Super Mario Odyssey

Date played: November 29th
Platform: Switch

I've jumped back into Mario and got dozens of moons, explored two new worlds and even unlocked another. My journey began in the Metro Kingdom's New Donk City. Having recently removed Bowser's wedding planning party, the city's mayor, Pauline, asked for my help to prepare a festival, celebrating the newfound liberty of the city.

I had to find 4 musicians, scattered throughout the metropolis. I intentionally focused on the main objective because I've decided to kind of just do the main story missions to unlock the worlds, then I'll go back for additional moons after. The whole city is now bubbling with life instead of tanks and other nasty shit. There's taxis everywhere, citizens milling about and a ton of construction all over, perfect for some fun platforming.

After finding all the musicians, Pauline inaugurated the festival with a beautiful song! The next segment was one of the coolest in the game yet, as Mario goes 2D for a short but beautiful homage to Donkey Kong, Mario's first nemesis. I really can't describe how great this was, but let's just say I really enjoyed it!

I battle against the original Donkey Kong during the festival!

I was free to choose the next destination, between the Snow Kingdom and the Seaside Kingdom. I chose snow, where I found a great blizzard blowing all over the level. Vision was limited, and there were plenty of traps and secrets hidden behind meters of snow. It was pretty cool because I had to move through the snow blindly a few times.

Hidden deep beneath the snow was an underground village, populated by a number of weird, but friendly people. These people are spherical and hold a traditional race, where each of them rolls down a giant slope, similar to the penguin race in Mario 64. I had to gather a number of special moons from 4 different rooms to re-open the portal to the race, closed by Bowser's wedding party. Once that was completed, I took control of one of these blob-people and practiced their race event, then took on the Bowser minion.

Next was Seaside Kingdom, a pleasant beach that reminded me of Super Mario Sunshine. Unfortunately, their signature champagne was being held hostage by a pirate octopus! I had to open up some big bottles of champagne to hit the octopus in the face with the corks. They were scattered throughout the level, though the most iconic element here is the enemies I got to control.

These guys are weird little water blobs. I can shoot some water behind me to move faster or use a jet to launch myself high in the air. Many puzzles required that I use these abilities to progress, including some pretty cool sections where I had to douse fire with the jet. This one seems like a bit of a smaller Kingdom, so I didn't get to do too much else here. The next level is called Luncheon Kingdom and it looks like it's a very colorful one!

Cuphead

Date played: November 29th
Platform: Xbox One

It's been awhile since I played my Xbox, but yesterday, I booted up Cuphead and managed to clear one platforming level and one boss in the second world. The level is something I had tried already, the last time I played, but had gotten stuck when fighting the last of the evil saxophones. This time around, I was successful, but it took me about 30 minutes of trial and error.

The level is not that crazy, but it's pretty long and has a few tricky sections where it's easy to make a mistake. There's also a couple of mini-bosses. While the first was easy, the second was hard because I was usually on my last heart and it required quick reactions.

The real action game from my epic battle against Grim Matchstick, a giant green dragon that breathes fire. This whole battle was a real challenge, as are most of the battles in Cuphead. The boss has about 4 phases, but the first was the one that was most difficult. The dragon flies through the air while I have to jump from cloud to cloud as I shoot him and avoid his various attacks. The problem here is that the clouds never appear in the same place, so it's really hard to pick up on a pattern.

Grim Matchstick's final phase

Still, with some practice, I mostly had this part down. Then, the 2nd phase adds some giant fireballs to the mix. This wasn't much different than the last phase. The 3rd was a bit tricky, as Mr. Matchstick attacked by throwing some little fire guys at me and was positioned in a way that was hard to deal regular damage.

The final phase sees the dragon turn sprout two extra heads as a giant storm brews. This phase was hard, but mostly because I had a hard time getting to that point at all. After a few attempts, I was able to dodge the giant flames and projectiles long enough to kill the fat fuck.

Cuphead requires skill, speed, dexterity, pattern recognition and a lot of perseverance, but it's also really satisfying to win. I still have one boss left to kill in this world before I can move on.

Rocket League

Date played: November 29th
Platform: Switch

Portable mode is a blast!

I finally tried Rocket League on Switch in portable mode and I was more impressed with this than the docked mode. The main reason is because it's really cool to play a quick match of the game on a handheld. For example, I played a match while I was waiting for my oven to heat up. It looks really good and handles perfectly on the small screen. Lag was a bit better too, probably because I'm closer to my modem. I didn't play a lot, but I can see how portable mode makes this game worth it for me.

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

Date played: November 28th
Platform: PS4

Here's a game I got on sale for like 10$ (I forget). I've always loved the aesthetic of the Deus Ex games, but I haven't loved every game. In fact, I've found them all pretty interesting, but never amazing.

It seems like the trend continues with this one. It's a direct sequel to the last game, which I never completed, so I spent a lot of time watching a recap video. I didn't understand much of it, except that there's pretty much a war between cyborgs and natural humans.

The hero, Adam Jensen, is a powerful cyborg. The tutorial puts me in a mission right away, where I have to jump onto a building's roof and block access to an elevator or something. Honestly, I am not paying attention at this point. The whole story is complicated to follow, everyone's angry all the time and it's just kind of long. I'm hoping that gameplay can help me forget all the bullshit they are talking about.

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided looks great in HDR

Thankfully, the game plays pretty damn well. I chose non lethal methods of combat (as much as possible), wielding a powerful tranquilizer sniper rifle and a couple of grenades. The sniper works well for taking out enemies at a distance, but it's tricky to use at close range.

There's a prominent cover mechanic that helps navigate the area stealthily. While Deus Ex allows for many types of approaches in combat and conflict resolution, it's still almost always a stealth game. I had fun with the tutorial, then the story started for real.

At the end of the mission, a big bomb went off, hurting Jensen considerably. I regain control of him weeks later as he recovers from his injuries. I have to get healed up to get back to to work. The presentation is really cool and fun, but I just couldn't quite follow the story at all. I guess I'll just stick to the mission objectives and make the most of it. 

Rocket League vs Rocket League

Date played: November 28th
Platform: Switch & PS4

Well, I'm a stupid gamer a lot of the time. I bought Rocket League on Switch, even though I already own it on PS4, where it looks and plays amazingly. I also own it on PC, where it runs even smoother. So why the hell am I buying this stupid game a third time? I don't know, maybe because I can play it outside of my basement once in a while?

I score a sick goal in the Mario car

Regardless, Rocket League on Switch is a pretty solid achievement. While it's no where as pretty and smooth as the other versions, it plays really well. Let's also not forget that online play is free on Switch at this point. While that may be a good thing, I've also run into a solid amount of lag. This may be due to home network, so I'll have to play around with it a bit before I blame Nintendo's service.

There's some cool new cars and items that are exclusive to this version, such as Mario, Luigi and Samus car models. It's pretty great. I just hope I can eliminate the lag issue quickly. I played about 4 matches on Switch and got MVP on my first match. Later matches were plagued with lag though.

I then switched (HA!) to the PS4 version to compare looks and performance and of course, the PS4 destroys the Switch version. Then again, I can't play a PS4 anywhere. I can play a Switch anywhere...

Super Mario Odyssey

Date played: November 28th
Platform: Switch

I wanted to see Mario on my fresh new TV set, a glorious LG C7, so after a lot of calibration and messing around, I was finally ready to play a game on it. Mario looked great as usual, though the added colors of the TV and enhanced contrast makes a big difference in my eyes.

I also got a moon from fishing, and one through a secret portal down this little well

Anyway, I just wanted to try it out, so I didn't play long, just enough to get about 8 moons from a second run in the underwater level. I got a pair of moons from a secret zipper level and that was a lot of fun. There were a couple of simple quick jumps for the timed challenges, nothing special here. One hidden behind an out of reach zipper. This was more of a quick dip into Mario just to see it once on the TV, but I'll jump back in properly soon.

3DS demo marathon

Date played: November 26th
Platform: 3DS

I recently went through a very long travelling experience, which included a 10 hour flight, a 14 hour flight and a 90 minute flight in the span of 30 hours. I had a lot of time to kill. I didn't play a lot of video games, but I managed to play through 4 demos on 3DS.

CABIN UPDATE: I'm on a flight from Qatar to Philadelphia, it's been about 8 hours. I had a meal earlier, I got a bit of sleep, I read a book and people were still mostly sleeping. I pulled out my 3DS, this flight being the most comfortable of my trip. The woman next to me is sleeping, I put on my headphones and I boot up a demo.

This game sucks

The first was Witch & Hero II. I was excited about this one because it looks like a really old school action RPG. Unfortunately, despite the adorable art style and fun characters, the game is really fucking boring to me. The idea is to control two characters at once via and overhead view of a small combat arena. The witch can cast spells, but is physically weak, while the hero can fight monsters and earn "mana" for the witch. The hero is controlled by moving the d-pad, while the witch is controlled with the face buttons. While the idea is cool here, the actual game is awful. You move around a small arena at a snail's pace, and combat is terrible. I hated it.

CABIN UPDATE: Nothing much to report, we're flying over Iceland or Greenland at this point, I'm not so sure. There aren't any lights on the ground, nothing like when I flew over India. My neighbors are still sound asleep for the most part, with a few watching movies.

SUPER SAYAN! (I couldn't land it)

Next, I booted up a Dragon Ball fighting game demo, Hyper Dragon Ball Z. This is actually a pretty great fighting game, considering it's on a mobile device. Unfortunately, this is still a fighting game on a 3DS, that's bad. I makes a pretty great demo to play on a plane though, as I could just learn the few characters available for a bit, fighting against AI.

I loved playing as both Vegeta and Goku! The moves are cool, the game is fast and it's very well animated. Now that I think about it, I think I like this game quite a lot... Still, buying it is kinda dumb because the 3DS is uncomfortable to hold for these types of games. Too bad I guess.

CABIN UPDATE: The woman next to me is and old lady. She doesn't speak English or Arabic, she usually uses a wheelchair, and she has an adorable little piece of paper with some translations from her language. "I am going to Philadelphia USA." "Can I have some water please?" "I need a wheelchair please." She's been very nice and polite with me, as I have with her. We smile at each other on occasion, though we can't speak. She tries to go back to sleep.

3rd up was the best of the bunch, a short, but completely amazing demo of a little known Nintendo game, Rhythm Heaven Megamix. This game is totally insane, just like the Warioware games. It makes no sense, yet it's pure fun! This is a rhythm game, as it's title implies. It's not based on music though, it's based on quick mini-games, most are less than 30 seconds long.

I LOVE THIS GAME OMGGGGGG!

I juggled fruit at the bottom of a staircase, I pulled facial hair out of an onion's face, I chopped wood as a buff lumberjack and even made photogenic poses as a Japanese wrestler during an interview! It's truly crazy, very fast paced, and tons of fun!

CABIN UPDATE: I think we're over the ocean now, heading towards Labrador. I see clouds outside, so I shut the window pane. Some people are starting to wake up a bit, going to the washroom. Airplane washrooms are so efficient, it's kind of crazy. They are tiny, yet you always have enough room to do what you have to do. This airline offered really good service overall too. I look at the people walking by, but nothing of particular interest happens. I turn back to my 3DS.

Choppin' up some rabbits in 7th Dragon Thingy Patente The Third

Last, but not least, I played a VERY Japanese RPG. Way too much for me...  7th Dragon III Code: VFD offers an hour long demo. The story is non sense about dragons that eat people. I played a giant tutorial dungeon where I fought many monsters in random encounters, gathered a few treasure boxes and saved at save points before bosses. This is as classic as it gets. It's truly the most average thing I've ever played. I already don't remember the game's name! Wait let me scroll up. Right, 7th Dragon 3 VFD WTF.

CABIN UPDATE: After this long demo, I put the 3DS down and look at the screen embedded in the seat in front of mine. It shows that we're about to enter Quebec, where I'll cross the St-Lawrence river between Sept-Iles and Matane, south towards Philly. I open the window pane and start to see a glow of sunshine in the distance. We're catching up to dawn. I put away my 3DS and try to rest a bit more before breakfast is served. 

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Date played: November 20th
Platform: Switch

Once again, I jumped into the world of Breath of the Wild, exploring some new areas. I figured it would be helpful if I at least got the map to show a bit more, so I headed West to get a few towers. This turned out to be a bit more complicated than I expected for a few reasons.

The first tower I reached was patrolled by a guardian, the large mechanical devices that roam the land and shoot giant lasers of death. I managed to avoid the one walking around, but there were a few immobile ones near the tower. I put on my climbing gear and moved quickly from ledge to ledge to get to the top.

I explored further west and found an old ruined coliseum, surrounded by a weird, dark ooze substance. Inside was a scary beast called a Lynel. I've heard about these centaur looking monsters from other players, and I knew I should stay well clear of them. I found a few shrines along the way, enough to upgrade my stamina once more. I'm trying to get a full extra wheel of it before I add more hearts...

One of the shrines I found was much longer than most. It had me use a combination of many powers, including magnesis, stasis and bombs. It even had me moving large balls of stone around, using momentum to throw them into big doors and stuff. This one almost felt like a mini dungeon more than a regular shrine, and I really enjoyed that. Another one was a bit shorter, but required some smart challenging movement, avoiding some large spinning metal balls with spikes. Shrines are so much fun!

During my exploration out west, I found a mountain that looked a lot like one of the pictures I had as a memory. It turns out I was wrong, but I explored the mountain a lot. I took my horse and explored a lot, picking up some valuable materials (my first diamond!) and trying to get to high ground.

I was confronted with a giant skeletal cyclop known as Stalnix. This guy has lots of HP, can use his own ribs as a weapon and is powerful enough to pick up trees. I kept my distance and shot at his single eye with arrows. I was surprised to see his eye drop to the ground! I was then able to freely swing at it with my sword. Rinse and repeat!

Stalnox is about to go down!

While resupplying at a stable, I spoke to the guy who gives hints about memories and he directed me to a secluded area near a small lake. I made my way there and saw my second memory flashback. This time, Zelda and Link were heading towards the land of the Gorons. It wasn't as impactful as the first memory, but I have a feeling the Gorons aren't too far away from there.

I also stumbled upon some wizards, a fire one and some lightning ones. The fire one was pretty hard to beat, but since he was alone, I managed to kill him just fine with patience. He dropped a fire rod, which I showed to the kid in Hateno village, continuing his quest to see as many cool weapons as possible.

The lightning ones were near another tower I was trying to climb. This whole tower can suck a fucking dick. It's surrounded by water, which is infested with Lizalfos and at least 3 of those pesky wizards. I tried flying in from a distance, but fell short and ended up in the water anyway, where the enemies damaged me enough to use up all my fairies. I thought I was clear because I had managed to start climbing.

I was so fucking wrong. It turns out, thunderstorms are a thing in Breath of the Wild. I thought it looked really cool and was enjoying my climb until the catastrophic moment where I was directly hit by a lightning bolt! What the fuck?!? This killed me and gave me a game over screen.

It feels like I should be discovering a new village soon, because I haven't even seen a hint of where the story quests are except from their map icons. I think I'm gonna head to the north east now because I'm running into some monsters that are a little bit out of my league right now. Plus, there's another lab there, or so I heard. I'm having a good time with the game now. It's kind of a slow burn, and it's a hard game to just pick up out of the blue. It feels like it's designed to be played regularly, so maybe that's why I had trouble getting into it before.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Date played: November 19th
Platform: Switch

I think I'm starting to find my rhythm in Breath of the Wild. I kind of just pick a direction and go, hoping for the best. Having last stopped playing near a stable south of Lake Hylia, I decided to properly learn the horse system. I captured another horse and learned the details of how to use them and board them. The thing I don't like about it is that it's kind of hard to get my horse in the wilds, they never seem to be able to either hear my whistle or reach me. It seems the only reliable way to get my horse it to go to a stable. My first horse likes me a lot now, so I was able to change it's appearance and use my extravagant saddle!

My horse, Alice, gets a makeover with some new hair and a fancy saddle

At the stables, there was a person who gave me a side quest to go hunt some horse-riding bokoblins, so I went out and fought them with my own horse, shooting arrows at them. It worked pretty well but I kind of wish there was a bit of auto-aim for the arrows, the motion controls are a little too finicky for my tastes.

I explored the area a little bit, gathering materials and getting a feel for the area. I spotted a tropical area south of there that looks really interesting. I also saw Farosh again, the giant dragon, but I really have no idea what to do with it yet. It seems there's wind anytime he is close, but I haven't been able to really get close to him yet.

Of course, throughout all this exploration, I found a few shrines. I did two combat ones that pitted me against a pretty powerful mini-guardian. Those things don't have that much health, but they shoot giant fucking lasers that hit hard and are difficult to avoid. That being said, I managed to beat both shrines, scoring some ancient materials, including an Ancient Core, which seems kinda rare.

Another shrine was way more interesting. I had to drop a bomb inside a little railing, then set another bomb on top of a block, just above the railing. Detonating the first bomb made the block rise up in the air like those amusement park hammer games, then once at the top, detonating the second bomb blew open a hole in the ceiling, leading to the end of the shrine.

I went back to Hateno labs with my new materials and was able to upgrade my bombs to deal more damage! I also went to a statue to pray, upgrading my stamina twice. Finally, I found my first "memory", from Princess Zelda's pictures. I figured out that there's a dude I can talk to in some towns that will give me a hint on how to find these. His hints are really good, so I was able to find the location pretty easily.

Link and Zelda share an intimate moment

The memories are short cutscenes that show some key moments between Link and Zelda, back when they were together 100 years ago. It was a fun little scene, and it was nice to see Link wielding the Master Sword. 

Project Octopath Traveler demo

Date played: November 17th
Platform: Switch

Having recently played Olberic's opening chapter, I wanted to see how the other character, Primrose, played, so I started a new game and learned a lot about the mysterious dancer. Primrose is an exotic dancer/sex slave in a large desert town. Her backstory was really interesting...

When she was a child, her father was killed by three men, each with a tattoo of a crow as Primrose watched from a hiding place. She vowed to dedicate her life to avenging her father. As she grew into a young woman, she managed to learn that one of the men with the crow tattoo occasionally passed through the desert town, so she went there and got a job as a dancer, waiting for the man to appear.

Years passed. The dancers were "owned" by an evil man who made them work tirelessly to bring in customers to the dance shows and very clearly, a part of this was to whore themselves out to customers. Primrose was the master's favorite and it was quickly obvious that he slept with her on a regular basis, against her will.

The other dancers despise Primrose for this, since she gets all the favors. All except for one, Primrose's only friend. The heroine is very stoic, the strong silent type. She bites her tongue and obeys her master until she can fulfill her life's purpose of avenging her father's death. That's where the demo begins.

I explored the town a little bit, learning about it and it's residents. Then, during one of the shows, Primrose finally spots the man with the tattoo! He friend distracts the master while Primrose exits the building from the rooftop, chasing the man.

Primrose's main ability is to charm townspeople into following her and helping her in battle. I found an old man that was proficient with daggers and had a high level, charmed him, and went down into the depths of a secret escape tunnel that leads into the open desert. She has a dagger and some very powerful, cool looking "darkness" magic attacks.

I fought dozens of wild beasts and enemies with the old man's help. I quickly found the exit where I was confronted with the master from the city... My friend distracted him, but when he figured out I was gone, he tortured her for information until she cracked and revealed my plans. Then, cruelly, he slit her throat right then and there!

Primrose is about to finally confront her master

Shocked, Primrose finally takes a stand against the master and basically tells him to go fuck himself. "Go pleasure yourself!" she shouts. Of course, this led to a big boss battle. I think there's some grinding required in this game because when I tried to fight him at level 4, I didn't stand a chance. I reloaded the game and fought random battles for a bit until I was level 8 and was able to afford the best gear. This made a huge difference and I killed him rather easily on my second attempt.

Still, strategy is important. You want to stun enemies, but doing it at the right time is important. Most bigger attacks from bosses require one turn to charge up, so it's important to stun them right before they unleash it. My old man follower was helpful too, damaging the boss pretty heavily.

I am really surprised at how much I enjoyed this demo. The graphics are pleasant and original, the music is particularly great, the stories are engaging and interesting and the combat is lots of fun. I'm definitely going to keep an eye on this game's release in 2018.

Project Octopath Traveler demo

Date played: November 14th
Platform: Switch

Square Enix is putting out a unique RPG for Switch. Codenamed "Project Octopath Traveler", it's a traditional RPG that features 8 protagonists, each with their own story and unique abilities. In the demo, there are two heroes available, a former knight and a prostitute. I chose Olberic, the warrior.

I usually don't like JRPG's that much. I mean, I like them, but I rarely play recent ones. What really attracted me to this game is it's amazing visual style. It uses 2D pixel art for it's characters with a 3D background. The way the backgrounds are textured and modeled makes it seem very natural. On top of that, there's some very impressive dynamic lighting going on, so even the characters cast detailed shadows that move and change based on the light source. I've never seen a game look like this, and I think they pull it off really well. There's also some heavy use of bokeh effects and plenty of awesome special effects during battle. I'm very impressed with how this game looks.

It also has some absolutely amazing music. This feels like Square going back to it's 32 bit era glory days... including horrible voice acting. I couldn't take it, the voice acting was so bad... I changed the voices to Japanese, so at least, it feels slightly better, since I don't understand it.

The story has been interesting so far. Olberic used to be a powerful and glorious knight for his King, but during the war, the king was slain by his right hand man. Olberic never forgave himself for letting the other man betray the king, so he went into hiding, changing his name and working as a mercenary. His village is attacked by some bandits, so he goes out to stop them.

In the village, one thing that was great is the ability to "challenge" almost anyone to a duel. Each villager has a different difficulty level and grants some experience and money if defeated. Some of them even block doors until you defeat them, adding a cool element to exploration.

I went through a dungeon to reach the thieve's hideout. There are random battles and treasure to find, just like almost every other dungeon in an RPG ever. The combat system is interesting, it reminds me a lot of Bravely Default, where you can "save up" energy to unleash more powerful attacks. It also has a pretty elaborate weakness system, where each enemy is weak to a certain type of weapon.

Attacking with the right weapon will deplete the enemy defenses, eventually "breaking" them. This stuns the enemy for one turn and grants me a damage bonus. There are also some simple but powerful abilities that can be used.

This boss battle was hard, but really fun

Most battles are pretty easy, but to minimize taking damage, it's important to stun enemies as often as possible while dealing heavy blows when they are vulnerable. I eventually reached the end of the dungeon where I fought a giant boss. The bandit was powerful, and required careful use of my abilities. I ended up using a bunch of healing items to win, but I think I could have done a lot better.

Olberic is back in the village now, but I had to stop playing. This demo is really long, considering there's another character to discover. I really enjoyed what I played and will keep an eye on this until it releases sometime in 2018.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Date played: November 11th
Platform: Switch

It's been a while since I picked this game up, but now that I'm stuck in a hotel for two weeks, it seemed like a good game to play. Last time I played, I had stopped short of crossing the giant bridge over Lake Hylia, to the south. I was heading towards the tower for the area to reveal the map, so I started with that.

Crossing the bridge to get to the tower

The tower wasn't too far away, but it was protected by a number of Bokoblins and Lizalfos. They weren't too much of a problem and I made my way to the tower. It was an easy climb, but I accidentally threw myself off with a misfired bomb. This led me to the bottom of a small lake, where I swam to safety as fast as I could.

I made my way back up to the tower and headed for a shrine I spotted nearby. It was near a new stable, and the area was littered with horses and Bokoblin horsemen. These guys are kind of a bitch to kill, and I think I'm probably doing it wrong, but I eventually found safety near the stables. I called my trusty horse, Alice, to complete a fun little side quest.

I had to clear an obstacle course by jumping over 15 obstacles under 1 minute 15 seconds. To my surprise, I was able to do that on the first try, maybe because my horse likes me a lot. This rewarded me with an exquisite saddle, a key item. I can't equip it, but the flavour text indicates I will need it for a festival at some point.

Next, I found the shrine I was looking for. This one was pretty cool, because I had to use some giant metal doors and magnesis to make some bridges between large platforms. There were also some small mechanical enemies here, like mini-guardians.

I still don't really know if I'm playing this game right, there's really no right way to play I think, so it's a little hard to just choose where to go and what to do, since there's really tons of stuff everywhere. I think exploring to at least get some of the map filled out is a good idea though.

Hey! Pikmin demo

Date played: November 11th
Platform: 3DS

I've always loved Pikmin. I thought the time limit was too harsh in the first two games, but Pikmin 3 was a real gem of a game. When I first heard of this weird 2D spin off on 3DS called Hey! Pikmin, I had high hopes, but the reviews were poor.

I decided to try the demo and see for myself, but unfortunately, Pikmin just isn't as much fun in 2D. The demo had 3 levels; a tutorial, an early level and a more advanced level. The idea is to control Olimar with the stylus on the touch screen, throwing Pikmin at things to solve puzzles or fight battles. It works well enough, but it's a little too simple for my tastes, even the more advanced level.

I wish this game was better...

I got to play with red and rock Pikmin. Red are good at combat, while rock can destroy objects like crystals or armor. Olimar is stranded on a planet and must recover energy to power his ship. This means collecting special items like golden seeds or metallic objects, such as a yo-yo or a harmonica. It's just that the levels are too simple. There's not much to discover and it's all really straight forward. In the real Pikmin games, you have to manage resources, send Pikmin across the map to recover fruit and stuff, but here, it's all contained within a single screen.

Plus, the graphics are kind of awful, at least compared to other high profile games on 3DS like Samus Returns. The framerate is rough and there's no 3D. I wish this game was better, but it seems like 2D is the wrong approach for this adorable franchise.

Metroid Samus Returns

Date played: November 10th
Platform: 3DS

I finished Metroid Samus Returns!

What an incredible game it was... It's truly a great swan song for the aging and slowly dying 3DS. I started with some backtracking, clearing most areas to 100%. This took a while, and some of the hidden items were pretty tricky to get, requiring smart use of all my abilities. Still, there were a few items that eluded me, as they were walled off by crystals. Once I got everything I could from previous areas, I continued Area 7, which I had almost completed already.

I faced off against another Omega Metroid, though this time, I was well armed and had plenty of super missiles and power bombs, so he ended up being really easy. I quickly moved on to Area 8.

Area 8 has a different vibe and atmosphere... My metroid counter showed only 1 of them left to hunt, but I had the feeling something was wrong. There were eggs in the background, mysterious sounds and a level that wasn't designed the same way as the others. It was more like one or two big rooms rather than a collection of small rooms...

I was right. Some of the eggs had hatched and contained metroids... 10 of them to be exact. They were different though, as they only wanted to latch onto my head, rather than fight like the Alphas I had fought previously. To defeat them, I had to freeze them with a charged ice shot, then shoot a Super Missile at their face. This wasn't too hard, but they move pretty fast so I had to be careful.

When I killed them all, I faced off against the biggest metroid evolution, the Queen Metroid! This battle was pretty hard, but I quickly picked up on the patterns. The giant's mouth was the weak point, so I had to shoot it with missiles or ice beam when it was open. The Queen would often set the floor, wall or ceiling on fire, forcing me to dodge with the space jump or the spider ball.

After a few solid hits, it would snap at me with it's giant jaw, but it could be countered. When successful, I could then grapple the beast and bring it down. It took me a few tries to figure this out, but I was able to roll into it's stomach and use a power bomb to deal heavy damage. The next phases were all very similar, with added projectiles and faster attacks. I took it down relatively easily and it took me about 4 or 5 attempts.

My mission seemed like it was over, but then another egg hatched. The baby metroid must have been confused because it seemed to think I was it's mother (Super Metroid!) and oddly enough, Samus seemed to show compassion, lowering her weapon when she saw the baby seemed harmless. The baby followed me around. I was pleased to see that the hatchling was able to destroy those fucking crystals that blocked off many areas...

I made my way back to my ship on the surface through an elevator in Area 8. Just as I thought I was safe, I was ambushed by none other than Ridley, the famous space pirate that looks like a dragon. He captures the baby metroid, but Samus wasn't about to let that happen.

This battle was fucking spectacular and the highlight of the entire game. It was difficult, it was fun, it explains a lot about Super Metroid and it had some of the coolest looking animations and cutscenes in the game.

Samus Aran uncharacteristically shows compassion towards the baby metroid

The battle took place near the gunship, so I had a lot of room to maneuver. Thank God for that too because this battle was fast and challenging. I had to use my plasma beam or super missiles to damage Ridley, as it attacked me with a variety of projectiles and melee attacks. Eventually, Ridley pinned down Samus, but the baby came to the rescue! It drained energy from Ridley, giving Samus a fighting chance.

It took me at least 10 attempts to beat this guy... I eventually ended up using rapid-fire during the first few phases, then super missiles and regular plasma beam in the later phases. The problem was simply that Ridley is fast and deals a lot of damage, so I had to really be good at dodging. It worked out eventually and I beat the famous space pirate!

Samus and the baby escape narrowly, as Ridley was downed but not dead. Having played every other game in the series, I know that basically everything Samus did was a huge mistake. The metroids are actually a way to control and contain the X Parasite. It also seems like the metroids were a product of the Chozo, millennia ago. I really feel like replaying the Prime series now, particularly the first one...

I went back and completed the game to 100%, thanks to the baby's ability to destroy crystals. This unlocked some pretty cool 3D images that show the Chozo on SR-388 and their actions to control the X Parasite, as well as their use of the metroids. This was a nice little bonus. I also unlocked hard mode, though I'm never really a fan of replaying games on a higher difficulty.

Metroid Samus Returns is one of my favorite games on 3DS, and one of the best in the Metroid series. I'd say only Super Metroid and Metroid Fusion are better than this one, but even then, barely. Samus Returns is amazing, and I hope that Nintendo keeps making 2D games in the series. 

Golf Story

Date played: November 9th
Platform: Switch

Golf Story is a top down, 2D RPG mixed with golf. Yes, it's as weird as it sounds. The hero is a young man who decides to dump his girlfriend and make his entire life focused on golf. The writing is funny, the characters are interesting and the actual golf is pretty damn good.

I have a long history with golf games, mostly thanks to an old EA golf game I played with my dad on a monochrome DOS machine. I loved this game back in the day... Later, Hot Shots Golf became an important game in my household, as I played it with my brothers a lot. Unfortunately, there aren't very many interesting golf games. Too many of them try to be a simulation, which doesn't really interest me. I like goofy, stupid golf.

Golf Story is good, stupid golf, and I love it. I had to prove to the coach that I had what it takes to be trained by him. I explored the golf course, meeting many interesting characters along the way. Most of the gameplay is about solving little puzzles or completing golfing challenges.

For example, I am trying to open the door to a building by hitting switches scattered throughout. The big hook here is that you can tee off anywhere and swing! That's how I had to find these switches. I also completed some challenges at the driving range and played a bit of Disc Golf with some hooligans.

Finally, I had to actually play a full 9 hole round of golf. Even then, the game was completely silly, featuring some funny little moles that steal the ball and dump it in the worst places. It plays a lot like Hot Shots Golf, with a little meter for power and accuracy. I can even apply spin to my ball, and have to take into account wind and slopes. It's a lot of fun really.

I proved to the coach I was ready, so I'm now heading to the second course. 

Overwatch

Date played: November 8th
Platform: PS4

It had been a while since I played Overwatch, so I was really rusty. I only played about 3 matches because I had to put in a lot more effort to get the same results as usual, so I was exhausted from my games. I played one match as Reinhardt, one as Winston and one as Symmetra. Unfortunately, I'm not able to post a video since I'm in a hotel with very slow internet.

The Reinhardt match was good and helped me get back into the swing of things. I did well, though nothing amazing. The Winston match is where thinsg got really crazy. Since the last time I played, Blizzard has updated the game's vibration feedback and it makes a huge difference in how Winston feels. It rumbles when he's dealing damage now, making it a lot easier to "feel". It's hard to explain, but it makes a huge difference to me.

I played really well as Winston, I even got 4 silver medals at the end. I was fast, aggressive and focused on the healers and Pharah. I was completely exhausted after the match, but we won and I did really well. The last match as Symmetra was slower paced of course, but I did well there too.

Torment: Tides of Numenera

Date played: November 6th
Platform: PS4

I played a little bit of Torment late last night, where I spent most of my time trying to free a prisoner from execution. I also lost a companion and gained a new one. My adventure began outside the crash site where I met a group of thugs wanting to investigate. I think there could have been a battle here, but I managed to talk my way out of it by lying skillfully.

The whole game's system is based around a few attributes, Might, Speed and Intelligence. These are a depleting resource that must be refilled somehow. They are used to raise the chance of success during various situations. It's a pretty fun system.

My two party members argued and they clearly won't travel together, so I had to choose between them. I decided to go with Calistege, from the Order of Truth. She seems like a backstabber, but at least she's not a delusional zealot.

I freed the prisoner by convincing the crowd to riot!

The best part of my time with the game was when I was approached by a man who asked me to help save his brother from execution. I chose to help. There were clearly a few ways to accomplish this, but I chose to convince the crowd to protest and free the prisoner with a few fun conversations. One of the brothers joined my party now, so that's cool. Torment is a very slow game, but I enjoyed what I played so far.

Super Mario Odyssey

Date played: November 5th
Platform: Switch

Super Mario Odyssey just keeps being amazing. I just can't say enough good things about it...

There's still a ton of stuff to find in the Sand Kingdom

I spent lots of time in the Sand Kingdom, dicking around, finding power moons. My favorite was one that I got by making a badass long jump from the top of the inverted pyramid (now floating high in the air) to the top of a narrow pillar, host to a power moon. I also had a great time finding a couple of nuts scattered in the level to then plant them in the village.

My daughter joined me sometime in there and wanted to see the next world. This led us to an impromptu battle against Bowser himself! He's got a giant airship, all decked out in wedding decorations, and is bringing Peach with him. So of course, we had a battle atop the clouds!

This whole battle was really well done with very good animation. I had to hit Bowser's hat with my own, then wear it to attack the big beast. The hat is equipped with a pair of powerful boxing gloves, so I avoided Bowser's attacks and pummeled him into a fence a few times. At the end of the battle, Mario falls down the clouds and Bowser gets away with Peach...

That's where I found the Lost Kingdom. This was one of my favorite worlds so far. It's got a unique visual style and feels truly like it's lost, as if I was in the wrong game in a few ways. Still, it's a solid platforming levels with plenty of challenging things to do. The most iconic element of the level are the colorful caterpillar creatures that I can possess with my hat. These guys stretch out horizontally and can bend a lot, making for some fun platforming challenges.

I loved the Lost Kingdom!

I got out of there after getting enough moons to fix our ship, then went to the next Kingdom, the Lake Kingdom. This place was my daughter's favorite. There's mermaids, coral, schools of fish, giant jellyfish houses and even a Dorrie, the friendly Lochness monster thing from Super Mario 64! I fought the bridal party here, an easy fight where I had to float down onto the head of the boss. I can't wait to come back and explore this kingdom, there was lots of cool stuff to do, like capture fish to go deeper into water.

We really wanted to check out the next world, the Metro Kingdom. This has to be the weirdest fucking level in a Mario game ever... It has real humans, or at least, real looking humans. These are the only humans in a main Mario game ever, at least I think so. Plus, there's like, real buildings and streets and cars and stuff. It's fucked up.

New Donk City

Thankfully, it's not realistic enough not to feel like Mario. This is still all about jumping around, and it works really well being set on skyscraper. I even got to possess some tanks and use their powerful cannons to kill enemies! After many platforming sections, I reached a boss, a giant mechanical centipede of sorts. I had to use the tank to shoot at it, avoiding it's attacks at the same time. I seriously can't get enough of this fucking game...

Gran Turismo Sport

Date played: November 5th
Platform: PS4

I wanted to do one quick race before trying out Torment last night, but when I picked the Sport event, I didn't look at the number of laps... I ended up racing my AMG SLS for 10 laps around the Dragon Trail, which is about 15 minutes of racing I think.

Qualifying went well, but not great. I only had time for a few laps before the race started, managing a decent time. I knew I could shave off at least one second, but I just didn't have time. This placed me 11th on a grid of 19. Not great, but could have been worse.

My lovely AMG SLS

My first lap started well enough, but I hit a wall on the hairpin and was stuck in 11th for a while because of that. I knew this was a long race though, so I buckled down and focused on racing clean and fast. I tried to ignore other drivers as much as possible. This worked pretty well for me. After 7 laps, I had climbed up to 5th place!

This was partly due to one or two quitters, but also to the fact that I was kind of in no man's land between the head of the pack and the slower group. I had an empty track to play with, I just had to keep my concentration. I eventually caught up to 4th and passed him, stealing his position!

I particularly loved this race because I managed to stay completely cool throughout the whole thing. I was exhausted at the end, but I was stable mentally, allowing me to focus on my driving line the whole race rather than other factors, like position or other racers. I know 4th place doesn't sound like much, but I was really proud of this race.

Torment: Tides of Numenera

Date played: November 5th
Platform: PS4

I bought this game during a recent PSN sale. I've had my eye on it for a while, but it was too expensive... This isn't a game for everyone, and I know exactly what I was getting. Torment is similar in style to many old school PC RPG's like Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale. However, it's a game that is more focused on dialogue and other interactions rather than combat.

I only played the intro, which is basically a character creator, but it was very interesting. I wake up in a body, with no clear memories. I am in a vast chamber that is completely surreal and can speak with orbs of light. These lights ask me to choose a reaction to a situation via dialogue trees. My choices then affected my recommended class and specialties. It's a cool system, with many clever and fun questions.

Being someone that really enjoys reading, this type of game is perfect for lazy late nights and times where I don't want to focus all my mental energy on a video game, instead absorbing it's world and story and making choices.

I soon learned that I was a lost soul living in the husk of a body left behind by the "Changing God". This being apparently lives in a host body for a decade or two, then finds a new body. The body left behind is then inhabited by a soul. Me.

The setup is cool, and I even interacted with different versions of myself to choose some character traits. I then had my first battle, a very simple tutorial. The battles are turn-based and are called "Crisis". This means that combat is not the only way out. I can apparently talk my way out of things during these events or even use the environment and magic to change the situation. I can't wait to see how this really works in game.

My character is a clever jack of all trades, which describes me pretty well. I was thrown out of the weird place (it was my mind) and landed in my body near a special chamber. I was told by my memories that I need the chamber, but that's about all I know. I met two interesting characters who immediately joined my party.

I really like dialogue trees...

The first is a priest for a group of cultists that worship the changing god. The other represents the Order of Truth or something. They each want me to come visit their groups, but that's where I stopped playing. I've only scratched the surface here, but it was tons of fun for me. I like these slow, text heavy games sometimes.

Gran Turismo Sport

Date played: November 4th
Platform: PS4

I felt like racing last night, so I played a few Sport races. It's been a little while since I last played, so there were some new races here, including a track I had never tried, Alsace. This was a single car event, with everyone riding a lower tier Audi TT. This meant an even playing field, which I also realize means that desperate assholes like to ram into others instead of trying to race properly.

My initial qualifying time was all right, but not good enough. My first race placed me 7th on a grid of 12 and while I completed the race in 9th place, mainly due to people who like to play bumper cars. So at some point in the last couple of weeks, I had a race where another guy was mercilessly trying to just ram into every other racer. This single race dropped my sportsmanship rating down "E", the worst ranking.

Pushing my Audi TT through the dangerous crowd

Now, I'm a real racer. I try my best to race clean, avoid contact, follow my racing line and allow people to pass me when they have the speed or angle. I don't fight by bumping other cars. However, since my ranking went down, I am paired with other drivers with a bad sportsmanship rating. This means I am swimming in a sea of bad drivers, particularly those with bad qualifying times. This also means lots of aggressive drivers that like to use contact as a racing technique. Honestly, I haven't seen one guy do this well, they all end up in the wall at some point.

There's a few other guys in the same boat as me though. Good drivers who are stuck with a bad rating. This was obvious in one of the later races... I managed to cut 3 seconds off my qualifying time, putting me in the top 3 or 4 in each event. I even had one pole position with that time! One guy in particular, "I_wet_beds_daily", was one of the worst fucking racers I've ever seen. The worst part is, he's actually pretty good at driving. He had a solid qualifying time, was keeping a clean line when he was alone, he should have been fine. However, this person seemed convinced that whenever there was another car in the vicinity, his duty is to hit it. From behind, from the side, or even cutting across the entire fucking track to bump another player. Fuck you "I_wet_beds_daily", you should be playing Mario Kart.

The last race I played was the most fun. I started in pole position, but fucked up on one of the trickier corners. I didn't go off track or anything, but my line was fucked so I was passed by two other drivers. What was great about this race is that I didn't have to deal with the bumper car assholes for the whole race. The other two guys were racing clean and it was just so much fun. Even though I dropped from 1st to 3rd, it felt like a real race, as opposed to the demolition derby I had been used to the rest of the evening.

Thankfully, this race was clean enough that my sportsmanship rating went up to "D", so I have to just keep my head down and keep racing clean and I'll be back to normal in no time.

Super Mario Odyssey

Date played: November 3rd
Platform: Switch

Well, I spent a lot of time going back to the first two Kingdoms and getting every power moon and purple coin I could find. The Cap Kingdom was surprisingly long to explore, and I couldn't even find every purple coin! I spent a lot of time here, most of it possessing some flying Goombas. These guys are all over the foggy areas outside the main village and allow for exploration in the previously deadly fog.

There's also a number of "interior" levels that were now available here, including an incredible platforming challenge that was super fun. I had to make a series of well timed jumps over a bottomless pit on and off platforms that retract and push out from the walls. The timing was pretty tight and it felt like the parts of Mario games that I enjoy the most. It just felt great, even though it was difficult. I even had to ride the power lines and jump on to pass safely at times.

I was pleasantly surprised to run into one of my favorite Nintendo characters, Captain Toad. This little guy stays true to his exploratory nature and finds ways to reach the coolest places. Finding him rewards me with a power moon, but more importantly, it also graces me with the wise words of the master Explorer that is Captain Toad.

Cascade Kingdom also had many new moons to find, but it was actually a bit easier than the first world. In fact, I was able to get every purple coin here! There were some really cool puzzles in one of the areas. I had to knock some Chain Chomps into each other to hit a distant target. This meant having to properly aim, kind of like playing pool.

I also returned to the Sand Kingdom, where I didn't do that much except get a few stray power moons. I then went to the mission marker down into a giant hole under the inverted pyramid. That's where I fought a giant boss, a statue with two rocket powered fists. I had to avoid it's attacks while guiding the arms to hit patches of ice, then possessing it to hit the boss in the face with his own fist!

The Sand Kingdom was returned to normal, removing most of the ice that disrupted the lives of the citizens. This opens up a ton of new stuff to do in the Sand Kingdom. Lakitu is fishing at the oasis, residents are back to their normal lives and I have a bunch of new moons to find.

I then went to the Wooded Kingdom to continue with the second portion of the story mission. I quickly got side-tracked by some secret rooms. There were lots of new things to find of course, but I spent most of my time in the depths of a secret room. This one was great because I had to solve a sort of puzzle by possessing some Bullet Bills and some Goombas. The Bullet Bill portion was easy, but the Goomba part was a little nuts.

I basically had to make a giant stack of Goombas to reach very high areas, all while avoiding dangerous explosions that went off at a regular interval. It was silly and very fun! As you can see from this post, I also had a lot of fun simply taking cool pictures with the photo mode. I'm starting to get a hang of it and it's a lot more flexible than it first appeared. I love absolutely everything about Super Mario Odyssey!

Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle

Date played: November 3rd
Platform: Switch

I finished Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle!

Group selfie!

There was only one level left, but it was a good one. Bowser himself was possessed by the giant fire bird thing, so we team up with Bowser Jr. to bring the world back to normal! The battle was very difficult and required at least some form of healing, at least with the weapons I had available. This meant that my first attempt was pretty much doomed.

Bowser now has a giant set of wings and can fly around the level, shooting fireballs that deal heavy damage at anyone in view. He has 3 phases, each with 1600 HP. Each phase comes with it's own set of minions to defeat too...

I settled on Mario, Luigi and Rabbid Luigi, for his vampire dash ability. Even though I couldn't use it on the boss himself, I figured I was still able to heal enough by damaging the minions that I could win. I also completely redid my talent tree to be tailored exactly to the needs of the battle. I still needed a few more tries, but eventually, I beat him.

The biggest problem was the third phase, where Bowser would go inside his shell and attack the closest party member. The trick was to position my guys in a way where King Koopa would hit the metal blocks instead of them. It was hard, and in the end, I only had Rabbid Luigi left alive, thanks to his awesome vampire healing. I literally had 1 HP left when I won. It was crazy.

Bowser returned to normal, as did the rest of the world. Spawny is safe. The fire dragon beast is gone. All is well that ends well! There's still tons of stuff to do in the game though, like dozens of challenges, new weapons to find and buy and a few more things. I'm sure I'll dabble with the game again once in a while.

Kingdom Battle is a completely silly concept that seemed like it would be complete garbage. Fortunately, it was saved by brilliant gameplay mechanics, a fun world and a great art style. My unconditional love of turn based strategy games with an emphasis on combat may have had a little something to do with that I guess, but I really loved this game and I hope other games get inspired a little bit by this crazy thing.

Super Mario Odyssey

Date played: November 2nd
Platform: Switch

Though I didn't have that much time to play last night, I still managed to go through the initial objectives of the Wooden Kingdom. The dark and dangerous forest is filled with dangers, including a rampaging T-Rex and some pesky Piranha plants. It's also littered with secrets, special coins and power moons, so I had lots to do!

I fell down a hole, which led me to the Deep Woods. That's where the dinosaur is roaming. I found a few new enemies to control, such as a vanishing coin purse that shoots coins. The thing is useful because it can break rock blocks. Another gives me the ability to stretch my legs way high up in the air to reach new areas. This one was used in many puzzles in the level, and I'm sure I'll have more uses for the little critter. Finally, I was able to control the infamous fire bros. These little guys are very powerful and can defeat enemies with ease. They can also jump pretty high.

Fire Bros are fun to control!

The whole level was a ton of fun. There was a boss battle against one of the wedding planner bunnies hired by Bowser. It was really hard for me because it required constant use of the spin move with Cappy, which is hard to pull off quickly with the Pro Controller. I might give the dual Joy-Con setup a try soon.

I still have many things to discover in this Kingdom, but I've now unlocked the next level, the Lake Kingdom. I've decided instead to go back to the first level, Cap Kingdom. There's a ton of new things to do here, even though the level isn't any bigger than before. I found a few power moons by possessing frogs, but also by just exploring a bit. I didn't do much yet, but since it's a small level, it seems more easily achievable to get 100% on it.

Super Mario Odyssey

Date played: November 1st
Platform: Switch

2017 has been an incredible year for gamers. We got Horizon Zero Dawn, Zelda Breath of the Wild, Cuphead, Gran Turismo Sport and many, many more amazing games! Joining the ranks of these exceptional video games is the latest in the quintessential Mario franchise, Super Mario Odyssey.

Bowser has kidnapped Peach for the thousandth time and he's getting ready to get married to her. Mario confronts the spiky monster on his own airship, only to get thrown off, landing on a mysteriously black and white world. He meets a hat named Cappy whose sister was kidnapped by Bowser to serve as a crown for Peach... He hops onto Mario's head and the pair team up for a masterpiece of an adventure!

Right away, the game is reminiscent of Super Mario 64. It just feels right. They absolutely nailed the movement, momentum and actions, an essential component of any platformer. It also has a bit of a Galaxy feel, with a dash of 3D World and New Super Mario Bros U. It's really a wonderful game in every way.

I played a ton of the game last night, completing the initial objectives of 3 areas. The first was Bonnet Town, a colorless world filled with top hats. Everything is a top hat. Literally. Houses, lampposts, even the holes in the walls are hat shaped! I learned all of Mario's core abilities, including the long jump, triple jump, ground pound, backflip and other familiar moves. There's a host of new ones too, like a powerful roll, an air dive and a spin.

Of course, Mario's hat friend Cappy is another important new tool in the plumber's toolkit. Mario can throw the hat to attack enemies, destroy objects, make a jumping platform and even get coins. I'm playing with the pro controller and it works quite well, even for most motion control moves. All except Cappy's homing attack... My hat friend can also be used to control enemies! I learned how to "possess" a frog, then use it's jumping ability to reach the area's exit.

There wasn't much else to do here, it was more of a tutorial, so I quickly made my way to the next world, Cascade Kingdom. This is where the game really started. This level has elements similar to Super Mario 64's opening level, including some beautiful scenery, Chain Chomps and a relatively small level size.

I controlled Chain Chomps to destroy rubble and make a path and explored the area. I had to find some power moons to repair an old hat ship that Cappy spotted nearby. Power moons are basically the game's Star or Shine equivalent. The biggest difference is that these things are all over the place, but always hidden. They also power my ship, with each new area requiring a certain number of moons to reach. To complete this level, I had to control a slumbering Tyrannosaur to wreak havoc throughout the whole area.

Cascade Kingdom was tons of fun!

There's really too much for me to talk about here. The game is full of stuff to do, secrets to discover, costumes to buy, amazing platforming segments and dozens of enemies to control. The Sand Kingdom, the third world, really opens up the game, even more than the previous area, offering way more ground to explore, hidden interior levels and even a stone jaguar taxi thing that controls like an overly excited dog on ice.

I didn't even mention the awesome fun I had playing this in two player mode with my brother who was visiting. We basically played the entire Sand Kingdom's first story segment together, teaming up for crazy attacks and fun cooperative moves. It's a little harder to play than alone, but it's also very fun and rewarding.

I can now enter the Wooded Kingdom, but can also go back to previous worlds now. They all have a bunch of power moons and have been modified since I first saw them. This adds a TON of stuff to do, all of which is fucking amazing and lots of fun.

On top of the incredible gameplay and huge world to explore, Nintendo proves why they have always been an important player in video games with some seriously impressive graphics and music. Don't get me wrong, the image quality isn't near any top tier game on a PS4 Pro, but let's not forget that this is playing on a portable device...

The colorful graphics are paired with unparalleled animation and attention to detail. The beautiful orchestral music adds even more depth to the overall presentation and feel of the game. I am stunned at this game's quality and at how much fucking fun it is to play. There's nothing better than long jumping through the desert, throwing Cappy around and running like a madman down some sand dunes. Super Mario Odyssey is something special, that's for sure.  

The Fall

Date played: October 31st
Platform: PS4

I finished The Fall!

What an ending... I don't want to spoil it all here, since it's easily the best part of the game, but it was definitely one of the more interesting stories I've seen in a game recently. I still had many puzzles to solve to get there though.

I was completely stuck trying to find a special motherboard so that I could repair a terminal. I even resorted to a walkthrough and still couldn't do it... It turns out, the place where I was supposed to pour superconductive fluid on wasn't "visible" to the UI until I had read some logs on a terminal. I kind of don't get it, and it sucked, but I eventually stumbled through.

I spent most of my time going down to the lowest level of the facility to cheat and make myself pass the domestication test. One of the obstacles along the way were a pair of dangerous fish, preventing me from walking through the flooded area. I picked up some syrup from a broken vending machine, then dropped it on a wooden, floating plank near the fish. This attracted small insects. I then pushed the plank to the middle of the water and waited for the fish to take the bait. I had to shoot it as it jumped up to clear the way.

The second fish required that I cut open the first one, drop it's innards in a detergent container, then use that to take a shower of fish guts. This made the second fish want to mate with me, rubbing against the combat suit's leg as I drained the water nearby.

The Caretaker attacks A.R.I.D.

When I reached the bottom, I was able to activate the mainframe for the Administrator, but just as I was about to modify the program for domestication, I was attacked by the Caretaker! He believes A.R.I.D. is faulty and needs to be formatted. I really don't want to spoil too much here, but let's just say that I had to chase the Caretaker through most of the facility. I then fought him one on one with my pistol!

The boss fight was serviceable, but nothing special. I''m going to keep this really vague, for the sake of anyone reading this who wants to play it, but holy shit, the conclusion was really impactful and worked so well. The story is even darker than it appeared to be, and the game even sets itself up for a sequel, which is supposed to come out early next year.

I really enjoyed The Fall. While it's really rough around the edges (combat, movement, animation, some obtuse puzzles), the story, characters, atmosphere and intrigue kept me interested throughout. Let's hope for a great sequel!