Jim Norman, Staff Writer
I’ll mostly be playing through a game for review this weekend, so keep an eye out next week for that one. If I do find time for anything else, though, I think I’ll head back to Zelda: Oracle of Seasons. I started it before Echoes of Wisdom and was having a wonderful time, so it only feels right to finish it while I’m on a top-down Zelda kick.
Ollie Reynolds, Staff Writer
After reviewing Killing Time: Resurrected alongside RetroRealms: Ash vs Evil Dead and Halloween, all I want to do is keep playing them. This year has been absolutely fantastic for retro revivals and homages, and the spooky vibes from all three of these games fit quite nicely with the upcoming Halloween celebrations.
On the PS5, I’ve very nearly finished my first playthrough of Silent Hill 2. I’m at the Lakeside Hotel, and it’s just been such a wonderful experience so far. I can’t wait to see how it ends before going right back to the start for another run.
Kate Gray, Contributor
I sorta gave up on Echoes of Wisdom after getting to Lord Jabu-Jabu and feeling like they should have named it “Echoes of Bed” because of how much I’m using that particular item to solve puzzles… but a few friends of mine have convinced me to jump back in. It’s not the best Zelda game — it’s not even the best Grezzo game — but I’m trying to love it for what it is, rather than what it’s not.
I’ve also been playing a ton of Core Keeper. In the mid-to-late game, it definitely becomes an inventory management puzzle, but I’m having a great time with it! Also, I’ve been getting into Hello Kitty Island Adventure, ahead of its Switch release. That’s probably a mistake because I’m going to have to start over from scratch when it comes out next year, but I’m surprised how much I’m enjoying it!
Oh, and I downloaded Pikmin Bloom. Late to the party, I know…
Gavin Lane, Editor
This week I would like to finish Echoes of Wisdom and move on to something else — GOTY lumbers ever closer, shaking ripples into my water cup on the NL dashboard! The recent Alien: Isolation sequel announcement has me jonesing to sit down and actually play the game I bought on sale ages ago, and I’m only a third (maybe) of the way through Blasphemous 2… but who’s got time for games that weren’t released in 2024!? It’s Natsu-Mon and Shogun Showdown once I’ve saved Hyrule.
Roland Ingram, Contributor
For me this time it’s back to the jazzy Tokyo streets as I return to Persona 5 Royal. I got distracted from it after about 30 hours and thought I’d lost the thread, but it was surprisingly easy to get back into the groove. Meanwhile, some “parenting” time will be spent playing Another Code R: A Journey into Lost Memories. This has been a great one to play with the kids as it’s very relaxed and the puzzles are easy to get your head around. All in all, a pretty chilled one, then – not tempted by any Halloween horror games just yet!
Tom Massey, Contributor
This weekend I’ve been meaning to sit down with something horrible in the run-up to Halloween! No, I don’t mean The Walking Dead: Destinies – that’s a different kind of horrible. Rather, I’ll be firing up Luigi’s Mansion 3, dotting candles around the room, holding a seance, and vacuuming some ghouls.
Nile Bowie, Contributor
October is my favourite time of year, and I generally stick to horror-themed games during the spooky season, along with watching the scariest movies I can find. This weekend, I’ll be chasing some alternative endings in Faith: The Unholy Trinity, an indie retro horror gem I recently finished reviewing for Nintendo Life.
I’m also planning to fire up my 3DS for a fresh playthrough of Luigi’s Mansion, which I’ve sadly never completed. The exception to the horror rule will be The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom which I’m still chipping away at. The echoes mechanic is brilliant and I love the mash-up of top-down Zelda dungeons with open-world Zelda’s freewheeling creativity.
Ethan Zack, Contributor
The ol’ day of my birth rolls around this weekend, so I’ll be getting together with a few friends for what I’m sure will be a very cordial and swearing-free session of Mario Party shenanigans. Multiplayer gaming with friends, let alone couch multiplayer, is an exceedingly rare joy for me these days.
As such, I’m finding it tough to justify picking up Super Mario Party Jamboree for the occasion when I’ve only booted up my respective copies of Super Mario Party and Mario Party Superstars a handful of times since their release. Ah, who knows — the new one looks great and this may be the only chance I get to play it with friends for a good long while, so maybe I’ll make it a little gift to myself.
Gonçalo Lopes, Contributor
Good stuff ahead with Abathor, TRANSFORMERS: Galactic Trials, Bloodless, Conscript and the delightfully nostalgic UFO Robo Grendizer: The Fest of the Wolves. Despite having no friends to play with, the single player portion of Super Mario Party Jamboree is proving to be quite solid. Will continue progress on Bakeru but a new operation has landed for Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine II and The Emperor demands its due.
Game of the week is Neva. To surpass GRIS is no easy feat but from what I’ve played so far this is yet another work of art fuelled by the Berlinist soundtrack along with incredible art direction. Look at that wolf grow!
That’s what we have planned for the weekend, but what about you? Let us know in the below poll which games you’re planning on booting up over the next couple of days.