Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are out, and fans are as divided on the quality of the games as they are on which to pick up. Reviews have been mostly positive, but performance issues hit this gen harder than most. Anyway, many members of TheGamer staff make the trip to Paldea.
Elsewhere, Kratos still has a stranglehold on us, Sonic runs free despite being reported to the law by his creator, and Pentiment somehow makes hanging out with monks the most interesting thing in the world. It happens about every November, but there are a lot of great video games out right now.
Andrew King, Features Editor
Well, I wanted to start God of War Ragnarok last weekend, but I didn’t get my TV back from the store until Tuesday, so this weekend is actually God of War Ragnarok weekend. Although I’ll also try to squeeze in as much time as possible with Pentiment (which is remarkably good) between Blades of Chaos swinging sessions. That is, until I go on a trip on Saturday afternoon, after which I’ll just play Switch games, like Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga and Triangle Strategy. Honestly, it unfortunately looks like another weekend where I don’t play nearly enough God of War.
Ben Sledge, Features Editor
I’m playing Pokemon Violet this weekend. Despite being dangerously close to buying Scarlet as well, I’ve stuck with FutureMon and its wild Mecha Evolutions. That robo-Donphan will definitely be on my team, but the other five spots are on the way. I’m excited to jump into another Pokemon game, but I’m going in with a bit of reservations thanks to mediocre reviews and apparent performance issues. That said, I’m keen to form my own opinion before passing judgement.
Harry Alston, Senior Specialist Writer
This weekend I’ll be spending a lot of hours playing Warzone 2. I haven’t played a shooter in a while so I’m rusty as hell, but I’m catching up with some players from my Apex Legends days and it’s been good so far. The game is a huge upgrade on the original Warzone and I look forward to more wins.
Stacey Henley, Editor-in-Chief
This is a bit of a whirlwind week, so I have three answers, although the true answer is that I won’t be playing any of them nearly enough, and the deep dark void inside me will live on, still unsatiated. A failure to commit to either God of War Ragnarok or Sonic Frontiers means I’m only a little way through them both, and now Pokemon Scarlet is here to add a third to the pile. However, only Pokemon have Tsareena, so there’s your answer.
Amanda Hurych, Evergreen Content Lead
I’m traveling this weekend to help a friend move, but if I stayed home, I know exactly what I’d play. Forget God of War and Pokemon. Passion is where it’s at. I played about two hours with it last night and I love it! I never knew how captivating it could be to be an artist in a Benedictine monastery church. If Pentiment continues to delight me, Grounded won’t be Obsidian Entertainment’s only title on my Game of the Year list.
Justin Reeve, News Editor
Since I’ve spent so much time at school, I’m definitely into books, and so for most of this weekend I’ll be diving into the digital equivalent of Pentiment. I’ve heard good things about the game although the critical reception has been a bit mixed, but I’m really looking forward to giving this a good shot. Call me a bookworm.
Rhiannon Bevan, News Editor
Yes I know. I should play Pentiment. But oh my, I made the mistake of downloading Fable 2 again and now I’m hooked. I’m not even that focused on the plot – I’m just running around Albion collecting all the nice clothes and buying up way too much property. I’ve become a dirty landlord, but a girlboss dirty landlord with nice hair, so it’s not so bad. As for actual gameplay, it holds up surprisingly well. But its main appeal is how basic it is, which, along with the beautiful soundtrack, makes Fable 2 the perfect cozy game to relax with.
David W. Duffy, Evergreen Editor
I’m full speed on God of War Ragnarok. After 36 hours or so of hacking, slashing and spearing, I’m about to hit the end game. It’s been a long, strange ride – part of me is absolutely in love with the expanded cast and story beats, but there’s a part of me that can’t quite figure out if I like it more than its predecessor. I guess the last few hours will provide some clarity. I certainly appreciate the depth of accessibility options, and it has unexpectedly felt less difficult to fully explore regions despite their larger scale. However, I’m going to need some more chill afterwards. Whew.
