And with that, January is done. Often the longest month known to man, it’s actually flown by here, helped in no small part by having lots of games to play. I’m making a started on Avowed for our review in mid-February, and I’ve loved Eternal Strands this week, which is well worth checking out if you have Game Pass. Other than that, I enjoyed some Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap and I’ve been tinkering with my Retroid Pocket 5 (not a euphemism) and drowning in a sea of data transfers and microSD cards that have decided they’re unhappy.
First up this week, Jim has been juggling a few different games with Alan Wake II at the top of his playlist. He told us, “I’m glad Remedy got another shot at making one of these – the combat gameplay isn’t terribly inventive though I’m enjoying the wacky story and setting. I’ve also revisited Dynasty Warriors: Origins which continues to be great fun. I’d be surprised if we don’t see some kind of DLC in the near future, perhaps unlocking new weapon types.” He continued, “Finally, I played some SMITE 2 which is now in open beta. It’s still a great concept, pitting deities and mythological heroes against each other, and it plays beautifully on PS5. I’m just not sure I’m ready to commit to another MOBA after all these years.”
Aran is not here, opting instead to go on his honeymoon to Japan! So far he’s done a tour of Tokyo and set foot on Mount Fuji, and we’re not jealous in any way. Nope, not one bit. *sob*
Ade is here, and he’s taken a break from overdosing on Unicorn Overlord to review the side-scrolling beat ’em up Big Helmet Heroes. He dropped an immense bombshell relating to this, saying, “Whilst the game is embargoed until next week, I can exclusively reveal that the heroes do indeed have very big helmets.” After that shock, he managed to play at least one other thing, saying, “I’ve also been playing the recently released remake of Ninja Gaiden 2 Black for review. It’s still great and I’m now even more excited for Ninja Gaiden 4 than should be allowed. The government should pass some legislation to prevent my excitement levels from increasing any more, lest I explode.”
Gamoc has played Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 and Cuisineer for review. He’s not been well though, saying, “I’ve played nothing else because I’ve been devastatingly ill for four days. Again.” Get well soon mate!
He might also have recovered from multiple illnesses in reality, but Steve has been struggling with Stone of Madness, the new game from the Blasphemous devs. He says, “I love the setting and themes but am just awful at stealth and that’s the primary mechanic – should have read up on it in advance!” He continued, “I also ploughed through Gears of War 3 in my rapid run through the series. It’s really impressive how much the games improve over each iteration and I’m excited to see how the next-gen Gears of War 4 shapes up, but I’m going through Baird’s story in Judgement first. I am wondering what will provide the emotional centre given some of the events of 3 which does feel like an appropriate end to the trilogy in lots of ways.”
Finally, after my positive review he’s also installed Eternal Strands and played the opening sections, saying, “It feels pretty cool and I’m looking forward to see how it opens up.”
Finally, Tef has been playing a shooty zombie game (which required him to install Windows 11, really ramping up the horror factor), shot his way through a bunch of Nazis in Sniper Elite Resistance, and after all that shooting has now decided to start a new life as a tram driver.
What about you, what have you played?
