How is it, by the way? I’m intrigued, and the only game I have for my Switch right now is Mario + Rabbids (though Super Mario Odyssey and Xenoblade Chronicles 2 have been preordered!)

To keep your interest, Route B is a bit of a lull in NieR:Automata. The next route is completely bonkers and is completely different from the previous two. It’s as if Saints Row: The Third and Saints Row IV were bundled together as a single game.

SPOILERS FOR ENDING G

If there’s one game worth breaking your backlog-only promise for, it’s NieR:Automata.

FYI, he has publicly denied the allegations. (But that doesn’t mean they’re false. Based on how quickly people distanced themselves from him, I’m inclined to believe the allegations.)

How does the level design of this game feel in comparison to Dishonored 2? Is it a little freer like the DLC for the first Dishonored, or do you have to go on lengthy bonecharm hunts while being funnelled down very specific paths, like in Dishonored 2?

Exactly. The implication seems to be that Jessamine couldn’t marry Corvo because he wasn’t a member of the aristocracy.

I’d actually go with the first Dishonored and its DLC and just skip Dishonored 2. The first game has better level design and a better story. (Not that the stories are good in either of these games.)

It’s pretty amazing live. It turns into an extended ten-minute jam.

CARLOS DANGER!

I think I’m largely okay with the existence of these super-long games* now that there’s a thriving indie scene with hundreds of bite-sized experiences that run on less capable hardware. Mobile gaming is huge, and retro gaming is pretty big too. It’s a shame that a lot of people will miss on cultural conversations…

I wonder what would have happened if I’d made the opposite choice at any point. Does it result in a game over screen?

Re: NieR:Automata - You’re about to experience some grade-A madness, though it pales in comparison to some of the madness you’ll experience down the line.

What I love about Sleeping Dogs is that every one of its elements feels like it belongs in the game. There are none of the extraneous or incongruous activities you often see in other urban open-world games.

I completed UDG a couple of weeks ago. I found the ending - where Komaru and Toko decide to stay behind in Towa - a little unsatisfying (but I already knew it was coming, since I’d seen the Danganronpa 3 anime). To be honest, I didn’t find the game’s storytelling all that compelling, but at least it gave an…

I also gave 2B that snazzy blue bow. She deserves it for all her hard work!

I’d be interested in playing a Rayman-style platformer with Cuphead’s aesthetic. A Contra-style run-and-gun, much less so.

Yes, it has been delayed to 2018:

Swery’s new game doesn’t look like it’s for me. (Hunger and thirst meters? Blocky polygonal models? No thank you.) But I still really want it to get made. A games industry where Swery can’t be weird is a less interesting games industry.

Good news! There’s a good chance they’re making another NieR game. I never in a million years would have expected it, but Automata actually sold over 2 million copies. I can see why Squeenix wants to continue being in the Yoko Taro business now that he’s received mainstream recognition as a talented game director.