TimeDelayedGamer

I tried playing Code Veronica X on my PS2 a few years ago and bounced off it because I just couldn't cope with the horrendous tank controls anymore. A remake will be most welcome - here's hoping not too much is lost in the translation.

Continuing to live the life of John Marston in Red Dead Redemption this weekend, and also drumming my army to victory in Patapon.

Also, I finished Ys 1 & 2 Chronicles at the beginning of the week, and for anyone who is interested, permit me to wax lyrical for a moment: I was expecting it to be a little primitive compared to later entries, and for Ys 1 that's certainly true of the boss battles, but taken as a package it's just a brilliant Ys adventure. Ys 2 especially is essentially a fully-fledged 2D Ys game. All the basic elements are there - the sense of discovery, exploring maze-like environments, the addictive gameplay, and the standing around for 30 seconds at a time waiting for your health to regenerate (lol). It really went beyond my expectations and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

More Red Dead Redemption and Ys 1 & 2 Chronicles for me this weekend.

I'm onto Ys 2 now and the design has improved significantly from the first one - much better boss battles, for one thing, and more options in general gameplay thanks to the addition of magic. The two games work really well together as a single package. The lovely 2D visuals and gorgeous soundtrack don't hurt either.

Enjoy your weekend guys and gals.

It was back to work for me this week, so back to my normal limited gaming time. This weekend I will be continuing with Red Dead Redemption. Just reached Mexico and still loving it - it made me chuckle that right after you complete the dangerous crossing, the bridge to Mexico is miraculously fixed 😁

Also continuing with Ys 1 & 2 Chronicles. Still on the first game as I've neglected it a bit this week, but hoping to make some progress today. It's great, but some of the bosses are frustrating for all the wrong reasons. That amazing soundtrack carries a lot, though.

Have a great weekend, folks.

Well, my PS5 New Year resolution is to actually buy a PS5... somewhat surreally for me, it's my 50th birthday in March, so I think that will be my present to myself... then I'll have even more of a ridiculous backlog to get to at some point 😂 Like it's not big enough already!

For anyone interested, my first port of call upon purchase will be Alan Wake 2. Non-negotiable. The first one is one of my favourite games ever and I'm itching to play the sequel. After that... well, there's quite a selection of excellent games to choose from, isn't there?

@PuppetMaster Oath in Felghana is the game that kicked off my Falcom habit. It's just so good.

Happy New Year, fellow Push Squarians! This weekend I will be hunkering down indoors to avoid the snowstorm currently hitting the North East of Scotland, and while doing so I will be continuing to play: -

• Red Dead Redemption. What a game. It really feels like you're inhabiting the life of John Marston, and every in-game day yields something memorable. I'm impressed with how organic the open world feels. Heck, just riding around in the wilds, listening to the hooves of your mount and taking in the scenery can be downright zen-like.
• Ys 1 & 2 Chronicles. I'm not sure what I expected from this, but I did not expect this title to go so hard. I'm a few hours in now, and that magic Falcom fairy dust is in full effect - fantastic music, charming story and characters, fun gameplay (once you get used to bumping into enemies in order to attack them), and a perfectly paced gameplay loop of discovery. Yep, I'm hooked.

Have a great weekend, folks.

Ha, is it the weekend already? I'm deep in the Christmas time vortex and have lost track.

So this weekend I will be playing: -

• Red Dead Redemption. I'm a few hours in and can already tell this is going to be one of those games were I lose track of time (like, even more so) playing it. It really nails that Western aesthetic. You can almost feel the dust in the back of your throat.
• Ys 1 & 2 Chronicles. I love the Ys series but have yet to play this, so looking forward to giving it a go, though I imagine the 'headbutt' buttonless combat is going to take some getting used to.

Hard to believe 2025 is almost at an end. For anyone who cares, here are my top three of the games I've played for the first time this year. These games were all extremely close in my estimation, though they are all very different to each other (and yes, I've cheated a bit with a joint third place): -

• Joint third place: Lorelei and the Laser Eyes. The best puzzle game I've played since The Witness. Amazing game.
• Joint third place: The Messenger - pure 2D platforming joy, a real love letter to 8-bit and 16-bit gaming. Technical and challenging, but also fair and fun. The sense of humour and the wacky story are the icing on the cake.
• Second place: Deus Ex Human Revolution. Vividly memorable, with a fantastic soundtrack and art design. I think this is a game that will stay with me for a long time.
• First place: The Last of Us Part 2. Just a tour de force from Naughty Dog. Everything is there - amazing visuals and setting, ambitious story, tense gameplay. The Last of Us always had something of the Western about it and the story of revenge wreaking havoc on the lives of those involved fits that influence perfectly.

Honourable mentions: -

• Trails in the Sky First and Second Chapter: cosy, charming and comforting gaming with a story and world that really draws you in.
• Owlboy: equally cosy and charming, and surprisingly epic at times, with some of the best pixel art design I've ever seen.

Whatever you're playing this weekend, enjoy - here's to 2026 when it comes.

@Czar_Khastik I've beaten all the Uncharted games and love them all, but you know, despite the fact it's not as cinematically impressive as the other entries, Drake's Fortune might well be my favourite. There's just something really special about it. Enjoy!

@kyleforrester87 Where's Big Boss's Santa hat this year? 🤔

My eldest daughter is now home from uni for Christmas, and I'll mainly be spending time with my two girls this weekend, as well as some last-minute festive preparations. However, if I manage to fit in any gaming time I will be playing Owlboy, and I also have some wildly ambitious notions about starting Red Dead Redemption after that.

Have a great weekend!

That article tagline is a thing of beauty 👌

@PuppetMaster Thank you kindly, you enjoy your weekend too 🍻 I'm a few hours into Owlboy now and having a blast - it's great!

@Czar_Khastik I'm lucky enough to own a PS3 physical copy that I bought at the time of release. I've played it through many times and I can't praise it enough. The art direction is fantastic (it still looks great today), the music is inspired, the story and setting is a ton of fun, and the gameplay is there too. There's so many secrets and little details crammed into it that I generally discover something new every time I play. It's also got a fun co-op mode that is great to play with the kids.

Definitely give it a go if you get the chance (without having to sell your house to get a copy).

Having returned to the amazing Puppeteer last weekend, I then followed that up with a playthrough of another game I love to return to round Christmastime - the poetic, beautiful Journey. Now this weekend I have decided to try Owlboy. Just started it yesterday, and so far it seems the perfect choice for some cosy winter gaming.

Easily on my list of favourite games ever - it elevated the idea of the maze puzzle to art. So many vivid memories from this game are burned into my mind forever. Even just wandering around the island and noticing little clever details hidden in the scenery - like one whole section of the island, when viewed from the boat, looks like a woman lying on her side, for example. It really challenged your perceptions.

Beating that final timed challenge was incredibly satisfying. But perhaps even more satisfying was getting the true ending and discovering that my early guess about the nature of the island was correct. Wonderful game.

Having finished with Creaks, which is an excellent game with little hints of Abe's Oddyssee and Braid in the puzzle design, this weekend I will be continuing in a 2D platformer vein by playing Puppeteer. It's a game I often return to close to Christmas, as there's something just so Christmassy about it - it's pretty much the videogame equivalent of a pantomime (oh no it isn't!... sorry). It's also so brim full of inventiveness, charm, and little things to discover that it has a ton of replayability . An indie soul placed in an AAA quality production.

Have a great weekend folks.

Having finished with Vagrant Story (fun, compulsive game, but flawed by modern standards - could really benefit from a remake with some QoL improvements), I'm going to be playing Creaks this weekend. I've had my eye on Amanita Design ever since I played Machinarium ages ago - their quirky, playful and arty games really hit the spot for me. Like kids' storybooks brought to life.

@Jrs1 R-Type Delta is one of my all-time favourite games. One of the best shmups ever made. And the soundtrack is just👌

More Vagrant Story for me this weekend. This game is the very definition of a game that is more than the sum of its parts. I'm hopelessly addicted to it. Please send help. I was not expecting to become this obsessed with a creaky PS1 game.

Speaking of creaky, also hoping to play Creaks at some point, if I ever pull myself away from VS.

Have a good one, folks.

@PuppetMaster Cheers for the advice. Slowly getting to grips with the mechanics and really loving it. Just wish there was a menu shortcut to switch weapons - going into the full menu to do it each time gets a bit tedious.

I'm still working my way through Vagrant Story. It's systems are convoluted and impenetrable; it's pacing is slow and either ponderous or methodical depending on your point of view; it treats the player almost with disdain in how little tutorial it gives on its mechanics. By all rights I should have bounced off this (I have so. many. games in my backlog), yet I can't leave it alone. I sit down meaning to just play for an hour and then find myself still there 3 hours later having lost track of time because I've been so engrossed. There's some magic ingredient in the game that is just plain addictive. It reminds me a lot of a tabletop board game. So that's what I'll be playing this weekend!

I also bought the Creaks/Machinarium bundle in the sale. I played Machinarium years ago on my PC and it's still one of the best point and clicks I've ever played. Looking forward to playing Creaks when I can tear myself away from VS.

Have a great weekend folks.

Having finished with Lorelei and the Laser Eyes (utterly fantastic game), I'm moving onto something completely different this weekend and giving PS1 classic Vagrant Story a spin. I've heard the gameplay systems are pretty convoluted and in-depth. I've got a week off work this week so hopefully I'll have the time (and the energy) to get into it and enjoy it. I'm already impressed by the art style which is amazing by PS1 standards.

@Czar_Khastik #lifegoals 😂

Continuing with Lorelei and the Laser Eyes this weekend. I'm at about 80% completion now. This has been one of my personal standouts of the year for me, it's just soooooo good. And best played knowing as little about it as possible going in.

My eldest daughter is also playing Lorelei at the moment so there's a bit of friendly competition going on as to who will solve it all first. She's in the lead at the moment, but she did get a head-start on me 😅

Have a great weekend, fellow gamers.

Lorelei and the Laser Eyes for me this weekend. What an absolute gem of a game. I don't think I've been this obsessed with a puzzle game since The Witness. Currently just over 50% completion, and finding it utterly mesmerising.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Lorelei and the Laser Eyes for me this weekend. Really looking forward to getting stuck into it. I've heard it's rather good.

@nomither6 I'm playing from disc. It's odd, there's occasional gameplay pauses and music doing very short loops as well. Pre-rendered cutscenes play fine. Menus can take a few seconds to open. It does seem to be an issue with it streaming from disc, but there's no option to install and I'm not running a modified PS3. It's not game-breaking or anything, more just annoying.

More Ratchet and Clank Tools of Destruction for me this weekend. Now on my second playthrough, this time looking to find all the collectables, get the skill points etc. I'm still having a weird issue where only about half the cutscenes play correctly and half have stuttering sound. Looking online it seems to be an issue when playing the game on a PS3 slim. So have had to watch cutscenes on YouTube. A bit annoying, but the game itself is great fun as usual with R&C.

After the challenging, technical platforming of The Messenger, it's a nice contrast to play a good simple blast and let the weapons do most of the work.

Enjoy your weekend everyone.

I wrapped up The Messenger and it's DLC Picnic Panic during the week. Still have a few collectables to get on Picnic Panic, so I'll be dipping in and out of that, however, I have decided to largely switch from a fantasy comedy game to a sci-fi comedy game and have started Ratchet & Clank Tools of Destruction. So that's what I'm intending to play this weekend.

Well, if it works, that is. I unsealed my brand new copy last night and it was acting very oddly - unexplained gameplay pauses, slowdown and stuttering on cutscenes, and a little way into the second level it froze completely, I got what looked like some memory addresses appear on my screen, then my PS3 did what I can only describe as a 'weird restart'.

After that, it was significantly better, but still with problems with cutscene sound being out of sync. The game itself has been 'classic R&C' so far, muscle memory is coming back for the moves quickly and the game has already raised a chuckle or two (The Groovitron!), in spite of the issues. Fingers crossed the problems go away as I play.

Enjoy the weekend, fellow Push Squarians.

@Czar_Khastik It'd be easier to beat a tag team of Ornstein and Smough and the Orphan of Kos!

Well, first of all, happy 600th edition of WAYP! That's an achievement and a half. This weekly article was a big factor in my signing up for a Push Square account - the friendly community of generally good-humoured gaming enthusiasts drew me in, and I've never regretted it. Reading everyone's gaming experiences here is something I look forward to every week.

As to myself this weekend, I will be continuing to play The Messenger, which has kept me enraptured throughout. Nearing the end now, but then just discovered there's a free DLC level to enjoy as well - which is fine by me! It's rapidly becoming one of my favourite games I've played this year. The 2D platforming action is perfection, with an almost puzzle element at times in the way you have to perform movements technically to surmount obstacles. Often I've realised I was having trouble with a particular section because I was approaching it with the wrong strategy. Even with the right strategy there are still times when you'll be retrying sections so often you'll start to mix-up the controls, but checkpoints are always close enough by that the net effect is 'one more go, I will beat this!', rather than rage quitting. Not that I haven't come close at times 😅

Have a great weekend everyone.

@Exerion76 What's pretentious about the word auteur? It's an accurate description of what Kojima is. A game director with a huge amount of creative control over the games he makes, and a unique vision.

Insomniac will change the face to Hugh Jackman when the game gets remastered for PS6 for 'better graphical fidelity/performance capture integration' 😜

Ah, the old 'What's in a review score?' debate.

Apples=9/10

Oranges=5/10

Sue me 😜

Baby Steps sounds like an interesting idea and nice to see something a bit different getting a solid score. Not sure I have the patience for it, though.

@Dalamar The originals every time for me. Amazing atmosphere, no handholding, every level is like a giant puzzle that unravels as you explore. I even prefer the old controls to those in the more modern games. In the original Tomb Raider games you actually feel like you are making Lara do the work; every bit of progression is earned. They could be brutally hard at times (TR3 especially), but that just made them more rewarding, in my humble opinion.

@get2sammyb What changes do the various difficulty settings bring? Do attack patterns and enemy numbers change, or is it just damage is adjusted to make things tougher?

This looks seriously great. I've loved schmups ever since I watched an R-Type arcade cabinet being played back in the 80s and was absolutely mesmerised by it. Well and truly on the wishlist.

Continuing The Messenger this weekend - it's a game that's really blown me away with it's clever design, and it's fantastic platforming and boss challenges, which are tough but not to the point of wanting to smack my controller off the wall. There's been plenty of blue language though - some of the cloud-stepping stuff is insane until you get used to the mechanics.

I love how it turns from a linear old-school platformer to a Metroidvania part-way through - almost like two games in one. The retro visuals are perfection, the chip music is fantastic and the humour is the icing on the cake. It reminds me why I got into videogames in the first place, way back in the days of 16-bit. If you like your retro 2D platformers then this gets a massive recommendation from me.

Enjoy your weekend, everyone.

@Angelus3K Ditto, played the original beginning of this year, and finished Second Chapter a couple of months ago. So glad I experienced them in their original form, such great games.

This remake is definitely on my to-play list... at some point! Probably after I've played all the other umpteen Trails games 😅

@DrVenture69 Hey, cheers for the response. It sounds right up my alley - might have to bump it up the backlog list a bit!

@DrVenture69 NMS has been in my backlog for ages. How does it compare to the Subnautica games? I imagine it's a bit less focused with being procedurally generated.

I played Elite 2 Frontier years ago and had a great time just living the life of a space explorer, taking on contracts, trading, improving my resources etc, so if it's anything like that I imagine I'm going to be playing it for quite some time (when I get to it!).

@gaston It probably depends on your tolerance for retro games/pixel art, but to me it looks fantastic on my telly. I grew up in the 80s though so 8-bit and 16-bit are where I fell in love with video games, so there's probably a bit of nostalgia going on there.

From the couple of hours I've played so far, it's a massive recommendation from me. Just pure old school fun.

Completed The Last of Us Part 2 the other day and still absorbing it all. Just like the first game, it has left me ruminating long and hard on the ending. What a fantastic game: well-designed, well-written, tense, emotional, with brilliant gameplay, and moments and imagery that will be seared into my memory forever. Loved every second.

Now it's onto something completely different, as I have chosen to play The Messenger next. Oh my gosh, it's like Ron Gilbert got to make a 2D Ninja Gaiden game. I'm instantly loving the retro aesthetic, the sarcastic humour, the story, the music, and the addictive as crack one-more-go gameplay. So that's going to be taking up much of my time this weekend.

Also returning to The Talos Principle to see if I can finally figure out the last of the hidden puzzles on the DLC. I was thoroughly stumped last time I tried it a few months ago, so hoping my subconscious has been working on the problem in the meantime. I'm determined not to look up the answer.

Enjoy the weekend, fellow gamers!

'Bug fixes' in more ways than one, then?

This is totally up my retro avenue and looks fantastic. Definitely playing this at some point.

I was discussing the subject of video game adaptations with my daughter just yesterday, and we came to the conclusion that they are kind of pointless. With a book to screen adaptation you have the addition of visuals and music etc, seeing someone's vision of the story and how closely it matches what was in your head when you read the book. A videogame to screen adaptation is purely reductive; you already have a product with visuals, production design, music etc, and you are reducing that by removing the very thing that made it so unique and fun in the first place: interactivity.

It takes the game story from active to passive. And they very rarely nail the atmosphere and tone of the original product in any case.

These sorts of adaptations just seem to be a very expensive promotional material/merchandising opportunity.

Got other things going on this weekend, but continuing the Last of Us Part 2 hopefully, when I get a spare moment.

Haven't had a lot of playtime this last week so progress has been slow. However, had a couple of days off work Thursday and Friday so been catching up a bit. I had been expecting a certain character's phobia to be paid off at some point and nice to see Naughty Dog didn't let me down. Then got up to a certain section set in a hospital basement last night that was pretty darned intense... So that's where the thing from the end of Inside ended up 😅

Fair to say I'm still loving every second. What a great game.

Happy gaming all.

I don't think there was ever any doubt that Team Cherry were going to pull this off, given that they've given it the time and care they wanted to.

However, I only played the first game last year, so I'm one of the few not clamouring to play this just yet... I haven't recovered from some of the boss fights and evil platforming in the original yet! It's on my list for the future though.

For a second there I was wondering why Silksong is rated 18+ 🤔