It’s time to look back on the week we’ve just had! What did the weekdays look like for our writers? What was the biggest news from the week? and what are we looking forward to playing during the upcoming weekend? Our Eyes on the Week article will answer all three of these questions!
We’re curious about your opinion and played games, so be sure to share your stuff on our social media channels!
Victoria
This week has been pretty relaxed. Overwatch has been in rotation again, but since the finish of the conquest daily challenges, which enabled you to earn cosmetic rewards and loot boxes, it has not quite had the same allure as before. I do now have 100+ loot boxes ready to open at the end of the season, and I managed to claw my way back to Platinum 5, so there were some positives to take away.
I’ve made it to Day 115 in TCG Card Shop Simulator, and my shop is coming together bit by bit each time I play, but I’m still not happy with the layout or the profit I’ve been earning. I’m Level 68, I still have a long way to go with collecting 2500 cards, and I still need to open 10,000 packs, so there’s a LONG way to go. I chip away at it each day, especially when I want something relaxing to play, and that is enough for me.
I started Order 13 on Friday, and it’s been a fun but tense experience so far. A bit of a rough start, and I’m only up to Day 5, but I don’t want to go into too much detail as I want to save that for my review.
Most interesting news of this week: Xbox is rolling out a new update to insiders and, eventually, to everyone, which I’m super excited about. The option to turn off quick resume and customise your colours a little more is exciting!
Looking forward to playing: All of the above and perhaps a visual novel, as I haven’t played one in a while.
Robby
Most of my gaming time this week has gone into two games:
Pokémon Pokopia is keeping me entertained far longer than I expected, because I really don’t like building in games, and this is basically Minecraft with Pokémon. But it’s so satisfying to build new habitats and find new friends 😊 There is always something new unlocking every 5 minutes too.
The other is a demo, and admittedly, it’s research for work. But I’ve spent a few hours in Dead As Disco, trying to find great tracks to beat some enemies up to. The demo has just surpassed 1.2 million players, 5,000 reviews, and is 98% positive. This game could be my entire identity for the year, and I’d never get bored with it.
Most interesting news of this week: NVIDIA had a campaign for DLSS 5 that completely backfired on them. It uses AI to render more details and realistic lighting, but game developers are meming the hell out of it, and the games they used in their campaign said they did not sign off on AI being used on top of their footage. What a mess.
Looking forward to playing: I’ll add a show here instead. I’m going to binge One Piece next, and I’m super excited for it, because I loved the first season.
Aaron
I’ve been on a bit of a retro kick this week after finding my old PSP-2000 in the attic. It was a little beat up, but I managed to tear it down completely & fix it up with a new double-capacity battery, new buttons, and even using peroxide to dye the shell back to white again. It was a long process, but it came out looking brand new. After a long charge, the system fired up like it was turning on for the first time. I spent a couple of days playing some old classics like Resistance: Fall of Man Retribution, Grand Theft Auto Liberty City Stories, and one of my all-time personal favourites, Gitaroo Man!
But the nostalgia didn’t leave me. I found myself poring over old magazines of a very expensive 13-year-old handheld console that took the crown for me in every single way. The Nintendo 3DS. I ended up purchasing one on eBay that was “like new” and actually received it earlier today. The seller wasn’t lying. The box was in fantastic condition. All of the inserts were present, completely unopened. The original AR cards were inside, and so was the dock & the charger, neatly placed inside bubble wrap. I took out the console & nearly hit the ground. How is it this pristine? The thing looks as though it’s never been touched. Not a single scratch. The screen & body were perfectly preserved over the last 13 years. Incredible!
Sadly, the only game I’m able to play right now is Splinter Cell 3D. Not that I mind, it’s a pretty cool game with some very strong 3D effects. Now that modern internet stops these retro devices from connecting to the web without some major tinkering, I’m debating whether or not to mod them, which will allow me to better utilise their full potential. Either way, it’s been an exciting week so far. I plan to head to the shops tomorrow & scout for some games to snag from the used game stores. After all, I spent nearly £200 on this thing, so you best believe I’m going to get my money’s worth.
Most interesting news of this week: Crimson Desert launches to mediocre reviews, bringing the stock price down 30% on the studio, causing yet another discussion of layoffs. It appears we can’t experiment with games these days unless the audience demands it.
Looking forward to playing: Anything on my PSP & 3DS.
Colombo
This week I got to play Dice a Million, and it has been a great and very addictive game to play. I even managed to get over 18 million score in a single round that required 12k, it’s absurd!
Played more of Marvel Rivals with friends again, skipping Hytale, as it got me bored with it for now.
I’ve also been playing a bit of Minishoot Adventures, and it has been quite a charming game, despite it sometimes being close to bullet hell, which I tend to dislike.
After years, I decided to go back to Void Bastards, and it has been as good as I remembered it being. Also, the narrator from The Stanley Parable is your robot guide, which is pretty fun.
Most interesting news of this week: Crimson Desert has just been released, and it seems like a decent game. On a personal note, I decided to try starting my game developer journey. I’m currently trying to understand Unity, as I know nothing about coding or game development in general, and it seems simpler and less demanding than Unreal Engine.
Looking forward to playing: More Dice a Million, Marvel Rivals, PIGFACE, and Void Bastards.
Benny
This week, I finished my playthrough of Manairons, a 2.5D platformer that blends clever puzzles with engaging level design. It was a fun experience overall, with some standout moments in its puzzle design and boss encounters. However, a few issues held it back from being truly great, making it a solid but slightly flawed entry in the genre. You can read my full review [HERE]
I’ve been diving back into Mario Kart World, my go-to comfort game in the evenings. Online Knockout Tour is still my favourite mode, and I scored another victory! I dodged a blue shell with the Super Horn, and moments later, a banana saved me from a red shell as I crossed the finish line. Chaotic, tense, and so much fun!
Another game I’ve been hooked on is Grind Survivors. This top-down roguelike shooter has you battling hordes of demons, and the unique crafting system between runs keeps every playthrough feeling fresh. I can see myself sinking a lot of time into this one. Check out my review [HERE] to see why!
Most interesting news of this week: Microsoft is rolling out one of the biggest Xbox interface upgrades in years, starting with Insiders. You can now create up to 10 home-screen groups instead of two and choose any colour for your interface using new sliders. Insiders can try it now, and all players will get it soon. More folders, more colours, more ways to make it yours.
Looking forward to playing: GRIDbeat!, Screamer and more Grind Survivors.
ChochKlah
This week, I’ve been diving into Planet of Lana 2. The original stood out with its amazing art direction, minimalist storytelling, and thoughtful puzzle platforming. Based on early details, the sequel looks to expand on that foundation with a larger world, refined mechanics, and a deeper narrative focus. It’s the kind of atmospheric experience that blends calm exploration with emotional weight, something I’m especially excited to see evolve in a sequel.
Most interesting news of this week: Crimson Desert has officially launched, and early impressions suggest a promising experience.
Looking forward to playing: GRIME 2 is another title firmly on my radar. The original built a reputation for its distinct art style and challenging,
KahMehKahZeh
I started playing Crisol: Theatre of Idols, where blood is your ammunition, and wooden statues want to rend your flesh, too early to know.
I was asked by the devs to take another dive into Manarions after I provided a Keymailer review for them weeks ago, and when I was about to, they changed their minds. A fun 2.5D side scroller that is really forgiving and looks pretty well done if you haven’t seen it. Not really a game I would play all the way through, though, because once I sat it down, it was very forgettable, and I forgot it existed…
I also played Spell Brigade with a friend cause they are addicted to it, and got a chance to play their 1.0 features before release, which still need some balancing, but multiplayer survivors with friends is a nice way to chill and fart around with no requirements of success.
I started setting up to do Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past randomiser streams again, with all the chaos I throw into my stream. I’m going to try to go back into the challenge of the entrance randomiser to make things even more confusing and chaotic!
Streets of Rage 4 was another one that was completed in one sitting with a friend. I got the game from Humble Bundle a while back, and it had remote play together, so we hammered that side scroller beat ’em up arcade style, which was a bit of fun, especially when you get team damage involved.
And the PC decompile of Animal Crossing was also released (not the rom but the program that uses it), and it is impressive, where you can even play in ULTRA WIDE SCREEN, not that I have that, that was just funnin to make it 80 pixels high and 1920 wide, and it rendered the world. With good built-in controller capabilities as well as keymapping, I was going to get back into that without having to pull out my GameCube from its dark hidey hole.
Aaron is also still taking me out on the adventure of Resident Evil 5 for my first time, which involves me not being able to aim with a controller for beans.
Most interesting news of this week: Animal Crossing has been decompiled, so it’s fully playable on PC!
Looking forward to playing: Crisol.
Hello, I’m Victoria. I’m from the UK and have been playing video games for as long as I can remember; back on DreamCast. I’ve pretty much fallen for Xbox since I was around eight years old and remember BioShock being my first game on the Xbox360. Although I find it thoroughly enjoyable to not only experience gameplay, I also find comfort in getting lost and engrossed in the online worlds that sometimes differ greatly from what we know. Another side of my Xbox passion would be achievement hunting and gamerscore. I thrive when I hear the little sound of one popping up on the screen and I’m always finding ways to work on my backlog when possible. Horror is my favourite genre so if you have any recommendations, don’t be afraid to send them my way!
