Eyes on the Week (9th-13th March)

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

I’ve had a semi-stressful week, but gaming has continued to be my peace. Overwatch hasn’t been terrible this week. I finally have a new Illari skin to look forward to, releasing on March 31st. The new mythic Mei skin looks great, but I don’t play her enough to warrant purchasing it. After my competitive loss streak back in February, I dipped my toes back into the competitive scene for one game, and we won! 53%+ calibration was madness! Maybe I’ll get back to Platinum before the season ends, but it depends on how I’m feeling.

I started and completed Bratz: Rhythm & Style before it leaves Xbox Games Pass on March 15th. A fun game revolving around fashion with mini-games that progressively got harder. It wasn’t a difficult completion overall; it took just under 8 hours. It was a welcome change of pace and genre for me this week, also taking me back to when I used to play with my childhood Bratz dolls.

I’ve continued playing TCG Card Shop Simulator, and although it’s becoming a little repetitive and tedious, my main goal is still to collect every card in the Tetramon collection. I’m currently at just over 900 with my pack luck being pretty abysmal. I’m happy with my store layout now, the days are somewhat relaxing, and the profit isn’t terrible. It’s definitely something I’ll keep chipping away at over time.

Most interesting news of this week: Another Remothered game is set to be released this year. Remothered: Red Nun’s Legacy will be the last in the trilogy.

Looking forward to playing: Overwatch, TCG Card Shop Simulator, and Order 13.

Robby

I’ve spent a ton of time in Pokémon Pokopia and made close to no progress. That’s not on the game, but on my own approach to such games, and I wanted to 100% complete a region before moving on. There is a LOT to do in this game. It feels like it has ten times the content of Animal Crossing, if not more, and you can easily sink months of your time in it. If I actually do, and don’t get bored eventually, time will tell. But for now, I’m having a blast and the kids love to watch me play, which is always a good sign. Look forward to a detailed review later, but first, I need to progress more!

I’ve also 100%-ed another cozy game last weekend, and that was Collector’s Cove. It’s much more defined, and it’ll take the average player about 25-30 hours to complete. It was very hard to put down because the next collectable was always just a minute away from unlocking. You can read Benny’s review [HERE] if you want a more detailed opinion.

On Xbox, I’ve just started playing Devil Jam, which will release soon, and Aaron will have a detailed review for you all. But I’m struggling to make a lot of headway in the game, call it a skill issue if you must!

And I’ve also just started playing Trail Out, which I had never heard of before but was released in 2024. It’s a crazy racing/car combat game with hilariously bad voice acting and lots of physics-based mayhem. It’s the kind of game that looks terrible at times, has cringeworthy acting and segments, but it’s still hard to look away and to stop playing. I was even surprised to find a whole 3rd person zombie action game inside, too. Crazy!!!

Most interesting news of this week: Xbox announced Project Helix! I’m not tech-savvy enough to understand all the details though.

Looking forward to playing: Pokémon Pokopia, mostly!

Aaron

What a week for gaming! It’s been fantastic having all this spare time to play games & check out some genres that I normally wouldn’t.

First off, I platinumed Resident Evil Requiem on PS5; the game has been non-stop for me, and it’s a very clear GOTY contender already. I can’t wait for the additional game mode in May, and the additional story DLC that is now confirmed can’t come soon enough.

I’ve also spent an ungodly amount of time on a game called Devil Jam, which is an upcoming console release of a Survivor Rogue-like, which is sort of like Vampire Survivors but set within a heavy metal underworld with tons of abilities and buffs. Be sure to check back & check out my review when the embargo lifts.

Finally, keeping in theme with Survival Rogue-likes, I have also been playing Hack.Attack(!), which sees you, a simple programme trying to survive on an infected PC. The kicker here is that you have to use visual scripting to build out your programme to fend off attacks as enemies get stronger and faster as time moves on. It’s very akin to what I actually use when making my own games, so I’ve been having a blast with this one too.

Most interesting news of this week: More details of Project Helix from Microsoft have surfaced, and it looks like we may have some bad news for the future console.

Looking forward to playing: Fatal Frame 2 Remake.

Benny

This past week, I’ve been playing Manairons, a 3D platformer where you play as Nai, a tiny magical manairó navigating a village undergoing big changes. Using a flute and magical melodies, you guide Nai through the world of the manairons. I’ll be sharing my full thoughts on Manairons in an upcoming review.

I’ve been immersed in Collector’s Cove on the Switch 2 lately. Between everything going on in my life, spending time in this game has been a comforting escape. I’ve shared all my thoughts in my review [HERE] if you want to check them out.

I’ve been playing more of Resident Evil Requiem and finally unlocked a few achievements I missed on my first playthrough. It’s an incredible game and a must-play for fans of the series or anyone who loves horror and action.

Most interesting news of this week: Microsoft is ramping up efforts to keep classic Xbox games alive. During its keynote, VP Jason Ronald highlighted the company’s game preservation team, saying they’ve been “working very hard” to bring iconic titles to new generations in fresh ways. Fans can expect a Halo remaster and a new Gears of War this year, with the initiative potentially reviving other hidden gems from Xbox’s 25-year history.

Looking forward to playing: Manairons and Pokémon Pokopia.

Derek

It’s been a fun week this week; first off, my PC decided it hated the fans that were installed and started running them all full blast, so I had to replace all of them. Then my Xbox decided that it just wouldn’t connect to the internet at all, either wired or wirelessly.

So I spent several hours troubleshooting and eventually went back to factory settings… then I found a fix from a single source from a couple of years back, which was simply to unplug the cable because if your Ethernet cable needs to be replaced, then your Xbox will throw a tantrum till it’s removed!! Anyways, cue a lot of reinstalling on a slow internet connection, and now we are back in business.

Next week, I will have a review of Code Vein II for you all to read (better late than never) and my thoughts on the first new character in Diablo II in years and a brand new mode as well. Also, if the powers that be would like it, I might do a review or two on some video game-based board games 🙂

Most interesting news of this week: The original creator of the Remothered series has had his name removed from the latest game and has issued a statement on X/Formerly Twitter about what has been happening regarding that. You can read the post here.

Looking forward to playing: Still Hellraiser!