What game are you playing?

Mapman · May 09, 2025, 07:57:09 PM

My girlfriend and I have been playing Blue Prince together. In the game, you have just inherited your great-uncle's 45 room estate under the condition that you find the secret 46th room. Each day, you re-design the floorplan of the estate by choosing from randomly-selected rooms. There are dozens of puzzles to solve as you search for clues towards Room 46. I don't want to say much more, because it's a game that (I think) is more fun the less you know about it. (I unfortunately saw too much on YouTube before I started playing.)

I highly recommend this for anyone who enjoys puzzles!

LKB · May 10, 2025, 04:30:24 AM

World of Warships has been fairly enjoyable the last couple of weeks. Right now I'm quite comfortable in the Tier 8 USS Cleveland, though my playstyle is rather " anti-meta ", which proves irritating to some of the randomly generated teammates l wind up with.

Der lächelnde Schatten · May 11, 2025, 07:26:22 PM

Well, Nintendo fans (whomever they may be here on GMG), it appears the Nintendo Switch 2 will be coming out next month. I have to say I'm rather disappointed by their launch titles. No Zelda. No Mario. But there is a new Mario Kart World coming out. A Donkey Kong game will come out in July, which I watched the trailer and it doesn't look too promising. I've never been fond of DK 3-D games.

Until a new Zelda comes out that rivals what Nintendo achieved with Breath of the Wild, this new system will remain a hard pass.

DavidW · May 12, 2025, 06:23:41 AM

Quote from: Der lächelnde Schatten on May 11, 2025, 07:26:22 PMWell, Nintendo fans (whomever they may be here on GMG), it appears the Nintendo Switch 2 will be coming out next month. I have to say I'm rather disappointed by their launch titles. No Zelda. No Mario. But there is a new Mario Kart World coming out. A Donkey Kong game will come out in July, which I watched the trailer and it doesn't look too promising. I've never been fond of DK 3-D games.

Until a new Zelda comes out that rivals what Nintendo achieved with Breath of the Wild, this new system will remain a hard pass.

Couple that with the big step up in price on both hardware and games, and I think the Switch 2 will probably only start selling at Christmas time.

Funny enough, that emboldened Xbox to also up their prices across the board. They didn't seem to get the memo that nobody buys their consoles anymore. The Series S is so horrifically bad that the only saving grace was the price. Once it is the same price as the digital PS5, nobody in their right mind would buy it. The only thing I can think of is that perhaps Xbox wants to sunset the series S and use the $80 price point on their games to drive more people to Game Pass.

At least Nintendo knows that they have a fanatic base that will lap up software and hardware even when they raise the price.

Der lächelnde Schatten · May 12, 2025, 06:47:17 AM

Quote from: DavidW on May 12, 2025, 06:23:41 AMCouple that with the big step up in price on both hardware and games, and I think the Switch 2 will probably only start selling at Christmas time.

Funny enough, that emboldened Xbox to also up their prices across the board. They didn't seem to get the memo that nobody buys their consoles anymore. The Series S is so horrifically bad that the only saving grace was the price. Once it is the same price as the digital PS5, nobody in their right mind would buy it. The only thing I can think of is that perhaps Xbox wants to sunset the series S and use the $80 price point on their games to drive more people to Game Pass.

At least Nintendo knows that they have a fanatic base that will lap up software and hardware even when they raise the price.

Yeah, I think Nintendo Switch 2 will have an underwhelming launch, but as you mentioned, sales will more than likely pick up around the holiday season. Which actually begs the question: why didn't they just wait to launch for the holidays 2025? Seems like it would've been more profitable to do so plus it might have given them time to have a better roster of games for the launch. It seems all kind of rushed for Nintendo, which, for me, isn't a good sign.

arpeggio · May 12, 2025, 07:25:04 AM

Board game.

Command & Colors Napoleonic

DavidW · May 12, 2025, 09:32:12 AM

Quote from: Der lächelnde Schatten on May 12, 2025, 06:47:17 AMYeah, I think Nintendo Switch 2 will have an underwhelming launch, but as you mentioned, sales will more than likely pick up around the holiday season. Which actually begs the question: why didn't they just wait to launch for the holidays 2025? Seems like it would've been more profitable to do so plus it might have given them time to have a better roster of games for the launch. It seems all kind of rushed for Nintendo, which, for me, isn't a good sign.

Yes, if they delayed, they might also have a better catalog to launch with, and the volatile market we have now might smooth out as well. This reminds me of the Xbox Series X/S, PS5 launch with the most paltry lineup of launch titles probably ever seen.

Der lächelnde Schatten · May 12, 2025, 09:41:02 AM

Quote from: DavidW on May 12, 2025, 09:32:12 AMYes, if they delayed, they might also have a better catalog to launch with, and the volatile market we have now might smooth out as well. This reminds me of the Xbox Series X/S, PS5 launch with the most paltry lineup of launch titles probably ever seen.

Yes, indeed. You would think Nintendo would launch with titles that are desirable for this system's long-time fans. I mean to not have another Zelda or Mario 3-D game is downright preposterous, but also to offer up games that 99% of its customers already played on the previous console is a bad move on their part.

Der lächelnde Schatten · May 17, 2025, 08:26:59 PM

Also, another reason why I find the Nintendo Switch 2 undesirable is it doesn't feel like it's much of an upgrade from the Switch. I was thinking the other day how big of a fail the Nintendo Wii U was, but now I'm thinking the Switch 2 could share the same fate as the Wii U. And the sad reality is Nintendo could very well never recover from this one --- that is, if the Switch 2 doesn't take off for them.

LKB · Reply #1809 - Re: What game are you playing?

Currently bouncing between World of Warships and Diablo IV.

WoW is a lot of fun, most of the time. Now that I've acquired the T10 USS Worcester there's no more grinding as such, and l simply pursue whatever seems most enjoyable. The one downside is that most of the greatest rewards in WoW are garnered from pvp content, and many players there engage in dialog which is invariably juvenile, puerile and simply tiresome. I'm not always in a mood to put up with the kids...

Diablo IV is still enjoyable. Season 8 recently launched, and the difficulty of all content was increased. Gear that was dropping pretty much everywhere has become scarce, but my Sorcerer has been a huge pack rat for months and is in good shape.

So on the whole my gaming is ok, whether I'm in combat upon digital seas or blowing up pixelated demons.

DavidW · Reply #1810 - Re: What game are you playing?

Quote from: Der lächelnde Schatten on May 17, 2025, 08:26:59 PMAlso, another reason why I find the Nintendo Switch 2 undesirable is it doesn't feel like it's much of an upgrade from the Switch. I was thinking the other day how big of a fail the Nintendo Wii U was, but now I'm thinking the Switch 2 could share the same fate as the Wii U. And the sad reality is Nintendo could very well never recover from this one --- that is, if the Switch 2 doesn't take off for them.

I think that it is highly unlikely that the Switch 2 will flop. Most people thought the Wii U was an add-on due to the poor naming and marketing. And it was sold on a gimmick that didn't pan out. Nobody will think the Switch 2 is just an extension of the Switch, and it is based on the same principle that there is a market for mobile gaming better than the phone. I'm sure many Nintendo fans are chomping at the bit for a new model, even if the launch lineup frankly sucks.

And finally, the Switch 2 has the standard 5x or so generational uplift, and it has DLSS, which as a PC gamer I can tell you is much better than FSR. It should be able to jump back into better support for third-party titles, which will help.

Despite the price, I bet the Switch 2 will sell just fine.

DavidW · Reply #1811 - Re: What game are you playing?

I've been playing Oblivion Remaster since it launched. I love it. I don't care about the graphics, but they fixed the leveling system, which makes it far more replayable than the original.

What is concerning is that it has been close to a month, and there has not been a single patch to address the bad performance and the myriad of issues. I have a PC powerful enough to push through the poor performance and stable enough not to crash. But all console users and some PC users are suffering from highly variable frame times, massive stuttering, and crashing.

Der lächelnde Schatten · Reply #1812 - Re: What game are you playing?

Quote from: DavidW on Today at 06:46:28 AMI think that it is highly unlikely that the Switch 2 will flop. Most people thought the Wii U was an add-on due to the poor naming and marketing. And it was sold on a gimmick that didn't pan out. Nobody will think the Switch 2 is just an extension of the Switch, and it is based on the same principle that there is a market for mobile gaming better than the phone. I'm sure many Nintendo fans are chomping at the bit for a new model, even if the launch lineup frankly sucks.

And finally, the Switch 2 has the standard 5x or so generational uplift, and it has DLSS, which as a PC gamer I can tell you is much better than FSR. It should be able to jump back into better support for third-party titles, which will help.

Despite the price, I bet the Switch 2 will sell just fine.

Perhaps you're right, but there seems to be much backlash happening over some decisions Nintendo is making, which I encourage you to look into because it is interesting to read what they are doing to move away from physical game cartridges/discs. Like, for example, I'll have to find the article, but there has been mention that when you buy the physical game, all of the content of that game is not on the cartridge and that in order to access the full game, you have to go online and download the rest of the game or something to this effect. This sounds like they just want their customers to buy the game from their download store, which is what I would probably end up doing anyway if I was going to buy this console.

I'm not trying to badmouth the Switch 2 (I mean it is not even out yet), but my interest in this console will transform to excitement once there is a new 3-D Zelda game in the pipeline.

DavidW · Reply #1813 - Re: What game are you playing?

Quote from: Der lächelnde Schatten on Today at 08:56:45 AMPerhaps you're right, but there seems to be much backlash happening over some decisions Nintendo is making, which I encourage you to look into because it is interesting to read what they are doing to move away from physical game cartridges/discs. Like, for example, I'll have to find the article, but there has been mention that when you buy the physical game, all of the content of that game is not on the cartridge and that in order to access the full game, you have to go online and download the rest of the game or something to this effect. This sounds like they just want their customers to buy the game from their download store, which is what I would probably end up doing anyway if I was going to buy this console.

I'm not trying to badmouth the Switch 2 (I mean it is not even out yet), but my interest in this console will transform to excitement once there is a new 3-D Zelda game in the pipeline.

I didn't know that, but I'm not surprised. Physical games have already gone that way on all the other platforms. I hated it when that happened on PC, but that was close to twenty years ago. On Xbox and PS, the transition mostly happened last gen, and physical games usually don't have the whole game; in fact, sometimes it is just a code. I got used to it, and five years ago I bought a digital-only PS5. Just the nature of how games on other platforms release in a broken state and then are patched to work makes the physical copy kind of meaningless.

I guess Switch was the last holdout. I wouldn't be surprised if the PS6 and next gen Xbox didn't even support physical games. I don't have an optical drive on my PC.

It sucks because physical media is important, but it is what it is.