Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 418

GT7, Horizon 2 and CP2077
Weather is pretty good soo I won’t spend too much time with gaming.

ALOT of games this weekend, I know it's PC but everyone has to check out the Humble Bundle Ukraine bundle. It costs about US$40, but you can donate more and contains many high quality games including Back4blood, Spyro Reignited Trilogy, Metro Exodus, Fable Anniversary, Sunset Overdrive, SuperHot, Slay the Spire and MANY more, most are steam codes with the only notable exception being Max Payne 3 for the Rockstar client. 100% of the proceeds go towards several relief charities towards Ukraine and you get the choice to choose the percentage towards what charity you want to pledge the most to. It is going to a great cause and you get the bonus of getting some really good games!!!!

So onto the games I've been playing this week...
Ys Books 1 + 2 Chronicle, I beat the 1st one in about 6 hours and I can't believe how much fun I had playing a game made in the 1980's being born in 1997, making it the oldest game I've ever beat. The simplistic combat of this game hooked me in, you control the protagonist, Adol and combat in this game is literally just you bumping into enemies from different angles. You get damaged bumping into someone head on, but don't when you hit them from behind. You get stronger mainly from new gear and leveling up, making it satisfying once you get to the point of one-shoting enemies. I enjoyed it so much I bought the next 3 Ys games from steam.

Next up: Monster Hunter Stories 2, what can I say except this is my favourite modern turn-based JRPG since DQ 11 and Persona 5 Royal. This game is basically Pokemon, but better and harder at the same time. If you are a huge Monster Hunter fan like me (I've been playing them since Freedom Unite on PSP,), this is the ultimate fanservice game for the series, your first Monstie in this game is a Velocidrome, which for many veterans would have been their first large Monster killed, is such a great throwback!! 13 hours in and I'm not stopping, having so much fun.

A side game that I'm playing:
Chrono Trigger, 1st time ever playing it and I can say I see why it is alot of peoples favourite game of all time, I can't believe how far ahead of its time it is, from the ATB type system, No random encounters, also in the recent steam update it enhanced the auto battle speed to make grinding more enjoyable, which I can find tedious in JRPGs. I highly recommend this game as someone who has no nostalgia for the game.

Some Games from the Humble Bundle Ukraine bundle that I've had a look at:
Pawnbarian - A chess Roguelike, check it out if you like strategy games.
Hexalogic - Another puzzle game (kinda in the mood for those right now) with about 90 levels, you can finish it in about 2 hours, it introduces new elements to the puzzles at a steady pace, so never gets overwhelming
Say No! More - This game is an acid trip, with a good message written in it, not long either, I recommend checking it out if you wanna have a laugh

Anyways happy gaming everyone, hope some of you buy this Humble bundle to support the cause and thanks for reading this overly long post, these messages are getting too long😂😂😂

Horizon Forbidden West kind of weekend!

Elden Ring still ...I will conquer this game dammit !!
Gran Turismo 7 ...the best it's been in years and so addictive - I love Forza Motorsport games but they don't grip me like this has
Warhammer Total War 3 ...the best iteration yet in the best strategy series ever ( maybe this or Starcraft 2 )
Have a great weekend guys ❤️

@lolwhatno Yep, and 3 amnesia games, if horror is your thing. I Should add that to my main message as it would probably be something alot of people would be interested in.

Replaying it takes two on PS4 with my son for my 100th platinum. Taking our time so will probably take us all week

PS5
Returnal
Been burning through the PS5 exclusives ive been accumelating in sales over the year, just wrapped Miles Morales and started this one last night. These sortve games can get me hooked easily but its early days at the moment, only did about an hour and am still figuring out the loop and mechanics.

PC Game Pass
Injustice 2
Im not a fighting game fan but i always play Netherrealm games for their awesome cinematic campaigns, this one is no exception, might be there biggest most blockbuster campaign yet and love that they go even crazier with the alt timeline events then the first game.

Quest 2
Defector
Finally sorted out my PCVR issues so catching up on Rift exclusives. Just burned through Insomniac's fantastic Edge of Nowhere, now im checking out Twisted Pixel's spy action game. It feels sortve like Oculus' answer to Blood and Truth, but leans more into the wacky Bond elements. Tons of fun so far, and very underrated.

Lots more Gran Turismo 7 (now that it can actually be played!) and Horizon Forbidden West for me. Over on Xbox, I’m also a couple hours into Tunic and absolutely adore it!

Also, my eldest daughter is coming round today, so I may pick up the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe expansion pass, for some heated four-player kart racing.

[EDIT] I did indeed end up grabbing the 'booster course pass' for Mario Kart and can confirm that we had a blast racing on the new tracks! Highly recommended.

@Fuzzymonkeyfunk that sounds great, my little guy is one and a half, cant wait till we can game together on the weekends, been trying to get the wife to play this title with me and its a mission impossible lols.

Elden Ring! I'm very busy at the moment but have managed to find time to play it here and there and I'm adoring it. Just got to Liurna of the Lakes, which seems like an alright area albeit less interesting than Limgrave. Still not entirely sold on the open world element of the game, but I adore from software games and their combat, so it does more than enough right for me!

@Diamond_Dog I honestly think, if you're struggling to get it to click with you, you should abandon Kakariko village and just explore. The Kakariko village questline is dreadfully dull, and whilst it's good to set up the main quest of the game, if you're not currently feeling the game and need more incentive to keep playing, I would just explore around and experiment for a bit, then come back to doing the main quest when you're more engrossed in the game!

@ThorsHammer it’s honestly one of my favourite ever games. Already finished it on ps5 and will probably replay it yearly as it’s so much fun in co-op.

After 100 hours, finished Elden Ring and got the plat. FromSoftware knocked it out of the park once again! Probably just be playing Gran Turismo this weekend (if it let's me!)

Still chugging my way through Horizon forbidden west.

Still playing Horizon Forbidden West and the whole map has been uncloged at long last, so many campfires 😂😂😂.

Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut (PS5), just amazing! Have a good weekend all!

Still on HFW & GT7, both awesome games. Really trying to find some good armour in Horizon which suits my play style, that is sharp shooting & concentration but i'm struggling to beat a basic blue piece I've been wearing for a while!!!
Not even opened Elden Ring yet and Ghostwire Tokyo is out next week 😬

Elden Ring!! Recently I was crowned Elden Lord, but there's still ton to do...like that infamous secret boss everyone raves about.

Anddd maybe a match or two of Apex Legends

Horizon FW with occasional GT7. Taking a break from Elden Ring.

GT7 and to relax a little I play The Journey Down, a caribbean/rasta themed point n click adventure, picked up the trilogy in the current indies sale!

GT7, been stuck on a menu all week, didn't have a pickup truck, didn't realize I could just buy one from the brand's shop, I thought you needed an invite to buy from there. Also playing Elden Ring.

@lolwhatno Who are your go to legends to use?

When I’m not headed out to see the Uncharted movie (I just need to know if my low expectations will be surpassed), I’ll be digging my heels into Forbidden West. I’m really trying to finish it before I go back to Elden Ring otherwise I may never. The occasional race in GT7 and trying out Triangle Strategy demo in Switch will round out my weekend. When my child allows me the time of course.

GT7 will probably keep me busy, with Ace Combat 7 if I need some variety

HFW, 85 hours in and still not uncovered all the map yet at about 54% completion. Stopped for a beach photoshoot, think I'm going to go around cataloguing all wildlife, machines and even the different tribes. Aloy will be the Attenborough of her time (if it wasn't for her 109 human kills, 54 headshots 😂).

Have a great weekend everyone!

Still...Elden Ring and Horizon Forbidden West, nothing else. And the completionist that I am means I'm going to be playing these huge games for months. These type of games come once in a blue moon, why rush it or use guides to finish quickly and ruin the element of surprise or discovery...

@PenguinL Enjoy your first From game! You're gonna do great

Nioh 2 with all the dlcs.amazing game.one of the best game ever made.and graphics looks really good on my ps4 pro.and story is cool.and the gameplay is amazing.the witcher 3 wild hunt.this game is amazing and the graphics looks really good on my ps4 pro.the game play is extremely fun.this game got a lot of fun side quest.and the main campaign missions is really goid also.story is wonderful.geralt is one of the best protagonist ever.capcom beat 'em up bundle. A blast from the past with some of my favorite arcade games ever.i miss the arcades.good times all the time.and darkest dungeon ancestral edition best indie games ever next to streets of rage 4.and best narrator in wayne june.back to the pit.watching NCAA college basketball tournaments. Lets go Michigan wolverines.watching the excellent movie dont breathe 2.watching whats happening sitcom comedy classics.good times.sanford and sons.saved by the bell.and martin.word up son

@GorosBat i just picked up the Bundle, thanks for making me aware of it. I second that everyone, check out the Ukraine Humble Bundle if you game on pc. Hundreds of great games for cheap price and cash goes to a good cause. I own a lot of the titles there but can gift or trade them as well.

Ever since i hooked my PSVR up to my PS5, i am once again totally into No Man's Sky, Hitman 1,2,3, and Skyrim VR. So that for the weekend😃

Elden Ring, I also finally played Tormented Souls as had a PS4 release, which seems a really good call back to classic survival horror style. Also realised the Switch has some Fighting Fantasy games adapted from the classic 80s adventure books by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone (found as I was browsing the sale), so playing those for some nostalic fun.

A few , stranger of paradise, nocturne , WWE 2k22 , and tunic on the Xbox which have too say really enjoying

Strangers of Paradise and Ghost of Tsushima directors cut. Loving both of them. Still on the fence of getting Elden ring. I tried sekiro but that one didn't work for me. But the stories from more casual players who are playing it now makes me doubt again if I shouldn't pick it up after all. I'll wait a bit anyways since ghost wire Tokyo and the dlc for lost judgment will come next week. So maybe after that

@Lavalera

Found elder ring so much better , here you have a beautiful world too explorer and can do what I do and explorer and level up and then take on boss which made battle a lot easier also you just need too remember boss patterns unlike sekiro which was all about timing which I sucked at.

I really need to take a break from Elden Ring, but I need to play a shorter game before I jump right into Horizon Forbidden West, so I might return and complete the Demon's Souls Remake OR play the Ace Attorney Trilogy, still undecided.

If I get time to play anything it’ll be Elden Ring. I’m adoring everything about this game so far.

GT7 and CP2077. If I have the time and motivation. Been working hard this whole week.

Horizon Forbidden West as usual. I don't see that changing anytime soon as I have plenty of it left to go and I'm fine with that.

Horizon Forbidden West getting distracted by side quests. Game is solid but not amazing so far. Lost Judgement just finished school missions. Dying Light 2 and brought Gnosia on switch so might jump into that

I'll be continuing with Horizon Forbidden West when i get an opportunity. Going to be trying to cut down on buying games this year (i say this every year) and to really max out the games i do have (and tackle the massive backlog).

No doubt i'll be here next week having failed to do any of this and having picked up ghostwire tokyo 😂

I finally started playing Elden Ring, and... yep. It's a FromSoftware game. I fel like I've been playing this exact game for a decade now. It's FromSoft's best effort since Bloodborne, and by a pretty wide margin, but Bloodborne is still better.

@lolwhatno Rampart is definitely dangerous in the wrong hands, especially when you get to trapping enemies inside buildings blocking doors with her walls, while teammates are flanking to other entrances.

As far as mains, I'd say Wattson and Bangalore. Love their playstyles and how they are polar opposites. Although I've been having a ton of fun with Maggie since she dropped. But when it comes to competitive play, diamond/master lobbies, Wraith is the pick.

Elden ring for me (i'm starting to sound like a cliche) but i'm loving it and its the first game thats kept me up until the early hours since final fantasy 7 way back on the ps1..for me thats a bold statement to make..

@b1ackjack I just played MGS2 last year around this time, and amazing how it still stands up 20 years later (albeit if you can deal with clunky ps2 era game controls)

@suikoden good to hear appreciate the feedback. These kind of comments make me feel much more assured that I actually am going to like and can keep my controllers in one piece

I’m slowly making my way through Mass Effect. Although it is dated in some ways, it’s pretty good.

Then, to mix things up, I’m considering playing The Last of Us Part II finally. Had it in my backlog for a while.

PS5: Ghostrunner while waiting for GhostWire: Tokyo next week.

XBSX: ELEX 2 and TUNIC. No AAA-production games, of course, but both still very enjoyable.

I'm playing crash team racing nitro, and maybe the Stranger of Paradise demo, if I find any time.

@lolwhatno Yeah that buff to Rampart where can carry Shiela was huge, you can destroy door healers haha. Wattson's fences do 20 dmg per tick and a pretty hefty electric stun on enemies. I like her because her skill ceiling is high since her tac relies on trapping enemies. Ultimate is really strong too, zaps every projectile in the game (Bang, Gibby, Caustic ults, etc.) and regens on shields. Oh, and her passives are sick. She regenerates shields over time, like Octane does health. Also when she uses an ult accel, she gets her ult immediately rather than 35% increase.

If you ever wanna play I'm down man, psn is the same username. Apex is a tough game, wouldn't mind helping you get better.

Big shock I'm still playing Elden Ring. I think I'm heading into the final stretch of the game as I almost got the entire map uncovered...or at least I think I do.

I am also dabbling in Persona 4 Arena Ultimax though. I know I said I wouldn't buy any other games but Persona is always going to be an exception considering it's my favorite series! That's been a good alternative to always Elden Ring.

Oh and I'm going fishing. It's supposed to be a beautiful weekend after all!

Not to much time to play, as I will work tonight and tomorrow morning. I will follow my Valkyria Chronicles replay, onward to plat trophy, and maybe a little more of Assassin's Creed III. Tempted to continue Bloodborne after so much time... My new TV will come next week, and it will finally be time to Horizon Forbidden West!!

Finally started playing Elden Ring, and yeah, the frame rate… is… disappointing. Other than that I’m enjoying it so far. But man I hope they can patch in more stability; I thought we’d be over this with the PS5!

GT7 all the way. I might try the GTAV remaster as well, but I'm suffering from a severe case of just-one-more-race-syndrome at the moment.

Dance Dance Revolution II Wii

About 80 hours into Horizon Forbidden West. I do need to make sometime for Dying Light 2 tho.

Brum brum with GT7, bang bang with GTA Online, hackin' and slashin' with Cyberpunk 2077 and party banter with the excellent Guardians Of The Galaxy.

@lolwhatno yep it does, along with a bunch of other stuff, just picked it up myself.

Finally finished Dark Souls 2, so have made a start on Elden Ring, and likely to start Horizon FW as well

Short answer: hfw
Long answer: HZD didn’t click with me in first 10 hours of play and I shelved it. W/ hfw coming out I decided to give it another go. Well, I got the plat last week on hzd and jumped straight to HFW. On the go I’m feeling some katamari on the switch.
Happy gaming to all!

King of Fighters 15 still and gonna add Persona 4 Arena to that.

For Stephen, I can confirm that Paradise Killer is not only very good - it's astonishing. Unlike anything else in the genre and the glowing reviews for it on PC and Switch were well deserved.

I picked it up myself as it's had more content added and for just under £12 this weekend for Plus members it's a no brainer for anyone on the fence.

Also starting Ni No Kuni remastered as it was only a few quid in a sale.

MAIN GAME = Yakuza 6
SIDE GAME(S) = Bleach Brave Souls + Team Sonic Racing

Elden ring, but I don’t no what to play next

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, now that Nintendo has decided to add 'new' content to it almost five years after release.

On PS5 GT7, Days Gone and Hybroxia 2. On XBOneX I’m playing Far Changing Tides on Game pass. Have a great weekend everyone!

Mutant Football League, Sniper V2, and Ace Combat- all on the PS5 for me.

@lolwhatno on PS5 at 60fps it’s great! I’ve enjoyed it way more than I thought I would. I like it bc it really flows from one quest to the next. I almost never do anything other than the suggested quest. So it’s got a really fun flowing progression. And I actually like the story and characters quite a bit.

I want to play GTAV but haven't yet worked out how to download it. So I downloaded the online yesterday. Hopefully there is a link. Any suggestions I would greatly appreciate

Still plowing through text in Disco Elysium and playing (the sadly prophetic) Pandemic online with my GF.

Happy weekend!!!

@lolwhatno Doesn't bother me man, you don't even gotta use your mic if you don't wanna. Just let me know!

Also glad you enjoyed Minnmax, my go to gaming podcast guys!

Persona 5 Royal and Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright. And maybe Sable.

I’ve been playing Yakuza 7. What in TF 🤯 is it a weeb thing?

Persona 5, 94 hours. Pretty amazing game.

Gran Turismo 7 - best racing game I’ve ever played. I’m going for the gold in all the license tests and having a ton of fun.

God of War - feel like I’m nearing the end with Midgard 80% complete of collectibles. Very rarely is a world this fun to explore.

Happy gaming everyone.

Finished Ghostrunner last week, now getting all the trophies left.
GT7 after while waiting for Ghostwire Tokyo

@lolwhatno Lol, nope, I haven't. I have way less time to play than some people here, as I only get to play for extended periods on weekends, so that's a big reason why I still haven't found one. I'm only at 46 hours played so far.

@lolwhatno There's more shocker ahead - RDR2.

@lolwhatno spoilers dude 🤬😞

Got Falcon Age as it’s on sale currently for £3.19. Also still playing Kingdoms of Amular Re-Reckoning. Might play a bit of Beat Saber too.

Just acquired my platinum for Horizon Forbidden West, so now it’s back to GT7 and I’ll start on Guardians of the Galaxy.

@Kingcole2022 I got my plat today too <3

@AFCC Nice!! Tbh I thought HFW was the easiest plat to get in the sense that you collect most of the trophies from just playing the game because you want to play it. When I beat the game I only had 4/5 trophies remaining.

Never got into GTA online so giving that a go for the first time with some friends this weekend as well as checking out the new tracks in Mario Kart 8’s Booster Course Pass!

Back to Returnal with the new content that is being released next week. And now GT7 is back online maybe more of that.

Spending some time doing side quests in Forbidden West.

Gonna be playing Guardians of the Galaxy nearly got the platinum trophy, GTA V and a bit of Elden Ring maybe a little Cyberpunk 2077 since nearly got the platinum in that one too

Gran Turismo 7, Horizon Forbidden West, and maybe Magical Hat Turbo Flight! Adventure on the megadrive mini

@Diamond_Dog I'm sure you'll get into it! Zelda is one of my favourite franchises but breath of the wild took me a while to get into. Once you're fully engrossed in the world though it's a genuinely magical game. Hopefully it clicks with you soon!

I'm planning to continue my first playthrough of The Witcher 3: Blood & Wine though I still haven't finished the main game yet, plus a little Fire Emblem Awakenings (N3DS) which I just started the other night.

Triangle Strategy and Eldin Ring. ER gives me anxiety for no reason, really. It's not nearly as difficult as I imagine it will be, it seems but maybe this next area or dungeon will be too much for me, idk! Lol

@Kingcole2022 I had like 7 or 8 but some I was super close to getting. In fact I didn't touch the game until today (after completing the story) and I did the remaining trophies in 3 or 4 hours. It's pretty straightforward, how plats should be

@lolwhatno I was just messing with you my man 😜. I have a few quests lined up which are only possible due to that ability and the CGI trailer sneakily put it in at the end, so I was just having some fun.

Hope your having a good weekend!

@lolwhatno Well Arthur is made of steel. It's a masterpiece that game.

@lolwhatno Between work and some other stuff, it is what it is I guess. Some time is better than nothing.

Thanks. You too.

I'm playing RE2 on Claire B same as Brett. Plus the brilliant GT 7 and also playing Everybody's golf on PS4. Freaking love PlayStation.

Spent the last couple of days wiped out and in bed with tonsillitis.

Feeling better today, I'm on the home stretch with Cyberpunk so finishing that, just downloaded Frost Punk and the season pass (on sale, too cheap to pass up and I love that game).

Have been playing a bit of F.I.S.T over the past week but given up on that, just not vibing with it.

So, finish Cyberpunk, then on to one of Kena, Lost In Random, Death Loop with a little Frost Punk mixed in. Or I might just batter into GTAV properly (again).

Should get back to GT7 but I'm a bit peed off with the whole poop show over the last few days so that can wait just now.

Also, the temptation is there to pick up Elden Ring, although I'm not a fan of Souls games this one does sound amazing and more accessible... But I've got too much to play so I really should just wait for a sale and play what I've got.

As and when I have time, GT7. Am rubbish at it but very much enjoying it. Now I need to crack on and get the A license.

GT7 now that I've finished Forbidden West.

Got this email from Playstation congratulating me on completing the main story and achieving the associated trophy. It then went on to say I still had more quests to do and trophies to get and stated that not only had I played 97 hours, but weirdly along with getting 46 trophies so far I had 130 left to unlock Platinum.
130 lol where did they get that from.

Magical Hat no Buttobi Tābo! Daibōken was my very first Japanese import game back then and this was before I see that review in cvg mag, so it was a gamble if the game was gonna be any good, then it was featured in the complete guide to Sega magazine, this lead me to buying a Japanese megadrive console (full screen and full speed) , those were good times weren't they 😊

@JamieO absolutely I love the pc engine, I had vigilante, ninja spirit and pac land on mine, great times indeed, I could go on about this for ages haha 😀

@JamieO Yeah I remember a detailed and fascinating article in Mean Machines explaining how DecapAttack had been completely reskinned for western audiences — and while I like the gothic vibe of DA, the option to play as both would be nice.

@Andee I vaguely remember some kind of comparison in a magazine but couldn't remember which one it was in

@JamieO thanks I'll give Den of Geek article a read, I also have a pc engine mini, just wish I could add more game to it