🟪 #90: A foldable handheld and a new but old Switch emulator

Hi, hello, and welcome to a new edition of overkill Gaming.

Last week, I've announced how going forward we will cover more than just handheld gaming on overkill. I also asked for your take if you want that type of content (tech, toys, and other hobbies) separately or as part of this newsletter. A whopping 78% said that they want to see the new content inside this newsletter.

So before I rename this newsletter back to overkill digest and redesign the categories a little, I'll ask you one last time:

How should we cover the new topics on overkill?

• Launch a new newsletter
• Add them to this newsletter

90 editions of this newsletter so far. We'll soon breach the magical 100! I need to come up with a cool idea for that, but thankfully I still have some time. But for now, let's get to this week's news:

🗞️ This Week in Handhelds

🚀 Big Handheld Moves

• Samsung showed off its foldable gaming handheld. I frankly don’t know what to think of this thing yet. It’s clearly still a super early prototype, as it doesn’t have a D-pad or even any ABXY buttons yet. But it looks like a thinner Nintendo Switch Lite that you can fold in half for whatever reason. This might very well just be a showcase of the screen tech (it was, after all, part of Samsung’s Gaming Display booth) for other manufacturers and not a product Samsung ever plans to release. Maybe we’ll know more in the future.
• GoRetroid is working on a vertical handheld. After teasing the Pocket Flip 2 earlier this year, they have now started showcasing a new vertical handheld in the style of the Game Boy and Game Boy Color. Not much is known so far, as we don’t yet have details on the specs or price. But I agree with Brandon here, hoping it will be a cheaper device, since a 1x1 display limits what you can do. While I love my Pocket DMG, it's stupidly overpowered.
• AYANEO announced the Pocket Micro Classic. This is the stickless version of the Pocket Micro (Chris reviewed it here) that AYANEO teased a few weeks back. It’s basically the same device, just without analog sticks and with a $20 price reduction. Somehow, this version makes way more sense to me.

🎮 Platform Updates

• NxEmu is a newish Nintendo Switch emulator. Technically, development on this emulator started a few years ago but was put on hold as the solo developer was busy with other things. But with the demise of Yuzu and Ryujinx, they plan to resume development, basing their work on the Yuzu source code and adding new features step by step. I wouldn’t hold my breath for anything to come of this anytime soon, but at least something is happening in this space again.

💻 Hardware Corner

• The Switch 2 will support NFC and Wi-Fi 6. While Nintendo has been radio silent since publishing that original trailer a while ago, we can thank the FCC for more info on what the Switch 2 can do (hey, that rhymes!). From that FCC filing, we learned a few things: the Switch 2 will support NFC, meaning Nintendo will probably keep selling me amiibos, it has support for Wi-Fi 6, and we finally have confirmation that we can charge the Switch 2 using both of its USB-C ports.

🎲 Gaming News

• A Cyberpunk 2077 mod adds a whole new nightclub. I can’t go a week without linking to at least one cool mod. This one adds The Atlantis, a nightclub that’s part of the Johnny Silverhand main story but stays closed outside that flashback. Now it’s open again, with NPCs and all.
• There might be no The Last of Us Part III after all. With season two of the show launching soon, Neil Druckmann sat down with Variety. One of the questions was whether we might still see a third game in the franchise. While Druckmann previously suggested there might be one more story to tell, he’s now shifting his message, saying, “I guess the only thing I would say is don’t bet on there being more of The Last of Us. This could be it.” I’m okay with this, as I think Part I and Part II perfectly encapsulate Ellie’s story.

📌 Quick Hits

• A closer look at the "Tinder for Gamers". Chris hopped on a call with the project lead of Ludocene, the recommendation app that is entirely human-curated. The Kickstarter is still ongoing and very close to reaching its goal.
• The Balatro dev gives us a behind-the-scenes look. In a lengthy blog post, the anonymous dev shared the emotional rollercoaster they went through while developing what is now considered an indie cult hit. It’s a great read!

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🔒 Premium Deep Dive: How a terrible movie tricked me.

Yesterday, after spending two hours frying my brain with existentialist philosophy (I'm currently reading this book), I needed something “brains off.” Enter Monster Hunter (2020), starring Milla Jovovich.

I wasn’t expecting much, but damn. This movie is bad. Not just bad in a generic action movie way. No, it’s so bad it loops back around and becomes comedy.