13th June
Hi there, and welcome back to our usual rundown of the games we’ve been spending time with. This week, Bertie can’t stop thinking about a nasty little roguelike that blends several ideas together; Matt is sure he’s stumbled on the best video game tutorial he’s ever seen; Victoria is fed up with her kids calling the shots while she plays from the back seat; and Sherif just can’t resist yet another Soulslike.
So, what have you been playing this week?
And here’s another one—do you remember what you were getting stuck into last week? You don’t have to. Our What We’ve Been Playing archive has already done the hard work for you.
Chivalware, PC
This ended up being one of my favorite demos at a recent Dotemu press event. Chivalware is a solo-made roguelike that mixes match-three-style play with Mega Man-inspired action and combat laid out on an active grid. If that sounds odd, that’s probably because it is—though the way I see it, that’s exactly why it stands out, and it genuinely does. It hasn’t felt anything like it for me.
In the game, you take control of a disk knight—complete with inspiration drawn from floppy disks. During fights, you charge up your abilities by moving onto and triggering tiles that share your chosen color. Go for a larger group of matching tiles to get a meaningful power surge, but be careful with small clusters, since they’ll throw off the rhythm you’re building to grow your power.
At the same time, you have to keep ahead of enemies using their own attack patterns. They often encroach on the exact spaces you’re trying to move through, while you juggle your own offensive plays. In short: there’s plenty going on, and a punchy electronic soundtrack keeps you company the whole time. The vibe is genuinely rhythmic; the gameplay starts to feel a bit like dancing.
Between encounters, you’re offered different routes and you can drop into shops to strengthen your kit. You’ll also want builds that work together—some abilities won’t be useful against certain opponents—so there’s plenty more to think about.
What I liked most about Chivalware was how immediate it felt. It’s a burst of sensory energy—a mischievous little gem. Hard to resist in its stubborn charm. Exactly the sort of game I can’t just walk away from. Plus, there’s a demo available now on Steam, so you can see what it’s like for yourself. (And yes, the name deserves extra credit.)
-Bertie
007: First Light, PC
Possibly because I watched the extremely unsettling Live and Let Die at far too young an age, I wouldn’t exactly call myself a huge James Bond fan. That’s why my excitement for 007: First Light was pretty much nonexistent. Then the reviews started coming in, my curiosity kicked off, and—well—blimey, IOI.
First up, there’s Patrick Gibson, who’s almost unreasonably charming in the starring role. My doubts: cleared right up! But the thing that really won me over was this: what might be the best video game tutorial ever. Watching Bond and his team in Malta as they train to become the next batch of 00 agents is pure momentum—an actually clever, stylish training montage that keeps you energized while it flips between brawling, stealth, and driving, pushing you to switch quickly and with real urgency.
It almost shouldn’t work—you only get a brief taste of each mechanic before it moves you on to the next thing—but the smart repeated sequence, laid out in a clear timeline, keeps everything understandable (and genuinely useful). It sprints through the essentials with cinematic flair. At that point, any uncertainty I had about jumping into this Bond story disappeared for good. And then there’s exploring MI6! Visiting Q’s lab! The laugh-out-loud moments when you basically smash your foe-turned-ally to bits. Seriously, it’s great.
-Matt
Split Fiction, Xbox Series X
My partner and I are still working our way through Split Fiction, but somehow we’ve picked up two more “companions” along the route: our kids. The catch is that they’re the definition of backseat gaming. “You’ve got to roll, Mummy.” “Aim it over there, Daddy.” “You two—go now, that way.” Yep, we get it.
So there’s nothing else to do but shift their bedtime to right after dinner. I love my children more than anything, and I’d put myself in danger for them without hesitation. Still, I draw the line at having them coach me on how to play games.
-Victoria
Mortal Shell 2 beta, PC
I’m a big fan of a strong Soulslike. I’ve played so many that the initial spark has faded a bit over time. But I can’t help it—I keep returning and getting hooked on every last detail, hoping to recreate that first hit of excitement, the moment I realized I genuinely loved this genre. So when you already know that, it probably won’t surprise you that the second the Mortal Shell 2 beta was announced, and then quietly rolled out during Summer Game Fest, I immediately launched my PC to grab it.
The beta was shared as a work-in-progress build, with only the opening three hours included. I went in expecting that window might be stretched a little, and that I’d likely have seen everything in around an hour. Instead, six hours later, I’d still only scratched the surface. I’m still missing one bonfire, annoyingly.
The Mortal Shell 2 beta gives you a really strong first impression. Almost everything I appreciated in the original has been improved. Even at this early point, you can tell how deliberate—and satisfying—the combat feels; how open the world is, without ever being directionless; and how exciting it is to uncover a new Shell, which is the game’s name for its classes—or weapons. The Seal mechanic reshapes the basics of Soulslike combat so effectively that I’m honestly shocked no one tried something like it earlier.
If another game doesn’t pull me away this weekend, I may well jump back in again and hunt down that last, elusive bonfire.
-Sherif