Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (9th August)
By Greetings, captains! The work-week has officially clocked out, so let’s prep that backlog and rewind the last seven days while we’re at it, shall we?
We kicked things off with a stellar Indie World showcase bursting with surprises, shadow-rops and announcements. Elsewhere, the Big N revealed a fresh roster of Mario merch aimed at kids—including a pricey wooden-block kit boasting built-in amiibo features.
Nintendo also managed to stir the pot once more by declining permission for a charity speedrunning event, while our own Jim waxed lyrical about Donkey Kong continuity—arguing we don’t actually need one.
Ollie Reynolds, Staff Writer
I’m drowning in quality options, gang. I’ll dip back into Tiny Bookshop after penning my review, then finally crack open UFO 50 and see what the hype is. On top of that, I nabbed the Mina the Hollower demo, eked out space for Heretic + Hexen for a pending review…
Sheesh… It’s raining carts!
Alana Hagues, Deputy Editor
UFO 50 is taunting me from the dashboard while I chase that final 100 % in Donkey Kong Bananza before招商 Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo. The game I’ve been eager for since SGF 2024? Finally lands in the busiest patch ever.
After that, it’s the Mina the Hollower trial—looks like we’re on a mini-Zelda binge this week. Short but sweet from me—have a cracker, everyone!
Jim Norman, Staff Writer
Despite counting the days until my date with Mina the Hollower, I still haven’t pried open the demo—blasphemy, I know! That tops the list; then I’ll likely fire up one of the Oracle titles on NSO for another vintage Hyrule fix.
Beyond that, the Drag x Drive Global Jam kicks off, and—brace yourself—I’m cautiously stoked. The Switch 2 preview event left me lukewarm, but a bit of worldwide rivalry might sweeten the ride.
Catch you on the other side!
Gavin Lane, Editor
I remain knee-deep in banana-chunk debris and loving every fragmented second. I just passed stratum 1 200-something, and I’d be ripping through deeper layers if every twinkling treasure or sonar-scanned silhouette didn’t drag me off route.
However, UFO 50 touched down on Thursday to duel Donkey Kong for my Switch 2’s screen time—and I’m itching to flip over. Absolutely rotten timing, though: relatives are arriving for a holiday. How dare loved ones visit me in a foreign land? Bananas await!
Gonçalo Lopes, Contributor
I’m zipping luggage for my yearly offline getaway. Into the bag goes 250 consecutive days of Fitness Boxing 3: Your Personal Trainer—consider it the season finale.
The Summer of the Ninja rages on, so Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound will be my portable blood sport, joined by Front Mission 3 Remake and the tail end of World Tour in Street Fighter 6 (Sagat’s finally here—well, if you cough up real dollars. Sigh, modern monetisation).
I also went on an eShop splurge: House of the Dead 2 Remake, the magnificent UFO 50, Turbo Kid (seriously, go see the film), plus M2’s Gradius Origins—complete with the lost 1998 sequel Salamander III.
And because discipline eluded me, I greedily added Earthion on Steam last week. Looks like it’ll be one hell of a summer for bullet-hell bliss!
This is my first road-haul with a Switch 2. Looking back across eight summers where the original unit was the beating heart of my vacation, the future feels downright electric—Daemon x Machina: Titanic Scion is flashing on the scanner loud and clear.
That’s what we’ve got lined up—what about you? Drop your weekend picks in the poll below.