Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (March 2-3)

I find myself a bit in a slump as of late. Plenty of games to play but as soon as I boot one up I just turn it off again. Except Halo Infinite. Im considering buying Helldivers 2 though... so maybe that.

I shall mostly be playing ff7 rebirth its absolutely huge and I'm a bit overwhelmed at the moment , gonna mix it up with some helldivers 2 , gotta do my part.

@BIG3 you should buy it , its superb

Still playing Banishers ghost of Eden... I want to do every case before proceeding to the main plot.
Great game! Combat is repetitive but I don't mind that much

Still Infinite Wealth. I'm like 80 hours into the game. I think I'm close to finishing it. Excellent game.

On welcome to paradize , really enjoying it

Still getting through AC Valhalla and should wrap it up by Sunday. Prince of Persia The Lost Crown is next on the list. Happy Gaming everyone and enjoy the weekend

@FraserG Not that it's worth anything as I am only one player but I have been playing BG3 since launch. I am in act 3 (last act) with over 200 hours of game time and had zero save game issues.

I picked up Welcome to ParadiZe and it's been goofy fun. If you have played the How to Survive games you will have an idea of what you are in for. I should say ParadiZe is less clunky and a much more polished experience than the H2S games.

Probably not worth full price but a solid sale game to look out for.

Alan wake 2 for me and I'll probably jump back into elden ring again get my bearings try push on ha

Probably a bit of Halo. My wife got into a Survivors-like called Spirit Hunters: Infinite Horde.

I can still play Halo while wearing a cast and generally outperform others but my right thumb doesn’t have the range of motion I’m used to so it has limited to playing super casual modes like BTB and Husky Raid.

I plan to start Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate - Daemonhunters tomorrow.

Picked up Lords of the Fallen for £22 in this week's sale. Started off with the fire dude but couldn't get used to all the controls, ie Axiom vs umbral switching, melee/range combos, soul flaying etc. More to think about than a souls game and I got annoyed TBH. Restarted with the ombrian preacher and started getting in the flow of moves/combat. Got to Pieta but my save ended in an infinite fall through the ground. Restarted again with the hallowed knight and he's more my style. Got to Pieta in super quick time but can't get close to defeating her during the second phase.

Liking the game more now though. Dark, like DS2, but not as fluid as DS3 or ER. Areas are very narrow and claustrophobic which will do my head in if they don't open up.

Helldivers 2 and FF Rebirth are monopolising my time atm, and Im loving both titles! Im unlikely to make any dents in my backlog fir a while!

Whatever your playing, I hope you have fun!

Earlier in the week I finished up Resistance: Retribution and got the platinum trophy. It was a solid game, but makes me yearn for a remastered trilogy that I know more than likely won’t happen.

With that said, my main focus this weekend will be Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. I don’t often find myself genuinely excited about upcoming games, but I’ve been antsy for a while regarding this sequel, and my wife has been getting quite annoyed with my excitement (ha-ha). I’ve finished the first two chapters and it’s been an unexpected magical experience. Perhaps that’s the nostalgia speaking, but I’m enamored.

From what I’ve played so far, the game seems brilliantly paced. There have also been compelling story moments that provide genuine intrigue, and a heartfelt cast that I’m happy to see again. This is bolstered by an exemplary soundtrack that hits all of the right notes and exactly the right times.

In terms of gameplay, the combat is more refined, with the difficulty seemingly more balanced than its predecessor. There are so many added layers that enhance the action in brilliant ways. Sometimes it can be hard to manage all of the possibilities, but once things click then it’s an extraordinary battle system that just may be my favorite in an RPG.

I also love seeing the PS1 classic come to life in full force — the scope of this game is staggering. Unfortunately, much like any sequel that wants to expand on the original’s idea(s), but also become an open world game, the experience can feel daunting and overwhelming. There are a ton of systems and mechanics at work, and they all have their own leveling system. But the variety to customize your play style is really awesome and adds a lot of depth to how you approach the game.

My only complaint at the moment is the slow movement. Similar to the first game, when the game forces you to walk slowly in certain parts of the story, that mechanic is back. Sadly, those moments are intertwined with gameplay, such as climbing up yellow painted rocks, or more interactive story beats.

There isn’t much left to say since I’m not that far, but I’m highly impressed. Sure, the game could crumble beneath its feet, but if it can keep up this momentum then I think we are in for something incredibly special. I can’t wait to see how it ultimately turns out.

I just finished the main story on Dead Island 2 on Gamepass and I'll be playing Final Fantasy Rebirth most of the weekend now with a little Helldivers 2 later on.

On switch, FF VI, on xbox, mostly Turnip Boy Robs a Bank and maybe Pentiment

Uncharted: Golden Abyss (Vita) - Humpty Dumpty fell off the wall...oh wait, that was Sully.

Jet Car Stunts (Windows Phone) - Still doing my dailies and time attack challenges.

Lode Runner Classic (Windows Phone) - Haven't played in a few days, need to get back into it.

@Rangers420 Dude, I can't get past the end boss fight. I think I just suck, lol. I've played every Dark Souls, even got 100% achievements on Elden Ring. So, no stranger to difficult games but I just can't seem to get past it. Any tips?

Tekken 8 and Street Fighter 6.

I'm "a bit" obsessed with Cyberpunk 2077, doing everything in stealth.

Still playing Brotato and have beaten level 20 with about 5 characters now… thought I would do that with all before moving on to level 1. Also started Dead Island 2 and enjoying so far….

After seeing all the exciting RTS/strategy games xbox has coming, I figured I would go down the Age of Empires IV rabbit hole again. I will also probably play some Halo Infinite.

I also have been playing the campaigns of Ghost Warrior Contracts on PC and Splatoon 3 on Switch.

This weekend I have RoboCop: Rogue City(second playthrough, playing on Xbox), Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin(Switch) and Trails of Cold Steel IV(PS4 version, played on PS5) that I'm rotating between, with some Remnant 2 in co-op on the side.

This weekend I'm on vacation but still finding time here and there to sneak in some game time on my Steam Deck. Last night I finished Dusk which was overall a super fun game. I'm also still playing through Thief: The Black Parade. While absolutely amazing, and not even "for a fan game", occasionally the level design falls a bit flat in the sense that there can be so, so many dead ends and twists and turns in some of the levels that it becomes a bit frustrating to figure out the correct path, which is somewhat antithetical to the imm-sim philosophy of finding your own path. Still, this only happens occasionally and forgivable considering how enormous the maps are. It's an incredible game that I would highly recommend if you're into the Thief and/or Dishonored games. I tried to play a brand new imm-sim/horror game called Ad Infernum but it crashes almost immediately on my Steam Deck so I may need to wait until I get home to play on my main PC or maybe they will patch it soon. I'd prefer to play on the Deck if possible. I also started Dread Templar which so far is a blast. Looking forward to getting deeper into it.

I'm going to be giving Gangs of Sherwood a go while it's free for the weekend.

The Eternal Cylinder will be the only game being played on my Xbox Series X this weekend. Wasn't even aware that this game existed until Xbox put it on sale at 75% off this week, but once one discovers it, all other games cease to exist.

@Lup I'm so close too. 81 hours and I just started the final chapter. Kinda tying up some loose ends right now, but also eager to finish too. What to do? What to do?

Finishing up “Seperate Ways” on RE4 remake. I had no idea it was released until a week ago!

Grabbed a copy of Suicide Swuad, gonna make my way through that (if the game allows it) while there’s still 10 other people playing it to co op with. Other than that, probably just grinding some Destiny 2….or making my way through Crysis 2

Finishing the amazing Dead Island 2

Dead Space 2 on PC/Steam Deck.

I am playing Octopath traveler 2 on the switch which is my main mode of play with 2 kids under 3 and when they go to bed if I’m still standing I’m gonna try and finish final fantasy 16.

I was playing a bit of Dead Island 2, but I'm beginning to find the difficulty spikes too much for my personal taste. I'm on to the second big boss (who I will call the Goo Monster on the film site) and it's just starting to annoy me.

I've been mostly enjoying it but unfortunately think I've reached as far as I'll get.

I'm increasingly finding my patience is less than it used to be...

Yakuza: Like A Dragon (PS5): Just played a few hours and have reached Yokohama. Really digging Ichiban as the new protagonist and don't mind the turn-based combat.

Gears of War: Definitive Edition (XSX): Have never played a Gears game so I thought I'd rectify that. Have just finished the first chapter.

Atari 50: The Anniversary Collection (Switch): Just about to enter the PC era.

@LaurenceJ1987
I thought I was the only one… it’s a beautiful game, but the difficulty spikes and the repetetiveness of the missions made me switch to Dying Light (the first one). It holds up amazingly well and puts Dead Island 2 to shame in so many ways it’s not even funny.

Lately I’ve been bouncing around a lot. Been playing Fight Night Round 2, Dirt Rally 2.0 and a lot of Dying Light. Had another go at Elden Ring but gave up again. Soulslikes are just too much for my patience.

@Romans12 I used the assault shotgun and military grenade to stun it then used the fury mode on it with the slayer card that let's you recharge fury for killing zombies and it died pretty fast.

I'm playing some Dead Island 2 and also some Assasin's Creed III remastered as I'm working my way through all of the games in order having never played these early ones on release.

@Rangers420 OK, thanks.

@gollumb82 Definitely not the only one. I've also just seen your other comment about soulslikes, and I share those thoughts too! There must be more of us around... 😬

Well here we are with another jam packed WAYP. Been a pretty quiet weekend. Skipped the switch mostly because of seeing Dune 2 on Friday and getting a nice solid start on Final Fantasy VII Rebirth on Saturday. Both absolutely beautiful and amazing works of art. Got a super duper early shift at my new store I’m working at on Monday so I think I’m gonna keep it light and chill on Sunday with just some Trails of Cold Steel IV. Finished up the Xenoblade 3 DLC: Future Redeemed this week and that was absolutely amazing as well. Leaves just the Pokémon DLC The Indigo Disk and the Splatoon 3 DLC Side Order to tackle tho with luck and help from a friend I should be able to wrap up all the Pokémon stuff tomorrow. Which means I’ll probably just focus on really trying to knock out Cold Steel IV while fitting in some time for Penny’s Big Breakaway and a copy of Unicorn Overload that I have coming in this week. Very extremely excited for that Vanillaware games are always a great time. Oh and trying to wrap up Rain Code too. Other than that mostly just a solid rotation of games on PS5 too like Tekken 8 and Granblue Fantasy Relink and Persona 3 Reload. And wrapping up Post Endwalker with the last patch 6.5 Growing Light. Anime of the week gotta go to Frieren and Mashle and High Card and Urusei Yatsura as always. Big special shout-out to Shameless again I’m absolutely addicted to that show. Podcasts of the week again gotta go to Castle Superbeast, Big Think Dimension, Into The Aether, Summon Sign, Windbreaker and Firelink and RPGsites Tetracast. And as always a big shoutout to my good friend over at twitch.tv/akibread keeping dreams and hopes alive. If the weather is as nice where any of y’all are at as it is here make sure to get out and enjoy it it’s beautiful and feels like a summer day. Make sure to stay safe out there and have awesome weekend and as always Happy Gaming.

@Lup Finally finished IW at 85 hours in. The first half of the last chapter was better than the 2nd half, but still a great game. Bring on the next! Now off to go clean up the side content and the Big Swell at my own pace.

@FarmDog08

Congrats, man! It's a big game, that's for sure.

I just started the final chapter. I'm 97 hours in but I was doing all the side content possible. I'm at the "you can't turn back" point and have both parties around LV50.
I might be able to finish today. It has been great so far.

@Lup My Hawaii group were all around 55 to begin the final chapter and my Japan group all started at 50 or so to begin their part. The Hawaii half was easier, but I enjoyed it more. I still have a lot to do, but I was eager to see the story ending. I'll do the rest in Premium Mode and come back for New Game+ after I've done what I want to wrap up. Yes, soooo good. This game should really be considered in GOTY conversations.

@FarmDog08

Just finished last night and my experience was pretty much the other way around, haha. Japan group was higher level and I ended up enjoying the second part more, but it was all really good to be honest.
Completely agree that it should be a GOTY contender. Amazing game.
There's a PS+ game that I want to play that is about to leave the service so I will be playing that but to be honest, I really wanna do all the extra stuff when I come back to Infinite Wealth.

@Lup Yes, a phenomenal game. I have only played through Yakuza: Like a Dragon, Like a Dragon Gaiden, and Infinite Wealth. Ichiban is my favorite protagonist in recent gaming. This could be why I enjoyed the Hawaian portions the most.

@FarmDog08

Oh, that might be why, yeah. I played the whole Infinite Wealth of games in the series (excuse my bad pun), so after like 9 games I wanted to see the end to Kiryu's journey.
But that doesn't mean I don't love Ichiban. He's f###ng great. A breath of fresh air. Loved him since his first scene in LaD. I'm with you there. All the life links and that stuff hit a lot harder after so many games. But I'm really glad the new games were able to get more gamers into the series.
Here's hoping the next game is Ichiban alone.