Ogbert

Also, I wanted to play as all the different characters but I didn’t want to have easy mode on so I couldn’t ever pick Nabbit or Yoshi.

It really needed to be a set of per-player toggles.

@Ooyah or as it’s not Project S for ‘Sadness’ but a spiritual successor maybe, perhaps Project M stands for a similar word; ‘Misery’.

And my backlog keeps on growing…

I’d seen ‘Dear Me, I Was’ in the eShop and completely dismissed it as a copy of Another Code (I remember thinking it was an oddly obscure title to rip-off). It’s not just the same art style it’s the same composition, colour palette and font. It’s a lovely art style but you gotta mix it up a bit more than that.

They didn't just cover the women, they covered the guy at the back's pubes as well.

I mean for a storefront image I'd imagine violence and gore and drugs would also be censored. I doubt the content of the pack is though.

AI has no place in creative areas. And frankly in it's current economic disaster state, beast mode-ing it's way through water and electricity (which by the way is why all our energy bills have gone up) and being owned and run to the advantage of some of the most despicable 'humans' to ever grace this earth, it has no place anywhere.

Technology is not an inevitability if we don't let it become one. That's yet another falsehood pushed by those with an invested interest in making it inevitable. I'm disappointed everytime I see another games company announce "we don't want to be left behind". Left behind how? By who? The customers are going to still buy it if you don't use AI. In fact it seems like more people are willing to buy it if it's not. And aren't the customers meant to be your primary concern after the devs themselves? Oops guess you just revealed your "all-in for the shareholders" hand there.

Also the initial ideation is THE WORST time to use generative AI. It's generating from a limited and stolen pool. And you can't say at this point it's trained on your own data because if you have that data to put in, you don't need gen AI to spit it back out at you. Not if you're keeping your artists anyway. The very early stages should be unknown exploration, that's the whole damn point! You don't know what you might find that sparks the imagination. And it can be literally anything! You might find a cool pose, some fantastic lighting, a fun pattern or colour combination, even just an interesting shape. Gen AI doesn't think like an artist so it can't put that together. It can't look at a mid-century toaster and say "wow the curves and colours are really cool here, I should work those into my lizardman armour's pladrins". Sure you can tell it to do that but at that point you're now using it to generate the art itself and replacing the artists, which they all claim.not to be doing. Except they are the ones that think that way so you can't replace them, you need them to be there for the idea in the first place and they aren't going to use gen AI to replace their years of craft and dedication that landed them their dream job.

Ultimately AI is another cigarette scam pushed by the super rich 0.0001%. It's unhelpful, immoral, upping our bills, numbing our brains and killing our planet.

Get it out of my games.

This is great news! Honestly given the superhero cartoon stylings 30fps might actually feel more authentic! But I’ll take the 60 on my 2.

Very excited to finally give this one a go!

@Misima because a single rendering choice is not the only thing that affects memory usage and frame rate.

This is excellent! So many great browser games to port over, I can’t wait!

It’s not all that ‘Disney’ it’s just hand-animated and 2D, but the hand animation is lovely and nice to see.

The environment art really lets it down though and sadly drags the visuals as a whole. There are point where, nice animation aside, it was unpleasant to look at. You should never have backgrounds with thicker line art than your characters’ line art for one. A shame, but at least it looks done by a human and that goes a long way for me!

The kid is still creepy. Gameplay looks interesting, but the kid is extremely off-putting.

I'd pay for a skin to make her just a regular regular looking robot.

"With Metroid Prime Remastered, the seemingly impossible was achieved: a masterpiece was made even better"

Then it's placed at 5 with the original at 2.

LOGIC.

It's just attention seeking. If this was the pack-in it should have been nobody would be complaining it was bad and GameStop wouldn't have hopped on the bandwagon and this would be going to a different game.

We all know if you truly, objectively looked at all the games released this year, there would be several hundred Roblox and AI slop titles all equally deserving. Most of which nobody has ever heard of so there wouldn't be any point handing them this distinction because it would get zero attention.

A great machine! But I can’t deny it’s a little lacking in first party exclusives.

I don’t really care about the Switch 2 versions of older games and I don’t know how to feel about the paid upgrades for new ones (shouldn’t they just be better on the better machine?). But Mario Kart World and Bananza have been standout for me. I’m glad I have it for them alone.

Third party support is good, some huge AAA ports that seem to hold up well. Not of personal interest but it’s nice to see. I think someone else mentioned there are some ‘indie’ games sadly missing like Claire Obscure and Dispatch but they may come later.

Personally I think key cards are a great addition for games that would otherwise be fully digital only. And more options is just better.

Welcome Tour absolutely should have been a pack-in. And I’ve not played Drag X Drive but…yeah it’s just a bit disappointing for the first experimental new IP of the system compared to the likes of Arms, Dillon and Pushmo.

Mouse mode gimmick is not exciting for me, I’ve not tried it and I’m not likely too. Sometimes it does feel a shame that the Switch2 is lacking a new Nintendo gimmick and I have to remind myself that is it and it’s just not for me.

Overall I’m very happy. I just need a few more actual exclusives and would still buy a 3DS-style 3D version in a heartbeat and continue to be sad that tech had been ditched. Also Ever Oasis 2 please!

@TimelessJubilee "It was no MK8, that's for sure."

No Mario Kart 8, or no Mario Kart 8 Deluxe + DLC?

People forget MK8 had a small fraction of the final MK8D+DLC content when it launched. 4 new cups and 4 classic, then there was a big paid DLC pack and some small free updates, then a deluxe rerelease that added a couple more small features, then a few more rounds of paid/subscription DLC.

A tough one this week. Well, mostly, Europe’s sucks. I really like NA’s one, but Hitler looming in the background of Japan’s is hilarious! I’m struggling to pick between the two but I think I like NA’s just that bit more.

Lost most of my interest in this when they revealed the cussing monkey that was tonally at odds with the first game.

I lost more interest when they said it was going to be not just open-world, but multiple planets of open world.

I lost further still when they then begged people to make free content for those worlds.

Now Ubisoft is fully embracing the environmental disaster that is generative AI, I'd rather this game just no longer exist. I won't be playing it, even if by some miracle it's ok and not a bloated, sloppy mess.

this looks great! Don't like that UI though. Why those bright outlines on the health draws attention too much and the purple colour isn't neutral enough to work in all the levels. Plus that score box.

Ah well, it's still in dev so hopefully those things will get an upgrade. The rest looks lovely!

Japan by a landslide. Then Europe comfortably in second place. Then NA dragging behind.

The front is meant to look cool and grab your attention, which Japan does in spades and Europe does well. The back is where you get the details of all the games and contents. NA's looks like I'm looking at the back of the box.

Terrible name but the gameplay looks like a smart twist on the genres and quite fun.

Ah yes Roblox, where only the most discerning of players go.

Honestly I’ve seen gen AI used for images and half the time it’s reductive and requires an artist to redo it anyway. I’ve seen it used for scripts and the same happens. I’ve seen it used for code to even worse effects, often making something that technically works but is horribly inefficient and causes problems further down the line.

It does have some uses in some places but it’s generally not helpful, not worth the job losses and certainly not the environmental cost.

The simple fact is we don’t need more media to be churned out. There is already too much new stuff on top of all the older stuff. There is more than anyone can consume in a lifetime. Not to mention none of us can afford it anymore because we’re loosing our jobs to AI and the money is being hoarded by billionaires and multi-millionaires.

So who is it actually benefitting? I heard a good comparison that AI is like cigarettes, we were sold them as a positive, as something we should have, so we invested, then the rug was pulled out and we saw that there is actually only negatives but now we’re co-dependant and need them to function. That’s all these AI pushers want, you to become co-dependant on their new product.

Worst part is when the bubble bursts it’s going to hurt everyone, whether you partook or not this time.

I like the detailing of the Triforce pattern on Zelda’s clothing up close.

It’s hard to tell if they are too clean and new looking right now. Obviously Zelda is a princess and if this is simply before the action takes place she will have nicer clothing. And Link’s does look more durable and ready for action even if it’s not seen it yet.

I’m actually excited to see more! I hope they keep the weird tone of Zelda somehow. I highly doubt we’ll see Tingle but they have to have some of that oddity. Even if it’s just Agitha or someone else less weird.

Will there be Goron? There’s gotta be Bokoblin right? Zora? There’s so much that could go either way.

Oh good to know the port lets it down. I was thinking of getting this on Switch but I’ll go for PS5 then.

Gotta say props to NL for leaving the comments open here but also to the mods for keeping on top of it.

Imagine, in a franchise that literally lets you set wildlife on fire, being upset by a fan-made walk cycle.

Yay Mega Starmie! This is great I really love it when people find something relatable like this, even if it's not the intention. And I'd somehow never seen that French Starmie before, hahaha!

I played the demo… I didn’t not enjoy it, but I’m gonna wait for a discount I think.

It’s beautiful, it’s unique and it’s frantic in a good way. I’m very glad it exists. But I dunno, it’s not super clicking like I need it too for the price. Especially when I have Mario Kart World and Fast Fusion to scratch my racing itch.

Ok so the bike is just Epona and the desert Hyrule Field, kinda lame but a means to an end. But that montage of hokey dialog from the secondary characters was deeply off-putting. I’m still excited for it, but I am actually concerned there will be a bunch of cringe dialog ruining the atmosphere now.

Was hoping the new casting was Danny DeVito as Tingle.

Dichen Lachman feels a good Impa choice though.

Just give me a settings option to turn the sidekick voice down/off. I’ve done it before and I’ll do it again!

I feel like I just went back in time. That sounded like a song from Maid Marian and her Merry Men….but about Kirby.

I kinda loved it!

@SillyG the game. You’re being charged for the game. The piece of software a large team of people worked on for several years to make that you can then play and gain enjoyment from.

You can still get your tiny, bitter-tasting rectangle of plastic too if you want. If that brings you joy too. And with it you are granted the ability to resell, lend, borrow, trade etc as you wish. There’s just also a download required.

Or you can go fully digital, which doesn’t grant you the ability to sell, trade, borrow or lend the game on afterwards (bar some limited digital card functions) and still requires a download.

Those are your choices. Both have pros and cons but ultimately both get you the game, which is what you are paying for.

I wouldn’t be playing with eye tracking anyway, but good to know about the headphones.
I recently played The Midnight Walk on PS5 and headphones were a must for that too!

@SillyG I got to go to Japan just before lockdown with my partner. We rented a place that had a washing machine so that we could bring minimal clothing and had a whole suitcase empty to fill with stuff. We nearly filled it at Skytree alone with the Pokémon Centre and Ghibli Store!

@AllBLK that would be nice, but also just because they’re older doesn’t mean they are inherently worth less. They don’t expire, they’re still great games. And people are clearly ok still paying full price for them or they would give them a permanent reduction. Is it greedy or is it knowing the value of your work?

Only one I would argue for is Splatoon 3 as you’ll get less of the events buying it now vs at launch, though general online and the campaign are still excellent. But I think it would be fair to say that should be reduced now.

It’s fine. I don’t know what the “but very safe” bit is for? I didn’t want something super out there it’s just Yoshi from the games rendered in the style of the movie, it doesn’t need to be anymore than that so I’m not going to criticise it for not being anymore. It’s fine.

@PeterTomlan86 I know a lot of people like it now but The Polar Express flopped on release, noting the character visuals and padded narrative as low points. So that’s why other films are not trying to replicate it’s look and feel.

In terms of Illumination and Galaxy, they are very talented animators and they totally could do those serene moments. Whether or not they will is another thing, and in part down to Nintendo too, who have a big say in the whole thing. But a thing to remember is in the game we can choose to sit and absorb that moment as long as we want, a film has to keep moving.

Personally I’d say it’s best not to expect those moments, then it’s a lovely surprise if they are there. It’s more likely to focus of the sillier, more slapstick aspects of Galaxy, like Yoshi’s tongue grapple, feeding Luma until they explode and be sling-shorted through space. But Rosalina might bring some of those moments in.

I dunno. I’m not a fan of the bike anyway but the pose looks awkward too and all that sand poking on the edge looks really bad to me.

Would have been cooler as Samus popping a wheelie on the bike and scaling it down to fit on the plinth.

This feels too close to launch for me. It’s not even been a full month!

I’m not saying it’s cut content or anything, but regardless it just feels too much. Hold it back a few months and add a few more Mega evos or something.

@BulkSlash if there is one thing the comments in these articles have taught me is that most people seem to want/need a very literal, spelled out image for their covers. And Japan doesn’t always like to do that.
Also most people here are from the NA/EU region or one that got the same cover and nostalgia is one hell of a force.

I prefer Japan’s. I like that the logo is given space if nothing else. Both have equal clutter, but somehow the NA/EU logo positioning makes it worse for me.

I really wish the graphical upgrades just came with using the new, more powerful console. I really don't care about mouse mode or the megaphone, but I would like higher definition graphics.

But that free update? Ooooooh yeah! That's the stuff!

Oh Xbox. You’re part of a 4 Trillion dollar company. You can stop trying to make it a competition and just accept you can’t won’t own everything. Some things will stay exclusive to other systems and that isn’t always a bad thing.

Also, there are still Xbox exclusives.

Also also, you just majorly hiked up the price of GamePass after announcing record profits for it, during the middle of a global cost of living crisis. Stop pretending you’re all about the players and their rights.

To be fair I’ve played this on an Xbox series X and it chugged a little in some of my museums in the latter half of the game. I was kind of hoping by some miracle it would be smoother on Switch 2, but still it’s an excellent game!

I wish we would stop ignoring the environmental issues with AI too. We keep talking about the ethical implications and yes they are important, but the fact this technology is also burning through power and water at an alarming rate is also incredibly worrying. It shouldn't be being left out of the AI conversation the way it is.

But yeah this tracks. I've seen a lot of reports about how fixing all the nonsense AI comes out with is more work. How leaving AI to scan documents instead of just reading them actually results in a lot of missed data. And how when it does work, it just results in even more work being dumped on the human to keep up with it, causing stress and burnout.

We don't need this technology. It adds nothing to our lives and is actively destroying them. Read a book, pick up a paintbrush, talk to a human.

Really hoping Amazon doesn’t mess up my preorder here!

I’ve got a lot of art books and I don’t think many give a lot of insight into design choices outside of “we thought this was the most menacing” or “this one went a little too hard”, so I’m not surprised there.

Can’t wait to dive into all the art! Metroid deserves so much more attention than it’s ever gotten and I’ve yet to play anything with the same feels as the Prime series.

They are very cool and I do want them. I'm sure the quality is there and everything, and the swappable riders is fun. But that price is like, you can have the game or a toy, you can't have both.

For me at least.

Excited for this! Mostly for more Sakurai humour tbh.

Absolum looks amazing, I love the art, but the rogue-like side just puts me off. I've tried a bunch now (Gonner, Hades, Tumbleseed, Peglin, Flinthook, Invisible Inc, Spelunky, Downwell, Vampire Survivors, Enter the Gungeon, Darkest Dungeon, Crypt of the Necrodancer - you can't say I've not tried!) and none have really grabbed me bar Balatro which doesn't really feel like a rogue-like so much as it's just how card games work.

Best of luck to them though! I hope fans of the genre have a great time with it!

I can see the headlines now...
Before launch:
"Next mainline Pokemon to finally have voice acting!"

After launch:
"Fans mad at new Pokemon game bug that causes cutscene VO to play in all the wrong places"

They have enough to fix first.

I’m just here to say I hate that new advert at the top of the screen NL. I’ve not used ad blocker because I know the revenue is important to you but this is an ad too far, it’s literally a third of my phone screen.

Also I voted NA.