Friday! Video games! Let’s talk!
I haven’t done much in the way of gaming this week since my girlfriend and I have been using our time to catch up on new movie releases via Red Box. We checked out Jumanji (way more fun than I expected), Thor Ragnarok (Guardians-levels of good), Justice League (watchable, but not good), Lady Bird (excellent and relatable), and The Shape of Water (great cinematography, but I didn’t like it as much as most folks did). We’re also watching our way through the entire Paranormal Activity series.
I restarted Xenoblade Chronicles 2 on the Switch and I’m definitely enjoying it more this time around. I’m not sure if it’s the result of having a greater distance between this and the last open-world game I played, which wasn’t the case when it launched toward the end of last year. I was so burnt out after Horizon: Zero Dawn, The Evil Within 2, Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age, Assassin’s Creed: Origins, Middle-earth: Shadow of War, and all of the other massive games that crippled our wallets in 2017.
I’m also loving Xenoblade’s new easy mode. In a 100+ hour JRPG with a massive world that begs for exploration, I want to be doing that… not stressing out over combat complexities and grinding. I’m also not finding the frequent tutorials annoying this time around, so maybe I’m just in a better head space. I don’t know. What I *do* know is that I’m actually eager to jump back, which was never, ever the case before.
Another Switch game that’s caught my attention is 10tons’ new sci-fi/horror twin-stick shooter, Tesla vs. Lovecraft. I’ll be reviewing this one, so I’ll keep the description brief.
You play as Tesla, using the power of science and invention to combat Lovecraft and his eldritch horrors, which have taken over the world. It’s a fast-paced, top-down arcade shooter where you mow down swarms of monsters, pick up weapons, unlock power-ups, and collect parts to summon a pilotable mech mid-level. It’s… really fucking good.
I have reviews in the works for the Switch release of Outlast 2, which launches next week on the 27th, the 2D roguelite platformer Flinthook, and the noir comic book-style visual novel/match-three hybrid Metropolis: Lux Obscura. I also used my Gold Coins and picked up the original Steamworld Dig on Switch, which is currently 50% off ($5). Maybe I’ll actually finish it this time!
I’ve been glued to my Switch lately and find myself ignoring whatever indies don’t release on this thing. I get a lot of press-related emails offering review keys and coverage opportunities, but the moment I discover the game in question isn’t coming to the Switch my brain just shuts down. Sorry, not sorry?
Anyway, what about you folks? Any big gaming plans this weekend?
Cheap Boss Attack 
It’s make or break time for Fortnite. I played a few more missions in the campaign but it just doesn’t feel like anything is coming together in it. If a few more hours this weekend don’t feel productive I’m going to shelve this one.
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Yeah, it seems like they stopped caring about the campaign pretty quickly once they added Battle Royale mode.
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I’ve been playing a handful of free to play games (such as Fallout Shelter) in between work and stuff. They don’t take much time or attention and that’s all I can really do at the moment. Hoping things settle down later in the year so I can pick up the second Tomb Raider game in the reboot given I haven’t tried it yet.
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Rise of the Tomb Raider was pretty great! Fallout Shelter, Adventure Capitalist, Clicker Heroes are always on my mobile device for moments like those lol.
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I’m definitely going to have to look into Tesla vs. Lovecraft, because that sounds ridiculously fun on every level.
My weekend is probably going to be spent finishing up the Dusk trilogy of thr Atelier games and bringing Shining Force II to a close. I’ve been itching to exercise my Switch again, though, so I need to figure out what to play on that soon, too.
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It’s a great game to pick up and play when you have 10-15 minutes of free time. Best of luck with Shining Force 2! Saw your tweet about the Atelier games and it reminded me that Atelier Lydie & Suelle: The Alchemists and the Mysterious Painting is coming to Switch next week!
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I have a baby shower and a wedding shower to attend this weekend, so I’ll be pretty tied up. My plan is to continue playing more of Phoenix Wright: Dual Destinies when I do have free time.
I’m with you on The Shape of Water. I thought it was good, but a lot of other people I saw talking about it online were saying it’s this incredible movie and it just didn’t resonate with me that way.
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Right? I can’t put my finger on why it didn’t land with me. I loved the cinematography, though. It was beautiful to look at.
Enjoy whatever free time you have this weekend =)
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I haven’t done much gaming this week. I also took a break to catch up on some TV time. I watched the first season to 7 seconds which has excellent acting, but the show itself should have been about 5 to 6 episodes long and not 10. I also watched the Babadook and hated it. It wasn’t scary and I was super bored watching it. Next movie I watch will be The Conjuring 2.
I want to get through Final Fantasy 15 and move on to Ni No Kuni 2 or Far Cry 5. I haven’t decided which one to get yet and I’m not even sure if I’m going to get either one right now since I still need to play through Fatal Bullet and I want to put some more time in Northgard. It doesn’t help that I started playing Dragon Age: Inquisition again. I’m still trying to get through it so I can play Trespasser for the first time lol.
I’m glad you’re getting some enjoyment out of Xenoblade 2.
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I wasn’t too big on Babadook either. Are you still digging XV?
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I honestly haven’t played it that much. I’m not even 10 hours in yet. I put it aside to focus on Vermintide 2 and then I got distracted with Northgard. I do like though. I can’t comment on the story because I’ve only done 2 (maybe 3) quest. I’ve just been exploring. I don’t think I wasted my money so that’s a good thing :).
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I’m putting in 50 hours into the job, so I haven’t had any time to seriously game. I managed to get in some Splatoon 2 rounds, and that’s about it. I’ll likely get some more of that in late night tonight/tomorrow. Next week should be normal though so I hope to get in a couple of interesting indie, and retro pickups in.
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Yikes! Hope you find *some* time to yourself this weekend. If not, at least next week looks better.
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Here’s something funny, I’ve also been playing the hell out of Tesla vs Lovecraft, only on Xbox (didn’t realise it was on Switch until yesterday. I’ve really enjoyed it too. I’m into the third run and it’s REALLY hard now.
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Haha, nice! Haven’t enjoyed a 10tons game this much since Crimsonland about 4 years ago.
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Honestly, I think the theme kind of helps for me…
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Same. And it just works so well. I’m hoping for a role reversal dlc if it sells we enough to warrant it.
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Funnily enough I have a review written up ready for tomorrow that mentions how fun it’d be to do just that!
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Hope you don’t mind if I link to you in it!
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Never need my permission for that =)
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Metropolis looks cool. I recently finished Summon Night 6 so I might return to Criminal Girls 2. Right now feels like a good time to dent my Vita backlog.
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Criminal Girls: Invite Only was a really solid JRPG, despite obvious reasons that would turn most folks away. Always meant to get to the sequel but it launched when I started to drift away from my Vita a bit (same with Mary Skelter).
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More Xenoblade 2 for me! 120+ hours deep and still can’t pull myself away. Love the world and characters too much to say goodbye just yet.
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I’m nearly 20 hours in and it has its claws in me pretty deep.
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Hoping to finish up Kirby Star Allies this weekend. Maybe play a bit more Bloodborne if I get the chance.
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Hoping to pick up KSA at some point myself. How are you liking it?
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It has been pretty fun so far. It is very similar to the recent traditional Kirby games (Return to Dream Land, Triple Deluxe, Planet Robobot). And so far I don’t personally like it as much as those, but it is still a good time.
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I’ve only played Adventure on NES and *very* little of Epic Yarn on Wii, so I’m quite unfamiliar with Kirby. It’s always been described as an overly easy platformer, so it’s never been a series on my radar. But I’ve been recommended to play Robobot A LOT, sooooo that’s something I need to do at some point. Which would you say is the best?
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That’s definitely happened to me before. I’l start something and just not be into it for whatever reason, but then when I come back to it later, it’s like either it’s different or I am. That’s my experience with Dune, which I just started reading again and I’m totally into it.
I wound up playing a bit of Valkyria Chronicles. I loved the story and the characters, but didn’t like the gameplay at all. That makes me sad, because the story is really compelling; the characters are so likable, and the presentation is like a book. Ah well.
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I’ve heard a lot of great stuff about Valkyria. I actually picked up the remaster the week after my dad passed away and just wasn’t in the mood for anything. Then it got buried further in the backlog. I’m in a similar boat, though, where I don’t think I’ll like the gameplay at all. We’ll see!
Sometimes distancing yourself from something you feel you *should* enjoy is the best approach. It’s all about being in the right mood and mindset. Mass Effect: Andromeda, Dishonored, Doom, Final Fantasy XII and XIII, and now Xenoblade Chronicles 2 have all benefited from second visits.
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Let me know what you think of it! I told the coworker who gave it to me I loved the story and characters, but the gameplay just doesn’t suit me. It’s great if you’re into strategy RPGs so I’d recommend it for someone like that. I understand that feeling though. You don’t give a shit about anything, but you want to do something, but there’s nothing you can really do :\
That’s a good idea. I need to get back to Final Fantasy V. I’m glad you wound up liking Xenoblade Chronicles 2. The same thing happened with Lightning Ellen and Super Mario Odyssey. Sometimes you need to wait for the hype to fade a bit so that you can enjoy it without the bias.
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Indeed! Hype builds unrealistic expectations. I do like strategy rpgs quite a bit, actually. Hmmm. Maybe I’ll try that next once my current WoW obsession dies off.
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