Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 468

Finished up the thoroughly enjoyable Judgement. Plot holes you could drive a truck through but a surprisingly mature story. How far would you go for the betterment of all?

Anyway, it's on to the sequel, 𝐋𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐉𝐮𝐝𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭!

Only on chapter 4 at the moment but there are some welcome QoL improvements to the game play and the fighting is far more fast and fluid. Snake style, in particular, feels ace. It's "surrender" ultimate suits some of the battles. Not sure I'd feel quite right about crunching a school kid's face into a wall with my knee!

The story hasn't really got going at the moment, in fact it being set in a high school makes it very anime like, if you know what I mean? Now I like me some anime, not ashamed to admit it, but others may find that a little off putting.

Look,I know there's been a murder but gotta help those Rabbits in the Dance Club and there's the Mystery Club calling again!

Nice to be back in Ijincho again. Forgot just how much bigger it is than Kamarucho! Really appreciate the skateboard mechanic. Tho don't try using it drunk! I thought it was broken at first, far too twitchy to be useful.

Then I realised I was riding it "Brahms & Lizt!"

🤦‍♂️

Enjoy the weekend and your gaming everyone!

I’m still playing Octopath Traveler II (Nintendo Switch). With 65+ hours, I believe I’m nearing the end, I believe, having the 3rd and 4th chapters left of most characters. I did nothing but grind yesterday, so all of my characters are now level 60 or higher, so I’m going to push through the story now. The fatigue is starting to set in, however, as I want to get around playing some other games. That said, my opinion still hasn’t wavered: OP2 is one of the finest RPGs ever made.

I was going to get around to playing the plethora of games in my backlog, such as Wo Long Fallen Dynasty, Dead Space Remake, and a few others, but I saw that a new DLC campaign mission dropped for one of my favorite games, Sniper Elite 5, and I’ll be jumping back into that world. I find the game to be an utter masterpiece in stealth and level design, and the overall gameplay loop is addicting.

I also purchased Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion and Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo on the Nintendo Switch, so I’ll probably jump into that soon. All of these games mentioned should keep me plenty busy until The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Redfall releases.

On Switch, i'm still chipping away at Octopath Traveler 2, loving this game a lot, and it's probably my big game this weekend.

On Series X i'm also playing Dead Cells, mostly delving into the Return to Castlevania stuff.

And on PS5 I did briefly play some of the PS4 Ratchet & Clank remake earlier, dunno if i'll keep going with it, it scratched the itch I needed scratched when I did a session with it.

I played Wii U games. 🙂
1. The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD
2. LEGO CITY UNDERCOVER

Also, today is 10th anniversary of LEGO CITY UNDERCOVER Wii U.

Still on with Octopath Traveler II, got the final chapter for each character to do now.

Absolutely loving. If you like JRPGs this game is for you.

This weekend is all about the Diablo beta, providing the servers don't implode! Failing that I'm finally wrapping up the AC Valhalla DLC, bought the Ragnarok expansion a while back but got overwhelmed by it, but the time is now right to finish Eivor and Havi's story

I’ll be pointlessly grinding away in chapter 12 of Like a dragon Yakuza Like a dragon on the 5 and squatting and farting in ringfit adventure on the switch.

Im still playing yakuza like a dragon and star wars jedi fallen order.im watching Michigan basketball 🏀.watching the ncaa basketball tournament.watching the Boston Celtics 💚🖤 play.watching legendary sitcoms 📺 tv comedy shows in good times and the wayans brothers.word up son

I’ve been playing the free trial of Anno 1800 and am enjoying it so far. I can see myself buying it in the coming days, and subsequently losing many hours to it! I hope to finally finish Hogwarts Legacy over the weekend. I now have all spells unlocked, including the 3 unforgivable curses, and have just a few quests to go.

Thought I'd seen it all except the different endings but doing Ranni's questline this time round and a whole new world opens up to me, Elden Ring is just something else. Also, can someone remind me how I beat Bloodborne's Vicar Amelia first try in 2016 but I'm stuck on her in 2023... Anyway I'll be continuing Origins till I beat it and play bits of GoT and Valhalla.

Just beat and got the platinum trophy for Sonic Frontiers and am so surprised by how much I enjoyed this game, it was satisfying going around collecting everything I saw.

One of my favourite parts was the fishing mini game, which was so chill, the platinum experience was fantastic, no missable trophies and I could choose to focus on tasks in any order I wanted. I ended up getting 100% on all the portals to retro levels even though you only need to do so on a single level. This game was such a random mix of breath of the wild and Mario odyssey with a tiny bit of Nier Automata with the secret final boss and has made me a new fan of the sonic series. If this is the template for future sonic games you can count me in on day one! I now want to go back and experience some of the older games now, maybe sonic colours on ps4.

Also chipping away at Octopath traveller 2, this one will take me forever to beat as I’m only playing 1 character chapter at a time, I’m 18 hours in and am up to the 8th character’s intro chapter. Combat is crunchy and the visuals are exceptional, I wished there were more games that adapted the Hd-2d style. My only problem with the game so far is the performance takes a hit on ps5 when you’re moving behind backdrops in the environment which really shouldn’t be happening since this isn’t a graphically demanding game.

Lastly, I’m playing the mega man legacy collection which has been a blind spot in my gaming history, but my god the first game is brutally difficult and I flat out wouldn’t have had the patience to get through it without save states. Mega man 2 is a huge step up and is my favourite so far and 3 is also pretty good if not a tad long compared to the other two. I will probably take a break before I play mega man 4 as I have no rush to beat these games, they will be great pallet cleansers between larger games. I’m glad I’ve finally given this series a shot, even if they didn’t click with me, it’d have been a great history lesson. Hopefully after I have more mega man games under my belt I will attempt later entries without save states!

Still playing Elden Ring, 75+ hours in and still no end in sight. I'm off work next week and partners away so should be able to get through another decent chunk, maybe even finish it.

Before playing diablo iv I played diablo 1 for the very first time. I d purchased it some time ago on gog and it feels like i discovered an ancient secret. This is the game that influenced so many rpgs we love today. Diablo series is not as appreciated as it should be. Happy st patricks day.

Finishing of hogwarts today then i'm starting horizon forbiden west. I've been dipping in and out of steelrising too which is a really cool game. Have a good weekend folks 👍

Finished another playthrough of Dishonored, this time on Steam Deck. It’s a shame the sequel isn’t supported on the Deck. I may move on to a repeat play though of Death of the Outsider instead, or perhaps start one of either Prey or Deathloop, neither of which I’ve played before.

After never being a PC gamer (discounting some BF2 back in the day), I’m rather enjoying the Steam Deck.

I also purchased Disco Elysian in the Steam Spring Sale, primarily because I hear the writing is great and wanted to check it out for this reason.

I'm playing Like a Dragon: Ishin after finally getting to it since I don't play multiple games at once. After I platinum'd Hogwarts Legacy like last week, I decided to play Ishin and been loving it so far. Currently on chapter 5 and been taking my time with the game and doing a lot of side stuff.

Playing ISHIN: LIKE A DRAGON, and almost finished with the grindy ass Death Stranding Plat.. I want to say, I actually didn't like that game at first, but it got SOO good if you just stick with it. And it's kind of calming just to do nothing and just walk around.

I’ll be playing cave digger 2. Such an addictive gameplay loop! Waiting for saints and sinners 1&2 next week.

@Vacuumator Disco Elysium is such a weird game, I really don't understand it and ive played like maybe 3 hours or more and not a trophy has popped yet. I know it has been touted as a true sleeper hit, I just don't get it? I will go back to it someday, and I hope you are enjoying it.. I got that and Hades at the same time, and I havent went back to DE yet...

Sonic Frontiers - the first Sonic game I’ve ever completed and enjoyed. I’ve always found Sonic games a bit boring (too samey) but the open-world style in Frontiers is genius. Keeping the classic style Sonic levels behind (optional) portals on each map meant they were a welcome detour, rather than a repetitive chore to play. I managed to get the platinum in around 17 hours and was left wanting more of this Sonic. Brilliant game.

Dead Space Remake - currently on level 8 and it’s amazing so far. I forgot just how good this game was tbh.

This week I started Assassin's Creed Origins, and what a game!! I completed Odyssey 3 years ago, and Origins reminds me of how great, immersive and impressive that style of AC can be. So I'm playing this game whenever I find the time. I'm finishing Devil My Cry 5 with a Legendary Dark Knight run, and maybe do some missions in Ace Combat 7 or advance more in Dragon Quest XI S. So many great games, so little time...

Finally finished Horizon:Forbidden West.

It's a shame that Wings of the ten feature is so close to the end.
When I got to it and San Francisco region I was already level 50. And I didn't grind. Just completed side quests, not all of them even. And got tired, I think.

Now I think it'd be better for me to rush to San Francisco and to start doing side activities afterwards.

In any case, it was a powerful journey. Honestly, I didn't expect I'd be so much into it.

Now I play my old save in Nioh 2, somewhere at 1/3 of the game. Not sure it'll grab me. Maybe replaying Elden ring for the 5th time could be a better idea. I'm not joking.

If I had an opportunity to have RE4 disc earlier, my decision problem would have been solved at once.

Might not get much time this weekend but if I do get the odd hour in, it’ll either be some co-op hordes on Zombie Army 4 or chipping away at the Deathloop trophy list.

@MakersMark

I’ve literally only played the first couple of minutes. I’ll give it more of a go, as I really have no sense of what the game is like/mechanics from what I’ve seen. I did find that some of the VO is very well delivered, and some of it just seems flat and inconsistent with the other performances, so that’s a little jarring.

Finishing Hogwarts which has been … fine. More 7/10 than 9/10 territory for me. Everything outside main quests offers nothing imo. Grabbed Terminator on sale not expecting anything amazing but love that universe. All eyes on Resi4 next week.

@Blacksmith1985 If you get a chance play the "CHAINSAW" demo, it relives one of the iconic scenes/encounters from the original game...It was up on PSN for ps4/5 a few days ago..

I finished the criminally underrated Forspoken yesterday. I'd recommend waiting till it's about £20 or so and then you can definitely not lose. Don't believe the hate bandwagon it's a fun game and I liked Fray and the story wasn't bad. Some really good moments in it.

This weekend I'll be on smaller games like Trek to Yomi while awaiting Tchia and Resi 4 remake

When the kids get to bed again for the eve, I’ll be cracking on with Wo Long and mixing it up with the fantastic Wanted:Dead.

Anno 1800 has a free week trial on PSN and my curiosity is peaked so I’ll dive into that as well.

@freddquadros "CURSE OF THE PHAROAH" and "THE HIDDEN ONES" are two of the BEST added content of a game as far as expansions go! you CANNOT go wrong if you play those and even don't finish the main campaign, but it would behoove you to play the main story. The visuals on that game, I was impressed and here i thought all deserts didn't have distinct looks and environments and it was all just "tan drab sand"...

On Series X Im playing Octopath Traveler picked it up on sale to continue my playthrough. Also brought PARANORMASIGHT on switch. On Ps5 its more Like A Dragon Ishin. Lastly Metroid Prime Remastered

@Anti-Matter never had WiiU but wanted windwaker HD desperately. Keep hoping for a switch port but giving up hope now

After finishing Hogwarts Legacy I’ve struggled to find motivation to play anything else. At the moment I’m eyeing up starting Persona 3, but I think I need something smaller currently. After getting a raise in work, I might treat myself to something in my wish list. 😊

@GorosBat I was surprised how much I enjoyed Sonic Frontiers as well. Great game. Wasn't keen on some odd herding and pinball mini games being essential to finish the game but it wasn't a deal breaker.

I'd have high hopes for a sequel not held back by switch and last gen versions

More Octopath Traveler II on PS5 this weekend. 35 hours in and what an incredible game, my favourite of 2023 so far

Beat Metroid Fusion yesterday and Kirby and The Forgotten Land a few days ago.

Currently playing Captain Toad Treasure Tracker on the Switch which is fun. Also playing Forza Horizon 2 on the Xbox Series X which is the only forza game I haven’t played yet.
Lastly I just bought The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR for PS4/PSVR1 which I’ll probably play on my PS5.

Switch - Starting Bayonetta Origins and Metroid Prime Remastered today! Might also play some Smash Ultimate online.

3DS - Playing through Pokemon Red for the first time!

PS5 - GTA Online with friends and gonna try out Hitman World of Assassination.

PC - Not much on PC this weekend but might play a bit of Garry's Mod with friends.

Have a good weekend everyone!

Just finished The Calisto Protocol ...very average. Its a looker but its repetitive and frustrating. Too much squeezing between cracks in walls, a slow upgrade system and fighting the same goons all the time.
So now I'll carry on with Hogwarts Legacy gotta be near the end now. A very good game with the usual open world guff but the combat is superb
Also back into Starcraft 2 in a big way, its gonna take over my life again
Have a great weekend guys and gals ❤️❤️

@Anti-Matter The Wind Waker....one of the finest games ever made, a true work of art

Still rolling along with the PS5 version of Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana. Chapter 5 is even more massive than I thought it was, as I've been on that for well over a week now. Not that I'm complaining as I'm still loving the game, and it's been a great chapter, but it has taken me longer than I thought it would. More of what is becoming one of my all-time favorite JRPGs is not exactly a bad thing.

In anticipation for Dead Island 2 I recently finished Escape from Dead Island and have now started Dead Island Riptide! Hopefully I will have finished it by the time the much anticipated sequel comes out. 😉

Finished Atomic Heart in the week, had a good time, I think their next game sequel or not will be even better as it was a bit rough at times and the trophies just didn't track.
Playing Toem whilst I wait for RE4 remake, fun little pallet cleanser.

@Vacuumator stick with DE if you can, one of the greatest games ever made, story and characters are incredible. Kim is a boss!

@rusty82 Unless there’s a switch 2 by the time the next sonic comes out I don’t see it being current gen only, but that could be 2-3 years away so who knows. I will be honest, switch didn’t hold back frontiers back from being a great game and as usual gameplay always trumps graphics, we almost never remember great games for only their graphics, if that were the case anything released before ps4 would be obsolete.

Dead space remake. Enjoying it.

I bought Football Manager Console on sale. I am an idiot as now Judgment has fallen to the side. I must make sure I get back on track, as Kamurochō needs me!

As far as FM goes, it's okay, I'd prefer more individual player talks and a pre match team talk (how is that not in there 😱) it's almost as if the post game team talk is the pre game talk for the next match, which is bonkers.

Also there are some really quirky annoyances, like if you request director of football to suggest a player (because the scouting mechanic is very buggy and hit and miss) then apparently they instantly decide all the players suggested to you should be immediately offered deals without your knowledge so you have to manually remove them from another tab.

Apart from that, it seems a touch easy as I've taken a team listed as favourites for relegation to promotion and title contenders without signing anyone for more than £1k fee and basically using the squad I was given, mainly using the under 18 youth prospects (twice broken the youngest goalscorer league record already)

It's fun in an FM kind of way though, it's basically quite relaxing staring at text on a screen and pondering subconsciously about game plans and team development plans 😁

Have made a start on Deaths Door (PS5) early impressions are that it seems hauntingly beautiful. I think I'm gonna die lots though.
Also feeling I should go have a look at The Outer Wilds as it's been ignored on my machine for quite some time.
..though my physical edition of Signalis (PS4) has just arrived.
Choices choices.

Have a good weekend and successful gaming endeavours people.

More Hitman Freelancer mode. It feels like the cost of failure is a little more punitive than I'd like (it would be better if you lost all the money and stuff from that run, but keep the stuff from previous runs) but I'm slowly building up my weapons and my safehouse (just got access to the vault so I'd better see what that's about)

@Nightcrawler71 as someone about to dive into Anno 1800 but has no real love for the genre, is that type of broader appeal? Perhaps I’m asking how much you yourself dive into that style of game for a frame of reference.

@GorosBat I think the switch and PS4/Xbox one versions held blit back technically. Even on PS5 there was terrible pop in and just feel it could have been even better if not hamstrung by having to make it scalable from switch to high end PC's

@Mostik I was desperate to enjoy atomic heart but I couldn't get into it. Main reason is the on screen text was tiny on my 40inch 1080p display and had to keep leaning in close to read anything. That's with my glasses on. I'll give it another try when it's about £20

@KingPev the combat on Callisto protocol puts me off. Just hoping it'll come to playstation plus extra in next few months. Hopefully around Halloween time

Nothing as I'm currently out of town doing a reroof. So it's watching the 20th anniversary of "Operation Freedom", those were the days. Might celebrate by trying to find Final Fantasy X/X2 & 12 Remastered Edition's for my PS4 Pro.

@playstation1995 I shall also be doing this

As Marcus Smart is my spirit animal, and Big Al Horford is everybody's daddy 😁

I just wish when they had a good lead they'd really step up and go for the high percentage points in the paint, or open threes after driving first, but they seem to just relax and decide it's time to boost the stars personal stats and let them take bad walk up threes so teams get easy rebounds and get the momentum back. Very frustrating 😅 Stops and twos are far better for the team than taking those lower percentage threes with a lead.

@rusty82 I agree mate, text was too small and why I didn't play it in native language with subtitles. Once you got all the abilities and leveled up a bit it was quite enjoyable. £20 is about right tbf.

Playing as the Shadow of Darkness and sheriff Rook in FFXIV and Far Cry 5.

WWE 2K23 and Final Fantasy VII Remake

@ErrantRob if you have no real love for the genre then it probably won’t be your cup of tea. Saying that, I’m defining NOT a hardcore strategy fan, only occasionally getting into them. I played Age of Empires 2 a short while ago when it launched on GamePass and enjoyed it. Ubisoft are quite generous in giving players a whole week to try out Anno so I would say give it a go as you have nothing to lose. Personally, I’m going to play it for a few more days before I pull the trigger. I’ve almost finished Hogwarts Legacy so I need another time sink, and Anno 1880 would fill that gap nicely!

I'm totally hooked on Hogwarts Legacy at the moment. Bought it together with Octopath Traveler II and Metroid Prime Remastered, and I haven 't touched those two since starting with Hogwarts. Amazing game, lovely atmosphere.

@rusty82 the combat is frustrating due to getting attacked off camera so it's hard to dodge melee. It's got very repetitive design choices. An ideal PS Plus game. My tip: play it on Easy

@MakersMark I got the season pass, will play everything, evey mission there!! Loving all the content of this game!! Will do the DLCs after the main story.

My kids claimed my ps5 to play Peppa Pig world adventure. If I get a chance I'll continue God of War Ragnarok.

@Nightcrawler71 good to hear. Yea that week long trial I hope is enough to get an idea. I really want to like the genre but I just think a game like Frostpunk soured me (I poured like 20 hours into it before I got frustrated by inflexibility).

There's so much to play, Wo Long, Octopath, Metroid Prime, Breath of the Wild, so kind of slowly playing everything.

PC GAME PASS
Plagues Tale: Requiem
Am on the last handful of chapters. Great story as with the first one, and love the ambitious scope of this time...that said, im kind of tired of the rats lol. I know its weird saying that, considering its a trademark of the IP, but in the first game those scenes had you horrified and at the edge of your seat, here its starting to feel played out (even though they give new tools etc), ive really enjoyed the parts that strayed from the formula, like the haunting level where you explore the cult island. Very good game overall though.

Persona 5 Royal
Good stuff, grinding and building up to the third palace. Best in the series by far, 30 hrs in and cant get enough.

PSVR 2
After The Fall
Was going to dive into Switchback VR this weekend, but might hold off for the patch the developers have promised. Will also wait on RE8 for my prescription lenses to arrive, just been having fun playing this in co op with my buddy via his Quest 2. The Discord update is a lifesaver for our party voice chat crossplay. Im getting some decent loot now, first 3 levels beaten on Veteran.

@Martijn87 my trick is let my son game on the Switch, so the PS5 is always free 😉

I’m starting Yakuza Kiwami. I doubt I’ll platinum it anytime soon but I want to play the Yakuza games to catch up in time for 8

Keep meaning to try other games but hooked on GT7 in VR. It’s such an adrenaline rush.

Really need to widen my horizons but it’s just too good.

GTA IV on my PS3. 😁

I can stop playing Tetris Effect. I don’t even want to play Tetris Effect, I want to play Octopath 2, but Tertris Effect keeps saying “Come on, one more go. You might make it all the way through to the end this time”. Damn you Tetris Effect!

@Ravix. Yo playa good choice on those 2 boston Celtics. Videos 😄 haha.those are my 2 favorite.al horford.and jaylen brown and marcus smart video is n.i.c.e.haha.word up son

Was working today... but hoping to find some time to play some more Project Zero: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse.
Continuing to play through Monster World IV on the Wonderboy Anniversary Collection. Never played through the whole game before, though Dragon's Trap was one of my favourite Master System titles.
Also still playing Slipstream, a great retro style arcade racer which is like OutRunners meets OutRun 2, which I keep coming back to.

Squadrons on ps5. A lot more enjoyable at 60fps.

I am now 50% through my, not-quite, 10 year anniversary re-play through of AC Black Flag. Today I will obtain the diving bell, and make my ship invincible. When I eventually allow myself to finish the game, I have all the dlc and Freedom Cry to enjoy, none of which I have ever played. I should have done this years ago 🙂

@ZoSo
Thanx and vice versa!

Picked up the Horizon Zero Dawn set currently on sale this week in Fortnite, checking out the new season. Pretty fun to play as Aloy. Started playing Hogwarts Legacy and boy oh boy is this game charming. Graphics, music, acting, systems, all so top notch. So far having a very magical time.

Diablo IV definitely.
For those that find progressing a bit of a challenge with the other classes - choose the sorcerer(ess) class.
It does a lot of damage compared to the others.
Managed to reach lvl 19 in ~3 hours of solo play, simply because that Ark Lash goes through enemies like hot knife through butter.
If you didn't preorder the game, then keep it in mind for next weekend.
The content they included in the Beta is A LOT... huge area, 3 classes, a ton of sidequests, a lot of dungeons, all on top of the main storyline.
If you want to have enough time to explore everywhere and do everything, do play as a sorc...
Here's hoping Blizzard manages to ballance the classes better in the final iteration of the game.

I platinumed GoW Ragnarok, jumped right into Immortals Fenyx Rising, and hopped into a little CoD MWII and Fortnite when I was feeling shooty.

@KidBoruto Yeah, it's really great. I didn't expect this at all. Working my way to the end of the storyline now. I was hoping to finish this before RE4 comes out, but I keep going for every side quest and collectible I come across .