What We've Been Playing - "Well This Is Embarrassing, We're Wearing The Same Outfit!"

With regular host Bertie away on a long weekend, Eurogamer's Matt Wales stepped in to lead the publication's weekly gaming roundup. The team's recent play sessions revealed a strong shared interest in tactical combat, with multiple writers independently diving into the newly launched Star Wars: Zero Company. Other staff members spent their time revisiting older action titles or testing their skills in demanding solo campaigns.

Connor spent approximately 15 hours playing Star Wars: Zero Company on PlayStation 5. Despite encountering several bugs and expressing dissatisfaction with the appearance of his custom-made protagonist, he found the tactical gameplay highly addictive. He highlighted the character Kabb Uppercut as an excellent entry point for utilizing the game's environmental displacement mechanics. This character can launch enemies in specific directions, regaining all action points upon securing a kill with his signature move.

This displacement mechanic encourages players to find creative ways to damage opponents by knocking them into obstacles or securing instant kills by pushing them into water or pits. Connor noted this tactic is especially useful on the game's hard difficulty setting. Certain enemies, who can become heavily buffed and trigger reaction melee attacks when shot with blasters, can be easily defeated by simply punching them into water hazards.

Chris also spent his week playing Star Wars: Zero Company, experiencing the game on PC. He noted that the game's performance on his system was quite choppy, which even prompted him to disassemble his computer to clean out dust and reapply CPU thermal paste. Despite these maintenance efforts, the game still suffered from occasional slowdowns. However, Chris found the game's technical imperfections and general jankiness to be endearing rather than frustrating, describing the title as thoroughly lovable.

Dom took a different path by revisiting Team Ninja's 2023 release, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty Complete Edition, on PlayStation 5. His return to the game was prompted by playing an upcoming sequel at Gamescom. He found the original game significantly easier during this second playthrough, attributing his improved performance to spending the last two years playing games focused heavily on parrying mechanics. Dom recommended the title to fans of the Souls genre, especially those looking for something to play after finishing Onimusha.

Matt Wales focused his playtime on FromSoftware's Elden Ring: Nightreign on PC. His interest in the game was reignited after he thoroughly enjoyed a recent closed network test for The Duskbloods. Although he is typically averse to player-versus-player modes, the end of the network test left him wanting more, prompting him to give Nightreign another chance after initially dismissing it at launch.

During his first experience with Nightreign, Matt found the gameplay too fast and excessively difficult, particularly because he was playing alone without friends. While he is still playing solo and adjusting to the rapid pace, he reported that the gameplay loop has finally started to click. He is beginning to master the map layout, locate essential items like smithing stones and flask upgrades, and better manage his resources between leveling up and saving currency for character revives.