What We Played #317 – Shadow Tactics, Splatoon 2 & Patapon Remastered

There’s been a clear dilemma in our household this week. One which has taken a lot of soul searching and wringing of hands. I’ve asked my wife, I’ve asked our children, I’ve asked my friends, but still there’s no clear answer, so I turn to you, our trusted readers. Do I buy a New 2DS XL?

Just for a smidgen of context, I’ve owned at least one of every single handheld console Nintendo have ever made. All of the incremental updates, from Pockets to SPs, even sometimes swapping out for a differently coloured special edition – my current Monster Hunter flavoured New 3DS XL still doesn’t quite match up to my Groudon Gameboy Advance SP. So it feels strange that this is even a question.

Part of me almost instinctively wants the New 2DS XL, and there’s a general consensus that this is a lovely update, but this time, more than ever, it feels as though Nintendo have missed the boat – for me at least. In the past these updates generally added something meaningful; clamshells, lit screens, a smaller form factor, but this time what we’ve got is the removal of the headline – but slightly useless in practice – 3D feature, and a refined design. For the first time it doesn’t really speak to me, and while for anyone else who’s yet to get onboard with the dual-screen phenomenon it’s clearly a very nice product, I really – really – don’t need it.

The other elephant in the room is obviously the Switch. It’s fantastic, and that’s the console that now mostly sits on my bedside table ready to play, in a spot that’s been inhabited by a 3DS for many years. While there’s a legion of new software incoming for the Switch that I can’t wait to play, the upcoming Monster Hunter Stories is likely the last 3DS experience I’m really looking forward to, and I’ve already got a console to play it on.

Well, thank-you for that, helpful readers, I’ve talked myself out of a New 2DS XL. Until I see one in a shop obviously.

Besides pondering about consoles I don’t need, this week I’ve been playing Cars 3: Driven To Win with my son, Splatoon 2, Final Fantasy XII, Final Fantasy XIV, Fortnite and Patapon Remastered which I’ll have a review of after the weekend.

Aran was first up this week who played Sundered for review. It boasts great presentation let down by really frustrating issues. He also played through Rime which was a much calmer experience and is a potential soundtrack of the year candidate. Tuffcub meanwhile played The Long Dark (with not one, but two reviews incoming), as well as Graceful Explosion Machine (also for review). He then played Titanfall 2 thanks to the new DLC, and Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare which is apparently very loud, slightly generic and reminded him of Killzone.

Kris played PPKP on iOS, which is a two button, side on beat-’em-up that works surprisingly well. Very combo heavy, good fun. He thinks he’s nearly finished it, but will have to see what happens when he beats the boss he’s on! Dave meanwhile has played Namco Museum for Switch, some more Devilish Brain Training, Tacoma, a tiny bit of Halcyon 6’s new edition, and most recently Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice.

Jim has had a busy week;

Quite a few different games, mostly to review. Spent a fair chunk of time with the fab Shadow Tactics before moving onto the fairly disappointing Smashbox Arena for PlayStation VR. There was some Masquerada: Songs and Shadows in there too though, after hitting a lull, I think I’m done with that for now.

For Honor featured heavily again. With Ubisoft increased the renown cap from 20 to 40, I’m desperately trying to level up my Lawbringer so I can get my last grind-related trophy without needing to do more legwork.

WipEout has also been cropping up every now and then. In truth, I’ve never had time for the series but decided to take a chance on the Omega Collection. While I’m still not very good, I’m certainly getting better!

Jake has been playing Yooka-Laylee and enjoying it much more than he did a few months ago. The second half of the game is seemingly much better than the first part. Aside from that, he’s been playing Death Squared in co-op on the Switch, which is good so far! Miguel has started playing Muramasa on Vita during his commute, and “been lovin’ it”. He’s also put some time into the AMAZING – his capitals not mine – new Titanfall 2 co-op dlc with his friends. Steve meanwhile has made a few runs at Enter the Gungeon and is slowly getting better, while also playing through Persona 4 Golden on Vita ready for a week away.

It’s been more of Splatoon 2 for Tef this week, gearing up for this weekend’s Splatfest, while he also delved into Overcooked on Switch and got in a couple rounds of Overwatch. That’s all in addition to sharing his thoughts on Life Is Strange: Before The Storm and running and re-running benchmarks for our first laptop review with the Alienware 13 R3 and it’s lovely, lovely OLED screen.

So that’s us, what have you played this week?