I like a good list, and 2023 left me with loads to chew over. Ultimately I decided on this as my favourite five:

1. Lies of P
2. Spider-Man 2
3. Dredge
4. Storyteller
5. Metroid Prime Remastered

Four faces. From any era, console or genre. Which characters 'define' Videogames to you?

Morning folks. It's time for another roundup of what you've been playing across the last seven days.

Lets-a-goooo!

It's not even close for me.

Isshin, the Sword Saint - Sekiro

This guy gave me fits for a solid 6 weeks. Firstly, he's got a troubling first part where you have to fight... something else. That fight isn't difficult, but if you're not paying attention it can take off vital health points.

Once you've got through that first stage the fight truly begins. And this is where I really struggled. I'm thinking I had 80+ attempts at the guy before...I sort of just did it.

And without wishing to make it sound like I had a cheesy moment like in a sports movie where it just clicked....it definitely just clicked.

There was a bit of commotion on the street, and my partner was running in and out telling me about it..but I'm totally zoned in. Before I know what is happening I've got the guy down to maybe 10% of his health and then the pressure hits you....

Thankfully I used my knowledge of these games to back off and play smart (I've been burnt by trying to rush in many a time before), caught his parry attacks and got the job done...

Not without almost missing the final execution prompt of course.

What about you? Who's the toughest boss you've ever faced?

Super niche question I know, but here we are.

I've had a long held opinion that....

Battlefield: Bad Company is a significantly better game than it's larger, more popular and more multiplayer focused sequel.

Now don't get me wrong, BC2 is a fine entry into the series, but with its growth into a more online focused space, it lost an awful lot of what made that first game so special; namely the fantastic story and unique campaign built around four loveable rogues.

I think Bad Company 2 has a campaign, but it's not nearly as memorable as the OG campaign. And whilst the push for multiplayer obviously made sense from a financial perspective, it turned the series back into just another entry into the wider BF universe.

What about you?

I'm aging myself here.

The first game I really played (aside from my granddads super old Pong console) was Sonic the Hedgehog on my Sega Master System II.

Don't remember much of it, but I know this: I never played a Sonic game since. I guess it just wasn't for me.

What about you?

I spend far too much time watching people talk about games on youtube. I'll go first and fire off a few of my absolute favourites.

GMTK

Game Makers Toolkit is probably one of the most well known gaming youtubers. He's produced over 200 really well done mini-documentaries that focus on everything from Mario's Jump to how accessible games from 20XX were.

He's also in the process of making his own videogame, and is journaling that adventure through his own videos.

Jacob Geller

I believe Jacob is working over at MinMaxx right now, but he still finds time to put out some....very interesting content. Not all of it is videogame related, but the majority of it is, and most of that content is very unique and highly interested in talking about games in ways that I've never seen them spoken about before.

People Make Games

They're a relatively new kid on the block, but being a slightly larger team they're able to take on larger projects, such as how and why the videogame industry is failing the working class, how Valve's production line isn't as magic as you might believe or...why the Queen had a golden Wii.

New Frame Plus

Think GMTK but with a focus on the visuals of the medium. Some of my favourite content is his yearly round up of his favourite in-game animations, or the 2+ hour breakdown he did of the Sonic franchise's inability to keep to a standard. Heck, I got the family into that one.

Good Afternoon folks. It's time for our first weekly 'What I'm Playing' thread.

We'll keep this simply: What games have been occupying your time over the last seven days?