What are you playing on your Switch?

Mario Kart is inherently more intuitive, even if you don't drive. The goal is simple - "get to the end quicker than everyone else". Contrast with Smash Bros's "defeat the most opponents in the time limit by knocking them off the screen" - it's still relatively easy to comprehend, but it's not quite as obvious, and certainly less obvious when it comes to the how. Mario Kart is easy - "okay I must drive fast". Smash Bros immediately requires an explanation as to the mechanics of movement, combat and what the hell the percentage represents.

For those who aren't in the GNamer Fantasy League chat, there's been an spurt in online multiplayer last night and possibly over the Corona isolation period (hopefully beyond?).  Yesterday saw the tagline bout in action, and Muss is planning to stream some Jackbox over the next couple of evenings.  Get involved if you can/want to!

Also, The Lady and I polished off the last few caves of Cat Quest 2 last night, and started Tales of Vesperia. I duly got mullered several times by the first boss. My opinion may change, but right now it feels like quite an unhelpful game. Battle tutorials flash past, enemy knockback and knockback resistance are obscene, recovery is hard to come by, and the in-battle controls aren't exactly user-friendly.

Funny thing with Vesperia.  Everyone always acted like it was the best Tales game, but I've never really felt the need to play it and whenever I look into it it seems like a thorough downgrade on everything that was good in all the other Tales games I have played.

But that's just cursory impressions.  Be way more interesting to see proper ones, so keep em coming!  

Speaking of impressions, Xenoblade Update: Nopon subplot is happening yessssss!  *Does Tora dance*  

-I thought Mor Ardain was going to be meh(mehmeh!) with the plot to find Person Who Knows What To Do #3 being the primary focus, but this is sooooooo much better than that!  It's always great when the cutesey Nopon end up doing shady things!

-Battle system is getting a lot more fun now I've unlocked the ability to cancel driver arts and started cancelling auto-attacks to max art recharges.

Totally forgot Animal Crossing was out at midnight last night - girlfriend wants to play it over voice chat, so no Jackbox shenanigans tonight. I will be able to tomorrow evening though. But yes, more multiplayer is always good

It's been nice to see you all getting together and doing Switch-y stuff - good work everyone! I would have like to have joined in, but there's always something going on - I'm fortunate in that I'm not the only one in this house while isolating, and fortunate? that I am able to carry on work from home, but that means my eyeballs and my mental state need a rest.

Except Animal Crossing natch - I'm all over that! But usually my mum's playing; it's her island basically!

If you do get a bit of free time you are always welcome Jimbob.

I'd love to join in with the multiplayer shenanigans but I still haven't actually ordered proper home internet
Combine that with the time difference and it's pretty unlikely. I can do Animal Crossing and a spot of Jackbox with my mobile data though if I ever want up in time.

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After being in a bit of a rut - I obsessed over pokemon, then both hotline Miami and plague knight failed to click with me even after good chunks of time - I'm now properly stuck into AC and Blasphemous. Not only are both games exquisite, their polar opposition to one another means they pair really well.

We could always do some Midday/afternoon (UK time) weekend Jackbox if people are up for it. Unfortunately quite a few folks were having issues with discord - the stream dropping - or the jackbox browser being a numpty, but it was still a good time.

One of the Jackbox 6 games was an absolute belter that would be 100% up your ally.

Really only playing Animal Crossing now after finishing Florence and Panzer Dragoon.

I should get around to the two JRPG demo's that dropped during the direct especially Trails of Cold Steel III as that's less likely to be bought then Bravely Default II without prior experience.

And get some more Good Job & Murder by Numbers just fitting it all in, as Animal Crossing is the game I'm playing whilst I've got something like B99 or a Podcast on in the background. Which ACNH is about the right fit after getting my fruit, dug fossils, talked to everyone etc

I played the demo of Pokemon Mystery Dungeon. It is a beautiful game but boring as hell. Won't be buying that one . . .

Next, gonna have a bash on Disaster Report. Will it be as good as Disaster: Day of Crisis? It doesn't have the chinstrap beard, the muscles or the bad news bear . . .

Muss wrote:

One of the Jackbox 6 games was an absolute belter that would be 100% up your ally.

Sniffy awaits.

Buskalilly wrote:

I played the demo of Pokemon Mystery Dungeon. It is a beautiful game but boring as hell. Won't be buying that one . . .

I can only agree with that take! I really can't see how I could put presumably 20+ hours into that game.

That feeling when you pull THAT character off a single common core crystal.  Much like paid gacha's people frequently talk about getting shafted, and I'm afraid I cannot relate.  Sorry luckless plebeians but I shall not be joining the SomSok post-game grind.  



Downside: now I have to switch back to using Pyra for element coverage.  

Chapter 5 ending thoughts.

-Finally the villains are getting hints of motivation and Jin is becoming more than a Sephiroth clone.  Malos still sucks though, but perhaps in time even he shall have a good motive.  

-WHY CAN'T ZEKE BE THE PROTAGONIST!?  

-So it seems I might have been hasty calling blonde a tsundere.  Outside joke punchlines she's been... Rational.  

-Chairman Bana is back!  Yay!  

-Spike damage as a mechanic can go to hell.

Farkinell you lucky bastard. Didn't get that throughout my entire playthrough (and no I wasn't going to grind for it).

I'm playing Animal Crossing and really struggling to find the time to fit other games in, between one thing and another. I know that's not the best way to play it for me, because I'll grow to resent the fact that I spent all my time playing an uncompletable game in which you essentially Do The Chores; but I can't seem to dinghy it for anything else in The Backlog at the moment. The Lady's got it worse than I have, which doesn't help!

That was me for, like, a couple years on New Leaf.

This is me too, I did manage to find the time to play Murder By Numbers alongside it but I've done all the puzzles in that now so it's solely Animal Crossing Switch-wise. I keep thinking about playing some Portia again and did play it last week but it's very hard to dip in and out off alongside something like Animal Crossing.

Same as you guys, why I posted in the backlog thread as when I do use my Switch it's for Animal Crossing at the moment.

I've been playing Mario Maker as well only because there is an ongoing competition on GRcade - otherwise yeah it's full on AC

I'm 135 hours in now

Okay I'm nowhere near that.

I just worry a bit that I'm going to look back at this and wonder, 'Why did I spend/waste all this time doing virtual chores rather than getting new gaming experiences under my belt?' Probably just me - or at least, I hope so. Anyway I managed to break the stranglehold a little bit this week.

That is a big reason why I didn't pick up ACNH in the end, even though you can slot an AC game nicely alongside other games it's very easy to get carried away with it and eventually can lead to just logging in because you have the fear of missing out rather than playing it because you enjoy it.

I suppose it is a new gaming experience for me. New Leaf was my first Animal Crossing game and while I dabbled in it, I never really got into it. New Horizons is a completely different kettle of fish. Part of my enjoyment is stemming from the lockdown and from playing this during its zeitgeist but I'm really appreciating the routine. The crafting is good, the pacing is sublime and it's just a really nice thing to escape into. Even if this does not last me all year, I've enjoyed tinkering with it and feel a lot less guilty about sinking time into it than I would almost any other video game.

It does seem like a cracking game and it has been nice seeing you's all enjoy it from what you are saying on here and in the twitter DMs.

I can't imagine how dull the turnip chat must be for you Jas.

I said to Jay the other day that because I have my twitter DM notifications on it at least acts as a secondary alarm.

The long weekend has given me the chance to reacquaint myself with a few other backlog games.

Firstly I played a bit more Transistor. Very stylish, and I'm enjoying the combat, having just taken down Camerata #1. It feels a bit... soulless? Detached? I dunno. Regardless, it's not perfect but I am enjoying it.

Then I tried a bit more of Monster Boy and got transformed into a pig. The presentation's immaculate (the anime intro didn't stutter this time!), but I don't... like it much? I'm not big into the designs of the enemies, the dopey crabs being a prime example. Meanwhile I don't really like how Monster Boy handles much, and the first boss was rock hard. A big to this one.

Finally I played a bit more Tokyo Mirage Sessions. It's... creepy. Whether it be Tiki calling the (boring) protagonist 'onii-chan', which may come from the Fire Emblem series but is no less creepy for that; or the demure yet obsessive female lead sniffing the air her favourite idol's been in; thus far it's anime in a bad way. I'll stick with it for a while, but... ew.

Lotta pessimism in this post, sorry. Maybe it's the general state of things; or maybe, in a related point, it's the knowledge that if I don't get on with this bunch there's not an awful lot on the horizon until the Pokémon DLC in June, if then. Still, Transistor seems solid.

Keep going with Transistor. I'm sure that it'll ever answer your impression vis-a-vis detachment, but the combat mechanics are really good and it's damn pretty even if you don't feel especially invested in the whole thing.

I played it through on my computer, which meant having headphones on. I wonder if that made a difference to the atmosphere by making the narration feel that much more, intimate?

I've always liked the look of Monster Boy (who wouldn't!?) but I've never taken the plunge. I guess that might be due to my own backlog, or maybe I've just not heard enough praise for the game beyond it's drop-dead gorgeous visuals.