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It’s the weekend once again, so it’s time to wash off the stresses of the work week and relax with a bit of gaming. But before we settle in, let’s recap some of the bigger stories from this week.
First up, it was a big week for ‘Switch 2’ rumours, with not one, but two making the rounds. The first was that the console might finally be revealed this month (yeah okay, we’ll believe it when we see it) while the second unearthed the ongoing rumour surrounding the console’s backward compatibility.
Elsewhere, Mario Party developer NDcube officially changed its name to something, well, a bit less interesting in our eyes. More information was provided on the upcoming Mario & Luigi: Brothership, which is looking absolutely awesome, while we got our first look at the new Minecraft movie. Which stars Jack Black. Because of course it does.
Jim Norman, Staff Writer
It’s a little bit of everything for me this weekend. I’m keen to get involved in the Grand Festival Big Run in Splatoon 3 before the climactic Splatfest the following week. I also have NBA 2K25 lined up and ready to go for what’s hopefully not another disappointing year of ballin’ (keep an eye out for my thoughts soon).
Things might change, though, since I made the silly mistake of starting a new Elden Ring save file right at the start of the month of games. It’s been a massive time sink for the past seven days, but with new releases already creeping in, I don’t know how long my foul tarnished will last.
Ollie Reynolds, Staff Writer
I’ve got a hankering to play Final Fantasy IV this weekend – but which version should I play? I’ve got the original SNES version, the GBA port, the PSP ‘Complete Collection’, the DS remake, and the Pixel Remaster Switch version. Gosh, I don’t know… I like the difficulty and voice acting seen in the DS version, but the convenience of just booting it up on the Switch is undeniable.
While I ponder (and perhaps you folks can help me decide), I’ll of course be playing Astro Bot on the PS5. How could I not?! Folks are calling it the ‘Super Mario 64‘ of PlayStation, and yes, it’s taken the company bloomin’ ages to get to this point, but who cares? I can’t wait to dive in.
Alex Olney, Senior Video Producer
I have a confession to make. Despite my bones saying otherwise last week, I did not in fact complete Half Life 2. Instead I decided my time would better be spent replacing the fill valve on my downstairs toilet, and in doing so opened a Pandora’s box of other issues such as degraded washers, baffling hardline decisions, and a leaky cistern.
So this weekend? I don’t know, I’ll probably run the hoover around and discover I’ve sucked up some load-bearing dust or something, and console myself with yet more RollerCoaster Tycoon.
Tom Massey, Contributor
This weekend I’ll be sitting down and getting into a furious sweat with Capcom’s new Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection. One of us will be going through the wringer. To take the edge off, I’ll be getting cosy with the new retro-styled Rugrats game to see if it’s worth its weight in baby powder. Hopefully it retains the charm of the show, but not at the expense of thoughtful stage design.
When all written up, I’ll be back on DoDonPachi Re:Incarnation’s remix mode, because that elusive one credit clear is just inches out of reach!
Gavin Lane, Editor
I should have been playing DKC, but Can of Wormholes has been distracting me. It’s an excellent little puzzler which, along with World of Goo 2, will be turning my GOTY 2024 puzzler-heavy — absolutely worth checking out if you like keeping your grey matter lean.
Beyond that, I’m itching to try out Shogun Showdown after reading PJ’s glowing review. And Pizza Tower‘s not going to play itself, nor Shadow of the Ninja – Reborn or Castlevania Dominus Collection. Loads to be getting on with! Have a good one, folks.
Nile Bowie, Contributor
My wife and I tried the drum-based rhythm game Taiko no Tatsujin for the first time at an arcade this week and got a kick out of it. I got a good deal on the nifty drum controller peripheral for Switch and snagged a copy of Taiko no Tatsujin: Rhythm Festival, so we’ll try our best to stay on beat this weekend.
Elsewhere, I’ll be doing a shift on Splatoon 3 for the Big Run event to help deliver that insane 700 million egg quota and plan to wind down before bed with Emio – The Smiling Man, which I’m early into but enjoying so far, and curious to see how the plot will thicken. But there hasn’t been this much thematic focus on eggplants in a Nintendo game since the last Kid Icarus.
Kate Gray, Contributor
I have family staying, which means a lot less gaming than usual. But in my downtime, I’ve been playing Core Keeper on Xbox! It’s quite fun — I played it in very early access, and it’s come a long way since then. I’m three bosses down, and I think there’s a lot more to do, so I’m probably going to keep playing for a while.
But now I’m done with Ace Attorney, it’s kinda making me sad. I need more murder mystery!
Alana Hagues, Deputy Editor
I’m savouring the Castlevania Dominus Collection and loving every single second of it. It’s nice to play the games slower than normal. I thought about 100%-ing Dawn before remembering how awful the soul drop rate is, so I’ve moved on to Portrait of Ruin, which I think is hugely underrated.
I’d like to make a start on Crypt Custodian soon, too – I still need to play Islets and Sheepo, so I have lots of good Metroidvanias ahead of me. But I’m also finally playing through my third Ys game, Memories of Celceta, on Steam Deck. I’m sort of shocked this isn’t on Switch still, but so far, Celceta is a good, fun time.
Ethan Zack, Contributor
This weekend, I’m plunging ever deeper into Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club. I’m starting to piece together some very important details on the case and it’s got my mind going a mile a minute. The prime suspect? Whoever I’m talking to at that very moment. Call me paranoid, but I’ve played, read, and watched enough murder mysteries to know that one of these smiling suckers is just waiting for the right moment to stab me in the back. No one is above suspicion!
I like to start my spooky gaming season early each year to get as much mileage out of it as possible, so I might also dive into the recent Resident Evil (1996) port on PC. A nice cup of spiced tea and a nostalgic run-in with a few terrible demons is all I need to get into the fall spirit.
Oliver Revolta, Contributor
Playing Super Mario Bros. Wonder with my girlfriend was an experience that lasted not much more than twenty minutes. She lay down her controller, and that first and last time we played a game together was done and dusted.
My final shot at tempting her into playing games is a taste of her home country – Venba. I have no idea what to expect, or if we’ll play it for long, but after the 8/10 Nintendo Life review I’m looking forward to it at least.
Craig Reid, Contributor
This weekend I’ll be spending most of my time lazing about in bed with my wife. She’s a bit poorly at the moment. So, with the spirit of making the most out our TV time, I’ll be hooking the Switch up to play co-op games like Snipperclips, Mario Party Superstars, and visiting her Island on Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Y’know, the cosy classics!
Oh, and I’m keen to jump back into Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga too, because Brothership do be looking fine!
Is Space Marine 2 on Switch? No, ah, dang it. Have a nice weekend, folks!
That’s what we have planned for the weekend, but what about you? You can let us know what game you’ll be maining in the following poll and then take to the comments to share what else you have on the cards.