What are you playing this weekend? 2025-06-06
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I finally beat Brothership yesterday. It should have ended last weekend, but the end of the game really drags on. You know that obligatory five minute cutscene about the friends you made along the way that a JRPG tends to have in between the final boss and the true final boss? Brothership turned that five minute cutscene into a three hour backtracking segment! And the true final dungeon is very long, too. Something I wasn't really in the mood for anymore...
It was a good game though! The cynic in me expected the RPG side to be very simplified and easy, but it's the Mario & Luigi it has been when I still played it on the GBA. And the optional boss re-fights in the late game hit hard!
My main criticisms are:
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The plug system gets very annoying with you constantly needing to replace them. At least let me favorite some of them so I don't have to find them all the time.
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First strikes are very awkward. For comparison, my first strike rate in Thousand Year Door is easily ~98%. I'd be surprised if I got more than ~5% in Brothership.
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Overworld travel gets very tedious after a while. It basically becomes Spirit Tracks without any of the action.
Now, I planned to beat the game before the Switch 2 releases, but now I had a comparison here, too. I didn't notice load times being much shorter, but the game definitely runs smoother in those moments when it matters. There's a Bro Move that has you alternate the A- and B-Buttons quickly, which is easy enough. But about halfway through the timer the game would briefly slow down, which always messed me up until I started to specifically slow down in anticipation. That slowdown is gone on the Switch 2!
Next, I plan to play Kena - Bridge of Spirits on PC, a game I know nothing about. I picked it out from my backlog because I was in the mood for something green. I wanted to frolic in nature, but most games in that category are large RPGs that I wasn't in the market for, because Xenoblade X was the game I intended to replace Brothership with. There's nothing to stop me from just playing Xenoblade now, but I already had Kena downloaded and installed when I decided to focus hard on Brothership.
And on the side, I dabble in Mario Kart World. I can't say much about it yet, but I was blown away by the fact that they have a track that acknowledges Super Mario Land! That's so rare... But I can't say I'm a fan of the Grand Prix format. Driving from one track to the next is cool, but if it comes at the cost of reducing all but the first track to a single lap, I'd rather not have that at all.
Kena - Bridge of Spririts is a debut game of the studio, that used to work with movies or something, IIRC. The game was praised a lot when it was released. I think it was released on PS5 first, and from what I remember hearing about it, it's not as easy as you may think from looking at it. It's still on my wishlist.
Hmm... a single lap race, not sure how I feel about it, let's see how I feel about it after playing it.
There is Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga on NSO, should I play that one first or Brothership? What do you recommend? I'll probably play both of them, assuming I like the gameplay style, but which should I play first?
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Switch 2 is here! Well, not mine, but in general. Should be getting mine soon though. How many of you have gotten it already? And how are you liking it so far?
I got it on Thursday, first time ever I get a new Nintendo console on release date! I'm really enjoying it! I only bought Mario Kart World for Switch 2. I haven't tried the new stuff for the Zelda games, because I know once I do that's all I'll be playing for weeks. But I will go through some of my backlog, see if I notice any improvements on different games. I also want to get Cyberpunk at some point, it's just with these prices, I need to really think before getting a new game...
Mario Kart World is amazing. I still haven't gotten used to it, but I've finished all the cups in Grand Prix. It's cool because it's more Mario Kart, but also I feel like I'll still keep playing Mario Kart 8 forever. Makes sense Monolith helped out. I know they mentioned it before, but experiencing is a whole thing, they actually built an open world Mario Kart! I've been enjoying all the little references and easter eggs. It'll be a blast to play this with friends!
Finished Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, the main story at least. There's a lot of content on this game, and I played a bit of the post-game stuff. I think I might keep going to get the final ending. In regards to performance with Switch 2, there is an issue with loading screens on 1, they take forever. This improves on Switch 2, but the main improvement I noticed was in the stages where you get to play with the Divine Beasts. It feels like a completely different experience, it runs much smoother.
I am definitely getting the new Hyrule Warriors on Switch 2. They really work on the story on these games (way more than Nintendo do). So if you're interested in the story from Zelda games, I definitely recommend Age of Calamity. I hope they fix some of the technical issues for the new one though. It's not about hardware limitations as much as issues with the camera in some parts. I feel like the camera should get further away in some circumstances, instead it kind of gets locked between the enemy and a wall and you can't see anything, neither your character nor what's happening. Also I hope they moke more different enemies. I don't know how many Moblins I defeated, but it got boring
Congratulations on getting Switch 2! Switch was my first ever console that I got on launch. And hopefully Switch 2 will be the second! (I also wanted to get PS5 on launch, but got delayed a bit due to some reasons, still, got it in the first year)
There are still some booster dlc trophies I haven't gotten in MK 8 yet, so I may keep playing it for a while. I don't like to close my game on Switch, so don't switch between different games as much as I do on PS5, but with Switch 2, I can keep my main game on that, and play different things on Switch, so will probably finish everything then... unless I get MK World and don't feel like going back...
You keep making me get back to Age of Calamity. I think I have done most of the story, will give it a try after finishing and XC-X, you can tell me how much is left to finish the game.
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Yeah, flying around your skell is pretty fun and speeds up taking care of the small stuff.
Well, Switch is my favourite console, and I just wanted a faster Switch with Switch 2, so don't really have any reason to not buy it.
I never finished Atelier Ryza, but didn't it have a similar theme about people frowning upon Alchemy and an old kingdom getting destroyed because of it?
Well, Switch is my favourite console, and I just wanted a faster Switch with Switch 2, so donāt really have any reason to not buy it.
Me too, but I'd rather wait a bit to see if there will be hardware-related headaches on this first batch of consoles. And while the extra processing power would be nice (see my comments on the Switch 1 struggling with Yumia), it's not like there's any games I really want to play for that platform right now.
I never finished Atelier Ryza, but didnāt it have a similar theme about people frowning upon Alchemy and an old kingdom getting destroyed because of it?
There was a plot point about an old kingdom self-destructing due to the abusing alchemy, but it didn't reflect much in the present - alchemy was mostly forgotten, Empel and Ryza weren't subject to heavy discrimination and so on. They also didn't focus much of the story around it, it's more about Ryza and friends growing into adulthood.
In this game almost everyone treats Yumia's with suspicion and/or disdain at first, like a criminal who is "allowed" to use her skills because they need her for the expedition. The plot is almost entirely around the exploration of a kingdom similar to the one mentioned in Ryza, except this time we are going much deeper in detail in their misdeeds and abuses. Plus, the main villains of this game are people related to that kingdom that continue to abuse alchemy to this day, and almost every single party member has a tragedy in their backstory related to alchemy.
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Kena - Bridge of Spririts is a debut game of the studio, that used to work with movies or something, IIRC. The game was praised a lot when it was released. I think it was released on PS5 first, and from what I remember hearing about it, it's not as easy as you may think from looking at it. It's still on my wishlist.
Hmm... a single lap race, not sure how I feel about it, let's see how I feel about it after playing it.
There is Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga on NSO, should I play that one first or Brothership? What do you recommend? I'll probably play both of them, assuming I like the gameplay style, but which should I play first?
I generally always recommend playing in order of release, but it doesn't really matter here, the games are completely standalone. Brothership does have very minor references to the older games though. One game gets an entire character returning, but I haven't played that one either.
Mario Kart Update: One cup has a remake of an SNES track as the first one. It's not very interesting and five laps long. More laps than the other three (more interesting) tracks in the cup combined. I really don't understand what they were thinking...
I love the water segments though, very Wave Race!
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Congratulations on getting Switch 2! Switch was my first ever console that I got on launch. And hopefully Switch 2 will be the second! (I also wanted to get PS5 on launch, but got delayed a bit due to some reasons, still, got it in the first year)
There are still some booster dlc trophies I haven't gotten in MK 8 yet, so I may keep playing it for a while. I don't like to close my game on Switch, so don't switch between different games as much as I do on PS5, but with Switch 2, I can keep my main game on that, and play different things on Switch, so will probably finish everything then... unless I get MK World and don't feel like going back...
You keep making me get back to Age of Calamity. I think I have done most of the story, will give it a try after finishing and XC-X, you can tell me how much is left to finish the game.
Thanks! Yeah I don't plan to get rid of my Switch either. Mario Kart 8 and World are different enough that I think I will keep playing both. But I still play Mario Kart 64 too, so maybe I'm not a good example for this kind of thing!
Age of Calamity has so much content, I don't even know how far I am from 100%
Every time I complete a thing, a few more show up on the map. I finished the main story and did plenty of the smaller quests, but I still have so many to go. And I'm at almost 40 hours in this new save file. -
Switch 2 is here! Well, not mine, but in general. Should be getting mine soon though. How many of you have gotten it already? And how are you liking it so far?
Finished Chatper 9 of Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition ! I was expecting this to happen in the story, it was kinda predictable. Still, interesting to see.
Got the flight module after that, and now I can fly everywhere! Completed FrontNav of Noctilum, and now just running around doing affinity missions so that I can be couple of levels above the recommended level to start the next chapter.
Played a good amount of Marvel's Midnight Suns. It seems to me that I am spending lots of time in the Abbey, instead of doing the fighting. Not that abbey parts are boring. It's interesting to see the super-hero drama. There's tons of dialogue. I think I am on day 7 or 8, so not too long in grand scheme of things but haven't heard a single repeated line, IIRC.
Trying to most of the side missions before continuing with the main missions, so this will probably take a long while to finish. I am around level 7 now, and have unlocked lots of abbey areas.
::: spoiler Characters unlocked
I have unlocked Spider-man, and the next main mission is with Dead Pool, and I am assuming will unlock him. Also have some locked missions with some other new characters like Morbius.
:::Also started Ghost of Tsushima.
I originally played it a while back on PS+ Extra, but then my sub expired when I was just about 10-15 hours in. So bought it on on-going sale and downloaded it when I was near the end of The Surge, but when I finished it, I didn't want to start another melee action game right away, so went with Marvel's Midnight Suns.
Then my kid started playing Ghost of Tsushima Legends (MP part of the game), and I saw him playing it and got the itch to play it myself. And here I am.
I am apparently in the start of Act 2, but was hadn't done any main mission yet and was clearing the first area, so continued with that and have completely liberated the firs area now. Going to start on the main mission in second area now.
What about all of you? What have you been playing and/or plan to play?
I never finished Zelda TOTK before my last switch broke, and they deleted all my save data from the cloud so I'm starting over on that one. No regrets
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Well, Switch is my favourite console, and I just wanted a faster Switch with Switch 2, so donāt really have any reason to not buy it.
Me too, but I'd rather wait a bit to see if there will be hardware-related headaches on this first batch of consoles. And while the extra processing power would be nice (see my comments on the Switch 1 struggling with Yumia), it's not like there's any games I really want to play for that platform right now.
I never finished Atelier Ryza, but didnāt it have a similar theme about people frowning upon Alchemy and an old kingdom getting destroyed because of it?
There was a plot point about an old kingdom self-destructing due to the abusing alchemy, but it didn't reflect much in the present - alchemy was mostly forgotten, Empel and Ryza weren't subject to heavy discrimination and so on. They also didn't focus much of the story around it, it's more about Ryza and friends growing into adulthood.
In this game almost everyone treats Yumia's with suspicion and/or disdain at first, like a criminal who is "allowed" to use her skills because they need her for the expedition. The plot is almost entirely around the exploration of a kingdom similar to the one mentioned in Ryza, except this time we are going much deeper in detail in their misdeeds and abuses. Plus, the main villains of this game are people related to that kingdom that continue to abuse alchemy to this day, and almost every single party member has a tragedy in their backstory related to alchemy.
Yeah, for most people, unless they want MK: World, there isn't much need to upgrade right away. I have various justifications for getting Switch 2, but it drills down to a simple thing, I want to get it.
Agreed about Ryza part. Yumia sound much darker.
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I generally always recommend playing in order of release, but it doesn't really matter here, the games are completely standalone. Brothership does have very minor references to the older games though. One game gets an entire character returning, but I haven't played that one either.
Mario Kart Update: One cup has a remake of an SNES track as the first one. It's not very interesting and five laps long. More laps than the other three (more interesting) tracks in the cup combined. I really don't understand what they were thinking...
I love the water segments though, very Wave Race!
I also prefer to play (and read, and watch) everything in release order, but most Nintendo games are standalone, so just play whatever I can get my hands on.
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Thanks! Yeah I don't plan to get rid of my Switch either. Mario Kart 8 and World are different enough that I think I will keep playing both. But I still play Mario Kart 64 too, so maybe I'm not a good example for this kind of thing!
Age of Calamity has so much content, I don't even know how far I am from 100%
Every time I complete a thing, a few more show up on the map. I finished the main story and did plenty of the smaller quests, but I still have so many to go. And I'm at almost 40 hours in this new save file.lol, yeah, I remember that part about the Age of Calamity. It seems like it would never end, but IIRC I was doing all side content, so hadn't actually finished the story.
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I never finished Zelda TOTK before my last switch broke, and they deleted all my save data from the cloud so I'm starting over on that one. No regrets
Sad to hear about Switch breaking.
Have fun with TotK!
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Switch 2 is here! Well, not mine, but in general. Should be getting mine soon though. How many of you have gotten it already? And how are you liking it so far?
Finished Chatper 9 of Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition ! I was expecting this to happen in the story, it was kinda predictable. Still, interesting to see.
Got the flight module after that, and now I can fly everywhere! Completed FrontNav of Noctilum, and now just running around doing affinity missions so that I can be couple of levels above the recommended level to start the next chapter.
Played a good amount of Marvel's Midnight Suns. It seems to me that I am spending lots of time in the Abbey, instead of doing the fighting. Not that abbey parts are boring. It's interesting to see the super-hero drama. There's tons of dialogue. I think I am on day 7 or 8, so not too long in grand scheme of things but haven't heard a single repeated line, IIRC.
Trying to most of the side missions before continuing with the main missions, so this will probably take a long while to finish. I am around level 7 now, and have unlocked lots of abbey areas.
::: spoiler Characters unlocked
I have unlocked Spider-man, and the next main mission is with Dead Pool, and I am assuming will unlock him. Also have some locked missions with some other new characters like Morbius.
:::Also started Ghost of Tsushima.
I originally played it a while back on PS+ Extra, but then my sub expired when I was just about 10-15 hours in. So bought it on on-going sale and downloaded it when I was near the end of The Surge, but when I finished it, I didn't want to start another melee action game right away, so went with Marvel's Midnight Suns.
Then my kid started playing Ghost of Tsushima Legends (MP part of the game), and I saw him playing it and got the itch to play it myself. And here I am.
I am apparently in the start of Act 2, but was hadn't done any main mission yet and was clearing the first area, so continued with that and have completely liberated the firs area now. Going to start on the main mission in second area now.
What about all of you? What have you been playing and/or plan to play?
I was so busy I forgot to write!
After successfully camping Wednesday for a Switch 2, I went into school for the last day for teachers and played the board games Dwellings of Eldervale and Dominion.
For the weekend, I casually played Mario Kart World. I love how the races are not just laps around a track! The highlight was playing with my two children Friday on Knockout Mode and playing with the older kid and my wife on Sunday. (āYou let me winā she kept saying as I found almost every way to fall off every track. My 3rd, 4th, 4th, 2nd was the best I could do!)
I also bought Picross S 8 and I just realized I am a little more than halfway finished. Those are the easier puzzles, though. Lots more podcast and zone out time ahead.
The biggest news is that I completed chapter 12 of Xenoblade Chronicles! From what I understand, this was about where the Wii U game ended? I also dove into chapter 13, act 1 because the story is too much to put down. Iām hoping Iāll wrap everything up before July so o can start my first physical Switch 2 game: Bravely Default Remaster.
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I was so busy I forgot to write!
After successfully camping Wednesday for a Switch 2, I went into school for the last day for teachers and played the board games Dwellings of Eldervale and Dominion.
For the weekend, I casually played Mario Kart World. I love how the races are not just laps around a track! The highlight was playing with my two children Friday on Knockout Mode and playing with the older kid and my wife on Sunday. (āYou let me winā she kept saying as I found almost every way to fall off every track. My 3rd, 4th, 4th, 2nd was the best I could do!)
I also bought Picross S 8 and I just realized I am a little more than halfway finished. Those are the easier puzzles, though. Lots more podcast and zone out time ahead.
The biggest news is that I completed chapter 12 of Xenoblade Chronicles! From what I understand, this was about where the Wii U game ended? I also dove into chapter 13, act 1 because the story is too much to put down. Iām hoping Iāll wrap everything up before July so o can start my first physical Switch 2 game: Bravely Default Remaster.
wrote on last edited by [email protected]I was so busy I forgot to write!
Tsk tsk. It's your first time so letting this slide, but this shouldn't happen again Mr. Deutsch!
Dominion is our house favourite. We eventually got one expansion but just the base game has been played dozens if not hundreds of time.
How are you liking Mario Kart World? sdcSpace commented below (or above, however you have the comments sorted) about not being a fan of Grand Prix format. Have you tried that yet? And most importantly, did you really let her win?
I am still at Picross S5, I usually play them semi regularly, but haven't opened it even once since I started Xenoblade Chronicles X.
Ah so Chapter 13 is new content? And is that the last chapter or there is more after that?
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I was so busy I forgot to write!
Tsk tsk. It's your first time so letting this slide, but this shouldn't happen again Mr. Deutsch!
Dominion is our house favourite. We eventually got one expansion but just the base game has been played dozens if not hundreds of time.
How are you liking Mario Kart World? sdcSpace commented below (or above, however you have the comments sorted) about not being a fan of Grand Prix format. Have you tried that yet? And most importantly, did you really let her win?
I am still at Picross S5, I usually play them semi regularly, but haven't opened it even once since I started Xenoblade Chronicles X.
Ah so Chapter 13 is new content? And is that the last chapter or there is more after that?
I said it out loud so that she would know I hadnāt let her win, but she doesnāt believe me. Sheās not too shabby; in contrast, my kart skills are slightly more shabby.
Chapter 13 has multiple parts and I remember seeing it pop up as squad members reached the achievement. I donāt know where I heard it was the extra definitive edition stuff. Maybe from our other friend who plays the game (I canāt remember their username right now).
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I said it out loud so that she would know I hadnāt let her win, but she doesnāt believe me. Sheās not too shabby; in contrast, my kart skills are slightly more shabby.
Chapter 13 has multiple parts and I remember seeing it pop up as squad members reached the achievement. I donāt know where I heard it was the extra definitive edition stuff. Maybe from our other friend who plays the game (I canāt remember their username right now).
Hehe, that used to be me and my wife in Tetris. Now she accepts that she is much better than me
Let me summon my friend @[email protected] for the Xenoblade question. Is the Chapter 13 new content for the DE?
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Hehe, that used to be me and my wife in Tetris. Now she accepts that she is much better than me
Let me summon my friend @[email protected] for the Xenoblade question. Is the Chapter 13 new content for the DE?
wrote on last edited by [email protected]Is the Chapter 13 new content for the DE?
Yes, the ending for the WiiU version is what you see after Chapter 12.
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Is the Chapter 13 new content for the DE?
Yes, the ending for the WiiU version is what you see after Chapter 12.
Oooh, interesting.
