Maf

This one was not my observation but from Twitter. But the only time Shiek ever had a sword was again, in the artwork. Now she has it in the game

One thing I really like is in the trailer they’re quite honest about Hyrule Field, which is usually so oversold when people talk about it online. In the trailer they say “it serves as a gateway” which is exactly right. The biggest map in the game is not actually where the action is. It’s basically a junction That said, they have redesigned the Hyrule Field map in terms of layout and little features, so I hope they’ve added more to it this time than simply just being a gateway and not much more

New top 5 most anticipated games for 2026 1. Ocarina Remake 2. Gears of War E-Day 3. GTA6 4. FF Resonance 5. Castlevania 2D

Every reaction I’ve watched so far has had a similar thing where the video cuts to gameplay for the first time, and people stop/flinch/scrunch brows and are like “hang on, I need a second” it’s such a striking thing and it’s funny watching the universal “wait, what”

I like that you think this happened because I called it bullshit and not the reason I call it bullshit is because stuff like this keeps happening Apparently they can test it but not allowed to try repair it, so if it is fully broke I’m hoping I’ll get a refurbished one from the manufacturer (I’ve had it for just under 3 years so I think that means the GPU is still under warranty)

I think that homogenised look is more from the tech. In this game or others, games are converging on the same solutions to show graphics from volumetrics, wet surfaces to lighting. I think that’s why this is polarising, the same way Star Fox was polarising, it’s weird to see Nintendo games look this way But I think what comes through in this game is the art direction and aesthetic. Broadly, yes, the fog at Link’s feet as he runs through it, the grass in the wind. These things are in a lot of games. That said, I don’t think many games really look like this, and what separates it is the art direction, aesthetic, characters and the mix of realism and toy-like action figures.

It might just be the lighting or something. This NPC looks great and stood out to me in the trailer There’s no way this art direction is generic, this is why it’s polarising because it’s not that. I’m in the W column, though. There’s some technical stuff that hopefully has more time to optimise but I’m all the way in. More character renders are coming online now and they’re so good I don’t want to say I’m more hype for this than anything else this year because I hate being an easy mark but I will say I’m more hype for this than anything else this year Give me a collector’s edition! Don’t you dare be a game key card! The Hero of Time! On the way to save 2026 EDIT: Already some side by sides. People are fast N64 vs 3DS vs S2

The more I watch it, the more I like the way it looks. It’s a strange contrast of realism, light fantasy and toy-like. It’s strange in a way I think really works If they made Majora’s Mask in this art style or aesthetic it might fit even better EDIT: Also in terms of the enemies, this was cool. Here is what the plant looks like in the N64 Here is the concept art from the time 2026 Navi even goes red like in the artwork. They’re bringing the game to life! In fact it looks even darker than originally drawn. They really are trying to make it photo realistic, with darker fairy tale ish style, while keeping Zelda’s designs

Even the amiibo is bringing the original art to life

It looks like UE5 because of the technology. Lighting, depth of field, high detailed textures, etc. but aesthetically it’s much more unique. A lot of the fan made stuff doesn’t have the art direction this game has. I wonder what engine it’s using. Maybe it is UE5?

Poster Trailer

Unfortunately the only character model that looked off to me was Zelda herself. Link’s pose when he picks up a small items looks a bit silly as well. I was so happy with the first second of gameplay because I couldn’t tell where the fuck we were. They said Kokori Forest but it was unrecognisable. I had to look at the mini map. As soon as they did that I was like, it’s just changed enough The colour was maybe a bit much and there’s some upscale flickering happening which is unfortunate But I dunno, man. Not much to change that could make me happier with it. It looks like they completely nailed it to me. On the whole I thought the presentation was really nice as well. Shame there wasn’t more Zelda news. I was hoping for some more games/game updates. But I feel like a lot of care went into making that, especially the musical part in the beginning. The only bit where it lost me was the iPhone app stuff. That was whatever And then the game was like holy shit. Inside the Deku Tree look crazy. No more pre-rendered backgrounds. Time is always moving even when in locations. Snuck it in just before GTA6 as well. I was hoping for December but it makes sense.

It’s fucking crazy. The only thing I dislike is did they use FSR? There’s something about the flicker which is not good. The only console with any kind of DLSS and they refuse to use it Look at death mountain, oh my Christ

Whoooooaaaa it looks so good! They did make changes as well! That’s what I wanted The enemies actually look like the concept art! lol

All the sudden I feel giddy, I hope this is good

Playing this game made me read about 19th century US history. It recontextualises so much of the game and why everyone hates the US government It makes John’s apathy to everything around him make sense, too. He grew up just after Mexico had it’s land stolen by the government, he is watching and known about Native Americans having their land stolen by the government, and now effectively his way of life/land/Wild West is being stolen by the government

Spent an hour on call with the PC company with them trying to fix and diagnose the problem over the phone, but no luck. Being sent back tomorrow and said it might take a couple of weeks £73 to return!(£62 for collection + £11 for packaging)

I didn't think it'd be a complete overhaul, but I was hoping for something more adventurous than a straight 1:1, although I'm not surprised. I hope the art style is better in action than what was in the teaser trailer as well. I was not fond of the way Link looked.

Using chaffs on the tank can make it easier to approach but a bit more dangerous up close because it starts doing random shit. MGS and Kojima’s ideas might be affected by Chernobyl but also he is fascinated with the Cold War, and the constant sense of nuclear escalation. Probably because he grew up in it. I can’t think of how the game criticises nuclear technology as a whole. It seemed very specific about the military complex, the poor storage and disposal of materials, materials going missing and then obviously weapons themselves. Watching some MGS Lets Plays over the past year or so, my fascination with the game and series as a whole has changed a lot. As a kid/teenager, MGS was the height of drama, political conspiracy, serious themes of environmental safety and nuclear proliferation, and the best plot twists money can buy. It made me smile from ear to ear. Now, growing up and seeing how the US actually operates in war, MGS makes me smile from ear to ear for completely different reasons. The White House is threatened with a nuclear strike by a group of terrorists who have active control of a top secret weapon, and their response is to send in 1 guy with no gun. It is, actually, the height of hilarity. Snake being unarmed makes sense from a gameplay perspective. What’s the best way to teach players to hide than to make them outgunned*, but how serious I used to treat this game to how serious I can treat it now, is different. I love MGS1. Top 5 games of all time. But it is so fucking stupid in a way I only appreciate now *Even though once learned the controls you can easily snap necks and stuff, but for new players it’s good game design to teach them to hide EDIT: Also watching Lets Plays and people thinking the story and story telling in MGS is quaint. It reminds me that it’s not just graphics that diminish in the modern age of games but the whiplash experience. For most people, the game they played the day before MGS1 was Crash Bandicoot, or Resident Evil, or Wipeout. The dramatic change between every game before and what MGS was doing was insane. Literally changed what you thought a game could be like from the day before MGS to the day after

It’s only occurred to me today that the song Dead Man’s Gun could have 2 meanings. The first is the literal there’s been an ongoing feud and vicious murder. “Your hands upon/a dead man’s gun” paints the picture that the main character of the song killed a man, using the victim’s own gun. The rest of the song points to this has been coming for a long time, and this is dark, but righteous revenge/and or redemption The other idea could be the character holding the gun was a dead man from the beginning, and no matter how hard he fights, it all comes crashing down tonight. “Your hands upon/a dead man’s gun/and you’re looking down the sights” maybe “the sights” is more than just literal. He’s a dead man looking down the sights at his own end, “you’ve given them all you can give” and after that, the dead man has no battle to win, and no where else to aim.

Starting to get excited about this. I wonder what they’ll do with the music and how they’ll update it. I wonder what they’ll do with the title screen. The best title screen of all time. This is actually to do with BotW more than OoT but I love Skillup’s opening to this review. He couldn’t have said it better I might play the 3DS version later for a warm up. I only played that once

I think OoT will be December. Which would be quite fitting because it came out originally in the UK in December 1998 so it’s always felt like a Christmas game to me

One excuse I see time to time about not getting in to fighting games is the “I didn’t play it when it was new and now I’m too far behind” Which implies that if someone started playing on day 1 they’d be really good But the truth is you were always only going to be as good as you are. There’s always people been playing for decades, people who are just naturals and pick it up fast, and people that sit there grinding the game all day. You were always going to get 2 touched, perfected and made to feel dumb even if you started 3 months before anyone else My point being is; there’s never been a better time to start Dragon Ball FighterZ

MGS4 review In the video they touch on 2 things I’ve been saying for a while. The first is that modern video games can be visually overwhelming with the amount of things on screen. I remember saying that about Horizon Forbidden West. There’s so much stuff on screen you just can’t see anything. And so when playing an older game that’s bought up to modern presentation (4K60) it’s so nice to play games that have that clarity, but with the properly defined visibility of what’s on screen I really think this is a thing that modern games will have to reconcile with eventually and that’s overwhelming density. Game devs often get lost in the sauce where just because they can do something they will, simply because it’s technically impressive, not because it makes for the best game The second thing near the end they touch on another thing and that’s how 2D, small and pixel art games don’t suit big TV’s. They cite MGS Ghost Babel in this collection and Mina the Hollower. Which is part of what helped me fall in love with the Switch OLED a few years ago. Smaller games are simply better on smaller screens with less resolution. Pixel art on big screens just doesn’t look right, and it’s much more at home on a small screen They don’t talk about the portable aspect, that’s just me. But glad I don’t feel crazy now when I say certain games don’t look right on these massive screens Anyway, MGS4. I will get it when it’s cheap

Nearing the end now. I have a lot of thoughts that are competing, conflicting, contrasting and incomplete so I won’t get in to it yet. I’ll think on it But one thing I can say whole heartedly and without doubt: The horse shoe mini game is ass