Some week, huh? Yeah. How about some video video games? That’ll take our minds off issues…properly, maybe not totally. Our minds should be trapped on this trendy hellscape of our instances, however video games will hopefully give us hours of enjoyable. And in case you occur to search out your self with a snug 48 hours of break day forward of you however aren’t certain what to play, that’s the place we are available with our suggestions.
Learn Extra: The whole lot We Noticed At The September 2025 Nintendo Direct
With out additional ado, let’s dive into what we’re wanting ahead to preserving ourselves busy with within the days forward.
Borderlands 4
Play it on: PS5, Xbox Collection X/S, Home windows PCs (Steam Deck: “Unknown”)
Present aim: Loot extra weapons and kill extra shit
I really like all of the Borderlands video games. Sure, even 3, the one individuals hate for some cause. To me, the combination of gunplay, co-op, bizarre sci-fi, and countless killin’/lootin’ is an ideal combination that rips away days and even weeks of my life in a flash. And Borderlands 4 is perhaps my favourite one but. (I’ve not written my full evaluate but, so we’ll see the place I land in a number 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 frightened of what number of hours I’m going to lose to it. Particularly as my pals get the sport and I begin operating completely different characters and builds. – Zack Zwiezen
Hole Knight: Silksong
Play it on: PS5, Xbox Collection X/S, Change/Change 2, Home windows PCs (Steam Deck: “Verified”)
Present aim: Die quite a bit 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 sport is simply stunning, particularly on a high quality display screen just like the Steam Deck OLED’s. The sound design? Ugh, to die for. And the problem? Effectively, yeah, that’s superior too.
As a health coach mentioned to me as soon as as I used to be gasping for air from some ridiculous bullshit he was making me do, “straightforward issues aren’t value doing.” It was severe and humorous on the similar time, however the sentiment helped get me by means of the exercise and plenty of extra since. There’s one thing priceless in that type of expertise. Let me elaborate.
Siliksong has been successful in my native IRL circles. So many of us I do know are taking part in it on their handheld units and the issue, the problem, the hassle it takes to make progress in it have turned this sport about unusual little bugs right into a gravity properly 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 laborious factor sees of us supply real exclamations of “congrats!” Upon departing, we regularly want one another “good luck,” referring to the robust 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 typically must undertake upon dying appear to be part of the loop essential to get you to gather your shards and restock on any beads you will have misplaced, plus that’s when you need to be practising your assaults! Boss fights aren’t when you need to be nonetheless determining the physics of the diagonal downward strike.
Challenges could be thrilling to consider and speak about with pals. A tough sport calls for consideration, a set of abilities so that you can construct into muscle reminiscence after which use to satisfyingly pull off memorable feats. And when these parts are in a sport as fairly as they’re in Silksong? These feats are all of the extra value attaining. – Claire Jackson
Shadow Labyrinth
Play it on: PS5, Xbox Collection X/S, Change/Change 2,Home windows PCs (Steam Deck: “Verified”)
Present aim: Defeat the G-Hosts as soon as and for all
This may most likely be the final time I point out Bandai Namco’s unusual and great Pac-Man-adjacent Metroidvania right here as a result of I believe I have to be close to its conclusion and I’m hoping to lastly roll credit on it this weekend. This sport, which I bought considering it is perhaps a pleasantly nostalgic off-kilter diversion that took me 15 hours or so, has confirmed to be probably the most charming sport I’ve performed all yr, uncompromisingly dedicated to its imaginative and prescient and way more expansive than I anticipated. It’s decidedly “not for everybody” (what sport is?) however in case you’re open to being thrown right into a world that makes itself intentionally laborious to know 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 aim: Get the Platinum trophy
Sword of the Sea is that this yr’s Journey and I’m shocked extra individuals aren’t speaking about it. Developed by the thatgamecompany alum who cofounded Big Squid (the indie workforce behind 2020’s PS5 launch sport The Pathless), Sword of the Sea is one other stunning platforming journey that’s extra about cool traversal than attention-grabbing friction. You surf throughout snow, sand, and water like a weightless practice gliding alongside magnetic rails as you accumulate seeds to carry 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 quick however stunning 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 glorious, 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 listing however the expertise packs a lot evocative vitality into such a brief runtime there’s no excuse to not give it a strive. – Ethan Gach
2XKO
Play it on: PC
Present aim: Determine what the hell I’m doing
I’m not a League of Legends individual. 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 sport context. Thus, my aim is to only fiddle with these fighters with some pals and work out if there’s a personality or two I actually gravitate towards. In most preventing video games, it’s not often a particular predetermined playstyle that pulls me in, however moderately 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 preserving you busy?
