nhSnork

No Switch/NS2 at launch, but unironic mobile ports to drive vehicles on the touchscreens of? And then gamers label racing titles unplayable without analog triggers with a straight face.😏

Given crossplat support out the gate, I pre-registered just in case, but so far the only viable device for this game is Deck, and its relationship with freemium launchers is a dice roll that bears casting literally every update.

The golf has a hybrid port anyway (unlike, sadly enough, Slime Rancher 2 which can feel odd for a Unity indie whose prequel is already on Switch), but while I have the other two on other platforms as well, they could easily make the month by themselves overall. ESO is a bittersweet sight in particular - I bought it on my main account years ago after finding the free trial event somewhat manageable with Vita's controls, then double-dipped on Steam with a laptop before eventually taking that version to its true home on Deck... and THEN begrudgingly uninstalling it because the launcher kept throwing a tantrum with almost every update and demanding 80 Gb of "repairs" (last time it happened, the repair button didn't even go away after I reinstalled all ~120 Gb, the very final straw that got the game shelved). This edition's promise of "every expansion until [2024's] Gold Road" sounds like it would access more of Tamriel than my PC playthrough had unlocked (with Bethesda stuff region-locked on Steam these days, I only got a couple regions from anniversary quests and giveaways), but going back to PS4 for it, with a start from scratch and similarly massive install/update sizes to face on a machine where I have to plan big downloads on top of cramming them in (my PS4 isn't usually plugged in if I can't hope to get a tangible session out of it)... mixed feelings, mixed feelings everywhere.

MHR is certainly not something I'd install here over the full package with blackjack and Sunbreak Switchside, but it's easily among the year's IGC highlights already. Out of curiosity, though, does it have gyro? PS4 and PS5 ports are infamous for often ignoring the controller tech, but in a temporary Switch exclusive like this, you'd think the devs would have to deliberately disable this feature, and it really enhances the gameplay.

I've been plenty concerned since SJS became a skeleton crew of its former self. A lot of that studio's output was peak PlayStation regardless of how many PlayStation fans and their wallets it managed to distract from photorealistic blockbusters. At least Astro Bot has happened in the following years, but the jury's still out on whether it's a rebound or a bottled lightning.

Press F for PixelOpus, too. For all I know, we may be extremely lucky to still have Media Molecule around.

Any serious reaction to a rumoured delay of a rumoured release evokes confusion. PS6 was established as a distant prospect the moment PS5 Pro was announced. PS5 itself only came out four years after the preceding "upgrade", three years into the ongoing Gen 9 - so why is PS6 expected anytime before 2028?

"I challenge you to dig out your crusty old PS4 and spend one full week with creaky 30fps games and glacial loading times."

I only don't spend one full week because affording that long on a home console before retirement is easier said than done in general. But I do unshelve my PS4 from time to time and spend what I can dedicate to it just fine - most recently, on a portable 11.6" screen to boot.

@Oram77 well, it does seem too early for the next Xenoblade entry, so...😏

I'm not through with the first Spider-Man yet (and it would have to be a sideload after never coming back to local Steam - heck, even Forbidden West and Stellar Blade have apparently gone poof from the latter instead), but Solar Crown is a crueler tease in its platform limitations here - with the long announced Switch port still unaccounted for and the first TDU refusing to function on Deck, I would have certainly been tempted to dip a toe here, but what will you do when even Venba lacks a PS4 port.😏 Well, Venba IS on Switch, as are Neva and the first two MHS games (the latter already in my own hybrid library to boot), so all of this leaves... Season to check out? Fine by me.

I rarely have much to say about a home console game focusing on online multiplayer, but I won't lose any more sleep over its existence than I did over the similarly dramaticized Metroid Prime: Federation Force. Even despite Sony's mood swings of the previous generation, more solo Horizon content is doubtlessly happening in due time, too.

@ButterySmooth30FPS and courtesy of neural networks, even the latter may be up for debate now.

All the stuff I can access is also on Switch, but it serves to reaffirm that PS4 is too early to count out in IGC lineups. Still plenty of crossgens out there.

I've only played Kings and Queens so far, but it's pretty neat.

@tomasu Reload is so last year, revivals are in fashion now.

The only caveat to have foreseen was the inherent one I've talked about more than once myself. MMOs and "live services" are simply an easier market to saturate because they habitually expect their userbases to treat them like a day job. Other often fan-ridiculed horns of plenty like metroidvanias or farming sims can keep coming out the wazoo because they're finite and backlog-friendly experiences; this niche's FOMO realm of passes, events and general server support (often synonymous with playability, as Anthem itself is our witness) begs to differ.

@Mikeg1965 chances are few people could have pictured Nintendo succeeding in the online arena shooter segment as well, and yet Splatoon is a whole damn franchise by now.

Expeditions is on Switch and Village is bound for NS2, but I'm still lowkey tempted to dip toes in both (especially since my respective franchise binges are a fair bit behind regardless), but only if I can get the streaming to work well again - my PS4 storage is pretty strained after downloading Wolfenstein New Order (which I just did due to the very streaming issues in the first place - and more generally due to the game's sideload refusing to launch on Deck, of course).

I bet nobody expected the 90s' title screen demo autoplays to come back with such a vengeance.😅

A fantastic lineup all in all, although Unbound is bittersweet in its PS4 absence and the other two are already on Switch anyway (eh, I don't rule out using them as "demos" until procuring the hybrid ports anyway). Good to see that, even despite the announced focus shift to PS5, crossgens are still on the table for PS4-maining subscribers - and I'm pretty sure said crossgens remain a horn of plenty.

"We know Sony is plotting a handheld of its own"

links to an article with "rumour" right in the headline

With PS5's upper hand in hardware being often wasted on extra frixels or optimization shortcuts instead of meaningful gameplay enhancements, PS4's remains a bit of an overkill in regards to how much you need to make a quality modern game. It also boasts millions of users yet to move on to PS5 (partly for the reason above), forward compatibility for games and Remote Play compatibility with a handheld that can also play its own games. It may be two generations old by now, but it's still a worthwhile "ecosystem" to develop for, especially you don't need to blow and then flaunt a small town's budget as your game's status badge.

I've been keeping whole 10 Gb free on NS2 as of late, hesitant to use the space for anything else lest something like a Cyberpunk update should pat me on the shoulder again.

Perhaps I owe everyone an apology?👀😆

Let It Die died for this?🤔

PS5 remains too prohibitively home-chained (whether for lack of Portal or for the local infrastructure impeding its solutions) and most of its power still appears wasted on frixels rather than on game design novelties that Mark Cerny once painted the picture of. But its controller features (their factual application ratio aside👀) and embers of past Nintendoesque SJS glory in titles like Astro Bot, alongside the familiar quality freeroamers like Horizon and Spider-Man, still make its sales numbers deserved. "Good but could have been better", then? Or maybe couldn't, because making it actually better in this day and age would be to make it hybrid - and Portal has demonstrated that Sony is only willing to go so far in that direction. Which will most likely leave Vita and PSP sharing the top of the pedestal among Sony hardware (and third place in my console rankings overall) - but hey, maybe if/when I live to be retired, I'll look back and consider picking up at least a used unit?😄

"Sorry, NFTs, it's my turn to be a game tech leap as big as the shift to 3D"

@SeaDaVie I was referring to how the Yakuza producer used to explain the franchise's absence on Switch by the console's more family-friendly image and his reluctance to see a tonally and thematically "underground" series like that share the store shelf space with something like Animal Crossing. That bias didn't seem to age well since we have four or five Yakuza games across the two hybrid generations by now. So much for those "image" concerns.

@SeaDaVie "and they probably think the hit to their image would be greater. Yeah, that’s weird, but that’s how brand marketing works"

Right, I remember this kind of logic surrounding Yakuza/LaD. And how it ended.😏 Besides, of we go discussing images, there's always one of a Japanese company's products losing grip on its home turf.👀😅

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 also reportedly uses AI tools, looks gorgeous and lacks extra fingers. Which might just indicate where these tools are actually used as tools to empower and support the studio's effort, not as cost cutter snake oil to throw at the wall in hope that something will stick.

Fan fury can be taken and shoved, but sending such a game out past the consoles to the detrimentally buttonless devices and the domain infamous for adorning server-crutched games with variably moody launchers can raise some eyebrows indeed. Freemiums are THE live service model representatives; wasn't Sony crazy about making more of those on PS5?

I suppose it's still a more accessible Horizon entry in comparison to Call of the Mountain, but it's still ironic to see such a heavily action-oriented game prioritize platforms one needs to go and purchase separate controllers for (and in the phones' case, a controller will only be as reliable as the holder used with it🙄).

@UltimateOtaku91 to be fair, the majority of Nintendo's mobile games are much less reliant on the offerings traditional controllers. And personally, I'm still lowkey salty that Dragalia Lost, the one original IP in that bunch, never made it to Switch.

Nowhere on the hybrids yet, Pacific Drive has occupied my Steam wishlist almost since release but I'm definitely tempted to get a taste of it h- OH, COME ON.

Oh well, Still Wakes the Deep looks interesting as we- OH, COME ON!

I guess there's Insurgency, but it sounds like a strictly online multiplayer title. Thank Goodness is on Switch and the two aforementioned highlights will have to wait their turns on Deck or Switch/NS2 announcements.

@zebric21 between demonizing Nintendo over the recent patenting smokescreens and unironically expecting a game to be sued for tapping into established gameplay features, gamers really need to choose one.

@Kingy nah, I remember when Gleamlight was likewise bashed as an alleged "Hollow Knight clone" well before anyone had even heard of Palworld.

"None of this is hugely surprising given the bespoke nature of the PS Portal – if you bought it, you probably did so for Remote Play"

Well, duh, unlike PSP and Vita, this Remote Play device is literally useless for anything else.😅

Personally, I still stand by my skepticism which has had time to waver with positive experience reports suggesting that the service CAN competently compress PS5's redundant resolutions for mobile internet and reinforce itself with first-hand experience of our local mobile internet's deterioration. Heck, forget mobile internet - for the last couple months, even attempting PS+ Premium streams on the laptop via the normally more than decent home wi-fi has produced enough lag to force-close the session (if start it at all). This is ultimately no medium to toss around graphically bloated amounts of data over unreliable third party infrastructure in, and it's already been years since even Google learned it the hard way.

The Portal at least seems to fare better with the first world internet hotspots - again, a machine devoid of autonomous functionality wouldn't be finding such a market otherwise, - but in the end, it looks like I won't be picking up a PS5 until my retirement after all. And to think that Portal itself can actually be found on the same Minsk store shelves that have yet to stock up on NS2s.😏

Welp, they said it, not me. If designing a game to be functional without connecting to the internet on every menu screen can't happen without risking "extended development and higher cost" (my humanitarian posterior would assume it takes a specific effort and budget to program an application WITH all the online ball'n'chains onboard, but what do I know), then this entire game development model is officially and legally flawed. ¯(ツ)/¯

Premium's option to skip the eye-watering download was handy but clashing with the game rotating in and out of the roster, so in the end I just reinstalled the copy I already owned on the main account. Still waiting for a Switch port to put an end to all this juggling and get me focused on ONE proper playthrough at long last.

Some of my fave Final Fantasies have happened with few of the original team remaining onboard, so time will tell. In hindsight, it's probably THE spiritual successor to Gen 4 and 5's Strike series we've ever got, and it certainly doesn't feel like the franchise has depleted its potential. That said, I'd be equally in the market for JC4 port or even a JC1 remake on NS2 as well (alongside Mad Max for good measure) - heck, if it helped budget JC5, I'd even double-dip on the also completed 2 and 3 on the same platform.

@Bob_Tempura Strange Brigade is more linear, fantasy-slash-indianajonesing and perhaps with a comparative sliver of JC's chaos levels but what's there does apparently come with co-op (and at least on Switch, even with gyro aiming).

@Can-You-Believe-Sith I actually associate "the other" Avalanche with Disney Infinity (RIP) first and foremost.

Stray is already on Switch (alongside TABS) but would be the month's highlight otherwise. WRC 24 isn't on Switch but literally not playable on my PS4 either. Oh well.

The year 2026 AD is almost around the corner and the fanbloid reviewers still unironically think that "dull characters" or "boring story" are of any informative value for a reader. What metric units is this dullness being measured in against other works in the genre, may I (rhetorically) ask?

@Weez activity-unlockable extra features for different vehicles (a rarity in the genre overall) was "uninspired gameplay"? Margaritas ante porcos...

With all respect, I'll take a polite release date announcement for the long unveiled Switch port over a frixel upgrade to a pastgen home console still costing like a Switch 2 here in Minsk.

Is GKD an abbreviation yet?👀😅

@LazyDaisy and SR2 is already on PC, so the first game would suffice (unless the "recompiled" take on SR2 came with better gamepad compatibility).

"All of your character's animations will have to line up with what's already possible when playing in first-person"

As Cyberpunk 2077 modders learned the hard way

SR22 has yet to leave me bereft of anything I've enjoyed about the previous two games (and so does AoM while we're at it), but I get the guy's sentiment - the previous cast and lore grew straight from the first game and the new stuff hardly seems impossible to have accomodated into the existing playgrounds. Since SR1 itself remains stuck on Xbox (whose odds of Deck emulation I've yet to chance and thus lack confidence about... although I suppose we ARE talking a Gen 6 machine with less complicated innards than PS2 here), so I'd certainly be curious about its original creator having a go at the franchise again, but I'm not sure what warrants the talks of setting it apart from GTA when the latter has already been in effect at least since SR3. And with all respect, Saints Row VR would be literally unplayable in my case, just like everything else locked behind the tech.

@lessthanleo first game is the one I was talking about, but specifically on Switch. Both motion aiming when docked and touch controls in other modes are supported; as a last gen port, it won't work with the mouse controls on NS2 (although my one attempt to use them regardless did see the gyroscope mimic the reticle's X-axis to an extent😆).

@Rambo-kind as with most arcade games without factoring in their original limitations. Citing my experience with the first HotD again, but most of your playtime will be likely spent on repeat playthroughs unlocking extra weapons (which, in turn, are fairly obligatory for tackling highest difficulties) and tackling other in-game achievements including several endings (assuming HotD2 has those as well). It bears mentioning that every stage tends to have multiple routes, too.

@naruball the first one already plays well with joycon gyro on both generations, which should be just as manageable on DS4 and DualSense... in a world where more than three people remember their functionality. Dragging a rail shooter's crosshairs around the screen with a stick has, indeed, been only so effective since the NES days.

Chances are I'll humour it anyway (assuming no region lock buffoonery), but Square Enix's recent freemium history has resembled Bandai Namco's indeed, so it can be frankly mystifying to see both companies persevere through all the hi-bye longevity instead of, in this case, porting Duodecim or a less arcade followup thereof. On the other hand, Opera Omnia, while defunct by now, is one of the most lasting mobile freemiums I've experienced over the years, alongside Record Keeper and Brave Exvius... so perhaps SE still hopes to recapture those results with the franchise that once produced them.

Time will tell, but I'm still in the market for proper console Dissidias as well. And at the end of the day, this impending one better have Lunafreya again - the gal is estimatedly out of playable appearances at the moment, and she can't have enough of those after being shafted by her own flagship in the first place.

The average timeline would check out if not for Sony's ongoing affair with "midgen upgrades", namely last year's PS5 Pro. Then again, perhaps the rumour mill (and the "credible sources" preying on it) presumes Sony's unwillingness to be whole four years late into another console generation.😏

I'll take this, NtE, everything HoYoVerse... on my hybrids, please. After the GTA V and ESO fiascos, I have pretty limited faith in the prospects of playing server-crutched games on Deck.

Most of the PS4 stuff is also on Switch but Persona 5 Tactica is a definite headturner otherwise and even I'm lowkey tempted to dip a toe therein despite still being early in P5R itself (so basically having almost two whole games to wrap up prior).

Not sure what kind of frixel/SFX deadweight would no longer make PS4 feasible for a cel-shaded game that runs on seven-year-old phones, but the five-years-in-the-oven Switch port becomes all the more topical with one less button-equipped option in Genshin's platform range.

@Oram77 "this gen" (assuming you mean last gen's PlayBox systems since this one literally just began with another hybrid console) mostly wasted its specs on redundant fluff anyway, so I can but welcome it being "held back" from more pursuits of the 50k500fps kind.

@rjejr if Nintendo had something against MiHoYo, the port would have never been announced in the first place. It looks much more like the company just clogged their pipeline with two new freemiums on top of Genshin's already released versions. As for Nintendo making money from gacha games, Fire Emblem Heroes' longevity alone indicates they already do, and the likes of Nintendo Badge Arcade and Pokemon Shuffle (which also lasted almost as long as their platform) date all the way back to 3DS.

@AverageGamer Speedstorm's own racer/crew capsules would have news for you, but Switch has had a veritable ton of other character gacha freemiums, from the already gone Dawn of the Breakers and Onigiri to the recent/ongoing Guardian Tales and Bleach: Brave Souls. Pokemon has what, at least three freemiums on the console by now? Plus other segment juggernauts like Warframe.

Well, they have the opportunity to feature behind-the-wheel driving cam on the streets of London where Watch Dogs Legion of all games didn't.

Lies of P certainly sounds like one to try for now with the lack of hybrid ports in sight, and I may even dip toes into DayZ which only interests me so much as a strictly online multiplayer title but does appear to be among the relative few zombiecalypse games with [prospectively] functional vehicles. Empty pseudocritique slang like "average", "forgettable" and "bland" does nothing to deter me from One's Justice 2, especially after a positive experience with the first game... but both of them are long in my Switch library, so not likely to see any actual PS playtime.

@PuppetMaster "fewer cutscenes, less voice acting and less polish than a Hideo Kojima game" sounds like a fairly broad range of expectations anyway.

Cyberpunk would have been a must check, had I not just grabbed it for NS2; it can still make the whole month by itself otherwise. Other stuff is neat but either also boasting a hybrid port or limited to PS5 on the home console front... but I've already poked around the first two Twisted Metal games on the service prior, so I might just dip my toes into the next two as well.