What are you playing this weekend?

It's Saturday, the shackles of reality have come off, and a weekend of glorious escapism awaits. This weekend, where will you go? Will you scale the peaks of treacherous mountains? Or perhaps unravel the mysteries of a cyberpunk megacity? The possibilities are endless,

From cozy indie darlings to AAA blockbusters, each game offers a unique portal to a different world, a chance to inhabit the skin of someone else and become someone entirely new.

What adventure will you embark on this weekend? Are you going guns blazing in the latest and greatest shooter? Or maybe you'll be crafting potions and enchanting weapons. Perhaps you'll be building your dream city, or trying your best to survive a hoard of zombies.

No matter your taste, genre, or platform, there's a game out there waiting to whisk you away from cold, grim reality. Here’s what we’re playing to escape the real world this weekend:

Connor Makar, Staff Writer - World of Warcraft Classic, more

This weekend, I'll be jumping back into World of Warcraft Classic’s Season of Discovery. At this point, I'm basically just running the raid on reset, farming out those last few pieces of gear on my two characters. This is a classic bit of the World of Warcraft life cycle, when you've pretty much done everything else and just need to tick off a few boxes. Fingers crossed I get that purple staff for my Mage, that would really make my week.

I also want to spend some more time playing Rogue Trader - this CRPG is absolutely amazing so far as a 40K fan. Of all its strengths, it nails the worldbuilding and it's so, so easy to get immersed in the awful universe the game is set in. Would recommend!

Finally, I want to throw some more time into The Finals. I really like this game, but haven't really spent too much time playing it since it was released last December. I want to remedy that in January, as it's a real banger and frankly has put bigger IPs like Call of Duty and Battlefield to shame. Try it out if you haven't already

Mark Warren, Senior Staff Writer - Dave the Diver

Dave the Diver is one of the numerous 2023 releases - Assassin’s Creed Mirage was another - that I spent my holiday period barreling through in catch-up mode. Since it’s the one I got to last (for no real reason), it’s hung over into the new year, though that also probably has to do with the fact it’s thoroughly gotten its hooks into me.

I love a good fish game, as was proven by how much of a kick I got out of Dredge early last year, and Dave the Diver is definitely one of those. It’s relaxing to play but packs enough of a challenge and an interesting enough narrative to keep you coming back for more.

It’s also got more little minigames than I can ever hope to master, but I’ll try. For the sake of the game’s wonderful little cast of characters and like a chubby diver trying to get some sushi to an impatient diner before they get frustrated, I’ll try.

Rebecca Jones, Guides Writer - An Arcade Full of Cats

I spent some time over Christmas playing An Arcade Full of Cats, the latest hidden-object game from Devcats — perhaps the only games studio on the planet owned, operated, and staffed by cats.

The game is free-to-play, but for a couple of quid you can purchase a sort of season pass DLC containing extra levels, including one that came out just a couple of days ago. Guess I'm heading back to the future once more to pet some cats in 3000 B.C. this weekend.

Am I picking a short game to start the year with so that I can claim to have 100%-ed something by the end of the first week of January? Well, maybe a little bit, but I'm currently recovering from a festive bout with COVID-19 and just want to play with cute cats and not think too hard, let me have this, please.

So, that’s us. What are you playing this weekend? Is there a hidden gem you have recently discovered? Are you replaying a classic favorite for the nth time? Let us know!

Oh, and Happy New Year!