What we've been playing - A scary village, brilliant side quests, and chilly walks
A few of the things that had us hooked this past week.
11th January
Hello and Happy Saturday (if you celebrate such things)! Did you have a nice week? I hope so.
This is our regular feature where we write a little bit about some of the games we've been playing. This time, we got scared in a snowy village, we are very much enjoying a much-loved series, and returning to an old classic at a slower pace.
Catch up with the older editions of this column in our What We've Been Playing archive.
Resident Evil Village, PS5 Pro
I'd got a couple of hours into Resident Evil 8 on Xbox, but then thought I'd play on Steam Deck, before giving up as it was too scary. Fast forward to a few weeks ago and running as best it can on current consoles thanks to the PS5 Pro, I'm back for a third try. I'm pleased to report that I'm loving Village at the moment. The setting is gorgeous and having played RE4 Remake not long ago I'm finding this a whole lot more unsettling.
I play a lot of horror games, but I can't say that I have developed any sort of a tolerance for them. I get scared at the most trivial things, such as a hanging object moving or a door closing. Village's depiction of a small town that has been abandoned/devastated is a macabre delight to explore, but boy does it have a lot of doors (that close) and things (that are hung).
At this point I'm properly invested and it's going to take a lot more than some dangling lumps of meat to send me running to another game.
-Tom O
Yakuza: Like A Dragon, PS5
I've had Like A Dragon on my backlog forever, ever since I played Yakuza Kiwami years ago and then skipped the rest of the series. I knew I'd love its zany storytelling, turn-based combat and RPG trappings. I didn't know I'd love them this much, though.
For the unaware, Like A Dragon is the seventh in the series and switched from action game to RPG pastiche, fuelled by new protagonist Ichiban Kasuga's predilection for Dragon Quest. Its turn-based combat is dynamic and I adore how RPG stereotypes are given real world Japan parallels: its job system ranges from homeless man mage to healer pop idol, while skills, gear and items, pun-infused enemy types, and more are all recognisable from modern Japanese culture. It's hilarious too, particularly the side quests where I've assisted various idiotic men in compromising positions: from repeatedly pissing in a river, to a fetish for nappies, and the inability to feel sado-masochistic pain. It's entirely bizarre, but also a genuinely well-crafted send-up of the genre.
I'm annoyed at myself for not playing it sooner, but equally I'm glad to be playing it now. I was lucky enough to visit Japan last year and have spent plenty of time in Like A Dragon's fictional metropolis recognising the streets of Shinjuku (I stayed right there!) and the Yokohama Cosmo Clock 21 - it's surprisingly accurate. And it's allowed me to appreciate more thoroughly the game's nuanced take on modern day Japan.
My aim was to race through this series entry to get to last year's Infinite Wealth - and if it's even half as good, it absolutely would've made it into my top games of 2024. But I'm having such a great time with Like A Dragon I don't want to rush it. I'm utterly enthralled.
-Ed
Rise of the Tomb Raider, Xbox Series X
When the weather outside is cold and often dreary (let's face it, this is Britain), it's perhaps advisable to play something set on a far off sunny shore, to help offset the chill of the real world. For some reason, however, I have not been doing this, and instead I have chosen to spend the coldest time of the year playing Rise of the Tomb Raider.
Rise of the Tomb Raider is the second entry in the series' reboot trilogy, and it's certainly not set in the Caymans. Rather, Lara is doing her utmost to find a mysterious artefact known as the Divine Source - which is said to hold the promise of immortality - in the freezing, ice-laced wilderness of Siberia. She isn't alone in her search though, and so of course there is plenty of fighting bad guys and hopping between bushes/trees/buildings/cliff edges and so on, while Lara deploys her trusty ice axes to save her from coming to a messy end. You know, standard stuff.
I've already completed Rise of the Tomb Raider before, so I know how the story ends, but even so, I have enjoyed heading back to Siberia for another go around. I am being more thorough this time, and seeking out all of the optional challenge tombs that are scattered throughout. I am also doing more of the little side quests that Lara gets asked to carry out. And you know, it has actually been a very chill way to spend my evenings. While my first playthrough was so focused on finding out the story, this time the story has taken a backseat. I am now just enjoying taking some explorative snowy walks with Lara, while staying warm and dry myself. Those sunny shores can wait a little bit longer.
-Victoria