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I felt the urge to dig out my Game Boy Pocket earlier, not quite sure why. Once I had, I decided to start 6 Golden Coins. This is without doubt one of my favourite Game Boy games. The stages are laid out well in their themed areas, presentation is great, and the music. Oh, the music! The memories came flooding back. I'm going to play this through to the end, it shouldn't take long. My Game Boy Pocket still looks like new, too!

So far, it's pretty good. Very responsive, means early on you can spin around and attack enemies coming from behind, you can feel good at the game the way I felt I'd mastered SOR2. I like the juggling, I've seen people coming up with stuff I'd never think to do, but again, you can start to put some stuff together that shows you're learning and improving. I do kind of wish, as much as I'd accept that changing too much might be a detriment, that there was a parry in there somewhere. You don't have a lot of options defensively, even the special attack doesn't quite work the same way as it did in past games as an escape, some sort of counter, or even a roll like in (but better than) SOR 3 would help on that front. I've only played as Axel so far, I've just unlocked another character but I'm only 5 levels in. It's relatively tough, Iv'e used a continue, it puts you back to the start of that stage, but it did mean I had to learn the boss battle. A couple of the other levels I've beaten on my last life. Streets of Rage 2 I could beat on hard without losing a life, I don't see that happening here

It's difficult to talk about this game here since we don't have many Monster Hunters here. There are many nuances that are different to previous games; are they better? at this point I'm undecided. Some ways yes and others no. I dunno how to talk about MH to you guys. Just sack off whatever mediocre shit your playing now and get into this. Fuck your story based games. They're not good: play a few hours of this then watch something from the Criterion Collection. You'll be better for it. The weapon types are made in a way where you need to sink serious time into them and defeat the enemy types optimally. There's true satisfaction in that. The variety of play is so broad and also has so much depth. How ever you prefer to play you're covered, unless you're a stealth pacifist type then either get eaten or disappoint your comrades. But this has been the case this whole time with MH. I can't help you if you're not cool enough to be into it. And I'm sympethetic; I'm also a relative newcomer, but I saw the error of my ways and I hate to see people making the same mistake I did. This is a hard follow up to MH World and not only because of the obvious technical limitations, although a shift in gameplay and level design make up for it since the mobility options make every inch of the map explorable. But I will say that the ground, intuitive routes feel like classic MH so when you start to fuck around with your mobility for a moment it feels like a whole new world is opening up to you. It's so smart. We're here to fight monsters, though. And that's great. Always has been. But what Rise does different is okay. I just say that because the big drama mechanic is mounting monsters and taking control of them, which is really cool to do, but it's rarer, and less immediate than what you can do in Iceborne with the clutch claw. It just feels a bit weird this lesser console having a mechanic (which is literally having control of a monster) more advanced but it just doesn't feel as good as just being able to slam them into a wall from the position you mount them. But there is also a lacking in drama to the gameplay compared to MH World. It's not so lacking it feels like Dauntless, there is definitely more gameplay driven drama here, no doubt. And I can't stress that enough. I guess it just lacks the flourishes I got used to. I always feel like I gotta be more down on something I'm actually hugely enjoying. I'm just countering strawmen in my head. But I'm super enjoying it overall. I would talk more about how the bugs you control give you mobility but I've still not got used to them despite being 15 hours in. I've been doing okay but that new mechanic has a lot of depth I've not been able to figure out yet. Early on you can play like an old idiot and get away with it. But one of the last fights I had was against the new, flagship beast and his fight is clearly designed with high mobility in mind so I guess I gotta work on that.

Ok. So this is bloody glorious. I love a good music/rhythm game. From Guitar Hero, to Beat Mania, from Osu Tatake Ouendan, to that Namco one with the blue/red drums that I can’t for the life of me remember the name of. It’s a brilliant genre. I’ve never heard of this series before. Apparently it was on the DS? It passed me by somehow. Anyway, this is the series’s grand finale. And the team has basically gone “Let’s use pretty much all the classic Final Fantasy music we can, and a ton of other stuff for good measure. I’m no FF expert, 10 was the last game in the series I completed. But the music of 6, 7, 8, 9 and Tactics, has been stuck in my mind, for decades. Some of the best music in gaming. My girlfriend Sarah listened to some of their soundtracks, and absolutely loves them, despite never playing any of the games. So, the demo for this came up last month. I played one level, and then preordered the full game. Fair to say a good impression was made. Each game in the series has a selection of tracks (typically at least 10+). In typical rhythm game style, you press buttons to the beat, sometimes multiple buttons at once, sometimes using the directional sticks. Sounds simple enough. But there’s a nice bit of depth going on. Each song has “Quests” to complete, from not failing a beat, to using certain characters. With rewards unlocked for completing them. As you unlock each game, you gain characters specifically to that game to use in your party. You play as 4 characters, and as they level up, you gain new abilities that you can use to boost your score, and attack strength. During the song, your characters react to your performance, and you can also unlock summons, to dish out additional damage. There’s a TON of stuff to unlock, and I’m still getting my head around how it all works. But as far as the song selections go, there’s a good couple of hundred songs here. From every FF, to Crisis Core. FF7 Remake gets its own selection. FF Tactics is included. As is pretty much every FF spin off you can think of, to some extent. And there’s planned additional DLC content, from Secret Of Mana, to Xenogears, Nier, pretty much every RPG Square have ever done, by the looks of it. Give the demo a go. Personally, I’m loving this.

I'm starting to think all the best titles on Game Pass are the little indie darlings. I've smashed Boyfriend Dungeon. Enjoyed Raji's full game a hell of a lot more than the demo. I absolutely adored The Gunk, and Dodgeball Academia. And now I've played this clever little head-scratcher. Meanwhile, I'm constantly ignoring the blockbusters that hit the service, because fuck it. They can get played another time. Anyway, I've started talking about The Pedestrian on a tangent, and I kinda feel like that's how the game has to be played, too. Your goal is to navigate an incredibly linear world as the stick man (or woman) from public toilet signs. You do this by working your way from room to room, solving puzzles, and all that good stuff that makes a simple game loads of fun. It would all be a bit boring if the concept just involved you jumping about in a world with worse graphics than Super Mario Land, though, which is where this game's USP comes into play. Each area you navigate is set on a road sign-style panel, and might have different doors or ladders to get you into the next area. These panels aren't always connected though. Sometimes you'll need to hit Y (or triangle) to zoom out and see all the current panels you have to work with. You'll then be able to make connections from door to door, or ladder to ladder. You might even need to move the panels themselves to create a line of sight between each exit. Moving panels won't break a connection, but adjusting where connections happen will. Basically, if at any point you break said connections, the entire puzzle you're on at the moment resets, and your progress starts all over again. It's not just about creating a route from area to area, although that's a big part of it. You also have to make the environment work for you. Every now and again you'll encounter a hub level which requires different elements before you can escape. These are acquired by hopping into those tangents that I mentioned earlier. Say you need a key. You might need to head through the bottom left-hand door, which will take you to a series of puzzles, eventually letting you bring a key back to the main room. You might then need a wire, or a battery pack, or even something as simple as a box to hop up onto a ledge that's just out of reach. Once you've solved all the tangents for each hub, you can then move on. You know how in some games they use the same idea over and over again, and it can become exceptionally boring? Well The Pedestrian doesn't suffer that fate. Its physics, mechanics, and even the nature of the puzzles themselves have been sanded down and polished to this outstanding finish where nothing feels out of place. Can't solve a puzzle? That's on you. That ledge too high? You need something to help you get there. Go find it. The very fact that I sat down and finished this in three goes says it all for me. I loved everything it did. It's so, so much fun, and something that literally wouldn't work in any other type of medium. Achievements are very generous, too. I got 1000 points without trying.

The Good old days when (western) box art was largely unconnected to the game itself. But Japan was more on the money... Anyway, at time of writing I'm an hour at most away from the ending. So I should probably give some indication I've been playing anything at all for the past few weeks. Fun fact: I played this upon it's original release (1994) but never played the original game until the 2004 GBA remake. As you can imagine, I have a natural bias to the sequel. I still adore this game. Mostly I find the "jank" is associated to the control scheme. You have to pull up a menu to do just about everything. Every character can only hold four items (one of those is typically a weapon) and it just generally slows the whole process down. Funnily enough I've found the game wide secret largely on my own. Mithril. You find pieces of Mithril on the world map and in hidden treasure chests. There are fifteen in all. But there is an early point of no return in the game that means you can miss three of them. Those ones I always miss. Jump through a few hoops later and you reach the Mithril Blacksmith. Get ready to save scum if you want the best aka Ultimate weapons, though. The RNG is abysmal. The cast is quite expansive in this game. Which is quite standard for an SRPG. By the same token, a fair few aren't worth even using in your team at any point (points to Skreech, Birdman number two). You'll note from above some have alternate portraits. Due to the class promotion system in this game. There are also secret added items that grant some characters a new class promotion. For example, Kazim (sixth portrait on the top row). He can be promoted from Mage to Wizard at level 20. However, if you hold off on that for a town or two. You find a Secret Book which can make him a Sorcerer instead (this games Summoner). This applies to several classes of character. But you don't need to fret over it if you miss these items. The ultimate class promotion of the Centaurs is Pegasus. If you miss the item in the Centaur town. The Pegasus Jaro (the blond, seventh from the end on the bottom row) joins you by default later. Naturally, these characters won't be as strong as your initial characters would be in these classes. As an aside, much like the first game. I really don't get the fixation these games have with the Centaur class. There are five of them in this. Six or seven in the first game. There is very little between any of them. So yeah, on to my last two bosses of the game - Odd Eye and, King of the Devils, Zeon. I remember the latter being a chore. I've set the game to Hard mode. The 'Super' and 'Ouch' Modes beyond that seem really unnecessary to me. Since it isn't like you get anything extra for the added struggle.

I've played a few areas of this, and it's... alright. It's not funny or quirky enough for that to keep you playing, there's not a lot to the gameplay that that's the reason you're playing, and there's a few frustrations that pull some of the fun out of it. I do really like how the goose moves though The gameplay loop is that you're locked in to an area and have a list of dickish things to tick off. The first area is the one you'll have seen from the early footage, you're tormenting a gardener, so the list includes things like getting him wet, getting him to switch hats, making a picnic. Some are easy enough, walk up to an, sorry, waddle up to an item, press the button to pick it up, then waddle back off with it. Some you have to set up, do something to get your target to change position so they're vulnerable. It's here where it feels most like a stealth game, or a game akin to Gregory Horror Show or an adventure game, it's also where it's the most tedious Goose Game doesn't have the tells of a traditional adventure game, it doesn't spell things out for you, which might be for the best. It reminds me a bit of Doughnut County, that was a game that never really got complicated enough to get interesting, all style no substance, if Untitled Goose Game was any easier it would be a procession. That said when you can't work out how to do the next task it's a boring experience, I'm not sure if the game starts focusing characters on the actions that will put you on the right track, but it should. Beyond that the only other criticism I can level at it so far is that it can be a bit fiddly. If there's a couple of items that can be picked up, 99% of the time it will pick up the one you don't want

Hi guys. I wanted to draw your attention to a little indie game I discovered due to the good old Youtube rabbit hole. I was watching an old Caddicarus video, and he included this game in it. And it's a blast. You play a goose. That's it! Behind the very pretty hand drawn looking graphics is a stealth game, I suppose. You get a check list of things to do, but it's up to you how they get done. Here's an example of the start of the game. You come out of a bush beside a pond. The game shows you the controls. You honk. You flap. You peck. Then you swim across the pond and see a picnic on a park bench. What you do with it is entirely up to you. A little further along you find a farmer minding his own business, tending his crop of carrots. That's when you get your "things to do" list. Things like get the farmer wet, steal his keys, turn on his radio. As you progress through the game, you realise that the main point of being this goose is to annoy the hell out of the villagers as much as possible, while trying to complete you current things to do list. And if you're like me, usually you'll be giggling maniacally while playing. The art style is really nice, the horrible goose struck a chord in me, and the pranks are puzzles to figure out and moves to time and execute. Like stealing the farmers keys is more difficult than it sounds, especially if you've already pranked him, and he's aware of this bloody goose walking around his fields. Though the things to do are not exactly challenging, it certainly brings a sense of satisfaction to complete list after list. In all, it's a sedate laid back game with a horrid sense of humour. If you fancy leaving the things to do list alone for a bit, just have fun pissing off as many people as you can.

This is pretty great, it's a rhythm action game, it's a bit like an into-the-screen version of bit trip runner. you know, you have to press the buttons (it only uses the 4 directions and one button) in time with the music and on screen prompts, to get through the course/track thing. the music is i don't know really, i've heard it described as industrial, but it fits in really well with the game. it's hard to play when you're tired, i was on stage 8 for maybe 2 hours last night, got to the boss but was really struggling, had to replay some sections over and over, then more awake this morning i finished off the boss and did stage 9 with less problems. well not completely trouble free, it's a pretty tough game and level 9 is the last level. it's pretty long for a rhythm action game with only 9 levels, each level is quite long, and as above, can take hours first time through (the earlier ones don't take that long), also good job it saves at checkpoints and you can go back to it later. as you get better at it there's less retrying sections, so the levels will be much shorter i guess. i went back to the early levels to try and get better scores, there's quite a lot of depth to that as even though i've finished it i was missing out loads of stuff that you can safely ignore without being punished for. there's some high bars i still don't know how to hit, must be some sort of trick to it - these bars are above the track, so on one of the pad things you press up and x together to jump up to hit them, but you only stay in the air for so long, and some bars are past the point you fall back down... also it's pretty cool in virtual reality, i banged my head trying to look underneath the space beetle. oh yeah you play as some sort of space beetle.

Started this earlier. Put in about 2 hours and I think I'm 2/3 of the way through it It is definitely not the longest of games that's for sure. But you know what, it's actually quite fun. The story is hilariously po-faced. It's deadly serious, you have all Sonic friends in there (no Big the Cat though...) and they're all talking to one another like a bunch of cool animal pals, but also forming a deadly serious resistance against Eggman's forces who've taken over the World. It's nonsense and I can't take it seriously at all, at least they tried, I guess? But yeah, the levels themselves are pretty cool. You have the avatar levels, classic sonic levels, modern sonic levels, modern sonic + avatar duet levels and bonus stages. Avatar levels you can use a weapon - by pressing ZR - which allows you to plough through hordes of enemies, you also have a grappling hook which allows you to swing from hanging sphere to hanging sphere to get through a level. Classic Sonic levels is basically old school Sonic stuff like from Generations etc. no lock on, no boost and a bit more platforming. Modern Sonic has all that boosting, lock on, grind rails and more of an emphasis on speed. Lastly the Sonic + Avatar duet levels are like a mix of the Modern Sonic and Avatar elements mentioned above, you both work in tandem boosting through enemies, using the grappling hook and weapon, there's even this cool double boost thing which sends you into a batshit crazy-fast run but that's been pretty rare. The environs are classic sonic fayre, there's a chemical hill zone, a green hill zone, a casino zone and a zone that looks like that one from Sonic: Lost World - Mystic Jungle or some shit? They get repeated way too often, there's been some stages where I've had a double take - wait, I've been here before? - but you just kind of go with it and it'll always have some new spin to it or slightly different course. This may sound like sacrilege, but I always liked Sonic for the speed and not really for the platforming. This succeeds at that in spades, whenever you're boosting down a level, grinding on rails or generally going incredibly fast then it's an absolute ton of fun, it can't help but put a smile on my face. So yeah, very much in the Sonic Adventure mould, but less ambitious than that I'd say and at least you don't have to do fishing with Big the fucking Cat, so there's that. But yeah, it's not fantastic by any means, but if you can get it cheaply enough it'll give you an afternoon of fun at least.

I'm around six hours in so in the scope of these games that isn't much but I have some stuff to say I guess. So you play a kid in a Tokyo high school and some strange murders are happening and you and your friends who is trying to investigate it like a YouTuber would gets sucked into this world after Armageddon happens. Its posed to you that it's twenty years into your future and Tokyo is destroyed and buried in sand as well as demons hanging out pretty much everywhere. You also kind of fuse with a demon who talks like an android. There is a slight change of circumstances for our boy. I've spent all my time running around this glittery, sandy area so far; fighting demons and helping out some others. The areas are kinda big and make me think of Xenoblade Chronicles more than anything else. I say that because they have these hidden areas with fun secrets and are quite intricate. They're quite a bit smaller but they have similar ideas in how they're built. It's unexpected compared to the fourth game {and I'd imagine the ones before that} as they are dungeon based having you explore these tight areas. The other reason It reminds me of XC is there are tough enemies that are meant to be fought way later roaming around blocking areas and just generally keeping you on your toes. Exploration has this constant pressure though as the combat even with basic enemies can be dangerous if you don't have the right team so it can get a bit stressful when loads of enemies are around a place you want to be. Combat is still strong in this game as it was before because with the right attacks and spells you easily dominate a fight but the flipside is so can the enemy if you let them in. You essentially get another turn if you hit with a critical hit or hit an elemental weakness. This can be easy once you've found those weaknesses but going into a new area with new enemies or bosses make you try to stay safe while you experiment with different moves. I've been finding the game still pushes you hard into really thinking about using everything you can in a smart way. What's working for me so far for the boss I beat so far and harder enemies is having one of the last demons in my squad have a sleep attack so after I've got all my attacks out I just use that then they miss a turn and I can go through my bullshit again. Yes, you have a squad of demons. You have three in a fight and can carry six but that can increase as the game goes on so yes it is a bit like Pokémon. But here you can fuse two or more together to make new demons so that's what I've ended up doing so I can make room for more. But you don't catch them in a ball you have to talk to them and convince them to come with you. You have to try and asses what personality they'd have and basically tell them what they want to hear and bribe them. There's probably an optimal way of doing it but as long as I have enough stuff I just give them what they want and hope they aren't complete arseholes and just bounce {they've not done that yet here but I know it's a thing they can do}. Oh, and a tip; don't try to befriend a demon with a higher level than you because they don't come with you then, but I did have one situation where when I fought the same enemy in the same area it did come with me once I talked to it at the right level with no convincing. I don't have much to say about the story so far as its early and sploilers but it seems pretty typical of the series but I'm about to go to where some angels live so maybe things will start picking up there.

Guess it's time to make a thread, maybe? I don't actually have a lot to say because I started it ages ago but put it to the side for some reason. I think I was having a hard time as it's a little more difficult than the first one from what I remember. But I'd played it a lot more than I thought. I had six hours clocked and I thought I was half that in, at the most. After a little flapping around like an idiot while I got used to it again I started having a really good time with it like the first one. Dunno why I put it down. But I got towards the end and it looks like it has that same thing as the first one where you have to get a bunch of collectables hidden behind some hardcore challenges so I guess I'm gonna have to go and see all talented and big dicked enough to get the proper ending.

With my interest in PokéMon Violet at an end. As I'm in the mood to keep playing it, I decided to turn my attention on the third game on my Switch (following Violet and Metroid Dread). Considering, I have completely forgotten when I bought this. It's a little regrettable it has been sitting unplayed on here for so long. I adored the first game on the PS3. If they had released them on a console, it's likely I would have felt similar to 2 & 3. Now the main reason this game has essentially been in storage is due to it being a download. As this is the Switch, the size of this game forced me to archive all of my other Switch games. I recall being very annoyed by that and I left the console off until Metroid Dread. Fast forward to the present, I'm a little rusty but getting there. The importance of strategy in this series can't be understated. So far I'm roughly two chapters in. Basically the bit that was covered in the 2018 demo (I know this since my save data was retained) With two unlocked skirmishes, both 'A' rank. Although the story missions haven't been as successful (two B ranks), since the first (which was an 'A'). I'm getting as much enjoyment from it at the moment, as I did with the original. Waiting to see which one the cast will be the titular Super-Soldier. Not as clear cut as the first game yet.

Creating a thread for this as it seems like it might be quite a bit meatier than some other games I’ve played recently. Citizen Sleeper is the latest game from the developers of In Other Waters, which I played recently and was quite good. I guess like In Other Waters, it involves a lot of reading and clicking on various menus. Not quite a visual novel, but an adjacent genre I guess. You’re a “sleeper”, a robot of some sorts that escaped or survived some mysterious past and somehow gained sentience, which is apparently a big no-no, so shady characters are coming to put an end to you. You’ve wound up on some kind of space station called Havenage. Here you meet characters and complete tasks to achieve various goals. I can’t describe it beyond that. It’s too complicated. But it’s quite unique and intriguing so far. Based on what I’ve played of this, and In Other Waters, the developers’ (Fellow Traveller) focus is clearly on telling unique stories in unique settings, with an emphasis on mystery and the unknown.

Is there really no thread for this?! I started it last week. Still milling around and exploring and I am a few in-game days in. Usually running out of energy by 9am and left with little to do for the day. So far I found a couple of ways to avoid this and so spend a lot of time fishing and wondering if I should really just turn it off and do something else with my life It seems like a cute enough game, not like what I remember of Harvest Moon A Wonderful Life, man I loved that game. I can't decide if I like it and am also looking back to playing more. Time will tell.

Tinykin is a 3D platformer collect-em-up, reminiscent of something from the N64/PS1 era (but a smoother, more modern experience, naturally). You travel around the levels amassing a bunch of different coloured pikmin-like critters which have different abilities, solve some very light puzzles to complete a bunch of tasks to earn an object and open the way to the next level. It's cute and plays well, it just keeps you going without putting obstacles in the way of your enjoyment. It's nothing earth-shattering, just a simple fun game. I played it on game pass, starting on Thursday night, and completing it the next evening. It felt like time well spent.

I’ve been enjoying this game a lot. It’s a flower shop simulator. Not really. On the one hand, it’s a gentle puzzle game where people come to you with requests for certain flowers and you have to identify them from descriptions in a book. You also have a map of the area that you can interact with, and you are given hints about points of interest on the map that you should visit. The game seems to be set in a fictionalised version of rural England and there is a greater story and mystery going on that you learn about as you talk with your customers. So far, it’s been a very chill, well-designed game that is a nice change of pace from anything else I’ve played recently.

Made a start on this yesterday, but managed to put about 3 hours into it today. It really eases you into things, the game starts out really slow and for the first couple of hours I was just exploring the Trading Guild. You can't do anything else but chat to folks whilst you're here, you can't even shop at the many stalls until you progress the main story enough. Every few steps the game will pause and explain something to you. There's a brief Battle guide right at the very beginning then all through the Trading Guild segment it is explaining how quests work, what certain markers mean, how you can look up the controls, how to dive for salvage, stay at Inns and find treasure chests and shit. I do like how they've done this but I still couldn't help but be bewildered by it all, there is just SO much information to take in, it feels like you're reading a 10 page instruction guide at times. The tutorial stuff and information overload continues with the Battle system explanation. It explains the basics at the beginning, sure, but it gets ridiculously complicated the further you get into the game, drip feeding new mechanics to you as you reach certain story sections. It does this to avoid bamboozling you, but doesn't quite achieve it as I'm still confused about what certain combo's do and how to get various meters up - and keep them up - at the right times. It's a long-ass game though, I'm still in the tutorial almost 4 hours in, and I'm sure it will all become second nature, but at the moment it feels incredibly bewildering. The first thing I noticed about the game is the music - it is phenomenal. Just running around the trade guild there's a certain section on the track where some wind instruments come in that almost made me tear up a bit, and I was just running around the damn trade guild! The combat feels very simple at first, but gets more complex the further I got into the game, by the end the strategies needed will be pretty damn complicated I'd imagine. It auto-attacks enemies with you pressing some of the face buttons to do 'arts' which are like special attacks, once you get a 'blade' you can do blade arts, blade combos and stuff and there's a party meter up the top left which if you fill up you can do some gangster chain attack or something? But yeah, I still can't quite get my head around all that yet and just push buttons at random when I think I can affect a fight, all the enemies are very easy so far so I haven't had any issues doing just that. A lot had been made of the voice acting - I did download the JP voice pack, but have stuck to English for now - but I think it's all rather excellent really. The lead character - Rex - speaks with a midland-ish accent sounding a bit Yorkie at times, there's other characters which sound typically American anime but there's one other girl that's Welsh which I just absolutely adore the accent of and quite a few different Scottish accents. Most of the NPCs seem to have some variety of UK accents too. The writing has been pretty good so far, very Japanese/anime, but pretty decent all the same. The story purposefully starts off really slowly, but the end of Chapter 1 went fucking batshit crazy, it was like the finale of some other games I've played in the past, some truly crazy shit goes on there. I can't believe I ended up weeping just in Chapter 2 Don't want to ruin anything, but yeah, it sets things up perfectly, and ramps the drama up to 11 right out the blue, there's a mystery to the world and story already that I want to poke and prod at more. So yeah, I do like what I've played so far but it still feels like there's so much information I need to digest before I can feel fully comfortable with everything. It's damn beautiful too! I think this is the first game on Switch that I feel a bit reticent to play in tabletop mode. I still think it'd be great but to be able to appreciate the size of these worlds, see all the text and HUD info I kind of think you need to see it on a TV. Pics:

Fired this up yesterday and fought my way to the first map destination, and then into the introductory chapter. First things first, it looks, as usual, like a bit of a dog's dinner. I don't know what digital foundry were on about. To my eyes it's just as blurry, fuzzy and framey as any other Xenoblade game. Stick this on your big telly and it's rather disappointing, in my opinion. Not unplayable by any means, but a jarring step back from what I've become used to with the Xbox. You sort of have to 'tune in' to it. Once you've managed that, though, you can just fill your boots with the stuff Xenoblade always does well, gameplay, exploration, and a combat system that starts off basic, but has room (hopefully) to grow into the combo happy monster of the former game. Good news is I'm already thinking about the game when I've put the switch down. The characters are well done, but the narrative premise is instantly gripping. They've set up a really interesting plot, with much promise for twists and reveals, and epic heroism. If they deliver it could well be a most memorable adventure. Just a pity it's on the Switch.

Well this pretty much came out of nowhere. Like, I didn’t even realise it was out. I remember it being announced, but not much after that. The original Tales game was one of the best things Telltale came out with (Walking Dead peaked after their first season, and by the end was crap). I’m not an expert of the franchise, I’ve only finished 1 and 2, and some of the DLC. But that didn’t stop me from having a great time with Tales. So, now we have the sequel. Though it’s “episodic”, it plays out as one big game, giving you a break between episodes. I’ve just finished Episode 1. And so far, it’s off to a good start. The dialogue has been amusing enough. The story, which switches between 3 playable characters, seems solid enough. There’s zero puzzles, so you’re mostly down to making dialogue choices, and occasionally wandering around the area to trigger the next set piece. There’s a fair few Quick Time Events, but they’re easy enough. One review said that the hacking mini game is laughably easy. It is indeed, and makes you wonder what the point of them even is. It warns you “failure has repercussions”. But honestly, you’d have to put your controller on the floor, to fail them. The IGN review said the final episode is a train wreck, and almost ruins the game completely. We will see how that plays out. But so far, yeah, this seems decent enough.

I want my mummy... Spent a few hours with this through Game Pass (Xbox obviously)... think I played Innocence toward the tale end of last year and so far this feels nicely familiar. I'm up to Act 3, the first act being more or less a tutorial and the second playing pretty much how you'd expect. Things start harmlessly enough but it doesn't take long for things to fall to shit and the whole world wants Amicia dead for reasons... this time she can fight back a little more, she has a stealth attack and can knife enemies, I haven't got her Crossbow yet but like I say I'm only up to Act 3. You can also break line of sight and hide again if discovered, I can't remember if this was a thing in the first, if it was it was bloody difficult. Some of the views look stunning and so far it's played nicely... there's no performance or graphics mode so I'm not sure if it's locked to 30fps or not... think I saw somewhere that it's 40fps if your display supports 120hz (mine does so who knows) I ended up really liking the first so I'm looking forward to playing more of this.

So I've been playing the game that is, like many aging hair metal bands, is big in Japan (that 40 year old Spinal Tap joke is how I'm starting my impressions to this genuinely cool game). The only game played there now it seems. I'm probably not going to go on about the specifics of the game because you can just check the thread for the previous game but I'll just say what I've been up to. As a Splatoon Professional I've beelined right to the cool stuff and stayed there for now. That is 'Anarchy Mode (previously 'Ranked Matches')' and 'Salmon Run'. Since I have a Splatoon 2 save I was given three golden tickets which allowed me to buy weapons freely that are usually soft locked behind a level cap, the weapons I know I like which I know fit my play style for the Anarchy Matches. You see most will play the Turf War mode (the basic whoever makes the most mess wins mode) but as a Professional that mode holds little interest to me and I like the objective based modes in Anarchy Mode. One of the is Splat Zones which is basically King of the Hill; you have to keep a certain part of the map in the middle covered in your ink for a set amount of time so in this mode the fight is more concentrated and I like to use the GAL 96, a long ranged weapon that fires slowly with an ink sprinkler as a sub-weapon... well, I used to but it hasn't been working for me this time. I've found more success with the gatling gun class so I can just hang back and provide support more efficiently but maybe I'm still fucked if I get jumped by someone with a better short ranged weapon but as long as I'm smart we win. I do find these modes make use of the alternative weapons so much more. Playing Turf War just use the weapon best at coverage and that's it. You also have Tower Control; there is a small tower on the map that moves towards the enemies side of the map when you stand on it and once it gets to the end you won. I like to use a long ranged kind-of-grenade launcher for this, I forget it's name. it just means with good positioning I can easily eliminate those trying to ride the tower, but again, it's slow firing and bad at short range. It means I do have to rely on my team a lot, I gotta hope we have like a "sweeper" who keeps flankers off my back, because man, do some people just like using the brush class and ruining my day. This is a factor if we win or lose. Take up a role if you're playing this mode. There is also Rainmaker; there is a powerful weapon (but again, bad at short range) that has to be captured and taken into various points on the enemies side of the map. I tend to play this one a bit basic and use a slightly longer range version of the Duelies, a weapon I do tend to use for Turf War if I do play that mode. OK coverage and pretty good at killing and I like the quick step you can do: it confuses the idiots, but also sometimes messes me up, but I'm getting better at it again. They were introduced in S2 and they quickly became my old faithful. Finally there is Clam Blitz; it's a mode that was introduced post release in S2 so I hve the least experience with it. I remember being okay at it but this is the mode I'm struggling with. You collect clams spread around the map, get ten and they turn into an American football(🤷‍♂️) and with that you can break a barrier over a goal on your foes side of the map, and while the barrier is gone you can throw in individual clams. I suck at it and just take my Duelies and kill the enemy and hope my teammates know what they're doing. To be honest it still feels kinda unfamiliar because while the primary weapons all feel the same they're altered the sub-weapons and you special abilities you get after covering so much ground, those especially have been completely changed from the previous games so the dynamic and strats in these modes take some adjustment., I've found at least. But there is also Salmon Run; this is the horde mode with a bunch of boss enemies that drop collectables you have to take to a point to score while adds ruin your day. The more you rank up the more intense it gets and I think I've just got to the point it's interesting to play. I think it's harder than before since I remember being maxed out before and having less problems than now but I've still got some ways to go. A little change they've made is you can throw the collectable so you can pass it up to other players and that's useful at times and they've added some scenarios where you have to do it to be optimal. There's also a thing where the more you play the mode you make a giant salmon angry so a big salmon will turn up at the end and you have to throw the collectable at it to do damage, so you're dealing with this big mf'er stomping around while loads of boss enemies come, kill them, get collectibles and throw them at the big salmon. It gets intense. I've tried it twice and not killed it yet (definitely let down by my team the second smh). I've not tried the SP, I'm not super into it from the previous games (the last boss always rules tho) but I'll try it eventually. One of you's will have to say how that is.

It's hard to believe there isn't a thread for this already 🤷‍♂️ I picked it up for £6 a while ago and now I'm stuck at home with Covid (German regulations...) I thought I'd give it a go. It's great! I'm playing on Switch so I'm sure I have the worst graphical experience possible but it's really OK. I've spent around 6-7 hours with it so far and I think I'm close to the end section. I've decided not to push ahead for a while though, instead choosing to explore all the levels to see if I can build up my health a bit more. This is also partly because I hit what I find a difficult section with that I think I need to be a bit stronger for. That or just better with the controls... As it's so Metroid-y and now I have new ways of getting around, the older arears suddenly have a lot more to offer. My last session was purely exploratory and I found so much new stuff! The levels are brilliantly designed with secrets all over the place. It's also funny, if you click with the humour. The aliens are either useful or threatening, some of them seem brutal and hard to kill but with a bit of careful thinking I've managed not to get stuck so far. For the price I got it for, I would give it a clear recommendation 👍

I'm enjoying this so far. It's broken up in to chapter's, time periods really, with a new character in each. I presume at some point they all tie together in some way but I've not seen it yet. Some are more interesting than others and some are longer than others. The prehistoric chapter was humour filled fun, the Chinese one a more traditional story of master training student, and I really enjoyed that chapter. The Japan one I found a bit irritating initially, it can be a bit of a faff to get around, but it gets a lot more interesting towards the end. Combat wise, it's kind of traditional srpg tile based moves, so a ranged attack might only be able to hit 2 rows in front, magic can do AOE. There's affinities, with enemies being weak or resistant to certain attack type's, and status effects that go along with that. If your meter is full, you can only attack when it's full, then you can move around and potentially avoid attacks It's good so far, I think I'll actually finish it

I’m about two hours into this on the Switch. I’ve been playing the main game, haven’t tried the visual novel prequel thing yet. But I’ll probably play them concurrently. The game takes a few twists and turns early on, but nothing overly dramatic. So far, typical jrpg opening (as jrpg stories go). The combat is quite unique though. Enemies have elemental types and during battles there is an elemental field, which, depending on the elemental spells used causes certain elements to get stronger and the opposite type weaker. For example blue and red (water and fire) are opposites. If you use a blue elemental spell, the blue area of the elemental field (this is shown on the screen) will grow larger, and blue spells will become stronger and red spells weaker. One interesting tactic connected to this is when fighting enemies of different element types, their spells can antagonise each other, which can affect the order in which you might want to take them down. In addition to that, when you do a normal attack, you can choose between weak, medium and strong. Weak attacks have high accuracy and strong attacks low accuracy. Every hit that connects raises the accuracy of subsequent attacks. It’s up to you how you choose to string combos together. There’s more to combat than that but those are just a couple of interesting points.