Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (November 4-5)

Beat Dead Space (2023) on my XSX yesterday and Professor Layton and the Lost Future alongside the original PL trilogy on my 3DS.

Started playing Final Fantasy VII on my Switch today which is a mostly blind playthrough beyond the Aerith twist and what I know from FF7R.
Also started Fortnite Chapter 4 Season OG on PS5 yesterday. Never played before ch3 s3 so it’s pretty neat.
And finally I started Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask on my 3DS.

Wrapped up Spider-Man 2 so now I have some time to check out some titles on Game Pass. I'll be playing the Dead Space remake as well as Cocoon.

It's been years since I played the original Dead Space. Absolutely phenomenal game. This franchise and Resident Evil are my favourite horror series. The games are just such a blast to play.

Starfield, Apex, R6 Siege and started Forza which looks and sounds incredible. I essentially only play Forza a couple of times a year just for the sound, look and feel, never get absorbed into the car unlocking/ race tracks since there's never really a compelling story behind that. It'd be great if you could interact in each of the towns / areas on foot to learn more about the region & maybe do some quests / get challenged by local racing legends. Just something to mix up the formula

'Any of you jumping into the mw3 campaign'....is this a joke ,xbox will want to put this crap on gamepass, as soon as they can to boost figures.

@LtSarge dead space is great ,and the gameplay is much improved for this remake.

@Kilamanjaro good idea,id like that ,driving round in a circle ,gets old very quickly for me.

Mario Wonder possibly, but definitely Spider-Man 2.

@themightyant im 85 percent on spiderman with 45hrs ,don't know where people got 17hrs from,maybe im playing it wrong ,gonna buy alan wake 2 next week I think ,don't know which version though ,xbox supposed to be the better version ,but is it that much better, that I have to give up on the ps5 pad ,ill have to watch some videos.

Alan wake 2 (GOTY so far) and just purchased Miasma Chronicles on an impulse, so ill give it a shot this weekend.

No change here: Everspace 2, Darktide, Remnant 2, Halo Infinite

This weekend I’m playing Super Mario Bros. Wonder. It’s been an absolute joy so far. I’m not that far, but I just beat W3. The level of creativity and imagination in every stage is mind-boggling. The platforming is also precise, and the powers are all fun to use. I’m really enjoying my time with this one, and it’s up there with Super Mario World for my favorite 2D game in the series. I can’t wait for Super Mario RPG.

The main game I’m focusing on, however, is Alan Wake 2. It has been absolutely sublime, in more ways than one. Remedy creates incredible game worlds that are full of rich, environmental details that draw you into the atmosphere. It oozes in style, and is easily their most stylish game to date.

One thing I find great is how methodical the game presents itself. It knows the story it wants to tell and it goes at its own pace with unbelievable confidence. It trusts you to be patient and let it unfold naturally. And there is a story to everything - even upgrading your weapons. If you pay attention, there are references to Control during this aspect.

The characters are great, too. Saga Anderson is a fresh, unique character that is very memorable. I like how enthusiastic she is despite being an FBI agent; she loves a great mystery. I think her character taps into the modernism of true crime fans today (something I’m a big buff of myself), but with a touch of Twin Peaks.

I am also pleased with the exploration. There is almost an Metroidvania element to it. I don’t want to provide spoilers, but you’ll understand what I mean if you are playing the game. In the first Alan Wake you weren’t rewarded for exploring due to hardware limitations. While that’s still present here, with new technology the world feels more alive. Nothing feels out of place. Some of the best moments are optional side areas that provide environmental storytelling.

At the end of the day, I’m extremely impressed. Remedy knocks it out of the park once again, and despite their larger budget they stay true to their roots. This game does things that I’ve never seen in a game before and I can’t wait to see what’s next for them.

Alan Wake 2, MW3 campaign (already half way through) and RoboCop Rogue City. All three are great so far. Just saw the campaign reviews on IGN and Gamespot for MW3. Wow, a 4 and 5. I am having a blast with the campaign. Not sure what they were looking for. It's certainly better than last year's MW2.

Still playing Yakuza: Like a Dragon, I'm 62 hours in and getting close to the end, mainly just grinding levels currently to be able to survive the boss fight against Majima and Saejima.

Otherwise, I'm playing Super Mario Bros. Wonder and recently booted up Shin Megami Tensei IV on my 3DS and am making okay progress there.
I'm also waiting for my copy of RoboCop: Rogue City to arrive so I can play that(on PS5).

Overall, a pretty intense gaming period now.

As much as I’m enjoying Forza Motorsport, I think I’m gonna shelve it for the time being until they fix the “applying upgrades” bug (infinite loading screen). It’s happened to me 3 times now and you lose your progress from the previous race every time 😡 I’m gonna give the 5 hour trial of WRC a go for my racing fix instead. Also trying to wrap things up in Cyberpunk & Phantom liberty. I’m quite enjoying Jusant as well, which is giving me some Ico vibes (great game that deserves a remake).

Dragon Age 2 (the best one) for 1738w9337th time. Ebeneezer and the Invisible World. And I'll try to finish Gungrave G.O.R.E.

Alan Wake 2 and Cocoon on xbox. Pikmin 4 on switch

I'm currently chipping away at Forza motorsport and Riders Republic. Slow and steady progress in both.

I also have FIFA 23 and Cyberpunk installed at the moment and I think these are the 4 games I'll stick with til the New Year.

I'm going to try something different in 2024, which is remove the privilege of choosing what I play. I've recently stumbled across xboxgamepasspicker.com and have decided to let that dictate the games I play for next year

I intend to write about my experience with it also (either monthly or just one entry at the end of the year)
My reason for doing this? I've come to realize that we are all (to an extent) creatures of habit. We only ( for the most part) stick to select genres of game (I'm especially guilty of this) and other genres don't get a look in. So I figured, if I only play what I'm told to play, I'm going to break that cycle.

I know I'll end up playing some stuff that I'll likely not enjoy, but I'm optimistic of discovering some new favourites also.

Happy gaming everyone 👍👍

Xbox - Lamplighters league, cities skylines 2
Playstation - parasite eve
Nintendo - Mario wonder
Pc - steamworld dig

Finishing up with the wonderful Frog Detective: The Entire Mystery this weekend. Once completed, I will move on to Submerged: Hidden Depths. The first Submerged remains one of my favorite games of all time, so I'm looking forward to this game.

Once I’ve hung me tv on the wall.
Redfall and RE4 remake.

Moons of Madness. Like Mars games. This one is somewhat buggy, though. Still, I like the atmosphere and physics-science involved.

I'm gonna start up Jusant later on, I hear nothing but good things about it..

Man, everybody's playing such recent games...I just finished playing Costume Quest and started Costume Quest 2. After that, I need to get back to Assassin's Creed Odyssey(which will never end).

@Gonzo_Me Great to see someone else who liked Submerged. I've been thinking about replaying it and finally getting to Hidden Depths too.

Cyberpunk. Really enjoying my second run. I'm spending a lot of time exploring which I didn't do the first time around.

Still playing Cyberpunk 2077, Level 24, focus on headhunter/shinobi. The game is just filled with so much and its all very well designed and cohesive now that the 2.0 update has rolled out.

If anyone has been on the fence, urge you to consider going back, its not the game it was previously.

Outside of that, I might dip my toe back into Diablo IV, just to see if some of the balancing has been fixed. Mostly just love that gameplay loop of demons and loot. And the aesthetic vibes of that game are top tier.

Alan Wake 2 - this game is just phenomenal and definitely my game of the year so far (to be fair, havent played Baldurs Gate 3 yet, but it’s way better than Starfield felt)…

Chicken Can't Fly (Windows Phone) - Nearly done with this.

Doodle God Blitz (Windows Phone) - Halfway point now.

South Park Stick of Truth 3rd playthrough, this time on X1

Cod mw3 (360) gems of war, power wash simulator most likely and possibly peggle

@BacklogBrad how are you getting on with lamplighters league? I absolutely love the gameplay but the crashes are on another level.

I found it gets worse the more you play. Started out just crashing at mission ends, so a quick save before entering the endzone and I wasn't too bothered. Now it crashes on exiting a mission, starting a mission, saving the game and during missions, it's beyond a joke. I've also got a bug now where it won't save my game, all saved games load back to the same save. If you haven't experienced the crashes yet I suggest shelving the game until it's fixed or you'll just waste hours on it.
Again, love the gameplay but I don't think the Xbox version was tested at all.

Finished Mario Wonder, Excellent game, best since Mario World. Red Dead Redemption 2 is on my list just picked it up on sale. Dead Space looks great will give it a spin

Currently playing,

Original Xbox - Panzer Dragoon Orta.
Switch - Mario Wonder and Metroid Prime.
Series S - Starfield and Forza.

The backlog continues to grow.

@themightyant so its just a slight variation in performance ,graphically they are identical ? With regards to spiderman ,I've used photo mode a bit and done a lot of the crimes that pop up so I don't know whether they are infinite,ive found im a bit over powered now ,but I like that.

@sonicbooming yeah cyberpunk is superb now ,shame it didn't release in this state ,it would be getting 10/10 across the board ,Keanu is great,his acting is top notch,ive got the dlc and idris seems quite wooden by comparison, but I find his acting to not be consistent anyway.

Not playing COD, that's for sure. I finally played some Hi-Fi Rush, wasn't exactly a fan of it's rhythm gameplay though. Probably going to play Jusant next, looks like the gameplay is more my style.

@SacredPYRO I am also loving the gameplay. I have yet to have a crash but playing the pc version thru pc gamepass. Not sure if that is making a difference performance wise. I'm like 4 hours in.

Still absolutely rivited by the crew motorfest, which just gets better and better the more I play it - just hitting 95 hours now.
My wifes played it even more than me! Fortunate to have two gaming tellies in my main living room and two ps5s, so I 'crew up' with my wife and yet we are playing locally.
Unfortunately Ive given up on Forza motorsport. I put a lot of time in and simply wasnt having fun despite my best efforts. I honestly believe FM7 is a far better title and I'll play that or GT7 for more serious racing.
So many great games waiting for my attention, but all I can think of is getting back to motorfest! Happy days 😊

Where ever you game, and whatever you're playing, I hope you have a fun weekend.

@BacklogBrad that will do it then. There appears to be very little wrong with the PC version from what I've seen on Reddit.

The game is so good but the Xbox version is a mess and gets worse the more you play. Enjoy it my friend, I'm about 20 hours in but am now waiting for it to be fixed.

I know the Starfield whining is a bit played out, but after doing 4 Temples it just killed my fun gosh they are terrible. So I bought FO4 on the Deck(runs great) and have been having a ton of fun. Also going to try and finish Bond 64 from Rares collection. Even my teenager said she wishes games would go back to just being fun without all the crazy graphics

@Titntin That is so awesome you have a gaming spouse!!!
Been married 20 years, and she still looks at my gaming enjoyment with rolled eyes😄. Still a win though cause she never gives me grief when I no life a new game for 2weeks

@Link41x honest question; I think I've been reading your weekend posts for a while on several(?) different sites and it seems like you are really a phone gaming fan almost exclusively. Do you game on console, or just enjoy the gaming community and like to keep up?
Weird question I know

@InvaderFromSpace I enjoyed both Costume Quest games so much! Sure hope Double Fine develops a third. Haven't finished Hidden Depths yet, but a third in that series would be most welcome as well. I agree about recent games. So many are all stress and combat and competition. There needs to be more games that are chill and just fun to play. I'm only just discovering such games, so I don't mind if they came out quite a while ago.

Finished the first 2 episodes of the original Alan Wake. Cost a fiver off eBay inc postage. Mechanically it shows its age, but the story telling is pretty damn good.

I like the torch/shoot combat combo but can see this, and the lack of enemy variety, getting repetitive soon though.

Alrighty another week and another entry. I think the best way to sum up this week was: reality. Despite being on vacation it was stressful yet in all that some bright glimmers shine through. With that out the way I was able to beat TOTK and finish off my Resident Evil Marathon. Unfortunately Pikmin 4, Fire Emblem Engage and Sonic Superstars weren’t finished off so I got some work as we head into GOTY season. Also watched the final episode of the final season of the final part of attack on titan (part 3) with some friends last night and that was nice if not bittersweet. See you later, Eren indeed. On the topic of pickups I picked up a grand total of 4 things on my vacation this week. Like a Dragon Gaiden, Tales of Arise DLC Before the Dawn, Warioware MOVE IT, and Star Ocean The Second Story R. Suffice to say between LAD and Tales this week and the week after being Super Mario RPG and Persona 5 Tactica I’ve got something basically for every week in November. Of course after those last two it’s time to knuckle down and really beat some games to put together GOTY lists. Big thing this week I’m looking forward to is enjoying a nice long relaxing session of Star Ocean 2 tomorrow for the last day off of my vacation. Shoutout to Kris Wolfheart of the GigaBoots Podcast Network (aka big think dimension) for being this games strongest warrior and now it’s more widely available. Also I think I’ll announce this here that I think my next long term marathon after having done all the mainline Resident Evil games is I’ll do all the Star Oceans. I mean I now own them all. And with Star Ocean 2 you can now play the whole series in one place. That being PlayStation but that’s another thing hahaha. Either way this week I also think I’ll try knuckling down on games like Sea of Stars on the PS5 again. I really wanna try to beat most GOTY contenders for those sorts of podcasts at the end of the year so I can understand what’s being talked about. In terms of anime this week yall already know gotta shout out Spy X Family and JJK again. Again big special shout-out to the end of Attack On Titan. And Eminence in Shadow just keeps delivering. As for podcasts this week we kinda back to that full rotation homies of Remap Radio, Minnmax, Castle Superbeast, Big Think Dimension and Into the Aether. As always have a excellent weekend yall and Happy Gaming.

Playing through Dead Island 2 with some Generation Zero with friends in between

Finishing up dead space. I got the mummy demastered on sale, started that and enjoying it. Downloaded a few things off gamepass to try out: cassette beasts, lies of p, frog detective

@fabisputza007 makes me tempted to get Alan wake 2. Beat the first one this year, first time

You wont regret it,
i tried playing the 1st one and couldnt get into the repetitive and clunky gameplay. To be fair its an old game but Alan Wake 2 is something else.

I bought 'Maize' for £3 or something ridiculous like that. It's a game about corn... Bad corn. It was on my wishlist and going cheap. So I got it. It's pretty funny so far. OK, very funny. I was thinking about getting 'No More Hero' s'too, but everyone seems split on it. Anyone played it?

Happy gaming people!

@CallMeDuraSouka I game on numerous different systems. I do have a soft spot for handhelds though. I'm trying to beat the last sixty plus games I have remaining on the Windows Phone platform. As I beat each one, I delete it and move on to the next one. So yes phone focused to a degree

@themightyant ps5 it is then, cheers mate

@Link41x seriously kudos on clearing the backlog! Appreciate the response