Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 446

After finishing the great Indivisible last weekend, I’ve started Megadimension Neptuinia VII. A game which has been in my backlog for a good few years. It’s been years since I finished Rebirth 1&2, and I’m enjoying familiarising myself with the characters again.

I’m going to be away for most of today though unfortunately, and that’s not really a game I’d like to play remotely, so I downloaded a Mahjong game from Extra to dip into.

My usual halloween game, Ghostbusters

Also starting my Simpsons Treehouse of Horror binge, one every night of October since there's 31 of them available on disney plus so far

Fed up with COD Vanguard so going back to Cold War. Also making playground tracks on Dirt 5. Both on PS5

Yakuza: Like A Dragon

I'm in the final few hours (Well the last chapter at least) and it's been quite a ride. A pretty good attempt for the studio's first jrpg but VERY much still a Yakuza game in all it's glory.

I've kart raced, fought a giant roomba that's gone haywire, saved a crawfish from being eaten, become a business tycoon, belted out some Karaoke, some crazy plot twists, shirts being ripped off and talks of honour and loyalty... Ya know the usual Yakuza stuff

Have a good weekend everyone!

Journeying to fight the legendary Fin Fang Foom on Maklu IV!

It shall be a glorious death!

Trails of Cold Steel 2, 20 hours in and just finished in the Nord Highlands with only 3 members of class VII left to find. Such a great game.

Have a great weekend everyone!

I’m playing Soul Hackers 2.

My expectations are in check and it’s certainly not as visceral an experience as the SMT series greats.
But coming back to fusing the demons and filling the map dungeon crawling, it’s so comforting. Which sounds more like playing Pokémon than SMT - cozying up with it. I’m really enjoying it.

Football, Saturday and Sunday

I have fallen into House builder which is strangely addictive; this is holding me in place until I feel up to heading back to Bloodborne.

If I can pull myself away from destiny I’ll continue Joel and Ellie’s story. I haven’t earned a platinum for over a month since I got back into destiny and I’m starting to get withdrawal symptoms 🤣

Nothing today, out for the football, nothing tomorrow as there will be pretty much a full day of NFL with the London game.

At most I'll make a little time for some Switch gaming with the wee man.

@SpaceDonkey Same honestly although I’m only on playthrough 2. Went Mage first go so now I’m running a sword and shield based build.

Want to start Yakuza Like a Dragon but probably too many good football derbies for me to get around to it.

I played tunic on game pass and really enjoyed it. Such a cool game.

I’m playing some BF2042 this weekend and trying to make my way through Plague Tale

On my ps5 I'm playing Atelier Ryza: Ever darkness and the Secret Hideout. My first ever Atelier game and I'm liking it. Very relaxing, wander around gathering stuff, fighting a monster here and there and brewing up stuff with alchemy that's needed for that. To also have something more action packed I decided to start up Saints row 4. Some over the top mindless action.
On my Xbox im continuing with Ni No Kuni Wrath of the White Witch remastered. The game itself is a pretty standard monster collecting jrpg but the art style is so amazing. Made partially by studio ghibly.

Hope to have alle these finished for the packed 2nd half of October Gotham knights, Plague tale requiem, Star ocean 6 and p5r all are on my list and those all are in like a week of each other. And I got invited to the D4 beta as well so goign to be busy times

I'm playing Motorstorm Pacific Rift on PS3. I got the 3 games a while ago for dirt cheap and never really played them. I usually don't play racing games, only an occasional fun racer here and there. The first one got really difficult for me about midway through which I didn't expect to that extent. So trying my luck now with Pacific Rift which doesn't seem to be as hard. People who play racers regularly probably get a good laugh out of me right now, lol. It's fun so far though.

Initially, I was planning to replay GoW in preparation for Ragnarök. I remember really liking the 2018 installment but to my surprise when replaying it, I'm not really digging it all that much and I will most likely stop. I'm not the hugest fan of the franchise. However, I liked them all enough to look forward to the next. Obviously, I can still recognize it's a fantastic game overall, probably just a me-thing. But I have to admit that my hype for Ragnarök has plummeted a bit, lol.

Spooky season means spooky games. Not that I usually need an excuse.
Observer Redux, Tormented Souls and In Sound Mind are up first.

I've already completed Observer multiple times (one of my all-time favourites for atmosphere) and In Sound Mind will be my 2nd playthrough for the platinum (great soundtrack and some unique gameplay elements).
And I can already tell Tormented Souls is gonna be a oldschool goodun!

Syphon filter 2, saints row and trails from zero on the psfive alone with half life 2 and flight simulator on the series X.

Hell let loose! 5 more trophies!

MAFIA II still. Managed to finish Betrayal of Jimmy, now on Jimmy's Vendetta. Can't put the game down, dunno why but those cartoony graphics from the PS3/360 era still look so good it's no wonder we've had so many remasters. The MAFIA Trilogy is such a great collection. Maybe I'll play some other games on the side but for now it's Jimmy's Vendetta!

Ghost Recon Wildlands. Been playing whenever our schedules align with a friend the last few months.
Really underrated co-op game! Lots to do, and if you enjoy the terrorist hunts of old, you’ll love this!

Elden Ring well and truly has its talons in me. I haven’t been this hooked on a game since lockdown. It’s incredibly addictive and I just cannot get enough.

Im not normally playing an xbox as I think the box has been weak this year, BUT:
Grounded seems pretty fun so I intend to play further.
Lets build a zoo is calling to me too and is on game pass.
.... And myself and my wife are all over Forza Horizon 4 again as quite frankly, its a far superior title to FH5.
Ive also started cyberpunk again on pc now its finally stable!

Unusual for me to not to be all about ps5, but the other machines have to get a look in sometimes, and once GOW arrives they'll be gathering dust!

@Ward_ting Gotta be goty! Elden ring didnt let go of me either.
No save scumming for my platinum, I played through tge game the full three times to get tge three endings.
I think ive left my character at level 440... which is just silly, but nice!

Im still playing the amazing nioh 2 with all the dlcs. One of the best games ever made.i got all 4 of the odachi sword i wanted.the paralized odachi sword.the water odachi sword.the fire odachi sword and the lightning odachi sword.watching nfl football my 💛Pittsburgh Steelers 🏈 🖤 is playing.and watching legendary sitcoms 📺 tv comedy. In in living color.saved by the bell and martin.word up son

Star Ocean 1 and 4, plus Valkyrie Elysium. The first two due to SO6 coming out later this month. SO4 is a lot better than I remember.

Currently working my way through Resi the First HD, via PS5. The SSD helps with the 'door opening' loading sequences. The camera angles are a bit mad now, compared to modern game expectations, but I'm enjoying it. Also got me some Dungeon hunter: Alliance action on the old Vita. Bit of basic handheld Diablo-ing is keeping me smiling.

Just biding my time until Gotham Knights arrives in three weeks.

@Ward_ting it's really the thing with all FromSoft games, they are addictive. I wish I could start my Elden Ring second run but don't know when.

Mario Kart: Super Circuit (GBA) - Playing the spooky levels for Halloween.

Age of Empires: Castle Siege (Android) - Haven't played for nearly a week, time to get back to it.

Temple Run 2 (Windows Phone) - Still getting a little further each time. It sucks not being able to buy any of the powerups though...

Bought myself a steering wheel and pedals this this, will be playing GT7 and Grid Legends. When I need a rest from driving, I will continue with Voice of Cards - The Forsaken Maiden.

@TheArt I absolutely adore Mafia 2. I fell in love with the story, voice acting and the insanely atmospheric world. I could replay that game over and over again.

Playing Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous. It is fantastic so far. Only had one minor glitch where dialogue slowed down during a cut scene.

I finished getting the Plat on Deathloop earlier this week, and have downloaded AC: Valhalla to start at some point, but for now it's likely the same mix of Scott Pilgrim and Stellaris as yesterday, switching based on what attention/energy I have to give things.

What a coincidence, just this week I bought Scooby Doo: Night Of 100 Frights for Gamecube😁 Looking forward to trying it, tis the season & all.
Apart from that maybe some Splatoon 3 & Valkyrie Elysium.
Have a good weekend everyone!

I finally budged and bought the Final Fantasy 1-VI pixel remasters, being the first time I've ever played any of these games. What Square Enix are charging for these is almost highway robbery, but I also took into account that it takes forever for many of their games to go on a good sale, I hope once they finally get the console ports out, the pricing is much better. I payed $88 AUD and HLTB says it takes about 150 hours to beat all games, so from that standpoint it's worth it, but then again these are 25 + year old games...

Anyways I've played about 5 hours of Final Fantasy 1 and am surprised how much I'm enjoying a game that predates me.😅 Thanks for reading and happy gaming.

On PS5 i will be continuing with Atelier Sophie 2 and The Diofield

On switch its more Pikmin 3 deluxe, I think I will give splatoon 3 a rest as I'm starting to feel burnt out on that.

And on my series s I will try and finish far cry 5 today and then start Deathloop

Continuing The Ascent, what a game, I'm completely hooked. There are some tough difficulty spikes but it never feels unfair. Also watching and hopefully finishing Edge Runners, so yeah a very cyberpunk weekend for me!

I'll dip into GT7, and complete whatever is in the new update, then it will be Hitman 2, although it's not really grabbed my attention yet and I'm starting the 3rd mission.

The Last of Us Part 1. A few hours in and I'm enjoying this more than when I played it on PS4. I was one of the few people who didn't love the game the first time around, but so far it's clicked with me better obviously.

PS5
Horizon Forbiden West
PSN finally discounted it last week so picked it up. Brings all the triple A polish expected from Playstation Studios and am enjoying the story. Found the first one good, if not great...this one feels about the same so far.

Switch
Diablo 3
Coming to the end of Act 2. Play it on mute while wife is watching Love Island. Not much to say, am enjoying hacking through enemies and levelling up...its starting to feel a little same-y, so might take a break.

Quest 2
Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy Edge
Went back into this to finish Part 2 of the campaign. Coming off RE4 VR, which had incrediably polished user experience and item placement, this really feels cluttered and frustrating, espcially when your in a firefight and guns wont pick up.
The game has nice production, and looks amazing on the quest, but is let down by those issues slightly...hopefully they'll amend for the PSVR2 version.

Just started TLOU Part 1 and all I have to say is just wow

I played these games. 🙂
1. K-1 World MAX 2005 PS2
2. Portal Knights PS4
3. My Universe: School Teacher PS4

Hi there fellow gamers.
Still enjoying my Xbox Series X very much even though, I´m playing old games in it. And FH5. The game´s beautiful and fun.
Having already finished replaying the first three Gears of War games, those games are as good as I remember, I´ve decided to take the plunge and dive into the Halo games for the first time with the Halo Master Chief Collection.
I´m at the end of Halo CE and will probably be playing Halo 2 throughout the weekend.
So far, the best thing I can say is that the combat feels great.
The game also has some difficulty spikes, or maybe I´m just not that good at playing Halo yet. But I´m in for the long haul.
Will also be playing more Horizon Forbidden West on my PS5 and Triangle Strategy on my Switch. Great time to be a gamer.
Cheers, stay safe everyone and happy gaming weekend to us all

Sadly nothing. 24 of the 48 hours will be spent working.

Jak 2 on my PS2.

@dschons I tell you, they obviously had inspiration from their fellow TakeTwo brothers Rockstar's GTA4 but there's little details GTA could take from MAFIA as well especially II; like damage being saved on cars, the number plates, clothing being wanted, gas running low and filling it, speed tickets, brake lights staying on at stops, front tires could be left at a left /right turn when parked etc.

@PenguinLtd It might've been buggy at launch but it's this thing that makes me wonder, if games are being updated and they aren't the same from launch, should reviews be updated as well? Probably not, else we're going to get half baked games launching. There's still little bugs in MAFIA II DE but not enough to ruin the experience. It's fackin FUN! It fills the GTA4 Remaster void somewhat.

It's national elections weekend here in Brazil, so I don't know for sure what I will play. I downloaded Nioh, was ithcing to play this game fos some time, maybe start the suffering today. I'm cleaning the remaining trophies in Assasin's Creed Rogue too, a little grindy with the "20 of something" requirements. I pretend to hunt more targets in Deathloop too, very intriguing game, lot's of things to consider. I'm slowing geting the groove. Happy weekend folks.

I completed Steelrising earlier this week on the Xbox Series X, and it was an excellent game despite a few achievement glitches. However, this weekend I’m playing NiOh Remastered (PS5). I absolutely adore this game. The customization regarding weapons and armor is deep, along with the variety of stances that provide a ton of unique combat capabilities.

There aren’t many (good) games out there that let you look and play like a ninja/Shinobi, and that’s a genre of game that I wish we could get more of (and I believe we are), at least in the feudal Japan setting. I’ll probably try and go for the Platinum trophy; that’ll bide my time until Scorn releases.

I’ll also probably jump back into Horizon Forbidden West (my strong contender for GOTY) and mop up the three remaining trophies I need to obtain the Platinum. I beat the game when it first released earlier this year, and was awestruck the entire time.

That said, the idea of playing Machine Strike was so unappealing to me - I simply didn’t want to mess with it to get the P-trophy. I genuinely dislike games within a game (Gwent, etc.) but I followed a guide real quick yesterday, got the trophy, and that is finally giving me the boost I need to complete the rest of the trophy list.

Unfortunately, I’ve forgotten the controls and mechanics of the game so it’ll probably take me a bit to reacquaint myself in order to feel comfortable playing again.

Trails from Zero. There is no other choice. Gotta get over that barrier!

Between getting the heat repaired so the little ones don’t freeze I’ll be trying to finish up Steelrising. It’s more and more one of my favorite games this year. Despite meddling reviews I’m excited to go into Valkyrie Elysium. The combat is just too good.

My stinky switch will get some Triangle Strategy love

GamePass has about six games I need to dive into to see what they’re all about so I’ll be doing that as well.

Continuing my Dark Douls III run, slicing and dicing my way through, alternating between a katana and dual curved swords. Loving it. I'm also trying to use all the items, which I always forget to do in From games, so there are firebombs flying everywhere.

@MB81 I loved Wildlands, my friends and I had such a great time playing it.

I've been playing Code Vein. If you haven't heard of it, the term "JRPG Dark Souls" would be quite fitting. It's got some flaws/issues but I'm enjoying it all the same.

I just got to the end of an area named the Cathedral of the Sacred Blood, which has the most confusing and labyrinthine map layout I've ever encountered. Seriously makes Blighttown look like a tidy office space.

Also been playing Doom 3 again. This time in VR on my Quest 2 courtesy of the Dr.Beef mod. It's great and plays like an official VR version of the game, or even better than that, as I understand it's superior to the PSVR version in many ways.

In addition to that I also have Doom 1-2, Quake, Return to Castle Wolfenstein and Half-Life lined up to play from the same awesome modders. And their next upcoming VR mod is apparently Jedi Academy...good VR times ahead!

I just started Winter in Last of Us Part 1.
As someone that didn't get very far in TLoU on the PS3 back when it released, I'm seeing why the game is held so highly. It's so good.

@Gloamin Loved In Sound Mind. It was one of those games I expected to be just another spooky walking sim, but it's actually more of an immersive sim with a quite lengthy campaign (12 hours+) and an interesting story.

Made a start on Tales of Arise… only a couple hours in but enjoying what I’ve seen so far.

I'll be playing something. Finally finished Xenoblade 3 so now it's all in on PS5. I just barely got the Yakuza collection, Ni no Kuni, Trails from Zero, and Valkyrie Elysium. And that's on top of my already massive backlog. At some point I'll have to pick something out to play lol

@Kairu Well I’m rested now anyway 😂

1. Valkyrie Elysium (PS5)
2. Trails of Zero (PC/SteamDeck)
3. Xenoblade 3 (Switch)

Started out Zero, liked what I played. But need to go back and finish Xenoblade 3 first. Might join an F1 race or two

The Last of Us Part I for me this weekend. My amazing wife bought it for me as a surprise earlier this week. Even after nearly 28 years of marriage, she never ceases to surprise me. Anyway, I adored Part II when I finally got around to playing it at the back end of last year, but I never managed to finish the PS4 remaster of the first game. Guess life got in the way at the time.

However, I started Part I yesterday, playing the opening hour or two. Yes, it’s extremely expensive for what it is, but it also happens to be one of the best games ever made, and it’s also incredibly gorgeous. I’m having a great time with it so far.

Whatever game you’re playing on whatever system you have, I wish everyone an amazing weekend of gaming!

@Perturbator I really liked Code Vein. Some simular enemies to be sure, but I really enjoyed the weapon and build system.

I had been waiting for a reasonable price on a game I’ve had my eye on for a while now and this most recent sale on PSN gave it to me for 50% off. So now I’m playing through……… Shadow Warrior 3.

@Elodin I’m intrigued by Pathfinder but also intimidated by the whole CRPG genre. I love the idea but fear I’d make a build that would only ruin my experience.

Trails from Zero, Xenoblade 3 and trying Ghost of Tsushima on PS5

@UltimateOtaku91 assuming you have the relevant subscriptions, I'd advise the PS5 over the Series S for Deathloop: the gyro aiming controls make things a lot more fluid/precise than you'd usually expect on a controller, and I was able to consistently best players on PC using a keyboard and mouse, which having only played on console with the PS5, isn't usual for me.

The amazing Assassin's Creed Odyssey. It's my second playthrough. Trying to 100% it this time. Loving every second of it. It is the second game (first one was The Witcher 3) that made me leave my controller while thinking about which opction to pick in some of the sidequests.

Found my Steam account, picked up a Humble Bundle last week which has KOTOR 1 and 2, so playing with KOTOR 1 (widescreen mods, HD UI, huzzah!) while also checking out my old Telltale library - Puzzle Agent 1 and 2 is a lot of fun!

Dead by daylight waiting on A new season since I just started playing again.
Deathverse such a dopamine
And multiversus and Fortnite.
Don’t judge me lol

I'm playing Uncharted legacy of thieves / Uncharted 4. It has taken until chapter 11 for me to really start enjoying it. It took a long time to bite. Really enjoying it now.

I picked up playing VR game Budget Cuts again, after leaving it be somewhere halfway through. Forgot how much fun it is, i struggled getting my grips with the controls again, but i feel comfortable now and plan to finish BC this time around!

@Titntin @Ward_ting goty for me without a doubt. Certainly got more than my moneys worth from elden ring and i cant wait for any dlc that emerges. I'm not feeling to chipper this weekend so i downloaded trials of mana for something a bit more relaxing to play whilst the wife is hard at work on her drawings..have a good weekend everybody 👍

disney dreamlight valley even that it keeps crashing can get round it if you dont enter house and try to leave your house theres tons to do in nice chill game

I wasn't able to play games for 2+ weeks...I'm finally able to catch up to SOUL HACKERS 2. Hoping to beat it this weekend. I'm already at the 24th ward tower and beat one of the bosses (according to the guide I'm using).

Afterwards I'm debating between:
-GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY
-GHOST OF TSUSHIMA
-SCARLET NEXUS

I'm in-between a lot right now. MoonGlow Bay, Shredders Revenge, Dark Cloud 2, and Rocket League have all been getting their fair shake. I also started a new file in Sleeping Dogs. What a SHAME there will never be a second one. Takes everything I love about GTA style open worlds and everything I love about street brawlers and mashes them together perfectly. I've been in a AAA rut now for a while. Very few are hitting like they used to for me.

RE3 time. I'm going away on mon so am hoping to beat the 2nd playthrough

Not sure about the Starbucks promotion in the header image.

@kyleforrester87 @ErrantRob Since they didn't limit character creation there are some poor choices of created characters for the Wotr campaign. I recommend looking up guides at least for what not to make. Noting this, I will say at least on normal so far you can get through it even with broken characters. There are huge amounts of difficulty adjustments that you can make to suit your needs. Plus there are a plethora of build guides to help on YouTube, reddit and such. I know pathfinder the tabletop quite well so if you have questions please ask as well. Anxious to hear what you both make.

I'm enjoying it quite a bit even though my Main is terrible so far. I made an oracle taking a curse that staggers me the first round of every fight, but gives me uncanny dodge the rest of the fight. So basically I can't move at first, use a crossbow that I'm terrible with, and by the time I get there to help I miss half the time with my melee lol.

Astral Chain on the Switch.

Disney Dreamlight Valley I'm hooked on it

@Northern_munkey You take care mate and get well. Trials of mana is good fun, as long as you want sterotypical jrpg tropes, it serves them up really well, and the price is right eh? Colourful fun escapism, perfect for a rainy weekend...

I just finished Red Dead 2-it is every bit the masterpiece I have always heard. What a game. Arthur Morgan is such a fantastic protagonist.

Now I am playing Trek to Yomi. It is…….fine. The audio and visuals are fantastic. The story is interesting. But the combat is pretty bad. It is both too simple and repetitive, and also certain commands don’t work every time. Will finish, but it is a new combat system away from being great………

@The_Pixel_King That is so awesome. My wife of 23 years bought me both the original TLOU and Part II as gifts. My wife is not a gamer, but we support each other’s hobbies. Hearing about other couples where that is also true is excellent. So glad you got the game!

I am so excited about the upcoming TLOU show, because my wife will finally get to see the story!

@Titntin cheers pal 👍

@Westernwolf4 That’s so cool to hear my brother. My wife isn’t a gamer at all either, but like you, we support and lean on each other wherever possible. It’s her 49th birthday this month and our 28th anniversary in January, so I need to start thinking about presents. If only she were a gamer, too. It’d be so easy to buy for her! 😂

Oh and me too, I can’t wait for TLOU TV show. It’s looking like it’ll be awesome. After Zelda, I’d say that TLOU is pretty much my favourite game series. In fact, I really don’t get the hate for Part II. I absolutely adored every single minute of the 30 hours it took me to beat the game. I may even replay it once I’ve beaten Part I.

Congratulations to you and your wife on all the upcoming milestones. Very cool. I am sure you will find her something she likes just as much as you like the gift of TLOU!

My wife’s birthday, our anniversary, and Mother’s Day are all within the same three week span. By the time we reach her birthday, I am out of ideas. I have often wished she was a gamer just to make shopping easier!

I'm not playing any video games this weekend since I am competing in a 24 hour pinball tournament.

Because of 12h shifts at work, I'm mostly on Nintendo Switch with Steam Tower 2, Archaica or similar casual game while listening to new Slipknot album. 😀 At home than, I'm lost again in Slay the Spire.

When not working, will be 'playing' the Super Castlevania IV soundtrack on vinyl I picked up last week. Might revisit the game too, it's one of my favourites. Also been going back to Need for Speed Hot Persuit Remastered. I never did complete it on PS3, but got back into the remastered version recently, it's actually a really challenging racer. Also part way through a new play through of Alien Isolation, such a great game.

Saved Cult of the Lamb for the first weekend of spooktober, really enjoying it so far.

I've been postponing playing A Plague Tale: Innocence ever since it was released. But APT: Requiem is about to be released in less than 3 weeks, and it looks completely amazing from the latest trailers.
So I've decided to properly prep for it by finally buying the first game and giving it a go.
I had my doubts going in, seeing it had some good reviews but also some... not so good.
But I've found out while playing it that it's a very well done game, even if it looks a bit old, especially in the facial animations department. But I'm having fun with it so far (already in Chapter IX).... from area to area it keeps getting me curious to see more of it, it's puzzles, story and to uncover the fate of it's characters.
Got me hooked, so I'll definitely finish it and get the sequel too!

Continuing the Steam journey today, just played with Lego Star Wars Complete - I have the PS3 version wow, and what a difference on PC. Also, my DS4 paired to my PC instantly (never had built in BT before!), and I feel like I won the lottery or something.

Fifa 23 and Rollerdrome!

Gonna play Fortnite, God of War (really want to finish the story part atleast before Ragnarok comes out), just bought the PS5 version of Resident Evil: Biohazard so also gonna play that

Also some Cuphead couch co-op if anyone is free

Finished Horizon Forbidden West mid-week (absolutely awesome game to me. Wish the main story was longer for better character development & the side content with some pointless quests was less). Now, I started Assassin’s Creed Origins as a relaxing & mindless game. It’s a lot of fun! I’m gonna continue my EU play of Final Fantasy XV after football tomorrow too.

"Henry's come to see us!"

Kingdom Come: Deliverance
Immortals: Fenyx Rising
Divinty: Original Sin 2

Eizo trilogy remastered on ps5 I'm on revelations now. Such great story telling and voice acting

Why isn't anyone talking about Soulstice? It's a great game; the story is good and the combat is excellent! It's DMC3 good!