November 15
Hello and welcome back to our regular column where we write a little about some of the games we've played. This week Kelsey is trying to get Dark Souls 3 work in a cooperative; laid back Ed discovers the thrill of speed running; Tom applauds the Viewfinder team; Marie is definitely in love with Winter Burrow; Bertie is probably in love with Dispatch; Victoria has no idea what she's doing in Hyrule Warriors; and Will is really into furs.
What did you play?
Dark Souls 3, PC
Last week I played Dark Souls 3 in co-op mode with a friend, and we didn't get very far in two sessions. While a seamless co-op mod for Elden Ring was nearly flawless the last time I tried it, its Dark Souls 3 counterpart was riddled with problems, especially when it came to the hated Cursed Great Forest. For starters, the boss won't take any damage from my character, which means my friend will have to fight him alone (which isn't fun for either of us). On top of that, there were a few instances where we entered the arena with the boss remaining inactive and not taking any damage… We hope this doesn't apply to future bosses.
However, we refuse to give up and will reach the Furnace of the First Flame whether we like it or not. We may have to skip the Transposing Furnace for now… Rest in peace, my Greatsword of Farron.
-Kelsey
I watch speedruns, GDQ
I was recently on sick leave for a few weeks, so instead of playing games, I spent time watching them while lying in bed. I'm not usually a fan of watching speedruns, but lately I've been really into it – especially the Souls-inspired speedruns at various GDQ events. Be it Elden Ring, Night rainor Lie P.there's something incredibly cathartic and humbling about watching an expert absolutely fly past bosses that took me forever to defeat. And now I'm almost completely healthy, maybe it's time to try some of this newfound knowledge myself.
-Ed
Viewfinder, PS5 Pro
After being impressed by trailers for a long time, I finally decided to try Viewfinder. It's a puzzle game that essentially allows you to change the world by placing photographs (or something similar) in it, using the objects in the photograph and perspective to your advantage. There's a “this is so cool” feel to it, and so far new gameplay tweaks have popped up regularly enough to mean I'm always just moments away from another nod of approval at what I'm seeing and doing. Good job from all involved.
-Tom O
Control room, PC
Dispatch is currently one of my games of the year, and yesterday I suddenly had an idea why I like it so much (I have one more episode left). It's about the quality of the scenes, or more precisely, the talent of the developer AdHoc, it seems, to find jokes and memorable moments in them. I would be surprised if they were all strictly written into the script. I say this because I'm currently rehearsing a play, and many of the jokes and moments we find come from the process of doing it over and over again – rehearsing. It's like the script hides a hidden meaning the more we use it. And I can only imagine something similar happened here.
Following this line of thought, AdHoc had to “rehearse” Dispatch so many times that it allowed the team to find and highlight many of the things that made the game such a success for me. And I don't think that's common in games – I don't think there's often room for rehearsal and iterative development. Their dramatic scenes have a pre-programmed and pre-planned feel to them. But it doesn't feel that way here. I think I see the reasons why this happens and I respect it extremely.
-Bertie
Winter Hole, Xbox Series X
I haven't fallen in love with a game this much in years. Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Stardew Valley were the last two cozy games to make it into my regular gaming collection. However, they are now joined by a new addition, the Winter Burrow.
Fussing around as a mouse, helping your aunt, creating new furniture and objects for your hole, frying mushrooms to beat the cold – all this adds up to one cozy activity. It hasn't gotten boring yet.
I'll admit, in games where you have to think about survival, I tend to lose interest pretty quickly, but there's something magical about Winter Burrow that prevents that from happening.
Will the feeling of comfort last? Yes, I think it will be so.
-Maria
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment, Switch 2
To be honest, I have no idea what I'm doing most of the time, and my overall Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment technique can be generously described as “button mashing” at best. But even if that's the case, by golly it's nice to fight your way through hordes of bokoblins at the end of a busy day.
-Victoria
MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries, PC
Having wrapped up the boring but fun single-player portion of Battlefield 6, I wanted something deeper to play on those long, rainy nights. Meet 2021's MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries, recently updated with the new Shadows of Kerensky DLC. The idea here is essentially to bring all the cool new stuff (mechs, equipment, proper 3D cutscenes, quality of life improvements) from last year's more story-driven MechWarrior 5: Clans back into the more sandbox mercenary game.
I've read the Blood of Kerensky books, which cover the same in-universe time period as this part of the game, where over-advanced and militaristic clans return to invade the known universe, a place they abandoned before centuries of war and technological regression. So far it's been fun to experience that same “wait, what the hell are these guys?” the moment when the characters in the book are suddenly fighting machines that are faster, stronger, longer ranged and piloted by absolute weirdos.
The power imbalance between your mercenary forces at the start of the campaign and the invading clans also increases the importance of rescue, as even managing to collect a few medium lasers from the battlefield will give you access to technology that is better in every way than what you previously had access to, and being able to rescue a functioning clan machine is an incredible jackpot, even if it means sacrificing three of your own mechs. I'm still just getting to grips with the 12-mission campaign, with the prospect of an even deeper sandbox than before, and I'm really excited about it.
-Will
