sfb

@lechugajr

According to my Steam profile, 3.7 hours.

Very far away from completing the game — though I suspect that might be a skill issue on my part!

Very good game. I’ve enjoyed this on Steam. Clever how each level you progress, you have to choose both one buff and one debuff.

@NotoriousWhiz Yes, that’s another excellent game from Capybara. I very much enjoyed it on the DS, back in the day. Might get the new version as well.

@RagManX Can’t blame you there - Capybara has made some great games of various types.

Grindstone is outstanding, of course. But these days I hardly hear about Super Time Force Ultra, which I think is also one of their best. Especially for people who enjoy games like Gunstar Heroes.

@Fortuna95 Which class(es) do you play in Heroes of Hammerwatch?

It has been a while since I played it. I played solo, and mainly used a ranged character. Though I enjoyed the core action, it took me extremely long to make any shred of progress - even for a rogue-lite game - and had to put it aside.

I am a chicken
From the kitchen
And I ain’t kiddin’
Although, nothing is written

FYI. Years ago, this name of this game was “ I, Dracula: Genesis”. I don’t know why or when it changed.

@intergalacticNikolai I recall playing a demo of Super Dungeon Maker on Steam - might still be there, if you’d like to try it. I liked the demo, and probably will buy the Switch release.

I greatly enjoyed this game, back in the day. One of Capybara’s best, IMO. Great news, looking forward to this version.

@IronMan30 supporting your point: “Older hardware absolutely CAN handle an open world racer”

One example — IIRC, Burnout Paradise runs rather well on Switch

The latest Kit and Krysta podcast discusses their perspectives on the Wii U launch, from their maternal vantage points at the time. I found it interesting.

@ParadoxFawkes For what it’s worth — the SwitchUp channel on YouTube frequently posts videos discussing post-patched versions of various Switch games. Usually they are called “all patched up” or similar, and discuss several games within one video

Played this a bit on Wii U.

Refreshingly subversive, given its anti-consumerist theme.

I heard Chronicles of Riddick was a good game, allegedly better than the movie

@speedyb Your comment reminded me of a game called “Ivy The Kiwi?”, released around 2009-2010… but as the question mark in the title indicates, I think it’s intentionally unclear whether the protagonist is actually a kiwi!

So, you might be correct about this being the first kiwi game in a few decades

Nile Rodgers is also a legendary producer. Tons of success in the 80s with Bowie, Duran Duran, Madonna, and others

I really liked Asher’s early iOS games, Threes and Puzzlejuice. Those were pretty outstanding, IMO.

For whatever reason, Beast Breaker didn’t quite grab me — though it’s very coherent and playable, and well though-out. Might sound odd, but I think I’d enjoy BB more if some of its mechanics (equipment, etc.) were streamlined or removed — or perhaps made optional.

Just started playing this yesterday. Enjoying it very much. It’s true that the courses can be somewhat lengthy… and the boss battle courses so far are super-ultra-long. The 2nd one in particular did feel a bit exhausting, first time I tried it (I nearly completed it).

Arguably there is a tiny sense of meta-progression, namely the ability to store selected Ace cards for future runs. Not really “progression” as such, but it is something.

Somewhere, Scott the Woz is quietly crying

Good move. Carry on my wayward strand.

@Anti-Matter

Chris Taylor. Super Smash Brothers Ultimate, 2018. Though he was 21 at the time.

Might have been other instances of this as well.

I would like to play Illmatic Envelope Swamp, aka Illvelo

@moodycat
Prinny Vol 2 has ZHP and Makai Kingdom

Rhapsody is coming in Prinny Vol 3, which also includes La Pucelle: Ragnarok. I believe the release date for Vol 3 is “summer”

And of course Prinny Vol 1 is already out, including Soul Nomad and Phantom Brave

@Lyricana the first Rogue Legacy game is on Switch

Thanks for the list, So many games. Cursed to Golf seems very thoughtfully designed and fun.

Keylocker is from the developer that created Virgo vs the Zodiac, interesting game on Steam. Hope the timing windows are a bit more generous on Keylocker..

Suffer… like G did.

I’m struggling to retcon Pac-Mom into the lore

@Freek

I hope that no New Zealanders were injured in the making of this game.

Some of my favorite celebrities are Kiwis. How about Lucy Lawless! Would not mind seeing her in this game!

@Pak-Man - Potato Flowers in Full Bloom is a so-called "DRPG" or Dungeon RPG. Broadly similar to many other game series, including Etrian Odyssey, Wizardry, Demon Gaze, Mary Skelter, etc. The dungeons have a maze-like structure with various doors, passageways, and the occasional mild puzzle.

The dungeon traversal is in first-person, and the battles are in a side-view of sorts. Your party consists of three fighters, which accrue experience and skills over time. Rogue, wizard, sorcerer, ranger, warrior, and others are available. Various equipment drops, per genre conventions. The battle system features enemies that signpost their upcoming move, as in Slay The Spire — but it's still challenging, given finite party members, skills, and resources. The enemies have nice amount of variety, even within the first few dungeon floors, in terms of appearance as well as skills.

It has a free demo on Switch, which is rather lengthy (I played over 15 hours — but I play very slowly, so YMMV). I enjoyed the demo very much and now have the full game. The demo save carries over.

@aaronsullivan

Neon Abyss, Fury Unleashed, and Caveblazers are some twin-stick platformers on Switch. There might be others. I think Critadel maybe?

@DarthXenos Dungeon Top has some interesting content to offer, if you can get past the aesthetics.

Haven’t played it in a while, but it’s a hybrid of CCG and turn-based, positional battles — within a rogue-lite, top-down dungeon structure. If you like tactical battles and/or deck building, you might enjoy this.

If you’re familiar with Faeria, there are some broad similarities in the play mechanics. Though Dungeon Top does not require an online connection, and its battles use a rectangular rather than hexagonal playfield.

Wow, the game already had so much content, now even more.

I run hot-and-cold on puzzle games but have really enjoyed this one, for dozens of hours. As others have said in this thread, there’s a nice amount of variety across the levels

The developer, Capy, has made some other excellent games over the years. Super Time Force Ultra was a favorite of mine. Another great one was Might & Magic Clash of Heroes on the DS.

@ChromaticDracula IIRC, the pilot faces in Project Starship X do change as they take damage.

Not to be confused with Project Starship. The sequel is the one with the X in the name. First game is OK but the sequel is regarded as vastly better.

Nice game, and I love the name of its lesser-known sequel:
“Snow Bros. 2: With New Elves”

This dev did such a phenomenal job with their previous game (Just Shapes & Beats) that I’m inclined to get this on that basis alone. Even though the genres are different, they seem it have a very firm grasp of game design.

Very cool.

Reluctant to be “that guy” but I still hold a small sliver of hope that Zen’s excellent Marvel tabes might eventually come over the Switch, in some form or another.

To be fair, still lots of tables on Zen’s Pinball FX3 and Star Wars Pinball on Switch. Not to mention Zaccaria Pinball, which is also lots of fun.

97% positive on Steam; n=3,256. Not bad

The combat in Ruined King sounds a little like Star Renegades, with the timeline aspect — but I see there are many other wrinkles, including the Lane system, zones within the timelines, etc. And this game is not a rogue-lite in its larger structure, unlike Star Renegades.

Sounds very appealing to me, based on the combat and game mechanics. Thanks for the detailed review.

I see the aesthetic similarity to Moonlighter, as well as the procedurally generated dungeons. But this game seems has a trap-setting element that Moonlighter didn’t have IIRC. And this has no shopkeeping or town-building elements.

At first glance, it looks like the core movement and combat of Tunnel of Doom might be tighter than Moonlighter as well. Might be wishful thinking, but I can hope!

Great dev, JS&B is excellent, top to bottom. Intrigued about this upcoming title from them.

I’m still standing, better than I ever did

The art style and tone of Stilstand reminds me of Lynda Barry’s comic strip featuring the character Marlys. It was called Ernie Pook’s Comeek

@Orangepascal Just a quick hello, wanted to chime in that I’ve enjoyed a number of your games over the years. Mostly on 3DS and iOS, I think.

Congratulations on the release of Residual. Just peeked at your iOS page. I didn’t realize you released a second Space Grunts game, this time with card mechanics. Might have to check that out!

Excellent interview. Reading about Darren’s background helps a me understand how he was able to accomplish everything he’s done at SuperGiant. Extremely thoughtful in his processes as well.

Haven’t played Hades yet, but the Transistor OST is outstanding.

Tecmo represent! Maybe some additional publicity for the Monster Rancher remasters coming in a few months

@60frames-please Great call-out. I loved playing Pyoro in “Bird & Beans” on the DS and 3DS. Fully satisfied my 45-degree shooting needs. I forgot that Pyoro is in the WarioWare games also

@Everett_psycho that is great tip regarding the custom game mode, thanks for that. And thanks for the heads up about the training room coming later.

I plowed tons of time into Dead Cells, really enjoyed it, but hit a hard ceiling at 2BC. I could handle the mobs, and won a decent percentage against the bosses, but kept getting totally wiped by the end boss. Put it aside long ago, but somewhat intent to try again sometime, net of all these many updates. Though I sense that 2BC and up are still very challenging.

As much as I truly enjoyed Dead Cells, it makes me wonder whether it might be time for game designers to move beyond the conventional trope of:

mobs > boss > mobs > boss > mobs > OMFG END BOSS !!!!!1!1!!

I totally get it, I’ve been gaming since c.1979, arcades for life, etc. But as an older person, and/or a person unable or disinclined to attempt something >27 times(for recreational purposes!), I wonder if there might be different ways to scale difficulty, challenge the player, give variety to the experience, etc.

Interesting, no representatives from South America this time. Some good developers down there though, including Aquiris in Brazil (Horizon Chase Turbo) and Ace Team in Chile (Rock of Ages series, among others).

@DrDaisy SNES Drunk has a video on YouTube about Metamorphic Force. I’m generally not drawn toward beat-em-ups, but this one looks hilarious. And that color scheme!

There’s a part around 1:53 when a boss character stands in a giant circle and says “I won’t let anyone step into THIS AREA!” Then the player proceeds to walk right in. Great stuff.

@C0NNERS

Great recommendations. Bullet Heaven is another excellent channel covering shmups:

https://youtube.com/c/StudioMudprints

I fell down the rabbit hole with Tangledeep, big time. Although this game is substantially different, I like this developer & am looking forward to this game as well.

FYI, the main developer also is a musician under the banner “zircon” — his music has been in various other games,