In celebration of Pokémon Day, this week we got quite a lot of pocket monster news. One of the highlights was the reveal of the new mythical Grass/Dark-type Pokémon Zarude. Greninja was announced as Google's Pokémon of the Year, and Mewtwo is also appearing in Sword and Shield Max Raid Battles for the first time ever, but you can't catch it!
Far away from the land of Pokémon, Yacht Club Games lifted the lid on its new Shovel Knight project and PlatinumGames announced a new studio and a new game by Hideki Kamiya. There was a sale on all of the DOOM titles as well, and we're changing the way we handle Switch screenshots on the site.
To help us unwind after such a big week, we're here to share the games we'll be playing over the weekend. We're also joined by two special guests from the Push Square team. As always, we'd love for you to get involved via our poll and comments section. Happy gaming!
Zion Grassl, video producer
I’m going to be a bit busy this weekend with my band Constance (look us up if you’re into metal) as we’re recording some new tunes, but I just picked up the original DOOM and DOOM II on the eShop for next to nothing! So while the guys are recording their parts, I might try to sneak in a bit of demon hunting, because what’s more metal than that? Rune Factory 4 Special is also sitting here on my desk literally staring me down, but I don’t know if I have the heart to invest in it knowing that my love Animal Crossing: New Horizons will be here in just a few short weeks.
Austin Voigt, contributing writer
This weekend, I will be finishing Luigi’s Mansion 3. I’ve been very busy recently, and I’ve only gotten through a handful of floors in the main storyline, so I’m determined to just sit down and blaze through the rest. Last weekend, I had family home and sunk quite a bit of time with them into the couch co-op – which was awesome – but which ended up only making me want to go back to the main storyline even more. Oh yeah, Luigi!
Liam Doolan, news reporter
Over the next few days, I'll be sinking my teeth into Rune Factory 4 Special. I didn't really get to spend as much time as I wanted with the 3DS original, so I'm glad I've been given a second chance. This will definitely be a big enough game to tide me over until the release of Animal Crossing: New Horizons. I'm also looking forward to trying out the new features on offer. Apart from this, I'll probably be spending some time in the original DOOM game (I grabbed it in that sale earlier this week) and SEGA AGES Sonic The Hedgehog 2.
Gonçalo Lopes, contributing writer
Stuck on the last mission of DAEMON X MACHINA. 71% SD Gundam G Generation Cross Rays completion rate. Package from the East arrived with a triple dose of Devil May Cry and the wonderful Katana Kami: The Way of the Samurai. Yet you can surely bet I will be spending more time with Kunio and gang in Double Dragon & Kunio-kun: Retro Brawler Bundle. If only I could squeeze in a few more rounds of Warface…Game of the week is the long overdue début of the Samurai Shodown reboot on the Switch. So many new and old characters to pick from… I need to develop my left thumb D-Pad blister fast, those ultimate special moves are no joke.
Stephen Tailby, Push Square associate editor
Like many people, I’m sat here twiddling my thumbs until Animal Crossing: New Horizons emerges next month. To pass the time, I’ll jump into Pokémon Sword and mop up some more critters for my dex. If memory serves, there’s also some post-game stuff I’ve yet to delve into. Then there’s Asphalt 9: Legends, that free-to-play arcade racer I’ve been ignoring. It’s great fun to play, and now seems like a good slot to put a bit more time into it. Truth be told, I haven’t been playing my Switch all that much recently, but I’ve a list as long as my arm with games I want to check out. Once AC arrives, though, that’ll be that for a good while.
Robert Ramsey, Push Square deputy editor
I finished up the Blue Lions route in Fire Emblem: Three Houses and let's just say it left me with more questions than it did answers. With that in mind, I'm feeling the urge to get stuck into another house this weekend -- I just have to somehow decide between Black Eagles and Golden Deer. My only real worry is that I'll never like my new class as much as Dimitri and the gang, but at least the New Game Plus features will help ease me into the grind.
Comments 116
This week I will be mostly playing
Pokémon Platinum
Pokémon Sapphire/Emerald
And crying that my Pearl cartridge has inexplicably stopped working after 7 Gyms...
Bayonetta 2. Just started it and I’m having a blast. I finished Bayonetta 1 at the beginning of the year, so the story is still fresh for me.
Here’s hoping for Bayonetta 3 news in the ‘upcoming’ Nintendo Direct. 😉
I got a group together to farm Mewtwo raids. I really like these super high level raids that actually make you plan out and coordinate teams! We ended up with Grimmsnarl, 2 Lunala and Marshadow and managed to win most of the time. Very challenging and fun! Great loot too!
Also, since I finished the FE3H DLC a couple days ago, I resumed my Golden Deer run I had put on hold when the DLC release date was announced a few weeks ago.
And I bought Rune Factory 4 on a whim, so I will probably start that sometime tomorrow.
Picked up the old Doom games on sale. I've played through episode 1 of Doom 1 many times having owned the shareware version back in the 90s. Also Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky. Loved Trails of Cold Steel 1-3 and with ToCS 4 in English release date still TBA I figured I'd jump around the LoH timeline a little bit. Love it so far, Falcom sure love their lost kitty sidequests.
Also playing Bucket Knight - great fun.
I have to read a ton of material for uni, so I don't have a lot of time, but I'm already addicted to Rune Factory 4. So hopefully I can squeeze some hours in.
Majora's Mask on my 2DS.
I’m seriously impressed with Metro on Switch, so I’ll be playing that. Good performance and still good looking. Love it.
More of Blue Lions route for Fire Emblem Three Houses on the Switch front and Master Chief Collection on the XB1 front. Completing the Cindered Shadows DLC really enhances the base Fire Emblem Three Houses experience so even though the side story was shorter than expected I'm still impressed overall with the DLC.
Link to the past it’s good but quite hard, more Mario world and Yoshi story. So only some of the best games ever made then! X x x x
Still on Pokémon Sword, since I'm desperate to catch a Toxtricity Gigamax before the end of the event...
But I've just started the game, so I have to make my team grind very quickly !
Sonic Mania for me this weekend. I did finish Sonic Forces last week - the last boss was disappointingly easy which was a shame.
I'm sure I'll find time to squeeze an old favourite of mine in - Minecraft! 135 hours in and I'm in no rush to stop anytime soon!
Pokémon and Fire Emblem maybe. But most likely Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late [cl-r] and Splatoon 2. Gotta train up for both, especially the latter.
In amongst tons of work... Dead Cells, on Nightmare difficulty (4BC). Feels like I may have reached my limit, skill wise! So difficult... Elites keep wrecking me. Will keep trying. Have a lovely weekend, guys, and stay safe and well out there!
Link's Awakening. Lovely lovely game, first time for me. Also still battling through Hollow Knight and working my way up the ascension levels in the best game ever (Slay the Spire).
The Frozen Wilds DLC for Horizon: Zero Dawn on PS4. Feels good to return to that world!
Metro 2033 redux & last light(all weekend) isn't your average shooter. It's a story. It will make you ponder life, death, and sacrifice. It's a world. It will make you feel you're visiting a dead planet far, far away. It's a way of life. It will make you more deeply appreciate the common luxuries of warm beds to sleep in and clean air to breathe.
@Matthew010
I remember that there was one Sonic game which had a ghastly final boss... had me tearing my hair out. Was one of the 3D ones... I can't remember which! Unleashed, maybe?
Mortal Kombat 11 on Switch on the go and on PS4 at Home. And the same goes for Samurai Shodown.
Plus some Hunt: Showdown on PS4
Got 15900 max ring chain on sonic 2. Will probably try to beat it over the weekend
Mainly Rune Factory 4, TMS and Shadow Dragon - the three titles I currently trust to distract me from Alrest where I've managed to spend close to 40 hours in the first... 10 days? Even for me and Xenoblade, "that's an academy record". And story-wise, I'm not even far into chapter 3. Monolith Soft makes crazy worlds and their exploration fits Switch like a glove. And Rune Factory 4 speaks for itself in the latter regard. Incidentally, I still can't quite believe it took but a title screen setting flip to access all the original voicework that used to require recompiled roms back in the DS era (and even then, RF3 undub ended up with occasional bugs mixing up character voices as a result). Hopefully Rune Factory 5 will inherit this feature by default.
I'm planning to grab a few prominent discounts (including the first Doom, yes), so there's a chance I'll poke my nose in their gameplay as well, but that's "time will tell" territory.
Cute games time ! 🤓
I played :
1. Animal Crossing New Leaf 3DS
2. Miracle Tunes! 3DS
Looking to get Terraria on sale and Doom 2.
Donkey kong adventure dlc from Mario rabbids.
Smash Bros Ultimate - trying to get that Warframe Spirit.
Animal Crossing New Leaf
Pokemon Stadium
Doom (Classic) and Doom 3 on Switch.
I bought DOOM 3 on the sale but I’m currently playing Okami HD... might fire it up though just to check it out. My son is absolutely in love with Pokémon Sword, preordered him Mystery Dungeon during the week, it’s his birthday in April so that’s his present sorted! Have a great weekend.
I've just bought the Mega Drive mini and I'll be playing a lot of that with my stepson, we beat Streets of Rage last night and now onto Streets of Rage 2 and 3 plus many many more as somehow more games have mysteriously appeared on it 😉
Mostly Deadly Premonition, but I'm also trying out the first three DOOM games because of the sale. And I went back to FFVII, need to beat that lunatic Hojo.
Toss a coin to your witcher, the valley of plenty, the valley of pleeeenntyyyyyy... Guess what I'll be playing.
@SquareOneMJ Knowing the kind of games you like, you're going to really love Doom 3. It's like a mix of Classic Doom and Doom 2016 and has some real stand out moments. For the most part, it looks great too, the lighting is super impressive. I think I might play it tonight, I've been thinking about going back to it for a while and just talking about it makes me want to play it. It's an absolute bargain at the price you paid.Just make sure to play it after dark, quite hard to see what's going on otherwise.
Enjoy 😊
Doom! I mean at 4 quid it was a bargain but I didnt want to add to the backlog. But I just couldn't pass up the first 3 games for under a fiver. Don't think i ever played past the shareware first pack back in the nineties. Really enjoying it.
I'll mostly be playing Rune Factory 4, Doom (1+2) and of course Ring Fit Adventure.
I'll also do a Switch gaming session with friends later on with some good old couch multiplayer games.
Trying to finish Blasphemous on the Switch!
Daemon X Machina and Dragon Quest Builders 2
This weekend I started Mario Kart 8 Deluxe for the first time and done the 100cc with 3 stars on all cups, thinking of maybe playing something that doesn’t involve continuously getting hit with blue shells, possibly Captain Toad
If I can wrestle the Switch from my wife (she loved Theme Hospital so is well into Two point hospital!) I'll continue with Asphalt and try to finish Heist
Some Under Night In-Birth and later Metroid Prime. Can't wait for the fourth part or the Prime Trilogy in HD.
This weekend planning to play the Bullfrog PC classic Magic Carpet again, as well as Asphalt 9 on Switch. May play a third game, but not sure which one yet.
Everyone have fun gaming this weekend!
DQXI. I've just the second chapter at around the 50-hour mark.
RFA, still slogging away, I'm on World 12.
Zombie Army 4. That's a hell of a lot of zombies! Got Mutant Year Zero on Switch for not much money. Looks like garbage but plays well and seems like a good game. Also, got to complete Jedi Fallen Order before Nioh 2 comes out.
Still can't put Snack World down for some reason. Also slowly working through Atelier Escha & Logy. And a bit of Groove Coaster here and there.
@Ooyah Was it Dark Gaia? I've not played Unleashed so I had to look it up.
Playing Smash Ultimate
Revisiting DKC on the trusty mini. My 4yo has taken interest so it’s platforming 101 at home this weekend.
Darksiders 2 and Genesis.
I don't gave a lot of time free this weekend, but I hope to get some time with Two Point Hospital. I also finished Bucket Knight (no relation), which is a pretty good game that will probably get overlooked among all the other releases.
I'll be playing more Kunai this weekend. I'm currently in the Zen forest, and feel like I may be more than halfway through the game. I've loved just about every moment in the game, except for that frustrating boss after getting the SMGs. Maybe I'll surprise myself and finish it this weekend. Next up will be Link's Awakening when I finish that.
I also started Knights and Bikes in co-op with my wife last weekend, and we're going to play it again today. The game is so cute and charming. I've been playing a lot of high quality co-op games with her in the past year, and I think this one will be really special too.
Now that Kefla is out on fighterz I’ll be playing that like it’s my job.
Played Yakuza 0 and Dust: An Elysian Tail so far, picked up a whole bunch of trophies for that PS comp going on.
AI The Somnium Files for me.
It hasn’t been love at first sight like Danganronpa last week. But I’m 8 hours in and getting more drawn into its world.
Might do some cross dressing in botw. Seems to be all the rage at the moment.....
Killzone: Mercenary (Vita) - Been playing Team Guerilla mostly.
Turtle's Quest (Windows Store) - Almost done...
Briquid Mini (Windows Phone) - Finally made it to the end.
FIFA 20, Zelda BOTW and finally start Blue Lion routes on Fire Emblem 3H ^0^/
Still taking a break from Witcher to avoid burnout, so I’m plodding around in New Leaf and Fortnite. I may grab Doom 3.
@OorWullie thank you. It’s been sitting on my wish list for a while, and at the sale price? No brainer. Good to see all DOOM titles currently charting on the eShop, the original DOOM 1993 has actually never left the chart but it’s riding high right now.
@JDavies I've got a nearly-2 year-old and I can't wait for the day when it's platforming 101!
I'll be grinding away at Starlink: Battle for Atlas, I think I'm in the final 3rd or so of the game now. Can't say I've loved it but I have rules about finishing games I start...also Rayman Legends for some light relief.
I'll be cracking on with more Tokyo Mirage Sessions (end of chapter 4), Fire Emblem Birthright and checking out Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate which has just arrived. I'm not sure whether I'll be able to get into it, as I struggled with World, but really want to give the series a second chance. Also one of the final 3DS games I want to add to my collection.
I got burned out with Zelda BotW, so now I am playing Yooka-Laylee and The Impossible Lair.
@skulltulips It is really fun, though the d-pad+run+jump seems like a hard lesson for him. Still golden moments on saturday morning before the others wake up
Edit: btw starlink - worth the time?
I'm having a bit of a Witcher fatigue right now so I started playing two games from my backlog: L.A. Noire and Dragon's Dogma.
Both are very different and a lot of fun (even though I already finished L.A. Noire when it originally came out on the XBOX360).
@Matthew010
I was looking it up too. Yeah... Dark Gaia. The video I watched makes it look really straight forward! lol But man, did I ever struggle with that one! 😆
Finished shakedown Hawaii and dmc3 this week. So just playing thru megaman zx collection and maybe some paper mario. Not sure yet if I want to start a run through of darksiders 2
@HobbitGamer grab it at that price. Just let it be known it's very resident evil-esque. And I know how you are with horror games 😋
Currently alternating between Octopath Traveler and Mystic Quest from the Collection of Mana.
Might play some more Degrees of Separation co-op with the wife, but she has just bought Rune Factory 4 and Two Point Hospital so may be busy with those.
Currently playing some Kunai and some Mario maker 2, Also playing watchdogs on the xbox one
PC games Gothic 1 and Risen 2
I have a very busy weekend ahead, but I do intend to reach the credits in Dragon Quest VIII (3DS); I think I'm in the story's final stretch. I'll likely end up messing with the post-game content since I've heard more endings can be unlocked. Where there's extra story involved, count me in!
Ori and the Blind Forest (Switch) will also see some playtime. I've been somewhat neglecting it while playing the above.
As usual, some Pokemon Go will be sprinkled in. It's supposed to be a nice weekend here, so why not enjoy some sunshine and catch some 'Mon?
Have a great weekend!
I’ve been going through my games on Switch since I have so many in my backlog- gave Slayaway Butchers Camp ( too gory), Push Pipe Paradise ( hard!), Letter Quest Remastered ( meh), and Think of the Children all a fair go.
Surprisingly Think of the Children was my favorite of the lot. I played by myself but it would be even better as a multiplayer experience. Some of the levels are fairly difficult but the chaos is fun and I found myself laughing at the idiot children. I managed to pass all the levels but the last 2 myself- the difficulty there really ramps up.
Also finally managed the Pokémon dungeon demo and find myself liking it enough to contemplate buying it. I don’t want a big grinding experience though- any thoughts to those who’ve played the originals? I enjoyed Pokémon Let’s Go because catching Pokémon didn’t take forever and it felt more streamlined. I don’t care much for Pokémon Shield because it takes forever to do anything and the story isn’t compelling me enough to get through it.
Also continue on with Control on Xbox- simply engrossing.
Squeezing in some pre-sleep Mario Golf on Gameboy Color and Dr. Mario World on mobile are definites. Anything else will be as work / time permits.
Back on GearClub 2, since the latest update this plays really well.
Warface & AO Tennis 2 as well.
@Ooyah Is Unleashed any good overall? From what I've heard, people didn't like it at release, but recently people have begun to like it more.
I like to play Sonic 2 today and two point hospital if I can.
What are the controls like for two point hospital?
@Matthew010
Was quite some time ago that I played it, but... I remember some of the gameplay feeling rather shonky and frustrating. Not enough polish. However, having said that, I also remember some of the levels being very atmospheric... there was a wonderful seaside town, for example.
Having finished the Ace Attorney trilogy a few months back, I've been itching to get into the next games. All 6 games were rumoured to come out together a couple years back, but sadly Capcom is being silent on the second trilogy. So I've bought Apollo Justice for iPad and will probably spend most of my time in that one.
Also, DOOM I, of course.
Some Fortnite with my sister, and some Doom 3 and Peace, Death! switch.
Wanna start with Dishonored and continue with AC: Unity on PS4.
And a bit of Animal Crossing: New Leaf on 3DS.
Enter the Gungeon, Deathroad to Canada, Pokemon Go, Waverace 64, Cruisn USA, Mortal Kombat Trilogy, NFL Blitz, Starfox 64 3D, 80's Overdrive, and Master of Orion II. Should be a good one.
While I wait for my copy of Rune Factory 4 to arrive I will again be spending hours on Stardew Valley,Atelia Ryza and My Time In Portia.
I have cleared my proper backlog, and am trying not to finish Darksiders Genesis too quickly. So I’ve been diving into the dungeon of games I gave up on with out intent to return to.
Minit is the first of these games that I dug up! Once I googled help for the part I was stuck on I zoomed through the rest. It was wonderful!
Tonight I am going to give Mulaka a second look!
Mr. Nutz on the Sega Mega Drive. It's way better than Super Mario World.
1. Nioh2 Demo (home)
2. A plague Tale on Microsoft Xcloud (GO)
Settled on my GeForce NOW - Xcloud dedicated setup. Take some of the pressure off the Switch each week. Now they can tag team 😀
Boost Mobile CoolPad Legacy 6.3 inch phone ($67)
Stk 7007F1 controller ($29)
Katananaki, RF4, Smoke/Scrafice.
@Agramonte those controllers look impressive, have you tried them with the switch?
For me so far it has been Dragon's Dogma on Switch and Killing Floor 2 on PS4...
The weekend how I love thee.
As far as gaming goes this weekend, I plan on getting back into The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim, it's been a while since I last played it. I also picked up a new PS2 AV cable cord, so I'll probably play a PS2 game or two this weekend as well.
Trying to set up a Joy-Con drift repair before New Horizons arrives, so we'll see how that works. I plan on playing some FE:3H and Fortnite this weekend.
Atelier Lulua....because it is epic!!!!
Fire Emblem Three Houses, Super Smash Bros Ultimate, and Capcom Beat em Up Bundle.
Gonna be playing Danganronpa 2 this week. I finished the first one last week and it was so much fun to play, that I broke my own rule of 'taking a break from playing another game in the series after I finish one.'
I definitely want to replay Rune Factory 4 and Zero Collection eventually, but have no idea if I will get around to it this week.
@Fido007 Didn’t think of it. But just did, and no it does not work.
But they feel so similar that not really a replacement for the regular JoyCons. I have the HORI split PRO for the Switch I use for long sessions.
@JDavies sounds immense.
On Starlink, it's tough to argue at the price it's at now. I bought a weapon pack DLC on top so I've paid £16 all in. It's not bad, sometimes I find the gameplay loop too repetitive and at other times I'm more into it. Couldn't whole-heartedly recommend it but I don't regret the buy either!!
I caved and bought OG Doom, might play a little of that. I couldn't go around saying I could have had Doom for $1.99 on the Switch and passed it up.
@Anti-Matter
So did you get to see Sonic yet ?
@Agramonte
That does look pretty cool actually.
Evening! Long time lurker etc etc. I've been playing Goblin Sword, right devious little bugger it's become too.
@KitsuneNight
I have watched Sonic movie yesterday. 🙂
Well... the movie was so-so, not really Wow in my opinion.
But i think i still have curiosity so i plan to watch again at different cinema on Sunday.
Goblin sword
I finished a run through Fire Emblem, so currently playing Saints Row 3 and Trials Rising.
@Rebusmind I beat the main quest of Witcher on Xbox, and now Im trying to get closer to 100% on switch, but its been a struggle going thru the main story a second time.
Esprade, arcade fuzz and dabbling in a few demos.
Hyrule warriors and rune factory 4
Bloodroots, SteamWorld Heist and This War of Mine.
I finished up Ghostbusters and will be getting back into Starlink.
Got Doom 1-3 in the sale, even though I got them on the PS4 sale a couple of weeks ago.
Ori and the Blind Forest on Switch and Doom (2016) on PC.
@JDavies
Teach em young
@Anti-Matter
Ah, well it's a shame you it didn't live up to your expectations.
You seemed hyped for it.
But i suppose they can't be all winners.
Dark Souls which has finally clicked with me. So hard though.
When I finish that Twilight Princess HD is next on my list
@guamyankee It's the same for me. I played through the main quest 1.5 times and now I have the most fun with all the optional stuff, but the main quest seems a little boring. ^^
I just finised Figment, which was great but tedious at the same time. Now it;s Doom 3 personally and Lego Harry Potter Collection with my girlfriend
Witcher 3 for the whole weekend. Nothing else until I beat it.
@KitsuneNight It feels good. And A Plague Tale works great over streaming.
But not as convenient as having a dedicated handheld like a Switch, that is for sure. Better to just get a LITE if only buying one device. But it will do for my needs.
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 until Xenoblade Chronicles definitive edition. Hopefully my favorite a XCX port to the switch will be announced.
Japanese Rail Sim: Journey to Kyoto. I picked it up last week while I was on a trip to Japan and I find train sims strangely satisfying. Fortunately, the have an English patch for the game.
Samsho and katanakami for me.
Smash ultimate
@Ooyah Could be Generations, that boss is so buggy and not fun
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