Picola-Wicola

Lovely introductory video, warmest of welcomes.

Like a fair few of the other commenters, I await the potential changes to single player experience. Loved this game so will do another playthrough if there is enough content in the Switch 2 edition aside from just multiplayer options.

@RootsGenoa It’s funny you should mention that issue with the right stick/gryo combo - at the start of the game I chose that control option, and honestly about 10 hours in I realised that I had not been gyro aiming. Thought I had accidentally turned off the option, but it turned out that touching the tight stick even slightly to aim (which I instinctively do in FPS games) stops the gyro function when you’re locked on. So I ended up playing most of the game without the precision of gyro aiming when you’re locked on, making some boss fights so much harder than they would have been!

Also, agree completely with the comments above about trying to pause the game but constantly being told that vi-ola couldn’t be summoned! Since when is the + button not default pause 😅

Looks like an interesting idea…. Although they have put two ‘x’ in the name. Is the smaller one pronounced differently to the larger one? Are they multiplication signs? Stop with the x naming in everything please 🙏.

After reading those previews I was legitimately expecting to hear from him all the time, every second. Got the game for Christmas and I was pleasantly surprised by how little you actually hear from him! So no, doesn’t bother me in the slightest, more bothered by those hyper-exaggerated previews and their woefully inaccurate games journalism.

Oh, I much prefer them waiting! Last year felt like a false picture of 2024 because it missed out like the whole of December, and it never really feels like a YEAR in review. Looking forward to the full and complete 2025 stats, it’s fun and sometimes quite surprising

Happy New Year everyone! Looking forward to that triple dose of Resident Evil for Switch 2 most of all so far.

@Dm9982 wow, thank you, that was a really constructive response! And I was listening intently as soon as you said that about Majora’s Mask - Zelda is my favourite gaming series, but that one game I cannot gel with due to the whole 3 days until the moon crashes time limit. So maybe I can give Stardew a fair shot taking on some of your advice…

Oh, I couldn’t agree more! Street Fighter 2 in particular (Ultra, 30th Anniversary, whatever iteration you prefer) is unplayable with the terrible - separated-buttons on the joy-con if you grew up playing it on the SNES’ d-pad. I can’t even do a dragon punch without using a d-pad, so have to always play with the pro controller 2 while docked - no handheld Street Fighter 2 for me. Plus, I need a d-pad for 2D Mario games - how can Nintendo make a controller that actually makes their most successful games, in 2D Mario, worse? 😂.

So lovely reading this comments section…. Merry Christmas everyone.

@nathatruc I agree, that is so strange and annoying! Don’t understand why it stays there constantly, surely they will remove it in a patch.

@Aneira What’s the dish!? I love Shepherd’s pie and ice cream, I’m in!!😀

It’s quite interesting the discussion about easy modes coming up today, having just personally finished Luigi’s purple coins and the 100 Dreadnought coins in Galaxy for the last two stars. The assist mode they added to Galaxy (which I think just gives you six hit points instead of three) isn’t helping anyone get those two stars in particular. And the satisfaction of doing so would not be half as great if it were easier, diminishing the achievement felt, perhaps? But more options for different players is usually a good thing.

I absolutely loved Cyberpunk through and through, and DK has been so much fun, Absolum is a real treat, but the one game that I couldn’t stop playing, even though there are probably ostensibly better games, is Hades 2. Over 200 hours logged without even realising/trying to play it to death, it’s just so good. Prime 4 is wrapped up for Christmas so haven’t tried that yet, but looking forward to starting that over the holiday break.

That is a cool football shirt! Back in the late 90s, when we had Football Italia broadcast weekly in the UK, I had that purple Fiorentina shirt.

Regardless of the terminology of what type of game Pipistrello is, Alana is spot on that it is wonderful little gem, and I encourage anyone with a mild interest in these kind of games to give it a shot.

@The_Nintendo_Expat I love the fact that you have removed the word pedant from your username but are more pedantic than ever 🤟. (Not a criticism).

Great review and sounds like a very interesting idea. On a separate note but regarding reviews: are NL planning on reviewing Rogue Prince of Persia!? It’s unlike NL not to have a review of such a game live yet, and I am delaying my decision on purchase…

@WaveBoy Super Mario Galaxy hasn’t aged well? I respectfully disagree, I have had more fun replaying this game from 2007 than most modern video games this year. It’s pure unadulterated joy.

In terms of the pointer controls, admittedly I played most of the game with Pro Controller 2, which worked perfectly for me with a quick press of the R button to re-centre and felt just like a Wii pointer.

@AG_Awesome I thought that was just a glitch on my Switch 2 at first! Glad to hear so many others have experienced it, lol. That aside, having almost finished getting all 120 stars, it has reminded me that the first Super Mario Galaxy is pretty much the perfect video game. It’s still pure magic 18 years later.

Oh jeez, I want to like this game so much, but it remains in purchsed-but-undownloaded limbo for me: I just can’t get past the time restrictions. I hate time limits on games, and I just couldn’t get past the whole “step outside, talk to one person, plant a few seeds then rush back home before dark” thing.

Question for anyone who has played this: I have now tried Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition on 3 separate occasions, trying to get it to ‘click’ with me. However, I keep getting frustrated by two things: the in-game map is atrocious for working out which way to go, and worse - I always end up failing missions because something else is happening at the other side of the map that doesn’t involve my current task, and by the time I work out what it is/how to get there, I get a mission failed screen. It became so infuriating I just deleted the game after 3 distinct attempts because it just isn’t fun at all to play for me. As a huge Zelda fan I want to play Age of Imprisonment. Does this game have the same issues outlined above in Hyrule Warriors DE?

@JohnnyMind Superbly put Johnny, couldn’t agree more with your sentiments there!

@Matt_Barber Thank you, that’s incredibly helpful because the spreadsheet talk etc was worrying me. I am seriously considering getting the cheaper Switch 1 version digitally and the free Sw2 upgrade now…

I’ve never played a CRPG before (or indeed D&D), will I be able to pick this up or will there be an overwhelming learning curve does anyone know?

@AussieMcBucket snap on GameChat, my friend! I’ve had the Switch 2 since launch day and not had the opportunity to make use of that fancy new feature even once… That Split Fiction looks really cool too, but useless to me without knowing another Switch 2 owner lol.

Yes, please! The first Nitro Deck was a permanent fixture on my original switch in handheld, never had any issues with the complaints others made, it felt wonderful and have no doubt this will be better than the grips I currently use on Switch 2.

Looks really interesting… but a lot of these co-op games being announced, and you’re effectively locked out of playing them when you don’t know anyone else with a Switch 2.

Just finished the true ending for a second time after the Returning to a Real Possibility incarnation update, all 48 night enactments completed, over 200 hours played, sensational game. Bittersweet that everything is done, but time for a different game … my GOTY by a long shot, even though it won’t win tonight.

As much as I wanted to pick a shiny new AAA Switch 2 release, Hades 2 stole all my time (and heart) and is my undisputed game of the year 2025.

I just can’t justify the price of these things when I could buy a full-price first party game or multiple great indies for the cost of the cheapest sd express, and yes it’s a pain juggling downloads but I tend not to return to single player games for a good couple of years once I have completed it, so it is manageable.

Does anyone know if this is available in the UK? I can’t seem to find it, only has US prices/shipping.

Someone has already preordered me the physical for Christmas, so although I will have to wait 3 weeks after everyone else to play it, at least it saves m a whopping 32gb on my Switch 2!

What a great physical case! I cannot emphasise how good this game is too - I have been practically unable to play anything else for over a month now, it is an absolute joy.

Although I am not especially disappointed, I too am somewhat surprised. I thought there was this ironclad legal agreement to at least bring CoD to Nintendo when they bought Activision? I am surprised there hasn’t even been a hint of that happening so far.

Oh, and thanks to everyone who comments on the various different articles. Just finished reading all 116 comments on this one….. you all make the site as good as it is too!

Many happy returns…. I visit this site on a daily basis, really appreciate everything you do. 🎉🥳

Already downloaded, so interesting to see my playtime going back to the WiiU launch 13 years ago! (Did I really play Mass Effect 3 multiplayer for 472 days during the WiiU’s lifespan!?).

@the_beaver Metro GC tend to be hugely critical and negative about most of the gaming industry, so take their view with a ton of salt (I found it funny they hated Hollow Knight for years, which is fair enough to have a different opinion but changed their tune when Silksong launched and broke every digital storefront).

@Antraxx777 Thanks for that tip on the minimaps !!!

@kmtrain83 I am actually pleased to hear someone else struggled with orientation with the map on these games. There seems to be some kind of inversion going on, where you walk towards one point on the screen and find you are heading in the opposite direction on the map to where you should be going, which isn’t how maps work in 99% of other games and it actually spoiled my enjoyment of Hyrule Warriors DE. But still looking forward to this, great review.

@Tibob I’m right with you there. At least you can get rid of the cursor in handheld mode, but playing on a tv with the Pro Controller, that damn cursor just gets in the way.

This looks neat and all, but I don’t think it’s going to tempt me back to my island. I would have much, much preferred a dedicated Switch 2 Animal Crossing, a completely fresh experience.

Well said. It kinda sounded like Microsoft’s comment was made with the dying breath of their gaming division.

@dennabeht I Echo your sentiment… game of the year, of the year, of the year.

@Metalinkster same here, been playing this exclusively for the last few weeks. 10/10 and an absolute masterpiece. On my path to the True Ending, so some of these changes are very intriguing.

This actually sounds great, I have considerably toned up my ‘grind and repetition’ skills/tolerance with Hades 2 recently, so after I finish there I will pick this up.

Just today in a frantic battle with Chronos on Hades 2, I accidentally pressed the + pause button, and I thought I had inadvertently also pressed quit from the pause menu because the screen went black and he proceeded to chastise me for pausing a battle with him! and telling me he’d wait until I had finished something more important. It was hilarious when I realised that I hadn’t quit the fight but I guess locking the buttons prevents accidentally stopping your flow in such tense final battles 😂.

I have played nothing else since Hades 2 released. It’s an endlessly entertaining, beautiful tour-de-force of a game.

Hades 2, and that is all. What an absolute masterpiece this game is.