The GNamer Forum Awards 2021 and Five Years of Switch (Thanks For Voting!)

Hollow Knight (4 votes, 21 points)


You said:
“Challenging, engrossing, atmospheric and charming all at once. Despite being dark and dingey I get a lot of warm feelings from this, Hallownest has so much character and getting through some of the tougher points of this game felt like a real achievement.”
“The best “2D Souls” attempt I’ve seen. Combat is satisfying, the powers are great for navigation and the world is a joy to explore.”
“2D Souls-like Metroidvania? Yes please. Exploring the creepy crawly world of Hollow Knight was a treat. They packed each zone with so much atmosphere and that sense of discovery and awe never faded across my time with the game. Getting to grips with the combat and platforming was a challenge I relished and I won't forget that sense of elation and relief after conquering the platforming hellscape that was the Path of Pain. When a game can elicit such a visceral response from me, it's done something right.”
“The standout best in one of gaming's best genres.”

I said: This is the second (and final) game in our top ten that I didn't expect to chart.  Nobody really talks about it nowadays, y'know?  I suspect it's more or a reflection of my views on the game: a really good Metroidvania, but not special enough to be any more than that.  Then again, I'm not a fan of Soulsbornes: maybe if you are, you remember it more fondly?  Anyhoo, a good game.

Celeste (4 votes, 22 points)


You said:
“Pure platforming at its finest. Getting through the levels requires a masterful display and then the strawberry’s are the cherry on top to make you feel like you’ve really achieved.”
“A truly special game, it has such an important story to tell which it does not just through the dialogue but the journey you go on as a player trying to make it up the mountain. It also has one of the best soundtracks I gaming that I still listen to on a regular basis.”
“The best 2D platformer in existence.  Great to control, great to read, great to watch and listen to, and greater than the sum of its parts.  Certainly greater than a little-known indie developer ought to have been able to achieve.  Just great.”
“Do I need to tell GNamer how good Celeste is? It's proper art like."

I said: Apparently you do, fourth commenter.  Absolutely criminally painfully too low.  For shame.

Fire Emblem: Three Houses (3 votes, 22 points, 1 first)


You said:
“A big complaint I'd had about the 3DS Fire Emblem games was that they lacked the character depth I enjoyed in past Fire Emblem games as well as having feature bloat in regards to the combat system. FE:TH handled my concerns with aplomb, delivering some of the most well-written characters in the series to date as well as putting together an engaging yet not overwhelming combat system.”
“A bit of a return to form for the FE franchise after the sub par fates, a little simple but it was great to see steps taken in the right direction and the 3 house mechanic was a fun one.”

I said: The only game in this list I haven't played - not that I think that'll stop some people who also haven't played it from rolling their eyes at the game they haven't played charting this highly.  Some people like deep strategic gameplay and an emphasis on relationships on the battlefield more than others.  Anyway, I should play this, but it should still keep away from Smash.

Hades (4 votes, 29 points)


You said:
“A constantly evolving story that one would not have thought possible in a roguelite of this nature. Combat is incredibly satisfying and it really is a stunning game.”
“The rougelike that stuck, I never felt the loop got old and every win was very satisfying. Sandwiching story beats in between runs meant that an early demise never felt too disappointing as well.”
“Roguelikes are a tricky genre to get right, but Hades got it right and then some. A perfect blend of story and mechanics with such a moreish gameplay style that had me playing run after run, experimenting with new weapons, strategies and builds. Supplement that with gorgeous music and cracking writing and you've got an all-timer.”
“The perfect marriage of genre to storytelling, plus it plays superbly.”

I said: The mighty have fallen.  Hades has not only beaten out the game it came second to in 2020's awards, Animal Crossing, but also previous king of indies on Switch Celeste.  You can... probably guess how I feel about that.  I have now played this game, and while I can definitely see why some people like it, the outright love for it is completely beyond my comprehension.  Still, I'll put aside the fact that it's a roguelike/roguelite/rougelike for now, and cite the lovely visuals, satisfying action, and thoroughly comprehensive voice acting.  Hades is a game with a lot of great aspects.

1-2-Switch
“It’s not good!  It’s overpriced and not good!  It’s quite bad in fact!  I feel like I was conned into buying this horribly-acted alcohol-dependant substance-lacking collection in the search for a second retail launch game, and now I resent it heartily.  In case you couldn’t tell.”

Balan Wonderworld
“One of the most maligned and negatively discussed games I can remember, and for good reason. It’s mountain of problems include absolutely rubbish controls, an enraging and bewildering camera, boring and uneven level design and redundant gimmicks that just pad out the misery. Yet it’s the utterly feeble performance on Switch that stands out the most. No wonder Yuji Naka tried to pack it in.”

Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age - Definitive Edition
“I’m actually pretty offended by this thing’s existence.  If it hadn’t hidden how dull and tired its core systems were under a fancy veneer, I never would have spent £60 or whatever on something that feels like it was exhumed from St. Yuji Naka’s Home for the Terminally Past Their Sell-By Date.  (a.k.a. the Naka’s Yard.)”

Picross S series
“Almost as low-effort as the FIFA Legacy Edition games.”

SEGA AGES
“I hate to be putting this here, but it was an uninspiring and underwhelming disappointment. SEGA AGES simply had too narrow a focus on the company’s history from the late ‘80s to the early ‘90s. They mainly reappraised games that I’m honestly bored of now – as well as a handful that were never good in the first place. Also, remember that fan vote that SEGA held, where they were told that Jet Set Radio, Shenmue and Virtua Fighter were their fan’s most wanted SEGA AGES games? The way SEGA completely ignored their own survey deserves a dishonourable mention by itself.”

Super Bomberman R
“I don’t know if my postman went rogue or if my neighbours were bumping my parcels, but Breath of the Wild never arrived through my letterbox on March 3rd 2017, and it never would. Gameless and in a launch day scramble for something to play on my new console, I picked up the last copy of Super Bomberman R that was for sale in the whole of Aberdeen. What an slap in the face this was: I paid £50 for one of the most lacklustre, half-hearted and incomplete games there’s ever been. It improved over time and it’s worth the fiver it’s often on sale for on the eShop nowadays, but context is everything here. Super Bomberman R was as dismal an introduction to a new console as you could possibly imagine.”

Superola and the Lost Burgers
“Mentioned it in the Bum Poo Wee review thread, I'll repeat it here - shite."

Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes
“A complete misfire that was stuffed with awful ideas. Pretentious, up it’s own arse nonsense that completely torpedoed my interest in No More Heroes III and the series as a whole. It might be my most disliked Switch game, I hated it.”

Ultra Street Fighter II: The Final Challengers
“Raw off of the Wii U and well before anybody could certifiably say it was going to be a massive 9-figure sales success, the early days of the Switch were pretty gloomy. There were weeks-long gaps between the release of anything of note, and even then that schedule was pretty much propped up by Nintendo. Enter Capcom, with a quickie Street Fighter II port designed for sad sacks who’d lap up any old cobblers for their shiny new system. For sad sacks like me! It was a total swindle, and looking back I can’t believe I paid £40 for this in 2017. It wasn’t the only one either – I think Capcom said this sold over half a million copies in its first year! Money for old rope.”

Vroom in the night sky
“ahahahahahahaha Jesus Chri- ‘MAGICAL GASOLINE’!? aaaaaaahahahahaha”

Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition
“They released this four times in under a decade. What’s the point? No it doesn’t personally affect me, but it feels like a massive waste of time and energy from a company who hasn’t published a new Punch-Out!! in thirteen years, or a new F-Zero in nearly twenty. If I were in charge of Nintendo I’d be splitting off Monolift Soft onto other, more important projects than Xenoblade. Projects like integrating Miiverse support into the 3DS Virtual Console’s Game Gear games, or adding different coloured backgrounds on the Switch’s home screen.”

Xenoblade Chronicles 2
“I feel like I’ve got a good knowledge about gaming. Granted, it’s not the most well-rounded knowledge or the most up to date, but I’ve experienced a lot of different stuff. With all this insight, I’d say I’ve got a good gauge for quality. Yet Xenoblade Chronicles 2 utterly breaks that self-assurance. Simply put, it was the most boring game I’ve ever played in my life. Nothing comes close. It’s unfathomable to me that there’s many people who enjoy this. Actually, I’ll stick my neck out, I’m saying I’m right about this. Everybody else, they’re all wrong about Xenoblade 2.”

Xenoblade Chronicles 3
"Why are Nintendo putting such a shift into making Xenoblade a big deal? They ended the latest Nintendo Direct on Xenoblade 3’s announcement, but anybody can plainly see from the social media engagement and the YouTube video views that it’s not a big deal for a lot of people. Sure, Xenoblade 3 will inevitably enter the top ten of the charts on its first week, but then you just know it’ll fall to number 33 in week two, and out of the top 40 by week three. That’s before then sinking the bottom of the charts by the end of 2022, nestling somewhere between California Games 2 and Knockout Kings 2003.”

Xenoblade Chronicles 4
“This’ll be rubbish ‘n aw!”

Lack of eShop music
“It’s just really uncharacteristic for Nintendo. I don’t know why they don’t just play music from their newest games, or even tunes from their classics. It would just put me more in the mood to shop, is all.”

Lack of eShop discoverability
“They really need to find a way to stop heavily discounted shovelware from clogging up the eShop sales.”

Nintendo Switch Online
“Particularly with the eShops on 3DS and Wii U going down, it’s becoming clear how awful the retro side of NSO is in comparison to the Virtual Console.”

Cloud gaming
“Might allow some games that wouldn’t otherwise make it to Switch to make it to Switch, but it feels increasingly like it’ll become a crutch for lazy developers.  See the recent Kingdom Hearts nonsense for more on this."

Not being able to listen to Switch music on YouTube because Nintendo takes it down
“Awful.”

UbiSoft
“Fuck off you immoral cunts."

Switch and Joy-Cons’ build quality
“My Switch has lost its air vent grille, and drift has hit three out of four left Joy-Cons I’ve owned so far.  Poor from a company that’s historically been quite good at this sort of thing.”
“Easily the worst aspect of the Switch’s design is Joy-Con Drift. That’s something we probably all agree with, it’s something we’ve all probably had. I got it for a third time on Christmas Eve last year, which was absolute f king bol locks. Assuming Nintendo go down the route of the hybrid system again for the Switch’s successor, the Joy-Con drift issue has to be properly addressed."

And our runaway winner loser: The Switch’s interface
“No home screen themes – Very sad and dull. Same goes for the lack of folders, and the lack of artwork like you’d get from Nintendo Badge Arcade. Compared to the 3DS, the Switch has no personality.”
“I'm all for a fast and responsive UI, but the Switch really feels devoid of any personality when compared to past Nintendo UIs.”
“‘ALL PERSONALITY WILL BE ELIMINATED IN INTERESTS OF EFFICIENCY.  BEEP BOOP.’”

First off: still only three mentioners.  The same ones as made the Honourable Mentions, in fact.

Given that, it's incredible that all of us had something we hated!  For all it does well, the Switch definitely lacks that Nintendo feel to its interface, and now it looks like they might be hiding some new tweaks behind platinum coins in the future?  At least it's not actual money I suppose, although I would definitely pay out for something, anything, that looked more interesting than the default options. Build quality came in for a shoeing as well, especially Joy-Cons: we've all read it, but that doesn't make it any less irritating.  And then we have the usual suspects: eShop drabness to go with UI drabness, NSO, corporate monsters.  In contrast to the Honourables, though, my favourite part of this was the games.  Some thoroughly entertaining baw-bootings, as usual.

Aaaaaaand then we have the elephant in the room.  Here's the thing though: the chap with the Bionis-sized chip on his shoulder (I don't know why I'm bothering with keeping the mystery here, y'all know who it is) has only played, to my knowledge, a handful of hours of Xenoblade 2.  I actually pondered this recently in the game's thread and came away understanding his position pretty well!  Just so long as he doesn't assume it's the only possible view for the entire game, or extend it automatically to the rest of the series.  That would get into 'it's the children who are wrong' territory.

...ah.