Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (January 30th)

Cyber Shadow primarily and maybe some Doom

I'm playing hades okami paper mario mario maker and going to buy dead cells later today (And some among us wouldn't hurt.

I need to continue trying to fathom why I’m soo bad at boss call 2 difficulty in dead cells. I can beat boss call 1 like every run and have nothing left to unlock there. Any tips would be appreciated! 😫

Hoping to finally complete Conduct Together (amazing Urban Flow style game but with trains) and working through Super Mario Galaxy for the first time ever (never had a Wii) which I want finished by Super Mario 3D World release.

Also trying to get the badge in Tetris 99 for completing 150 line Marathon mode in 7 minutes.

Probably some Animal Crossing and Mario Kart 8 online.

Just did the last puzzle in Picross 3D: Round 2. Took me just over an hour. Now I can finally say it's 100% completed. Total time played was 58 hours. I wish they made more Picross games like this instead of focusing on the e/s series. I played through e3 recently and it lasted me under 7 hours. So I guess if you play e-e8 you get about the same amount of hours but that costs you more. And I got Round 2 for 10€ so that was also nice.

I think I'm going to play the first Trauma Center on DS next.

Have almost finished Super Mario Bros U Deluxe, including Luigi U. Will finish that this weekend, probably.

Had it on my shelf for two years already, figured I should finish it before allowing myself to buy 3D world.

Other than that, probably trying to get the last few radiance medal bosses in Hollow Knight. Only three to go! Absolutely mental content...

Age of Calamity is the big game for the weekend.

However I’ve also charged up my 3DS. I want to finish Mario and Luigi Paper Jam Bros. Let’s see if I can pull myself away from Hyrule for it.

Duo lingo Spanish. I’m currently in the relegation zone so I need to accrue a lot of points before the end of tomorrow so I can advance to diamond league or at least avoid moving back down to silver league.

Still working on BotW - up to 86 Shrines / 76 Koroks, and 3 divine beasts down. Also completed Trials of the Sword, ahhhh so nice to have a bunch more durability on the Master Sword, plus 60 dmg at all times isn’t shabby either.

Side games will likely be Stardew, Dead Cells, and/or Cyber Shadow. Also kind of wanting to restart my island on AC for the new year....

I’ve really enjoyed Dead Cells so far from the Game Trial, so I’ll be playing that definitely. I’ve also managed to pick up some NES and SNES games as well. I’m definitely diving into Donkey Kong Country again, possibly some Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario Kart. F-Zero turned out to be surprisingly fun. If I have time, I might play the Balan Wonderworld demo or Shadow of the Tomb Raider on Xbox.

After finishing Age of Calamity earlier this week, I've decided to play a Zelda classic. Absolutely love The Wind Waker.

Gunna be playing animal crossing, a bit of cyber shadow and resident evil 4. And if I'm in the mood at some point may start dragon quest xi

Most certain plans for the weekend include Saints Row The Third, Starlink, Agent A, Observer, Spirit of Justice and the resumed God Eater Resurrection - after shelving Luxor with its unholy last stage, it should even replace that game for the shorter of my commutes. You NL folks may lament the grind, but I will always take it over spending, what, some TEN hours on one action puzzle stage with zero progress and little to no "gitting gud"? With less time and more backlogs, you cement your preference for investing the former in the games where it leaves at least SOMETHING tangible in your save file, together with incrementally increased odds of overcoming the final trials.

And like I've said before, the monhun subgenre has hooked me most with God Eater franchise so far (although I have my eyes on and a copy of the first Toukiden, too). The story, the lore, the cast you can take on missions with you, a customized protagonist who still boasts plenty of their own voiced lines and personality in battle banter, the ability to wield both melee and ranged weapons of various subtypes (and a shield on top, even with nominally two-handed forms), the progressively surreal adversaries (oracle cell life forms tend to incorporate mishmash shapes and features of what they consume, organic and non-organic alike), Ufotable animations... have a field day with MonHun Rise, folks, but I know where I'll be still hunting come March.

Pretty much Hitman 3 on PS4 what i got this week and continuing with P5 Royal what took a bit of a backseat this week because of HM3. In terms of Switch games it will be Dead Cells because of the DLC and daily doses of Hades.

Goemon 64!
Having a blast going through it again after finally getting my N64 to work again.

Battlefront 2 and Overwatch on pc with friends. Maybe some Resident Evil 3 on PS4 in preparation for RE8

Wow.. i am playing HADES... tell me a game like this will blow me away? And I won't believe. but it did blew me away with awesomeness. will play cyber shadow as well, when i take a break from hades.

Started Dead Cells for the first time through the trial. Can't put it down! So even though I played half way through Astral Chain just before it and enjoyed it pretty much, that one will have to wait a bit

While impatiently waiting for Stardew Valley 1.5 I’m filling the time collecting Smash Spirits. I need lots of gold to buy the store-only spirits so the current Spirit Board event is helping a little.

Finally started Paper Mario last week so I'm finishing that off. Picked up Sakuna and the Xenoblade Chronicles Remaster in sales recently (managed to get both for £50!) and might get onto one of them.

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity and The Ninja Saviors: Return of the Warriors.

Resident Evil 4 professional difficulty on Switch.

I still find myself replaying Super Mario Sunshine, I wanted to beat them in order.. and never play Galaxy so trying to rush through. Maybe Ring Fit if I’m feeling energetic..

@Friendly I’m trying to get through 3D All Stars to justify allowing myself to get 3D World.. 😂.

Afraid I’ve been overlooking my Nintendo consoles as still fully engrossed in Ghost of Tsushima; although after 60+ hrs feels like its dragging on. Although this may be because I’m ending up doing all the side quests. Approaching the end of Act 2 (I believe its a 3 act game).

Once that is over I feel like returning to either Radiant Historia (3DS) or Hyrule Warriors (Switch).

This week I will be mostly playing

New Horizons
Age of Calamity

I have downloaded a lot of demos on Steam and pruning my Switch wishlist. May plan to get some those on Steam as Steam offers localised pricing which makes games almost 1/3 or 1/4 w.r.t. Switch for me. More like a market research weekend for me, but will play a few rounds of Hades. It has become a daily routine.

A hat in time with the missus on the switch and working a lot this weekend so freedom wars on the vita for when I'm waiting/traveling to and from work.

@quigtendo Yeah So many mario games.

They're all relatively short though. I really ought to try finishing a few rpg's before I buy a new one . That would be a tougher cookie!

I'm on my 2nd playthrough of this hidden gem called Breath of the Wild. Highly recommended.

Gradius on the Konami Arcade Classics. I'd only played the NES port before and never thought much of it. The arcade original though is absolutely superb. Now I know why it's regarded as a classic. I'm considering buying the Hamster port for Caravan mode and leaderboards but I think I'll wait for a sale. I don't really like Gradius 2 though. I fnd the opening level a bit of a slog.

SEGA AGES G-loc is superb. I'm crap at it still but I really like it.

I'll be playing those 3 and perhaps Pure Pool if I buy it. I was about to pull the trigger last night but I decided to wait till next week as I spent too much on some new clothes and trainers. However, it's tempting me so I'm not sure I will bother waiting.

Doshin the Giant. There is a blast from the past. Can't remember if I finished it back in the day but remember I had to clear the memory card to save it.
I am contemplating diving into the Luigi's Mansion Trilogy. Played the first on GameCube at release so my memory is a bit hazy and I have them all on 3DS/Switch so time to jump in.

Just started Mario Galaxy for the first time. Also on other platforms, dipping into the Madden free play weekend.

It is fitting that you have hades as the picture, but hades is exactly what I started the weekend off playing this morning! Will continue on my Stardew Valley farm which is coming along nicely, with some Splatoon 2 mixed in somewhere.

Have a good weekend all !

Jedi Fallen Order and Destiny 2.

@Friendly Xenoblade And Immortals are both quite heavily discounted in the UK but I don’t know if I can commit to 100+ hours

Skyrim. I can see that I'll be playing this for months. My quest log is filling up, and I'm starting to get a handle on bits of the lore and get immersed in the world.

Also tried Dead Cells on the free trial. I'm not hugely into action platforming but it's very addictive. Tempted to bite at 50% off even if my backlog is shaking its head at me.

Ori and the Will o the Wisps is fantastic! It is so beautiful and runs so well on Switch. I am about 5 hours into it and it exceeds my high expectations.

Need for Speed, and a concert tonight with Mr. K.K.

Happy gaming everyone!

Cyber Shadow for me. I'm on Chapter 3 and its super fun and engaging. It's pretty difficult, but it's always been fair so far. And it plays buttery smooth. Oh and that music is INCREDIBLE.

I also finished Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition last week. I've finished it on the Wii when it was released, and all I can say is that I'm really glad they added in that casual mode that you can turn on and off on a whim. I did 95% of the game without it, but the last 3 final boss fights get super annoying with a difficulty spike that requires you to grind for hours upon hours to stand a good chance. Those fights really slow down the pacing thats created through the tense story, so it's nice to have that option. Otherwise, it's a brilliant game that I would recommend to any rpg fan.

Playing Cyber Shadow. It's great so far

hades, and maybe a side of skyrim or crusader kings III depending what mood i am in

Recently picked up Ori and the Will of the Wisps from amazon for £20, so gonna make my way through that, if I can get past this linear algebra coursework.

Great week playing doom and eternal on PS4. Playing the evil within again, a few chapters a day. Think I’m playing darker games to contrast with 3D world on switch in a few weeks xxx

Almost finish an awesome adventure of Octopath Traveler, and sometimes play Astral Chain for a while

After spending most of last week getting crushed in Dead Cells with one boss cell activated I'm trying to make some "real" progress in my games. Base Dead Cells seems like a walk in the park in comparison but I managed to get to the second boss, so that is something at least.
So I will continue Borderlands I, Octopath Traveler and Ace Attorney , which I got fro my birthday a few weeks ago. It's my first time with the series and I like it. Additionally trying to get my hands on a used 3ds with some games to check if this could be something for my eldest son as a gift.

Monster hunter rise 35hrs in!
Streets of rage 4 10hrs in!

I’m playing Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town. It’s my first farming sim and I’m really enjoying it. Since there’s not much to do during winter I’m trying to max out my tools and collect wood and stone to upgrade my farm. Maxed out my relationship with Brandon so will probably marry him in spring.

Still working my way through Paper Mario, almost 30 hours in.
Picked up Turrican Flashback yesterday and loving it. So nice to be able to play these Amiga classics without having to mess around with emulators.
The Cyber Shadow icon has been staring at me all week but I’m holding off starting that until I’m done with the 2 games above.

I just started playing Ori and the Will of the Wisps and Devil Engine. I'll be playing those for sure. In between action games I'll probably try to finally finish Atelier Ryza 1. I keep saying I'm going to finish it but keep getting sidetracked by new things.

I have been playing dead cells on the free trial (and just bought it including all DLC as the game is awesome). This morning decided to check also Balan wonderworld demo (and it is as awfull as I have read online... Probably the worst game I ver played lol) and just started fenyx rising demo too.

Meanwhile I have to go back to Grandia and on PC I am almost finished with dragon age Origins

I plan to finish the King Knight portion of Shovel Knight this weekend, and then continue my journey of perfecting Velocity 2x. I’m sure there will be some ranked Splatoon matches in there as well.

For a long time I've been getting on Animal Crossing to just do little daily things, but I've just started to get back into it because I want to actually put some more work into my town and make it better. I'll be doing some landscaping and moving things around a bit. I may also play some Cyber Shadow.

I kind of feel bad that I've left my Mario marathon hanging so close to the end, but I don't want to finish Color Splash until I can do it with my brother (he's really been enjoying it when we can play it together), and Mario + Rabbids I'm having a bit of a tough time getting into.

PS4- Yakuza Like a Dragon, Dragon’s Dogma, and Samurai Shodown
Switch- Super Mario 3D Collection, SNK Heroine’s and Scott Pilgrim.

Doing a pure platinum run on the Wonderful 101. If I have time, I will prolly be routing the final boss. Especially the escape sequence in which you have to control two ships at the same time. Old school trial and error.

Nothing. Waiting for Skyforge.

@Ooyah Cheers dude. I’ve been bashing my head again it using survival builds. I’ll give tactics a go tonight see how I fair!

Felt like playing Final Fantasy 5 (My personal favorite in the series), went with the steam version, which many people seem to dislike but I personally don't mind it. Decided to add a bit of extra spice by randomly picking a single job class for each of the characters for each tier of job classes I receive. So far I only made it to the first crystal and I got:

Bartz: Knight, Summoner
Lenna: Thief, Berserker
Galuf: White Mage, Red Mage
Faris: Monk, Time Mage

I got really lucky and got some really decent coverage and not a any overlap either, I'm so glad I got a thief and white mage in particular because without those things would've been a lot more inconvenient.

E: Got the 2nd tier of jobs, still no duplicates. Either I'm very lucky or the random number generator I use is botched. Kinda sucks I missed out on the Mystic Knight, I love that job.

Finally finished Majora’s Mask 3D last weekend after starting it in 2018, taking a break for a couple of years and then getting back to it in August and then getting back to it again recently.

Started of A Link Between Worlds this week and I am really enjoying it. I played A Link To The Past a couple times as a kid but didn’t really “get” it. I played all but the last dungeon in LttP in 2018 also. I should get back to that at some point. I am trying to keep my own notes this time with ALBW to avoid feeling like I need to look at a guide if so end up taking a long break from it. I generally like to just use a guide if I get stuck on some puzzle that is too obscure, but sometimes I get sucked into following the guide more than I want to when I see all the things I could have collected by whatever point I am at in the game. Nothing wrong with following guides, but it does take away from my enjoyment a bit if I follow too closely.

I am feeling tempted to buy up the GBC zelda games on 3DS VC and authentic copies of the DS ones on eBay

Maybe some more Horace if I feel like a break from ALBW.

Zelda BOTW for Me. Just got into Hyrule Castle. Probably Some Mario Kart 8 Deluxe with my family and some Smash Bros.

I picked up Stikbold! Dodgeball Adventure! and what a hoot. The story is really well done and the game play is just wacky and fun. I am also diving into Blossom Tales. I like the Zelda vibes and the story is interesting too...it's like Zelda meets The Princess Bride.

I just finished Age of Calamity the other day, so for a change of pace this weekend I’m going to try and finish Mario Galaxy and perhaps finally get through the Bravely Default 2 and Monster Hunter Rise demos, which have been sitting unopened on my home screen for ages.

That's a good question 😉

Yoshis woolly world with the little ones. But for me, Age of Calamity and Cyber Shadow!

I just finished Forgotton Anne (it was on sale for $7 and actually pretty good). I’m playing A Hat In Time now and it’s definitely charming even with the long loading times on the switch. Once I finish that I guess I should go back and finish Immortals Fenyx

More Forgotton Anne, Immortals Fenyx Rising demo, and will probably work on my ACNH town a little bit. May also play some Kirby's Epic Yarn on the Wii, my kids and I have been enjoying it (and the music is fabulous)!

I personally will be playing Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories on GBA this weekend. It has been pretty fun learning the card battle system and defeating the bosses in each world.

This weekend, I plan on trying out the Balan Wonderworld demo, hopefully it'll be good stuff. I also started a new season on NBA Playgrounds 2, so I'll be playing a few rounds of that as well this weekend. I guess I'll also find some time for Pokemon Go, sometime this weekend as well, I have quite a few raid passes so I might put them to use.

I have Hades I got for 5 bux.i am two characters maxxed in spstw only Scott and ramona. So I may play some knives here and there. Mario kart in between as I got is for xmas and it's only half beatout.

Persona 5 Royal, and a bit of Smash Ultimate.

I need to concentrate on one game at a time, part way through Paper Mario TOK, BOTW, FE3H and a few others. One thing that's bugging me is trying to come first on the two harder tracks of Virtua Racing, first one is easy but the other two are hard as nails (F Zero GX level stuff).

Superhot. I'm on the last level and OMG, the frustration has ramped up to an all-time high. But my goodness, can I not stop trying even after I die over and over and over...

Also Scott Pilgrim. It's a fun game, though I have to say the difficulty spikes are quite annoying. You definitely have to grind at parts before you can move forward.

The other thing is how my Switch has turned into a mini arcade with all the games you can play on it. I will pick it up and try getting high scores on Donkey Kong, Pac-Man, Centipede, Burgertime, Frogger. Also looking forward to Capcom's arcade collection coming next month.

Have a great weekend!

games im playing this weekend

Assassins Creed Brotherhood
Ys Origin

Angry Birds Stella (Windows Phone) - Just starting on this one.

Halo: Spartan Assault (Windows Phone) - Getting back to this after a break.

Orbital (Windows Phone) - Getting tired of this game now tbh.

Hades and dead cells

@Daymonkey You're not the only one; by the time I've (barely) taken down the Clock Tower boss, I've already given up hope trying to finish 2BC. I'm not worried about trying to beat it though.

Speaking of, I've been playing through the Fatal Falls DLC (in Dead Cells) earlier this week. Unlocked a bunch of its new stuff already, still not sure how to unlock the talking sword that's the DLC's main highlight.

Also just cleared the first 3 chapters in Cyber Shadow and will head back for more addiction that is Darkest Dungeon (I'm now 205+ hours in) in a bit.

Animal Crossing, because there is nothing really interesting for me at the moment. But soon, Super Mario 3D World, Gal Gun Returns, Monster Hunter and Balan Wonderworld are coming out

THEN... it is PaRtY TiMe XD

Currently playing through Castlevania 3: Draculas Curse from the anniversary collection, having a blast with that! I'm also at the end of Final Fantasy X (or at least I think I am) Hopefully I'll finish that before blue fire releases in February. I occasionally play Pac Man Championship Edition 2 whenever I feel like it. It's a very fun game that I can pick up and put down quickly.

I finished also Untitled Goose Game with my brother last week. Even though the game was short, it still was an absolute blast!

Still playing the MHR demo. I'll probably be playing Resi4 and Ikenfell again.

Just wrapped up The Mummy Demastered, and was a little underwhelmed. Just started The Touryst yesterday, and so far it’s absolutely charming.

I don't have much time for games in this moment of my life, but luckily tonigth I'll start Mario Odyssey for the first time! I'm also considering buying Dead Cells after trying the trial period, but looks like a very difficult and absorving game so not sure if it's what I need in this stressful times.

Going to get as much Monster hunter Rise in as I can with friends and some randoms, maybe finish my seventh run-through of MHGU and possibly some Hades and Animal Crossing on the side with some Untitled Goose game with the kids (my daughter is currently obsessed with it). It's a rainy weekend so the kids entertainment comes first, plus it'll relax her before her first year of school starts next week.

Starting up a new run in FE: Three Houses. Love that game.

Ryza 2: wonderful game, wonderful on Switch

I got Steamworld Quest, Just Shapes & Beats and Thumper dirt cheap at various points before Christmas and still hadn't tried any of them. Until last night, anyway; I played about an hour of Steamworld Quest before bed last night and I am so in.

@scoobdoo I've been eyeing up Ryza and Ryza 2. I've only played one Atelier game before but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I think it was Atelier Rorona? It was on PlayStation Vita, anyway.

@VenomousAlbino start with ryza 2! It’s the perfect evolution of the series and you will catch up on the story in minutes.

Some great 2d action for me.
Ninja saviors and castlevania collection.

Playing nothing. Working a lot. Really a lot. Not complaining though. Looking forward to playing Luigi's Mansion 3 soon. Bought it on sale.

@scoobdoo if I don't need to play Ryza to understand Ryza 2, then Ryza 2 it is. Thanks for the advice 👍

I'll probably be finishing up Super Mario Galaxy via Super Mario 3D All-Stars, maybe with a little Sunshine thrown in there.
I still really can't get into 64. Dunno why. I just can't.

Tried the Monster Hunter demo, looks great, but a lot to take in if you've never played it before. Didn't help that I'd had a beer, it's quite a deep game! I should see if I can squeeze another go in. Played Virtua Racing as well and the patch has ruined the shadows on the cars completely, they now have a horrible moire pattern. Then back into Pure Pool for a few frames. Love it.

Somehow I’ve torn myself away from Hades to go back to Persona 5 on my old PS3. I’m determined to finish that story before P5 Scramble releases next month.
I’ll need to put some time into that before MIonster Hunter Rise arrives in March, because that game will utterly consume me for a while! 😅

For me it will be continuing The Legendary Starfy 4 on DS while continuing attempts at beating the superboss of M&L Bowser's Inside Story on 3DS.

I beat the main story of Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 and got 4 stars in all of the stages except for World 7, which I will be working through before I take on the EX stages. I've probably poured in about 10-15 hours in this week alone.

I can't seem to make a dent in the final boss though. I came really close to finally getting four stars on just ONE occasion, but I suspect that this is going to take a while.

I also went back to the first Puyo Puyo Tetris to strive for 3 stars in those odd Puyo Puyo stages that I had been unable to master the first time around as Puyo Puyo finally "clicked" for me this week. Most of time, I merely fluked the stages in the first game, but now I am at least able to form some combos, though once the junk pieces start raining in, I kind of revert to fluking it again. Only one stage in the first game to go before I've cleared it all.

Unfortunately, the first game is really stingy with dispensing in-game currency, so I doubt that I will unlock all of the alternate voice packs any time soon, whereas in the sequel, I'm close to unlocking everything. It's been fun while it lasted but PPT2 is perhaps the most superfluous sequel I have ever played, and I am stunned that reviews have been so positive when it brought almost nothing new to the table.

Roundguard and Dead Cells

MH Rise demo still and The Medium, glad it finally came out, not sure Unreal engine is the best choice (slow texture load, ancient problem since UE 3) but it is half decent, great atmosphere at times.
Kind of had an Eternal Darkness vibe in there too, along with Shadow Man as the other realm is practically Deadside. God i'd love to see a new take on either of those.

Looking to pick up Turrican Flashback. Also just picked up Ninja Jajamaru Collection. I got it for "Ninja Jajamaru: The great Yokai Battle", but I am surprisingly addicted to the Ninja Jajamaru-kun NES original game too haha.

SteamWorld Quest, Yakuza Zero, and some Cyber Shadow. I'm enjoying them all a lot although Cyber Shadow is kicking my butt. Right now I'm not confident I'll actually be able to beat the game but I'm having fun regardless

Been playing the Immortals: Fenyx Rising demo this weekend. What a surprise! I’ll definitely be picking up the full game very soon.

Cyber Shadow! It's enthralling!

I am about halfway through Bioshock 1 on the switch. If I finish that I may play Outerworlds or borderlands next.

I am also up to the final boss in minish cap for the gba.

And I downloaded dead cells since it was on sale. But I don't want to start that yet because I just got over my hades addiction.

Cyber shadow and dead cells. So far cyber shadow I'm finding mildly infuriating and I'm unsure how it has such exclusively high praise. Dead cells is just pure fun.

@Snatcher yeah dead cells is wonderful

There's a tourney for Mario Kart 8 in NA so imma try to get some of that in. I'll continue Cosmic Star Heroine and put in some time for the Immortals: Fenix Rising Demo.

Gone back to Witcher 3 as I have ran out of other games to play while waiting for SM3DW. Probably going to end up being the longest game I have played start to finish (timeline wise rather than playtime wise).