Tearaway was designed from the ground up to be played on the Vita and I’d say it does a pretty fantastic job of using that hardware well. It’s also super cute.

Can’t speak to the hardware question but the game itself is definitely worth playing, especially with headphones.

It’s one of the few games that I think everyone should experience at least a little of. The puzzles can be a little meh, and the combat is fiiiiiiine, but where the game really shines is in its atmosphere, world design and use of FMV and audio to really sell it’s story and put you inside the protagonist head.

I wish I had the time for a redux. The early game is absolutely fantastic, but I’ve got such a limited time to play I don’t think I could really commit to it.

Same. I ended up playing it on my partner’s PS5, and it ran well enough (30FPS be damned). Put that on my Steamdeck though, please.

Bloodborne, Sifu or Hyper Light Drifter.

I don’t really want to pick between the three, but I’ll go with Sifu, because it’s got a little of that super tough, Fromsoftiness built in.

Runs like a dream on my Steamdeck too, and has some genuinely really impressive moments of beauty that I wasn’t expecting from a super-hard-beat-people-up-with-a-pipe game.

I played that just after the birth of my second child and it quickly became one of my absolute favourite games of all time.

I can’t believe Lies of P didn’t even get a nomination in this category.

I’m probably going to play Lords when it’s cheaper. I’ve just finished Lies of P and I’m working my way through Dark Souls Remastered, and with Spider-Man and that new Mario game, I’m officially maxed out with regards to game time.

I tried to get into Mortal Shell twice now and both times I’ve ran away screaming. I hear great things about it, but I find the character feel so cumbersome from the outset that I just give up after an hour or two.

I’ve seen Elden Ring on PC for as low as £30 over the last few weeks if that takes your fancy. I’m also fairly sure it’s on sale on PSN and Xbox ATM (at least in the UK).

Wo-Long maybe? It’s from the folks that made Nioh and is on Gamepass.

Oxenfree messed me up when I played it a few years ago. It’s got this super eerie vibe to it that really ratchets up the tension and sense of dread.

A game I played recently might do the job too, it’s called Signalis. It plays a bit like a 2D Resident Evil game, but with a slightly more interesting story.

Why are you so invested in this?

I mean if they tell them they want Microsoft to donate four bags of beans each week to a charity of their choosing in order to pass the deal through the UK market then Microsoft can either say no, because it's ridiculous or they can accept it and donate the beans and get their deal through.

Microsoft needed this deal to pass through the CMA. That gives the CMA serious power over the deal, both in the UK and worldwide.

I personally don't think the games are launching broken because they're on Gamepass. Redfall was a poor game, it would have been a poor game even if it wasn't on Gamepass.

Starfield arguably benefited from Microsoft wanting it to launch on Gamepass on Day One, because they were perfectly happy to delay until it was at an acceptable state, not to mention that the dev in question is known for releasing some truly shocking stuff; 76 and Skyrim on PS3 come to mind.

As for Forza, I can't really say. I've only spent an hour or so with it, and it seems no worse than what came before.

Mostly waiting for Lies Of P to land in a day or two. I have spent more time with Starfield, but as I mentioned in a previous comment, I think I’m reaching the end of my time with that one.

I don’t think it’s ‘bad’, but I do think it’s a severely compromised game that underwhelms more than it should for a game of it’s budget and the team behind it. There’s moments where you can see so much potential but it is always somewhat hidden by this mid 2000s design that I thought we’d moved past.

I absolutely love your description of the game being ‘big empty rooms’. I think I’ve come to the same conclusion in the last 24 hours. The space stuff and the on-planet stuff feels disjointed and unconnected. The way you traverse the universe is incredibly underwhelming (so many menu’s) and the actual game design just feels so 2008.

I’ll probably play a little Starfield, and maybe Rocket League with my brother. Other than that I’m patiently waiting for Lies Of P to hit Gamepass on Tuesday.

Man, Q3 2024 is gonna be Xbox’s to own…

Just woke up. That was my first mistake.

I run both [email protected] and [email protected]

Currently Playing is a place to discuss what you’re currently playing and Photo-Mode is a place to share in game screenshots and photographs you’ve taken whilst playing.

Sorry if the links are messed up. I’ve got no idea the right way to link at this point. The whole system seems a bit of a mess.