Marquez

I didn't finish 13 Sentinels as planned this past week, so I'll keep chipping away at that, but after all the positive buzz I'll also boot up Cairn - even though it looks like it will stress me out! Some ARC Raiders trials to wind down.

Picked it up immediately; I read a few reviews and other outlets are sitting in the 9s... but I still give @Quintumply his own 9 for a really useful review, thank you!

I'm really enjoying 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim so I'll be looking to finish it this weekend, more likely during next week. Disappointed it's not available for Portal streaming though, as I'm on a work trip from Monday to Wednesday.

Alongside that I'm chipping away at the final Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden trophy I need for the platinum (second ending) and working in general towards my 'start and finish 30 games in 2026' target. I'll be at a minimum of 3 by end of the month with these two plus the excellent Cocoon, which was a 'pick up and platinum' in the space of an afternoon - always nice. A good gaming start to 2026!

I'm always sucked in by these, it's a smart move to get people engaged with the game - and build a protagonist they then want to play with.

Surely they could have just rewound the Sands of Time development to 2020 and started again.

I'll get my coat.

On a serious note, it does sound like they'll be doubling down on their least creative output - in order to somehow be more creative... hmmmm.

For that price it is worth a punt and I'm happy to support Bungie with a preorder, amidst all the negativity. Their core mechanics don't miss - let's see what gameplay hooks they wrap them in.

I’ll definitely give it a go, and judge it on its own merits. The chances of internet discourse doing the same? Unlikely.

More promising news on the casting front. Atreus will make or break this though... let's see what occurs!

Manchester Derby first and then, depending on the result and my mood, something violent or something chill

@Northern_munkey It does sound like a lot, but it would actually only pay a team of 50 people an average of £40k a year for... 5 years, which seems like reasonable dev time for a game these days. And that's before you factor in physical premises, hardware, other overheads, marketing, expenses etc... Money just doesn't go as far these days!

@Enuo Oh no... I'm an absolute sucker for this tactic, as someone who spends far too long in character creators whenever I'm given the opportunity. Top notch character creator? I'll buy your game!

It had some solid mechanics but ultimately lacked content. Also, as somebody who played (and complained about) Destiny for 10 years/1000s of hours, it served as a reminder that Bungie had set the standard with something remarkable by comparison. Destiny, with all its flaws, remained the one to beat and Anthem simply wasn't up to the challenge.

This is the weekend I properly kickstart my quest to play AND finish 30 games in 2026 (more details in the forum thread - https://www.pushsquare.com/forums/retro_and_other_gaming/gaming_resolutions_for_the_new_year_of_2026 ).

Alongside the games I'm finishing from 2025 I'll be picking something new from the backlog - most likely one of The Alters, Blue Prince and Citizen Sleeper as most of my game time this weekend will be on the Portal while I watch the FA Cup. They seem like a good fit.

Worth every penny so far and I haven't felt the need to spend anything on in-game currency either - the cosmetic rewards you get from playing are pretty well meted out.

@johncalmc I have a question - how does it feel to have written review of the year and it's only January 9th?!

I could not stop laughing.

Hit right in the nostalgia feels. Excited.

@graymamba Oh nice! As long as forum engagement doesn't eat too much into my playing time

I've set myself the goal of starting AND finishing 30 games in 2026. Busy job, two kids and a tendency to get sucked into the odd live service game - curse you ARC Raiders for what you did in 2025 - means this will be a decent challenge. Today I'm starting with making the list of games I know I want to play, probably while going topside and fighting ARC...

As per the shoutout from @graymamba - anyone with some gaming goals for 2026, here's the place to add them!

https://www.pushsquare.com/forums/retro_and_other_gaming/gaming_resolutions_for_the_new_year_of_2026#comment8967587

@JDINCINERATOR 'Set in America somewhere'... isn't this one set primarily in Australia?

In today's episode of 'Bashing on Clair Obscur is Cool'...

Sure it's definitely been overhyped, however it has an excellent premise and a great story, both well told and well acted.

@EfYI We all know where you went with the comment, let's not hide behind layers of imagined nuance when you simply used the Italian version of the French game title you were disrespecting. I guess I'm just tired of the human habit of bashing anything that's successful, because it's successful - or more successful than whatever horse you had in the imaginary awards race.

And yes, I did edit my response because I didn't want to be impolite to someone who (normally) has some great things to say on these forums, your comments are ones I look forward to.

@EfYI It's become so so fashionable to bash on Clair Obscur hasn't it... great game, nonsense comment. Enjoy KCD2 though, I hear it's great!

My personal number two and absolutely criminal it wasn't at least nominated for best sound in The Geoff Awards. I love the game play loop and the human interactions including the ones that go south - the whole range is there, from super-helpful randos to backstabbing liars.

Currently playing 'what games in the sale can I buy and unnecessarily add to my already massive backlog?'. If anyone has recommendations, let me know - there's £100 Christmas PS Store credit burning a hole in my virtual pocket.

Also, more ARC Raiders.

@Daleaf I think it's a thing with story games mainly - by starting again I can immerse myself in the journey properly, instead of having to look up what I've previously covered and how my character(s) developed. I'm close to binning off the 65 hours and jumping in fresh on that basis.

@Zuljaras Don't sleep on the Castlevania series...

Now that enough time has passed since finishing Ghost of Yotei, it's time to jump back into my AC Shadows save and complete the game. I always have the problem however, after being off a game for so long, of debating continuing or restarting. Even though I put 65 hours in already... does anyone else have this problem?

Also, it's that time of year where I have time off and can attack the backlog, depending on what I do with Shadows.

@Balaam_ When you say 'popular opinion of the masses' I think you mean 'lots of people, including those on the voting panel, really liked the game'? Sure, there are award categories Clair Obscur won that potentially should have gone elsewhere (like best indie, RPG) but it's a solid pick for GOTY, like it or not.

I'll give it a go for sure, Bungie's top tier gunplay is enough to have me interested even though I am over my Destiny withdrawal symptoms (maybe), and my current obsession with ARC Raiders has piqued an interest in extraction shooters too.

It was the early hours of the morning here in the UK so I only had two drinks which, to be fair, was one for every Tomb Raider.

Pretty sure the PS staff will represent broadly across their own personal picks.

@somnambulance For those people I'd remind them it's not THE Game Awards (sorry King Keighley) it's A game awards - I hope between TGA, Golden Joysticks, BAFTA and DICE everyone gets the recognition they deserve.

Should have split the room in two and gone for E33 win drinks versus Gatcha... that would have been lethal!

And TLOU2, decisive you say?

@somnambulance Definitely a great year overall, and 100% onboard with the KCD2 discourse - though the devs coming out saying they were robbed is probably not a good look!

Very much enjoying Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden so that will be the focus this weekend, alongside some late-night ARC Raiders. Saving the new Clair Obscur content for my annual leave over Christmas, tempting though it is. Have a great weekend Team PS!

@somnambulance I can understand and respect people saying 'E33 isn't on my list because here's five games I enjoyed more' or 'it's not on my list because I just couldn't get on with x mechanic or y interface' or even laying out a clear argument as to why its sometimes derivative nature is off-putting, or how other games did those things better. But this trend of people wishing it to do badly because it has been so successful, or because it beat out a game you were rooting for at the made-up Keighley Awards is such a negative human trait. Why do we feel the need to bash stuff that's successful? Some great-looking games in your post, and I'll make a point of checking out the ones I haven't.

P.S. It's 'gommage'.

1) Clair Obscur
2) ARC Raiders
3) Ghost of Yotei
4) AC Shadows
5) MH Wilds

KCD2 in my backlog, along with DS2. Both look like games I'll love, but obviously I'm not going to vote for something I haven't played. Some great games on the long list for sure!

Clair Obscur is a generational game for me, one of the best I've ever played (and I started on the Binatone Superstar/ ZX Spectrum!). I'm really excited to see what games it inspires in the coming years, and of course what Sandfall come up with next - these will be a more important measure of its success.

But it's a shame the love wasn't shared, with multiple games in the Independent and specifically KCD2 in the RPG category getting swept aside by the 'indie' juggernaut that is Clair Obscur.

Absolutely deserved GOTY, but the categories and subsequent nominations need a rethink for next year.

Straight to Betamax. It's going to be epic.

To this day, Returnal is one of the few PS5 games that feels truly next-gen to me. So anything that builds off it positively is absolutely a day one personally.

I really struggled with their jarring knights+guns aesthetic. When done right (I'm looking at you, 40k Space Marines) it's brilliant but this looked... off. Gameplay is hopefully tight but I can't play it if I can't look at it.

Like a number of others, hoping Jesse plays a decent role in this one - great character. Dual protagonists with a bit of sibling rivalry would be cool.

I'll definitely jump back in, the only thing stopping me doing so immediately is that I know I left my party set up in a super-specific way to beat Simon and round out the platinum. So the first hour or more is going to be me rearranging skill points and pictos.

Lots here for me, my wallet will be very unhappy in 2026 - and this is just the stuff we know about. My only disappointment is that we STILL don't know exactly what Sony Santa Monica and Mr Barlog are up to...

@4fold Yeah 100% and I hear you on the backlog. 92 games in mine…

@4fold I wish I had your willpower! What I would say is full price Clair Obscur is a bargain, in my view...

Not bad at all. Will definitely give Wo Long a crack.

@AhmadSumadi Great advice - thank you!

@AhmadSumadi Yes, thinking about the platinum and have read there's a point of no return save you can make that speeds up going for the two endings.

@AhmadSumadi Yes first playthrough and pretty early on in the story but I'm really struck by the tone, the characters and particularly the standard of the voice acting. I'm really keen to see where the story goes, most of the negative discourse I've read has been around combat mechanics and for me those do not break a game if the story and performances hold up.

Between the Marvel Tokon beta, the new Gran Turismo content, ramping up into the final week of the first ARC Raiders season and trying to make progress in Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden... yep, definitely enough to take my mind off another impending Ashes failure. Happy gaming everyone! Except any Aussies, obviously

Back on ARC Raiders again and need to make a decision about whether to undertake the expedition - the game's version of a season reset - or not. Making it optional, combined with my indecisiveness and the lack of clarity on just how good the rewards will be versus continuing to build my character out instead... not an easy decision. I'd love to know what others are planning and why!

I also started Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden after hearing lots of great things in these very forums and I'm impressed so far, particularly with the atmosphere and the voice acting. Early days but I can see me completing the game, though not going for the 'needs two playthroughs' platinum.