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’m beyond obsessed with Disney Dreamlight Valley. I finally hit the maximum player level and I’ve maxed my friendship with almost six of the villagers. I’ve been committed to getting their daily favourite gifts and doing quests alongside this so I always have the option to switch what I’m actively doing. I also have my first four achievements so now I’m fully committed to the grind of completing everything possible. Plus, being able to move and rearrange almost everything in the village to be laid out however you choose is very tempting to get my micro-management sunk into.
I played significantly fewer games on Fall Guys this week but I do intend on playing as there is a cosmetic in the fame pass that I would be over the moon to acquire. I just wish I had better patience.
Then the real action began with the release of The Outlast Trials. Although it’s unique compared to Outlast and Outlast 2, having the option to play multiplayer has been incredible. I finally get to experience a brand new Outlast game with Lewis and we get to figure out the trials together. It took me by surprise at first with what I was supposed to be doing but it hasn’t taken too long to get used to everything. I desperately need to stop activating sound traps and getting afflicted by psychosis though!
Most interesting news of this week: The S.T.A.L.K.E.R. shadow drop and news of The Sinking City sequel being released next year is exciting. The Xbox Partner Showcase managed to bring us plenty of reveals and announcements too!
Looking forward to playing: Most likely the same as this week with review games too.
Robby
I’ve been obsessed with playing Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. I haven’t made a big dent into everything this massive JRPG has to offer but I’m enjoying every second, minute, hour (power!)
It’s taking enough bold new choices to keep fans of the original game interested in what’s behind every corner and is also funny and beautiful enough to win over people new to the franchise. (though I would recommend starting with Remake: this is very much a sequel)
I’ve also started playing Figment again, as it’s on Xbox Games Pass and I previously beat it on the Nintendo Switch. Both Figment games are wonderful: lighthearted yet with deep undertones from time to time and brought to you in a musical package.
In addition, I’m playing some games of Balatro or daily tidies in A Little to the Left in between the bigger titles.
Most interesting news of this week: The Xbox Partner showcase gave us some interesting games to look forward to. My favourite is Creatures of Ava but FFXIV coming to Xbox on March 21 is surely exciting!
Looking forward to playing: More FF7R!
Thomas
After starting a fresh Baldur’s Gate 3 campaign last week I’m happy to report I’m steadily progressing through act 1, about to enter the goblin camp with a party well into level 4. I think I’ll edge on the side of good for this run, but it’ll be a delicate balance if I want to keep Astarion from disliking me too much.
Pretty uneventful week in Honkai Star Rail as I’m getting no luck in farming gear for Sparkle, but we’re slowly getting there. It’s a marathon, not a race after all. I’m also already diligently saving up for when Acheron’s banner hits by the end of the month.
And yesterday I also picked up HELLDIVERS 2, the game which has been taking Steam by storm in the name of democracy. I’ve only played the tutorial so far, but I can already see the cornerstones of what makes it so loved from the single mission I did by myself. Can’t wait to explore this further.
Most interesting news of this week: It is with great sadness this morning that read about Akira Toriyama’s passing. The man left such a massive impact on any industry he touched and will be dearly missed.
Looking forward to playing: HELLDIVERS 2 for sure. I’m also itching for another round of Divinity Original Sin 2.
Colombo
Not much from me but I finished Assassin’s Creed Valhalla‘s main story and played a little bit more of it. I’m not too interested in playing the DLCs as of yet even though I own all of them. I tried playing Those Who Remain but it didn’t really stick with me so I’ve started TOEM which has been a nice and simple game to play.
Most interesting news of this week: The Xbox Partner Preview showcase announcements.
Looking forward to playing: Apart from The Mobius Machine, which I still need to play and review, I’m not sure what I’ll play after I’m done with TOEM.
Missi
I’m still playing Balatro a few times a week. Such an addictive and awesome game. I don’t believe I’ll even unlock all the achievements but I’m still trying to unlock as many as possible.
I also played a little bit of Floramancer, which looks very promising and I enjoyed what I saw. The weird thing about it is that it gave me motion sickness while the game isn’t a first-person game. I have no clue what causes this as I only get it with a few games. It sucks as it hinders me from playing and enjoying the game.
Another game that I played this week is My Little Universe. A mobile game that came to Steam a while ago. It is an idle/building game and I was addicted the first 20 hours or so of the game. I just couldn’t stop playing and I ended up in bed very late the first 2 evenings. Sadly my interest got less the further I got into the game because the idle mechanic was taking over. So now it sometimes is more “run the game, while doing something else” than playing. With full idle games I don’t mind this, but this gave that addictive factor by just always having something to do and to discover.. which doesn’t match with the idle mechanic, sadly. I still hope to finish the game as I’m so far in and don’t want to stop now.
Furthermore, I’m bug-testing a new GameHouse game: Barbarous 3: Family Secrets on Steam. This one hasn’t been released yet (on Steam, it is out on mobiles) but will be released soon. I enjoy this type of time management game where you have to complete orders a lot. It is great for just playing a few levels each day and coming back the next day without having to worry that you forgot how the game works.
Minami Lane is another game I played and even finished this week. I have been looking at that since the day it got announced during the Wholesome Games Fest. It just looks beautiful and cosy. On the last day that it had the release discount, I bought it and played it yesterday. It is so cute and a lot of fun. It only takes a few hours to complete it, which makes it even more perfect.
And last but not least, I started today with Bore Blasters. This is so much fun. You drill underground for resources to permanently upgrade your ship. It also has a story and an objective to complete a level. However, what makes it awesome is that even if you don’t manage to finish a level, you can still continue with the story and work towards unlocking permanent upgrades. This way it always feels like you’re doing something productive in the game and never get punished for dying.
Most interesting news of this week: The news that Warner Bros doesn’t understand the market. They want to make more live service games in which we all should “live and work and build and play” in those universes… work?? work?? Sometimes it feels like those people higher up in suits really don’t know what they’re talking about.
Looking forward to playing: Most of the games listed above. I’m normally not working on so many titles at the same time but working on them one by one. However, it is a nice mix of games you can’t stop playing and games that are nice for playing in short sessions.
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!
