Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (23rd March)

Hogwarts Legacy: It's been great fun exploring the castle and Hogsmeade, catching and breeding thestrals, unicorns, and hippogriffs, flying around on a broomstick, taking on goblins and assorted dark wizards, and getting immersed once again in the Wizarding World.

The story is just okay, but the environment and exploration are top-notch, making for a wondrous experience.

Dying Light. Managed to obtain a second-hand copy from a local CeX. The game is not available on the EU e-shop and I didn't want to jump through all the hoops to buy it from the US e-shop. Anyway, it's one of my guilty pleasures and I'm glad to finally have it on Switch, despite the obvious cutbacks they had to make for the port. Physical copies seem to be quite rare.

Also completed Resident Evil yesterday evening. Game still holds up after 20 years. It was quite a bit longer than I remembered.

I have been playing The Legend of Heroes Trails in the Sky the 3rd. What a mouthful of a title! Anyway, I think as of now it is okay. I feel like it seems to be lacking in ambition from the previous games. Some people argue that the first Trails in the Sky game is a prologue, which I heavily disagree to. It does more than enough to be a stand alone game. But so far, I would agree that Sky the 3rd feels like an epilogue. Hardly anything interesting going on apart from the exposition dumps (in the form of the memory doors) which aren't even relevant to Kevin and Ries' story. I'm only 10 hours in and am at Chapter 4, so it seems like this might be a pretty short journey.

Princess Peach Showtime!
Lovely game. I am on floor 3 now. The Patissière level is so funny and sweet. I feel like everyone would behave like that, to get sweets from Peach.

Happy gaming everyone!

Probably mainly be Rainbow Moon on the Switch. I’m also chipping away at FF7 Remake in preparation for eventually tackling Rebirth.

This week I will be mostly playing

Pokémon Snap
Tingle’s Balloon Trip of Love

…and my daughter will be mostly playing Lego Harry Potter Year 3.

Mad-Max

Hogwarts

Enjoying them both today.

Princess Peach: Showtime! is my tribute to high school theatre classes. And boss fights with disco birds.

Metal Gear Solid: seems to be the main game for the weekend. Standing before Sniper Wolf. Great game, just a bit hard for me.
Portal: not much left, I already know that the cake is a lie, would be great to finish.
Dragon Quest Monsters: 8 hours in. Objectively not an exceptional game, but I like the music and the art style, and helps me relax.

Siralim ultimate! Heard a lot of good things about it in the past and it got a sale recently. Not gonna lie surely this will become an hours well...
Happy gaming everyone!

This weekend I will finish Batman Arkham Asylum, at least the story, I'm searching for Poison Ivy at the moment. As much as there are great ideas in this game, I don't find it very engaging unfortunately.

I will surely play MK8D, Hatsune Miku, Tetris 99, and continue our playthrough of the Wind Waker on Wii U, where we need to get the boots and gloves to open the way to the sages.

My 9 year-old is in love with Princess Peach Showtime, she's played over 5h since yesterday already!

Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis

Android:
Terraria – playing in co-op with my best friend.
I'm planning to play something on Switch later... Today or tomorrow. I don't know. It depends on the others, not me... Have a nice gaming week, everyone...

Mostly Stardew Valley on PC, but will fit in some Cattails Wildwood Story on the Switch I hope.

I'm even more enthralled with wipEout Phantom Edition now than I was last week. I've downloaded a bunch of songs from the whole history of wipEout and put them in the folder so they're part of the soundtrack when I play phantom edition on oled deck and it is incredible. Sea of Sand and a Kraftwerk song called Tour de France 2003 (remixed by James Kenny?) are the stand out experiences, but I also love the Orbital and Cold Storage tracks. Xpander from wipeout 3 is also incredible. Playing this ancient game at 90 fps continuously blows my mind. Really can't get over the incredible job these programmers did with the graphics, sound effects, and gameplay (improving while maintaining the PS 1 game rom that is used to build this free PC edition). I've also been really loving all the Model 2 and Model 3 arcade games, especially Daytona 1 and 2, Sega Rally 1 and 2, Sega Ski Super G, Emergency Call Ambulance, Le Mans 24, Bass Fishing, and Ski Champ!
Also on Deck I've been playing Moose Life, Rocket League, Tetris Effect, Battle Garegga, Saturn Bomberman, and Bomberman Hero(such a nice soundtrack!).
Tea of the week is Amber Wuyi. Incredible flavor!
Oh, and hiking. I climbed a mountain and put the data in wii fit U (that's the only Ninty owned machine I touched this week!). I love hiking!
Happy gaming everyone!

Princess Peach Showtime and Trauma Center Second Opinion. I miss the Wii days.

I’ve been on spring break with my kids this week, which has yielded more time for gaming. My daughter and I have been watching One Piece and playing Pirate Warriors 3 together, and both my kids have enjoyed our quiz show mornings of Big Brain Academy and Knowledge Trainer. I’ve spent considerable time back in Hyrule activating lightroots and solving shrine puzzles in TOTK. I’ve rediscovered the arcade magic of Sunset Riders and Ghosts ‘N Goblins Resurrection. My third attempt at playing Astral Chain over the past few years seems to have finally taken. I’m about 5 hours into the game (case file 4), and now, I see the awesomeness (but wow, that felt like the longest cutscene-heavy tutorial ever to get here). Lots of Fortnite with my wife and stepson, and I got past a sticking point I had in Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak.

@120frames-please seeing your note on the Wii Fit U, I can't help but share the following. I'm always carrying the Fit Meter on me, with the hope of one day clearing the remaining hiking maps. Living in a flat city like Amsterdam doesn't help, but who knows. At the current rythm, I'd expect it to take another 15 years or so XD

WipeOut was such a great game, I remember playing it on the PlayStation long ago. We then had Quantum Redshift on the Xbox, and not so long ago Fast RMX on the Wii U and Switch. I'd love for a good WipeOut episode on the Switch!

I finished Portal on the Switch earlier this morning, and jumped into Guacamelee 2 right after. It seems short enough for me to blow through this weekend. Maybe I'll return to Dave the Diver too.

Fable 3. Definitely interested in a new game in the series.
Disciples Liberation. A bit like a low budget version of Baldur's Gate 3. Took a while to click though. Desperate for the physical Switch release of Balatro.

I just picked up a little game called Baldur’s Gate 3 on Steam Deck so I’m digging into that all weekend for the first time.

Third act of DQ11. Not likely to finish it this weekend but when I do, onto Final Fantasy 10 next. Great games and I still love turn based

I'm continuing with Gran turismo 7 and Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. I also just installed Dragon's Dogma 2 so that may take up all my gaming time but we'll see.

Shiren the wanderer serpentcoil island.

Getting towards the end (I think) of Bioshock 2. It’s been enjoyable but I’m about ready to move on. Looking forward to seeing the conclusion of the plot, although it’s hard for a sequel… try and mirror the great twists and turns of the original and come across as derivative, or go for a more straight forward approach and be compared as lesser? I shall see how it pans out!

Possibly a bit more Terra Nil if time, and also enjoying Under Falling Skies solo board game (sort of counts, right? It’s literally What I Am Playing).

The latest Switch haul saw a few more prospective franchise binge investments (second Yooka-Laylee and SteamWorld Dig as well as double-dipped SW Heist) but also includes the likely candidates for this weekend's session plans, be it A Juggler's Tale or Neon Abyss and Streets of Rogue; the latter two might end up covering the roguelite ground if I decide to pause my Isaac misadventures after all (getting the whole Afterbirth+ cast caught up with Repentance's new paths does sound like a fitting milestone for a break), but the mood may even extend to other stuff from Hades, Little Noah and Road Redemption to the less frequented stuff like Toroom or Feral Fury. Other hybrid gaming itches include the usual Xenoblades and Rune Factories, Fuga and First Departure, Doom 3 ans Bioshock 2, Mudrunner and SR4, the first SW Dig and Guacamelee (maybe alongside something else of their ilk like Paradox Soul, Bloodstained or Afterimage), Sailing Era and Carto... oh, and the time I hope to be able to find for some PS4 is likely to be dominated by Resident Evil 3, which may well tempt me to try for more progress in the portable RE0 as well.

The other possibilities are yet more usual suspects from XCX, Kingdom Hearts, Horizon and FFXIII/XV on Deck to Eternia, Gravity Rush, Ever Oasis and Endless Frontier on the handhelds.

@Ooyah Balatro Balatro... I haven't beaten any run yet, though. Have you got some tips for me? I insist in trying with the red deck (+1 discard).

Tales of arise and helldivers two! I would love to play stardew latest update but gotta wait for it sadly, if not for the update not being present currently thats would I would be playing this week for the most part.

Surprise Attack. Konami's space not-Shinobi. First time in a while that Hamster's actually listened to me. There was a coin-op of this in the arcade when the MetroCentre had its own theme park. Great days.

Outside of that, I'm kicking around a gaming panel for Minami Con 30, so I'm going through which games in my backlog are 1-screen multiplayer.

@MischiefMaker Does your Bioshock 2 playthrough include Minerva's Den? I think it's better than the main campaign.

Hope the move goes well Alana! Moving is one of the worst experiences everyone has to go through, so my condolences.

Glad Gonçalo is highlighting GCCX and the Switch compilation!
🎶ラストコンティンユー🎶

I’ve been struggling to “get into” stuff lately. I would break the shrinkwrap on Mameda no Bakeru, but I should also get back to Tales of Vesperia.

I’m not trying to spoil your fun Gavin, but have you tried focusing on a flush and straight focused build? Try leveling those kinds specifically and getting jokers related to building up mult w/ flushes and/or straights. I won my third attempt at the game (and every subsequent run) by doing so. There are probably smarter builds, but that’s what’s worked for me. I’m also honestly just kind of impressed by your determination. I like run-based games, but I don’t think I’d be able to stick with one for a month without winning. Best of luck.

After several days off work, a break from gaming, and a relaxing vacation with my wife, I’m back to playing Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. I didn’t think I’d have much to say since I’ve spoken about the game for the past two weeks, but alas, I do.

According to my PS5 clock, I have 80 hours logged into this game and I have no desire to slow down. I’m currently on chapter 11. Rebirth seems to hits its prime starting in chapter 9 and onward, from gameplay, map design, and story perspective. It’s as if there was a newfound confidence in the development where they discovered the perfect balance between juggling open world activities and the main story.

I’m absorbed in the characters and world. I’ve completed all possible tasks per each region. The best thing about these side quests and activities is that if you do them, such as finding the protorelics or play Queen’s Blood, you’ll obtain rich backstories that really expand on your party members. I’m compelled to invest my time because the game respects it. There are a plethora of intimate moments between all of your characters. It’s truly remarkable how much depth is in this game. And it never stops being mogical, ahem, I mean magical

That’s not to say there aren’t faults in the game — there certainly is. In later regions traversal can be infuriating because it forces you to use the chocobo to reach differing locations that are mandatory. It doesn’t feel organic. I appreciate how the game incorporates fresh ways to explore via chocobo, so there is always a new mechanic to keep you engaged.

The regions themselves are gorgeous and fun to explore, however. Each location feels genuinely distinct from one another, and this is strengthened by its exemplary soundtrack that feels compatible with the environment. It’s easily one of the best OSTs for a Final Fantasy game I’ve ever heard.

Another criticism I have is the bloat. There is an over abundance of activities and mini-games to do. Some of the content could be trimmed, but thankfully the majority of it is optional. But less is more. Later in the game when you get to explore the Nibelheim region, my feelings is that it has the perfect amount of content. The map isn’t too large and everything is condensed in a small package. With all that said, these flaws don’t diminish the genius of this game. I’d rather have too much of Final Fantasy 7 than not enough, and the bloat isn’t a mandatory component.

I haven’t even scratched the surface of what I’d like to discuss about this game (story, materia builds, combat, and the little nuances), but my write-up is already long enough so I’ll end it here for now. Perhaps I should start up my own website to have deeper discussions without a character limit. Nevertheless, I will say this: Rebirth is just that — a game favored by nostalgia, but can stand on its own as a brand new experience that, to me, outshines the original in many ways.

Might get back to Tomb Raider 2 in the Remastered collection. Also possibly play some retro games, Castle of Illusion or still playing Top Racer (Top Gear) 2 on Switch, and Lotus 3 on the Amiga which I started last weekend. Not had much gamig time in the week at all, so picking up where I left off last weekend.

Some TOTK still exploring and not finished the game yet.

Some Mario 3d world, longing for some 3d Mario, hurry up Nintendo it’s been 7 long years since Odyssey this October. It better be worth the wait.

You could give us Mario Galaxy 2 remaster before this year ends, how about it, pleaseeeeee.

Splatoon for Wii U

It’s a rainy first Saturday of spring, so I should have a little time this weekend to grow my territory and play around with my squad lineups more in Unicorn Overlord.

I hope everyone finds the game that’s just right for you this weekend! 🕹😆

Probably keep working through Sonic Superstars

Toejam and Earl: Back In The Groove.
150+hrs in. Still not bored. Lol.

Persona 4G. Man, this game is such a a joyride. Sucks that I'm babysitting right now and can't play as much, cos I think I'm addicted to the game! 🤣

MGS weekend for me. I'm getting the dog tags on MGS2 to get the extra items, and I might continue my Extreme save file on Twin Snakes.

@Ooyah thanks, that was really helpful. For example, only today I started thinking about difference between + and x when it comes to mult. And almost have never used the tarot which gives the x1,5 mult to a card. This can sinergy pretty well with planet cards, though. What a game.

PS5: Took a chance on Helldivers 2 and I am absolutely hooked! I plan on playing it until Stellar Blade comes out.
Switch: Nothing
Series X: Nothing

Switch - I downloaded a few cheap games. Yesterday, i grabbed Hello Kitty(&Sanrio Friends) Kruisers. It’s way better than you’d expect , but not so good that you won’t want to light yourself on fire while playing just to feel something. Scullion gave it a 4(out of 10). I think he’s way off. Easily a 4.5. Symptoms post playthrough: i ordered a Kuromi plush.
Also trying out a rogue-lite(like whatever) that’s been in my backlog foe-evah: Fury Unleashed. Only got a couple runs under my belt, but i’m liking it so far.
I noticed Let’s Build a Zoo is on sale. Might grab it.

PC - My PC gaming buddy is playing Dragon’s Dogma 2 this weekend so i’ll be jumping into DeepRock Galactic for the Easter egg hunt. Solo. Boohoo me. Another recommendation from the fine folks over at Time Extension: i’ve been playing Froggo’s Adventure: Verdant Venture. It’s a short platformer that’s so cute it’ll put hearts in your eyes. Also, more Ginga Force.

The Table - Hoping to get some DnD in tonight. I made the dungeon too big. She’s still working her way through it. But having fun, so i guess that’s all that matters. Might play a game of Everdell on Sunday night. It’s a worker placement game in which you build a city populated by cute lil critterz. It’s cute AF.

I’ll likely play more Age of Calamity this weekend. I’m trying to finish up as many combat trials and side quests as possible, at least those in the base game. I also plan on finishing more Maverick Hunter stages in Mega Man X 4 via the Legacy Collection, as well as grabbing the new spirits in Super Smash Bros Ultimate. I’ll maybe do another arcade run of Shredder’s Revenge, but it won’t be as likely.

On the laptop, I’ll likely play Pizza Tower. I’m on the fourth floor right now, playing as The Noise. I’ll also maybe play Enter the Gungeon.

Uncharted: Golden Abyss (Vita) - That is alot of gold right there...

Earthworm Jim HD (Windows Phone) - Forgot how difficult the touch controls are.

Lode Runner Classic (Windows Phone) - At the tail end of this now.

Perfect organism? Is that like an Ultimate Life Form?

I've been playing Shadow the Hedgehog, and this weekend I'm looking to finally get the true ending. Only three more playthroughs to go...

Princess Peach Showtime and Splatoon 3 for the Splatfest.

Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker (Wii U) and Army Men: Sarge's War (Gamecube)

@NeonPizza I'm playing Superstars on PS5 actually! I think it looks gorgeous in motion and to my surprise I prefer it over Super Mario Wonder.

A somewhat lax weekend, though a relatively early spring means I'll need to mow at some point....Look, I like the new plants, blooming flowers, and young life nature provides in spring, but whoever came up with this "lawn" concept needs repeatedly slapped.

Still hammering away at Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr's Journey. I'm searching for the first Blorbs cure in the main campaign but took a break and switched to the BJJ side again. BJJ's plot is kinda decent - Junior actually has character development - and this side strategy mode's mechanics are improved over the Bowser's Minions side of the Superstar Saga remake. I dropped Minions halfway through, but for now I plan to see BJJ through to completion.

On Switch, I've started a NG+ replay of Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana in my quest to gradually play through the modern Ys entries in story order (per Digital Emelas). This is the game that caused me to fall in love with this series and delve more into Falcom titles. My goal is to work my way up through Ys IX before X releases. After VIII, I still have Ark of Napishtim on PC, Ys Seven on PC, and Ys IX on Switch. Lovely ARPG series.

Happy gaming!

Over 125 hours into Persona 5 Royal and I have a route to the treasure in the final Royal exclusive palace). So probably not too much more to go. I assume there will be a long multi-round (and probably multi-boss) battle to end it. Hopefully will finish it this week.

Also in non-digital games I’ll be playing some KeyForge today. Only in recent years have I started playing collectible card games at all (starting with a bit of casual Magic The Gathering), but I have found KeyForge to be a better fit for me.

Right now I'm plinking single chapters in Octopath Traveler II. I haven't had much time to play but managed to get most of the team to the point that I'm taking late-game bosses down after a single break (I inadvertently faced the Deep One back to back and the Scourge of the Seas three times in a row without an issue). On one hand I'm ridiculously OP, on the other, at least they seemed to have fixed the grindiness of the original.

Also, my youngest is starting up Undertale and going in blind. I'm enjoying hanging out with her while she laughs boisterously at it (the inventory dog bit made me laugh harder than I have at a game in years).

Happy weekend to those that can observe!

I booted up Super Mario 3D All Stars last night and all the memories and magic from the late 90's and early 00's came back to me whilst swapping between Mario 64 and Sunshine so I'll be trudging through both tonight!

Princess Peach Showtime is keeping me entertained. The game is a lot of fun, with plenty of variety. Those audition challenges seem surprisingly tough, too.
I'm also hoping to get a bit of time with Alone in the Dark and Forza Motorsport.

Stayed up late last night to finish FF7 Rebirth. Wow, what a game. Astoundingly beautiful.

So now…I think I’m going to finish reading The Once and Future King before I dive into the next game.

@Qwiff Not right now as I hadn’t even looked at the additional content, so thanks for the heads-up. Is it a short campaign or as long as the main game (in which case I might leave a gap before I tackle it)? Actually I never checked out the dlc for the first Bioshock either, even though it’s included, so I maybe I should check that too at some point.

im most likely going to play nothing but phantasy star online 2 this weekend. I came back to it after not playing for a couple of months and now im hooked.

I've been playing Earthbound beginnings which as described in the review here is a bit "Grindy" but I feel like I've spent much more time grinding in a Pokemon game before. Plus with the rewind function I'm able to save my skin a lot more and waste less time than if I just let my team mates die. So far it's a good, would recommend. It is a long one so far. I don't even think I'm halfway done and my NSO says I've sunk something 400+ minutes into the game so like 6+ hours already.

Still going through Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies, now on the fourth case of that game, so getting pretty close to the end. I'm also close to finishing the first Assassin's Creed and I'm playing some casual rounds of Peggle 2.
Have a fun time gaming, everyone!

Finishing Mario Wonder. Maybe starting a replay of Link Between Worlds. Lately I've been missing this charming game.

On Switch “Mario vs Donkey Kong” after finishing “Master Detective: Rain code”, wich is an amazing experience, I needed a palate cleanser.

Finishing up Persona 5 Strikers as I’m at the last jail now. Been putting it off completing many of the requests, but I think I’m going to save the rest for post game. I started my journey with the Phantom Thieves in early-mid January and got through Royal and Tactica in that time. I’m sad my time with them is coming to an end. Debating if I should start SMT III Nocturne or TMS#FE on Switch afterward.

On my PS5 I finally got my copy of Persona 3 Reload. I was waiting for a discount on the Agis edition, which I got at a discounted $163 due to some damage on the box. Unfortunately it did damage the top corner spine of the art book but it isn’t THAT bad and I refused to pay $199 (now $250) for that collectors edition so I’m happy with what I got. I just started exploring Tartarus last night. I never finished 3 before, and while I picked up 3 Portable on Switch the last time it was on sale so I can play the FeMC route I wanted my first full play through to be Reload since P3P skips sequences and removes cutscenes.

Splatoon 3 for the Splatfest, and I wanna start playing Princess Peach: Showtime, as well. I've got star fragments to collect today in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, so I'll be playing that too. Have a great weekend, everyone

@MischiefMaker They took the lessons learned from the main game and made a shorter, more densely-packed campaign, with a great story and characters, arguably the best in the entire franchise. So it's not going to take as long as the main game, but I can pretty much guarantee you'll have an even better time.

Bioshock 1 DLC is just a bunch of challenge maps, so not really worth it, if you ask me.

Waiting for DD2 to come in from Best Buy. I've gotten hooked on Hogwarts Legacy also. Completely innocuous game, but amazing atmosphere and music. I'm not a HP guy at all, lol. Something about running around that world at night dressed up like I'm trick or treating. Lots of fun.

Princess Peach Showtime. When my kids aren’t hogging it

@Ooyah annnd done!
https://twitter.com/SuperCharlino/status/1771552259463397745/mediaViewer?currentTweet=1771552259463397745&currentTweetUser=SuperCharlino&mode=profile
You played a big role. This was a weird run where all I wanted were 2 and 3s lol

I just finished Halo CE last night. FF VI earlier this week. So right now, I'm going to focus on PM Color Splash and Crypt Stalker.

Last weekend I finished Tales of Zestiria and oh my God the second phase of the final boss was so hard lol. Took me quite a few tries to beat him 😅

This weekend I'll be jumping more into Crisis Core. I'm currently on chapter 4 and it's been pretty fun so far! I admit the encounter rate is a little high though.

@Ooyah Lol! Wish it were as simple as that. He's special needs, so a lot more maintenance required. I'm just keeping in mind, the endgame is to get back to Persona 4G, which is a god tier JRPG already.

I've been playing the new Alone in the Dark game on my Steam Deck the last 4 days, and it runs pretty well most of the time (rarely dips under 30 fps on high settings), but does have some audio clipping issues and frame rate hiccups occasionally.

It's a pretty good old school type survival horror game with a lot of puzzles and exploration, and good acting/writing with some slight bit clunky combat and some modern QOL enhancement added (you can turn that of though if you want a more classic/"frustrating" experience).

All in all one of the better survival horror games I've played.

I succumbed to decision paralysis a few weeks ago and cannot settle on a title to play! I’m reading Dune Messiah instead of trying to make a choice re video games. I feel that I would need the mind of a mentat to select something from my ridiculously large backlog.

@Ooyah Yes, couldn't beat 1,2 millions in ante 10 boss, they debuffed me the clubs.

Dragon Quest 6 (SNES)
Alone in the Dark (Series X)
Tomb Raider: Remastered (Series X)
Guardian War (3DO)

I'll be playing more Unicorn Overlord! I had to turn the difficulty up for a more tactical experience, since my griffon gang was kind of steamrolling.
There's a high chance of some more Helldivers 2: we've been having some great runs on higher difficulties, except when the shriekers come out to play. It's fun how differently people can approach every mission without a class system shoehorning people into roles.
Oh,and I ought to go get those SSBU stickers, too.

Probably nothing this weekend, as I'm going on a trip to the beach. But if I do, it will be the usual "for the family".

Balatro still owns my life.

Princess Peach Showtime. Fun little game, easy of course. Then jump on Apollo Justice Trilogy.

Gran Turismo 7 VR and a few rounds of Battlefield 2042 so far, maybe Zelda TotK tonight. We'll see

I played Yokai Watch 3 Tempura 3DS All Day Long. ☺

I have unlocked the Forbidden Temples after I have figured it out the cloudy area on the map.
Pretty big deal as the reward are the Egyptian and Forbidden Yokai creatures.

Finally been enjoying Shadow of Mordor. This is the third time I've tried to pick the game up, and having a blast this time around (Don't know why, but the game just didn't click with me the first two times). Aside from that, I plan to crack out some Super Metroid this evening whilst streaming

I just started Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. Wow.... Just wow. So amazing. As a huge Metroid fan and fan of the genre as well, I think I love this even more than Dread. That's really saying something.

Currently playing through AA: Justice for All, which I'm not really liking as much as the previous one. But still, I'm almost done with case 3 so there isn't long to go. Still playing Atelier Escha and Logy- near the end of that too! And in-between I'm playing through Xenoblade 1 again, and getting some daily solitaire in with Pocket Card Jockey.

Continuing on with Tears of the Kingdom this weekend. Wanting to finish this game so that I can move on to other games in my backlog.

Will also start Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe.

Hopin' the Battlefront Collection gets its update. Finally dove into HELLDIVERS 2. Glad I got a Portal because it's sooooo good.

On the last boss of Metroid Prime Remastered and I’m so ready to finish this game and sell it. First person Metroid is just not for me. Glad I saw what the hype was about, but I can’t wait to get back into Unicorn Overlord and possibly a little Tactics Ogre Reborn .

Yo-kai Watch 4: Now on Chapter 7. I won’t spoil anything, but…Chapter 5 was pretty much my dream come true as far as this series goes, lol. It probably would have happened eventually, but I didn’t quite expect that. Well…okay, I’ll spill. Katie got the watch! Katie got the watch! Canonically! …That aside, this plot is definitely a little darker than previous games, and you can tell how much this series’ plot lines have evolved from the first game. It’s unfolding pretty quickly at this point, too… Definitely curious to see how it ends! (Until they make a Yo-kai Watch 5, that is…)

I’m also revisiting Super Mario Maker 1, a game that is quickly rising on my priority list, since Nintendo Network Doomsday is unfortunately only 16 days away. I have so many Mystery Mushroom costumes left! Not to mention I still need to beat Super Expert 100 Mario for the first time. I won’t get them all; I know that. But I’d like to get as many as I can. If I can grab Dedede, Meta Knight and Lucas before the shutdown, I’ll die a happy man. (Until Pretendo, that is…)

@Yalloo Yeah, the fit meter/pedometer is fun to carry around, then see the credit you get as your little Mii climbs mtns and goes along trails. Also love the skiing in Wii fit U.
Wipeout is my favorite racing game ever, even though I like many others too (including all the ones you mentioned). If you have a PC I highly, highly recommend phantom edition!

@LikelySatan
To your deleted comment: +1 <3

still working on unicorn overlord.

Minecraft, Mario maker 2, totk, and some red dead 2 because it’s a snowy weekend and with the 4 of us here, we just keep jumping between games. I think about 20 mm2 levels have designed today alone

@Diogmites not even sure what it was, lol.

@LikelySatan Pretty sure it was yours. You were typing about people qualifying their love of Sunshine, yet Galaxy often being perceived as beyond reproach.

Raincode and Zelda TOTK mostly. Probably a couple rounds of Splatoon 3 and Mario Kart 8. Throw in some Gal Guardians and Cosmic Star Heroine in there too.

Looking forward to the next couple months with Sea of Stars, Eiyuden Chronicles, and Paper Mario TTYD on the way. Which reminds me, will probably try to make progress in Paper Mario on NSO.

@Ooyah You're totally fine and I took it as such! I'm all for jokes and chocolate myself~

@Diogmites oh weird, that was deleted? Meh. I don't get the Galaxy love, but I will keep trying.

@LikelySatan lol no it wasn’t deleted. I didn’t realize i was in a different thread when i read it. And then was replying to your comment, and returned here to reference it and it was gone, so assumed it had gotten deleted.
In a nutshell, i’m a moron.
I get too excited when people diss Galaxy because i dislike it so much.
Apologies for the confusion and waste of time!

Princes Peach Showtime for me! Im having lots of fun with this game. My only problems with this game is the EXTREMELY laggy loading screens. Its so nasty.
other than that, great game!

Ok... who's poll bombing? Scorpion King? BMX XXX?? Oooook....

So this weekend, here's my rundown.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Time to continue the Eldin expedition. Up the mountain we go, next stop, Goron City.

Pokemon Legends: Arceus
Just formally joined ranks and proved myself early in the game. The game has me hooked so far-- Looks like I'm making my long awaited return to the world of Pokémon. Complete the Pokedex? Sure, how many... 1035?! Gulp...

A Boy and His Blob Retro Collection
Time for me to finally stop dabbling with the NES version and finally get through it all. At least the saving and map make it worth it. Every week I play at least one retro game and this will be it. Something told me to get it because if Ziggurat and Limited Run Games delisted the Bill and Ted's Excellent Retro Collection then it probably would only be a matter of time before this one got delisted. I'm not sure if Bill and Ted Retro Collection was delisted due to movie licensing or not, but didn't want to take the chance. Yeah I know, the remake is far more worth it, but warts and all, something endearingly takes me back with the NES version and who knows? One day in the future I'll seek out the remake.

I’m making progress through Unicorn Overlord. I reached Drakenhold so I’m just trying to figure out my party compositions long term since the game throws so many units at you (which isn’t surprising but still).

There's also the current Splatfest and while I’m sure Team Guitar will lose, I’m still gonna make it to max rank for that team at least. Also, Inkopolis Square looks so good in Splatoon 3 and seeing Off the Hook perform is a delight. Hopefully the game will follow Splatoon 2 and have additional Splatfest after the “Final” one.

Additionally, I’m also playing Battlefront 2 via the SW Battlefront Classic Collection. Just going into Instant Action and loading up a few maps against the AI makes for some quick, casual fun.

Lastly, I’m slowly working my way through FFXIV. I’m half way through Stormblood but I would like to be caught up by the time Dawntrail launches.

Balatro. Still addicted

@Diogmites i WANT to like them. Just...that camera, man.

@LikelySatan I wanted to like Galaxy also, though i had extremely high expectations of it.
Yeah that camera is no peach.

@120frames-please I just saw that your icon/avatar is a mix of WipeOut logos, cool.
I only play on the Switch (and the Wii / Wii U...) but I have really fond memories of those games. If I ever get into PC gaming, there are a few demanding games I would want to play, and for sure WipeOut. I'll keep the Phantom edition in mind, who knows.

Funny I coincidentally played the ski game today, I'm not good at it. After all those years, there's still some games like that one and the flying pinguin to master.
I usually scan the Fit Meter every time, but to actually progress on the maps I would do that once in a few months, otherwise progress seems so little

I've had the same rotation of games for the last few weeks. On Switch I'm playing Unicorn Overlord, about 40 hours in. On PS5 FF7 Rebirth, about to go to Cosmo Canyon. And on Steam I'm replaying Trails in the Sky the 3rd, on the final chapter.

Switch - Princess Peach: Showtime

PS5 - Final Fantasy VII Remake, Final Fantasy XVI

Assassin's Creed: Valhalla (PS5) - have just completed the Suthsexe arc and all the collectables in the region. About to start heading north.

Gears of War: Definitive Edition (XSX) - have completed the second chapter with the flying things that get burned by light. Awesome stuff.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 (Switch) - have now finished the sixth chapter and still am totally confused by the plot. Think I'm nearing the home stretch.

Balatro (Steam) - the other games are suffering as I sink more time into this. Have won with the red and blue decks but still trying to win with yellow.

Playing the Splatfest in Splatoon 3 right now (just taking a quick break for dinner). Already at Champion rank and over halfway to Ruler rank. Would like to get in some Princess Peach Showtime, and definitely Genshin Impact, as that game also has some events running concurrently that I need to get through.

@Qwiff Awesome, thanks. Will deffo give Bioshock 2 dlc a go then.

Dragon’s Dogma 2 for me. To be honest given how monster hunter rise was built i am surprised this wasn’t released on switch. Either way I am having a blast.

DD2 finally arrived, so now that's my answer, lol. This is going to be a great time, I can tell already.

"I love Contra: Operation Galuga so much I’m not only still replaying it but also..."

WTF? Wasn't that game trash according to this site?

Oninaki , Legends: Arceus , Yakuza : like a Dragon

@Ooyah Uh, I don't think I'm able to decide if I want to keep playing or not lol. I plan to finish more regular runs with the other decks in order to unlock more.

More shameless plugs for PS5 games, this time including convenient links to push square. There, I can see if the reverse is true and of course it’s not. Very handy.
Now, hmm I wonder why some of the writers here have such an obsession with Sony/ PlayStation?

Well here we go with another WAYP. Been a busy week this week but I’ll lead with the big news of the week. Beat Granblue Fantasy Relink. Yeah there’s a post game it seems but seeing as credits rolled I’m gonna consider it finished for now. Weekend otherwise was filled with some Splatoon 3 for the Splatfest, Princess Peach Showtime which is a absolutely amazing game and I wanna do some Trails Into Reverie and crack into Dragons Dogma 2 for the rest of the weekend. Got two Amiibo coming in this weekend too: Young Link and Meta Knight. Really excited about them both and that leaves me with only 5 of the Smash Amiibo left to get. Kirby, Luigi, Pichu, King Dedede and Isabelle. As for the rest of the week well I do wanna stop at a GameStop with a whole record number of trades and get roughly $160 dollars out of them. That should cover a copy of Rise Of The Ronins, a preorder of FFXIV Dawntrail (JUNE 28TH BAYBEE), the FFXVI DLC The Rising Tide in April and the new Guilty Gear Strive character A.B.A and the stage she comes with. Speaking of looking forward to a nice hangout on Wednesday with a good friend chatting and learning her. (Shoutout Ouji_Senpai.) Now if GameStop gives me like way more for my trades? Well I wouldn’t know what to do with myself hahaha but probably a preorder on Stellar Blade and maybe a Switch copy of Apollo Justice Trilogy Ace Attorney. But I’m keeping safe and humble on that you know how GameStop can be. As for the games I’m planning on tackling those are pretty simple. Some Another Code, Mario Vs Donkey Kong, Splatoon 3 Side Order, Detective Pikachu Returns and maybe cracking into Penny’s Big Breakaway on Switch alongside the other games I’ve mentioned like Trails and Peach and over on PS5 some FFVII Rebirth, Prince of Persia The Lost Crown, Like A Dragon Infinite Wealth, Persona 3 Reload and maybe cracking into Helldivers 2 finally alongside the other games I’ve mentioned like Dragons Dogma 2 and Ronins. Anime of the week gotta go to Shangri La Frontier, Delusional Monthly Magazine, Delicious in Dungeon and Frieren. All absolutely excellent. Still trucking along on Shameless and that’s excellent too. Podcasts of the week of course gotta go to Castle Superbeast, Big Think Dimension, Into The Aether, RPGsites Tetracast, Remap Radio, Windbreaker, Firelink, Summon Sign and Nextlander. And of course another wonderful shoutout to my wonderful friend over at Twitch.tv/akibread for their absolutely amazing streams. As always y’all stay safe and be good to each other. Have a absolutely wonderful weekend and Happy Gaming.

Slice & Dice took most of my time, which is now on iOS, but I got it on Steam first (it's a dice-building roguelike) which I would have gotten on Switch but it doesn't seem to be available yet.

Also, Ultros which is a trippy, consuming, and, so far, amazing Metroidvania that is only worth playing on something with a wide color gamut (very vibrant colors) so that's on the PS5.

For an actual game available on Switch, there is Balatro which we played while introducing it to friends. They took to it very quickly. It has to be the most accessible deckbuilding game ever due to it being based on standard playing cards and poker/betting semiotics.

(Across my family, one is playing Wildfrost all the time, we shared a bit of Slice & Dice, one has been on Splatoon 3 getting back up to S-rank and winning 100x battles during splat fest... but also maximizing the Side Order content with invented new runs, like monotone, etc. One is on Steam playing with friends in all sorts of multiplayer games. Hearts of Iron IV is a big one.)

I'm playing Ecco the Dolphin and trying out the Sharkfin password for infinite air. I can still die,but its a lot nicer not having to pop up for air as often. Pity there's no such thing for Sonic.

@Zuljaras Best of luck in your exam

Unicorn Overlord is now at sixth place right now. I guess people have beaten it and are now playing other stuff?

Almost sixty hours in and I don't think I'm even at the halfway point. Just having a blast grinding and promoting my guys. Can't stop singing its praises enough.

@Yalloo Thanks, I've got the wipEout for Mac box, the Parodius PSP collection, and Katamari Damacy in my profile pic. It was just random stuff I like so I used them for my accidentally upside down profile pic.
Also, wipeout phantom edition is quite a light game. I bet a 5 or 6 year old PC or laptop could run it locked at 60fps. It's just the PS1 game at higher resolution and frame rate, basically. My Steam Deck can pretty much run it above 200fps.
Anyways, happy skiing and wii fitting!