I Wanna Play That! #3 Switching It Up
Over the years I have started up and then killed off a number of personal and professional blogs, whether tailored to a particular audience or simply an outpouring from my brain (such as it is) onto the internet. But there is one particular kind of article/post/thing that I always like to revive from blog to blog: a semi-regular round-up of cool, innovative, exciting games that I've found, and really, really want to play...
..and, speaking from experience, probably won't. The fact is that there are more games out there than there are hours in the day, or £££ in my bank account, and this has always struck me as very unfair and most likely a design oversight by God that somebody ought to rectify. But, when I win the lottery and retire to a Caribbean island, I will get round to playing All Of The Games, and these will be towards the top of my list.
Kirby: Star Allies
One of the things the Switch is particularly great for is co-op play. Nintendo's commitment to family-oriented gaming means that even in households without children, the Switch is the go-to device for group play. Kirby: Star Allies is "just a platformer", but it's co-op mode, where up to 8 players can all join in together, makes it appealing for parties, or just nights in together as a couple. Mario Kart is, after all, "just a racing game," and towards the simple end of what that genre can offer, but show me a household with a Nintendo branded console system that doesn't own a copy of a Mario Kart series game. Hint: you'll struggle. Mario Kart is not a superlative example of a racing game, but it is a superlative example of a party game, and I hope that Kirby: Star Allies will also fall into this category. Having games that are accessible to players with differing levels of familiarly with games, with the Switch, with the Nintendo characters, all being able to play together, is a valuable offering.
Super Mario Odyssey
Isn't that trailer still absolutely terrifying? Cartoony art can tumble right down the Uncanny Valley and languish in the bathing pool of Downright Unsettling far too easily. But, the game itself really appeals. An open-world adventure, where I can rampage around trying things out and causing havoc, is very much my idea of a good time. Breathe of the Wild was an astonishingly excellent introduction to Nintendo for me, and I want more of that kind of experience. If Super Mario: Odyssey can provide that, then sign me up.
Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle
I do NOT like the Rabbids. They look freaky. But, I am pretty excited by a turn-based strategy game that isn't Civilisation (which I've never really got on with) or XCOM (which I adore, but am appallingly bad at.) Everything I've read, watched and listened to concerning this title has been positive, which considering it's made by Ubisoft, and some people in this world have made hating Ubisoft games a personal crusade, is nothing short of miraculous. This game is high up my wishlist for titles to try.
Little Nightmares
I first spotted this at EGX a few years ago, during a particularly ill-fated pitching trip. The feeling of encroaching despair over the course of that presentation will stay with me for some time. So it seems oddly fitting that the game that I particularly remember from that trip is Little Nightmares, a devastatingly depressing and unsettling horror game from Tarsier Studios about a very hungry young woman. I'm not normally a fan of horror games, at all, but for some reason, maybe just the state of mind I was in at the time, I found, and still do find, Little Nightmares oddly intriguing. Whilst I'm far too much of a coward to play on the large screen of a laptop of tv+console, I reckon I could cope with the game in handheld format on the Switch. I think... I like the idea of a more intellectual horror game, one that plays on your imagination rather than just hurling icky looking monsters out the screen at you, but liking the idea, and liking the execution, are very different things. I enjoy reading horror books but films are an absolute no-no. Would I ever actually play Little Nightmares, instead of merely convincing myself that I'm a well-rounded person who could cope with it and not an easily distressed wimpy nerd? Only time will tell...
The Sexy Brutale
Now isn't this an intriguing idea? "... a never-ending masked ball featuring intrigue, murder and the (quite possibly) occult! Relive the same mysterious day where the guests at the casino mansion are being murdered by the staff over and over again." The superb reviews only serve to further convince me that this weird little murder mystery is something I should be trying out. Puzzle games seem a great fit for the Switch, as you can pick it up and put it down again as inspiration strikes, without losing your place and having to go through a laborious restart process as you might with a PC.
Bridge Constructor Portal
I love Portal. There are parts of my house that have Portal decorations. I have the Portal games, the Portal board game, the Portal coaster tiles... I like Portal. So yeah, I'm interested in this.
...Yoshi?
Rumour has it there is going to be a Yoshi game. Everybody loves Yoshi. I love Yoshi, and I have absolutely no idea why. He's small and green and cute and adorable and I think it must just make something short-circuit in my brain, because I've decided I want the Yoshi game, which I know nothing about, for no better reason than because it has Yoshi in it. I swear I'm not normally this irrational.
