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
It might be another week but, once again, I have still spent most of it sinking my heart and soul into Diablo IV. I just can’t get enough of the game and now that I’ve finished the campaign, I’m into the endgame content. I’m currently on my way to Level 70, have got each class to Level 10, and I have started my second hardcore run. I can’t see myself putting it down anytime soon. My review is still in progress as I wanted to explore the majority of current content before reaching my conclusion.
Other than Diablo IV, I have also completed A Building Full of Cats. I couldn’t believe how hard some of the cats were to find but I managed to spot each one in the end. I also started the game Choice of Life: Middle Ages which requires you to make life choices on cards that can take you through various routes. You have to be careful though as you can lose lives and if all are lost, you will have to restart the chapter. Saying this, the chapters aren’t incredibly long so it’s fun to try out something new every once in a while.
Most exciting news of this week: Phasmaphobia being released onto Xbox in August is incredible! I’ve been wanting to play since it was released on PC so I can’t wait! Two horrors, the other being The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, being released around my birthday – I’m already being spoilt. I’m sad to hear Microsoft are stopping development for Xbox One games though.
Looking forward to playing: Diablo IV and TT Isle of Man: Ride on the Edge 3 are my two focuses for the next week.
Robby
I just finished quite the thrill ride with Amnesia: the Bunker. A short horror game in which you try to survive being stuck in a bunker with a stalking monster and little to no light. You can check my review [HERE].
I also kept on playing Street Fighter 6, which has proven to be quite a bit larger in size and scope than I expected it to be, so sit tight for the review just a little while longer. But here is a funny Blanka clip to tide you over until then.
The demo for Final Fantasy 16 landed on PS5 and I couldn’t resist trying it out. Really sad that Final Fantasy games are currently not releasing on Xbox anymore 😔 Here is the let’s play of the demo for those that don’t own a PS5: https://youtu.be/8PaRgLbkeFI
To scratch that collect-a-thon itch, I’m currently playing Tinykin, which is just a wonderful game that deserves way more attention. It’s on Game Pass, so give it a go!
Most exciting news of this week: I bought myself a Starfield collector’s edition. Yep, the one with the watch.
Looking forward to playing: Some new indies landed in my lap: Curse of the Sea Rats and Fall of Porcupine. Both look promising!
Aaron
This week I started playing Diablo IV & I’m really enjoying it. It’s been a fun & engaging game right from the start.
I also managed to play the Final Fantasy 16 Demo on PS5 & have been blown away at just how graphically impressive it is. I’ll be picking this up next week as I’ve been a huge Final Fantasy fan since I was a young boy.
Other than that, I finally started (and finished) Vampyr. I know it’s an older title but it’s been on my backlog for a while. I was honestly surprised at how short it was for an RPG game, but still had fun nonetheless with its deep mechanics on district health & how this affects your playthrough.
Most exciting news of this week: As you can imagine, the Xbox showcase was the biggest news & it revealed so many cool & exciting new games that I can’t wait to dive into.
Looking forward to playing: Layers of Fear 2023.
Colombo
I’ve played LEGO Star Wars The Skywalker Saga and also a tiny bit of Assassin’s Creed Origins for an Xbox Game Pass challenge, which didn’t unlock despite my completing the required objective.
Most exciting news of this week: The news that the ABK deal is finally getting closure soon, let’s hope it goes through.
Looking forward to playing: More LEGO Star Wars The Skywalker Saga and Dordogne for an upcoming review.
Thomas
It’s been a more chilled-out week this time around. I’m still playing Honkai Star Rail daily, currently grinding for relics and upgrade materials, and I’m starting to really power up my team. I’ve even started building a secondary team as I’ve got enough worth while characters to do so. Looking at you solo-pulled Gepard.
Furthermore, I played a bit more Astroneer. The rest of my group have started venturing off to other planets while I explored the starter one some more. Worked on making it easier to traverse both above ground and below. With that same group of friends, we also upped the anté in Phasmophobia by doing challenge runs and letting the ghost hide one of the pieces of evidence used to identify them. It’s a lot harder, but we still manage.
I’m also picking up Final Fantasy XIV again, albeit at a slower, less intense, pace than before. I used the week to get through the Hildibrand Storyline to the point where I can start working on the Endwalker Relic Weapons. I heard they’re a LOT easier to make than the previous ones. A welcome change to be sure.
Most exciting news of this week: That will have to be the Starfield Direct. Someone put me in Cryosleep until September. That way I both escape the heat and skip the wait for it. Very excited for it.
Looking forward to playing: I kind of left The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom aside for a bit, but I want to get back to it and beat Ganondorf. I’ve found where he is, now I just have to cook a bunch of food and fuse some good weapons together.
Missi
This was such a busy week with new games and games that got an update! It started Saturday with the surprise release of Smushi Come Home during the Wholesome direct showcase! What an awesome game.
I started with Army of Ruin, a bullet heaven game (like Vampire Survivors). I like how it structures the challenges and that it gives suggestions on which challenges to go for next.
I also played the puzzle game SETTRIS in which you have to place Tetris-like pieces in a grid to fill it up. I have also played the updates for Vampire Survivor and Bounty of One so that I have all the achievements in both games again 😄
And last but not least, I’m playing through Fall of Porcupine at this moment. A lovely story-driven game where you’re a junior doctor and moved to a new town.
Most exciting news of this week: Wholesome Direct released new t-shirts, which I did order directly. Other great news this week is that one of my favorite indie devs Jon Nielsen is working on a new game titled WitchHand.
Looking forward to playing: I’ll be playing more Fall of Porcupine and Army of Ruin this weekend.
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!
