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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2025!!!

« on: November 18, 2025, 08:50:48 am »

16. Yoomp! [Atari 8-bit]



Another game from Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration. Yoomp! is a game for Atari 8-bit computers, developed in 2007 by homebrew developers Marcin 'Eru' Żukowski, Łukasz 'X-Ray' Sychowicz, Bartek 'BeWu' Wąsiel and Piotr 'OxF' Fusik. It was included in Atari 50 both as a symbol of the homebrew community surrounding Atari systems, and as an example of how much the Atari 8-bit hardware was really capable of. And wow, yeah, this game really shows that off. I am super impressed that they got something like this running on Atari 8-bit hardware. I mean, just look at it! THIS butttery-smooth pseudo-3D title is running on the same platform as that choppy barely-playable Food Fight port??

But not only is Yoomp! technically impressive: it is also really fun to play! I think the best term I can give it is a rhythmic cylindrical platformer? You control the ball, bouncing through the cylinder. You can move it left and right, and it will move forward one square with every beat of the music (which is very catchy by the way). Different tiles will have different effects on the ball, like launching it over a tile, sending it sideways or warping it to the other side. Your goal is simple: make it to the end of the 21 levels.

It's really addicting! Most games in Atari 50 were games I was content trying out for a few minutes and then moving on from, but this one instantly hooked me. I just kept playing it until I beat it. This is without a doubt a highlight of the collection. Hats off to the developers.

You can download the game for free on the official website by the way, to emulate or to run on a real Atari 8-bit computer if you have one. And I recommend it! It's really fun! https://yoomp.atari.pl/

EDIT

17. Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration

So Atari 50 is a collection of games from across Atari's history, but it's also a digital museum tour with a lot of background information. I've decided to count finishing the museum tour as "beating" Atari 50 itself, and then counting all the games in the collection (when beatable) as separate entries. Hence why the last two games before this were games that were in this collection. So I've now finished the museum tour, and at least tried out every single game that's part of that tour.

Context: I'm from 1998, so I didn't grow up on Atari. However, I am of course aware of their impact and legacy, and ever since I was a kid, that did intrigue me. I remember once finding and playing an Atari machine (I think it was Centipede?) as a kid and just being fascinated by it. And as someone with interest in that history, I found this to be a joy. This game is filled with video interviews with some of the key people from Atari's history, along with scans of ads, behind the scenes documents, manuals, box art, artwork, etc. I think in that sense this title holds a lot of value, as a digital archive of those stories. I definitely enjoyed watching these interviews and looking at these images.

Since this is an entry about the whole title, I'll also briefly mention the game collection as a whole here. It's Atari. I think you can estimate from that what you think of it. It covers their entire history: arcade, 2600, 5200, 7800, 8-bit computers, Lynx, Jaguar and a few miscellaneous things. Of course you have your classics like Asteroids, Missile Command, Pong, Centipede, etc. You've got some cult classics too that this title makes easily accessible, like Tempest 2000. And there's some hidden gems in here too: Yoomp! was a standout for me. The modern reimagenings of titles are a nice touch too, even if I mainly just like the novelty.

However, let's also just be fair: a lot of Atari's library either just does not hold up or has never held up. A lot of the 2600 titles may have been good for the time, but have not aged well. And many of the titles for the Lynx and Jaguar were never good to begin with. Now granted, especially the older titles also need to be viewed through the lens of time. And Atari 50 isn't a simple rerelease: it's a digital museum of Atari's history. And in that context there's absolutely value in these games being preserved here. But if you're going to get into this title, I think you need to see it through that lens. As a look into history, a museum tour, rather than a compilation of games you all want to endlessly replay. And thus you need to be interested in that.

If you are though: I can recommend Atari 50. It was neat to learn about this essential part of gaming history, and to try out all of these classic titles. I'm not sure how often I'll come back to it, but who knows, there's some stuff in here that even decades later is still as addicting as ever.

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2025!!!

« on: November 16, 2025, 04:18:59 pm »

15. Haunted House [Atari 2600]

I picked back up Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration. My goal is to get through the museum mode (which I will consider its own game) and at least play every game in the collection. Not beat all of them, but at least try them out. (So yes, I beat this game emulated. I unfortunately don't have an Atari 2600 yet (but if you have one laying around, feel free to send it to me /j).

Now, this being an Atari collection, of course most games aren't gonna be beatable. If you know of a way to "beat" games like Pong, Breakout or Combat, please do let me know, but for this challenge I'm not going to be counting any of those. However, some of the games in this collection are beatable, Haunted House being one of them. Granted, within ten minutes, but still, I did it, and I'm gonna count it. At least, the game has nine different modes, with mode 9 officially being called "Ultimate Haunted House" and being the most difficult, but I now beat it on difficulty mode 3, and I'm going to consider that "beating" it and beating level nine "completing" it. That seems the most accurate to how "beating" and "completing" works nowadays, right?

Atari 2600 games are games you need to see through the lens of time. But seen through this lens, Haunted House is charming. It's a fun little challenge, and one of the first examples of survival horror it's also decently effective. If you're ever yearning for some Atari and haven't played Haunted House yet, it's worth a look. It's nothing to search out nowadays, but it's an admirable title for its time and I'd argue still holds more value than a lot of other Atari 2600 titles.

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2025!!!

« on: November 15, 2025, 08:01:18 pm »

14. Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed [PC/Steam Deck]

This game is not new to me: I first played it over 9 years ago. I enjoy it quite a lot, and I've often praised it as one of my favourite kart racers. However, despite that, I never actually "beat" the game. I know it's debatable what you even consider "beating" a kart racer, but I certainly hadn't yet done it with this one. So I now finally sat down and did it. I unlocked all of the characters, I beat all events in World Tour mode on at least Normal Difficulty (most on Hard or Expert), and I beat all Grand Prix cups on at least Normal difficulty. I think that all must count as beating it, right?

And yeah, I stand by what I said. This is a fantastic kart racer, and one of my favourites. I'm not sure I'd put it above Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, but it's definitely up there. This game feels very action-packed. You are driving over gorgeous tracks that dynamically alter as the race goes on, often taking tight turns and doing tricks in tight spaces to boost yourself forward as much as you can, shifting between three vehicle modes that require at least a non-trivial amount of rapid shifting in strategy. Races are a thrill. I will say it can be a bit jank sometimes, with it being easy to bump into walls or something get out of bounds, and I swear there are some tracks with corners that are just too tight for some character loadouts to take without hitting a wall. But overall, it feels great to play. It is also not easy. Mario Kart, at least against CPU's, I can almost always get first place no problem. Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed? I have almost fourty hours in this game now (spread over 9 years but still), and it can still kick my ass. Beating everything on Expert difficulty is actuallly challenging (which is why I haven't 100% completed it yet). But I like that. It's annoying when you're just trying to finish some tasks, but in races, it's great.

If you enjoy kart racers and you have not played Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed before, you're missing out. Only thing I'll say is that I've heard reviewers say that the recent Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is apparently even better, but I haven't played that yet so I wouldn't know. But Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, I can whole-heartedly recommend.

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2025!!!

« on: November 04, 2025, 06:30:26 pm »

13. Pokémon Legends: Z-A - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition

A recently released game joining the list. And I really enjoyed this one!

As a kid I used to buy and play every mainline Pokémon game, from SoulSilver up to and including Sun, so safe to say I have a history with the series and a soft spot for it in my heart. Despite that, I did skip most Switch games. That includes Pokémon Legends: Arceus. I heard the gameplay was apparently really fun, but I could never get a feel for it from footage, and the historical setting just didn't appeal to me at all. Couple that with the performance issues, weak graphics and other stuff Pokémon was synonymous with at the time (remember Sword and Shield everyone?), and I decided to skip it. However, the setting of a modern city does really appeal to me, and this game looked a bit more polished. And with my last Pokémon game being 2022's Violet (which I enjoyed for what it was but it barely left an impact), I felt ready for another Pokémon adventure. And I'm glad that it ended up being Legends: Z-A!

I know the Pokémon series gets a lot of flak, especially nowadays, and I'm not gonna act like Legends: Z-A is a masterpiece. There's plenty to criticise, from the fairly monotonous city design to the at this point distracting lack of voice acting. But with this game, for me, that was all overshadowed by what it does right.

In case you don't know, the Pokémon Legends games ditch the turn-based approach of the classic games in favour of more real-time battles. You need to coordinate your Pokémon around, order it to perform moves, dodge attacks, switch out your Pokémon, keep track of move recharge timers, change your own positioning to dodge attacks yourself and change targets, all at the same time. I will admit that I have not really played a game with this type of combat before (I believe Monster Hunter and Xenoblade are supposed to be similar, but I'm not sure). But I found the battles really fun and engaging. Far more engaging than the turn-based Violet at least, and more engaging than I was expecting from the series at this point. It requires you to know your team and your strategies, and to react quickly. It's fun! As was catching Pokémon. Yes, the areas were kind of small and limiting, but the real-time catching and surprisingly tough wild Pokémon made the battles very enjoyable, and it was just a pleasure to find new creatures that I know and love.

In general this game's difficulty impressed me. It's still not hard at all, god no, especially not if you use healing items you buy  with the money the game showers you in. But there were a few times where the game made me flinch or clench my fist. It's not exactly complex for this type of game either, it's still Pokémon, but it does require you to at least know your basics and account for that in your team build if you want to get through.

All tied together by a plot that, while nothing special, did once again manage to engage me. I actually felt a little emotion once I reached the credits. Also just helped by my love for the series. I remembered my playthrough of Pokémon Y back when I was a teenager, and how it felt to explore this city and see my Pokémon in 3D for the first time. I went through this game with Braixen, Pangoro, Doublade, Starmie, Lopunny and Meganium, and they did start to feel like partners. Meganium especially reminded me of my very first Pokémon game where I traveled with a Chikorita turned Meganium too, and this Meganium started to feel like that very first Pokémon I ever had over 15 years ago.

Yes that may be nostalgia-drenched and sappy, but who cares? This is Pokémon, what do you expect? As genuinely enjoyable as I found the battles, of course my pre-existing love for these creatures and my familiarity with the series' mechanics played a role in my enjoyment. But what's wrong with that?

I genuinely enjoyed Pokémon Legends: Z-A. I almost want to pick it up again to go through the postgame, but we'll see whether I'll actually commit to that. I'm definitely keeping an eye on the Legends subseries from now on though. I just beat it so I'm gonna have to let the game sink in for a bit, but this may even be my preferred form of Pokémon from now on. If you're not already a Pokémon fan and you're familiar with this type of game, I doubt this game is going to impress. It's no masterpiece, it's not gonna wow you, and objectively it doesn't hold a candle to other AAA-games in this genre you can get at the same price (even if those are also probably less accessible). But if you already like Pokémon, you like the setting and you're urging for a new Pokémon journey, I'd say this game is worth considering.

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2025!!!

« on: October 21, 2025, 04:01:07 pm »

12. Super Mario Galaxy 2 [Nintendo Switch]

I played Super Mario Galaxy 2 on Wii, but I never beat it. So the re-release on Switch seemed like the perfect time to do so.

This is a fantastic 3D platformer, but I don't think you needed me to tell you that. It's a lot of fun to play through, no doubt. At some points I even think I found it a bit more challenging than the original. Not by much, these games still aren't hard at all, but still. I did have fun long jumping over obstacles to beat levels faster.

However, when I (re)played the first Galaxy, it made me cry time after time. Granted, a lot of that was nostalgia, but still: I didn't feel nearly as much emotion with this game. And that seems by design. The original Galaxy wasn't afraid to go big. It built a universe, a plot, different worlds, et cetera. It wasn't afraid to give the plot a sense of weight, scale and emotion. Nothing super deep, but it was there. Galaxy 2 is a lot more restraint in that regard. The levels in the original Galaxy often felt like worlds to me, the levels in Galaxy 2 felt like levels. It almost feels like Galaxy 2 was an early part of how the Mario platformers went "generic Mario" style over the course of the 3DS and Wii U era.

Now that doesn't change the fantastic level design and gameplay, which still is fantastic. The game is a joy to play. It just doesn't pack the emotional weight the original does to me, and because of that, I will always prefer the original. But I'm definitely glad to have now finished its sequel too.

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2025!!!

« on: October 09, 2025, 04:58:17 pm »

11. Super Mario Galaxy [Nintendo Switch]

I already beat Super Mario Galaxy on Wii a long time ago, but now that Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2 is out on Nintendo Switch, I decided to buy it and replay it (and finally beat Super Mario Galaxy 2, which I haven't beaten before, but that's next up.)

Super Mario Galaxy...is a game I cannot give an unbiased review of. This game is way too close to my heart. I'll be honest: I cried so many times while replaying this game. And I'm not someone that cries easily, at all, but this game just gets it out of me.

I grew up on Mario games, including Super Mario Galaxy, and to my childhood self, this game was magical. Genuinely magical, like nothing else was. I think many of us know that feeling, that one childhood world that spoke to our imagination, our emotion, in such a deep and special way. I think this game is to me what some Disney films seem to be to many others.

This game knows how to trigger that feeling too. I think everyone here knows about the soundtrack. The orchestral score is still one of the absolute best soundtracks in gaming history, and many songs still give me shivers whenever I hear them. The worlds are brimming with colour, imagination, joy. And I just need to mention Rosalina's Storybook....my god.....every new chapter I unlocked made me break down a little and cry. I'm not exaggerating. I can't even describe it, it just hits me in the core of my heart like nothing else. It makes me want to hug my own mom or dad and bawl my eyes out.

I know I'm just gushing, but I'm sorry. These characters and this world just mean so much to me. And Super Mario Galaxy is the absolute pinnacle of why that is. Gosh I'm getting teary-eyed again as I'm writing this. It was incredible to re-experience this title after such a long time. This is one of those games I will genuinely cherish the memories of. There's a reason that when earlier this year, when I got the opportunity to meet Charles Martinet, I asked him to sign my original childhood copy of Super Mario Galaxy. It has a place in my heart that it will never lose.

Phew...and with that, on to Super Mario Galaxy 2!

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2025!!!

« on: September 08, 2025, 06:43:33 pm »

10. En Garde! [PC/Steam Deck]



And that makes ten. En Garde! is a game that sparked my interest from the moment I first heard about it. Taking place in 17th century Spain, you play as Adalia de Volador, a masterful swordswoman. The game aims to emulate the feeling of Zorro-style fight scenes (at least I assume, I've never seen a Zorro movie, but that's the first word that comes to my mind). So to fight your opponents, yes you will need to use your fencing skills, but that alone won't cut it. The key to victory is in using your surroundings. Grabbing random stuff and throwing it at people, kicking them down the stairs, kicking them into pillars to drop the pots on top on their heads, throwing torches to light explosives, swinging across rooms to escape a tight spot, et cetera. All spiced up by light-hearted, silly, Spanish-accented banter by the characters.

The combat flow does take a bit to get used to, because it's so different from any other third-person brawler. You really need to change how you think and approach fights: just going for brute force will get you killed. You need to stay on your feet, find openings to use what you have available, and find ways to split opponents up and drain their defense so you can damage them.

Overall, I had fun with it! I did stumble through it, but that's normal for any first playthrough of a new action game, right? Thankfully the checkpoint system is more than fair, and this game is clearly designed to be played repeatedly and improve your skills in. Especially considering how short it is: it only took me about 4-5 hours to beat. The game is available on GOG and Steam (from what I can see). If you find it on sale, I think it's worth trying out.

(Oh, and on technical performance: I played the DirectX 12 version on Steam Deck. The framerate was a bit choppy which did cause me to slip up, but after I dropped all graphic settings one level, it ran perfectly fine and still looked good to me.)

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2025!!!

« on: August 18, 2025, 07:27:13 pm »

9. Metroid Dread (second playthrough)

First replay of the year. I first beat this game when it came out, but I hadn't played it since. I had been wanting to for ages though, and now felt right. I've finished playing all the 2D Metroids since then (well, except NES but still), and I wanted to replay Dread to see whether it would still hold up as my favourite.
And yes, I still think it does. This game is absolutely fantastic. Everything flows together so beautifully. Exploring and finding new paths is a joy, the boss fights are great, it just feels good to slowly grow more powerful as the game goes on. I'm quite tired right now so maybe I'm struggling a tad with finding the right words, but Metroid Dread is still every bit as good as it was when I first played it. I was a tad doubtful at the beginning as there were a few things irking me, but the rest of the game more than made up for it. In terms of pure gameplay feel, Metroid Dread is unmatched amongst the 2D Metroids if you ask me. And some of the moments late in the game made me shout or gasp (in a good way). If you haven't played it yet, I cannot recommend it enough.

And I suppose that makes my definitive 2D Metroid tier list:

• Metroid Dread
• Super Metroid
• Metroid: Samus Returns
• Metroid Fusion
• Metroid Zero Mission
• Metroid II: Return of Samus
• Unplayed and thus unranked: Metroid (NES)

(not ranking the Prime games amongst these because they are so different in style)

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General / Re: August 2025 - Recently added to collection/recently purchased

« on: August 05, 2025, 02:52:33 pm »

I'm very happy with this one



The physical limited edition of Murder by Numbers for Nintendo Switch. One of the only 2000 that were made. This game is in my top 5 favourites of all time, but until now I only had it digitally. So it's really sick to now have the physical version on my shelf too!

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2025!!!

« on: August 01, 2025, 08:22:42 pm »

8. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption

Finally beat this game. And goddamn, it was beyond amazing. We all know how acclaimed and beloved the Metroid Prime trilogy is. And this game truly lives up to that reputation.

This was honestly a bit of an emotional one for me too. I bought Metroid Prime 3 as a kid, all the way back during the Wii era, as probably my first Metroid game. Back then I tried to play it, but it was too difficult to figure out for kid me and I gave up on it. Years later, I tried again, and gave up a second time. But since then, I became a true Metroid fan. Easy top 5 favourite gaming franchises, probably top 3. I've beaten most of the other games at this point, and not counting the original NES Metroid, Federation Force, Pinball and Hunters (which I may still try again at some point), this was the one Metroid game I still had to conquer (especially before Prime 4 comes out). And now I tried it again. With the same disc, on the exact same Wii I've been using since I was a kid. And this time, like Prime Remastered before, it completely clicked with me and I had a fantastic time from start to end. But something just felt special about this one in particular, finally playing and conquering this incredible game and the original end to the trilogy, while also hearing those familiar Wii disc reader sounds I've heard ever since my very first experience with this franchise. I don't know, in an odd way it felt like some form of closure of something that had been open for over 15 years? I don't know, it just felt special all right? I can be emotionally sappy if I want to sometimes.

So yeah, needless to say, I love this game. One of my favourites on the Wii no doubt. If you're even vaguely interested in Metroid Prime 4: Beyond later this year and you haven't played through the original trilogy yet, I can very highly recommend them. (Metroid Prime Remastered on Nintendo Switch is incredible too fyi).

(Also, for those worried about that: I had no issues at all with the motion controls! Felt very natural and worked flawlessly.)

Already know what I'm gonna do next: play a game I've already beaten before. May not be entirely what this challenge is for, but I've only played through Metroid Dread once when it came out and I've played through all the other 2D Metroids again since then. I want to play through Dread one more time, to once and for all figure out what my favourite Metroid game of all time is. (Spoiler: it's probably going to be either Super Metroid or Metroid Dread. Almost certainly Dread.).

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2025!!!

« on: July 22, 2025, 09:18:03 pm »

7. Urban Flow



I started this game years ago and chipped away on it for a bit every couple of months. Now, I finally properly sat down, beat the last 30 or so levels, and beat it!

Urban Flow is a game I find hard to pin a genre to. Puzzle? Strategy? Well, best I can describe it is a traffic controller simulator, because that's what it is. There are a bunch of roads (often ones designed by some complete idiot) and the roads have a bunch of cars on them (with more idiots in them). You control all the traffic lights and your goal is to let cars through safely by switching the lights . Let enough cars through without letting too many of them crash, and you beat the level.

It's a pretty simple setup. I'm sure you can tell from a screenshot how it works, but it's pretty fun and addictive to play. It's an easy game to chill back with a bit. It can require a decent amount of multitasking in some levels, but I never found it stressful to play. And while the 3-star rankings can pose a fair challenge, beating all the levels really isn't too hard with a few tries. There's 100 levels, not counting DLC, so there's enough to keep you busy for a while.The game is available on Switch and PC (shockingly not on mobile, I legitimately thought this was a mobile port at first, but oh well). I can definitely recommend it as a fun game to pick up and play here and there on a portable device.

Also, for the colorblind among you: the game has alternate designs for the traffic lights that add a hand symbol when the light is red, so even if you can't see the difference between red and green, this game has options for you!

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2025!!!

« on: July 19, 2025, 09:47:24 pm »

6. Toree 3D

Toree 3D is a retro 3D platformer that hearkens back to the early days of the genre. It's also 99 cents. That's important to frame what kind of game we're talking about.

The game is really simple. You can run, use one button to jump and double jump, and hold down another to dash. That's it. Well, and you control the camera with the right stick, because it does not move on its own at all (really going for that retro vibe). With those moves, you simply try to get to the end of the level. There's 13 levels total: 9 main ones and 4 bonus ones. Everything in the game, I would probably describe as all right. You can finish it in half an hour, but the game was also clearly designed for you to try to beat the levels as fast as possible and get the highest ranking. Plus, it's 99 cents. I cannot overstate that. At that price, I couldn't possibly complain even if I wanted to. I can think of many worse ways to spend 99 cents. So if you have a little cash left to burn on your Nintendo eShop or Steam account, I mean, it's 99 cents. It beats letting that money sit there.

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General / Re: July 2025 - Recently added to collection/recently purchased

« on: July 18, 2025, 10:22:57 am »

I was at a thrift store that apparently just sells all their Wii games for € 3,40. So I snagged Bomberman Land Wii, Mario Party 9 (Nintendo Selects edition) and Rayman Origins.

They had some other absolute steals for that price though, even including games like Super Paper Mario, Donkey Kong Country Returns, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and Super Mario Galaxy 2. I was dumbfounded. I already own all of those games, but someone else did pick them up. Hope he enjoys them

Apart from those three games I also picked up FIFA 11 for the PS2 because it was dirt cheap and, despite owning 885 games at this point (including digital games but excluding itch.io), I somehow didn't own a FIFA game yet. And also got a brand new release that came out today: Shadow Labyrinth! The trailers looked right up my alley, so I'm excited to try that one.

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General / Re: July 2025 - Recently added to collection/recently purchased

« on: July 02, 2025, 07:33:10 pm »

I went to the thrift store to buy some new furniture. I failed.


(Sorry for the glare, it's the best I could do)

Ignoring the dvd's and cd's at the top, I got:

• Bejeweled Twist (PC)
• Fishdom 2 (PC)
• Angry Birds (PC)
• Angry Birds: Space (PC)
• Noddy (PC)
• Assassin's Creed: Director's Cut Edition (PC)
• Darksiders (PC)
• Tomb Raider: Legend (PC)
• EyeToy: Play 2 (PS2)
• SEGA: Superstars (PS2)
• De Wereld Draait Door DVD-Spel (DVD Game)

Excluding Sega Superstars and Noddy, I didn't even particularly want any of these. They just had a LOT of cd-roms, and I was in a buying mood.

Also, for the last one, I actually didn't realise it was a DVD game rather than a PC game until I got home, because it was on the shelf with all the other PC games. But I had to buy it out of sheer curiosity. "De Wereld Draait Door" ("The World Keeps Turning", although "draait door" is also a Dutch term for "going crazy") was an extremely successful Dutch public television show. And it was...a talkshow. A latenight talkshow with the host at a table, talking to guests like media people and politicians. I have NO idea how you can turn that into a video game (or, well, DVD game I guess), but I just had to find out. Curious to try it.

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2025!!!

« on: June 23, 2025, 10:11:59 pm »

5. Mario Kart World

Ah, Mario Kart. That raises the eternal question of "When can you consider this game beaten?" After beating all Grand Prix cups? After all Knockout Tour cups? After completing the Free Roam mode?

Well, I've now gotten gold trophies and at least a star ranking on all Grand Prix cups and Knockout Tour cups on 150cc. Doing that for Grand Prix landed me the credits too. Furthermore, Free Roam has like 750 or something things to find, which feels a lot more like a "completed" thing than a "beaten" thing, plus on HowLongToBeat the average beat time is 3,5 hours and there's NO WAY that's with Free Roam included, so with what I have done thus far I think I can consider it beaten.

I'm having fun with this game! But that's no surprise, it's Mario Kart. It's definitely a major shake-up of the formula though, with twice the amount of racers on the track, much larger and more open tracks, and gameplay that seems to be more about how you find your way around the tracks than the tracks themselves. Shaking up the formula makes sense, it would've been really hard to improve on what Mario Kart 8 Deluxe did. But is World better? I wouldn't call it better or worse per se, moreso just different.

Races are of course great fun, and feel like they have a different kind of chaos going on with the more open space and large amount of items flying around. Knockout Tour is really fun to play. I haven't had much time with the Free Roam mode yet, but I'm not sure that'll be my thing anyway. But that's a personal taste thing.

But the main thing that I think feels different in World compared to 8 is the philosophy in track design. World's tracks aren't just bigger and more open. You're actively encouraged to try to find shortcuts everywhere. By grinding on rails and tricking off of them, you can pull off some downright insane shortcuts if you've got the skill. Even basic shortcuts take some genuine technique to pull off. The thing with this, for me, is that often the alternate tracks or optimal paths aren't immediately obvious. Often they're flat-out hidden. And I don't know how I feel about that. I'm assuming that the idea is that you play Free Roam, try and look for shortcuts, and then implement them in your regular races. But I just feel like an idiot and like I'm missing stuff in the races. In Mario Kart 8, you can see just about every bit of road coming up ahead in front of you. How you handle that is all about your fundamental basic driving skills. But with hidden paths, it becomes more about how much time you've put into experimenting and how much you can remember of that. The shortcuts are too hidden to always be intuitive. You can still race over the standard road just fine of course, but if you only do that, tracks can feel barren, I agree, especially compared to 8's incredible track designs.

At the end of the day though, this is still Mario Kart. It's still well put together, colourful, exciting and fun, both solo and of course especially in multiplayer. The day after this game and the Switch 2 came out, I went to a gamer hangout space, and we had great fun with the game. So there's your endorsement for ya.

Edit: Also, I gotta add, this game's Rainbow Road may be one of the best and most exhilerating Rainbow Roads in the entire franchise.