My system (a laptop, all I’ve got 'cause I had to skitterflee from doomness v.v ) can’t run much so I’m kinda stuck at “playable” framerates on old games :-\ I kinda hate to admit it but I’ve been playing Borderlands 2 … the Linux version, 'cause the Windows version, which has a bunch of patches and mod support, just doesn’t run well enough for me 😭 Can’t even get any DLC, though I’ve been really wanting to try Gaige. May be too burnt out to enjoy it any more anyway.
Before that was Titan Quest, which just doesn’t really play like I wish it did. Played it a bunch anyway. Bleh.
So now I’m just sitting around trying to avoid losing my mind to boredom or despair. flailyskitters around in circles 😵💫
Puyo Puyo Champions - After the video essay I posted two weeks ago ended up doing so much better than I expected, 11k+ views and 600+ likes, I decided to try streaming some ranked for the first time in 2.5 years. I'm still cracked.
I finished Max Payne but idk how I ever got through the first couple times I played it... I had so much trouble this round that I would be seriously stuck if it wasn't for console commands T_T I briefly thought about playing Max Payne 2, but thinking about the final fight in that game is kind of off putting, so I'll leave it be.
I originally wasn't going to go through Quantum Break again, but since I had already decided on playing Max Payne and Control, I thought, what the hell, it's a great game so I'll go another round in it. Besides, Alan Wake 2 technically does reference it, so... lore! Plot points! The game is still great fun, incredibly underrated, but I am a little miffed that I now had to install the show episodes to watch them. Not a huge deal, but having to stop and wait a few hours for all the versions to download took me out of the moment.
Started a new playthrough of Subnautica to do between Remedy games. I'm trying to explore more and utilize the beacons and the scanner room, and man, I've already come across stuff I haven't seen before. This might end up being a game I put on regular rotation as a "filler" game, like Mad Max or V:TM Bloodlines.
I’ve finished Metaphor and it was really good, although I expected a bit more from the story, the ending felt a bit rushed.
I’ve started Triangle Strategy and while I’m enjoying it, the xp/difficulty curve feels really weird, as the battles feel too hard as soon as I reach them, but failing them once I level up enough to reach the recommended level and pass them.
I’m currently playing mainly the free https://store.steampowered.com/app/1463920/hexceed/, which to my surprise has a lot of free content. I found it mentioned elsewhere on Lemmy, and have been playing it since. hexceed is a hexagon puzzle game.
Being controllable mouse-only is nice. Needing focus it’s not always fitting to play though. :)
I also bought some pick-bundles and tried out Cash Cow DX, but it wasn’t for me.
And I tried playing The Ascend last weekend, but the Steam Controller track pad feels awful for full-degree aiming.
I’ve also been playing Koa and the Five Pirates of Mara, but am somehow on a break there currently. If I go back to a platformer on my PC, it’ll probably be that though, to continue playing through it.
Yes, they can be a personal device like a game boy, but they can also be a shared device.
The regular Nintendo Switch (and I think the OLED one) can be played handheld or docked (aka. plugged into the TV). I’d recommend this version.
The Nintendo Switch Lite cannot be plugged into the TV, and is also harder to play multiplayer with other people in the same room. So avoid the “Lite”.
The controllers on the regular Nintendo Switch are removable. This means that you can buy a console and have two controllers for some games. Some games require more buttons, so each player would need a pair, but some simpler games like Mario Kart or Mario Party can be played with just one half (aka. Joy-Con).
The games are generally sharable between consoles and within consoles.
Between consoles: The cartridges will work no matter how many consoles you swap it between. Only the console with the game inserted will be able to play the game. However, the saved games (progression in a game) are usually saved to a console, not the cartridge.
(The same holds true for digital games only if the account that bought the game is connected to a console. Accounts can be connected to multiple consoles. An account can only be logged in to one console at a time, so ALL digitally-owned games on that account are locked to one console at a time…but if they aren’t logged in, then the another console can log in and play the digital games. So no multiplayer, but taking turns playing the digital game on different consoles. Saves might be shared here, though)
Within consoles: Almost every game allows each profile on the console to have their own saved game. So you could buy one Pokemon game, and up to 8 people can have save files for that game. Depending on the game, they may not be able to play simultaneously (e.g. trading), but they can all have their own save files with their own progression.
So, what you suggested is overkill. Here’s my advice:
If you want family game time, you just need…
One OLED Switch (connects to TV)
Buy games physically if you foresee anyone wanting their own console in the future, or digitally if not
Check if the games you’re buying can be played with a single Joy-Con. If so, the console comes with 2. If a player needs 2 Joy-Cons each, you have 1 controller with the console. Buy enough Joy-Cons or Pro Controllers (which are equivalent to a pair of Joy-Cons, but can’t be “split”) so that you have enough for all your players.
This console can still be played handheld whenever someone wants solo game time or when someone else wants the TV.
This will allow everyone to play single-screen multiplayer games on your TV together. Note that most games allow up to 4 players at once. More is rare.
Or, if you’ve got older kids who want their own individual games that they’ll play independently at the same time, it gets more complicated. But here’s what I’d suggest.
Get at least one dockable (non-Lite) Switch in the family. This Switch “gets” access to the TV, but may also have to “share” for family multiplayer time.
Get Switch Lites for anyone who REALLY needs to be playing something else independently when the TV/“main” Switch is in use
Get physical games: Any kid can play it in any console, and as long as they’re on the console that has their profile, they can continue their saved game. You DON’T need multiple copies of any game except in very rare scenarios.
Having extra consoles is rarely necessary to play games together. The only time they’d need It is if they’re playing games online together and the game doesn’t offer split-screen. Maybe Fortnite? But then they can take turns, unless you really want to buy separate consoles, lol
Please ask any follow up questions you have. I’d be glad to help clarify anything! Typing this up was surprisingly fun, lol
Get Switch Lites for anyone who REALLY needs to be playing something else independently when the TV/“main” Switch is in use
Obviously only if the budget allows, but if your kids are at the age where they’ll take their Switch when they visit friends or family, then the version with detachable controllers is probably better.
The Switch has a built in kick stand, and some games, like Mario Kart, let you disconnect the controllers and have one each for a two player game. It’s handy for keeping the kids quiet for a bit, and you don’t need to carry loads of stuff.
If the kids regularly go somewhere, like your parents perhaps, you can buy an extra dock to plug into the TV there, and the non lite Switch can use it in exactly the same way as the one at home. There’s nothing special about the dock, it essentially just connects the Switch to the TV.
It’s a great little console with some fun, if sometimes expensive games. I play mine probably as much as my kid plays theirs 🙂
Great addition! I was trying to keep budget in mind, but truthfully, I don’t know the price difference.
It’d be good for OP to know the different capabilities of what the Lite vs. the other consoles can/can’t do. But I think my comment was long enough as it is! Haha
I personally stick to only physical games since they cost the same, but are stored on the cartridge, meaning I don’t have to upgrade my switch’s measly 32GB of storage.
The Switch is an insane device to me. It’s been underpowered before it launched, but 32GB storage? I had flash drives twice that size when the Switch came out. What the fuck?
I also prefer physical games. I have very few digital games on my Switch – only for massive digital-only sales, or for games that had limited physical runs that I missed. Or when I didn’t know a game had a physical release, lol
Some people prefer digital games, and I get it. Especially with kids who might break, lose, or “trade” physical games.
Back in my day I had to share a single console with my siblings. We had to take turns playing single-player games. This can be fine, and can even be a bonding activity. I’m not sure if it’s “ideal”, but nothing is. Most likely your kids will outgrow the Switch soon anyway, or they could not even like it to start with, so don’t go overboard buying them each a console. You can decide in the future to buy more if you want, but the new Nintendo device is also on the way, so that’s something to think about.
That makes sense! I was picturing a scenario where each kid was begging for a Switch.
If there are two kids who each want to play their own games independently (or niche cases like they really want to trade Pokemon together or play games online together that can’t be played with couch co-op), then having multiple devices would be important. Of course, it depends on where the budget is, lol
Buying two SNES consoles would be crazy. Buying two Game Boys probably happened in some households.
Yeah, good point. The Switch isn’t just a console. I guess that’s probably why it’s portable; to sell one for each child. We did each have our own Game Boy in my household, mostly I think to make road trips less hell.
More Baldurs Gate 3 in coop with a friend. We’re in the Underdark, gonna kill some Dwarves next time and Gnome and probably everything. We’re just complete murderhobos.
Then I heard about Vampire Hunters, which is kinda Vampire Survivors, but as an FPS. It’s fun and there are a few more maps to beat, but I don’t know if it’s going to have as much staying power as some of these other games I’ve played.
Also, more Metroidvanias. I played through Elderand, and don’t think it’s very good. For some reason, I got lost and didn’t know where to go at some point, which I don’t remember ever happening with another game. It turned out to be a way up some platforms I just missed, but it took a lot of time with me just running around, until I looked at a video playthrough. Even if that’s just a skill issue on my end, some of the other parts, aren’t that good either. The map seems to be a bit inconsistent, which didn’t help finding the correct way. Combat is extremely repetitive, with every melee weapon having the same three-hit combo, even dual-wield daggers or a whip. There’s a crafting system for potions and upgrades, but it’s useless, because basically no materials drop. Definitely do not recommend this one.
I decided to buy Ender Magnolia, the follow-up to Ender Lilies, which is currently in Early Access. There’s not a lot to do right now, it took me a bit under two hours to get through everything, but it’s fun. Definitely wait for the full release though, unless you want to pre-order this game or something.
Finally, I also got Prince of Persia The Lost Crown. It’s much bigger than the other metroidvanias I played recently. I’m almost 20 hours in and about halfway done. It plays well and I gotta say, I really like the feature to take a picture, so you can see where you missed something and don’t just go back 20 times, just to realize you can’t get there yet. Combat against regular enemies can be a bit boring, since enemies are a bit spongy. Bosses are neat though, especially since you have a parry and interrupting boss moves feels great. There’s also a ton of platforming, which can get really tricky. The story is complete garbage and makes no sense, but whatever. The game is kinda expensive, but I got it on sale, which was fine. Since it’s an Ubisoft game, it’s probably going to be on sale for -75% in a few months.
Rant: Why are some of these metroidvanias so stingy with their fast travel? In Prince of Persia and Animal Well you can only travel to specific points of the map, although in Animal Well you could at least get to the teleporters from anywhere on the map. In Prince of Persia, you need to find the teleporter, to get someplace else, which can get really annoying. Just let me travel to and from every save point. Even Elderand, for all its faults, lets you do this. In Prince of Persia, in the DLC area you can actually teleport between save points, probably since they realized the other system sucks.
DLSS is extremely noticeable to me at stronger levels. I usually turn it on but keep it set to “quality” instead of “performance”. It’s still slightly noticeable but not that bad at that setting.
Just buy one switch and maybe a few extra controllers, and plug it into the living room tv. You’re making this way more complicated than it needs to be
Yeah I’m a big fan of upscaling myself. I hear a lot of complaints on the internet that this means developers won’t optimize their games because upscaling exists, but I think it’s great because it gives older/weaker GPUs (like your 3060) some longevity.
Heck, I use DLSS on my 4080 when I don’t want a game to suck so much power.
Buy one for the living room, oled or standard. Then, if requests / frustrations about playing asynchronously piles up. Consider buying another for the most invested of all. Take physical copies also. They’re easier to share.
I started with just one, and was buying digital games. I quickly found as each child gets to 6-7, they need their own switch. So I’m sitting at 4 right now, and agree hard on physical games.
I actually really dislike DLSS and FSR. At least to me the upscaling is pretty noticeable (but not the end of the world), but the artifacts that it causes drive me insane. I haven’t tested Onion Ring with it. But for example FH5 I get all sorts of ghost images on my screen and they go away as soon as I turn off DLSS.
Also weirdly on my laptop I got worse performance. I’m assuming that’s because I’m 100% CPU limited and there is a bit of CPU overhead to running DLSS.
I just started playing WoW again and I don’t feel any pressure from the supposed “dark patterns”, or having to buy this stuff (which I can’t, because I’m not in the US). It has zero effect on my gameplay. WoW is fun and addicting in a sense for sure, but there are way worse MMOs when it comes to this. Just look at any Korean MMO, like Black Desert Online. I’d even argue ESO is way worse than WoW when it comes to monetization.
Yeah it’s the same when people say this about FFXIV, which does have an extensive money-shop for extra mounts/animations/skins/etc.
They’re pricey as hell, but at the same time the only thing you ever might feel pressured into getting are:
Fantasia (character do-overs) after enough years because you feel like you’ve seen enough of this face and want another one and want to finally become a cat-girl like everybody else is! The game does however give you two for free, and we’re soon getting a third one, at least temporarily.
Character boosts if your friends are being assholes and berate you for not skipping the story (seen it happen), instead of what 99% of the community does which is the exact opposite. 😅
I think you’re looking at this through rose-tinted glasses.
In my opinion mounts, pets, toys or whatever don’t count as content, so in that case, you still get everything with the expansion and a sub.
But even if you think it’s content, back in the day you also already had Collectors edition mounts and pets, the stuff from Blizzcon (before it was digital), TCG codes, etc. Not much different than today I think.
Idk what point you’re trying to get across. Back in TBC everything was in game. Every mount and cosmetic. There was no shop. Collectors edition obviously existed, sure. How is cosmetics and mounts not content? It’s part of the game lol
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Aktywne