10th October

Hello and welcome back to our regular feature where we write a little about the games we’ve been playing. This week, Dom enjoys being back in Gears of War, which they should with a name like that; and Bertie ekes every last drop he can get out of The Blood of Dawnwalker before saving his family.

But enough of that: what have you been playing this week?

And don’t forget we have an entire dusty archive of previous What We’ve Been Playings, just in case you don’t trust your memory any more and want to check which games you’ve played, and see what you thought of them.

Gears of War: E-Day, Xbox Series X

God, Horde Siege is good. Initially, I thought it was a bit too contrived compared to the very simple past version of the mode, that many people come to Gears for in the first place. But the open-ended maps, potential for cross-squad interplay and emergent moments… It’s pure video game popcorn movie stuff. I assumed I’d play Gears for review then put it down, but with Siege… it’s a good job there are no other big games coming out soon. Right? Right?!

-Dom

The Blood of Dawnwalker, PS5

I’ve got one day left before Brencis’ coronation! In other words, I’ve got one day left to save my family before he presumably eats them as part of his dastardly plan to take over the world. To catch you up: I’ve already finished the game but I reloaded a save so I could see more of the world. And I’ve been stretching it out, trying to push into as many nooks and crannies as possible to see what else is out there.

I’m glad I have. I’m constantly impressed with this game. I most recently got close to one of Brencis’ vampire-gang people Xanthe, the veiled kind of witchy vampire, and learnt more about her backstory and what she’s been, um, working on in her spare time. And like so much else in the game: there’s real genuine storytelling value in what you find. Creepy, twisted, but also heartfelt. Suffice to say I made a deal with her because she’s awful. Let’s see what happens.

-Bertie

Quake 3, in a browser?

I’ve been playing Quake 3 again… in a browser. I know this isn’t a particularly shocking revelation given that Quake Live, I think it was, did the same thing. But the version I was playing today was recompiled by AI – I was testing it for a news story. I wasn’t smiling while playing it I promise!

I had meant to only play for five minutes but I soon found myself at the top of the scoreboard – me! – and couldn’t pull myself away. It was carnage; there were way more people than the map could handle so people were spawning on top of each other and gauntlet-punching each other to death more often than not. But it was a reminder – AI aside – of how enticing this game is, especially when there are a lot of people playing it.

-Bertie