19th September
Hello and welcome back to our regular feature where we write a little about the games we’ve been playing. This week, it’s a Chris Tapsell (that’s me!) triple-bill – a triple-Tap? – as the team’s been either quite stretched or rightfully enjoying a few days off here and there to catch up from a hectic Gamescom period, leaving me to do a proper bodge job of filling in. Expect the usual mobile game addiction, late review apology, and a rule-bending wildcard (it’s not that wild).
Anyway! 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.
Pokémon TCG Pocket, iPhone
Let’s get the obvious one out of the way first: I play this every day, still. My pack luck has been dreadful with the Team Rocket set – duplicates of shinies I have no interest in (Seaking, anyone?) but still missing genuinely useful cards from the main set such as Team Rocket’s Raticate ex. Nightmare. Anyway, I’ve loved the Rocket set itself – it’s offered a rare bit of playfulness, and the artworks have been wonderful on the cards, even if the meta’s a little stale.
-Taps
Star Wars: Zero Company, PC
Yes I know I said the review would be ready soon, and I promise it is actually going to be ready very soon, but: it is not ready right now. I’m still thoroughly enjoying it but finding it slow going, and amid other games that have had deadlines come and go – see: ol’ Wolverine – it’s had to temporarily go on the back burner. Shout out to the Anakin level though. And hopefully slightly more sophisticated thoughts than this from me are coming actually soon.
-Taps
Dungeons & Dragons, tabletop
I’m a bit of a newcomer to D&D proper, having dabbled very briefly forever ago but never got going with a regular group. I’m now very much in one, and it’s a treat – although progress through the actual “main quest” of our “campaign” is remarkably slow (I gather that’s kind of standard).
My character is a Loxodon – think a Kajiit but an elephant-person instead of cat-person – with a background as a kind of wandering cleric. The rest of the party is, frankly, absolutely feral, and so I’ve been trying to balance that out with a character who wishes to be a bit more of a pacifist. There’s also a deeply suspicious Tiefling warlock on our crew, who I’ve been tasked with keeping an eye on by the DM. It’s made me into a kind of cross: part weary Gandalf trying to wrangle stray Hobbits, part chin-stroking Brother William of Baskerville. Most of the time it’s a case of my friends trying to hit things they shouldn’t, and me subsequently putting them to sleep until they calm down. (And that’s very fun).
-Taps
Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault, Xbox Series X
Bonus freelancer pick here (or ominous freelance hijacking, if you’re feeling naughty). The first Moonlighter game – the one where you sell dusty relics in a shop, then moonlight as a sword-swinging dungeon explorer in search of even more sellable relics – never quite grabbed me as much as I thought it should. This new sequel? I’ve already sunk way too much time into the moreish roguelike since its early access exit.
The difference here, I think, is that there’s always a meaningful new upgrade or shiny weapon or potion enhancement or shop decoration or blobby wobbly pet to save money for. And each one of them can quite drastically change how you approach your next procgen run or shift on the shop floor. It’s a really satisfying ride to get stuck on, and the much improved monster bashing doesn’t hurt.
-Kaan