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The weekend is finally here, so it's time to grab a few precious moments of free time and fire up your favourite Nintendo console for a little R&R. This week, Team Nintendo Life are playing action-RPGs, cutesy detective sims, virtual pinball tables, retro shmups, horror romps and, of course, Splatoon 2. As always, feel free to leave a vote in the poll and a comment below sharing your gaming choices this weekend. Have a good one!

Steve Bowling, US editor

I was initially quite excited to play one of my favourite Japan-only games, Phantasy Star Online 2 on my Switch this weekend, but it just isn't all that great. Instead, I'm going to finish up my import copy of Hyrule Warriors DX, then show my 3DS a little love with Detective Pikachu. If that isn't enough to carry me through the weekend, I'll likely pick up Mercenary Kings and try that out on the Switch. I loved it on other platforms, but it always felt like it'd be better as a portable title. Now if only Pocket Rumble and Street Fighter would release already...

Alex Olney, video producer

I'm off to IKEA at the weekend and I'm driving, so I won't have any time to play at all tomorrow. When Sunday rolls around though you can bet your sweet collective bottoms I'm going to be playing some more ARMS. Don't know what it is but recently that game's suckered me right back in, and I'm loving every second of it. I need to improve my Helix play but I'm getting there.

Dave Letcavage, contributing writing

Lately I’ve been hanging out with Far Cry 5 and Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin on Xbox One, but this weekend I’m shifting gears and catching air with Urban Trial Playground on Switch. I played through the first game in the series and thought it was decent enough, and being a huge fan of RedLynx’s Trials games, this seemed to be an obvious choice. If I’m not too busy, it would be wonderful to flip over to the Bethesda Pinball tables that were recently added to Pinball FX3. Also, Morgan told me Dragon Blaze reminds him of Mushihimesama, so how the heck could I say no to that?

Dom Reseigh-Lincoln, editor

It's going to be a typically busy weekend in the Reseigh-Lincoln household this week, so I'll be gaming lightly over the next few days, but I'm hoping to jump back into Yo-Kai Watch with my eldest as he's really fallen in love with its cutesy world and oddball creatures. It's only a matter of time before his love of Pokemon cards translates into the games themselves...

I might just be firing up a classic PS1 trilogy involving a certain purple dragon. Sure, it's not technically going to be on a Nintendo platform, but it'll be portable, I can promise you that much at least...

Glen Fox, guides editor

Still playing and adoring Skyrim, but I decided to take a little break from it this week and dig into Resident Evil Revelations 2. It’s the only canonical entry in the long-running horror franchise that I haven’t played yet and, once again, the Switch provided a perfect excuse to finally get around to it. I’m super impressed with it so far. People rave about Resident Evil 7, and rightly so, but the resurgence really started with the Revelations – they strike a great balance between classic Resi and the action-oriented style we first saw in Resi 4. Revelations 2 even improves on it in a number of different areas, like allowing you to move and shoot, evade, and melee with ease.

Capcom’s also done a fantastic job with the port. Not only does it look great, but it also appears to run in 60fps which is a welcome treat. What I’m not so into though, are the motion controls. While I appreciate being able to adjust my aim in Skyrim and Breath of the Wild, I’m not digging full motion controls in DOOM or Revelations 2. It just doesn’t feel quite right, and I always end up reaching for the Pro Controller instead.

Gonçalo Lopes, contributing writer

Wrestlemania 34 is upon us, brother! As tradition mandates, I will be simulating all the main matches in the latest entry from WWE games available thus tragically that means… oh yeah, you guessed it, WWE 2K18 is on the cards this weekend. Why do I do this to myself? Woo! Tube Sliders was one of the few GameCube US imports missing from my collection so after securing a decently priced copy a few weeks ago it has arrived safely and I will be giving it a proper spin. 

Psikyo’s finest Tengai and Dragon Blaze will continue to keep my arcade roots strong and I am still throwing virtual currency down the gashapon machines in Gotcha Racing 2nd (no, I don’t have an addiction problem! I can stop at any time… maybe). There is also some sort of corn-related Splatfest drama going on in Europe so I too will be checking that out.

Ryan Craddock, news reporter

If I’m being realistic, most of this weekend will be spent taking part in an endless amount of Splatfest matches in Splatoon 2 (#TeamSweet), allowing me to simultaneously gather up some of those ever-useful Sea Snails while accidentally ignoring my friends and family for 24 hours.

I’ll also make sure to take some time out to explore The Adventure Pals – a game that I’ll be reviewing for you lovely lot. I really like platformers, and I really like giraffes, so all going well I’ll enjoy my time with the game. We’ll make sure to bring you our definitive verdict in the coming days!

Richard Atkinson, contributing writer

There’s a big party happening round my friends house tomorrow and I’ve been tasked with the job of bringing my Switch controllers, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and a crate of beer. Needless to say, they didn’t have too much trouble twisting my arm. As well as a few lethal games of ‘Beerio Kart’, I’m currently reviewing Masters Of Anima so I’ll be delving deeper into that (review coming soon!). I’m packing up my flat in preparation to move home next week so that means Splatoon 2 will have to take a back seat for once, which is a shame as it’s the Sweet Vs. Salty Popcorn Splatfest in Europe this weekend!

Jon Cousins, Japan correspondent

Apart from waking up early (l was still a bit late) to take part in the Nintendo Life April Mario Kart 8 Deluxe tournament, I thought I'd go back and pick up two old gems on sale on the eShop this week. The first is Tumblestone. I'd never even heard of it, but someone on my friends list plays it constantly and I consider myself pretty decent at Tetris-style games (but doesn't everyone?!). At almost the complete opposite end of the scale is Oxenfree. It looks cool, I've heard a lot about it and have always been intrigued, now there is no excuse.

Which games are you playing this weekend? (389 votes)

  1. Phantasy Star Online 2  0%
  2. Detective Pikachu3%
  3. Mercenary Kings Reloaded  0%
  4. ARMS7%
  5. Urban Trial Playground2%
  6. Pinball FX33%
  7. Dragon Blaze1%
  8. Yo-Kai Watch1%
  9. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim6%
  10. DOOM8%
  11. Resident Evil Revelations Collection5%
  12. WWE 2K181%
  13. Tengai3%
  14. Gotcha Racing 2nd1%
  15. Splatoon 220%
  16. The Adventure Pals  0%
  17. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe8%
  18. Masters Of Anima  0%
  19. Something else! (Leave a comment)31%

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So, those are our choices for the weekend, but what are your hot picks? Let us know in the comments section below - and don't forget to drop a vote or three in the poll...