Kotaku’s Weekend Guide: Six Games For Election Week Escapism

Image: Microsoft / Halo Studios / Nintendo

What a week, huh? Yeah. Well, here we are, at the end of it, at the very least, and now looking toward the future. So how about some video games to take our minds off things for the weekend? This week we’ve got some fun shooters, some beat ‘em up action, and a digital spin on a classic trading card game.

Screenshot: Nintendo

Play it on: iOS, Android
Current goal: Not play Pokémon TCG Pocket

I’ve raved and ranted about so much that’s wrong with Pokémon’s latest version of its long-running card game, a mobile app that’s designed from the ground up to hook children and adults alike into dopamine-delivering loops, before cutting it all off unless you pay up. I hate it for that. It makes me angry, properly angry, to see this company of all companies messing with its loyal audience. But it’s open on my phone as I type this.

I wish I could just openly state “I’ve spent no money!” but the truth is I spent like $3 because I wanted/needed to see how it all worked, when writing about it, and through the depths of my journalistic integrity have lost the claim. But I’m not going to spend any more. Not because I’m not getting enjoyment from the battles (I genuinely am), but because it just feels so icky. If the Premium Pass hadn’t proven to be so spectacularly terrible, I’d advocate for that as the sensible way to put money into the game. But it is spectacularly terrible that’s not in consideration. (And, again, grimly, I’ll allow my two-week free trial to tick over into a payment, just so I can continue to cover the app for the site.)

But I’ll still want to open it in the morning when two new packs are ready to be unwrapped. I got the gorgeous alt-art Dragonite today from a Wonder Pick! I hate myself. — John Walker

Screenshot: Leikir Studio

Play it on: PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, Windows (Steam Deck YMMV)
Current goal: Complete a full run

People love Into the Breach. Its particular puzzle-centric spin on turn-based tactics isn’t exactly my cup of tea, although I can still appreciate its elegant design and beautiful presentation. For me, the peak of turn-based strategy is still Final Fantasy Tactics, where deep job systems let you customize a party of grid-based fighters to take on battles in clever and unexpected ways. Metal Slug Tactics occupies a place between the two in a neat little roguelike package that balances thoughtful combat with run-and-gun arcade instincts. I’ve had a lot of fun blitzing through missions with my nimble three-fighter squads in order to get to rewarding but challenging boss fights in the pursuit of unlocking new areas, characters, and upgrades.

There are a lot of clever little wrinkles in Metal Slug Tactics that make it feel distinct from both other retro-inspired roguelike remixes and beloved tactics-RPG knockoffs. I’m not sure if it will be able to hold my attention over the long haul, but early on, there’s still plenty of things I’m discovering and learning that keep it from feeling like a repetitive grind. My only real quibbles with it are some stuttering performance on PS5 and a pretty hostile UI that sports incredibly hard to read font sizes. — Ethan Gach

Screenshot: Spike Chunsoft Co., Ltd.

Play it on: PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Windows (Steam Deck YMMV)
Current goal: Hit B rank online

I didn’t expect Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO to keep my attention, but here we are more than a month later and I’m still having a blast getting my ass kicked in random online matches. As I’ve progressed, the rest of the game has left me feeling surprisingly underwhelmed, but Sparking is really good at the thing that matters most: making online matches feel like all of the made-up battles fans played out in their heads while watching the anime or reading the manga all those years ago. Finishing off a stranger’s Gogeta with Krillin’s destructo disc ultimate in the closing seconds of a hard fought match remains an S-tier gaming experience, and Sparking delivers it with beautiful animations and decent enough online stability. While Dragon Ball FighterZ remains the superior fighting game from a purely competitive point of view, Sparking has mostly given fans the Budokai Tenkaichi 4 experience they’ve been dreaming of for years. I can definitely feel it sticking in my PS5 rotation for months if not years to come. — Ethan Gach

Image: Epic Games

Play it on: PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, Windows (Steam Deck N/A)
Current goal: Level up this season’s battle pass

Oh look, another weekend where I’m planning to play Fortnite. At this point, it’s become embarrassing to admit how often I play Fortnite. But whatever, here we are. This time around, I’m playing because the new shorter Chapter 2 Remix season is here and I need to level up the smaller battle pass. Personally, I prefer the newer seasons of Fortnite over the older ones, so I’m not a fan of the Chapter 2 map or (most) of the older guns. It’s still fun to play with my wife, which is half the reason I play Fortnite as much as I do. It’s a perfectly chill co-op game if you focus on challenges and leveling up. — Zack Zwiezen

Image: Microsoft

Play it on: PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Windows (Steam Deck YMMV)
Current goal: Play some Nuketown

I’m very surprised by how much I like the new Call of Duty. Back in the day, on Xbox 360, I played a lot of Call of Duty. But as time passed and the series got bigger and slower and more focused on guff, I lost interest. And make no mistake, BLOPS6 still has a lot of crap in it and some of the menus are a total mess. But the gameplay feels very snappy and reminds me of playing Black Ops 2 with my friends until the wee hours of the morning. A recent update was added back in Nuketown, a classic map found in many past Black Ops games, and I’m so excited to hop in, drink some Monster, and pretend I’m 17 all over again while actual 17-year-olds kill me over and over. – Zack Zwiezen

Screenshot: Halo Studios / Claire Jackson / Kotaku

Play it on: Xbox Series X/S, Windows (Steam Deck YMMV)
Current goal: Take on Legendary difficulty

Halo 2 turns 20 this month. I’m gonna try real hard not to think about that too much. And what better way to keep my mind off it than to actually play Halo 2—specifically, Halo 2 Anniversary, the re-release of the game found in The Master Chief Collection that lets you swap between the original graphics and fancy, more modern ones. I recently played through the game on the OG graphics, and I quite enjoy the new ones. They’re way more faithful than the Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary graphics and are just pure eye candy. Plus, the Anniversary edition swaps that silly Breaking Benjamin song for something way heavier and way more modern.

Upon my most recent revisit to Halo 2, I was surprised at just how modern it feels. I mean, compare it to something like Star Wars: Republic Commando, which came out a year after Halo 2, and you’ll see what I mean. Aiming is snappy, the physics feel remarkably predictable, fun, and modern. The lack of an aim-down-sites feature is about the only thing preventing Halo 2 from feeling like something that’d come out today (well, that and a decently paced single player campaign and a multiplayer devoid of microtransactions).

It’s a testament to just how much shooters are still living in the world that Halo 2 helped shape. There are very few dated mechanics, and while the later levels do feel a little undercooked to me, I’m looking forward to another trip through the game. My last playthrough was on Heroic difficulty…do I dare take on Legendary? Halo 2 can be really hard at times, so I dunno if I’ll be able to cram that into a weekend, but I’ll probably give it a shot. — Claire Jackson

And that wraps up our picks for the weekend. Stay sane out there!