Do you really consider that to be a meaningful point worth "um, akshually"ing over?

To me, what I dislike the most about the direction the industry is going is that consolidating more resources into fewer megagames means there’s less room for experimental side projects and spinoffs. I especially miss all the kinds of B-games that used to go straight to handheld. Of course part of the reason they disappeared because we don’t have handhelds to put them on, but I think that half the reason handhelds died was because publishers weren’t going to make handheld games for much longer anyway.

Bit odd to complain that a console we know nothing about isn’t exciting enough. Maybe wait until they actually reveal the damn thing?

Interesting choice of words. Saying it’s not ‘official’ just means they’re not the ones who posted it.

I’m a big fan of the 8BitDo Pro 2. Best pad I’ve ever used.

A few times, why?

What’s keeping you from using a distro that’s already designed for desktop use?

Maybe in 10 years after SteamOS has conquered this space, that could be the next target to expand into…

There are dozens of similar products in just about any form factor you’d like, including ones explicitly themed after classic handhelds.

None of them run SteamOS yet though, they’re all either Android or a customized lightweight ARM Linux running Retroarch.

I’m still holding onto the dream that we’ll get SteamOS onto something small enough to fit in my pocket and run all my favorite 2D indie games. First manufacturer to do it gets all my money.

I bought a Miyoo Mini Plus a while back, purely an impulse buy for how cheap it was on sale, and ended up putting far more time into it than I ever did with my deck. This is the cozy form factor I need.

Who’s Notch? I thought Hatsune Miku made Minecraft.

Simon Tatham’s Puzzles will forever be the GOAT.

The video covers a lot more than just the gambling itself. These games are designed to attack not just your wallet, but your time - that’s the real cost.

These days I mostly just grind the same handful of games. Actually having a hard time pulling myself away long enough to get through the JRPGs on my backlog…

• Skullgirls
• Them’s Fightin’ Herds
• Under Night In-Birth II [Sys:Celes]
• Riichi Mahjong (Mahjong Soul, Riichi City, IRL)
• Slay the Spire
• Puyo Puyo Champions
• Panel de Pon

Headline says ‘only’, but the article says that’s actually an increase from last year.

• Celeste $4.99 -75% - A platformer with 8-way airdashes. I’m sure you’ve already heard enough about how amazing the base game is, so I just want to take a moment to shoutout the incredible modding scene for more content. My favorites are Spring 2020 Collab, Strawberry Jam, Glyph, Conqueror’s Peak, and Into the Jungle.

• CrossCode $9.33 -65% (for base game and DLC) - Phenomenal action RPG. Combat is fast and explosive, dungeons are very obviously Zelda inspired but with way more puzzles. Packed with tons and tons and tons of sidequests, many of which put unique twists on the combat system to keep you on your toes. Make sure to grab the epilogue DLC.

• Crypt of the Necrodancer $11.21 (bundle with DLC) - Rhythm game/roguelike sounds like the strangest mashup ever. But what’s even stranger is just how well it works. It’s just a matter of keeping 4/4 time, but forcing a steady pace forces you to think fast and not make any mistakes. Every death is clearly your fault as every enemy is designed to be beatable using only a base dagger without getting hit (and indeed there’s a challenge character that forces exactly this), but dealing with swarms is where it gets complicated. I especially recommend trying to speedrun, playing for speed really makes this game adrenaline-fueled as you have to pace yourself judging how much time you can afford to gather items if you want to make sub-15 or sub-10. Danny Baranowsky’s soundtrack absolutely delivers. Get both the Amplified and Synchrony DLCs.

• Mega Knockdown $7.99 -20% - A turn-based fighting game that’s fun for complete beginners to pick up and play, while still offering a lot of depth. Use this to entice your non-fighting game friends in.

• Skullgirls $2.49 -90% base game, $14.83 bundle with DLC - Still the best damn fighting game of all time. Almost never not on sale, hell you probably already own this by now and may not even realize it.

• Slay the Spire $6.24 -75% - Roguelike deckbuilder, basic idea is that after each combat you get to add a card to your deck, plus collect relics from elites/events/shops/bosses which provide passive effects. There’s a ton of depth in trying to assemble the perfect deck one card at a time, resource management gets very complicated balancing what you need in the short-term versus what you want to take to the endgame. Tons and tons of possibilities, you can pretty much expect to never build the same deck twice. Oh, and did I mention there’s 20 levels of hard modes once you think you’ve gotten A0 down? Also has a very powerful mod API with Steam Workshop support, check out Packmaster and Adventurer for my favorite must-plays.

• Them’s Fightin’ Herds $3.99 -80% - Another great fighting game, been waiting a long time for this port to bring us up to a grand total of two good fighting games on Linux. Has a lot of really cool features like a big story mode with overworld exploration, a cute lobby system with cosmetics to collect and treasure chests to fight for, a dynamic music system that reacts to the fight, and even a semi-cooperative dungeon crawler mode. Has crossplay with consoles as well. Full review. Word of warning: Baihe DLC is very busted and banned from tournament play. Long story about how the publisher fired the entire dev team and released her in an unfinished state. If you buy the DLC, just get the other three characters and skip her.

• Anything by Zachtronics - A bunch of different engineering puzzle games where you have to write code or build a machine to solve problems. Once you’ve solved the puzzle, you can see a histogram comparing your solution to everyone else’s on a few different metrics, encouraging you to go back and try to optimize it further. I recommend Opus Magnum as the best entry point.

I’m not falling for any Switch 2 leak that claims it’s actually going to be called Switch 2.

They’re maybe not wrong. When every other game is using all kinds of dark patterns to keep players addicted, not doing the same risks losing your playerbase to them.

I get it. I hate it, but I get it.

There’s going to be a modding API just like the original, so if he’s not in the base game someone can always port him in.

Combat is supposed to be the core gameplay loop. If you feel like that’s an unwanted interruption, I think there’s a deeper problem where the game has left you feeling like you don’t want to play its core loop.

It sounds like you’ve had bad experiences with games that just didn’t make their systems engaging enough to not feel repetitive. That was true of some older titles, but modern turn-based RPGs have learned a lot since then.

Kid Icarus Uprising. You play as a goddess’s right hand man, and end up fighting several other gods.

CrossCode - Console Release Date Trailer

One of my favorite tracks on the OST, and I love how they’ve synced all the cuts to the music. It’s a fantastic sizzle reel showing off little bits and pieces of everything that’s cool in this game.

I absolutely do not want Windows.

An Android device doesn’t run my Steam library.

I’m aware of Portmaster, but that’s a manual process that is only possible for certain engines. Whereas SteamOS can just run all my games.

What are you hoping to get from SteamOS that you aren’t able to get from any other Linux distro?

Hi. I’m the guy that wants a low-spec model that fits in my pocket. I exist. Just gimme something that can run my favorite 2D indie games and I’m happy.

I bought a Miyoo Mini Plus last year and ended up loving it far more than my Deck, which is actually just gathering dust still. And now I dream of seeing SteamOS in that size.

But nothing you’re describing will fit in that kind of form factor. So if you want to enforce minimum specs, you’re really telling me I can’t have my dream handheld.

I bought a Miyoo Mini Plus last year, just an impulse buy because it was on sale dirt cheap. Ended up liking it so much I wish I’d bought a more expensive model with analog sticks.

Meanwhile, my Deck gathers dust because it’s just too bulky too fill the void left behind by the GBC/GBA/DS I grew up on.

First manufacturer to get SteamOS running on a form factor that fits in my pocket gets my entire bank account. Doesn’t have to be beefy, just needs to run all my favorite 2D indie games.

I definitely feel like my tastes have narrowed with age. Or maybe it’s just that I’ve found a few games to really really fall in love with, and not much else pulls my attention away from grinding those top favorites.

When I was a kid, I could only get a new game every few months or so, so I kind of had to make the most of each one. Now I’ve got several hundred games in my Steam library, and more than half of are unplayed, because they don’t grab me enough to boot them up over playing another ranked online set of riichi mahjong today.

You don’t see how it’s rude to pipe in just to shit on a game for costing money? You could easily just… not.

You were the one who replied to me just to rudely dismiss my choice of games.

It goes for both of you. It’s honestly just a pretty rude unsolicited reply.

Anything 2D should run on a toaster.

I’m legally obligated to shill CrossCode as the greatest RPG ever made.

Honestly, why even reply just to announce that you don’t wanna play a game? Don’t care, didn’t ask.

$20/year ain’t nearly as bad as PSN or XBL.

Steam:

• Them’s Fightin’ Herds
• Riichi City
• Slay the Spire
• Skullgirls 2nd Encore
• Blue Revolver: Double Action

Switch:

• Puyo Puyo Champions
• Under Night In-Birth II [Sys:Celes]
• The King of Fighters XIII Global Match
• Persona 4 Golden
• Splatoon 3

Arcade:

• Wacca
• Chunithm
• Chrono Circle
• Music Diver
• Sound Voltex

Browser:

• Mahjong Soul

There are definitely plenty of games, especially those with harsh skill curves, that do benefit from knowing what you’re getting yourself into.

Undertale, but at this point you’d have to have lived in a cave for the last decade to not know most of the spoilers by now.

Those analog sticks look difficult to reach.

Almost everything I play is just 2D indie games, practically any 2D game should run just fine on that.

There are so many great 2D games I could rattle off that I almost don’t know where to start. But since you mentioned RPGs, I am legally obligated to shill CrossCode at any opportunity.