Sonicka

I enjoyed Miles as a character (as well as the others) it added something to the game having characters with speaking parts brings a brand new sense of desolate immersion the series is known for since they are all stuck, alone but together as a group. It’s a cool idea.

That said, I did not need him on the radio pinpointing out where to go every 5 minutes in the desert hub. I enjoyed zooming around finding all the secrets, crash sites, shrines, and breaking the crystals in-between the map biomes, it’s a fun enough (but simple) gameplay loop (more like The Sky World from Skyward Sword than the OOT / BOTW extremes others have suggested.)

But the game assumes I am “stuck” if I dilly dally for longer than 5 minutes when I already had an idea of where to go, I did not need Miles telling me when I’m enjoying myself speeding about.

The easy fix is for Nintendo to add an option to toggle the additional baby support on and off. I’m surprised this wasn’t done as standard considering it’s in other titles they’ve made. You can leave certain directional cues in if it’s story necessary, but he basically gives you the answer to what are already basic backtracking exploration puzzles for progression.

Nintendo / Retro need to relearn to trust that the player base are smarter than this.

There are times when I look at certain situations like the Expedition 33 scenario, which just used placeholders - with the intention of replacing it with actual creative assets later as not a terrible thing if it helps push things along…

…but then I remember that these sorts of placeholders and concept artworks are what make the games from creative individuals in the first place. Why would a creative artist want to simply update / replace an asset that’s already been generated by AI and has taken up half of their job already?

It’s just icky - imagine the concept artwork books we’d get in 10 years times for games, movies and and likes… it would literally just be generative AI slop based on existing material. It’s not why I buy such things.

Whilst I’ll take any soapbox opinion to spread the love for Rayman 2, “overlooked” is probably not the right descriptor.

I’m pretty sure Rayman 2 was universally praised on release (and re-release… maybe not so much the IOS / & 3/DS ports), but it’s appeared on no less than 9 different platforms in one manner or another.

Phenomenal platformer title overall - very apt comparison to “The Dark Crystal” as well! Never thought about it that way but it shares so much in common, no wondered I loved it.

I still think the Dreamcast / PC release was probably the best iteration, but playing this on NSO N64 classics I can see that this version really does stand on its own two feet surprisingly well! Defo gunna replay it to completion.

Halfway in now - really don’t get the hate for the NPC’s or the bike + desert. It’s been a real ride so far, neither immersion breaking or particularly intrusive IMO.

What I will say though (for better or worse) is that it is defo the most linear feeling Metroid to date. This is ironic considering how many were critical of the “open world” desert and there was concerns it would be like BoTW… yet if anything it’s the complete opposite - we actually have the Skyward Sword of the Metroid Prime series with Beyond.

In any case, this has been a blast so far, but hasn’t bested the quality of Metroid Prime 1 just yet.

Well; they certainly helped elevate Zelda into the broader success it’s seen over the last 10 years. Between these titles and Xenoblade, Monolithsoft are basically at the top of their game when it comes to interesting and varied open world design that begs to be explored.

So an entire game built from the ground up by them? Sign me up! (As long as it doesn’t detract from future Xenoblade entries)

A few Megaman collections AND 11 for just a few quid each? Bloody hell yes Capcom.

Overpriced DLC that should have just been post-game content in the first place? Who would ever have suspected?

@Suketoudara oh 100%, based on that alone it’s no surprise really (I don’t actually think it’s a bad game either - I just think SEGA pumped out some good competition this year that was worth a nod).

Completely with you on MKW’s soundtrack though, how did this not make it on here? It’s just pure blis and some of the best arrangements they’ve ever produced for a game.

@Kochambra well yes, exactly my point. Either we to need reassess our understanding of “indie” or TGA need to take a closer inspection of what should class as an indie or budgeted game and break this down in smaller categories.

Clair did what it did spectacularly, but it came at the cost of out-shining a dozen other brilliant titles this year that deserved just as much (if not more) of a mention.

If it were me - I’d have put Blue Prince as a very strong contender for Game of the Year (it’s actually my personal GOTY). But it is what it is

Other thoughts; It’s was unsettling to see Nintendo win in all the categories its didn’t really deserve too. Whilst it is great Bonanza picked something up (especially after something like Astro swept the table last year), I’m not sure “best family game” is really is category for it considering most of the competition were multiplier titles.

It’s also a shame Mario Kart World beat out Sonic Crossworlds, if you were to judge it based on the audience reactions to the game title reads at the event it was pretty evident which one people were more ecstatic for.

AND it still irks me that Sonic the Hedgehog 3 got snubbed entirely from best video-game adaptation. Should have at least been a nominee considering it released after the 2024 game awards, and yet somehow the critically / commercially panned Last of us Season 2 won the thing.

On the positive, it was nice to see them shuffle the awards around a bit, I hate it when they reel off some of them on the fly really quickly so certain creators don’t end up hitting the stage - a particular bug bear was the soundtrack category but they respectfully made that a bigger deal this year.

In any case, this wasn’t worth watching. Most of the months teasers for reveals I was hyped for never came to fruition tonight, and nothing really caught my eye in the up and comings, so personally it was more of a yawn fest.

Unsurprising that Clair won in all of its categories. Clearly a spectacular title (and one that should be ported to Switch 2).

I do however, think either we as a gaming community need to look at redefining our understanding of what “indie” is and can stand for, or the TGA need to redefine it for future award ceremonies.

Sandfall does absolutely class as an indie developer, they have a very small team (even if some work was outsourced), in comparison the larger AA and AAA studios, they have their own independent publisher that deals with a select group of indie devs and titles, and Sandfalls whole motto / belief is in proving that AAA quality games can be produced in scope under the size and restraint of small studios with the right tools and talent - something they very clearly demonstrated to great effect with their first title.

On paper it feels unfair because the game looks and play leagues above what most Indie developers look to do with their titles, but at the end of the day this Sandfall achieved what most large publishers and software companies fail to accomplish every year; make an excellent value consumer product that (1) doesn’t waste the players time (2) feels premium in scope, and (3) make the player feel like they have received a AAA experience under the guise of a relatively small budget.

@Banjo- that’s essentially it. I was so excited to get this on GC back in the day and just found myself endlessly frustrated due to the navigation between light and dark worlds, becoming lost a lot more quickly, and because of how difficult it makes everything to traverse.

In concept i love it… and having a mirror version of the same location was somewhat smart in scope. But tonally it became a slog after a while, and I didn’t find all the environment's to be as visually interesting as Prime 1’s were to explore, so doing it twice just doubled down the boredom for me sadly.

That said… I wouldn’t mind a Remaster of Prime 2 (like Prime 1) to see what they can crank up in terms of subtle improvements so I can give it another whack.

In total agreement with Prime 1 and Super Metroid being the best of their respective perspectives though 🙂

Not entirely terrible considering it is based on user ratings, but Beyond should really be holding its own above Echoes - that game was an expertly stitched together exercise in boredom and difficulty, easily making it the weakest of the 4 main Prime titles. Time will see this revolve around again I’m sure.

@Emacster it won’t be a competitor in terms of sales. Mario Kart is just far too big of a juggernaut at this stage to be rivalled by much of anything.

The Quality and execution of ideas on the other hand, is another matter entirely.

@Pat_trick yup, which is a fair opinion to have. I’m all for accessibly and more options at the end of the day.

On the creative side I don’t know where I come down personally on it being an unlock. No Music seems to be a choice for the desert so it seems intentional.

IMPORTANT As I don’t want to contribute to the spread of misinformation, I should say that after investigating this further, it seems like there is a 50/50 split online on the radio being unlocked for the bike being exclusive to the Amiibo or through gameplay related unlocks. Lots of people have claimed they’ve done it without Amiibo, and others are saying the radio is only unlocked with Amiibo. So it’s anyone’s guess at the moment.

Overall, it seems like the developers intent was that there was not supposed to be music during the desert sections as they were gunning for wild ambience. The radio simply gives access to unlockable tracks from older Metroid titles and other tunes in game to listen to as you drive about it seems. There isn’t a dedicated soundtrack for the desert that Nintendo are blocking users off from.

@Pat_trick if it’s unlock-able without having to pay anything (no matter how long it takes) this basically invalidates any internet argument saying you have to pay for the music, therefore the amiibo feature is just a bonus. As usual, the grifters farm for negative engagement on social platforms and this is how the discourse is spread.

In general, these sorts of achievements and feature unlocks are standard and normal. Should they have music available earlier in the desert region? Maybe. That is another discussion entirely. But clearly the desolation and ambience for the desert was an audio design choice from the get go whether a good or bad thing.

Dammit, I’m gunna have to look at investing in a Switch 2 sooner than I thought…

It’s amazing how all the tweaks made in this Remakemaster really make all the difference in elevating the title to a solid 9/10 experience.

And considering how good Impossible Lair was it really seems like Playtonic have got a better handle of their craft. I can’t wait for Twoka-Laylee Yooka-Kart, or whatever comes next! 🙂

Still holding out until there is something I REALLY need to play right now that I absolutely cannot wait for... Hyrule Warriors was a close one. Mario Kart and DK Bonanza as well as other obvious Switch 2 upgrades and editions are very welcome but not necessary to upend my backlog at the moment.

Additionally, I’m waiting considering the LED screen model can vary (from the launch editions) and would rather guarantee the better version, not to mention I have a preference to OLED now, but I reckon that variation in model will be a few years away.

However, having played a lot of my mates I am impressed all the same. I can’t wait to get it eventually.

Nice, glad this lives up to the Switch 2 version (which it should… considering this is the base game product anyway). I won’t be playing this on SW2 and have my OLED and TV ready, thus I wont have comparison envy thankfully. As far as I am concerned as long as it’s 60FPS and looks on par with Prime 1 Remastered then I’m golden.

@HammerKirby there is another reason for physical collectors that they may want to purchase Switch 1 versions - the beautiful box art is not overcrowded with a ridiculous amount of Switch 2 Edition tags, labels, and worded texts boxes and disclaimers.

@Yoshi3 nah it’s cool I get it 🙂 I mean you know my particular stance on Zelda… I’m a bit of a sucker for openness if it’s something I get lost in under the right circumstance (but on the flip-side it is fatiguing to think about playing multiple different open world experiences from game to game).

You are correct about my comparison actually. I think I was thinking of Metroid Prime’s landing areas and adjacent rooms (being on the cusp of some (but not all) biome areas with this new hub acting in a similar way as I recall retreading there often.

The Biomes in general used to be very interconnected, in past games, I suppose this did branch off a bit in Prime 3, so maybe that’s why this title continued along that path? As I mentioned somewhere above in the comments, maybe it would have been cooler to have this large overworld on top, keep it dense, then layer the game downwards with biomes to more effectively connect the land and depths and give reason for secrets and exploration.

But hey… i dunno, we Wouldn’t get Viola I suppose and they really pushing for the cool bike this time 🤣

@yoshi3 I get where you are going with this, but Modern Metroid (Prime 4) isn’t open world, I mean, not really. If that’s the case, then we may as well be saying retro Zelda titles with large field maps are also open world experiences.

Whilst a lot of reviews have opted to click bait many to dismay in the subtitles at it being an open world disappointment, they all say the same thing in the fine text, “semi open” “wide linear” “desert zone” “large connective hub map”.

They,ve just taken the landing area from any old Metroid game and turned it into a massive desert to justify the locations to travel to across the planet. Could it have been done better? Probably, I’ll have more thoughts once I’ve had a go, but is it redefining the core structure of Metroid? No, not really, they’ve just expanded the elevator cutscenes into a playable portion of the game.

I don’t think “open areas” are necessarily a bad thing for the franchise. It’s moreso the how and why it’s incorporated into the base structure of the game.

The open map seems to scream more classic Zelda like Wind Waker in terms of scale than anything needless like BOTW/TOTK.

What I do think is a missed opportunity here is that they opted to connect the proper Metroid biomes at the edges, hence the vast trips on the bike (Prime 3 just used the ship to fast travel to planets than explore space after all).

I think what would have been more interesting is having a semi large open desert on top, and then interconnecting it to all the biomes below the surface (as traditionally, we’ve gone deeper and deeper into a planet).

Not only could you make multiple entrances and secrets to and from the surface, but it would be densely packed to reward those returning to the surface overworld to explore.

@Yoshi3 don’t worry, i don’t think they’ll really infuse it as a proper open air experience on a scale like BOTW.

The reviews make it sound more like the “overworld” is a more of a hub with these mini dungeons/shines (to me it seems more akin to The Great Sea from The Wind Waker as a more apt comparison) the main bulk is still likely the classic interconnected metroidvania areas we know and love 🙂

At the moment Metroid Prime 4 sits a single point above OTHER M on metacritic.

You could say “that is wild” but I love OTHER M, so I’m pretty sure this will be my jam as well.

The fact that the interconnected overworld is an expansion of the usual (and often disjointed) segways / elevators AND has shrines to explore like BOTW just makes it all the more enticing for further Metroid styled exploration and immersion.

Nice. It sure sounds like the concerns of the federation team overstepping and quipping too much were nothing to be concerned about after all. God bless internet hyperbole.

It’s amazing just how well this movie franchise has done considering the first trailer for Sonic 1.

It had every reason to flop… and yet here we are, 3 movies and one series on, with further movies and expanded universe things on the horizon.

Take good notes, Nintendo!

GUN: The Movie

It doesn’t need a “Switch 2 Edition” with tweaks, save that for Xenoblade 3.

Xenoblade 2 really needs needs a “Definitive Edition” released on Switch 2, much like the original and X got.

There’s a lot of stuff to address that could turn an 8/10 experience into a 10/10 one. I love Xenoblade 2 by the way - it has A LOT - but it suffers from the team trying to reinvent and appropriate change where it doesn’t pan out (see field skills, applying and navigating multiple blade menus, low quality graphical issues in handheld, and the infamous navigation system). All this sort of stuff was fixed and refined across XC1DE, XCX and XCXDE. So personally speaking, it would be awesome to see a similar treatment get put to work on this for a new Switch 2 re-release.

I remember playing this game and seeing it through to the end because I had too. “Brevity” (no matter how true of it that is in context of the other two) this game certainly did not feel to me.

And here come the “oh so it could have fit in a 64GB easily cartridge” commenters that have obvious tech engineering experience to push unwarranted discourse.

I should add, I hate Game Key Cards too (and Ubisoft for the most part - I won’t be white knighting that company).

I’d rather the publisher put these out as physical products than lazily take the GKC route for cheapness if it is possible.

BUT larger games made for more powerful systems frankly take up more resources - it is what it is. If developers can barely get a game onto an expensive Switch 2 Card, and said cards aren’t as optimal for processing speed delivery to give the player the best experience (and you really want that game on this system) you have to meet the developer halfway - hence the Game Key Card compromise. No two games are the same, nor is the developer expertise in getting these titles shrunk down to run smoothly I’m sure.

It’s not a perfect solution, but it’s better than crap game performance, or owning a plain digital copy without the physical box + key to resell the game if/once you are done.

@Striker21 better still, Rare / Microsoft should just outsource to Playtonic given that’s where most of the original dev crew ended up anyway.

When you consider the considerable successes of Yooka Laylee essentially carrying the torch, just get the band all back together with learnt experiences for a proper quality next gen Banjo.

It’ll never happen, but one can hope.

Unsurprising, considering the first title pretty much did the same on release.

Air Ride/r’s is not a mainstream/popular enough spinoff idea to be enjoyed and absorbed by most, but it also offers way too much to do outside of everything to be considered a write off multiplayer experience at the same time.

I loved the first game, but it was also a nothingburger of a game at the same time with so much and so little to do. Riders looks like they really doubled down on everything to make it just as amazing and weird once more.

Wow, talk about comparing Apples to Orangoutangs. He know's not what he talks about.

The Steal a Brainrot "game" is satire based on meme - it is just an unlikely craze / faze of its time for young children that don't know better.

It is NOT a AAA game using AI to produce garbage intentionally.

Such a stark difference of concepts that I struggle to believe he was even a Director of Business.

Looking at best game adaption to media, it looks like they either forgot to include or just outright snubbed the Sonic 3 movie which is wild.

The Platformer had its GOTY spotlight last year (which was nice, even if going to Astro was slightly undeserved IMO). So although DKB deserves it more in that sense, the competition is a little greater here. Although I’m very surprised Split Fiction isn’t actually on the GOTY listing, that’s a phenomenal co-op experience and should have been on here just to level out the playing field.

Weird seeing link in a green tunic & no blue over-hood after 10 years. XD At least there is no green cap - it would not translate well except for a gag perhaps.

Zelda's travelling wardrobe from BOTW looks spot on though.

TBF, Digital Foundary are objectively correct on this. Outside of the character model designs and the Pokémon’s, the game does mostly look like it creeped out of a console from many generations ago, much like Arceus before it, it’s a very poor looking title, no matter how charming it might appear to be.

But this is true of all of Gamefreak’s Pokémon titles on the Switch, and It’s lucky that a Switch 2 edition exists to at least boost performance, but it’s also sad that we have real lookers like New Pokémon Snap or Pokken to really show the mainline games in a bad light.

Still, doesn’t stop them all being fun. 🤷🏻‍♂️

It’s just the same old same old argument. Gamefreak clearly don’t have enough staff / capabilities / resources & budget to produce something that very clearly could be of higher quality, and The Pokèmon Company won’t funnel more money into the actual games that make the brand because they know full well it will sell regardless of quality and controversy. I don’t doubt that as developers, GF want every title to be better - but if they don’t have the resources to do it, then we get what we get.

Yup, had to be TOTK (or BOTW) at #1. I don’t think I’ve ever invested as much time into any game in my entire life as those two (especially TOTK). Pretty much became gaming euphoria getting lost in a world I’d always dreamed of deeply exploring. OOT is incredible and it’s always going to be there, but it was also really a 3D interpretation of ALttP. It took Nintendo to break conventions to really make something revolutionary with its complex chemical engine in TOTK. It’s not for everyone for sure (no game is) but it’s a history staple nonetheless in what can be achieved in gaming.

Side note: Galaxy 2 beating out Galaxy is pretty wild to me. I could personally repeat play Galaxy 1 over and over, but Galaxy 2 (much like the new Astro Bot) is a fantastic example of ultimate first time experience (one hit galaxies) with very little replayabily, with the tedium regrettably setting in with poorly implemented Green Star Campaign). But hey, opinions be opinions.

It's a non-bother for me, but I understand the concern considering the usual schtick is Samus isolated with little to no interaction (apart from Adam or Boss characters).

Judging from the overview trailer it does point to at least another 5 or 6 marines that are stranded, and it will be down to Samus to save / escort / work together with them, so maybe not quite the lonesome journey this time?

Ok, so as expected, the desert / hub is basically like the 'Hyrule Field' of past Zelda games. That should settle the purists down a little bit if they were worried this was going too far along the lines of a huge "Open World / Zone" like experience which it clearly isn't doing. Whilst I think it's important to have expansive areas for the world building, it equally important to have those isolated and intricately mapped areas to explore as well.

I am finding myself excited we're getting a full voice cast here as well (much like they dabbled with in MP3 and Other M) with Samus making some other buddies that are stranded. Some of these look like familiar characters from Other M (which is set after the Prime Series I believe), so that's come cool continuity if true.

Will be interesting to see how the Switch 1 version holds up considering that's the base platform, so I'm not expecting much difference in performance (obviously minus 120FPS mode and 4K), but as long as it looks and runs as smooth as Prime Remastered then we're golden.

This has to be intentionally awful. Whilst the context of that was never picked up on for the DK Rap (despite it actually being quite good), just is just outright poor.

I don't really know if the marketing move to be 'hilarious' will work here. Guess time will tell.

Nice, almost perfect casting with Brie as Roaslina. Where she's practically a Nintendo ambassador already, this just makes so much sense (plus she's been great in all I've seen).

@Nintendontyouknow hopefully. I do agree the season pass is too much actually. Although I'm not biting on that until there is a sale, I can play those extra tracks for free online until then anyway

Niiiiice. Totally here for NiGHTS and Aiai.

No idea who Tangle and Whisper are (and I say that as a lifetime Sonic nerd), but good for those that like them I guess? Crossing comic characters over makes sense I guess considering the Crossworld thing (that said, it's also surprising they were included before the likes of Chaos 0, Ray, Mighty, Trip, Nack the Weasel, etc... you know, officially recognised Sonic game characters). XD

That said... The remaining 6 free characters hopefully will be filled with the likes of those, or returning veterans from the last games like Ristar, Vyse, Billy Hatcher, etc... (free courses or more paid season passes featuring these wouldn't go amiss also).

@Nintendontyouknow is over 1 million player not enough? That said a sale would certainly help - not that I felt the game was overpriced in the first place (I got it for less than £50 on launch, and as a middle tier priced racing game it's justified IMO.

A Switch 2 edition is entirely unnecessary monetising as it’s already “Definitive”. They just need to get on and implement the free 60FPS update for Sw2 like their other Nintendo titles that received free revisions, especially if the Datamining is to be believed.

The highest investment in this poll is presently “I’m not interested either way”.

I’d wager TPC are betting the audience view this title in a similar light, and know this isn’t going to be a massive seller, hence the Game Key Card and lack of bothering to spend out.

And, to be perfectly frank - I actually thought this was just a random digital / mobile title that was coming to the Switch as a bonus anyway (like some of their prior mobile/console ports).

He has excellent taste. I'll likely do a third round on BOTW once I have a Switch 2 before going for a third run on TOTK.

On top of everything else, the games have maximum escapism vibes, so I can see why it's a comfort game. Nintendo finally gave fans Hyrule in as an ultimate explorable landscape.

(That said, a new map / location wouldn't go amiss next time please Nintendo)

Ooo Star Festival... which make sense. Hopefully they'll reveal Rosalina's VA in this Direct too (and Bowser Jr if the leaked art logo is to be believed).

Now that is a soundtrack! I do love this little game - a really fun one to play with my kid to boot.