The cheapest next gen console by a long shot (pic: Microsoft)
The Wednesday letters page is happy to hear that more Bayonetta may be on the way, as another reader recommends Pentiment.
PLEASE NOTE: We’re currently preparing our content for over Christmas and the New Year, which will include several Reader’s Features. So if you have an idea for an article, on any gaming related subject you like, now would be a great time to submit it, at the email address below.
To join in with the discussions yourself email [email protected]
Present costs
Pretty amazing Christmas deal for the Xbox Series S, being able to get it for just £200. I’ve already got an Xbox Series X, so I don’t need it, but I would strongly advise it to anyone even slightly interested. Add another £1 and you can get Game Pass as well, which will you provide you with enough ‘free’ gaming from now to next Christmas.
Since I am sorted on the Xbox front though I’ve wondered whether I should try and get a Nintendo Switch as well. A PlayStation 5 is too expensive and there are too few exclusive games, but you can’t say that of the Switch.
My problem though is that it’s still so expensive. There are some deals, but I really don’t want to be paying over £300 for the console and a couple of games. I realise Nintendo can’t afford to give away free money like Microsoft can but it’s obvious that in terms of value for money this Christmas, the Xbox Series S is in a different class.
Friendo
A year in PlayStation
With this link you can see your stats for all the games you have played this year on PlayStation 4 and 5. It shows you which games you have played the most, the amount of hours for the year you have played, how many Trophies earned, etc. Quite interesting.
Andrew J.
PS: Just recently on the Nintendo Store they have had new merchandise available for Nintendo Points only, you can’t buy them. They have two new Kirby items, one new Pokémon notebook item, a 2023 calendar (they were listing the 2022 calendar still a few weeks ago!), Splatoon 3 stickers, a Nintendo Switch Sports towel, and finally two Mario + Rabbids items.
Quiet time
I started playing High On Life today and was initially underwhelmed. It looked good and the gameplay is OK but the humour after two-odd hours was becoming weary. I’ve not seen Rick and Morty before. I didn’t hate it, it’s just that stream of consciousness delivery over a long time gets tiresome.
Two things happened, though, to make me come around to its crude charms and start enjoying it somewhat. First, the game opened up a bit and, second, I found the option to turn enemy and gun chatter to none, limiting the talk to just scripted or story dialogue. That means there’s still a lot of talking but it allowed for pockets of silence when I just explored for loot, which meant when I did engage in the dialogue it didn’t annoy and I found myself being tickled, if not laughing out loud.
Talkative protagonists or companions is a gripe for me, from Horizon Forbidden West and God Of War Ragnarök. The regular prompting from those games, about what to do or where to go next, really irritated me. Unlike High On Life, I don’t think there’s an option to turn it off.
Simundo
E-mail your comments to: [email protected]
Strange rumours
I’m struggling to understand this rumour about the PlayStation 5 Slim with the detachable disc drive. A smaller, less ugly version of the console I understand. The current one is a monstrosity, but what’s with the removable disc drive?
Sony already has a version of the console without a disc drive, so what’s the point? I get that it allows you to upgrade it to a bigger one, but I thought you could already do that? Even so, it’s not something I would’ve thought the majority of gamers would ever bother with.
I’d dismiss the rumour as nonsense, except the guy does have a good track record and Sony doing something that doesn’t seem to make any sense is exactly what you’d expect of them lately.
Gordo
GC: We don’t really get it either.
Too real
I whole heartedly agree with everything you said about the way games are viewed these days and vtubers, not all but a lot of them, all have to have their 10 cents worth and what seems like a lot of mindless followers who just want to please the host!
I think, as you said, if Switch is going to hit the 10-year plan Nintendo set out with we need a refresh, something with a bit more kick. But if Nintendo can do it right then we can continue to enjoy a few more years with this wonderful system. I’m not into next generation graphics, they’re beginning to look too real in my opinion.
Maybe up to PlayStation 4 style for me, but I don’t want the next generation system. Nintendo has to jump forward too much in that department, I know one day it will happen but for now I like that Nintendo caters for a different audience. Thanks, I loved your article. I’m glad you said what you said. Have a lovely Xmas all the best.
gaz
GC: We’re not entirely sure, but we think you’re referring to this Reader’s Feature.
Pen to paper
RE: the letter about Pentiment, I completely agree. It’s definitely the sort of game that can easily slip quietly by without noticing it, but it’s really very good. It was on my radar anyway but only because of one reason: Obsidian.
They have made some of my all-time favourite games in the past, and most notably, in my case, the Pillars Of Eternity games.
I was a little concerned when they got bought up by Microsoft and I hope going forward they leave the integrity of the team intact. Pentiment is a positive sign that this is going to be the case, so fingers crossed.
Their development history speaks for itself, so they are clearly very talented game makers, but it’s often the written word that I think takes it to another level. During Pillars Of Eternity I would often pick the books up that you could find dotted about on shelves. They would just be game lore type things, that would have no meaningful bearing on the game, but I would read them all. I enjoyed them because the writing was so good, before I would then refocus on chasing Eothas down.
In fact, Carrie Patel is a published author and I recently purchased a series of books, The Recoletta series, due to having discovered her brilliant writing in gaming!
r-s-w
SUPFAYSC
Sorry, in my letter on toast toppings/big budget games I mentioned my intention to liken GoT to the stuff you find in a rubbish drawer. You were unsure what I was meaning and plumped (incorrectly, but I can see why) for Game of Thrones.
I actually meant Ghost Of Tsushima which, incidentally, held my award for most obviously manipulative triple-A experience until the recent release of the GoW sequel. Both games an absolute example of finding the median point of The Average Gamer and then white boarding the hell out of the design process.
Thanks and sorry about the confusion.
Matt
GC: Thanks, but we’d ask all readers to please avoid acronyms whenever possible. Especially ones with multiple meanings – GoW could easily have been Gears Of War, not God Of War. We do agree with your points though.
Safe bet
I know Hideki Kamiya is a pretty unreliable narrator but I think he was telling the truth about what he wants to do with Bayonetta. This wasn’t some troll tweet or one of his weird video announcements, where you don’t know if they’re a joke or not.
Of course, what he wants to do and what he gets the money to do are too different things but even if they’re not big sellers the Bayonetta always do well in terms of reviews and that’s important given that Platinum made one of the best games of 2022 and one of the worst, in Babylon’s Fall.
Especially after that The Game Awards win they’ve got a lot of their reputation back and so I think they’ll see Bayonetta as a safe place to retreat to when things go wrong. How Nintendo see if I have no idea, as I don’t see what they get out of all this, but I’m not going to knock a good thing.
I just hope that they do the obvious and make Bayonetta 4 a Switch 2 launch game, unless it’s too late for that. Despite all the talk of it recently I still have no idea when to expect Nintendo’s next console and I’m not sure Platinum do either.
Focus
Inbox also-rans
There are some Monster Hunter amiibo in stock on the Nintendo Store UK now!
Andrew J.
I want to make a suggestion for the next GTA game. Why don’t Rockstar sign deals with the music streaming service providers, like Spotify, to implement their apps in the game? So then you’re able to listen to your own playlists while playing the game.
Gadget79
GC: We think Rockstar prefer to curate their own music.
This week’s Hot Topic
As the year comes to an end, for this weekend’s Inbox we want to know what you thought of 2022 in gaming?
The pandemic might be over, but it still casts a long shadow over the games industry, with release schedules and preview events still adversely affected. But what did you think of 2022 overall? What did you think of the standard and volume of games and what were you favourites?
What did you consider were the major trends in terms of gameplay and the industry at large? And which news stories do you feel will go on to become most important for the future of gaming?
E-mail 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.
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MORE : Games Inbox: Xbox’s Activision Blizzard obsession, The Witcher 3 conspiracy, and Pentiment love
MORE : Weekend Hot Topic: The best and worst of your favourite franchise
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The Wednesday letters page is happy to hear that more Bayonetta may be on the way, as another reader recommends Pentiment.
