While the summer marches on, and the heat in the UK and across Europe seems to be more oppressive than ever, we’re playing things safe and staying indoors. I’ve been playing masses of Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave, and it’s become hard to pick up my Switch 2 without automatically hopping into it for a few minutes. Luckily – or should that be fortunately? – I have some level of self-control, and that’s allowed me to also play through Duskfade, make a start on our Orbitals review with Tef, and spend ten hours with Star Wars Zero Company. We are about to hit an incredible run of great-looking games, and it’s slightly scary! Particularly for my wallet!
Jason managed to introduce Sephiria to a few friends, so he’s been diving into that again and having lots of fun. He says, “It really is one of the best roguelikes of the last few years. I also tried out Meccha Chameleon for the first time and I know it’s old news, but that game is incredibly good fun. Finally, the new Genshin Impact update dropped, and the new area is amazing. It’s a little weird to have a third-person shooter inside of it, but it’s surprisingly well-done.”
It was Hades 2 for Aran, though. He told me, “I fancied going back to it and I’m making steady progress. I also decided to redownload No Man’s Sky, and am once again learning the basics and exploring the system I’ve spawned into which has not been discovered by anyone else. I also have Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy and Lou’s Lagoon in for review.”
Gareth is playing The Relic: First Guardian for review, and he’s also played Montabi and Sephiria. That’s not all though, telling us, “I’ve also tried Caves of Qud, which is an impossibly deep RPG type thing that reminds me of Dwarf Fortress’ Adventure Mode, both graphically and gameplay-wise.”
Jim has continued playing through Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and he’s really getting into the party management and progression hooks. He’s been on the remake train, checking out The Lord of the Rings: War in the North Legacy Edition, saying, “It’s a remaster I never knew I want until it appeared from out of nowhere. Back in 2011 it got overlooked but now, many years later, it’s getting the attention it deserves. It feels like an evolution of action RPGs such as Champion of Norrath and Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance. It’s great to see Aspyr do far more than apply a quick coat of polish, having reworked significant parts of games and making online co-op fairly seamless!”
Miguel has been playing STEINS;GATE RE:BOOT quite A;LOT. He’s also been playing a bit of Zenless Zone Zero, Ace Combat 7, and Umineko When They Cry!
TC has been playing John Carpenter’s Toxic Commandos. He says, “It’s lots of fun, nice meaty guns and explosions, lovely. The wife is still playing Primal Carnage Evolution. He agrees it’s scrappy and messy and very rough, but it’s still fun.”
Steve has mostly played Sinking City 2, saying that it plays a lot like a Resident Evil game rather than the janky but distinctive style of the first one. It feels less ambitious but a vast amount more polished than the original, so keep an eye out for our review in the not too distant future.
Rounding things out, Tef has actually got a foothold in Xenoblade Chronicles 2, though he’s still very early in the JRPG epic. He’s also played a smidgeon of 33 Immortals, Big Walk, Valkyria Chronicles, has been revisiting Pokopia for the new DLC… but most exciting, he was able to share his thoughts on Star Wars: Galactic Racer, and had a great time!
How about you? Played anything good?