I just got a Nintendo Switch back in April/May and I have to say I love it - quite possibly my favorite system that I've owned. The amount of enjoyment I've gotten out of it just this year so far is in the hundreds of hours. It has reinvigorated my love of gaming - I had a 2-3 year period where I was afraid gaming was ruined for me since I couldn't stop playing Soulsborne and nothing else interested me. A weekend at my friend's house playing his Switch got me onboard. I've been following this subreddit for a while and have never posted my own thread until now. I never really considered the concept of "Patient Gaming" until finding this community and realizing that by and large, I'm a patient gaming mf'er. I don't think I'll have much new to add that hasn't been said a million times (especially in a sub like this) but here are some quick thoughts and opinions on the Switch games I've played so far:
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Diablo III - I never played this when it released on PC and played Torchlight instead as a middle finger to Blizzard. I forgot about it for years until reading that it was awesome on the Switch. I spent about 50 hours playing D3 as my first Switch game. Personally I still like Torchlight II better, and for better or worse a lot of the systems in the game reminded me of Torchlight rather than the other way around. I had a hard time taking the story seriously but it was fun to make demons explode all over the place. I finished the main game and went through the seasonal campaigh to get my full set, and then moved on. I can't remember which Torment level I got to. I know seasons are still happening so I might hop back on one day if I'm looking for something to do.
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Zelda: BOTW - What can I say? This game absolutely sucked me in, in a way that hasn't happened in many many years. It is a dream to play and the world begs you to just explore it. Prior to this game I was developing a bad habit of spoiling games by watching playthroughs, reading wiki's while bored at work, etc. For this game I wanted to prove to myself that I could just play a game and not spoil myself, and with that decision I was rewarded with some of my most treasured recent gaming memories. I absolutely REFUSED to look up the Master Sword location, so when I finally made my way back to that corner of the map after several dozen hours and found what I was looking for, the joy was real. Most proud moment of my playthrough - beating Thunderblight Ganon on my first try, as my first Divine Beast, woefully unprepared. I was one hit away from dying on his last phase, my gear was mostly gone thanks to his lightning. I don't know how but I happened to land an extremely lucky sword flurry attack and killed him. Didn't really think much of it until going online to read other's thoughts and finding out it is probably the hardest boss in the game. So there ya go, the rest of the game was a cakewalk, but a SUBLIME cakewalk.
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Hollow Knight - Holy shit, ya'll. I'll keep it short and sweet, but this is one of my favorite games of all time. My first foray into the world of Metroidvania (I'm 36 so I don't know how that is possible). It sucked me in just like Zelda - granted, it was more of a masochistic experience but I wouldn't trade it for anything. I tried to keep it as un-spoiled as possible and just like Zelda I was supremely rewarded by the exploration and secrets I didn't know about. I experienced heights of frustration that I haven't seen since Dark Souls, and honestly to me some of these bosses were even harder than anything in Souls. Getting used to the platforming and twitchy controls took a while, but once I got the hang of it I couldn't put it down. The level design, art, gameplay, and especially the music are extremely memorable. Since I'm used to Souls and not Metroidvania the backtracking did not bother me and the bench vs. bonfire system made sense to me. There were only a couple of boss runs that were ridiculous. I love the charm system and one of my favorite boss kills was Watcher Knight, since I figured out a unique (to me) combo that let me just dash through and use spells, didn't swing the nail once in that fight. I still have some stuff left to do to "complete" the game but I'm satisfied. I'm very much looking forward to Silksong. Favorite track - Resting Grounds.
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Mario Odyssey - This game was fun but not mindblowing. Maybe it suffered coming on the heels of Zelda and Hollow Knight, but it didn't have that hard-to-put-your-finger-on feeling that made me obsessed with the other two. As someone that has been playing 3D Mario since the 90's I feel like I can finally opine that Mario is better as a sidescroller. Don't get me wrong - the game is as beautiful and high quality as they come. I didn't like the camera controls and found that 99% of my deaths came from environmental hazards like falling down cliffs or misjudging where a jump will land. I can't tell you how many times I hurled curses at Mario for not landing where I expected him to. Maybe I just need to git gud. Props to Nintendo for doing some weird shit like putting in a normal human city (probably the best world, TBH) and cartoon Bowser pitting you against a dragon that looks like it came straight from Dark Souls. I still have SEVERAL hundred more moons to get if I want to. This is a game that I know will be just as good whenever I decide to pick it back up. Just like the Korok seeds in BOTW, I have too much to do IRL and too many other games to play to even attempt collecting them all.
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Celeste - I got this before I finished Hollow Knight, played a bit and got frustrated. It is not an easy game, which I knew going in. I made it through the first couple of stages with a pretty low death count, but stage 3 really made me question my sanity. I found myself comparing my deaths with people on Reddit and elsewhere, which is no way to play. I suck pretty bad, but this is the type of game that will tilt you if you let it. I spent a few hours getting back into it the other day, and felt way more Zen about it. It is still hard as hell, but I know I can do it. Just keep trying until you get it, damn everyone else online. Getting all of those B-sides and extras though, I don't know about that. I need to be honest with myself about what I enjoy, what I can do, and when trying to accomplish something stops being fun.
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SteamWorld Dig 2 - I just finished this game a few hours ago which is what prompted me to type out this whole post. I've been 'chasing the dragon' if you will after Hollow Knight and Zelda. Mario didn't quench my thirst and Celeste is a different monster. I've seen Dig 2 mentioned on lots of 'Best on Switch', 'Best Indie', 'Best Metroidvania' lists, and it was on sale so I figured why not. The gameplay loop sounded enjoyable, and at $10 I could afford to take a very unlikely L. About 12 hours later I can say that it was fun but just OK. Definitely one of the shortest games I've played in recent memory, which is not a downside. The upgrades came fast and never let the gameplay get stale, and as I got the hang of digging properly I started really enjoying uncovering secrets, tubes, and more valuables. It was fun while it lasted, for the most part. I thought the enemy variety was kind of lame, and several types of enemies bounce around unpredictably making it difficult to not take damage which was more annoying than anything thanks to health and armor upgrades. Some of the upgrades make the gameplay trivial, like the one that never lets your lantern go below 50% and another that shows ore on the minimap. I also kept expecting an upgrade that would let me swing in midair, but that never came. The final boss ramped up the difficulty out of nowhere and turned it into a frantic bullet hell which just really irritated me for some reason and seemed to me a total tonal shift from the laid back pace of the rest of the game. Then, it just ends. I think I'm missing about 18 secrets. I have a feeling this one just comes down to opinion, but I was happy to see the credits and don't think there is much replayability.
So there you have it. One thing that this forum and my recent experience has taught me is that I shouldn't dwell on a game out of some sense of obligation - if the fun stops and/or if I feel fulfilled I should just move on. Mario and Zelda made my head spin with the amount of collectibles and I had to tell myself nobody is holding me up to any standard, so just move on when you're done. I'm trying to make that my mantra with gaming in general - because I don't know about you all, but gaming is something I do for fun and enjoyment, and if it stops being fun I need to take a step back. Thanks for reading my novel and I'd love to hear your thoughts!
Submitted September 03, 2019 at 10:54PM by captain_bowlton https://ift.tt/2LkM1nv
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