WHAT PLAY YOU!? Version 3.0

[Jesse]

Just wrapped up Resident Evil 2 Remake. This series is really clicking for me now and I enjoyed this a lot. Having that fedora bloke chasing you around the police station makes for some great momentum - before that I was going really slowly and clearing everything. The second he showed up I started motoring through as fast as possible.

I'm not loving any of these enough to play the other character just for 5 seconds of different story in a game that takes me about 10 hours to beat but if I make it to the end of the series I might come back and do the games with the other characters,

Taking a break with Monster Hunter Wilds now because my co-worker has been banging on about it for ages.

[Merzbow]

The remake is almost perfect, I still think the GameCube remake of the OG game is the best but this is close and does enough good changes to make it it's own thing.

[Jesse]

7 hours ago, Ralphy said:

Ever played RE4? Honestly probably one of my favourite games ever, the remake on xbox looks immense 

Never played any of them before, so doing the series in order. So far done 1, 0, and 2.

[Merzbow]

I'd recommend the original version of 3 over the remake, the remake isn't terrible but it changes and cuts out so much of the original it feels like a weird abridged retelling without adding anything substantial of it's own like the others do.

Edited February 14 by Merzbow

[The Curious Orange]

Total opposite of Resident Evil - I've been playing the Lil Gator Game DLC and it's definitely worth it for anyone who liked the main game.

[RedTwoster]

I’ve just completed Silent Hill F, and it’s really bloody good. I think I preferred it to the Silent Hill 2 remake actually, the story is strong and the atmosphere is tense. There’s probably more combat in it than you’d typically expect from a survival horror game, but that didn’t bother me so much. 

It’s an easy recommend for me, although it does essentially turn into an action game, and I know that aspect has been divisive. I liked it a lot, though. 

[Jazzy G]

On 2/14/2026 at 3:55 AM, Ralphy said:

Ever played RE4? Honestly probably one of my favourite games ever, the remake on xbox looks immense 

I've got the remake on Switch, but when I tried playing it was on my Switch Lite which had some pretty serious analogue drift. I should give it a proper go on my Switch 2.

[TildeGuy~!]

3 hours ago, RedTwoster said:

I’ve just completed Silent Hill F, and it’s really bloody good. I think I preferred it to the Silent Hill 2 remake actually, the story is strong and the atmosphere is tense. There’s probably more combat in it than you’d typically expect from a survival horror game, but that didn’t bother me so much. 

It’s an easy recommend for me, although it does essentially turn into an action game, and I know that aspect has been divisive. I liked it a lot, though. 

Now play it again! 

Its even better next time round with story changes.

[RedTwoster]

1 hour ago, TildeGuy~! said:

Now play it again! 

Its even better next time round with story changes.

Already on the case with that one!

[Merzbow]

I don't have anything to play F on but I have started the Silent Hill series from the beginning just now, I might stop after finishing 4 though.. although I do like the retelling of 1 that was on the original Wii.

[RedTwoster]

3 minutes ago, Merzbow said:

I don't have anything to play F on but I have started the Silent Hill series from the beginning just now, I might stop after finishing 4 though.. although I do like the retelling of 1 that was on the original Wii.

That’s a shame, but if/when you do get the chance I’d certainly recommend giving it a go. It’s very much a standalone game, but still manages to feel very ‘Silent Hill’. 

I’m not sure what consoles you have, but there have been rumours of a Switch 2 port, and I don’t see any reason why that couldn’t happen given that Cyberpunk, Assassin’s Creed Shadows and FF Remake all play brilliantly on that console. 

[Jazzy G]

Pokemon Legends ZA. I got it for Vicky for Christmas and she's been enjoying it. I picked myself up a copy, and got into a hyper focus with it. I'm almost up to where she is in the game, and gave her a few tips she wasn't aware of. It's a fun game, but like with so many other Pokémon games it always feels like the story gets in the way of my wandering around catching pokemon and smashing rocks. The real time battle thing is a nice twist. 

[LaGoosh]

On 1/7/2026 at 9:32 AM, RedTwoster said:

It’s definitely a game that’ll suffer from the level of hype it’s had, when you go into it not knowing what to expect it’s always going to be a very different experience than if you’re going into it knowing it’s a beloved game.

If you’re not sucked into the story and world by the end of Act 1, I’d hazard a guess and say it’s not going to happen for you.

So I finally completed Act 1 of Clair Obscur and I'm still not quite getting this game. It's fine I guess? Perfectly playable but the story, characters and world has not sucked me in at all. I'm enjoying it enough that I'm going to crack on with it but I'm definitely a bit baffled by the extremely high praise it's getting.

A big part of the narrative around it seems to be "can you believe this game was only made by 30 people?" and when I'm playing it I'm like "er, yeah I can". The combat system is very good and consistent but you can see the cracks in everything else they've papered over easily enough.

The soundtrack is absolutely banging however.

Edited February 18 by LaGoosh

[JLM]

25 hours into Donkey Kong Bananza and it is wonderful. I got it at Christmas, initially had a 30 minute dabble and was not grabbed. Had another go last weekend and ended up playing until my controller battery died. Utterly joyful experience much like Mario Oddyssey. I have a similar “problem” where I want to scour every inch of the place I’m in, but I am equally tempted to plough through to the next one because I am so desperate to see it. So happy I avoided all footage and spoilers for this game, as some of the areas have been jaw dropping. Currently on the resort layer and I want to live there.  Multiple occasions where I’ve stopped to take a bunch of screen captures. I doubt I’ll even upload or send them anywhere but I felt compelled to do it. 
 

The smashing is immensely satisfying, the additional moves like chunk jumping and surfing are brilliant fun and have quickly become second nature to use, and the Bananza forms and new areas dropping in new mechanics and tricks every so often keeps it feeling fresh. My favourite moments of gameplay have again been similar to Odyssey, where it occurs to me to try a solution or explore a place  that feels very outside of the box, only to realise that the designers knew I would do it and have put a reward there. Also any times you get to use the smashing to solve a specific problem that couldn’t be solved any other way and I feel like a big smart boy. The challenge stage with the big wheel was a memorable one of those. Initially looking at it thinking “how are there more bananas hidden here it’s such a simple level” and then having multiple “ohhhh!” moments when I realised how I was expected to break it.

The nostalgia so far has been the right amount for me. Was very happy to see Rambi and Cranky for the first time and the few DKC side scroller levels have brought me much joy. The first one having a hidden banana EXACTY where it should be for people who know was a lovely touch, and the thorny one of course having the all time classic song Stickerbrush Symphony. 
 

Not sure how much is left because, again, I have been militant about spoilers for this game, but even before it’s over I am feeling tempted by the score attack/roguelike DLC. This is partly because roguelikes/roguelikes are my Kryptonite, but also because I want an excuse to play more of it. 
 

I have a couple of friends who have Steam Decks and have scoffed at my Switch 2 purchase a little. I do have an enormous steam library and it’s where I do most of my gaming, but magical Nintendo titles like this are unmissable for me. It’s as simple as that. Even if it’s only one or two per console generation, I know that there will be classic games I cannot afford to miss and won’t find anywhere else. That’s not even counting Mario Kart/Mario Tennis and other local multiplayer games that I also consider to be non negotiable must haves.
 

Plus a lot of the indie game ports are better than they were on Switch 1. It’s not perfect and I still have to do a little check to see if it’s a duff port, but for a number of games where I’ve “double dipped” they are near indistinguishable. I still got to play Hades 2 on the train, which is what I’d have done with my Steam Deck anyway.

On the subject of Mario Tennis Fever, I’ve had a lot of fun with that so far as well. Played about 30 matches with a friend. Unlocked Birdo so basically completed it. The fever rackets are a fun addition and I particularly like the ones that cover a character’s weaknesses, like having a shadow clone to help with returns if your character is really slow, or the giving Chain Chomp who has zero spin a fever racket which lets him add trickery to his game. I hear the single player mode is a bit thin and that is a shame, but it’s not why I’ve bought the game so it’s not a huge loss for me. It is very very shit that you can’t do ranked online doubles with a friend on the same console though. I love ranked online co-op, played hundreds of hours of Halo 3 doing that and would have paid out for the online subscription for it. Nintendo remain the kings of fumbling online play. But yeah, I mostly bought it to play local multiplayer and for that it is delivering what I need it to with plenty of characters, rackets and courts to keep that interesting for a long time to come. 

Edited February 18 by JLM

[DavidB6937]

Now that me and my daughters have completed Astro, I'm letting them play Super Mario Odyssey. Obviously I played it to death when it first came out and even sold it once I was done, so had to buy it again! But what a pleasure it is so far. And judging by some of the trailers, it'll help the girls to recognise some stuff in the new Super Mario movie too.