Kotaku’s Weekend Guide: Six Amazing Games We Refuse To Stop Playing

Play it on: PS4. Switch, Windows (Steam Deck: OK)
Current goal: Defeat Goumang

Red Candle Games is an indie team based in Taiwan that shocked the world with its great horror games, most notably 2019's Devotion. It’s now pivoted to a completely different genre with Nine Sols, a side-scrolling action game in the mold of a 2D Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. Combat is elegant, methodical and punishing as you journey through a gorgeous “Taopunk” world in search of revenge. The story is interesting, but sometimes feels like it’s intruding on the flow of the exploration and action. Fighting enemies, on the other hand, including bosses, feels crisp and rewarding.

There’s a deflection mechanic where timed parries build up chi that can be used to unleash exploding talisman attacks. You also take two types of damage, one of which you can recover from by not getting hit. Add in a long-range bow and sizable skill tree and there’s a ton of interesting stuff going on in Nine Sols that sets its encounters apart from your standard, dime-store Soulsborne Metroidvanias (even the ones I love). I’m pleasantly impressed so far, and while there’s not a Switch version yet, it reportedly runs great on Steam Deck. — Ethan Gach

Play it on: PS4. Xbox One, Windows (Steam Deck: N/A)
Current goal: Try not to cry
Buy it from: Amazon | Best Buy

I have been in my feelings about Dragon Age since the re-reveal of Dragon Age: The Veilguard. I mostly consider myself a lapsed fan of BioWare’s fantasy series, but Inquisition still remains an all-time favorite. It has my favorite cast of the series, a story people often forget might be BioWare’s best because it’s buried under open-world nonsense, and its Trespasser DLC is in the running for the best add-on in all of video games. But despite all of that, Inquisition is probably my least replayed BioWare game from the past 20 years.

The Veilguard is building off that game’s final moments, to the point where I can’t in good conscience recommend you play the new game without going back and playing Inquisition at least once. But maybe it’s time for my fourth playthrough. I miss my Tevinter husband. I miss watching the world of Thedas change before my eyes. And a refresher might do me some good before I finally get to stop Solas from doing war crimes and shit when The Veilguard launches. — Kenneth Shepard

Play it on: PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, Windows (Steam Deck: YMMV)
Current goal: Replay this awesome FPS
Buy it from: Amazon | Best Buy | Humble Bundle

I played Doom Eternal back in 2020 when it first launched during the early days of the pandemic. I remember liking it a lot! But I’ve not gone back to it much since it was first released. I’ve not even played the two DLC packs that came out later. I’m not sure why. Perhaps its launching right as covid lockdowns began and my wife lost her job, soured me on it. Or maybe those damn Marauders annoyed me too much. Who can say? Regardless, Doom Eternal and its DLC went on sale on Xbox and I decided to grab it and replay it on Xbox Series X at 120 FPS.

And folks, did you know that Doom Eternal is a really good game? I still think the game is a bit over-designed—having to balance grenades, a flamethrower, multiple mods, runes, and more doesn’t feel like Doom—but it’s still a blast. Whipping around rooms and dropping enemies with a shotgun still feels great. I can’t wait to play Doom The Dark Ages next year. And hopefully, it won’t be during a new pandemic. — Zack Zwiezen

Play it on: PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Windows (Steam Deck: YMMV)
Current goal: Continue catching up
Buy it from: Humble Bundle

I’ve been a little preoccupied with too many other games of late and am going to be playing too many more games in the near future, which is really putting a dampener on my journey to finish catching up on Final Fantasy XIV. I won’t divulge exactly how far behind I am out of shame, but I’m deep into some really cool shit, and even if I’m not entirely caught up by the time Dawntrail launches, I’m just glad to be carving out time for this game again. I know that I love a bunch of other games more than I love this one, but I don’t know that many other worlds and characters feel as comforting to just come back to as the ones in FF14. I don’t know man, maybe The Source really is worth fighting for, or whatever corny shit the Scions are on about. — Moises Taveras

Play it on: PS3, Xbox 360, Windows (Steam Deck: YMMV)
Current goal: Return to a beloved classic and see if it holds up
Buy it from: Best Buy

On a recent night, I was contemplating all the current games I have yet to finish that I could potentially play this weekend and trying to figure out which one I was feeling the most when an impulse came to me out of nowhere: Perhaps, with The Veilguard on the horizon, I should return to the game that kicked off BioWare’s swords-and-sorcery series and see if it still works its magic on me. So I went rummaging through my Steam library and installed 2009’s Dragon Age: Origins on my PC, where it now waits for me to dive back in come Saturday.

I think I’m just excited about fantasy role-playing games in general right now, what with the D&D campaign I run for some friends delivering lots of great moments lately, and the details coming out about the upcoming revisions to D&D’s core rulebooks getting me stoked for the game’s future. Of course, you might be thinking that if I’ve got D&D on the brain right now, I should immerse myself back in Baldur’s Gate 3, but for whatever reason, right now it’s Thedas that’s calling to me. Will I find it spellbinding when I actually dive in, or will the 15 years since Origins’ release quickly have me opting for something a little more contemporary? There’s only one way to find out! — Carolyn Petit

Play it on: Xbox Series X/S, Windows (Steam Deck: YMMV)
Current goal: Configure the perfect survival experience
Buy it from: Amazon | Best Buy | GameStop

See? I friggin’ told you this was going to happen. Starfield, with its new game options and cool mods is finally letting me tweak and tailor this massive space sim into something bordering on incredible.

Recently, I’ve been set on doing whatever I can to turn Starfield into a massive, vista-rich, offline, single-player, survival experience perfect for late nights where I shut off my phone, don’t look at any other screens, and just wander the galaxy listening to SomaFM’s Drone Zone.

Read More: Starfield’s Paid Mods Ignite A Review Bombing On Steam

I haven’t found the perfect experience just yet, but I’m getting close. Thus far, I have all of the survival and sustenance settings turned up, and I’ve combined it with SKK Mods’ SKK Fast Start New Game. This mod not only lets you skip the entire opening mining sequence, you can even pick a different city to start in, or have it send you to a random planet. On my latest new game, it spawned me near The Lock, of all godforsaken places, in the Kryx system. Yeah, that’s the one owned by pirates. My attempt to check out the Lock (an abandoned prison) saw hordes of creepy things pop out of the ground to chase me back to my ship. I then had to suck it up and launch into orbit where the Crimson Fleet was waiting to start shooting at me. Given that I was level one, nowhere near capable of taking on so many ships, I diverted all power to my grav drive and jumped to Akila.

Read More: Starfield: 6 Free Mods For A More Immersive Experience

That kind of random, emergent gameplay scenario, I think, is what’s really gonna be the future of Starfield. With so many planets and existing systems, the right combination of updates and mods might really take this game to the heights it deserves and should’ve had on day one.

And yes, I know, I know. You might be saying, just download No Man’s Sky, Claire Rose. But look. I’ve really tried with NMS and I’m certainly going to be giving it another shot soon, but I really do prefer Starfield’s more realistic aesthetic than the kind of plasticky Chuck E. Cheese stylings of NMS. But yes, I will return to that galaxy soon enough to see if my opinions have changed.

And that wraps our picks for the weekend. Hope you’re staying cool and are enjoying some great games as well!