Granadico

Damn I'd kill for an updated Nvidia Shield. I hear the 2019 one is still good and getting updates but it's a hard mental barrier to spend so much on such an old product. There's no way it's as expensive to make as it's priced now but who knows.

Even though I mainly play Switch 2 docked and think the Switch 2 is too big to be portable, I don't think I'd buy a dock only Switch 2. I miss true portables (3DS XL is the limit of pocketable), there's still too much freedom lost to make it only docked, and I doubt we're ever going back to portables sadly.

@themightyant I did this years ago with my 512GB sata ssd being the boot drive and used for more modern games while the old 2TB HDD was used for basically everything else. I think storage size wouldn't be as much of an issue if internet speeds were better and forever games weren't so prevalent compared to games you could beat and uninstall.

The Switch 2 was criticized for its 256GB storage but that isn't so bad for anything that isn't 3rd party AAA.

I built a similar PC to what Rich described before, Ryzen 5600 with a 9060 XT and 16GB DDR4. I think if you stick with lower power builds and focus running older games at higher settings vs newer games at lower settings you can still have a good time. I feel like if you're budgeting for a PC anyway and not just spending money for high end stuff then you probably aren't buying new games all the time anyway.

I'm not a huge graphics chaser (ironic for this place), so I'd be fine with a cheaper machine. Though i have no interest in buying a PS6, I would like the market to go back in that direction besides Nintendo. I've been playing the hell out of the 3DS lately, just homebrewed the Wii U for GC games, etc.

The AAA market is imploding, inflation and energy costs are crazy, indies have been pushing creativity more than anyone. I'm sure I'm in the minority bud I'd be fine with a smaller jump.

There's a typo where you wrote Series S as X, I was baffled that the series X would sub 1080p on a BC game.

I've only ever played AC2 on the 360 and thought it was cool but never really wanted to play any other games. Everyone likes to bash on the Ubisoft launcher but I've got several free games from it, including AC Unity. I've thought about playing through it in honor of how highly DF talks about it, but I dunno if it's really that good or just a nice tech showcase.

This is a very unNintendo like feature and it rules. I've admittedly been using my 3DS a ton and don't really use Switch 2 in handheld but I'm sure people who like the size get great use out of it. It also pairs well with the PS5 equivalent feature of giving headphones surround sound when plugged in.

But Nintendo still needs more dedicated Switch 1 patches. Basically all their games could jump to 1440/60 I would imagine.

@themightyant I had the same complaint about the environment. I can only describe it as the pseudo HDR photos that phones take that are multiple exposure shots put together in a way that looks nice on a screen but mostly nit accurate.

From what I understand the DLSS training data to this point has been of ultra high res imagery of games so that it can accurate upres low res to high res, it's not creating anything that isn't there, which is why you can do comparisons between native and DLSS. But any generative AI is leaving the model to assume what stuff should look like, and I assume the less photorealistic the worse the results.

I'm happy you guys acknowledged the feedback. I can totally get being excited for new tech and not really thinking it through, but IMO even at first glance it was problematic.

Don't want to jump on the bandwagon but these genuinely look out of place. I wish they would at least have some more cartoony/non realism examples because all these examples look like the AI just guessed what a face should look like based on training data instead of increasing the clarity of what's actually there.

@Someguyperson I think if they were called MicroHard they'd be in the wrong business. Ir maybe that could be their pseudonym publisher name for adult visual novels.

The dll files in PC games need to be replaced to inject newer versions into older games that weren't out at the time, so how is Sony able to have a universal toggle for PSSR? Is PSSR code built into the PS5 OS and the game logic is grabbing it from there?

I figured this waa the case, there was some cryptic teasing about the upscaling in the coverage. Good to see some of the benefits of PC going to console.

@NetshadeX at that point why not just have DLSS be open source or at least be hardware agnostic.

I would love to know how/why they cut MGS2 to 30 fps but could also somehow bring MGS4 to Switch. I don't like the idea of key cards but I bought the "physical" MGS collection there for $20 when all the 3D games are downloaded when the cart is inserted. My Patience paid off with the Switch 2 patch finally.

You guys mention Oblivion in paragraph 3 when you mean Avowed I assume.

I've gotta admit the God of War stuff seemed lackluster. I've never played any of the games but am more interested in the original games, but it seems like Sony wants to forget about them. I imagine this is going to be more like a reimagining into the current style than faithful remakes. I would have loved a straight forward PC/PS5 collection. The 2D game didn't look too hot either despite being right up my alley.

@JJtheTexan you can use the wired Gamecube adapter on Switch 2, no one really talks about that. I bought a 3rd party bootleg for like $15 and used my OG GC controllers just fine. Of course you don't get a home button so you need to have another controller nearby but its better than spending more money.

Starting to see a lot of DLSS variants in use now, I didn't think we'd see much of it used solely for AA and not upscaling (DLAA?). Hopefully we continue to see smart ports and not rushed brute forcing as much.

After 10+ years on a i5 4460 + GTX 960 I finally bought a similarly priced computer during the holidays. Reused the same case and PSU to save some money and got the similarly recommended Ryzen 5 5600 and RX 9060 16GB. You might not be able to play the latest games at the max settings but it runs well for around the price of a PS5 Pro, and I can play all those games I amassed from EGS giveaways and what not. The PC situation is indeed crap for the fireseeable future but it's still workable with the right expectations.

I feel like there's always a game or two that pushes a console's emulation development just to pay that game. GC has Smash Bros, PS3 probably has a lot but I'd put MGS at the top, PS4 with Bloodbourne, and Wii U/Switch (despite being completely different consoles with very little under the hood similarities) having BotW.

Didn't GTAOnline have the same kind of issue with loading time or something?

This echoes of lot of my thoughts on the Switch 2. I'm looking forward to games that were made with the Switch 2 in mind from the start but Nintendo has had a great launch year.

Atlus, From Soft, and Game Freak are the kings of technologically phoning it in while having gameplay loops everyone seems to love. If only their publishers would give them a swift kick in the ass and get their tools into shape. I'd even be fine with reduced visuals if the performance is at least proportional to it.

Om the DF Graphics of the Year article I commented how I was disappointed at the lack of variety and non-AAA games, but until this article I forgot that I conflated John's list with the overall list. Happy to see John keeping the spirit of retro and 2D games alive.

I love any mention of the Pico. I had one as a kid and it almost feels like a fever dream because no one ever talks about it. Do cool to see more stuff preserved.

I just commented on the RDR article about using DLSS on an older game to go from 1440 to 4k so I'm glad to see that's a reasonable option.

Ever since Oblivion on the 360 I've complained to my friends about Bethesda's technical prowess (or lack thereof). Sure the games have tons of systems going on and you can do a lot of things that you can't do in other games, but at some point the ambition isn't worth glossing over how terrible the game is actually made or runs. I understand some bugs are going to pop up in games that massive but stuff like this is embarrassing.

I would have liked more indie/retro/etc games in this list like past years. AAA games are easy picks because they're the most popular and high budgeted but they're ultimately not the most interesting. Or maybe have a second list for most impressive on aged hardware.

4x resolution is akin to balanced mode on PC, or is that more like performance? I wonder how 1440p to 4K would run on a lighter game?

I'd take a cleaner, less advanced game, especially for an arcade racer where visual style trumps graphics.

For a 3D game I'd give higher resolution iver 120 fps, especially since Metroid Prime isn't really a super intense action game, the shooting is just a means to explore more. But man I'd kill for a 120 fps update for Dread, but we've yet to see a Switch 1 game get updated for that so it might not be possible.

I was so happy to see this announced, especially since its non MCU Marvel. I have uet to play any od these 2D beat em up revivals these past few years sadly, hopefully I can get my kid into them so I have a partner.

Sadly my Switch is hooked up to the AV Receiver that doesn't output 120 Hz. Better visuals seems worth it for a first play theough anyway, maybe 120Hz on a second Hard runthrough where the clarity would help anyway.

I trust John's taste so I'll put more weight in his review than a lot of the other outlets. It doesn't sound like this is on par with Prime 1 or even 2 but it still sounds like a great game.

It'd probably take years, even next generation possibly, but I'd love to see a homebrewed Switch 2/3 with a sidebooot option to run Steam games. Having a Switch and Steam Deck is overkill but having both in one would be stupidly valuable.

Sakurai's team always punches above its graphical weight with great art style and clever tricks; still waiting on that Kid Icarus Uprising sequel/remake. 1080p is pretty underwhelming for Switch 2 but the game looks good, but I'm looking forward to true Switch 2 games since all these so far seem like upgraded Switch 1 games.

I miss the unfinished wood look of the 90s in general. Even though TVs/monitors are sleeker now that they're flat screens I think the move to 16:9 or wider makes it hard to make space efficient, utilitarian desks, now they're all just giant flat tables with now verical space at all.

Nice, didn't realize Sam Machkovech moved to be a DF writer. Haven't seen him in Ars for a while. Good to see DF has a website now and not just YT.