13th September

Hello and welcome back to our regular feature where we write a little bit about some of the games we've been playing. This week, we've been banging our heads on Hollow Knight Silksong and trying to decide, for the most part, whether we love it or not. One moment we do, one moment we don't. But that's not all we've been playing. Tom's been struggling with technology again, Bertie's fallen down another rabbit hole, and Dom dug out the old Final Fantasy Tactics ahead of the remastered one's late September arrival.

What have you been playing?

Catch up with the older editions of this column in our What We've Been Playing archive.

Hollow Knight Silksong, Xbox Series X

The other night, I let my children watch me play Silksong before they went to bed. They probably sat with me for about 20 minutes before I paused to tuck them in. "Goodnight my love, sleep well," I said to my daughter. She replied, with complete sincerity: "Goodnight Mama, enjoy the rest of your evening going around in circles and dying lots."

She wasn't wrong.

-Victoria

Final Fantasy Tactics, PS1 (via emulator)

Ahead of the re-release of Final Fantasy Tactics, I've been replaying the original and revelling in how timely, how important and how beautiful a story Yasumi Matsuno concocted back in 1997. Nearly 30 years old and more relevant than ever, this game - set in Ivalice, the best Final Fantasy setting by the way - examines the importance of resistance. It examines what it looks like to be radicalised in a world that strives to separate people. It studies the necessity of violence in revolution. It does not shy away from the responsibility of those that hold a platform. I think the re-release has accidentally happened upon some remarkable timing, here, and I can't wait for more people to play this timeless gem. I think it's one of the most important games of my lifetime.

-Dom

Prologue: Go Wayback! PC

An orienteering game made by the creator of PUBG? Um, okay then. But actually it's much more than that. And actually, an orienteering game is right up my street. Prologue: Go Wayback is more of a technical demo in reality. A proof of concept of some industry-shaking tech Brendan Greene, the creator of PUBG, has been spearheading at newish studio PlayerUnknown Productions. His broad goal: procedural worlds - a familiar pipe dream. Prologue: Go Wayback is the planetary-level glimpse of it in action, and it's an exciting one. I love stuff like this. I love big ideas. Expect more coverage to come!

-Bertie

Steam Deck, Steam Deck

I'm glad we're writing short little updates in this article now, as otherwise you'd have to read two or more paragraphs on how I've spent about six hours (more or less all my free-time over the course of a week) trying to sort out a Steam Deck that was stuck updating. My tip is this: just leave it for as long as you can, and then it might just "blip" into life at 3am while you're trying to sleep!

-Tom O

Crow Country, PC

I'll level with you. I'm still playing No Man's Sky and faffing around with its shiny new customisable Corvettes, but that's probably not something you need to hear me go on about for the third weekend in a row. Instead, a quick thing on the only other game I've had time for this week: Crow Country. Eurogamer contributor (and horror connoisseur) Vikki Blake was a big fan of this when she reviewed it last year, so it's been on my list for a while. Essentially, it's a bit of a riff on the old survival horrors of yore, its retro-inspired aesthetic helping give the whole thing a wonderfully uncanny feel. 20 minutes in, I'm yet to see a single crow, but its abandoned theme park setting - lovingly rendered in an artstyle that feels more Little Big Adventure than it does Resident Evil - is a treat, and I'm excited to play more.

-Matt

Hollow Knight Silksong, Switch 2

The first 10 or so hours of Silksong were sublime: the atmosphere beautiful, the writing elegant, the boss battles nicely pitched. I was in love. But since then that love has turned to hatred. I've got stuck on bosses with infuriating runbacks. I've screamed at tiny critters placed at just the wrong location for maximum frustration. I've felt helpless against extensive gauntlets. And then I go back to exploring, I beat a boss at last, and marvel at the beautiful presentation of yet another inventive environment. I have a real love/hate thing going with Silksong. But that's the Soulslike way, right?

-Ed