$450 for Switch 2 though we will all probably get the Mario Kart bundle for $500 considering the game is $80 (!!) on its own. Donkey Kong Bananza (!) will be $70 so Im guessing that is the normal price going forward.

Don’t love the pricing scheme for Switch 2 (and especially the games!), but I’m not surprised.

I’ll probably wait for the next mainline Zelda release to get one. Nothing else (so far) is appealing.

Plus I’ll be occupied with PS5 for awhile. After Trump won the election I panicked about console prices skyrocketing and bought my first ever Sony console. So far it’s been a blast, with Hogwarts Legacy being mostly delightful, and now thoroughly enjoying Spider-man 2. Also have God of War (PS4), Jedi: Survivor, and God of War: Ragnarok on deck.

Also really intrigued by Ghosts of Tsushima, Astrobot, Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, Baldur’s Gate 3, the Uncharted bundle, and maybe the Resident Evil 4 remake (although I’m not great with scary / horror games, but have played the OG Gamecube one a few times).

Still haven't played BF3, but all the others you listed are great. Love Hogwarts Legacy and still think it'd have been nominated for game of the year if not for JK developing foot in mouth disease. I'm jealous you get all that for you next year of gaming lol. Definitely check out all the Naughty Dog games too. Even the old Uncharteds still hold up well and Last of Us 2 is an all timer.

Ugh I'm so hyped for Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza that I'm gonna pay whatever stupid price they ask aren't I?

Though something worrying that I've seen brought up: if Nintendo can get away with charging $80 for Mario Kart World does that give other companies complete freedom to charge whatever they want? What if Rockstar says that Grand Theft Auto 6 will cost $100? Can they get away with that? I worry the answer is yes.

I'm glad they made another 3D DK game but I can't say that and the Mario Kart trailer did a lot for me. I think I'd lean towards PS5 if I finally bought another console.

As if we needed any more convincing, Hades 2 will be a Switch 2 exclusive upon launch just like the first was. And ... holy shit is Hollow Knight 2's music??? I was worried that game was dead lol. First is great so hopefully the long development was for quality control.

Hope the Trump Tax doesn't push the price much higher though. $500+ is a lot as is....

RPG fans have been feasting this week with the release of Oblivion Remastered and now Clair Obscure has a 92 on metacritic.

Did everyone get their Switch 2 preorders in?

Gonna probably get the Switch 2 at a future date. I have plenty of games to play on my Switch and I still like to play the old games on my Nintendo Online membership. Plus I am having plenty of fun with Baldur’s Gate 3 right now. Probably will play two more play through until I am done

GTA6 pushed to May 2026. Not a surprise but still a bummer. Well, for players, for developers it completely opens up the game of the year award this year with Expedition 33 as the current frontrunner.

A much bigger issue- xbox hiked up the prices on just about everything because of the tariffs. $80 games are gonna be the new standard for everyone.

Yeah prices on electronics will become very expensive under Trump

3 hours in and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is definitely a winner. Very emotional story, great art and music, engaging combat for a turn based rpg and the french setting is unique.

Also completed and enjoyed South of Midnight (8/10ish). Blue Prints isn't hooking me so far but I'll give it another chance (5/10ish). Oblivion remake is fine but I just prefer Skyrim in every way.

Love it so far. The increased size will take some getting used to, my hand was a bit sore after Mario Karting it up, but I dig it. The screen looks so nice. Pokemon Scarlett might as well have been remade with how much they fixed the graphics and bugs (so far.)

Update on PS5 gaming— finished Hogwarts Legacy (loved it) and Spider-man 2 (loved it), although I’m realizing I’m not very good at gaming apparently since the latter was still kind of challenging for me on easy mode.

Now I’ve been playing God of War (2018), maybe 15 hours in, and I have this feeling that I don’t like it very much. Almost feel like I should be enjoying it more than I am. Not sure what that’s about or if it’ll change (I hope it does since I also already purchased Ragnorok).

I think out of all the other PS games I might like I’m leaning towards Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. I know Corpse loved that one. I also bough Jedi Survivor on sale for $20.

My Xbox broke, now just have my retro Nintendo and old Atari, think I have a WI somewhere too, I’m hoping to get the one refurbished, I want to try Force unleashed or the new battlefront. Call of Duty was my staple though

Favorite online games though were
Cal of Duty
Left for dead
Worms Armageddon

Hmm God of War, in my opinion, peaks at the start with the epic Baldur fight. Though I know alot of people were really drawn to the lone wolf and cub story, showing how Kratos had matured from his shouting at greek gods about his dead family days. It actually won game of the year against Red Dead Redemption 2 which was pretty shocking at the time ... and still kinda is lol. And while I think Ragnarok is better paced, the combat and structure are pretty similiar, so I doubt it's gonna turn you around if you haven't been hooked yet.

Jedi Fallen Order sounds up your alley if you liked Hogwarts and Spidey ... though I will say that if you found Spidey 2 difficult then you might struggle with the combat? It's meant to be a more accessible version of Sekiro's combat, with parrying being the key, which is still pretty tough.

I had to think of this game recently, so much fun.

Expedition 33 is going to win game of the year. Maybe not my personal favorite but it is checking all the boxes. Very heavy and emotional story ("elevated" gaming) but more importantly they (I believe) are the first to turn turn based combat into a Dark Soulsish adrenaline rush. Some of these bosses are just ridiculously hard, and you think you can just skip them and be on your way but then you get to a story boss that is nigh-impossible without an item that the boss-you-thought-was-skippable drops... It really gives the same feeling of hopelessness that the characters are feeling. Damn impressive in the most depressing way lol.

It's a trip playing it together with happy go lucky Mario Kart World. But that's probably good. Still haven't gone online yet but I bet the Knockout Tour mode is really fun with 31 other people. I love how dynamic the levels are and its fun exploring them in open world mode. Oh, and as always, fuck the blue shell.

I had a gaming session two nights ago where I fought the dragon right as I was nearing the top of the mountain. Epic as hell, plus something else clicked and I like it now haha.

hmm I never remember to parry ever, I’m a brute force kind of spaz in VG fights, so we’ll see about Survivor.

Expedition 33 looks amazing but if it’s a considerably difficult RPG… I’m out. I quit Sea of Stars and Octopath Traveler II because things got tough like 22 hours in. I don’t like a big challenge in gaming.

Yeah the difficulty is pretty unforgiving I'd say. At first I thought the dodging/parrying mechanic was for my benefit, to make the battles easier and go faster - nope! You gotta do it and do it well or you're gonna get wiped every time. But again I think that actually adds to the story, where hope is all but dead yet these characters have to push through anyways.

Glad God of War clicked though!