Your 2025 Gaming Diary

[Jonnas]

1 hour ago, bob said:

Man, i'm in such a state of gaming ennui right now. Even when i have a spare 20 minutes of time to myself, the thought of firing up the Switch or PS4 to play a game seems like such a mountain to climb, which is ridiculous. I see all the fun games that others are playing, and all the cool announced games, and I feel left out that i don't get to play, but when I actually get the opportunity to play something - I can't be bothered.

I'm not sure how to dig myself out of the rut. One issue might be that all the games I have on my backlog are on there for a reason - that i don't really want to play them and that's why i never have. But i can't really justify buying new ones when I might never play them either, or that i've got all these unplayed games laying around.

 

Anyone else going through similar?

Yes, actually. Mostly, I have the itch to play something, but all I can muster is something "comfortable". You'd be surprised at how often I'd rather just feel the rush of landing an easy combo in a familiar fighting game, or fill out a couple of Picross puzzles, rather than trying out even a simple platforming game.

Adulthood (or rather, all the multiple responsibilities, occupations, and projects that it brings) does that to us.

[Hero-of-Time]

3 hours ago, Jonnas said:

Adulthood (or rather, all the multiple responsibilities, occupations, and projects that it brings) does that to us.

Yup. It sucks. You usually have the money to buy games but have neither the time or energy to enjoy them. The complete opposite of when you were a kid.

@bob A Short Hike is currently on sale on PSN for £3.89.

[Glen-i]

OK, is Adam Robinson-Yu paying you all to flog his game?

Because I want in!

[Hero-of-Time]

3 minutes ago, Glen-i said:

OK, is Adam Robinson-Yu paying you all to flog his game?

Because I want in!

Just spreading the good word about a great little game. Gotta do that these days when so many great games get buried amongst the trash.

[drahkon]

On 4/7/2025 at 2:42 PM, Jonnas said:

Yes, actually. Mostly, I have the itch to play something, but all I can muster is something "comfortable".

Currently having the same "problem"  

Don't have a lot of time (and motivation) to play video games and when I do, it's usually a run of Slay the Spire: Downfall or a few hunts in MH:W  

Hopefully Blue Prince tomorrow will get me back. But then again, I will leave for Spain in two weeks and I'll be out of town here and there until then, so...doesn't look good.

 

Anyways, decided to say "I'm done with Voidigo" after playing it for a few more hours on a train ride recently.
It's a decent rogue-lite. Gameplay is quite good, but somehow it never clicked.  

[BowserBasher]

 

Well where to start.

Right so next to remembering what I saw in Nintendo magazines, I really didn't know a lot about this. It was some kind of shooter with a robot or android, or so I thought at the time, clearly it's a woman in a suit. I've always wanted to play as it seemed like it could be a good game.

Well my view has changed a fair bit now. I played through on easy just to get an idea of what it's like and to see if I would want to do anything else. First up, OMG what are those controls!! So you move the stick forward to move forward like any sane game, but then if you move the stick left or right it rotates your character, ugh. Who thought that was a good idea. It took me a while to get the hang of it a bit. Oh and the C tick is used to camera changing but it's very limited. You can look up, down and left or right a bit. It's not free roaming but does it in stages. And then only one or two. Once you get used to the movement it does get a little better, but it's still hard to just run forward and turn, it's just so awkward. The Z button does let you do a 180 turn but you forget it's there. Shoulder buttons are left and right dodges, but I changed to B controls which put them on X and Y. Just felt easier.

 

Right so not knowing about it, I had thought it was a story driven game where you took control of this woman and played through levels to do whatever was needed. Nope, not really. In the end there was about 10 or 11 "levels" (I lost count and you'll see why) in which you make your way through shooting enemies and trying to get to the end. Sounds good, right. Well after level 3 it becomes very repetitive. 

This pretty much is what you'll be seeing the whole game. corridors after corridors. Each room will have a number of enemies spawn at certain points and your job is just to get to the door at the end. your suit lets you shoot some kind of energy shots from it and this is pretty much it. You can dodge and jump as well as each suit having a special move too. As you can see targeting is automatic but you can change it with a button. 

So, enter room, shoot, get to door. That's it. Throughout the game there were probably half a dozen different types of enemy who you encounter time and time again. There were some boss fights, I think 6 in total but again these were reused and at least two of them were the same boss just a little bit harder. I know that can be common but these just didn't seem any different. Even the final boss was a bit of a let down in the end, just shoot the targets whilst dodging. 

You can upgrade your suits and get a few new ones, but they seem to take a lot of money to do and I guess you get more on the harder difficulty levels, I really didn't have much trouble with the first couple of suits upgraded. Even those didn't seem that different. I'm guessing three levels of defensive suits, offensive and all round ones.

Each level starts with a briefing from a strange person you don't know, you're just asked to do certain things. Which is basically kill this machine, and later levels, I've opened this door you couldn't get through earlier, so go that way". these aren't even voice acted, just text. Which is odd cause there are two cutscenes in the game which do have voice acting. 

The story just seemed to be next to nothing, there was a moment nearer the end when you encounter something that is intriguing and could go somewhere, but then it's just left to a line in the final cutscene to say what it was. the whole thing just felt flat. And what was with the dancing?? Your character is always bobbing her head, tapping her feet, but it doesn't seem to add anything to the gameplay. Even moving backwards she does a fancy twirl, but again nothing adds to the gameplay with it.

It's a shame as this game could have been a lot better than it was. I guess in the end it's just a score attack game in which you can try to beat your score if you want. But honestly I'm not sure why you'd want to do that in this game, It all seems bland.

(Yes I figured out the widescreen hack near the end)

 

I'm glad I never did get this on GC as I feel I would have been disappointed. Yes that's only playing on easy mode, but 2 and a half hours.

 

4/10

Way too samey gameplay over and over.

 

Updated list. (Yes I did desaturate P.N.03's box art. It was already bland and white to begin with)

 

 

[Cube]

@BowserBasher I had some similar thoughts, everything looks the same and the dancing aspect seems to only exist so the main character wriggles her butt, no gameplay related to it at all.

[Nolan]

The only game of the Capcom 5 to stay exclusive I believe….and once you play it, it makes sense why it wouldn’t receive a port. 

The good that did come of it though is I think it was effectively a bit of a prototype to Vanquish. 

[Hero-of-Time]

Earlier in the year, one of my favourite indie titles received a PS5 patch. This meant another trophy list was on the cards and so I decided to playthrough it again. It's crazy to me that it was back in 2020 when I first played through this. Feels like only a couple of years ago instead of the five that it actually is.

I don't think my thoughts on the game have changed that much. It's still an absolute piece of work and feels so good to play. The platforming is so tight and responsive, and the boss fights are very clever and memorable. Just like Toem, the game also came with the free DLC and so I played through that again as well. The game is definitely up there with the likes of Hades, A Short Hike, Blaster Master and Bloodstained as a top tier indie games from last generation.

[nekunando]

 

[nekunando]

Life is short and I've already wasted too much of it on Sonic Superstars 😕

Aesthetically, it's definitely one of the more appealing Sonic games for me but I don't feel like I'm having any fun.

I get that the lack of lives provides more freedom for exploration and experimentation but I find that it just takes away most of the jeopardy and everything just feels inconsequential as a result.

The game itself should be pretty short to see the credits so I do plan on finishing it before I sell it on but the last couple of weeks have solidified more than ever the feeling that less is going to be more going forward.

The library of games I build on Switch 2 is likely to be MUCH tighter than on the current Switch. The cost of games and the potential stresses of going all digital will contribute to that, too!

[Hero-of-Time]

On 4/15/2025 at 12:06 AM, nekunando said:

 

This was one of those indie games that got a stupid amount of praise but I couldn't see why. I finished it but found it to be very boring/bang average. You're right though, it's a game you can't really drop. If you don't finish it now and try to come back to it later you will probably have to start from the beginning again.

Shame you didn't get on with Sonic Superstars. I loved it and had more fun with it than Mario Wonder.

[drahkon]

45 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

This was one of those indie games that got a stupid amount of praise but I couldn't see why. I finished it but found it to be very boring/bang average.

Same here.

One of the most overrated games I've ever played. Slightly behind Undertale.

[nekunando]

34 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

This was one of those indie games that got a stupid amount of praise but I couldn't see why. I finished it but found it to be very boring/bang average. 

I've suffered a few too many of those over the years, unfortunately 😕

I think I paid maybe £11-12 for it in a sale a few months ago but it feels like I'll just have to write that off. My time is worth more than the hours of tedium it would take to see Tunic through to the end.

As for Sonic Superstars, if you're interested in replaying levels, hunting for medals, grabbing all of the chaos emeralds and exploring every path then I'm sure there is probably something in the game form you.

I personally don't feel any desire to revisit any of the stages and I don't think the bonus stages are particularly enjoyable either.

Also, what was the deal with the Sand Sanctuary boss?! I must have spent close to 10 minutes going through cycle after cycle of weak enemy attacks trying to figure out how to inflict damage myself before ending up on YouTube yo find the answer.

Going by the comments on the video I watched, I definitely wasn't the only one disgusted by the games lack of direction with that particular part!

[nekunando]

I never really like long, drawn-out boss attack phases where you have to wait ages before you can attack so I was praying I wouldn't make a mistake on the final boss in case I had to repeat that whole rigmarole again 😅

 

[Glen-i]

2 hours ago, nekunando said:

I never really like long, drawn-out boss attack phases where you have to wait ages before you can attack so I was praying I wouldn't make a mistake on the final boss in case I had to repeat that whole rigmarole again 😅

As much as I like this game, yeah, the final boss sucks. When I got to the second phase the first time, I was terrified of dying because I was worried I'd have to repeat that first phase again.

Thankfully, I nailed it.

[Hero-of-Time]

Big fan of the first 2 games and so picked this up in a recent sale to complete the trilogy. It's more of the same, with cat puns being a major part of the writing and hack and slash gameplay returning.

The setting of the game has you playing as a pirate and so there are now ship battles to take part in. It's nothing too complex and it gives the game an extra dimension.

I also played through ESWAT on the Switch.

This is a childhood favourite of mine, although I have no idea how I finished back then. Like a lot of Mega Drive games, the difficulty can be pretty be unforgiving at times. Needless to say, the rewind button got a lot of use whilst playing this.

[Cube]

Split Fiction
 

• Release Date: 6th March 2025
• Developer: Hazelight Studios
• Publisher: EA Originals
• Platform Played: Xbox Series S
• Platforms Available: PC, Xbox Series, PS5, Switch 2

 

Split Fiction is the latest two player co-op from Hazelight Studios. The developers started this journey with Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons – which was a co-op game designed to be played by a single person controlling both characters with a single controller, and somehow managed to get emotion out of how you control the game. A Way Out started the full on co-op, a game that can only be played with two players. This one also started the trend of their games being played entirely in split screen, even if you play it online.

 

 

It Takes Two was where their big success was, winning multiple Game of the Year awards and selling extremely well, even with its generous nature of letting player 2 join a friend online without owning the game. It was made up of lots of varied segments which changed up the gameplay and had each player working together by performing different tasks. Split Fiction doesn’t deviate from this formula, but it does refine it a lot, alongside doing a load of new things within the formula.

 

 

The game stars Mio and Zoe, two aspiring writers who hope to get their work published. They turn up at Rader Publishing and find out that the deal isn’t quite what they expected, as it involves being connected to a mysterious machine. Mio refuses to participate, but ends up getting pushed into Zoe’s bubble and joining her simulation, which starts causing glitches. In order to escape, as well as to save their ideas from being stolen, they must work together to find more glitches by completing their stories.

 

 

Mio works with sci fi, while Zoe works with more traditional fantasy. The main chapters alternate between these genres, each one telling a story which relates to their lives in some way, you discover their past through these stories. Both characters are likeable with plenty of depth with engaging stories, both their real world tale and their fictional stories that you play though.

 

 

The main movement mechanics are kept the same throughout the entire game (other than a few specific sequences), the girls both have a double jump and a dash that can also be performed mid air. They also have a grapple to latch onto specific targets. The platforming feels very precise and a ton of fun, and allows for some enthralling chase sequences. The rest of the mechanics differ throughout the game, and are often different for each character.

 

 

Ok the first main sci-fi chapter, you play as cyber ninjas. Mio has a gravity sword which allows her to use special tiles to shift her gravity to walk on the walls and ceiling. Zoe, on the other hand, has a gravity whip that lets her manipulate and move objects. Meanwhile, the first fantasy chapter gives both players two transformations each. At one part of the game I was even excited because I got to be “Banjo-Kazooie” Quite often, you’ll have to manipulate the world to allow for each other to progress.

 

 

Split Fiction does err a bit on the easy side, option more for the odd brain teaser or tricker short platforming segment. Chase sequences are nice in that a player will respawn next to the other if they die (although you go back to a checkpoint if you both die) and when in bosses (and other combat scenarios), there’s a short quick time event to respawn to add a bit of tension to it, although bosses are also kind in that they often have checkpoints part way through them.

 

 

Throughout the main levels you’ll also find portals that lead to side stories. These are short segments based on unfinished ideas of the main character. They’re completely optional, but I have no idea why anyone would willingly skip them (although there is one that is easy to miss, although there’s a handy chapter select to find it after finishing the game). These are filled with magical moments, with some surprising dark turns, beautiful journeys, some playgrounds for a nice change of place or even a bit of competition, such as a level that plays like an SSX game.

 

 

This all culminates in a final chapter which is just too good to go into detail about, it does amazing things with the dual genre idea as well as with the split screen. This final chapter does things which are so impressive that this is the first game of the Series/PS5 generation which feels like it truly takes advantage of the technology and doesn’t just seem like a slightly nicer looking PS4 game. It also looks stunning without needing to use demanding graphics processes, which means that the only compromise the game makes for the Series S is that it runs in 1080p. It’s truly wonderful how astonishing and advanced the game looks and feels.

 

 

If I had to give a flaw for the game, it’s that I wanted more. I wish that each chapter and side story was its own complete game. Not that Split Fiction is a short game, each chapter is a few hours long and the side stories are a great distraction, but some of the ideas seem too good to just be used for a single section. It still helps the game feel incredibly fresh the entire time, though, and it’s easily become one of my all-time favourite games. If you can get someone to enjoy the journey alongside you (either locally or online, I immensely recommend it. I’m certainly looking forward to playing the game with the roles swapped around.

 

10/10

[BowserBasher]

No More Heroes

 

And that's another one down.

I bought this and NMH2 in a sale on the eShop probably like 3 or 4 years ago (maybe more). I started playing this and I think I maybe got to about the 3 fight. Must have been a new game came out as I never went back to it, so thought this was a good way to go back and finish it. I decided to just start over again this time.

Before, I was using the joycons and using the motion controls but found out that it does support the pro controller so thought Id give that a go so I wasn't waving those around, and I have to say it felt just as good playing with pro controller so I just did that.

If you've played these then you'll know that, I guess the main selling point was the excessive blood and the language, along with the sexual references. 

I kept thinking of this throughout.

Right the main story is you are an assassin and your task is to make it to the number one spot. there's 10 people above you and you take each one out. Whilst there is some variety to each part, they pretty much come down to, get the money to enter the fight, fight some cronies on your way to the boss and then defeat said boss. You then climb up the ladder towards becoming number 1.

The only issue with this is that each one does start to feel like it is just a slog to get to the main part which is the fight. Each bit before was vey similar. However there were a few exceptions which mixed it up a bit.

In between these there is the city to explore but there's not an abundance of things to do. Mainly assassin mission where you are tasked to beat a set number of guys or take out the main guy in a sea of others. Thee are what you will keep going back to to get the entry money for the main story levels. Or at least I did, and once you get more opened there are one or two that you can just go back to over and over to grind that money. The only problem with this is that you need to go to one place to select it, then travel across the map to get to the place to start the mission. Then you need to redo all that if you want to do it again.

You can of course use the sops and places in the city to up grade your weapon and skills though I didn't feel that it really did much. It doesn't feel much of a change. There's tons of clothing to find and buy, moves, and a few other hidden things but again not really needed to progress from what I found.

So slug on, beat a ranked match, get the money, beat the next. There were a few matches that gave me a bit of a problem, but after turning the game off and then trying another day I was able to beat them first time. IT comes down to figuring the patterns and just hitting them when you can.

One thing I did like was it had a twist ending that I didn't see. Nice there, but also it seems there is more, or a true ending that I didn't seem get. Once you beat the boss, you get the cutscene then get sent back to a save where you can clear the data for what seems to be a new game +. It puts you back at the start with all your items in hand, so I guess yo just play through again. Maybe I missed something to get the true ending though.

 

Overall, Im sure these games were considered really good. However I just didn't get that from them for my playthrough. It felt like it was just 10 chapters all doing mostly the same thing. And combos were really just button mashing the X or Y with an occasional B to try to do one of the suplexes. 

7/10

Still think it deserves a 7 for just being so what is was for a Wii game.

 

Updated list. 

I have recently been using up my gold points on the eShop in the recent sale so may take a break from this list to play a few of those. I guess they will show up here too.

 

[bob]

So i've not got very far with BOTW2 - I kind of got bored with it and stopped playing.

______________________________________________

I did however buy A Short Hike following H-o-T's recommendation. I've played a couple of sessions on it, and it's pretty good! It's kind of like if Animal Crossing were a platformer/puzzle game? I haven't finished it though - but i hope to soon.

_____________________________________________

Another game that I played was Far Cry 4.

This is a game that I bought many years ago, shortly after I played the 3rd one i think, and it has sat in the wrapping under my TV the entire time. I finally had an hour to spare, and decided to try it out.

It's a charming game (completely different to the 3rd one - that came as a surprise), and it ended up quite emotional. It's about a son whose mother dies, and her last wish is to have her ashes scattered in her home country. So you go on a journey to fulfil her dying wish, eventually placing the ashes next to her daughter's ashes (your half sister) at a shrine. Like I said, it's quite a tear-jerker. Bit short though.

Anyway, 3rd game struck off my pledge list!

Edited Friday at 02:17 PM by bob

[Glen-i]

Quick one to mention I played through Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin again, much like Order of Ecclesia, I played through one of the alternative character modes, called Richter Mode.

Richter Belmont goes to tackle Dracula and his haunted fun castle with his handy-dandy whip and stuff he used in his previous game, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. But this time, he's brought along his greatest weapon yet.

An 8 year old girl!

Because Portrait of Ruin's whole schtick is having two characters to control, Richter brings along Maria Renard (Thanks for the name, Vampire Survivors!). Maria is stupid OP! Apparently, this is nothing weird, she seems to be well known for being really OP. She melts bosses with birds and dragons!

Anyway, that's that. But with my newly acquired Metroidvania experience, I decided to revisit an entry from the Advance Collection that I dropped.

Castlevania: Circle of the Moon (Titled as simply "Castlevania" in the EU, confusingly) is a GBA game developed by Konami in 2001. I played it on the Advance Collection that released in 2021.

By the way, I forgot to take screenshots during this game. Just so you know.

Nathan Graves tags along with Morris Baldwin, and his son, Hugh Baldwin, to go give Dracula a swift beatdown after getting ressurected for the... who knows how many times? Dracula gets rid of Nathan and Hugh by knocking them into a pit. Tried and true, but Dracula forgot that this is not an old-school style Castlevania game, so Nathan and Hugh are fine. Anyway, Nathan has a whip, so it's up to him to get back to Dracula and whip him. Whip him good.

This game is weird compared to it's contempories. It's a Metroidvania, but Nathan controls incredibly stiff. Not quite as stiff as the NES Castlevania games, but it's not pleasant going back to this after playing 4 other titles with far smoother movement. A lot like the NES titles, Nathan also has sub-weapons like the cross, and holy water. The problem is, unlike Portrait of Ruin, Nathan can only hold one sub-weapon at a time, and you change which one you have by finding them in candles. It's a bit annoying, so I just ended up sticking with the cross for most of the game.

The bosses aren't as good either. They're not very interesting, and a lot more attacks feel practically impossible to dodge with how awkward it is to move Nathan around (You have to double tap the D-Pad to make Nathan run).
Shout out to the Dragon Zombies, by the way. Absolutely dreadful boss fight!

That's all the space you're getting

But I persevered, mostly because of a fun glitch that lets you use any combination of DSS Cards you like, even if you haven't got them yet. 20% more experience right from the start of the game? Yes please!
Glad I got this one completed, but every other Metroidvania I've played is just flat out better. Circle of the Moon isn't a bad game, but it looks bad compared to those.

Spoiler

Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake
Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin
Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia
Omori
Pokémon Scarlet: The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero
Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia (Albus Mode)
Wario Land 4 (Hard Mode)
Suikoden HD Remaster
Rift of the NecroDancer
Suikoden II HD Remaster
Freedom Planet 2
Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin (Richter Mode)
Castlevania: Circle of the Moon

 

[WackerJr]

On 4/21/2025 at 9:44 AM, Cube said:

Split Fiction
 

• Release Date: 6th March 2025
• Developer: Hazelight Studios
• Publisher: EA Originals
• Platform Played: Xbox Series S
• Platforms Available: PC, Xbox Series, PS5, Switch 2

 

Split Fiction is the latest two player co-op from Hazelight Studios. The developers started this journey with Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons – which was a co-op game designed to be played by a single person controlling both characters with a single controller, and somehow managed to get emotion out of how you control the game. A Way Out started the full on co-op, a game that can only be played with two players. This one also started the trend of their games being played entirely in split screen, even if you play it online.

 

 

It Takes Two was where their big success was, winning multiple Game of the Year awards and selling extremely well, even with its generous nature of letting player 2 join a friend online without owning the game. It was made up of lots of varied segments which changed up the gameplay and had each player working together by performing different tasks. Split Fiction doesn’t deviate from this formula, but it does refine it a lot, alongside doing a load of new things within the formula.

 

 

The game stars Mio and Zoe, two aspiring writers who hope to get their work published. They turn up at Rader Publishing and find out that the deal isn’t quite what they expected, as it involves being connected to a mysterious machine. Mio refuses to participate, but ends up getting pushed into Zoe’s bubble and joining her simulation, which starts causing glitches. In order to escape, as well as to save their ideas from being stolen, they must work together to find more glitches by completing their stories.

 

 

Mio works with sci fi, while Zoe works with more traditional fantasy. The main chapters alternate between these genres, each one telling a story which relates to their lives in some way, you discover their past through these stories. Both characters are likeable with plenty of depth with engaging stories, both their real world tale and their fictional stories that you play though.

 

 

The main movement mechanics are kept the same throughout the entire game (other than a few specific sequences), the girls both have a double jump and a dash that can also be performed mid air. They also have a grapple to latch onto specific targets. The platforming feels very precise and a ton of fun, and allows for some enthralling chase sequences. The rest of the mechanics differ throughout the game, and are often different for each character.

 

 

Ok the first main sci-fi chapter, you play as cyber ninjas. Mio has a gravity sword which allows her to use special tiles to shift her gravity to walk on the walls and ceiling. Zoe, on the other hand, has a gravity whip that lets her manipulate and move objects. Meanwhile, the first fantasy chapter gives both players two transformations each. At one part of the game I was even excited because I got to be “Banjo-Kazooie” Quite often, you’ll have to manipulate the world to allow for each other to progress.

 

 

Split Fiction does err a bit on the easy side, option more for the odd brain teaser or tricker short platforming segment. Chase sequences are nice in that a player will respawn next to the other if they die (although you go back to a checkpoint if you both die) and when in bosses (and other combat scenarios), there’s a short quick time event to respawn to add a bit of tension to it, although bosses are also kind in that they often have checkpoints part way through them.

 

 

Throughout the main levels you’ll also find portals that lead to side stories. These are short segments based on unfinished ideas of the main character. They’re completely optional, but I have no idea why anyone would willingly skip them (although there is one that is easy to miss, although there’s a handy chapter select to find it after finishing the game). These are filled with magical moments, with some surprising dark turns, beautiful journeys, some playgrounds for a nice change of place or even a bit of competition, such as a level that plays like an SSX game.

 

 

This all culminates in a final chapter which is just too good to go into detail about, it does amazing things with the dual genre idea as well as with the split screen. This final chapter does things which are so impressive that this is the first game of the Series/PS5 generation which feels like it truly takes advantage of the technology and doesn’t just seem like a slightly nicer looking PS4 game. It also looks stunning without needing to use demanding graphics processes, which means that the only compromise the game makes for the Series S is that it runs in 1080p. It’s truly wonderful how astonishing and advanced the game looks and feels.

 

 

If I had to give a flaw for the game, it’s that I wanted more. I wish that each chapter and side story was its own complete game. Not that Split Fiction is a short game, each chapter is a few hours long and the side stories are a great distraction, but some of the ideas seem too good to just be used for a single section. It still helps the game feel incredibly fresh the entire time, though, and it’s easily become one of my all-time favourite games. If you can get someone to enjoy the journey alongside you (either locally or online, I immensely recommend it. I’m certainly looking forward to playing the game with the roles swapped around.

 

10/10

My wife and I have just finished Split Fiction too.  Brilliant game!  Full of inventive and creative co-op gameplay.

Your write up was great @Cube, and thorough.  While not a difficult game, I’d put it as tougher than ‘It Takes Two’ which my 8 year-old is currently playing through with my wife. 

It’s also more ‘videogamey’ (technical term…), in that more of the scenarios are very reminiscent of recognisable games (morphing into a ball for 2D sections, Gradius-style shoot em ups for instance), but that’s not a criticism, especially considering the volume of ideas they’ve come up with for the players.

There’s so much variety, and the narrative decision that side-stories are based on stories outside of the main storyline frees up so many creative and fun scenarios, we were excited every time we came across one in anticipation of whatever we were going to come across.  They provided some of the most memorable moments too.  I think I can get away with saying “sausages and sweets”… IYKYK.

The final act plays as if Hazelight had so many mind-bogglingly inventive ideas they hadn’t managed to include earlier that they threw them all out there in bite-sized sections, and most were fantastic!

The start was a little slower for us, and while we enjoyed it we weren’t sure it was as good as It Takes Two to begin with.  By the end we were hooked though and had an absolute blast!

Here’s my short minute-and-a-half video review: YouTube link.

[Glen-i]

I kinda really want to play Split Fiction.

Now, obviously, I know it's a co-op game, but how does it work when playing online? I vaguely remember hearing there's some way for someone to only need one copy, and their friend can still play? Possibly wrong about that.

Would like to play that with someone here on Switch 2.

[Julius]

29 minutes ago, Glen-i said:

Now, obviously, I know it's a co-op game, but how does it work when playing online? I vaguely remember hearing there's some way for someone to only need one copy, and their friend can still play? Possibly wrong about that.

What you heard is correct. It's a great initiative, and one Hazelight has kept going since A Way Out. 

Don't expect the set-up to be radically different on Switch 2 to how it is on other platforms with the Friend's Pass:

Edited Saturday at 12:17 AM by Julius

[Glen-i]

Oh, it's just like Clubhouse Games with that supplementary software people without the game can download to play local, except it works online! That's great!

I do wonder if Hazelight in part inspired Nintendo to do the GameShare thing with Switch 2?