What are you playing on your Switch 2: Play Harder

Buskalilly wrote:

Most played was Monhan, to the surprise of nobody. 160-odd hours.

Jimbob wrote:

SNES online: 38 hours (Joe n Mac Caveman Ninja isn't going to play itself)

fryshocked.gif

I think two thirds of all games just go under the 'action' umbrella, and half under 'adventure'.  At least when we do the big Switch Vote By Genre I know the classification will be more sensible than this!


Bet they put Chicory in 'action'. Chicory is not action. There's been one segment with a boss and otherwise it's been very placid. I'm playing more of Ender Lilies at the moment, which has big Castlevania vibes and is quite fun.

Also: when is FAR: Lone Sails meant to get good? I've just got the blowtorch and have scraped over one hour's playtime, but on the whole I don't think I 'get it'.

Here's my stats for the year:

Games played in 2021: 50
Games played in 2020: 44

New Games started in 2021: 33

Most played genres
Action
Adventure
Platformer
Multiplayer
Simulation

Most played games
Animal Crossing New Horizons: 82 hours
Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword: 50 hours
Monster Hunter Rise: 44 hours

Total hours played in 2021: 449
Total hours played in 2020: 803

How I used the Switch
25% Docked
75% Undocked

My most played day was 10/10 which came in at 9 hours of play, from my most played games that month I can assume it was down to a mix of Metroid Dread, What the Golf? and Eastward. My most played month was January which was of course Lockdown 3: This time it's personal so that makes sense.

Quite impressed with my number of new games this year, I've made slightly more effort to work through my backlog even though I probably added just as much as I played. No real surprises with the genres and the fact I played a lot less than in 2020, the docked/undocked ratio seems fair too as I mainly use the Switch when during shared TV time.

I think I dropped off Animal Crossing fairly early in the year but it did see a lot of time in those first few months before Monster Hunter took over so again not surprised to see that on top, I would say those 50 hours I spent with Skyward Sword were amongst some of my favourite in gaming this year, I have a new found level of appreciation for that since it hit the Switch.

In news that will delight Cappa and Jim, I've had a crack at both my Christmas JRPGs.  Ys IX is a big load of fun: I've just got the wall run ability and the city's opened up like a big wallrunning thing.  Shades of BotW to the way I can suddenly negotiate most of it vertically.   I've not experienced anything too jarring on the performance front either, unlike with VIII curiously.  The city's not as open as VIII's tropical island, but it makes for a much more interesting premise.  

Meanwhile Shin Megami Tensei V is by far the more polished product, but I've struggled to get into it.  It's got a very slow opening (I've just become the demon fusion wotsit with long hair), and I'm aware that at some point soon I'm going to be pitched headfirst into a pretty difficult game.  I will say it hasn't, at this point, been quite as soulless as I was worried it would be.  Dark maybe, Genesis-aping definitely, but not soulless.

Balladeer wrote:

Also: when is FAR: Lone Sails meant to get good?  I've just got the blowtorch and have scraped over one hour's playtime, but on the whole I don't think I 'get it'.

Still wondering if I 'get' this.

Already paving the way for 2022's Year in Review to be as JRPG laden as 2021's, eh Balla?

My year in review was, unsurprisingly, topped by Monster Hunter Rise at 106 hours. Just behind it, however, was Fire Emblem Three Houses as I went back to play the DLC and run through the Blue Lions route again. It was on 105 hours, so it was a very close run thing! Rounding out my top 3 was SNES Online on 82 hours and I'm supremely confident 75+ hours of that will be due to Mario Picross.

Me paving the way? Where would FFXIV have come in your timings if it had been on Switch, Jay?

Ys IX is properly good though. I think I might be burning out on it slightly, mind. Based on the two I've sampled, I don't think the Ys games have enough fresh material once you get past the halfway mark. They really need a big new battle mechanic around then.

I'm surprised you're so positive about Ys IX Balla! I mean, pleasantly surprised - I liked it - but I thought you'd be more critical of it, as it is a bit shabby-looking and stuttery, with its fair share of tropey characters.

I've gone back to Going Under, which is good fun. I bought it based on this summary of it on Eurogamer a while back and felt like I didn't 'get' it for a while, but having looked at this starters' guide I'm more on board with it now. I don't totally love roguelites as a genre (leave that can of worms alone Balla) but the whole design and vibe of Going Under is fun and helps it to stand out from the crowd.

I had some time on trains and in hotels, but due to knackeredness and watching Spider-man films on Netflix, I didn't end up playing so much Switch. I did continue to plug away at Death's Door (smashing), Chicory (a bit slow but very pleasant) and New Super Mario Bros U (I'm glad this is more-or-less the last one!).

I also dabbled in some Burnout Paradise (very easy to kill time in) and Smash Bros (Classic mode done!)

Cue them announcing New Super Mario Bros. S next year.

Rum wrote:

I'm surprised you're so positive about Ys IX Balla! I mean, pleasantly surprised - I liked it - but I thought you'd be more critical of it, as it is a bit shabby-looking and stuttery, with its fair share of tropey characters.

Maybe it helps that my expectations were set low by Ys VIII. The visuals and writing aren't going to win any awards, but I have two female characters in my party who aren't dressed in needlessly revealing clothing instead of all of them, and the visuals don't look like they were upscaled from the Vita and still stuttering to Hell and back. I've only had a couple of examples of slowdown. Raging Bull is still daft (the astonishment all round when the only woman in Balduq with breasts the size of planetoids turns out to be the only other woman in Balduq with breasts the size of planetoids was reasonably ridiculous) and Chante isn't great, but I quite like Hawk (I'm here for the bolshy snarky rival trope) and the others are fine.

The big improvement is the location and especially the movement. I had a lot of fun just running up and down the spires of Balduq. I'm going to grossly over-praise Ys IX here: all that vertical movement and exploration felt just a little BotW-ish. What's not BotW-ish is getting to learn the city from different angles so it practically feels like an in-game home, something I enjoy. And the battling's still very good!

I am worried that we'll lose some of that last bit now. I've explored all of Balduq and under half the total map, and the first field was quite a weak area. We'll see.

Rum wrote:

I don't totally love roguelites as a genre (leave that can of worms alone Balla)...

The location of town which puts me off over tropical island, of the two Ys games may play.

At the moment I'm playing SMTV it's pretty good so far, just got back to the school after about 4hrs.

I started Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth this morning. It's alright, but it's one of those games; I've played for two hours and so far I've walked down corridors, won battles by hammering the A button and listened to scantily clad anime ladies deliver exposition and tutorials.

Ahh, Japanese game design 101.

Cyber Sleuth is much more engaging on hard difficulty... until you hit some crazy difficulty spike bosses (worth turning it down then back up after maybe)

Cyber Sleuth is an interesting one. At the time I thought it was on a par with Sword/Shield, with the engaging plot, Digi-Farm, and higher difficulty (on Hard) making up for the technical shonkiness, lack of engagement to the 'mons, horribly unbalanced difficulty in a couple of places, and this terrible abomination. Then the Season Pass for Pokémon came out and I would've put Digimon on top by a whisker. The fact remains, though - I haven't started Hacker's Memory and have no desire to.

Anyway, let us know how it goes! OR's right about the difficulty mind.

To be honest, I'm not too worried about a difficult experience. If anything, an easier game means I can see more monsters. Once I figured out what I was doing in terms of adding 'mon to my roster and evolving them, the game became much more exciting. My friend Sawada says the story gets good, but it'll be the prospect of seeing lots of cool creatures that keeps me going.

I won't be streaming it though- I can read a dialogue-heavy JRPG and take it in, or I can be "on" for an audience, but I can't do both!

I’ve been trying hard to get Metroid Dread finished before Windjammers 2 and the Pokemon Legends game came out. I’ve not quite managed it in time for Windjammers 2's release, but I think I can juggle both these games for the next week.

Windjammers 2 is properly exquisite, it’s gameplay absolutely does the classic original proud. I just wish that it had a bit more going for it, like a couple more side modes and a handful more bonus stages. Apart from the visuals and adding two new moves, I don’t think the developers have quite been brave enough with how they’ve modernised it either. There’s nowt wrong with a faithful update, but after Streets of Rage 4’s success I really think DotEmu should have trusted their own ability more. I don’t think they should have stuck to Windjammer’s 1994 blueprint so rigidly. Still, it’s Windjammers, and Windjammers is excellent.

TCK wrote:

Apart from the visuals and adding two new moves, I don’t think the developers have quite been brave enough with how they’ve modernised it either. There’s nowt wrong with a faithful update,

On the surface it looks like just two new moves but the more I play the more I discover neat little tricks or mix ups I can do to fool my opponent.

Can't say I'm surprised to see Jas leaping to the defence of any slight criticism of Windjammers 2. Glad you two are getting on with it though, finally after all this time.

I've managed to crack Beast Breaker on the head today, and it's a properly special game that I'd encourgae many of you to wishlist: see LGYF in 15 minutes or so for more on that. I don't want to be juggling anything with Legends either, because I know it'll just get dumped, so it's time for some poking at other games I've got on the go. So far I've found that Shin Megami Tensei V looks miserable in handheld, and I've struggled to get back into Ender Lilies (84-Metascore darkish Metroidvania). It's a bit slow and floaty, for all that it looks nice. Looks like I might be in for a week of thumb-twiddling...

Balla wrote:

Can't say I'm surprised to see Jas leaping to the defence of any slight criticism of Windjammers 2.     Glad you two are getting on with it though, finally after all this time.

What can I say? I'm a gameplay first kind of guy & for me it will be really tough for other games coming out this year to top how unbelievably fun it is to play. Don't get me wrong would a few other modes be nice to have? Yep, but I honestly don't think it needs them & in my book it's a poor reason to mark it down a few points like some reviews have.

I've got it downloaded, I'm yet to play but when saw the reviews and lag of a story mode was disappointed.

As I know it's not quite a fighting game but close to it and what those sort of games now have.

I jumped straight in to 1998 and played Babjo-Kazooie on the Switch online app, it's been so long since I played this so I've been a little worried about what to expect... I still love it so much, there was perhaps an occasional frame drop but this is something I never would have even realised in the past so I'm not gonna let it overshadow what's still a very fun and joyous game.

(Rusty Bucket Bay toxic water flashbacks intensify)

The_Jaster wrote:

What can I say? I'm a gameplay first kind of guy & for me it will be really tough for other games coming out this year to top how unbelievably fun it is to play. Don't get me wrong would a few other modes be nice to have? Yep, but I honestly don't think it needs them & in my book it's a poor reason to mark it down a few points like some reviews have.

Honestly those couple of modes are why I haven't jumped on. The game probably isn't for me anyway, but if it had more in the way of single-player then I'd be more inclined to give it a shot. From what I've read I think it's fair to lop off a mark there, e.g. Nintendo Life have given it 9/10 (still a stonking score) because of that.

Ah, I'd totally missed Banjo-Kazooie was out on Switch Online. That'll be one to play shortly!

Balladeer wrote:

(Rusty Bucket Bay toxic water flashbacks intensify)

The_Jaster wrote:

What can I say? I'm a gameplay first kind of guy & for me it will be really tough for other games coming out this year to top how unbelievably fun it is to play. Don't get me wrong would a few other modes be nice to have? Yep, but I honestly don't think it needs them & in my book it's a poor reason to mark it down a few points like some reviews have.

Honestly those couple of modes are why I haven't jumped on.  The game probably isn't for me anyway, but if it had more in the way of single-player then I'd be more inclined to give it a shot.  From what I've read I think it's fair to lop off a mark there, e.g. Nintendo Life have given it 9/10 (still a stonking score) because of that.

Nintendo Life is actually one of the fairer reviews as it mentions the things that some might see as shortcomings it's the others that I've seen that have it down at a 7 or 6 that I find quite odd. Also I know it's not an easy thing to set up these days but if you have any local multiplayer happening it's a game anyone can understand and have fun with so I wouldn't rule out giving it a shot completely.

I've been juggling Hades and Xenoblade Chronicles 2.

Hades I played here and there for a while, and then eventually got a bit more hooked on it and have managed to escape 3 times (with the spear, shield and adamant rail). It is a lot of fun, but some reviews think it's going to convert people who don't like roguelites and that is... not true. I have also seen that I need to do 10 escapes to get the proper credits which strikes me as a bit of a slog! (Funny considering Jay said he didn't think you were getting a satisfying enough ending just by reaching that point, and you'd need to do more!)

XC2 I started a few years ago and then fell off after a few hours, so I restarted it. I've gotten further - to Garfont - but it just hasn't hooked me in the way the original did. It's good, but it feels more generic, I think - it feels like it's leaning into more typical JRPG storytelling tropes and characterisation. And I know I've mentioned this before but the female characters so far are just so bland. You're basically introduced to Pyra from a camera shot beneath her huge bouncing jugs (and her outfit is tantamount to lingerie), and there's a whole scene joking about how Poppi is a robot servant made to dress up as an anime maid. In the original, Sharla was a bit 2D because her whole personality was about her relationships with men (her late ex-boyfriend, her brother, and her affection for Reyn) but at least she didn't have her tits out all the time.

Anyway, I won't have finished either of them before Arceus comes out on the weekend so they'll probably both go on hold for a bit!

Rum wrote:

! (Funny considering Jay said he didn't think you were getting a satisfying enough ending just by reaching that point, and you'd need to do more!)

Did I? If so, I rescind that opinion as getting credits in Hades is enough in my opinion and getting the "true ending" probably isn't worth it for most players. I might have said I wasn't satisfied with the standard ending personally, maybe?