Only a few weeks left in 2017, soon it will be time to choose our Handheld Game of the Year again! Looking back on the year, it seems to me that I didn’t buy as many games as I used to. The beginning of the year I bought quite a few, but ever since I got the Switch, I mainly focus on the same games. Much easier on my wallet, I can tell you!
It’s been a special week, I finally bit the bullet to invite new writers to the site. Maybe you know I have been running this site for almost four years now, still love it. But it will be nice for me to be able to share, and it will be good for the site to have some fresh new faces. Vic Thorley has published her first article yesterday, she tells a bit about herself to get acquainted. (Read the article here)
If you are interested, consider joining our small team as well. As I don’t generate any income from the site myself, I can’t pay anything, but I do offer fame and glory ( of sorts, lol) and a review code for new games from time to time. Write me at LadiesgamersYvoCaro@gmail.com and we’ll take it from there!
Now, let’s see what the week held in Handheld Gaming News!
Tote bag Persona 5
A couple of years ago I loved playing Persona 4 Golden on my Vita, and it made me a fan of the series. Sadly, the newest game, Persona 5 is only available on the PS4, so I can’t play that one. Still, these tot bags that are fashioned after the game look pretty good. Might be because I have a serious handbag-addiction!
AnotherAngle, a company that makes goods for various media properties, is coming out with two tote bags based on Persona 5, both of which come out in March 2018.
Ho-oH in Pokémon Go
Back in mid November, Pokémon Go sent players a Global Catch Challenge, to test whether the players could catch a total of 3 billion Pokemon within the time period. Players succeeded, unlocking Farfetch’d and Kangaskhan which were region exclusive before that.
Niantic have now announced that Ho-Oh will appear in Raid Battles at Gyms globally until December 12, 2017. This bird is too tough to capture it alone though: Trainers will need to bring friends to work together to whittle down the health of the rainbow bird for a chance to capture it.
Christmas has come to Pocket Camp
You probably noticed, if you play Animal Crossing Pocket Camp on your smartphone: the festive season has started. Although I’m chuffed at the festive furniture and clothing you can collect, I was a little bit disappointed that come December 1, there wasn’t any snow on the ground. Still, it’s great to see the tradition of special festivals carried over from the main games to the smartphone version. (Read more about it here)
In addition to the Christmas event – Animal Crossing Pocket Camp Android users can get a special Login Bonus from Google Play for a limited time only. It features a rainbow Isabelle tee, a rainbow K.K. Slider tee, and a rainbow cap. These items will only be available until January 7th.
Update Stardew Valley Switch is live
The patch for Stardew Valley on the Switch is live, and it fixes an whole list of bugs. It ads other things too though:
- Players should see a significant improvement on save times, the saving screen is now animated.
- The new video recording feature on Switch is now supported
- When a controller connects or disconnects, the Controller Support Applet now appears to ask which controller you want to use to play the game, instead of silently switching to the new controller.
Nothing major, though it’s nice that you can make a video recording now.
The Sexy Brutale coming to Switch
To be honest, I almost clicked past this news myself, purely based on the title. Weird title for a game that is rated 12+. But this indie game looks very good, one I’m keeping an eye on! The game was on Steam first, and got raving reviews. The title can already be played on Xbox and PS4, and will come to the Switch on December 7.
This is the game description by Tequila games, the publisher:
During a single, endlessly-looping day within “The Sexy Brutale” – a stately English mansion converted into a bizarre casino and named by the enigmatic Marquis – players take on the role of elderly priest Lafcadio Boone. To progress, Boone must hide, watch and learn the colorful stories of the other guests at the ball in order to save them from grisly deaths at the hands of the mansion’s staff. By discovering the key moments and methods how each guest can be saved and gaining occult-seeming powers linked to their masks, Lafcadio is able to explore deeper and deeper into the mysteries of the mansion’s past and inhabitants to uncover the truth hidden at the heart of The Sexy Brutale.
Check out the trailer!
I guess that’s enough for this week. I’m going to go back to a bit of gaming, and a lot of real life work this week. A good thing Sinterklaas will visit us December 5, so I have some fun to look forward to!
Thanks again for reading, and have fun gaming!
Xenoblade 2 came out! ..But I’m gonna have to wait a little while for it. Life’s busy sometimes.
It sure is! I’ve looked at Xenoblade to see if it would be for me. But the battles seem very hectic from what I saw on YouTube. You know me, I’m better at turn based though I can do some action fighting too if need be.
I’m playing Xenoblade 2 (no surprise right?), and i’m loving it!
Xenoblade Cronicles X had a very hard beginning, but not this one. I’ts very beginner friendly.
Yvonne, I don’t think a look at the combat gives a good view of the game.
I don’t think the battles are hectic (might look like it yes).
The game play, story, nopon, cutscenes! Wow, i’m such a happy gamer right now! (totally addicted)
I’m going through a hard time so the timing coudn’t be better!
I have asked several people about the game, as I’m indeed unsure whether I’ll put it on my christmas wish list. The fact that you are loving it so much is a very good indicator for me. I think I’ll take the plunge and ask Santa to bring it for me!
By the way, if you want to talk about non-gaming related things, send me a message. I’m a good listener 🙂
I would be very curious to know what you think of it.
Especially because it’s so different from other games we both like (animal crossing, stardew valley, fantasy life)
It’s not a casual game. I’m more than 20 hours in and i’m still getting battle tutorials.
In the beginning it’s a lot of information to process, but it’s very rewarding once you’re starting to get how things work.
I like to be in control, and in this game i’ve got that feeling from the beginning.
(in xenoblade cronicles x it took me a long time and if i wasn’t such a fan of the previous xenoblade, i might not have stuck around and missed out on a fantastic experience)
Here you start small, good tutorials, no pressure, time and room to practice and figure out the basics.
Wonderful story to suck you in, full of humor and surprise.
You don’t know Nopon yet, but believe me.. they are sooo cute, funny and endearing! (they are in all the xenoblade games)
There is a lot to explore, tons of stuff to find and things you can do with it, many good sidequests and other things you can do.
But there is a lot of battling involved and it’s hard for me to estimate if you will like that part of the game as well.
It’s not a thing you have to endure from time to time, it’s a major part of the game.
Battling, but also making your self and your party as strong and versatile as possible (which then in turn involves exploring, experimenting, gathering items, side quests, leveling up.. you know the drill)
I’m absolutely loving every second of it!
If you do decide to ask Santa and ‘take the plunge’ i would urge you to at least play 10 hours or past chapter 2, before deciding if it’s for you or not.
It can all be overwhelming (especially if you have not played xenoblade before) but it is worth the effort.
For the last part of your comment, thanks, that’s very sweet.
Love all the Christmas stuff in Pocket Camp! Trying to collect enough damn candy canes to craft a tree! 🙂
Not an easy task, right? Visiting the quarry can be a quick solution, though otherwise I think the quarry is a bit of a waste of time!
They are pretty giving with their leaf tickets, aren’t they? I have yet to spend a single euro in the game..