Hello, Good morning and welcome to another fine edition of What We’re Playing; our weekly round up everything that’s kept us glued (or not) to our TV screens, desktop monitors, portable displays and whatever else you crazy kids are playing games on these days.
So, what have you been playing over the last seven days?
I’ve had a week off work so I’ve played a fair bit more than I would normally. Threw a few things off of my backlog that I didn’t connect with and then spent a fair bit of time with…
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
Had a really good time with this one, especially in the first 10 or so hours. It did fall away towards the end, largely because it gets increasingly difficult as you go along. That’s not a criticism of the game as much as it’s an acknowledgement that I don’t love super tough platforming in games. Ultimately I used the games pretty great accessibility features to knock the difficulty right down and got to the end whilst also feeling like a total badass.
Returnal
I’ve had less time with this as I only started it yesterday whilst waiting for Demons Souls to download. And I think it’s safe to say that Demons Souls will have to wait. Returnal feels like something totally fresh and new to me. I’ve got no effing idea what’s going on, and I don’t really understand how the game works, but I’m having a total blast so far.
Funny that you mention Demon’s Souls and Returnal together. My first foray into soulsbornes was Bloodborne, and it did not work for me. Too punishing, too stressful, and I could never figure it out. My successes were owed exclusively to luck.
I took that as a sign that the hardcore, challenging game type wasn’t my style. But Returnal’s setting and style caught my attention bad, so eventually I gave in and bought it. I loved it from the start. Something clicked for me and I started naturally treating it like a puzzle game. Learned to stay calm, accept defeat and learn from it, and try again. I played the hell out of that game.
So then I wondered if I might like the Demon’s Souls remake and…hell yeah I did. Couldn’t get enough of it. And when Elden Ring came out, I was all about it too. If it wasn’t for Returnal, I don’t think I ever would have reopened that door.
I never did go back to Bloodborne though. Feel like I gave it the best shot I could already.