I keep almost pulling the trigger on Katana Zero. It looks right up my alley.

I loved skyward sword a lot. I think peoples' enjoyment of the game came down to if they enjoyed the motion controls or not.

They made the game for me. It had a level of immersion no game had before.

Considering Samus Returns is easily one of the best Metroid games ever made, improving on what Super Metroid did before it, there's a very good chance this game might be the best in the franchise.

Same director and team.

The new PS5 controller looks really nice

I just wish they'd switch the left analogue with the d pad placement. The current playstation design is a remnant of when they tacked on analogue sticks to the bottom of the psone controller.

I'll probably dabble in the following here and there

Replaying Metroid Samus Returns (3DS)

Guilty Gear Strive (PC)

Sea of Thieves with friends (PC)

For a game released this your, I probably gave to go with Metroid Dread. It's likely to be the best game I play all year.

But that comes out in October. There's only 3 months left in 2021 at that point.

I'd have to say, from what I've heard, it's so far away from the kind of game I could enjoy that I stayed far away from it.

It sounds excessively annoying to play due to the sheer quantity of cutscenes.

It depends on what you want to focus on in a game

You could just as easily say that Sony's first party need better interactivity, creativity, and design. Instead they tend to lean towards a balancing act between those things and movie style production. Which is fine.

Sometimes story can limit what is allowed on the gameplay front ad vice versa.

Having said that, I personally think the strongest style of story telling in this medium is the Metroid/Souls/Breath of the Wild style. They allow for strong interactivity and design yet the story is there if you want to look for it. It's more subtle and rewards exploration for those that are interested in the backstory/context of the world they're in.

I also have to say that Nintendo more consistently wows me with their games even now, due to their tight, creative game design. Breath of the Wild is a prime example of them pushing a genre forward that's been stagnant for years.

Did you play Samus returns? It's a huge return to form for Metroid and a huge fan favourite. I personally count it right alongside Super Metroid and Metroid Prime as the best in the series. It's a shame it sold poorly. I struggle to think of another 3DS game half as strong as that one.

It's super nice to see that Dread is topping the charts. Judging by Samus Returns' pristine quality and understanding of what makes Metroid such a strong franchise, I have a lot of faith in what Sakamoto and Mercury Steam's second stab at the franchise holds in store for us.

I love Sucker Punch and I love Samurai movies, but for whatever reason I have trouble sticking to this game for more than a few days at a time. All of Sucker punch's previous titles kept me engaged the entire way through.

I'm playing on the hard difficulty, but it's currently too much of a breeze after all the upgrades I've earned. I think the game felt more authentic and engaging when every encounter was a life or death situation.