Altaria_97

Nothing in between “I look forward to everything from Double Fine” and “meh” so I didn’t vote. I’m interested in it but it’s nothing I’m excited for. Something to keep an eye on.

A little upsetting to hear about the compromises to Pro Skater 4 and having a good chunk of the original soundtracks missing.

That said, I’m still very excited for this. The 1 and 2 remakes were some of my favorite games in recent memory. This weekend is going to be a lot of fun.

@Bobobiwan Agreed. They decided to fully “reboot” Forza MotorSport instead of building on top of what actually worked. What resulted was:

• A 6 year wait instead of the usual 2 years.
• Visuals that weren’t much better than 7 despite being on much more powerful hardware.
• Live service elements meaning very little single-player career content.
• Forced “RPG” and starting grid mechanics that killed the realism and fun of the previous cups/GP’s from previous games.

And when people complained and the game didn’t seem as well, the high-up directors just double downed on their decisions and now the studio is (effectively) no more.

Man, I really like modern gaming but Microsoft has just been upsetting me so much recently.

Maybe they’re trying to get it offline before the game preservation campaign goes any further haha

Might be controversial but I don’t care.

Years of crappy decisions from higher-ups and directionless game directors destroyed XBOX. All the devs that put in the hard work are laid off because of this.

Meanwhile, the higher-up executives (most of the people that made the mistakes) are rewarded by daddy Microsoft with the opportunity to make more money by going third-party. The Bethesda and Activision buyouts helped the higher ups and destroyed the actual developers.

Every news article I like XBOX less and less.

I’m stoked for Tony Hawk. Easily one of my most anticipated games of the year and I’m glad I get it free with GamePass.

They’re the undisputed home because they’re the only house on the planet. They have a monopoly on the basketball market simply because of there being legit zero competition.

I don’t even like EA that much but I’m glad to hear they’re stepping back in to (hopefully) whip 2K back into shape.

I’m not excited but I’m optimistic. I’m sure there’s great stuff to come and I’m looking forward to the official reveals and releases for their big games in 2026.

Did any of my farfetched hopes get announced?

• New Banjo (NO)
• Conker's Bad Fur Day 2 (NO)
• Spyro 4 (NO)
• Crash Bandicoot 5 (NO)
• More on Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3 + 4 (yeah but it was a simple launch trailer)
• Forza Horizon 6 announced (NO, but they did say some new Forza title will come next year)
• Gears 2 and 3 Reloaded (NO)
• Gears of War E-Day (2026 confirmed, but we saw nothing)
• Perfect Dark (NO, completely skipped)
• Any main series Halo (NO, but they did tease something for next year)
• Halo Wars for the lolz (NO lmao)

So yeah, nothing I wanted got announced and the few exceptions all have caveats. XBOX just isn't the same company I used to love back in the 2000's. I know next year looks like it'll be a nice throwback year... but I feel like each year we're always saying "next year will be the year". It's hit the point where that might finally be true... but it's kinda too little too late.

I'll play Forza Horizon 6 (if that is the game they're referring to) but each entry keeps focusing less on single player and more on live service stuff I don't like. I also kinda just lost most interest in Gears over the years and I guarantee Halo will just be yet another re-release of the original, just in Unreal Engine 5 this time. Not very exciting for me, personally.

Sorry to be a Debbie downer. I know most of the games they're developing will probably be objectively good and make others happy. XBOX just hasn't done much for me this gen, which is a shame because I loved them back in the early days.

Awesome. Nothing crazy was really shown off today so getting this gives me hope for next year. Although I feel like a broken record saying this lol.

Here are my hopes which will definitely not come true:

• New Banjo made by Double Fine or Rare
• Conker's Bad Fur Day 2 by Double Fine or Rare
• Spyro 4
• Crash Bandicoot 5
• More on Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3 + 4
• Forza Horizon 6 announced and releasing this fall OR early 2026
• Gears 2 and 3 Reloaded coming, just releasing them all a few months for each other
• Gears of War E-Day and Perfect Dark for 2026
• Halo 1 Unreal Engine Remake this holiday
• Halo "7" teaser
• Screw it, give us another Halo Wars for the lolz

@Valhura Different strokes for different folks, I suppose. I played a little over 3 hours and that was my impression. Glad others enjoyed it, I don’t like seeing games do poorly.

I really tried to like this game but it was just too boring. The story was cool on paper but the writing and characters were not interesting. The gameplay kinda felt like a walking simulator with little chunks of clunky combat. I only played like 3 hours then gave up from boredom.

Not interested in seeing what comes next lol but I wish them the best.

Metaphor has been on my wishlist for a bit now but I have so many other titles in my backlog that I’m not sure I’ll get around to it lol

I never heard of the “Stream your own game service”. Just to be sure, this doesn’t mean you get those games with gamepass, correct? It just means if you do own them (or they are on gamepass) then you can stream them… right?

Asking cause I just pre ordered Disney Illusion Island last week lol

Too many games to play lol but I’m excited to eventually play Indiana Jones and DOOM. I’m not usually into huge, time sinking open-world RPG games but I might give Oblivion Remastered a try. Too many people have recommended it to me.

7/10. I’m definitely looking forward to it and remaining optimistic, but I wouldn’t say I’m hyped or expecting anything crazy. I’d love a Forza Horizon 6 reveal… not expecting it, but would love it.

Cassette Beasts has been in my backlog for quite some time now. Just too many games to play lol.

I just bought it on PC so of course it’s finally gonna get upgraded for Series X lmao

Tony Hawk, Gears, and Hollow Knight are my big games. I’ll give The Outer Worlds 2 a go, too. I just didn’t play the first one but plan to try it eventually.

I’m sure Ninja Gaiden 4 will be good but I tried the remake of 2 and it was fun for a short bit but then got very repetitive to the point where I was bored.

This might sound kinda weird but these price increases for games are kinda good for me. I was buying a lot of games and just not playing them.

With how expensive games are now (plus less gaming time and other hobbies), these price increases just put me off from buying most new games. I’m actually going to save a ton of money AND finally tackle most of my backlog. Not that I should have needed this to happen to do so, but it’s pushed me to be smarter with my budget and game library.

@StylesT Same. I got a 4080 Super last year and I’m content with that for the next 5-8 years. My dream as a kid was to have all the modern, major consoles and a sick gaming PC. I have them all, but going forward I will not be sticking to that.

Switch 2 for convenient multiplayer games + some Nintendo exclusives and my gaming PC for everything else. This hobby is getting too expensive and I don’t even get a whole lot of time to game these days as it is.

I don’t have time to play like 90% of the games I’m interested in. As I get older I have more obligations but also more interests and priorities. As such, gaming just takes a back seat and I probably put in 3-5 hours per week now.

I also game less in the late spring, summer, and early fall because of the warm weather. I love being outside. So when winter rolls around, my gaming time will probably shoot up a decent bit.

Oh wow. I knew it would be solid but this is even better than I expected! This, Oblivion, and DOOM will easily keep me busy for the remainder of the spring… then Tony Hawk in the summer! Gamepass is looking good for me.

Sounds good to me. 1080p60fps upscaled to 4K should look plenty good on my display. I agree it would be nice for the game to run at a higher resolution… but it looks more than great to me with the updated visuals. Excited to finally try Oblivion soon!

It’s rare if I spend more than $50 for a game.

The only game I did that for last year was with Paper Mario TTYD ($60) and that was to send a message to Nintendo that I want more original-style Paper Mario titles.

So no, I would not buy a game for $80. I’m thinking of getting the Switch 2 as I’m a big Nintendo fan but I’ll only get Mario Kart World if I can get that bundle to save $30.

Seems like the usual positive to slightly above average mix of review scores. This could be a sleeper hit despite it not really impressing me, personally.

If I can find the time to play it with how hectic life has been recently, I’ll give it a go. Thanks for the review roundup!

Mario Kart World looks great but the $70-$80 price tags per game have me second guessing if I’ll purchase a Switch 2 anytime soon. It’s simply too much for me to pay considering I don’t spend as much time gaming as I used to.

I don't play it anymore but that’s because I don’t really play multiplayer games much. I beat the single player campaign and the DLC stories already. I could see myself going back but that would be to restart the entire game and replay the single player content.

@Aniscape @StylesT Couldn't agree more with these statements. I see people complaining online all the time how there are less games this generation and blah blah blah. But I have a huge backlog of games that look insanely fun. But the older I get, the harder it is to find time to play. Work, relationships, cleaning, health, etc. all eat up SO much time. I don't even have kids! I'm more than grateful to have so many games to play and it's actually overwhelming when more games get announced or release.

All this to say I probably won't play South of Midnight. It doesn't look bad, but with so many other games I'm more interested to play and such little time, I doubt I'll ever get around to it. Hope it reviews well, though!

While Avowed and South of Midnight don’t interest me, I’m still very happy with GamePass:

Now: Just started Ninja Gaiden 2 Black
April: Expedition 33
May: DOOM The Dark Ages
July: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4

I’m not planning on renewing my Gamepass when it expires in late November, but this is a really nice spring/summer schedule.

I’m not usually one to pay for these things… but if the bonus soundtracks and decks are cool, I might bite. Playing as Doom Slayer would be funny, too. Maybe I’ll start the Microsoft rewards back up so I don’t have to pay with real cash.

I remember seeing articles about this game and never looking into it. Finally read this article and it made me look up gameplay... holy crap! How did I sleep on this game for so long haha. I'm 100% playing this, even crazier is that it's on GamePass.

I doubt it but I hope this means Forza Horizon 6 is coming this year.

Please! I just played and beat the first remaster a few months back and it was one of the best games I played last year. Took me right back to the late 90’s/early 2000’s. This would be the perfect summer game for me!

Good to hear. Companies get too greedy and aggressive. They hire too many people and contractors, then let them go or fire them after games release.

I originally wasn’t interested in this title but I’ll definitely check it out in the near future now. The third-person option REALLY makes a difference for me.

Pretty sure everything recent and upcoming will be brought over at this point. XBOX is still doing well, but they fumbled too hard in terms of console sales. They’re basically a “glorified” third-party at this point… which, while weird, doesn’t bother me as long as their game output is good.

I’ve accepted that XBOX is basically a glorified third-party at this point, at least from a consumer perspective. I’m fortunate enough to own all the modern major systems so this news doesn’t really bother me. In fact, it’s nice more people will be able to play this amazing game.

My only disappointment is with Microsoft as a whole this generation. We’re over 4 years in and I haven’t gotten a lot of the big games released or announced that I personally buy an XBOX for. A lot of the big games have been acquired studios, which isn’t a bad thing, but I was hoping for more from Halo, Forza, Gears, and some other niche franchises like Banjo, Conker, Psychonauts, and others. As it stands, it’s been a solid generation for XBOX but a bit underwhelming as well. Still excited, just thought we’d have a bit more by now.

I didn’t really care for much at all. Not that it was objectively bad. Just not for me… I feel like an old man already lmao

Fully disagree. Why be so pessimistic? There’s been potential for a great, true Banjo 3 for the past 20+ years now. There are so many great developers that could work on it. Why just assume the worst?

Modern 3D platformers like Mario Odyssey, Bowser’s Fury, Psychonauts 2, Astro Bot, the Crash/Spyro remasters, and more have proven the monumental quality and success this genre can bring. I say give Banjo another chance.

Thanks for the update! I’ll check this out on PC gamepass sometime!

The rumor that never dies haha

I’m not expecting it but it would be awesome if true. I still haven’t played the series outside of trying the first couple missions of 4 when it came out. I’d definitely prefer a modern version.

I was gonna say it’s probably for the free showcase version of FC 25 but upon looking, it seems to be the standard addition at a 100% off discount.

Nothing is popping up on my phone but I’ll keep my fingers crossed when I get home later today and open the store on my XBOX.

Wow, last night while in bed I was just thinking “hey, wouldn’t it be comical if the developer direct was just Microsoft announcing layoffs and old games going over to PS5?”

Tonight I’ll think about everyone getting their jobs back and Banjo Kazooie returning lol

I’ll watch the trailer when I get home from work, but I really hope they improved the visuals and commentators. The previous entry looked like an upscaled 360 game with the most monotone commentator of all time. I had a lot more fun with EA’s PGA Tour. Hopefully this game is a big improvement.

I doubt it, but I want the surprise to be Forza Horizon 6.

Not getting it a day 1 but I’ll keep an eye on it. Seems like it could be fun, especially if the stealth is done right.

@Pastellioli Not bad at all, gaming is just a fun hobby and we all go through different phases in life that make us super busy. That said, Shredder's Revenge is a fantastic game. I'm hoping they make another TMNT arcade game!

@Kezelpaso @dskatter
I had to play Where’s Waldo finding the Deluxe edition but I did find it and claimed it for free! Thanks both of you and happy holidays!