm playing with, not amazing but good enough.
The game itself I'm enjoying a lot so far. Open world with Pokémon, writes itself really.
Could've opened up a lot quicker (take a note from botw or the black and white saga), the crystal gimmick doesn't feel needed at the moment but other things make up for my grips like having full Co-op and letting the player decide what path they want to choice.

Could be a cool switch pick up but I'd need to know a lot more about its career mode and character customisation (also if I could create a faction).
As it stands this is likely a wait for sale but that could change.

The first one I owned was Ruby (though I played bits of silver thanks to my sister). Saved up my £3 pocket money for months, did jobs to get extra and then on the final week.... I gave in and bought an ice cream... That Saturday my parents gave in and said they'd lend me the last £3 and of course I accepted! I choose Mudkip first, what a time!

Absolutely! Gives them more character! I didn't use too but around sun and moon onwards I've done it for every game.
My favourites would include Joel the Parasect (of which I've had three, four if he's in Violet), HealthySnack the Appleton! Zegreda the Eevee, PIKA PIKA the Mymikyu (or however you spell it's real name), Crabmeat and Birdmeat (Kingler and Pigeon), Elvis the NidoKing and Harry the Alacazam.

Beat it twice plus the dlc over 155 hours but didn't 100% it. I definitely feel ready for Tears of the Kingdom!
I felt like my second playthrough was better than the first as I could see how much I learned. Stuff like parrying a loser beam wasn't locked behind some skill tree it's just something I learned how to do. Stuff like that made the whole playthrough feel different.
In terms of content Tarreys Town was the highlight for me, as was buying Links old home. I hope there's plenty of stuff like that in the next one.

I like backwards compatibility but new games are vastly more important so I'm glad to hear that from Nintendo. I hope they'll continue to be rewarded for that mindset.

Gen 3 for me! Gen 4, 7 and 1 round up my favourite sets. But I also like Bayleef, Greninja, Braixen, Hisuian Decidueye and Feraligatr And Eevee if Eevee counts (I’m guessing not)

I was hoping to see borderlands 1 on this list! Ain’t no rest for the wicked became one of my favourite songs thanks to that opening!
Tales from the borderlands was also a great pick. One of my favourite things in that game was waiting in each episode for their borderlands style intro!
Burnout Paradise is another obvious one.
Rayman Legends I surprisingly didn’t think off. That’s a good shout.

@TheExile285 I know the feeling with Xeno. Been playing since day one and I'm 65 hours in with the end nowhere in sight. Not that that's a bad thing. I actually quite like taking months to finish a game (Elden Ring took me 3-4 months), makes it feel like the long, epic journey it's meant to feel like. Probably won't finish it until early next year I think.

I've been fighting the urge for a while now but I've leapt back into the world of Elden Ring for the first time since I finished it around last may. My goty and this replay is cementing that. Going for a samurai built this time as oppose to my first character who was a glass cannon mage.
My goal to get somewhat fit and healthy continues with Ringfit. Not sure why but I've noticed I've struggled a lot with the actual exercises recently. Having to really push myself just to do almost what I'd usually manage.... I'm not getting old am I?
Been slacking a bit with Xeno 3 as well. I've been itching to get back to it but just haven't found the time these past few weeks.
And of course I'll put in my vote for either team Grass or Water for the Splatfest later but I can't decide between the two....

Besides my weekend ring fit adventure sessions: absolutely nothing.
I think I said this last week as well despite having a few good games on half I'm slightly burned out and am just waiting for the November mayhem!

Really liked the first but I haven't got around to playing 2 yet so I'll be waiting on this one. Looks great though 👍

In another timeline where things are slightly different, I didn't give in and buy Persona 5 Royal on PlayStation after years of waiting for it on switch to no avail; I'd be playing that in portable form right now 😅

I went down to my sister's and nephew's house for a games night yesterday. We tried to play a game but it kept requiring logins and updates and such so my sister decided to bring out the old PS2 with Tekken tag tournament and a dragon Ball z game!
We'd forgotten how good those old games where (also had to face the fact that we're old enough that our consoles need an adapter to work on modern TVs 🤣), we're going hunting for more old games now, hoping we can catch a few cheap!
Other than that not much this week. Xenoblade and Final Fantasy 7 DLC are going along smoothly but it mostly feels like the calm before the storm (Splatfest, Scarlet and Ragnarok next month!)