Welcome to The Play List. At the start of this year, we said that we would be doing things a bit differently on the site. Apart from video content, which we will be starting soon, we also said we’d be doing new types of content. We do our best to cover games we have a genuine interest in on this site and, sometimes, that can leave us in a dry spell.
To avoid that, we have The Play List. Every issue, which will at the very least be a monthly occurrence, will be the team sharing what we’re playing, either to prepare for coverage on the way or read about it briefly even if we might not cover them in a dedicated article later on.
Sri Kandula
Despite starting the year off strong with Far Cry 3 (click here to read my review), I have not been able to do much gaming this past week due to being sick. That’s right, I finally got COVID and it put me through the wringer for a few days. I am mostly over it now, but after starting and immediately stopping a few games, I finally decided to try Wolfenstein. A quick Google search told me that I should start with The Old Blood and that’s exactly what I did. My review will be out next week once I finish the game but, as of now, it is really ticking all the boxes for me.
Apart from that, I am playing a bit of HeadBangers: Rhthym Royale (which you can read my review for here) and The Finals. I am not sure if I will review The Finals, but after going through a very uncertain phase, the game has really clicked for me. I admit that I am not great at it and winning isn’t really my concern because the gunplay is so damn fun.
Nick Sivak
Three games have been the focus of my time the last few weeks. I finished both Hades and Super Mario Bros. Wonder. Being in the mood for a rogue-like, Hades fit the bill, many have sung its praises and I have little to add. It’s well-designed, action-packed, and has a great art style. However, it was starting to overstay its welcome by the end for me. But if you are looking for a content-rich action game look no further.
I was casually excited to give Super Mario Bros. Wonder a go having played a handful of 2D Mario games. Wonder is a great blend of familiarity and new ideas. On the whole, the game feels like a Mario game, it doesn’t disrupt the skeleton of Mario games all that much. The game ends up feeling fresh with intriguing enemy designs, platforming mechanics highlighted through the new badge system, and the crazy wonder flower effects that drastically change certain stages visually and mechanically. I had a lot of fun playing Super Mario Bros. Wonder, it didn’t radically alter my appreciation of platformers or anything, but it was well-made, well-paced, and a joy to hop back in the shoes of everyone’s favorite plumber.
After playing those relatively new releases, I traveled back in time and started playing TimeSplitters 2 on the PlayStation 2. I’m halfway through the game, and it’s right up my alley. For those who are not aware, The TimeSplitters games are first-person shooters where each level is set in a different time period. The guns often change to reflect the different settings as well as the visuals and music. So far I’ve participated in an assault on a mobsters club in 1920’s Chicago, rescued a sheriff in a wild west town, stuck to the shadows in rain-drenched Neo Tokyo, and more. The gameplay is fast and fun. I particularly enjoy the little details in TimeSplitters 2, like when I look up in the rain and find water droplets hitting the camera lens. I’m having a blast with TimeSplitters 2 which makes me sad because we likely won’t see that new game that was being developed by veterans of Free Radical Design before Embracer Group closed the studio down last year.
That’s it for us for this issue of The Play List. Let us know what you’ve been playing down below and, of course, stay tuned for more game news and reviews right here on Respawn Station.
