The exclusive games will need to be really good if a design like this is to sell well. Otherwise they are heading for another Wii U situation.

Being able to play co-op and the single player storyline at the same time is so cool. It's something I always wanted in the series; the ability to enjoy everything with friends without losing any of the single player features. I played Scarlet/Violet with my girlfriend at launch and it was a very fun way to enjoy the game with her whilst also being able to play at my own pace. But unfortunately the visuals really annoyed her and she lost interest. It's just not that fun exploring a world as barren and ugly as the one in Scarlet/Violet.

About KC: D, I agree with you, but that’s a problem with most RPGs, you are either a “cozy” game, or there’s doom and gloom going on.

I kind of disagree, I think it's definitely possible to write a mainline story in a way that it allows for downtime for exploration and/or side quests. Cyberpunk 2077's quests often have breaks where you need to wait for an NPC to contact you or you are required to meet them at a time and place that allows for some flexibility. Even just in terms of the way dialogue is written, you can have a quest assigner ask you to meet them in a certain spot when you're ready with a warning that you shouldn't take too long, rather than just instantly progressing the quest. I think Kingdom Come: Deliverance actually did this at some points, where characters would meet you at a different location if you took too long to join them for the journey there. There are ways around it through clever writing, though obviously most RPG's will also have urgent moments where it doesn't make sense to wander off.

Is that the first one? I had the exact same problem with the campaigns and never finished them.

I don't know about uninspired, Scarlet/Violet is a great game at its core. It's just a shame that it was so obviously rushed and the resulting technical imperfections overshadow the gameplay for many.

I think it's awesome that game is actually playable on Switch. The port looks pretty good too, all things considered. Hopefully it meant a ton of people who wouldn't otherwise have played it got to experience (what I consider) one of the best RPGs of the last decade.

NEW LAYTON

I just need to sit down and force myself to get into it again. I know once I get past the Great Bay Temple I'll start enjoying the game again but there are several hours of tedious gameplay before that.

My only complaint about that game is that the pace of the main story doesn't match the pace of the game world. Everything else about the world, particularly in hardcore mode, really suits roleplaying but the main quest doesn't give Henry enough opportunies to do other stuff. You are forced to play out of character and ignore the urgency of the main quest if you want to take your time and enjoy the slow and relaxing atmosphere. Still a great game though, I will complete my second playthrough this year in preparation for the sequel.

EDIT: (As this is a Nintendo community, I should point out that I am playing on PC.)

I'd like to finally finish Majora's Mask this year, 24 years after I started playing it. The furthest I've made it was Ikana Castle, and that was back when I was a kid. My current save file is at the Pirate's Fortress but I haven't touched it in over a year. My struggle to complete this game started off as not being very good at it, then I got a bit older it turned into this thing where I didn't want to finish the game because I didn't want it to be over and now I'm just so bored of replaying the same bit that every time I attempt another completion I lose interest before I get to the new stuff.

Because their entire poltical and world view is based on identity politics. They cannot simply say "that joke sucked" and move on, they have to make it into yet another virtue signalling exercise and lecture everyone else because that is the behaviour they associate with being a "good person".

Thanks for sharing!

This is the type of list someone you meet at a party who "loves movies" would give you.

but I always had the impression you didn’t really like me

Not at all, I'm not sure why you'd think that.

Seventeen-year-olds, last I checked, were kids.

It's one of my favourites! I have a box set of the manga too. :)

The first character I created in the MMORPG Star Wars: The Old Republic back when it launched was an Imperial Agent (Operative) called Lastelle Ilandar. Lastelle is the name of the Princess of Pejite in Hayao Miyazaki's 'Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind' and Ilandar was an original surname I thought sounded good when paired with Lastelle. Because I played on a roleplaying server initially, I created a little backstory for the character where she was a daughter of a noble Alderaanian family (House Ilandar). Her family planned to marry off against her wishes, so she joined Imperial Intelligence as a means of rebelling against them. A lot of people use their nickname or gamer name as their online username but I've never had one of those so this has sort of become the default one for me, although I haven't used it that often.

Who said anything about five year olds?

They should, but unfortunately today's parents have been convinced that the world is extremely dangerous and that letting their children go outside to have adventures and build their confidence is "bad parenting".

I’m pretty sure general gameplay already has all core systems in place, movement, shooting, reloading, etc. I don’t see that changing much.

I was thinking more in terms of soul mechanics. There have been lots of big meta shifts this year in relation to wave sharing, jungling and the urn. I'm not sure if they've settled on that yet or if there will be more big changes in 2025 as they try to work out how much they want to play into the MOBA component vs the hero shooter component.