14th March
Hello and welcome back to our regular feature where we write a little about the games we’ve been playing. This week, everyone’s playing Pokémon Pokopia apart from Bertie and Connor, who are arguably the staff members with the best taste – an observation I make completely unbiasedly. Connor does appear to have become quite evil, though, so I think it’s best I distance myself from him as well.
What have you been playing this week?
Here’s another question: do you remember what you were playing last week? You don’t have to! The What We’ve Been Playing archive has you covered.
Slay the Spire 2 and…
I started with successful co-op runs in Vampire Survivors and Slay the Spire 2, brag brag. I’d forgotten how satisfying it feels to nail a Vampire Survivors build – a feeling multiplied exponentially by having many failed runs beforehand – and it’s doubly satisfying done alongside someone else. They used evolved garlic while I used the evolved Bible (there’s a paradoxical pairing of words) and together they formed the backbone of our Gallo Tower triumph.
It’s just as satisfying in Slay the Spire 2, of course, and playing with someone else has reminded me how vital communication is (stealth life lesson). In build-related games like this, there’s always a sense, too, when the invisible seesaw of power starts to teeter in your favour. It’s like that weightless feeling you get after toiling up a mountain and cresting it, ready to coast down the other side. The contrast is giddying.
I also dipped into the Solasta 2 early access, which was decent, though I’d have preferred it with my favoured Dungeons & Dragons classes (give me a Barbarian and a Bard any day – and anything else that begins with B) and I played Super Mario Party Jamboree at a friend’s house. It took a while to warm to but it’s hard to argue with a game that makes four people belly laugh. Now I can’t stop thinking about other party games to play. Any ideas?
-Bertie
Pokémon Pokopia, Switch 2
I cram games so quickly that the wrap-sealed scent of the packaging plant is still wafting from inside the case. It’s not that I get bored quickly – I’m bored all the time; it isn’t the game’s fault – I just eventually understand what they’re trying to do then want to move on before all that’s left is to keep doing it. The best games constantly recontextualise, like a new lane combination in Deadlock, or really good Slay the Spire 2 runs where you somehow get a deck full of another class’s cards.
Pokopia is now a deliberate life-resetting test of my patience; on purpose. I saw a Tiktok creator say that we should all have learned lessons from playing Animal Crossing New Horizons and speeding through everything by knocking our console clocks forward (ignoring the moral of Adam Sandler’s Click!) especially given how little most of us had going on at the time of release.
So I’m taking that suggestion to heart and just dipping in for an hour here and there. I’m doing the stuff the Professor expects, getting to a point where building sites have enough Pokémon standing around, like Umarell (honestly, you’re telling me a Piplup can do masonry?), and I can’t make much further progress without waiting.Maybe I’ll learn something. Probably, I won’t.
-Mat J
Pokémon Pokopia, Switch 2
I’m personally taking the opposite approach to Mat when it comes to playing Pokopia, having learnt absolutely nothing from the hours I ploughed into Animal Crossing: New Horizons. In just a few days (and with a lot of time-travelling), I’ve rolled credits and can now finally start playing the game.
Don’t get me wrong, Pokopia’s story has been both delightful and harrowing to experience, but most of all heartwarming. This isn’t my first rodeo, though, and I know the real fun – building a scenic paradise full of Pokémon I can hang out with – is to be had long after the credits have ended. With access to various technologies and dozens of materials gathered during my time playing, I’m ready to start doing what I really enjoy best: building ambitious habitats and idyllic homes for all of my ‘mons, with a huge mansion full of machinery just for Tinkaton.
-Kelsey
Pokémon Pokopia, Switch 2
Oh look, another Pokopia entry! Yes, I am adding to the pile. As much as I love Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Pokopia is rapidly stealing its spot as my favourite Switch game. After 6 years, New Horizons has finally been knocked off its perch.
I had a hunch I’d enjoy this, but I couldn’t ever imagine how much I’ve ended up truly loving it. I could spend hours simply watching the Pokémon interact with one another, watching how their relationships evolve and deciding whether or not I should separate them. Also, the interactions are nothing short of meme-worthy, including one such conversation between my Bellsprout and Oddish where the latter told Bellsprout to quit eating dirt.
Also, it’s blatantly obvious by looking at my village which Pokémon are my favourite. They’ve got a lavish plot of land filled with detailed items, and a housing plan to give them the best life possible. The ones I’m not overly struck with are banished to their four-by-four plots while I focus on terraforming the rest of the island. They’ll get a home, eventually.
Pokopia has nestled itself perfectly in that gap between my ever-growing Pokémon knowledge and my love of life simulation games. Do I need sleep? Nope. Do I need Pokopia? Absolutely.
-Marie
Marathon, PS5
Let’s take a break from Pokopia for a moment to talk about Marathon, a game I’ve been practically glued to every hour outside of the nine-to-five. For those who have played, I am over rank 25 with every faction and all the priority contracts have been completed solo. That last MIDA one was a nightmare. And alarmingly, I have discovered this game has an evil influence on me, pushing me towards treating random players I found online with cruelty.
It’s learned behavior I swear! I have given my heart to other players online and been brutally murdered in response, pinging friendlies in the dangerous wilderness of Dire Marsh only to be stabbed when my back was turned, and seeing players execute me while I was downed inside the exfill beacon. I have learned the hard way that trusting others is a suckers game, and I refuse to play along.
This has resulted in a few rattled tempers when strangers – perhaps versions of me from the past – have been audibly upset over voice comms after I’ve done the deed. Am I perpetuating a cycle of violence? Maybe. But Bungie sends supercharged audio-visual fireworks into my brain every time I do, and it makes me feel good, so who can say for sure whether it’s really a bad thing?
-Connor
Pokémon Pokopia, Switch 2
I have no idea how many people in this article will be saying Pokopia [Bertie edit: four!], so I’m sorry if you’re bored of reading it by now but… I’m also playing Pokopia. Who knew that ‘structured creativity’ could be so damn compelling, ey? Every evening when I’ve had some spare time this week, I’ve sat down with my Switch 2 on a side table and Great British Menu on my TV, and I’ve made cosy homes for my favourite Pokémon whilst my favourite chefs from across the UK have given me ideas about what I’m going to cook for myself at the weekend. Bliss! (Or should that be, Blissey?)
-Dom