PWB March

Play

God of War. I'm surprised how much I'm enjoying this. It's very much in the Uncharted mode, and like those games it's staggeringly self-confident, throwing new things at you at every turn and switching up the pace every few minutes. The graphics are astonishing, the sound design is the best I've ever heard, and I'm surprised how much I'm enjoying the story and the characters. Kratos's pissed-off, deadpan delivery never fails to entertain (I was in fits of laughter listening to him trying to tell stories to Atreus while grimly paddling around in a tiny canoe) and as a reboot of a previously thoroughly unlikeable series it's an unqualified success.

Tetris 99. I'm rubbish at Tetris but I finally cracked the top ten the other evening and was inordinately proud of myself. This is dangerously compulsive, one-more-go stuff.

Anno 2205. Nearly finished this now, it's been good fun and retains all the plate-spinning charm of the earlier games. It's a bit too streamlined I think, it's great to start with but ultimately feels a bit limited, even with all the DLC (which is pretty much essential otherwise it's very bare-bones indeed). However it's a good jumping-on point for the series and sets me up nicely for:

Want

Anno 1800 which looks absolutely tremendous and has had exceptionally positive feedback from the beta even despite its notoriously demanding player-base. Already pre-ordered and can't wait for this.

Bin

Dishonored which although I can see is a good game, isn't really for me: I don't like stealth titles as a rule and coming from Hitman 2 it feels very very basic and limited.

Not quite a Bin yet but I'm struggling to find the motivation to play Shenmue II despite loving the first game and really looking forward to replaying this. The first game is a unique, bizarre evolutionary dead end in gaming; this second one is more of a prototype for what games eventually became, and as such it curiously feels more dated and less engaging than the first.

Have you met Li Shao Tao (aka the best character in the game) yet? Taking lessons on how to calm the fuck down by catching leaves is my favourite section in the game. Always found it hard to tell how much sadness she had locked away in there because of how Damn serene she is, and her actual backstory is intriguing and will no doubt becomes in S3.

Play

Bayonetta - Still enjoying this greatly despite how apparent it is that its really inferior to the first game, weapons are pretty trash and combat can be a little bs, requiring Witch Time a bit too much to do anything. Though a 'meh' Bayonetta game is still better than most games period. The character remains larger than life thanks in past to the amazing voice actress in my opinion, the design is giving amazing especially for the Angel enemies and the combat is still insanely fun at times, it can't not be when you can breakdance while firing the guns strapped to your four appendages.

Trails in the Sky - barely, but I'm enjoying it. Only got I've mission done during a commute wick is honestly more progress than I ever got done with Persona 4

Apex - Not sure for how much longer tbh, listening to a podcast mention the time to kill in the game, one of my issues with the game reminded me of why the gunfights haven't been very fun to me.

I’ve been playing a Super Mario Bros U on the Switch. It’s replaced Odyssey as my fun go to game. But I’m so rubbish. There are loads of moves and controls that have no instruction or training for those of us who are new to Mario games - or maybe this. Has been the way it’s always been.

I’m away from home at the moment, but it’s made me want to get home and set it up on the TV and also buy myself a pro controller.

Want. A Pro Controller.

Bin. Octopath Traveller- I doubt I’m ever going to go back to the game. It was fun while it lasted, or for the first forty hours. Just didn’t have that thing that made me want to go back.

Play
Anthem - I've been away a week, so only just started to make any real progress with this. I like it quite a lot so far. It's basically just Destiny with decent writing and a better traversal mechanic, but that's about all I wanted from it.

I've just got level 8 and unlocked my second Javelin - a Colossus, though I don't really know what I'm doing with it yet. One thing I do appreciate is that the different suits feel very different. Coming from the jack-of-all-trades Ranger to this hulking brute of a thing is a much bigger change than, say, going from a Hunter to a Titan in Destiny. Still not sure I shouldn't have gone for a Storm, though I suppose I'll unlock that soon enough. Currently I'm just working through whatever missions pop up and saving for the N7 stripe decal.

Hitman 2 - nothing left to say on this one. It's just great.

Want
More time with God of War, and not much else besides. Don't think there's really anything on my radar, games-wise.

Bin
I'm just tired all the time. That's enough of that, please.

PLAY
Mortal Kombat X - Trying to Platinum this before the next one comes out. It's unlikely, since all my missing trophies are online-based and one requires me to get ten straight Ranked wins in a row (only the experts are still playing, so that'll never happen). But hey, I'm enjoying trying.

Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony - I barely even scratched the surface of this when it first came out, and I needed something new to play that wasn't open world or platform/combat based. I'm into the first class trial already and it's as Danganronpa-y as ever, which is fine. I'd forgotten who everyone was though or the layout of the new school, so that's taken a bit of work without having to start over.

WANT
Mortal Kombat 11 - Seen a few videos of the characters that are appearing and I'm finding myself getting rather excited by the game. Dunno why, it still looks as stiff and as Mortal Kombat-y as ever. But yeah, I'm very much into it.

A job at Nintendo - And that might happen, because…

BIN
My new job (already!) - Not as bad as it sounds, I'm genuinely enjoying being at a new games publisher and it's good to have a hand in what we're doing once again. However, I applied for my old Online Editor job at Nintendo a while back, since a chair on the team came up, and now I've got an interview in a few weeks time. Not going to get my hopes up in the slightest but, if it goes well and they offer it to me, I'm taking it with both hands. No exceptions. The money will be significantly better than I'm on here, a lot of my friends still work there and I miss Frankfurt. Plus, it's a chance to get out of this shithole of a country before things really go south. If it doesn't happen, that's fine, but it'd be good if it did.

Danganronpa! I'd completely forgotten about that. I loved the first game but never got around to the second, I assume it's worth playing? Might be time to dig the Vita out again, I miss that little fellow.

Play

I don't expect much to interrupt the relatively relaxed schedule of Sea of Thieves and Hitman 2 (with occasional forays into Elite Dangerous) anytime soon. I should really get back to Switch stuff at some point, though – I've not really touched Wargroove since week one.

We're coming to the end of the intro adventure in our 13th Age campaign so I'm panicking a little about what's going to come next; there's a couple of threads to tie up and some Big Plot Exposition to get through that should take up at least one more session, though. Hopefully I'll get some indication of where the players want to go (geographically and thematically) before I need to write any encounters.

Want

Just more time with the games I'm already playing, really – I ticked through the Recent Releases on the Switch store this morning (boy, there's a lot more dodgy-looking anime-themed games than I expected) and nothing really piqued my interest.

It would be cool to have the time to reach Pirate Legend in Sea of Thieves before the one-year anniversary ticks over on the 20th – they're adding some special stuff for anybody who manages it – but that seems highly unlikely.

Likewise, I need to spend some more time catching up with the Distant Worlds fleet in Elite; I've dropped well behind the flotilla, but racing through systems without scanning feels like missing the point of the whole enterprise, so I'm trying to do my due diligence as much as possible.

Bin

Just had a week off work in Lanzarote with 24-hour on-call babysitters in the form of my parents, so being back at work in Dundee is a bit crap.

Danganronpa! I'd completely forgotten about that. I loved the first game but never got around to the second, I assume it's worth playing? Might be time to dig the Vita out again, I miss that little fellow.

I love my Vita, it's a fantastic device. I'll never sell it (though I have the lovely Neon Orange one, so it goes with my GameCube).

The first Danganronpa is awesome. The second is definitely good, but doesn't really get going until the fourth/fifth scenario (which is quite far in) so it's a slower burn than the original. It also has more fan service stuff, like the Ultimate Nurse who's really clumsy and keeps falling over/finding herself in situations where you're basically looking at her pants, so that's a little ugh. It's still enjoyable though. Ultra Despair Girls, which isn't Danganronpa 3, is completely different… it's a first-person shooter of sorts with loads of story and the whole thing doesn't hang together nearly as well, since it's constantly pulling back and forth between the two gameplay styles. I still finished it, but it wasn't quite what I expected.

I'm really enjoying what I'm playing of V3 so far, but it's early days. The gameplay mechanics seem more involved, they're layering more things on top of the tweaks DG2 already made. But the presentation is top notch, and it's great at this point. I guess we'll see…

Play
Final Fantasy 12: Zodiac Age – That fast-forward. God bless that fast-forward. It makes the dungeon-traipsing grind so much more palatable, and I wish every JRPG developer would take note. (I mean, ideally they'd just eliminate the need for grinding, but I'm a realist.) I was drawn to this by the MMO-style fighting, and the gambits system, both of which have proven to be pretty enjoyable so far. It must be doing something right because I had a whole day free yesterday, and the in-game clock says I played it for 5 and a half hours. That never, ever happens with me and games. (If anyone has any tips for killer gambits, lemme know.)

Forza Horizon 4 – Still going with this. It's probably the only 'game as a service' (gip) that I keep coming back to. The seasons were a masterstroke, and there's just so much to do. And unlike plot driven games it doesn't matter if you take a month off. You come back and there's nothing to remember, nothing to relearn. Right trigger accelerates, left stick steers. Off you go.

Want
More 22-degree days.

Bin
Climate change and warm winters. (I know, I'm a confused hypocrite.)

I love my Vita, it's a fantastic device. I'll never sell it (though I have the lovely Neon Orange one, so it goes with my GameCube).

Yep, I love my Vita too. It's a better handheld device than the Switch, for me, I find that a bit bulky and heavy for prolonged use. The Vita's just super comfy to use.

Charging now. The proprietary charging cable can fuck off, though. Took longer to find that than the device itself.

Will the fact I can't remember much of Danganronpa apart from the basic story be a problem? The second one is different characters, right?

Charging now. The proprietary charging cable can fuck off, though. Took longer to find that than the device itself.

The newer model uses the same charging cable as the DualShock 4, so that's helpful for me. The original's bespoke nonsense can fuck off though, yeah. Same for the still-ridiculously-expensive memory cards too.

Will the fact I can't remember much of Danganronpa apart from the basic story be a problem? The second one is different characters, right?

Aside from the 'kids trapped in a place where they're encouraged to kill each other' premise and the return of Monokuma the despair bear, it's a completely new story. There are a few references to the overarching plot that carries over the entire franchise, including the anime, and I think the overall villain of the first game is mentioned in some way (though I might be getting confused with Ultra Despair Girls on the latter). But it's nothing that'll have you wondering what the hell is going on. Well… no more than usual with Danganronpa, anyway.

I support mart in any career choice that keeps the codes flowing.

I support mart in any career choice that keeps the codes flowing.

If I work at Nintendo, there's nothing. NOTHING.

PLAY

Dishonored: The Knife of Dunwall - finally getting around to the DLC, and am still enjoying the world, and playing with/trying to abuse the powers. I'll finish this and the Brigmore Witches off and then (also finally) get the sequel downloaded/played in the none-too-distant, hopefully.

Chrono Trigger - I only seem to manage to play this a few times a month, much as I like it, so progress continues to be made, albeit slowly.

WANT

Not much. Sekiro, still, of course. I might also grab DMC5 at some point, and get a digital copy of Puyo Puyo Tetris when it finally comes out that way (tomorrow, I think), as having it on disc just meant I never played it.

There's also a 2D acition-RPG-platformer thing which I liked the look of coming out later in the year, on the PS4 and Switch, but for the life of me I can't remember what it's called.

Speaking of the Switch - while I've now had my bonus, as yet I've felt no real inclination to go get one after all, and am happy enough with the 3DS for now. Maybe later in the year, or if/when any Switch model 2.0 shows up.

BIN

DiRT Rally - picked up for a pittance in a sale, and genuinely enjoyed for a few hours, but it's a bit too much of a proper racer for me; I had immense fun chucking a '60's Mini around, but as soon as I'd gotten into a powerful RWD car and struggled to keep control of it on a straight, I figured I'd probably be better off cutting my losses.

It would be cool to have the time to reach Pirate Legend in Sea of Thieves before the one-year anniversary ticks over on the 20th – they're adding some special stuff for anybody who manages it – but that seems highly unlikely.

I don't think I'd manage that even if I played it non-stop between now and then.

Charging now. The proprietary charging cable can fuck off, though. Took longer to find that than the device itself.

The newer model uses the same charging cable as the DualShock 4, so that's helpful for me. The original's bespoke nonsense can fuck off though, yeah. Same for the still-ridiculously-expensive memory cards too.

Will the fact I can't remember much of Danganronpa apart from the basic story be a problem? The second one is different characters, right?

Aside from the 'kids trapped in a place where they're encouraged to kill each other' premise and the return of Monokuma the despair bear, it's a completely new story. There are a few references to the overarching plot that carries over the entire franchise, including the anime, and I think the overall villain of the first game is mentioned in some way (though I might be getting confused with Ultra Despair Girls on the latter). But it's nothing that'll have you wondering what the hell is going on. Well… no more than usual with Danganronpa, anyway.

There's a few things that carry over from Danganronpa to Danganronpa 2. But most of that is explained to the best of the games abilities.

I'm yet to play V3, waiting for it to appear in a sale (on Vita) again. Not started Ultra Despair Girls yet despite getting it at launch (and lending it to yourself as I was still playing 2 at the time iirc).

Not started Ultra Despair Girls yet despite getting it at launch (and lending it to yourself as I was still playing 2 at the time iirc).

Indeed. I think I ended up sending it back to you, but then buying it digitally when it was ridiculously cheap so I could Platinum it.

Play I bought Wolfenstein 2 over the weekend on the PSN sale. Really enjoyed the first one so have been looking forward to this. So far it's been a bit of a mixed bag.
I seem to spend long periods of time getting repeatedly killed by standard enemies then nail the big dudes first go. I'm just not into the – for want of a less wanky word – flow of the game yet. It's been kind of fun and frustrating. I'm looking forward to some of the small town America stuff from the trailers… Assuming it exists in the game, so far it's been metallic corridors and a ground zero New York which is very brown.
Also, downloaded the Hitman 2 demo and the legacy pack to put all my Hitman 2016 stuff in. Have had a quick look at the game in the Hitman 2 engine and it doesn't seem all that different but will dip in and have a look at the old stuff again.

Want Played some War Groove last week with a friend on his Switch. If it'd been out on PS4 I'd have likely bought it there and then but as the dust has settled I reckon I'm more interested in playing the multiplayer than slogging through a campaign.

Bin Apex Legends – hasn't gripped me in the same way as Fortnite. Fortnite did a good job of letting me play and learn and explore, this feels harder to get a handle on weapons and locations and actually shooting things. I'm pretty good at following my squad around and then getting shot after 15 minutes.

I'm pretty good at following my squad around and then getting shot after 15 minutes.

Fifteen minutes? Showoff.

Have had a quick look at the game in the Hitman 2 engine and it doesn't seem all that different but will dip in and have a look at the old stuff again.

The changes aren't anything really groundbreaking - briefcase aside - but are more on the minor improvement side. Adding foliage for cover, slightly better lighting, and the like.

You also get all the equipment unlocks to carry over to Hitman 2 – like an easy route to a great sniper rifle in one of the Marrakesh escalations.

I'm pretty good at following my squad around and then getting shot after 15 minutes.

Fifteen minutes? Showoff.

I've got one win in the game. Made it to nearly the end, died, spectated, team won. Sum total of encounters with other players: that one that I died in and lasted til the end of the match.

Not started Ultra Despair Girls yet despite getting it at launch (and lending it to yourself as I was still playing 2 at the time iirc).

Indeed. I think I ended up sending it back to you, but then buying it digitally when it was ridiculously cheap so I could Platinum it.

Yep you sent it back (and sent me a copy of Superbeat Xonic) and it's been sat on the shelf since as I only got round to finishing D2 last year!

I'm pretty good at following my squad around and then getting shot after 15 minutes.

Fifteen minutes? Showoff.

I've got one win in the game. Made it to nearly the end, died, spectated, team won. Sum total of encounters with other players: that one that I died in and lasted til the end of the match.

I've only got one win, that I contributed bad all to. I got that the first week it came out.

Additional, unexpected Play: Odeon has a promotion at the minute where you can get a code for 14 days of Xbox Game Pass when you book tickets for Captain Marvel, so I've spent the evening blasting around in Crackdown 3.

I'm not sure it's giving me MPH levels of exhilaration, but there's definitely something charming about its… let's say relaxed approach to mission design. Yes, there are only a handful of objective types (all of which involve blowing something or someone up). It's not much of an upgrade from the 2007(!) original except visually, and honestly going back to zero skills feels like a bigger deal than it should be for a game franchise I've not engaged with in a dozen years.

But y'know, moving around the world is spectacular fun. I very quickly collected enough Orbs to unlock a couple of movement upgrades – a double jump and air dash – that, combined with my agent's generally upgraded speed and jump range, is just… great.

One more thing about Crackdown 3 – who in the hell thought this thing needed so many f–king cutscenes? I'm holding X to skip a lot of stuff.

Well, Danganronpa 2 is every bit as brilliant as the first game and it’s an absolute pleasure to be playing on the Vita again. Thanks Mart for the reminder on both counts.

Play
Brogue - It's an ASCII Rogue-like but it's the first one I've played which really got me hooked. https://sites.google.com/site/broguegame/home

Towerfall - So much fun. Both my kids agree too, which makes it easier to find opponents.

Want
More controllers for my Switch.
Wargroove

Bin
Monday night D&D. I need to focus on uni for a bit, so fun is postponed.
Teenagers. My eldest seems to be determined to make life as hard as possible for himself and everyone else who lives here.

I think I'm right at the end of the first class trial in Danganronpa V3.

Spoiler - click to showErr… is what I think's about to happen actually going to happen? If so, that's a bit of a fucking twist, isn't it? I may be speaking too early, I'm not quite there, but it certainly feels like it…

[Crackdown 3]'s not much of an upgrade from the 2007(!) original

I lost my entire lunchtime to the original Crackdown, "testing" the second-hand 360 we've had behind the TV for months, and it's actually kind of stunning how little of an evolution Crackdown 3 is from the original.

It hasn't stripped much away from RTW's only good game, and the elements it adds are split between inspired (the new movement abilities, what feels like a quicker skill ramp-up), basic (I forgot just how fiddly climbing buildings was in the original) and incomprehensible (that story).

But by and large it's exactly the same. I can see why anyone who missed out on, or didn't get the appeal of, the first one would be disappointed, but I lost a lot of hours to cleaning up Pacific City and the handful of new toys to play with has justified the time I've spent with the third so far.

(Though, with the original available on Xbox One backwards compatibility, available digitally for free if my browser is to be believed, then I guess it's a question of why you'd bother.)

I think I'm right at the end of the first class trial in Danganronpa V3.

Spoiler - click to showErr… is what I think's about to happen actually going to happen? If so, that's a bit of a fucking twist, isn't it? I may be speaking too early, I'm not quite there, but it certainly feels like it…

Spoiler - click to showBloody hell, it did as well. Double cross!

I stopped playing after that because I was traumatised.

Someone spoiler it for me. I'll never play but you've intrigued me.

Someone spoiler it for me. I'll never play but you've intrigued me.

Gar and wev - AVERT YOUR EYES.

I'm going to assume you know a bit about the premise behind the Danganronpa games - group of kids all get trapped in a place, they're all the 'ultimate' at their own talent, they're then told by Monokuma (the despair bear) that they have to kill each other to survive and trials are held after every murder to deduce who the killer is, blah blah. So, anyway…

Spoiler - click to showThe player character from the start of the game is Kaede Akamatsu (the Ultimate Pianist), a young girl who's really optimistic and determined to save everyone from being killed. You spend the first few chapters of the game (which is easily at least three hours or so) exploring the school as her, building up relationships with the other players, increasing your own level, finding out more about the story and so on. She makes friends with one of the other students, Shuichi Saihara (the Ultimate Detective) and the story progresses. Everyone refuses to kill each other, so a time limit is set by Monokuma where everyone's going to get killed unless someone does the deed… and then someone is murdered by having their head caved in by a shot putt. You then spend more time exploring the crime scene and talking to the other students to build your case and work out who did it, before moving into the trial itself to find the killer. Several people seem like the obvious suspects based on the circumstances and clues, but they're ultimately not who did it.

So far, so Danganronpa. Except… except.

Spoiler - click to showRight at the end of the very first trial, it turns out that Kaede is the killer. Not because she's horrible, she was genuinely trying to save everyone, but still… she did it. YOU DID IT. And suddenly, the person you've built up an understanding of, have spent all this time building up relationships with the others through, is basically executed quite horribly by a robotic bear with an evil grin. Right before the verdict, control switches from Kaede to Shuichi and it appears (though I'm still playing) that the player character is actually him for the rest of the game. It was all a bluff, a double-cross.

There have always been dead ends, red herrings and big twists in Danganronpa, but that's not happened in the series before. I genuinely never saw it coming. Left me with a big gasp and then a grin on my face.

Spoiler - click to showAnd before you say 'But doesn't that mean you've wasted all that time on relationships and whatever?', I don't think so. I'll have to keep playing, but I think all the behind-the-scenes numbers and experience meters carry over on that front. So, no, it's not the game being an arsehole and making you start over. At least, I don't think it is…

That's the most Japanese thing I've ever read. All it was missing was tentacles.

Spoiler - click to showRight at the end of the very first trial, it turns out that Kaede is the killer. Not because she's horrible, she was genuinely trying to save everyone, but still… she did it. YOU DID IT.

Spoiler - click to showI don't like it when games take away my agency that much. Mystery games especially have a fine line to tread with what the player knows vs. what their character knows; this would feel like a total betrayal, to me.

Spoiler - click to showIt might not have a mechanical effect, but it would definitely ruin my enjoyment.

Spoiler - click to showYeah, I'm with Aniki here. Reminds me of Heavy Rain's awful twist ending.

I was traumatised because as ott as it was, that was an awful way to die. Nowhere near as bad as the first ever execution in the series, which was pretty fucked up and honestly, set expectations a bit high. (I don't want execution porn ore anything but some of the ones in D2 were kinda silly).

But that's Danganronpa for you, people you like, kids that is, get made to kill each other. Then get made to put each other to death for it, and it will either be someone you like getting killed or letting you down and killing someone else.

I think enough time has passed for me to return to D3 actually. :(

I was traumatised because as ott as it was, that was an awful way to die.

I haven't got to that bit yet. I'm literally at the end of the trial right before the execution happens. Now I'm curious/worried/anxious.

You might be okay, it was just who it was done to added a lot to it. There are definitely worse executions in the series I think.

You are really not selling this game.

Eh, it's basically Phoenix Wright but way darker. The only issue is outside of trials it can be a bit slow for me.

That's the most Japanese thing I've ever read. All it was missing was tentacles.

Are you aware that in Persona 3 you summon demons by shooting yourself in the head.

Eh, it's basically Phoenix Wright but way darker. The only issue is outside of trials it can be a bit slow for me.

Yeah, that's basically it. Rather than the straight courtroom drama of PW, it's a kind of Battle Royale/Lord of the Flies situation with a bunch of kids trapped in a particular location and all sorts of grisly murders taking place. But it's got the same investigation phase/trial phase flow to it. The trials in this have all sorts of reaction-based minigames thrown in but it's still the same thing of listening to evidence and disproving it at the right moments. It's incredibly Japanese and really quite brilliant.

Exactly this, I couldn't have described it better myself. The continual mix of game styles, plus the need to think laterally when trying to refute/agree with/lie against statements is the driving force. I genuinely love it. But it's still a visual novel at heart, so there's a lot to plough through, and the murders/executions - while perhaps not grizzly thanks to the art style - are often a bit over the top… definitely not for everyone.

Definitely not for you, Bri. You'd be appalled by it all.

You might be okay, it was just who it was done to added a lot to it. There are definitely worse executions in the series I think.

I've seen it now. Wasn't an issue. I mean, yeah, it's horrible in its intent but the typical Danganronpa excess of neon pink, the cartoon styling and the fact that I'm emotionally dead inside softened the blow.

I'm going to go play Klonoa.

Play

Smash Brothers Ultimate

Kinda' semi-dropped Zelda, who is still one of the most fun characters in the game, for Lucina…who is actually one of the best characters in the game, but also fun to swat people into the atmosphere with. Game is so hot right now, we had a recent tournament and it was fucking insane, it's going to be in Evo (Smash Bros Melee got dropped this year though, rip) and only going to get more popular. (in terms of players and hype, in terms of sales I believe it's already outsold Smash 4's LIFETIME sales!)

So yes, I am become the distracted boyfriend meme.

Tetris 99

My favourite battle royale, I'm no Tetrix expert but I've hit 15 before and like 16th another time, it gets so fast at that point but I'm slowly getting better at it. The Battle Royal aspect is more relevant than you think, who to target? Go for Tetris or clear line by line (for now then go for a Tetris), what do you do when being harassed by multiple people..and so on. And Tertis itself is as timeless as ever, howmany games can say 'nailed it first time' like Tetris did? Stuff like this and Tetris Effect take the formular in two totally different directions. It's fucking Tetris and we got two great, different versions of it!

Want

Devil May Cry 5 - one day as of the time you're reading this, unless you read it today I guess. Hard to believe it's actually here after we thought the series was dead a few years ago.

Bin the current fucking iteration of the Switch's online system, I don't care how cheap it is the fact that I can't use voice or text chat to talk to people I've befriended online makes the whole point of friends requests to strangers fucking pointless in the first place. I find it extremely fucking hard to believe that they couldn't protect the children and still give adults a choice to talk to one another like literally every other console, I can use Discord with my friends…what am I supposed to do with others on my friends list? How do I even ask the latest guy I added for some sets on Smash Ultimate. The Switch online should be free, not so I don't have to pay, it can only be excused as bad as it is by not costing anything, they're giving away free NES games (at a fucking Snail's pace, why? Who's holding their breath for Ice Climbers?) and I still don't want them.

Why am I so flustered? I'm just a bit annoyed that I'm growing a list of people I want to play with again, yet I can't. It sucks.

Apex Legends

50 Million people playing this and…I don't care for it. I might end up playing with my friends at some point but right now I don't feel the slightest urge to go back. I dunno' what to say really, at best I didn't even enjoy the gunfights I won, at worst I barely got to even see/do anything before dying and in fact won a game also without me barely doing anything. I don't think the team aspect works for me, nothing sucks more than getting a nice long range 'kill' only to have the guy crawl off and get revived. It's a valid design/meta it's just not one I think I agree with.

Play
FFX-2 (Vita).

What. The. Fuck. Is. Going. On.

Yes, it's certainly a thing.

Key advice with FFX-2 is that it's 90% side quests. On each chapter, when you get the list of locations and one is highlighted as the one that advances the story, DON'T GO THERE. Go everywhere else. Then go there. And repeat on each chapter.

If you just follow the story, you'll end up hugely underpowered and you'll miss out on all the best bits of the game.

But it does depend on how much you liked FFX, and how keen you are to see what's happened to that world. It's not really a game about characters, it's a game about what happens to a game world once the evil boss has been defeated. I really liked it, but it's definitely the oddest of all the Final Fantasy games I've played.

I think I’ve bought X-2 twice and never started it.

Third times the charm.