What are you playing on your Switch 2: Play Harder

My worry about me playing any farming game is that I'll either go too hard on the efficiency if it's difficult, or find it dull if it's easy. It's one thing that's putting me off getting the now-out Rune Factory 5, which I reckon will have to wait until a birthday or something.

As for me, now? Kirby. Natch.

I got to the annoying part of trying to fill my Pokédex in Legends where most things need certain conditions to catch so I've dropped it so I can properly crack on with Octopath Traveller which I started a few weeks back.

Not got too much to say about it other than it's good, I like the battle system and the presentation, it all looks and sounds really nice, it's the kinda game that makes me wish I had an OLED though. Still working through each of the initial chapters for the characters but I'm keen to play more.

Octopath is such a pretty game, and the soundtrack is an all-timer in my book. I can definitely see the appeal of playing it with a really vibrant display.

It's pretty and great-sounding... I just hope you get on with the core of the game better than I did Smurf. Not to mention the 'ending'.

Having finished Kirby I've moved straight onto the next platformer on my list: Kaze and the Wild Masks. It's pretty cute, but moving from a Nintendo platformer to a Nontendo platformer, you really notice the drop-off in invention. (Generalisation I know, and Kaze is pretty obviously a Donkey Kong 'homage', but still.)

I've also bought Blue Reflection 2 at 35% off, so if anybody wants my thoughts on yet another JRPG, you'll probably get them soon. Also: if you didn't want my thoughts on yet another JRPG, you'll probably get them soon.

Double-post: I'm playing Grindstone.

I'm playing nothing but Grindstone.

There are several games I have on the go, all of them exceedingly critically acclaimed, and I'm ignoring them because I'm too busy playing Grindstone.

It's probably the best colour-matching puzzler I've played since Meteos. (This is not a high bar, I've played maybe three since then.) It looks like a mobile game because it is a mobile game, and is laid out like a mobile game, and I kind of hate that all of my time is being sucked into a mobile game? But it's tremendously addictive and very satisfying and just downright fun. Has anybody else made this same mistake, either on Switch or Apple Arcade?

I think I've played about 10-15 hours of Grindstone, but wore myself out on it slightly after binging on it and getting a bit overwhelmed by how many levels there are. It's fun though! One of the only games on Switch I always play with touch controls (because mobile).

That's definitely valid. My Switch says I've played 35-40 hours (I reckon the Switch counter overcounts a bit. It must do, right? ), and I'm maybe 3/4 of the way through? Absurd amounts of game considering. And yes, a must-play with touch controls. (The other in that category for me is Voez, also original a mobile title.)

Also I bought the shrugworthy Game Freak JRPG Little Town Hero the other night. Please don't ask me why.

The Switch counter definitely isn't accurate as my MH Rise time is like 15 hours more than what the in-game timer says.

Balladeer wrote:

Also I bought the shrugworthy Game Freak JRPG Little Town Hero the other night.  Please don't ask me why.

Excitement for Plucky Squire, presumably?

Not even! I had it wishlisted for a while before buying (at full price like a ninny). In theory I like games that have a small close environment that you get to know well as much as I liked games that have big open spaces to explore, so that's what I was/am hoping for. So far though, it's just quite lethargic.

The_Jaster wrote:

The Switch counter definitely isn't accurate as my MH Rise time is like 15 hours more than what the in-game timer says.

Oh gosh, that's a relief! Not for Grindstone so much, but my Switch says I put 120 hours into 7/10 JRPG Bravely Default. I don't want to think that so much of my life was spent on the three most generic anime protagonists ever (plus cackling Scotsman).

Yeah must be wrong, my Switch claims I've played Fortnite for 60 hours which I would never do...

...Smurf.  Have you been playing Fortnite on your Switch for... let's say 50 hours?

Nope, never and I've not downloaded it on my PS5 and started playing it there either.

I don't know if you guys know this but there are these really good games called Portal and Portal 2 and they were released in a compilation on the eShop the other day for only £13.50. I played through Portal over the past couple of days and had a lovely time.

I played through Portal on a laptop with the touchpad.
I've added that collection to my wishlist. When it inevitably drops below a fiver, I would like to have those games on my Switch to bash through some time.

I've never played the second, that if I see a bit cheaper I might get the collection.

They run really smoothly and it's great being able to play it all portable likes. I turned on subtitles so I can appreciate GlaDOS's quips (and screenshot them) throughout.

The Portals are among the few games I've already tried to play on Steam. I wasn't very good at them.

So of course I've decided to take on a new first-person game because I love those... except I actually do quite like Neon White so far! Not the writing or characters or voice acting, they're dire - but the gameplay is really nice. It's early doors, but my inability to aim hasn't been too much of a hindrance so far: meanwhile I've got all golds and all but one present on the first world. The gameplay is slick and nice and I actually like replaying for better times. At this point I'd recommend it to most!

(I'm actually mostly playing the shoddy RTS sections of 13 Sentinels, but I'm not going to recommend them to most. It's amazing how a game all about the looming threat of giant alien monsters reduces the actual fights with them to something with all the menace of a game of Settlers of Catan.)

Steve Blum is one of the VO, as White though

Not heard of him, but either he's not very good or he's been given a bobbins script to work with. Willing to believe either.

He's Spike in Cowboy Bebop, and he's basically doing the same voice etc of Spike.

I'm back playing Cuphead and to my surprise when I loaded it up I wasn't still stuck on Beppi the clown fight. Instead I'm stuck on a stupid bloody dragon/hyrda....maybe I'll eventually beat this game before the year is up.

The Dark Souls of hand-drawn shmups.

masofdas wrote:

He's Spike in Cowboy Bebop, and he's basically doing the same voice etc of Spike.

I guess I'll err on the side of 'bad script' then... but there's a reason I prefer subbed anime.

Steve Blum's Spike voice is great and it's great in Neon White!

I’m only four universities in but I’m very enamoured with Two Point Campus. I found Two Point Hospital to be quite demanding and stressful, but all signs point to Two Point Campus being the total opposite. That’s grand by me – I just want to enjoy the humour above everything else. That it’s such an intuitive and clever game definitely helps my enjoyment of it too.

Two Point Hospital has plenty of fans here - I'm not the only one who graduated to Campus, am I?