Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (17th August)

Started and finished Hunter X
A great Metroidvania that I really enjoyed.

Started Metroid Prime Remastered, a great little Metroidvania, some of you might have heard about it.

I was planning on sticking at it right untill the end but then my PlayAsia order arrived containing Sanabi, Rusted Moss and Bõ Path of the Teal Lotus so I caved and started Sanabi
What an amazing game so far.
Love it.
I will play the other two straight after each other.

Have a great weekend everyone

Mainly Persona 5 Tactica, I’m in the 2nd kingdom. I have a 4-days “weekend” starting today, so surely will progress a lot, I might even finish. Other than that, a bit of Theatrhythm, going for the last big star (will take some months to complete) and maybe some LEGO Star Wars, where I have one episode completed.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3. I'm really taking my time with it. 😅

This week I will be mostly playing

Two Point Hospital
Kirby’s Dream Course
Mario’s Super Picross

Still been playing the same old games, but I’ll write a bit about them anyway:

Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage! (Mobile) - Still playing this. I came back to it after not playing for a week and I have been getting more rewards from full combo-ing some new songs in the game on Expert difficulty and unlocking a few Master charts. I tried a few of the new Master charts for fun, though I unsurprisingly screwed up a ton playing those. I have about three more songs left to play, so I’ll get onto those this weekend. I have replayed some of the harder songs on Expert, and although I still haven’t been able to full combo them, I’ve gotten higher scores on them and was able to hold combos for longer! The harder songs have really fun charts, even though they are pure heck to play through.

Rare Replay (Xbox) - I have been achievement hunting a bit on the game to unlock more content in the game. I got most of the achievements from doing these snapshot challenges for the pre-N64 and Xbox games, but a lot of the older games are pretty awful to play and make completing the challenges a bit hard, paired with some having really, really BAD controls. The only one I found to be super easy and fun when getting the snapshots was Battletoads Arcade, and the worst if you are wondering was Underwurlde thanks to the character you play as having awful jumping and there being enemies scattered all over the place. I am considering playing through all the older games to get more easy achievements, but I don’t think I will since they are extremely confusing and require lots of trial and error. I’m not going to force myself to play games I don’t like. I also did some playlist challenges with the older games and surprisingly managed to complete two of them. I am trying to complete the other playlist challenges, but they are way too hard for me to do and I give up on playing those at this point

Also, I forgot to post this update on the last “What Are You Playing This Weekend?” article but I also completed my playthrough of Conker’s Bad Fur Day in Rare Replay a week or so ago. Funny writing and charming characters, but I forgot how awful the gameplay gets.

Anyway, hope you all have a good and fun weekend! Hope that you and your families are safe

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth: This is a great way to design open worlds. Sure, it's a collect-a-thon, but each point of interest is something different: unique monsters, finding out region intel, depowering boss fights for summons, or hunting down a protorelic.

The story continues to enthrall, with varied locales such as sunny vacation beach Costa del Sol, Mount Corel and its labyrinthine mines, or the glitzy spectacle of the Gold Saucer, and excellent supporting players such as robotic cat Cait Sith and feisty but playful ninja Yuffie Kisaragi.

Of course, the focus is still on stopping Sephiroth and the game doesn't lose sight of that. Yet having so many activities to do along the way invariably makes the experience tons of fun.

I am playing:

• BPM: Bullets Per Minute: Finally beat the first boss, even twice (it's a roguelike structure), and got to see the second level. I don't know how far I'll ever get into this game, but as long as I'm enjoying the music, I don't see myself getting tired of it.
• Gori Cuddly Carnage demo: really glad how this one is turning out, I've got quite the expectations for the full game. There's plenty of combos to make. The story is completely crazy and the tone is hilarious. Just the music feels uninspired for now.
• Mega Man Legacy Collection 1 + 2: I'm going to start Mega Man 4 this weekend. I love playing through these old games. But I think that's mostly thanks to the rewind feature. There are some parts that are so unfair!! Aside from that, I like how the structure is always the same but they throw a couple of surprises here and there.
• Just Shapes And Beats: playing online runs, getting my daily 1,000 points (to be fair, half of them come from Amiibo scanning XD)
• Tears of the Kingdom: my dose of beautiful Zelda environments, and moving Link around feels almost like something natural to be doing...
• Tetris 99: the Splatoon theme was a big disappointment (are those tracks really representative of the music in the game??) but it doesn't stop me from playing more of it. Maybe some more team games see if I can get even just one of the wins in teams with 10 players or less...

✌🏻, 🧡, and Happy Gaming!

I just finished my third playthrough of Stellar Blade. Still missing a couple costumes, I'll have to look them up but I wont do another run yet.
I'm stuck on BG3 and I can't be bothered to deal with it now.
I did buy Forza 4 Ultimate so I might just do some races or something.
I'm really looking forward to Dragon Age Veilguard. That will most likely be my next new game.

I'm still playing Record of Lodoss War on the Dreamcast. It's been a bit of a roller coaster. I got stuck on the first major boss as he is able to stun lock me. Since beating him, I've found an item to help prevent that in future. I also understand the blacksmith feature more, so my weapons and armour are more suited to my play-style. It's a good game, but it gets stupidly hard in places and doesn't always explain its concepts well. Hopefully I'll finish it, though.

I'm also playing the final week of Forza Horizon 4 seasonal events, along with Watchdogs and Stitch.

I’m at a complete loss as to what to play.

I've been crazy busy, but I've gotten about three hours into Final Fantasy IX since starting it last week. It is sooo good so far, and while I did enjoy FF8, this seems much more my speed. The way the characters have been introduced near the beginning feels a lot more natural than the somewhat awkward introductions in 8, and it obviously looks way better than FF7.

So excited to continue seeing what awaits me in Final Fantasy as a series. FF7 and FF8 were so stinking good, and I just want more. I finally feel like a Final Fantasy fan.

Persona 4 mainly again I know I’m taking forever but I just don’t want it to end! I will miss the world and characters so much!

Also tried Bayonetta and oh my gosh I now know what I have been missing out on!

With the Olympics over, more time for gaming, so TTYD. Been playing it on and off since launch. Hope to finish the game before the end of the month. That will leave some time to clear some of the backlog in time for Zelda. (Less than 6 weeks to go!)

Also, Turok 2. Played only for a bit, but I can already tell it's a great 90s shooter. Hint: it's still on sale.

Have a good weekend everyone!

Last week I railed against how tough I was finding 'Sonic Superstars', especially some of the bosses and I was basically ready to give up. Alas, as I've been playing Sonic since the very beginning, in the end I couldn't let a 2D Sonic beat me - I had to beat it.

So I persevered over the weekend and into the week, finally beating the final main story boss on Tuesday night (after sixteen attempts). Two other end-of-zone bosses also had me screaming at the screen... but I did it. AND, I'm happy to say that when I finally beat the final boss, I went back and played some of the earlier zones, like Bridge Island, Speed Jungle and Lagoon City and I found myself enjoying them and their music much more a second time round.

Now I'm thinking my next game will be 'Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna, the Golden Country.'

SteamWorld Heist II
Entered the cold area. Took a short break to finish up Yoku's Island Express.

Yoku's Island Express
Beat the game yesterday. Did the last two things I needed for 100% today. I was afraid the game wanted 0 deaths for completion since it had a death counter but instead it wanted you to "die" 50 times for a short inconsequential quest which honestly isn't much better. Didn't have fun killing myself 20-30 times to unlock the quest. Small gripe on otherwise awesome game.

Picross DS
Five 25x20 puzzles left in normal category. I've done the first two sets from free mode.

Lock 'n Chase
Randomly decided to play this yesterday. I picked it up for 3DS before eShop closed. This is my first time actually playing it. Fun little Pac-Man clone. First 3 worlds done.

I’m still on Sea of Stars! I got to a part yesterday that made me weep openly, and I suppose if you know you know lol

Elsewhere I was playing a lot of Alien: Isolation. It does rule, but also I’m stuck at this one part and I’m no longer scared of the queen, just really annoyed. Leave me alone lady, I’ve got stuff to do!

Over the past week I have been playing

Immortials: Fenyx Rising (Love this game and am disappointed we aren't getting a sequel but I liked 'Asterigos Curse of the Stars' which was similar and there is another new game coming out next year called ‘Eternal Strands’ that looks very similar to both of them too)
Star Wars Jedi Survivor (Can't wait for the third game!!)
Luigi's Mansion 2 HD
Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door
New Pokemon Snap

@Snatcher If you enjoy the gameplay of Bayonetta, my advice would be to look for and try to clear all of the Alfheim challenges, that will score you a very sweet gameplay loop.

Just wrapped up on Ni No Kuni 2 to start the weekend off. Wasn't sure if the complete overhaul of the battle system would be my cup of tea, but I actually ended up enjoying it a lot.

I'm sort of lost on what to start next... I'm thinking either Borderlands 3, the first Star Ocean, or Blasphemous II.

Tetris 99 for the event and I’ll be trying DOOM + DOOM II. Still have some eShop credit and I’m looking to buy a new game, but I don’t know what yet.

Shadow of the Colossus… I’m collecting all those pesky coins and maxing out my stamina to reach the secret garden

Nearing the end of a 2 week holiday in Spain, been playing Pikmin 4 when I have chance. A great holiday game, perfect for short bursts or longer sessions. Normally prefer to play games like this on tv but works great handheld and looks gorgeous on the oled.

Almost all my gaming time is taken up by The Second Quest. I just got the froggy leggings, got the whole band together (stable trotters), completed the Spirit Temple, and got a couple awesome schema stones/yiga schematics including one I saw in a YouTube video about a year ago (it's a car that can go up any slope and other awesome features). I'm in that goldilocks place with the difficulty. I'm no longer getting one-shotted by low level enemies, but still have respect and give space to chu-chus, aerocudas, and keese (and their follow-up beese!). I've also played with the calamity armor set and it is awesome. I've also been playing some vanilla TOTK on my Switch, and that's great too as long as my TV does motion interpolation (sometimes it says the feature isn't available and I have to do a factory reset on it. I hate smart TVs!).
I've also enjoyed the Bakeru demo (wish it was locked at 60fps, it looks and plays great when it is at 60). And I'm also still enjoying NES championships and Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble. I do wish Banana Rumble was on other systems so I could play it at a higher frame rate.
And I'm also still enjoying Doom 1 and 2 with all the infinite new stuff they've added and opened up for us to enjoy it with.
I got excited about getting Prince of Persia for Steam Deck, but then read about how it has Denuvo and requires an online connection to play. That kind of stuff makes me want to never buy another Ubisoft game! I hope they knock it off with all this garbage soon!
Have fun everyone!

I've been playing the DOOM Zero mod for the past week and really enjoying it. And I've got back into GRID Autosport, again after not playing it for years.

A recent comment by @gcunit reminded me of how good a game it is. Definitely among the Switch's very best ports. With the quality graphics setting turned on, and Game Motion Plus on my TV to smooth it out, it is hard to believe I'm playing a Switch game at times.

@Late I forgot about that quest in Yoku, but I agree it’s a great game. Especially how they incorporate pinball seemlessly into gameplay.

Creeping up on 70 hours of Dragon Quest XI. Not sure I have the stamina for huge RPGs at my advanced age but I was obsessed with their vibe as a kid and the nostalgia of it all is ruddy delightful. Will quite probably start another play through in the 16-bit graphics mode once I'm done. Haven't really got stuck into much else, doesn't mean I won't swell the ol' backlog with things that look shiny that I won't touch for months, of course.

Just finished Tchia, great game and I love the endgame. Tried a couple demos, also playing Unleashed 2, Rocket League and Stitch.

Happy gaming everyone!

@AmplifyMJ I recommend DOOM Zero. It's in the 'Featured Mods' section. It's quite tough and puzzling but the maps are very creative. I've been playing around with a few of the other mods too. Harmony is a real stand out, as it looks and plays very different. Looking forward to playing that once I finsih Zero.

There's so much content in there it's hard to believe.

Started the Scarlet Blaze path for Fire Emblem Warriors Three Hopes earlier this week. Figured now was a good time considering the absolute earliest an upcoming Fire Emblem game could release is February 2025.

I’ll probably play some Paper Mario: TTYD this weekend, I’m doing a new playthrough, this time I’m using the original OST. This game is really good!

I just finished Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, which was awesome, and now I'm playing Cat Quest 3, which is pawesomer! And much more fierce than the lighthearted Prince of Persia. I'm pretty sure it's gonna be my GOTY. 😅

Just got through the second palace in Persona 5 Royal. I'm doing okay with that but I'm still trying to find a second game to put some space between chapters. I recognize that Ori and the Blind Forest as a game that I would definitely enjoy but I bounced off of it, at least until I get more geared up to do so. I may give Transistor a try as part of my "chip away at the highly rated backlog of games I got on sale but never touched" campaign.

Might be the last weekend of getting good time in, fall semester classes start up this week and I'll probably be pressed for time until December.

Happy gaming everyone!

Pokemon mystery dungeon red for me! But physical copy. I've got way further than I've ever reached in this run, almost all legendaries caught. Happy gaming everyone!

I’ve been playing Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games (DS version) via Delta this week, mainly the Adventure Tours campaign mode. It was likely due to the Olympics being on at the time I started, but the game is still just as good as I remember! The worlds (and their themes) are fun and memorable, plus the writing is fairly decent, nothing too over the top. I still have 2 more Snow Spirits to save.

I also started Super Mario RPG last weekend and got the first of the seven stars. Mallow is such a funny, cute lil guy! I hope to get the second star this week.

Other than that, I’ll be continuing my DOOM playthrough, as well as attempting to hone my skills as Ken (or Ryu) in SvC Chaos.

Easy Come Easy Golf and going old school with the TMNT Cowabunga Collection. Also get in a workout with Fitness Boxing: Fist of the North Star.

Probably Minecraft(Java)
Skyrim
Outer Worlds
Pokemon Blue
Vigor

My father passed away two days ago so I’m playing the game of regret(s) and funeral planning. Thankfully, I have a wife and work family that is incredibly supportive. But this game is hard, and I am trying to grieve with sarcasm and escapism.

As for what has been played before this unfortunate time, it has been Ys: VIII on the PlayStation Vita. I am near the end of my first play-through, on Nightmare mode, and should be achieving the true ending. It’s a very, very good game. It will hold a special place in my heart because not only is it a well crafted game, but it is comforting me at my most vulnerable, and obviously diverting my expectations in the most unexpected of ways.

I’m glad this franchise is evangelized by so many JRPG fans. It’s truly something special. I never thought with Ys VIII’s story on being stranded on an island would have me dealing with a wide array of problems, ranging from a serial killer, time travel, ghost ships, ancient civilizations, dinosaurs, evolution, farting, a wife of six tempted to cheat on her husband with me, and even a woman who unexpectedly goes into labor, gave birth, and if you do her side quests, lets you become the godfather and name the newborn. What the actual hell? But it works. And I love it.

TL;DR - My dad passed away. I’m heartbroken. Ys VIII is comforting me right now.

Playing through PoP Lost Crown again on Steam, going for all the achievements in prep for the DLC. Seriously one of the best Metroidvanias ever made and one of the best games this year

Splatoon 2 and 3 and Balatro!!!

No man's sky- Dad got me back in to this game.
destiny 2- This game has taken over my life

Maybe some multiplayer games (Granblue Fantasy Relink, Helldivers 2, Rise of Nations, Inkbound)?
I'm kinda in the calm before the storm of new releases (like three in the last week of August alone), but also about to be away from home for four straight weekends. By the time I get back, there's be another half dozen game drops I'm interested in.
I don't know how I'm going to be able to play any of them before Metaphor comes out... Especially since my work is returning to the office (an unsurprisingly unpopular decision that has caused warranted turnover), which will lose me two hours of free time per day.

The Great Ace Attorney 2: Resolve on Switch for me! I’m now on Episode 4: Twisted Karma and His Last Bow. Quite a lengthy case, if I remember correctly. But I can’t think of a better way to close out my summer break!

Plan on finishing Paper Mario: Color Splash this weekend. Already tried my hand at black paint Bowser, and it makes me want to drown myself in some paint. After that, not sure what I'll play next. I'm not quite ready for TTYD yet. Maybe continue Kirby and the Forgotten Land? Not sure.

Also, I might finish my hard mode playthrough of Wonder Girl(Boy): the Dragon's Trap on switch. Have a good weekend!

@Qwiff Also, Turok 2. Played only for a bit, but I can already tell it's a great 90s shooter. Hint: it's still on sale.

Be ready for "Lair of the Blind Ones". Even WITH a guide it may still a mess to get through. I try to complete games without online assistance but that one broke me. I used the save anytime feature the most on that place. That level can eat my @ss. It's like they had Stevie Wonder design it.

Hmm… still the same as last week again for me. Mainly playing baten kaitos origins. Longer game then I thought even though side quests are a part of that reason. Getting my butt kicked on certain bosses. Difficulty spikes are a bit crazy in this game. Just finally made it to the second half of the game/disc 2.

Might finally go back to octopath traveler 2 to start it from the the demo. Just don’t have the energy to do it since it’s a long game.

On non switch games, I will try to complete the last ending of drakengard 3 and it’s dlc. I almost there.

@deecas Enjoy Torna - I absolutely loved it. I got stuck in my XC2 playthrough in 2017 but restarted last year (6 years later!) and then went straight into Torna. What a great couple of games!

@Kraven very sorry to hear about your Father. When mine passed away, age 52, I was playing Luigi’s Mansion 2 on my 3DS XL and enjoying it so much. Unlike you though, I didn’t have the heart to get back to it. I bought it again years later but still could not get back in to it.

Since I just beat Zelda Skyward Sword HD I'm in the 'in between' zone before my next bigger game on my quest to stay focused on the backlog. I'll still do runs with Sifu (Switch) because I just love the gameplay and maybe some Balatro. I just want some uncommitted pure fun after finishing a big game. I did just pick up Mario vs Donkey Kong (Switch) but to me that doesn't feel like something you can lose yourself into like I recently did with Skyward Sword. So far it's fun.

I did however feel an itch for Everspace (Switch) again so I redownloaded it and once again it's hooking its meat hooks into me. That game is such a perfect combination of experiences such as peace, relaxation, intensity, curiosity, dangers, exploration etc. all in one game. Now I remember why I had to uninstall it so I could focus on other games. I'll do a few more runs before I probably will have to uninstall it again to get back to the backlog. What can I say I just love having fun with games.

... fortnite... LOOK I LOVE MARVEL OKAY

@Kraven Sorry to hear that. My condolences.

Ace Combat 7 on chapter 17 this game is really good so many challenging missions.

Tetris 99 for the new theme, and trying to 100% Pikmin 2.

I just beat Dragon Quest 6 (SNES). With that, I've completed 1-6 in the series. I beat part one on an NES when I was 12, and played another about every 5 years or so from that point on. In another 5 years, I'll be ready to tackle part 7. Lol (Look, DQ games are relaxing AND taxing. You have to give yourself a breather after the inevitable grind!)

6 was cool. I liked it better than 5. The graphics were a marvel of pixelized detail and the job system was deep with an unending number of classes and skills to be learned. Navigating the multiple worlds was confusing, the music was repetitive (it seemed like 8-10 tracks total for the whole game) and there was too much grinding required. If I didn't have a deep nostalgic love for Dragon Quest and the coziness of a plodding, traditional JRPG, I'd give the game a 6/10. But since I do... I'll give it a 7.

Next up is an interesting challenge. After completing all of my remaining bucket list NES titles last year, I'm on to SNES before advancing to PS1/N64. I'm playing them in chronological order by release. Just my "most wanted" that I missed out on, and making some pit stops for some old favorites along the way. Now that DQ6 is complete, I'll be revisiting Final Fantasy 2 (4). It will be my first time going through that wonderful story since I originally beat it 30 years ago. Those years went too fast. Can't wait to hear Uematsu's master craftsmanship through my sound system once again!

Lally-Ho!

Id like to finally max out all the stars on the title screen for smb lost levels and finally get all gold trophies in chocobo racing gp.

Trying to push through and complete Shining Resonance: Refrain. There's an annoying bit where you're forced to fight with just two characters, one of which I never levelled up so it looks like I may have to grind even more 😅

Also playing Atelier Shallie which I'm enjoying 🙂 I prefer the other two in the trilogy but Atelier games just hit the spot for me.

Once I'm done with Shining Resonance, I will finally start the Apollo Justice Trilogy! I kept putting it off to make the series last longer, tackle the backlog a bit first and because I tend to put off things I want or like as much as possible. But I think I'll likely start it next month 😁 pre ordered the Investigations Collection too!

I'm on episode two of Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse. Some really great puzzle design in this one.

Away with my Super Pocket this weekend and managed to pick up a copy of Duke Nukem Collection 1 on Evercade cartridge before leaving. First time playing through the original game. Great 2D action platformer!

Got more time this weekend.

Fire Emblem: Three Houses
And so, late to the party, it begins. Chapter 1. Let's get acquainted with this.. Byleth.

Turok (Remastered)
I tried to play the NSO version, but having never played much of the original, my mind couldn't tolerate the control scheme, or lack of options to adjust. So since it was on sale, I bit the bullet and got the Turok Bundle just over $20. Cleaner, control options, and gyro-- Yes! QoL for the win.

Shadow Man — The sale price and QoL was hard to pass up. I've technically been pursuing this since the N64 when I rented it and couldn't figure out what to do next. Now I'll crack back into this one.

Natsu-mon: 20th Century Summer Kid demo
I don't think I'll go deep on this one or even buy it, but I'm curious about it.

Bakeru demo
Goemon creator Ebisu on deck? I'm game to try it. Maybe Konami will take notice and give rise to a new Goemon or at the least a Goemon Collection. A man can dream.

Crystalis
A podcast I listen to talked about this game. I've beaten it back in the day, but I feel like dabbling in it. This will be my weekend retro play.

StarTropics
My video game soul food. This'll be my other retro weekend throwback.

Rocket League
I learned a coworker plays this, so I need to get back in "shape".

Ring Fit Adventure
...And back in shape my body needs to continue doing 😆

@Eduard_Brenton You should play amiibo Festival

I finally finished Master Detective Archives: Rain Code after having postponed it for so long. I wanted to wait until I could give it my full, undivided attention. While I certainly have my qualms with the game, and it doesn't quite hit Danganronpa levels for me, I am so so glad I played it through. When things started to escalate in the latter portions of the game...good lord. I genuinely found myself tearing up. At this point, I just have the DLC substories, but from what I hear those shouldn't take too long. After that, I'm not really sure what I'll play, probably Alien: Isolation. I've been meaning to re-visit that game for a bit, and the buzz around Romulus has the series on my mind. Supposedly FNaF: Into the Pit was delayed on consoles for a bit longer, and the devs are hoping to have it out by the end of August. Kinda just gonna play things by ear and see what calls out to me, that's usually how I end up finding hidden gems and such.

My time at sandrock on series x (I don’t think I have been this annoyed about technical issues in a game in years. But when it works I love it so I am just trying not to yell at the tv when it crashes or the NPC start disappearing or teleporting when they aren’t supposed to).

Tried the Bakeru demo, did not personally see a big framerate difference so I am going back to my Japanese copy. Tried the Shadow of the Ninja demo. Other than that, Kunitsugami on series x and finish unboxing my Amaterasu Bust. Got a few Thai dramas to watch this weekend as well. The Loyal Pin and The Secret of Us.

Got certs to study for this week so not a ton of gaming to do.

Some Tetris 99 for that Splatoon 3 theme. I haven't played it, let alone its DLC, but the 99 Players Remaining theme sounds too relaxing for a Tetris 99 theme, then the 50 Players Remaining thme hits me by sounding a little unsettling.

Some Pokémon Stadium (NSO version) as well, I finally decided to finish that savestate I had of the Prime Cup MasterBall division on the Semifinal. Little did I know/remember that I had actually done everything else and that I was just missing that to unlock VS Mewtwo.
Then I take on Mewtwo and on the first turn, boom, it gets frozen solid (huge shout-out to Lapras for that), effectively rendering it unable to battle because in Gen I you cannot defrost unless you get hit by a Fire-type move.

So, from what I remember, the MVPs of Round 1 (the Pokémon that helped the most in the different battles) are Mr. Mime, Kadabra, Raichu, Dragonair (this one also froze a Moltres on the Prime Cup), Arcanine and Lapras.

Onwards to Round 2.

@olliemar28 Playing Isolation for the first time this weekend as my Romulus prep as well! Seeing it Monday. Never heard of Infestation—looks fantastic though! I don’t have a DS… What are the chances this game will end up on NSO at some point! 🤞🏼🤞🏼

Played some +levels of Mario vs. DK and finished DKC2 in little over an hour. On the Nintendo Side I am waiting for the release of Emio and Zelda. Also working my way through some PS5 titles. I played some Final Fantasy VIi Rebirth, and picked up Ghost of Tsushima again after a long break.

I am playing through Star Ocean 2 on Switch and having a pretty good time as I begin to grasp all the mechanics and figure stuff out.

If I am not doing that I am playing Diablo 4 with my brother on Steam Deck.

I just beat my playthrough of Link's Awakening for Switch, so now I'd like to enjoy the Salmon Run in Splatoon 3 with all Grizzco weapons and Triumvirate.

Otherwise, I'll just play whatever until I focus on Disney Dreamlight Valley for its update next Wednesday. That should keep me busy until Splatoon 3's Grand Festival starts with the Sneak Peek at the very end of the month!

Still abroad this week, so continuing with The Minish Cap when I get the chance - just about to get to the third temple - enjoying it so far!

I’m on my own this weekend, as the kids are with their mom on vacation. Ordinarily, that would mean plenty of time for games and/or productive time around the house, but instead I’m fighting a sinus infection and I’ve just been resting and reading. Blah.

I barely made it here to tell everyone I’ve mainly been playing Grounded lately, a game that’s been fun, but I’ve learned early on that it demands your attention as there seems to be no way to pause it (?) and it’s a constant attrition battle with hunger, thirst, and weapon degradation as bugs nibble away at you and your base! Jerks.

Wishing everyone a happy and healthy weekend! 🕹🐜🪲

@DemonKow inquiring minds would love to hear more about this particular backlog 😅

I definitely by games because of their prestige… sometimes I just sit on them for ages though!

Of course rocking the Splatoon 3 Tetris 99 event. However, stumbled across the GORI: CUDDLY CARNAGE demo and I'm hooked. Have already ran through the demo several times and rocked the arena mode; and this was all last night and this morning. The resolution is in the toilet in order to secure a fairly smooth framerate, but it's the over-the-top combat and hover- board-locomotion system that makes it a joy to play. I am sure it will get a 5 or 6 in reviews, but I'm really loving it. Need to see of PS5 has a demo.

@Kraven
I’m truly sorry to hear of your father’s loss. I hope you can find comfort from family and friends as you grieve and get through the arrangements.
My sis and I just lost our dad in January, and our mom 4 years before that, and just this week my daughter’s classmate died suddenly, just days after turning 13. Grief touches us all, with painful reminders to cherish life and our loved ones. Wishing you strength at this time. ❤️‍🩹

Only discovered Kingdoms of Alamar in the recent Switch sale and I really like the game, I completely missed it the first time around. Also the new Doom ports... I found myself looking up Saturn Doom (which is where I first played the games), to remind myself of how far console ports have come!

@Yalloo Oh yeah those are the little challenges hidden in the stages right? They are surprisingly difficult but I do enjoy figuring out the challenge! I will definitely do so. I also heard you could unlock a character in this game do I have to plat all stages for them?

@ScalenePowers I've actually put a decent dent in them this year, but I still have:

Persona 5 Royal (currently playing)
13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim
Both Ori games
Inside
Steamworld Heist
Nier: Automata
Sea of Stars
Xenoblade Chronicles 3
Unicorn Overlord
Inscription
Death's Door
Gone Home
The Stanley Parable
Ni No Kuni
Lost in the Woods
...and an embarrassing number of additional "Pretty Good" games if I want to go below 85 on Metacritic from my DekuDeals list that I tend to love (the Trails games come faster than I can get thru them).

It's an unfortunate result of having adult money and the according amount of time that affords when trying to lead an otherwise balanced life. But my kids make out great from it 😁

Edited to add: I didn't process the full list till it posted and I'm mortified 😳

Wanting to finish my on-and-off run of Wind Waker and to do a second run of Girl Who Stands Behind. Might also fit in Project Eden's Garden, been in the mood.

@Snatcher You can unlock Jeanne by clearing all the chapters on normal difficulty with Platinum medals (doing this in hard or climax won't unlock her). You can also unlock Zero by clearing the secret challenge you unlock after clearing all the Alfheims!

Some Alfheims are very well hidden, and require for example to backtrack after reaching a special place within the verse. If you want to find them all on your first playthrough, I'd recommend using an online walkthrough. You actually have to keep track yourself of the challenges you've completed. There's no summary of these in the game unfortunately.

But if, like me, you enjoy this game a lot you won't mind playing it over and over 😅 I wish you lots of fun!

@YunoboCo thank you for the recommendation, I will check it out. Hopefully this game will cure my gaming malaise.

@Viagro, planning to start it today! I finished Xenoblade 2 two years, so I'm hoping I remember enough of the story to easily dive back in with Torna.

@deecas You could always watch a YouTube recap of 2 too

Started Blasphemous 1 for 1st time....... good god its harder then B2 and B2 is hard for me.

Literally nobody playing Beyond Good and Evil anniversary edition.

@JohnnyMind Do you play 2.5 minutes of each of these game every day?

Well here we go with another wild WAYP. Been an exciting week around here. On the Switch I made it through most of my favorite chapter of Paper Mario The Thousand Year Door: Chapter 3 where I got a blue Yoshi which made me very happy. I think it’s just the vibes of the Glitz Pit that make it my favorite. Also made it to the last world in Super Monkey Ball: Banana Rumble. Excited to wrap that one up. Also got that physical copy of Sea of Stars I mentioned before and I honestly kinda love it all over again. Otherwise I made it to the endgame of both Persona 3 Reload and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth and I’m quite happy there. Thinking the rest of the weekend will just be a Persona 3 Reload weekend. If planned out right I could beat both it and FFVII Rebirth by next weeks journal. Wish me luck ahahaha. Otherwise I’m thinking this week is mostly gonna consist of some Paper Mario, more P3R, Trails Through Daybreak, FFVII Rebirth, Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD, Dragons Dogma 2, Sea of Stars and maybe trying to beat Famicom Detective Club: The Girl Who Stands Behind before Emio releases later this month. It’s gonna be next week when all the preorders start rolling in like Star Wars Outlaws and Visions of Mana but I already got one preorder coming in this week with Concord. Genuinely kinda excited for that one as I enjoyed the beta. Also got preorders in this week on Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster and Lollipop Chainsaw RePop so September will be very zombie filled ahahaha. Oh and I’ll get The Plucky Squire for free off of PS Plus so I’m also super hype on that. Almost bit on a preorder for Dragon Age The Veilguard butttttttt nah. Getting super hype for WWE Bash In Berlin too that’s gonna be kinda cool. I seriously can’t wait for Kevin Vs Cody, Rhea and Damian Vs Liv and Dirty Dom and GUNTHER Vs Randy Orten. Gonna say it’s a solid B Tier PLE. Anime of the week gotta go to Delicious in Dungeon. Yeah it’s the only one I watched this week but I also finished it and I can’t wait for more. Think I’m gonna get the box set so I can own all of the manga. Special shoutout to Emily in Paris on Netflix tho it just got a new season and after I figure out how to incorporate watching NXT alongside RAW and SMACKDOWN to complete my WWE collection you could say I think I’ll dive into Season 3 of Emily since that’s where I left off and catch up. Such a cute comfort show. Podcasts of this week gotta go to Castle Superbeast, Big Think Dimension, Into The Aether, RPGsites Tetracast, Minnmax, Jeff Gerstmann, Kit and Krysta, Last Stand Media, Easy Allies, Second Wind, Nextlander, Cultaholic Wrestling and Remap Radio. As always yall stay safe, be magnificent to each other. Have a fantastic weekend and of course Happy Gaming.

@JohnnyMind just wanna say you inspire the heck out of me.

@Yalloo Dang plating sounds pretty difficult it could take me some time.. but zero? You can unlock two characters? Now that’s worth doing! Seeing as it doing track I guess I will have to go through each level over again one by one of this amazing game! Thanks for the help I didn’t know there are two characters to unlock.

@Snatcher Yeah .. I've been playing this game over and over the last years, I love it so much.
One more tip I can give you if you go for platinum, the game auto-saves sort of checkpoints, you can always go back to the main menu, and "continue" from the last checkpoint, you know in case you take a hit or something ... surely helped me going for all platinums! Enjoy!

Bought Splatoon 3 last time it went on sale, a while back, but just opened it for the first time a week ago. Been cranking my way through the single player campaign. Have made it all the way to level 5. Hoping to complete it this week. I am enjoying the single player more in this game than in 1 or 2. Only got about halfway through the single player in 1 and 2. Also got the DLC for 2, but only a quarter of the way through it. Anyway as you can tell really like the single player in 3 and looking forward to checking out the multiplayer and the rest of the game in the coming weeks.

I've been wanting something to play on my shiny new PS5 to see its full glory since finishing the excellent FFVII: Remake / Rebirth. I picked up Alan Wake 2. It's... not really holding my interest. The story is interesting. But the gameplay is a lot of wandering around in the dark with all the "puzzles" consisting of searching everywhere for little circle icons to interact with. In the dark everything looks the same, so everything is a damn maze and I hate mazes. I get it, it's a horror game, but I wish someone would just turn the lights on and tell me where to go. It doesn't feel like I'm investigating murders or exploring a netherworld so much as it feels like I'm checking off a bunch of boxes until the next fight or cut scene. And it always takes me so looong to figure out where those check boxes are. So, not sure I will continue.

@DemonKow lol that’s quite a list. It’s pretty wild how many of them are reasonably big RPGs, i guess no other genre gathers prestige quite as well