Solomon_Rambling

An even 400 makes it easier for me to figure out what percentage of their games I own. That percentage is 0.25%, considering I own only one of their games.

You kids and your colors. Back in my day, everything was in black and white, and we were happy with just those.

Scented cartridges, however, are what we’re truly missing out on.

I heard the Switch 2 will have three different flavors at launch: cherry, pamplemousse, and strawberry kiwi.

@Wiiiiiiiiiii

They’re definitely a trip! They never quite get full-on horrifying but unsettling for sure. I wouldn’t recommend the games to everyone, but if you like surreal stuff, they’re worth a look.

Never heard of this series before, but I may check it out based on this review. The visuals remind me of Milk Inside a Bag of Milk Inside a Bag… and its sequel. I got a kick out of those bizarre visual novels, and Bahnsen Knights seems to have a similar tone and runtime.

Both my partner and I thoroughly enjoyed Papers, Please. Because I liked that game for its tense gameplay and narrative, I don’t know how much I’d have fun with Lil’ Guardsman, but my partner will likely get a kick out of it. I’m glad Nintendo Life reviewed this one!

Thank you for calling attention to this game. I only read the first three paragraphs of this article because I don’t want to spoil anymore, but without the mention, I wouldn’t have this game on my radar.

Ubisoft may have a point, as much as I dislike recognizing it. Most of us on this site would prefer to own our games, but I don’t know if that’s the case for the people or children who play more casually. Like Tremblay said, we are already used to streaming movies, music, and video games. I just hope we always have the option to buy or subscribe. I like options.

This is terrible to hear. What’s next? Are they going to say my pogs collection is useless? Are my Beanie Babies worth nothing? Thank god I still have my AMC stock.

Out of all the commenters from the previous article, @aaronsullivan, you had several fair points. Having endured the Wii U era, I understand how the console’s failure could make people skeptical of the Switch. My “vitriol” comment was more targeted toward those commenters who confidently foretold doom for the hybrid console.

I’m a degenerate Nintendo fan, so I have a somewhat unwavering trust in the company. That said, it’s also helped for me to recognize that Nintendo is a mad scientist: brilliant but often out of touch with what we consider logical. I love how the company is a trailblazer in video gaming, even if it forgets its backpack or how to start a fire from time to time.

It’s fun to read the commenters’ reactions on Nintendo Life for the showcase. So much vitriol. I know I was incredibly stoked for the Switch, so I thought most people had my reaction.

It’s also fun to see how many of the people who had commented on the previous article are still around today. I was still using my old username back then!

So far, this year has been full of promising news. It’s a bummer that none of the news has been confirmed by Nintendo. I’d love to see all the rumors and vague info come true, but I’m kind of skeptical of my friend’s uncle who works at Nintendo.

@Ooyah

Looking back on the beast that is the Binding of Isaac, I also wish the developers had worked toward a standalone sequel instead. I love many aspects of Repentance, but I have my fondest memories with Rebirth.

@Batfan2425

Fair question! I really enjoy the gameplay loop because each run feels different based on which rooms, bosses, and items you encounter. The items are what makes the game exciting for me, and there are 717 items that interact and synergize in different ways. The Binding of Isaac also has a ton of unlockables (640 "secrets" are available in Repentance) and 34 characters, all of whom need to be played multiple times to unlock everything. Unlocking everything on a single files takes hundreds of hours, and those of us who are ridiculously into the game try to unlock everything on each of the game's three files.

The game has a massive amount of content, but if the gameplay doesn't interest you (or if you don't like roguelikes), there's not much motivation to get all the extra stuff. My playtime is also high because of all the content updates. I put a few hundred hours on Rebirth on the Wii U, several hundred hours on the expansion Afterbirth+ when it came to the Switch, and even more hundreds after Repentance came out on the Switch a few years back.

Hope that answers your question!

I love this topic! Without question, my choice would be the Binding of Isaac. I started with Rebirth on the Wii U and have logged close to two thousand hours over its expansions. I would love to start Repentance without any of the bias I had from Rebirth. At this point, I’m Isaac’ed out but would enjoy reliving what was the first in my burgeoning romance with rougelikes.

@Debo626

You are absolutely fine, and I appreciate you calling me out! After all, my comment was poking fun at what I thought was a typo, so I needed to be corrected.

@ibookboyuk

Glad I wasn’t the only one initially bamboozled!

@Debo626

Darn you for exposing my poor reading comprehension skills!

Born in 1972 and he’s already 60. Working on Zelda must be tough.

It’s fun to learn about these figures who will helm the Nintendo franchises in the future. Although we’re still a decade or so away, I’m interested in how Nintendo’s creative direction will shift with a new generation of directors who have never met or been mentored by the likes of Miyamoto, Aonuma, and Tezuka.

@CANOEberry

Great point! One day, when I’m an old fart, I hope I will understand I cannot judge the younger generations solely based on the experiences I had. I also hope I’ll be humble enough to recognize how my generation may have made it harder for younger ones. Most of all, I hope I never get arthritis in my hands so I can keep on playing video games.

At the end of the day, I think news is going to be sensational because it attracts viewers. We, as a society, love to criticize what strays from what we believe is normative and healthy. I think the world is becoming more open-minded, but we’re a fair ways away from eliminating stereotypes, whether they’re about a person’s hobbies, sexual orientation, gender identity, race, neurodivergence, political beliefs, etc., etc., etc.

I agree with Lane in questioning why we haven’t adapted to accepting video games as part of everyday life. Parents still struggle to understand how to monitor and limit a child’s screen time. Video games are not inherently unhealthy, but they are stimulating enough to override interest in other activities if a child has no other outlets. If parents don’t take the time to diversify a child’s interests and activities, you’ll get kids who prefer to play video games all the time. It’s time we all learn how to integrate video games into what we conceptualize as healthy living, and it’s up to the adults to understand this and teach their kids about healthy gaming practices.

I can predict Nintendo’s future just about as well as I can predict how the stock market will change, and I haven’t made a dime with my stock investments. That said, I’ll be bummed if a new console doesn’t release next holiday season. I have enough games on my wishlist and backlog to carry me through another year, maybe two, but I’d love to see what Nintendo can do with new hardware.

I thought Kevin Afghani did a solid job In Wonder. He’s not Martinet, but I don’t mind if he continues to voice the character. That said, I appreciate Martinet for his iconic voices all these years.

My partner bought it for the premise but stopped due to the frame rate and performance issues. She normally can ignore such issues, but supposedly they made the gameplay stutter so much, she couldn’t stand it.

Oh man, I’ve been waiting ages for Zombie Dead Smasher Shooter - PREMIUM EDITION. They didn’t even bother with a standard edition because they know what quality is.

I’m glad you all are taking the Top 15 approach because it can be a bit tiring hearing about Wonder and TotK and Wonder and TotK. Cocoon and RDR are on my wishlist, and I enjoyed F-Zero 99 even if my best finish was third.

My Top 5 this year was:

5. Tunic
4. Vampire Survivors
3. SpiderHeck
2. We Love Katamari REROLL + Royal Reverie
1. Inscryption

Still haven’t finished TotK, but it probably would replace Tunic. Great game but too much of a retread for me.

@Ooyah

I’ve heard some people mention Mr. Sun’s Hatbox, just not on this website. You would know better than I would, but it sounds like it’s a niche game that really appeals to some but doesn’t make an impression with most gamers.

“As we have said in the past, this least-possible-effort 'content' is hardly new on the eShop, but it is baffling that Nintendo doesn't seem to see the damage being done to its image.”

Where is the evidence to substantiate this claim? How are we quantifying this damage? I dislike these trash titles just as much as the next person (especially all the fake GOTY/Marvelous/Complete “editions” showing up on the new or upcoming pages), but are they really doing any damage to Nintendo’s image? I imagine us Nintendo Life readers are more vocal about these issues, but is the greater public really bothered by this stuff? These types of titles were on the eShop years ago, and Nintendo’s image has seemed untouched.

My partner has enjoyed the game but acknowledged it’s pretty repetitive. She’s also been fortunate to avoid crashes.

I personally would love to play a hundred user-made Zelda levels which auto-play, poorly recreate dungeons from other games, or feature multiple cheap ways to die. That’s my idea of a good time.

For those interested, the Metacritic scores for everything after Catlord:

Picklock: 50
Kids - Farm Coloring: N/A
Make War: 46
Supersonic Tank Cats: N/A
Nova-111: 67

Reading this review was like hearing a sommelier gush about a vintage wine, and I appreciated that. Even having read about all the strengths in this review, I don’t think I could even recognize the intricacies Massey detailed so articulately. I’ve tried a few shmups over the last fifteen years, and although I can enjoy them, I’m doing well if I can survive. Score-chasing is a distant thought.

I don’t think I’ll get the game because I have Mushihimesama on my wishlist for now, but this review was a treat!

My favorite game I played this year was Inscryption. I loved all the game mechanics and how the story evolved. Tunic was another highlight, although it got a little too complex for its own good at times.

Tears of the Kingdom was probably the “best” game I played that came out this year, but I think I have enjoyed playing We Love Katamari REROLL and Vampire Survivors more. Overall, it was an incredible year for me.

896 hours across 83 games, although I imagine I opened several of those for a few minutes and then closed out.

Most played:
1. Tears of the Kingdom at 88 hours (still working on it)
2. PowerWash Simulator at 42 hours (my main game while recovering from back surgery)
3. Vampire Survivors at 39 hours (although I have significantly more hours on my tablet)

Nothing surprising, but I liked the breakdown this year better than last year’s!

I’d be interested in Nintendo Life writing an article or producing a video about the quality (or ‘quality,’ as Norman put it) of these games. Having played Nova 111 on the Wii U, I have a sense that not all of No Gravity Games’ catalogue is a wasteland of garbage, but the majority of their releases seem to fall into that category. I have to hand it to the publisher for creating a novel promotion, but twelve days of coverage on Nintendo Life seems excessive especially when other (arguably better) publishers may have equally great sales. Nakana.io is one publisher that comes to mind, and I believe every game in their catalogue is going for a buck right now.

Of the three games revealed so far, only Creepy Tales 2 has reviews on Metacritic, and that one is sitting at a 69.

Katamari Damacy’s two stages in which you have to roll up the largest cow or bear. The game is fun because you’re a huge lumbering ball of imprecision, so having to avoid tiny objects for those two levels sucks out the fun. I did think it was cruelly ironic but funny that the developer decided to bring back those levels in the sequel.

@Vexx234

A Wa-Verse would be fantastic. With it, we’d have:

• Wadonkey Kong
• Wabowser
• Watoad
• Wawario
• Wamiyamoto

The design space is infinite!

@johnedwin

Ahem, it’s actually four reviews combined into one score. So in this case, four reviews mean nothing, not one.

@Maulbert

No need to warn me about Famitsu’s bias. Like I said, if the game truly is a 9/10, that’s exciting. I’m more than able to read a few reviews before I’m convinced this game is a 9/10.

Color me baffled. I wasn’t expecting much, but if this game is truly 9/10 quality, that’s super exciting.

Perfect. I’m planning on grabbing it.

Stoked. I just finished Bioshock Infinite, so I’ve beaten all the games I bought during last year’s Black Friday and Boxing Day sales. I’m ready to stock up on my games for 2024, and if the Switch 2 comes out next year, this sale may be my last on the current Switch!

I don’t know if I’m up for a 40-hour adventure. Although that playtime isn’t abnormal for a roguelite, I enjoyed Undertale and (to a lesser extent) OneShot for their brevity. Even Omori was a little long for me, so I’ll probably pass on this one.

For what it’s worth, I convinced my wife to download the demo because I described it as Studio Ghibli and Spirited Away. Like review scores, these buzzwords are great for clueing me in if the game should be dismissed or focused on.

It is me! I’m the degenerate who thrives on clickbait!

I like a bunch of these games, my favorite being Hotline Miami. I would suggest Return of the Obra Dinn and Hellblade to the list!

I eagerly await the 65+ Switch Games for Old People list.

I hopped on the bandwagon during the VC Reviews days and later WiiWare World. This 18th birthday certainly makes me feel old, but I’m thankful to have had this website for the last 15 years. Wonderful staff, wonderful articles. It’s been a joy to see how much this site has grown!

I, too, reject the Xbox community. Such camaraderie disgusts me.

I miss the days when we just hated each other. Now it’s just “let’s get rid of exclusives” this and “Blizzard Activision doesn’t make us a monopoly” that.

This game and World of Horror will likely be my gifts to myself this holiday season.

As much as I enjoyed Smooth Moves back in the day, I was worried the motion controls would cause some issues for Move It. I’m certainly not an old fart yet, but moving about while playing has lost its luster for me. I’m a slothful creature who yearns for couch potato activities.

Given how close we are to a new console, this may be the first WarioWare game I skip. I hope the young whippersnappers enjoy it.

I would’ve loved to hear Sigur Rós compose the entire soundtrack. It’ll be interesting to how ( ) sounds in the game, and I’ll look for to the reworks. I have known of the Moomin series but have never actually read a book or watched an adaptation.

I’ll probably hold off on getting another card until the Switch 2 comes out. I’ve maxed out my 1 TB card, but there are so many games I haven’t played in years that I can archive the majority of them.

@RupeeClock

I’m glad I’m not the only one disgusted by a 1.5 TB card.

I really like this publisher and am very tempted to splurge on this. Gorogoa and What Remains of Edith Finch are two of my favorite games on the Switch, and I liked Donut County. Three more games are on my wishlist, and I wouldn't mind playing the other six. I only wish soundtracks were included as part of the collection.

I wonder when preorders will open or if I already missed the window...

I have spent more time considering whether I would want these free games than I would ever be willing to actually play them.