General gaming discussion

Potential-Monke · 21-07-2025 12:21PM

Bananza is the first Switch game in a very long time thats made me want to get a Switch. I never did get one, but I'd love a lash of Bananza. But not a €600+ lash... i did get to play Odyssey a few months ago, and while good, o don't get the mind blowing reviews it got. It was another 3d Mario doing 3D Mario things, but with a cap that gives a few extra powers/odd level based on that power, but honestly, it felt like a modern version of a Mario game I've played already, even down to how the levels unlock in a similar fashion to SMB3 and nearly every Mario since. I was expecting to yo blow my mind, but it didn't hold a candle to Astrobot imo, which was sheer joy from start to finish. Queue angry Nintendo fans telling me how wrong I am.

Same with Bananza, it looks amazing but not €600+ amazing. But sure, it has a but back catalogue of games to play too, including the 8 year old BOTW which is only €79.99... i still dont understand why Greedtendo get away with things other publishers would be hung for... i would pick one up down the line but they won't go on sale and I refuse to pay full price for old stuff, so that'll probably never happen. Best Nintendo could do for to get me is a docked only €250 console and a Sub service akin to PS+/GP. Which won't happen. Guess it'll be another gen of Nintendo I'll go without.

recyclops · 21-07-2025 12:47PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123656268#Comment_123656268

Your not wrong you just played them backwards is all, Astrobot is a stellar game but does very little new and nothing better really, its why Astro felt so fresh as very little on PS came close, sure even the jump hover mechanic was a copy of the Mario sunshine jump hover with jets. But Astro was a joy to play just not mindblowing.

Bananza is just getting better and better as I progress, especially with level design, first few were smashy smashy mainly, now the gems and fossils are getting more clever.

I think Nintendo get away with it because of quality and nobody really gets close to wait they do when they are on top form and its to their credit that people still lap up their games at full whack years later.

SuperBowserWorld · 21-07-2025 01:04PM

If I remember Astro has a limited move set and physics compared to Mario. For example, he can't wall jump, triple jump, long jump, or do combinations of those. Mario could do all those things in Mario 64 (years ago). And he just feels more joyous and fun to move. E.g. climbing up a tree and swirling back down again. Running around in circles. Bouncing off things. He's got better physics and animation polish.

Astro is a bit lifeless, stiff and just not as endearing as Mario or Donkey Kong. He is a robot after all.

SuperBowserWorld · 21-07-2025 01:32PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123656268#Comment_123656268

I want a home console version only. No joycons, no screens, no docking shenanigans. Just a brick to plug into the TV, like a Series S. I can use an existing pro controller. They could do that for 199 I bet.

Nintendo could also take all the returned consoles with dead pixels and broken screens and sell them as "docked" only consoles at a discount. But their version of a discount would be 9.99. 😁

If I can hold off (yeah right), I might see if I can get a cheap second hand Switch 2 with a broken screen.

Retr0gamer · 21-07-2025 01:34PM

Yep Astrobot really does have a lot of Mario 3D Land/World as well as Odyssey in its DNA, as well as some Sunshine for its mechanics. Nothing wrong with that though, it's good people on Sony are taking lessons from Nintendo and building from it. What I didn't like were the bot and their references to other games, it was very Ready Player One, but again can't complain because Astrobot when astrobot did have takes on PlayStation classic they were quite inspired.

And I'm definitely not **** on Astrobot, every game builds on other games and as much as I love DK I'd rank Astrobot as the better game.

Penn · 21-07-2025 01:45PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123656401#Comment_123656401

Astro relies more on the power-ups/abilities he gets in certain levels, which are then used to provide variety, different moves, puzzles etc. Same way Mario used Cappy in Odyssey, though not to the same extent.

I think most of the appeal of Astro comes not just from Astro himself, but all the bots, and the incorporation of PS history (both characters and the hardware itself). It really leans into nostalgia for the charm factor, possibly too much at times and I'm sure unless you're 40 you won't get a lot of the references/bots etc, but they're still a lot of fun. I'd rank Odyssey as the better game, but I had more fun with AstroBot.

jj880 · 21-07-2025 02:15PM

Biggest gaming regret is selling PSVR + Astro Bot Rescue Mission. Played nearly all the Marios (havent played Wonder) and they're excellent but never had as much fun or WOW feeling as first play of Rescue Mission.

https://youtu.be/ZBB6QD0OZvU

Haunted Graveyard and Feed Willy levels just as good.

Will get a Switch 2 when a new Mario / Zelda arrives. Donkey Kong looks great.

Retr0gamer · 21-07-2025 02:17PM

Might be a while before we get a new Mario. We might get one from the Wonder team but it took EPD 8 years to make Bananza, I'd say we might see something from them at the end of the switch 2's life.

jj880 · 21-07-2025 02:31PM

Trying to think what else would tempt me to Switch 2 in the meantime. Never got into Metroid. Im envious of anyone playing BOTW + TOTK for the first time with the upgrades. Maybe something else will come along...

johnny_ultimate · 21-07-2025 02:40PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123656658#Comment_123656658

I think it’s highly likely another team is working on a new Mario. It seems they had quite a bit of fresh talent for Bananza (one of the directors only joined Nintendo from Square Enix in 2020) and a lot of the senior Odyssey staff weren’t heavily involved in this. So every possibility they have another team cooking up a Mario game. Seems very likely to me, as it’s pretty much a prerequisite for Nintendo hardware to have a new 3D Mario. I’d imagine a new major Zelda game is at least a few years off too so they will certainly have to have some blockbuster titles ready for 2026 and beyond.

SuperBowserWorld · 21-07-2025 02:40PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123656554#Comment_123656554

Yep, the power ups are a lot of fun.

PS5 was my first PlayStation, so I get zero nostalgia kick. I don't even appreciate this kind of thing in games anyway. It feels like product placement and takes me out of the game.

Penn · 21-07-2025 02:48PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123656740#Comment_123656740

That's fair. I think it worked really well in Astro's Playroom which was free with the PS5, because it was really about celebrating the new console and the history of Playstation, as well as demonstrating new features, the Dualsense etc.

It was a bit overdone in AstroBot, but I think it's just part of the brand of AstroBot now and hard to put that genie back in the bottle. It would be hard to have a sequel to AstroBot and not have so many themed bots, though they are essentially just their version of Stars in Odyssey; a collectible for an extra challenge.

johnny_ultimate · 21-07-2025 03:13PM

I do love Astro Bot, but the three games do all adhere to a very similar format. There’s variety thanks to the powers mainly, but there was a hint of formula setting in with Astro Bot (2024) that it would be nice to see shaken up with the next game that team makes.

Look at Super Mario Galaxy and Odyssey, in comparison, and they’re pretty wildly different games from each other - and to that you can add something like Bananza which is a much scrappier, more experimental beast again, even with some familiar structural and genre trappings. I think Team Asobi has the skills - an Astro Bot with more ambition and a willingness to shake up the formula could be really special.

Zero-Cool · 21-07-2025 03:59PM

A random let's play of Outer Wilds popped up on my YouTube recommended page, some English lass, absolutely brilliant to watch her figure stuff out and encounter things like entering giants deep for the first time. I have cleared the game multiple times and watched even more let's plays and it never gets boring watching people make these discoveries for the first time. Bold statement but it and the expansion might be the best game ever made.

Retr0gamer · 21-07-2025 04:09PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123656705#Comment_123656705

You need to get into Metroid.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123656984#Comment_123656984

No controversy there. There's a good argument to be made for it.

Penn · 21-07-2025 04:44PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123656984#Comment_123656984

I'm lucky that I think I'm nearly far enough removed from my playthrough of it that I could mostly go into it fresh and re-experience it again. I remember the core concept of most of the planets, but not a lot of the how and where.

Going on holiday later in the year. It's one of the frontrunners for flight/hotel steamdeck play.

Potential-Monke · 21-07-2025 06:02PM

Well I'm 42 and a bit of a PS ~~fanboy~~ fanman (is that worse?!), so what Astro did in all the games got me right in the feels, nearly cried with nostalgic joy at the end level of the most recent game, brought me right back to my day 1 of the original PlayStation. And they have set up the massive potential of Astrobot themed versions of PS games. I would give all the money for a Bot of War. Or just one giant game themed game, just loads of those special levels in the last one. I think I was genuinely smiling for every second of that game. Can't say that about many, if any, others. But again, each to their own. I still wanna play Bananza.

CastorTroy · 21-07-2025 08:12PM

I'll just take Astro and Odyssey and be happy. Not going to say which was better as both were great so it doesn't matter. Still need to get Bananza.

What I never understand though is when people complain about Mario by saying "Another Mario game. Can they not do anything original?" With regard to seeing a new 3d Mario being announced.

recyclops · 21-07-2025 09:39PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123657363#Comment_123657363

Tbf lego have showed it works for bigger games not just levels but they pretty much have that themed jokey genre cornered.

Lego Jurassic Park is A1

Retr0gamer · 22-07-2025 06:52AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123657609#Comment_123657609

Yep it kind of shows someone hasn't played any Mario games considering how wildly different and inventive Mario has been. The New SMB games were a little stagnant but the 3D games in particular have been a series of fresh new ideas for the most part and there's no way you could claim Nintendo were resting on their laurels. I mean even when they released an iterative sequel like Galaxy 2 it brought a lot to the table.

J. Marston · 22-07-2025 09:41AM

Cyberpunk has had a No Man's Sky-esque turnaround. It's a brilliant game these days.

It's hard to know whether to be too complimentary for cases like this. It should've been good at the start but they kept working on it to fix it so credit is deserved.

Penn · 22-07-2025 09:53AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123658639#Comment_123658639

They should definitely never be allowed to forget or be forgiven for the state the game launched in, and in many regards even with all the updates and works the game still doesn't fully live up to some of the hype and promises CDPR were advertising it as (as beautiful as the city is, it's fairly lifeless with the exception of a few select places).

But, they absolutely did put the work into getting the game up to an incredible standard and making it an amazing experience to play, with great story and set-pieces, awesome combat, and simplifying a lot of the RPG stuff to just make the game more enjoyable and easier to have fun with. The DLC on top of that is just the perfect icing on the cake.

I don't know if I'd give them as much kudos as the devs of No Man's Sky, because Hello Games got the game to where it was supposed to be and then far, far beyond even that with all the updates and new content they've produced for it. And part of me believes CDPR likely had little choice but to go full-bore at fixing the game because they may have already had so much of the work done on Phantom Liberty. But regardless of the reason, they did indeed put the work in and it really shows. I played CP2077 at launch for a little bit before giving up, and tried it again I think twice after that. But playing it earlier this year and giving it a proper go, it's a truly fantastic game and one I'll definitely replay in the future.

johnny_ultimate · 22-07-2025 09:58AM

I for one am committed to continuing to give CDPR appropriate levels of grief for the shite game they released back in 2020 😎

Retr0gamer · 22-07-2025 10:06AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123658693#Comment_123658693

Is the game still a mess on the PS4 and Xbox one?

No man's sky also had a wretched PC release. I got it at launch which coincided with me building a top of the line PC and I was getting single digit framerates. Thank God for steam refund policy.

Penn · 22-07-2025 10:21AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123658718#Comment_123658718

I think so. They did some works to improve it, reducing crowd density and stuff for better performance, but it's still prone to a lot of framerate issues and crashes. I think at some point they stopped updating/supporting the PS4/XB1 versions of the game, so they don't even get the DLC or any of the updates or game improvements since.

Penn · 22-07-2025 10:32AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123658693#Comment_123658693

Agreed. I do think Hello Games deserve more grief, because while CDPR shot for the moon and badly missed, Hello Games tried to fake the moon landing. Even in the days and weeks before release, Sean Murray was either actively lying or purposefully being coy and evasive when talking about the game, knowing what they had on their hands.

But as I said, I also think they deserve more praise because of where they've taken the game since, and the level of work they've continuously put into the game far exceeding their intial promises.

brady12 · 22-07-2025 10:56AM

https://store.steampowered.com/app/502500/ACE_COMBAT_7_SKIES_UNKNOWN?snr=1_25_4__318

Resisting

johnny_ultimate · 22-07-2025 11:02AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123658833#Comment_123658833

I’m in that rare but I don’t think solitary camp where I was quite fond of the original version of No Man’s Sky, but am less interested in all the base building and crafting they’ve added on top over the years.

Absolute credit to Hello for extreme commitment to building and building on the game - there’s a lot of people who adore the game in its expanded format. But there was a cool, eerie, vibey exploration game at the core of No Man’s Sky which seems to have been left behind with all the extra stuff they’ve added on since. The stuff that worked for me initially is not the game they’ve expanded on, whereas the stuff I wasn’t fond of has received countless updates since 2016.

ellyU · 22-07-2025 11:09AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123656653#Comment_123656653

Agreed. I do think Hello Games deserve more grief, because while CDPR shot for the moon and badly missed, Hello Games tried to fake the moon landing. Even in the days and weeks before release, Sean Murray was either actively lying or purposefully being coy and evasive when talking about the game, knowing what they had on their hands. It reminds me of how some flashy platforms like vegastarscasino-au dress everything up with bold promises — but once you're inside, you're not quite getting what was advertised. Presentation isn't the same as substance.

The new Mario is 100% reason to pick it up, but I'd like to have at least PS4 level graphics.

Retr0gamer · 22-07-2025 11:11AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123658926#Comment_123658926

If you don't buy and play it but play a Ubisoft game then I'll... I'll be very annoyed.

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