Qwiff

The day/night cycle piques my interest. Added it to the backlog.

@MischiefMaker They took the lessons learned from the main game and made a shorter, more densely-packed campaign, with a great story and characters, arguably the best in the entire franchise. So it's not going to take as long as the main game, but I can pretty much guarantee you'll have an even better time.

Bioshock 1 DLC is just a bunch of challenge maps, so not really worth it, if you ask me.

@MischiefMaker Does your Bioshock 2 playthrough include Minerva's Den? I think it's better than the main campaign.

Dying Light. Managed to obtain a second-hand copy from a local CeX. The game is not available on the EU e-shop and I didn't want to jump through all the hoops to buy it from the US e-shop. Anyway, it's one of my guilty pleasures and I'm glad to finally have it on Switch, despite the obvious cutbacks they had to make for the port. Physical copies seem to be quite rare.

Also completed Resident Evil yesterday evening. Game still holds up after 20 years. It was quite a bit longer than I remembered.

On another site I read he wants to do something non-horror.

I can see the appeal if you have a lot of time on your hands. Will look into this game when I'm retired. Hopefully Switch 5 will be backwards-compatible.

@Clyde_Radcliffe If I follow your line of reasoning, then there's "no excuse" for any of Nintendo's main franchise games to run at anything less than 60FPS, all just because Odyssey did it seven years ago? These are completely different games, made by different teams, with different game engines, so you're comparing apples and oranges here.

@nocdaes With that I can agree. Having them on every level diminishes their impact. Especially with the early worlds being so easy, you basically get bombarded with one wonder after another, to the point that it doesn't feel special anymore.

I think Ultrahand is implemented well, given that it has to be controller based. Autobuild makes things more manageable, but maybe they should've made it available from the start.

In terms of control, inventory management is the one thing that I wish they had spent more time on streamlining, but you can't have everything.

@TruthisRare After completing the main quest, I felt my time with the game had come to an end, even though I had plenty of shrines and light roots left to discover. But I so thoroughly enjoyed every minute of the 135 hours I spent with it, that, for me, TOTK is the game of a lifetime.

For me, replayability is not a yardstick of a game's quality. But if it is for you, then I can understand why you would prefer the older titles.

@Mr_Monochrome I felt the same way during the first 3 worlds and left the game on the backlog for months. From world 4 on, however, it gets much better, especially worlds 5 and 6 and the end game levels.

But I would agree in saying that Wonder lacks the feeling of exploration. The early levels feel more like theme parks/showcases, with basically no challenge.

Discounting is just part of their pricing strategy, as it keeps the game in the spotlight. And it seems to pay off, because we are talking about the game in this forum, after all.

Having said that, Ubisoft is so eager to use this tactic, that it's become a cliché not to buy their games at launch.

Of these games, I only played Dredge, but I can say it's well deserved in that case. Looking forward to the Iron Rig DLC.

Yeah, getting Inside vibes as well. Will keep an eye out for this.

Super Mario Galaxy 2, the abundance of ideas in the level design is just out of this world, literally and figuratively. Love the soundtrack as well. My main reason for keeping the Wii U around.

I'm also fond of Sunshine for its tropical setting and water effects.

Resident Evil. Played the GameCube remake more than 20 years ago. Game still holds up. Playing it with tank controls and 4:3 aspect ratio for extra nostalgia. For handheld, the 4:3 frame is a bit too small for my aging eyes, so it's one of the rare instances where I play a game docked.

Also added RE0 to the backlog. Never played it. IIRC, it was originally released around the same time as Metroid Prime and it got lost in the shuffle.

Finally, another Walking Dead season 1 episode. The first three episodes were great. I love the characters. Not having much time for gaming, I like the episodic structure.

The buzz was that its initial sales were much lower than expected, so it's good that they keep supporting it with content. Hope this game has a long tail, sales-wise.

So many good memories playing this game back in the late 90s. If only they used the RPG gameplay for the 3D outings.

I've been holding out on NSO, because I don't like subscriptions, but now I'm tempted, for this game and Mario Golf. But first, as a final attempt at subscription defiance, I'm going to check if I still have the cart. Not sure if I still have the GBC, but I did recover the Game Boy player for the GameCube a while back. Not quite the handheld experience, but it might do.

Never played it. The "episodic" level design might be the thing that wins me over. As much as I liked LM3 - the animation is outstanding - I felt the game went on for far too long.

The sports titles are great. These might be the games that finally make me want to subscribe to NSO.

I'm not sure why people continue to complain here. The dev and publisher were honest enough to release a demo. You have all the information you need to decide if/when to buy this game.

Post-release patches are just a fact of life. I'm sure the dev would've liked a few more months for polishing, but as the recent round of layoffs show, making games is a costly business.

A few years ago, Digital Foundry made an interesting video on the Switch port of the second Ori game. Like Contra, Ori was made in Unity. IIRC, the initial port ran at just 20 fps, so Moon Studios made their own Unity fork to get the performance up to the scratch. It seems like Wayforward did not have the time/capacity for this type of deep, engine-level performance tuning.

I've always wanted to give the 'Runner games a try and the focus on exploration makes it more appealing. Since I mostly play handheld, I'll wait for a performance patch first.

Played the demo on XSS a while back, enjoyed it and was looking forward to the Switch release. Shame about the unstable frame rate, otherwise it would have been a day 1 purchase for me. Hopefully they'll patch it up soon.

As a side note, Sakurai just posted a video on his YouTube channel about crafting "similar" games. Games can take obvious inspiration from the past, but still have to add their own appeal on top. That's clearly something that this game does very well.

Bit surprised at how many people think Nintendo's support will last only 1 or 2 years. Just like PS4, I expect Switch to be supported for several more years with newer, cross-gen titles. Ignoring a user base this large would be leaving money on the table. This is new situation for Nintendo, having merged their handheld and console business. That said, the only sort-of "cross-gen" example, after the Switch's launch, that I can think of is Toad Treasure Tracker, which was released on 3DS as well.

Anyway, I bought my OG 2017 model 2-3 months after release. At launch, it was sold out everywhere, but BOTW on Wii U kept me occupied. The first 2 years were gold, but I lost interest after that. Last year, Metroid Prime brought me back and TOTK made me stay. Also bought an OLED and now catching up on all the games I missed the past few years.

Although the GameCube will always be my favourite console, because I have particular fondness for the first and third-party games from that era, I really love the Switch. Underpowered as it may be, it only shows that gameplay is what really matters.

@LikelySatan You like what you like.

Visual novels, card games, walking sims, even the 10/10s won't sway me into liking these genres all of a sudden. For me, it's more GTFO than GOTY. 😉

One of my best friends works at one their studios and I was relieved to hear that his job is not directly affected. Still, 10% of his co-workers will have to go.

The job market is good over here, and in many places in the world, so hopefully it's just a matter of time before people land on their feet.

Like Turok 3, I feel it's too expensive for a remaster.

Judging from the Deku Deals price history of their titles, Nightdive doesn't do discounts very often, so you might be waiting for a sale for a long time.

Fond memories of playing this back in the day, but the tick rate issue (judder) and the relatively high price is giving me pause. I'm sure there's a "Star Wars tax", but it doesn't look like good value for money when the Quake remasters cost a third of what they're asking for here.

@LikelySatan The big problems for Sony are their reliance on expensive "blockbuster" titles and not being able to reduce the cost of their hardware, hence their increased focus on the PC market. This generation, console makers are not going to be able to rely on cost-cutting to reach a bigger audience anymore, like they did in the past. MS anticipated this situation with the Series S.

More quality control on Nintendo's part would also be required to put an end to these shovelware practices. Not sure how much these titles actually bring in, but they're taking a cut of the sales regardless.

After Wednesday's SMB announcement, I feel like playing Super Monkey Ball 2. Dragging out the old GameCube and CRT for this.

Also, Portal. Started yesterday evening and am hooked.

Finally, Walking Dead season 1, episode 2.

While I'd like to play this handheld, I don't like subscriptions. NSO + Expansion Pak is not expensive, but it still feels like I would be paying for something I mostly don't need.

AFAIK there are no titles on Game Pass that you can't buy separately. Why can't Switch users have this option?

Best announcement of this Direct. That is, if it's like SMB 1 and 2.

The fact that it's Switch-exclusive (at least at launch) feels like a sort-of homecoming, if you have nostalgia for the GameCube games, like I do. Back then, money was tight and I had to sell some of my GC collection, including the SMBs. Actually, I picked up SMB2 at a local CeX recently. Game still holds up.

Played Blast Corps last summer on my old N64. My 25-year-old save game was still there.

Good addition for those who have NSO.

Realistically, ports of some "Steam 10/10" indies that I haven't heard of yet. Surprise me.

Also hoping for an announcement on the Dredge DLC.

@LikelySatan Yeah, finished the main campaign about a week ago and the rhythm levels were the highlight for me.

After playing the Bowser levels in Wonder, I'm becoming more interested in rhythm action games, so looking forward to the HiFi Rush announcement.

@HeadPirate For an investor, a company sitting on huge amounts of cash is not especially interesting, because inflation chips away at its value. But it does not necessarily mean a company is stagnating.

Nintendo is diversifying its portfolio with movies and theme parks, and preparing a new console. These are long-term and high-risk investments, so it's good that they have the cash reserves to weather the storm.

@Dragonite89 Nintendo does not sell hardware at a loss. Sony does, and just look at their debt.

@Rosona This is a discussion forum and my post was on topic. I can't take into account each and every person who's going to read something I wrote about a game that is years old by now. Nevertheless, I'll rescind my message. Have a good day and enjoy the rest of the game.

Arcade racing games are just not that mainstream anymore. There's been a string of AAA flops (or at least, underperforming) releases, starting with Split/Second, Motorstorm Apocalypse, then DriveClub and Onrush, that made publishers wary of investing in the genre.

As for Sega, OutRun 2 (OG Xbox) is still a very good racer that deserves a remaster. Not hating on Crazy Taxi, but I think OutRun has more mainstream appeal.

Starting with Walking Dead, season 1. Last year, I read Videogame of the Year. It's a game history book, describing the most influential titles of each year, starting with 1977 and Space Invaders. For 1987, 1996 and 2003, it marks Zelda 1, Mario 64 and Wind Waker respectively. Anyway, Walking Dead was marked for, I think, 2013, so curious to find out if it's really as good as everyone is saying. The art looks beautiful on the OLED.

Also, more Quake 2. Playing with Split Pad Pros and discovered that the Switch itself has a gyro sensor as well. Just enable motion control in the game options. (The Split Pads don't have gyro.) However, to be honest, the main campaign doesn't hold up as well as I had hoped. Q1 has much more intuitive level design. Let's just say I can understand why they added the compass for the Q2 remaster.

Wonder special world levels, after finishing the main campaign on Sunday. The first 4 worlds I found to be too easy to really enjoy, but the last 2 main worlds and the Bowser endgame offer a much more satisfying challenge.

Also played through Inside last week. Absolute masterpiece. If you're looking for a short "weekend" game... it's on sale right now.

Nintendo is not going to rush anything to market, because they are in a comfortable position business wise. TOTK was delayed by a year, just to allow for polish, for example. (2022 was quite barren in terms of first-party releases.) Let them take their time to cook up a killer launch year.

And let's not kid ourselves, they could push the release to 2026 and everyone on this site would still be interested. There's no competition.

@bluemage1989 I didn't get the praise for this game either. Too much text, too full of itself and, like you say, just a slog to play through. Not sure why your comment got removed, while those from some TOTK detractors are not.

I can't recommend Kathy Rain, director's cut enough. It's not reviewed much on Switch sites, so it doesn't show up easily, but it's a gem in the point-and-click genre.

For myself, I grabbed Walking Dead, season 1. Heard many good things about it over the years, but never got round to play it. Will start this weekend.

Unlikely to happen for this generation, but I hope to see the System Shock remake on a Nintendo platform someday. Played the OG for months, back in '94.

While this game is not for me, I do like that Nintendo invests in these "surprise" remakes that no-one sees coming. This game, Mario RPG, Thousand Year Door and Luigi's Mansion 2. There's a whole generation of younger gamers who weren't even born when these games originally released, so I guess that's the intended audience.

@dmcc0 Sure, but the context here was this week's hypothetical Direct implicitly confirming a change in Xbox strategy, before giving Microsoft the chance to do so themselves later this week.