Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 632

Crimson Desert I'm about 20 hours in I'm enjoying it but still trying to get to grips with everything. I'll also play some Battlefield 6 later on and maybe a wee bit of Starfield.

Death Stranding and Tokoy Xanadu

I'll be getting my head kicked in repeatedly in Pokémon Champions and I bought Mixtape last night so I'll be firing that up later.

Last night I finished Kao the Kangaroo (2022), which is a big old mixed bag. Here's my hastily cobbled together Steam review:

The voice acting, dialogue and cutscene direction are staggeringly bad, to the point where they're embarrassing. The innumerable smashable crates that usually contain coins sometimes contain explosive barrels, which is utterly infuriating because there doesn't seem to be a way to discern which crates might have barrels in them (or at least that I could ascertain), so every time I smashed a crate I was instinctively dodge rolling out of the way just in case the thing would explode. There's good old fashioned Unreal Engine pop-in, and I had numerous sound based bugs whereby some ambient sounds would get painfully loud, or the music would straight up stop playing.

However, despite all these flaws, I did enjoy my time with the game. The platforming is more than serviceable, while the levels are well laid out and fun to play through. It's not too long or too short and there aren't an obnoxious amount of collectables to find.

Is Kao the Kangaroo great? Absolutely not. Hell, given the amount of things it has going against it you might even struggle to call it objectively good. But I had enough fun with it that I'll be going back and doing the Bend the Roo'les DLC, so I guess I recommend it. If you like 3D platformers and you don't go into it expecting Super Mario 64, you'll likely get 8 or 9 hours worth of decent fun out of Kao the Kangaroo.

F1 25, and waiting for EA to hopefuly drop news for 26 dlc pack soon.

Happy gaming everyone 🙂

Just started Still Wakes the Deep on the subscription service. Wanted to start Spider-Man 2 but couldn’t decide what to delete to make space.

Continuing my journey in Divinity Original Sin 2, doing dailies in Skate and watching Liverpool bore Chelsea into a tedious draw at Anfield.

Will be starting Mixtape this evening on GPU. If I enjoy it as much as Artful Escape then I'll buy on Playstation to have a 2nd play through later on in the year. Also still working on monster energy supercross 4. Been playing a good bit of Saros, which was a surprise as I hated Returnal.

im going to power through the last third of the duller worlds 2 than start saros or mixtape.

I'll be playing the magnificent mixtape I'm loving it so far and I'll take my time with it it's super nostalgic and that goes a long way.
I'll jump on some hogwarts legacy aswell nearly at the end now I think very very good game aswell!

Hoping to make a start on Final Fantasy 2 this weekend. I was real pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the original when I played it last year, so hopefully the sequel hits in much the same way.

Apart from that, maybe a tournament or two on PGA Tour: Road to the Masters. A real solid golf game and it’s completely hooked me!

I've mostly been playing my Switch 2 recently, but I'm slowly making my way through Tides of Tomorrow. It's an interesting game with a great premise and fantastic art style.

Vampire Crawlers. Digitised crack.

Greetings fellow video game enthusiasts. I'm right at the end of Pragmata, which is my current GOAT (game of absolute terrificness). I'm debating whether or not to try and get all the bananas in Donkey Kong Bananza or just beat the final boss and wipe the slate clean for a new challenger from my backlog. Happy gaming time everyone.

Picking Resident Evil 2 Remake back up after a blurry week of having to be an adult.

I'm just about to enter the NEST as Leon after I save his future wife. If I can I'll be finishing Leon A and starting Claire A.

All the while I'm going to chip away at a new project's assets so I can build a prototype next week that looks better than a bunch of coloured boxes.

Finished most of my points for the expedition in Arc Raiders. I’ve temporarily put a hold on Pragmata, and have spent all my time on Saros I am also casually playing Saint Slayer and am on level 19. There are just too many brilliant games to play right now. I haven’t forgotten Crimson Desert either, but stuff like Saros has that one more area or one more try loop that feels so good to play.

Happy Gaming all!

I’ve really tried getting into Crimson Desert but can’t. On paper it’s the perfect game for me. But the story, floaty movement & fighting keeps bugging me & stopping me playing it. It’s a shame as I’m a big fan of Assasins creed origins, odyssey, Valhalla & shadows style games. But I’ve had a lot more fun playing them then crimson desert. Currently playing Mass Effect 2 instead.

I’ve gone back to Dragons Dogma, as I really want the Plat for how many hours I’ve enjoyed this janky game. 😂

Finished the Crew Motorfest during the week. A good racegame with a huge carlist. Great game.

I'll continue Mouse P.I. Maybe it's done by tomorrow.

After that it will be Vampire Crawlers, Tides of Tomorrow or Adorable Adventure.

Tonight I'm taking my son to his first concert(Doodseskader, they made the theme song for Tides of Tomorrow). I hope he will like it.

Have a great weekend!

I don't know if I've ever bounced off a game as hard as I've bounced off Death Stranding, so I've gone back to my gaming comfort food, Elden Ring, while I reassess

Balan Wonderworld

Yes, I know… but I’m trying to clear my backlog and I figured I’d just do it alphabetically so I’m not cherry picking the better games first.

I got it for £3. Don’t judge me!

(I’m not hating it)

Working mainly, getting learner drivers prepped for a busy week of tests !
In my downtime, playing Space Marine Handcrafted Edition on XBX ...not as good as 2 but enjoyable.
Also some cracking RTS's in LOTRO Battle for Middle Earth and the sequel plus the expansion Rise of The Witch King...some great games from the 00's - if anyone's interested they're free for PC - Just Google "BFME ALL IN ONE INSTALLER" and download them, takes minutes. Plus they're old and will run on any PC and still look and play great !
Have a great weekend guys and gals ❤️

Boardgames ^_^
Trails rpg remake (last chapter ^^)
Hopefully some fighting games with a friend ^^

@Marquez
Very curious about mixtape.
Mind giving me your opinion once you're done?

@Gremio108. Death Stranding is a true Marmite game. Took me 5 attempts to get into it, then loved it

finished the last achievements for Vampire Crawlers, I guess I need to start something new. Installed finally Cyberpunk 2077, continuing with Helldivers 2 and a bit of Halls of Torment (79 achievements left).

Raidou and the mystery of the souless army

I will continued playing one of the best video games ever made in the classic. And one of the best remakes ever in the excellent crash bandicoot 3 warped. And I will be playing another classic in the amazing revenge of shinobi for sega genesis classic. I will be watching legendary sitcoms TV 📺 comedy shows in family matters.good times.the Jeffersons.sanford and son.different strokes.martin.the wayans brothers.married with children .and saved by the bell.word up son

Playing:

• Max Payne (PS3)
• God Hand (PS3)
• Golden Axe (PS3)
• Brain Age (3DS)

Have a great weekend everyone 🍻

Been in Barcelona all week so took the Vita and am enjoying Lego Jurassic Park which I intend to finish (& plat) and hopefully also finish Pragmata ready for Lego Batman!

Happy gaming folks

Finally got Pragmata, it's every bit as good as I was hoping it would be. Capcom are on a roll this generation

Saros on the Pro 3rd Biome awesome game 👌

After binging the Maul tv series I had a desire to play something Star Wars so I’m doing a new game plus play through of Jedi survivor. It definitely runs a lot better on my pro than it did when I played it at launch. Heard a lot of good things about mixtape so might buy that after I’m finished

My 2 little boys will be on FC26 now that it is free on ps+ and maybe some more Slime Rancher 2 which they love.
If I get a chance hopefully get to play some Marathon or maybe check out this new map on Arc Raiders.

On PS5 i will be playing Atelier Resleriana, Lego DC Super Villains and NTE.

On Switch 2 I will be continuing with Pokopia, Pragmata and Shuten Order.

On 3DS il be starting a new game on Luigis Mansion and Hey Pikmin

My PSVR2 has arrived and been set up, I want to continue with Skull and Bones, but I think I'll also see how it plays with GT7

I couldn't stop playing Pragmata so I did the Unknown Signal part which was pretty fun and not to difficult so I'll think I'll give the game a little break and then try a run at Lunatic difficulty. With the correct build it shouldn't be that bad I hope.

Also continued the main story in Cyberpunk 2077 which remains really good and I'm still very, very impressed with the PS5 Pro patch.

And last night I picked up Mixtape of which I've managed to play about an hour and a half and its really good. Teenagers, the noughties, good music, great gameplay moments mixed with some slower story parts is a nice mix and it has put many smiles on my old face 🙂

Have a great weekend!

Not had a hot minute for much gaming this week but had some welcome news and the pressure is off, leaving me to start enjoying my hobby properly again.

I'll likely keep chipping away at the Oxenfree II plat and return to my playthrough of Death Stranding DC

Have a boss weekend and happy gaming everyone 👍

Saros

It didn't make the best first impression, then when I made it to the second biome it became an amazing game. I put down the fifth boss last night, just about to enter the sixth biome and it's very much back to being meh.

It's a fantastic game in many ways, it has corrected most people's complaints about Returnal (mine included), while introducing a bunch of its own.

The weapon variety is remarkably poor. Handguns are peashooters, the shotgun isn't effective vs. the bosses as most of them are fought at a distance, the automatic bow just feels mushy to use, while the charge one has terrible rate of fire. Which leaves the rifles. There's three. And they're all so similar they may as well be different fire modes on one.

I've three power weapons, and only the default rocket launcher feels useful. You unlock the lance at the same time as the bow, and it's effectively another bow.

I had to consult a guide to figure out what the weapon stats meant. I also didn't realise if I defeated a boss and had corrupted artefacts they were cleansed.

Despite the frustrations Returnal is the better game. I'm also left sad that we haven't had any arcade bangers like Resogun or Next Machina from Housemarque in a very long time.

Crimson Desert

@Zuljaras I gave up on Valhalla as I felt the same

@Rangers420 I'm 37 hrs in now and love it

• Tomb Raider III
• Alpha Mission 2
• DPS Idle 2
• Maybe Sea of Thieves

Promise Mascot Agency

I've finshed the story of Pragmata, still gotta do the end game content. I'm also continuing my playthrough of Tales Of Berseria remastered.

Crimson desert as its just a superb game. I'm also going to have a go with wuchang fallen feathers. The obligatory rally challenges and that little VR game called GT7 will feature this evening. Have a great weekend folks 👍

The Crew Motorfest. It makes the wait for FH6 more bearable!

Marathon marathon. I want level 100 before june

After two weeks with no days off I finally have a weekend off and have made it past the second boss in Saros (I’m not in a hurry to get to the third, I’m backtracking a bit using the new tool I just unlocked). In my limited experience the three classes of guns I’ve unlocked are all handy in different scenarios though when fighting at range a shotguns leave a lot to be desired.

I’m playing Helldivers 2. I haven’t played it much recently but didn’t have any trouble diving back in against the cyborgs (the current focus of the major order). The double freedom shotgun and the nuclear backpack helped me help my team consistently clear the map though we didn’t always successfully extract.

I also want to put some time into Pragmata (haven’t found everything), GT7 and maybe Mixtape.

Busy weekend - we're moving my wife's business into a new location. Lots of furniture to build and some plumbing to finish, but it's going to be awesome.

Pragmata was fantastic. After finishing it up this past week, it'll be hard to decide my GOTY. I left a few trophies on the table, but I can't be bothered.

If I get some gaming time, it'll be split between Leon Must Die - fantastic, but I keep trying to use Pragmata controls and die as a result, so I need to reacclimate to Requiem - and Record of Lodoss War: Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth. I like Metroidvanias, but the difficulty on some of them is a turn off. I love the balance in Deedlit so far.

Have a great weekend, everybody.

Uncharted: Golden Abyss (Vita) - I play this once a year. Don't judge me

Elements: Epic heroes (Windows Phone) - I'm going to try and see this through until the end.

Trucking 3D (Windows Phone) - Still having a blast delivering things and just cruising around.

Just finished MGS2 (HD). Just started Resident evil 2 (Remake). Looks amazing and jumpy lol. Both on PS5. Happy gaming people.

FINALLY got the platinum for Red Dead Redemption 2. Have to say I came away from that game equally impressed and blown away by it as much as I was frustrated and pissed off with it. Just something about that one……
Now that I’m done with it though, I’ve moved on to Saros which is an absolutely amazing game. It’s exactly what everyone says it is - a more approachable, easier spiritual successor to Returnal. I’m thoroughly enjoying it. That said, for some reason I think I slightly prefer Returnal over Saros. There was just SOMETHING about that game……. It was a completely new ‘quantity’ to me when it came out and had such an air of mystery to it with its lore. I also didn’t find it as difficult as many others said it was.
Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys whatever they’re playing this weekend…..and no rage quitting! 😉

Will be doing bit by bit of "Wake! Alan Wake!" I know to expect zombie types in TLOU or RE but I don't know what to expect in Alan Wake 2...so unsettling! Still continuing the interesting adventures of Henry in KCD2. The world is just too beautiful.

@Zuljaras is the dialogue in ACValhalla annoying 😂. I struggled with Odyssey mainly because RDR2 was still fresh and it just made AC mechanics look so ridiculous. I liked ACValhalla for the most part but it started overstaying its welcome, not because it's long, I love long games but it just started feeling meaningless.

Having finished planet zoo platinum last night ( the campaign level hiring freeze made me so mad lol) I’m glad to be done with that. Thought I’d go balls deep in Baldurs gate 3 and try and plat that next. I wish me luck I’ve never played D&D in my entire 41 years on earth

@Link41x mate golden abyss is a fantastic game. I adore it.

Been focused on Immortals: Fenyx Rising (PS+ catalogue) since last week. Been pleasantly surprised so far how much I'm enjoying it, despite the mixed reception I believe it received.

So far, I've already rescued the first god(dess) Aphrodite (think Divine Beast quests from BotW) and will soon progress with the questline to rescue Ares. Upgraded my equipment defence a good amount now and also maxed out upgrading my Axe last night, so I'm feeling pretty confident going against almost any enemy/boss I'm faced with now (playing on Normal difficulty).

Have a great gaming weekend y'all!

I'm really enjoying Motor Slice so I plan on continuing it.

Crimson Desert - When you set the goal for yourself to complete the story... chapter 9 still, but get distracted, still... this game... pff love it.

And maybe some other games but since tomorrow is Mother's day, I'm not sure how much time I'll have to spend on gaming.

Have a great weekend all!

Crimson Desert and Saros for me.

I’m playing Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (Xbox Series X). It’s been a fantastic experience, and one of the rare Star Wars stories that is genuinely great. I’m working on getting all achievements—by this time 007 First Light and Mina The Hollower should be released.

@MrPeanutbutterz the weapon variety is also a sore spot for me. Returnal’s weapons all felt creative and useful; I’ve found one variant of the crossbow I like; the shotgun is definitely only great for rooms before bosses (so if you don’t draw something else before then you’re in for pain), and don’t get me started on the disc shredder one that sticks into enemies. I cannot stand how it forces you to run around while it does damage. I love Housemarque, and this game is wonderful, but they overcorrected from Returnal.

@Zuljaras RDR2's controls are fine, I like the weighty feel. Not really a fan of characters running all over the place with a simple left stick push,
taking food from a hot pot faster than a magician like in AC. Ultimately controls making everything so fast gives that meaningless feel.

Bought a month of PS Plus Premium and have found myself returning to The Last Guardian, to hopefully finally finish the game. Also enjoying streaming Arkham Origins and Sackboy: A Big Adventure.

I am playing Mouse: PI for Hire. I have played better shooters, but the presentation, animation, voice work, are as wonderful as advertised. Def. worth playing.

I hope all of us in the US have a wonderful Sunday honoring the mothers who have impacted our lives. The very first thing I bought with my own money was my NES. My Mom thought me saving for it and mowing lawns etc. was a good way to learn responsibility, but she also made sure I had a stack of games for it when I made my goal. And she bought me Space Quest, which really made me love games in the first place!

My wife and my Mom are such blessings and such great Moms. Saturday will be for gaming, and Sunday will be for them! Have a good weekend everyone!

@psmr it’s a shame we won’t be getting another golf game from EA. Road to the Masters is so well done. I’ve tried to get into the PGA 2k games but they just aren’t as good.

I’ll be putting in some shifts on the brilliant Bus bound. This is such a chill game, and the fictional setting of Emberville is just a joy to drive around.
I’m on around 90 hours now in Crimson Desert, though I may have to take a break from it soon to prevent burnout.
Pragmata I’m now in the game’s final area, so could finish the game this weekend. If I do, then I’ll probably download Mouse PI For hire.

My two main games I'll be playing is more Pragmata and NTE,loving both!
Enjoy your weekend all

@ErrantRob I've picked up the disc launcher for the first time about ten minutes ago... did the have to make the UI for it so noisy? Why is there a big rotating circle that makes the battlefield trickier to read around me when engaging enemies?

I was looking forward to unlocking the last few weapons, but this disc launcher is an instant "nope".

The only Housemarque game I've ever dropped is Matterfall, but I've a feeling that this could be joining it (in contrast I pumped 120 hours into Returnal).

I beat Pragmata a few days ago. This weekend will be nothing but continuing Saros runs and Vampire Crawlers. I almost beat the second boss on my second attempt last night but it took me down right at the end. Both games are so much fun and so addictive.

@Mintie I’m currently making my way through all of the RE games, though I took a slight break for Pragmata. This was my first time ever playing RE4, which I know most people say is the GoaT, but RE2 Remake definitely holds that title, for me. That game is an absolute masterpiece and dethrone Dead Space as my favorite survival horror game.

@Will78 I still enjoy the 2K games but Road to the Master is definitely a step up.

Toxic Commando on insane diff

Saros:
Beat the fifth boss this morning, steadily chipping away at it. Really enjoying it.

Fallout Shelter:
I've gone back to it to chip away at the last few trophies. Got the legendary outfits one earlier in the week so just need a few more weapons and some more raider attacks for the Plat.

Been pretty tempted by Wax Heads as well, released earlier in the week and it looks like Coffee Talk crossed with High Fidelity, could be great.

Haven't been able to play (or sleep) much this week, so I'm hoping to rest today and tomorrow. If I can ill squeeze in some Octopath Traveler 0 & Crimson Desert after the new patch drops.

Have good weekend folks!

@Odium I've been replaying the RE games as well as getting around to a few I never played as they came out. One big surprise was hope much I enjoyed REZero because I remember hating it on the GameCube.

One benefit to doing a franchise playthrough? Not having to think about what to play next!

@Marquez
You're selling it very well.
It goes up the list.
Thanks ^^

Pragmata and WWE 2K26 for me.

Remnant 2 this week and probably next week for me!

Saros for me. Looks so crisp on PS5 Pro.

@KingPev Definitely planning to give it another go at some point

Marathon mainly. Just need to reach level 100 before the wipe and then I have the platinium.

@MrPeanutbutterz that’s the same weapon I was complaining about. I love the game but that might be the first time I’ve ever genuinely searched and backtracked as best I could to immediately drop a weapon. I didn’t mind Matterfall (I finished it but it’s definitely their weakest game), but the disc launcher has to be one of the worst weapons they’ve ever designed. As long as it doesn’t become a mandatory use I’ll be okay because so far every biome has felt like the newest weapon introduced was “suggested” by the gameplay around it as the go to weapon.

I've been working a little on and off on my Rimworld colony. The main goal was to prepare for winter (hard snow and frost kills everything) by harvesting all of my rice, potatoes and chocolates. I may have overdone it but it's hard to tell sometimes and twenty colonists are a lot. They went through so much of the chocolate already.

I've upgraded all of the bedrooms to stone and marble, crafted the comfiest beds and should have enough weapons crafted to do some exploring of the world map too.

The biggest issue so far was these three guys. They decided to raid the beer storage, fight each other, then fight my alpacas but they had assault rifles and my alpacas didn't so I lost a couple. That's about it, happy gaming weekend Folks.

If I get time to play anything this weekend it'll be continuing with one of:

Indiana Jones DLC on PC
Banishers (second playthrough) on Series X
Death Stranding 2 on PS5 Pro
Asgards Wrath 2 on Quest 3

Or I might just play through Mixtape considering it's length. Happy gaming y'all!

@GirlVersusGame Rimworld is so dangerous. I wish it had come out in the 90's when infinite backlogs didn't exist yet. I think reading the Steam reviews alone is one of the most fun things you can do related to gaming!

Debating whether to just finish Clair Obscur for the platinum or put it to the side for now. I’ve gotten both endings which were fantastic.

@16BitHero It's one of those very rare games where every playthrough is genuinely different, I think the story-teller mechanic is one of the best I've seen even compared to games like Dwarf Fortress. It's a lot more forgiving when you understand the mechanics, my first couple of colonies were destroyed but I learned something new from each attempt and each wipe.

That was three in a row, first bandits wiped my colony, then a killer squirrel broke in and murdered everyone while they slept, and of course the foxes came. I swear the game knew I love foxes, I didn't want to shoot them. You can never be sure what will happen and when it does it's fast. That storeroom above became a target for giant insects, they tunneled up and ruined everything. This current one is doing really well, but I'll probably jinx myself saying that. I've started putting up turrets, next will be fire suppression systems.

Funnily enough I prefer the console version now more than PC and a lot of PC players asked for the console UI, it's really smooth. It's one of my favorite forever games, PS5 handles it perfectly. I'd like to see Dwarf Fortress, Kenshi and Project Zomboid make the jump to console. Those are some of my other favorite forever games, and again each playthrough is unique.

@GirlVersusGame I agree and Project Zomboid was my first ever Steam purchase! These types of games offer so many fascinating and hilarious stories to recount later. Brilliant game design and the very definition of electronic entertainment.

No time for digital gaming, we played two runs of Golden Axe tabletop game my friend invented.

Spec ops the line on PS3.

@Mintie I played the series very sporadically in the past. I never played RE Zero, but I’m looking forward to it. I grabbed 1-8, some of the DLC, Zero, both Revelations games. I grabbed everyone on sale, so all said and done it probably cost me about as much as 9 now. I took a break when Pragmata came out but I’ll be jumping back into the RE4 Remake Aida DLC next week now that I beat Pragmata. I’ve been loving this pilgrimage through the RE games.

San Andreas True Definitive 3.0 mod for PS2, Doom w mods, and Mouse PI. Hard to divide attention with so much great stuff on my plate.
Edit: also, Twilight Princess decomp Dusk is out and playing it on my android (because Retroid), I'd grab it while you can.

Crimson Desert & NTE for me, although I've also been enjoying dipping in and out of Diablo 4 again recently.

I'm nearing the end of Hellblade Senua's Sacrifice on ps5 and hopefully wrap it up today or tomorrow. It's good but I'm not into playing the sequel any time soon or ever, tbh. Not sure what to play next so I will probably start 2nd play through of Dead Space remake. On steamdeck I'm going to try Hades and see if it's for me.

Have a wonderful rest of a weekend and happy gaming, all!