Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 589

Still slamming Death Stranding 2 and building roads and monorails like a maniac, might be the best looking game I’ve seen so far. Playing a little bit of 1993 Doom to get me in the mood for Dark Ages. I’m even playing a bit of Lords of Time on the spectrum emulator (and Blue Prince of cause).

Have a great weekend Folks!

I'm finishing up the Tomb Raider TLR platinum, keeping track of all the cumulative goals has been frustrating but now have a spreadsheet 😂

Tony Hawk's 3+4 was also just delivered. I never had the chance to play either originally so I have no opinion on the changes going into it.

I’ll be flinging old skaters out of bounds in tony hawk 3+4 and I may start Clair obscur because my pre-order finally arrived yesterday.

I’m playing the very addictive game of “slowly lay on the floor, and pray that the fan helps”. 😂😂😂. In all seriousness, I’m playing Two point hospital; and I’m eyeing up my time at Sandrock.

Roadcraft. Going for the last trophies.

Need to renew my ps extra sub as it ended two weeks ago. Didnt have the time for it because of vacation and Ieperfest last weekend Will do it next week and have a look at Diablo 4.

Have a great weekend.

Playing Skyrim in bursts because my PS5 is like a heater in this weather.

Death Stranding 2, with a splash of Astro Bot’s new levels and Mario Kart World.

Playing Astrobot, I haven't played any of the new levels since the Christmas one, but now they have added Cloud into game now is a good time to replay one of the best platformers ever made.

I'm knocking out the last few trophies left in TES Oblivion. I have already gotten the platinum. I just need to finish the DLC list.

AstroBot and Horizon ZD Remastered on PS5, AoE4 and Forza Motorsport on Series X. Have a great weekend everyone.

Trying to finish Death Stranding on PS5 as im itching to.play the 2nd although I have a love / hate relationship with the 1st.
I'm also taking a vow to complete Avowed on XBX - a very good game, it's literally The Outer Worlds in a fantasy setting. Worth playing when it comes to PS5, as it undoubtedly will.
Have a great weekend guys and gals ❤️

@ApostateMage ..mine too! The PS5 and my TV are like radiators!

Currently playing DC's Justice League Cosmic Chaos. Picked it up on sale, and been having a grand ol' time with it.

I'd like to play some Spider-Man Shattered Dimensions, but I'll probably end up farming in Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town with the wife (She has it on the Switch, I'm rolling with the PS4). She's having fun with the game, but also with my bewilderment over being able to grow olives in the game. The game with olive in the title. It took me way too long to make the connection. I blame it on the heat.

No matter where you are on this floating space rock, stay safe out there, gamers.

The new indie title by Met Offce Games called 'How To Avoid Sunstroke Whilst Still Getting A Nice Tan'. Involves plenty of ice cold Thatcher's (the cider and not the ex PM)
Idiocy aside I'm going for Cyberpunk 2077 on PS Plus. I put it off until it was fully fixed so I'm now planning on a full playthrough.

Should finish Expedition 33 this weekend. On the fight with Renoir in the Monolith, the soundtrack is absolutely godly.

This weekend is all about tormenting @Kidfunkadelic83 on dirt rally 2.0. We had a quick little head to head last night whilst I helped him fine tune his brand spanking new T598 wheel (which he's really enjoying.) I expect this evening to get quite serious. Other than that not an awful lot to be honest. Have a great weekend folks 👍

Greetings fellow video game enthusiasts. It’s another Fantasy Life i weekend for this guy. 50 hours in and it feels like the surface has barely been scratched. Like, little kitty scratches at best. Have a weekend everyone.

I bought Assassin’s Creed Shadows during the Prime Day sale, and before it arrived I watched the State of Play featuring Ghost of Yotei which looked absolutely brilliant. I guess it wasn’t the best decision to get one so close to the release of the other, but I have no will power. Plus I can finally get around to watching the Shogun miniseries.

Pro Death Stranding 2 about 15 hours played and Pirate Yakuza. Series X COD WW2

I just beat doom 2016.doom guy is a excellent protagonist.the gameplay.the story the boss fights.the soundtracks and the graphics.is awesome. I will continued playing the incredible dishonored 2.im also gonna continue playing the wonderful psyschonauts 2..I will also continued playing one of the best video games ever in the phenomenal sifu.i will also continued playing fan favorite the amazing crash bandicoot n sane trilogy.i will also be continued playing the wonderful smah hit the evil within.and I will continued playing one of the greatest rpgs ever made in the awesome divinity original sin enhanced 2.i will be watching legendary sitcoms TV 📺 comedy shows in the Jeffersons. Good times.different strokes. Sanford and son.and saved by the bell.word up son

Bomb Rush Cyberfunk for me. Never played Jet Set back in the day, but enjoying this.

If my buddy returns my copy of Death Stranding I might upgrade and jump into the Directors Cut.

Just got to Chapter 9 on Death Stranding 2 and really enjoying it. The game is certainly a lot of fun but if I do have a criticism it's that it feels too easy at times and traversal isn’t the challenge it was on the original. Still great though

It's too warm to spend time playing console games and making the house even hotter in the day. Maybe watching the Scottish Open and pretending i'm there as it is about 10°c cooler up that way 🙃

By night, who knows? Is drinking copious amounts potentially a good idea? Yes it is, other Ravix, Yes it is.

Unfortunately not a lot of gaming this weekend as have a day planned out with the family and then a few beers with a mate watching Superman on Sunday.

I’ve got into Diablo IV in the week so really want to keep playing that if I was to get a few hours 🤞.

Also purchased Sons of the Forest which I can’t wait to get stuck into but that’ll probably have to be next week now.

Enjoy your gaming weekend Pushsquarians!

I’ve had an incredibly busy week(end) and therefore haven’t had the chance to play many games. Let me correct that - game, singular, because my obsession is solely on Death Stranding 2. And since I haven’t managed to get much further, I simply want to rant on certain aspects that I feel make this game shine.

I just reached Episode 8 after 60-hours of playtime. It certainly doesn’t feel like I’ve played that long which is a testament to the game itself. What I mean is, DS2 is a game that is always evolving its gameplay mechanics. The amount of options the game gives you is mind blowing, and reaching a new star ranks with facilities rewards you with something fresh. That’s the key to success, and where a lot of games falter.

As the two sayings go, Variety is the spice of life, and Things are better in moderation. This leads me to an odd comparison between this game and NiOh (along with other various souls-likes), but I find it apt. They may be two different genres, but in terms of offering new ways for combat in an ample amount of ways, you can see how the two coincide.

In Souls-likes, you are presented an overwhelming amount of weapons and armor - so much so you’re spending more time managing your inventory than playing the game - but with NiOh, all your obtaining is the same weapon and armor types, but with insignificant attributes attached. I suspect that, like myself, most players will find the weapon and (fashion) armor that suits them and stick to it for the rest of the game. The gameplay itself doesn’t actually evolve in any meaningful way.

With Death Stranding 2, the case is completely different. Every new piece of gear and weapon you receive can drastically change your play-style. The combat and gunplay is sublime. As I mentioned earlier, there are many weapons at your disposal, with each one having their own unique properties and secret mechanics - thank you, pizza (IFYKYK) - and the game encourages you to use them often. Furthermore, how you acquire them is fantastic, not only from a surprised standpoint, but how it’s interspersed within the pacing of the plot.

And then you have traversal - a basic mechanic that has a lot of depth that can be modified in unique ways. There is the option of trekking on foot, but also a plethora of vehicles that will surprise you. In addition to that, there are secret mechanics to uncover. To do my best to avoid spoilers, I’ll simply say three words: hot spring buckets. What’s even more impressive is how the world itself manages to allow all of these variations as if it transforms to cater to you. Everything just works.

There are so many more things I want to discuss about this game, but I’m already exceeding my word count. I’ve barely scratched the surface on what makes this game great. Only Kojima can make a game that has emotional depth to its story and characters, and yet be bat-***** crazy, funny, and outright weird. He somehow masterfully balances solemnity and eccentric, and I don’t creatively understand how. Nonetheless, he is a genius, and I think this is his best game yet.

I have now moved on to Star Wars: Outlaws. I had a quick go of it back when I was in the middle of watching Andor. But now gonna give this one my full attention. Happy Gaming All.

I got the Platinum for Metaphor on Thursday just gone and as a treat I picked up Cyberpunk 2077 Ultimate Edition on Prime day... Already played it to completion on PC but I'm in the mood for a lil not-quite-nostalgia.

Will I make different choices? Probably not!

I'm also going to play some FFXI for old times sake and maybe finally beat all the Voracious Resurgence stuff! Maybe!

Replaying Blood Omen 2 again 🦇🩸

Exploring in Clair Obscur making sure I'm strong for the final battle, what an artistic game. Trying to finally beat my 2nd run of HFW, game is so gorgeous. Also still continuing my first run of another gorgeous one - GoWR. Some EAWRC. Reinstalled GoT, lovely game but realized my issues with it were navigation, no camp or rest mechanic in an open world which I always find highly immersion breaking. I see it's been done in Yotei, so I might just look forward to it.

I'm playing the completely relaxing Jusant whilst I wait for Robocop on Thursday! No doubt knock out the new Astro levels too!

Keep cool, keep hydrated and happy gaming folks

@playstation1995 Yeah mate, 2016 is better than Eternal for me, not played the Dark Ages yet but I am hopeful with less platforming it will be more like 2016 & agreed the soundtrack is an absolute banger!

It's "start a new game" day. I have Kingdom Come Deliverance or 2 Sniper Ghost Contracts 1&2 to choose from, all bought in a sale last month for £15 total.
I will also probably lose some hours on Balatro, I have completed 2 runs so far, it is massively addictive and fun.

I’ll be on the beach with Death Stranding 2 along with First Beserker and Ender Magnolia, even though the latter 2 have fallen by the way side for the first.

What an incredible time of gaming. If anyone believes there’s nothing to play, they haven’t opened the browser on the store!

In the long journey that is Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. That game is so epic and amazing!! Mopping up the final trophies, collectibles and the last DLC of Star Wars Outlaws to give free time/space for my next game... Also, F.I.S.T.: Forged In Shadow Torch, this game is challenging... Also, I will watch Superman today, with my girl. Safe weekend my friends!!!

Feel like these weekly updates have been me posting about playing the same games for a while, but I'm making some progress so maybe I'll have something new and exotic next week or so 😅

Oblivion Remastered I've finished the thieves guild questline which feel very much like playing like a thief compared to the questline in Skyrim, which was great. I only have the main questline left to do for the platinum, think I'll do that and then leave Cyrodiil again. Its been great to play, very nostalgic, but its still buggy as hell and runs like ***** 😅

​Forza Horizon 5 So, I'm back playing Horizon. Not getting the trophy for winning The Eliminator bugged me, so I had to get it 😂 and now that I've done it I might as well get the platinum 🙂 gonna take me a while though, will probably play some ​Motorfest as well as Horizon but I'm in no rush with either game!

Restarted Tales of Arise during the week probably go between that and Star Wars Outlaws. I also bought Maniac and it's great fun super cheap too think it cost me less than £4.

Busy weekend this one but will hopefully get an hour or two to crack on with Mass Effect 2 at some point. Just have a few loyalty quests left before crossing the point-of-no-return and finishing the main campaign.

Hoping to have the plat wrapped by Wednesday, so I can make a start on Assassins Creed: Rogue on my day off 🤞

Finished:

• Ghostrunner 1
  Man, the platforming in the final stage was quite intense like hot dang. But in the era where devs handholding players hands to make games a lot easier to play for everyone, i must applause 👏 Ghostrunner devs for making a very challenging game that stick with "one hit kill-dead" arcade concept like this. Ghostunner definitely aimed towards old players like me who lives through the arcade era and enjoying plenty of challenging games that hailed "gameplay is king".

I'll give Ghostrunner 1 a 8.5/10. Reccomended for anyone who wants a mixed of sci-fi / cyberpunk setting, a cyborg ninja protagonist, cool techno music, and challenging gameplay.

Playing:

• Street Fighter 6
  I took a break from this game for two weeks. Now i need my dose of sweaty ranked match with Elena.
• Contra Anniversary Collection
  Just replaying Contra Hard Corps and Alien Wars. Gosh, these games are 30+ years old but they still looks, sounds, and plays awesome. Muach 😘
• Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise
  I'm replaying this badass game after i watched FotNS trailer tv reboot and it looks great. Yes, next year people will again experiences how badass the "Omae wa mou shinderou" line is. Here's the teaser trailer:
  https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lE9K6Hppfo8&pp=ygUWRmlzdCBvZiB0aGUgbm9ydGggc3Rhcg%3D%3D

And this saturday is my birthday so i'm also gonna chill a bit with some good foods.

Have a great weekend everyone 🍻

Finished Doom TDA finally, finished story in The Precinct, playing some Tony Hawk's 3 and 4 👍

Toy Soldiers HD remake. Picked it up in sale , it's really good fun.

@PuppetMaster all the best.

Still playing atelier yumia im 70h in past 50% story complete

@Keyblade-Dan Gonna play this one soon. Already beaten BO1, SR1 and will do the speedrun in SR2. The Blood Omen 2 for the very 1st time!!

@Mostik a lot less platforming in Dark Ages. It's the best of the 3 in my opinion.

I've been playing Wildermyth, which is amazing. Recommend for anyone who likes creating their own characters, SRPG/kinda XCOM 2-style, choices, board games and random events. Really surprised with that one.

Also, Raidou Remastered. A really good one. I feel like they made the enemies have too much HP, but the QoL improvements are really good.

And Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth. Honestly, I've got all the Achievements, finished it in Legend and did the DLC dungeon, but after Expedition 33 I really wanted a turn-based RPG I enjoy and went back to get all the characters and their jobs to LV99.

@rusty82 Awesome nice one buddy, that shield mechanic looks really good! I thought Eternal was good too but 2016 was the best so far, can't wait to get round to DA, too many games & too little time 👍

Working on the Platinum for Steep.

I finished The Midnight Walk on psvr2. Gameplay is not its strong part and "smooth" turning and movement might feel a bit choppy. Still an awesome journey in visuals, sound, music, voice acting, in particular the last ~2h.

If there will be some rain, I might play on Psvr2 either The House of Da Vinci, continue Tetris effect or pick up Hitman again from which I took a break after playing through 1 and 2 on psvr2.

Might start Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, or maybe carry on with Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.

I'll also have a go at Astro Bot, the game that keeps on giving.

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth!
Might take me a few weekends to beat...

Playing through Clair Obscur still in act 1. And I absolutely love it so far. Great writing, great music, and a good amount of exploration. My only gripe might be that it's too easy so far at least on standard difficulty. It's super easy to parry, even enemies you're not meant to be fighting yet so if you land them, everything is a breeze or just a matter of patience as you whittle down the health bar

The weather cool down a little bit so I'm in the mood for something moody, so I booted up The Last of Us Part II Remastered.

I'll participate in the Splatfest in Splatoon 3 before shifting gears back to continuing Wo Long Fallen Dynasty.

I’ll be knocking out the final trophies for the RATCHET & CLANK: Rift Apart platinum. The game is rather ‘kiddie’ but also a good time due to the guns being a lot of fun to wield and some of the traversal and mini-games being well done to boot. Hope everyone enjoys their gaming this weekend!

Done 4 of the 5 new astro levels. I'll give the 5th level another blast later.

Tried Cyberpunk and like what I've played so far. Looks amazing too

After playing through Overture, now part of the way through NG+3 Lies of P - seriously one of the best Soulslikes ever made (including Fromsoft's own offerings).

Monster Hunter Wilds, Fatal Fury COTW, Street Fighter 6, and Stellar Blade.

I'm going back to ac3 remastered and thinking about trying neverwinter for whatever reason😅

Currently playing Dark Souls 3, which seems way easier than the first 2 installments I recently finished.

Retrying Tears of the kingdom again after giving up on it a few years ago. It’s clicked this time so that’s probably me sorted for a month!

Just getting started on Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. I've been a big detractor of the game due to my dislike of the battle system that I experienced in the demo. I figured that I'd grab it for $40. It's a little better than I anticipated, but I still have a ton of gripes with it, namely the Ubislop nature of the overworld and some things I still don't like about the combat. Still, nostalgia yanked hard on me, so I'm going to give it my all.

Some plumbing work and a bit of garage clean out to take care of. It's only going to climb as high as 89°F today, so not the worst time to tale care of some outdoor activities.

Have a great weekend, everybody.

@carlos82 totally agree im at about the same point. My theory is it feels easier this time because im playing it online. Im lining up a offline / brutal mode next year

@kyleforrester87 I've never played it but it's currently 30% off for Plus so I'm tempted...

Playing MH Wilds with the boys to rank up a friend to HR41 so he can fight Lagiacrus with us this weekend! And I'll dip my toe backing into HZD Remastered.

Happy gaming team!

After i get back from the cinema later i will be trying to reclaim my trophy from @Northern_munkey
I wasnt impressed when i received photographic evidence of him destroying my time on Dirt 2.0 after id worked hard to knock 5 seconds off his. Its ON!! 😂

@Pacific

Nice hardcore festival with a great public. Had a chat with a couple of bands. And the public comes from around the globe, I talked to a guy from Australia. Are you into hardcore/metal?

@mac_da_man I'm right there with you, I'm SLOWLY ticking games off my list, trying to platinum most of them😅
No shame in taking one's time.

Randomly playing binary domain after hearing about it on a podcast. It’s so good!

@Titntin I'm glad you are enjoying dragons dogma 2. Brilliant game.

Wrapping up the platinum for Clair Obscure and what an impactful game. Truly an amazing experience every gamer should experience. My GOTY so far, only Death Stranding 2 may have a chance of dethroning it.

Just finished Lies of P Overture. What a masterpiece. I liked it so much I think I am going to play through it again and platiunum it now, which I rarely do. Will probably sneak some of the Alters in as well, it's brilliant. Happy gaming everyone.

Hoping to finish up Robocop: Rogue City next week so I’ll be playing that as much as I can this weekend, which won’t be much. Loving the feel and atmosphere of this game a lot.

@SterlingEyes RGG knows how to make a damn good game. Also, Troy Baker and Travis Willingham are great in it.

I also just got back from the Manitou Springs Penny Arcade in Colorado. They had lots of old pinball and boardwalk machines from the early 1900s, and several arcade games as well. Put a couple of #1 high scores up, will be fun to go back in a few months and see if they are still there.

THUG and THPS3, PS2 and GCN. I'm not super into the story and missions of THUG, but the levels are brilliant so far.

THPS 3&4. HMV didn't actually put the bugger in the post until yesterday so it showed up this morning. Have yo admit, I was worried about the music choices, but it mostly seems to fit. Seeing as I must've spent thousands of hours playing THPS 3 it's bringing back lots of memories of mostly good times... Although I will likely revert to my Spotify gaming list before to long, which is about 50% tracks from the proskater series.... Ironically.

Batman: The TellTale Series (SW) - Been hankering to replay this for awhile now.

Gears POP! (Android) - More YT vids.

Gun Bros (Windows Phone) - Still plodding along in here.

Also just finished AEW All In Texas a short while ago, that might be one of the best ppvs I've ever seen.

Been playing Balatro I'm surprised how much I'm liking this game because I don't like playing cards and I really don't know how to play cards accept for spades. Been game hopping a little bit between
Destiny 2
Immortals of Aveum
RE2: Remake

After completing the 2014 Tomb raider definitive edition yesterday , I have continued onwards to the rise of the tomb raider.

Just doing side quests on assassins creed shadows. Also watched Superman last night-loved it.

@Fartingale your pre/order only arrived yesterday? Where did you order it from, the moon?

Enjoy is a great game!

Currently playing Evil West. I think I like it. It has kept my interest so far and it looks good on the PS5 pro.

@kyleforrester87 Welp, I caved. I'll probably spend the day in the character creator and tomorrow actually start playing. This, HZD Remastered and the occasional MH wilds quest will take me till Ghost of Yotei and Digimon Story Time Stranger release in October 🫡

@Dodoo amazon.ca, it’s still difficult to get a physical copy of Clair 33 in Canada plus I took advantage of a pricing error so I may have been kicked to the back of the queue by amazon in the hope that I would cancel my pre-order.

@freddquadros Hope you enjoy it dude I've seen some talk floating about that Defiance might be added to the classics library soon which I hope is true ^__^

@Keyblade-Dan I wish they would do a remaster of Defiance like SR 1+2, but at least a port is welcome!

@freddquadros Me too dude I really wish Blood Omen 2 and Defiance would get that amazing Saber treatment but with this franchise I'm in a pure desperate I'll take what I can get State 😅. If these two getting dumped in the classics catalogue is the best I can get I won't look a gift horse in the mouth lol