This looks brilliant! A gaming handheld that looks comfortable to hold! Also, one of my favorite things about the xbox series consoles (outside of the incredibly comfortable controller) is the OS. It's the best interface on any of the three consoles imo and it's going to work so well on this thing. I do wonder how much it'll cost though.
Clair Obscur has some of the best written (and acted) characters I have ever seen in a video game. The aesthetics - from environments, to characters to sound, are all very pleasing as well. Combat is mostly good but I didn't really get on with it at first. I enjoy turn based combat but really didn't like having QTEs in both phases. Fortunately for me, that gripe was solved by turning on auto-QTEs for the offensive side of combat, this retains the dodging/parrying in the defensive side, a perfect solution imo. My one remaining gripe after 8 hours with the game is that exploration would really benefit from a mini-map. It's not a dealbreaker for me because, from what I've seen so far, most environments have a lot of landmarks that can help you figure out where you have been. Overall though, this game is resonating with me so much that it could very well end up being an all-time favorite of mine.
@Widey85 I really enjoyed Return to Grace as well and I hope some people will give it a chance before it leaves. It's a very pretty walking sim with a thoughtful and engaging story. The puzzles were entertaining if not exactly challenging and a playthrough only takes a few hours. I found it to be a great palate cleanser between bigger games.
@jesse_dylan I want to play BG3 so bad but am concerned that it will completely take over my life. I played Baldur's Gate 2 EE for nearly 1000 hours, obsessively trying to take in all of the content. I don't have nearly as much free time now as I did back then, so if I pick it up I've got to accept that it will probably be my entire gaming life for a few years.
@gravelmonkey Your MIL sounds amazing! I'm excited to properly jump into Indy when I'm done with the game I'm currently playing. What I have played of it has been nothing short of enchanting.
@Benjamin What did you think of New Vegas? I remember it as being one of the greatest games of all time, but I imagine that opinion is heavily influenced by nostalgia. How's it hold up in 2024?
@jesse_dylan I played it on GamePass while waiting for P3R to come out and I feel like it was a perfect GamePass game. It definitely won't be for everyone, but I I thought it had a cool style, I really enjoyed the turn-based boss battles and cooking mini-game, and the soundtrack is straight jams from beginning to end. On the other hand, the skating (which is a big part of the game) kind of sucked imo. I wouldn't pay $30 for it. I don't think I paid much more than that for Witcher 3 and RE4 remake combined and those are both perfect 10s. But if you have GamePass or can get it at a steep discount it may be worth your time.
I didn't have a ton of time to play games, but of the dozen I finished this year, about half were on xbox. I think only one of them was from 2024 (P3R), which just illustrates the sad state of my backlog.
Witcher 3
Nier Automata
Persona 3 Reload
Thirsty Suitors
Return to Grace
Resident Evil 4
Don't get me wrong, the series x is great, but I am still so genuinely impressed by how games look and play on the series s. For the same price as a Nintendo Switch you can play every modern console game (except the sony exclusives obviously), usually at a comparable frame-rate, just with marginally reduced visual quality. What an incredible value! Sometimes I wonder why I payed the extra $200.
If you look at it from the perspective of a very casual gamer who may own a One x/s, printing X|S on the boxes of Series console games could be pretty confusing and they may be led to believe that a current gen game will work in their console. Not everyone is as into this hobby as we are and I genuinely feel bad for folks that make this mistake, open their accidentally purchased $70 game and then can't return it. It really is just an absolutely bananas naming convention.
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Re: Full Specs Revealed For Both Versions Of The 2025 Xbox Handheld
This looks brilliant! A gaming handheld that looks comfortable to hold! Also, one of my favorite things about the xbox series consoles (outside of the incredibly comfortable controller) is the OS. It's the best interface on any of the three consoles imo and it's going to work so well on this thing. I do wonder how much it'll cost though.
Re: Poll: What Score Would You Give Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 So Far?
Clair Obscur has some of the best written (and acted) characters I have ever seen in a video game. The aesthetics - from environments, to characters to sound, are all very pleasing as well. Combat is mostly good but I didn't really get on with it at first. I enjoy turn based combat but really didn't like having QTEs in both phases. Fortunately for me, that gripe was solved by turning on auto-QTEs for the offensive side of combat, this retains the dodging/parrying in the defensive side, a perfect solution imo. My one remaining gripe after 8 hours with the game is that exploration would really benefit from a mini-map. It's not a dealbreaker for me because, from what I've seen so far, most environments have a lot of landmarks that can help you figure out where you have been. Overall though, this game is resonating with me so much that it could very well end up being an all-time favorite of mine.
Re: Seven Games Will Leave Xbox Game Pass In Early February 2025
@Widey85 I really enjoyed Return to Grace as well and I hope some people will give it a chance before it leaves. It's a very pretty walking sim with a thoughtful and engaging story. The puzzles were entertaining if not exactly challenging and a playthrough only takes a few hours. I found it to be a great palate cleanser between bigger games.
Re: Talking Point: Which Xbox Games Have You Managed To Finish This Year?
@jesse_dylan I want to play BG3 so bad but am concerned that it will completely take over my life. I played Baldur's Gate 2 EE for nearly 1000 hours, obsessively trying to take in all of the content. I don't have nearly as much free time now as I did back then, so if I pick it up I've got to accept that it will probably be my entire gaming life for a few years.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (December 28-29)
@gravelmonkey Your MIL sounds amazing! I'm excited to properly jump into Indy when I'm done with the game I'm currently playing. What I have played of it has been nothing short of enchanting.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (December 28-29)
Unicorn Overlord. If I can manage to put some hours in, I just might finish it before the end of 2024.
Re: Talking Point: Which Xbox Games Have You Managed To Finish This Year?
@Benjamin What did you think of New Vegas? I remember it as being one of the greatest games of all time, but I imagine that opinion is heavily influenced by nostalgia. How's it hold up in 2024?
Re: Talking Point: Which Xbox Games Have You Managed To Finish This Year?
@jesse_dylan I played it on GamePass while waiting for P3R to come out and I feel like it was a perfect GamePass game. It definitely won't be for everyone, but I I thought it had a cool style, I really enjoyed the turn-based boss battles and cooking mini-game, and the soundtrack is straight jams from beginning to end. On the other hand, the skating (which is a big part of the game) kind of sucked imo. I wouldn't pay $30 for it. I don't think I paid much more than that for Witcher 3 and RE4 remake combined and those are both perfect 10s. But if you have GamePass or can get it at a steep discount it may be worth your time.
Re: Talking Point: Which Xbox Games Have You Managed To Finish This Year?
I didn't have a ton of time to play games, but of the dozen I finished this year, about half were on xbox. I think only one of them was from 2024 (P3R), which just illustrates the sad state of my backlog.
Witcher 3
Nier Automata
Persona 3 Reload
Thirsty Suitors
Return to Grace
Resident Evil 4
Oh and my GOTY was 2015's Witcher 3, smh.
Re: Here's How Death Stranding Director's Cut Compares On Xbox Series X And S
Don't get me wrong, the series x is great, but I am still so genuinely impressed by how games look and play on the series s. For the same price as a Nintendo Switch you can play every modern console game (except the sony exclusives obviously), usually at a comparable frame-rate, just with marginally reduced visual quality. What an incredible value! Sometimes I wonder why I payed the extra $200.
Re: Surprise! Death Stranding Director's Cut Is Now Available On Xbox Series X|S
@cburg Me too! People weren't lying, it's weird as heck. But I'm in a weird mood so it's working for me.
Re: Four Years Later, People Are Still Getting Confused By Xbox's 'Horrible' Console Names
If you look at it from the perspective of a very casual gamer who may own a One x/s, printing X|S on the boxes of Series console games could be pretty confusing and they may be led to believe that a current gen game will work in their console. Not everyone is as into this hobby as we are and I genuinely feel bad for folks that make this mistake, open their accidentally purchased $70 game and then can't return it. It really is just an absolutely bananas naming convention.