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
With me getting super engrossed in my digital art and trying to make something of it, I have played very little this week.
I loaded up Deflector and had a couple of runs but I still struggle as my skill set doesn’t quite match what I need to be somewhat decent at these titles. I will be getting my review published soon as it’s been far too long. I’d keep a look out for this to be posted next week.
The other game I’ve played is Rolling Hills: Make Sushi, Make Friends. After seeing this cute little indie game pop up on Xbox Games Pass and reading a review Missi wrote for it, I was instantly curious to see what this little sushi robot was all about! It was not what I expected but actually exceeded my expectations so I can’t complain. I’m currently at reputation level 9 (almost 10) and I’m slowly improving my recipes, friendships, and restaurant quality. Cosy and cute is what I need right now with all the stress I’ve been putting on myself.
Most interesting news of this week: Erm, as most people will agree, I’m just waiting to see what the various game showcases will reveal throughout the coming says. I’d love to see some news on State of Decay 3 and perhaps The Casting of Frank Stone off the top of my head.
Looking forward to playing: Rolling Hills: Make Sushi, Make Friends and Deflector. Then I’ll be moving onto Truck Driver: The American Dream.
Dae Jim
HELLO! In caps as it has been a long time since I contributed something. I have been so incredibly busy that my head couldn’t follow anymore with all I needed to do. I haven’t been playing much for the past weeks, except for a few rounds of XDefiant. I love the shield character and the healer, when played right it is a huge difference in winning or losing battles.
Most interesting news of this week: Looking forward to whatever comes from the Xbox event. Game Pass got a massive shadow drop too (Octo). That they do that now and not on the show might mean something…
Looking forward to playing: Finishing Hellblade 2.
Robby
I’ve started playing Hellblade 2 (with the SUBPAC on and a headset of course) loving it so far but feels short (3h played and pretty sure I’m over halfway already)
Also had some good results playing Balatro (made it to ante 15) and earned the 100-day achievement in A Little to the Left. Downloaded a few demos too from Steam Next Fest to play soon 🙂
Most interesting news of this week: Mostly just waiting for the big events of this week and next. But Octopath Traveller I and II dropped in Xbox Game Pass Just now.
Looking forward to playing: The Paper Klay demo and other steam demos.
Thomas
This week I mainly played more of what I always play. In Final Fantasy XIV I’ve wrapped up the Endwalker tribal quests with a quest that wouldn’t feel out of place as a Hildibrand quest in terms of spectacle and sillyness. In Honkai Star Rail I’ve started farming materials for when Firefly’s banner drops with the release of the 2.3 update. With the double rewards event that just kicked in I’m sure I’ll get what I need with time to spare. I also got gifted a copy of Nightingale, a sort of “Victorian fantasy” survival crafter with co-op (now featuring an offline mode) which I played the tutorial of. I can’t wait to explore the fae realms further though.
Most interesting news of this week: At the time of writing the Summer Game Fest is minutes away from starting. I wonder what we’ll see this time.
Looking forward to playing: Nightingale and some more Elden Ring. I’ve got a quite bit more to do before I’m ready to play the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion.
Colombo
I’ve played a bit of Multiversus and Humanity, some more Biomutant and Overwatch 2, quite a bit of Chants of Sennaar and also started playing Call of Juarez Bound in Blood.
Most interesting news of this week: New interesting Xbox Game Pass additions such as Octopath Traveller, and other cool ones coming soon, such as The Callisto Protocol.
Looking forward to playing: More Overwatch 2, Call of Juarez Bound in Blood, and finishing Chants of Sennaar.
Stu
Hi. Like our esteemed leader, it’s been such a long time since I contributed to this section. This week on the back of watching the Fallout TV series (which is incredible by the way). I felt the need to get Fallout 4 back out and dust the cobwebs off, I also gave a start to Octopath Traveller 2 which is on Xbox Game Pass. I enjoyed the first game so much that I put it on as soon as I realised it was on the pass.
Most interesting news of this week: The new additions to Xbox Game Pass look brilliant but generally it’s a slow news week, calm before the storm of the Xbox Showcase event on Sunday.
Looking forward to playing: Octopath Traveller 2 and Still Wakes The Deep on Xbox Game Pass and Visions of Mana when it gets released.
Missi
I started this week by finally finishing Little-Known Planet. That took a bit of time but man this game was awesome! Farming sim games can be a hit or miss, but this was such a hit in my book. Furthermore, I adored all the little details that went into the game. for example: how the looks outside the windows of the airship change if you travel to a different planet.
After that, I played more Fireside. Such a lovely and wholesome game in which you trade and trade and trade until you have the items you’re looking for. It feels a bit like a board game but also like a rogue-lite because you have a limited amount of days to travel and trade with people, but you can upgrade all kinds of things like the space in your backpack, but also how many days to can travel.
I also have played Rolling Hills: Make Sushi, Make Friends. I would like to highlight that this isn’t a cooking game like some people expect, but a time-management game in which you try to give the right order to the right person in your restaurant. This game is so addictive, I finished it in 2/3 days and had so much fun.
And last but not least, I played Kamaeru. such a sweet indie title in which you catch and breed different frogs. There are over 500 different frogs (8 different types of frogs x 64 different color schemes). This comes quite close to the feeling Viva Pinata gave me back in the day (Oh I miss that game, will we ever see a remake/ new entry??). This is another lovely game, I have been so lucky with the games I’m playing lately, such great games.
Most interesting news of this week: A new Yooka-Layla entry and how close we are to the release of Ova Magica! I’m also hyped for the just-announced Cozy Dungeon as that looks right up my alley with fighting monsters but also cleaning and renovating the dungeon. And while I’m already so hyped for the news we got during the Gorilla Collective Showcase.. the Wholesome Direct is this weekend and that is my favorite showcase every single year! I can’t wait. Will we get a release date for Go-Go Town??
Looking forward to playing: More Kamaeru and Fireside. Can’t get enough of those 2 and still have some achievements to hunt in those two games.
Genethical
Ok, I understand why Balatro has hooked so many people. And I swear the game is conspiring against me. Whenever I pick one specific deck, I get the most nonsensical set of jokers, tarot, planet and playing cards that just don’t work together. But I’ll keep at it, I am bound to get something that works well eventually.
I finally had the chance to play against a Slayer player in Guilty Gear Strive, and he’s surprisingly fun to fight against at the very least! I am somewhat inclined to buy him, but characters in this game are so expensive… I’ll see how it goes. If the trend continues as it has been with DLC characters, he’ll be bottom tier for 6 months anyway.
Most interesting news of this week: The 2024 race for the worst gaming company is still anyone’s to take. Seeing Ubisoft take the lead, Sony has shifted into fourth gear by restricting even more games in several regions with PSN accounts being mandatory. If you want to play God of War Ragnarök and live somewhere where PSN isn’t available? Tough. (It’s funny how they ‘admitted’ they made a mistake back with the Helldivers 2 thing. And yet…)
Looking forward to playing: Some more Strive and Balatro. I got Shadows of Doubt recently too!
Benny
This week I’ve been playing Hypercharge: Unboxed which is I’m really enjoying and impressed with. I’ve also been playing Tales of Kenzera: ZAU which tells a really good story and has plenty of action. I’ve also been playing High on Life which unfortunately leaves Gamepass on the June 15th.
Most interesting news of this week: Yooka-Laylee, the Banjo-Kazooie-inspired platform collect-’em-up from developer Playtonic Games, is getting a bit of a spruce-up for PC and unspecified consoles by way of a newly announced (and dubiously named) remaster, Yooka-Replaylee.
Looking forward to playing: More Tales and of Kenzera: ZAU and Still Wakes The Deep.
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!
