Here Comes Niko! / A Hat In Time

This is very good.

Ha, very good.

How are you finding the game itself, Balla?

I really like it! It's the first game that's well and truly got its hooks into me since... well, Pokémon, but excluding that... well, Tangle Tower. The point is it's made me want to keep playing more than such greats as LM3 and UGG. It's so charming and lovely and occasionally throws a terrifying curve ball.

It's not perfect, especially not on Switch where long loading pauses and technical muckups are the order of many a day; but I really like it. May well buy the DLC, thus neglecting all the other games I have in the backlog for yet longer...

I'm in no position to be buying anything new, but maybe being patient will do me well as the game might get some performance patches by the time I get around to it.

Maybe.  Sadly, I really do think the game could do with them.

I have however finished the game.  I disagree with Cappa's assertion that the game gets better as it goes along, though; because it's the game's character that I think is its strongest point, and the last world has almost none of that.  On the other hand, the mafiosi are bursting with it, as are the birds.

Incidentally, re. Jimbob's comment somewhere (not in this thread apparently?): turns out I actually had to beat Mafia Town Time Pieces 6 and 7 to unlock 5.  Er, okay, game.  You do you.

The platforming gets better as the game goes along. 

Is this the sort of game you can dip into and out of? If I start bringing my Switch into work on lunch breaks then I'd like to have a platformer as an option. Long load times put me off that angle a bit though.

Ah... um... I dunno. Although it has a Mario Galaxy-esque structure, each "level" can take quite a while to do - it may not be lunchtime-friendly. However, someone else feel free to disagree with my opinion!

Previous comment opinion spoilers:

 

I don't actually think the platforming's the best in general - certainly not compared with Mario Odyssey. But I'd say that the joy in this game is the unexpected - the way the rules of the game almost change with each world. After the slightly longwinded now-token spooky forest level, I really liked Alpine Skyline. It was Rainbow Ride-style exciting.

I'm still holding out on a performance patch

@The Cappuccino Kid wrote:

The platforming gets better as the game goes along. 

Fair, but it... never gets that good to my mind.

@Jimbob wrote:

Previous comment opinion spoilers:

 

I don't actually think the platforming's the best in general - certainly not compared with Mario Odyssey. But I'd say that the joy in this game is the unexpected - the way the rules of the game almost change with each world. After the slightly longwinded now-token spooky forest level, I really liked Alpine Skyline. It was Rainbow Ride-style exciting.

Fairer! I think this is a good way of looking at it that I'd not consciously made the link to, and it does really resemble that level you mention a lot now that I think of it.

@Muss wrote:

Is this the sort of game you can dip into and out of? If I start bringing my Switch into work on lunch breaks then I'd like to have a platformer as an option. Long load times put me off that angle a bit though.

I agree with Jim, sadly. I mean, every Switch game kind of is to an extent? I've turned off halfway through levels and come back to them later. But some of the Pieces, especially the ones that have more exploration opportunities, can take a good 20 minutes to acquire. It is good though! Get it for home play, it's probably better than whatever you're playing.

Gears for Breakfast announced the next project they're co-producing, called Here Comes Niko!.



They're describing it as a "cozy 3D platformer", which will surely pique the curiousity of many of us A Hat In Time fans on here. Worth keeping an eye on I'd say.

I'd say this could have a new thread if you would like that Cappa. Anyway, as it's from GfB I immediately paid all of the attention, and although I don't much care for a 3D platformer with a 2D main character it looks sweet enough that I'm definitely curious, if not excited yet.

I quite like the 2D characters - gives me Paper Mario vibes. That certainly looks cozy, so they've done what they've set out to accomplish, it would seem! One to watch, for sure.

Well that's bloody charming looking that is. I miss Hat In Time already, so I'm properly paying attention to this now.