Happy New Year!

My winter vacations are almost over and it has been very productive couple of weeks, as far as gaming is concerned at least. Spent the days with family and personal stuff, but was free most of the nights so played for at least a few hours each night.

Finished Assassin's Creed: Rogue Remastered.

Ubisoft games are known for their bloat, but I mostly stuck to the main story and had lots of fun playing the game. Only did side stuff near me, didn't go out of my way to do anything, except maybe a handful of exception.

I liked this about the game, that it dosen't force you to do any of the side stuff. You do need to do some naval battles to upgrade your ship but other than that all side activities are optional. Maybe this has been true for previous games too, but me wanting to clear all the icons on map is what made AC: Black Flag start feeling as a chore and why I ended up dropping it. Not being forced to do everything made me enjoy the game more.

Gameplay and visuals felt pretty good. Game didn't feel dated, but since I mostly play 5-6 years old games I am not sure I am a good judge of that.

I am done with the naval part in these games though. Hope the next games in the series have significantly less of them.

Played and finished Beyond: Two Souls. Got this a long time ago as PS+ monthly game, finally got around to playing it.

Comparing it to the previous game by Quantic Dreams, Heavy Rain, the gameplay and the narrative was much better. And for a game that was originally released in 2013 (with the PS4 version releasing in 2015) the game holds up very well. The controls are very simple, you move around from left stick, interact with the world using right stick (intearctable objects have white circle above them, you just move the right stick in that direction) and all other actions are done by pressing or holding the button they are showing on screen.

Each level ends with showing the choices you made and what percentage of the people in the world who made the same choices. Game also has multiple endings but I just played it once, will probably see the other endings on YouTube.

For those who like adventure / narrative games, and haven't played Beyond: Two Souls, I'll highly recommend the game to them.

Played (and dropped) Returnal.

Gameplay wise this is probably the best game I have played lately. The movement, the controls they are all super smooth. Narrative is also pretty interesting, but I didn't reach far enough to see how it unfolds.

Took me a few tries but I reached the first boss, then died, and since it's a roguelike (or is it roguelite?) started from the beginning again. And that is the only issue I have with the game, the roguelike nature of it. Every time you die you have to start from the beginning, and you have to explore the whole map before fighting the boss, so that you can get some powerups and better weapons, you can't just directly run to the boss. After dying to the boss 2-3 times, I just gave up and dropped the game.

Finished Mutant Mudds Deluxe . I was already about 80% of the way through, so went back and finished the last few levels, which were the toughest ones yet.

As for the secret levels, or the other game in the collection Mutant Mudds Super Challenge, they were too difficult for me. Played them a bit and decided they aren't for me. Great games if you like difficult platformers.

Looking for some some short game, I started (and finished) Blue Rider. It's a top-down shmup where you can move in all directions, and no auto-moving screen. Which actually makes the game much easier, since you can get back to safety when there are too many bullets flying around. Not possible in boss fights, but there is still enough area to keep moving. I think the game is closer to twin stick shooters than usual shmups.

Game has 9 levels, and if you die you can start from any of the levels that you have reached. The most trouble I had with the level was the second last one, when you pass through any place it gets covered with lava, so you can't escape backwards and have to keep moving. Other than that the game wasn't too difficult.

What about all of you? What have you been playing and/or plan to play?

The link has the scans and "an attempt at doing a DeepL machine translation of the whole thing", so be aware some stuff will be lost in translation.

Some of the stuff confirms my suspicions:

The key point we focused on was getting new staff to understand our production philosophy.

I don't remember if I read it somewhere, but this kind of supports the idea that Metroid Prime Remastered was a way to get the Retro staff up to speed with Prime development.

It sounds like it wasn't a full reboot at Retro Studios too, so they kind of had to move along with what they inherited from Bandai Namco.

Anyway, interesting read, hopefully there'll be a human translated version soon and more developer interviews for this title.

• Description: Cast n Chill is a cozy fishing game where you explore serene lakes, rivers, and oceans. Catch rare fish, upgrade your gear, and reel in legendary catches—all with your loyal companion by your side. Have a boat buddy? Enjoy co-op, either side-by-side or with a bit of friendly competition.
• Price: $14.99 ($11.24 till 8 Jan)
• Link: https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/cast-n-chill-switch/
• Platform: Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2

End of the year!

This will most probably be the last weekly thread for this year. Next Friday will be 26th, so the weekly thread will be back on 2nd Jan (or if something comes up, 9th Jan)!

Now, without further ado!

Finished Dark Souls Remastered !

Spent the whole weekend playing it and finally finished it! Ornstein and Smough, the boss I was stuck on last to last week, were probably the hardest boss in the game. Only thing that came close was a boss in DLC, Kalameet, an optional boss, but it was also a tough one. Rest of the bosses were much easier.

I would like to reiterate that if you are staying away from soulslike games because of their reputation, ignore that and give them a try. You just need to a bit deliberate in how you play them. Use a guide if you want, to get used to how the game works, but these are fun games. As for dying, I have probably died more times in a single Mario level then whole sections of Dark Souls. Of course, nothing wrong with it if you don't like the genre, just don't want people to ignore them because of the over hyped difficulty.

After finishing that, didn't feel like starting anything new, so went back to Princess Peach Showtime and finished that.

When I played it the first time I gave it a very bad review, but saw my daughter playing it later, and some of the stages looked fun. Not AAA game kind of fun, but a mobile mini-game kind of fun, which suited my current mood. So went ahead, cleared all the levels and finished the game.

Didn't try for 100%, if you miss a collectible you can't just backwards in the level and collect it, you have to replay the whole level. So ignored that completely. Game is too expensive for what it is, but if you can get it at a very good bargain, then not a bad game for little kids who like Princess Peach.

With those two wrapped up, and after the new Mega Man announcement, I wanted to give the series another try (tried them once a long time ago but found them super hard so never tried again), so after some suggestions from the wonderful people here, I decided to go with the published order and got the Mega Man Legacy Collection .

Played (and finished) Mega Man 1 and 2.

These games are hard, specially the first one, but the bosses were interesting so had fun fighting them, though I had to make extensive use of Rewind feature to stay alive. Specially in final bosses sequence. You fight multiple bosses back to back without any healing in between. Would have died over half a dozen times if not for Rewind.

Next was Mega Man 2. It is such an upgrade from the first game, I had to confirm it was still a NES game and not a SNES one. It was much easier than the first one, but still not an easy game. Another set of interesting bosses, and some extensive use of Rewind still required, though I like to think I got a bit better by the time I reached the end.

This is pretty much what I played the last whole week. I did start two new games, but I have just started them so can't say much about them yet.

Started Assassin's Creed: Rogue Remastered. Wanted to get it on Switch, but it's only available in a bundle with AC: Black Flag, and since I have already played that, didn't want to buy that again. So got it on PS5, and playing through it now. Have only played couple of hours yet though.

On Switch, I have been itching to play Skyrim again, was planning to spend dozens of hours in that, but then decided to start Risen . It's remaster of 2009's RPG, originally developed by Pirhana Bytes, developers of Gothic series. I loved Gothic, but never played Risen, or any other game from them, and it has been on my wishlist for so long, so it was a good moment to start that. I have only played an hour or so and the only complaint I have is that jump is on R3, and there doesn't seem to be any way to rebind the keys. Other than that, it's scratching that do-anything-RPG itch of Skyrim.

Will probably have more to say about these next time.

What about all of you? What have you been playing and/or plan to play?

Follow Zelda’s journey back in time as she meets Rauru and Sonia, the first king and queen of Hyrule, and experience the canonical events that lead to the Imprisoning War against the Demon King Ganondorf from the Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom game.

Zelda meets new allies along the way, including Agraston, the worldly Goron chief, Qia, the skilled fighter and Zora queen, Raphica, the quick-witted leader of the Rito, and Ardi, a compassionate leader among the Gerudo. You’ll also meet a Korok named Calamo who travels with the Mysterious Construct that can transform and take to the skies.

Free updates for the game are now available that include fearsome enemies, a new sync strike with Zelda and Calamo, three additional weapons, an extra challenging difficulty level, and more.

Plus, you can receive in-game bonus items if you have save data from the Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom or Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity games on your Nintendo Switch 2.

Ver. 1.0.3 (Released 18 December 2025)

Features added

Phantom Ganon:

• Phantom Ganon is a new feature that randomly triggers in battles that you have completed.
• In addition, when you defeat powerful enemies, there is a possibility that Phantom Ganon may appear. You will be able to acquire more Pure Zonaite Steel than in normal battles.

Forbidden Difficulty:

• In the new Forbidden difficulty level, you can experience high-difficulty battles that are more challenging than the battles in Very Hard difficulty.
• If you complete a certain number of battles on Forbidden difficulty, you will receive special rewards such as Pure Zonaite Steel or an increase in the number of Special Rations that can be held.

New challenges and quests added:

• Similar to the first free update, this second update also adds multiple new challenges and quests to the Hyrule Map after the main game has been beaten.
• Lizalfos and Chuchus appear as new Vicious Enemies.
• The Tanagar Meditation Hall on the sky island is unlocked, and you will be able to perform a sync strike if you enter with two characters.

New Unique Skills added:

• New unique skills have been added to the Mysterious Construct for its one-handed weapons, two-handed weapons, and spears.
• With the one-handed weapon unique skill Shield Charge, you can break through dangerous attacks from charging enemies by raising your shield and stepping into them. Also, with correct timing against an enemy attack, you can deal a powerful spinning slash.
• You can learn these skills by completing the challenges and quests that are added in this update.

New weapons added:

*The Forbidden Blade, a one-handed weapon that was touched by Gloom and ominously transformed, was added. The Mysterious Construct and warriors of various peoples are able to equip it.

• You can acquire this weapon by completing battles that are added in this update.
• The battles below will be added as well:
  • Battles focused on the warriors.
  • A life-or-death struggle with a certain powerful enemy.

Improved Features

• Aside Quests that involve sync strikes as a condition have been changed so that they can also be achieved by characters you are not controlling while performing sync strikes.
• You can back out of bonus conversations in the Gallery with B Button.
• Adjusted display conditions and frequency in Tutorials for Dodge and Guard.
• When you have hit the upper limit of Zonaite Steel you can possess, you will be able to use the weapon enhancements below at the end of combat:
  • Raise Weapon-Level Limit
  • Remove Seals

Fixed Issues

• Fixed an issue where, when assigning Electric Lizalfos parts to the Material Sensor, a battle in which Electric Lizalfos don’t appear (“Terror of the Sands”) could be tracked.
• Fixed an issue where the Challenge “A Flash of Steel in the Desert“ would not appear until a number of other battles had been completed, even after all displayed requisite battles had been completed.
• Fixed an issue where, during two-player split-screen play, the second player’s attack sounds and other sounds could not be heard.
• Fixed an issue where, when assigning necessary materials to the Material Sensor (Assign to Sensor in Unlock Weapon Arts) a player would only be able to remove them from the sensor via the Materials screen.

The critically acclaimed System Shock remake is AVAILABLE NOW on Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 with Joy-Con 2 mouse support, gyro aiming, and community feedback-inspired features!

Trailer has spoilers for first game ending, so linking to announcement post instead of trailer directly.

Coming in 2026.

• Description: Every cat dreams of freedom. As a spoiled cat, Moka longs for adventure and escapes his home, only to find an unexpected world. Now, appreciative of what he had, he must learn how to survive to make his way back home before he loses everything. Witness a journey full of danger, friendship, and hope, brought to life with hand-drawn animation.
• Price: $14.99 ($10.49 till 9th Jan)
• Link: https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/stars-in-the-trash-switch/
• Platform: Nintendo Switch

• Release Date: March 27, 2026
• Price: $39.99

This is Xcavator 2025 (NES Cartridge), a fully functional NES title built from Oberth’s original design of the same name. First developed at Incredible Technologies Inc., the company behind coin-op classics like Golden Tee Golf, Big Buck Hunter, and more, Xcavator was shopped around to multiple publishers across the country way back in 1991, but it never found a home, and was quietly archived and never looked at again.

Recently, the prototype's source code was discovered and rebuilt by the Video Game History Foundation from Oberth's development archives, which were donated by his family after his unfortunate passing. Incredible Technologies then graciously agreed to donate the rights to the game to the VGHF to use as a fundraiser for its charitable work.

The Video Game History Foundation then worked with Mega Cat Studios to finish the game, staying true to Oberth’s original vision and using the tools and environments that Oberth would have utilized himself to make the game whole.

iam8bit took it from there, creating a truly unique and authentically retro package for Xcavator 2025 that includes a 14-page manual loaded with more info on Oberth and Xcavator, written by the fine folks of the VGHF themselves. It’s exhibit-quality stuff, available for your very own collection.

Best of all, 100% of the profits from the Xcavator 2025 NES Cartridge will go to fund the Video Game History Foundation, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to preserving, celebrating, and teaching the history of video games.

This is a one-of-a-kind product made to support an important cause. Don’t miss your chance to be a part of video game history.

Didn't play much this week.

Spent few hours on Dark Souls Remastered !

Last week I talked about how I haven't gotten stuck anywhere, and that's when I got stuck on the next boss. It was another 2 Boss at once, and that's kind of my weakness. Don't know how many times I died there, had to quit the game.

Fortunately, the solution to most such issues in Dark Souls is to just relax and play without panicking. Came back next day and defeated the boss in 2nd or 3rd try.

I should in the latter half of the game, but no idea how much is left. I know of at least 3 bosses that I have kill (narrative reasons), reached the first one and it's too strong. Checked an online guide and it suggests to come back there later, there are some other unexplored areas and I should go there first. So, doing that now, killing monsters, earning tons of souls and leveling up!

We played some Killing Floor 3 and it was okay. It wasn't great but not too bad either, but since I don't play these kind of games I have no idea what the standard is. Overall the consensus was that we won't be playing it again, so that's over now.

What about all of you? What have you been playing and/or plan to play?