What the team is playing this weekend

As October arrives, the gaming industry's release schedule finally takes a breath after a hectic September. Members of the team are settling in for a quieter weekend of gaming, though some remain bound by review embargoes that prevent them from sharing their plans in detail.

James is deep into a review title that he can only describe by its most distinctive audio characteristic: relentless clanging. An hour into the experience, he estimates that roughly 60 percent of his playtime has consisted of hearing various metallic sounds, though he's unable to elaborate further due to confidentiality agreements.

Jeremy is revisiting the recently released Castlevania: Belmont's Curse demo, which he finds reminiscent of Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. The demo has convinced him to dive deeper into the Castlevania franchise during the current Steam Halloween sale. He's particularly interested in playing through the remake of Haunted Castle included in the Dominus Collection.

Mark is also working under review restrictions but hints that his weekend will be occupied by unreleased content. If time permits, he plans to explore American Truck Simulator's new road trip mode, a feature he's been eager to try.

Callum is continuing with Star Wars: Outlaws, though he's found himself more invested in his custom squad composition than the game's intended narrative focus. His standout units are a Rodian sniper named Reebok who speaks with a gruff cockney accent and a bright pink R2 unit called TOBi that specializes in healing support. Despite the developers' attempts to highlight Jedi characters, Callum remains convinced that his unlikely duo could have toppled the Galactic Empire single-handedly.

Ollie is spending the weekend upgrading his PC with new components and plans to test the results with Wardogs and the latest Trackmania campaign, assuming the build goes smoothly.

Julian, recently returned home after extended travel, is balancing household tasks with gaming. He intends to play Star Wars: Galactic Racer, though he acknowledges that Scritchy Scratchy, a newly released incremental game, may prove too addictive to resist.