Multitasking at its finest

When I'm exhausted, my goal with media is to help me shut my brain off so I can relax a bit. One of my favorite ways to do that, I've found, is to play games while l?istening to a podcast, show, or some music at the same time. Do I need to bombard myself with stimuli to shut my brain up so I can breathe for a minute? ??Who's to say, but I do know that I think it's a lot of fun.

At this point I feel like something of a gaming-while-also-listening-t?o-a-podcast connoisseur, and I've tried out a whole bunch of different titles so you don't have to. Without further ado, here is my list of the best games to play while you're also listening to something els?e.

Slay the Spire

Recently, this game has had a chokehold on me. Slay the Spire is a combination of my two favorite sub-genres in games: deckbuilding and roguelikes. It's one of those games where the more time you put in, the more you'll get out of it, because you get to know the decks really well and start maximizing your builds. Turn-based gameplay makes it perfect for picking up and putting down any time you want to, and this is also just a well-designed game full of fun surprises? that more people need to know about.

Hades

So I have around 400 hours in this game, and while that's becaus?e it's a near-flawless action roguelike?, it's always because it was the perfect activity to keep me engaged while I was listening to my podcast of choice. It's beyond worth it to play Hades the first time through with the sound on, trust me. Once you get a decent way into the post-game, though, you've pretty much heard ever??ything there is to hear, and that's when a podcast i??s perfect. 

Stardew Valley

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. This is another game I've put way too many hours into, and for good reason. The gameplay might feel a bit repetitive to some after a while, but I find the routine relaxing, and the perfect way to keep myself occupied as I listen to, well, whatever I want to listen to. ?It's a modern classic of a simulator game, which is a genre that lends itself well to listening to podcasts, music, or shows in the background.

Shadow of the Colossus

I definitely recommend playing this one the first time through with the sound on, because it's one of the most iconic soundtracks in all of gaming. In any subsequent playthroughs, though, this is a perfect game? to use to pass the time. It has a much slower pace than more recent entries in the open-world action-adventure genre, which means it's a great option while you're traversing its expansive world. You might need to pause and concentrate during the boss fights, though.

Mario Maker

A ??classic mistake while ??trying to beat an especially difficult Mario Maker level is to think too hard, or as my Southern grandma w??ould have said, to work yourself into a lather. I find that listening to something else while I'm?? trying to beat a game that's giving me trouble can be really helpful, because it keeps me from overthinking things, and distracts me just enough to get the job done.

The Binding of Isaac

I honestly prefer to play Binding of Isaac this way, because I find the sound design to be pretty grating. I know it's supposed to be like? that, but that doesn't make it any more enjoyable. It's another roguelike, ??which means it can be played in perfect bite-sized bits, and isn't so overwhelming that you'll miss whatever your podcast hosts of choice are talking about.

Forza

This goes for most racing games, but Forza can be a great way to keep yourself busy ?while listening to a podcast. Like a Hades or Cuphead, it's a real-time game so you're paying closer attention, and it's easy to get? into a flow state. I've fou??nd that paying attention to someone talking actually helps me play better, because I'm not overthinking what I'm doing.

Civilization

Strategy games are another great option, because they?? require that same type of flow state, engaged-but-not-really kind of thing. You reach a point, too, where a lot of stuff is going on its own anyway, so it falls int??o just the right level of attention it requires from you. Civilization, and other like games, also don't really require the average player to need the ??sound on, so it's fine to have ?any other audio you want going on in the background.

Cuphead

The Mario Maker logic also applies here.?? I've been stuck o?n the same boss in Cuphead for weeks (again), and having something else ??to concentrate on helps keep me from getting too frustrated when I keep dying. At this point, it feels more like I need a podcast on to help get me through the game, rather than wanting to just have something on in the background. Either way, it works? well for me.

The post Nine of?? the best games ?to play while you listen to a podcast appeared first on Destructoid.

Several notable Mario games are 35 percent off this week

With Nintendo still pledging to stop selling "Mario 35th anniversary celebration" games like Super Mario 3D All-Stars at the end of March, our attention is elsewhere in the Mushroom Kingdom this month, but it wouldn't be MAR10 Day – March 10 – without several discounts on "Mario games" for Switch.

If you're in the mood for a Mario romp – or want to show your support for Luigi instead – the following Nintendo Switch titles are discounted until March 13 at 11:59 pm Pacific on the Nintendo eShop:

• Super Mario Party ($38.99)
• Super Mario Maker 2 ($38.99)
• Mario Tennis Aces ($38.99)
• Luigi's Mansion 3 ($38.99)
  

35 percent off during a 35th anniversary? You lucked out ??on this one, Nintendo.

Strangely, Super Mario Odyssey – arguably the best Mario adventure in a good long time – isn't a part of Nintendo's MAR10 Day eShop sale. That said, Amazon and Walmart have it for $38.88 right now.

You can make a case for any of these games, especially Luigi's Mansion 3 and Mario Maker 2, but I'll add that Super Mario Party is a real I-guess-I'll-get-it-at-that-price sort of jam. Go in expecting that the game is what it is – there won't be content updates – and cook some meat cubes. The mini-games are fun, just don't forget that you ne?ed a Joy-Con for every player since Pro Controllers are prohibited.

Me? I'm too busy ignoring Super Mario 3D World in favor of Bowser's Fury.

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Also, the Frog Suit returns.

Super Mario Maker 2 has seen its fair share of updates, but its last one may be its best yet. Nintendo dropped a new trailer for the game showcasing all the elements coming to title this week, includ??ing the World Maker mode. Now, instead of just creating individual levels, we'll be able to string them together into our little worlds. Or not so l??ittle, because we'll actually be able to craft eight different worlds with up to 40 levels.

In addition to World Maker, SMM2 will introduce the SMB2 Mushroom that turns Mario into his Super Mario Bros. 2 form, letting him pick up enemies just as he did in the NES classic. The Frog Suit also returns from Super Mario Bros. 3, the Super Acorn from New Super Mario Bros. U, and the Boomerang Suit. Also coming in the update are a set of masks that change Mario's abilities, including the Goomba Mask, the Bullet Bill ??Mask, and Red Pow Box.

The Koopalings are also coming in this update, letting you add some variety to your boss battles. Phanto from SMB2 is also joining the game with the new ??Cursed Key item as is Mechakoopa with a whole set of new abilities.

The final update for Super Mario Maker 2 will be available April 22.

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Luigi's Mansion and Mario Maker were stars too

Nintendo has a lot of can't-miss properties to its name, and Pokémon is as bulletproof as they come. This is a series that prints money anytime a new game launches. That's proven yet again as Nintendo has revealed sales data for Pokémon Sword and Shield.

In its third quarter earnings release, Nintendo announces that Pokémon Sword and Shield predictably led the way in sales, racking up a cumulative 16.06 million units sold between its mid-November launch and the end of the 2019 calendar year. That's broken down between 4.21 million sales in Japan, and 11.85 million sales throughout the rest of the world. It's enough for Nintendo to single out the new Pokémon, calling it a "huge hit."

Sword and Shield actually fared a bit better than the previous Pokémon, Sun and Moon, did during its launch quarter. Sun and Moon combined for 14.69 million copies sold on 3DS; it currently sits at 16.18 million sales, meaning that Sword and Shield has quite possibly surpassed Sun and Moon's li?fetime sales once January's total is figu?red in.

Nintendo also seems pleased with some of its high-profile games during the holiday quarter. Luigi's Mansion 3 (5.37 million sales) and Super Mario Maker 2 (5.04 million sales) both got shoutouts for their performance. The Link's Awakening remake weighed in at 4.19 million sales, which Nintendo might consider underwhelming for a new Zelda game, even one as relatively niche as th??is one.

Elsewhere, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe keeps trucking along, as it was the second-best seller of the quarter, racing to another 6.27 million sales; its lifetime total is now at 22.96 million. Impressive when considering that the original Mario Kart 8 on Wii U has 8.44 million sales to its name. Other newcomers to Nintendo's vaunted one million sales list are: Fire Emblem: Three Houses (2.58 million), Ring Fit Adventure (2.17 million), Astral Chain (1.03 million), and Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 (1.02 million).

Ear??nings Release for?? the Nine-Month Period Ending December 2019 [Nintendo]

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For the creators out there

Nintendo has some work ahead of them for Super Mario Maker 2 (I'm very much thinking of the post-launch friend update), but for now,?? we feast on an increased course lo??ad cap.

After booting up my copy thi??s morning I was greeted with a new notification under the "news" heading. Answering the call of fans who wanted more upload space, Nintendo has increased the limit of 32 courses to 64 as of this week. The good news, if you're a course-uploading fiend and need even more room to express yourself, is that Nintendo says it is going to "raise the course upload limit one more time." No time frame was given for this future update.

There's been a ton of great courses on the market already (though they are generally hard to find, hopefully a future update is a better in-game curation system), so this should give folks who are already on a roll more leeway. I'm thinking of people who re-create entire Mario games specifically here.

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Thank you Yamamura-sensei

Personally, I think the quality of Mario levels, now that we live in a Super Mario Maker 2 world, has gone up considerably. There are some cool, hi??gh-stress runners, ??some comically-themed levels, and some fun, puzzle-oriented levels.

The jbsgame.community also has its own fair share of aspiring "Mario Makers," from casual designers to intense critics and everything in-between, creating all sorts of levels that you'd expect from this community of weirdos. So, just like last time, here are a new smattering of custom levels made by our happy-go-lucky ??readers, all test-run by yours truly (in some cases, quite painfully).

First up is "A Lost Key" by Scionvyse. This level is sort of more in the vein of being designed like an actual Super Mario level, as opposed to being a stressful speedrun or a zany puzzle-platformer. Once the locked door is taken care of, the rest of the level has some actual platform gameplay my muscle memory for jumping hasn't experienced in a while, and not in a??ny maliciously? difficult way either.

Lokhe's "Tower of Duality" is a level I enjoyed. Or enjoyed after I got past a very diffic?ult and narrow jump clearance anyways. 70% of my time was spent repeating the first jump segment over and over, and a few times I'd screw up on the following buzzsaw/Bullet Bill combo obstacle so I'd have to start over.

Onc?e I threaded the needle though, the rest of the level was a fun jaunt of crisscrossing door paths. Maybe you're jumping skills won't struggle so much as mine did, but after the first major obstacle, it's all gravy and good times after that.

RiffRaff's "A Leisurely Jaunt in the Winterlands" is actually anything but that. I blame myself for most of my deaths because the level is designed specifically around something that is?? stated up front in the level's description: using long jumps (ZR) to clear the gaps!

After dyi?ng a couple of times by mistiming my jumps, things got a bit ??easier, but, this level is never a pushover. There's still quite a few other design elements to shake things up beyond the long jumps, so I gave this level a hearty favorite.

"Hedgehog's First Platformer" is at least honest about itself. Boxman's custom level is a fairly basic experience, but let's not forget there are levels we want to spend days and days tweaking and optimizing, and there are also levels we just want to create in just?? a few hours and ??enjoy.

There is something to be said about taking a leap of faith, wi??th on??ly the assurance of coins telling you that you will be fine, and just dropping straight down without endangering yourself completely.

The Blonde Bass' "Happy Hills 1-1" is the first in a series of levels designed to canonically take place within the Super Mario series of games. The first entry is pretty straightforward, with the only notable thing being a gauntlet of piranha plants as you descen?d a plateau. But all the future levels in Bass' portfolio that follow the number scheme are also pretty nice. My persona??l favorite is "Basic Beach", so try Bass' Happy Hills and delve into the rest of his levels in his profile to see what else sticks for you!

Hiryu I'd say is the community's resident art critic for Mario levels, as he's perused a lot of the community's levels already and offered his own critique and tips for what's good and what could be good for improvement. "Tides & Tracks" and "Mr. Goomba's Wild Ride" are good appetizers, but Hiryu's latest stage, "You Should Make An Ice Level", has the design that I really liked the most. It really feels like a normal Mario level that would've been right at home in any Super Mario 3D World titl??e. All the alternate paths were really fun to explore too.

So that's what I've gathered so far from our community for great Super Mario Maker 2 stages. But this feature will be returning to feature all the great levels made from our awesome community. Until next time, keep making! And don't forget to leave your own levels in the quick posts or in the comments below.

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And then flips them on their heads

The Mario franchise holds some of gaming's most universally well-known moments. No matter anyone's familiarity with games, chances are they've seen the first level of Super Mario Bros. They might eve??n know where that e??xtra life is hiding early on.

Nintendo's released a new video that shows how people playing Super Mario Maker can relive these iconic scenes. Well, sort of. Chances are you don't remember a King Koopa followed by an ines??capable fire wall in that very same first level. Still, it's enough to evoke nostalgia and make you pine for those classic games.

Actually, Super Mario Maker might just inspire a lot of people to buy 30 years' worth of great Mario game?s through the Wii U's eShop. Solid sales t??actic, Nintendo.

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Smile for the camera

Nintendo is bringing Mario Maker to select Best Buy stores next week ahead of the game's release on Wii U this September. By playing the demo, you'll receive a neat little 30th Anniversary Super Mario Bros. button (wh??ile supplies last). But what about t?hose buttons up there?

Members of My Best Buy can ?score that seven-button set by pre-ordering two select Wii U or 3DS titles. The applicable games will be revealed on June 17 but, for now, get a load of 8-bit Bowser Jr.

I'm particularly fond of Mario's Spiky hat, which will also presumably be featured in Mario Maker and may or m??ay not just be cosmetic. Assuming it's a new power-up, what do you think it does?

[Via GoNintendo]

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Step aside, New Super Mario Bros.

As shown at tonight's Game Awards, Mario Maker is still in the work??s for a 2015 release and good lord does it look insane. Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto introduced new footage of the Wii U title and several of the user-created levels looked like they had just escaped from hell.

In addition to creating levels in the classic Super Mario Bros. style or in the vein of New Super Mario Bros. U, there are also options for Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World. I can't remember i?f the latter was confirmed already (it's new to me!), but thank goodne??ss.

Longtime Nintendo composer Koji Kondo, who opened the awards, will serve as composer and sound director on Mario Maker. I also hope it becomes a series, Miyamoto.

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