sketchturner

Hollow Knight, followed closely by Tears of the Kingdom and Pikmin 3.

I would vote against Breath of the Wild if I could 😄. I find it so boring and overrated, which is funny since I love TotK and consider it one of my top 10 games ever.

@Ultimapunch Yeah, I've played some of Astrobot and it is really cool. But seems a bit one and done? In any case, $700+ to play only 2 great games I care about is hard to justify.

The PS5 has been out for 4.5 years and Split Fiction is the first game to make me wish I owned the console. I loved the PS4 but the releases for PS5 have been beyond disappointing, so I can't justify buying a PS5 for this one game, even though I desperately want to play it.

@Citrus_Architect
There are 100 levels but they're tiny. There are countless Gameboy games that take much longer to complete. Link's Awakening, Survival Kids, Wario Lands, Donkey Kong Lands, etc.

A game like Fortified Zone only has 4 levels but will likely take someone 10-20 hours to complete because of the mastery it requires (though technically it can be finished in an hour if you know what you're doing).

Honestly, I didn't like the free roam nature of 4 compared to the original trilogy, so introducing the time limit is actually a selling point for me 😄

@N00BiSH I don't mind the short length either. But when Mario vs DK remake came out a couple years ago, people were complaining that game is so much shorter than DK '94. Which is 100% not true and I believe was a very cloudy memory from nostalgia lenses.

DK '94 is great but I feel like nostalgia has made people forget what an incredibly short game it is. I'm pretty sure my first playthrough took 3 hours to 100%.

Did anyone else have a really hard time playing THPS 1+2 in handheld mode? For an experienced player, I found it cramped my hands trying to play at a high level. I tried it on Switch Lite and also with multiple grip attachments but ultimately just went back to playing the game on PS4. It's a shame because it looked incredibly impressive visually for the Switch and ran smoothly. Just the ergonomics I found to be a problem. It works with a Pro Controller on the TV but then I lost the handheld selling point.

Taiji is by far the most interesting looking February release for me. I haven't picked it up yet though because I'm taking a 2 month break from video games for Great Lent.

I enjoyed the first Turok, but boy I got annoyed with the 2nd game. I've heard such good things about it but it fell really flat for me.

"Where do I go? What do I need to do? Where does this portal take me? How is this type of portal different? I didn't want to take that portal... how do I get back? I've explored this level forever and can't find what is left to accomplish!"

I wanted to have fun but maybe I'm just not smart enough for it. I think I only got through 2 or 3 levels.

Will NL be reviewing Taiji, which just released Tuesday? I really want to know how the Switch port turned out before I buy it.

I played this game back in the GBA days and never understood the "hidden gem" hype. It's... okay.
For my taste, Cyber Shadow is the ultimate ninja game.

@Splash_Woman Moses from Wisdom Tree 😄 Now that's a deep cut i can appreciate. Exodus and Spiritual Warfare on Gameboy were a big part of my childhood.

I have such incredible nostalgia for this show.
The humor was bonkers and often surprisingly intellectual social/political commentary. Also, the backstory of how the show was localized for western audiences is absolutely nuts.

The vote isn't working for me, but I'm definitely going to get Taiji. Also a bit interested in Lone Fungus, although its reviews are more convincing than the gameplay videos I've watched.

@nomither6 Or even just sleek would be better than boring. I want the Switch 2 to be silver like this

@whitespy12 The list is based on user rankings, not the opinions of the NL staff.
And if you look at user scores, there's a very narrow margin, meaning the games are nearly tied. The mainline games range from 8.2-8.6.

It's cute and all, but there is an infinite number of things I'd rather spend $100 on.

@ChromaticDracula The N64 version has the Bomber's Notebook as well.

The remake is a step backwards in every way, as far as I'm concerned. That said, I can understand that it makes the game more approachable for the masses.

This looks surprisingly good.

And it reminds me how much we still need an Octodad sequel.

@Ganner How does SnowRunner compare to MudRunner? I've never played either. How would you describe the gameplay?

Playing Captain Toad Treasure Tracker after a decade of sleeping on this game! It always looked too slow-paced and boring.
However, I just picked it up on the Switch and am LOVING it. Way more engaging than I could have imagined. The focus on moving the camera to examine these dioramas from every angle to uncover every secret is incredibly satisfying, and I especially love the pixel Toad hide and seek challenges.

The Witness is one of my favorite games. Probably my favorite puzzle game ever. So this certainly has my attention.

Feels like such a troll move to "announce" a known Direct date TODAY after all the rumors of a Feb 5 Direct. We already knew about the April 2 Direct 😄

Glad to see TotK in the top 10. I know it reviewed well at release but since then, I feel there is far too little appreciation for that game.

I love Metroidvanias, Souls difficulty, and Trials games, so this would be right up my alley...

...if only it didn't have all the gore and profanity. That makes it a no-go for me. Too bad since this sounds really intriguing otherwise.

"Save the Doge"...what a name 😆

@Serpenterror I have a Steam Deck that I want to sell but refuse to do so until I know Silksong is coming to OG Switch. If it doesn't, then I'll play it on my Steam Deck.

(To clarify, I really like the Steam Deck. I'm just largely moving on from gaming as a hobby and looking to downsize).

If Silksong doesn't release on the OG Switch and only on Switch 2, I'm gonna riot. I have no interest in buying another game console (Switch 2 or otherwise) but I absolutely must play Silksong.
Hollow Knight is my favorite game ever and the one time I felt inspired to back a Kickstarter project.

This trailer felt like Nintendo was obligated to release it so that when they have a regular Switch Direct in the next few weeks, nobody is expecting Switch 2 announcements. Like that was the primary reason for this video to exist. It was completely understated.

@Faucet Your comment about being anticlimactic has aged well.

My favorite memory of RE4 is how I worked the trade-in system at Blockbuster to get the game new at launch for only $8. They had buy 2 used games, get 1 free. So I bought the cheapest thing they had, meaning I got 3 copies of Turok Evolution for $8.

They also had trade any 3 games in, get any 1 game. So I turned around and traded 3 used copies of Turok Evolution for 1 new copy of Resident Evil 4 (just a week or two after it released on Gamecube).

I felt like a mad genius! As a broke college student, these were necessary survival skills 😄

... and since that time I've bought the game not only on Gamecube but also Wii, PS4, and Switch.

I have had a pre-order on Amazon since this game was first announced. However, it's been so long that I've since moved. When I went to update the address on the pre-order, it forced me to cancel the pre-order and create a new one. Felt kind of sad to lose a pre-order that was so ancient 😄 (Plus my order back then had qualified for 20% off, which is now lost)

I play my Switch Lite in waiting offices or on the plane, etc. But I never take my Steam Deck out because it's so large.

I miss the days of the GBA Micro, personally.

Interested in Platform 4, but I'll need to see a review.
Last week I bought Exit 8 on a whim and had a blast playing through it with my kids.

@rvcolem1 I agree, the first person perspective for missiles and grappling was dumb and unnecessarily awkward. As well as the forced slow-walk sections with the camera over the shoulder.

I actually like the way you moved through a 3D environment with just the D-pad on the Wiimote. It feels really good to me for some reason.

@Samalik Yeah I've been seriously considering buying the Ninja Gaiden collection on Switch. Here is my only question: can you turn off the gore?
Based on early reviews, the collection launched without gore (which disappointed a lot of people), but then it was patched in. Personally, I don't like blood in my games, so I'm hoping there is a way to turn it off.

I may be alone, but I'd LOVE for them to do a follow-up to Metroid: Other M.
Despite its flaws, I absolutely love that game and have replayed it so many times, including this past year.

With a little tweaking, I think that sort of 3rd person Metroid could be the ideal scenario for the series. The dodge mechanic is incredibly satisfying, and the shine spark/speed booster is the best in the series.

Prime 4 and SILKSONG for me!

The Wii game is so well made i don't know how they could improve upon it. Just give us an HD port on Switch.

As for stereotypes... people need to lighten up. Stereotypes exist for a reason, and people of various ethnicities frequently make fun of their own cultural stereotypes. Big deal.

I have always seen it both ways, TBH.

1. Hollow Knight
2. Shadow Man
3. Animal Well

@garfreek Yeah, funny thing about Skyward Sword. My first playthrough back in 2011 was magical. I liked the motion controls and generally thought everything was incredible. I'll never forget beating Demise for the first time... it was just minutes from midnight on New Years Eve. I immediately told my wife this is now my 2nd favorite Zelda (nothing could beat Majora).

Then I replayed the game about a year later and... hated it. So many parts were mind numbingly tedious and Fi was insulting my intelligence every couple of minutes. The only parts I still really enjoyed were the Skykeep dungeon and the fight with Demise.

I sold the game immediately and swore to never touch it again.

That said, last night I started listening to the soundtrack and yeah it's quite good!

@garfreek The one song I remember really liking was Batreaux's Theme. Which was funny because I found the sidequest setup and rewards to be intolerable in that game but at least I got to hear that music!

Huh, I'm genuinely surprised to see all the positivity for this soundtrack. Even back when I used to love this game, I felt the music was really unexceptional. Maybe I should give it another listen.

I still want to play the first.

I love the visual style a LOT. But it needs to be applied to more than RPGs. I haven't bought a single 2D-HD game because of the gameplay, not the graphics.

The show was fantastic. Great pacing, humor, music, and a shocking number of really great game announcements. Even if most of the games aren't for me personally, I don't see how an awards show could be done better.

I hope Switch 2 can play Splitgate 2, Nightreign, Split Fiction, Stage Fright, and the "sequel" to Shadow of the Colossus.

Shovel Knight is a great choice! Now give me Axiom Verge and Hollow Knight.