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 was struggling with what to play this week so decided to start something new. This happened to be the wonderfully satisfying House Flipper. I became instantly hooked, having the ability to not only clean people’s homes and renovate them but to buy homes and personalise them however I pleased. It’s perfect for being able to create your idea of people’s ‘dream homes’ and organise almost everything exactly how you want it. The only thing that put me off playing was the costly DLC packs but I’ll get to them eventually – I’d like to work on the main game first before anything else.
I also continued with the main story in Grand Theft Auto V and I’m quickly getting a major dislike for any mission that involves flying a helicopter because I just can’t pilot them to save my life (I have no idea why – the controls just feel dodgy). I’m on mission 5 right now so I’m getting there but I’m also taking my time so I hope to finish the main story by the end of the month.
Although I haven’t played anywhere near as much Fall Guys as last week, the fame pass has finally been completed to level 40 so I’m waiting on the new one which I believe comes out on Tuesday. I did manage to grab a few achievements related to cosmetics but nothing else worth mentioning.
The delight and highlight of my week though has been an unexpected pleasantry return, and restart, of Disney Dreamlight Valley. Damn, this game is addictive and I haven’t even unlocked a single achievement yet – that’s when you know I like a game. Although the majority a quite grindy to say the least, I have just been doing my own things and playing the game how I want. Helping out neighbours, gathering resources, upgrading establishments, and greeting new people to the valley. This will most definitely be my main game for a while (although I said that about Fall Guys last week so don’t take my word on that!) with others slotting in when I need to wait or need the occasional break.
Most interesting news of this week: Other than more layoffs hitting the industry, nothing has caught my attention.
Looking forward to playing: Disney Dreamlight Valley is definite. As for anything else, it depends on how I’m feeling. Maybe a look at Outlast Trials?
Dae Jim
I bought Spirit Hunters during the sale and found a new addiction. It’s kind of like a Vampire Survivors game but a little more complex. I won’t be doing any new reviews for a week or two but luckily the rest of the team is still around. Time to do some work on my backlog!
Most interesting news of this week: The bad news keeps coming for the game industry. After Sony laid off 900 people, now it’s EA’s turn. With game cancellations and 650 people laid off. It may stop now…
Looking forward to playing: I hope to finally finish playing Robocop. And as previously written some more Spirit Hunters.
Robby
Still been addicted to Balatro on Xbox (check my review to check what I loved so much about it) but yesterday the code for Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth arrived so that will be my main focus until Dragon’s Dogma 2 launches. FF7R had a slow start (and made me replay a large part of the demo) but after about 3 hours it really opened up and I’ve been enjoying the hell out of it ever since. Check a Short video of Chapter 2 in action [HERE]
Most interesting news of this week: 900 people getting fired from PlayStation is pretty huge. It affected some of their biggest studios and their London offices are closing.
Looking forward to playing: More Final Fantasy VII Rebirth!
Thomas
This week I decided to pick up Dark Souls 3 again for some extensive jolly co-operation with Genethical. A while back we played a lot of Outward together, which has lots of technically difficult/satisfying systems akin to Souls games. We’re still roughly on the high wall of Lothric as we’re looking into mods that might ease the multiplayer aspect, but I’m sure we’ll be blasting across Lothric before long, leaving dead bosses in our wake.
In Final Fantasy XIV, I finally managed to set up my Submarine venture I’ve been silently working towards since early January. I’ve been getting lucky with my runs so far, as I’ve got a lot more nodes unlocked than I’m currently levelled to explore. Besides that, I also went and did the Final Fantasy XV collaboration quests that FINALLY came back. This means I’ve not got the Regalia mount, which is a car that can carry up to four players. I’m elated to finally get my hands on it.
Speaking of Elation, in Honkai Star Rail the new limited character banners just brought us Sparkle. This twin-tailed trickster donned her mask and similarly to Ruan Mei before her shook the meta to its core, allowing for all new playstyles via her insane kit. While I won’t bore you with the details, she dethroned Bronya as the reigning queen of the hypercarry support by bringing a slightly different yet better version of her kit. Over the next weeks I’ll probably be diligently farming suitable gear for Sparkle, so wish me luck on that front.
My Divinity Original Sin 2 group also got a little session in this week where we cleared out a sawmill of a group of pun-loving bandits. Aside from that I also decided to start a Baldur’s Gate 3 playthrough on my own, this time starting as Karlach. Saves me an afternoon in the character creator.
Most interesting news of this week: For me, it was that on Pokémon Day, Pokémon Legends: Z-A was announced. I’m especially excited that it brings the return of Mega-Evolution, my favourite generational mechanic by far.
Looking forward to playing: I want to see how far I can push my teams in Honkai Star Rail now that I’ve got Sparkle. That, and how far I’ll get in Baldur’s Gate 3 before something else grabs my attention.
Colombo
I’m still playing and enjoying Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. I’ve finished playing Torn Away for one of my upcoming reviews. I won’t spoil anything but it was a beautiful experience.
Most interesting news of this week: The layoffs happening all around, this time it’s at Sony and EA.
Looking forward to playing: More Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and The Mobius Machine for another one of my reviews.
Genethical
I couldn’t mention this last week, but one game that had engrossed me like no other did in years was Enshrouded, and you can read my full thoughts on it [HERE]
I spent a lot of time playing more Divinity: Original Sin 2, both my solo playthrough as well as our group one. I also started a coop run of Dark Souls 3 with our resident Thomas, and while my opinion of the Souls series so far hasn’t changed, I am looking forward to this game managing that.
Most interesting news of this week: Remember that song “Why Can’t We Be Friends?”? This week had me wondering, why can’t the gaming industry get some strong unions already? Layoffs, layoffs and more layoffs. EA laid off their entire localisation team, which had many of us guessing they’ll go with third parties from now on, which can be… a mixed bag, to be generous.
Looking forward to playing: More Divinity:OS2, more Dark Souls 3, and I was hoping I could finally start on my love for Atelier Ryza 3.
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!