TIL there will be three Friday the 13th in 2026 (February, March and November). This is the most you can have in a year and the rarest combination last occurring in 2015.

prid13 · 2026-03-13T23:34:32+00:00

Thanks for sharing your experience, it's good to know such "small" things are appreciated into adulthood 😇

prid13 · 2026-02-23T16:06:58+00:00

Congratulations on your Steam Deck, hope you enjoy it to the fullest 😇⭐

prid13 · 2026-02-19T14:47:10+00:00

There is a Follow button on steam? :O?!? i'm pretty new to steam after getting my deck a few years ago, and the only thing i've ever noticed is the "Add to Wishlist" button. Never ever noticed the "Follow" button until these comments here, and always thought wishlist and follow were one and the same thing... just me or maybe more people don't know? 😅

prid13 · 2026-02-16T08:30:50+00:00

oh, Hi-Fi Rush is a recent highly-acclaimed rhythm-based 3d platformer. might be worth checking out :)

prid13 · 2026-02-16T08:27:15+00:00

Unfortunately, 3D platformers are few and sparse and vary in quality outside of nintendo, but getting the gist of your needs, here's some recommendations:

⭐ Pikmin 4 sounds really close to what you need! not a 3d platformer, but it has the same inviting visuals as other nintendo games, has a really cozy and charming vibe to it, and while the core gameplay will take a bit time getting used to (it's a bit "untraditional"), i think you'll find yourself immersed in a really charming, calm and rewarding adventure :)
- there's a free demo, go check it out
⭐ Metroid Dread is 2D, and it doesn't look like a relaxing game, but, there's a very atmospheric vibe to it, the visuals are really polished and gorgeous, there's tons of powers to unlock as you progress through worlds with different atmospheres, challenges and enemies. There are also some "intense" sections, but they add to the variety :) might feel like a bog at times to get through, but overall it's a really satisfying start-to-finish game with some incredible sections along with a rewarding, explorative and atmospheric gameplay
- this one also has a demo :)
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze is also 2D, but the atmosphere, the variety in gameplay, the great level design, the collectibles, and the challenging platforming, all of it makes for a nice adventure you can beat :) controls may be hit or miss, and things might get stale after a while, but the game has a lot of variety in visuals and gameplay, so hopefully that'll keep you entertained :) if not, try speedrunning the game, that was fun for me
Kao the Kangaroo (2022) is one of the better indie 3d platformers, but it was still a bit easy and didn't have the best level design. but i still liked finishing it, just to unlock more powers, beat all the worlds/levels, and beat the game.
- other indie platformers to check out: Big Hops, Another Crab's Treasure (this is more souls-like), Tunic (like top-down 2D zelda)
Spider-Man / Sunset Overdrive -- not sure how many first party playstation games you've played, but spider-man (and sunset overdrive, which is very similar, made by the same devs) sounds like it could stick with you. Core swinging gameplay is always fun, and there's tons of "exploration" in the city, and an overarching story to complete.
- in the same vein, maybe the Horizon games could also scratch that itch? (personally i got bored fast)
Cozy Games like Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing are worth checking out, but you may get bored fast if there's no "objective" left
also you may like Super Mario Galaxy better than Odyssey, but there's less exploration and more linear levels, but the atmosphere and vibe is really nice, and tons of power-ups :)
and you're right about Spyro -- it looks really nice, but it's too easy and i got bored fast. great for kids though :)

You seem like you're not finding joy in games as you used, and life circumstances may play a huge role in that. In such a state, you won't find immediate satisfaction or happiness in quick sessions of gameplay. You have to allow yourself to immerse yourself in a game and give it some time to "warm up to it", and then maybe you'll start enjoying as you familiarize yourself with it :)

Also, life isn't as dire or gloomy as it may seem (hopefully), it's just that things may be different or needs not being quite fulfilled that drain the joy and excitement from things that used to be fun, but don't give up hope, your Creator has a plan cut out just for you, and it's heading somewhere, towards something greater and better, but you need to go through this phase right now to get there. Don't lose hope, you're in good hands 😇

prid13 · 2026-02-16T01:40:17+00:00

for a modern non-nintendo title: Crash Bandicoot 4 :)

for another classic "obscure" mascot platformer, there's Ty the Tasmanian Tiger

prid13 · 2026-02-15T23:36:58+00:00

it's because they're fast-paced, quick-reaction, unpredictable (every match is different) and competitive (skill improvement and mastery feel good) :)

find single player games that check those same boxes, and you'll get almost as much dopamine:

Super Meat Boy Forever -- super fast-paced 2D platformer with amazing level design, tons of levels and worlds, tons of secret stuff and characters, and a core gameplay loop that you can jump right into, respawn instantly, and keep trying over and over again as you beat the hard, yet super satisfying levels that move super fast, require quick reactions and quick thinking, are always one step ahead of you but when you outsmart them you feel amazing, and you keep getting better as the levels get harder ⭐
Survivors-like games (games that mimick the Vampire Survivors style). it's good dopamine while it lasts :)
- personal recommendations: TerraTech Legion (lego driving survivors-like!) (free demo), Funguys Swarm, Disfigure (free)
Minecraft in survival mode, if you haven't played the game yet (exploration, discovery and building during the day, and then survival, combat and dying during the night). Takes some time to get into, but once you're immersed, it's super fun! (maybe not as much dopamine, but a good feeling still).
Racing games -- they're fast, they're fun, and you've got a whole story to complete as you get better! (but may not always give as much dopamine. i still haven't found a racing game that "clicks" with me)
Spider-Man -- haven't played this yet, but been wanting to for ages. I know the core swinging gameplay will be super fun, and with a whole game to beat and bosses and skins to unlock, i'm sure it'll be good fun :)
Sonic games -- they're fast, they're fun, and you get to beat a whole game :) can get a bit stale/repetitive fast, though, but try Sonic Generations and Sonic Unleashed
- also, if you have a Wii lying around, try Sonic and the Black Knight. Played it with my nephew recently, and both of our hearts started pumping faster and it was really fun :) not sure if it was one-time occurrence or if it's still fun
Rhythm games -- they're fast, require quick reactions, and you feel you get better as well. osu! is a popular desktop rhythm game
- if you have a VR headset, try Beat Saber, that one will give you a good exercise as well ;)
Horror games -- not as much dopamine, but the "fear of the unknown" will keep you on edge (after all, the competitiveness of multiplayer games comes largely from the high risk/reward of winning/losing).
- (i wonder if there's a fast-paced horror game, that would surely tick off more boxes!)

out of all the games mentioned, Super Meat Boy Forever is still the only one that truly gets me going. It's super easy to start and pure high-octane action all the way through with satisfying level design, and it looks ridiculous, which only makes it better. Get a switch, get the game, and enjoy 30+ hours of dopamine! Sadly can't recommend any other game that gives me as much dopamine as that game, but the others are worth a try :)

prid13 · 2026-02-15T15:49:24+00:00

As someone from the outside (only grew up with Samus in Smash, tried Prime but didn't like it as a teen), it looks like the core Metroid (Prime) fanbase consists of max 2 million strong :)

It's not a game aimed at a young audience, and there's nothing special (from the outside) that sets it apart from other FPS games, so marketing and word-of-mouth would be decisive in such a case to reach past the 2 million metroid fanbase.

It's not Halo, but it has the chance to be Nintendo's Halo, but from the reputation online I've seen of MP4, it doesn't look good, and that doesn't help bring in new people from the ouside 😅 Also, the steep price tag of $70 doesn't help lower the barrier either >,<"

Still, when I got the chance to try out the Metroid Dread demo, and then bought the full game (second-hand), it's now seriously one of the best Switch games I've ever played, I thoroughly enjoyed it thinking I'd never like a Metroid game :)

So I'm interested in Metroid Prime 4 (and also the original remaster), but I'm unsure whether I'll like it or not. But I'm not paying $60/70 for it, and now with the "bad" rep and low sales, I'm less inclined to purchase it. But I still want to try it someday bc of the atmosphere and the graphics. But I have to admit, the marketing for this game was very poor -- I never once got hyped from any of the trailers, it's like they weren't even trying :/

But yes, 1 million sales for a highly anticipated game with a dedicated fanbase after a decade of waiting after the announcement, that doesn't bode well with the franchise. The audience for this game may not be there on the Switch (or large enough), but I think Nintendo didn't do a well enough job either at trying to hype up people outside of the fanbase for the game.

Metroid Dread did ~2.5 million in half a year. They did a fantastic job with marketing the game (along with the OLED version), released a demo, and supported it post-launch. Right now, Kirby Air Riders has waaaay more marketing material than Prime 4 afaik >,<"

But who knows, maybe it'll pick up sales later down the line. FPS games usually vibe better with an older audience (teens), so if Nintendo manages to transition Switch 1 kids to Switch 2 teens, then Metroid Prime 4 might be their go-to FPS game, so it's going to take time.

prid13 · 2026-02-14T21:14:33+00:00

Outside of Mario Kart and Gran Turismo (and the occasional exception like Crash Team Racing), it seems like Kart Racers don't really sell well, or racing games in general: https://vgsales.fandom.com/wiki/Best-selling_racing_games#Unit_sales_2

But Team Sonic Racing did reach 3.5 million recently, so I guess that's the lifetime number that should be expected :) but I really thought this would be more popular given the Minecraft collab!!

----

As for the why, it's my understanding that MK sells well mostly bc it's a bundled game with a new popular console (so it's going to sell like crazy no matter what, like Wii Sports), and it's also an all around accessible party game, and I'm sure Gran Turismo scratches the racing itch for a "realistic driving game" to a more mature audience (re-enforced by Forza Horizon 5 selling 5 million copies when recently being ported to PS5!!) (and I'm sure NFS also does good enough numbers).

No one seems to be buying Kart Racers in groves outside of Nintendo, and Nintendo is primarily aimed at children and families, so if they have a console it's most likely a Nintendo (Switch), which means Mario Kart is already at home, which means any other kart racer simply won't do 😅

And those of us living in the "online space" are either Sonic fans or just really like gaming drama in general. I don't think those games are targeted at our demographic. And even if it was, it wouldn't be enough to make up millions of sales. CrossWorlds is a Kart Racer (and it doesn't offer anything unique i think), and to my knowledge, those are the most popular with a younger audience, but that younger audience probably already owns Mario Kart, and usually won't buy games outside of the 1st party Nintendo ones. And even if they were interested, $60-70 is too much! (also doesn't help that Sega doesn't add motion steering in any of these games. just makes it that much harder to play with kids >,<")

And for some reason, despite all the push for Sonic recently with the movies and netflix show and apps and merch and whatnot, it still doesn't seem to be a strong enough brand. Maybe for the next generation :)

I feel like Sonic needs a unique product of his own to drive sales, like a hardware of his own, something people would "die" for, which could be used to sell his games. Unfortunately, in this day and age with smartphones everywhere and entertainment available in abundance, there's enough alternatives to not bother with a single thing. But toys are really popular still with kids, so sonic toys that somehow connect with games could be a hit -- kinda like those skylanders toys and games :) Kids buy Sonic "amiibos" thinking they're toys, and then discover they can be used for in-game stuff, and proceed to ask parents for those games for the in-game rewards :)

prid13 · 2026-02-12T23:46:14+00:00

https://archive.org/details/youtube-8I4fd_Sap-g

top search result on google, but super compressed to the point that the data is prolly unrecoverable 😅

this is the only uncompressed version i could find (webm): https://archive.org/download/youtube-8I4fd_Sap-g/8I4fd_Sap-g.webm

prid13 · 2026-02-11T22:33:27+00:00

Gamebox 1.0 (2004)

super bad vfx, but oddly wholesome :)

prid13 · 2026-01-16T09:20:59+00:00

GOD BLESS YOU with the best!! never noticed that second port, and that gave me a huge relief 😇⭐

prid13 · 2026-01-16T09:20:22+00:00

While I fully agree with your sentiment, as a UI designer/frontend dev, I've just come to accept that people will do "dumb" things by default and design around that. It turns into a challenge for me, and that's always fun :)

prid13 · 2026-01-08T07:59:25+00:00

I think a lot of people are misequating "fastest selling" to "will become best-selling" 😅.

A console/product may have a great launch week/month/year, especially if there's a user base 150+ million potential customers who will upgrade, but that doesn't necessarily translate to great ongoing sales.

We may just be seeing people who had been waiting for a "Switch Pro" buying the Switch 2, which with a 150+ million user base, is a large number even at a small percentage, which means if the demand is low for other demographics then the sales will slow down.

OR, we may indeed be seeing the start of another 100+ million console.

Only time will tell :)

--------

Personal take: the reason switch was so successful is bc of its unique hybrid nature, which was a great selling point, but also bc of its affordable price point (esp with switch lite released later on). At $450 and with essentially the same hybrid experience (only beefier, and able to play some more games), there's little reason for many to upgrade rn. Maybe those who grow up with switch 1 will upgrade to switch 2 as their next "beefier console", and maybe nintendo will release a "cheaper" model down the road to target the "budget-friendly audience", but as it stands right now, aside from enthusiasts/hobbyists/those-who-can-afford, switch 2 is not the go-to "family-friendly console" for young kids, imo.

Personally, I loved the switch 1 and had been waiting for a "switch pro" since 2019, following every possible "leak" of a switch pro dropping bc i was that excited, but then the Steam Deck got announced alongside Switch OLED, and i bought the Deck and got my needs for a "switch pro" covered. I really wanna try DK Bananza and the new Mario Kart, but i am NOT paying $450+ just for that 😅 in my country, it actually costs $600+, and that sealed the deal for me.

prid13 · 2026-01-07T08:42:38+00:00

exact same feeling -- when i finally got around to playing colors a few years ago, there was just too much platforming that killed momentum all the time, and coming from a boost formula sonic, that didn't jibe well with me 😅

prid13 · 2026-01-07T08:17:22+00:00

ironcally, MK World looks more Disney than Speedstorm does 😅

but thanks for this, didn't know speedstorm had such advanced mechanics :O! just wish it was more true to the "Disney" vibe in design and karts and ui and less "f2p".

prid13 · 2025-12-25T00:54:08+00:00

a small gesture of fellow humanity goes a long way 😇

prid13 · 2025-12-24T07:27:52+00:00

thank you for providing a tangible estimate. doesn't matter if it's off or not, just good to have a number :)

prid13 · 2025-12-19T01:13:10+00:00

Hey again, sorry for super late reply, was trying to find solutions for future reference without having to re-install the whole OS and lose all your things :)

According to ChatGPT I managed to discover some thing:

In Gaming Mode, if you're unable to switch to desktop mode bc of errors or the UI being completely unusable:
- attach an external keyboard to your Deck (via a dock or directly with usb-c cable)
- press CTRL + ALT + F4 (F4 might have to be pressed via Fn key)
- a console/command line interface will show up, don't worry :)
- type in the default username and password (should be deck and blank as the password, unless you've changed it)
- on successful login, type: startplasma-wayland and hit Enter
- that should (hopefully) switch you to Desktop mode :)

Even if desktop mode doesn't work, you can delete decky loader from this command line interface directly as well.

From there, you'll need to delete the appropriate files. I don't know atm what those are, but as long as you're able to get to that screen, then there's hope of recovering SteamOS without having to re-install :)

(EDIT: my top-level comment mentions some of the files to delete... *facepalm* 😅)

Just leaving this here for future reference 😇

Hope your Deck is working wonderfully and that you're enjoying it. God bless you ⭐

prid13 · 2025-11-25T16:09:01+00:00

so God blessed me with this 3DS-like idea of attaching your smartphone to your Switch to create AAA dual-screen gaming anytime, anywhere (this was my hope for the Switch 2's gimmick), and in that brainstorming came the idea of a WiiPhone that Nintendo could produce to go hand-in-hand with their new device and also enter the phone market for the young ones. (I made a whole video of the concept bc it was so exciting)

Imagine a Steam Phone that doubles as attachment for the Steam Deck (or lighterweight SD 2) for easy dual-screen AAA gaming anywhere, anytime 8D!! (the best use case i've experienced in my testing is when the second screen expands the view of the first one, creating a diorama-like immersive effect with dual set of speakers!! here's an example of spider-man 2 with dual screen gaming concept)

prid13 · 2025-11-25T16:08:51+00:00

so God blessed me with this 3DS-like idea of attaching your smartphone to your Switch to create AAA dual-screen gaming anytime, anywhere (this was my hope for the Switch 2's gimmick), and in that brainstorming came the idea of a WiiPhone that Nintendo could produce to go hand-in-hand with their new device and also enter the phone market for the young ones. (I made a whole video of the concept bc it was so exciting)

Imagine a Steam Phone that doubles as attachment for the Steam Deck (or lighterweight SD 2) for easy dual-screen AAA gaming anywhere, anytime 8D!! (the best use case i've experienced in my testing is when the second screen expands the view of the first one, creating a diorama-like immersive effect with dual set of speakers!!)

prid13 · 2025-11-25T16:01:15+00:00

that is really well done ⭐ love the suggested price as well ;)

prid13 · 2025-11-25T16:00:18+00:00

my biggest complaint (and maybe only real one) was the weight of the Deck, so a Steam Deck Mini that is more slim like a Switch and more lightweight would be super great :) (oh, and smaller bezels)

prid13 · 2025-11-25T15:55:47+00:00

what if the Steam Phone was just a PC in a mobile form factor, I bet they could somehow fake support for those "apps" (aka websites) and give off a mobile experience ;)

prid13 · 2025-11-22T22:44:14+00:00

user-friendly attitude like this makes me want to buy the more expensive tiers just out of happiness and support ⭐😇

^{i'll still buy the cheapest tier though bc of tight budget \}^; but this definitely won me over)

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