Octo Expansion has been out for a couple days now. Just finished 100%ing it. Gr8 experience overall. Obviously don't want to say too much since it is still close to release, but I'll say I definitely think it is worth the $20 asking price. Just keep in mind these challenge rooms are quite literally challenging. They cranked the difficulty way up for this. You will struggle and fail as you learn rooms, so if that kind of thing frustrates you and you're looking for a more chill experience, this isn't the expansion for you. The struggle is real, but the atmosphere is tops with all the new music and sound design they made just for this, more new tracks in particular than I expected. The new characters are pretty fun. There's some lore to be had, which localization must've really struggled to translate, but felt like they did a good job. Especially great job with all the 80s references in room names. There's also some rewards from it you can take back to multiplayer with your new Octoling, including something for 100% if you're up to the task. Personally, 100%ing felt worth pushing through for, just don't be like me and play for long chunks at once. My arm was cramped up and going numb by the time I finished.

@darkenraul1 said:

They weren't kidding with how they made EV training much more simplified for this game

It's more simplified for people who don't know what they're doing but takes way longer for people who do, because they have to catch lots of said Pokemon, send them to Oak, then feed candies, instead of just Power Iteming up and grinding it out.

@sentinel-beach said:

I guess I'm just wondering why the gorgeous Egypt didn't do the trick, but now suddenly Greece does for many.

For Kyle specifically, he seemed really into the kick, even said he'd crit path his way down the skill tree to it, so for some little stuff like that is enough to make them interested. Maybe just the spear in general is cool, and they seem to be going heavier on the mythical aspect than Egypt seemed to show in the prerelease stuff for that one. I only remember hearing about the supernatural stuff in that one when they were talking about the DLCs a couple times. Kyle talks about vibes sometimes, and I think the vibes of this game just gelled better for those allies you mentioned. That and they said Odyssey seems to be running way smoother than Origins did when they saw that game before launch.

@brannox said:

Outside of the game itself, pretty much the entire Rage 2 portion. That was awkward and painful as can be.

That was legitimately one of my favorite parts of E3. Stuff like that where corporate execs misjudge what the audience wants to see makes E3 for me, and every time they cut to the audience looking confused had me dieing of laughter.

Just Dance. Enough said.

Also something I loved. Mind you, I've never once in my life touched any of those games, but damned if they don't sell well enough each year for a new one to come out, so obviously there's people out there who love these games. Just accept we're not the audience for it and enjoy the stupid Ubisoft dance segments around them, hoping it isn't a year where they bring in a celebrity to promote it.

@rarmstar said:

My main personal concern is the potentially repetitive nature of catching the same Pokémon over and over again to grind for candy.

As long as you don't switch your team that often, I think you'll have plenty exp off normal catching of Pokemon and defeating trainers to not need to grind, especially if you really do get Exp Share that early.

@tokeeffe9 Quest is just pretty shallow, so there's really not much else to say about it now.

@darkenraul1 said:

It's also confirmed that these main characters are not the characters from original games/the anime as evidenced by the "rival" character. Sad you don't have dick-head Blue/Gary in this one, but I guess it's to be expected.

I thought they confirmed that before and hinted that the old characters would be encountered at points in this game. I do like how the new trainers are still young, possibly even 11 like the original Gen 1 protags, versus the aged up more recent protagonists. Makes sense to use younger playable characters in your series aimed at younger kids and keep the older characters for the more traditional entries aimed at an older playerbase. Likewise I hope this game having nice rivals to not hurt children's feelings means the main series gets to go back to jerk rivals.

Thoughts and things I noticed watching the Treehouse presentation for this:

• The way Pokemon appear in the environment is actually not too shabby. Flying Pokemon will even fly away.
• In towns, there seem to even be cute NPC events involving their Pokemon.
• But just during the Viridian Forest section, they had trouble dodging Pokemon, so Mt. Moon could be just as bad with Zubat swarms.
• Also, a nitpick, it kinda feels like it defeats the point of tall grass when the Pokemon venture out of it frequently.
• Pokemon that follow you or you ride disappear jarringly when events happen such as a trainer walking up to you or changing screens.
• Pokemon that follow you can be talked to for tidbits that directly resemble what was in Heart Gold / Soul Silver.
• Partner Pokemon wag their tails when items are nearby.
• Might've just been for demo, but you might get the Exp All (Share) super early in this game, like first or second town.
• Amounts of experience are highly dependent on different bonuses for how well you catch wild Pokemon including first try.
• Trainers in addition to money reward Pokeballs when beaten.
• Pokemon sometimes reward berries when caught that make others easier to catch. Think Safari Zone bait.
• Pokeball Plus has stronger HD Rumble than a normal Joycon, which is probably another reason for the short battery life.
• Seems you can initiate the online features from anywhere like in XY with the PSS system, although more simplistic.
• GO Park does indeed replace the Safari Zone like I predicted.
• CP level of Pokemon transferred from GO determines their level in Let's GO.
• Sending caught Pokemon you don't want to Oak gets you candy that acts like and probably replaces items like Protein for EV training.

@tokeeffe9 Well previously on their site, there were only first party games listed. That's why I think the appearance of a third party game that uses it is news worthy.

@tokeeffe9 The way the text is worded, they easily could've added the blurbs to the Fortnite and Paladins pages stating that they'd remain free until the Nintendo Switch Online service launched and then require a Subscription to play, so I think it is clear that they will remain outside the service while Overcooked 2 has become part of it. Overcooked 2 and Fortnite were featured during Treehouse.

Looking at Overcooked 2 on the Nintendo eShop. Was surprised when this game was revealed to have Online Multiplayer when the new Mario Party game still doesn't. Even more interesting now, the fine text on this eShop page outright says the Online Multiplayer for Overcooked 2 will require a Nintendo Switch Online subscription after it launches, making it the first third party game I've seen that will become part of the Nintendo Switch Online service. and suggesting there will be more to come.

Before anyone asks, neither Fortnite (free to play) or Paladins (not free to play) include this fine text suggesting they will ever be part of the Nintendo Switch Online subscription service.