Qwiff

Broken Sword - Shadow of the Templars: Reforged One of the few point-and-click classics that I never played. The game is very good, but, as the NL review also points out, the voice sound quality is really poor. It does detract from the experience, tbh.

Wishing everyone happy holidays!

They wanted to cash in on the x-mas sales. S2 is hot right now. I can't imagine them not fixing the input lag, though.

@notreallyhere More fundamentally, the UI was designed for mouse and keyboard. On PC, controller support was patched in some time after launch and feels like an afterthought. If they fix the performance issues, the S2 version, with its mouse support, might be the best way to play it on console.

Hm, having played the remake on PC, I'm somewhat surprised at the wonderful visuals being listed as a Joy. I would describe the graphics style as... odd. I found the visuals hard to parse, due to them being extremely busy, noisy and strangely lit. Having played the original back in '94, I know it's trying for a modern take on the combination of sprites and 3D interiors, but the end result is not easy on the eyes. On top of that, the text size in the PC version is tiny and not adjustable, making it virtually unplayable on handhelds, unless you have 20/20 vision. I wonder if they added a text size option for the Switch versions?

@DennisReynolds I remember playing it on PC as well, with a Voodoo 2 card. Good times!

Rayman 2 was actually one of the games that made me more interested in console gaming. For me, it was a revelation, being used to playing the typical PC games from that era. (Quake, Doom, Diablo, Half-Life, etc) It wasn't long afterwards that I bought an N64, although I don't think I ever played Rayman 2 on it.

Based on the anemic marketing, I get the feeling that Nintendo was anticipating the somewhat lukewarm reception. There was no dedicated Direct, for instance. For a title as anticipated as MP4, you would expect it to be given the "VIP treatment".

For comparison, Dread was an OLED launch title and got a collector's edition.

@Anti-Matter I think that the Wii U HD version with the Gamepad is the best way to play the game. With the Gamepad, inventory management no longer pauses the game. Of all the improvements in the HD version, this one feature has the most impact on gameplay.

Continuing Metroid Prime 4. More out of a sense of "sunk cost" than enjoyment, tbh. It's well-made and does have some good sections (boss battles), but feels uninspired overall.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Great read! Love this game.

I do hope they included a brightness setting in this new version. The game was too dark on the OG Switch, with no way to adjust. Even the Xbox 360 version had a brightness slider.

So far it's a 7. It's well-made, but uninspired. One example is the trope of having an "abandoned" location come alive after turning on the power switch. They deploy that cliché twice in a row, in Volt Forge and Ice Belt, making it feel like they had no ideas of their own. Everything this game does well, the previous entries did better. And the new elements, like the desert area, drag it down.

I'm forcing myself to play it, just to see it through.

For me, the handheld output is too blurry. I noticed it immediately, so have been playing docked instead. Good to see it's not my eyes and the resolution is, indeed, a significant step down from MP1 remastered. That I did play handheld.

Having played it for 4 hours yesterday evening, I find myself agreeing with the 60-80 range reviews that I've read. They all mention the linearity, the fact that the biomes are separate and the desert area acting mostly as padding. I.e. the "Prime" parts are very good, but the new elements bring it down. I think that's a fair assessment. There's still much to enjoy here.

@Banjo- S1 handheld looks very blurry, with OLED making the bluriness even more obvious. This review is right in pointing out the sub-720pness.

This review does not mention the Joy of it being cheaper than the S2 version. Did the lower price not factor in the review score?

The reviews, and the multiple mentions of the game being more linear, have dampened my enthusiasm. I will definitely play it at some point in the future, but not on day 1.

@Jack_Goetz The IGN review also points out the Zelda similarities. This game seems to be much more linear than previous entries.

FWIW, IGN gave it 8/10. I think it's a good, balanced review. At the end of the video they have a segment where they talk about the review itself. I got the impression that the reviewer is a genuine fan of the series and knows what he's talking about.

It answers the most important questions about the gameplay, especially the bike. So, yes, the bike is only for traversing a central hub area. They didn't go full open-world. Good.

The only thing missing was some S1 footage, but I can understand they want to focus on S2.

I think it's a win/win situation for everyone. Traditionally, Nintendo has had difficulty transitioning to a new console generation, but they are managing very well here.

Even with the lack of killer exclusives, at least compared to the S1 launch period, it's good to see this does not seem to affect hardware sales at all. The lack of killer exclusives also means there's no need to upgrade to S2 right now, for those holding out. Games are taking much longer to make, a next-gen Mario or Zelda is still years away.

Retro was started by the founder of Iguana Entertainment. (Responsible for the Turok series.) So while the studio itself was new, Prime was not their first game.

Far Harbor redeems it somewhat, but the base game is entirely forgettable. Instead of playing to their strengths in world building, they added needless features like crafting, base building and a voiced protagonist.

Holding out hope that ES6 will be a return to form and that it will be released for Switch 2 as well.

Will get SMG2 when it goes on sale in 2 years or so. By then, I hope to have an S2 as well (waiting for a hardware revision). Playing in 4K would be icing on the cake.

I would say they are worth the price for people who have never played these games. If you already played them, then what's the hurry? Just wait 1-2 years for the 33% discount. And if you're on the fence, just buy SMG2 separately, since it's the better game. They took the lessons learned from SMG1 and pushed the envelope of 3D platforming. I don't think we'll ever see a Mario like the Galaxy games again. Fact is, 3D Mario doesn't actually sell that well. With New, 3D Land/World, Odyssey and Wonder they went back to the more traditional platforming fare.

It's their big holiday release, so that bodes well for the eventual quality. Not sure if it will be really open-world or just a hub that gives you access to different environments. The increase in travel distance might allow for more variety in environments, but it's not something you associate with Metroid.

This trailer was a bit low-key and felt like it was only intended to get the release date out of the way. I'm sure they'll have a dedicated Direct in the near future to build up hype.

The fine print also mentions that they're available separately on the e-shop. Good, because I already have SMG1 on Switch.

Does it require an Ubisoft account to play?

Prince of Persia gave you the option to skip account registration. In fact, I think the Switch version was the only version with this "feature".

Anyway, good to hear this version turned out well.

@Sylamp Ah, okay, I assumed there was a native S2 resolution option. Hopefully they'll patch things up for S2 later down the line.

@Sylamp Bear in mind that SSAO acts on the entire framebuffer. Comparing S1 and S2 handheld resolutions, the jump from 720p to 1080p means you need twice the memory bandwidth. (1080p is roughly double the amount of pixels.) If the S1 was already struggling, the S2 should not perform much better with these types of screenspace effects, given their difference in native resolution.

Well, this "PS6 S" would definitely address a gap in the Switch lineup. That is, a docked-only version of the hardware, for those who don't necessarily want the handheld functionality.

I myself have come to appreciate handheld and tabletop play with the OLED, but I'm holding out on the S2 until a revision with improved battery life comes along. And hopefully, also a better screen. In the meantime, I would be interested in a docked-only S2, if there was such an option.

@kendomustdie Noticed a typo: "it's age" should be "its age".

Thanks for reviewing. As someone developing their own jet ski racing game, I'm always interested in these types of titles. Even if they're relatively short and simple.

As Sakurai himself said on his channel, racing games take a relatively short time to make. That's also the reason why they made Air Ride in the first place, because they wanted to bring back Kirby, but making a full game would take much longer. (I think Air Ride was developed in 18 months or so, but look up the video on his Youtube channel for the details.)

So the relatively short development time might explain why Nintendo is bolstering the S2 lineup with 2 arcade racing games in the span of a few months.

@kupocake I have the original box as well. I remember traveling 50km to pick up an imported US copy at a specialist store, as I couldn't wait another month for the EU/UK release.

I'm not a physical collector, but there are a few games I've kept the original packaging of, because of the good memories. SS2 is one of those games, along with Fallout 1 and 2, Diablo 1 and 2, and the old Ultimas from the late 80s and early 90s.

@Ironcore Not sure why the e-shop says there's no S1 version, at least for you. FWIW, I downloaded the S1 demo version yesterday from the EU e-shop.

I'll be playing on S1, in glorious 60fps OLED handheld.

Tried the Is this seat taken? demo on Steam, and, yeah, it's quite good. It has lots of personality, despite the simple presentation. While I prefer playing on Switch, I think I'll go for the Steam version. Judging from the demo, the game plays better with a mouse than with a controller. There's no demo on the e-shop to see how it plays on Switch.

Glaciered also looks interesting. Looking forward to Mina the Hollower as well.

So, yeah, overall, a really good Direct.

If this has better performance, on Switch 1, than New Star GP, it might be interesting. That said, the trailer doesn't really manage to sell me on the game. It wastes too much time on anticipation and doesn't show much of the gameplay.

The Drifter, a point-and-click adventure that was released just this week. There will be a Switch version later this year, but I couldn't wait, so playing on the laptop and the Deck instead.

if I had a S2, I would be playing DKB for sure. Hope you are all enjoying it.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Glad to see this turned out well. The exploration and destruction is right up my alley. It's not going to make me buy an S2 right now (waiting for a revision with better battery life), but it's good to know the back catalogue has at least one must-have title by the time I do.

@splinters SS1 is very different from SS2. Having played the original back in '94, I think the gameplay does not hold up. The remake's art direction is also a bit of an eye sore. I also gave up on it.

SS2 was made by an entirely different team than that of SS1, and is a precursor to Bioshock in terms of gameplay. It depends on whether you like the sci-fi setting and are willing to put up with some outdated mechanics. The 3 different classes make the gameplay more varied than that of Bioshock, tbh. The shooting was never really good, even back then. I would say it's survival horror through and through.

If this gen lasts 8 years as well, then, yeah, it might.

Old Skies, but it's the only 2025 game I played so far. (And I played it on PC, because the Switch version was delayed.)

Looking forward to Metroid Prime 4.

Trying to complete the Expert circuit in Wave Race Blue Storm. It's the game I keep coming back to in the Summer time.

Have a great weekend everyone!

I have the DL physical (since it's not available in the EU shop), and I have to say that, after the initial "impossible port" wow factor, the deeper you get into the game, the more glaring the cutbacks become. Namely, the animation frame rate is halved during busy scenes. So while the game is rendering at an otherwise steady 30 fps, virals come running at you at 15 fps. Looks very odd.

It would be great if DL would be updated for S2, but the fact that it's not available in a large market (EU) might not make it worth the effort.

The text size is a point of concern for handheld. If you're old enough to have played the original back in '99, like me, then most likely your eyesight is not what it used to be. The SS1 remake had a tiny, non-adjustable font, making it impossible, at least for me, to play on the Deck. (Steam shows a warning about the small text when starting up the game.) Hopefully they will include a font size option this time around.

Wave Race Blue Storm, my go-to Summer game. Too lazy to set up the CRT, so this playthrough is on Dolphin. Just placed 1st on the Hard circuit, taking 1st place on every race, except the last one, La Razza Canal, where I managed to place 2nd. Now on to the Expert circuit.

I can understand why most people still prefer Wave Race 64. Blue Storm can be an unforgiving game. Even if you master the controls and learn the track layouts, the game leaves almost no room for error. That said, the high difficulty makes winning all the more satisfying and that's why I keep coming back to it.

I gave it an 8. Love the overall vibe of it. I'll definitely buy it once I get an S2, but this game alone is not a system seller for me.

For me, TOTK is the game of a lifetime. I stopped playing right after completing the main quest, saving the rest of the experience for a future playthrough. WIth a completion rate of 44% , there were plenty of shrines and light roots left to discover. That said, even I had an S2, I feel it's too soon for a replay. It's only been 2 years.

Having replayed the HD version just a few weeks ago, I found that the swift sail doesn't make that much of a difference. Actually I had forgotten about it and acquired it only near the end. The streamlining of the Triforce fetch quest does make for a huge improvement, however. I agree with this review calling it out as a dud in the original.

If they decide to re-remaster the game - say, for a 25th anniversary edition (you heard it here first!) - they should consider making a mobile app to replicate the secondary screen functionality of the Wii U Gamepad. Dual screen is the best way to play the game.

Yoshi's Woolly World. A good reason to keep the Wii U around. While the levels are easy to complete, collecting all bundles of yarn is where the game gets even more interesting. I'm spending half an hour on each level, so getting a lot of mileage out of this.

Shame this hasn't been ported to Switch. I tried the Crafted World demo back in the day, but the music drove me insane. The soundtrack on WW is excellent, however. Love the slap bass.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Yeah, the battery life was my main concern. 2 hours is not much. At least they have been transparent about it and added a top USB-C port to alleviate the issue.

I'll buy an S2 once there are enough exclusive, must-have games. Hopefully there will be a hardware revision by then that improves battery life, but I'm not expecting miracles here. The S2 is simply more power-hungry.