[Let’s Talk] What are you playing? – November 2017
A new month is here! We just entered November this week, so that means we want to know what you’ve been playing.
Have you started up something entirely new for the month? Are you still knee-deep with Super Mario Odyssey? Whatever the case, let us know in the comments below!
Highlights from last week’s topic: Early Super Mario Odyssey impressions
nekoknight
It’s still too early for me to give a final verdict, but from what I’ve played so far… It’s a game that’s both very familiar and very different at the same time. It’s “new” enough to feel refreshing, and “old” enough to feel nostalgic. I’m still getting use to the various control schemes that the game has to offer, that would have to be my only complaint. That, and perhaps the Power Moons; some are super easy to find while others are super difficult. In the end, I’m back at where I started – I just haven’t played enough to give a final verdict.
Mark
I’m about 50 moons in, and I love it. It starts off a little slow, as they explain a bit more, and it’s been more and more addicting as time goes on. Somewhere mid-sand kingdom I was really getting into the groove.
Two things I’d like to say. First, I’m always exclusively a handheld player due to my lifestyle- my dock is in a closet at the moment- and I’m a little sad that I don’t get to use the motion controls. I tried tabletop mode with the split joycons, and it was faster and more accurate than button presses. Spinning the cap around Mario isn’t so easy without motion controls, and there’s a bunch of times I’ve wanted to use Mario’s ‘spin attack’.
Second, it’s hitting me just how much is spoiled in the beginning stages of Odyssey. I thought that people complaining about Mario spoilers were being silly, but there’s probably only ten seconds of cutscene that I haven’t seen, either in a preview or review from a youtuber. While ‘spoiling the beginning’ might not be too big of a deal on a Square Enix or Bethesda game, that’s like half of a Mario game’s story. I think I’m going to have to go on media blackout mode mode in the future for any other anticipated game, and possibly unsubscribe to some people.
Overall, it’s a great game. As a person who *loved* Sunshine and thought it superior to Galaxy in all but voice acting (yes, we exist!), I really find this game a joy to play.
Hylianola
I love SMO. It’s a perfect blend of old and new and adapts the best of many great platformers before it, including Kirby, Banjo-Kazooie, and most dutifully, its own series. It is overwhelming how chock-full of secrets (plus within secrets), collectibles, and easter eggs the kingdoms are. It is beautiful, creative, cohesive, and oh such fun. There are a few oversights and areas of improvement, as with any handiwork of mortals, but it would be surprising if Odyssey ever fell from the gilded status of masterpiece in the public eye.
errantrazor
I’m a bit underwhelmed to be honest. It’s not the level of challenge. It’s sort of the limits to the sandboxes. There a couple of things to do in each world. Then you do them over and over and over. There are inly about 2-3 locations in each workd. Outside of a few exceptions, I don’t find the capture mechanic all that compelling. All these costumes to collect, but they’re all the same and offer absolutely no advantage. The music is forgettable.
It does put a big grin on my face every time I step into an 8-bit section.
I just finished New Donk City last evening, and the end of that definitely picked up the pace and my level of enjoyment. Hope that continues, but as of right now I enjoyed Galaxy and 3D World more.
Tlink7
Already one of my all-time favourite games after playing it for a few hours. Mario feels great to control, it isn’t story-heavy at all (I really didn’t care about Rosalina and her ilk in Galaxy), the game flows well (no breaks like in 64/SS/Galaxy), it is very pretty and I absolutely love the hundreds of tiny details that are in Odyssey 😀 some of the moons are really sneakily hidden and I still didn’t have all of them, even after what I thought was a thoroughly search of the level <3 the characters are oozing with charm as well Morian
I like that the game let you choose when and how to obtain a Moon. It’s more open and less linear than Sunshine and the Galaxys. My biggest issue it’s that I feel the world is inconsistent. I mean, I don’t feel too much immersion, the kingdoms are not connected, there is no hub, every kingdom is a floaty island, the realistic stuff feels out of place (like the T-Rex and the humans). I think 64 and Sunshine have a better sense of adventure. I’m not complaining just for the sake of it, I find this thoughts to be more useful when everyone is full of hype than just repeating the mantra of the good features.
DonSerrot
I just finished the main story today and started into the post game content and I have to say I have thoroughly enjoyed the trip this game has taken me on. No spoiler here, but the absolute best moment for me was the conclusion to New Donk City. It was like a love letter from Nintendo. I’m having a harder and harder time deciding if this or BotW is my GotY. Both games are masterpieces and Nintendo should be proud of the dev teams that worked on them.
