We’re another week closer to the all-important GOTY discussions, and our backlogs are looking bigger than ever. It’s time to find out if any of us have plans to do something about it, as we dive into another edition of What Are You Playing.
There has been a fair bit of news in the world of Nintendo this week. The Game Awards came and went, bringing a fair few announcements and a couple of prizes for the Big N. Nintendo expanded both its Nintendo 64 and GameCube NSO libraries, and let us see our most-played Nintendo Music tunes in the app’s ‘Year in Review‘. Skyrim landed on Switch 2 as another re-release — still at 30fps — and the Switch and Switch 2 were graced with a new system update.
Over on the reviews side of things, we shared our thoughts on Skate Story (8/10), Skyrim (4/10), Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition (8/10), Terminator 2D: NO FATE (7/10), and Pokémon Legends: Z-A Mega Dimension (6/10).
Another busy one, then. Let’s see what everyone is playing to cool off, shall we?
Jim Norman, Staff Writer
Oh gosh, there is so much that I want to play and so little time to play it! Despite having a good time with Metroid Prime 4 so far, I’m still only a couple of hours into it. I’m hoping to remedy that this weekend, but I’d also like to check out the Pokémon Legends: Z-A DLC, and finally wrap up Clair Obscur, which leaves time for… not much else.
Hey ho, back to the sofa we go!
Gavin Lane, Editor
As is customary in the race to catch up with the year’s games, I’ve distracted myself with something from eons ago that has zero relevance to 2025 GOTY discussions. The kids saw the Katamari Damacy REROLL icon on my Switch menu, and that was that. Helluva game, and its compulsive mix of simple goals, absurdity, and awesome audio has been a salve in the last couple of weeks.
Beyond that, I’m still playing the brilliant Simogo Legacy Collection (which managed to haul me from the BALL x PIT) and I’m enjoying Shinobi. Have a good one, folks.
Ollie Reynolds, Staff Writer
Okay, so how much did Leon’s gameplay in Resident Evil Requiem look like a cross between 4 and 6?! Wild. So of course that means I’m playing more RE this weekend. Specifically… yes, 4 and 6. Leon’s back baby, and I couldn’t be more thrilled.
I do, however, think it’s about time I actually play Final Fantasy Tactics properly. It’s been sitting on my home screen since launch and I’ve played the tutorial battle about 10 times before something else comes along and distracts me. Maybe I need to stop playing so much Resident Evil…
Nah.
Gonçalo Lopes, Contributor
By the time you’re reading this, I will have completed Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, and that is my GOTY 2025. I will be feeling a great emptiness in my life, that joy of experiencing a great work for the first time forever gone, the eagerness to see what comes next, find a new upgrade, fight a new boss and conclude Samus’ and her fellow stranded Federation soldiers’ ordeal (Federation Force sequel when?). More time to wrap up Hades II‘s proper ending and return to the streets of Yakuza Kiwami 2.
My game of the week is the much-delayed, much sublime Terminator 2D: No Fate. Bitmap Bureau took on a tall order by grabbing a franchise that is held dear in the hearts of gamers of my generation, but seems to have pulled it off. While Terminator 2 is one of the finest movie sequels ever produced, it never got a 2D platform run’n’gun game it deserved until yesterday. Maybe the future is gonna be OK after all.
Kate Gray, Contributor
This weekend, my mother-in-law has come to stay! What kind of games do mothers of the in-law variety enjoy? Well, I know she likes Mr Bean, because we watched two hours of Mr Bean last night. Is there a Mr Bean game? I don’t think I want to play it.
I’m still making my way through The Outer Worlds 2, and I just discovered the radio, which is now my favourite thing about the game. And it never tells you about it! Imagine playing Fallout without the radio. It would be a very different game. TOW2 has a similar musical vibe, with lots of jazz and swing, except it turns out that it was all commissioned for the game from real jazz and swing bands, with lyrics that reference in-game brands. Yes! All the music is advertising jingles! And it RULES. The lyrics are very funny, especially when you’re only half listening as you wander through space and you suddenly catch a line like “Come get your candyyyy (it’s tobacco) delicious candyyyy (that’s tobacco”.
Since it’s getting close to Christmas, me and my partner are also considering what our Christmas Time game will be! Right now, he’s replaying Super Mario Odyssey (it’s just as good as you remember it being!) but I’ve also got him the Final Fantasy Collection on Switch, because he expressed interest in wanting to watch me play Final Fantasy 6. He probably won’t read this, so I’m pretty sure it’s fine to say that here. But don’t tell him, okay?
Well, that’s what we have planned for this weekend, but what about you? Let us know your picks in the following poll.
