What Games Are You Diving Into This Weekend? (January 25th)

Ollie Reynolds, Staff Writer

I’m gradually working through the Halo series on Legendary mode. Right now, I’m tackling Halo: Combat Evolved and gearing up for one of the franchise’s most notorious levels… The Library. Wish me luck!

In addition to that challenge, I’m juggling a couple of games for review, so stay tuned for those insights next week. Meanwhile, I’m dipping into The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild whenever I get the chance. I find myself wandering the vast landscapes of Hyrule, mostly just picking apples and enjoying the beautiful scenery.

Take care and have a great one!

Jim Norman, Staff Writer

At the moment, I’m not entirely sure what my gaming plans are. I realize I’ll likely look back and miss this calm once the summer and holiday releases roll around, sweeping up all my free time. Recently, I’ve dived back into Pokémon Emerald, already 20 hours in, and it’s as delightful as ever. Marvel Rivals still has a firm grip on my leisure hours, and there’s a growing pressure from Dragon Quest III HD-2D that I hope to give proper attention soon. Maybe this is the week I finally crack it open.

Also, having revisited Pokémon Snap recently, I’m itching for a full completion run of this classic. Watch out for those Mankey tosses!

Gonçalo Lopes, Contributor

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom keeps me enthralled with its exceptionally crafted dungeons. Meanwhile, my playlist echoes a contrasting theme as Freespace 2 hurtles towards its intense conclusion. This might just be the perfect moment for another round of Babylon 5. Alongside these, I’m making more strides in Smuggler’s Run: Warzones, while staying up to date with the latest Switch releases: I’ve started Tails of Iron 2: Whiskers of Winter, finally received my copy of Tales of Graces f Remastered, and also tried out DoDonPachi SaiDaiOuJou, Strania -The Stella Machina- EX, and Guilty Gear -Strive-.

The game stealing the spotlight for me this week is The Lord of the Rings: War in the North. It was a tough choice, but it edged out my nostalgic temptation for a re-run of Wii’s Aragorn’s Quest after browsing through a recent list of top Lord of the Rings games. Oh, and I’ve realized Nolan North voices one of the characters, which WB Games truly should’ve capitalized on—imagine the tagline, “War in the North with Nolan North.” Elendil would definitely approve!

Gavin Lane, Editor

I recently found myself engrossed in Sutte Hakkun while capturing some in-game screenshots, and it has quickly piqued my interest. In between, I’ve been relaxing with a bit of Arco and some classic N64 titles on the NSO. A recent session with Pokémon Snap eventually led me to revisit a couple of old favorites, though I noticed a bit of input lag was throwing off my Z-button timing in 1080. Clearly, it’s the lag; definitely not my lack of recent practice. Guess I need to shake off the rust.

Kate Gray, Contributor

Hello there, it’s the resident fan of games requiring notes to be taken, reporting back with yet another one: The Roottrees are Dead! This detective game demands some proper sleuthing, encouraging players to Google people’s names, print off their pictures, and slap them on the wall with pins and red tape—who could resist? It’s a perfect follow-up after wrapping up Rise of the Golden Idol. We truly are experiencing a golden age of these intricate, mind-engaging titles. Unfortunately, like Her Story, this puzzle requires a keyboard, so a Switch release seems unlikely. Perhaps Switch 2 will be more accessory-friendly?

Felix Sanchez, Video Producer

This weekend, I’m diving into Donkey Kong Country Returns HD. I’ve made it through two worlds so far, and while it hasn’t been love at first play, I’m eager to see how it all unfolds. Simultaneously, I’m nearing the end of Professor Layton and Pandora’s Box on my DS Lite. I finally solved a stubborn chess puzzle yesterday that had been bogging me down for some time… phew!

That’s what’s lined up for my weekend, but I’m curious about your plans. Cast your vote in the poll and share what games you’ll be starting on in the days to come.