Ahh the episode last week convinced me that I don't need a Switch 2 and now you're pulling me back in?! My non-video game playing wife did completely unprompted tell me that "there's a cow character in Mario Kart now" so maybe all the signs are aligning.
As a sidenote, I really want to love Poker Face but Natasha Lyonne's recent very entitled anti-transit/anti-bike screed on Everybody's Live with John Mulaney grossed me out so much that I need to take a break from her.
This is the first I’m hearing about the Post Games podcast, and based on literally the first six minutes of this episode, I would describe it as This American Video Games Life. I like it.
It’s so good! I really really really loved the first episode and the aside about the namesake of the IGF award, what an inspiring and bittersweet history
If you want the “classic” AC experience that made the series big Assassin’s Creed 2. Possibly via the Ezio collection? Idk the specifics of how the games are available on Steam nowadays. But if you want the modern more rpg AC you’ll want Odyssey
Unfortunately the Ezio collection is only available on PC through Ubisoft’s store which you can technically make work but for someone just getting a steam deck, will probably be more work than they are looking to start out with.
I think your Odyssey rec or even Origins would be good, Odyssey is maybe the fan favourite but they’re all cut from the same cloth and if you want to “start” then presumably you’ll want to go through them all eventually, so I think Origins is a better starting point
I replied to your reply but not here lol, I’d say start with Origins, myself, but that or Odyssey are both great and are often on sale.
Actually, though, Steam’s Spring Sale is around the corner and both of those games have shown up in their “Deep Discounts” section the last two seasonal sales (like 80-90% off), so maybe wait a week and see if they do it again, maybe even with Valhalla?
Slightly unrelated, too, but if you want a similar feel, Ubisoft made a game called Immortals Fenyx Rising that is like a mix of AC and Breath of the Wild (like it is very clearly going for BotW but can’t shake that Ubisoft design). That will often go on sale for $10 or less, too, I think I got the Gold edition for like $9 on a seasonal sale?
And lastly, the Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor/Shadow or War games by WB are like AC games set in Lord of the Rings, and again, available on Steam natively and often like 80-90% off.
I know those last two aren’t what you asked for but they are similar styles of games, one literally by the same company, that are available on Steam, often for cheap, and will probably be great showcases of the Steam Deck if you’re looking for games that are easy to get and run on that machine.
I have negative amounts of patience so I went ahead and did the work around to get Ubisoft Connect to launch from the Steamdeck haha and was able to pick up Origins for ~$7 & so far I am having a great time with it.
Thanks for the reminder on the spring sale! I went ahead and wishlisted most of the games & will definitely pick them up if the discounts are that good, especially Valhalla.
I only found out about Immortal Fenyx Rising from a different besties thread! & it was a really fun game, although the mechanics are not the most comfortable or intuitive. I loved all the Greek Gods lore, and the world in general so I stuck with it.
With that I’m definitely going to be adding both LotR games to the wish list and seeing what they go for in the Steam spring sale too
I truly can’t wait to bulk up my library games list even more soon. The to be played list is getting ridiculous but whats another 5 in a list of hundreds?!
I'd say it depends what kind of game you want! If you want an open world Action RPG, just start at Origins or Odyssey (take your pick on ancient Egypt vs Greece). If you want a more stealth-based adventure, go with the Ezio Collection. It's the Trilogy of games starting with AC2. I wouldn't necessarily worry about missing any of the story prior to either place you start, I'm sure there are also video summaries out there as well. Good luck!
Thank you!! This was really helpful. I’m just coming off of Tomb Raider (2013) & Prince of Persia The Lost Crown, so I think a jaunt in Origins/Odyssey is a perfect follow up. I also wasnt sure if the story really mattered, it’s nice to know that it’s a bonus not a prerequisite.
Question for you all. The Switch 2 is my first Nintendo console ever, and so while I know a lot of people are feeling underwhelmed by the Switch 2 launch catalog, I’ve gotten into Breath of the Wild for the first time and I’m absolutely blown away. Obviously I’m almost a decade late to this particular party, but I’m really enjoying it nonetheless.
My question is, what else have I missed, and where should I start? I’ve been playing games on PC and Steam Deck now for a long time but I’ve obviously completely missed any of Nintendo’s first party catalog, where do I start as someone basically completely new to the entire Nintendo back catalog?
If I need to narrow it a bit, I really love search-action games, but I’ve never played an actual Metroid game. On the Switch 2 in 2025, between all the retro games available to play and the entire Switch catalog, where do I start with Metroid?
For other first party stuff, consider Kirby (I think one original game and one remaster from Wii), Pikmin (4 is original, 3 has a remaster from Wii U), and of course 3-4 great Mario games (I want to say 2 of which were remastered). The Link's Awakening remaster was solid too.
For me this feels like Nintendo taking off the training weights. They’ve always made my favorite games in spite of the “technical limitations” and imo none of their major successes were Successful because of a gimmick in the hardware. In the same vein of how Jaws was improved by the shark not working how they wanted Nintendo pulls off stuff that other devs don't because of how much graphical power is invested to. The big recent example being the physics of TotK wowing particularly other game devs in how they pulled it off. Assuming they maintain that priority I feel like it’s gonna be astounding what they can do gameplay wise with the power that goes into graphics everywhere else.
I think the saying is “training wheels” but I’m not sure either really applies here. I think this is still classic Nintendo. They’re still not really competing power wise with what we see from the rest of the home console/pc market. Cyberpunk is a 5 year old game now and I would like to know if Switch 2 is capable of running something like the Indiana Jones game that came out last year.
The success of the Wii was certainly in big part due to the hardware gimmick. I don’t think Twilight Princess or Mario Galaxy really sold that console in the way that Wii Sports did.
You’re right though that their focus has always been about fun and I too hope that continues to be their focus.
Training weights are (usually soft) heavy wrist and ankle bands you can wear to make walking or running harder. Your body gets used to it, then when you take them off you feel stronger and faster all of a sudden. That's the analogy, you learn to squeeze every drop of performance out of aging chipsets, the suddenly they hand you modern hardware and you can really take off.
On the topic of ergonomics I really enjoy the mechanism ecosystem. The gaming pillow felt ridiculous to buy, but it’s honestly amazing to have it take the weight of the Ally X or switch and let me just use the controller. Or to just put my arms down during cut scenes.
I can’t remember if any of yall are building management sim guys, but a rogue-lite civ managing game just came out of early access called The Wandering Village! I ended up getting immediately hooked on it.
It takes place in a Nausicaa-like world where the people are post apocalyptic refugees in a world with personal gliders and toxic fungi, and you’re managing a village on top of a giant creature that you care for along with your villagers.
I feel your pain Justin - I developed wrist tendonitis in 2020 because of Animal Crossing!
My main suggestion is to get a gooseneck tablet holder. Doesn’t fix the issue when you’re somewhere else, but if you’re at home and want to play while something else is on the TV it’s a game changer. None of the many cases and grips I’ve tried have been as good for my wrists at just using the pro controller with this set up!
Also, if you haven’t looked into a vertical mouse yet I highly recommend it. There’s a few different styles and it has a little bit if a learning curve, but as someone with a desk job it has saved me so much pain.
I just found out about the very forgettabley named "Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon," and it looks like a besties game to me. Indie Skyrim-like with a bit of souls for good measure. I'm excited to give it a go and thought some of you would love it.
Rachel must be a friggin wizard cause Russ’ audio was pretty much perfect!
Ahh the episode last week convinced me that I don't need a Switch 2 and now you're pulling me back in?! My non-video game playing wife did completely unprompted tell me that "there's a cow character in Mario Kart now" so maybe all the signs are aligning.
As a sidenote, I really want to love Poker Face but Natasha Lyonne's recent very entitled anti-transit/anti-bike screed on Everybody's Live with John Mulaney grossed me out so much that I need to take a break from her.
This is the first I’m hearing about the Post Games podcast, and based on literally the first six minutes of this episode, I would describe it as This American Video Games Life. I like it.
It’s so good! I really really really loved the first episode and the aside about the namesake of the IGF award, what an inspiring and bittersweet history
Ok this is unrelated to this weeks episode but I need the Besties & Besties community help.
I have a steamdeck, I want to get into Assassin’s Creed. I am overwhelmed ! Where do I start?
If you want the “classic” AC experience that made the series big Assassin’s Creed 2. Possibly via the Ezio collection? Idk the specifics of how the games are available on Steam nowadays. But if you want the modern more rpg AC you’ll want Odyssey
Unfortunately the Ezio collection is only available on PC through Ubisoft’s store which you can technically make work but for someone just getting a steam deck, will probably be more work than they are looking to start out with.
I think your Odyssey rec or even Origins would be good, Odyssey is maybe the fan favourite but they’re all cut from the same cloth and if you want to “start” then presumably you’ll want to go through them all eventually, so I think Origins is a better starting point
My $0.2
Thank you!! I think I’ll probably want to stay in sweet sweet modern graphics for now, and once im hooked go back to classics.
I replied to your reply but not here lol, I’d say start with Origins, myself, but that or Odyssey are both great and are often on sale.
Actually, though, Steam’s Spring Sale is around the corner and both of those games have shown up in their “Deep Discounts” section the last two seasonal sales (like 80-90% off), so maybe wait a week and see if they do it again, maybe even with Valhalla?
Slightly unrelated, too, but if you want a similar feel, Ubisoft made a game called Immortals Fenyx Rising that is like a mix of AC and Breath of the Wild (like it is very clearly going for BotW but can’t shake that Ubisoft design). That will often go on sale for $10 or less, too, I think I got the Gold edition for like $9 on a seasonal sale?
And lastly, the Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor/Shadow or War games by WB are like AC games set in Lord of the Rings, and again, available on Steam natively and often like 80-90% off.
I know those last two aren’t what you asked for but they are similar styles of games, one literally by the same company, that are available on Steam, often for cheap, and will probably be great showcases of the Steam Deck if you’re looking for games that are easy to get and run on that machine.
Happy hunting!
Thank you!!!
I have negative amounts of patience so I went ahead and did the work around to get Ubisoft Connect to launch from the Steamdeck haha and was able to pick up Origins for ~$7 & so far I am having a great time with it.
Thanks for the reminder on the spring sale! I went ahead and wishlisted most of the games & will definitely pick them up if the discounts are that good, especially Valhalla.
I only found out about Immortal Fenyx Rising from a different besties thread! & it was a really fun game, although the mechanics are not the most comfortable or intuitive. I loved all the Greek Gods lore, and the world in general so I stuck with it.
With that I’m definitely going to be adding both LotR games to the wish list and seeing what they go for in the Steam spring sale too
I truly can’t wait to bulk up my library games list even more soon. The to be played list is getting ridiculous but whats another 5 in a list of hundreds?!
I'd say it depends what kind of game you want! If you want an open world Action RPG, just start at Origins or Odyssey (take your pick on ancient Egypt vs Greece). If you want a more stealth-based adventure, go with the Ezio Collection. It's the Trilogy of games starting with AC2. I wouldn't necessarily worry about missing any of the story prior to either place you start, I'm sure there are also video summaries out there as well. Good luck!
Thank you!! This was really helpful. I’m just coming off of Tomb Raider (2013) & Prince of Persia The Lost Crown, so I think a jaunt in Origins/Odyssey is a perfect follow up. I also wasnt sure if the story really mattered, it’s nice to know that it’s a bonus not a prerequisite.
I started with Odyssey and the modern parts of the story are serviceable but not all that important in the grand scheme
Question for you all. The Switch 2 is my first Nintendo console ever, and so while I know a lot of people are feeling underwhelmed by the Switch 2 launch catalog, I’ve gotten into Breath of the Wild for the first time and I’m absolutely blown away. Obviously I’m almost a decade late to this particular party, but I’m really enjoying it nonetheless.
My question is, what else have I missed, and where should I start? I’ve been playing games on PC and Steam Deck now for a long time but I’ve obviously completely missed any of Nintendo’s first party catalog, where do I start as someone basically completely new to the entire Nintendo back catalog?
If I need to narrow it a bit, I really love search-action games, but I’ve never played an actual Metroid game. On the Switch 2 in 2025, between all the retro games available to play and the entire Switch catalog, where do I start with Metroid?
For other first party stuff, consider Kirby (I think one original game and one remaster from Wii), Pikmin (4 is original, 3 has a remaster from Wii U), and of course 3-4 great Mario games (I want to say 2 of which were remastered). The Link's Awakening remaster was solid too.
Super Metroid is still fantastic, as are the GBA games. I would suggest playing in chronological order, ending with Dread. All worth playing!
I don’t know what Rachel did, but I could hear Russ just fine. (I may have also been driving a tractor while listening)
Jen(nifer Aniston) + Eva (Longoria)
Jen Eva = Geneva
Keep Russ safe
For me this feels like Nintendo taking off the training weights. They’ve always made my favorite games in spite of the “technical limitations” and imo none of their major successes were Successful because of a gimmick in the hardware. In the same vein of how Jaws was improved by the shark not working how they wanted Nintendo pulls off stuff that other devs don't because of how much graphical power is invested to. The big recent example being the physics of TotK wowing particularly other game devs in how they pulled it off. Assuming they maintain that priority I feel like it’s gonna be astounding what they can do gameplay wise with the power that goes into graphics everywhere else.
I think the saying is “training wheels” but I’m not sure either really applies here. I think this is still classic Nintendo. They’re still not really competing power wise with what we see from the rest of the home console/pc market. Cyberpunk is a 5 year old game now and I would like to know if Switch 2 is capable of running something like the Indiana Jones game that came out last year.
The success of the Wii was certainly in big part due to the hardware gimmick. I don’t think Twilight Princess or Mario Galaxy really sold that console in the way that Wii Sports did.
You’re right though that their focus has always been about fun and I too hope that continues to be their focus.
Training weights are (usually soft) heavy wrist and ankle bands you can wear to make walking or running harder. Your body gets used to it, then when you take them off you feel stronger and faster all of a sudden. That's the analogy, you learn to squeeze every drop of performance out of aging chipsets, the suddenly they hand you modern hardware and you can really take off.
On the topic of ergonomics I really enjoy the mechanism ecosystem. The gaming pillow felt ridiculous to buy, but it’s honestly amazing to have it take the weight of the Ally X or switch and let me just use the controller. Or to just put my arms down during cut scenes.
Is Russ OK? 😅
...
I can't believe that THIS is how I find out that ROG of ROG Ally fame is an acronym. I'm going to wedgie all of them.
And speaking of things that will get you wedgied, my copy of Jacob Geller's book How A Game Lives arrived early this week and it's a BEAUTY.
Just a gorgeous book inside and out. Plus there's an afterword on one of the essays by a Chris... Plante? Did I say that right?
Definitely worth checking out if you're a FREAK.
Also: it's a TALL book. I have no idea where I'm going to shelve this.
HDMDYDIYKYK
Or maybe Boost Pad DYDIYKYK
I can’t remember if any of yall are building management sim guys, but a rogue-lite civ managing game just came out of early access called The Wandering Village! I ended up getting immediately hooked on it.
It takes place in a Nausicaa-like world where the people are post apocalyptic refugees in a world with personal gliders and toxic fungi, and you’re managing a village on top of a giant creature that you care for along with your villagers.
I feel your pain Justin - I developed wrist tendonitis in 2020 because of Animal Crossing!
My main suggestion is to get a gooseneck tablet holder. Doesn’t fix the issue when you’re somewhere else, but if you’re at home and want to play while something else is on the TV it’s a game changer. None of the many cases and grips I’ve tried have been as good for my wrists at just using the pro controller with this set up!
Also, if you haven’t looked into a vertical mouse yet I highly recommend it. There’s a few different styles and it has a little bit if a learning curve, but as someone with a desk job it has saved me so much pain.
I just found out about the very forgettabley named "Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon," and it looks like a besties game to me. Indie Skyrim-like with a bit of souls for good measure. I'm excited to give it a go and thought some of you would love it.
As a side note for anyone wanting a good grip case for the switch, dbrand is absolutely brilliant.