October, the scariest month of the year, has finally arrived. That means it's time to confront the most terrifying thing in games. That's right, I'm talking about the queue to get into a match of Overwatch 2. Hey-o!

Blizzard's hero shooter sequel is the big new release this week. Elsewhere, we're returning to The Last of Us, ranching slimes, flying planes, kicking soccer balls, and otherwise verbing nouns. Plus, the end of the year is rapidly approaching, so we're racing to catch up with all the games that came out in 2022 before we need to make our GOTY lists.

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Andrew King, Features Editor

I did it. They got me. I caved and bought a third copy of The Last of Us. Once I start playing it I can’t stop and I have officially started playing it. This weekend it’s Part I and, who knows, maybe next weekend it’ll be Part II. Joel and Ellie are my post-apocalyptic pals, and they need my help.

Amanda Hurych, Evergreen Content Lead

After the relaxing nature of PowerWash Simulator, a game I played for weeks on end, you would think I’d be ready for some high-flying action title. Nope. I’m back into relaxation time. Slime Rancher 2 is out in early access, and I’m spending all my gaming hours collecting adorable Slimes, making sure they all have their favorite things to eat, and harvesting their poops to sell. It’s the kind of game you play where you lose half a day without even realizing it. Last night, I stayed up till 2am figuring out how to properly feed Flutter Slimes on my ranch. (You need to turn them into Largos. No way around it. It’s just not feasible having to go collect Nectar for them out in the wild every time they’re hungry.) Anyways, I’ll be playing Slime Rancher 2 this weekend. I’ll start playing Friday night, blink, and then next thing you know, it’ll be Monday morning.

Justin Reeve, News Editor

You might expect me to be playing the latest and greatest game, but I’m actually going to be playing something over two years old now: Microsoft Flight Simulator. The studio behind the game, Asobo, has been really great about releasing new content and this time around, we all get to explore Canada. I mean, you could go there before, but the terrain models were all based on satellite imagery, so they weren’t quite as nice to look at. They’ve now reworked everything by hand. I picked up some fairly new downloadable content, so I also plan to beat the bush this weekend in a Beechcraft 18. See you somewhere between Halifax and Vancouver.

Harry Alston, Senior Specialist Writer

I can’t stop playing FIFA 23. The gameplay is better this year than it has been for pretty much any of the previous iterations, but I am still completely terrible at it. Like, really bad. I’ve only won one of my FUT Champs qualifiers, which means I probably shouldn’t bother with FUT Champs at all—but I will, because even one single pack, one measly, horrible little pack, is all I need to keep me going.

Jade King, Lead Features Editor

I am a super secret games journalist, so two of the games I’m playing right now are under embargo. I can talk about them soon though, and I promise the wait will be worth it. Probably. Otherwise I will be waiting in the Overwatch 2 queue and pray I can get a few matches across all three platforms depending on where I end up over the weekend. I didn’t expect it to be this popular, let alone force us to wait close to an hour to reach the menu. My new playthrough of Cyberpunk 2077 has also hit the 30 hour mark as I do every single side quest I come across.

Rhiannon Bevan, News Editor

Oh wow, 2022 is going fast, isn’t it? With The Game Awards right around the corner, I’m hoping to spend the weekend catching up on some games from this year. And while it definitely isn’t one of the big hitters, I think Pupperazzi will be the first one I try out. Hey, I have a Pokemon Snap shaped hole in my life right now with my Switch out of commission, so seems like a good place to start. Plus it looks pretty bloody adorable, and I could do with that after blasting through Metal: Hellsinger.

Rebecca Phillips, Evergreen Editor

I’m finally catching up with a game in my backlog this weekend - Omori. I started playing it earlier this week, and while I’m only a few hours in, it’s already got me hooked. It’s spooky, the hand-drawn style graphics are absolutely adorable, and I can already tell it’s going to devastate me emotionally. Let’s hope I can see through my tears so I can finish it.

Quinton O’Connor, Specialist Writer

It’s October. You know what that means! It means RPGs. That’s right, for Quinton, it’s just like any other month. Except with agreeably cooler weather outside. I live for RPGs. I’d die for RPGs. I’m hoping I won’t have to. Anyway, I’m finishing up a second playthrough of Valkyrie Elysium. I rather concur with the mainstream discourse on this one. It’s carried by its combat. Great soundtrack, too. The story’s paper-thin, but I don’t dislike it; it’s just kind of there. Exploration and level design are a bit meh. It’s fun in bursts, though! Other than Elysium, I’ll get a few rounds in on Halo Infinite, I’ll no doubt be as mediocre at it as ever. Pew-pew and all.

James Kennedy, Specialist Writer

I have been pretty busy over the last few weeks, but I have recently returned to Monkey Island in, well, Return To Monkey Island. While I am only a few hours into the game, it has been a real treat so far. Of course, it was made for people like me, so I suppose that is to be expected. So, this weekend I will be chumming around with my ol’ buddy Murray (I just found him in a crate), and I couldn’t be happier about it!

Branden Lizardi, Evergreen Editor

I first learned about Hardspace: Shipbreaker back in 2020 when it was released as an early access title. I had written an impressions piece for a site I was working for at the time. While I recall commending it for the unique premise and gameplay loop, I was also quite unimpressed with the lack of variety it offered the and lack of guidance for dangerous materials. Every ship felt more or less the same to scrap (or explode). So onto the digital shelf it went. Now the game has left early access and everyone is talking about it again, so I gave it another shot. And wouldn't you know it? It's a better game now. The variety in your ship-to-ship experience is much better, they make a more active effort to train you through new concepts instead of letting you engage in trial and error, and it's spruced up with a more fleshed out narrative to follow as you progress. They even give you a space car to tune up on the side. Now if only the ‘endless debt’ theme didn’t hit so real.

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