RedShell

*looks up andor* It's a series? Yeah, that ain't happening then. Anyway, back to Star War- I mean, Doom. Got a few more levels under my belt, including one where you play as a giant mech slayer (which was good fun) it's like a gory version of the Impact stages from Goemon! And another where you ride around on a dragon (also fun, after inverting the flight controls ) so it's starting to pick up a bit. Definitely cool that there's so much gameplay variety so early on. 👍 The only issue with that is how the button mapping for dodging/parries changes from the on foot sections, which is a bit confusing.

Well, played through the first couple of levels. Not sure if I'm really digging it just yet though, the game feels very different to both 2016 Doom and Eternal. Hopefully it's just a case of having to get used to the new gameplay mechanics. Also, the cutscenes are a bit of a letdown so far. They're giving me a Star Wars vibe, and not awesome old school Star Wars, but rather, terrible modern (ruined by Disney) Star Wars vibe. Although it could very well just be that I'm coming into this right off of Expedition 33, which is basically a masterpiece.

Credits rolled for me yesterday, I feel like there was probably a lot of the final act that I missed out on, but just wanted to get to the conclusion of the story (which is really bloody good) so pretty much went straight for the final boss! Yeah, it's a shame that I kind of rushed through this one really as it's an utterly incredible game, the perfect combo of interesting narrative, stunning presentation and excellent gameplay, all wrapped up in a super stylish package! Perhaps I'll get to revisit it at a more leisurely pace at some point in the future. About the only negative thing I can think of is how the weapon menu always reverts to listing alphabetically, even after you manually set it to order by strength. Which is trivial I know, but did annoy me nonetheless. Actually, I personally found the acting also got slightly hammy towards the end of the game as well, but again, I imagine the majority of people won't have an issue with it, and to be fair the performances were amazing overall. Anyway, this is almost certainly going to be game of the year I reckon. It's currently mine*, but it's also the only 2025 release that I've played so far, so will be interesting to see if that's still the case later on in the year. *I'm thinking a certain moustached plumber in his gokart will have something to say about that.

No plans at the moment. I had a case for the original Switch, but didn't get that much use out of it as I primarily play in docked mode. Never got a screen protector for it, and thinking about that now, it's actually the first touchscreen device where I didn't, as my DS, DSi, 3DS, 3DSXL and Wii U all have one. So yeah, will wait and see if I end up playing Switch 2 a bit more in handheld mode (unlikely) before considering any of those extras.

Yeah, scratch that theory of mine. I got an email now too. *EDIT* Also scratch the 3 identical post I just made for some reason (which I think I've deleted) not sure what happened there.

Guessing it's because they have a crazy amount of orders to process, so they're just starting earlier than usual. It'll probably only be those that were invited to pre-order getting this email at the moment.

At the moment it's... Not sure, but if so, it definitely won't have been many, because I haven't fought many of any enemy! The only type that I know for certain I haven't fought yet is one of those round things that keeps running away (I assume the big EXP rewarding enemy of this game). I tried to catch it for a few minutes on one occasion because of the novelty factor, but then just gave up.

It really was... I'm probably only half way through at the moment, but I agree. I'd even say that people who aren't particularly fond of the genre could quite likely still enjoy this, as it's presented in a very streamlined and accessible way, not to mention such a high quality production all round. Super impressive for a debut title. 👍

I picked up a month of Game Pass last week, with the intention of squeezing in Doom: The Dark Ages before Mario Kart World arrives. But seeing as there was still a bit of time before Doom launches I began checking out other stuff that's available to play before then, that is, until I started playing this. Now it's become a case of trying to squeeze this in before Doom! Anyway, just reached Act II, and despite still not really knowing what the hell is going on I'm very much enjoying my time with this. Usually with games that have convoluted and cryptic stories I find it a bit frustrating, but I'm actually loving how this one has been unraveling so far, it's proper intriguing stuff. There have been some pretty unexpected and shocking moments in there too. It definitely does a great job at keeping you hooked, although it's also making me rush a bit in order to find out what will happen next, and I already have a tendency to avoid battles in RPGs (yes, I know, I'm playing them wrong ) so have found myself underpowered on a few occasions. Luckily, with the dynamic battle system and being able to dodge/counter enemy attacks, I can often rely on those moves to scrape through the tougher encounters. So yeah, didn't see myself playing another turn-based RPG right now, and certainly not enjoying one as much as this, but here I am. Good old Game Pass.

Ouch! My Switch is ever so slightly chubbier these days as well, but nowhere near to that extreme @BowserBasher! Unfortunate timing for sure (with Switch 2 being so close, yet so far away ) but it would probably be better to get that sorted out asap. Especially if you plan to system transfer.

Shocking performance from me tonight, especially during custom. That 2x KO to end the match as Roy was pretty sweet though, even if I do say so myself. Cheers guys, enjoy the rest of the games!

Yep, it's working now. Cheers.

What did you decide? I tried to order one, but apparently I've reached the maximum quantity allowed. Which is interesting, seeing as I blatantly haven't.

My Switch 2 hype levels are as follows: For Mario Kart World - 11/10!! Don't think this one really needs much explanation, it's Mario Kart, a franchise that I've absolutely adored since the SNES original. Not only that, but it would appear as if Nintendo have pulled out all the stops for this version, I mean it looks sensational! So yeah, I don't just want it, I NEEEEED it! justhookittomyveins.gif For the Switch 2 hardware - 7/10? This would almost certainly be higher (probably a 9 or even 10) had I not returned to gaming on PC a few years ago, but seeing as I did, the wow factor of Switch 2's technological improvements will definitely be taking quite a hit. Still looking forward to seeing Nintendo's own titles make use of the increased power though. For Nintendo's new pricing strategy - 0/10... I have a really hard time believing these increases are out of necessity. I mean, with the volume of sales that Nintendo games typically enjoy, there's no way they wouldn't continue being immensely profitable even if they stuck with the current game prices. It all just seems incredibly opportunistic and greedy. Has put a serious dampener on my excitement for Switch 2. So yeah, overall about 5/10, maybe. Could very well be the least hyped I've ever been for a new Nintendo system actually, which is nuts considering how good it looks. Don't have a pre order. I'll still attempt to pick one up at launch (purely because of Mario Kart) but if that's not possible, I think I'll survive having to wait. Will just have to remember to shield myself from all MK World gameplay/impressions, otherwise...

Yeah, it just seems like such a weak move though considering how much it immobilises you afterwards. I'm not a fan of how any of the Star Fox characters play really. Indeed. My frantic attempts to recover on the Yoshi's Story stage made that very clear. It doesn't help that Byleth is another one of those characters that I only ever play as via random select, so am very much lacking in practice with them. By the way, were you and @BowserBasher also experiencing crazy slowdown on some of the custom stage battles yesterday? It was weird on my end as it didn't seem internet related, more like the Switch itself was struggling to keep up, and none of those stages usually cause issues.

It might be getting a bit too hot for the poor old Switch already, not to mention for me. Dunno what the hell happened during the game when I was Wolf. 🥴 Also, is Byleth's recovery move completely poo, or is it just me? Oh yeah, "Ness pinball" during sudden death on my Kirby stage was proper hilarious. Cheers for the games.

@Glen-i, we playing this week?

Nope, only Dolphin on PC. Can still use official GCN/Wii controllers with it though so it feels mostly like playing on original hardware. I recently started dabbling with RetroArch as well, which provides more organised and visually appealing ways of sorting multiple systems/games, lots of options though, perhaps too many. Some fantastic filters on there also, including a few incredibly authentic looking CRT ones. I do like the look of that modded Wii U setup you posted, but no longer have the patience to get something like that up and running. Very cool though. Anyway, just to chime in on the topic of uninstalling games upon completion, as far as Switch goes, I mostly remove anything I've already completed. The games that I keep permanently installed are Smash Bros. Ultimate, Animal Crossing, Super Mario Maker 2, and the NSO stuff. Everything else has been archived. In fact, I don't think there's even enough space on my micro SD card to have everything installed simultaneously. I imagine I'll follow a similar routine on Switch 2. However, with the new exorbitant software prices, I might end up not having to delete anything at all.

Not sure how legit this list is, but these are apparently file sizes for the following Switch 2 titles: Pretty impressive compression if true. I'm currently in the process of doing this myself, just recently finished doing all of my GBA and GCN stuff (luckily there seems to have been no disc rot) and am moving on to Wii next. Was really chuffed to get all of my original save data backed up as well. The weeds in my Animal Crossing town though!

😍

No worries. I had a feeling Nintendo would have that stuff locked down. Shame about the Yakuza 0 port, huh? Not that it really concerns me, seeing as I already played it (and the rest of the series across PS and PC), but sounds like it'd be an unfortunate way for anyone who's new to Yakuza to experience it. Anyway, thanks for a fantastic write-up of the Switch 2 event!

If you're allowed to check out the system menu and can take a look at the Mii Maker, I'd be curious to know if there have been any changes or updates made to that. Anyway, have fun at the event!

I think it was crazy to show this in the same presentation as Mario Kart World, and (given the higher cost of Switch 2 software) even crazier to plan to release it in the same year as Mario Kart World. DOA if they stick to that plan I reckon.

That is messed up. Same here. It was a far nicer experience shopping there, had much more of an independent game store vibe, and the staff were genuinely interested in gaming and knew their stuff as a result.