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Aug 22, 2023

Kotaku’s Weekend Guide: 8 Wild Games You Should Play

The summer heat continuing to beat down on many of us offers ever-increasing reasons to Stay Inside™ and play some video games. As we do every wee, we thought we’d give you some suggestions on games

The summer heat continuing to beat down on many of us offers ever-increasing reasons to Stay Inside™ and play some video games. As we do every wee, we thought we’d give you some suggestions on games we’ve vibing with that you might enjoy checking out yourself, in case you need an excuse (or three) to stay inside.This week we’ve got a healthy selection, ranging from demanding shooters, sword-swinging fox sims, to whatever the hell Pikmin is, and more besides. Well, I guess I gave one of them away. Still, keep reading for some reliably good gaming vibes.

2 / 10

Play it on: SwitchCurrent goal: Finally win a round (or place in the final three again)Buy it now: Amazon |GameStop

The kiddos can keep having fun playing their Fortnite and Call of Duty battle royale games because the real warriors are slugging it out in Tetris 99. Initially announced, and shortly after released, during a 2019 Nintendo Direct presentation, Tetris 99 is an online battle royale game in which you compete against 98 other players to see who’s got the quickest hands and the sharpest mind for stacking a bunch of blocks together into orderly lines. The twist, however, is that once you clear two or more lines, you can send them over to other players as junk they’ll have to sort out before their pile gets too high and they get knocked out of the game.

I’m no novice when it comes to Tetris 99. In fact, I’ve sunk more hours into it than beefy time-consuming role-playing games like Xenoblade Chronicles 3 and Nier: Automata. I’ve even figured out “optimal times to play”—that being in the middle of a workday, preferably during lunch—because then the Tetris 99 killers won’t be online to crush my hopes of being the last player standing. Those galaxy-brained characters tend to come out and play toward the wee hours of the night, you see. Avoid, avoid, avoid.

Read More: Tetris 99 Has No Tutorial, So Here’s What You Need To Know

While I’ve never won Tetris 99, I’ve gotten pretty bloody close a handful of times. Most recently, I placed in the final three of the game, that is before my cat decided to rub his face against my Switch in a desperate attempt to get a crumb of attention. His selfish and adorable act of neediness cast aside all hope of me pulling the game back into my favor because I immediately biffed the placement of a four-line-clearing knock-out piece. Hopefully this weekend I can cease being the Tetris 99 bridesmaid and blossom into the stunning block-stacking bride that I am. If I do, it’s probably thanks to the fact that I’m playing on a Kirby-themed Tetris 99 board. — Isaiah Colbert

3 / 10

Play it on: PS3, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Windows (Steam Deck OK)Current goal: Resist having a cigaretteBuy it now: Amazon | GameStop

I recently revisited 2010’s Vanquish on Steam Deck and damn, I am hooked. The Xbox 360/PS3 era was unfortunately filled with a lot of mostly forgettable shooters trying to cop Halo, Gears of War, or Call of Duty. But Vanquish…whether you dismissed it as just another cover-based shooter clone or it simply failed to land on your radar, don’t let Vanquish continue to pass you by .

Yes, its environments are packed with waist-high barricades behind which to take cover, but Vanquish keeps you on your toes, poised to take your life if you take too long while hunkered down. Enemies can quickly drop your health to critical levels if you’re not careful, and cover becomes just one small piece in a larger, frenetic combat puzzle that demands quick thinking and precise aiming. I continue to be surprised how Vanquish constantly demands that I pay more active attention to its combat challenges. I can’t just mindlessly go through the motions here, and I’m really enjoying that challenge.

But ex-smokers be warned: Protagonist Sam’s proclivity for nicotine sticks isn’t just in the cutscenes, it’s somewhat of a mechanic…one that might light up some left over, addicted neurons if you’re not careful. Remember, just drink water if you’re feeling the urge, and pick video games over destructive health choices. — Claire Jackson

4 / 10

Play it on: PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Switch, Windows (Steam Deck OK), macOSCurrent goal: Figure out what I’m supposed to do nextBuy it now: Best Buy | GameStop | Target

For those who like their Elden Ring a touch cuter, more fox-centric, I couldn’t recommend Tunic highly enough.

Much like FromSoftware’s open-world epic, Tunic relishes in not telling you shit about what to do and where to go. That is, unless you happen to speak the in-game runic language.

Thankfully, there’s modern gaming’s greatest manual to pore over while trying to suss out your next move. — Eric Schulkin

5 / 10

Play it on: PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, WindowsCurrent goal: Play some sweet tunes on my Aztec Death WhistleBuy it now: Amazon | Best Buy | GameStop

For better or (for) worse, For Honor stays in my ever-rotating carousel of games. Somehow it always draws me back in. Maybe it’s the sweet armor fashion, or the bone-crunching, blood-spattering executions. More often than not though, it’s because a new hero dropped, which brings me to the Ocelotl.

For Honor’s newest hero is an Aztecian warrior dual-wielding a club and a spear. There are plenty of heroes with two weapons, but this is the first who dual-wields two different offensive weapons, and I think that’s extremely badass. Ocelotl seems to be a very mix-up-friendly hero with tons of options to apply pressure. Perhaps the most exciting aspect to this hero will be the fashion capabilities. You’ll find me browsing r/ForFashion consistently once people start unlocking new armor options.

If there’s one part of For Honor that always delivers, it’s the art and design team. They clearly poured their heart and soul into Ocelotl’s armor, and I cannot wait to spend hours (and probably money) on all the countless fashion options. Will it translate to me winning? Probably not. But at least I’ll look fly as fuck while my face is getting clubbed to pulp. — Jeb Biggart

6 / 10

Play it on: PS5, PS4, Switch, Windows (Steam Deck OK), macOS, LinuxCurrent goal: Defeat Blade in the mountains

Love retro side-scrolling action and chiptune-y music? Big fan of Mega Man X and Zero? Then don’t sleep on Gravity Circuit. The debut game from indie studio Domesticated Ant Games drops you into the middle of a futuristic war between good robots and bad ones and I’ve been having a blast so far. Every summer I hunt for an arcade-y throwback with vibrant colors and tight controls I can enjoy by the pool. In years past that’s included Ninja Gaiden homage The Messenger and the Blaster Master-inspired Panzer Paladin. This year it’s Gravity Circuit, which nails the aesthetic, platforming, and feel of a good Mega Man X clone while offering enough personality and gameplay tweaks (there’s a grappling hook) to forge its own identity. — Ethan Gach

7 / 10

Play it on: PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Switch, Windows (Steam Deck OK)Current goal: Max out OkikuBuy it now: Amazon | Best Buy | GameStop | Target

My partner and I have been watching a lotta One Piece lately, and not in preparation for the live-action adaptation coming to Netflix this August, though good for you if you’re stoked about that. No, instead, I’ve been plowing through the anime to get ready for the upcoming batch of DLC for One Piece Pirate Warriors 4, a musou game featuring the Straw Hat pirates and pals.

If you’ve played Dynasty Warriors or Hyrule Warriors, then you know what kind of game this is: an epic power fantasy in which you control Luffy, Zoro, and the rest of the Straw Hats—alongside newcomers like the narcissistic heartthrob Cavendish and my personal favorite, the super-tall samurai Okiku—to run through various arcs starting with Alabasta and ending with an original take on the Wano County story.

It’s a great time, one I recently had a 12-hour gaming session with and I look forward to doing that again with the end-goal of maxing out Okiku. Fingers crossed I make it happen this weekend. — Levi Winslow

8 / 10

Play it on: SwitchCurrent goal: Unearth more strange alien treasuresBuy it now: Amazon | Best Buy | GameStop | Target

Early on, Pikmin 4 articulates a concept that’s central to its gameplay. As a supporting character tells your adorable little spaceperson, “Dandori is the art of organizing your tasks strategically and working with maximum efficiency to execute your plans quickly.” When I first read this and understood that Dandori is, in a way, what Pikmin is all about, I fleetingly thought, “Well, I’m fucked.”

See, if there’s one thing I struggle with, it’s organizing my tasks strategically and working with maximum efficiency to execute my plans quickly. This may be why, although I’ve occasionally enjoyed and frequently admired real-time strategy games, I’ve never really felt myself “click” with one. I’ve watched in awe as other players efficiently execute their plans, feeling like their brains must have a function mine fundamentally lacks, as, at best, I can try to fumble my way to victory in organizational fits and starts.

So far, however, I’m enjoying Pikmin 4, even if it is, in its own distinct way, a real-time strategy game itself. It helps that, like many Nintendo games, it has started off quite easy, giving me plenty of time to come to grips with its various mechanics and core strategies. Mostly, though, it’s the wonderfully charming visuals and the great sense of discovery that are winning me over. Even though the game clearly takes place here on Earth, it views our planet from a perspective and at a scale that few games do, and as I find the “treasures” scattered about its levels, I’m always eager to find out how the shipwrecked aliens who make up my crew interpret the items they find, which are, to them, artifacts of an alien civilization.

So far they’ve declared a skateboard a “personal injury plank” and named a macaroon the S.S. Chocolate. How could I possibly stop until I’ve discovered all of this strange planet’s mysteries? — Carolyn Petit

9 / 10

Play it on: PS4, Switch, Windows (Steam Deck OK)Current goal: Get more folks playing this hotnessBuy it now: Amazon | GameStop | Target

I don’t remember how I heard about The Ninja Saviors a few years ago, but holy crap if it didn’t turn out to be one of the most enjoyable action games I’ve ever played. After being stuck on PS4 and Switch for four years, now it’s finally on Steam.

Tengo Project is a trio of old-school developers who worked at Natsume back in the ’90s making classic sleepers like Wild Guns and Pocky & Rocky. They reformed a while back and are now producing largely excellent remakes of their old hits. This one’s a revamp of 1994’s The Ninja Warriors Again, the best beat ‘em up on SNES which was itself a sequel to a triple-screen 1988 Taito arcade game.

It’s fantastic. The Ninja Saviors manages to push TNWA further in almost every way. The playfield’s now way wider, allowing far more havoc to transpire as mobs flood onto the screen to assault your ninja android. The graphics look like how you remember the SNES looking, while in reality being far more detailed, but not overly so. Same goes for the memorable soundtrack, now tastefully enhanced. (The SNES music and the 1988 arcade soundtrack are unlockable, too.)

The original’s three playable characters are joined by two new ones, and each delivers a unique gameplay experience. (One of the new ones is literally a three-story mech that fills the screen and is difficult to turn around.) The returning characters have expanded movesets, and air juggles let you style mercilessly on your foes. The eight stages of action are fast, fun, utterly fair, and superbly paced, making The Ninja Saviors a joy to try to master as you strive to achieve the coveted one-credit clear. The co-op’s a blast, too.

I could go on and on but I already blew my word count. The Ninja Saviors is the gold standard for 16-bit revivals and one of the best action games currently available. If you like arcade-style 2D brawling, I can’t recommend this game enough. — Alexandra Hall

And that’s it for this weekend’s roundup. What games are you playing?

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