What We Played #248 – Doom Beta, Quantum Break & Dark Souls III

It’s a slightly quieter period in terms of game releases at the moment, but when you’ve got titles like Dirt Rally, Dark Souls III and Uncharted 4 here or on the horizon, there’s little fear of being bored. Of course, we’re now only a few months away from E3 and all of the joyous frenzy that’s liable to cause, before the jam-packed run into the festive season. In fact, I’ve managed to sum up the year already, before it’s even begun, when I should really be focussing on the here and now, and what we’ve played over the last seven days.

I’ve managed to fit in an eclectic mix this week, starting with my review of Quantum Break, which, nearly a week after completing it remains a memorable experience and well worth checking out if you’re an Xbox One or Windows 10 gamer. I can’t see it opening the door for a legion of TV-show equipped games, but I do hope we see more people trying the format out.

I also finished off Rise of the Tomb Raider, which takes my Christmas pile of shame down to four. Unfortunately with games like Mad Max and The Phantom Pain languishing there it could be a while before I make my way through the rest of them. I had a brief blast with Titanfall, which I had to replay the tutorial of since it had been so long, raced around in Forza Horizon 2 – Fast & The Furious, tootled about the Final Fantasy XV Platinum Demo, and also had our obligatory weekly LEGO Dimensions session with Noah.

Tuffcub meanwhile is working on the Ratchet & Clank review, I think a few of us have it pre-ordered, so thankfully we will get to play it ourselves soon, while he laughs at us for being so behind the times. He’s also managed to play some Flame Over and Superbeat Xonic on Vita, the latter of which was great on a recent train journey, while at home he tucked into the Doom Beta, Godzilla, and Trackmania Turbo, with Mad Max on the horizon for next week.

Aran wrote a review of indie platformer Candlelight which he enjoyed, as well as one for Blues & Bullets Episode 2 which really needs the next episode to arrive swiftly in order to maintain its momentum. Like Tuffcub he took a shot at the Doom Beta, and similarly just wasn’t drawn into it in the way he was hoping. At least as a beta there’s a chance things will get better, right?

Another review took much of Dave‘s time this past week, in the form of the mighty Dark Souls III, with the later bosses proving to be particularly challenging. At least once you beat them there is an immense amount of satisfaction to be had, with Dave amongst the first in the world to take bragging rights. He also got stuck into Quantum Break, though Aidan Gillen’s accent is causing him some problems given how transient it seems to be. He’s also commuting his way through Earthbound, and was strangely satisfied at having a poo join his party. That sounds more like South Park to me.

Miguel was the only member of the team that had a good time with the Doom beta, calling it “really fun”, which should give us all some hope for the full release. He also previewed Banner Saga 2, and worked on his review of Stranger Of Sword City, which is probably why he’s been a little quiet this week!

Tef and Kris have both been at Rezzed yesterday and today, with hands on time with all manner of games. Tokyo 42 is Tef’s highlight so far, with a gorgeous art style and an isometric GTA-like vibe. Kris has already written up a preview for The Turing Test, and there’s bound to be plenty more articles over the next week. Look out for a game called Reigns, which combines medieval kingdom management with Tindr, of all things!

Oh, and Tef also played Miitomo on the BAFTA red carpet…

But that’s enough about us, what have you been playing?