nofriendo

When the world is in flames I turn to my core gaming experiences for rest and relaxation. Been playing lots of Mario Odyssey, BotW, Yooka Laylee, MK8 Deluxe and Sonic Mania to de-stress. That’ll be the gaming weekend for me. Cheers all!

@Timppis NL will make a headline of every tweet, don't you worry... you've done the right thing!

@RickD No one’s ever really here either.

Walking very cautiously through the nightmare landscape of Hellblade, using magnesis to lift partially submerged treasure chests in Hyrule, and conjuring bounce pads in QUBE2, advancing through the puzzle-strewn, color-saturated fantasy wonderland of Trine 2, and feeding moons to that hungry hungry Odyssey.

Happy weekend to all, and happy gaming!

This gameplay looks fun, but the fact that you play a violent fixer for white collar criminals is a huge turn-off. Hard pass.

Just played about an hour of this game and I am shocked at how good it is. Truly stunning on every level. Forget your misgivings about how slow or uneventful it may be... it is absolutely enthralling and produced with such high polish. The visuals are captivating, the voice-acting is the best I’ve heard in a video game, the cut scenes are gorgeous and disturbing, sending you tumbling through the uncanny valley, and the gameplay is so tense and terrifying... do yourself a favor and get this game... don’t wait for physical... at this size, it’ll cost twice as much if it ever even happens, or require a download... the game must be experienced to be believed... for those who crave a very dark, superbly written, hyperrealistic adventure/tragedy, look no further.

I was quite skeptical because it’s been a bit of a hipster cliche to love Settlers of Catan. I mean it’s just a board game, after all, so what’s it doing with such a rabid fanbase of eager proselytizers? Then I played it with family. And I won. And I loved it. There’s a bit of a learning curve, especially for someone as slow and anti-strategic as myself, but once it clicks, you can really appreciate the game’s design and the atmosphere it creates among the players. That being said, I think it’ll really lose something in the translation here for local co-op, but online should be fun.

@JohnnyC Can’t argue with you there. The indie scene does host a lot of trash, but there are a handful of good studios or developers that consistently put out great work, just like there are a handful of consistently good studios doing AAA work. Just because there’s less out and out trash in AAA doesn’t mean it’s a healthier scene. I guess I’m just saying the indie ecosystem is different, and it lends itself to low-overhead trash flooding the market, but it also lends itself to the creation of true masterpieces that offer to take gaming in different directions rather than just prettier or louder or more violent ones. It needs to be judged on its own terms. It occurs to me you are not necessarily arguing with that lol

@Mgene15 You say this as though Nintendo is lucky to be doing so well right now and keeping its fans happy, when they didn’t deliberately design the system to work that way and play that role in the scene. It’s the perfect evolution of a company that has not made a name for itself for evolving, and I don’t think it was an accident!

@KryptoniteKrunch Well said! Not that indie studios are anti-establishment utopias, but I would think they’re generally healthier workplaces. That is probably a ridiculously naive thing to say and if anybody wishes to tell me wrong I’m quite open to hearing it.

@JohnnyC I would think AAA games had a similar ratio of successes to failures, definitely of money spent to critical and gamer reception. We just hear so much more about them because of their dominance in the competitive and streaming worlds. The fundamentals of the design of these indie games sometimes differ radically from the mainstream, and require judgment on their own terms. Those terms are what I love about gaming to begin with, so they’ll always carry more substance for me. I realize I’m a throwback, but given the success of countless indie titles with critics and gamers alike, I think there’s a sizeable community of this type of gamer.

Hob is a truly fantastic game. Beautifully designed and loads of fun. Agree with @nab1 that handheld graphics are absolutely abysmal. Luckily I play mostly docked.

@Bow4daBowza77 Right? Love how it’s both simple and cryptic at the same time. It’s been really well-designed. You just want to spend time in its world, something a lot of 3D platformers lack. Enjoy! I certainly am.

For me it’ll be a great weekend of indie games: Hob, QUBE2 and Mechstermination Force.

Plus deliberately making my way slowly through BotW’s Champion’s Ballad. Re-fought all the bosses and now about to start the dungeon beneath the Shrine of Resurrection, or as I like to call it, The Divine Basement.

Happy gaming to all!

Bought it this morning, played for about a half hour. Love how bare-bones this game is: just throws you right in. Visuals and music are very fine, but everything takes a backseat to the gameplay, which is fast, frantic and fun. Perfect for pick up n play, just as you'd expect from this dude. Great effort and well worth the full price.

UPDATE:
The resolution takes a serious hit in handheld mode. Quite jarring, actually. It goes from being one of the prettiest games on Switch in docked mode to one of the crudest in handheld. Doesn't really impact gameplay once you get over it, and I mostly play docked anyway. But sticklers will want to think twice.

I would love it if NL made this kind of info standard in their Switch reviews. Especially as the vast games library grows ever more vast by the day, we depend on you for consumer advice. In the review above, you mention touchscreen support, so you either played in handheld mode and didn't think it necessary to reveal the dramatic drop in visual quality, or you didn't actually play it in handheld but are instead reading off a list of features provided in the press release.

I think I speak for a lot of people here when I say... :/

I’ve played a couple hours of the game now and can offer my impressions. The visuals, music and sound effects are all top notch. There’s a lot going on on-screen and I didn’t notice any hiccups. I’m still at an early stage of the game so it’s been mostly exploring, some minor combat, picking up skills and manipulating the environment. Controls are smooth and everything is very fluid. It’s a beautifully rendered world and the atmosphere is quite immersive. There’s a giant robot who saves your life (chops off your arm after you’ve been poisoned and gives you his own powerful arm to replace it) and he’s trying to communicate the way forward to you. There’s no dialogue the player can understand and no speech, but character animation is very expressive and you kind of pick up on things. Has a post-apocalyptic, cryptic vibe ala Hyper Light Drifter, but with more charm and a more organic landscape. There’s a strong attention to detail here and I get the impression I’m in very good hands when it comes to game design. My overall impression is that the world is very cool indeed and I can’t wait to power up and explore more. Hope that helps. (SEE UPDATE BELOW)

Pre-ordered with a nice little discount. So hyped for this title. Woke up this morning, fired up my Switch, and discovered I still can’t play it 😡

Guess I have to wait till I get home from work :/

Mechstermination Force and Hob! Can’t wait!

@BanjoPickles Bubsy has that little something special to put it above the rest, and it gets way more publicity from its detractors than it ever does with advertising. People get to feel better about their tastes by throwing shade at a popular target, and Bubsy’s progenitors (perpetrators?) get to move units. The trolling is built into the product, as with a lot of camp. It’s a win-win!

In all fairness, I think the studio and the franchise are a good match. Runner 3 is a fantastic game if you like that kind of thing, and it’s packed with the acerbic wit, both visual and voice-over, that a new Bubsy game would require.

That being said, Bubsy sucks LOL

THREE different boss battles????

That's almost FOUR different boss battles!!!

Art style is great, but I honestly can’t see playing this after so many hours logged in Stardew Valley.

Yes! I've been looking for something as challenging, atmospheric and visually inventive as Gorogoa.

@NintyNate That seems crazy low. Do ppl just keep another charged and ready to go? I refuse to believe that they go out for fresh air after 5 hrs of play.

@Ulysses Not sure. Mainly use a Pro controller but I don't game too hardcore. My brain probably has its own latency tho so perhaps we're synced up. 🤣

@Deltath Could be why they didn't include HD rumble. Probably would've cut the battery life in half. I'm very happy with all my chargeable controllers. Never actually had one power off on me.

@Ulysses I haven't noticed any latency with my wireless controllers, but I guess I'm not subjecting them to much scrutiny. I play Smash and I beat Celeste... Have you actually noticed it?

I don't consider myself a graphics snob, but I am a sucker for exceptional visuals, and recently uploaded gameplay footage looks absolutely SICK. Not sure I'll go full price but I'll come running for a sale.

If this really is Switch footage, then it looks fantastic. No reason it couldn’t be, and I hate that some bad actors cause us to question the provenance of screenshots and trailers. The only things I can see holding this title back are lack of content and loose controls. If they keep the controls tight and are generous with content, it’s a for sure purchase.

I picked two up in-store yesterday. The white tee with Boos on the pocket and a striped tee with Mario jumping up to punch a coin out of a box. I love em! My wife and I also have matching Super Mario Kart tees from Target LOL.

@NintyNate But these are regular AA batteries, although it says you can purchase rechargeable. Just seems like the cost from batteries alone will go up dramatically, especially if 30 hours is best-case scenario.

@Ralizah You have no idea! I see all these comments about the Switch being overloaded with ports and not enough new or exclusive titles, but I skipped the last 18 years of gaming and now find myself with an embarrassment of riches. I’m in heaven!

@nmanifold Have you played Horizon Chase Turbo? More than decent!

@Ralizah I guess I’m spoiled by my joycons, pro controller and 8Bitdo SF30 Pro, all rechargeable. Switch is also the first system I’ve owned since the Dreamcast, so wireless controllers are new to me. And LOL re: stoma. 100 years waiting for Link to wake the $@*% up and come finish off Ganon are more than enough time to develop that habit.

This looks like a Wii game.

Is it me or does 30 hours sound like not a long time before having to replace the batteries? Love the look of it though and the mappable buttons are a neat idea.

Make this a rhythm game with those chunky punch sounds and that chillout-room muzak and I’m in.

@Ralizah If I had a few more brain cells I’d’ve known that about BadLands. Thanks for clearing my conscience!

@spirit_flame You got the wrong dude in your crosshairs, my friend.

@Lowhangers
Unless you are trolling, in which case Lowhangers indeed, I gotta give you courage points for voicing that opinion here. As for me, my opinion may shock you, but BotW is my favorite video game of all time.

@Ralizah I had the exact same hesitation on Celeste, but let there be no doubt this is a truly magnificent game. You will immediately forget your misgivings about the visuals when the narrative kicks in and you take control of Madeline. The controls alone are sheer perfection. Take those and add a funny, poignant story, pitch-perfect pacing, truly awesome sound and music, and the very best 2D platforming I’ve ever enjoyed, and you have a real work of art that begs to be experienced. I do think it bears closest relation to a work of art by a master. There is no element of Celeste untouched by genius and expertise and generosity. I realize I’m saying nothing new and just adding my voice to the chorus. An added bonus to me was this game getting me over my lo-fi pixel aversion to appreciate retro style games that are clearly labors of love and designed with the gamer’s experience a topmost priority. I hope you purchase and enjoy!

Great list, no surprises but a fun diversion and reminder to add several titles to my wishlist.

Question: for Axiom Verge fans, it’s a game I’ve wanted to buy for some time now, but I’ve been reading about how the publisher has really screwed the developer and I’m worried that my purchase will fatten their pockets and not his. Do we know how that works? Do we have updates?

I’m playing Valley and MBZ2. You couldn’t pick two more different games but I’m really enjoying both. Especially MBZ2.

@SwitchForce I was making fun of him for making a joke about diversity, not sure who you’re making fun of or why. I’m sure we both know that Japan is not a diverse country and that their culture is rife with misogyny.

@spirit_flame I would think this falls under false advertising, which is very much illegal. I wonder if there’s any precedent for litigation.

@KennyBania
You seem really interesting.

@SwitchForce How do you figure?

All right! Now let's see the Shirtless VIPs of Nintendo Charity Calendar 2019.

@kepsux
Thank you. I needed another reason to obsessively scour Hyrule squeezing every last drop of adventure out of BotW. 400 hours and counting...