Fantastic decision.
I figured with the next wave of COVID coming I'd be stuck home even more than I have been and needed something that required my attention and brain moreso than Netflix binging.

Grabbed a Switch since it seems more "welcoming" to a new gamer and I'm a complete noob when it comes to non-sports game (and even sports games at this point as they've become too convoluted and I don't even play those anymore either).

Right off the bat I knocked out Pokemon Let's Go (loved Pokemon blue as a kid and having basically a ported version with updated graphics and some mechanics changes was an obvious first purchase) and then proceeded with Odyssey, my first Mario game ever and the first platformer I ever "beat."

From there I started researching "similar" games, grabbed SMBU Deluxe but was meh on it, but eventually Ori and the Blind Forest popped up during a sale and I downloaded the demo and immediately purchased, played through, learned what a "metroidvania" was and started digging from there.

Grabbed Hollow Knight and Steamworld Digg 2. SD2 was a little too slow for me, though I love the concept of dig, collect, upgrade, dig again, etc. I'll get back to it here and there but it doesn't grab me for long stretches. Hollow Knight I found too difficult and I don't like that I'm never sure I'm going in the right direction. I gave it ~5 hours but it's not for me.

Next up I saw Celeste pop up on sale, a game I heard great things about. Super hard, but super forgiving, and instantly became a favorite of what I've played, and the first game I went back and played more (as well as started a fresh run) after I beat it.

Though met with skepticism, my two friends told me I *had* to play Hades. The idea of dying and having to start all over turned me off and scared me (I died like 2k times in my Celeste run) but man am I glad I listened to them. This game is THE SHIT. I've escaped like 8 times so far through 50+ runs and I'm still finding it super fun and the right amount of challenging without adjusting the difficulty. Definitely a game I'm gonna do a run here and there for a LONG time.

Currently working through The Messenger. I love 2d platformers, though I hate boss fights. I kinda just want to do puzzle/problem solving to get through levels, boss fights tend to be too difficult for me (at least in this game) and it teeters on ruining the overall experience.

I downloaded Dead Cells since I loved Hades so much and it was half-off, but I'm gonna wait a while before I start.

So, given all that, any recommendations for a new gamer who likes 2d platforming (and apparently rogelikes and a little metroidvania) would be appreciated!