Some week, huh? Yeah. How about some video games? That’ll take our minds off issues…effectively, maybe not entirely. Our minds should be trapped on this trendy hellscape of our occasions, however video games will hopefully give us hours of enjoyable. And in the event you occur to seek out your self with a snug 48 hours of day off forward of you however aren’t positive what to play, that’s the place we are available in with our suggestions.
Learn Extra: Everything We Saw At The September 2025 Nintendo Direct
With out additional ado, let’s dive into what we’re wanting ahead to maintaining ourselves busy with within the days forward.
Borderlands 4
Play it on: PS5, Xbox Sequence X/S, Home windows PCs (Steam Deck: “Unknown”)
Present objective: Loot extra weapons and kill extra shit
I really like all of the Borderlands video games. Sure, even 3, the one folks hate for some motive. To me, the combination of gunplay, co-op, bizarre sci-fi, and infinite killin’/lootin’ is an ideal combination that rips away days and even weeks of my life in a flash. And Borderlands 4 is possibly my favourite one but. (I’ve not written my full evaluation but, so we’ll see the place I land in a couple of days.)
The gunplay and fight are higher than ever, the loot is extra balanced, the story is much less annoying, and the open world is extra rewarding to discover. It’s the following step ahead for the franchise, and I’m petrified of what number of hours I’m going to lose to it. Particularly as my pals get the sport and I begin operating totally different characters and builds. – Zack Zwiezen
Hole Knight: Silksong
Play it on: PS5, Xbox Sequence X/S, Change/Change 2, Home windows PCs (Steam Deck: “Verified”)
Present objective: Die lots whereas loving each second of the ache
I’ve spent an embarrassing period of time on Hole Knight: Silksong. Hopefully, goddess prepared, I get to spend much more time with it this weekend.
I by no means performed Hole Knight, however with the sequel, I simply bought swept up within the collective pleasure and let myself enthusiastically buy a online game–and what a pleasure it’s been! This recreation is simply lovely, particularly on a top quality display screen just like the Steam Deck OLED’s. The sound design? Ugh, to die for. And the problem? Nicely, yeah, that’s superior too.
As a health coach stated to me as soon as as I used to be gasping for air from some ridiculous bullshit he was making me do, “easy things aren’t worth doing.” It was critical and humorous on the similar time, however the sentiment helped get me by the exercise and plenty of extra since. There’s one thing invaluable in that form of expertise. Let me elaborate.
Siliksong has been a success in my native IRL circles. So many people I do know are taking part in it on their handheld units and the problem, the problem, the trouble it takes to make progress in it have turned this recreation about unusual little bugs right into a gravity effectively of debate. We empathize with the frustration somebody feels when a boss smacks ‘em down for the seventh time in a row. Listening to that somebody cleared a very onerous factor sees of us supply real exclamations of “congrats!” Upon departing, we frequently want one another “good luck,” referring to the powerful challenges that lie forward.
Are some challenges pointless? Possibly. Might there be tweaks that may make the sport a contact fairer? Possibly. However at what price? The runbacks you usually need to undertake upon dying appear to be part of the loop essential to get you to gather your shards and restock on any beads you could have misplaced, plus that’s when you need to be training your assaults! Boss fights aren’t when you need to be nonetheless determining the physics of the diagonal downward strike.
Challenges may be thrilling to consider and speak about with pals. A tough recreation calls for consideration, a set of expertise so that you can construct into muscle reminiscence after which use to satisfyingly pull off memorable feats. And when these components are in a recreation as fairly as they’re in Silksong? These feats are all of the extra value reaching. – Claire Jackson
Shadow Labyrinth
Play it on: PS5, Xbox Sequence X/S, Change/Change 2,Home windows PCs (Steam Deck: “Verified”)
Present objective: Defeat the G-Hosts as soon as and for all
This may in all probability be the final time I point out Bandai Namco’s unusual and fantastic Pac-Man-adjacent Metroidvania right here as a result of I feel I have to be close to its conclusion and I’m hoping to lastly roll credit on it this weekend. This recreation, which I bought considering it is likely to be a pleasantly nostalgic off-kilter diversion that took me 15 hours or so, has confirmed to be probably the most charming recreation I’ve performed all yr, uncompromisingly dedicated to its imaginative and prescient and much more expansive than I anticipated. It’s decidedly “not for everyone” (what recreation is?) however in the event you’re open to being thrown right into a world that makes itself intentionally onerous to grasp for a lot of hours and you’ve got any curiosity within the lore and historical past of early arcade video games, take into account getting misplaced on this maze for some time. – Carolyn Petit
Sword of the Sea
Play it on: PS5, PC
Present objective: Get the Platinum trophy
Sword of the Sea is that this yr’s Journey and I’m shocked extra folks aren’t speaking about it. Developed by the thatgamecompany alum who cofounded Large Squid (the indie group behind 2020’s PS5 launch recreation The Pathless), Sword of the Sea is one other lovely platforming journey that’s extra about cool traversal than fascinating friction. You surf throughout snow, sand, and water like a weightless prepare gliding alongside magnetic rails as you acquire seeds to deliver life again to the ghostly environments.
It’s very quick–solely two or three hours except you’re going for a completionist run–and never too demanding. It’s a short however lovely journey that’s content material to let you could have enjoyable performing easy however satisfying tips in your hoverboard as you shred throughout dunes and waves. The music and visuals are wonderful, the texture of the gameplay is top-notch, and it’s free with PS Plus. I’m unsure if it should make my prime 10 checklist however the expertise packs a lot evocative power into such a brief runtime there’s no excuse to not give it a attempt. – Ethan Gach
2XKO
Play it on: PC
Present objective: Work out what the hell I’m doing
I’m not a League of Legends particular person. I by no means even completed watching Arcane regardless of it being very a lot my shit. However an invitation to the 2XKO beta take a look at simply landed in my lap, and I really like preventing video games, so right here I’m. I solely know, like, two of the characters within the roster, so I’ve zero notion of how any of those characters will work in a preventing recreation context. Thus, my objective is to simply fiddle with these fighters with some pals and determine if there’s a personality or two I actually gravitate towards. In most preventing video games, it’s not normally a particular predetermined playstyle that pulls me in, however relatively I simply discover characters I like and adapt to taking part in them. It’s why I play a brawler like Akihiko in Persona 4 Enviornment Ultimax however a range-based character like Inexperienced Arrow in Injustice 2. So who is aware of who I’ll find yourself maining in 2XKO? — Kenneth Shepard
And that wraps our picks for the weekend! What video games are maintaining you busy?
