October 19
Hello! Welcome back to our regular section where we write a little about some of the games we've been playing over the past few days. We have moved this to a regular Saturday schedule to give it a little more time to breathe. Apologies if you came to pick him up on Friday. This week, we tackle some puzzles while on vacation at a cabin, return to a game we'd forgotten about, and try to find some grip during a tight turn in the snow. What have you been playing?
Catch up on previous editions of this column in our What We've Been Playing archive.
Islands of the Sea and Sky, PC (Steam Deck)
I was on vacation last week and did almost nothing except hole up in the rural cabin we were staying at, read some books, and play video games. It was glorious, partly because it was raining for 80% of the time we were there and there is nothing better than enjoying a good game while snuggled up under a warm blanket with a constant stream of tea on tap. The good game in question was the very good Isles of Sea and Sky, which came out earlier this year asking: “What if The Witness was a game about Sokoban puzzles and also looked a bit like Link's Awakening in the process?”
It's extremely good and worth picking up if you're looking for a clever puzzle game to mull over as the nights draw in and discussions about the game of the year draw near. It keeps much of its story at arm's length: your long-haired, loincloth-clad hero simply washes up on a beach one day, keeps seeing what I can only assume are beautiful ladies in the distance, but only receives sinister visions of evil snake demons. when he finally reaches them. I'm only halfway through the game at the moment, so I assume this is all building towards a larger reveal that is no doubt sealed behind the large door on the central island with four divine guardians painted on it whose powers I must acquire. before I can get through it.
But even if it lends itself a lot to being too heavy for its own good, the Sokoban-style block-pushing puzzles you'll need to solve to get said powers are just great little puzzles. They start out simple enough, but then you start encountering blocks and obstacles with other game-changing properties, and before long you're visiting islands where blocks can transform into raging torrents, or explode when they stay in lava too long, or spin. into beefy golems that can deflect or break other blocks when they collide with them. There's a lot of surprising things going on here, and it makes peeling back the layers of Sea and Sky feel delicious and mysterious. I can't stop thinking about it and I know I'll be working on this for many more weeks.
-Katharine
A little to the left, Xbox Series
It's amazing how time flies, isn't it? Last weekend I thought about revisiting A Little to the Left, Max Inferno and Secret Mode's kind of meditative puzzle game, and thought I'd better pick up before leaving it for too long. When was the last time I played it, you ask? Well, February, it seems. Oops. Anyway, it's only eight months; actually, no time.
In my defense, I was a bit distracted by other, more meaty games. God of War Ragnarok took me a long time, Alan Wake 2 unfortunately became a bit complicated, Resident Evil 4 Remake is amazing, and Astro Bot just had to be played right away. And yeah, I guess I then dabbled in a lot of other games, like Space Marine 2, Diablo 4, Dragon's Dogma 2, and Nobody Wants to Die. Well, I'm sorry. A little to the left, I should have returned to you earlier, but I did now. Get over it.
This little fake argument I'm having with myself is really just here to contrast the immaculate zen vibes that A Little to the Left gives off. Yes, it's a puzzle game where you have to arrange or arrange objects in the “correct” way to unlock the next stage, but it's a puzzle in the same way that tidying up your desk is a chore. Putting everything in its rightful place releases those “Ahhhhh” hormones (I'm not a scientist, but I'm going to say… dopamine?), and the same feeling is found when you sort some papers or arrange some jars in A Little A la left.
If you think this all sounds a little simple, think again. It's not, but somehow it's not frustrating. If you feel like trying A Little to the Left, it's on everything, including Game Pass.
-Took.
Rush Rally 3, Nintendo Switch
Driving home after seeing a Dom Joly show in the evening and listening to Kavinsky (yes, I love the movie Drive) on my 1.2 set to eco mode, I was inspired to play a couple of driving games. I recently got back into Switch and came across Brownmonster's Rush Rally 3.
Rush Rally has given me that somewhat blocked nostalgia I didn't know I craved for the Sega Rally arcade machine at my local climbing center. I say blocky because, while on high-end mobile phones it's smooth, the Switch on handheld struggles. I had to dial back the graphics a bit (yes, you can tweak them on Switch), and I think I love it even more for this reason. I'm terrible at the game and still crash at almost every hairpin, but it's a rewarding experience when I finally make it around a corner without hitting a pile of logs or falling off a cliff.
Built by one person and costing just £11.99 on Switch (currently discounted to just £3.19 right now), I really can't recommend it enough for anyone who just needs a quick dose of nostalgia for the races.
-Will B (breaking things behind the scenes, daily)