Weekplay 202606

Some games present themselves as a metroidvania, but when I then look at the screenshots and trailers, I start raising an eyebrow. This was certainly the case with Souldiers, which doesn't feel like one. If anything, it feels more like a nebulous action adventure platformer. Which for 2D games is about as distinctive as saying you can run and jump.

Now it's anything but bad. It's quite good even, with a detailed pixel art presentation, nice controls, and some light environment puzzling. Where it falls flat is that combat is a bit finicky. I chose an archer as my class and it has a nice rhythm to shooting a limited number of arrows before needing to reload them by throwing your bow as a boomerang weapon. Combined with dodging and dashing this should flow nicely into each other, but dodging has a distinct distance to it which feels off and the dash requires a directional input.

Maybe I simply need to spend more time with it for it to click. Though I'm currently leaning towards restarting with a "sword guy". The metroidvania aspect itself is incredibly light so far, but it only just introduced a shop option and the (terribly slow) save points also function as fast travel points. Considering there's not much to backtrack to, I do wonder how that'll expand later on.

Oh, here's an arcade-style game that wears its inspiration on its sleeve: Annalynn. I played the Nintendo Switch version and yup, this is Pac-Man as a platformer with other influences (like Donkey Kong Jr.'s vine-climbing) seeping in.

The platforming itself is rather tight and though it starts off simple, the behaviours of the ghosts snakes and the level layout complicate matters steadily. Perfect for short score chases. Just be careful as it might just claim a lot more time...

Nintendo's Partner Direct had a little surprise in the form of Hollow Knight - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition (the way Nintendo enforces this horrible suffix on all upgraded titles is both crazy and endearing). It was announced some time ago, but it basically updates the original with a lower resolution 120Hz option and some other tweaks to make this kind of run similar to *breathe in* Hollow Knight: Silksong - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition.

Enough reason to quickly dash through Forgotten Crossroads and get a feel for it and confirm that yes, 120Hz is more than worth the drop in resolution.

Playing a lot on Nintendo Switch 2 meant I spent some time on my little island in (this is truly getting ridiculous) Animal Crossing: New Horizons - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition as well. Nothing special to report here, apart from the fact that the new hotel stuff is blatantly a third time you get to be a freelance room decorator.

I mean, I get that there's little else to do within the framework of the game, but come on. I think a new museum wing housing a potential Gyroid collection or something similar would fare a bit better.