Enough waffle. Let’s catch up with Team NL and see what’s in their slots this Saturday…

Gavin Lane, Editor

I was having a great time with Pragmata and will definitely go back, but Henry Jones Jr. dropped in and I’ve played nothing else this week. Wandering around the Vatican, pocketing pamphlets and medicine bottles, and giving Blackshirts a hiding has kept me up into the small hours. I’ve never been a huge immersive sim guy, but all the elements here are gripping me. Helluva game so far.

I’ve just arrived in Giza, so yes, Indy will be keeping me busy for a while yet. The Great Circle is still a rubbish name, though.

Alana Hagues, Deputy Editor

So, after this weekend, my WAYP entries will disappear again for a bit, as my partner and I are welcoming our first child, and taking care of other humans is hard! Video games will be firmly on the back burner.

For the time being, though, I’ll be jumping between Constance and the new Adventures of Elliot demo. I’m hoping the latter will be the perfect game to play with my daughter held close. Perhaps she’ll become an adventurer one day…

Have a good one, all!

With Alana heading off on maternity leave, it’ll be a little quieter around NL Towers for a few months whil—hold up…

Yes, he’s been lingering in the background for a couple of weeks, but please join us in officially welcoming Matthew Reynolds to Team NL!

You may have read Matt’s work at places like Eurogamer and Polygon, or on his new Pokémon site One More Catch. We’re very happy to have him filling Alana’s shoes, keeping her seat warm, and stuffing her desk drawer with Rare Candys and autocatchers for the rest of the year. Over to you, Matt…

Matthew Reynolds, Acting Deputy Editor *NEW*

I’ve picked up Mario Kart World again after a short hiatus, and was quickly reminded how captivating the open world is. My ongoing challenge of finding all P-Switches without help continues, and despite having hundreds ticked off so far, I’m still somehow finding new locations — tucked away next to train lines, or besides shipwrecks — by exploring nooks and crannies I’d previously overlooked. The variety and depth of the world is quite something.

I’d highly recommend experiencing Mario Kart World this way, as despite my love of guides nudging me in the right direction in games, I’m happy to continue drinking it in through pure discovery alone.

Elsewhere, I’m also playing Titanium Court on Steam Deck, a brilliant match-three / strategy / visual novel hybrid that won this year’s Independent Games Festival. It’s as befuddling as it sounds, especially with its capacity to derail your session with surprise new rules and mechanics. I have to be in the mood to play it, mind, but it’s largely keeping my Switch 2 at bay until I see it through to the end, as I have to know where it’s going.

Ollie Reynolds, Reviews Editor

We’re due for a heatwave in the UK this weekend, so I suspect I won’t have a lot of time for gaming as my wife and daughter drag me out into the back garden kicking and screaming. That said, I’m eager to play more Bubsy 4D and I’d like to give the new Adventures of Elliot demo a shot.

I also recently blasted through season two of the Devil May Cry anime, and it inspired me to go through the games again on PS5. The fifth entry came out in 2019, so I think we’re due a new game soon, even if Itsuno-san is no longer in the driver’s seat.