Deciding on a game to play every week can be hard. There are new games coming out all the time. Sometimes an old game will suddenly start trending because of recent news, or maybe a hidden gem is finally getting its due. Not to mention, with so many games receiving constant updates, it can feel impossible to stay up to date with the latest big changes and events going on with your favorite live service games.
So, let’s make it easier on you! Here are a few games that we think people should be playing this week — live service games, a new release, and something that was already available.
Splatoon 3 – Nintendo Switch
We really like Splatoon. Nintendo’s unique shooter is a great time with its biggest weakness right now being some really irritating server issues. Well, let’s hope those servers manage to hold this week, because the best part of Splatoon will be happening over the upcoming weekend: the first official splatfest. For the uninitiated, a splatfest is where players of Splatoon get to choose a team based on a prompt of some kind and then represent their team in multiplayer battles against other players. Whoever wins the most matches as said team wins the splatfest.
Not only do players get extra rewards and gear for playing in the Splatfest, but it’s almost always when the most players are sure to jump online to play matches. With a good theme, you can get some really great matches as everyone swarms online to defend their choice. If any of this sounds of interest to you then you can pick up Splatoon 3 for $60, play throughout the week to get used to the controls, and then be ready to defend your choice in the Splatfest by Friday.
Shovel Knight Dig
Shovel Knight Dig is the latest Shovel Knight game from Yacht Club Games and they’ve partnered with development studio Nitrome to make it happen. Following the trend of many other Shovel Knight spin-off games, Dig is a completely new gameplay style focused on Shovel Knight taking his trusty shovel and digging to the bottom. It feels like a mix of puzzle elements, platforming, and some of the traditional Shovel Knight gameplay blended together for a really interesting gameplay concept.
The game was first announced in 2019, so it feels like they’ve put a lot of work into this game and it looks really fun. It also seems perfect for mobile play since its platforms of choice are PC, Switch, and iOS through the Apple Arcade. This is going to be a must-get for Apple Arcade players, because if you have an Apple Arcade subscription, then the game will be available for free. It’s $24.99 for everyone else. A low barrier to entry title that costs less than $30? It’s definitely worth a try for any fans of Shovel Knight out there.
Deathloop – PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and Series S, PC
Deathloop came out for the PlayStation and PC back in 2021 to critical acclaim thanks to some fun gunplay and some incredible writing. The rapport between Colt and Julianna really makes the experience of Deathloop as great as it is and it’s why everyone should at least give it a try. Thankfully, the game just became far more attainable with its addition to Game Pass on September 20.
Anyone that pays GamePass’s subscription fee can now download and play Deathloop at no extra charge. With such a low barrier to entry, it’s impossible to not recommend right now. The game itself is maybe 16-20 hours in length, so it has a decent amount of game to it, but those hours will fly by to anyone that really falls in love with it. At worst, if you don’t like it then you can always load up one of the many other games on Game Pass right now so there’s no loss in giving it a go.