The Donkey Kong Country trilogy is peak platform

The levels were a bit "single gimmick"-y but overall still fun enough, now onto grinding the bonus barrels and DK coins.

I tried playing the Lion King game on SNES and it was the savage difficulty platformer I've seen, I got through the second level only because of save states on emulator (On top of everything else they make you reset to the start of the game if you run out of lives/continues) and then gave up on level 3. Apparently they didn't want people to finish it while renting it.

I had a blast playing Paper Mario: Thousand Year Door. I can see the appeal and enthusiastic following. I played about 39 hours before beating the final boss. Then played another ~5hrs exploring and tackling other challenges (The Pit).

Then on a whim (because the full game was on sale) I downloaded the demo for Octopath Traveler II. Holy shit I’m loving this game so far, I bought the full game after 2 hours of demo. Now about five hours in total. Can’t wait to explore more of the beautiful world and find all the playable chatacters. (I wish Corpse was still around! I know he loved the game)

If Corpse was here he would say "If you enjoyed the 800 hours of Octopath Traveler 2, you should definitely check out Triangle Strategy next!"

No arguments about Paper Mario: TTYD. What a great time!

Shadow of the Erdtree ... I'm lost and have no idea how to progress the story yet I keep finding new dungeons and bosses just running around like a chicken with his head cut off. This game is so awesome lol.

I miss Corpse…

Good list! I played Wow

that feels accurate. Although I’m at ~22 hours in this game and it’s starting to feel like too much…. too long, too complex, and maybe too difficult. I like easier games where I can grind and level up enough that I’m never reeeally in danger of struggling much. Hence why I’ll never be a Souls-like player.

Prince of Persia: Lost Crown on deck, waiting for the right mood to start something new.

Pretty stoked for new Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom coming next month!! Hope it’s a longer game than Links Awakening.

I actually still do wanna get Triangle Strategy but there's just never been a good time to play it. I guess I'll just have to get the remake on Switch 2.

Civ 7 gameplay reveal coming up this month. Hopefully we get a release date and confirmation of a same day launch on ps5 and switch 2 so we don't have to buy new computers lol.

Finally took down the last boss of the dlc! Man, I hated it so much as it was happening with all their bullshit long combos and instant kill moves. Turns out the way I play (dodge then strike) was the wrong way to go about it and had to make some adjustment to become more of a defensive tank that took the hits while watching their health very slowly tick away from my damage over time spells. I feel very accomplished for figuring it out lol. Shadow of the Erdtree is an easy 10/10.

Next game: I started up Fire Emblem Engage but I don't think its the right choice for an Elden Ring comedown game. Too much dead time. Battles are as fun as ever, but the in between social time is less interesting than the previous 3 games Awakening, Fates and obviously Three Houses.

Going back to Ocarina of Time. Not playing on my gold cartridge is weird as the changes made feel off like the change in the lighting and the Fire Temple, but it is still such a great atmospheric masterpiece.

Played Mario Odyssey with my son. It might wind up as my favorite Mario game. The Broodals feel off, but other than that it is a perfectly wonderful game that really works well in one sitting but it is filled with endless entertainment after you beat the final boss.

For me, Odyssey comfortably wins the award for Best Switch Exclusive (though Hades remains the best game I played on the system.) It really was wonderful.

Cult of the Lamb is an absolutely divine delight. Perfect for the dreaded Elden Ring comedown spot and exactly what I wanted from Fire Emblem despite not being all that similiar. Managing your cult feels so overwhelming at first but it ends up being the most fun part of the game. Do I imprison and try to re-educate a dissenter? Do I sacrifice him to make an example? There's a ton more options than that too! And the normal gameplay is fun enough. The weapons mostly all feel the same, but the different curses AKA spells make each run a bit different.

I really like Metroid Dread. It is probably my winner. Breath of the Wild would have been a slam dunk for that honor had it had the ending that Tears of the Kingdom brought. And Tears of the Kingdom doesn’t get it for not being focused enough and feeling frankly too big and therefore less memorable.

Civ 7 is coming in February?????? Holy shit I was not prepared for that. Was thinking fall 2025 at best. I prefer playing civ on pc as having the mouse makes everything more conveinant, but I doubt my laptop can handle it so will probably buy it on ps5.

Surprised it’s coming to Switch

Doom II

Can someone give me. Something. My favorite games of the las 15 years are call of duty, Lester for dead, worms Armageddon , and maybe a cross between falllout 3, battlefront (talking ps2)’

Something new? Maybe Bolders Gate 3? Something classic? Try playing old school Duke Nukem if you can find a copy.

Did you play the Lucasarts point and click games when you were younger, my favorites are Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, Monkey Island 2, Day of the Tentacle. I think these days you would have to download rom and emulator on the internet except maybe a few remastered for playstation like Grim Fandango.

Elden Ring
Hades

Not only the two best games of this gen, but quite possibly the two best games ever.

I keep hearing Hades. It might be up there with Boulders Gate 3 for me in terms of games I think I ought to play

I didn't realize the new Astro Bot was a 3d platformer. AB Playroom had some elements of it but was pretty linear (to be fair it was more of a tech demo than a game.) More importantly it has a 94 on a metacritic and it looks like we finally have a legit game of the year frontrunner.

I'll probably grab it after coming back from Chicago later in the month.


Also: Tried Arceus for a few hours but wasn't really feeling it. Just feels like its gonna be a major grind. So I went back to Cult of the Lamb. I guess thats ironic lol.