Welcome to Press Any Button! This newsletter is designed to be a place for gaming news and discussion that’s relevant to just about every player, even people who don’t necessarily want to pick up every new release game or read about deep industry intrigue. This week, we take a look at whether Xbox’s big news this week should affect your choice of console, run down the latest in sales and Game Pass additions, and dominate our friends with pretty Portuguese patterns.
It’s no longer time to worry about Xbox vs PlayStation
By Tim
This week brought news that Microsoft had acquired publishing behemoth Activision, and without going too far into the details it’s fair to say many of the takes shared online ran the gamut from pre-emptive to frothingly paranoid. Some concerns are obviously justified. Activision publishes Call of Duty, so if you bought a PS4 or PS5 for the express purpose of playing those games, the idea of them being taken away and held hostage on a different system is worrying.
But the fact is we don’t know that’s happening yet, and the deal won’t even be closed until some time next year assuming it clears any regulatory issues. The long and short of it is the ramifications are not clear. And if I’m honest, I think a lot of the hostility is tied to tribalism and “console war” sentiment that is no longer relevant or helpful (if it ever was). Both the PlayStation and Xbox ecosystems currently have so much going for them and serve distinct enough purposes that they each have a spot in gaming, and arguments about which one is best are silly. This will be true even if Call of Duty is eventually locked to Xbox.
And when one company pays $90 billion for another, you know they’re thinking longer term than that anyway. Both Sony and Microsoft understand their offerings will be more like Netflix or Spotify in the future — you won’t need to invest in a pricey box — so they’re moving to lock down their content. What does this all mean for you, a person who may be considering whether to get an Xbox Series X or PS5? Virtually nothing. Weigh up what they offer right now and make your choice — or grab whichever you can find in stock — they both have bright futures ahead.
What to play
Nobody Saves the World is a brilliant new game that might not have been on your radar, from the folks at Drinkbox (Guacamelee!, Severed). It’s a colourful and very funny dungeon crawler with a focus on stats and progression that may intimidate some at first, but it’s actually straightforward and oh-so-satisfying. You’re constantly unlocking new forms to play as (ranger, horse, slug) which in turn brings new combat options, new goals and more unlockables to work towards. It’s also included with Xbox Game Pass!
And speaking of Game Pass, Spelunky 2 is now on the service, and was one of the greatest games of last year. It’s the very essence of what’s made the rougelite genre such a mainstream success over the last few years; you build up familiarity and knowledge of the dangers and secrets over time, but randomised levels always keep you on your toes. Also an excellent co-op option if you have a regular partner or group.
Finally on Game Pass, Stardew Valley was added in December but this week gets touch controls so you can play it on your phone via cloud streaming and keep your progress with the Xbox version. It’s a classic, calm, farming town game where you explore the mines, plant crops, make friends, and make your dead grandpa proud. It’s very similar to Animal Crossing, but it won’t judge you if you get distracted by other things and have to come back after an extended absence.
Over on PlayStation, today is the last full day to take advantage of the Summer Sale, and there’s some real gems in there. A top pick is Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection, which includes PS4 versions of the first three Uncharted games, for $12.47. It’s the perfect way to replay the start of the series before Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection comes out next week, with PS5 remasters of Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End and Uncharted: The Lost Legacy. If you’re looking for something else substantial before the 2022 big hitters, the sale also includes the Premium editions of The Witcher 3, Red Dead Redemption 2, Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order, Doom Eternal and Hitman 3 at less than half price.
Finally, an enjoyment of multiplayer is on the Horizon
By Alice
I spent most of my summer break playing an absurd amount of Forza Horizon 5. At a time when I can’t travel as much as I usually would and am under a self-imposed lockdown, exploring the volcanos, beaches and conveniently placed ramps of Mexico has been a balm for my weary soul.
Hands down, it’s the best Forza Horizon game yet, and Forza Horizon is my favourite game series of all time, so I came in with high hopes.
After insisting for years that I hated online games, and loudly voicing my disappointment each time the Horizon series became a little more multiplayer focused, I actually love playing with others now. Don’t get me wrong, humanity hasn’t changed much and gamers can still be jerks (looking at you, dude who spammed the “great job team” react after I full-on crashed into a wall), but at this time of separation, there’s a certain beauty in working together as a team to crash into our opponents as hard as we can to “infect” them. In hindsight, introducing a pathogen-themed competition might have been misguided in 2021.
The only problem with all the time I’m spending in Horizon’s imagining of Mexico is that I don’t drive often in real life. We sold our car in 2019, so now the only time I drive in real life is when I visit my dad, which hasn’t been very often recently. That’s all fine.
But when I do drive, I have to ban all songs from the game’s soundtrack in the car, lest muscle memory take over and I start looking for “short cuts” and skill chains…
Whether you’re a fan of racing games, or just chill exploration where you’re rewarded for crashing into fences and shrubbery, I really can’t recommend Forza Horizon 5 enough.
Bricks, Boards and Beginnings
by Alice
There are two camps of adults when it comes to board games: There are those who were forced to play Monopoly as children and still have one really good story about the time a parent betrayed them, and then there are those with a cupboard full of European board games and a willingness to spend an entire Saturday playing an exceptionally complicated game that takes up half the living room, and only one third of the players truly understand the rules.
I am in both camps (my dad’s approach to Risk was as traumatising as it was formative), and today I want to spread the gospel of Azul in all its forms.
The story of the original Azul is based around azulejo, which is a kind of Portuguese tilework. You and your competitors are competing to make the most beautiful tile wall or floor or whatever; it’s a flimsy excuse to collect pretty tiles and thwart competitors.
The beauty of the game is both its simplicity and how deep you can go with the strategy. It’s simple to learn, but the random nature of the tile drops, and different strategies employed by different opponents means the game stays feeling fresh.
Stained Glass of Sintra is the next game in the Azul series and is extremely enjoyable, though not as much as Summer Pavilion, which is the third game.
Played with the right group of people, Summer Pavilion allows you to focus more on how you play, and pay less attention to how much you can screw your opponent over. It keeps most of the same mechanics as the original Azul, but turns them on their head just enough.
Make sure you watch a video explaining the rules first, the instruction booklet makes it seem much, much harder than it is.
Retro Esoterica
by Tim
Recently the owner of my local retro games shop told me they're selling more Gamecubes than Nintendo 64s for the first time ever, and Gamecube games are so in demand the prices have become astronomically inflated. Part of this is generational; people who were 10 when the Cube came out are 30 now and amassing trinkets from childhood. But the popularity is curious given Gamecube was kind of shunned in the 2000s. It's Nintendo's second lowest selling home console, and over the generation you were seven times more likely to find a PlayStation 2 in someone's home.
I think the outsized hype is a function of the fact that Nintendo is more popular now than it's ever been. The Switch has brought franchises like Zelda, Mario, Metroid and Smash to millions of new fans, and the company's mascots have a presence in every department store. Time has negated the biggest advantages of the PS2, and the Gamecube is home to so many great games that just aren't accessible without a little purple lunchbox of your own. They're great to play in 2021, but there are caveats.
Australian consoles are arbitrarily limited in picture quality, which is ok if you're on a CRT or have a good scaler, but if you want these games at their best it'll take some fussing. You'll want a US or Japanese console (use an Aussie power supply!), or a method of running homebrew on your Australian machine (free software called Swiss can force most games to 480p), plus a digital or component video solution. If you want games on your shelf you're going to be paying top dollar but, if you're ok with downloading images of 20-year-old out-of-print games, you can play them from a microSD card with an adapter and Swiss.