Jim Norman, Staff Writer
I have been on a bit of a wrap-up streak recently and have managed to actually beat a handful of half-finished games from 2023 that have been staring, longingly at me for the past few months. Previously, I had just covered Metroid Prime Remastered up with a nice rug, stuck a plant pot in front of Sonic Superstars and hung a picture in the way of Chants of Sennaar, but now I've actually managed to tick them off. I've never been in this position before. What comes next?
Truth be told, I am thinking that it will be Outer Wilds. Having been told for years "you have to play this game, but I can't tell you anything about it and don't you dare Google it," I am kind of intrigued to see what it is all about. I have also been back on the Baldur's Gate 3 grind this week having taken a break a little while back. I'm around the 20-hour mark, but I think I have cleared something like 0.1% of the game? Spending 19.5 hours in the character creator will do that to you, I suppose...
Gonçalo Lopes, Contributor
Asterix & Obelix Slap them All! 2 continues to provide endless barrages of Roman soldiers to pummel while Arcade Archives: Pole Position II is a stark reminder of how much better I used to be at these games. My physical editions of both Radiant Silvergun and Alien: Isolation are finally in my hands creating the perfect weekend excuse to play them some more. And, despite the technical disappointments, I hope to continue making progress on Batman: Arkham Knight too.
Game of the Week is none other than my all-time favourite (non-wrestling) N64 game. Jet Force Gemini was not something I was expecting to drop on NSO but then again neither was GoldenEye 007. It is nice to see Rare being properly represented on the service. So… Blast Corps when?
Liam Doolan, News Reporter
The Game Awards has got me reflecting on the video games of 2023, so this weekend I'm going to make some time for games I think deserve a little more attention from myself. So I'll probably begin with some Super Mario Bros. Wonder (after it took out the best family game) and then move on to Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (which received the award for the best action/adventure game).
One other thing that's caught a lot of Nintendo fans by surprise this week is a special fifth anniversary event for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. I'll be jumping into that and I'm looking forward to the new spirits and amiibo when they arrive early next year. Oh, and I'm looking forward to shredding it up this weekend in 1080° Snowboarding as well.
Alana Hagues, Deputy Editor
There were one or two non-Switch things that dropped during The Game Awards 2023 that I'll be checking out, but otherwise, this weekend plans to be a little light on gaming — particularly "new" gaming.
I'm still addicted to Dave The Diver, and the lure of some DLC coming next week basically means it's all I'll be playing for the rest of the year. Ooops...? What a shame it's so darn good. And my Grandia II playthrough continues and a steady pace. I'm at the end of the year burnout stage — too much to play, do, sort out, etc. So I think some coffee and a good book will actually be on the docket.
There are our plans, but what about you? Drop the game that you will be maining in the poll below and then take to the comments to let us know what else you have on the cards.
