Eyes on the Week (6th-10th November)

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

Mineko’s Night Market has been my only game this week. As I’ve felt overly tired and needed to take time to rest/take care of myself, it has been the only game I could comfortably play and relax with. After finishing the main story last night (Absolutely beautiful!), I’ve made considerable progress with the villagers’ requests and miscellaneous achievements. Seeing the developers have a patch coming out to fix the current unobtainable achievement is also music to my ears! In addition, it’s certainly enticed me to return to Stardew Valley and play some more relaxing games rather than those that get me riled up or hurt my head.

That said, I need to get back into a healthy routine and get myself back to a sense of normality so I can continue playing and writing my review games. Be prepared for an influx from myself over the coming weeks.

Most interesting news of this week: It has to be the announcement from Rockstar that we’ll be seeing the trailer of Grand Theft Auto (VI?) in early December. It’s been anticipated for many years and I’m sure many eagerly wait to see what may be in store next. Also, Stranger Things is back and Chucky is coming to Dead by Daylight! The little sh… Wonderful murderous doll. I’ve seen gameplay from some streamers who are playing the PTB on PC; certainly looks menacing and creepy from what I’ve watched!

Looking forward to playing: Mineko’s Night Market, Deflector, Diablo IV, and Truck Driver: The American Dream.


Robby

I went on a wee review spree recently, with Detective Pikachu Returns finally being finished, Wario Ware Move It! landing in my inbox last friday and taking only a weekend to beat and Headbangers: Rhythm royale also being a rather shortlived experience. You can find all the reviews by clicking on the linkies 😉

I’m also still playing Hot Wheels Unleashed 2, which is a lot of fun but I prefer to take my time with such games and will only review it when I’ve beaten the campaign. Super Mario Wonder is the title occupying my time on the Nintendo Switch at the moment and it is WONDERful! and lastly, I also started playing Inscryption, a game that we even named our Bitkroeg podcast Game of the Year, but that hadn’t played myself yet until now. and I’ve got to say: I agree with it winning!

Most interesting news of this week: Nick Calandra getting fired from the Escapist and his entire team leaving with him in solidarity. they now started Second Wind as a new channel and it’s doing amazing. Very inspirational!

Looking forward to playing: Hot Wheels & Super Mario Wonder!


Thomas

My wish has been heard and I got the quieter week I’d been hoping for. So while my usual games saw their time on the screen, a newcomer came out of left field at the last minute.

Back in Eorzea I’ve been further levelling up my Warrior past level 50 in Final Fantasy XIV, thus opening up a lot of options in terms of dungeons to run. I took part in farming the final boss of Shadowbringers for the mount that drops from it on monday. The fight is long, but with my free company organising it the time really flew by. We got so good at it by the end we started experimenting with the mechanics a bit.

In Honkai Star Rail nothing very interesting happened while playing this week. Aside maybe from finally pulling Topaz’s signature light cone (think weapon) and farmed relics during the double drop event. Next week should be more interesting as we’ll get patch 1.5 and the scaredy-foxian Houhou with it.

Friends and I also completed the Phasmophobia Halloween event before it ended. Probably in the nick of time as well. I also went and pre-purchased Persona 5 Tactica on Steam. I got to play it briefly at Gamescom this year and really loved the look and feel of it then.

So then what came out of left field? Pixelmon! The Minecraft x Pokémon mod caught the interest of a friend of mine so he set up a server for it. So yesterday I gave it a shot and I’m loving my time with it. Admittedly I’m still doing more of the Minecraft side than actually fighting the many pixelmon that roam the world. I picked a Squirtle as my starter by the way.

Most interesting news of this week: That would be a tie between the GTA VI announcement and “The Escapist” management imploding their company when they fired a part of their team, and the rest of the team leave in solidarity with those fired. While this may mean the (at the moment) end of series like Zero Punctuation, those who left the Escapist have banded together and created the aptly named Second Wind. They’ve so far enjoyed overwhelming support from their former fans. I wish them all the best and will be following what they get up to next closely.

Looking forward to playing: Pixelmon and Persona 5 Tactica.


Colombo

I didn’t play much this week, but I’m still playing My Time at Sandrock for an upcoming review and really liking my experience with it. Other than that I only opened Dead by Daylight to buy the Demogorgon, since it returned and I had enough Microsoft Rewards points for it.

Most interesting news of this week: Rockstar Games officially announcing they’re releasing the next GTA trailer in the beginning of December.

Looking forward to playing: My Time at Sandrock, maybe come back to Lies of P and finally play A Plague Tale: Requiem before it leaves gamepass, (even though we don’t know when that’s going to be) and I guess I’m not going to play Gungrave in its entirety before it leaves gamepass, but I can at least try it out.


Missi

I played some more Ooblets, what a fun game! Also finished the newest Vampire Survivors achievements on Steam. They are already a few weeks old, I’m just late to the party. Also played a bunch of Slime 3K: Rise Against Despot. Another cool Bullet Heaven game.

Most interesting news of this week: First the news around The Escapist. It was wholesome to see the community react so quickly and support their new adventure. I hope they return with something like the 3-minute review, I enjoy that a lot.

The other news this week for me was waking up this morning with the news that the developer studio Samurai Punk will close its doors. I loved their game around the Roomba Dusty. Justice Sucks was such an awesome and unique game.

Looking forward to playing: More Slime 3K, and I’m unsure yet what else I’ll be playing.


Genethical

This week, I needed a chill comfort game, something with low stakes but satisfying progression. And since the release of Cities: Skylines 2 has been more than rocky, I decided to dust off the old mods folder and dive into the original Cities: Skylines! For the first time in my life, I am designing a city where traffic flow is a priority. Right now, I’m approaching 10 thousand citizens with a traffic flow of about 90%

I’ve also continued my adventures in Hexplore, a game that I didn’t believe boasts 70 hours of gameplay. Yet here I am, hours later and still on level 2. I gotta say, it is refreshing to have that uncaring old-school design that will kill you for not paying attention and with no prior warning.

Most interesting news of this week: In a move that we could only qualify as Elon-worthy, the gaming media portal The Escapist decided to fire Nick Calandra, their (former) editor-in-chief, which prompted the entirety of the video production team to resign in solidarity. Days later, the ex-employees have banded together and have created the independent group Second Wind. I sincerely wish only the best for them in this new venture.

Looking forward to playing: Some more Hexplore and I’m hoping to continue growing my city in Cities: Skylines.