What we've been playing - "Have you ever downloaded a game on Steam just to boot it up and delete it five minutes later?"

A few of the things that have us hooked this week.

6th June

Hello and welcome back to our regular feature where we write a little about the games we've been playing. This week, Bertie and Connor break the rules slightly, but it's okay because Bertie organises What We've Been Playing and Connor regularly contributes to it, so they both get a pass. Elsewhere, believes again that another game has been tailormade for them - I'm beginning to sense a pattern - and Hitman fan Kelsey rolls credits on Bond and gets a bit emotional.

What have you been playing this week?

Here's another question: do you remember what you were playing last week? You don't have to! The What We've Been Playing archive has you covered.

Dungeons & Dragons, tabletop

I'm back in. Or more specifically: I'm about to be back in. We've found a couple of new people to make a group with and the new Ravenloft book has arrived, so all we need to do now is pick a Domain of Dread, a nasty Darklord that's trapped there, and play. Actually, correction: that's not all we need to do. Now I've got to go through the arduous task of creating a character.

I say "arduous" because I'm a person who has to consider everything before making a decision, so whereas the people we're playing with, who are new to D&D, seem able to make instantaneous decisions about a class and species they're playing as, with the certainty of a rock - which I'm assuming have the property of certainty - I'm sit there fretting because I see all are complications.

A glimpse into my mind: I want to play a character to support their characters - a wild-shape-focused Druid and a Monk - so a Paladin springs to mind. They're able to slot into that role while also wearing heavy armour, which the other characters do not. It's a good idea for half-an-hour until I realise that means we're all melee characters, more or less - shouldn't we have some proper ranged variation in the party? A Cleric, then? And I get nearly all the way with this idea until I realise it means we'll all be wisdom-based characters, which doesn't give us variation and spread across the intelligence- and charisma-based skills in the game. A Bard, then? A healing Warlock? A Sorcerer? A Wizard? Around and around my head spins.

One final word on this: it's not just mechanical considerations I lose myself in. For every class I ponder, I require a narrative justification for playing them, and for whatever species I'm considering for them. I can't just grab something off the shelf and go. I need to mentally place it and to believe it makes sense. So, choosing a character in D&D, for me, essentially involves creating a half-a-dozen partial characters and poring over source books until I'm finally ready to commit - hence "arduous". Or until my partner hurries me up and forces me into a decision, which is normally the case.

I'm not much different during character creation in video games. Welcome to my head. Is anyone else the same?

-Bertie

Mina the Hollower, Switch 2

Watch on YouTube

Mmm, you hear that? That's the sound of me savouring this lucious, premium, bastard-hard game that feels like it was focus-tested to appeal specifically to me. I can't get enough. The hopping, burrowing, dodging, platforming... It's remarkable how versatile this game is when it's constrained to all the limitations of an 8-bit engine. I've even been playing it on my Switch 2 in between those suspiciously long 007 First Light loading screens. It's running idle on my desk, tempting me between edits. Yacht Club games is adept at tickling those nostalgia glands and making something so new feel so familiar; I guess you could say they've got what it takes to make a mouse feel like a home (sorry).

-Dom

007 First Light, PS5

I finally rolled credits on IO Interactive's 007 First Light, and honestly, I felt a little emotional once I did. I love the Hitman series, so much so that it's wound up being one of my comfort games over the past few years, something I can jump in and out of with ease. I also quite like Bond (well, mainly Daniel Craig's era as Bond), so seeing the two collide in 007 First Light in such an exceptional way really was something.

I got to experience the IOI gameplay I know and love while also experiencing the spectacle and sheer violence of a Bond adventure, all wrapped in one pristine package with a delightful soundtrack to boot. Finishing the game is a high that'll take me a while to come down from. I think I'll replay some Hitman missions this weekend, or maybe dive into 007’s TacSims. That's if I've time to do so amidst all the gardening I need to do. It's that time of year!

-Kelsey

Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight, Xbox Series X/S

I have roped my kids into some more co-op crime capering this week with Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight. The problem is, I know Batman lore pretty well, but they don't, and right now, they are rooting for a character that, how do I put this mildly, doesn't exactly come to a very good end in the grand scheme of things. So do I tell them? After all, to be forewarned is to be forearmed and all that. Or do I just let it play out?

What would Batman do?

-Victoria

Walking around outside, Real world

Listen sometimes you get a bit burnt out on video games. You play 'em too much, you just can't get a kick out of them no matter which ones you try. Have you ever downloaded a game on Steam just to boot it up and delete it five minutes later? Yeah that's where I'm at.

These things pass. But it's important to mix things up every now and again. Earlier this week, I walked into town through my local park. I sat on a bench and I read a new book, and I ate an ice cream while the weather was nice. You know, human being stuff.

They say absence makes the heart grow fonder; perhaps the opposite is true as well. Too much time spent with something can scrub the shine off. As regular readers of this article series will know, I've played a lot of RuneScape over the past few months. I have since stopped hopping across rooftops, and I think that's the right move. Maybe I'll be back next week with an actual video game! Who knows.

-Connor