Weekend Gaming Plans: What’s on Your Console This New Year?

Here it is, everyone – our final WAYP for 2024. The upcoming year, 2025, promises to be an exciting one for Nintendo enthusiasts, featuring titles like Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, Pokémon Legends: Z-A, Professor Layton and the New World of Steam, and Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition all set to debut in the early months.

Also, we might be seeing some new hardware (potentially!).

Indeed, Nintendo has pledged to unveil its successor to the Switch before the end of March 2025. Given the company’s tendency to avoid early announcements, it’s likely that the ‘Switch 2’ will appear on store shelves shortly after Nintendo’s upcoming reveal. Here’s hoping for that!

Exciting times are ahead! While 2024 has been relatively quiet for the Switch overall, we have still been treated to a fantastic array of first-party titles, complemented by a steady stream of excellent third-party and indie games.

So, for the last time this year, let’s take a look at what we’ll be playing this weekend, shall we?

Ollie Reynolds, Staff Writer

I’ve decided that enough new games have been added to Xbox Game Pass that it’s time to resubscribe for a few months before canceling again. I just started Indiana Jones and the Great Circle and it’s… well, fantastic! It captures the essence of the movies and the focus on stealth is remarkable. I plan to finish the campaign for Black Ops 6 once I’m done.

On the Switch, I’m still playing a game for review, so look out for that soon.

Wishing you all a wonderful new year!

Gavin Lane, Editor

With my bank balance looking less than ideal, I’ve plugged my ears to resist the eShop’s temptations. I already have so much to play, but Pentiment, currently at 40% off, is calling my name.

Other than that, I snagged Railbound for a discounted price, and I still haven’t had a chance to check out Arco. I’m also considering the Lego Skywalker Saga for the kids. So much to dive into!

Alana Hagues, Deputy Editor

No game purchases for me this holiday season other than some personal choices. I grabbed Arco, Railbound (not even £1!), Minami Lane, and TOEM during the eShop sale, so I have some exciting titles to look forward to when I want something different.

However, I’ve committed to Trails Through Dawn, aiming to finish it before the sequel releases in February. I’m only on chapter 3, but it’s engaging so far—and I’m enjoying taking my time instead of rushing through it.

Next weekend we’ll be welcoming 2025, so here’s to a fantastic and enjoyable new year!

Nile Bowie, Contributor

Happy holidays, everyone! It’s that season again, and I’ve gone a bit wild on the eShop. I’ve collected a range of acclaimed titles that have caught my eye throughout the year, all at sweet discounts. The highlights include Antonblast and Pizza Tower. As a huge fan of the Wario Land series, I’m thrilled to try these gems.

I also picked up Crow Country and I’m loving its retro PlayStation survival horror vibe. Plus, there’s the quirky shooter Angel at Dusk, which piqued my interest after a vibrant review on Nintendo Life. Although it’s not my typical genre, I dove into the fun Thank Goodness You’re Here! because of all the praise it received. The artwork is colorful, and given the holiday blues that sometimes hit, I figured it would be a blast.

I’ve also picked up Arco, an indie turn-based strategy RPG published by Alarm that has received strong reviews but hasn’t generated a lot of buzz, along with Kill Knight, an intense bullet hell game that caught my attention with its wild gameplay trailer.

Gonçalo Lopes, Contributor

New Star GP 1990’s racing season finale has turned into a bit of a gamble with two GPs to race and 6 positions to cover before reaching the leader “Jeanne Asselin.” I may need to take her out in one of the remaining races to secure a top spot. As 2024 approaches its end, I’ve decided to finish off some titles that I had yet to complete because “things got in the way”: Yakuza Kiwami, Neva, and The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom. The last one I really need to complete not just because it’s a fantastic top-down Zelda but because I won’t have access to Fantasian: Neo Dimension until I finish it. There’s no way I can juggle two RPGs at once in this day and age.

Game of the week for me is Target: Renegade on the Spectrum. While I usually prefer the classic game, I have fond memories of discovering that this game’s two-player mode was not turn-based but simultaneous, like Double Dragon! No need to wait for someone to mess up to play. It has aged rather well.

This might just wrap things up for the final year of t