echasketchers

I played it for about 2 hours last night and really enjoyed it. The humor draws you into the world in a way that doesn't feel forced, it is there to motivate you to explore. It feels a lot like a Metroid Prime, but with a more pulpy aesthetic. It also doesn't have a lot of ham-fisted survival systems from what I can tell, the design is very elegant.

Really excited to play more, I left off after what was basically a boss fight and can't wait to explore the rest of the planet.

I'm playing the Cat Lady right now, it's really bleak but I'm engrossed in it. Dialogue and soundtrack are especially well done.

Might check out some of the other stuff on this list too, I've played some but there's a whole bunch I haven't. Thanks for sharing :)

@rebel_scum: I have no idea but this guy was being kinda grouchy in a comment thread earlier.

I’d echo what everyone else seems to be saying. They can refine the combat from 15 and build on it. I’d like if they bring back some kind of style switching like the garb system in lightning returns, or some version of a job system.

The aesthetic should be totally new, along with a story that can get its hooks in you the way a Nier Automata or Witcher does. RPG stories on a whole have gotten better, but FF hasn’t evolved in that department. Gameplay refinements are great, and they’ve been getting better since XII. But I’d like to see them really mess around with different types of stories.

For me personally it was Final Fantasy XV. I was never big into FF but loved the XIII trilogy (I know). XV looked great from the previews and though I was disappointed that they dropped the Versus XIII stuff, I was still optimistic when it came out. Sadly it was unfinished and not that well designed, the combat being nowhere near as good as Lightning Returns (which set a new bar for ARPGs of this kind imo). All around a bummer, and I never felt compelled to check out the DLC since I felt so burned.

Maybe they've improved it since launch, but they had their shot and missed it so why should I put more time into it.

Yeah I've played it on PC and then Switch. Held off on switch for a while because I wasn't sure about how the controls/performance would be. It runs great and the controls are perfect, I haven't had any issues. It got me through a rough time this holiday season when a family member was in the hospital for like two weeks, the gameplay loop is perfect for a handheld system.

I've never used the touch screen FYI but I suppose you can, the buttons work perfectly for me. Text is big enough and I believe you can make it even bigger if you want to with an update that's coming soon.

Backlog woes are universal, you aren't alone. Prioritizing is the key for this stuff.

I'd say pick the ~5 games that most interest you and focus on them. Pace yourself and trust your moods. I really like having a roguelike or multiplayer game in the rotation for when I don't feel like playing something story driven. You mentioned COD and Madden so that's good and fine, but I'd also recommend something like Slay the Spire or Enter the Gungeon on Switch for some before bed roguelikes (actually I believe EtG is on Game Pass).

Right now I'm staring down Lightning Returns, Shadows of the Damned, Slay the Spire, Ys VIII, and Darkest Dungeon. That'll probably hold me until mid February and then I'll see what interests me after that. You can do it! Just remember to have fun :)

Funny, I've seen a lot of people disappointed by DMC5. I got what I wanted out of it and really enjoyed my time with it, but my expectations were probably a bit lower.

For me the biggest disappointment was Rage 2. I was really high on it at first. The way the game is balanced, the hard mode starts out a lot of fun. You have to think fast, move through areas in a very efficient way. Every combat encounter is engaging and fun. The further you get though, the more rote the combat becomes even on Hard. You become way too OP and the encounters aren't all that different from one another. I got bored after finishing the main story and never went back, which was a huge bummer after I was so in love with the early game.

@chaser324: I was thinking the same thing. COD always does well on GB and this one in particular seemed to hit.

my thinking is that they’ve said enough. Clearly GB as an outlet just wasn’t into the game. That’s alright, but I don’t have any interest in hearing more takedowns of the game. Granted it’s one of my favorite games of the year so take that as you will.

For what it’s worth I thought the kotaku spoilercast on youtube was great. They didn’t just heap praise, it was a genuinely intelligent discussion and they bring up a lot of the flaws along with positives.