Y2Ken

This seems to pretty mch sum up the whole thread. It sucks when Sony and Nintendo do it. It would suck if Microsoft did it (and, for the record, they do with their other games). I would love it if everyone could play Bloodborne or Splatoon on whichever platform they own without having to buy a specific console to do so. I have a PS4, Switch, and PC, but not a modern Xbox - I was overjoyed to see the Yakuza series come to Xbox so more people could play them, and so was the vast majority of the fanbase.

I think this actually kinda where I end up a lot of the time. I still enjoy single-player story or single player games, but I increasingly like roguelikes because I can get my fill in a quick time, and I can drop off at any time and come back a while later and not worry about losing the progression (a lot of them also let you duck out mid-run, which is something that souls is also quite good at).

Personally I really enjoy roguelikes because it feels like I'm building up knowledge of the systems and/or a skillset that makes me gradually better at the game (which is why I also tend to favour ones with minimal or no permanent character upgrades). That's just what works for me. I like that I can start from nothing and be way better than I was when I first played.

I can definitely understand where you're coming from though. The slower roguelikes are definitely more appealing to me now as I get older - Slay the Spire, Monster Train, and actually Spelunky, which I maintain is actually great because it rarely requires you to have incredible reactions or platforming skills, if you play smartly you usually only ever need to execute a couple of moves in quick succession that you can plan out beforehand and time carefully.

For me it's definitely the "hiding in plain sight" aspect of dressing up as other characters combined with the fairly forgiving mechanics - which means you can play quite fast and loose and get away with a lot of stuff. Played with a good knowledge of the mechanics it becomes something that's still very much a stealth game, but a fast-paced stealth game where 47 is carving a path of destruction through the level yet avoiding being caught.

On the other hand, as others have said it handles the transition between the measured play of working within the level's rules and playing along carefully, and the chaos of something going wrong and a frantic shootout breaking out. Which then leads to you desperately making an escape, finding another disguise, and then working out how to deal with the new mess you've left behind.

If you feel like you want more of a traditional stealth game experience from it, I would recommend trying to do Silent Assassin, Suit Only runs - that really restricts you to having to actually employ more a traditional "hide around corners, throw objects to distract guards, slip past patrol routes" approach and usually also means you have to find a clean way to deal with each target and hide the body without attracting any attention.

If you can stomach the cost, a Pro Controller is maybe the best single investment for the Switch if you're intending to play games docked (on your TV).

You're gonna have to get online but, as others have pointed out, you can get a family membership for eight people and so buying it as a group with your friends would be the most efficient way to go, presuming someone is happy being the "parent" account. Plus it'll give you access to all the NES and SNES games they throw on their as part of the service.

Games-wise, aside from the obvious picks like Mario Kart, BotW, Mario Odyssey - I'd highly recommend Splatoon 2 (campaign is great and given that you'll have online it's easy to get into), Bayonetta 2 (and 1 if you haven't played that) for action, Tokyo Mirage Sessions if you fancy a stylish anime-ass RPG in the vein of Persona, and Ring Fit if you want a genuinely compelling casual (but decent) fitness product.

And yes, definitely play Hades.

Chilli (bean or con carne), or Indian food (probably Jalfrezi if we're picking one).

Honestly though the best thing about food is how much variety there is.

I'd say 60:40, though it could be closer to 70:30 in pure capacity terms.

My freezer is almost always packed full, but I buy very few "frozen meals" or things like that. It's mostly frozen vegetables (the likes of peas, spinach, soy beans, etc that freeze well), any leftover bread (I freeze it when I buy a new loaf, then use it for soups, toast, or if I run out of fresh before I can go shopping), ice cream, ice cube trays, sometimes packs of frozen mince, chicken, or fish if I've bought multiple on offer, and then a bunch of frozen leftover meals. I tend to cook larger quantities and then freeze several meals out of it, because while I love cooking I don't have time to do it from scratch every day.

My fridge is less full because it's often just me in the house and I don't get through that much fresh food. But there's always butter, cheese, milk, soft drinks, juice, and a bunch of condiments - then often some beers or ciders, along with any fresh ingredients I've bought to cook with or use that week. Y'know, fridge stuff.

Okay, at this point I'm not actually sure you understand the game. You can beat every boss in this game with no upgrades and base gear if you're really committed to doing it (especially so if you have perfect timing and reactions). Yeah, there are ways you can cheese a lot of the bosses but they're cheese strategies that are almost ways to circumnavigate playing it normally.

Dodge & counter are explicitly not the same - the former generally allows you to get in health damage whereas a deflect will build up the enemy's posture meter.

As for hitboxes, this game is if anything known for how tight its hitboxes are - you can avoid attacks with things like very slight sideward movements or using attacks of your own that happen to have slight head ducking in them.

The game is built around the deflect/parry mechanic. Yes, most fights force you to engage with that mechanic, because that's the centrepiece of their design (though there are ways to do many boss fights without using it, it's just slower). Is it realistic? No, absolutely not. But this isn't about realism, it's a fun system that looks and feels cool when you engage with it.

If it's not for you, that's okay. But it seems from reading that your core complaint is that you don't like that they funnel you towards this central mechanic of deflecting and breaking posture rather than allowing you to stun-lock enemies or just run around them. That's the type of game they decided to make - personally it's one of my favourites of all time. It sounds like you just want a different game, which is fine, but I don't think your issues are flaws. They're just choices made in service of a specific, focused design decision, and executed very well.

Oh and you usually have plenty of time to heal - just make sure to pick your moment carefully when the enemy is recovering. If you try and heal when they're ready to attack, then of course they'll look to punish that.

I'm surprised Sakuna: Of Rice And Ruin had so few votes - feels like that's been an indie darling I've heard a lot about of late, but maybe the peak of interest in it has only been in recent weeks. I'm guessing not many people aside me put Unto The End on their lists - tbh I only squeezed it on at 10 because I like what it's going for, even if I don't think it fully succeeds. Worth checking out if you have Gamepass, though.

I'm pretty sure it's right. If I'm remembering correctly, the weighted scores are lower than the total number of votes because they use fractions for the scoring (not "10 points for first" but rather "1 point for first" or something to that effect). That's why a game like 13 Sentinels ends up much lower on total votes than it does on weighted (because people who liked it tended to really like it and place it highly on their list), whereas the likes of THPS and AC: Valhalla drop down on the weighted because lots of people liked them but scored them lower down.

As others have said, this is great! And a really nice clear reference to come back to for the future.