The weekend gaming plans across the editorial team span a diverse range of titles and genres, from established franchises to experimental indie projects and anticipated new releases.
Mark is returning to a historical adventure after wrapping up time with a racing title. He has decided to revisit Assassin's Creed 3 Remastered, a purchase he made years ago but abandoned partway through. His goal is to finally push through to completion and discover how the American Revolution storyline concludes, something he failed to accomplish on his previous attempt despite getting a reasonable distance into the campaign.
James is keen to explore DayZ Badlands, an expansion of Bohemia Interactive's zombie survival sandbox that introduces additional environmental variety to the formula. He had intended to try the game during a recent convention but was unable to do so when technical issues affected the demonstration hardware.
Horror and experimentation
Callum plans to continue with Star Wars: Zero Company but has also committed to his annual Halloween tradition of diving into horror games sourced from Steam's vast library. Among his selections is a demo for Haunted Paws, which he describes as a cooperative take on the Little Nightmares formula reimagined with canine protagonists wearing stylish headwear. Alongside this, he is intrigued by Rolla, a game centered on navigating an urban environment while controlling what the developer describes as a mass of pulsing flesh, an experience he finds genuinely appealing.
Jeremy is continuing his detailed playthrough of Castlevania: Belmont's Curse, working through a comprehensive walkthrough of the title. Despite the editorial review raising certain criticisms, he has found the game personally enjoyable. He notes that each new Castlevania release reliably triggers familiar debate cycles within the fanbase, with purists of the classic style clashing with Metroidvania enthusiasts, Netflix series viewers, and those who defend the canonical timeline established by director Koji Igarashi.
Strategy and social gaming
Ollie is preparing to introduce his visiting brother to Factorio for the first time. Having spent years building up the game and considering it among his personal favorites, he is determined to create an impressive initial experience. His strategy for ensuring success involves combining the game's complex automation systems with alcohol consumption, a pairing he considers particularly well-suited to the task.
Edwin has decided against playing games this weekend but is considering attempting game creation instead. He is developing a concept for a simple text adventure, though he acknowledges that the project will likely become far more complicated than he currently anticipates, despite his optimistic initial assessment of the workload.
Anticipated releases and ongoing projects
Julian is playing something kept under wraps but is also dedicating time to Dreadline Express, a title he sampled at a recent convention and found promising. He wants to determine whether the full experience maintains the quality of what he experienced during that limited demo. When not gaming, he is reading SAS: Rogue Heroes for a book club commitment, which he notes provides a stark contrast to his other book club's current selection, Happy All The Time.
The team's selections reflect the breadth of gaming available this season, ranging from major franchise entries and established indie darlings to experimental projects and games still in early access or demo form. Several team members are also balancing gaming with other entertainment commitments, whether attending live performances, reading for book clubs, or attempting creative projects of their own.
The variety in these weekend plans demonstrates how different players approach their leisure time, from those seeking narrative-driven historical adventures to those pursuing the meditative complexity of factory-building simulations, and from horror enthusiasts embracing seasonal traditions to those experimenting with game development itself. Each choice reflects different priorities: some prioritize finishing long-abandoned campaigns, others want to test promising new experiences, and still others use the weekend to share gaming with friends and family members who may be new to the medium.
The selections also highlight the current state of the gaming landscape, with players drawing from classic remasters, ongoing live-service titles, indie experiments, and anticipated releases across multiple platforms. Whether driven by curiosity about upcoming games, commitment to existing playthroughs, or simply the desire to experience something new, the team's plans showcase the diverse reasons people engage with games during their downtime.
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