Hi everyone, welcome to our latest Pocket Gamer Week recap.
This is a chance for you to see what various members of the Pocket Gamer team are planning to play this weekend, and will hopefully give you an insight into some of the weird and wonderful things we do when we're not keeping you updated with the latest news and tips. Heck, you might even find a new game to play.
Shaun Walton
Personal writer
I bounce between games endlessly and this weekend is no different! On the mobile front, Lingsha is coming out in Honkai: Star Rail next week and I need her for my Super Break team, so I'll be grinding passes there. In between playing the odd game of Rocket League Sideswipe, I've been wanting to get back into it lately, very fun.
Saturday night is raid night for my FC on FFXIV and I've somehow stumbled into the role of Raid Leader. It was a lot of fun and not as stressful as I expected. On top of that, I've once again fallen under the lure of space and recently rebooted Starfield. There have been so many updates, including the new buggy which is fantastic.
Stephen Gregson-Wood
Deputy Director and Special Projects Editor
For this week I'll be taking a look at Athena Crisis, Null Games' take on the XCOM and Advance Wars formula. I find myself leaning more towards strategy on mobile at the moment, and the cheerful pixel art of Athena Crisis is calling to me. If you're also interested but not entirely convinced, you can play a browser demo on the game's official website. Thanks to Shaun for pointing this out.
Off the phone and not at all six years late to the party, I started playing Red Dead Redemption 2. So far I have mixed opinions. The voice performances, story, and stellar attention to detail keep me going, but the gameplay is kind of… okay. I appreciate that the shots have a more realistic feel, but moving Arthur Morgan makes me feel like I'm arguing with a boat, and that's not that fun.
Dan Sullivan
Editor-in-Chief
For me it's Balatro.
Jimbo and I will burn cards and call upon a mix of planet and tarot cards, all while clowning around. I was lucky enough to get access to it a couple of days before launch and I'm already making great progress with my collection and unlocks.
Balatro is absolutely perfect for furniture, indeed, this is perhaps its definitive form. Touchscreen control is a natural fit for all things card-related, and just like Windows with Spider Solitaire, Hearts, etc., card games have never strayed far from mobile since their inception as a platform.
I love that it's coming to mobile too, there's a very long line of great indie roguelikes and run-based games that have made it to the smaller screen too and Balatro's fantastic port makes me hope others make that leap and find success here.
Jupiter Hadley
Personal writer
You might think I'll be playing Pokemon Go this weekend. You're wrong! Well, not entirely wrong. I'll be playing Pokemon Go this weekend, but I'll also be playing a bunch of other stuff. I'm currently in Barcelona where Indie Dev Day is taking place. I'm hoping to see some mobile games on the show floor. I know the developers of Pineapple: A Bittersweet Revenge will be here, so there's hope.
On the plane ride home, I'll probably play Fairy Village, a really cute game where you have to build your own cottage and decorate it. It's from HyperBeard, who always makes games that are not only gorgeous but also a lot of fun to play.
Caterina Dellosa
Review editor
I still have a self-imposed ban on any kind of hardcore button mashing, so thankfully I'll be playing an early build of Pine: A Story of Loss this weekend for an embargoed preview. It should be really relaxing from a controls perspective, but I already expect zero relaxation when it comes to how it feels.
By the way, we talked about some exciting games in episode 2 (S2) of our Pocket Gamer podcast – yes, we have one! Listen to it on the weekend while waiting for the train or while playing your favorite pastime on your phone.
It will be fast
Freelance writer
After I got over my period of looking for dumb guns, I took a more serious path. Thanks to Dann, I was lucky enough to get a preview of Age Of Empires Mobile which will launch soon. This holds a special place in my heart as Age Of Empires (2, in particular) was the first RTS I ever played. It started my love of strategy and helped fuel my love and interest in history (Joan of Arc, S-rank historical figure, fight me).
However, from the start, the game is designed to be very different from the rest of the series. To put it bluntly, Age Of Empires was mobilized, no, not in that way. It's become a mix of management and strategy similar to Clash Of Clans and that's not a bad thing. In a way it makes sense since building an empire takes time: you have to gather resources, construct buildings, train soldiers, explore territories, sail to parts unknown, and hope to bring historical (and fictional) legendary warriors and leaders out of the tavern. .
This will make it much more accessible as an online, community-based game with solid graphics, but I guess we'll just have to see how long this mobile empire lasts.
Cristina Messan
Personal writer
After a long time traveling to visit my family, I found myself craving a game that brought back memories: Stardew Valley. While it's not a new game, it's always something I come back to whenever I want to relax, and that's exactly how I want this weekend to be.
I could spend hours and hours redecorating my farm and grinding out the Skull Caverns, but since I haven't had much time to do the Ginger Island quests and whatnot, I'll probably do some of that too. I started with the Pirate Wife quest, and then I'll most likely end up doing everything I can to farm the dungeons here. Or at least, I'll try. I hear they can get pretty dangerous.