{"id":135314,"date":"2025-12-20T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-20T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/#article-195591"},"modified":"2025-12-20T10:00:00","modified_gmt":"2025-12-20T10:00:00","slug":"talking-point-what-are-you-playing-this-weekend-20th-december","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/2025\/12\/20\/talking-point-what-are-you-playing-this-weekend-20th-december\/","title":{"rendered":"Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (20th December)"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"media_block\"><a href=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/181e27c008e69\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/181e27c008e69\/small.jpg\" class=\"media_thumbnail\"><\/a><\/div>\n<figure class=\"picture\" data-uuid=\"181e27c008e69\"><a class=\"scanlines\" title=\"RE Santa\" href=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/181e27c008e69\/re-santa.large.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/181e27c008e69\/re-santa.900x.jpg\" width=\"900\" height=\"511\" alt=\"RE Santa\"><\/a><figcaption class=\"caption\"><em class=\"credit\"><span class><\/span> Image: Nintendo Life<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Ah yes, the weekend. Not just any ol&#8217; weekend either! No, it&#8217;s the weekend before Christmas, which means it&#8217;s time to start preparing your stomachs for an avalanche of food and chocolate.<\/p>\n<p>This week in the world of Nintendo, it seems that there may be an alternative to those ruddy Game Key Cards after an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/news\/2025\/12\/nintendo-has-a-game-key-card-alternative-in-the-works-with-smaller-switch-2-carts\">announcement from ININ Games<\/a>. We also received a lovely <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/news\/2025\/12\/divinity-original-sin-2-gets-surprise-nintendo-switch-2-edition-and-its-out-now\">new Switch 2 Edition<\/a> of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/nintendo-switch-2\/divinity-original-sin-2-nintendo-switch-2-edition\">Divinity: Original Sin 2<\/a> from Larian Studios, so hopefully this is a little precursor of things to come from the acclaimed developer.<\/p>\n<p>We also heard some rather grim news confirming that the US had its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/news\/2025\/12\/the-us-suffered-its-worst-november-since-1995-in-terms-of-hardware-sales\">worst November since 1995<\/a> in terms of hardware sales, which may be partially attributed to just how darn expensive everything is these days. In lighter news, however, the highly-anticipated <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/nintendo-switch-2\/final-fantasy-vii-remake-intergrade\">Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade<\/a> received <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/news\/2025\/12\/surprise-final-fantasy-vii-remake-intergrades-free-switch-2-demo-is-now-live\">a free demo on the Switch 2 eShop<\/a>, so be sure to give it a shot if you&#8217;re interested!<\/p>\n<p><!-- cache: html:nintendolife.com\/ssl\/nintendo-switch-2\/related-articles:195565 @ 1766282901 --><\/p>\n<aside class=\"block object-related\"> <\/aside>\n<h2>Jim Norman, Staff Writer<\/h2>\n<p>The Christmas spirit is well and truly underway at Casa Jim this weekend, so I\u2019ll be bringing out the big guns with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/nintendo-switch-2\/super-mario-party-jamboree-nintendo-switch-2-edition-plus-jamboree-tv\">Super Mario Party Jamboree<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/nintendo-switch\/nintendo_switch_sports\">Nintendo Switch Sports<\/a>. As has become something of a tradition in recent years, I\u2019ll probably end up dusting off the Wii U GamePad and setting up a few rounds of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/wiiu\/nintendo_land\">Nintendo Land<\/a> to keep everyone happy \u2014 they just don\u2019t make \u2018em like this any more!<\/p>\n<p>Sure, I technically still have a bunch of 2025 games that I\u2019d like to finish before the year is up, but hey, that\u2019s not very festive now is it?<\/p>\n<h2>Ollie Reynolds, Staff Writer<\/h2>\n<p>I&#8217;m checking out <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/nintendo-switch-2\/layers-of-fear-the-final-masterpiece-edition\">Layers of Fear: The Final Masterpiece Edition<\/a> on the Switch 2 at the moment, so please keep an eye out for my review very soon!<\/p>\n<p>Otherwise, since I&#8217;ve pretty much finalised my list for Game of the Year, I&#8217;m in no hurry to try and play games that I might have missed over the months. With that in mind, I&#8217;m going to go back to something familiar and comforting&#8230; Yes, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/switch-eshop\/resident_evil\">Resident Evil<\/a> \u2013 how did you know?<\/p>\n<h2>Gon\u00e7alo Lopes, Contributor<\/h2>\n<p>My head has been up in the (virtual) clouds since the VGA announcement of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pushsquare.com\/games\/ps5\/ace_combat_8_wings_of_theve\" class=\"external\">Ace Combat 8: The Wings of Theve<\/a> so I got back into <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/nintendo-switch\/ace_combat_7_skies_unknown_deluxe_edition\">Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown<\/a>, a game that is begging for a Switch 2 update. The final physical games arrived so there will also be some <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/switch-eshop\/mandragora_whispers_of_the_witch_tree\">Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/switch-eshop\/old_school_rally\">Old School Rally<\/a> thrown into the rotation along with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.purexbox.com\/games\/xbox-one\/halo_the_master_chief_collection\" class=\"external\">Halo: The Master Chief Collection<\/a> (on my way to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.purexbox.com\/games\/xbox-360\/halo_3\" class=\"external\">Halo 3<\/a> now!).<\/p>\n<p>Game of the week is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/nintendo-switch-2\/yakuza-kiwami-2\">Yakuza Kiwami 2<\/a>. It is my goal to wrap it up before 2026. So far up to chapter 9 and loving every bit of it. It reminds me we are but two shy months away from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/nintendo-switch-2\/yakuza-kiwami-3-and-dark-ties\">Kiwami 3<\/a>! Happy holidays everyone!<\/p>\n<aside class=\"object object-youtube\">\n<figure class=\"youtube with-primis\" data-videoid=\"kE1U09DuFjY\" data-start=\"0\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/kE1U09DuFjY?rel=0&amp;hd=1&amp;showinfo=0&amp;modestbranding=0&amp;autohide=1\" readability=\"0.41463414634146\"><\/figure>\n<\/aside>\n<h2>Kate Gray, Contributor<\/h2>\n<p>I&#8217;m playing&#8230; oh dear. The same games as last week. Aren&#8217;t I boring. That&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pushsquare.com\/games\/ps5\/outer_worlds_2\" class=\"external\">Outer Worlds 2<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/nintendo-switch-2\/hades-ii-nintendo-switch-2-edition\">Hades II<\/a>, and <strong>Astro Prospector<\/strong>. They&#8217;re good! And I don&#8217;t have the brainpower for anything new in the run-up to Christmas!<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m also playing through the festive content in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/switch-eshop\/hello_kitty_island_adventure\">Hello Kitty Island Adventure<\/a>, but that&#8217;s because I wrote a lot of it, so&#8230; does that count? Probably not. Also, does this count as self-promotion? Am I in trouble? Please don&#8217;t give me a lump of coal. Or whatever the Nintendo Life version of that is.<\/p>\n<h2>Alex Olney, Video Producer<\/h2>\n<p>My weekend should be pretty full this side of Christmas (we&#8217;re having duck), but if I manage to find some time to squeeze in a game or two, I&#8217;ll definitely be diving into Layers of Fear: The Final Masterpiece Edition. I loved the original, but never delved into anything beyond the base game, so I&#8217;m keen to see what this new version can throw at me.<\/p>\n<p>Felix and I are also planning to continue our time with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/switch-eshop\/we_were_here_together\">We Were Here Together<\/a> at some point as well, but that is&#8230; unlikely to happen over the immediate weekend.<\/p>\n<h2>Alana Hagues, Deputy Editor<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/nintendo-switch-2\/octopath-traveler-0\">Octopath Traveler 0<\/a> is going to take Zach and I a <em>long<\/em> time to get through. We&#8217;re maybe 35 hours through and the town building has only just opened up more. How long do we have left? No idea, and that&#8217;s kind of exciting!<\/p>\n<p>But for the holidays, I&#8217;ve picked up <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/switch-eshop\/tiny_bookshop\">Tiny Bookshop<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/switch-eshop\/despelote\">despelote<\/a>. The latter I&#8217;ve been waiting to come to Switch for a while, and the former seems like perfect cosy Christmas gaming. However you celebrate, readers, make time for your loved ones and get some rest!<\/p>\n<aside class=\"object object-youtube\">\n<figure class=\"youtube with-primis\" data-videoid=\"bl-3d2OCRUw\" data-start=\"0\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/bl-3d2OCRUw?rel=0&amp;hd=1&amp;showinfo=0&amp;modestbranding=0&amp;autohide=1\" readability=\"0.29824561403509\"><\/figure>\n<\/aside>\n<hr>\n<p><em>Well, that&#8217;s what we have planned for this weekend, but what about you? Let us know your picks in the following poll.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Image: Nintendo Life Ah yes, the weekend. Not just any ol&#8217; weekend either! No, it&#8217;s the weekend before Christmas, which means it&#8217;s time to start preparing your stomachs for an avalanche of food and chocolate. This week in the world of Nintendo, it seems that there may be an alternative to those ruddy Game Key [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-135314","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nintendo-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135314","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=135314"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135314\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=135314"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=135314"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=135314"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}