Originally published at: https://statelyplay.com/2018/11/30/stately-scrying-what-were-playing-this-weekend-29/
Another weekend is upon us, and it brings with it the first day of December. Why is that important? Because I’m going to be spreading holiday cheer on Stately Play starting tomorrow. I’m not even that big a fan of Xmas, but I think I need to do it just to get under OhBollox’s skin.
That’s tomorrow, however. Today we gaze into the crystal ball and see what we hope to play this weekend. Let us know what you have on your gaming plate for the weekend in the comments!
No Man's Sky and Guild of Dungeoneering
https://youtu.be/h3HphgSn0o4I started playing No Man’s Sky and am completely hooked. I love games that are all about exploring a world or universe, surviving against predators, other people, and the elements, and learning to craft better and better stuff. No Man’s Sky hits all of these buttons well. Steam reviews scared me away for some time, but it seems like the devs have done a good job addressing a lot of the concerns as I don’t have any major gripes at about 30 hours in.
As for mobile I’m back to Guild of Dungeoneering as my morning coffee and general lounging game. I’m still working on unlocking all of the classes and really enjoy the variety of styles. Ranger is by far my favorite so far. It’s a well-designed game and great for anybody who likes simple but tactical card-based battles.
-Nick Vigdahl
- No Man's Sky for PC via Steam, $60
- Guild of Dungeoneering for PC/Mac via Steam, $15
- Guild of Dungeoneering for PC/Mac via GoG, $15
- Guild of Dungeoneering for iOS Universal, $6
- Guild of Dungeoneering for Android, $6
Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus
https://youtu.be/9gIMZ0WyY88I have but one target on my docket this weekend, friends.
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i.e., Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus
You know, as we at the Stately Spire gather to ponder the best of 2018, I keep getting blindsided by gems. Gems that reset the damn list, or at least jostle the contenders and continue to muster the furrowed brow. Mechanicus was ‘just another 40K potentiality’, in a sea of grimdark fare, but turns out it’s actually really good. Like, really good. Maybe partially due to a lack of caveat-free recommendations in recent years, but there’s something very fresh about this game. Not a Space Marine for miles. No Ork-ridden ennui. Just the machine spirits and the lime glow of C’tan. Tech priests going toe-to-toe with the Old Ones. Thank the God Emperor someone bothered to take such a punt.
If anything does fall upon my plate not part of this cybernetic milieu, it’ll be more of the old favourites. Your BSGs, your Halos, your Furious Angels.
-Alex Connolly
Battletech: Flashpoint, Tricky Towers, but, definitely not, Tales of Maj'Eyal (wink, wink)
https://youtu.be/Cb4WLNxFk68So, I’m just back from the Betty Ford Clinic for Roguelike Rehabilitation. No, I’m not on the wagon, I escaped. I won’t tell you that I’m still playing ToME, just that the Anthoril and Sun Paladin classes are pretty sweet.
This weekend, Battletech is calling to me again, now that the Flashpoint expansion corrects the two greatest problems I had with the game: lack of use for my lighter mechs after the mid-game, and the critical absence of the Hatchetman. In a game that involves giant robots with missiles, lasers, and large-bore cannonry hitting and jumping on each other, the Hatchetman is the most gratuitous - I mean amazing - thing possible: a robot that carries around a giant metal hatchet. Not a Gundam-style laser sword, or a Progressive Knife, a giant metal hatchet.
Might also be playing some Tricky Towers with my 7 year-old.
-Tof Eklund
- Battletech for PC/Mac/Linux via Steam, $40
- Tricky Towers for Switch, $15
- Tricky Towers for PC/Mac/Linux via Steam, $15
Diablo 3 (and nothing else)
https://youtu.be/IXXqMyyeY0cWhat I should be playing:
I’d really like to wrap up some loose ends I have before the end of the year. The last few folks in Obra Dinn, about half of Marvel’s Spider-Man… Maybe I’ll squeeze some more Siralim 3 in while I’m out and about. I’ve also got to make some microgames in Warioware D.I.Y. for a little project I’m working on.
What I’ll end up playing:
Diablo III on Switch.
-Tanner Hendrickson
Space Miner: Space Ore Bust
https://youtu.be/3FkRASmZjNUSpace Miner: Space Ore Bust is exactly what I want out of a mobile experience. You play as a little ship travelling around, shooting asteroids (and robots), getting resources, and cashing them out to upgrade your ship. It’s the type of game I’d like to accomplish 100% completion, as the game is separated into sectors. When you have killed every robot and mined every asteroid in a sector, a giant 100% medal shows up on the map. It sounds silly [Wreck-it-Ralph would disagree -ed.], but it is such a satisfying indicator of progress.
I love moving through games like this at a slow pace, finishing all I can before ending up at the next story objective. It’s almost hypnotic.
-Nick Houghtaling (aka, The Other Nick)
Acthung! Cthulhu Tactics, KeyForge, and My Little Pony RPG: Tails of Equestria
https://youtu.be/M7AzvF-i_dcI finally have a PS4 game worth talking about here! I’m playing Achtung! Cthulhu Tactics this weekend, and hope to have a review soon. Initial impressions are quite positive; I’m particularly pleased to see that units have a facing. Can’t have scary things creeping around behind you if there’s no “behind you”.
My son has totally taken the KeyForge bait, and, now that we’ve found a good handicap for me when playing him (the built-in chain system is ideal for this), he has a better than even chance. I still feel like we’re exploring the game and our decks, and maybe my interest will wane with the novelty. But even my most recent game was still showing me new ways it could play out, so there’s enough novelty in it that I’m absolutely satisfied. Dixit has also resurfaced on our table—after an initial introduction when the kids were too young to enjoy it, they’ve rediscovered it and have been requesting it frequently.
What might take up the most time, if my daughter finishes making her second character, is the My Little Pony RPG, Tails of Equestria. My wife’s away this weekend, so it’s a perfect time to try this out with the kiddos. I’m planning an adventure in which they happen upon a small town—very small. Some magic went wrong and shrunk the whole thing. Then if they can figure out how to reverse the spell, they’ll have to deal with the random now-giant bugs that had wandered into town during its ensmallment.
-Kelsey Rinella