Demo Play Thursday - Umbraclaw On Switch

For this week's Demo Play Thursday i played the Nintendo Switch version of Umbraclaw, developed by Inti Creates Studios.

Whilst i wasn't great at playing at this demo, i actually had a great time with it. Umbraclaw doesn't say how big this demo is and i don't reach the end of it during this video. It feels like it is the actual start of the game.

The most noticeable thing about Umbraclaw is the art style and design of the world. I played the Switch version and it looked great and played great, too. it's out on PS5 and i imagine it will look impressive in 4K. What was key is that the game's style doesn't get in the way. there are a lot of colors on screen, but the details are still there and everything from the platforms to the enemies are clear and easy to spot.

The demo starts with Chapter 0, which acts mostly as a tutorial before the main aim of the game starts with Chapter 1. the tutorial isn't the best, it does offer pictures to try and show what to press and what happens, but it comes across as the game telling you everything at once. With there being a Chapter 0, i feel like the tutorial could've been spaced out better. It wasn't until the end of the demo that i remembered there's an upgrade mechanic as the game also doesn't seem to have reminders.

The upgrade mechanic seemed to be the solution to the small gripes i had with the controls. for example, i felt like the basic attack's reach was a little shorter than i wanted. The first upgrade can help fix that. Umbraclaw has a few other mechanics that really set it apart from other games. the biggest is how death works in the game because you're already dead. So when you "die" in the game, it's not game over. You're a cat, so you have 8 more "lives" left. you respawn stronger than before with new powers. There are many of these different powers, each offering something either to attack, to defend, to evade, or to platform. The game is open in saying that you can die and get a bunch of these powers and that's a strategy. But there's yet another twist. each time before you respawn, you have a choice. use up "hope", the main currency in the game, to stay the cat you are or become more feral and get stronger. Not just in attack power, but also in the amount of hits you can take. But as you're bigger, certain non critical areas of the map are now off limits.

There is another, more feral, stage. but the trade off is that you remember less and less of your previous life and the reason why you're making this journey. For me, i found it useful to go feral because of how much health it grants you. Umbraclaw isn't too hard, but it has a decent challenge as a cat because it's a one hit KO. The game does let you revert back to a cat at certain points, like at the end of a stage. there is a sense of not only strategy about all this, but also replay-ability and challenge.

The other game mechanic of note is one that i'm just as impressed by. All too often i come across games where the game is gated by ability. if you're not good enough, then you can't access the whole game. But with Umbraclaw, not only are there 3 game modes you can choose from before you play, the game will notice that you're struggling in a section and offer to lower the difficulty to the easiest one so that you can make it through and continue the game. I personally would play this game on the easiest setting so i can enjoy the combat, the story, the world, and the music. but for the demo i tried it on the default setting, akin to medium. and in this video i did get stuck and took the game up on it's offer to switch it to easy so i can get to the end and continue the game.

This demo for Umbraclaw isn't the best in some ways because it fails to communicate what it is. i don't even know if my save file will carry over to the main game. But it is super useful because i'm very interested in the game now i've played it and i highly recommend the demo for anyone who is interested just from looking at the screenshots like i was. Umbraclaw is more than a puzzle platformer, there are hints and influences from other genres and games in this. The important thing is that it all feel's cohesive and i'm genuinely interested in it now i've played the demo.

Switch Funday - Splatoon 3 - April's Weekend Splatfest Tricolor - 15 Battles 8 Wins!

Welcome to Switch Funday.

It's day two of April's Splatfest weekend so today's video focuses on the Tricolor game mode in Splatoon 3. 

Just like yesterday, https://youtu.be/QJn1Mw3Md3c, matchmaking didn't take too long and my teams and i managed to get several wins. The only negative was how few Tricolor matches i played in were against the other two teams, Baby Chicks and Bear Cubs. it felt like there was a lot of Bunny on Bunny action today. 

The 3 weapons i used today were the Bamboozler 14 Mk 1, a weapon i didn't enjoy using that much and one that never seemed to either have the power or range i needed at any given time. Also, the charge to attack felt out of place in Tricolor when people are moving around so much. The second weapon i used was the Gold Dynamo Roller. i have used it before and a complaint back then was how long it takes to do the jump attack and that was still true today. but it's inking was very useful. the final weapon was a new one i bought and it's the Custom Splattershot Jr. it looks strange shooting it as it seemingly can't shoot straight. but it did a good job at inking, attacking, and not using up ink quickly so i think it's one i'll use a lot going forward.

Online Saturday - Splatoon 3 - April’s Weekend Splatfest – 15 Battles 9 Wins!

Welcome to Online Saturday.

It's a Splatfest weekend so today's video is on the "Which fuzzy fluffiness do you like most?" Splatfest in Splatoon 3. I chose to join #teambunnies.

This was one of my most successful Splatfests yet! I went in not expecting much as the previous one in March, https://youtu.be/ctf5ACsF6oA, went badly and i only got 3 wins in it. My focus was to try out weapons i own but haven't used much. I started with the Custom Dualie Squelchers and got 4 wins with them! I was so surprised, 4 wins out of 5 games, that's already better than March. next i tried the Tri-Stringer. I wasn't having as much fun with it, i could ink fine but i was having worse luck attacking and my teams and i only got 1 win during those 5 games. for the final 5 games i switched to a new weapon i bought, one from a type of weapon i haven't used before. I used the Explosher and once again my teams and I won 4 times. The only downside is that we failed to win the only 10X battle we had and we didn't play against Baby Chicks as much as we did against Bear Cubs.

Switch Funday - The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages - My First Time

Welcome to Switch Funday!

For today's game i wanted to try out the Game Boy Color game The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages. I was always curious about games that had two versions. i played a lot of Pokémon Gold on Game Boy Color and would trade with others who had Silver. So i knew how two versions like that would work. But here, The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages is one of two The Legend of Zelda games that together tell a bigger story.

I started with The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages because, when i was young, it's the blue version and i like blue. but i do intend to try The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons. Whilst this will be my first playing these two games, i did have and did play the Game Boy Color version of The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX.

I remember how good The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX looked back in the day, but what surprised me was how good The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages looked on my TV screen. The music was great, too. i was taken aback by how nostalgic it felt and there was a wave of awe that a game from a console i loved playing looked so great and felt so good in this modern era.

But again, the disadvantage of this system is that there are no game manuals. as a kid, i would've read the manual and learnt about the games. So it's a little embarrassing how long i thought the game was auto saving. the game does have in-game help and a tutorial of sorts, via statues, but in this period manuals were also a tutorial for the game and even offered back story. so it did feel like i was missing some of the game.

What i played was enjoyable. remember, i went in wondering how this story would be told and whether it would feel like a story or part of a story. From the first hour i spent with it, it did feel like it's own story. i saw a couple of hooks for The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons, but they never felt like they were gate keeping the story.

The pacing was decent with navigating the world the only thing slowing me down. i did find a few of the character names surprisingly boring and i do wonder what ever happened to Ralph!

If you have Nintendo Switch Online, i do recommend The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages. it doesn't really feel old, it looks amazing big on a TV, and the soundtrack still holds up. Plus, with the Switch version you're able to save and rewind which makes it even easier to play.

Demo Play Thursday - The Land Beneath Us On Switch

For this week's Demo Play Thursday i played the Nintendo Switch version of The Land Beneath Us, developed by FairPlay Studios and published by Dear Villagers.

This demo is another that i chose to play because the screenshots on the #eShop page look cool. But i didn't read what the game was actually about before i played it so i was a little surprised that it was a Rouge Like. It doesn't reveal that it's a demo when you start, but it did have some cool music and story that got me hooked and wanting to play.

After an interesting introduction, we're dropped into a tutorial world that does a great job explaining what's happening and often has pictures. I feel like gifs or short videos would've been even more helpful. But after that we're dropped into the world and the difficulty is evident from the start. I feel like the tutorial does a poor job in setting what our expectation should be for the initial difficulty, but that could also be true to for the game itself as it's initial level(s) could be smaller and act as putting the tutorial into actual practice.

It's never made clear in this demo how long it actually is. I think i found out it's just the first task of completing Llosgi but i'm not sure as i think the demo broke and let me continue back to the main room without the reward i should've got. I should've been able to take that reward and upgrade my character, but when i went to do so i didn't have the item i got from beating the boss. I'm thinking i'm not supposed to see this and rather it's more that the demo broke.

To get to the boss, you have to travel to stages across the level. we have some choice by choosing a teleporter to take us from one stage to another stage. But i forgot from the tutorial and the game doesn't seem to remind us again so i had to try and learn as i went. 

This Rouge Like has a couple of mechanics in play. when you play, you're collecting gold that can be used across this run and at shops and item chests in the stages and you're collecting souls that are kept when you die and that can be used to upgrade your soul tech. But upgrading via soul tech never really felt like it did much. numbers increased, but in the actual game i didn't feel a benefit from it. especially compared to the things i would loot or could buy. This made playing the game feel more random and luck based than perhaps was the intention. i mention it in the video that it wasn't satisfising to beat the boss because i felt like i did it because i got lucky in getting epic items rather than because i had been levelling up and improving. 

Unfortunately for The Land Beneath Us, this demo has made the gameplay feel luck based rather than skill based and that's something i'm not looking for in a Rouge Like. Rouge Legacy 2 is example where the things i bring back when i die are used to improve my skills and my abilities and i feel it in game. the random luck element of that game is our character's class and skills. But because of our levelling up, even these feel like they get better. But crucially, those random elements have pluses and minuses about them and they're easily understood by the player so each run may not beat the game but each run has it's own uses. But because The Land Beneath Us is soo random and luck based, a couple of the runs i had felt like a waste of time. especially when the cost of upgrades ramps up quickly and yet i don't feel any benefit from them.

The Land Beneath Us has some great graphics and music and ideas. But the gameplay doesn't quite match that level of quality. it feels like it needs rebalancing at a minimum. As the game isn't out, i would still recommend playing the demo as whilst it's not the Rouge Like i'm looking for, maybe it's one you'll enjoy as there are some great aspects of the game.

Backlog Conquering - Kamiko On Switch - From Start to Finish

This is my playthrough of the Nintendo Switch version of Kamiko from start to finish. i cutout my deaths but, due to editing difficulties, left in backtracking and mistakes. There is no commentary in this video so please enjoy the amazing soundtrack.

Part 1: https://youtu.be/4bmi0nwJzzo
Part 2: https://youtu.be/cXD9PhFPtnQ

Switch Funday - R.C. Pro-Am - My First Time

Welcome to Switch Funday!

For today's game i wanted to try out the NES game R.C. Pro-Am from Rare. This was a recent addition to the service and a game i've heard many people talk about for a long time now. I was quite eager to give it a go, but i didn't really know how it will play. I've got experience playing top down racers like Micro Machines and behind the car racers like Moncao GP, both games on the SEGA Mega Drive. But this was a side on isometric game with graphics that surprised me.

R.C. Pro-Am is a fairly early NES game so i was surprised by how good it looked. sure, there are few cars on track and not all the screen is used, but what is on screen is very clear. The only issue i had was that i felt like the controls weren't as tight enough for how narrow the tracks were.

On real highlight was the soundtrack to the game, all the music i heard was fantastic and i really enjoyed listening to it. I was caught of guard by the game going straight into racing. i imagine the game's manual would've explained things a bit more as i had to learn whilst playing. Early on, i didn't know that i had weapons, but once i learned there are weapons i fully enjoyed using the rockets.

I hope the sequel, R.C. Pro-Am II, comes to the service as i imagine it's a more refined and impressive game than this was. But R.C. Pro-Am is well worth trying, there are a lot of positives and using the #Switch save state feature means you don't have to worry about starting from the beginning. Tho i kept doing that as i felt like i was learning each time i tried again.

Online Saturday - Tetris 99 - 39th Maximus Cup - Princess Peach: Showtime!

This weekend there is the 39th maximus cup in Tetris 99. the prize this cup is a Princess Peach: Showtime! theme. It has been a while since the last Maximus Cup but as the game was updated recently to 2.4.0 i suspected that Princess Peach might be coming, my guess is that the 40th cup will be Paper Mario. 

As it has been a long time, the first game was over quickly. i really felt rusty. but the second game went much better, it was actually my best game today! My worst was the final game where i was the first one knocked out! it seemed like there was a mistake in every game. sometimes i could recover, but other times it would be coupled with being attacked by many others i would lose really quickly.

How did it go for you? let me know in the comments. If you got the win, Congratulations! My best this week was 10th.

Demo Play Thursday - Pepper Grinder On Switch

For this week's Demo Play Thursday i played the Nintendo Switch version of Pepper Grinder, developed by Ahr Ech and published by Devolver Digital.

This game had gotten some positive attention and i had heard many people talking about it on podcasts i listen to. So i came into this quite positive and it makes a great first impression with big music and an evocative image of a skull and a drill. But as i played this demo, the first impressions that this game gives didn't really match with the gameplay. In the video i call it lo-fi beats to play games to, whereas the music at the intro screen is anything but lo-fi.

There's no doubting the visuals of this game. throughout it looks amazing with not only high quality pixel art but also high quality animations. the life in the world is moving and there's energy to it. And yet, the music feels much slower. this is in contrast to the drill we use as that can drag us quite quickly, but the levels that we played in this demo seemed built around a slower pace. Even tho this demo is 3 levels, this mix was confusing and noticeable playing it.

For me, the overwhelming feeling i got from this demo was that the game's quite shallow. the gameplay didn't match the visuals, the level design didn't match the controls, and who knows what we're actually doing and why 'cause there's no story whatsoever. each level is packed with many new ideas on how to use the drill that it feels like the game's being front loaded, leaving me feeling overwhelmed trying to use a drill that controls however it feels in all new scenarios and wondering if by the end are the levels going to be too packed with everything the devs thought of or just repetitive and boring as it's all be shown so far.

In this demo, and i imagine the game too, i wanted shorter levels that dealt with each new mechanic one or two at a time. so i could get used to how the drill controls, so i could get used to the level design, or simply so the game could've spent a little time on story and tutorial. As it is, i came away from this demo frustrated and i didn't enjoy my time with it. Oh, this demo ends very abruptly, so much so that i called it out for being rude.

It's not a great demo, to the point where i wonder if it's actually negative to the game, whether its a fair representation of said game or not. Pepper Grinder isn't for me and not only do i not recommend the demo but i don't really recommend the game either.

Backlog Conquering - Kamiko On Switch - Part 2 - The Next Two Stages And Final Boss

This is part 2, the final part, of playing the Nintendo Switch version of Kamiko, from developers SKIPMORE, as part of Backlog Conquering. 

I was a bit surprised that i finished the game in this part. I was enjoying going to each of the different locations and fighting against their unique enemies and boss. But, by the end of this video i was getting a bit frustrated with the respawning enemies. I talked about it in the first part, https://youtu.be/4bmi0nwJzzo, and i do understand why they respawn, the blue orbs they release are currency for a special attack and opening stuff, but it doesn't stop it being frustrating.

The option is there to try to beat the game with two other characters. each plays differently and my guess is in doing so we would unlock the special menu labeled ?????. But for me, playing through the game once is enough. i did enjoy the art, music, and designs. but i don't want to play again with the respawning enemies and the feeling that luck is needed rather than skill.

But with this game taking less then 2 hours, i think it's a good length. i had frustrations, but i wasn't ready to stop playing. i think if it was longer, then maybe things would've added up and i might've stopped playing. but at 4 locations and a final boss, it's a great length. So i would recommend Kamiko as there's plenty to enjoy. just know that it can get frustrating. but it's ok to put it down and come back later as you're likely to finish the game.

Switch Funday - Splatoon 3 - March's Weekend Splatfest Tricolor - 15 Battles 5 Wins!

Welcome to Switch Funday.

It's day two of March's Splatfest weekend so today's video focuses on the Tricolor game mode in Splatoon 3. 

Unfortunately, the headline of disconnects and long waits matchmaking continued into Sunday. this video took nearly 1 hour 40 to record, so even longer than yesterdays! There was only one game disconnect but what was surprising were the two back to back lobby disconnects which meant from match 13 to match 14 was a 10 minute wait! (tho i say 5 in the video it was purely a guess)

The three weapons i used today weren't new, they were familiar to me. I started with the Recycled Brella 24 Mk 1, then switched to the Foil Flingza Roller when i realised my teammates still weren't inking, and finished with the Bloblobber as it's one of my favorites and i wanted to have some fun for the final 5 matches.

Online Saturday - Splatoon 3 - March’s Weekend Splatfest – 15 Battles 3 Wins!

Welcome to Online Saturday.

It's a Splatfest weekend so today's video is on the "'Which instrument would you play?' Drums, Guitar, or Keyboard?" Splatfest in Splatoon 3. I chose to join teamkeyboard.

This wasn't a successful Splatfest for me. i tried out 3 weapons i had bought after my last #Turfwar video, https://youtu.be/AAbH0XWU2jc, using each for 5 games. The Clash Blaster Neo worked well as a shotgun style weapon and i got quite a few splats with it. The Range Blaster wasn't great as it took too long to shoot and could track enemies quick enough. the Splattershot was my favorite out of the 3 i used and was a decent fit for Splatfest. Another reason why i got so few wins was because my teammates didn't know how to play the game. the goal of Turfwar is to ink the most. but in many games i would be splatted and get a look at the map and just sigh with how little of it was inked, especially our home area. the first two weapons i used were not great at inking, they're better at attacking. it's frustrating that my teammates could see the situation and just keep on attacking.

My recording for this video is 1 hour 37 minutes. it's soo long because the matchmaking was much longer than normal. typically, it's 30 seconds or under but today the matchmaking was a long as 3 minutes. i also had 4 games that were abandoned due to disconnections as well as a lobby that was stopped due to a disconnection. This was the latest 7.10 version of the game, but the last few Splatfests have all suffered from longer matchmaking times. it'll be interesting if tomorrows Tricolor mode will have the same issues. 

Demo Play Thursday - UNABLES On Switch

For this week's Demo Play Thursday i played the Nintendo Switch game UNABLES, developed for consoles by Forever Entertainment.

From the eShop page, i mostly knew how this was going to work. It reminded me of puzzle games back in the PS3 era, in a good way. I wanted to play the demo as i was curious just how well it would actually control.

There are two ways to control the game, the default is via the analogue sticks and there's an optional gyroscope (motion controls) mode. i stuck with the default but there were no options to finely tune them. with motion controls, you can tune the sensitivity. but there's nothing for the default. i personally found them to be too sensitive and not offering fine controls. the first couple of stages can be a bit of a blur because of how fast the camera is moving and swinging around the stage.

I can imagine it'll get easier with time, but this demo only offered 3 stages. each one awards stars for completing tasks in each level. I'm not a fan of these sort of games, gatekeeping the game behind ability seems like a waste of game. especially when you get stuck like i did. i couldn't do the final stage of the demo. i did enjoy the other two, but if i'm getting stuck so early on i worry that i won't be able to complete the first set of levels as i wouldn't get enough stars. there doesn't seem to be a way to play the locked levels in easy mode either. so if i can't progress and i can't play them in easy mode, my guess would be i'd stop playing. Even the demo locked the second and third stages behind star requirements!

Each of the three stages looked very different from each other and what we had to do in them were very different. in the first stage, our goal was to interact with the environment in very simple ways. but in the second stage we  had to interact with our opponent and the referee. The third stage was the most difficult as we had to manipulate a victim across their crime scene. The problem i had more than once was that if the victim gets to their chalk outline, nothing else interacts with them. but i still had a tommy gun and no idea what to do with it. the level didn't finish until i told it to or until the time ran out.

But that incident highlighted that this is a tough puzzle game. there is no hint system and seemingly there is a correct order to solves the puzzles in. I enjoyed the idea behind it but i wanted to play this casually. the ramp up in puzzle difficulty was far too steep even for this demo. i appreciate the creativeness and ideas in each level, but it does feel like difficulty became even more difficult for them to manage. after playing the demo i feel like i wouldn't be able to progress and i would get frustrated that level design got in the way of the puzzle.

UNABLES is a great looking game and i did enjoy the music. i recommend people try out the demo, it does a good job of getting the puzzle ideas across and what is possible. But as for the getting the game, i could only recommend it for those who like a challenging puzzle game and play for that challenge and not for those who play puzzle games casually.

Backlog Conquering - Kamiko On Switch - Part 1 - The First Two Stages

This is part 1 of playing the Nintendo Switch version of Kamiko, from developers SKIPMORE, as part of Backlog Conquering. 

I decided to move on from Teslagrad as i just wasn't enjoying the experience. I'm glad i did as this video on Kamiko was much more enjoyable. This is a game i've had for a long time. i remember hearing about it on a podcast where they highlighted the excellent soundtrack and that it can be beaten before the battery on the Switch dies. But since then, all i remember doing is starting the game, enjoying the soundtrack, closing the game whilst i looked for the soundtrack, and i don't think i ever came back to it.

For this series, i've started a new save file rather than use the existing one. I would've preferred a bit more of a tutorial, but as it only uses two buttons it didn't take long to work it out so it's not that bad. The only other thing i would've liked is a map, but again as the stages aren't too big it wasn't much of an issue as it didn't take long to sort myself out.

It's clear that Kamiko isn't designed to be a challenge. It may stop and make you think for a bit, but often you'll be fine. It does mean that when you do get stuck, it is a little frustrating as you feel like it should be easier than you're making it look.

The music is definitely a highlight, but i also do enjoy the art style. They're using a 8/16 bit esthetic very smartly. all the enemies are distinct, the world is clear and easy to navigate, and each of the two stages i've played so far looked different from each other and yet familiar enough to feel cohesive as a game world.

I look forward to part 2 of playing Kamiko as i had a lot of fun with Part 1.

Switch Funday - Mario Tennis - My First Time Playing This Super Hard Game That I Couldn't Beat

Welcome to Switch Funday!

For today's game i wanted to try out the Game Boy Color game Mario Tennis. I've always wanted an arcadey tennis game that's more on the casual side and i initially went into this thinking it would be one of those games with popular #Mario characters, but right at the beginning i realized that Mario Tennis is not like that.

Even tho i had a Game Boy Color, i had the purple one, i never looked at the Mario sports games on them. i was more into Pokémon, racing, Loony Toons,  and platformers. I knew of them, but never bothered trying them. i kept thinking i would play these sort of games on the GameCube. So i was really surprised as to what this game actually is.

And what it is is a super hard tennis game that i couldn't beat. i couldn't even beat the tutorial practice stages! I can't believe how difficult it is. it's like the "Dark Souls" of tennis games. the tutorial practice stages offer no hints how to play and when you fail it's the same canned response. playing against other players is also a very long battle against a CPU that seems to want to win even tho it's a practice game.

Mario Tennis is a Game Boy Color game and yet it feels built around a console experience. it's surprising that a handheld game would have such a long introduction and such long tennis matches without even mentioning if there are manual saves, auto saves, or even how to do it. When i found the save function under "Start" the only thing i could do was save and quit. i couldn't seem to find a save and continue function.

the two highlights for Mario Tennis are the graphics, except for the characters as there seems to be no design language as everyone looks different, and the music. Even the minigames weren't fun and that's what i ended the video with. Mario Tennis is the Dark Souls of tennis games and not one i would recommend to anyone other than people really into tennis and Dark Souls, if such a Venn Diagram exists. 

Online Saturday - Splatoon 3 - Feeling Sick So Here's 15 Games Of Turf War Where I Try 3 Weapons

Welcome to Online Saturday.

I'm not feeling well today and wanted to relax with some gaming. i chose Splatoon 3 as it's a favorite of mine. There won't be any commentary, other than an intro and outro, as i wasn't feeling great and wanted to just relax. But after 15 games it was time to put it down as it started to be anything but relaxing as i was getting far too into it!

I used this time to try out 3 weapons. The Recycled Brella 24 Mk 1 came out with the 7.0.0 Patch and i was eager to try it as i like using Brella weapons. i had fun with it and will probably use it a lot going forward. i just don't like the Angle Shooter and Big Bubbler it comes with. I didn't enjoy the Foil Flingza Roller as much when attacking with it, but for inking it was very impressive and i managed to get some splats with it's Suction Bomb. The Nautilus 47 is a style of weapon i rarely use outside of #SalmonRun so i used it more out of curiosity than anything else. it did allow me to be more attacking and i got more splats with it than the other two combined. it's not bad so i may look at the other Nautilus variants to see if there's one a better fit for how i like to play.

Switch Funday - Splatoon 3 - March's Big Run Event

Welcome to Switch Funday

This weekend is March's Big Run Event in Splatoon 3. The event takes place on the Eeltail Alley map. 

My goals during a Big Run event are to get this month's Salmon Run item twice, get 1,000 points, and try to get the bronze award. so far, getting the item twice and 1,000 points hasn't been an issue. It's getting the bronze award for eggs collected that's been a big challenge. This month's item is the SplatJack 5000 and i got that in my first Big Run match as my time and I got a good 70 eggs collected. 1,000 Points was also easy to reach as we only lost 2 of the 7 games we played today. And i can say that for the first time, i got a Bonze Award!

Demo Play Thursday - Princess Peach: Showtime! On Switch

For this week's Demo Play Thursday i played the Nintendo Switch game Princess Peach: Showtime!, developed by Good-Feel and Nintendo.

This demo starts immediately, and so does this video, with an introduction cut scene that helps get the game to where everything takes place. once finished, your able to move around and talk to everyone. once you do, then the game starts. In this demo we get 2 stages, 1 acts as the tutorial and lets us use the Swordfighter costume and the other introduces a different game style and the Patisserie costume.

It's surprising how poor the game's tutorial is. it doesn't "hold your hand" nor take you step by step how everything is done. instead, the characters in the background are often saying things to hint as to what you should be doing. For greater help, sometimes on the bottom right of the screen a "Controls" prompt appears and pressing X will pause the game and give you more indepth information about how things work. As this is a demo, i kinda expected that to be on as default, especially for the first stage of the game. The controls aren't complicated, but there are other interactions in the game world that might be missed. But even this section isn't perfect. it told me about a dodge and counterattack system in the game but not how it works or the timing for it. Princess Peach: Showtime! is similar to  Mario vs. Donkey Kong, https://youtu.be/aHf200xu5EM, in being surprisingly less accessible than expected.

But i would recommend the demo because i enjoyed my time with Princess Peach: Showtime! to the point that i actually wish-listed it and wouldn't mind getting it. at first glance, everything seems so simple. that includes the art, the graphics, the controls, and even the story. But as i played, it was easy to notice a lot of the finer details in the art, to appreciate the bold colorful graphics, to play in two completely different costumes each with completely different controls and play styles, and to understand that there are many more costumes and stages to play. I got the impression after playing this demo that Princess Peach: Showtime! is a beatable game, one that's neither too difficult or too easy, and one that has enough variety to keep me interested from start to finish.

As for the story, we don't really get much of a hint how it'll go. what's in the demo is simple and perhaps that'll be the case throughout. it's possible gameplay and mechanics will help make up for an average story, if it is indeed average. It reminds me of the Cat Quest series. i have platinumed both games, had a fun time with the different mechanics, characters, and places we visit. but i wouldn't say their stories are the best ever. but playing them, like playing this demo of Princess Peach: Showtime!, was enjoyable.

Oh, when you finish the demo there is a gameplay trailer. A downside to the demo is that whilst we often see it saving, there's no mention if our save is carried over to the main game.

Switch Funday - Pokémon Unite - 6 Matches From March's Panic Parade

Panic Parade is back so for Switch Funday i had to play it and start levelling up my stats. As everything has been reset from the previous Panic Parade, these 6 matches are a little slow and show me progressing up the difficulty rankings as i reach certain Wave targets. 

Online Saturday - Pokémon Unite - March’s Unite Weekend

Today's Online Saturday video is on Pokémon Unite. This is the first full weekend of March so it's a Unite Weekend. this means i'm able to use any Pokémon i want in the unranked online modes. my goal with these weekends is to try out several new Pokémon i don't have and hopefully find some new favorites. 

This might be the last of these videos for a while as i only have 2 Pokémon who i haven't played as. For today, the real surprise was Gyarados. i had a lot of fun using it. as Magikarp, it's not very powerful but once it evolved it dominated. it honestly feels a little broken and will probably be rebalanced, either as Gyarados or perhaps making you use Magikarp for a couple more levels. I didn't enjoy playing as Mew or Gengar, they were a bit too frail for how i like to play and Gengar in particular didn't seem to hit as hard as i expected it would. Zacian and Urshifu were strong as you'd expect for legendries and i had some fun with them. It was kinda more fun to play as Metagross's previous evolutions as they moved much quicker than it did. but overall it was fine to use. Out of all of these, there wasn't a Pokémon that stood out as a must buy.