December 20
Hello and welcome back to our regular column where we write a little about some of the games we've played. This week, Bertie swears he didn't touch the pills, Kelsey screams (or is it a laugh?) and Tom heads north.
Sector, PC
“This is like Geometric Wars on tablets” was the first thought that came to my mind, although of course I didn’t know what it was. But the similarities to Geometry Wars are huge and immediate: control a small ship with the left stick and shoot with the right stick, and survive huge, screen-filling, kaleidoscopic waves of enemies in enclosed areas while the soundtrack beats in your ears like a heartbeat. Yes please; I missed you, Geometry Wars.
But there's more to it than that. There are layers of nuance. There is a strategy for how to spend the upgrade points you collect as you play, and the levels break apart and reform around you, dynamically creating pockets of safety and danger, linking them with teleporters. There's a powerful dash ability and ways to combine it, and the game's arenas are separated by boss battles. Like Geometry Wars, but unique in its own right. Here even the menu pulsates to the beat. Sectori is irresistible.
-Bertie
Advent calendar – cardboard, pen and paper.
Remember last year when my My husband surprised me with an quest room advent calendar? Well, I liked it so much that he did it again this year. This time I'm trying to escape a very noisy penguin party at the South Pole. You see, this pesky bunch looted my supplies and took over my patrol boat, which, as I'm sure you can imagine, is very inconvenient.
This advent calendar is a little more complex than last year's and includes a few red herrings that, if you fall for them, will lead you to the wrong door and a penalty point. I currently have two fines (damn, that's annoying!). Just kidding, it's all part of the fun and I love my evening ritual of tearing doors off so I can then fold/glue/manipulate/rotate them into a different shape or angle so I can continue my journey to freedom.
How can I finally escape these penguin party animals? No too much much longer to find out… as long as I don't get too many more fines.
-Victoria
Animal Crossing: New Horizons – Switch 2
I'm in full preparation mode for the update that will be released in January. After restarting the island I have a blank canvas to do what I want with. The problem is that I'm not really sure what I want to do with it right now. I was sure I had an idea. But now that I'm cutting down trees and displacing villagers to get to a 5-star island, the possibilities are endless – and that excites me.
Plus, it just started snowing on my island and my annual “how bad will my next Snow Boy creation” season has begun. I know you get rewarded for creating a perfect piece, but I've always found imperfect creations to be a more interesting use of my time.
-Maria
Thank God you're here!, PS5
I have finally played this quirky and funny slice of English life and so far it has lived up to my expectations. I purposely take my time because I'm afraid it'll be over in the blink of an eye and I really want to make sure I don't miss a single joke.
-Volume
Species unknown, PC
It's been a while since I played a co-op horror game(Resident Evil 5 and 6 doesn't count, as far as I'm concerned), so when a friend suggested I try the early access game, Species Unknown, I was eager to dive into it. This four-player sci-fi horror game takes you on various excursions to abandoned spaceships where you must race to complete the objective without becoming alien food.
While the idea is nothing new, Species Unknown contains a surprising amount of detail packed into an £8.50 package. It looks great, you have fully customizable characters, and you have a certain level of autonomy over what objective you want to complete next. Whether it be capturing the “specimen”, killing it, or destroying the ship they made their home. These specimens pose different threats, have different rewards, and some of them look deceptively adorable, resulting in a fun cooperative experience that will have you laughing your head off as well as squirming.
-Kelsey
Umamusame: Pretty Derby, PC
Unfortunately, December was a little rough for the Makarov family, and so I fell back into bad habits. This includes ordering too much takeout, drinking too much mulled wine, and spending too much on Umamusame: The Beautiful Derby.
I'm afraid this TGA 2025 award winner still has me hooked. There is no such modern game. The only problem is that I can't play it on my phone. I just can't. The only phone games I play are at the gym. If anyone at the gym saw me playing Umamusame: The Beautiful Derby, I would throw the dumbbells at a perfect vertical angle and close my eyes.
Mihono Bourbon remains my favorite – she's not particularly good, but I got her in the early days of Western PC, so it's ride or die. I’ll play until the New Year, and then I’ll get my life back on track, I promise.
-Connor
Shipping, PS5
Do you play games with your significant other? I don't. We both love video games, but I'm afraid my competitive spirit is getting in the way; plus our tastes tend to be different (and he loves to troll me). However, Dispatch gathered us on the couch to enjoy a game that was a bit like the TV show. This of course has to do with its episodic nature, but given that neither of us are particularly into superhero things, the fun script appealed to both of us. The developers aren't afraid to “go there” – I mean, they get into the game from the very beginning, if you know what I mean – and the dispatch mini-game itself is surprisingly fun. I'm late to the party, but I can see why this is in the running for Game of the Year.
-Ed
Pokémon Legends: ZA – DLC Mega Dimension, Switch 2
I've played it for a few hours and I'm sorry to tell you that I still absolutely hate it. It's as funny as ever, which is great. The characters are just as stupid and untalented, the Pokemon battles are still strangely enticing despite their chaotic awkwardness, and I still like Lumiose City as a more focused setting. Unfortunately, you can't spend much time in Lumiose itself because you're in the mega dimension, grinding, grinding, grinding are incredibly naive, time-limited tasks that give you resources that you can spend on items that allow you to keep grinding nuff tasks for resources… ugh. I should have finished this by now and written something on the site, but this is one of those times where I feel like it's so tedious that it's taking too long. I heard things are getting better! There are still many, many more floating Pokeballs to smash and I'll be there soon… (Though TCG Pocket is still great, at least. Mega Charizard!)
-Cranes
Note: If you're reading this (well done!), go back at Christmas and watch the holiday special What We Played – the perfect excuse to spend an hour staring at your computer screen on Christmas morning instead of watching Frozen again.
