@kmtrain83 this is true, and half of that trust problem is that the PR / Publishers / Execs are so often misunderstood by the average audience as the “game developer”.
The dev is usually 99% on the same side as the player in contrast to their publisher, they know their tools, they know how to get their title operational. They don’t have any real reason to BS the audience.
But it unfortunately makes it frustrating listening / reading comments that backseat dev without any real understanding of what is practically achievable.
The current age of opinion = / > fact is such a blight on humanity.
It’s actually crazy to me that we now live in a world where the literal professional can tell us straight up why something doesn’t function as expected… but armchair commenters will still continue claim to know a lot more about how the custom built engine or dev systems they’ve never worked on should be expected to operate. Mental.
@Banksie no, this is suggesting that Ubisofts self built Snowdrop engine isn’t a suitable match for the carts. The same quote even suggests that if a different game were built from the ground up it wouldn’t have been so much of an issue.
I think what we are seeing here is the compatibility challenges of ports for certain games built on other engines that were designed to run on different consoles.
Why does this game get a Switch 1 release but not the Bravely Default remaster? Curiouser and curiouser choices you are making to miss out on money Square Enix...
Weird that “unoptimised for Switch 2” is a negative point, isn’t that kind of redundant since there is no Switch 2 version available for this game yet?
The Switch 1 port of Shinobi is of course going to look… well, not as classy as the others for sure.
@HugoGED Gotta agree, whilst I’m happy this has a Switch release for more players to grab the game, it looks dang fuzzy and low res compared to TSR on the same platform… and even ASRT on the WiiU.
I guess that’s the cost of down porting to try and keep some parity between versions. The PS5 version looks great and runs super smooth… but even then I’d argue it could have been even better were it not for the requirement to downscale the textures and geometry for last gen consoles. As it stand it has a functional but fairly basic aesthetic on PS5.
Otherwise, happy this is getting a further Demo. They are really going all out to try and ensure long term success with Crossworlds with the support (compared to how TSR was thrown out to die), so I’m all for it.
Got it for both PS and Switch over the years, however both times I attempted to get into this game I lost interest around 3-4 hours in and it entered the ‘ole backlog purgatory.
Personally I don’t really understand the hype surrounding Silksong as I feel there are much better and engaging Meteoidvania’s, but that’s obviously subjective as clearly there is something about Hollow Knight that doesn’t grab me like it has the gaming nation.
I’ll prolly give it another shot at some point, however I feel I’ve at least contributed towards the dev by owning the game twice over so I’m happy enough.
I don’t really think anyone expected the licensed / non sonic characters to have the new rival styled dialogue lines, but grunts and yelps would have gone a long way, so it is a little bit of an absurd response.
Genuinely loved Air Ride, but even I recognised that it was genuinely the most mid-level “it’s just OK” kind of game ever made. Lots to do, and yet so little to do simultaneously.
This… surprisingly looks like it will probably provide exactly the same solid enough experience. The big benefactor will of course be ONLINE multiplayer to boost the experience into that manic kind of place that other FTP titles also provide.
That said, under gamer entitlement section 1.3.4 I genuinely expected quite a lot more from a 45 minute direct, I appreciate the time given to showing this off and providing what is basically a YouTubers manual, but I had hoped we’d see the full scope on offer (eg, unlocks, more modes, and so forth) - but he did say there was stuff to show off later.
It graphically also looks just like all their other titles, so I’m kinda surprised it’s not on Switch as well from looking at it and how it runs, but I guess there are reasons under the hood as to why it’s not, so I won’t go there (+ I sit more on this FPS > Visual fidelity anyway).
Anyway, despite City Trial looking a bit lacking (personally I would have thought a bigger map or multiple maps would have been offered this time), I do think the racing looks sweet AF.
Defo one to watch, but defo not for £58.99. I’ll look elsewhere for it cheaper than go for the RRP.
‘Citin! Whilst there wasn’t a lot to the original Kirby Air Ride… on the flip side there was also A LOT at the same time. No doubt him and the team will double down this time around.
I love the fact that it’s the length of both the Partner and Indie directs put together.
@Scarmucci indeed, because Kid Icarus Uprising and each of the Super Smash Bros Series were also about the length of a Direct 🤣
@darkfenrir maps changes would make sense considering it’s a city undergoing redevelopment (well, as far as the original trailer made out anyway).
I’ll just miss exploring outside the city, Arceus “areas” were still far too confined for my personal tastes (Sc/Vi was where it was at for me) but I enjoy a variety of locales ultimately. This… is one city, a large city TBF… but still one.
It will be interesting to see how it turns out. I mean, the fact that they are transforming it into a place like Ryme City where Pokemon and Humans can co-exist (yet you can capture Pokemon within the city and battle them at night) is hilarious to me.
This looks really fun, the battle system seems just like how you’d want it to be from the anime - ACTIVE. The Xenoblade based attack system is an inspired idea.
It also seems silky smooth and arcade like on the Switch 2, no bug-outs and glitches and feels polished, good job GF.
Downers? Still no talking, yet lips flap. Those green areas are the wild zones? That cannot really be it. There HAS to be times when you are required to venture outside of the city surely?? And obviously yes, it runs as smooth as butter, but when you are in locations as flat and obtuse as this…
I dunno. It doesn’t “look” terrible to me (the N64 / GameCube comparisons are just exaggerated Misnomers, Arceus was where they really struggled) this, just feels a little bland and flat. But that is a city, maybe the whole point of this redevelopment is you improve it?
In any case, Z-A seems to offer a fun arcade-style Pokemon game, so I’m still interested.
It’s understandable that they reached an impasse and both Evening Star and Sega went off to try different things with their own goals.
Sadly, both Sonic Superstars and Penny Big Breakaway were pretty lacklustre compared to Sonic Mania.
Penny at least tried something different, it wasn’t perfect and has its own set of problems, but I can admire what they were going for with their first 3D title. Sonic Superstars was just a poorly mismanaged ensemble, not achieving anything it set out to do. They managed to retain them Classic physics for sure, but what’s the point when 75% of the level layouts and bosses are uninspired or poorly designed.
Love this game, very chill and cozy (and has a great sense of humour that I vibe with).
Exactly the kind of title I like to play when I want some downtime. I’d probably give it a point or so higher in the scoring overall but otherwise the review is along the same mark as my thoughts.
Worth a pickup for the price for sure, this game was made with love.
I really hope Blue Prince gets ported to Switch 2 as well. I’ve well overplayed the title on my PS5 and it’s easily a GOTY contender that Switch 2 players deserve to enjoy.
@Spider-Kev No need to play through previous chapters / seasons (not that you can since they are limited time events).
But to be honest this is more of a through line to keep engagement for Fortnite up (much like this upcoming season) so that there is always something new going on. The story events and pop culture crossovers are more an excuse to keep changing up the main map and offer new engaging ways to play the Battle Royale mode.
Each season usually lasts approximately 10-12 weeks, which is usually more than enough time to unlock everything on the battle pass. The bonus with this is once you buy the main battle pass, if you stay away from the shop you can keep using vbucks earnt through the pass for the next one, which saves you paying out any further.
If BR doesn’t tickle your fancy there is always Rocket Racing, Rockband, and multiple Lego modes available (as well as endless amounts of user created content). If you want to purchase any other battle passes or the monthly subscription, then that would be up to yourself if you get any personal value from it.
And if you really don’t want to buy anything at all? Then don’t. Gameplay-wise, nothing is locked of whatsoever to any player. Fortnite makes its money via player engagement and the cosmetics shop. You’ll have free baseline skins to play as (and sometimes other character skins and cosmetics will unlock passively just by playing and earning levels anyway).
A MMPR crossover season (and some Halo it looks like?) has a very big appeal with nostalgia bait towards my generation alone… and I’m HERE FOR IT.
@Spider-Kev Fortnite is free to download and play for any of its multitudes of experiences. This crossover will be tied to Battle Royale C6:S4. In terms of playing as those characters skins it depends how they incorporate them, some will be in the battle pass (£6.99) and others I suspect will be purchasable from the cosmetics shop separately / as a bundle.
Most exciting thing here will be playing as the Megazord. Throughout Chapter 6 EPIC have been experimenting with giving the players a limited time power up every battle to use on the map if you are quick enough to grab it in time; Giant Godzilla Vs Kong, The Star Destroyer, and Superman have been great fun in previous seasons. Playing as the Megazord at full size (and as an unlockable skin) later on is gunna be marvellous 🤩
@foursider Mario Kart World’s extensive 300+ soundtrack of remixes featuring classic and Modern game soundtracks says hello.
I’d also suggest not floating around nonsense that recent Zelda titles only have atmospheric music, it’s such a misnomer of an opinion.
Its completely fine if you didn’t enjoy the soundtrack, but there are a LOT of memorable and remarkable melodies (and orchestral epics) in BoTW and ToTK outside of “some” of the field music, and these easily contribute to the highest standards of any Zelda title before it.
Always a joy seeing the viewer ratings after these things. Either there isn’t a market for these titles on the system, or (more likely) people just tune in expecting Nintendo games despite it not being a main direct.
The Partner Direct was a solid 8/10 IMO, you got some pretty epic 3rd party titles coming to Switch and Switch 2 here, not every port I expected was announced, but all in good time.
@jojobar unfortunately that just means you have Metroid Prime 4 and little else. I have everything to look forward to that I just listed (as I enjoy these franchises).
As for Mario Kart World - online is not how I play the game so this doesn’t affect me personally.
Nintendo are catering for the crowd as far as I am concerned, but if you don’t enjoy the dishes being offered then this is why the Partner and Indie directs exist 🙂
So on top of various Switch 2 updates titles, having Mario Kart World, Donkey Kong Bananza, Metroid Prime 4, Pokemon Legends Z-A, Kirby Star Crossed World S2E, Hyrule Warriors AOI and Kirby Riders equates to being starved of first party content. What is our little entitled world coming too 🤣
Seriously though, Nintendo will show off their games when they are ready, if they ain’t, we ain’t seeing ‘em yet.
Besides, we got plenty of stuff incoming, and a ton of excellent third party content too - and hopefully more as demonstrated by tomorrow’s partner showcase. Gamers are eating well and just don’t know it.
@silver-crescent unless I’m mistaken, there is no game called SteamWorld World, SteamWorld is the brand name of the IP which is why each entry has subtitles.
Fingers crossed that Image & Form will remain active. I’ve no idea how well each of their titles have done but I (like many) have only really had an interest in their Dig series. Heist was pretty good, as was quest, but I never see as much chatter for the other titles as Dig (and perhaps Heist) gets, but fair play to them on branching out on the genres anyway.
The bulk of the issue isn’t even with Online Service games being supported indefinitely - this in itself is unsustainable, especially for FTP games.
The problem is consumers buying physical / digital titles that have online elements or have an unnecessary online component that tethers the experience unnecessary, so that when that component is shut down, the game is killed when it doesn’t need to be.
Imagine the Mario Kart World servers being turned off in 10 years time, would you expect the single / local play experience to suddenly stop working? No, no you wouldn’t, and you shouldn’t. This is however happening in real games right now (the biggest example lauded is Ubisofts “The Crew”) and my current concern is another title of theirs called “Riders Republic”. Games that have online elements but in honestly do not need them for the game to still function outside of server shut down.
What an utterly pointless addition to the library, it further reminds me of why I hated the soundtrack to this game.
…and what I mean is because of what we could have got. The original OOT soundtrack is obviously the GOAT for the N64, but it was hugely disappointing to see little to nothing done during the 3DS remake in terms of rearrangements. Whilst the OG tracks are timeless, it just didn’t sit right and took me out of the experience in the 3DS remake.
The biggest kick in the teeth was the final “end credits 2” track - a phenomenal new arrangement at the end of the 3DS game that was newly recorded. Why was this the only new piece of music? The game deserved so much better.
On the Plus, I’m glad SS kicked off a more orchestral movement, and one that only carried on through to BoTW and ToTKs phenomenal works.
Although it does call into question when the next big 3D Mario is coming if they’ve been beavering away on this.
And whilst I’ve no doubt people clamouring for it… from Nintendo’s perspective DK Bonanza is more likely to be their answer since it is their prim(al) positioned benchmark 3D platformer for the Switch 2 for the time being.
When playing online can you not just simply select the track you want as previous entries rather than go random? I thought that was an option for those that don’t want to do the intermissions? Or is this for when playing against anyone and not your friends?
In any case, them updating this to “fix a problem” isn’t likely something that could have been done within days and was more likely a spot from before launch plays that couldn’t be patched. Updates and release maps often take weeks before being implemented and go live.
I’ve also no doubt they’ll reintroduce traditional 3 lap course Grand Prix’s and other things in a future updates - especially if they want to keep players around for the long haul. This would appease a lot of people and just bulk add additional content for completion by proxy. Also Nintendo, we need a LOT more proper reverse map options for every track. If you can do it in Tour (and provide remixes) you can certainly do it here.
Nice, so essentially it’s a smaller proof of concept kind of title. That actually makes a lot more sense considering what little was shown off already.
Gameshare... man... Nintendo, you REALLY need to highlight this feature more. It's a literally game changer for your current Switch 1 install base on advertising and selling Switch 2's.
Taking the "playing a friends game on multiplayer round a mates house" to "do this anywhere over Switch 2 and Switch 1 is the smartest feature no one knows much about right now.
...also needs adding to Mario Kart World... anytime now Big N... XD
Whilst I am really glad this exists (especially for its platinum tier soundtrack to escape the 3DS speakers) ...I think Square shot themselves in the foot not releasing this on Switch 1.
Since the announcement I was excited because I thought there is no way Square would release this as a Switch 2 only game considering this is merely a (competently made) HD Remaster.
What world are we living in that they don't want all the money from their main install base of users. Wild decision making.
Still a garbage list 3 years on. Double Dash should clearly be at the bottom, and Super Circuit waaay higher 🤣
In any case - at least this reflects an ever changing reader vote. IGN’s list makes no sense to me when you look at their review scores against where everything is ranked.
I was one of the “F*** Fortnite” crowd for a good long while until my friend showed me what it actually offers. The addictive gameplay loop and controls offers with a surprisingly good time. If you stick to EPIC’s main game modes and don’t get lost in creative (unless it’s your thing) the racing, LEGO, and rockband modes are all perfectly functional and enjoyable in their own merits.
The fact that the entire experience is free for what you get is frankly pretty amazing. If you can keep yourself away from the individual cosmetics shop I can vouch for the monthly crew pass being a very good purchase (and cancellable if you want to dip in and out) - but considering the amount of battle passes it unlocks it’s well worth the value dependant on how much you play, but only worth it if there is anything in the battle passes of value to you, otherwise just play and level up without it. The choice is yours.
Seems pretty clear cut that the machine is at least par with the PS4 Pro approaching PS5. Let’s not forget Cyberpunk 2077 runs on Switch 2 and functions quite poorly on a Sony machine below a base PS5.
Comments 657
Re: Ubisoft Employee Explains Why Star Wars Outlaws Is A Game-Key Card
@kmtrain83 this is true, and half of that trust problem is that the PR / Publishers / Execs are so often misunderstood by the average audience as the “game developer”.
The dev is usually 99% on the same side as the player in contrast to their publisher, they know their tools, they know how to get their title operational. They don’t have any real reason to BS the audience.
But it unfortunately makes it frustrating listening / reading comments that backseat dev without any real understanding of what is practically achievable.
The current age of opinion = / > fact is such a blight on humanity.
Re: Ubisoft Employee Explains Why Star Wars Outlaws Is A Game-Key Card
It’s actually crazy to me that we now live in a world where the literal professional can tell us straight up why something doesn’t function as expected… but armchair commenters will still continue claim to know a lot more about how the custom built engine or dev systems they’ve never worked on should be expected to operate. Mental.
Re: Ubisoft Employee Explains Why Star Wars Outlaws Is A Game-Key Card
@Banksie no, this is suggesting that Ubisofts self built Snowdrop engine isn’t a suitable match for the carts. The same quote even suggests that if a different game were built from the ground up it wouldn’t have been so much of an issue.
I think what we are seeing here is the compatibility challenges of ports for certain games built on other engines that were designed to run on different consoles.
Re: Square Enix Details Octopath Traveler 0's Switch 2 Performance And Resolution
Why does this game get a Switch 1 release but not the Bravely Default remaster? Curiouser and curiouser choices you are making to miss out on money Square Enix...
Re: Review: SHINOBI: Art Of Vengeance (Switch) - A Beautifully Crafted Return For Joe Musashi
Weird that “unoptimised for Switch 2” is a negative point, isn’t that kind of redundant since there is no Switch 2 version available for this game yet?
The Switch 1 port of Shinobi is of course going to look… well, not as classy as the others for sure.
Re: Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds Scores Free Single-Player Demo This Month
@USWITCH64 not on Switch 1, no.
Re: Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds Scores Free Single-Player Demo This Month
@HugoGED Gotta agree, whilst I’m happy this has a Switch release for more players to grab the game, it looks dang fuzzy and low res compared to TSR on the same platform… and even ASRT on the WiiU.
I guess that’s the cost of down porting to try and keep some parity between versions. The PS5 version looks great and runs super smooth… but even then I’d argue it could have been even better were it not for the requirement to downscale the textures and geometry for last gen consoles. As it stand it has a functional but fairly basic aesthetic on PS5.
Otherwise, happy this is getting a further Demo. They are really going all out to try and ensure long term success with Crossworlds with the support (compared to how TSR was thrown out to die), so I’m all for it.
Re: Poll: Ahead Of Silksong's Release, Are You 'Finally' Playing Hollow Knight?
Got it for both PS and Switch over the years, however both times I attempted to get into this game I lost interest around 3-4 hours in and it entered the ‘ole backlog purgatory.
Personally I don’t really understand the hype surrounding Silksong as I feel there are much better and engaging Meteoidvania’s, but that’s obviously subjective as clearly there is something about Hollow Knight that doesn’t grab me like it has the gaming nation.
I’ll prolly give it another shot at some point, however I feel I’ve at least contributed towards the dev by owning the game twice over so I’m happy enough.
Re: Takashi Iizuka Explains Why Sonic Racing: CrossWorld's Guest Racers Stay Silent In-Game
@canaryfarmer and this furthers the point of the weird reply from them. Probably a budgetary issue I suspect is why it’s not fully happening.
Re: Takashi Iizuka Explains Why Sonic Racing: CrossWorld's Guest Racers Stay Silent In-Game
I don’t really think anyone expected the licensed / non sonic characters to have the new rival styled dialogue lines, but grunts and yelps would have gone a long way, so it is a little bit of an absurd response.
Re: PSA: Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds Open Network Test For Switch Announced
@Whirlwound in fairness, it took SEGA multiple titles to get it wrong and do the exact reverse of this before they got it right.
But kudos for them addressing this if upgrade paths and on physical cart editions and so forth will be the case.
Re: Kirby Air Riders Direct: Every Announcement - How Would You Rate It?
Not bad at all, I really enjoyed Arlo’s cameo as Gooey also =P
Re: Kirby Air Riders Zooms Onto Switch 2 This November
Genuinely loved Air Ride, but even I recognised that it was genuinely the most mid-level “it’s just OK” kind of game ever made. Lots to do, and yet so little to do simultaneously.
This… surprisingly looks like it will probably provide exactly the same solid enough experience. The big benefactor will of course be ONLINE multiplayer to boost the experience into that manic kind of place that other FTP titles also provide.
That said, under gamer entitlement section 1.3.4 I genuinely expected quite a lot more from a 45 minute direct, I appreciate the time given to showing this off and providing what is basically a YouTubers manual, but I had hoped we’d see the full scope on offer (eg, unlocks, more modes, and so forth) - but he did say there was stuff to show off later.
It graphically also looks just like all their other titles, so I’m kinda surprised it’s not on Switch as well from looking at it and how it runs, but I guess there are reasons under the hood as to why it’s not, so I won’t go there (+ I sit more on this FPS > Visual fidelity anyway).
Anyway, despite City Trial looking a bit lacking (personally I would have thought a bigger map or multiple maps would have been offered this time), I do think the racing looks sweet AF.
Defo one to watch, but defo not for £58.99. I’ll look elsewhere for it cheaper than go for the RRP.
Re: Official Box Art For Kirby Air Riders Revealed, Price And File Size Confirmed
Genuinely was looking forward to seeing what would replace the placeholder text from previous reveals 🤣
Oh well. At least… I mean it’s a boxart to be sure.
Re: Kirby Air Riders Direct Revealed for Tomorrow, 19th August 2025
‘Citin! Whilst there wasn’t a lot to the original Kirby Air Ride… on the flip side there was also A LOT at the same time. No doubt him and the team will double down this time around.
I love the fact that it’s the length of both the Partner and Indie directs put together.
@Scarmucci indeed, because Kid Icarus Uprising and each of the Super Smash Bros Series were also about the length of a Direct 🤣
Re: Video: Pokémon Legends: Z-A - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition Full Gameplay Demo
@darkfenrir maps changes would make sense considering it’s a city undergoing redevelopment (well, as far as the original trailer made out anyway).
I’ll just miss exploring outside the city, Arceus “areas” were still far too confined for my personal tastes (Sc/Vi was where it was at for me) but I enjoy a variety of locales ultimately. This… is one city, a large city TBF… but still one.
It will be interesting to see how it turns out. I mean, the fact that they are transforming it into a place like Ryme City where Pokemon and Humans can co-exist (yet you can capture Pokemon within the city and battle them at night) is hilarious to me.
Re: Video: Pokémon Legends: Z-A - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition Full Gameplay Demo
This looks really fun, the battle system seems just like how you’d want it to be from the anime - ACTIVE. The Xenoblade based attack system is an inspired idea.
It also seems silky smooth and arcade like on the Switch 2, no bug-outs and glitches and feels polished, good job GF.
Downers? Still no talking, yet lips flap. Those green areas are the wild zones? That cannot really be it. There HAS to be times when you are required to venture outside of the city surely?? And obviously yes, it runs as smooth as butter, but when you are in locations as flat and obtuse as this…
I dunno. It doesn’t “look” terrible to me (the N64 / GameCube comparisons are just exaggerated Misnomers, Arceus was where they really struggled) this, just feels a little bland and flat. But that is a city, maybe the whole point of this redevelopment is you improve it?
In any case, Z-A seems to offer a fun arcade-style Pokemon game, so I’m still interested.
Re: Sonic Mania 2 Prototype Artwork Revealed By Christian Whitehead
It’s understandable that they reached an impasse and both Evening Star and Sega went off to try different things with their own goals.
Sadly, both Sonic Superstars and Penny Big Breakaway were pretty lacklustre compared to Sonic Mania.
Penny at least tried something different, it wasn’t perfect and has its own set of problems, but I can admire what they were going for with their first 3D title. Sonic Superstars was just a poorly mismanaged ensemble, not achieving anything it set out to do. They managed to retain them Classic physics for sure, but what’s the point when 75% of the level layouts and bosses are uninspired or poorly designed.
Re: "Get Your Act Together" - Something's Not Quite Right With Clear River's Toaplan Collections
@Gavintendo YES! I think I still have this collected curio somewhere in my attic 🤣🤣
Re: Best Pixel Art Nintendo Switch Games
…Sea of Stars? cough cough
It’s precursor made the cut and it was mentioned in the blurb for an inclusion after release…
Re: Mini Review: Is This Seat Taken? (Switch) - Sit Down And Get Comfy With This Short, Simple Puzzler
Love this game, very chill and cozy (and has a great sense of humour that I vibe with).
Exactly the kind of title I like to play when I want some downtime. I’d probably give it a point or so higher in the scoring overall but otherwise the review is along the same mark as my thoughts.
Worth a pickup for the price for sure, this game was made with love.
Re: Nintendo Indie World Showcase August 2025 - Every Announcement, Game Reveal & Trailer
This was a short one but a really good one.
Mina update + free demo, UFO 50 shadow drop (!) where the main two on my radar.
However I’m now excited to try out: Is this Seat Taken?, Heardling, Neverway, and BallXPit.
And Little Kitty Big City getting a free content update later in the year? Marvellous!
Re: Poll: So, Will You Be Getting The Switch 2 Upgrade For Kirby And The Forgotten Land?
If they decided to include this as paid DLC for Switch 1 as well (which they totally could have) then yes.
Until I have a Switch 2 and can make that leap… then sadly not. Alas, looks like a fun time either way.
Re: Talking Point: Nintendo Indie World Showcase Predictions - What Do You Hope To See?
Mina and UFO 50 for me.
I really hope Blue Prince gets ported to Switch 2 as well. I’ve well overplayed the title on my PS5 and it’s easily a GOTY contender that Switch 2 players deserve to enjoy.
Re: This Fortnite 'Power Rangers' Trailer Is Absolutely Awesome
@Spider-Kev No need to play through previous chapters / seasons (not that you can since they are limited time events).
But to be honest this is more of a through line to keep engagement for Fortnite up (much like this upcoming season) so that there is always something new going on. The story events and pop culture crossovers are more an excuse to keep changing up the main map and offer new engaging ways to play the Battle Royale mode.
Each season usually lasts approximately 10-12 weeks, which is usually more than enough time to unlock everything on the battle pass. The bonus with this is once you buy the main battle pass, if you stay away from the shop you can keep using vbucks earnt through the pass for the next one, which saves you paying out any further.
If BR doesn’t tickle your fancy there is always Rocket Racing, Rockband, and multiple Lego modes available (as well as endless amounts of user created content). If you want to purchase any other battle passes or the monthly subscription, then that would be up to yourself if you get any personal value from it.
And if you really don’t want to buy anything at all? Then don’t. Gameplay-wise, nothing is locked of whatsoever to any player. Fortnite makes its money via player engagement and the cosmetics shop. You’ll have free baseline skins to play as (and sometimes other character skins and cosmetics will unlock passively just by playing and earning levels anyway).
Re: This Fortnite 'Power Rangers' Trailer Is Absolutely Awesome
That. Was. Epic! (Games).
A MMPR crossover season (and some Halo it looks like?) has a very big appeal with nostalgia bait towards my generation alone… and I’m HERE FOR IT.
@Spider-Kev Fortnite is free to download and play for any of its multitudes of experiences. This crossover will be tied to Battle Royale C6:S4. In terms of playing as those characters skins it depends how they incorporate them, some will be in the battle pass (£6.99) and others I suspect will be purchasable from the cosmetics shop separately / as a bundle.
Most exciting thing here will be playing as the Megazord. Throughout Chapter 6 EPIC have been experimenting with giving the players a limited time power up every battle to use on the map if you are quick enough to grab it in time; Giant Godzilla Vs Kong, The Star Destroyer, and Superman have been great fun in previous seasons. Playing as the Megazord at full size (and as an unlockable skin) later on is gunna be marvellous 🤩
Re: Tetris & Metroid Composer 'Hip' Tanaka Is Getting Back Into Video Game Music
@jesse_dylan
…I could go on, a lot of the remixes and new arrangements in Hyrule Warriors AOC were amazing as well 😅
Re: Tetris & Metroid Composer 'Hip' Tanaka Is Getting Back Into Video Game Music
@foursider Mario Kart World’s extensive 300+ soundtrack of remixes featuring classic and Modern game soundtracks says hello.
I’d also suggest not floating around nonsense that recent Zelda titles only have atmospheric music, it’s such a misnomer of an opinion.
Its completely fine if you didn’t enjoy the soundtrack, but there are a LOT of memorable and remarkable melodies (and orchestral epics) in BoTW and ToTK outside of “some” of the field music, and these easily contribute to the highest standards of any Zelda title before it.
Re: Nintendo Direct Partner Showcase July 2025: Every Announcement, Game Reveal, Trailer
Always a joy seeing the viewer ratings after these things. Either there isn’t a market for these titles on the system, or (more likely) people just tune in expecting Nintendo games despite it not being a main direct.
The Partner Direct was a solid 8/10 IMO, you got some pretty epic 3rd party titles coming to Switch and Switch 2 here, not every port I expected was announced, but all in good time.
Re: Nintendo Direct Partner Showcase Announced For Tomorrow, 31st July 2025
Expectation’s:
Realistic expectations:
All digital or on game key cards. But hey, it’s better than the cloud right?
Re: Nintendo Direct Partner Showcase Announced For Tomorrow, 31st July 2025
@jojobar unfortunately that just means you have Metroid Prime 4 and little else. I have everything to look forward to that I just listed (as I enjoy these franchises).
As for Mario Kart World - online is not how I play the game so this doesn’t affect me personally.
Nintendo are catering for the crowd as far as I am concerned, but if you don’t enjoy the dishes being offered then this is why the Partner and Indie directs exist 🙂
Re: Nintendo Direct Partner Showcase Announced For Tomorrow, 31st July 2025
So on top of various Switch 2 updates titles, having Mario Kart World, Donkey Kong Bananza, Metroid Prime 4, Pokemon Legends Z-A, Kirby Star Crossed World S2E, Hyrule Warriors AOI and Kirby Riders equates to being starved of first party content. What is our little entitled world coming too 🤣
Seriously though, Nintendo will show off their games when they are ready, if they ain’t, we ain’t seeing ‘em yet.
Besides, we got plenty of stuff incoming, and a ton of excellent third party content too - and hopefully more as demonstrated by tomorrow’s partner showcase. Gamers are eating well and just don’t know it.
Re: Atari To Acquire 'SteamWorld' Dev Thunderful
@silver-crescent ahh fair fair, I thought maybe I missed a game announcement at first 🤣
Re: Atari To Acquire 'SteamWorld' Dev Thunderful
@silver-crescent unless I’m mistaken, there is no game called SteamWorld World, SteamWorld is the brand name of the IP which is why each entry has subtitles.
Fingers crossed that Image & Form will remain active. I’ve no idea how well each of their titles have done but I (like many) have only really had an interest in their Dig series. Heist was pretty good, as was quest, but I never see as much chatter for the other titles as Dig (and perhaps Heist) gets, but fair play to them on branching out on the genres anyway.
Re: "It Will Have A Chilling Effect On Game Design" - EU Group Responds To 'Stop Killing Games'
The bulk of the issue isn’t even with Online Service games being supported indefinitely - this in itself is unsustainable, especially for FTP games.
The problem is consumers buying physical / digital titles that have online elements or have an unnecessary online component that tethers the experience unnecessary, so that when that component is shut down, the game is killed when it doesn’t need to be.
Imagine the Mario Kart World servers being turned off in 10 years time, would you expect the single / local play experience to suddenly stop working? No, no you wouldn’t, and you shouldn’t. This is however happening in real games right now (the biggest example lauded is Ubisofts “The Crew”) and my current concern is another title of theirs called “Riders Republic”. Games that have online elements but in honestly do not need them for the game to still function outside of server shut down.
Re: 'Nintendo Music' Adds Another Legendary Zelda Soundtrack, Here's Every Song Included
What an utterly pointless addition to the library, it further reminds me of why I hated the soundtrack to this game.
…and what I mean is because of what we could have got. The original OOT soundtrack is obviously the GOAT for the N64, but it was hugely disappointing to see little to nothing done during the 3DS remake in terms of rearrangements. Whilst the OG tracks are timeless, it just didn’t sit right and took me out of the experience in the 3DS remake.
The biggest kick in the teeth was the final “end credits 2” track - a phenomenal new arrangement
at the end of the 3DS game that was newly recorded. Why was this the only new piece of music? The game deserved so much better.
On the Plus, I’m glad SS kicked off a more orchestral movement, and one that only carried on through to BoTW and ToTKs phenomenal works.
Re: Donkey Kong Bananza Developer Has Been Revealed
Unsurprising.
Although it does call into question when the next big 3D Mario is coming if they’ve been beavering away on this.
And whilst I’ve no doubt people clamouring for it… from Nintendo’s perspective DK Bonanza is more likely to be their answer since it is their prim(al) positioned benchmark 3D platformer for the Switch 2 for the time being.
Re: Fans Reckon Nintendo Has "Killed" Mario Kart World With Its Latest Update
When playing online can you not just simply select the track you want as previous entries rather than go random? I thought that was an option for those that don’t want to do the intermissions? Or is this for when playing against anyone and not your friends?
In any case, them updating this to “fix a problem” isn’t likely something that could have been done within days and was more likely a spot from before launch plays that couldn’t be patched. Updates and release maps often take weeks before being implemented and go live.
I’ve also no doubt they’ll reintroduce traditional 3 lap course Grand Prix’s and other things in a future updates - especially if they want to keep players around for the long haul. This would appease a lot of people and just bulk add additional content for completion by proxy. Also Nintendo, we need a LOT more proper reverse map options for every track. If you can do it in Tour (and provide remixes) you can certainly do it here.
Re: Drag X Drive Switch 2 eShop Price Revealed
Nice, so essentially it’s a smaller proof of concept kind of title. That actually makes a lot more sense considering what little was shown off already.
Re: Best Sonic Games Of All Time
@Cakefish good point - I forgot this was user generated and not NLife curated.
Re: Best Sonic Games Of All Time
So the objectively better Switch 2 version of Sonic X Shadow is below the Switch version. Uh huh...
Re: Donkey Kong Bananza Features Two-Player Co-Op, And You Can Even GameShare To Switch 1
Gameshare... man... Nintendo, you REALLY need to highlight this feature more. It's a literally game changer for your current Switch 1 install base on advertising and selling Switch 2's.
Taking the "playing a friends game on multiplayer round a mates house" to "do this anywhere over Switch 2 and Switch 1 is the smartest feature no one knows much about right now.
...also needs adding to Mario Kart World... anytime now Big N... XD
Re: Say Hello To Pauline In Donkey Kong Bananza
@cvrator explains the (thankful) lack of a "baby" pauline as well. hopefully Kid Pauline version will make the roster at some point down the line.
Re: Say Hello To Pauline In Donkey Kong Bananza
Adorable (and an interesting way to "recontextulise the DK / Mario saving Pauline canon)... although saying that Cranky Kong was the OG DK wasn't he?
Ahhh... who cares.
Still can't quite get over her singing the original DK tune as a song too.
What an amazing direct! Sold.
Re: Random: Do You Remember This Utterly Insane Marketing Stunt For Super Mario Sunshine?
You know the world is cooked when your first thought goes "obvious generated AI video" even though I KNOW this was real.
Re: Review: Bravely Default: Flying Fairy HD Remaster (Switch 2) - A Solid Refresh For A 3DS RPG Gem
Whilst I am really glad this exists (especially for its platinum tier soundtrack to escape the 3DS speakers) ...I think Square shot themselves in the foot not releasing this on Switch 1.
Since the announcement I was excited because I thought there is no way Square would release this as a Switch 2 only game considering this is merely a (competently made) HD Remaster.
What world are we living in that they don't want all the money from their main install base of users. Wild decision making.
Re: Best Mario Kart Games Of All Time
Still a garbage list 3 years on. Double Dash should clearly be at the bottom, and Super Circuit waaay higher 🤣
In any case - at least this reflects an ever changing reader vote. IGN’s list makes no sense to me when you look at their review scores against where everything is ranked.
Re: As Switch 2 Breaks Records Worldwide, Sony Reminds Us That PS5 Still Exists
I'm getting in here quickly before Anti-matter reminds us his PS5 exists ;P
Re: Review: Fortnite (Switch 2) - A Visual Overhaul & Neat Mouse Mode Tricks For Ol' Reliable
Glad to hear the port is excellent.
I was one of the “F*** Fortnite” crowd for a good long while until my friend showed me what it actually offers. The addictive gameplay loop and controls offers with a surprisingly good time. If you stick to EPIC’s main game modes and don’t get lost in creative (unless it’s your thing) the racing, LEGO, and rockband modes are all perfectly functional and enjoyable in their own merits.
The fact that the entire experience is free for what you get is frankly pretty amazing. If you can keep yourself away from the individual cosmetics shop I can vouch for the monthly crew pass being a very good purchase (and cancellable if you want to dip in and out) - but considering the amount of battle passes it unlocks it’s well worth the value dependant on how much you play, but only worth it if there is anything in the battle passes of value to you, otherwise just play and level up without it. The choice is yours.
Re: Forget The PS4, Koei Tecmo Reckons Switch 2 Is Closer To Xbox Series S
Seems pretty clear cut that the machine is at least par with the PS4 Pro approaching PS5. Let’s not forget Cyberpunk 2077 runs on Switch 2 and functions quite poorly on a Sony machine below a base PS5.