{"id":136714,"date":"2026-04-04T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-04T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/#article-199468"},"modified":"2026-04-04T09:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-04-04T09:00:00","slug":"talking-point-what-are-you-playing-this-weekend-4th-april","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/2026\/04\/04\/talking-point-what-are-you-playing-this-weekend-4th-april\/","title":{"rendered":"Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (4th April)"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"media_block\"><a href=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/ca5fc3e95bbf1\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/ca5fc3e95bbf1\/small.jpg\" class=\"media_thumbnail\"><\/a><\/div>\n<figure class=\"picture\" data-uuid=\"ca5fc3e95bbf1\"><a class=\"scanlines\" title=\"Pokemon Pokopia\" href=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/ca5fc3e95bbf1\/pokemon-pokopia.large.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/ca5fc3e95bbf1\/pokemon-pokopia.900x.jpg\" width=\"900\" height=\"506\" alt=\"Pokemon Pokopia\"><\/a><figcaption class=\"caption\"><em class=\"credit\"><span class><\/span> Image: Kate Gray \/ Nintendo<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Hello there, lovely people. (Hey, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Z-JlXw4Vzio\">Alex is off right now<\/a>, so I&#8217;m nabbing the catchphrase.)<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s been a Mario-filled week with the launch of a certain record-breaking motion picture. Yes, <strong>The Super Mario Galaxy Movie<\/strong> came out fire flowers blazing this week. Reviews followed in the footsteps of its predecessor, with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/news\/2026\/03\/round-up-the-reviews-are-in-for-the-super-mario-galaxy-movie\">critics failing to be wowed<\/a> while audiences <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/news\/2026\/04\/the-super-mario-galaxy-movie-opening-day-breaks-multiple-records-worldwide\">packed the multiplexes<\/a>. The most surprising thing? <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/news\/2026\/04\/gallery-we-werent-prepared-for-the-sheer-size-of-yoshis-popcorn-bucket\">The size of that Yoshi popcorn bucket<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Elsewhere, gaming companies got in on April Fools with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/features\/round-up-its-april-fools-day-here-are-the-best-gaming-gags-weve-seen-2026\">an assortment of gags<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/nintendo-switch\/mario_and_sonic_at_the_olympic_games_tokyo_2020\">Mario &amp; Sonic 2020<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/news\/2026\/03\/mario-and-sonic-at-the-olympic-games-tokyo-2020-has-been-delisted-from-switch-eshop\">got delisted<\/a>, and Roger Craig Smith <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/news\/2026\/03\/theres-exciting-stuff-coming-sonics-voice-actor-teases-35th-anniversary-celebrations\">teased some &#8220;exciting stuff&#8221;<\/a> ahead of the hedgehog&#8217;s 35th anniversary in June. And the Artemis II mission inspired us to revisit and rejig our selection of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/guides\/best-space-and-sci-fi-games-on-nintendo-switch-1-and-2\">Best Space And Sci-Fi Games On Nintendo Switch 1 <em>and<\/em> (now) 2<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><!-- cache: html:nintendolife.com\/ssl\/nintendo-switch\/related-articles:199313,199365,198741 @ 1775304066 --><\/p>\n<aside class=\"block object-related\"> <\/aside>\n<p>But it&#8217;s Saturday now, so let&#8217;s check in with Team NL and co. to find out about their weekend gaming plans&#8230;<\/p>\n<h2>Jim Norman, Features Editor<\/h2>\n<p>My brain is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/nintendo-switch-2\/pokemon-pokopia\">Pokopia<\/a>, , and more Pokopia at the moment. I have been on holiday all week, soaking up the sun and chilling in the sea, but where does my mind keep going? \u201cHmm, I bet if I put four patches of grass on the shoreline, I\u2019d attract something special\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>I can\u2019t stop. I won\u2019t stop. If this isn\u2019t in my GOTY top five come December, we will have had a very strong year indeed!<\/p>\n<aside class=\"object object-youtube\">\n<figure class=\"youtube with-primis\" data-videoid=\"n9KYnRhqaNk\" data-start=\"0\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/n9KYnRhqaNk?rel=0&amp;hd=1&amp;showinfo=0&amp;modestbranding=0&amp;autohide=1\"><\/figure>\n<\/aside>\n<h2>Kate Gray, Contributor<\/h2>\n<p>I&#8217;ve been playing an awful lot of Pokopia. I&#8217;ve even managed to technically use it to &#8220;work&#8221; because I built one of the houses from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/switch-eshop\/moonstone_island\">Moonstone Island<\/a>! Wow. That means it&#8217;s basically a business expense, right?<\/p>\n<p>Which does mean I&#8217;ve been neglecting my <a href=\"https:\/\/www.timeextension.com\/news\/2025\/08\/ayn-reveals-release-date-colours-and-specs-for-its-pocket-ds-rival\" class=\"external\">AYN Thor<\/a>, despite setting it up to play all the Prof Laytons and handheld Zeldas (or handheldas). Send me your niche DS and 3DS game recommendations, please! And I mean niche, I&#8217;ve been a Nintendo journalist for long enough that &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/3ds-eshop\/pullblox\">Pullblox<\/a>&#8221; ain&#8217;t gonna cut it. <i title=\":wink:\" class=\"twa twa-lg twa-wink\"><\/i><\/p>\n<h2>Gavin Lane, Editor<\/h2>\n<p>This week I have been mostly perusing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/guides\/100plus-switch-1-and-2-games-to-check-out-in-nintendos-find-save-play-sale-europe\">the eShop sale<\/a> and wondering what gems I could pick up cheap and add to the backlog. What I <em>should<\/em> do is pick one, like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/switch-eshop\/abzu\">Abzu<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/switch-eshop\/deaths_door\">Death&#8217;s Door<\/a>, which I bought years ago and finally play it. I&#8217;m also keen to play <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/nintendo-switch-2\/kena-bridge-of-spirits\">Kena: Bridge of Spirits<\/a>, but let&#8217;s see where the weekend takes me.<\/p>\n<h2>Mai Ladyman, Video Producer<\/h2>\n<p>As per usual, my current games are a bit of a mishmash. It&#8217;s been somewhat of a Mario week since picking up <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/nintendo-switch\/super_mario_bros_wonder\">Super Mario Wonder<\/a> last week and watching the new movie! I&#8217;ve really been enjoying the game and with it being my first Mario in quite some time, I can&#8217;t believe what I&#8217;ve been missing. My backlog has been creeping up on my again but it&#8217;s worth it as I&#8217;ve also added <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/switch-eshop\/hello_kitty_island_adventure\">Hello Kitty Island Adventure<\/a> to the pile.<\/p>\n<p>On a completely different end of the games list though, I finally purchased a PS5 Pro before the price hike and have been replaying <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pushsquare.com\/games\/ps5\/last_of_us_part_ii_remastered\" class=\"external\">The Last of Us Part 2<\/a>. To say my dreams have been filled with Clickers and Talking Flowers is an understatement.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"object object-youtube\">\n<figure class=\"youtube\" data-videoid=\"wvx_dR3uGg0\" data-start=\"0\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/wvx_dR3uGg0?rel=0&amp;hd=1&amp;showinfo=0&amp;modestbranding=0&amp;autohide=1\"><\/figure>\n<\/aside>\n<h2>Gon\u00e7alo Lopes, Contributor<\/h2>\n<p>April is here and so is proper weather. Regardless I am spending most of the weekend inside playing Mine\u2019s side story in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/nintendo-switch-2\/yakuza-kiwami-3-and-dark-ties\">Yakuza Kiwami 3 &amp; Dark Ties<\/a>. It has been a while since I\u2019ve been on the Virtua ring but I am quite hooked on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/nintendo-switch-2\/virtua-fighter-5-r-e-v-o-world-stage\">Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. World Stage<\/a>, whether reusing old combos or mastering new characters, its all bliss.<\/p>\n<p>Playing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/nintendo-switch-2\/deadzone-rogue\">Deadzone: Rogue<\/a> online was the right choice since it makes the robotic baddies far more manageable (as in they have more than one target to shoot at). Out of nowhere Com8com1 latest offering <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/switch-eshop\/go_go_mister_chickums\">Go! Go! Mister Chickums<\/a> is one of the finest single screen arcade titles I\u2019ve played in recent memory. Don\u2019t skip it!<\/p>\n<p>Game of the week is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/gamecube\/star_fox_assault\">Star Fox: Assault<\/a>. With all the Artemis II and Mario Galaxy Movie (which I have yet to see) hype going on, I did consider coming back to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/wiiu\/star_fox_zero\">Star Fox Zero<\/a> because it remains a really nice and unique entry in the franchise (plus I do have my Wii U still assembled). Instead I went back to score chasing on the GameCube&#8217;s Namco-developed title. This would have been a fantastic time for Nintendo to re-release the game on the Switch 2 Nintendo Classics GC app. Always remember: Use bombs wisely!<\/p>\n<h2>Ollie Reynolds, Reviews Editor<\/h2>\n<p>Despite my issues with The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, I can\u2019t deny that it\u2019s got me hyped for a potential new Star Fox game. For now, at least, I\u2019ll settle for the classics, so I\u2019ll be playing a bit of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/snes\/star_fox\">Star Fox<\/a> on SNES and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/n64\/star_fox_64\">Lylat Wars<\/a> on N64 via the NSO apps.<\/p>\n<p>Elsewhere, I\u2019ve been playing a lot of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/nintendo-switch\/guilty_gear_-strive-_nintendo_switch_edition\">Guilty Gear -Strive-<\/a> on the PS5. I do have it on the Switch, but it sounds like ArcSys might be leaving the system behind when the big 2.0 update lands on the 9th. Also, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/reviews\/hit-box-ultra-arcade-controller-the-ultimate-partner-for-fighting-fans\">the Hit Box Ultra<\/a> works like a dream on PS5. Have a good one!<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p><em>Those are our plans for the coming weekend. Now it&#8217;s your turn to tell us yours, so make sure to get busy with our poll, and let us know all about your weekend gaming plans in the comments!<\/em><\/p>\n<section id=\"poll-11654\" data-block-type=\"poll\" class=\"poll\" data-uri=\"polls\/what_are_you_playing_this_weekend_4th5th_april\" data-id=\"11654\" data-question=\"What are you playing this weekend (4th\/5th April)?\"> <\/section>\n<aside class=\"object object-youtube\">\n<figure class=\"youtube\" data-videoid=\"Z-JlXw4Vzio\" data-start=\"0\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Z-JlXw4Vzio?rel=0&amp;hd=1&amp;showinfo=0&amp;modestbranding=0&amp;autohide=1\"><\/figure>\n<\/aside>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Image: Kate Gray \/ Nintendo Hello there, lovely people. (Hey, Alex is off right now, so I&#8217;m nabbing the catchphrase.) It&#8217;s been a Mario-filled week with the launch of a certain record-breaking motion picture. Yes, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie came out fire flowers blazing this week. Reviews followed in the footsteps of its predecessor, [&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-136714","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nintendo-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136714","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=136714"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136714\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=136714"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=136714"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=136714"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}