2026 Summer Games Mess

You know I’m excited for this. I really like the direction Resident Evil is going these days and while I don’t think every game needs to be remade, the remakes have been pretty good games in their own right. I haven’t played RE4R, I’m sure I will, but I have a hard time separating the original from the new, and 4 is perfect. But I’m sure ANOTHER version of that game cannot be a bad thing especially since they haven’t removed the original versions of the games. ANYWAY I’ve never played this game but Catrena wants to break out the Dreamcast and get it done so look forward to that in the future. This remake looks very cool and I’m glad to see the ‘side games’ get some love.

I haven’t played the first but the sequel getting so much attention made me add it to my list, I’ll be curious how this is received.

I wrote a little thing about the trilogy of Ueda games, Ico, Shadow of the Colossus and The Last Guardian but I never published it. Felt rushed and not well written enough, maybe I’ll revisit that when this comes out because I’m very EXCITED for this. The man’s a genius, and even though TLG was frustrating, it’s still brilliant and without equal. Buffalo loves an auteur and Ueda certainly delivers a unique experience so lock and load.

The more I see about this game, the less interested in it I am lol. Tupac? What the hell are we doing here?

I saw two things - A Turtle that was a Ninja that may or not be teenaged age, plus PlatinumGames. Not that long ago, unprovoked, I looked at Catrena and said “there is a non-zero chance I could get really into Ninja Turtles” and this could be my stepping stone.

I don’t need to see anymore of this game, I just want it. It looks so cool! Give me paranormal character action all day long.

When this was announced before I was not as interested in it as I am now. This trailer showed off the “Need for Speed: Takedown”-like mechanic of the races and also showed off a healthy bit of storyline. If there are crazy alien rivals and a good single player campaign that has some meaty story bits, sign me up.

This another game that feels like it has a heavy story and meaty single player campaign. I think that’s what generally shies me away from fighting games, I’m not out there looking to be competitive with my FGC chops. Made by RGG as well, this feels like it could be more akin to a beat-em-up than a traditional fighter. On my radar.

I fell off Monster Hunter Wilds - part of that is the seeming disappearance of my main hunting partner, the other is my lack of Gamepass subscription. I had fun with Wilds, but not as much as I did with Rise. It’s kind of easy? Or maybe it does too much for you? These are oversimplifications but whatever the reason I have not played in months. With the announcement that Wilds is coming to the Switch 2, I’m going to wait to see how this shakes out. Speaking of, I wonder if that announcement is an bad omen for a proper “handheld” MonHun coming out? I’d love a follow-up similar in scope and style to Rise!

You know what? I played Attack on Titan on the Switch when it launched in like.. 2017? 2018? And it was fucking awesome. Similar in format to the way Fire Emblem Three Houses worked, you do a mission slinging around the sky like freaking Spider-Man, then in between you do relationship building stuff and side quests. It was fun! This could also be fun!

Yay! Glad to see this series and (almost) more importantly this company making an appearance! I played part of the first game while visiting my sister years ago, but never finished it. I have it on 360 but I found it practically unplayable! I’m not the only one who complained of the performance for that version. I think I’ll probably pick up the remastered version just so we can play it on modern platforms!

Okay look, one way to ruin my excitement about a game is to sexualize your teen protagonist. It’s insane that ShiftUp, the Stellar Blade devs, made the new Eve look like 14 year old girl and then spend the next 3 minutes zoomin in on her breasts, butt and crotch. Like… come on! It’s very obviously problematic. I don’t think we should support a game that very obviously peddles this shit! Even if they were to change her character model I just don’t think they should get a pass.

Sure I’m along for the ride on this game, though who knows when I’ll get to it. I haven’t played the second game in the remake trilogy yet, but when I do they will both be on the Switch 2!

I’ve been reading a lot of comics lately and I loved the X-Men growing up and seeing Wolverine be a short, violent, hairy man made me happy. I think the game looks cool, it’s probably going to be pretty fun, but it has a lot of that “Playstation polish” that I don’t love - it looked like the game was playing itself. Though there was a moment where Wolverine used a forklift to murder a guy and that reminded me of MadWorld so I am hoping there is some real player agency but I’m going to wait and see.

I loved Until Dawn - it was our first introduction to Supermassive Games. Since then we’ve played a handful of their other releases including The Quarry, which to me always felt as if it should be “Until Dawn 2”. So now seeing this, the actual “sequel” to Until Dawn, getting announced and it’s by another developer, Firesprite - which is a real spiderweb of of fractured studio talent and corporate acquisitions - I’m not left with a lot of excitement. However Supermassive isn’t the only company that does that formula so it’ll be interesting to see. I wonder if there is a story there?

Sometimes you want a big-ass meatloaf that can feed everyone all at once. To me, this is what the God of War games have turned into. They really feel like big pretentious blockbusters that give you just enough agency to make you feel like a badass - or god. This to me looks better than both of the Dad of War games, Fey (Fae? Laufey? What the hell is this lady’s name?) is not locked into that awkward waist-up perspective and she can jump. This looks more like a proper character action game than GoW & Ragnarok and it seems like an interesting story and setting (afterlife for gods?). I don’t have a PS5 but this, Wolverine & Until Dawn 2 make me wanna scheme, just a little bit.

I’ve never played a Gears of War game, though Catrena often suggests them as fun couch co-op games. I suppose we’ll get to one eventually but this doesn’t seem like it has co-op? no i was wrong this is confirmed to have couch co-op!

Sure why the fuck not?

This looks like a Vampire Survivors-like starring some of Catrena’s favorite podcast dads so it’s going on the radar. whomp whomp this got cancelled before it even really got announced.

OHHH I GET IT. Like Philosophy but falling because it’s a pinball tower climbing thing… this could either be extremely fun or insanely irritating.

This feels like part wario ware, part hypnospace outlaw and part Doki Doki Literature Club. Something to keep an eye on.

Sure I’m interested in this, and will undoubtedly pick it up on sale. I’ve yet to play a Rhythm Heaven game. I didn’t have the OG on the DS, I guess that day I picked up Elite Beat Agents instead, but it looks like somethign that would be fun to mess around with.

I am really excited for this and will get it, more than likely on the Switch 2. But I don’t think I’m going to preorder it so if I see it for cheaper on Series X I would probably pick it up there. It’s a sale game, for sure!

Again, I haven’t played SB yet, and I would have been more excited about this game coming to Switch 2 if ShiftUp wasn’t pushing a sequel aimed at pedophiles. It always seemed like Stellar Blade was walking a fine line between being a game self-aware of a females sexuality and what the kids call a gooner game, but with Evie’s over sexualization in Blood Rain I think I’m going to have to pass on this for now. Oh also, just read this article from forbes and they are unabashedly using genAI in the game, trailers and promo materials so fuck them I guess.

This is a surprising game to take a space in the Nintendo Direct. By the Untitled Goose Game devs and creators of the Playdate, Panic, this game is … what is this? Multiplayer mischief simulator? I want to see more before I declare this a must-play.

This is another game I’m including here because Catrena was interested in it. This feels like the kind of game she would love and since she’s low-key obsessed with One Piece, the 400 characters from the show could keep her very entertained!

YES YES YES. I want this game. I’ve preordered the Collector’s Edition and am mentally preparing for the devastation of cleaving down my favorite characters in a 4-route blood bath. I love how the Fire Emblem series can redefine itself from game to game. Three Houses was the first time I really took an interest in the series. Catrena and I played the hell out of that game, all three routes and the DLC. Then Engage comes out and I was completely uninterested in it. It looked like straight up strategy without any of the life-sim stuff. To me, that extra stuff raises the stakes. The more time you spend with these characters, the more it hurts when they lose, when you lose them! So I’m happy to see a big cast of characters with social interactions AND a possible connection to Three Houses (was that Sothis we saw????)!

Hey Devil May Cry 5 is releasing on the Switch 2! Cool. Where is DMC4??

Now THIS shit is exciting. Muramasa: The Demon Blade released on the Wii in 2009 by the legendary devs Vanillaware. In 2013 they ported the game to the Vita called Muramasa: Rebirth. This added a bunch of content and DLC and then it got stuck there! Now they are taking all of that game, the wii game, the expanded Vita content and repackaging it for the Switch (and others). I am very excited about this! I love me some Vanillaware and yes I have ordered the special edition.

OH SHIT! Exciting to see Nintendo really pushing their main RPG series. To me, especially now that I’m in the middle of (or possibly almost done with) Xenoblade Chronicles 1 on the Switch, the Xenoblade Series is Nintendo’s Final Fantasy. So it’s great to see them giving them an upgrade path (and some reprinted phsyical editions) to the Switch 2…

…And outside that, they are making a new game! Xenoblade Genesis. It looks so good too, with this weird world folding in on itself. It has a nice mix of big sci-fi landscapes and magic. I will definitely be getting whatever special edition of this game they put out.

Everyday after school for at least one school year, I would come home, walk up my parents’ giant driveway, put my shit away and play Star Fox. It was exciting trying to get all the medals in every level to get the optimal path. I really loved my time with that game but have not loved a Star Fox game, since. This remake I’m ready for, it’s a very good looking game, almost crazy that it’s a Switch game and I’m excited to see the story unfold in a new art style.

I was interested in this game before, but am now again thinking about picking it up for the Switch 2. I think this is going to be something that I keep an eye out for and pick it up on sale.

I’m torn about this! I think Ocarina of Time is evergreen. If you wanted you could pick this game up tomorrow and have just as much fun with it as I did back on release. Ocarina of Time was really the first time that I STRUGGLED with the launch of a game. I would pour over magazines for any glimpse of news or info on it. I collected cans and worked extra shifts for my dad to buy an N64 in preparation for the game. I remember paying for it at Funcoland in installments and I was GLUED to it for months. I would keep the N64 on overnight as to not lose my progress in the dungeons. I’ve replayed it at least once on the N64, knocked through it up to the time skip on NSO and beat the 3DS remake. So here we are, in 2026 and I’m feeling completely indifferent about them glossing over this game with a fresh art style. However! From a business standpoint, I completely understand why they would want to do this. They are basically rebooting the Zelda franchise as an entire generation of kids know it. Breath of the Wild is almost 10 years old, so 8 year olds who “grew up” with a Switch are now 18 and may not be familiar with the classic “8 dungones and a macguffin” style of Zelda games. So what better way to re-introduce them? By giving them the greatest Zelda game of all time dolled up for twenty twenty six. I’ll keep an eye on it, I’m sure I’ll buy it (I’ve yet to skip a Zelda game release except for Skyward Sword HD).