Maryokutai

I'm surprised you like it this much considering you talked about graphic homogenisation recently and how everything just kind of has a similar look these days. The characters here do a lot of heavy lifting, unless they're NPCs, but the environments are rather standard-looking modern fantasy visuals, like they took a left where the new Fable took a right. Of course there's always a lot of subjectivity going into this as well, I've always preferred the Wind Wakers to the Twilight Princesses (though in a weird parallel, the latter had some great character designs). I'll just have to get used to it over the next 60 days.

They're not bringing the NPCs to life: That scene just stuck out during the presentation because there's a generational gap between Link's character model and them. I realise it's standard procedure for NPCs to have a lower polycount and reduced asset quality, but I've never seen a gulf this massive and I think it's just weird stylistic inconsistencies like these that don't really make me fall in love, in addition to it having a somewhat generic art direction. Impressions online are rather mixed as well, to the point where it feels like Nintendo hasn't quite nailed the landing with the transition to this new gen, at least with their outsourced projects (which I believe this one is?).

Jesus, the key art. 'Link in Unreal Land' or something. I like Zelda's model the most actually, the sharp, angular features are a cool choice to go for. Link gets a glow-up for his adult version, so adult Zelda might look pretty good as well. I guess it should be mentioned also that it runs at 60fps, which is a first for a new 3D Zelda that isn't a port. So that's neat. Will pick it up and am still looking forward to it, but crucify me if you want, I think StarFox had a more stylistically sound visual overhaul than this.

I feel like I saw different material than you guys, Hyrule Field looks tiny as a result fo the visual fidelity and the draw distance. And the art style isn't too far away from those random UE5 remakes you'd see on youtube IMO. It's better and more polished of course, but outside of the character models (I actually really like Link's now that we've seen the eyes) the overlit but undersaturated style looks rather soulless. Edit: some stuff in the trailer looked nice, Gerudo village, Zora's domain. Maybe I need to sleep on it. The character models all look great though, I like how they gave the hylians very elfish features.

Oh god, I think I hate the look.

I don't know if some people expected more but going through the topic that's pretty much what we all thought it would end up being. The thing with OoT is that its reputation in the pantheon of games is one thing, but pragmatically speaking this is a remake and Nintendo usually treats those as stopgaps/filler releases between new projects. Completely rebuilding and redesigning it would have mirrored a newly developed game in terms of financial investment and therefore was likely always out of the question. As said before I'm fine with it being somewhat 1:1, I just hope the visual style is more appealing than the Link model suggests. Three hours to go

I don't agree with that. Your skill ceiling doesn't matter in the beginning and there's a difference between playing people who are knowledgeable in the genre and only figuring stuff out and those who just hop around and mash buttons. If you fight the former the learning curve is fun, interesting and organic and it happens alongside the community as a whole. If you fight the latter and if you want to improve, you're not getting anywhere. But you also can't just skip ranks or hook up with people who would, on paper, be on your level, because the knowledge gap is too wide after jumping in with a significant delay. If your entire friend group starts learning a new language and only speaks in that language when getting together, you're not going to have a good time in their company if you only did start your studies six months after them. It's not impossible to make up for the lost time, but it requires significantly more discipline and commitment. And I know in advance that I can't invest that much energy in a game anymore, so I'm either there on week 1 or not at all.

We don't have a release date so far but I expect something in the ballpark of second half of November/first half of December. They're probably the only big publisher out there who can navigate the impact of the GTA meteor without much issue.

Yeah, I usually just play them for 20min to get a very basic idea and start the full game from scratch (should I decide to pick it up). But I do like the concept of these longer 'early access' demos, it's refreshingly consumer friendly.

I wouldn't even know how to make a prediction about the beginning of next-gen, let alone the end of it. But I do think this was the last classic console generation we ever had, at least for a long while; launching at somewhat reasonable prices, every machine getting its own games (to an extent), all of them offering physical and digital games. Next-gen will probably be a rude awakening and mirror smartphone upgrades rather than console successors. If PS6 is as expensive as reported, then surely the system will plateau around 20m units sold and only have a handful of exclusives. And the market will have to scramble really hard to deal with that. Though one way to scramble will be to support those systems that are currently available until the apocalypse hits. I think Switch 2 in particular could be a blessing in disguise to combat hardware component costs – it will remain somewhat affordable and offer a low baseline lots of developers can't ignore. In an ideal scenario I'd say the AI bubble completely implodes during next-gen, allowing for a clean reset in the aftermath, and one of those companies putting a system out that promises to go 'back to the roots' or something. But it'll be 2040 by that point and we'll be paying for our stuff in litres of water instead of money, so who knows. I'm glad us millennials and boomers had a good run, seeing the genesis of the medium up until whatever happens next.

There's a demo out for this, you can continue wth your save file in the full version, as is often the case with SE's demos. I enjoyed it quite a bit. It is a classic turn-based JRPG so it's probably not a surprise, but the trailers didn't really sell it to me up until now. That said I had to change to Japanese voice acting because English script and voice acting is nightmarish. Reading the text isn't as bad, though if you understand Japanese I suppose you're just screwed. It's a bit of a shame because FF used to be better than this, but this is just run of the mill nonsense à la Tales of Arise. I mentioned this before but I do like that it has proper cutscenes though, with camera shifts and such. I think it's the first 2D-HD game that does this. Even if the end result is less FFXII and more Dragon Ball. The summons are also FMVs, which is a nice callback. Will pick this up maybe early next year or something. Switch 1 version is thankfully quite good, so SE can shove the SW2 Key Card where Bahamuth's Megaflare can't reach.

This starts off with a bunch of rowdies entering the jungle and blasting loud music, so the three marsupilami decide to kick their butts to have some peace and quiet. As far as videogame backstories go, rarely have I seen one so relatable. This is a fun game to play because it reminds me of the classic videogame approach of building a game and using the foundation and assets to improve and elaborate on it with a sequel. You know, before studios got closed after their first game, that time period. So this feels both very familiar to the first but also drastically different in other ways. The most obvious change is that the three characters now have distinct tools, like in the big ape game that this has always been inspired by. One of them can glide, one can double jump and the third one can turn himself into a ball. The latter is quite unusual and has a bit of a learning curve to it – it turns him invulnerable to stage hazards and normal enemies while also increasing bounce effects, all at the cost of precision. Every stage sends you out with two predetermined characters and you can switch on the fly. You rarely have to though, so it doesn't really break the flow. In fact, most of the stages can be completed just sticking with one, though you might need to switch around for secrets or Salsa Mode*. The control scheme has also been reworked and attacking is no longer mapped to the same button as the roll, which takes a bit to get used to but is a net improvement. Another area of improvement are the stages, as they are way more elaborate than in the first game. It pretty much starts where they left off with the dino DLC, so there's no handholding island with baby levels and instead throws some neat ideas at you from the get-go, and regularly adds nice visual flourishes like slightly angled perspectives for chase sequences and such. It's still not an incredibly difficult game, but noticeably more challenging than the first, and also has proper boss battles this time around as well. As in most 2D platformers though, they are the weakest part of the package. The secrets I'm less convinced about. You now collect notes in a stage, but also receive some depending on the amount of fruits you collect (lives are gone). To get all the notes, you have to complete *Salsa Mode, which is unlocked after first beating a stage and is some kind of pseudo-time trial mode, in which collecting fruit fills a bar and continuously collecting them adds a multiplier to them, but if you fail to keep the streak going it goes down to x1. I don't really like this one because breaking the streak in the last third of the level basically means restarting to get the best result, so I think I might ditch the idea of going for 100%. There's unfortunately no gallery or extras menu this time around, so completionist stuff might only unlock achievements. Not sure on that yet though. There's also some challenges, solo and multiplayer, which I haven't looked into yet. Really good sequel though. It doesn't have that 'wait, this is really good' kind of moment because I knew better this time around, but it's a really solid sequel that improves in the right places but maybe stumbles a tiny bit here and there with the optional challenges. It doesn't seem to be much longer than the first, but the islands have more stages and the stages are bigger, so it might end up being a 4 hour game instead of a 3 hour one, at the very least. Music is also way better that in the first game as well, which was quite forgettable bar one or two exceptions.

That actually makes me rather hopeful they have another cool thing lined up, if they want to get Zelda out of the way for their next normal Direct. Absolute worst-case scenario we at least get a good look at OoT, which I'm significantly more interested in since playing the StarFox remake.

I always felt bad about picking the first one up on sale for 2 bucks and ending up enjoying it so much, so decided to get this right away. Unfortunately no physical version on Xbox but Switch is locked to 30fps, so the decision was made for me.

Possible GotY?... here's hoping.

Watched some Star Wars for the first time in a long while, Mandalorian & Grogu. It's a very weirdly paced film with comparatively super low stakes, resulting in 2 hours that feel like someone stitched four TV episodes together, covering two different arcs. It's quite an inelegant collage and neither the slower moments nor the action feel deserved, as they just pop up at the weirdest of times. On the plus side it might be the most visually accomplished Star Wars film made so far. The first half in particular plays a lot with classic Star Wars references (classic samurai movies mixed with Western themes) but also looks at more contemporary sci-fi for inspiration and sends Mando on a goose chase on a planet that could have been a Blade Runner 2049 export. It's really beautiful to look at during these scenes, and thankfully uses a lot of practical effects, including, as a highlight, two giant droids that are animated via stop motion. The soundtrack also expands the themes from the show with a couple new tracks that are just as good. I forget the name, but it's from the same composer, too. So I did enjoy watching it, and I imagine this is even more of a looker on BluRay on an OLED (I streamed it on my LCD). But at the same time it feels a bit flat and is at over 2 hours too long for what it sets out to do. It takes place in a complete narrative vacuum as well, which is admittedly probably a plus, considering how bloated the lore has become.

First half of this video is new footage. It's weird seeing these levels in this fidelity as I still have them fresh on my mind from my somewhat recent Anniversary playthrough. I do think this lacks a proper identity though, visually speaking. It's very much a UE5 looking game, for better or worse. Some animations also look borderline bad and the optimist in me hopes those will receive another pass before its release, especially as that has always been a forte of the series, all the way down to the GB ports. And while I'm in sceptic mode, I don't like the combat sequence against the jaguar. When they said they'd overhaul it, the last thing on my mind was expecting massive bullet sponge enemies that also retreat mid-fight. Dragging out combat encounters is the opposite of what I would have done with this game. Anyway – overall impressions still positive. New voice actress seems fine, too. Still a definitive pickup, but I doubt this will set the world on fire.

Good news I'd say. The less attractive cloud gaming is, the better. Maybe a bit of a shame for edge cases like @shinymcshine but still, glad we pulled the handbrake on that one.

Yeah, this looked interesting, legally distinct Bayonetta or something. Do we know who's making it? Konami hasn't really done character action in-house since the PS2 days.

IMO a story expansion pass takes the fun out of a complete edition anyway. I'm also surprised they're pushing this so hard already when it's not coming out for another eight months. I'm already getting Deathloop/Destiny vibes from the marketing rollout, I think they need to calm down a bit.

I don't think it's the second 'half' per se, as in terms of playtime it's shorter than what came before if I remember correctly. But yeah, that's what it consists of and it tries to build up towards a conclusion that honestly wasn't memorable enough for me to be able to recall it. Also, all this Fable makes me mad again they cancelled Legends and didn't give post-Molyneux Lionhead a chance to prove itself, preferring to cut off their legs 2 meters before crossing the finish line.

Didn't realise Clear River released that, might pick that one up, too. Anyway, I noticed the publisher tag for this switched to Compulsion Games, so...

Hm, I might check if mine's still there. I haven't booted up my PS4 since SF6 came out, so around June 2023, which is over 36 months now. I don't have many digital games on there so it wouldn't be that big of a deal, but as a regulation this isn't even remotely nuanced enough. Sounds like something to fight privacy issues with dormant social media accounts but completely bypasses the problem with digital 'purchases'.

Double Fine's Kickstarter is live: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/doublefine/amnesia-fortnight-2026-indie-reboot?ref=profile_created&category_id=35 Basically you're throwing money in the ring for a cat in the bag, with the caveat that you can democratically vote for a bag. In that sense the campaign should best be viewed as a selfless contribution to the studio's survival rather than investment in a game that might or might not come out. In any case, it's going really well and they've gotten around 80% of their target already. If you read this in a few hours it might already be funded. I had a look through the games they pitch, there's a surprising amount of multiplayer stuff I'm not interested in by default, but four or five of those ideas seem cool. It's probably an interesting endeavour to be part of, so I might throw in the minimum required to vote and get a nice seat on the Titanic.

Speaking of soulslikes, Another Crab's Treasure. They recently released a Switch 2 port but it's quite awful and RNGing the framerate, so you're constantly jumping between 40 and 60fps. There's a point where you have to jump ledges alongside the outer wall of a castle and on some of them there's an enemy, so you have to land and immediately get into a defensive position which is incredibly annoying when you don't know whether there'll be a framerate dip on landing or not. I might play this on another system at some point because the game itself is quite decent and I like the idea behind it with its strong ecological themes influencing worldbuilding and even some gameplay features, but I'm not going to reward a shitty port by buying another version at full price.