Summer is barreling to a close, and so is this week. Naturally, we here at Kotaku have yet another round of great games to suggest if you’re looking for some fun pixels to interact with on your time off.
That is, if you’re not playing the Battlefield 6 open beta, which is having some cheating issues already. Still, it’s a promising title which Kotaku’s Zack Zwiezen recently got some hands-on time with while drinking a ton of Red Bull. But that of course isn’t the only thing going down in the gaming world. This week we learned that Microsoft sure loves cancelling games, Nintendo once considered augmenting Pikachu’s appearance in a surprising way, and, yes, BioShock 4 is going to come out. Probably. Lol. Insert something about there always being a lighthouse.
Anyway, all that stuff is behind us and it’s time to get to some gaming. Here are our picks for the weekend!
and Roger
Play it on: Switch, Windows PCs (Steam Deck: “Verified”)
Current goal: Finish it in one sitting
I wrote about and Roger, a mysterious new narrative game, earlier this week, pitching it to folks as a short and cheap experience you could finish in less than an hour and for the price of a Starbucks coffee order. Now that we have reached another Kotaku Weekend Guide in which I must recommend a game to the masses, I’m taking another opportunity to tell you to drop $5 and spend an hour on the game without looking up any more information about it. This is the kind of game that works best if you go in blind, and even if you don’t walk away loving it, I’d hope you’d at least appreciate what it was trying to do. So open up Steam or the eShop and try it out. It won’t take you any time at all to see it through to the end. — Kenneth Shepard
Earthion
Play it on: Windows PCs (with Switch, Xbox, PlayStation, and Genesis versions coming soon)
Current goal: Find out if we’ve got a new shmup classic on our hands
My two favorite shmups ever, Thunder Force 3 and Gaiares, were both Genesis games, and Yuzo Koshiro’s musical contributions to games like The Revenge of Shinobi and Streets of Rage 2 rank among my all-time favorite video game compositions. So imagine my excitement when I learned that developer Ancient, founded by Koshiro, had released a brand-new shmup called Earthion, designed for Genesis hardware. In fact, it’ll be released as an actual Genesis cartridge next year, but for now it’s only out on Steam, with modern console versions coming next month. This weekend, I’m gonna fire it up and see if it can live up to the legacy of those beloved ‘90s Genesis shmups of mine.
If the trailers I’ve seen are any indication, it certainly might. I loved Thunder Force 3 and Gaiares for their gameplay, sure, but just as much, I loved them for their incredible sense of drama and excitement. Environments exploding with detail, incendiary tunes on the soundtrack, every element of the game working in concert to pull you into a pulse-pounding struggle against overwhelming odds, set against the backdrop of the stars. It’s clear that Earthion has a sense of drama, and with Koshiro in the composer’s chair, there’s every chance that the soundtrack will be exceptional. Here’s hoping my pair of beloved, all-time great Genesis shmups is about to become a trio. – Carolyn Petit
Earthbound
Play it on: Switch
Current goal: Rescue Paula
I picked Earthbound back up again recently for the first time in a long time. I thought it would be something cool to show my son who has never really played an RPG before, mostly because he can’t fully read yet. We’ve been playing it past his bed time on weeknights to channel those ‘90s summer break vibes. I read everything and try to explain what’s going on and not move through the game too quickly, remembering that while I know it like it’s the neighborhood I grew up in, he’s seeing it all for the first time.
So far I think he’s mostly just watching along to appease me until he falls asleep. But I’ve been happy to discover how well the game still holds up. For all the turn-based battles and random NPC conversations, the pace never starts to drag. Having the RNG reward you with an outsized stat growth bonus during a level-up feels as good as ever. The art isn’t quite as detailed and vibrant as I remember it, but along with the music and sound effects it’s all still an incredibly evocative interpretation of American suburbia through the lens of a classic Dragon Quest-style PRG.
I’m currently making my way through the Peaceful Rest Valley with a backpack full of eggs so I can sell them all when they grow into chickens. It’s lowkey one of the more terrifying quasi-dungeon areas in the game because of its scope and the caliber of enemies relative to your power at that point in the game. Earthbound has a wonderful way of making you feel all grown up and then kicking you in the teeth and stealing all your money. In Peaceful Rest Valley that means getting a cold from a UFO and being torn to shreds by a bear. I’ll see you on the other side. – Ethan Gach
Splinter Cell (Enhanced Mod)
Play it on: Windows PCs (Steam Deck: “Playable”)
Current goal: Stay stealthy
Between Hitman, Metal Gear Solid, and now Splinter Cell, I am fully enjoying my little summer of stealth as I attempt to hide from the heat in my non-air-conditioned Brooklyn apartment. At least I have a ceiling fan. Oh, shit. I’m sorry.
Well, I also happen to have Splinter Cell installed on my Steam Deck with a fantastic mod that not only makes the game more playable on modern hardware, but also improves some of the original release’s core components so well that I’m content with considering this a fan-made definitive edition.
Read More: This Incredible Splinter Cell Mod Offers The Definitive Experience Of A Stealth Classic
I certainly never went to Splinter Cell for its blatantly propagandistic neocon story (thanks to its connection with this jackass). Rather, its core stealth experience was where I went to have my sneaking skills put to the ultimate test–and in my view, even MGS4 and V struggled to compete with what Chaos Theory offered in 2005.
So this weekend I will continue to bask in the shadows as I embrace my favorite genre of video game. I love an exciting shooter. I love the narrative and mechanical depths of a good RPG. But getting from point A to B without being seen is my bread and butter, and I want to be able to better articulate just what makes the experience so alluring. As I chew my way through a game I can’t quite talk about just yet, I also want to get back to stealth game basics with some OG Splinter Cell, and I highly recommend you do the same if this kind of challenge is your cup of tea. – Claire Jackson
And that wraps our picks for the weekend! Happy gaming.
