Eyes on the Week (18th-22nd September)

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

I’m absolutely buzzing this week – I finally got my new car and I couldn’t be happier with it! But enough about my life – onto video games! Although it was over the weekend, I managed to finish the main story of Cats and the Other Lives but sadly I can’t currently get the completion as an achievement is bugged. However, my review has been written and published – you can view it using the link [HERE] if you have a moment; it would be greatly appreciated!

Now, for the foreseeable future, the game which will be taking up the majority of my time will be Lies of P – not only because I’m currently reviewing it but because myself and soulslike games haven’t had a great deal of time to get to know one another. Only up to the second boss so far but I’m positive that with time and a great deal of patience, I’ll get there in the end.

As for games to play when I need to relax a little, Alphaset by POWGI is one on the list and the other is DE-EXIT – Eternal Matters. Both give me a sense of calmness and allow me to wind down if I think I’m getting overwhelmed with anything.

Most exciting news of this week: I absolutely adore the new Xbox Live Gold badge which has been added to my profile – in loving memory. Stray is getting a physical release. Oh, and all the leaks and talk about a new Xbox console and other news we’re seeing sprawled across the internet.

Looking forward to playing: More Lies of P and DE-EXIT – Eternal Matters.


Robby

Well, I got Covid this week and running a fever so not exactly my best week ever. I did play a massive amount of Mortal Kombat 1, however, and really enjoyed my time with it! It’s got a great campaign, the fighting is as good as ever and they made some really interesting choices. You can expect my review soon, but for now, here is a list of all the fatalities.

I also played some The Crew Motorfest, which is like Forza Horizon-lite in a way, I beat GRIS on Game Pass and started playing Bang-On Balls: Chronicles (where I picked a Belgian Countryball, obviously!)

Most exciting news of this week: The Xbox leaks. Man, a lot of stuff leaked way too early. I feel for Microsoft.

Looking forward to playing: After I 100% Mortal Kombat 1, I’ll move on to Lies of P.


Thomas

I’ve had no shortage of stories coming to a bittersweet end this week. And the best thing is that I didn’t actually plan for any of it, they all just kind of lined up. In order then shall we. First up is Final Fantasy XIV where I finished the Pandæmonium raid series with a friend. While the fights and soundtracks were spectacular, the story made the whole ordeal worth it. Getting the chance to see some characters in the time before the events that transpired during the main story quest is a luxury only a few games are ever afforded. And when they treated us to a voiced cutscene at the very end, well let’s just say I had to collect my jaw from the aetherial sea.

Heading for Rubicon, on Wednesday I managed to see credits roll on Armored Core VI for the first time. 621 has come a long way, and piloted some fine assemblies of Armored Cores, albeit with a decided taste for Zimmerman shotguns to work in tandem with my grasshopper playstyle. I probably won’t be diving straight back in, but I’ll start chipping away at new game + before long.

Onto, or rather into the Starfield we go then. At the time of writing, I’ve just completed the main story quest and not much else at my fellow writer Aaron’s advice. I enjoyed myself a lot more with this story over say, Skyrim. The fact that sci-fi is more my thing may have something to do with it. Right now, however, I’m ready to let my wanderlust carry me away and see where it’ll bring me among the Stars.

Oh, and Fu Xuan’s banner dropped in Honkai Star Rail. I lost my 50/50 chance of unlocking her and I’m out of attempts now. At least I unlocked Welt, a five-star character I didn’t have yet. As well as 5 copies of the new healer Lynx, so there’s also that I guess.

Most exciting news of this week: I’m with the others that the leaked plans from Xbox take the cake here.

Looking forward to playing: More Starfield and hopefully enough Honkai Star Rail to try some more attempts at unlocking Fu Xuan and more copies of Lynx.


Aaron

I managed to find some motivation to play a few games this week, first off being Lonely Mountain: Downhill which is a cute, but tough mountain biking game. You begin in explorer mode where you get a feel for the track, biking downhill & navigating obstacles & jumps before adding parameters such as time to complete & no crashes. It’s really addictive & the controls are super intuitive. Despite some big releases this week, I’ve hardly put it down.

Next up Lies of P, one of the hardest soulslike games I’ve come across. I’ve finished them all, including Elden Ring, but I’m having a tough time with this one. I did have to walk away from it at one point just because of how frustrated I was at a particular boss fight. But I’ll let the review speak for itself when it’s out.

Finally this week, & launched yesterday is the Separate Ways DLC for Resident Evil 4 Remake. It may have only launched yesterday but I have already beaten it twice. At £7.99 it’s a great value piece of campaign DLC that will add another 5-6 hours of content while we wait to hear what’s next for the franchise.

It takes everything you love about the RE4 Remake & gives it its own special spin, including new weapons, new attacks, & all of the content we missed from the original. What a package!

Most exciting news of this week: Going to have to agree with Robby on this one & say that the Xbox/Microsoft leaks are quite shocking & not in a good way. Although, if you want some good news, the Tokyo Game show is live right now & ends on Sunday with the Konami closing ceremony.

Looking forward to playing: Lies of P I guess? Clearly, I love to torture myself.


Colombo

I played a bit of Mystic Gate for my upcoming review, it has been fun, but I can’t help but feel like something is missing from it, I will go into further details in the review.

I’m also still replaying Kingdom Hearts III on the easiest difficulty just so I can finish it as quickly as possible.

Most exciting news of this week: The gigantic Xbox leaks, their plans have probably changed a bit by now, but it’s still a lot of info.

Looking forward to playing: More Mystic Gate and Kingdom Hearts III.


Genethical

This week, I’ve bounced between three games. The first being, yet again, Guilty Gear Strive. While I still love this season so far and all of the changes, some of the uglier sides of the game are starting to shine. Sometimes it feels like one has to love the game in spite of the developer’s infrastructure and not thanks to it. If you don’t live in the US or Western Europe, you will encounter issues that will detract from your enjoyment.

Next up, we finished a story run in Remnant: From the Ashes with some friends. With the second game having been released not too long ago to a very positive reception, we jumped into the first game as it seemed more affordable. I’m happy to say that it is a very enjoyable experience!

Lastly, I’ve been playing a party game for a review which you’ll be able to read soon! I can’t say much more at the moment but stay tuned.

Most exciting news of this week: While the Microsoft leaks take the prize, I’ll add some variety. Unity seems to be about to backtrack the changes they proposed for 2024, as evidenced by some very poorly worded ‘corpo-apologies’ (corpologies?) that you just have to check out if you haven’t already. Shame that it seems they are backpedaling only because of their shareholders selling stock… Lastly, Payday 3 was released yesterday on Steam and it is already sitting at a Mixed overall review score.

Looking forward to playing: Maybe another run of Remnant? I’ve been making tiny bits of progress in Persona 5 Royal again so that one too!