The Tuesday letters page discusses the games readers have played the most over Christmas, as one reader asks for suggestions of games to play after having a stroke.
Games Inbox is a collection of our readers’ letters, comments, and opinions. To join in with the discussions yourself email [email protected]
Honeymoon gaming
Got myself a Nintendo Switch 2 and copies of Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza for Christmas and… I really enjoyed it! Maybe it helped that my expectations were lowered for Mario Kart but I’ve really been enjoying it. It was hugely popular at my house over the holidays, with everyone from the youngest to the oldest of my clan and I think that alone explains why the Switch 2 has been so successful.
Maybe there are faults that aren’t so obvious to me in this honeymoon period – I haven’t played with the open world a whole lot so far – but it’s perfect as a launch game and as something to buy and play over Christmas. There didn’t need to be a different Christmas game, and I think it’s obvious now Metroid Prime 4 was just a minor drop.
Haven’t played Donkey Kong Bananza a whole lot yet but I am very impressed by the destruction effects and whole fact that it’s a completely new style of game, not just a reskinned Super Mario Odyssey or something. Now I’m looking forward to the first new announcements from Nintendo this year. Is there any clue as to when the next Nintendo Direct will be?
Heathcliffe
GC: Not officially but they do often have one in early or mid-February.
Resident Evil Reservation
Hope everyone had a good Christmas and New Year! My girlfriend gave me an IOU for a new game, and I think I’m going to keep it for Resident Evil Requiem. I didn’t buy a lot of games last year but most of the good ones were indie so they didn’t cost much anyway, so this would be my first full price game in a long while.
I have a good feeling about Requiem and usually enjoy even sub-par Resi games so I think that’ll probably be my first purchase of the new year. Hopefully I’ll be tempted soon enough after that though, as it looks like a good line-up for this spring.
Grackle
The old rivalry
I received Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds on PlayStation 5 for Christmas, and after spending a good bit of time with it I think I might just prefer it to Mario Kart World!
Mario Kart probably is the better game mechanically, and I do much prefer Mario’s characters, but it has too many baffling design choices. Not least how difficult it is to just do standard three lap races online.
Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds feels much more focused and, to be honest, more fun to play.
Pigfish2 (PSN ID/NN ID)
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God of Bore
Having skipped the PlayStation 4 era (sheer gamer fatigue) I recently opted for the PlayStation 5 and the PlayStation VR2, which has been truly excellent providing what I deem as bona fide next gen gaming with the likes of Rez Infinite, V-Racer Hoverbike, Thumper tickling the senses, and Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil Village to try.
This is in stark contrast to what I’m experiencing with the big budget new God Of War (acknowledged it’s a successful PlayStation 4 era game) with fancy graphics but shallow gameplay, uninspiring fighting mechanism, a mind bogglingly overcomplicated power-up system, and trying to be more Michael Bay style Hollywood than a fun video game. I much preferred the previous instalments.
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No wonder the industry is in a dire shape when triple-A titles, now costing two arms and a leg, are released so sparsely and when they do it’s a knife edge whether the makers remain in business or not. I don’t know if the trend can be reversed but judging by your end of year games chart, may the brilliance of the indie game scene long may they continue.
The industry needs to go back to basics, develop games that are fun and sustainable, whilst churning out new ideas without breaking the bank. Fancy graphics are no match for great execution of ideas and gameplay. Rant over!
Sam
Indie party
With all the love for indies at the moment, I just wondered if you had plans to review Ultimate Sheep Raccoon? The original Ultimate Chicken Horse was introduced to us by friends a couple of years ago and has since become a regular party game at our house.
I believe the sequel came out on Switch and PC in early December, with the PlayStation release delayed to 2026 for some reason. I’d be interested to know your thoughts on it, as it looks to be substantially different to its predecessor, based on the trailers.
JohnnyC
GC: We’ll see if we can take a look at the PlayStation 5 version when it’s out, but it looks like it’s going to be a few weeks.
Gaming recovery
Happy New Year to GC and readers.
Having a stroke on Boxing Day, at the age of 39, certainly wasn’t top of my Christmas list but Santa did bring me the big Mario Kart Lego model, which I’m happy to say I have managed to complete, albeit much slower than I would have done pre-stroke.
Anyway, my main reason for writing in is have any readers had a stroke in the past and are there any games they would recommend?
My favourite kind of games are tough 2D platformers, although I don’t expect I’ll be replaying Celeste anytime soon (I have beaten that game 100% pre-stroke, including all B and C-sides).
I do hope I can manage the Super Mario Bros. Wonder DLC when it arrives.
I do like many types of games though.
The first game I played after my stroke was Cocoon (on sale for just over £10!) which had been on my wishlist for a while after reading your review. With you mentioning it only required the left stick and one button I thought it would ideal for helping with the redevelopment of my left hand’s movements and it was.
So, are there any games similar to this or any other suitable recommendations for people in my situation?
To be more specific, my right hand is completely fine, but my left hand has slower movement and strength and is slightly numb and tingly.
Hopefully I will recover but there are no guarantees and no set timeline recovery may occur. Keeping my hand active is recommended though.
Oh, and I have a Switch 2 only.
Many thanks in advance for any replies.
Fatys Henrys
GC: We’re sorry to hear of your illness. Cocoon sounds like it was a great choice, so perhaps other slower games or non-action titles, like Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles or Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector. It’s a shame Blue Prince isn’t on Switch 2.
Not worth it
Well, I’ve been a very lucky boy this Xmas. Not only have I got my new TV, I’ve now got my PS5 Pro and I’ve just tried Spider-Man 2 at 4K/120fps and I’ve gotta be honest with you, you really can tell the difference on how smooth the gameplay is.
When they announced the PS5 Pro I was the first one saying you can’t see the difference but you can really see the difference. Does it warrant the high price tag of the PS5 Pro (and the £2,600 TV)? No, but can you see the difference? it hurts me to say it but yes, you really can see the silky smooth gameplay.
David
Know your rights
My wife kindly bought me Metroid Prime 4 on Switch 2 for Christmas.
On the first boss I decided to try mouse mode but could not get it to work. I searched online but the menu did not seem to match what Google was saying. Obviously, the AI chatbot thing was wrong…
But then I realised the visuals were also a bit blurry, so I checked the box. Switch 1 version! Not wanting to cause a scene on Christmas Day, I bought the £7 Switch 2 upgrade on the eShop and carried on playing.
A few days later we were in the shop where my wife bought the game. I asked her to show me which version she had selected on the ordering machine. It was the Switch 2 version!
We asked the shop assistant if they would refund the difference, as she paid for a £50 product but was supplied a £43 one. The shop assistant refused, as the game box had been opened.
I was quite annoyed about this, so I did a little research and the Consumer Rights Act 2015 says I was entitled to a full refund within 30 days due to the product supplied not matching the description given.
Went back to the shop armed with this new information and they refunded the Switch 2 version and sold me the Switch 1 version I had. Essentially refunding the £7 difference.
Given the way the Act is written I could in theory have waited a few days, completed the game, and then just refunded it completely but that didn’t sit right as it was obviously a fairly innocent error by the shop’s backroom staff.
This is also not the first time I have seen this type of error. Many years ago, there was a big PlayStation 3/4 and Xbox 360/One cross-generation game I wanted on PlayStation 4 but the shop only displayed PlayStation 3 and Xbox One versions on the shelves. I inquired at the till and, as I suspected, the staff thought there were only two versions, as they were purely comparing box shapes and had not spotted the additional variance within console families.
Given how risk adverse Nintendo are, I suspect they considered this scenario of non-specialist shops mis-selling games, when making the often garish Switch 2 box art; in addition to trying to ensure the consumers themselves buy the correct version.
PazJohnMitch
PS: Having now finished Metroid Prime 4, your 7/10 review score seems fair. It is a decent game, but there are a number of baffling design decisions that are severely detrimental to the experience. Before release many people asked if Beyond was Metroid’s Zelda: Breath Of The Wild moment. It is not, but I think the design brief was indeed based on a Zelda game, as the structure is far closer to The Wind Waker than any Metroid.
Inbox also-rans
Happy new year to GC readers and staff! Been playing a lot of Mario Kart and Fortnite over Christmas but looking for something a bit more substantial in the new year, so let’s see what gaming can provide!
Bojangles
Play Skate Story after your review and was very impressed. The description made it sound pretty dumb, to be honest, but I actually enjoyed it a lot. A really ‘cool’ game.
Winston
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MORE: Games Inbox: What video games will you play over Christmas?
