Now, here’s a thing. The team here at B3 are always playing through games – old and new – be that because we’re working on reviews or previews, or because we’ve been gaming for most of our lives and it’s what we do to relax. We’ve created this series, Press Play, so you can see what we’re currently working through, maybe read some of our thoughts on it, and maybe even reply with what you’ve been playing.
I’ve been working through my writing and event backlog over the past couple of weeks, but took some time out to play through The Roottrees Are Dead, which I missed the first time around. I cleared through the main puzzle in one sitting – by which I’m not saying it was effortless, instead saying that I was hooked – and am hoping to get to spend some time with Roottreemania.
Once that’s all tucked away I’m looking forward to getting to grips with Evil Trout’s next game: The Incident at Galley House.
On top of my normal weekly runs on Final Fantasy 14 in preparation for Evercold’s imminent release, I’ve been trying to crack through Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave and Gears of War: E-Day.
Fire Emblem is absolutely phenomenal, but my lord is it a time sink. Leda’s route has finally been topped off for Part 1 and I’m just starting to get my teeth into Theodora’s, and fatigue hasn’t set in yet (though I’ve heard Part 2 can get very samey jumping between routes so I’m preparing for that). The gameplay loop is incredibly addictive though and I’m finding myself seeing far more 1AM’s than I intended to.
Gears of War is also superb. I’m currently chewing through the campaign with my dad in co-op, and the opening act is so reminiscent of Cloverfield in all the best ways. An absolute treat for the Gears fan who is trying to simultaneously enjoy the experience, and get it packed away before Modern Warfare 4 takes over the rest of his free time in the coming days!
Aside from the usual array of review games that I have on the go, I do occasionally like to go back to games I’ve enjoyed from the past. Over the past couple of weeks I’ve been playing through Dark Souls 2 again, with the Scholar of the First Sin expansion of course because the DLC is the best part of that game. Yes, it’s the black sheep of the Souls series, but it has its own charms once you get past the weird dodge system and the infuriatingly slow healing.
I’m looking forward to finally getting around to Control: Resonant though. Being a huge fan of Remedy’s games, this one is a no brainer to me. I avoided the initial jumping on period simply because I wanted a physical version of the game and I’m very keen to see what madness the devs have thrown out way this time.
Rhys Davis
I play quite a few games in my spare time with friends, which range widely, but the game I’m playing the most for me at the moment is easily Valve’s newest MOBA/Hero Shooter Deadlock. Having a background in hero shooters and not MOBAs has made it a hell of a learning curve, but an extremely fun one. The aesthetic and character design, for me, is completely unmatched. Give it a look-see if you haven’t yet.
Aside from Deadlock, Hearthstone also had its brand new expansion Reign of the Black Empire released this week, focusing on the Old Gods of its world and giving us a new fresh meta, which is welcome after the last three months or so. Personally, I’ve managed to mash together some new Hunter cards, which focuses mostly on the Mechs and having them die on repeat for some powerful effects. I’m excited to see what else I can find!
A new Jackbox Party Pack has come out, and as I have a 10 year old who absolutely adores playing games in groups, we have been blasting through it. Jackbox Party Pack 12 has a handful of completely new to us games, with our highlights being one where you can take selfies (or use pictures that they have provided) to answer strange questions, while also editing these pictures into funny memes.
I feel that Robin jells the best with this as she loves adding emotion through colouring in the characters. Amelia, my other daughter, is more interested in the word-based game within this pack; the ones that have everyone answering a question by typing in as many words as possible. In this one, if you and another person type in the same word, you become better friends! It’s all about word association and knowing your friend, with two people ended up being mega friends and smooshed together.
From those two alone, this pack is already onto a winner.
With all the hype around World of Warcraft Forever, my MMO itch needed scratching. Cue an hour of searching for all my old account details and checking what subscription prices are like nowadays (anyone remember when Runescape was £3.00 a month?). I settled on Guild Wars 2 for a number of reasons but chief of which was that all my content, that I paid for over 2 years ago when I last played, was still there. No reactivating subscriptions, no “vaulted” content I couldn’t play. I could install the game and carry on without spending a penny. The idea of a standard “one and done” monetisation method within a genre like MMOs is simply unheard of nowadays, and that hook has since seen me level cooking, finally unlock Deadeye and even begin playing new expansion content. Guild Wars 2 makes me feel like my purchases *actually* last Forever…
My life has recently been consumed almost entirely by Deadlock, in a way that I’ve not really been captured by a game since Marvel Rivals. I think what I’ve been enjoying the most is the core gameplay loop being so strong that you don’t really need to win or lose to have fun. Although, naturally I prefer to win, and there’s plenty of space to gain expertise there.
Other than that I’ve been dipping my toes into Stellaris again. But honestly, it’s been the repeat of the usual Paradox effect where I feel like I’m missing out by not having all the DLCs, and it can all be a bit overwhelming to step back into. A mixed bag all round, but hey, at least Vampire Crawlers has been fun!
It’s fair to say that I’ve had a very busy few weeks. In video games, Valor Mortis has just landed and immediately piqued my interest, and whilst dark, twisted Souls-like games are very much my jam, VM has had to fight for its place on my hard drive with the rather superb Planet Zoo 2, which is beloved by both me and my eldest children.
Of course, this weekend being Essen Spiel (the largest board game expo in Europe), I’ve also been busy in the tabletop world. New releases that we’ve been enjoying include Final Titan, Endangered (with the new Australia expansion) and both Yotei and For the Gods, whilst I’m expecting all the Essen hotness to come back with my friends and keep me busy for the next few weeks.
When I’ve had chance for solo games, I am continuing my multi-deck run through 2011’s Lord of the Rings LCG from FFG and am currently close to the end of the Dwarrowdelf cycle. I am also playing Marvel Champions lots and have joined an online community who run a competitive draft. My main observation across these games (and sister title Arkham Horror) is that you can tangibly feel the design evolution running from 2011 to today. I often wonder if that would make for an interesting article in itself, and yet I still feel far from qualified to make such a piece work
That brings us to the end of this week’s Press Play.
Join us again soon to find out what else we’re playing through!