This is quite a late one, and I think it will be more of a ‘what I am playing’ post, in which I will share a few games that I have been playing over the course of January.
The Nintendo Switch has seen a very steady stream of games released through the eShop, though I won’t be focusing on any of those here (though I’ve heard Celeste is good, so maybe I’ll look into that in the near future).
There isn’t much else for me to say here, so let’s just jump right in and take a look at what games have been keeping me busy during January.Let’s start with a game that was actually released this year on the 3DS eShop.
In January, the 8th title in the Picross e series, Picross e8 was released for the Nintendo 3DS eShop.
I have all 8 entries in the series downloaded, so it is pretty safe to say that I am rather fond of Picross. For those who are unaware, Picross is a “picture crossword puzzle game” where numbers act as hints to complete images.
Besides the normal Picross puzzles, Picross e8 includes Mega Picross and Micross puzzles as well – just like its predecessors. You also get bonus puzzles if you have save data from the first few games in the series.
Since there isn’t really a whole lot to say about Picross e8, I’ll also talk about a few other games that have been keeping me occupied lately.
I received the Nintendo Switch version of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim as a belated Christmas present – which is why it didn’t appear on my Top 10 Games of 2017 list. I finally get to see what all the fuss was about with this game, and I have enjoyed what I have played of it so far.
Admittedly I don’t think I’ve made much progress through the story at the moment, but that would be because I’m trying to balance playing several games at the same time.
Skyrim is entertaining enough, it just doesn’t quite get given the same priority as other games I own.
With the Fire Emblem Fates DLC pack, I’ve also been spending a fair amount of time experiencing that with Fire Emblem Warriors.
The Shadow Dragon pack is due for release in February, so I imagine I will be returning to this game sooner rather than later.
Still going strong with Fire Emblem Heroes as well, and that game’s first anniversary is coming up. Lots of orbs will be handed out to celebrate, which I’m looking forward to.
I’ve been playing the heck out of Xenoblade Chronicles 2. At around 150 hours in I completed the main story, and now I am working on maxing out all of the Rare Blades’ Affinity Charts.
I actually plan to create a post sharing my thoughts on each of the Rare Blades, though I’m not too sure how I am going to approach it as some Blades involve some major plot spoilers for the game… I believe there will also be at least one more Rare Blade added through DLC, so I might hold fire until then.
Each Rare Blade also has at least one quest tied to them, so I’ve been steadily working my way through those.
I haven’t quite hit the 200 hour mark yet, but I am fairly close to it.
Finally, I decided I would pick up another new game for my 3DS just a couple of days ago. This ties in with an anime series that was announced not that long ago.
I figured why not pick up Layton’s Mystery Journey: Katrielle and the Millionaires’ Conspiracy and experience the game before the anime airs. Professor Layton’s daughter, Katrielle, is the star of the game. She sets up a detective agency in London, and travels around solving cases.
Naturally, this means solving a lot of puzzles – if you’ve played a Professor Layton game, then you’ll know what to expect.
Those are the few games that have been keeping me busy during January, and probably through into February and beyond as well. Of course, my focus remains mostly on Nintendo consoles, but there is a lot out there for gamers in general, regardless of you platform of choice.
I should be more on top of my Game of the Month posts starting next month, as there are specific games that I have my eye on coming out in February.
Rory Muses 