On The Mend With Ben - The B Stands for Ben

I'm super excited to get to play this game.

Edit: I just thought about GB quests for the first time in a while and I sort of miss them.

I got to the 3rd level and already at 330 deaths. I think the switches controls are terrible for this the dash never goes where you want it. It's hard but the controls make it harder. I don't give a damn about strawberries they are usually way too hard to get and no reward. I want to like this game more but it's super meat boy in disguise.

Yeah, i thought about getting this on switch but ended up going with ps4 for the controller. I'm still pretty terrible at it.

Celeben!

The part Ben does at around 3 minutes took me maybe 30 minutes to get through, and he just... did it... on his second try.

The B Stands for Good at Gaming

@rhoadsie: There probably were a lot of tries we just didn't see.

CELESTE IS DOPE also I like these solo videos ben, but also I hope you mend quickly <3

QA on the Elite controller has been notoriously bad. I'm on my third one, either the rubbers grips just come off randomly or the bumbers fall off. I kinda wish I never bought one.

Celeste is amazing! The game deserves a proper Quick Look

This game is fantastic, by the way. GB should give it some hype!

Really? What are you using to control the game? I actually find that the four separate d-pad buttons help me get the diagonals right every time (because I can tell if I'm pressing two buttons at once with my thumb or just one). Were you using the stick instead?

EDIT: Weirdly, my one problem with this game is the reload speed after dying. It's super fast... but compared to SMB I wish it was a couple tenths of a second faster. I feel it's just long enough to make me anxious about trying again while I wait. Needless to say it's... not that big of a deal.

EDIT EDIT: I was playing this on public transportation recently and... man, performance anxiety is a thing, even when you're only paranoid that people may be looking over your shoulder. Respect to streamers and Ben Packs everywhere who do this in front of thousands and don't choke a ton.

The aesthetics remind me more of They Bleed Pixels rather than Super Meat Boy. Which is not a bad thing, as TBP was a criminally underrated platformer. I will have to check out Celeste at one point, but I still need to finish Iconoclasts first.

@noelveiga: most precision jumps aren't 45 degrees and they rarely send you the right direction. I won't even bother using the pro controller either since I bought one for hollow knight on pc and I've never used a worse dpad. When you need air control using the switch in hand held mode with the joy cons is a total drag the analog doesn't react most of the time and the dpad sends you in the wrong direction 9 times out of 10.

This game is very good. And as someone who isn't big on fighting games and plans on waiting until Monster Hunter is cheaper, it came at just the right time!

@chadjones: Yes! Celeste rules! Glad Ben is really enjoying it. I can see Brad getting into Celeste since he loved Super Meat Boy, and this has levels designed similar in the vein of SMB but feels less punishing. Alex would probably enjoy the story too. Won’t get into much details but it goes over overcoming anxiety.

Another what looks like a good game that will be lost in a sea of releases. Probably will be awhile if I play it, if ever. Market saturation at its finest!

Just wanted to say that I've really enjoyed these solo vids, Ben. Thanks for doing them and hope you are feeling better! Perhaps, you should set up a home twitch channel or something for when you are feeling better? I'd definitely watch.

Also, this looks cool. Reminds me of Meatboy or Ori.

I mean, I'm not gonna be the "git gud" guy, but so far I haven't encountered a screen I couldn't navigate with the d-pad. It definitely feels like a d-pad game to me in that every screen I've encountered so far is designed around 8-direction control. The few times you want analogue aiming (like, say, the green bubbles) you can substitute it by dashing out of an 8-direction bubble at the right time.

The thing I will ask, though, is about that pro controller thing. I have one of those, the d-pad is a chunky Nintendo-style cross. As I said earlier, I do like the four discrete buttons to nail diagonals, but that is the d-pad design of choice for platformers in the past 30 years. People were itching for the cross d-pad patent to expire so they could use it and the Xbox controller stole it to replace their icky old d-pad once that happened. Is there anything in particular about it that's not doing it for you?

And again, not saying your experience is not valid. It's just... reeeally not what my experience has been and I'm trying to figure out where you're coming from here.

@steveurkel: I thought the controls were bad at first, but then I figured out the dash can ONLY go hard diagonal, up/down or sideways so I adjusted.

Best game of 2018. So far...

@steveurkel:

I thought my switch was broken, but good to hear its not just me. The joycon buttons are fuckign terrible for this.

Yeah, I couldn't figure out what was wrong because it was physically hurting me to play the game with the joy con controller. I just felt my hands were cramping up or nothing felt right or my character was not reacting to the button presses accordingly. Maybe as mikachops said I need to use the dash as an 8 way thing and not thinking it can go 360 degrees? Which is what I've been trying to do even with the analog controller. The game makes some jumps so incredibly awkward that you have to dash at nearly impossible angles and with the joy con sending me in the wrong direction half the time. I texted a friend saying the game was hard and he seriously plays through almost every platformer as soon as they come out and is way more interested in getting trophies and achievements so is actually good at the genre. He told me that the controls were terrible in portable mode and I said wow I thought it was just me and he said he can't understand why everyone is saying it is any good since he can't get over the bad controls too.

I'm glad to hear I'm not crazy though and someone else is (unfortunately) having the same problem with the joy cons. I'll try it later in dock mode and see if it is any better but in hand held I've had an awful experience.

I do have arthritis in my hands so playing with a controller doesn't feel particular great for me so I avoid using them as much as I can. I was convinced to get this game for the switch thinking it would have the best controls. It is a VERY common occurrence (as in google nintendo switch pro controller d pad issue) where people are still asking about it in 2018 if the problem is fixed. It is a problem with a false positive where you press left and it will press UP and LEFT instead. There are videos demonstrating it I'm happy you don't have the issue but I wasted $70 dollars because hollow knight was actually impossible due to this problem and in Legend of Zelda I felt it wasn't; as comfortable as the joy con hand held thingy.

https://www.reddit.com/r/NintendoSwitch/comments/76nv1g/does_the_pro_controller_still_have_dpad_issues/

https://www.neogaf.com/threads/the-switch-pro-controllers-d-pad-issue.1428518/

https://www.neogaf.com/threads/beware-if-youre-purchasing-the-nintendo-switch-pro-controller-for-the-d-pad.1354990/

https://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/189706-nintendo-switch/75740327

http://www.ateijelo.com/blog/2017/07/12/effective-fix-switch-pro-controller-dpad-issues

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/editorial/44760/the-switch-pro-controllers-d-pad-dysfunction

There you go I saved you the googling.

Ben being straight reckless with these video titles.

@steveurkel: Gotcha. My Pro controller doesn't seem to have that issue, but it's good to understand you meant a defect and not the design of the d-pad itself, which is what I had understood at first.

And I totally see how arthritis would change your perception of which controllers/games are good to play and which ones aren't. I have repetitive stress issues, myself, and if a game or controller triggers it, it triggers it and there's not much I can do about it. The stupid touchpad in the Steam Controller, for instance, causes pain for me in a matter of minutes, and it can last for days. For me the detached controllers on the Switch tend to help because I don't have to keep my wrists bent on my lap (it helps that my hands aren't huge). It's the same reason I liked the Wiimote a lot more than the average person, too.

Hey, have you tried the controller the guys were talking about in UPF recently?

https://www.engadget.com/2017/12/01/8bitdo-wireless-snes-controller-switch-sn30pro-review/

It works on Switch and people say good things about it. If you already know you like a SNES controller it may do the trick. I haven't tried it myself, though, so I can't vouch for it personally.

I just love this game. Hopefully it will bring us a Breaking Brad with Brad trying to clear the B sides and the last level.

Celeste needs a Quick Look.

Can you wait 2 hours and 22 minutes? :) It looks like we will be getting one at 6 AM PST.

I have heard that controller briefly but have been pretty happy with the PS 4 for most games. To be honest my favorite controllers are the SNES, PS 2, PS 4 controllers and not much else so maybe it will be worth trying that out thank you. That might not be a bad idea!

This reminds me of You Have to Win the Game, only 10x more difficult.

Glad to hear that Ben will be back soon! I miss him on the Bombcast! (Him being there in person, I mean.)

Kudos to Ben for doing all these videos while recovering, hope you're 100% soon. I'm finding I'm enjoying videos like this more than multiple person QL format ones these days.

I am actually a little salty how quick Ben beat the second half of this blind, on camera while providing commentary. The last like 5 screens of this absolutely THRASHED me.

I really hope that Ben stops with the pointless screams, hoots, and shouts. Sure, I'm more sound sensitive than most people, but it really sincerely does bother me. Perhaps headphones makes it worse because the sound level spikes so dramatically. It happens at 5:41,17:06, 20:11, and 20:30; and I'm not counting every exasperated noise, just the egregious that really get under my skin.