Spider-Man 2 - 7.5

Hate to give it the exact same grade as Tears and Diablo but I did feel basically the same way about it. The bones of the game are amazing. I'll never get tired of swinging (or flying with the web wings!) around New York City. I think these games have captured the essence of the city just as well, if not better, than any other game or piece of medie in general. The game is a blast to play when you're in the open world or an intense boss fight. There's a part near the end where you



What holds it back is the black-suit storyline. They start with an interesting twist on it - Eddie Brock is not in the game and a different, more thematically appropriate for this game, character becomes Venom. That was a good idea ... but it's still basically the same story as Spider-Man 3. Maybe the black suit is just the dark phoenix of the Spiderverse? Peter is such a dunce before, during and after wearing the black suit that it made me just wanna play as Miles as much as possible. Hell, I even liked MJs stealthy interludes more than playing as Venom lol.

So yeah, just like every 2023 game I've played it is good, worthy of a B+ish grade, but just a far cry from its predecessor which I gave a 10/10.

I didn't intend this to happen, but after platinuming Spider-Man I needed a new daytime game (one I could play while blasting music from my homepod) and Elden Ring naturally came back into the fold. So now I'm playing my favorite game as a kid, Mario RPG, and my favorite as an adult, Elden Ring, at the same time. It's quite the experience!


Game awards are Thursday! I won't be able to watch the entire show, but hopefully will see the end. Not sure what type of trailers they'll show though. 2024 is pretty light on big releases. Hoping that we get release dates on Hades 2 and Civ 7 (and double hoping this will release day/date on ps5 since my laptop won't be able to handle it anymore) but not gonna hold my breath on them. Maybe Nintendo will reveal Switch 2 in exchange for Tears or Wonder winning the game of the year?

The Switch still has a somewhat stacked (especially as year 8 approaches!) next six+ months, and it's looking to beat their sales projection for the fiscal year (15m+ console sold) too. It's going to challenge the PS2 LTD sales if it stays strong through 2024.

I know the Switch 2 is approaching, but this is going to be a tricky transition for them. They tend to have more sudden transitions (minimal support for the previous console), but how do you do that when your console is still selling like a recently released one in its seventh year and software sales remain so strong? Do you make the Switch 2 backwards compatible with Switch games, do you release Switch 2 games on Switch as well for like a year?

It's going to be interesting to see what they do.

And yes, more Hades 2 news please! Hope it's out within the next 4-6 months.

Still haven’t beaten Tears of the Kingdom. But now I am on to Mario RPG and I can see all the hype behind it. It’s very simple, but it is by far the best Mario RPG game I have ever played (including the Paper Mario games and Mario & Luigi games)

It has so much charm!



What else is out on Switch next year? I know about the Peach game and the Thousand Year Door remake but can't think of anything else? On that note, what would they launch Switch 2 with? Oddysey 2??????? I want it!

I think Mario Kart 9 is launching with the next gen or Odyssey 2 or both

I swapped out Spider-Man for Mario Wonder today and have Hogwarts, Final Fantasy and Fire Emblem waiting to be played as well. Hopefully one of those will be a proper 10/10 and can join the likes of Elden Ring and Hades. I'm so far behind on games that I'm gonna have to treat my game of the year list like my books of the year and rank old stuff too haha. That being said, it was a really great gaming year for me nonetheless.

For now:

1. God Of War Ragnarok
2. Mario Galaxy Remastered
3. Mario RPG Remake

These are my 3 10/10s. Giving God of War the win because it was entirely new, Galaxy #2 because it felt new with the switch pro controller and Mario RPG 3rd because it was perfect the way it was and didn't need to change much of anything.

4. Kena: Bridge of Spirits
5. Bayonetta 3
6. Rogue Legacy 2
7. Metroid Prime Remastered

9/10s. Great gameplay and characters and stories.

8. WWE 2K23

8/10. I guess this would be my top 2023 original for now lol. Definitely made some much needed improvements over the previous iterations like being able to dodge and play as Cody Rhodes, but it is also mostly the same as the older ones.

9. Tears of the Kingdom
10. Spider-Man 2
11. Diablo 4

7.5/10s. All good, yet allso disappointing.

12. Pokemon Brilliant Diamond

5.5/10. Lazy remake, but still a decent comfort food game.

Some game called The Day Before was released in early access last Friday, but then it got pulled from being purchased today by the developer and they've announced it doesn't exist now and the studio itself has even shut down. I would assume they issued everyone who purchased it refunds before pulling it and shutting down, but there seems to be a lot of outcry over it so I don't think they did. Major yikes.

IGN gave it a 1/10 and others are still tbd (don't know if they finished or were unable to finish because of the developer canceling their game?).

Curious what this game is now! Or was, I guess. LOL.

Lol reading the stories about this game just makes me chuckle. If you look at the trailers, its pretty obvious that this was always going to be a bust. If a developer has to say "its not just an asset flip!" numerous times then it is probably just an asset flip. Yet it somehow developed a following of people who were sure that the cgi cutscenes would actually be how the game looked, it would be a the perfect Zombie mmorpg that would put Day Z to bed and that they were right and everybody else was wrong. Fandom is so weird these days. Also, apparently only 50% of people have had their money refunded, so the scam kinda worked?

Also, game recaps are out! I barely played xbox this year after my gamepass expired so not even gonna bother counting that up.

Switch:

201 hours over 10 games

1. Rogue Legacy 2 - 59 hours
2. Brilliant Diamond - 31 hours
3. Metroid Prime - 30 hours
4. Tears of the Kingdom - 23 hours
5. Bayonetta 3 - 18 hours

Hmm, I have 55 total for Mario 3D All Stars and only put a few into Sunshine. No way Galaxy would have been under 18 .. but who knows lol. Maybe this only counts new games?

PS5:

512 hours over 22 games

1. Modern Warfare II - 146 hours
2. God Of War Ragnarok - 69 hours (hehe nice)
3. Diablo IV - 67 hours
4. WWE 2K23 - 47 hours
5. Spider-Man 2 - 35 hours


Ragnarok being double Spider-Man tells you all you need to know about why one is my game of the year and one was a big disappointment (despite having incredible combat and travel mechanics.)

Rogue Legacy 2 is a rogue-lite, right?


SWITCH:

ME!: 13 Total Games / 383 Hours Played

1. Splatoon 3 - 104 Hours
2. Octopath Traveler - 80 Hours
3. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom - 79 Hours
4. Pokemon: Let's Go Pikachu - 33 Hours
5. Octopath Traveler II - 25 Hours
6. Ori and the Blind Forest - 19 Hours
7. Ori and the Will of the Wisps - 18 Hours
8. Hades - 17 Hours
9. Celeste - 5 Hours
10. Pokemon Scarlett - 1 Hour

Husband: 18 Total Games / 741 Hours Played

1. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom - 269 Hours
2. Civilization VI - 93 Hours (He has 1500 hours in this one now...)
3. Stardew Valley - 86 Hours
4. Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope - 53 Hours
5. Minecraft - 50 Hours
6. No Man's Sky - 48 Hours
7. Fae Farm - 24 Hours
8. The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening - 21 Hours
9. Super Mario Bros. Wonder - 19 Hours
10. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - 12 Hours


XBOX:

ME:
1. Hogwarts Legacy - 197 Hours
2. Marvel's Midnight Suns - 38 Hours

Husband:
1. Hogwarts Legacy - 110 Hours
2. Fenyx: Immortals Rising - 45 Hours

Yeah and its a very unique one too as the characters are randomized with different abilities and traits, sometimes very humorously so. Like "flatulence" is an actually trait and you'll get a Wario style fart every minute or so that launches you in the air at the worst possible times. Pizza is a possible weapon choice (and surprisingly deadly). Color blindless, dwarfism/gigantism, I forget what its called but theres one where you get +500% attack though the trade is that you'll die in one hit. Love how random and funny it can get.

I'm guessing your hub mostly plays handheld to get those kind of hours on Civ and Stardew?

The Hogwarts count is making me pretty hyped for that game. Will start it up very soon. I beat Smithy, the final boss of Mario RPG, yesterday but apparently there is some post-game content that was not in the original!

Corpse, your husband can join Flava and I for Civ game maybe?

I'll look into Rogue Legacy. I remember talking about it in here before. Did you say to skip the first one, or am I imagining things?

Despite 2023 being stacked, I didn't really play too many new games. Just Hogwarts, TotK, and Octopath II really. Mostly made 2023 the year I went back to try some games I missed or to finish or 100% (or get closer to it) older games.

And yeah, he plays almost exclusively handheld (he has an OLED too, so). And Civ IV and Stardew are basically his go-to games between new releases. Says he won't get a Switch 2 if it's not handheld too lol. He'll play bigger games like ToTK on the TV more often than handheld, but I'd guess his handheld:docked split is probably like 90:10. I'm more 50:50.

Keep in mind both our Hogwarts Legacy playtimes are from 100%'ing the game. It's probably more like... 50-60? if you focus on the story. I have closer to 200 hours because I've started other characters to experience all the houses and to see what happens if I made certain decisions in the story. (There isn't anything major that changes, I checked, but each school at least has an exclusive quest to enjoy.)



I'm sure he'd be up to try it. He's on Flava'd's friends list (played Marvel Ultimate Alliance together in the past!), but I don't know if you and he are friends? I'm not sure if we are even! Care to share your ID? You can DM it if you like.

I play Civ IV too, just haven't in a while. But we just have the one copy, and he'd probably be more up to trying it.

You mentioned playing Elden Ring more this year. What's your overall playtime with it now?

The second Rogue Legacy is just the first but with more.

For Elden Ring I have 226 now through 3 playthroughs. I have the platinum trophy, but there are 3 more different endings so....

Using 2023 as catch-up year is fine and totally what I did. The first half of next year is gonna be rough if Suicide Squad is as meh as expected. So plenty of time to catch up on this year's releases. Baldur's Gate is on xbox now so you have no more excuses. None of us do.

The second Rogue Legacy is just the first but with more.

For Elden Ring I have 226 now through 3 playthroughs. I have the platinum trophy, but there are 3 more different endings so....

Using 2023 as catch-up year is fine and totally what I did. The first half of next year is gonna be rough if Suicide Squad is as meh as expected. So plenty of time to catch up on this year's releases. Baldur's Gate is on xbox now so you have no more excuses. None of us do.

Lol at Hogwarts Legacy having an arachnaphobia mode. They should force you to be a redheaded male if you select that.

Also, just curious, does everyone always select Performance over Fidelity. I feel like the 60fps make a much bigger difference than any resolution.

Yeah, that mode was added a month or so after release? I believe it adds skates to the spiders.

I can't really tell much of a difference between Performance and Fidelity, so for that reason, I usually choose Fidelity to get whatever the best graphical result is. I don't know if it's because I don't play too many 60fps games, I guess, but switching between the two settings has minimal (or no) effect for me.

I have to say, it's both applaud-worthy but also annoying that Avalanche didn't release DLC for Hogwarts Legacy. It's a full-game, lots of love went into it, and some of the content (like the magical beasts) probably could have been left out of the base game and made into DLC (or expanded) if they really wanted to go that route. They also could have added tons of mounts, outfits, etc., to an online store to make more of a fortune from the fanbase but they didn't.

So it's nice to have a complete game with no DLC, micro-transactions, etc., but there's still more they could have done or added. There are rumors and speculation (based on hiring positions) that they've already begun work on a sequel though, so if anything was left on the table, I imagine it'll go into the sequel(s).

I also saw on Twitter that the game is currently the best selling game of 2023 with sales nearing 20 million copies as of November (launched on Switch last month, and the 9 month wait to make it work on it was worth it it seems as the reception is solid), and if it continues to hold off Modern Warfare 3 and Tears of the Kingdom through December, it would be the first game in like a decade or something to top the year in sales that wasn't Call of Duty or a Rockstar title (as would ToTK, but it was third behind MW3, so I assume it won't).

I downloaded the free trial of Modern Warfare 3 and it is truly awful. It's no wonder that it isn't selling as well as usual. For one thing, its made by a different studio than the other five Modern Warfares (Sledgehammer usually does the world war 2 era games), a deliberate misleading for people who don't bother to check these things. It's really more dlc than a new game, they just shoved the entire thing into the client that hosts MW2 and the free-to-play battle royale. Which is infuriating because now, since there's two different games in the same client, when me and my squad try to switch modes it boots us out of the party and we all have to rejoin each other. Call of Duty: Menu Warfare would be a more appropriate title. It launched with zero new maps, just remastered versions of maps from the original modern warfare series. The campaign is apparently under 4 hours and includes not one, but several "missions" that are really just a battle royale without any other players. Hunt down them AI! And the zombies mode has no direction. They just dump you in the battle royale map and add some zombies. Terrible, terrible game. So glad I didn't pre-order lol. Suffice to say that Call of Duty will likely not be repeating as top game played.

Good for Hogwarts Legacy to take over that spot. I'm guessing that no DLC means a sequel is coming sooner than expected, at least based on the very long development times we've gotten used to.

Well that's just riddikulus.

Have only gotten to play a litte bit so far (9 hours, 11% through challenges) but ... I love it! Really makes me feel like I'm a student at Hogwarts which means the game already delivered what it promised. And there's just so many charming little things everywhere.

Picked back up Tears of the Kingdom, and I keep post ponning the final boss to dick around. This game suffers the same issues as most open world games in that I don’t have a strong motivation to finish.

One day I will replay this game start to finish with the aim of hitting the main points to see if it plays better this way

The attention to detail in pretty much every corridor or room in Hogwarts is impressive. I'm not sure there's a single part of the castle that doesn't have something going on.

Been playing Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. I was likely going to pick it up even if reviews weren't great (well, so long as they weren't trash), but then the great reviews got me to preorder it to play a few days early.

And so far, it's indeed great. The Metroidvania genre sure isn't shy of great games in the past decade, so I can see someone who has played them all maybe wanting a break for awhile, but I still wouldn't pass this one up. At least consider it when it goes on sale in the coming months. But I also don't think the $50 price is too much to ask based on what I've experienced so far (and I heard it has a 25hr story too).

I know Ubisoft gets a good deal of hate online, but I'm always finding myself enjoying their games. The open world turn of the Assassin's Creed games were to my liking (Origins and Odyssey are excellent). Fenyx Immortals Rising is a BotW clone at heart but it also delivered. The Mario + Rabbid games are a lot of fun. And now their reboot of Prince of Persia has been pretty amazing so far too.

Which competitive gaming do you guys follow the most (if any). I've enjoyed following the Super Mario 64 speedrunners on twitch and keep track of when the records get broken, the mix of personalities of the top guys is fun.