For the last 5 years I've been focused on my career in tertiary education administration. That, for lack of a better word, dedication has paid off, but I feel like something is missing. I've been enjoying a lot of things (books, video games, music, life) uncritically; instead using what little energy I have to write about processing the grief and anguish of losing loved ones.
It's time to start picking apart the inconsequential stuff that I love again. I don't feel whole unless I'm searching - sometimes harder than I should - for something to not love in what I love. I'm planning to write more condensed feelings on what I'm reading or playing at a given time. If you're looking for detail, you've got Google.
For the last 2 weeks I've been on holiday in Queensland enjoying some wonderful, non-media related things. My oldest friend got married. I've got another niece. Life is good. I also got to do some things that weren't playing Apex Legends, so that feels like it's worth unpacking.
Impressions of the Nintendo Switch Lite
As a fool who enjoys more disposable income than he should have access to, it was imperative that I picked up a second Nintendo Switch for my recent travels. While it is an entirely unnecessary purchase if you already have a Switch, it is well worth considering if you've been holding off and are more interested in gaming on the go.
The Switch Lite lacks the ability to output to your TV, but it feels like the perfect portable. It is noticeably more lightweight than the standard Switch (even though it's only approximately 120 grams lighter). It also doesn't feel like it's going to snap if you're holding it with one hand while fumbling through carry-on luggage; something you can't say for the Joy Con hinges on the original model. I've also found my hands cramping less often with the Switch Lite, particularly if I'm playing in bed or lying on the couch. Unless I know I'm going somewhere with a TV to hook the dock up to, I'll most likely opt for travelling with the new model.
Having 2 Switches is not all bubblegum and rainbows though, as Nintendo's approach to digital rights management exposes the secondary console to mandatory online license checks before booting up any titles bought through the eShop. It's not the end of the world, but it does present some obstacles in the event you're travelling with both machines (Carly is partial to Mario Kart and Lumines, so this was a small problem).
The Switch is a great machine, and the Lite is a wonderful, stripped-down variation on it.
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
I've heard Link's Awakening referred to as a "bite-sized" follow up to Breath of the Wild (BotW). To that, dear reader, I reply "FOH!" Link's Awakening is, with few exceptions, a faithful recreation of a game I underestimated when I first played it on the 3DS Virtual Console several years ago. For a game that is mechanically very similar to its Gameboy Colour predecessor, it still tripped me up multiple times and kept me glued to the Switch Lite whenever I was free.
It took me about 15 hours to get through in the end, and it would have been longer if I didn't resort to consulting a walkthrough for some of the dungeons. I don't have what I'll dub "Zelda Brain," the condition required to understand the puzzles and fights that exist within any relatively linear Zelda game. BotW was the first game in the series I actually completed, and I think that had to do with 2 things: it's breathtaking and accessible world, and the freedom it afforded me to explore and experiment. Link's Awakening doesn't have much in the way of freedom, but Koholint Island is still an inviting location. The new aesthetic and updated soundtrack kept driving me forward, and it was well worth persisting with.
While Link's Awakening is still enjoyable, it does show it's hand relatively early. Some locations are gated off for items acquired later on, but the experience of playing through those locations is largely similar. Also, while it's not fair to call some of the solutions to later puzzles and boss fights cheap, I would say they involve subverting (or ignoring) established patterns and mechanics to affect artificial difficulty spikes. There was a boss fight where even the authors of guides and walkthroughs failed to agree on the solution. Did the boomerang really work for the crew at Polygon? The frustrated young creator of a forty second YouTube clip and I would care to disagree!
Untitled Goose Game
I am lucky enough to have met one of the creators of the goose game in my professional life, and I'm so thrilled for the success their work has enjoyed. I played through the first section of the village with my mum watching over my shoulder, and we were both chuckling as I harassed the hapless gardener into donning his sun hat. I'm yet to return to goose, but it is well and truly taking the gaming world by storm. Rightly so!
Impressions of the Nintendo Switch Lite
As a fool who enjoys more disposable income than he should have access to, it was imperative that I picked up a second Nintendo Switch for my recent travels. While it is an entirely unnecessary purchase if you already have a Switch, it is well worth considering if you've been holding off and are more interested in gaming on the go.
The Switch Lite lacks the ability to output to your TV, but it feels like the perfect portable. It is noticeably more lightweight than the standard Switch (even though it's only approximately 120 grams lighter). It also doesn't feel like it's going to snap if you're holding it with one hand while fumbling through carry-on luggage; something you can't say for the Joy Con hinges on the original model. I've also found my hands cramping less often with the Switch Lite, particularly if I'm playing in bed or lying on the couch. Unless I know I'm going somewhere with a TV to hook the dock up to, I'll most likely opt for travelling with the new model.
Having 2 Switches is not all bubblegum and rainbows though, as Nintendo's approach to digital rights management exposes the secondary console to mandatory online license checks before booting up any titles bought through the eShop. It's not the end of the world, but it does present some obstacles in the event you're travelling with both machines (Carly is partial to Mario Kart and Lumines, so this was a small problem).
The Switch is a great machine, and the Lite is a wonderful, stripped-down variation on it.
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
I've heard Link's Awakening referred to as a "bite-sized" follow up to Breath of the Wild (BotW). To that, dear reader, I reply "FOH!" Link's Awakening is, with few exceptions, a faithful recreation of a game I underestimated when I first played it on the 3DS Virtual Console several years ago. For a game that is mechanically very similar to its Gameboy Colour predecessor, it still tripped me up multiple times and kept me glued to the Switch Lite whenever I was free.
It took me about 15 hours to get through in the end, and it would have been longer if I didn't resort to consulting a walkthrough for some of the dungeons. I don't have what I'll dub "Zelda Brain," the condition required to understand the puzzles and fights that exist within any relatively linear Zelda game. BotW was the first game in the series I actually completed, and I think that had to do with 2 things: it's breathtaking and accessible world, and the freedom it afforded me to explore and experiment. Link's Awakening doesn't have much in the way of freedom, but Koholint Island is still an inviting location. The new aesthetic and updated soundtrack kept driving me forward, and it was well worth persisting with.
While Link's Awakening is still enjoyable, it does show it's hand relatively early. Some locations are gated off for items acquired later on, but the experience of playing through those locations is largely similar. Also, while it's not fair to call some of the solutions to later puzzles and boss fights cheap, I would say they involve subverting (or ignoring) established patterns and mechanics to affect artificial difficulty spikes. There was a boss fight where even the authors of guides and walkthroughs failed to agree on the solution. Did the boomerang really work for the crew at Polygon? The frustrated young creator of a forty second YouTube clip and I would care to disagree!
Untitled Goose Game
I am lucky enough to have met one of the creators of the goose game in my professional life, and I'm so thrilled for the success their work has enjoyed. I played through the first section of the village with my mum watching over my shoulder, and we were both chuckling as I harassed the hapless gardener into donning his sun hat. I'm yet to return to goose, but it is well and truly taking the gaming world by storm. Rightly so!
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