What are you playing this weekend? (January 7)

It’s 2023 and the lights are back on at the Nintendo Life Towers. While January can often be a bit of a sleepy month as the gaming industry wakes up from its Christmas slumber, we’re wide awake and eager to dive into what looks to be an interesting year for Nintendo.

This week we shared our thoughts on the first big release of 2023, Fire Emblem Engage, as we got the game to preview. We also looked forward to the coming year as some of our writers got together to discuss their gaming predictions. Then, to top it all off, we dived into the ultimate question of Hyrule as we tried to find Nintendo’s best Zelda-themed console.

Now some of us sat down to share our plans for this weekend. Whether it’s a new title or trying to push past the shadow of the 2022 backlog, it’s going to be a big year for all of us Switch fans. Read on, then hit the comments to tell us what you’ll be playing!

To enjoy!

Jim Norman, staff writer

I’ve welcomed the new year by finally starting to play No Man’s Sky on Switch and… I’m a bit confused. The fact that the game works at all is a huge surprise to me, and I can’t fault its ambition, but I’m having a hard time getting to grips with the controls, and the incentive to come back for more is definitely awkward in the first few hours – we’ll see if I make the leap this one weekend.

Additionally, I also see my weekend being defined by short bursts of gaming so I’ll probably use those moments to play more Sonic Mania Plus and Into The Breach. Weird double bill I’ll admit, but both are great for getting game time when you only have 20 minutes or so.

Kate Gray, Staff Writer

I weekend is already a bit stacked and I’m not sure which one I’ll have time to play (IDEM AT IKEA) but it will be one of these: Wayward Strand, Norco (I’m Near the End), I Was A Teenage Exocolonist, Paradise Killer. I will also potentially watch my partner finish Outdoor wilderness — a feat I never managed because it got too scary and I’m a wimp.

Alana Hagues, staff writer

I’m starting 2023 with good intentions and catching up on my backlog before the onslaught of JRPGs starts next month! First, after playing a lot of turn-based games, I turned to the action-oriented game Nobody Saves The World, which I’m having a blast playing. I’m about to go to the second dungeon, and my favorite forms so far are Slug and Ranger. Yes, you can turn into a Snail, and that’s it really fun.

It’s… sort of, at this point. I didn’t get any new games over the holidays, so right now I’m trying to resist the temptation to pick up Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion. And I don’t want to make too many promises about late goals, of course. We’re starting the year off easy, folks.

Ollie Reynolds, staff writer

Since January is a relatively quiet month for me (definitely not a fan Fire emblem series), I decided to use my time to go back and review a few titles I haven’t played in a while. At the top of the pile is Luigi’s Mansion 3, which I still hold as one of the best games on the Switch and certainly one of the better looking ones. I’m not too far into it yet, but it’s sure to keep me busy in the days and weeks to come.

As for the X series, I’m currently working my way through it Hello infinite on Legendary. The maximum difficulty setting here is revelatory and really makes you think about how to approach each objective. With all the heat this game has gotten in recent months, it’s hard for me to fault the campaign; that’s a great thing.