A paid-for "Switch 2" upgrade with significant image quality issues and without HDR or any other Switch 2 related feature for that matter? Make it a free title update then ... which still would not excuse introducing image quality issues on a signficant more powerful piece of hardware.
Nintendo has developd a staggering ability to turn easy PR wins and genuine excitement into ... disappointment as an artform and turning long-term cultivated good will into annoyance.
I like the setting and how it is clearly inspired by the creators vividly imaging the current state of human civilization outside the eternal abyss of their Pokemon mines where it is forever 2002 and the sun never reaches.
@basednrd genAI is often mistakenly treated as an isolated tool instead of what it is: a systematic method.
A calculator or a questionnaire for example are tools. They introduce no bias. Surveying however is a method. It introduces all kinds of bias.
Bias is a normal, everday occurence. That is not in itself the problem. The problem arises from the initial misconception of genAI: who contextualizes their calculators reported results? Precisely ... no one ...
Add to this the fact, that genAI is a series of probablistic contextualizations of it's training data and you can easily see that it is actually both, heavily biased and uniquely limited. The system has no inherent friction: it never fails. That makes it profoundly different from human cogniton, that constantly fails and from that friction springs what we generally consider "creativity".
AS LONG AS the individuals realize they are not using a tool, but are actively engaging in a heavily biased (obviously, also proactively censored) and thus limited systemtic method of processing language (thoughts, ideas, graphics etc.), I think it can be very, very useful.
Things will invariably go awry though, once some feels in control of an isolated tool, because ALL human biases are STILL there: your own confirmation biases, your own selection bias, your own recency biases ... it's all still running at 100% capacity.
Also, and this is a more recent development, most genAI system are very sycophantic: they will not only add their own bias and congitive limits to the mix, but they will invariable emphasize your own.
So - even leaving economics out of it - that is a big concern, not something that cannot be worked around, but that wrok-around comes with a huge congitive load for the individual for we are not used to interact with "machines" in that way. We are very much used to tools though, have been for hundreds of thousands of years. Super dangerous combination of evolutionary mismatch with technological progress.
Very excited for this and Onimusha. I love the Vanquish inspired aesthetics and UI design and the Gameplay seems right down my alley, a sort of 3rd-person-puzzle-arcade-shooter with lots of exploration. This also harks back to me to stuff like Binary Domain and PN03. I'll try the demo for sure once it hits PS5. Should hopefully be a solid experience given that the store page states PS5 Pro, Trigger and Haptic Support!
Capcom is really on fire and with Bandai and Ace Combat joining in, too, we'll be arcade-feasting next year!
I didn't watch the GA, but I have to say: these announcements are absolute fire. Been waiting for Ace Combat 8 for years ... a new Podracer-meets-Burnout-Game? Consider me interested! More Control (am I the only one getting Infamous vibes from the final gameplay snippets?) ... & more good stuff. Good times.
I doubt anyone has any idea at this point in terms of Switch 2. I would be stunned if they had really settled on any target platform. I would advise thorough expectation management for this one. It's probably at least as likely to be cancelled or simply disappear as it is to ever make it to us consumers.
Well deserved wins overall by E33. The "indie" category has always been rather fuzzily delineated ... so that one really is on the Game Awards. Given E33 was set for a swep and it really pushes any definition of "indie" to it's boundaries, it might made have sense to skip it for that particular category, given there were other outstanding "indie" games this year, that seem to fall more neatly into that category, whatever it might precisely be.
I still don't dig this art style - I mean, it barely has an identifiable style. I mean, how is this blown out of the water by pretty much any indie "prestige" 2D game? It's like Capcom is not paying attention.
Played a bit of it on Gamepass on XSX, but honestly, it was pretty meh. I did somewhat like the setting and story (from what I experienced), but mechanically and structurally it was entirely uninteresting. It feels like a 360 game, but not in a good way, rather in the way everything is gated and linear and shallow: combat is limited and clunky, movement is limited and clunky ... A pass and not a recommend - unfortunately, since before release I was pretty interestedi nit.
@Lucami Kinda surprised that no Indie devs really took up the mantle for that particular subgerne.
I really miss the DS/3DS era, where we got metric tons of niche games like this - incl. like 6 Etrian Odyssey games, 2 remakes and several spin-offs. We had so good ...
As much as I love the Switch, in many ways, it really is a quite different story there. 3rd party exclusives barely exist and this kind of niche game basically moved entirely to Steam or simply died out
We've known for close to 200 years now that market agents will push towards a monopoly/monopson, as that is beneficial for them by forcing price setting power.
In terms of the particular, that being tech buying legacy media and legacy media fusing, we've all seen this happening for years (newspapers being bought by Bezos and the likes, Disney fusing with 20th Century Fox as well as buying out George Lucas ...). It actually got to the point were this was one of the main points of one of HBO's own big hits, that is Succession.
As for your remark about people making choices ... that is not actually accurate, you have groups of people making choices on behalf of third party entities they represent. In many instances, they have actual legal obligations in one way or another to do so. And no "the public good" is not one of them.
I would bemoan that, but again: what is the point after two centuries of this? It is what is. People should stop moaning and push governments, aka entities actually obligated to the public good to stop these market agents from pushing the market to concentration.
Agian, we've seen them fail at this time and time again, but no one is without blame here: people like to put market-first ideological parties in power across the board ... rarely is it in their interest, but being economic illiterate, they find themselves at the mercy of the very gatekeepers being bought out and concentrated.
Is it a vicious cycle? Yeah, but given our current situation, I think it was absolutey inevitable for the big hollywood studios to either further concentrate or be bought out by tech. This is also definitely not the end of it - unfortunately.
I think SkillUp had the most insightful review on Beyond whether you agree with the conclusion or not. Beyond would probably have been considered on-par with previous MP games had it come out 15 years ago. It didn't though and in the decades since the first agme the design for Metroidvanias has evolved significantly. Hence I think one's ranking strongly depends on where you are coming from:
If you come from the OG MP games or Remastered, you probably want more-of-the-same in a fresh coat of paint. Beyond does that, albeit with some making-it-worse additions.
If you come from modern Metroidvanias or even Dread though it probably feels stale at best and backwards at worst.
I wish Retro had settled on what they wanted to do with it. The troubled development clearly shows. I'm super burned out on anything "open-world", but even I can see that a proper BotW'esque MP game could have been seminal. That is not the path they went with though. Then they should have stuck with their guns and give us MP Remastered 2.0. That they also did not abide by.
Being familiar with the combat system from the first game, I absolutely do not see how it could sustain another 100 hours of playtime ... definitely not for me, that's a pass. If the combat had been significantly enhanced or switched up then maybe, but that was probably never going to happen. As it stands, I would struggle to go much beyond 30-40 hours at best, if at all.
Broken record here: I gotta ask, are you even reviewing these SW2 games on a HDR screen? If so, how come there is like zero mention of it? It's something the SW2 does over the SW1. It's odd that is simply omitted in a dedicated "Switch 2 Edition" review.
I mean, I can go to DF for this, but it's hardly an in-depth technical aspect of the game and I think a review should cover the basics of the game's presentation.
Sounds about what I would have expected and really good overall. As soon as I am in the mood and have some time I'll pick it up - or when an inevitable sale hits, whichever comes first!
There is another, bigger game looming on my to-play-list ..
I'll wait for that Black Flag Remake. Never finished the original game, but did all the naval combat related stuff, incl. fighting all the legendary ships. That was some proper fun. All the other ACs I played over the years were exceedingly dull and by the numbers. I mean, the first two were kinda fresh at the time, but did not manage to sustain their runtime either for my taste.
Still, glad to see this on the Switch as it is obviously a big franchise with a lot of fans. The more, the merrier ... I might even pick up the game one day and give the PS5 Pro version a shot, might be fun for a bit, as long as it comes as a bargain that is.
Have yet to play part 3, currently replaying the first, but sofar part 2 is my least favourite, both tonally and mechanically. That said it is far from a bad game and it definitely seems to be the one in the most dire need of some upgrading.
The first only really "needs" a boost to its abysmal draw distance, which hurts the immersion, and a boost to it's rendering resolution would also be nice, but even that is more a case of looking-soft rather than the dynamic resoltuion in part two, that often went straight into looking-pixelated territory esp. with alpha effects and such filling the screen.
From what I understand, part 2 is also the most popular probably ... so I think chances are good it will receive a Switch 2 Edition of sorts. I guess, a February Direct would make sense for this? Esp. if they have other Xenobalde updates to announce or whatever Monolith is currently working on ... there is still hope.
Somehow I doubt they will do anything with the first though ...
@metaphysician I would hope that this is the mindset of any developer who elects to go down this road. It still is just a rationalization though. At least, I cannot think of any Nintendo game off the top of m head that really had both, a difficulty setting and a level of complexity that needed mastering over entire playthroughs.
This has only gotten more pronounced with Nintendo's sequelitis, where even games like Fire Emblem, which are on the more challenging side of Nintendo's spectrum and have meaningful difficulty settings, are mostly well known mechanical quantities to those folks who would every opt for maximum challenge.
Also, as seen in games like TotK Nintendo often opts for horizontal complexity rather than vertical: They just add stuff to the left and read of existing mechanics rather than really pushing the vertical depth on given mechanics. In Zelda this is very obvious to me in the combat system. They added constructs and fusions to the side of the Melee Damage/Mitigation mechanics, but that core part of the actual combat still doesn't really need much mastering, as it is the same super shallow system they had in BotW (which in many ways was already a step back from previous entries, which very never really super deep to begin with in previous Zeldas).
That is not so much a critique as an observation, that also mades me question when it could ever be reasonable for such a design philosophy to gate difficulty modes (again: NG+ being exempted).
I happened to have started playing the Definitive Edition a couple of days ago, as it seems very unlikely to me that this will ever see any further upgrades and I did not notice any problems in the first 10 hours or so.
By problems I mean bugs and such. Obviously the draw distance desperately needs to be increased and the resolution could really be boosted significantly.
I do however think there is a good chance that we will get some announcements early next year for some of the other Xenoblade titles.
@Nf157 If I had to guess, it'll be mentioned in the February Direct, possibly together with what Monolith is currently working on.
@MJF I'm really curious, but right now I can't imagine that the quippy guy can be more of a turn-off than the art style is in AW 1+2. AW's style worked beautiful on a small screen in sprite form, but this "HD" adapation of that style looks like Bob The Builder playing at war ... can't do it.
@Quarbit Absolutely agreed, there is but one exeception: difficulty modes meant for New Game Plus:
For instance, I'm not 100% sure, but I vaguely remember Blue Dragon having its' highest difficutly accessible right away. Always picking highest difficulty in my RPGs, as one does, I went in only to play for just long enough to realize that being literally one-hitted meant I was definitely not supposed to play this difficulty right away
But yeah, other than that I 100% agree. Locking diffculties behind playthroughs is silly. But Mass Effect did it too back in the day, but at least that game was so excellent and had so many important choices, that you gladly went through it more than once!
@Vash0125 Nah, I don't think so and you seem to intentionally ignore my point: not everything needs to be accessible to everyone.
We are not going to ban Shakespeare because yeah ... some of us will struggle with the text and ultimately will have to abandon it.
That is not immoral, unethical or atrocious ... that is just the freedom of expression manifested in art. Some of it is accessible, some is not. There is no virtue in everything being on the same level.
You did not even bother to consider, that failure might be an intended state of the game. In other words, you don't care about the game itself, just what you want from it. Hence it feels like trolling
@Vash0125 Not gonna lie, I love the irony of someone throwing around terms like "ableist" and "misogynistic" in the same sentence.
I guess that people with a learning disability simply don't exist or count. Or you couldn't care less about the actual issue, certainly not enough to take even basic steps like using simple language.
I haven't really paid much attention to these supposed leaks (really: rumors), but Hidetaka Miyazaki to me is simply the GOAT.
I Ioved his work on AC before I even knew who he was. Demon Souls single-handely made the PS3 a must-own system and what came after has long since passed into the realm of legend: with Bloodborne likely being one of the finest pieces of media I will have experienced once the reaper comes knocking.
I prefer single-player and cooperative games over any competitive games these days. But obviously, I am going to support and play 'The Duskbloods', simply because it will be a brilliant and unique title.
PS: there is a great interview with him in the New Yorker, which I can recommend to anyone interested in his artistic vision.
@TheBoilerman Annihilation to me is like the AAA blockbuster version of a little "indie" gem called Operation Galactic Storm and man, say about this era what you will, but the art (just thinking about the portrayal of Quasar and the Nega-Bands ...) was peak and the stories were plain fun.
And yeah, the very same goes for the X-Men:TAS inspired TV-style: peak and plain fun.
This is the best kind of nostalgia, an intentional throw back to artistic peaks.
@Mariotag How do you mean? It's not like predator missions in the sense that there is no story or such and it's all bit-sized selected from a menu. I just mean mechanically, the "stealth" itself, it works in a comparable manner (translated to 2D).
@Mariotag It's been a minute since I played it, but from what I remember ... yeah it is. It is basically the 2D version of the predator challenges (stealth missions) in the Arkham Games. It's really neat and I can't think of much that compares in terms of 2D games.
Fair warning though, I just read it is capped at 30 fps on Switch. That is actually a bummer and only makes it recommendation, if you have no other platform available. It is pretty much available on everything and goes on sale regularly (on sale right now on Steam/PSN as well ...).
Finally picked up Bayonetta 3, as it seems to be basically fixed by Switch 2, as well as the Xenoblade 3 Bundle in the expectation of an inevitable (!?) Switch 2 patch, also Splatoon 3 Season Pass for that Single-Player content
Downwell, Invisible Inc., Mark of the Ninja and Castlevania Dominus Collection are easy evergreen recommendations no matter the occasion.
Kinda sad, that there was no Three Hopes and Xenoblade Chronicles X though - hopefully that'll be in the New Years sale.
@Tayrailbridge Chiming in here: it is not, that it is an extremely well designed game (I mean it is, but im that respect it really is an exceedingly well picked ecclectic mix of what came before), but that it is mechanically a jRPG and narratively as well as tonally it is a wRPG - broadly speaking. In that sense - visuals aside - it is anything but bland, but exceptionally unique.
And again, it IS very well designed as well, as it obfuscates it turn-based nature better than almost any jRPG with the exceptio nof something obscure (pun intended ^^) like Resonance of Fate. It basically plays like an action game, which is a seminal feat in and off itself. That alone would qualify it for accolades, but at the same time, that is the least the game accomplishes.
Also, the music is some of the most memorable and evocative, I've heard in the last 30'ish years. The writing is often close to the level of Kiyoshi Shigematsu's "A Thousand Years of Dreams" in Lost Odyssey (aka the only reason I will never sell my Xbox Series X ...), which I consider reference to this day bar none. That stuff touched my soul.
@Odium Appreciate it and same!
Random recommendation then: try the audio books for "Star Wars: The Old Republic: Revan" and "Star Wars: Darth Bane Trilogy" - all written by Drew Karpyshyn - if you haven't already, as they are just really just cool and good fun!
Going up against Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, this is the best result Nintendo could want, with Clair Obscur being this incredibly seminal title to me and obviously many others.
@KingMike It is a translation layer. It translates the basic instructions from the set of one architecture (SW1) to that of another architecture (SW2) on the fly. In other words, unlike in emulation there is no Switch (1) running on Switch 2, neither in software nor in hardware.
Emulation generally takes a lot more ressources, but is more precise. Nintendo's solution is a lot more performant - as we've seen in many games - but it can demand a lot of specific ad-hoc tweaking and it is only possible due to the architectures being different, but also similar.
In that sense, the distinction is important since most people are probably looking for actual improvements in running their games, not for a precise reproduction down to the flaws for every imangineable game and they want it now, not in two or three generations (or at highly inflated prices due to OG hardware being replicated within the new hardware).
In other words, there are upsides and downsides to both. I'm just weary of people (not target at you) being impatient for fixes. That is the other side of getting this out-of-the-box-for-free-boost in many games. Fair trade-off I would think and most big games are already running convincingly to say the least!
I'm kinda torn as I had hoped for more substance in terms of the Road Trip Mode with what apparently are really only super bitsized misisons of in part less than a minute.
I did absolutely enjoy the Air Ride mode in the Demo though, would very much like to play more of that, while at the same time I absolutely have no desire to play the City Trial mode ever again.
Not sure how long playing only playing the Air Ride mode will entertain me. Might have to wait for a sale.
A new "Team Battle" battle format has been added to "City Trial."
Can someone elaborate on how this works? Playing the Online-Test I thought that this mode could be fun if it had any intentionality to it like a sort of team death match (esp. with a counter). I don't presume this allows for anything like that?
@chiptoon I was just about to ask about this. I'll hold off until we know whether it will receive a Switch 2 patch/version/upgrade/whatever. The footage I saw looked decidedly blurry on og Switch.
Hopefully the U.S. Sales will be at least as good as these. Have been waiting for Three Hopes and Xenoblade 3 for a long while.
@Pillowpants I absolutely second that! In fact, I fully completed Unicorn Overlord at launch on PS5 and I'm still always tempted to double-dip just to support Vanilla Ware.
Man I hope this is very much a work in progress. The colors look flat to me. I was worried they (would have to?) tone it all way down to not make it look goofy in live-action ...
@Smackosynthesis Oh god, yeah, I think you are right. These looked weird and familiar/pretty and cheap to me at the same time, but I could not immediately place that sensation ... now I can never unsee it Oo
@Bolt_Strike That conflict was indeed kinda my point and seems pretty obivois and evident! I'm not sure about the dual-release-strategy though, just by merit of Mario Kart being such a big IP. Having like a best-of-class Multiplayer game and a state-of-the-art GTA-competitor open-world mode would be too big a ask for almost all IPs - agreed on that. But MK8D sold like 70 Million units ... if there ever was a Nintendo IP that would justify the risk of investing this much to level it up and diversify it like this, it is Mario Kart (just think about GTA Online as the inverse approach on the side of Rockstar).
Other than that, I have argued this very approach for other franchises like FE, where I feel we have now to increasingly distinct variants, one with a smaller hardcore audience and one with a bigger more casual audience, who focus on different aspect of the IP. Why not have releases to cater to each audience with adjust budgets and alternating release?
I dunno, if that would work, but it would be worth a try. It would require a very specific marketing though, so that consumer expecation and game content are properly matched - a challenge I also see for Mario Kart.
@Dr_Corndog Wonder if that is going to be within my lifetime! More importantly, I do wonder how the story will continue. The game will mostly be around for what? Like a decade? Nintendo has every chance and - I also think for a proven evergreen selling franchise - every incentive to stick with it. I don't mean just doing balancing patches and adding tracks, but rework it how they see fit. I'm really really curious whether they will and how they will communicate and monetize this: will it be like a live-service model? Paid-for DLC? Free updates? A wild combination?
They must they potential in approach their "World" with a sort of GTA mindset and they already did so much work on it as well. I dunno, maybe it is just one of those "Nintendont" ideas that are equal part no-brainers as well as never-gonna-happens.
Comments 2,316
Re: Fans Are Asking Nintendo To Refund Xenoblade Chronicles X's Switch 2 Upgrade
A paid-for "Switch 2" upgrade with significant image quality issues and without HDR or any other Switch 2 related feature for that matter? Make it a free title update then ... which still would not excuse introducing image quality issues on a signficant more powerful piece of hardware.
Nintendo has developd a staggering ability to turn easy PR wins and genuine excitement into ... disappointment as an artform and turning long-term cultivated good will into annoyance.
Re: Pokémon Developer Game Freak To Reveal More About 'Beast Of Reincarnation' Later This Month
I like the setting and how it is clearly inspired by the creators vividly imaging the current state of human civilization outside the eternal abyss of their Pokemon mines where it is forever 2002 and the sun never reaches.
Re: One Of 2025's Standout Switch Releases Could Get A Switch 2 Edition Upgrade
Not sure this kind of communication is the way to go. Now, I'm tempted to wait for both: a bigger sale and a SW2 upgrade.
Re: Talking Point: Does It Bother You That Big Games Companies Are Using GenAI?
@basednrd genAI is often mistakenly treated as an isolated tool instead of what it is: a systematic method.
A calculator or a questionnaire for example are tools. They introduce no bias. Surveying however is a method. It introduces all kinds of bias.
Bias is a normal, everday occurence. That is not in itself the problem. The problem arises from the initial misconception of genAI: who contextualizes their calculators reported results? Precisely ... no one ...
Add to this the fact, that genAI is a series of probablistic contextualizations of it's training data and you can easily see that it is actually both, heavily biased and uniquely limited. The system has no inherent friction: it never fails. That makes it profoundly different from human cogniton, that constantly fails and from that friction springs what we generally consider "creativity".
AS LONG AS the individuals realize they are not using a tool, but are actively engaging in a heavily biased (obviously, also proactively censored) and thus limited systemtic method of processing language (thoughts, ideas, graphics etc.), I think it can be very, very useful.
Things will invariably go awry though, once some feels in control of an isolated tool, because ALL human biases are STILL there: your own confirmation biases, your own selection bias, your own recency biases ... it's all still running at 100% capacity.
Also, and this is a more recent development, most genAI system are very sycophantic: they will not only add their own bias and congitive limits to the mix, but they will invariable emphasize your own.
So - even leaving economics out of it - that is a big concern, not something that cannot be worked around, but that wrok-around comes with a huge congitive load for the individual for we are not used to interact with "machines" in that way. We are very much used to tools though, have been for hundreds of thousands of years. Super dangerous combination of evolutionary mismatch with technological progress.
Re: Video: Pragmata Hands-On Impressions Shared By Capcom
Very excited for this and Onimusha. I love the Vanquish inspired aesthetics and UI design and the Gameplay seems right down my alley, a sort of 3rd-person-puzzle-arcade-shooter with lots of exploration. This also harks back to me to stuff like Binary Domain and PN03. I'll try the demo for sure once it hits PS5. Should hopefully be a solid experience given that the store page states PS5 Pro, Trigger and Haptic Support!
Capcom is really on fire and with Bandai and Ace Combat joining in, too, we'll be arcade-feasting next year!
Re: Round Up: Everything Announced At The Game Awards 2025 - All Switch 1 & 2 Reveals
I didn't watch the GA, but I have to say: these announcements are absolute fire. Been waiting for Ace Combat 8 for years ... a new Podracer-meets-Burnout-Game? Consider me interested! More Control (am I the only one getting Infamous vibes from the final gameplay snippets?) ... & more good stuff. Good times.
Re: Star Wars: Fate Of The Old Republic Announced, But Will It Skip Switch 2?
I doubt anyone has any idea at this point in terms of Switch 2. I would be stunned if they had really settled on any target platform. I would advise thorough expectation management for this one. It's probably at least as likely to be cancelled or simply disappear as it is to ever make it to us consumers.
Re: The Game Awards GOTY For 2025 Is Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Well deserved wins overall by E33. The "indie" category has always been rather fuzzily delineated ... so that one really is on the Game Awards. Given E33 was set for a swep and it really pushes any definition of "indie" to it's boundaries, it might made have sense to skip it for that particular category, given there were other outstanding "indie" games this year, that seem to fall more neatly into that category, whatever it might precisely be.
Re: Mega Man Returns In 2027 With A "Brand-New Entry" For Switch And Switch 2
I still don't dig this art style - I mean, it barely has an identifiable style. I mean, how is this blown out of the water by pretty much any indie "prestige" 2D game? It's like Capcom is not paying attention.
Re: Xbox Is Bringing Another Game To Switch 2 In 2026
Played a bit of it on Gamepass on XSX, but honestly, it was pretty meh. I did somewhat like the setting and story (from what I experienced), but mechanically and structurally it was entirely uninteresting. It feels like a 360 game, but not in a good way, rather in the way everything is gated and linear and shallow: combat is limited and clunky, movement is limited and clunky ... A pass and not a recommend - unfortunately, since before release I was pretty interestedi nit.
Re: Round Up: Every Switch And Switch 2 Announcement From The PC Gaming Show: Most Wanted 2025
@Lucami Kinda surprised that no Indie devs really took up the mantle for that particular subgerne.
I really miss the DS/3DS era, where we got metric tons of niche games like this - incl. like 6 Etrian Odyssey games, 2 remakes and several spin-offs. We had so good ...
As much as I love the Switch, in many ways, it really is a quite different story there. 3rd party exclusives barely exist and this kind of niche game basically moved entirely to Steam or simply died out
Re: Netflix Enters Agreement To Buy Warner Bros. For $82 Billion, Includes Game Studios
@Aswannsong Psychotic? How so?
We've known for close to 200 years now that market agents will push towards a monopoly/monopson, as that is beneficial for them by forcing price setting power.
In terms of the particular, that being tech buying legacy media and legacy media fusing, we've all seen this happening for years (newspapers being bought by Bezos and the likes, Disney fusing with 20th Century Fox as well as buying out George Lucas ...). It actually got to the point were this was one of the main points of one of HBO's own big hits, that is Succession.
As for your remark about people making choices ... that is not actually accurate, you have groups of people making choices on behalf of third party entities they represent. In many instances, they have actual legal obligations in one way or another to do so. And no "the public good" is not one of them.
I would bemoan that, but again: what is the point after two centuries of this? It is what is. People should stop moaning and push governments, aka entities actually obligated to the public good to stop these market agents from pushing the market to concentration.
Agian, we've seen them fail at this time and time again, but no one is without blame here: people like to put market-first ideological parties in power across the board ... rarely is it in their interest, but being economic illiterate, they find themselves at the mercy of the very gatekeepers being bought out and concentrated.
Is it a vicious cycle? Yeah, but given our current situation, I think it was absolutey inevitable for the big hollywood studios to either further concentrate or be bought out by tech. This is also definitely not the end of it - unfortunately.
Re: Netflix Enters Agreement To Buy Warner Bros. For $82 Billion, Includes Game Studios
Yay for more market concentration ... this was inevitable in some form, but it is still simply bad.
Re: Metacritic Shares Updated List Of "Every Metroid Game, Ranked"
I think SkillUp had the most insightful review on Beyond whether you agree with the conclusion or not. Beyond would probably have been considered on-par with previous MP games had it come out 15 years ago. It didn't though and in the decades since the first agme the design for Metroidvanias has evolved significantly. Hence I think one's ranking strongly depends on where you are coming from:
If you come from the OG MP games or Remastered, you probably want more-of-the-same in a fresh coat of paint. Beyond does that, albeit with some making-it-worse additions.
If you come from modern Metroidvanias or even Dread though it probably feels stale at best and backwards at worst.
I wish Retro had settled on what they wanted to do with it. The troubled development clearly shows. I'm super burned out on anything "open-world", but even I can see that a proper BotW'esque MP game could have been seminal. That is not the path they went with though. Then they should have stuck with their guns and give us MP Remastered 2.0. That they also did not abide by.
Re: Round Up: Every Switch And Switch 2 Announcement From The PC Gaming Show: Most Wanted 2025
Omg ... Dungeons of Dusk looks amazing and brings me right back to one of my favourite NDS games of all time: Orcs & Elves!
@Lucami We need a collection of Doom RPG, Wolfenstein RPG, Orcs & Elves I + II so badly, would be perfect for Switch as well!
Re: Review: Octopath Traveler 0 (Switch 2) - A Bit Of A Retread, But Unmissable (And Enormous)
Being familiar with the combat system from the first game, I absolutely do not see how it could sustain another 100 hours of playtime ... definitely not for me, that's a pass. If the combat had been significantly enhanced or switched up then maybe, but that was probably never going to happen. As it stands, I would struggle to go much beyond 30-40 hours at best, if at all.
Re: Mini Review: Red Dead Redemption: Nintendo Switch 2 Edition - The Update That This Epic Deserved
Pretty neat update, but I'm still reminded that I played the original on PS3 back in the day
Re: Review: Metroid Prime 4: Beyond - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition (Switch 2) - Samus Returns In Prime Form
Broken record here: I gotta ask, are you even reviewing these SW2 games on a HDR screen? If so, how come there is like zero mention of it? It's something the SW2 does over the SW1. It's odd that is simply omitted in a dedicated "Switch 2 Edition" review.
I mean, I can go to DF for this, but it's hardly an in-depth technical aspect of the game and I think a review should cover the basics of the game's presentation.
Re: Review: Marvel Cosmic Invasion (Switch) - Up There With Best-Ever Arcade Marvel Games
Sounds about what I would have expected and really good overall. As soon as I am in the mood and have some time I'll pick it up - or when an inevitable sale hits, whichever comes first!
There is another, bigger game looming on my to-play-list ..
Re: Review: Assassin's Creed Shadows (Switch 2) - An Ambitious Port Of A Captivating Series Refresh
I'll wait for that Black Flag Remake. Never finished the original game, but did all the naval combat related stuff, incl. fighting all the legendary ships. That was some proper fun. All the other ACs I played over the years were exceedingly dull and by the numbers. I mean, the first two were kinda fresh at the time, but did not manage to sustain their runtime either for my taste.
Still, glad to see this on the Switch as it is obviously a big franchise with a lot of fans. The more, the merrier ... I might even pick up the game one day and give the PS5 Pro version a shot, might be fun for a bit, as long as it comes as a bargain that is.
Re: Anniversary: Monolith Soft Celebrates Xenoblade Chronicles 2 With A Post, But We're Desperate For A Switch 2 Revamp
Have yet to play part 3, currently replaying the first, but sofar part 2 is my least favourite, both tonally and mechanically. That said it is far from a bad game and it definitely seems to be the one in the most dire need of some upgrading.
The first only really "needs" a boost to its abysmal draw distance, which hurts the immersion, and a boost to it's rendering resolution would also be nice, but even that is more a case of looking-soft rather than the dynamic resoltuion in part two, that often went straight into looking-pixelated territory esp. with alpha effects and such filling the screen.
From what I understand, part 2 is also the most popular probably ... so I think chances are good it will receive a Switch 2 Edition of sorts. I guess, a February Direct would make sense for this? Esp. if they have other Xenobalde updates to announce or whatever Monolith is currently working on ... there is still hope.
Somehow I doubt they will do anything with the first though ...
Re: Metroid Prime 4: Beyond Difficulty Settings Revealed By Nintendo
@metaphysician I would hope that this is the mindset of any developer who elects to go down this road. It still is just a rationalization though. At least, I cannot think of any Nintendo game off the top of m head that really had both, a difficulty setting and a level of complexity that needed mastering over entire playthroughs.
This has only gotten more pronounced with Nintendo's sequelitis, where even games like Fire Emblem, which are on the more challenging side of Nintendo's spectrum and have meaningful difficulty settings, are mostly well known mechanical quantities to those folks who would every opt for maximum challenge.
Also, as seen in games like TotK Nintendo often opts for horizontal complexity rather than vertical:
They just add stuff to the left and read of existing mechanics rather than really pushing the vertical depth on given mechanics. In Zelda this is very obvious to me in the combat system. They added constructs and fusions to the side of the Melee Damage/Mitigation mechanics, but that core part of the actual combat still doesn't really need much mastering, as it is the same super shallow system they had in BotW (which in many ways was already a step back from previous entries, which very never really super deep to begin with in previous Zeldas).
That is not so much a critique as an observation, that also mades me question when it could ever be reasonable for such a design philosophy to gate difficulty modes (again: NG+ being exempted).
Re: More Switch Games Receive Compatibility Updates For Switch 2
@LazyDaisy You mean upgrades, right?
I happened to have started playing the Definitive Edition a couple of days ago, as it seems very unlikely to me that this will ever see any further upgrades and I did not notice any problems in the first 10 hours or so.
By problems I mean bugs and such. Obviously the draw distance desperately needs to be increased and the resolution could really be boosted significantly.
I do however think there is a good chance that we will get some announcements early next year for some of the other Xenoblade titles.
@Nf157 If I had to guess, it'll be mentioned in the February Direct, possibly together with what Monolith is currently working on.
Re: Nintendo's Switch App For Mobile Has Been Updated, Here Are The Full Patch Notes
"You can now send friend requests to users you chatted with in a GameChat session."
Wait ... is that only available through the app? Oo
Re: Reminder: Metroid Prime 4: Beyond Is Available With A Switch Game Voucher
@MJF Navi ... as in OoT? The most commonly named greatest game of all time?
Sounds like totally reasonable comp for sure!
Re: Reminder: Metroid Prime 4: Beyond Is Available With A Switch Game Voucher
@MJF I'm really curious, but right now I can't imagine that the quippy guy can be more of a turn-off than the art style is in AW 1+2. AW's style worked beautiful on a small screen in sprite form, but this "HD" adapation of that style looks like Bob The Builder playing at war ... can't do it.
Re: Metroid Prime 4: Beyond Difficulty Settings Revealed By Nintendo
@Quarbit Absolutely agreed, there is but one exeception: difficulty modes meant for New Game Plus:
For instance, I'm not 100% sure, but I vaguely remember Blue Dragon having its' highest difficutly accessible right away. Always picking highest difficulty in my RPGs, as one does, I went in only to play for just long enough to realize that being literally one-hitted meant I was definitely not supposed to play this difficulty right away
But yeah, other than that I 100% agree. Locking diffculties behind playthroughs is silly. But Mass Effect did it too back in the day, but at least that game was so excellent and had so many important choices, that you gladly went through it more than once!
Re: No More Robots Is Putting Out Switch 2's Next 120fps Game
This game looks like it needs Mouse Mode a lot more than 120 fps. No way is this going to be a convenient play with the Gamepad.
Re: Hollow Knight: Silksong's Latest Update Is Now Live On Switch 1 & 2, Here Are The Patch Notes
@Vash0125 Nah, I don't think so and you seem to intentionally ignore my point: not everything needs to be accessible to everyone.
We are not going to ban Shakespeare because yeah ... some of us will struggle with the text and ultimately will have to abandon it.
That is not immoral, unethical or atrocious ... that is just the freedom of expression manifested in art. Some of it is accessible, some is not. There is no virtue in everything being on the same level.
You did not even bother to consider, that failure might be an intended state of the game. In other words, you don't care about the game itself, just what you want from it. Hence it feels like trolling
Re: Hollow Knight: Silksong's Latest Update Is Now Live On Switch 1 & 2, Here Are The Patch Notes
@jfp It's called sesquipedalianism. I wouldn't mind him, he probably can't help it ...
Re: Hollow Knight: Silksong's Latest Update Is Now Live On Switch 1 & 2, Here Are The Patch Notes
@Vash0125 Not gonna lie, I love the irony of someone throwing around terms like "ableist" and "misogynistic" in the same sentence.
I guess that people with a learning disability simply don't exist or count. Or you couldn't care less about the actual issue, certainly not enough to take even basic steps like using simple language.
Re: 'The Duskbloods' Could Be FromSoftware's Most Ambitious Game Yet, According To Leak
I haven't really paid much attention to these supposed leaks (really: rumors), but Hidetaka Miyazaki to me is simply the GOAT.
I Ioved his work on AC before I even knew who he was. Demon Souls single-handely made the PS3 a must-own system and what came after has long since passed into the realm of legend: with Bloodborne likely being one of the finest pieces of media I will have experienced once the reaper comes knocking.
I prefer single-player and cooperative games over any competitive games these days. But obviously, I am going to support and play 'The Duskbloods', simply because it will be a brilliant and unique title.
PS: there is a great interview with him in the New Yorker, which I can recommend to anyone interested in his artistic vision.
Re: Marvel Cosmic Invasion's Opening Movie Is Packed With '90s Nostalgia
@TheBoilerman Annihilation to me is like the AAA blockbuster version of a little "indie" gem called Operation Galactic Storm and man, say about this era what you will, but the art (just thinking about the portrayal of Quasar and the Nega-Bands ...) was peak and the stories were plain fun.
And yeah, the very same goes for the X-Men:TAS inspired TV-style: peak and plain fun.
This is the best kind of nostalgia, an intentional throw back to artistic peaks.
Re: 40 Switch 1 & 2 Games You Should Check Out In The 'Cyber Deals' eShop Sale (North America)
@Mariotag How do you mean? It's not like predator missions in the sense that there is no story or such and it's all bit-sized selected from a menu. I just mean mechanically, the "stealth" itself, it works in a comparable manner (translated to 2D).
Re: 40 Switch 1 & 2 Games You Should Check Out In The 'Cyber Deals' eShop Sale (North America)
@Mariotag Only with a dedicated patch and that seems unlikely
Re: 40 Switch 1 & 2 Games You Should Check Out In The 'Cyber Deals' eShop Sale (North America)
@Mariotag It's been a minute since I played it, but from what I remember ... yeah it is. It is basically the 2D version of the predator challenges (stealth missions) in the Arkham Games. It's really neat and I can't think of much that compares in terms of 2D games.
Fair warning though, I just read it is capped at 30 fps on Switch. That is actually a bummer and only makes it recommendation, if you have no other platform available. It is pretty much available on everything and goes on sale regularly (on sale right now on Steam/PSN as well ...).
Re: 40 Switch 1 & 2 Games You Should Check Out In The 'Cyber Deals' eShop Sale (North America)
Finally picked up Bayonetta 3, as it seems to be basically fixed by Switch 2, as well as the Xenoblade 3 Bundle in the expectation of an inevitable (!?) Switch 2 patch, also Splatoon 3 Season Pass for that Single-Player content
Downwell, Invisible Inc., Mark of the Ninja and Castlevania Dominus Collection are easy evergreen recommendations no matter the occasion.
Kinda sad, that there was no Three Hopes and Xenoblade Chronicles X though - hopefully that'll be in the New Years sale.
Re: Game Of The Year Nominee Donkey Kong Bananza Wins Critics' Choice Award
@Tayrailbridge Chiming in here: it is not, that it is an extremely well designed game (I mean it is, but im that respect it really is an exceedingly well picked ecclectic mix of what came before), but that it is mechanically a jRPG and narratively as well as tonally it is a wRPG - broadly speaking. In that sense - visuals aside - it is anything but bland, but exceptionally unique.
And again, it IS very well designed as well, as it obfuscates it turn-based nature better than almost any jRPG with the exceptio nof something obscure (pun intended ^^) like Resonance of Fate. It basically plays like an action game, which is a seminal feat in and off itself. That alone would qualify it for accolades, but at the same time, that is the least the game accomplishes.
Also, the music is some of the most memorable and evocative, I've heard in the last 30'ish years. The writing is often close to the level of Kiyoshi Shigematsu's "A Thousand Years of Dreams" in Lost Odyssey (aka the only reason I will never sell my Xbox Series X ...), which I consider reference to this day bar none. That stuff touched my soul.
@Odium Appreciate it and same!
Random recommendation then: try the audio books for "Star Wars: The Old Republic: Revan" and "Star Wars: Darth Bane Trilogy" - all written by Drew Karpyshyn - if you haven't already, as they are just really just cool and good fun!
Re: Game Of The Year Nominee Donkey Kong Bananza Wins Critics' Choice Award
Going up against Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, this is the best result Nintendo could want, with Clair Obscur being this incredibly seminal title to me and obviously many others.
Re: Vampire Survivors Is Getting A Bonkers-Looking Dungeon Crawler Spin-Off
More than anything this reminds me that we need an "Orcs & Elves" collection asap!
Re: Multiple Switch Games Get Switch 2 Compatibility Fixes
@KingMike It is a translation layer. It translates the basic instructions from the set of one architecture (SW1) to that of another architecture (SW2) on the fly. In other words, unlike in emulation there is no Switch (1) running on Switch 2, neither in software nor in hardware.
Emulation generally takes a lot more ressources, but is more precise. Nintendo's solution is a lot more performant - as we've seen in many games - but it can demand a lot of specific ad-hoc tweaking and it is only possible due to the architectures being different, but also similar.
In that sense, the distinction is important since most people are probably looking for actual improvements in running their games, not for a precise reproduction down to the flaws for every imangineable game and they want it now, not in two or three generations (or at highly inflated prices due to OG hardware being replicated within the new hardware).
In other words, there are upsides and downsides to both. I'm just weary of people (not target at you) being impatient for fixes. That is the other side of getting this out-of-the-box-for-free-boost in many games. Fair trade-off I would think and most big games are already running convincingly to say the least!
Re: Round Up: The Reviews Are In For Kirby Air Riders
As always, it's easy to tell which reviewers went in with a clear set of expectations only to find fault for those particulars not being met.
Re: Review: Kirby Air Riders (Switch 2) - Incredibly Chaotic, But Satisfyingly Deep & Rewarding Racing
I'm kinda torn as I had hoped for more substance in terms of the Road Trip Mode with what apparently are really only super bitsized misisons of in part less than a minute.
I did absolutely enjoy the Air Ride mode in the Demo though, would very much like to play more of that, while at the same time I absolutely have no desire to play the City Trial mode ever again.
Not sure how long playing only playing the Air Ride mode will entertain me. Might have to wait for a sale.
Re: Sorry Xillia 2, 'Tales Of Berseria' Is The Next Remaster From Bandai Namco
A Switch 2 version would have been interesting, but this is an easy hard pass.
Re: Kirby Air Riders' Day One Update Has Arrived, Here Are The Full Patch Notes
A new "Team Battle" battle format has been added to "City Trial."
Can someone elaborate on how this works? Playing the Online-Test I thought that this mode could be fun if it had any intentionality to it like a sort of team death match (esp. with a counter). I don't presume this allows for anything like that?
Re: TMNT: Splintered Fate 'Wraith Invasion' Update Now Available - Mini Boss Astral Wraiths, New Rewards And Much More
@chiptoon I was just about to ask about this. I'll hold off until we know whether it will receive a Switch 2 patch/version/upgrade/whatever. The footage I saw looked decidedly blurry on og Switch.
Re: 46 Switch 1 & 2 Games You Should Check Out In The eShop 'Black Friday' Sale (Europe)
Hopefully the U.S. Sales will be at least as good as these. Have been waiting for Three Hopes and Xenoblade 3 for a long while.
@Pillowpants I absolutely second that! In fact, I fully completed Unicorn Overlord at launch on PS5 and I'm still always tempted to double-dip just to support Vanilla Ware.
Re: Official Zelda Movie Photos Give Us Our Best Look Yet At Link And Zelda
Man I hope this is very much a work in progress. The colors look flat to me. I was worried they (would have to?) tone it all way down to not make it look goofy in live-action ...
@Smackosynthesis Oh god, yeah, I think you are right. These looked weird and familiar/pretty and cheap to me at the same time, but I could not immediately place that sensation ... now I can never unsee it Oo
Re: Mailbox: 3D Mario Predictions, Gaming Redemptions, Grammar Talk - Nintendo Life Letters
@Bolt_Strike That conflict was indeed kinda my point and seems pretty obivois and evident! I'm not sure about the dual-release-strategy though, just by merit of Mario Kart being such a big IP. Having like a best-of-class Multiplayer game and a state-of-the-art GTA-competitor open-world mode would be too big a ask for almost all IPs - agreed on that. But MK8D sold like 70 Million units ... if there ever was a Nintendo IP that would justify the risk of investing this much to level it up and diversify it like this, it is Mario Kart (just think about GTA Online as the inverse approach on the side of Rockstar).
Other than that, I have argued this very approach for other franchises like FE, where I feel we have now to increasingly distinct variants, one with a smaller hardcore audience and one with a bigger more casual audience, who focus on different aspect of the IP. Why not have releases to cater to each audience with adjust budgets and alternating release?
I dunno, if that would work, but it would be worth a try. It would require a very specific marketing though, so that consumer expecation and game content are properly matched - a challenge I also see for Mario Kart.
Re: Mailbox: 3D Mario Predictions, Gaming Redemptions, Grammar Talk - Nintendo Life Letters
@Dr_Corndog Wonder if that is going to be within my lifetime! More importantly, I do wonder how the story will continue. The game will mostly be around for what? Like a decade? Nintendo has every chance and - I also think for a proven evergreen selling franchise - every incentive to stick with it. I don't mean just doing balancing patches and adding tracks, but rework it how they see fit. I'm really really curious whether they will and how they will communicate and monetize this: will it be like a live-service model? Paid-for DLC? Free updates? A wild combination?
They must they potential in approach their "World" with a sort of GTA mindset and they already did so much work on it as well. I dunno, maybe it is just one of those "Nintendont" ideas that are equal part no-brainers as well as never-gonna-happens.