30th May
Hey there—welcome back to our usual roundup, where we talk through the games we’ve been spending time with. This week, Marie drifts through Japan regardless of the season; Victoria suspects her partner of having somehow harmed their television; Chris heads down the single-track road of Warhammer 40K miniature obsession; and Bertie leans into his latest secret-agent role.
Which games have you been getting into lately?
One more thing—do you remember what you played over the past week? No stress if you can’t! The What We’ve Been Playing archive keeps everything recorded.
Warhammer 40K Kill Team, Tabletop
Now, I’ll admit this one technically bends the format since it’s a tabletop title, but Bertie has absolutely pulled the same move before [guilty -Bertie]. So I’m going to borrow his great idea and sneak in a touch of tabletop entertainment myself.
I tried Kill Team for the first time last weekend, jumping into it with a friend’s set of partly painted miniatures. If you haven’t come across it, it’s basically a smaller-scale Warhammer 40K tabletop game that feels surprisingly close to XCOM. Of course, if you bring that up around any serious 40K and/or Kill Team fans, they’ll get very upset and insist it isn’t anything like it.
To be fair, it’s kind of similar—sorry! The game uses the same 40K miniatures, but it runs on a distinct rule system. That system is a turn-based tactical setup (XCOM!) where you guide your units from cover to cover and spend your constrained action points. After what felt like an age spent trying to understand even the simplest tasks, thanks to a ruleset loaded with more mysterious proper nouns than a 70s Ikea directory, I’m happy to report that it’s genuinely brilliant. The breadth of tactical options, the squads you can field, and the variety of objectives are all impressive—up to and including what I think can be 2v2, 2v1, or all players lined up against a kind of ‘CPU’ enemy faction, plus 1v1 battles where a big monster throws a wrench into things for both sides.
It’s fantastic. And it may end up costing me a small fortune.
-Taps
Forza Horizon 6
I keep swinging between this and Lego Batman: The Legacy of the Dark Knight—both are currently my go-to picks. There’s something genuinely calming about choosing a car from the garage and cruising around Japan in whichever season it happens to be at the moment. When I want a bit more energy, I jump into different races across the map, with my personal highlight being street racing. I’ve also got plans brewing—mostly the cars I want to pick up, along with ideas for how I’d like to customize them. And yes, I’m aiming to turn the Dodge Charger into something that looks like Dom’s vehicle from Fast and Furious.
That said, what I’m enjoying most in Forza Horizon 6 right now is just how easy it is to dip in and out. There’s no need to make a major time commitment or play every single day just to keep up with it all. You can still do that if you want, but if you’d rather keep things more casual, that works just as well.
-Marie
Split Fiction, Xbox Series X
The other night, my partner and I decided to restart Split Fiction, because our previous save file had somehow gotten corrupted and wiped out our progress. “How much better would this game feel if we had a bigger screen?” my partner asked while we were working through one of the early sci-fi stages. “We don’t need a new TV,” I answered, using my laser whip to fling an enemy off the back of a truck. I already knew where that was heading. “This one’s fine,” I added, saving him again—this time from failing cyber police.
And then, believe it or not, the very next day our television stopped working. It simply won’t turn on anymore. Each time we try to use it, it gives off a weak whine before shutting itself down completely. What are the odds, right?
I’m not saying my partner did anything wrong, but I’m also not not saying that either. Either way, nothing has changed: we still need a new television. And would you look at that—my partner has been eyeing a model that’s noticeably larger than our old one. Nicely done, partner. Nicely done.
-Victoria
007 First Light, PS5
What a charmer. There’s definitely a lot to appreciate about bringing back a straightforward, linear action game that wastes no time getting to the point. It feels especially refreshing in a genre filled with sprawling adventures.
And the best part is the rhythm. This title is built around steady forward momentum, and it’s so light on its feet that, at times, it feels like it’s almost carrying you along. When I compare it to something like Saros—a roguelite that asks you to fail, restart, and improve as you go—it comes across more like a holiday. I’m really enjoying it.
I haven’t made it very far yet, but early standouts include what could very well be the best tutorial segment I’ve ever run into in a game. It’s thorough and kind of lavish, bringing you not only into the core systems but also into the dynamics with the fellow 00 recruits you’re training alongside. The months keep moving, and the tutorial sequences keep coming; there’s steady evolution, and it never feels like you’re running out of things to look forward to. For a developer known for building heavy, ponderous sandbox levels, this is an impressive pivot.
-Bertie