What are you playing on your Switch 2: Play Harder

Has anyone else played Rogue Legacy? I know there's naturally a bit of an attritional thing as you build up funds for your future generations, but I can only ever last a couple of screens and the first boss always totals me. Am I just bad at video games now?

I played it a while ago before I was even aware of what a rougelike was, I was exactly the same and gave up on it. I reckon Jay or Jas would have played it and got somewhere though if anyone here has.

Funnily enough I did recently download it & slay the spire to try over remote play on my phone but I got carried away with runs on the latter.

Balladeer wrote:

I'm amazed that you like the Earthbound-alike RPG Jay. Omori's on my wishlist, ready for a rainy day.  How you find it could change when that rainy day is!

Shocker, right?

I'll reserve a full review for when I get around to the other route (it's a bit like Undertale in that there's a true route which gives a satisfying ending and a much darker alternate route for those that are really keen for more) but I have to say I bloody loved it. I haven't stopped thinking about the story and how it all panned out since I beat it on Wednesday evening. I loved the writing, the characters and the combat really grew on me in the later stages of the game as you unlocked more abilities, which was very much in the vein of Mother 3. The artstyle was bloody beautiful too. I think the only thing that I could say would be a turn-off for fans of the genre would be that it's certainly a dark game and even tries to be scary at points too, but it didn't bother me as I don't find horror in these sorts of games to be scary in the same vein as a first person 3D horror game. It's definitely dark though in a way that the Mother series or Undertale isn't, but I think it almost has to be considering the subject matter it's dealing with.

It's an easy 10/10 for me.

Jimbob wrote:

Has anyone else played Rogue Legacy? I know there's naturally a bit of an attritional thing as you build up funds for your future generations, but I can only ever last a couple of screens and the first boss always totals me. Am I just bad at video games now?

Yes, I've played it and beaten it. I think much like most roguelikes there comes a moment where everything sort of clicks and you find yourself getting further and further in the game. I definitely remember struggling in the early bits of that game though and remember the first boss being a pain too. That's the big eyeball lad, right?

Ooft, that's a recommendation and a half! Might be next on the list! (Well actually Tunic is probably next on the list, but after that.) I don't mind and in fact quite like dark and creepy, it's jump scares I hate.

I'm playing a few things

Splatoon 3 which is good but is missing that certain je ne sais quoi, I can see me when I redo my Top 30 Switch in March replacing Splatoon 2 with this and moving it down a few places. #TeamGear

VoC Beasts of Burden, I'm on Chapter 3 or good 4.5hrs into it and so far I am liking especially the monster card battling. Yet I do think VoC Maiden at the moment is the better one of the two I've played, but reviews would place VoC BoB as the best of three, make of that what you will.

DioField Chronicles now this might sound silly as I downloaded the demo on Monday for the game to turn up on Thursday, just to give me a head start. It's a decent head start as the demo is chapter 1 which took me like 4hrs to finish and does give me Fire Emblem x maybe a XCOM (You only have 4 units) vibes, and is my go-to sort game at the moment on Switch.

You may be thinking why did I just play the demo now, it goes to like what Jay and Rum saying elsewhere along with previous experience as I could have played like a month ago liked it then when the game came out not have a scooby what I'm doing. Had this with Bravely Default II, played the demo liked it, ordered the game then couldn't really get into it after leaving that long.

Looks like I'm into the VoC series for the long haul! VoC2 is very much more of the same so far, mind.

The lesson for you, Mas, seems to be: play the demo. only around the release date of the game. Is that fair?

Yeah basically, and what I'll be doing for Harvestella and just use it as a bit of a headscarf.

I've been playing the original No More Heroes as of late. Whilst I'm really enjoying the character designs, the mental dialogue, the big ties to professional wrestling and the overall tone of the game, I must admit that it's not been as fun to actually play as I'd hoped. The combat was engaging enough for the first couple of stages, but without any substantial changes to the combat like you would get in a Bayonetta or a Devil May Cry game I've found the combat to feel a bit samey and ultimately lacklustre as the game's progressed.

I'm also beyond sick of driving around the city on that miserable motorbike doing minigames and grinding out the same missions to get upgrades and unlock the next fight. It all feels a bit dated, sadly.

Balladeer wrote:

Ooft, that's a recommendation and a half! Might be next on the list!  (Well actually Tunic is probably next on the list, but after that.)  I don't mind and in fact quite like dark and creepy, it's jump scares I hate.

I think there's moments in OMORI that could be construed as being a jump scare, but I didn't think they came across that way. It was more in the vein of something creepy happening suddenly, but certainly nothing I jumped at and I would 100% class myself as having a big aversion to horror movies because of bloody jump scares.

NMH was definitely still janky back on the wii & the characters/dialogue do carry it more than the gameplay, I remember you saying last week that you didn't opt for using the motion controls which while they are a bit of novelty can make you feel a bit more involved in the combat.

Hope you see it out as I think it's definitely a game worth finishing.

Sorry, skipping the convo around a bit

JayMoyles wrote:

Jimbob wrote:

Has anyone else played Rogue Legacy? I know there's naturally a bit of an attritional thing as you build up funds for your future generations, but I can only ever last a couple of screens and the first boss always totals me. Am I just bad at video games now?

Yes, I've played it and beaten it. I think much like most roguelikes there comes a moment where everything sort of clicks and you find yourself getting further and further in the game. I definitely remember struggling in the early bits of that game though and remember the first boss being a pain too. That's the big eyeball lad, right?

Yeah, first one was big eyeball lad. I've defeated them now by

• Having daughter with gigantism
  
• Spamming fire button as she didn't have to jump to hit it

What have I been playing on my Switch? Basically nowt! Despite having two weeks off work, I was usually too busy or too sleepy and zoned out to play anything! I finished off a playthrough of Pokemon Shield I was sleepwalking through after borrowing Miho's copy. I've caught Zamazenta and a little time with the DLC should bag me the Regi, horse and bear I'm missing so I can 100% my Sword pokedex.

I also played some multiplayer stuff, winning Mario Party both with my family and some friends, but I wasn't at my best in the ol Mazza Karts.
Oh, and I played Attack of the Clones with my brother on Lego Skywalker Saga. It's a bit of a dry one, we didn't get to Geonosis. In the Jango Fett boss fight I had to be R4.

The_Jaster wrote:

NMH was definitely still janky back on the wii & the characters/dialogue do carry it more than the gameplay, I remember you saying last week that you didn't opt for using the motion controls which while they are a bit of novelty can make you feel a bit more involved in the combat.

Hope you see it out as I think it's definitely a game worth finishing.

I basically second all of this. For me the jank is part of the charm, but there were one or two battles where I really missed a more modern dodge mechanic. It's worth seeing through, for sure, and I've heard the combat is bang up-to-date in 3.

I've only been playing DioField Chronicles which I'm really just starting Chapter 4 even being like 18hrs into the game as I've been doing the side missions to get EXP, SP, AP, Gold, Jade for my team which you still use 4 at a go but can partner 4 others with them to switch out if ya need more range options or whatnot.

The story is fine, kinda obvious what going to happen and characters a bit troppy. I'm enjoying it though and can see a Rum, Jay liking it.

Buskalilly wrote:

The_Jaster wrote:

NMH was definitely still janky back on the wii & the characters/dialogue do carry it more than the gameplay, I remember you saying last week that you didn't opt for using the motion controls which while they are a bit of novelty can make you feel a bit more involved in the combat.

Hope you see it out as I think it's definitely a game worth finishing.

I basically second all of this. For me the jank is part of the charm, but there were one or two battles where I really missed a more modern dodge mechanic. It's worth seeing through, for sure, and I've heard the combat is bang up-to-date in 3.

I did finish it, for what it's worth. The combat wasn't what really bothered by the end of the game, but rather the infuriating mission structure of doing identikit assassination missions to grind enough money out to buy upgrades and unlock the cool bits of the game. I guess that's a common complaint though, from what I've heard.

Oh, that stuff was fun enough for me and I found the stupidity of it charming, the way slaughtering fifty men was treated with exactly as much gravitas as collecting coconuts.

I found the same thing, but I was a lot younger with fewer games and more patience. No idea if I'd feel the same way now.

I'm playing two JRPGs, natch.

Balladeer wrote:

more patience.  No idea if I'd feel the same way now.

Balladeer wrote:

I'm playing two JRPGs, natch.

I think you've still got plenty of patience there.

I'm playing Picross S. It is certainly a Picross game. That is all I've to say on the matter.

I absolutely hate Picross S. It felt like the absolute lowest common denominator of sequel-making, the FIFA Legacy Edition of Picross games. To think that we've also had Picross DS and Murder by Numbers in that genre, and that this is what we get slopped up by Jupiter. Shite.

I've got that SEGA version that they put on the eShop a couple of years ago, and while there's nothing I can complain about with the gameplay it's just so patently and offputtingly half-arsed. The puzzle solutions are just rubbish too, I'm not spending thirty minutes filling a grid and scratching my head for a picture of Dynamite Headdy's left shoe.

I tried to give it another go a few weeks ago when they patched in touch controls, but nah, it smells like a thousand arseholes.

All of the Jupiter games have been like that. I gave Zelda Picross 4/10 on Gintendo ages ago and they've only tried less hard from there.

JayMoyles wrote:

Balladeer wrote:

Ooft, that's a recommendation and a half! Might be next on the list!  (Well actually Tunic is probably next on the list, but after that.)  I don't mind and in fact quite like dark and creepy, it's jump scares I hate.

I think there's moments in OMORI that could be construed as being a jump scare, but I didn't think they came across that way. It was more in the vein of something creepy happening suddenly, but certainly nothing I jumped at and I would 100% class myself as having a big aversion to horror movies because of bloody jump scares.

You bastard liar Moyles. I've just started Omori (I'm outside the Space Pirate base) and there have already been two of what I'd call jump scares. Neither have super-loud music or anything, and I did see one coming a mile off, but still!

Still, I really like this. It's the precise level of creepy that I go for, in that kind of Yume Nikki vein, with the odd worse moment (that first section with Sunny ). The hand-drawn style of the battles prevents the pixel art of the overworld from grating, the emotions add an extra dimension to the battles themselves, and the audio design is top notch, with the sound effects and fonts probably beating out the music. My main criticism so far is that it's a bit self-consciously quirky in Headspace. I know/presume it's meant to be a realm of imagination/dreams/escapism/whatever, but from the lads in the playground being monsters and talking heads and whatever to the rainbow house with the cat-thing from Azumanga Daioh, I feel like it would have benefited from being a bit more grounded. It's a small but noticeable criticism though, I'm liking everything else!

I'd equate the Picross S games to buying a sudoku or crossword book - they're nothing special, but it's a way to kill time for me at quiet points of the day during work.

Re: OMORI - apologies Balla! I didn't find those moments jumpy, more so just creepy! Regarding your criticism about looking for more grounded subject matter, I will say that does get touched upon as you progress.

One thing I'd like to nudge you towards would be...

Suggestion for not missing like half the game, but don't read if you want zero help:

Ah don't fret, I was going to do that anyway... despite the first time.  I must admit I looked up how to get the best route.  Still, thanks!  And yes I jump at basically anything.

Also I've dropped some Omori tunes in the music thread. I'd say it deserves it!

Balladeer wrote:

Ah don't fret, I was going to do that anyway... despite the first time.

Despite my being in your camp and also hating jumpscares in anything, I do think what they did with the "open the door?" choice in the game was really very clever.

Spoilering specifics about the first two "open the door?" for those that care:

I shall check it out! My OMORI tune picks are going to be incredibly spoilery for you at this point, so I'll hold off till you're done.

Ah, I've run into a little problem - real life. Real life in the game, not real life in... er, real life. It's mostly dull. The battle system is massively stripped back, there are a hundred different non-signposted side-quests that you don't know if they'll be important in the next two days so you do them anyway, and the area design is... well, it's real life! It's not that interesting! A bit of a shame, that.

I don't disagree with you there in regards to the battling during the daytime sections. The few battles that you do run into devolve into slapping bandages onto Kel whilst he does all the hard work. But then again, I don't think there's a failure state if you actually lose most of the battles in the real life bits - they're not meant to mean anything really and I guess it's meant to highlight the absurdity of the RPG bits bleeding into real life, which is lampshaded with the first Aubrey bit in real life.

I didn't mind the little odd jobs - some of them were pretty fun - and the area design didn't bother me too, considering my love for Earthbound which starts off in normal towns and cities.