gamekill

From the video I can see no similarities with any of the great games mentioned. Where is the huge quirkiness and genius content and variation in gameplay from Rhythm Heaven? Where are the stories and inventive gameplay and plot of Elite Beat Agents? Or the crazy sequential and simple two-ARMS gameplay of Taiko no Tatsujin, with pre-existing, popular songs? I see none of that.
HOWEVER maybe the game is fun on it's own. Should not have used the big names as click bait though; that raises the expectation bar too high. "New rhythm-based game on Switch" on the other hand, would have made the video shine on it's own merit.

@Bondi_Surfer
I also really like clam-shell designs, the 3/DS systems were really really good for just carrying around be it in a pocket or bag or whatever. Also would have really liked a self-enclosing Switch Lite. But I guess nowadays even kids are so used to un-covered tablets and smartphones, that the whole notion changed. People pay more attention not to damage screens, and also, screens have become stronger. We DO see a lot of broken screens on smartphones all around.. but I think the difference is, smartphone accidents are much more prone to happening because they are mostly used single-handed and in busy situations (walking around etc). Someone playing a Switch is holding it in both hands, and focusing on it, so in theory it is more secure. As for storing it away, well like I said, the screens are always becoming sturdier.

"The tweet notes how the case is the same length as the original Switch with one Joy-Con attached,"
So you guys at Nintendo Life are the half-cup-full type

I always overlooked the one on the Xbox thinking it was the same game released with the Oculus Rift. Seeing the video above and realizing it is a whole new game was a very nice surprise!

Also the platforming gameplay looks really good and tight, something rarely seen on non-Nintendo 3D platformers.

"Patch is ready, please download it from your Bethesta FunpointsTM companion smartphone app after logging in"

@Dakotastomp
I blame it on higher-higher-ups with no love skillz

Pros:

• hmm
  Cons:
• roguelike

Video reminds me of Microsoft's and Molyneux's blatant false advertising and promises

@Lord
Red Dead Redemption 2 did that long ago https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLFqKjxeCoo

@Bunkerneath
Exactly. They almost got me when I saw the boss-like part. "Wow maybe there are some interesting levels and progression and cleverly hidden important upgrades and it feels like a stylish adventure of sorts" then hit CTRL+F for searching.. "proced"... aaaaand that's it maybe next time.

Why only 4 cards storage though. Not joking. There seems to be space for at least 8 (4 x 2 rows) if they just shifted it upwards a bit. And it should not bother the player's hands.

@PCkid
I never used the built-in kickstand as it is too flimsy and fragile; yet I played tabletop mode, oh the wizardry of just laying the Switch against anything to keep it standing..

Finally some sense; I get that crazy impossible levels are fun to watch for a couple of times.. and it is fine that they do exist in fact, as some are pretty interesting.
But this kind of actual, real level design where the player just flows through obstacles and dangers is really satisfying to play (you know, as a game, and not as self-punishment).
BTW Mario games always delivered top of the class level design, that's what separates them from the wannabes.

@BlackStar9000
"this killed starfox Zero and made a game that should have been really good and challenging boring and tedious"
Agreed

@Heavyarms55
"As to your cellphone comparison, it's only enough battery if all you do is send a few texts throughout the day. "

Try using a de-bloated Mate 20 Pro, or Note 9. They last loong hours. I don't need to hold back listening to music all day on the go, watching a movie or gaming, using the camera a fair lot for pictures and video, browsing web, AND a lot of texting.
By clumsy I meant, I usually walk a lot and take trains/bus and half the time I am standing, so I like to keep the bare minimum of stuff with me. And using the battery pack is a bit clumsy comparing to no battery pack attached.

Of course battery packs are good for extending usage; that is why I bought one for the Switch, and I own another separate battery pack for my Oculus VR headsets, AND another one at home as precaution if power ever goes out. Still for the Switch specifically I found it to be a clumsy solution for my case.

@Heavyarms55
I know, I had an external battery for my OG Switch (just sold all of it this week btw). Too clumsy for me; I would prefer just the right amount of additional battery life integrated.
A good comparison is smartphones. Nowadays finally the battery is good enough that you do not NEED to worry about it running out during your day.
Smaller screen sucks, I know. I (everyone?) would have loved the same screen size on the lite!

@SwitchForce
I agree and I think you are gonna be sad and disappointed then lol

If they based it off the games, they would have to give money to CDProjekt Red, so, "they went in another direction"

@Heavyarms55
I am really undecided between this or the normal system revision. As As I always play undocked, and only offline games, the lite makes sense. But 5.5h battery life on the normal-sized revision sounds really nice too. 5h+ battery life on lite would make it a no brainer.

Things like this are actually unnerving once you notice them.

"co-op classics" lol

Wouldn't it be nice if this came installed in the delayed pre-ordered physical edition cards.. whenever they really do ship.
110% sure it is not though.

R.I.P. IR camera..

I wonder if Nintendo will really try and innovate on controls next time.

I mean the Wii U Gamepad had potential but got under-utilized;
the 3DS's (awesome) stereo 3D got shafted and most people seemed pretty happy with that;
also the 3DS's gyro controls never got widespread adoption, never became essential;
Seems players are getting tired or bored of non-standard controls.

@WarpSpawn
Probably because the new Lite uses updated, more energy-efficient hardware that shows it's efficiency while being pushed (in games). In low-power state (home screen and no game loaded) it is still probably energy-efficient, but the practical difference gets so narrow that it is not worth mentioning.

so much for curated content

@somebread
Yes I know, what I meant was any gameplay trailer video embedded into the article. Videos really do a much better job showing this game's art style.

@Majora101
This was probably on a list of "stuff to write about when there is nothing new" and the first person who used it forgot to remove it from the list.

They are probably eyeing this kind of thing for some time https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fb-PMByuuLg

So why no video

Sony does what Nintendont

@BacklogBlues
As a game it really is not weird and unconventional; gameplay is pretty good and straightforward actually.

Played on mobile and it was really really fun for a few days. I recommended it to my friends etc. It really is funny and gameplay is nice. But after a while the story gets kind of stale and it got too repetitive, then I just stopped playing.

@BacklogBlues @graysoncharles
It does say Mini, you can spot the dot on the first i.
On both of them actually.

What's with the timid dropdown map rotation? Should have gone all Actraiser mode 7 madness.

@sanderev
Agreed, except they will probably patch it soon afterwards anyway, so not really "ready"

@Seacliff
Yes I read it as Metroidvania at first and thought the same

@Pod
I agree Bioshock did not invent the aesthetics, and maybe, general story background (utopian city, etc).
But as a game, it was pretty much original.
It is like saying that a story about having to go on an adventure through forest, snow, and lava, and fight a dragon of sorts at the end, to save a princess is not original so any game can blatantly copy Super Mario Galaxy and use that excuse, for example.

Why not 23 and make the bottom-right logo a tad bit smaller and fit everything nicely? That void space on the bottom row is so unnerving.

Ripping off other people's work is so s****y.
Work as in, concept art creation, world building, art style direction etc.
And oh saving on marketing because people will remember the marketing Bioshok spent money on.
These guys should be sued.

@GrizzledVeteran

What probably REALLY happened is that they figured out a single big shipment would be cheaper than two shipments.
The Messenger was split into Limited Run Games batch and Special Reserve Games batch on preorders. Kind of connected to one another in some weird business way though; the Limited Run Games batch seems to be derived ftom the Special Reserve Games order. That may be why Special Reserve Games had it listed as June and LRG listed as July.
Now they got offered to wait for their batch to be delivered with LRG's and pay less. Profit yay.

@Kalmaro
Yes I agree this really sucks for people who like to collect physical editions. Release in any state, patch later has become standard.
Some rare times, I guess a newer revision of a game still is printed if only because the final cost to the publisher will be lessened that way (saves on server costs). But that is not the standard and sometimes the newer print is "best sellers" edition or something that either way, is not really what a collector is looking for..

"tldr the game"

@Abes3
I searched for this, as I prefer to keep the cartridge version of a game un-patched if possible just so that I can play the exact same game on different systems, or if I ever have the system reset for some reason and lose the patches or something..
Anyway, unfortunately it seems that the patch is pretty important, as they released the 1.0 game with pretty much half-assed unbalanced contend. Some weapons / items / skills were too over-powered and you can supposedly kill a lot of bosses way too easily, and also upgrade or obtain pretty high-level stuff easily / for cheap, making the rest seem redundant or useless.. so the patch is the one real true game balance. And that sucks. Why did they release the game with a "whatever" general balancing after so much time under development? Quite disappointing.

@Pandaman
What that truly means is that they are developing lower-specced assets for the Switch version up front, instead of scaling them down from the PS4/PC assets I guess. That is really nice and how things should be. But that is different than saying that the game is a project build with the Switch in mind. That would be the case with Project Arms, or Mario Party.

"Hear that, Nintendo fans? This is a game built with the Switch in mind since day one of development."
Lol what a stretch. How can you say that when the trailer itself shows PC, PS4 and XBOX One. Also the Switch is not around for 20 years; the game was thought up in a time when PC strategy games were the thing. Cmon.

@Zidentia
Thanks for the explanation. I guess I have to wait and try the game myself (as in any game tbh)

@Zidentia
I get what you are saying but.. Are they trying to make it realistic instead of fun to play? That is a problem usually. What about the sprite characters on the old Zelda games (or any other good game really).. they should have been moving at 1/3 their speed for that added sense of "getting down to Earth"..? I am not being sarcastic, it is hard to write on the interwebz. Also Mario should jump at knee high like any real fat italian plumber.

This is a big example to all the other devs making lame excuses.
CD Project Red also started the trend of giving large, quality post-launch dlc expansion content for free, when every other company was abusing the dlc selling system.

Gameplay feels too slow in general, like, almost everything should be sped up by at least 50%. Especially the close combat with normal basic enemies.

@patbacknitro18
I would bet they will not include this. It is happy-face appearances-are-everything time now.