The Thursday letters page reacts to the news that EA is closing BioWare, with readers sharing their memories of the studio's best games and questioning the decisions being made at Xbox.
Readers Mourn BioWare's Closure
Reader Taylor Moon expressed disgust at the news, saying they knew things would be bad with the leveraged buyout but that this might be worse than their worst fears. They described Mass Effect as a defining game of the Xbox 360 and easily in their top 10, possibly even top five games they have played.
Another reader, writing under the name StellarFlux, said they had to read the story about Xbox encouraging people to sell their Xboxes twice because none of it made sense. They questioned whether the company was trying to get Xbox shut down.
Debating BioWare's Best Game
Reader Taylor Moon said that for them, BioWare's best game is Mass Effect 2, calling it the best game and best ending/final battle in any game ever. They noted that 15 years ago BioWare was the absolute best and probably the most respected developer in the world, or at least in the West.
Another reader said the original Mass Effect hit the sweet spot of balancing role-playing and shooting elements, whereas the sequels felt more shoot first, ask questions later. They wished the talented developers all the best and hoped they land swiftly on their feet.
Nintendo and Zelda Discussions
Reader freeway 77 asked if this has been a bad year for Nintendo, noting that while sales numbers would say no, they would struggle to name any of the games released. They said the main reason their kids want a Switch 2 is to start a new game of Animal Crossing without losing the ones they have across various Switch 1 devices.
Reader Gonch agreed with a previous take on the ocean music in Zelda: The Wind Waker, calling it one of their favourite Zelda scores ever. They expressed hope that Link will visit the open seas again in the next major instalment.
Witcher 3 Remastered Disappoints
One reader said they deleted The Witcher 3 Remastered from their PlayStation 5 already, having started a new game over the weekend. They said the game has aged badly and that the remaster updates it very little, with the game still playing like a pile of broken biscuits and being almost unplayable even with the modern camera and control schemes.
