Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 525

PS5 wise:
Persona 3 Reload
FFVII Remake Rebirth
MGS2
Sonic Superstars
Star Ocean Second Story R
Possibly Cult of the Lamb and Rise of the Ronin

PS4 wise:
ESO
Hades
GTA3
Mass Effect
Dark Cloud

Kingdome come! Let the hype for KC2 begin!

Never finished it on PS4, way too slow with the loading and such.
But Dragons Dogma 2 was such an utter disappointment that I need to cleanse myself with a proper medieval RPG.

Just been playing an hour or two of Helldivers in the evenings this week. It’s going to end up being one of my most played games ever at this point.

I need to get back to DD2 which I fell off after reaching the 2nd main city about 40 hours in.

Dragons dogma 2 for me and some helldivers 2. Nice day today so I'm off to the golf course this morning. Have a smasher of a weekend folks 👍

More Cold Steel 3 for me. Deep into chapter 3 now. I've been playing the Trails games for a year now near enough, and pretty much exclusively since the end of last summer. Really enjoying my time with them but I'm starting to be ready for another break. I think that will come with Stellar Blade next week.

The plan is to get the platinum trophy for Ion Fury (just all kills and secrets during a run left) ahead of Stellar Blade coming out.

If I get done by Sunday, I'll start Dave the Diver as that looks chill.

Stellar blade demo if I get a chance!

Deep into Dragon's Dogma 2 on an alt account. Different Arisen, different pawn, same amazing adventures.

I’ve made it to the point of no return in FF7 rebirthmake I think so I’ll attempt to finish it this weekend hopefully. Beyond that jak lost frontier has finally been patched so will be going for the platinum and also some touch my Katamari on vita and driver 76 on psp.

Chipping away at my backlog pile of shame with the AC Odyssey First Blade DLC and some more Torchlight 2. Have a good weekend all!

73 hours in to FFXVI and loving it. Need to get back to LotF so I can justify getting Rebirth (one out, one in). Have an awesome gaming weekend folks!

I’m waiting for the free PS5 update for fallout 4, so instead I’m still filling my time with Persona 5 royal and I’m itching to start Dave the diver.

I took a punt on Cocoon this past week and had a blast. But with that now finished and the platinum in the bag, I may well go back to Final Fantasy VII Rebirth this weekend. I left it just as I was arriving at the Gold Saucer.

However, having just binged The Last of Us TV show with my daughter over the past couple days, she really wants to know what happens in Part II. So, with her home from uni for the next couple weeks and my wife visiting family overseas, we might start a fresh play through of The Last of Us Part II Remastered. I’m itching to know if she’ll love it as much as I do!

Gonna make a start on Fallout New Vegas, I played it back when it released but don’t think that I actually ever finished it. Looking forward going back.

@Dragoon1994 serious question, how can you play more than 2 games in one weekend?

Started my second year on Stardew Valley. Just cooking and making friends now I’ve upgraded everything. What a life.

I am fully back into Destiny 2! So this will be taking most of my time. Apart from that, may do a few more Returnal runs, to clean up the last few trophies for the Platinum. Happy Gaming All!

FF7 Rebirth: in Nibelheim now. This game is really quite weak compared to Remake that had a lot more forward momentum. The biggest issue to me is the game literally did not move forward plot wise since you leave Junon until Cosmo Canyon. Then you have sequences like Dyne's which are unintentionally comedic and it is just a disappointment. I'm hoping the last few chapters are good and save my overall feeling of "MEH" towards the game. The open world stuff absolutely sucks and falls far more into Ubisoft territory than Horizon or Witcher territory. The mini-games are awful for the most part and mandatory often enough to make you actively hate them. 6-7/10 so far.

Nier Replicant: A fascinating game that does the Found Family dynamics a million times better than Rebirth, is funnier, more emotional and much shorter. Also less minigames and you don't need to waste time on side quests. 8.5/10 so far.

BG3: This game will never end!!! Just reached the lower city and there is so much to do! But it is consistently fun and high quality though there is a big pacing drop in Act 3. 9/10 so far.

Hoping Stellar Blade gets positive reviews so I can pre-order it but given the recent Kotaku and Inverse articles and the way certain journalists online are behaving I do not expect it. Just bad discourse from every side.

After finishing the excellent Dragon's Dogma 2 I'm not sure what to play next. Maybe Mario Wonder, Balatro or Freedom Planet. Alternatively I could just play Street Fighter 6. Decisions Decisions.

@xeofate Depends on if you have no games on the horizon to buy. Wonder is quite short. Maybe 12 hours to 100% if you suck like me. Balatro will never let you go.

@breakneck I have nothing major lined up to buy. Mario Wonder could be a nice change of pace after Dragon's Dogma. I don't really want to get into another 80+ hour game which might rule out Balatro haha

@xeofate Yeah you cannot go wrong with Mario then. It is fun and short especially if you have a partner to co-op with you.

Jumped on the bandwagon and reinstalled Fallout 4 - already platinumed, only a few trophies lurking in Far Harbor and Nuka World. Dunno why I didn't really get into Fallout 3 back in the day, maybe the colors were a bit annoying. I'll probably roam a bit in the wasteland and just return to my default MHW Iceborne, HFW, ER, BB or AC Valhalla.

Dragon's Dogma 2 60 hours played and heading for the endgame. Next week I got Stellar Blade hopefully arriving on release date

With a rekindled love of GT7 i will be playing more of that i suspect. Been trying to do the same challenge for 4 nights now, over 1000 miles driven with no success. Moby Dick #7 The pass. Bloody nightmare 🤬

Balatro, my friends... Balatro.

Should be rainy and cold weather where I live during whole weekend so looking forward to watching FA Cup semis, NHL play-offs in the TV, maybe some NBA too...

PS5 wise, I´m playing Unravel 2 with my older son, the younger one is all about Astro´s Playroom - hope there will be some sequel in the future.

Me personally working on some trophies in Elden Ring - I found out that I missed one legendary armament in Leyndel, Royal Capital so that trophy only possible on ng+ which I´m going to start anyway due to 2 other endings pending for the platinum. Plan is to get the plat till DLC arrives so let´s see.

Happy gaming and enjoy the weekend, everyone!

Went back on plus for Dave the diver. I'm enjoying it so far. Got ps5 version of doom eternal downloading for some demon slaying. Maybe bit of Resi 7 too. Having a blast going back to that

Won’t have too much time to play this weekend but when I do I will be slowly making my way through the final chapters of Infinite Wealth and I will give Miasma Chronicles a go as well.

Dave the Diver. As addicted to it as I was to Balatro before it!

The way more and more stuff opens up to you as you go along is brilliant. And the loop of fishing, buying, upgrading, story, more upgrading etc is very addictive in a similar way to Stardew Valley.

Assassin's Creed Valhalla. It was going to be a long and arduous journey trying to get from one part of the map to another, but I have just unlocked the cat for my ship. That makes this whole journey worth it.

Trails from Zero and Mass Effect for me! Both games will keep me occupied for a while yet haha. Happy gaming everyone!

Playing the Game of Life!! Have a wedding to go to later this morning. Planning on partying to the break of dawn!!! 💃🏽 Will probably resume gaming Monday (one of the perks of being retired!!). Even though I'm not deep into it yet, I'm developing an addiction to Solasta: Crown of the Magister (like all the games I've really enjoyed, I find myself thinking about it when I'm not playing).

Wishing everyone a great weekend!

Playing

Diablo IV (XSX)
Half-Life (Steam Deck)
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Switch)
Yakuza: Like A Dragon (PS5)

Paused

Assassin's Creed: Valhalla (PS5)
Divinity: Original Sin (XSX)

Backlog

Castlevania
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Divinity: Original Sin II
Half-Life 2
Portal
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Red Dead Redemption 2
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Im going to play one of the best video games ever made in the incredible rpg divinity original sin 2 definitive edition.i will also play the instant classic the excellent judment.i will also play one of the best open worlds games ever in the amazing metal gear 5 the phantom pain definitive edition.and i will play the classic the wonderful crisis core final fantasy 7 reunion.its nba playoffs time.i will be watching my boston Celtics 💚🖤 🏆 🏀 play.i will be watching legendary sitcoms 📺 tv comedy in good times.sanford and son.the Jeffersons.and saved by the bell.word up son

30 hours into Dave the Diver, more fun than any AAA games.

After a couple of months of playing Helldivers 2 I will be playing more Helldivers 2, I also have an itch to try out Freedom Wars on the Vita as I got a cheap copy at CEX. Plus hoping to watch my team avoid an upset in the FA Cup and Sunday 😬

Happy Gaming folks

Im playing the following:

1. Elden Ring
2. Elden Ring
3. Oh, and...more Elden Ring.

@Kidfunkadelic83 a lot of people seem to be back on GT again. Good to see!. I’ll be finishing up Planet Coaster platinum and continuing the Demons souls grind . Have a good one chaps/chapessess

I’ve worked seven straight days, but I’m taking this weekend and the subsequent Monday and Tuesday off to celebrate my birthday. I won’t be playing much due to family gatherings and what-have-you, but I did manage to platinum Rise of the Ronin yesterday.

I have to retract my statement from last week — I no longer think it’s Team Ninja’s best game (but it is a great game, nonetheless). The story is extremely convoluted, and the RPG elements, particularly with dialogue choices and story decision(s) have no true meaning. With that said, I did enjoy its open world and activities. Similarly to NiOh 2, the game is way too long. I wish there was a more tighter experience, but I think this trend is going to continue on if the ending to RoTN is any indication.

As of now, I’ll either take a break from gaming until Stellar Blade releases, or I will try Dave The Diver on my PS5. With the acclaim it has received over the last year, I’m tempted to give it a try because it seems cozy and the perfect game to unwind with on my PlayStation Portal. Plus, it’s something different and that’s something I need since I essentially played 200+ hours of third person action RPGs over the course of the last three games (Final Fantasy 7 Remake/Rebirth and RoTR).

I also finished the book series Shogun by James Clavell. A part of me feels empty now — the characters and world building were so well realized that it’s difficult to think these are fictional characters. I’ve grown attached to many of the interconnected stories within, and it’s hard to let them go. It’s such an incredible story, and might go down as my favorite book(s) of all time.

Played some more of the beautiful Final Fantasy XVI The Rising Tide DLC. The story is strong, there is a deep theme. The new eikonic power is quite engaging too!! I will travel today, so no gaming until monday. Happy weekend folks!!!

Ch. 10 of Rebirth. I’m loving and ready to move on at the same time. I’d like to finish up before Stellar Blade this week.

Other than that, Dragon’s Dogma 2 and Balatro. Maybe Snowrunner if the mood strikes.

Another weekend, more Final Fantasy VII Rebirth

Robocop - I've finished and platinumed it. Really good game, old school fun and great humor. Can really recommend it!

Synapse - The gameplay in this game is really fun and addicting, and as you play you unlock some cool abilities that makes it even more fun. Like being able to use kinetic powers to grab and smash enemies There are also generous save point making it easy to play in shorter bursts as well as longer sessions, I tend to play shorter sessions when playing in VR.

Immortals of Aveum - Started this after finishing Robocop and I have to say I'm surprised at how much I enjoy it given the mixed reviews. The first two hours are really good imo, it might get repetetive and tedious and boring after a while but after rereading the review here on EG I dont really agree with some of the negative points, at least not yet. Interesting to see how I feel about the game in 10 hours more but right now I'm looking forward to playing more

Dave the Diver - I've played a bit, and can see the appeal so I'll play more but I dont think it'll be my GOTY. But its a nice game to play in between other games

Miasma Chronicles - I liked their previous game Mutant Year Zero and this game is very similar in gameplay but I feel like the setting and story in Mutant was better but I havent played for that long so it might change. Another game Im playing a short while here and there.

Harold Halibut - looks absolutely amazing but plays slow and boring as hell sadly... might give it some more time though, it might grow on me

Having great fun delving into Ancient Dungeon. Completed two runs so starting to upgrade my weapons and get used to what abilities are best for my play style. Very addictive game, and so many hours of great gameplay for the price.

@somnambulance Usually when I have that mood, I replay a short old game like a Mario, Ratchet or something light hearted or I move to other media like movies or tv shows. Also hope your family gets well soon!

Having so much fun with Dave the Diver. The game is super addictive. It would be perfect on a handheld. I wish I had started my playthrough on the PS4 in the bedroom instead of the PS5 in the living room, but I would probably never go to sleep at night. Anyway, the game is on hold now because it is Record Store Day and I am in search of The Rolling Stones self titled debut album with the UK tracklist. Limited quantities pressed, so wish me luck.

Got myself a portal, love it, for when it's Mrs turn for the TV. Enjoying Dragons Dogma 2, could do with a 60 mode rather than some of the recently announced updates, but ah well.

I'm finishing my 2023 backlog . My new year resolution was that I will not buy any new games till I've finished them all. .
Ff16 - done 2 weeks ago
Halo infinite - done last weekend
Alan wake 2 - 2nd half
Diablo 4 -act 2 almost done
Armoured core 6 - last chapter
Plague's Tale Requiem - 2nd half

Can we get a poll here like on nintendolife?

My father in law is staying with us so game time will be slim pickings this weekend. When I can though I will be diving between Helldivers 2 and Dave the Diver.

I’ve put Rise of the Ronin on the back burner in order to rip through the two FF XVI DLC’s. Happy Gaming!

@HeavymetalGordon Not only will I also be watching NHL playoffs but I’m also playing through Unravel 2 with my son and also missed the same trophy as you on my Elden Ring play through. I feel very understood right now 😂 Cheers!

Deliver us Mars. DutM really had a grip on me, this one seems even better so far.

Unicorn Overlord. That will be the main game on PS5.

Angry Birds Star Wars II (Windows Phone) - Since I'm packing to move to my first house. I'm just playing this one game this weekend.

PS5 - Final Fantasy XVI

Switch - Princess Peach: Showtime, Metroid Dread

I have been working my way through My Time at Portia for the last month or so. Decided to take a break and play something a bit more chill, and this definitely is relaxing. I find that I can lose a few hours at a time into it without realizing it.

Ff7 rebirth. Finishing it up this weekend. 125 hrs and what a journey it's been. One of the very best games out there, I can't believe they managed to pull it off as well as they did. I'd love to stay and get the platinum but that would probably double my play time lol. And I just don't have the patience for that anymore. But this was an amazing game

After that I'll probably try some indies on ps plus extra while I wait for stellar blade to finally release

Fallout 3 with an HD textures mod

I shall be having some drinks and playing Grounded with my girlfriend tonight. Fun game so far, been wanting to play it for ages!

U.S. sports junkie in me going to be busy enough with such respective titles (MLB / NFL / NHL / NBA).

Just finished Evil West so moving onto Neon White. Been playing some Peglin on mobile too, would recommend

I borrowed PoP: The Lost Crown from my library and am really enjoying it. I forgot how much I missed this franchise. I'm glad it's getting some new life in the AA scope.

Looking forward to your review Sammy.

PS5: Street Fighter 6 and Fallout 4 (backlog)
Series X: Witcher 3, my fifth playthrough or something. Havent played it in years but decided to do another run and take my time with it. Such a great game. I love being back in Velen.
Switch: Super Mario Wonder (backlog)

@Gamer83 love the contrast you got going on between Metroid Dread and Princess Peach Showtime. Sounds like a great weekend!

Avatar: Frontiers. CEX bargain and a game that would never have been played on steam deck as I won't sideload all the bloomin stores.

I'm playing the Shadows Of Undrentide module for Neverwinter Nights. This is the last of the old school D&D based games I have in my library (BG1 & 2, Planescape, Icewind Dale). Baldur's Gate 1 & 2 still rank highest for the writing and scale of the story, but I am enjoying this current module quite a lot.

I've started a new playthrough of Fallout 4 after watching the TV show. I tried the XDefiant server test but hit detection seems all over the place. I'll try and get back to Rebirth later on if i can motivate myself but I've been saying that for weeks lol.

Potentially finishing up FFXVI this weekend or early next week. Currently playing through Rising Tide and then have the final mission to polish off my first pass through this game. I’m tempted to go for the platinum as I did everything in the base game so just need a second play-through on hard. 63 hours of pure joy. I’m going to be sad to put the game down finally. Other than that, probably some OG God of War on the Vita. I’m at the first boss and forgot how hard games used to be on normal. Definitely my favorite God of War game still to this day.

I could not bring myself to start another 50 plus hour game, so I started Bugsnax, on the side I am visiting Iki island in Ghost of Tsushima, I think I am halfway through it.

Happy gaming everyone.

@Slippship I got it last week but it's not grabbed me at all

@RudeAnimat0r wow your library is way better than mine 😂

It shall be more Red Dead Redemption II for me…
Im sure it has a story to tell, but I’m still way more interested in just riding around the map and making my own narratives. Even after all these years, it’s still incredible stuff.
Adopt Arthur Morgan voice: “happy gaming y’all” 🖤

@rusty82 I was actually pretty shocked, but one of the libraries near me has a small collection of modern console games. I was also eyeballing Unicorn Overlord, but knew PoP was short enough I might actually beat it during a borrowing period.

I'll just start every one of these with Dragon's Dogma 2 now 😂

Apart from that I picked up Harold Halibut and Alone in the Dark - both great and offering a nice variation in gameplay.

Harold Halibut is stunning yet leaves me feeling kind of icky and uncomfortable as the whole clay character look has always creeped me out.

@breakneck Interesting perspective, I felt Remake was more bland and had a forgettable story. So much so that it was surreal that Cloud and I were having the same "I don't remember much but this all seems somewhat familiar" moments. It was like I truly was sharing his fever dream in Rebirth. LOL

@Zuljaras always enjoy your posts how are you always first do you stay up all night too make sure lol

@QualityGeezer Probably as a supporter has first crack at articles. Love the posts as well.

@tselliot yeah it's cool here always posts pictures of his games which is cool just random he's always first like magic

Just platinum’ed Days Gone so I’m trying to find something new before Stellar Blade. Any similar recs to Days Gone, anyone?

@Zuljaras I love sèing your game choice pictures mate it's fun too see

Still Persona 5 Royal lol. I just hit 100 hours and I’m in the 2nd to last Palace with 78% of the trophies. My 130th platinum is within my grasp. It will be mine… oh, yes… it will be mine.

I'm not saying this as a fan boy but I honestly think final fantasy rebirth is unbelievable!! What a game! No spoilers but the ending made me cry all again

Grounded with friends!

Playing Rebirth and Foamstars

Have a good weekend yall!

@CWill97 You might like Mad Max, it has a similar feel and premise to Days Gone, however, not nearly as long. I enjoyed my time with it quite a bit especially upgrading my car. The combat is a blast too, imo. You might also want to check out the Forbidden West DLC as the main villain is the same actor that played Deacon and his performance is one of my favorites he’s done.

Just going through NG+ on Ultra Hard in HORIZON Forbidden West in an attempt to clean up the trophy stack and get it to 100%.

@BeerIsAwesome I'm about 20 hours in to my first proper play through and I'm loving it. I enjoyed other Assassin's Creed games too, but I'm really enjoying being a viking. It plays great on PS5 too, which is a bonus. I want a cat for my boat!

@thefourfoldroot1 Is that the vr one? I loved it so much! I might reinstall as I'd forgotten about it. Chopping vines is so satisfying.

@Gigawatt-Kapow
Yes it is. Such a great game. Although I’ve not tried chopping vines consciously, lol.

@CWill97 Mad Max is quite similar but overall a easier game. You upgrade the car, you have arkham style free flow with more difficulty, the open world is fun to traverse, story is good. Days Gone does most of it better but the Wasteland and art direction of Mad Max is better.

@thefourfoldroot1 You should. 😄

@Gigawatt-Kapow The cat is entirely cosmetic, and it sits under the pedestal that Eivor stands on when commanding the ship. There's a world quest (mystery) in Norwich (Northwich in the game) where you have to help a kid chase a cat, and once you catch the cat you get to keep it.

@BeerIsAwesome You are a gentleman and a scholar. Thank you for this info.

PS. In my experience, all cats exist in a binary state of "entirely cosmetic" or "entirely chaotic". We've got 3.

Playing abit of pacific drive,still very early on in the game ,takes quite bit time to get used to all menus etc and the way the controller buttons work, I've only started my second run out of garage and already pacific drive is great ,totally different to anything else I've played but in a very gd way different.im not gonna go into detail about the game as I don't want to spoil anything for others ,anyone that's thinking about getting it but not sure, I'd say don't sleep on it as I did abit concerned as others have said bout fps etc ,gameplay has been smooth so far.really enjoying it and dare I say if it carries on like this ,it'll put some much higher budget games to shame

@BIG3
Both great games, for sure. Metroid Dread is actually my favorite game of this current gen so I always have it in the rotation.

Alrighty here we go with another WAYP. Gonna be a real busy one this week with everything that’s occurred and everything upcoming this week. Who told the last week of April to be so packed????? Anywho here we go with a packed week of some Dragons Dogma 2 and the FFXVI DLC The Rising Tide as well as some more Princess Peach Showtime and AI: The Somnium Files. AI in particular is just absolutely excellent. Also snagged a bunch of good sales this week like Suicide Squad and Hollow Knight. Even some preorders like Endless Ocean: Luminous and Little Kitty Big City. Even snagged WWE 2K23 for cheap to get some wrestling love going. We love Rhea Ripley. As for this weekend I dabbled in some of the Splatoon 3 Springfest and some WWE 2K23 and the rest of the weekend I’m thinking some Trails Into Reverie and some Persona 3 Reload. Loving both of those games too they’re really exciting RPGs. As for the week ahead oh boi we got a busy one we talking Eiyuden Chronicles: Hundred Heroes, Tales of Kenzaura: Zau, Saga Emerald Beyond, the Fallout 4 PS5 upgrade, the Knuckles show, the full Persona 3 Reload OST on Spotify, and the crown jewel of the week Stellar Blade. To say I’m excited is a bit of a understatement because I am positively hype. Of course I’ll be working with all those games on Switch and PS5 and others already listed like Suicide Squad but I’ve of course still got other ones I’m looking to put more time into as well like Pepper Grinder, Another Code, Mario Vs Donkey Kong, FFVII Rebirth and probably many more I’m already forgetting hahaha. Anime this week are gonna be a shout-out to the standouts of the Winter season before next week we pick out our Spring ones. Those of course being Witch and the Beast, High Card, Metallic Rouge, Shangri-La Frontier, Undead Unluck, Delicious in Dungeon, and my GOAT URUSEI YATSURA. Also might get to go on a ooting this week and get to see the new Spy X Family: Code White Movie. Also in terms of shows I’m gonna try to focus on Twisted Metal and FALLOUT and of course Knuckles. As for podcasts of the week I gotta give it to my usual favorites like Castle Superbeast, Big Think Dimension, Into the Aether, RPGsites Tetracast, Remap Radio, Minnmax, Windbreak and Firelink and just like the games probably so many more that I’ve forgotten. With how my jobs getting with morning shifts I’m getting to cash in on those GOTY podcasts. Don’t think I mentioned this here but I also completed the full smash bros set of amiibos a week or two ago. Extremity proud of it. And of course we gotta give a lovely shoutout to my good friend over at twitch.tv/akibread and their stupendous stunning streams. As always y’all stay safe and be good to each other. Have a great rest of the weekend and week, And Happy Gaming.

Finally jumping into The Outer Worlds- Spacers’ Choice Edition. Absolutely loving the humor so far.

Beat the mainline story quest in Skyrim, now just polishing off the rest of the trophies to get the platinum. To think a PS3 game still holds up to current games is amazing.

@Gigawatt-Kapow Not a problem. I have a cat, and while he has the means and the capacity to rule the world, he spends about 90% of his life asleep. 😅

@MrBook They really don't. I can't believe it's been nearly 15 years. I remember getting off work at midnight, hitting the Taco Bell drive-thru (spending only $3 in the process), and playing that game at my bachelor pad until 3 or 4am for weeks. This was around the same time I started dating my wife. Just like you mentioned, the mineral mini game and reading all of the descriptions of the planets was such a cool experience. Lots of extrasolar captures, hot Jupiters, and bits of lore about ancient battles that took place.

@rusty82 it's a slow start I'll grant you. But so was Horizon FW. I shall push through. Days gone was similar and that turned out to be one of the best games I've played. Slow starts can ruin a rep.