Hello, welcome to our latest Pocket Gamer Weekly 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 idea of some of the weird and wonderful things we get up to when we’re not there so you can keep up to date with the latest news and tips. Heck, you might even find a up-to-date game to play.
Shaun Walton
Staff writer
Lingsha was released in Honkai: Star Rail this week and unfortunately after about 55 pulls I was unable to recruit, so I’ll be getting as much Stellar Jade as I can this weekend to try again. Or trying to decide if I can spend wisely on purchasing Oneiric Shards.
I keep rediscovering space with Starfield. Apparently people were very disappointed with the DLC, but that seems to be the general consensus for the game as a whole. But I still have a lot of fun doing it. Plus, I’m having fun at Wreckfest again. I already finished it in its entirety on PS5, but it appeared on Game Pass, so… here we go again!
Katarzyna Dellosa
Review editor
Capybara Go! it completely swallowed me whole. I’ve been playing it all week, I’ll play it this weekend, and I’ll play it for the next week and the week after that until my chubby little capybara tells me to stop.
Of course, whenever I need to take a break from smashing slime monsters like it’s nobody’s business, I go for a quick run to Choice of Life: Wild Islands because it’s total escapism when it comes to real-life decision-making. While I can’t decide to sing a song in the middle of a pirate battle in the real world, I can do it in a Choose Your Own Adventure-style game and even gain an extra heart. How positively refreshing
Then Sullivan
Editor-in-Chief
For me it’s still Balatro.
I had two flights this week. I moved to Pocket Gamer connects Helsinki where I was away from my dear, trusted computer and instead spent my evenings playing a little more on mobile than usual. I was going to play some of the up-to-date DLC for Crusader Kings III, but fate made me a clown and I played with Jimbo.
Last week I said that I thought Balatro was perfect for mobile, and I stand by that. But it’s more than just that card games work great here, it’s that the team really used the touchscreen to its fullest potential. Even tapping a tab to see modifiers is intuitive and done in such a way as to not block the screen with curiosity (or, more likely, a finger).
We’ve had a few conflicts already, Jimbo and I, but I’m going to keep the intensity going and try to finish some collections and move further into different color stakes.
Jupiter Hadley
Staff writer
Since I spent a lot of time on planes this week, I downloaded and played games offline. One that really sticks out in my mind and I think I’ll be playing this weekend is Cat Snack Bar.
Our middle child, Amelia, actually suggested this to me! It’s a semi-idle game where you run a petite restaurant with a bunch of cats. They’re organizing a fairytale event and I have to finish it now that I’ve started it!
Stephen Gregson-Wood
Deputy and editor for special projects
A few years ago I became interested in Phobies by Smoking Gun Interactive, a turn-based strategy game in which you fight using different fears. I finally gave up because everyone was so much better than me, and since I’m not very tactically minded, I didn’t learn much from those failures. Most of all, I loved the aesthetics and spending time in this terrifying world. However, losing all the time becomes tiring.
However, recently I wanted to play it again. This year’s Halloween event, Dead or Alive, played a huge role in bringing me back. I plan to examine where I go wrong in these inevitable losses, and hopefully improve along the way. But I sincerely doubt it.
Elsewhere this Saturday is Pokemon Go Community Day, so I’ll be hunting down one – not hundreds, I don’t believe in this business – Shiny Sewaddle. Outside of mobile, I’m still struggling with Red Dead Redemption 2. I’m not far off, but I’ve robbed a few trains and started fights in bars. You know, cowboy stuff.
Krystyna Mesesan
Staff writer
After my journey last week (when I returned to farming in Stardew Valley), I finally decided to install the app so that I could modify my SV. Since I’ve never done this before, but seen it often on PC, I decided to do it for the Android version – so here I am planning a brand up-to-date mod farm for mobile devices this weekend!
Oh, and if you want to learn more about Stardew Valley mods and some of the best ones for mobile devices, you should keep checking back next week when I compile my final list of the best Stardew Valley mods for Android!
To accomplish another massive plan for the weekend, I’m heading home, so I downloaded a few offline games to try: My CatPots and Anna’s Monster Farm. They both look adorable, but I’m most excited about MyCatPots because I love both the little purring fluffs and the plants. Let’s hope I won’t be disappointed. At first glance, MyCatPots has a cute art style similar to Cats and Soup, but you can discover up-to-date cat hybrids based on cross-breeding plants. Can’t wait!
Ivan Morris
Staff writer
You may have noticed that I have been absent for the past few weeks. That’s because I was on a trip to Tokyo – including a visit to the Tokyo Game Show! Naturally, with a lot of time on the subway going from place to place, I was looking for something to lend a hand me relax and then I remembered that Balatro had just been released.
This combination of solitaire and roguelike deck builder took the world by storm a few months ago, and it was only a matter of time before it made its way to mobile devices. After playing this game, I can definitely see its appeal, although I think it also has the unfortunate downside of being tough as nails for someone who isn’t as good at card games as I am.
I played it both on the subway, on the plane and while waiting for a connecting flight and I can highly recommend it. Although I think Vampire Survivors will remain my favorite place to spend a few half-hours.
