I Finally Got Around To A Newsletter
Welcome to the very first FinallyGotAroundTo Newsletter!
Welcome!
If you didn’t know, I have a website: FinallyGotAroundTo.com. But why wait for people to finally get around to visiting when I could reach out directly to my readers?
My plan for this newsletter is to use it as an outlet to discuss whatever I find most interesting in the gaming industry. Sometimes I will cover news, such as this week’s big story: the reveal of the Nintendo Switch 2. Other weeks might push the news aside in favor of an interesting topic, such as my favorite games of 2024, which I plan to discuss next week.
No matter what, this is the place to be every week for thoughtful, engaging discussions about gaming and the gaming industry. If you want this sent straight to your inbox every week, subscribe! It’s free!
Now that you’re properly welcomed and subscribed, let’s jump into:
This Week’s Biggest News
Last Thursday Nintendo announced the Nintendo Switch 2, the long-awaited follow-up to the groundbreaking and immensely popular Nintendo Switch. The reveal was uploaded as a two-minute trailer on YouTube showcasing the look of the new console, plus a glimpse at what looks like the first new Mario Kart in eleven years.
Nintendo has yet to reveal any specifics about the second Switch, but a Nintendo Direct presentation is scheduled for April 2nd to explain all the details.
The trailer showcased several new features, such as a more substantial kickstand, magnetic Joy-Cons that no longer slide into place, and an overall larger, smoother appearance compared to the original Switch.
That’s all we know with some certainty, but there’s no shortage of rumors.
One that sparked my imagination is how the new Joy-Con may be used as a mouse. There is a moment in the reveal trailer where the controllers slide around on a flat surface. This theory seems backed up by the fact that the Joy-Cons have a new sensor that looks a lot like the kind you would find on a computer mouse. When I heard about this rumor, I decided to test it myself, sliding my current Switch’s Joy-Cons around on my desk. While not perfect, I was surprised at how natural it felt. This really could be a feature.
But why would the Switch 2 want the controller to function like a mouse?
There are a few possibilities. It could make it easier for games made primarily for a PC audience to adapt to the Switch 2 hardware. RTS or real-time-strategy games (StarCraft, WarCraft, etc.) have historically struggled to adapt to consoles because of how much easier they are to play with a mouse and keyboard. Many popular shooters (Fortnite, Call of Duty, etc.) are widely accepted to be best played with a mouse over a traditional console controller. This could carry over to a highly-anticipated Nintendo shooter expected to launch this year: Metroid Prime 4: Beyond.
Then there are games like Mario Maker and Animal Crossing that might play smoother with the optional capability to drag and drop with a “mouse.”
Since the Wii, Nintendo’s consoles have been defined by first-party games (Mario, The Legend of Zelda, Pokemon, Super Smash Bros., etc.). Hardware limitations made it difficult for many third-party developers and publishers to bring their games to Nintendo’s unique consoles as quickly as to the more traditional Xboxes and PlayStations. Maybe the Switch 2, and its unique controllers, will change that. We will have to wait until April to know for sure.
At the end of the reveal trailer, Nintendo also revealed that in the days after the April Direct, anyone can get a hands-on opportunity with the new console. Not just games media people, anyone. Check Nintendo’s website to see if the Switch 2 will be in a city near you. I’ve already signed up for the Los Angeles opportunity. Registration requires a free Nintendo account and will be available until January 26th. Events take place on various dates between April 4th and June 1st.
For more news check out my recent articles on Gamepressure:
Fans of Pokemon TCG Pocket are disappointed with the announcement of trading restrictions.
Marvel Snap developers were just as shocked as fans when their game became inaccessible to US players, presumably due to the national TikTok ban.
The only game shown during the Nintendo Switch 2 reveal trailer was a glimpse of a new Mario Kart, which hasn’t happened in eleven years.
Developers of the recently announced game Code Violet explain that it will not be released on PC to avoid players creating “vulgar” mods.
What I’ve Been Playing
I’ve been playing Hyper Light Breaker this week which launched last Tuesday in Early Access on Steam. Developed by Heart Machine (Hyper Light Drifter, Solar Ash) and published by Arc Games (Remnant 2, Torchlight 3), Hyper Light Breaker combines rogue-lite elements with fast-paced third-person action. The player is a Breaker, someone who ventures into the chaotic Overgrowth to gather resources and face off against the Crowns to unravel the mysterious history of this land. So far it has been a very challenging experience. The player is not given much direction or instructions and the Overgrowth is not a very forgiving place. But I have been having a great time.
Fans of indie games might be familiar with Heart Machine’s previous breakout hit, Hyper Light Drifter. Breaker takes place in the same world, but decades before the events of Drifter. Personally, Drifter is still in my backlog, but after having fun with Breaker, I am encouraged to jump in sooner rather than later.
I would say more, but I am working on an Early Access Review or a Review-So-Far of Hyper Light Breaker that will likely be published in the coming weeks, so stay tuned for that if you’re interested.
If you want to read more, I got to play a preview of Hyper Light Breaker in December, which you can read here.
Hyper Light Breaker is available now in Early Access on Steam.
Indie In Review
You finally got around to the last section of this newsletter, and so here’s your reward: a review of an indie game I finally got around to. This week, I want to talk about a game called Duck Detective: The Secret Salami.
Developed and published by Happy Broccoli Games, Duck Detective: The Secret Salami is a brief mystery puzzle game about a down-on-his-luck duck detective trying to solve a case of missing salami. It originally caught my eye during the Indie Game Awards, a new gaming award show by Six One Indie that premiered in December. Duck Detective was nominated in the “Bite-Sized Game” category, reserved for impactful games with short playtimes. Duck Detective clocks in at two to three hours to complete.
Duck Detective is fully-voice-acted with clever dialogue that pokes fun at the tropes of overly serious mystery and detective genres. The player has to talk to the eclectic cast of other animals to learn who they are, their potential motives, and slowly piece together what’s happening by filling in the story with the keywords and names you’ve discovered. Much more is happening under the surface of this small office complex than first appears.
I played this game with my partner in three sessions over three nights. Duck Detective can perfectly replace a movie night or provide a more interactive substitute for binge-watching a new TV show.
If you want to check out Duck Detective: The Secret Salami, it is available now on Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC & Mac via Steam.
What’s Next
So, what’s next?
I have no shortage of ideas for topics to cover, and I have no doubt there will be huge news stories to discuss.
Next week, the plan is to share my favorite games of 2024. I am still deciding how exactly to do this. Creating a list of the top ten is too short, and twenty might be too long. Chances are my list will be somewhere in between. There will also be plenty of honorable mentions.
Some other recent thoughts include exploring the idea of “Handholding in Video Games,” which is to say how a game introduces and instructs a player about how to interact with the game world. Is there a tutorial every few minutes that interrupts the flow of gameplay or are the instructions worked into the gameplay itself? There are lots of different ways to approach it.
Another idea was exploring different types of roleplaying in video games. Some games provide the “blank slate protagonist” that players can completely project onto, but others ask the player to step into the role of a character instead.
There’s a preview of what’s to come. If any of that sounds like something you’d be interested to read about, please subscribe so you don’t miss a thing!
I’m also open to any ideas, questions, comments, or game suggestions you might have. Just reply or leave a comment! Thanks for reading!