somnambulance

I would play Warcraft today… if it was on the Xbox console.

@FatalBubbles No worries, it’s all good. I tend to play through to completion maybe 20-30 games a year and am trimming back this year, so I’m perhaps a bit more ornery about gaming than is typical and comment style is potentially reflective of that.

@FatalBubbles Already played through the previously released games, ie Indiana Jones, Blue Prince, Clair Obscur, Doom, South of Midnight, and a little bit of Avowed, though that one wasn’t a hit for me. I mean with upcoming releases this year. After Tony Hawk, which’ll be out two weeks before my sub expires, I can’t think of anything else coming to Gamepass that I want to play in 2025. Indiana Jones, Nine Sols, and Blue Prince were fantastic additions to the service recently, but if there’s not a new game every month or two that interests me, with the current price point, Gamepass isn’t worth it to remain subbed for me. I caught up with my backlog a few years back and think in terms of current and future releases. I’ve got enough old games in my digital and physical library.

Nope, I’m a software guy, and there’s just nothing coming to Xbox that really piques my interest until… Fable? My Gamepass sub ends again at the end of July and I’m letting it lapse again.

That said, I don’t really like Xbox or PlayStation’s vision at the moment for me as a consumer. At least Nintendo’s still doing the old, “We have a console, we make first party games, and they’re quality” thing. The Switch 2 line up has been barren to start, but I think I may find myself being a Nintendo-centric gamer in the near future rather than an all consoles gamer for the first time since the SNES era because I can see them sticking to that vision where Xbox feels like it’s going to be an app and PlayStation is becoming live service gatcha city.

No idea. Probably Mario Kart, but honestly… it feels like i don’t have anything I want to play right now. I’d like to play some Switch 2, but I don’t have anything new to play, so… I dunno if I’ll play anything. I’m caught up on the backlog again.

I’ll have Death Stranding 2 on Monday.

I’d like an RE9 and Pragmata demo and, less realistically, Megaman Legends shadowdropped onto modern platforms

0% chance I buy an Xbox or PlayStation in 2027. Sorry, but it’s true. This generation feels like it’s still been stuck in last generation and is finally starting to pick-up now, just slightly. If there’s a new generation, I’ll play the new games on xCloud on my Xbox One.

Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo and Mario Kart World probably

Well, I mean, I’m dropping my sub after I get what I need out of THPS 3+4, so… yeah… if it’s too pricey, I just won’t come back for Outer Worlds 2.

Wait… Keeper is this year!? Definitely didn’t expect that. I must’ve missed something during the showcase.

As an owner of both and the last gen consoles, I’d agree with this 100%.

@TheGameThrifter I’d argue that Xbox has been delivering since September, but that does feel like a mantra for Xbox at this point. At least the momentum is positive right now though.

@PsBoxSwitchOwner Even No Ghosts looks like a “I’ll play this on Gamepass when it comes out and see if I like it” type of game rather than a “Wow! I’m really looking forward to that!” type of game and I ranked it at #1. I know Clockwork Revolution was a the “big game,” getting buzz, but it remains to be seen if it’ll be able to get out of the Bioshock Infinite comparisons just yet. I still think the showcase was nice, but it just didn’t get me hyped for anything. Really odd Fable wasn’t there… Or a release date for like Witchbrook or Silksong.

Not E3 this year sold me on just two games for sure that I didn’t know about prior to the showcases in total though, and that’s Final Fantasy Tactics, which is an ancient game, and Resident Evil 9.

There are No Ghosts
Beast of Reincarnation
Keeper
Resonance
Clockwork Revolution

Now that I’ve voted, I’m sort of a little more meh about the Xbox Showcase than I was yesterday.

@Questionable_Duck Well… yeah… you’re right! Utterly questionable. It’s just.. why? It’s not like Outer Worlds has the fanbase and support to counteract this like Mario Kart does.

I left that Showcase feeling sort of confused in the Xbox vision a little bit.

The showcase was very ok to me. It sort of made me feel like this stretch of great games we got the last calendar year from CoD to CoD was sort of a fluke now though in terms of the styles of games I’d like to play from Xbox though. It feels like Fable isn’t any time soon, perhaps.

I dunno. There was some stuff announced that looks interesting, but probably nothing I’d buy without Gamepass.

Outer Worlds 2 being the first $80 game is pretty questionable. Not to knock on a game I haven’t played yet, but the first one felt sort of AA in terms of what the game was. You’d think they’d have put that risk on CoD instead. I almost feel like they’re sending Outer Worlds 2 out there to die on other platforms now.

I’d give it a C because A) after Tony Hawk, I think the hot streak for Gamepass is over for this year for my taste, B) everything is 2026 basically, so it sort of confirms that we’ll have a light fall release schedule, C) no Silksong release date, D) the old “this years old game is finally on Xbox… TODAY!” schtick, E) “You wanted a big game to end the year, well you’ve got it: COD!” F) even if I’m not too jazzed on much, the showcase was well made.

I dunno. There were a couple games that caught my eye, but I’m not sure I’d buy any of the games or play any of them if not for Gamepass. It was better than Summer Games Fest and Future Games Show, but there was no RE9 for me.

I feel like I’m really hoping for a Nintendo Direct that much more now.

Silksong. That’s what I want. Witchbrook too. I’d love to see Halo announced for Switch 2.

To be honest though, I’m hoping I like the Xbox showcase as much as the State of Play and considerably more than Summer Games Fest and the Future Games Show, as those two shows were awful. I just want the showcase to give me some ease because, even if I liked the State of Play, the last two days of showcases have been sour to me and killed the momentum started to indicate gaming is going in a better direction. Xbox had the best showcase last summer and I’d like them to do it again. If they don’t do that, I just want it to be a pleasant mix of games for many tastes. I’m just hoping there’s more than 2 games that are interesting from it. I’d like it if 2026 was more than Capcom and Grand Theft Auto for me. Lol.

@TapeLoader That genuinely could be the PR they’re going for with the game, which is cool. Personally, I don’t really like the look of the game from what I’ve seen in trailers, but, if there’s this huge, manufactured conspiracy built around the game, I respect and appreciate the effort they’ve put into crafting a compelling framework into the advertisement of the game.

I hope the rumor about a Silksong shadow drop happens though… 🤡

@Kaloudz Wo Long was on GP previously, not sure if Wuchang is a GP title. Wukong is the only one among them I had interest in though. I’m not so into Souls style gameplay, which I’d say I think the other two are. Wukong’s visuals and gameplay were what had me interested prior to launch. I’d say Wukong was slightly disappointing as an overall game though. I’d rate the game a 6 or 7/10. It’s hard to call it a 6/10 with the visuals it has or the fluid gameplay it has, but I didn’t exactly like the game.

Got my Switch 2 Wednesday night… but I’ll play this one on Gamepass.

If the rumors are true though, I’ll play some Halo on Switch 2 instead!

@Kaloudz I played the game on PS5 and I would say I’ve got a different experience than @Fanat1c. I actually felt the game was harder than Elden Ring in most parts of it, though part of the problem is that it never felt like the button inputs felt entirely accurate, so the rhythm for the game felt more random than consistent to me. This may be a PS5 at launch thing though. It may also be due to the fact that there was no multiplayer to aid on this one. The game definitely has that trial and error feeling to it like Souls games, but the combat doesn’t feel Souls, if that makes sense.

Man, I hope we see Spyro in 2025. Let’s see Xbox have an Astro Bot moment by tossing a lovable mascot a platforming game with little time before release. I want to see Halo and Double Fine pretty badly too.

Also, surely Everwild has to have something at this point, right? And let’s get a release date for Fable?

This is that big moment where I decide if I’m subbing for Gamepass the rest of the year or not! Lol

I’d rather see State of Decay, Fable, and Everwild with regards to games that were announced ages ago.

I will try FBC. I love Remedy… but I don’t know how much a co-op shooter is for me in 2025. I sort of like the fps genre less and less as I get older and I’m not quite sure if that’s me changing or the games… as I still love the old ones.

The Alters looks like it may have potential too, but I dunno. It sort of gives me Fort Solis vibes too where it may be all atmosphere and land flat with my taste.

It sort of looks to me like Xbox is saving some announcements for their showcase next week though if that’s it. This year has been firing on all cylinders for Gamepass and, even if this looks like a standard month circa 2020-2024 right now, given how well this year has been, I’m sort of expecting something to land and shake up the current line-up.

To a T. Absolutely fantastic Takahashi wholesome goofiness. As of right now, I’d say it’s overtaken Blue Prince for being my favorite game so far this year.

I would say this is great, but AAs were usually priced at $30 five years ago, so that’s still inflation

To a T no contest. About halfway through it and I’d say it’s probably my frontrunner for GotY on Xbox, just narrowly edging out Blue Prince.

With that one, Doom, and (although not Gamepass), Nightreign, I’ve finally got a top 10 list for the year. 7 out of 10 of the titles are Gamepass as well, so really strong year for the service so far.

I think things are starting to shift on that. PlayStation’s got a silent cloud of subscriber dissatisfaction. If people unsubscribe like they say they will, Sony may find themselves in a hole.

That’s a smart strategy. I feel like Xbox is going to keep investing into “This is an Xbox,” which translates to having to do less work as a hardware manufacturer while making more profit engineering software en masse. I know the Xbox fans don’t like it, but it makes more money and makes more sense longterm. If Xbox is the first to be integrated into TVs via a cloud platform and the cost of entry isn’t a box but a subscription, Xbox will have found a new way to capitalize on the gaming market that it doesn’t seem Sony or Nintendo are thinking of. Remember that Xbox sees Amazon and Netflix as more authentic competitors to their vision.

@Valhura I had screen tearing, frame rate issues, audio cutting out, enemies falling off screen, stuttering animations, times where the joysticks didn’t work on my controller, times when the button inputs would lag or outright wouldn’t work, and gave up on the game officially when the game crashed on me when I finally got to the open world portion. I almost preordered the game due to how much I liked the art work. Man, was I glad I played it on Gamepass instead! I’ve never played a game with so many technical issues at launch. It was jarring.

I’ve got a high tolerance for jank too. Pokémon ScarVi is one of my favorite Pokemon games. I laughed at the jank of Cyberpunk because it was comical (when Jackie’s gun got stuck in his forehead during my playthrough! It was the highlight of the game!). Just for reference, I can deal with jank if it’s not game breaking. Atomic Heart played outright broken on my Series S.

I didn’t like Redfall either, but I wouldn’t say it was particularly buggy for me, just boring and empty and seemed way lower budget than anyone would’ve expected.

Usually I watch it live… but this year I’ll be at Polish Fest in Milwaukee during the time of the show, so I’ll watch it when I get home. After pierogis!

Possibly the most broken game to release this generation, so I can’t say I’ll be looking forward to seeing what they cook

@ZuneTattooGuy Eh, everyone has different tastes. You could say that about any game. For me, Clair Obscur and KCD2 are both probably a 7/10 for various reasons, but for others they’re clearly GotY tier, but on the same token To a T is shaping up to be an 8 or 9/10 for me (and I fully expect some here may find me crazy for that because I know that’s an uncommon pov). From what I’ve played of Nightreign, it’s in a similar category to CO or KCD2 for scoring, but I’ve heard people talk about what they love about it and I believe they feel that way. Different strokes for different folks, you know? I’m sure some MAY be paid off, but I think there’s people that love what was made. It’s certainly unique, so I’ll give From that, even if I see some flaws for my enjoyment of it.

The beta was fine, but I sort of feel like I’ve hit Elden Ring saturation. At least Nightreign mixes up the genre and gameplay focus of the game rather than what Erdtree did, which was basically “hey, we heard you wanted to grind your already leveled up character again, huh?” The lack of crossplay though also means my Elden Ring squad would need to commit to the game and platform, which I don’t know if that’ll happen either. I have a feeling I’ll only get this one if it reviews in an insane degree and it excites my friend group.

I was hoping to read some reviews for this one on my lunch break, but it seems like that may not happen since there’s little buzz around this one, but, hey, I’m looking forward to playing it either way!

@Sindayl I agree with you completely.

While I’m also happy to see the game is having massive success, I’m also torn because I didn’t like it nearly as much as everyone else does and there’s a constant, looping hype cycle for the game, so I also can’t help but feel it’s completely overrated. My whole time playing it, I just felt like the plot was obvious, and the characters were sort of thin. It was just the most “this is just good, but not great” game I’ve played in a long while.

I hope there’s a new GotY contender soon because I’m ready for the hype cycle to jump to its next target, as it jumped from KCD2 once Clair Obscur released.

Nope. I’ll be getting a Switch 2 though.

To A T has the potential to briefly hold the top spot on my GotY list this year…

…until June at least…

This year’s been a bit muted for me so far in gaming, but I’m pretty happy about the upcoming schedule and To A T feels like the ultimate appetizer to me before a main course of Nintendo exclusives and Death Stranding 2.

I’m going to be playing the game of clearing out my basement this weekend, so my sister can move in.

On the gaming front, I’m sort of… not playing anything seriously. If I play anything, it’ll be a party game or Red Dead Redemption 2. RDR2 is just so fun to go back to. I had a patch of time where every game I played felt like “Meh, this is ok and overrated,” and RDR2 reminds me that games can be exceptional.

I was going to try the Splitgate 2 beta, but the servers haven’t been working for me, so glad they got all that money just to have the game’s servers be exactly like the first game.

I mostly feel like I’m waiting for Switch 2 and Death Stranding though. I’ll be playing To A T next week.

@Ricky-Spanish It WOULD look amazing!

…in a new game! Lol.

That said, I’m not totally opposed to remakes, just remakes of things that feel basically like the same game with better visuals and I feel like Bioshock would probably be in that boat. The Resident Evil Remakes and Final Fantasy VII Remakes are fine.

@Ricky-Spanish Lol. I’m burned out of nostalgia. I’ve beaten Bioshock 4 times already.

I’m 100% sure that, as much as I love the game, I’d have the same feeling I’d have playing Oblivion Remastered:

“Wow. This is cool.” 4 hours later. “Alright. Been there done that, I think I’m good on this. Let’s play something else.”

If I didn’t play so many games in my 36 years of life, I’d probably be ok with the remaster culture, but I played a lot, so that whole thing is boring to me.

That’s tremendously disappointing if true. I don’t want a Bioshock remake or remaster at all. As much as Bioshock is a better game that 95% of games that release now, I’d rather have new games than continue playing games with fresh coats of paint.

When I saw the Minecraft movie in theaters, every trailer was a remade movie. Let’s NOT do this to the gaming industry.

This is such a neat curio and I’m really glad it exists, even if some of the games are dumpy to play on a controller. It sure is nice to revisit Pitfall for me in particular. I don’t mind the format of the games, as it’s better for them to be on modern consoles rather than not playable at all. With older games such as many of these, they’ve been collecting dust for ages and I’m glad younger gamers can finally experience them. My son and I got a good hour of fun trying them out last night.

I understand that overcoming adversity is part of the point of Soulslikes, but having fun is the point of games. As Soulslikes have saturated the industry and grown increasingly divisive among gamers as a genre, I’m certain the developer is hoping to widen the interest with players that are disinterested in Soulslikes.

I suspect they’ve discovered that there is a large group that would be interested in the game, but will never purchase due to the difficulty. They’ve hit the ceiling of Souls fans, so to speak.

Of course the Souls fans are mad about this as they were with Elden Ring and how people chose to play it, but they need to understand that their preference in suffering is not shared by all. At least there are more than enough games these days that offer it, however.

Finally! What I wanted out of the acquisition is a reality!

Nintendo, Kojima, Final Fantasy, Remedy, Rockstar, that might be it.

Not sure if I’d consider it a franchise, but rather an excellent N64 title with a sequel that didn’t live up to expectations with a reboot incoming.