The Monday letters page gets angry that Elden Ring: Shadow Of The Erdtree only got 9/10, as one reader asks about the legacy of Tomba.
To join in with the discussions yourself email [email protected]
The limit
I’ve owned a PlayStation 5 for almost three years and the only exclusive I’ve played is Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart and the Astro Bot game, with nothing else being of particular interest to me. Oh, and some PlayStation VR2 titles.
I can’t be an outlier. The PlayStation 4 seems like a sweet spot now, where the games were sophisticated but came relatively thick and fast and there was plenty of variety. I see no reason for me to have bought a PlayStation 5 and I will have no urge to buy a PlayStation 6. Anecdotally, on my own experience, I think the next gen will tank.
The tipping point has been reached.
thewearehere (PSN ID)
Keep it small
I agree with the ex-Skyrim developer about modern open world games, and really modern games in general, feeling like they’re made according to a checklist and committee thinking. And I can easily imagine that this is due to having so many people working on the game that any sense of artistic control disappears. At that point it’s just a production line and no one can know what everybody is doing.
Nintendo and FromSoftware, and most Japanese developers, have much smaller teams than Western developers, you can tell that from just watching the credits for their games. Seems like they benefit from that in all sorts of ways. Yes, maybe the graphics aren’t necessarily the best they could be but there are so many other positives to smaller teams.
You can’t make an open world game with a small indie team but even then remember what was done with No Man’s Sky and such a small group of people. It can be done, and the end result is better and, I would imagine, more profitable games.
Skooz
Secret ports
I’m looking forward to the recently-announced Donkey Kong Country Returns HD for the Switch, as I never got a chance to play it on the Wii or 3DS. It’s interesting to note that the game was already released in HD, with more traditional controls, for the Nvidia Shield in 2019.
Only other Wii games released were Zelda: Twilight Princess, which feels obsolete now with the bells-and-whistles release on Wii U; Super Mario Galaxy 1, which presumably was the basis for the Super Mario 3D All-Stars collection port; New Super Mario Bros. Wii; and Punch-Out!!
We’ve already had one new Mario port, but I could see it or Punch-Out!! make its way over in the next year or two, as the hard work’s already done and it’s in Nintendo’s best interests to keep some focus on such a popular console. Are there any other secret Nintendo ports I don’t know about?
ANON
GC: Those are pretty secret; they were supposed to only be available in China and weren’t meant to be accessible anywhere else. One little known fact we can add is that Id Software’s first project was a pitch to Nintendo, for a PC version of Super Mario Bros. 3. Nintendo called it ‘impressive’ but told them they ‘didn’t want their intellectual property on anything but their own hardware.’
Email your comments to: [email protected]
Wii U too
I agree with reader James, that Switch 2 needs an extra stripe in the toothpaste as opposed to simply more power. A portable device needs less power to have an effective battery. Nintendo games don’t need photorealism, they have artistic flair through professional animation and art abstraction and are better for it.
Screen pointer, twin screens, 3D, colour-coded pronged controllers… all worked well, but as I wrote a year ago Nintendo’s next move should be lightweight augmented specs.
Full VR will never be accepted by the mass market, but some kind of partial VR for inventory or maps would be fantastic. Thinking back, the second screen on the Wii U gamepad was an under-used delight. Maybe another Wii U-like secondary gamepad design?
Waiting for new Nintendo hardware is like waiting for new Coen brothers’ film, or Stephen King book – you know it’s going to be a product designed with skill, love, and 200% effort.
Will Sargent
Moving out of the way
I agree with Harvey, it’s not been a bad year for games and this time next year the only game that everyone will be thinking of is the massive GTA 6. This time next year everyone will be counting the days down till it comes out.
I’ve got a feeling it will be out about October time, the next Call Of Duty will be out December time, so sales aren’t affected. Between GTA 6 launch for about two months nothing big will be out, next year is going to be a massive gaming year and it will just be down to one game.
David
The Evil Swine Return
For fans of Beyond Good & Evil, like me, the recently released remaster will be available to pre-order on physical this Friday from Limited Run Games. I am going to pick up the PlayStation 5 version but the game is also available on Xbox Series X/S, Switch, PlayStation 4, and PC in standard editions (but not for PC) and
Collector’s Editions.
On the subject of Limited Run Games I am thinking about picking up a physical copy of Tomba! Special Edition, what is GameCentral’s opinion of the first and second game? As I have never played them and would like to give them a go if GameCentral and readers have a good opinion of them. The originals are extremely expensive on PS1, so this will be a cheaper way to have a physical copy.
Please remember when you order from Limited Run Games you have to wait for them to manufacture the game and be sent to you after the pre-order window closes.
Andrew J.
Just completed: Beacon Pines on PC (it was very good!)
GC: It is a very long time since we’ve played either game. They were certainly interesting at the time, for their non-linearity, but they were fairly basic platformers underneath that.
Cheap trip
I see, Disco Elysium: The Final Cut is currently at a 70% discount on the PlayStation Store, which is a bargain. I got it off the Nintendo store a little while back for a reduced price on the Switch.
I did not even know this game existed in 2019! Either way it’s a mind-bending trip in a reality you’re trying to get to grips with, after waking up in a messed-up hotel room with no memory of what happened previously!
There is a dead body outside, at the back of the hotel, with indications of an incident with possibly big social ramifications! But your mind has to be put back together regarding who you are, what you’re doing in the area, and the meaning of your existential crisis. All you see around you is a brutal hard-pressed society ruled by governments with historically problematic ambitions, including commerce and trade with each other but also including wars.
The workers are having union demonstrations and company mercenaries are threatening the citizens, causing discord and unrest amongst everyday life. It’s an adult game which is mainly about a murder investigation, covering very brutal subject matter which includes ethical and psychological matters which some may find hard to stomach! But you will be guaranteed a very far out, graphically amazing riot of a story.
So get that literal mind palace tidied up and explore a city where anything could literally happen. The replay factor is huge, as different routes and choices create story branching to so many different ways of finding an ending fitting for your character. You’ll never be the same again after surviving this gaming experience, for sure.
Alucard
No change
With it being 30 years old this year, I thought it would be rude not to play through Super Metroid (on my Classic SNES Mini) again.
What a fabulous game it still is. I’d be very interested to know which other retro games GC/GC readers think are genuinely as good now as the day they were released?
Adams6legend
GC: Crazy Frog Racer is exactly as good today as it was back in 2005.
Insultingly low
RE: Shadow Of The Erdtree 9/10 score. 9/10 is an insult to the game.
The cons from your review of Elden Ring: Shadow of Erdtree TLDR don’t make any sense.
How are all of the:
32 new bosses, 70 new weapons, 10 new shields, 39 new talismans, 14 new sorceries, 28 new incantations, 20 new spirit ashes, 25 new ashes of war, 30 new armour sets, 8 new fighting styles, and a bunch of new crafting materials not gameplay innovations? What other innovations do you want, to be able to fly a dragon? Sail a boat? Just being unreasonable they gave us plenty of gameplay innovations.
The difficulty being more variable than the parent game, the difficulty is as variable as you make it with the playstyle. In regards to it being more difficult, if that’s what you meant, well yeah it extends further beyond Elden Ring’s base game from levels 120-150, so it’s going to be more challenging, everything in the DLC should be more difficult than the base game.
The worst comment though, about the DLC being needlessly obscure to access. The DLC is not a separate story or add-on to the game that can be accessed aside from the main game, it’s an extension to the main game’s story. There’s nothing needless about it, I don’t know loads about the lore but, Miquella, Mohg, and Radahn are all connected to the withered arm and the Shadow Realm lore-wise and thus it exists as it should, an extension near the end game of Elden Ring.
Having an option just to skip into the DLC would not make sense. If you play the game with the mindset of rushing to the DLC, having already played the base game, which it seems like you did, then yeah it’s going to feel like a chore getting through the base game of Elden Ring but that is not how it’s meant to be played, how is that the game’s fault and why would it impact the game negatively in your review score?
You need to do better.
Dale
GC: We feel you’ve grasped the wrong end of the stick here, on almost everything; including whether 9/10 is a good score or not. Flying a dragon and sailing a boat would’ve been a great idea though.
Inbox also-rans
RE: Marvel Vs. Capcom characters. Alex, Saki, Zero, Mega Man X, Roll, Krauser, Soki, Frank West, Deadpool, Nightcrawler, and Black Panther.
Face
Reader Vander asked which are the best arcade racers of all time: Sega Rally 3 (Xbox 360), Excite Truck (Wii), and Cruis’n Blast (Switch).
Will Sargent
GC: Please don’t write in with just lists, they’re so boring for people to read when there’s no commentary attached.
Email your comments to: [email protected]
The small print
New Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers’ letters are used on merit and may be edited for length and content.
You can also submit your own 500 to 600-word Reader’s Feature at any time via email or our Submit Stuff page, which if used will be shown in the next available weekend slot.
You can also leave your comments below and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter.
MORE : Games Inbox: The best arcade racer game, Xenoblade Chronicles X port, and Concord success
MORE : Games Inbox: Current gen Xbox portable, Elden Ring TV show problems, and Soul Reaver 2 remake
Sign up to all the exclusive gaming content, latest releases before they're seen on the site.
Share this with