The Queen has died. She was 96 years old, which means that she was 46 when Pong was released and lived long enough to get her hands on Elden Ring. Truly, she was a gaming icon.

Of course, we can’t let something small like the death of a monarch who ruled an empire that once colonized most of the known world get in the way of our gaming time. And, this weekend, we’ve got a wide range of stuff to play. Splatoon 3 is this week’s big new release, so some of us are taking a dip in the ink. Plus, a certain someone is still playing Yakuza, I’m dipping into a new stealth game, and Cyberpunk 2077’s Edgerunners update is bringing players back to Night City.

RELATED: Splatoon Is Way Too Good For Nintendo

Andrew King, Features Editor

Gloomwood Guard On Balcony

I started playing Gloomwood, New Blood Interactive's Thief-inspired immersive sim that entered Early Access this week, and now all I want to do is play more Gloomwood. I've been looking forward to this game for years, and REALLY looking forward to it since I played a demo back in 2020. Now that it's here, I can't get enough of holding my sword back until the point sparkles and thrusting it into the backs of unsuspecting guards. I'm a big fan of Arkane's Dishonored games, and Gloomwood is the closest thing we've had to one of those since Death of the Outsider. I might even like it better?

James Troughton, Photo/News Editor

yakuza 6 red light district

Yep, Yakuza 6. Shock and awe.

Ryan Bamsey, Evergreen Editor

Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift

In a month with so many great releases, I have deigned to return to an underloved classic: Final Fantasy Tactics A2. Yes, it’s not as good as Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, which itself wasn’t as good as Final Fantasy Tactics. All that said, I can’t help but find myself sinking around 50 hours into this game whenever I come back to it. There’s something utterly compelling about the way the game delivers content to you; empowering your clan, exploring more of the map, conquering auctions – it’s all so brilliant. It’s a gem of a game and something that scratches that itch before Tactics Ogre Reborn comes out.

Rhiannon Bevan, News Editor

CDPR Confirms Phantom Liberty Is The Only Expansion Planned For Cyberpunk 2077

A new Cyberpunk 2077 update can only mean one thing - I'm back on my bullshit. I've said before that Cyberpunk is my Skyrim, in that it's an open world RPG I complain about endlessly, but still pour hundreds of hours into. I just started the new crossover mission with the Edgerunners anime, and that's showing a lot of promise so far. But if I'm honest, I'm really here for the new character customising options. We even have a transmog system now! Cyberpunk is just a dress up game for me now, and I love it.

Ben Sledge, Features Editor

Why Am I So Excited For The Splatoon 3 (1)

I’ll be playing Splatoon 3 this weekend. As I’ve discussed before, I’ve never played an entry in Nintendo’s third-person shooter series before, but I’m unreasonably excited about the threequel and hope this might just be the one to grab me. I’ll have to play some single-player to get to grips with the mechanics and the triple-firing squid bow, but I’m most excited to get online and fight for my life in some cephalopod shooting action. If I can get a group of mates to join me, I’m sure it’ll be a laugh, and if not, Temtem runs really well on the Steam Deck, so I’ll fall back on that.

Justin Reeve, News Editor

Why Am I So Excited For The Splatoon 3 (3)

The game is looking a little bit like a disappointment for many, but I’ve always loved the Splatoon franchise, meaning that for most of this weekend at least, I’m going to be playing the latest entry in the series, Splatoon 3. The majority of the criticism which I’ve seen has been that it’s really just more of the same. I’m perfectly happy with more of the same on this one to be honest, as long as the overall quality is there, something which definitely seems to be the case. I’m looking forward to checking out the campaign and of course diving into the multiplayer.

Amanda Hurych, Evergreen Content Lead

Sea of Thieves - promo image of a pirate fishing

I’m still playing through The Ascent, but recently my partner has had a hankering to jump into Sea of Thieves again. We played it for a while a few years back, but dropped it after we got bored of trying to unlock new cosmetics for our fishing poles. This weekend, we’ll probably take a peek and see if there is anything new to catch our eye. It was fun to sail around on a sloop way back when (and damn the ocean looks great in Sea of Thieves), so it should be entertaining fodder for our weekend. But if there’s nothing to keep us invested, we’ll most likely drop the game once more after we go fishing together a few dozen times.

Jade King, Lead Features Editor

Splatoon

I’m a squid now, I’m a kid! We going all woomy up in this bitch. Yep, I’m playing Splatoon 3. I wasn’t tempted to pre-order until reading George Foster’s review, which was enough to make me want to experience the hype of a new launch and to play alongside friends. I’m also nearing the final third of The Last of Us Part 1 and continue to chip away at I Was A Teenage Exocolonist on PS5. So it’s a busy weekend for ya girl. That, and I’m going to start watching The Lord of the Rings trilogy for the first time in about 15 years. Ben Sledge would be proud.

Harry Alston, Senior Specialist Writer

New World Summer Medleyfaire Musical Instruments

I’m back on my bullshit with New World. The game has changed a lot since I last played, and to tell you the truth, I’m having an amazing time. I’d forgotten how brilliant the world design is and now you get to enjoy it as intended, with quality of life changes across the board - including reduced Azoth for fast travel. Although progression is better so far (gypsum and expertise are pretty cool), chest runs are still a thing, so that’s what I’ll be doing in the rare spare moment I have this weekend.

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