Dufniall

@Ashley These two things look delicious, do you have the recipes? Sweet potato katsu curry Harissa chickpeas and sweet potato wedges Recently discovered harissa and I love using it in my couscous dishes.

Besides Super Mario 3D World, I haven't completed many games but I have been dabbing in a number of different titles on different platforms. Rocksmith Remastered (PC) I’ve been playing quite a bit of Rocksmith lately, after acquiring a big load of the DLC tracks. For those who don’t know Rocksmith, it’s basically Guitar Hero but with a real guitar or bass guitar. The difficulty increases when you play well, and that way you are learning to play the instrument and to play the songs. I got a second-hand guitar and I’ve been playing a bunch of the easier songs available which is a lot of fun! On bass guitar I’m a bit more skilled so it’s been a blast playing through a variety of songs. Inside (PC) I have finally played Inside, and I’m glad to finally have experienced it! It’s a tricky game to talk about without spoiling it. Gameplay-wise it is a pretty straightforward game where you can walk, jump and perform an action (grabbing stuff, flipping switches). The obvious thing to do is compare it with Limbo and I think Limbo has the better puzzles (they were a bit more complex as far as I can remember). Inside though has a bit more variety in gameplay, and wins in the atmosphere and graphics department. Story-wise it’s a pretty vague story, but I won’t go into it here. People who played it will know it and people who haven’t played should go in pretty blank I think. Small spoiler but not really a spoiler: It’s a pretty brief experience if you don’t go all out trying to find all the collectibles. In the end I only found 3 of those (out of the 14 or so) and the game took me about 3 hours. Definitely recommended, if you can get it in a sale you won’t lose much as it’s a short but bittersweet ride. Burnout Paradise Remastered (Switch) I never played the original (or any Burnout game for that matter, always was a Need for Speed guy for arcade racing). But I’m seriously enjoying my time with it! There is enough variety to keep it interesting, with different game modes, the secrets to find, cars to unlock and times and high scores to set. The DLC Surf Island is a great inclusion, it’s a more compact map but with a lot more verticality and I think I prefer it over the original city. The open world is both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand it’s great to be able to find your own route in a race, but I have on numerous occasions missed a turn or I just had the map wrong and then it’s game over. Online has been fun as well, I’ve played a couple of games with people from here and Discord. Online the variety is there as well, with the different missions, races, marked man or just messing around in the free driving mode. (Clownferret being an arse!) Plenty still for me to unlock so I’m keeping this installed for my racing fix. R-Type Dimensions EX (Switch) This was a bit of a disappointment. I bought R-Type in the last sale, because I have fond memories of the Game Boy version and this remake looked promising with the revamped graphics and the inclusion of 2 R-Type games. You can play both games in the original graphics mode (and matching soundtrack), or with modern graphics and audio. What’s cool is you can switch on the fly with a push of a button, during a play-through. What I often did is play in modern graphics but switch to classic every now and then to see how a boss or environment looks in the classic graphics. The disappointment comes from the fact that I just don’t enjoy the games. I think I can safely conclude that shoot-em-ups just are not for me, and especially these “unfair” arcade ones which are clearly made to replay dozens of times to learn the patterns. Luckily there is an infinite mode that has endless lives, otherwise I wouldn’t have made it past world 2 I guess. I just don’t have the reflexes or patience anymore to cope with these kinds of games. I will play through them again on full classic mode though, but after that this can go into the archive. Mario Tennis Open (3DS) I got a copy of Mario Tennis Open second-hand and I’ve been putting a bit of time in it. Played the minigames and unlocked the gold ones for those, and played some offline tournaments in singles and doubles. It’s a pretty entertaining game, but I can imagine that if you got this on launch for the full price it is a bit barebones. To be honest I have had that feeling with more of the Mario sports titles and I always felt they could just make a Mario Sports game (kind of like the Mario & Sonic Olympic games) and throw in 3 or 4 sports. What is there plays solid though, the option to do the highlighted power shots is pretty useful in the beginning but when the matches get a bit harder and I learned what button does what shot I started mixing it up a bit more. I’ll probably give it a couple of more whirls but I can’t be bothered to unlock everything. The Legend Of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes (3DS) I only put in a little bit of time in it, but just wanted to share my initial thoughts. As a single player game it is pretty decent, and the first few levels are okay but they didn’t really trigger me to play on. I got a The Lost Vikings kind of vibe from it, due to the switching between Links. I can imagine that when the levels get more difficult it will get a bit more hectic in single player though. The story is really quite forgettable though and a bit silly. I found a couple of games online as well and when everyone cooperates it’s great. But I was in a lobby with a bunch of freaking annoying people who would just run around at the end of a level refusing to step on the circle. Bloody awful. It would be cool if I could get a couple of you guys in to play it, because I think it’ll be a lot more fun that way! And I think it would be even better if the next multiplayer Zelda title throws in additional characters and not just Links. Hyrule Warriors has proven that playing other characters from the Zelda universe adds variety, so I hope we can one day see a Four Swords Adventure type of game where I can play as Link, Zelda, Impa, a Goron, and so on.

I once made cauliflower rice, and I threw the cauliflower in a blender if you have one, works wonders! I have something like this and the second bit is really useful for hacking up stuff:

Another entertaining episode! It's funny because when that very first Nintendo Switch trailer came out, I thought that beat-em-ups would be great for tabletop mode. As you're playing with 2 people on a small screen it would be a good fit since it doesn't require split-screen for co-op. How nice to see that the genre did make a revival (although not only the Switch is the reason for it). Mickey Mania was such a cool game! I remember playing it at a friend's house, and the black-and-white start on Steamboat Willy was great. Still, The Magical Quest will remain my favourite Mickey Mouse game. Another Disney game I played a lot was The Jungle Book, also from Virgin I think. And Aladdin I rented a couple of times back in the day. As for a modern revival. I would love to see the real-time-strategy genre make a proper comeback. Games like Command & Conquer, Red Alert, Starcraft and Dune 2000. Another genre that I loved when I was younger but haven't played in a while as I feel that there have been no good releases in it is the point & click. Although you could argue that maybe the walking simulator is kind of filling in this gap. Desert Strike/Jungle Strike is a great shout, loved these as a kid and wouldn't mind a remake of that. Speaking of helicopter games, Choplifter II on the Game Boy, I have fond memories of that but no clue if that holds up.

I found out that with a firmware update the Steam Controller supports bluetooth. So over the weekend I've been messing about with that combined with Steam Link and my phone, and it works pretty decent. Streamed a couple of games from PC to my phone that way while playing with the Steam Controller. It's pretty weird playing high graphics games like Killer Instinct or Shadow of the Tomb Raider on your phone! So my next step will be to see if I can make Epic Store games work through Steam Link streaming. I have a number of indie games on the Epic Store from the weekly free claims, but I prefer to play in the living room on the couch instead of in my work room where the PC is. Also the misses often uses the TV so being able to play handheld would be pretty sweet. That way I won't have to buy all those indies on Switch to play handheld. If I can get that to work I'm going to try to find a fitting phone mount for the Steam Controller. There are a few 3D print models out there like shown below, but I think on Amazon there are options made for the XBox/PS controllers that fit on the Steam Controller as well. And with that I should have the option to play my PC library anywhere! Edit: I followed the guide on this website and it works! I can now launch Epic Store games through the Steam Link app and they run. Gave Abzu a quick test and so far so good.

When I saw the throw at 1:17 I knew all was good. Looks like a Turtles in Time 2 and if it is anything close to that (with online coop) this can't go wrong!

I'm thinking about giving it a go although I'm not wanting to invest time in another f2p multiplayer. Also it would require some software archiving as the download is pretty hefty. Anyone tried it? How is it running on the Switch?

Finished listening, and thanks for answering the question! Some cameos there that you mentioned I didn't know existed, so cheers for that! Liked your suggestions as well: For a Nintendo Kart, I'm on the fence for something like that. It may become too much of a parody, seeing characters like Samus or Captain Falcon folded up in a kart. Link already looks weird in MK8. But maybe if they abandoned the karts and go for more general rides (Captain Falcon in his Blue Falcon, Samus in her ship, Kirby on a Rainbow Ride/Star kind of thing) that could work. Because they are already going down that road with the inclusion of Link, Villager and the F-Zero tracks in 8. Commercially it could be a success like Nick said. I really like the idea of a Zelda-themed strategy game. It would worked so damn well, basically you can just copy/paste the Zelda universe on a Fire Emblem game and done. A sailing (mini)game sounds awesome as well. Would be full of charm and could make a great spin-off title. I've yet to play Link's Crossbow Training but fleshing that out and making it an on-rails shooter is something I wouldn't say no to. Things that popped in my head: An action/adventure in the style of Ninja Gaiden or Bayonetta. Story of Seasons X Zelda, tending to your own Lon Lon Ranch while questing out in caves and dungeons. Tingle's Theathrythm with crazy dances and Zelda songs. Or a Zelda title (not necessarily a spin-off) set closer to present times, throw in steampunk technology. You could say that was already in BOTW with the Divine Beasts, but they could take it further. Thanks for another enjoyable episode, I hope to get it on YouTube today! EDIT: Here it is.

Thanks for answering my question, I'm curious to hear what you think! I'm not there yet though, but here is my shot at the transition tune:

I placed my pre-order last week and after yesterday's showcase I can't wait! Not the greatest of presentations with them rehashing all previous info, but the overall picture is looking great. The Rampage looks to be a proper tower defense mode, and it's nice to have a dedicated single player. Free post-game DLC is always welcome, and I hope we will see some free cross-overs with other franchises as well. The worlds look good and it's nice to see a swamp return a la Flooded Forest from MH3. It does look like the regular grass/fire/ice/desert mix so not that inspirational. Drop-in drop-out online is a gift of the gods, because joining a lobby where people just started on a 40 minute quest is no fun at all. The only downside is that communication will still be a bit flawed without voice chat. I tried using a USB keyboard in the demo and at least that works.

I always use dekudeals.com. It tracks eShop and physical prices and also DLC is listed. If I look up the Fighters Pack vol.2 for the UK there (you can select regions) it's discounted at ShopTo.

Totally unrelated but seriously, why is every YouTube video thumbnail a picture of the host with an awkward facial expression nowadays?

Yep, some potential candidates got crushed there! And some great moments again with Sakurai. Yes, you want those statues to take a look at how the bottom of a foot looks like. We get you.

For those who missed this ehrm... thing:

If you want torture like that you can always ask @Sméagol to hammer up some levels in Mario Maker 2.

5 minutes in but I'm already going to give a crack at the transition tune:

Wait, so it's pronounced Arkeus and not Arseus? Who knew!

There are not that many arcade racers on the Switch, let alone open world ones. So it's great to see that Burnout Paradise Remastered came to the Switch last year. Initially it was way too expensive, but the price dropped permanently to €29,99/£24,99, a much more acceptable price point. Currently it's 50% off making it €14,99/£12,49, and I know that was enough for certain forum members to take the plunge (including myself). I don't have any nostalgia for the series but I know it was a big deal when the original came out originally. I caved for this price, because I was in the mood for a no-nonsense racer (and this got a discount sooner than my other potential candidate NFS Hot Pursuit). So who here dares to admit as well that they are craving this EA game? The main reason for opening this thread is because it would be cool to set up some online races. I played an hour or so with @BowserBasher yesterday and even 1v1 it was already very entertaining. I can only imagine 8 people online and voice chat on the side would be amazing!

Here's some footage of how Tony rolls on the Switch:

A video comparing the Wii and Switch graphics has popped up:

This is a tricky topic for me to give input on, as I don't have any accessibility problems myself so I can't speak from experience. Sure, I have had issues with subtitles being to small or weird contrast/colour choices, but that's from poor decisions in the game itself. I'll try to give some of my feelings per subject: Visual: Colour-blindness is indeed quite common, but like you said there are quite a few different versions of it. It's hard to imagine how colour-blindness is experienced. In your case, would it work for example to play a game in greyscale? Shapes can be a great help. We have Ticket To Ride and at first I wondered where the were for, but then it dawned on me and it's clever! I can imagine this should be an option on match-3 kind of puzzlers, just slap a shape on a colour. Should be an easy fix. But making different filters for different kinds of colour-blindness, or even a mode for blind people, it's something I'm sure not every developer can or wants to dish out the resources for. It's a costly thing for a small target audience. Maybe the colour-blind filters can somehow be integrated in the game's engine so at least all games on the Unreal/RE/Frostbite engine can have it by default. Audio: First: I can't imagine playing a game without the audio. It's like watching a movie with the sound off. Sure, maybe play the occasional hour of Animal Crossing or grind a bit in a game but for the rest I want my audio. As a non-native English speaker I think subtitles should always be an option, and it's the least they can do from an accessibility point as well. But after that it gets difficult; how far should a publisher go? Hearing-impaired kind of subtitles (stuff like [ocean rustles in background]), coloured subtitles to differentiate different speakers. In shooters it also matters if sound comes from the left or right, should they implement visual cues for this as well? Again it's a trade-off between the demand and the resources it is costing a developer. Control: I agree Microsoft's adaptive controller is great. Since it is more an overall tool than a Microsoft product, and each PlayStation and Switch dock has a USB port, they should just integrate the drivers into their software. With regards to button remapping, it's now an option on the Nintendo Switch. Button mashing I'm on two legs; on the one hand I can see how it's difficult if you for example have less strength or reflexes in your hand. I personally don't like the ones where I have to maniacally flick a control stick because I don't want to bust it haha. On the other hand a sudden button mash trigger does add to the tension in a game, and it is a fair gameplay mechanic. Luckily the 90s already had a solution: the turbo switches! How do you feel about easy combos in for example fighting games? Dragon Ball FighterZ for example has easy combos/auto combos. I'm on the same two legs there. It takes away the feeling of mastery, but it does make the game more accessible. Difficulty This is one where I would really leave it to the developers. They make a game with a certain difficulty and target audience in mind. If they want a game that is accessible for everyone make it easy or with different difficulty options. If they want to create a challenging game not everyone can finish, it's up to them. And if it's a game where you want to experience the lore but the game is too difficult, well that's too bad. Luckily YouTube is full of play-throughs so you can catch up there. That said, Tomb Raider's 3 different difficulty system is pretty darn clever. As a general conclusion, there are definitely things that are easy to implement that can increase the accessibility of games but it can be a costly thing, especially for smaller devs. Maybe standardized mechanics in the bigger engines or the hardware systems can help. But there will always be people who are left out and won't get the full experience. It's easy for me to say as I don't have accessibility problems. But I'm a short guy, and I've experienced concerts where I could hardly see the stage because tall people would be standing before me. I know this happens and I accept it, instead of for example petitioning they should sort concert audiences on length and let the short get in first. You can't cater to everyone. Start making a game that is accessible for the blind, deaf, handicapped, and even then you will get comments that it is not inclusive on a different level.

Octopath Traveler came out on PC as well, and it supports a max of 3440x1440p on that. So it can also be a case of already preparing for a port to PC of Triangle Strategy.

A Shiny Toxtricity event is currently running through a variety of outlets. No UK yet though. Just put in my details on the Dutch Game Mania website, it was the same method as with Zarude last time. From serebii.net:

Just a reminder that the Digital Deals sale is live. I probably won't buy too much, but I did just pick up R-Type Dimensions EX for 50% off.