Yeah, I’m sure the Switch 2 is capable of much more. Mario Kart World looks really pretty, and they managed to get FF7 Rebirth running on it. So I’m sure the Pokemon devs could do a lot better really - but by their standards it’s an improvement at least.

From 1:31 onwards?

Interesting! I haven’t played a Pokemon game since Sword and Shield, but I’m liking the setting here. And it looks a little bit more graphically impressive than previous instalments?

Nothing on my Switch at the moment, but I have been meaning to borrow Echoes of Wisdom from a colleague at some point.

On PS5 I’m nearing the end of Act 2 of Baldur’s Gate 3. Loving the game so far - excellent writing and the streamlined D&D gameplay is incredible.

I’ve also just purchased Squeakross: Home Squeak Home on Steam! It’s a picross game, where each completed puzzle earns pieces of furniture to decorate a little house for your rat character. I love rodents and picross, so this is right up my street! Apparently it’s on Switch as well.

It looks cute and I’m a fan of all the silliness. If the reviews are good and it runs well on the original Switch I might consider it :)

Oh god, the most annoying part of Mario Wonder has broken into the real world :')

(I didn’t mind him in the game to be fair, he made me chuckle a few times)

Nothing on my Switch right this moment, and given that I’ve just started a rather large game it may stay that way for a little while!

The game in question is Baldur’s Gate 3. I’m quite late to the party, but I’m finally getting around to playing it. I’m not that far in yet, but I’ve been enjoying it so far (and slowly getting my head around the mechanics). I’ve never played D&D so a lot of it’s quite a lot to take in - but playing other RPGs has given me some idea of the basics.

Relatedly, I finished Disco Elysium the other day (which has a character sheet and ability checks like D&D). It was just surreal and beautifully written, with some really memorable characters. Some of the interactions you can have with people are great.

Yes I think you’re right - there’s a lot of lead-up to christmas and it’s usually a time where you come together over a few days. Whereas NYE is one evening, and it doesn’t involve special food or presents etc. (just lots of booze)

That’s a good point. I wonder if there are many songs dedicated to new year for people following those calendars?

Ohh a good selection, thanks!

Oh that’s interesting to hear! What new year’s songs do you know then?

I’m from the UK. Whereabouts are you from, to have never heard a christmas song?

That’s true, but you don’t really hear them being played once christmas is over

Fireworks I guess?

I think Red Faction still does a better job of it, because it blends the destruction and physics into one system. i.e. buildings will topple the second they become unstable, rather than only becoming a physics object once they’re fully separated.

Oh sweet! The QoL stuff is great, love the collabs and the hotel is really interesting. I’m not sure if I could see myself getting into the swing of playing this again though… perhaps if they added more NPC dialogue. As it stands I’d really have no incentive to speak to my villagers which feels like a core part of the game. I think I’m burnt out having already put so many hours into this game over lockdown.

That’s a good way to do things. I guess I have a mentality of ‘I paid for this, so I want to make the most of it’, though that doesn’t necessarily mean 100%ing a game, just playing it until I’m satisfied. In that respect calling myself a completionist isn’t quite accurate - I’ll just play through all of the significant content and avoid any filler. The recent Spiderman games are some of the few that I’ve actually 100%'d, because I found all the content to be fun and not a waste of time.

It’s rare that I’ve dropped a game, as I tend to be quite particular about the games I pick up; but I totally agree that if you’re not enjoying a game it’s better to just drop it and move on to something else. Digimon Cyber Sleuth for example - I got about 10 hours in and lost interest. Not sure if I’ll go back!

It doesn’t help that I’m a bit of a completionist (at least to the point of doing the majority of the side quests, and ignoring the ones I felt were tedious)

It took me months (I’ve had a lot of other stuff on), but I finally beat FF7 Rebirth the other day! Really enjoyed it - the combat system is great and I loved exploring the backstories for each character. Some parts felt quite filler-y, but were generally still fun to play/watch.

I’ve just started Tunic. The way in which various aspects of the game are revealed through the instruction manual is so clever. Can’t wait to finish work and play some more!

Yes I’d agree with this. It’s fiddly, but changing the sticks isn’t too bad. So glad I eventually changed mine out for hall effect ones after several bouts of stick drift!