What Game is Currently Getting You Through the Summer?

This article first appeared on USgamer, a partner publication of VG247. Some content, such as this article, has been migrated to VG247 for posterity after USgamer's closure - but it has not been edited or further vetted by the VG247 team.

It's summertime. In some corners of North America, we're reaching record high temperatures. Yay global warming! Just another excuse to stay in and play video games, I guess.

We're all busy dredging through our backlogs (or not). So let us know, what game(s) are entertaining you this summer?

Mike Williams, Reviews Editor

All the games. It never stops, it never ends. We will ride this train until the wheels fall off. World of Warcraft did its patch 8.0 this week, so that's been primarily on my docket for most of the week. I've recently purchased Octopath Traveler, but haven't started it. I purchased Enter the Gungeon on Switch because it's half of this week in celebration of the release of its free expansion Advanced Gungeons & Draguns. I bought Hollow Knight to get into that, but hey, no time. I'm reviewing Mega Man X Legacy Collection, but upcoming travel may mean Nadia handles that, and Dead Cells is also about to launch on consoles, so that's in the back of my mind.

You get the idea.

Nadia Oxford, Staff Writer

My life has been almost exclusively Octopath Traveler, but it's been worth it: My review is up! This weekend, I'll be participating in Splatoon 2's neon-colored race war (Octoling solidarity 4ever) and reliving my tween / teen years through Mega Man X Legacy Collection 1 and 2 (Meeeeemorieeees~). That'll keep me busy until Dragon Quest XI finally hits my hot little hands...

Matt Kim, News Editor

I think I said this a few weeks ago, but I recently just got a gaming PC. As a result I've been playing the online multiplayer games I missed out on. Currently my main focus is Rainbow Six Siege. I'm trying to play it so that I can unlock the operators I'm missing through sheer hard work and earned credits, but I might cave and pick up the season pass next week or something using real money.

Caty McCarthy, Features Editor

Splatoon 2, I guess. Splatoon 2's kind of been my go-to "I'm bored and want to play something" game since I reviewed it last summer though. It's still great; perfect for both a challenging time in Ranked or Salmon Run and for chill time in Turf War. Plus, the new Splatfest kicks off today, so catch me in the next 24 hours inking some walls for Team Octolings!

I'll be honest though, I've waaaaay dialed back my recreational gaming this season to get back into reading. (How boring, I know.) It's worked too, I sped through the entire Crazy Rich Asians trilogy in like two weeks, and those suckers are big books! They're the perfect light reading for summer and were super entertaining; it reminded me of the Gossip Girl books I was into when I was younger, only for "adults." It was a nice change of pace from the dreary books I've otherwise (very slowly) read this year, like Penance by Kanae Minato. (A side note: Penance would have been more impactful, I think, had I not read Minato's Confessions in the past, which was vaguely similar in the whole "Woman Wants Revenge On Kids for Death of Her Child" thing.) If anyone has any good book recommendations, let me know!