What are we all playing this weekend?

This weekend, readers, there's an extra challenge for you. In addition to the excellent tales of game-playing and cat-contentedness we always get, I'd like anyone who's interested in partaking to tell me: what's the very best thing about that genre you don't like? What is it that always draws you back in before you remember that these aren't your sorts of games? For instance: Counter-Strike-style shooters. Clean, low time-to-kill gunplay: yes yes yes! Having to rely on belligerent teammates: no no no.

While you ponder, here's what we're all clicking on this weekend!

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Sea of Thieves crossing over with Destiny doesn't make a lick of sense, but here it is anyway

Everything is IP, all of the time, everywhere you look now, because big wigs in suits have got it in their heads that original, uniquely appealing content just can't win over a combination of pixels that resemble something someone already likes. Sea of Thieves is no stranger to crossovers, with big, thematically relevant ones like Monkey Island and Pirates of the Caribbean, as well as some smaller ones like Halo and Banjo Kazooie. Today's crossover is one of the smaller ones, this time with, uh… Destiny. The sci-fi, first-person shooter. Huh.

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Tomb Raider and Perfect Dark devs Crystal Dynamics cut staff, promising that current projects are unaffected

Tomb Raider, Soul Reaver and Perfect Dark developers Crystal Dynamics are laying off 17 "talented team members" in order "to better align our current business needs and the studio's future success". According to a social media statement, they "did not take this decision lightly". Oh, and "this change does not alter our current project plans."

It's not clear who exactly has lost their jobs, but going by this Xitter post, senior combat designer Mark Vernon is one of them. "Call me Mark S the way I just got severed, from employment," he writes. Best of luck finding your way to the black elevator hall, Mark V. (If you haven't watched Severance, I promise this reference is more hopeful than it sounds.)

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Minecraft's "vibrant" update has me thinking about video games as time capsules

In the latest Minecraft Live, developers Mojang revealed a "Vibrant Visual" overhaul for a game that is now older than many (most?) of the people playing it. Initially planned for the game's Bedrock edition, with a Java version update to follow, it garnishes Minecraft's blocky wilderness with directional lighting, volumetric fog and other gimcrackery you might recognise from more recently published open worlders.

Back when I was a mod-phobic Vanilla player, I would have sneered at all this. Minecraft is not supposed to have "subsurface scattering", whatever that means to regular mortals. It is not supposed to look high fidelity, or high tech. It is supposed to look like, well, Minecraft. These days, my reaction is less outrage and more curiosity, mingled with vertigo at the entangling of these trendy flourishes with the pixelgrain of what is still, on some level, Infiniminer touching grass. Whatever you think of these Vibrant Visuals, it's interesting to follow Mojang's efforts to tinker with and flesh out an aesthetic that was arguably 'perfected' in 2009. It’s also interesting to think about what “vibrant” might look like, 16 years from now.

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Monster Train 2 rolls up with a release date

The makers of cardy roguelike Monster Train 2 announced a release date yesterday, revealing that it'll be pulling into Steam libraries and honking its big "all aboard" horn in less than two months. Do you have the capacity to allow another deckbuilder into the overcrowded dining car of your brain? I probably don't. But I do have fond memories of the first game's crunchy runs and over-the-top card combos. Hmmm, maybe another rail trip or two hundred would be nice.

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Schedule I creator seems to have vastly undersold how much content is in his new Steam hit

There are few things more heartwarming than a solo developer seeing breakout success, especially if their game is a wholesome testament to community spirit, entrepreneurship, and innovative street cleaning solutions like Schedule I. Pretty close, though, is a solo developer pulling a 'Miyazaki lying about Elden Ring', and underselling just how big their game actually is in the run-up to release.

Developer Tyler has been updating the bud flinging simulator steadily throughout the demo release and into the current early access, and they've also got a roadmap over at Trello here (featuring: raids, parkour, jukeboxes, and controller support among other things). Some of the most relevant communication is actually in the Steam forums though. Tyler revealed yesterday that he's currently working on getting the game Steam Deck verified. It's also where he first revealed the full list of planned sellables that are now in the roadmap (Marijuana, Meth, Cocaine, Shrooms, MDMA, and delicious + cool Heroin), with plans to take community suggestions once they're all in.

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Stardew Valley Baldur's Gate 3 mod back online after D&D owners "mistakenly" send a copyright strike

Dungeons & Dragons company Wizards Of The Coast have apologised for "mistakenly" sending a legal takedown to the creator of a free Stardew Valley mod that adds a village inspired by and featuring characters from Baldur's Gate 3. The mod has attracted praise from Larian CEO Swen Vincke, who was naturally a bit piqued when it was taken offline.

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