Welcome to Respawning’s Games Club! The purpose of this is to get a bunch of us together every Monday to allow us the chance to chat shit about whatever takes our fancy in the world of video games and discuss what we’re currently playing.
As we’re now 2 months into the year and game releases have dried up a little we’re just going to talk about the games we’re currently playing. Maybe it will inspire you!
Javier
I am currently having the time of my life with video games and can’t get enough time to play them all.
My ‘main’ game is the ‘Kingdom Hearts Collection’, currently on 2.5 remix and loving it entirely. I remember parts of it from when I was younger but it’s so much better than I remember. I like how each world is quite short but has its own little story and the combat is such a step up from the first one. I highly recommend these games to everyone.
As well as this I’m also playing ‘Ghost Recon: Wildlands’, which is an extremely fun coop game, brilliant if you have a couple of mates free once a week. And I’m still playing Skyrim VR, I really need to play it more.
Will
I seem to somehow have become Respawning’s FPS guy, and I’m cool with that.
So right now, I’m juggling my twin loves of ‘Overwatch’ and ‘Rainbow Six: Siege’, whilst also replaying ‘Bioshock Remastered’. Creative, I know- but there’s been another recent addition to my multiplayer roster- Heroes of the Storm.
Yeah, it only took me two and a half years, but I finally got into Blizzard’s take on the MOBA genre. And god, if it wasn’t worth it. In fact, I even wrote an article on exactly why it’s so damn good, which you can read here!
I’ve got my eye on ‘Dusk’, an indie FPS with graphics like an old PS1 game. I’d have grabbed it by now, but it’s a single-player game in early access, so I don’t want to spoil the story for myself.
William
As Respawning’s resident viking I’ve been putting a lot of hours into Horizon Zero Dawn. I missed this gem at release and I’m now playing catch up to all my friends who insisted I would love it and who i thoroughly ignored. They’re right though. For a man who is obsessed with hunter gatherer culture and a sci-fi buff I’ve never seen a more perfectly crafted mixture with the gorgeous rolling hills and forests full of laser raptors and robot horses! I’ve been having a blast running about and finding the best way to bring down some of the bigger creatures in the environment and I’m totally invested in fantastic leading lady Aloy who has all the pluck and courage of Lara Croft without the over egged accent and triangle boobs.
If you haven’t already go grab yourself a copy of one of the best games this console generation will ever see.
Chris
I’ve been playing Overwatch with mates, mostly. Really enjoying the Year of The Dog event currently going on in particular. It’s great to see Capture the Flag come back into focus, and even better that the mode has a new map specifically designed for it: Ayutthaya is effective, sensible, and gives a snapshot of Thailand’s culture with it’s Angkor Wat styled ruins. Capture the Flag’s also experienced some changes: One can no longer jet, jump or teleport away the instant they snag the thing, putting greater emphasis on strategy. Better yet, no pesky ‘Draws’ – if the teams are at equal score when the timer runs out, the game goes into Sudden Death, with the flags moved closer and the timer gone.
As for the event skins, they’re a mix of ‘Awesome’ and ‘I don’t know why this is a thing’ (looking at you, Magistrate McCree). Mercy’s, Zarya’s, Genji’s, and Pharah’s skins – the main ones for the event – apparently represent the Four Symbols, mythological creatures of the Chinese constellation. That’s cool; Overwatch is quite a worldly shooty-bang-bang.
Though one of the best changes the game’s experienced of late doesn’t come from this event. No, she was added a little while before that: I am, of course, talking about the inescapable Irish scientist, Moira. Stealth! Heals! Cheap Symmetra-style beam! I’ve always been pretty partial to Sombra and Mercy, but Moira’s the best of both worlds and a little more. There’s something just deeply satisfying about shooting off a healing orb, warping behind an enemy, and draining them of life whilst their own attacks heal almost instantly. She’s amazing. She’s powerful. She’s probably got a nerf already in the works. But I’ll enjoy the gameplay whilst it lasts, and same with the event.
Tom
Right now, I’m playing Pokémon Emerald! I play along with a Pokémon Podcast called Blast Burn Radio. They play Pokémon games generation by generation, and right now we’re on the generation 3 games Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald. I’m playing with a cartridge, just to get that added nostalgia. I’m not very far along at the moment as we’re only on week 1, but I got my first badge today!
We’re playing Pokémon games in the form of Nuzlocke runs. If you’ve never played a Nuzlocke before, it’s a fan-made mode that forces you to release any Pokémon that faints, essentially killing them. It’s a bit hardcore. I prefer playing more casually, but it’s a good challenge if you’ve played these games again and again and want a new way of playing.
It was really hard though. I forgot how much harder older Pokémon games are now! I’ve had a full party wipe-out twice already in the early stages of the game, forcing me to start over, which was a hard pill to swallow. My original starter was Torchic but since I changed starters to Treecko I’m having a much better time. I’m well on my way to my second badge but I need to spend some more time grinding first.
I travel a fair bit, both for work and personal life, so it’s important to have games I can play on the go. My next game I’m planning to start is Oxenfree on the Switch, but as for home gaming I’m yet to decide. I’m thinking either replaying The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker, or Persona 5, or maybe Kingdom Hearts! Any suggestions?
Salman
I’ve been going in on Monster Hunter World so hard man. I’m in love with this game and I fell for it even harder in High Rank. Because now all I wanna do is mix and match armor and weapons and decorations to make the most busted ass shit imaginable. I have so much left to go in this game and I do not intend on stopping now. There is some elder dragon shit and so much other stuff I haven’t even gotten to yet. And people complain about this game having less content!
Besides Monster Hunter I guess I have been playing a bit more Enter the Gungeon on my Switch whenever I’m watching a show or something. It’s pretty great!