I am relieved that it’s finally time for the weekend, because I desperately need to unwind on the couch with some video games. It’s been an exciting (but very busy) week over here at Game Informer. We finally launched international print subscriptions, meaning you can get physical issues of our magazine in 40 new countries. We also launched a Game Informer app on iOS and Android, and we’ve got plans for updates over the coming weeks to add new features and smooth out any rough edges. Yesterday, Rockstar revealed the first official look at Grand Theft Auto VI, and it’s shaping up to be as huge as we expected. But most of all, it’s the week of Gamescom: most of our editorial team is overseas in Germany running the official Game Informer booths, mingling with games industry folks from around the world, and taking lots of appointments to see games. We saw The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Songs of the Past, Control Resonant, and more: you can see the whole rundown of our most notable demos here.
It’s a lot, but luckily for us, there’s an easy solution for the fatigue of a busy work week: video games. Here’s what you should be playing this weekend.
Blood Dungeon
The simplest way to explain Blood Dungeon is “Vampire Survivors with jumping,” though that’s a bit reductive. This roguelike bullet heaven adds platforming into the genre’s signature power crawl, and has you hop your way through the chaotic titular dungeon. That said, it’s definitely a bit of an acquired taste – the art style is intentionally crude, and our reviewer Kyle Hilliard didn’t love that, for example, he couldn’t get a fart cloud upgrade without hearing a barrage of flatulent sounds during his run. Still, for some of you, details like that are all you need to pull the trigger and pick the game up, so to each their own.
Here’s a quote from our review:
Blood Dungeon is clearly born from Vampire Survivors’ undeniable loop and sense of progression, but developer Messhof addresses arguably the primary shortcoming of the 2022 Bullet Heaven game (I think that’s what we’ve agreed to call these, right?): movement. Moving in Blood Dungeon is fun and it sets the game apart within the genre and demands enjoyable skill from the player, but some balance annoyances keep the game from soaring.
You can read reviewer Kyle Hilliard’s full thoughts here.
Star Wars Zero Company
“XCOM meets Star Wars” is such a solid premise that I knew I’d be sold on Zero Company from the moment it was announced, and now that I’ve started playing it, it’s everything I hoped it would be. It’s set during the Clone Wars (between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith) and follows a ragtag group of fighters as they track down a dangerous cult called The Coil. Our reviewer, guest contributor James Galizio, didn’t love the story, but said the excellent tactics gameplay mostly makes up for the narrative faults.
Here’s a quote from our review:
Developer Bit Reactor largely succeeds at what it sets out to do, and if you’re a fan of either Star Wars or XCOM it’s an easy recommendation, even if I wish the story had just a bit more juice. If you’re looking for a sci-fi tactics fix, Zero Company delivers the goods.
You can read reviewer James Galizio’s full thoughts right here.
Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy
This game is technically a spin-off of the other two Plague Tale games, and while fans of the series will find plenty of this setting familiar, Resonance is easily enjoyed as a standalone game. It’s a prequel about a supporting character, so you don’t need to go in with prior knowledge. Ultimately, we think it works very well as an action-adventure title in the vein of an Uncharted or Tomb Raider, and the protagonist Sophia is fun to fight as and makes for a great protagonist.
Here’s a quote from our review:
Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy borrows from many games. There are puzzles with Tomb Raider flavors; like Nathan Drake, Sophia has never known the comfort of a stable platform; and the combat and ties to Greek mythology recall games like God of War. What’s impressive here is how well Asobo Studio executes those familiar genre staples and delivers a moving story starring a charismatic pirate on what may be the most impactful and tragic adventure of her life.
You can read reviewer Kyle Hilliard’s full thoughts here.
Scott Pilgrim EX
Scott Pilgrim EX came out a few months ago, but we got the pleasantly surprising news this week that it was getting DLC and a free update – and they’re both already out. The DLC adds Stephen Stills, Kim Pine, and my personal favorite, Knives Chau as playable characters, while the free update adds an Arcade Mode you can use to replay the campaign with scores and limited lives. The game is also on sale at the time of writing, so it’s a perfect excuse to check the game out if you’re interested. For more, you can read our review.
Elden Ring Tarnished Edition
This week, Elden Ring comes to the Nintendo Switch 2, meaning you can take one of the greatest games of all time on the go. Dubbed the Tarnished Edition, this version includes the base game, some new cosmetics and armor, and the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC. That said, this is probably the worst way to play Elden Ring. The game is still amazing, but if you’re used to the performance of a PS5, Xbox Series X/S, or PC, the performance on Switch 2 is a noticeable downgrade. It’s far from unplayable, though, and if this is the first time you’ve owned a console that can play it, we can’t recommend it highly enough. Any other platform would likely give you a better experience, but at the end of the day, it’s still Elden Ring, a game we scored a 10/10.
Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 2
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots has been trapped on the PS3, a console I don’t own, up until this week. Unlike the other games in the series, it hadn’t been ported or remade in any capacity, so it’s a big deal for it to finally make it to a newer platform as a part of the Master Collection Vol. 2. We’ll actually be playing through the game for our next Super Replay series, which is exciting for me, because I’ve never played these games before – I genuinely have no clue what happens in this one. Master Collection Vol. 2 also includes Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, which has also not made it to modern consoles – though it did make the jump from PSP to Xbox 360 and PS3 in 2011’s Metal Gear Solid HD Collection.
