WRUP: Team Blizzard Watch gets stranded on a deserted island and has to pick between gear, grub, or games

I feel very #blessed to be able to share my love of Splatfests with the world so often now that Splatoon 3 is out. And that’s exactly what I did with this week’s WRUP — What aRe yoU Playing? — because who doesn’t love a healthy game of choice mixed in with your weekend gaming forecast?

This month’s Splatfest is all about what you’d take with you to a deserted island: Gear, Grub, or Games (officially “Fun”). While most of the crew is on #TeamGear, we do have a few on #TeamGrub. Apparently no one is interested in fun on the island.

…Except maybe Cory, who’s going to lead us off this week!

Cory Taylor

• Deathloop

You ever feel like you’re doing the same day over and over again?

I just got my hands on Deathloop thanks the Xbox GamePass and I’m digging it so far. It’s got a fun snappy action, and snappier dialogue. Playing through a Groundhog Day style scenario feels really fun, and I love the sixties aesthetic. We’re also starting Mythic Painsmith progression and oh boy am I prepared to do the first minute of that fight over and over and over again.

Team Grub, which may be about food or may be about bugs. Or maybe it’s about bugs we eat. Who knows!

Anna Bell

• Immortality
• Salt 2

Of course choose Gear. If you have Gear you can get Grub and Fun.

This week I played Immortality, which is a really breathtaking story game by Sam Barlowe. I don’t want to say much more because it’s really something to experience cold, but the scope, the story, the subtext, is all so in-depth and well done in so many ways. I cannot recommend it enough to people who like their stories to have a lot behind them, but I’d also caution you to heed the Content Warnings. It’s rated M, and there were a LOT of points where I was protecting my screen from prying eyes like a teenager. I may, of course, be recommending it so I have somebody to shriek about it with, but hey.

I also picked up Salt 2, which just hit Early Access, and is different from Immortality in pretty much every possible way. It’s still fairly rough around the edges — I’d really like better mapping tech in a seafaring game — but I can tell I’m going sink a ton of time into this one. Get it? Sink? Because you get to build boats?

Ted Atchley

• Andor
• NFL Football
• Switch
• SNAP

#TeamGrub all the way.

I’ve been looking forward to the Andor series and it’s finally here. I’ve only seen two of the three episodes released so far. Slow burn is the major vibe I’m getting, and the flashbacks left me a little confused, but hopefully that will clear up in another episode or two.

You can pretty much auto text that I’ll be watching NFL football from now until February. My professional team looks like it might be the worst one in the league, but I’ll still be cheering them on. Both of my fictitious (fantasy) teams won last week, so I’ll try to keep that streak going.

Splatoon 3 finally arrived, and my son has been playing it a bunch. It doesn’t have a mode where we can play together as far as I can tell, so I’ve been reduced to spectator, but we’re still spending time together. We’ve set up Thursdays as family Mario Kart night where even his big sister joins in. They both enjoy the challenge of beating their dad (and are doing so with greater frequency).

SNAP had a big balance patch and a graphical update. The Second Dinner team has done a good job identifying problematic cards and adjusting them. They also revamped the confusing UI at the end of the match that made it look like your cards were getting the Cosmic Cubes.

Andrew Powers

• D&D
• WoW Dragonflight
• More Cobra Kai

I feel like if you’re on a dessert island, the whole place is grub and fun…and then you need gear, like spoons and forks, to eat it. I might be misreading the question… [Editor’s note: Andrew manages to the dry humor, even when surrounded by water!]

Saturday is my second in person D&D game of the month. This one is strictly homebrewed, and the group keeps changing, so the story keeps evolving to fit them. And, no one really tells me their character backstories beforehand, so it is really a lot of improv at the table. It’s fun, but terrifying as a DM. Then the Dragonflight beta is still going on, with about a month or so before pre-patch, presumably. Have to find all those bugs now.

And then I’m slowly working my way through the fifth season of Cobra Kai, its worst season yet. I feel like the writers gave up, copy and pasted a lot of the script from other shows, and it is a generic show, where fights break out occasionally so it can pretend there is karate in the world. So sad, the first two seasons were amazing. If ever you need proof of how good YouTube Red was in quality in comparison to Netflix, this show is it. Sure, Netflix has quantity, and if you’re going to pay for a subscription, quantity is better than quality. But it’s a reminder, if you want to see some great shows, and have money to spare, or a friend who will lend you their password — sorry, I’m no longer subbed — check out the early shows on YouTube Red, I mean YouTube Premium.

Cory Taylor

• Deathloop

You ever feel like you’re doing the same day over and over again?

I just got my hands on Deathloop thanks the Xbox GamePass and I’m digging it so far. It’s got a fun snappy action, and snappier dialogue. Playing through a Groundhog Day style scenario feels really fun, and I love the sixties aesthetic. We’re also starting Mythic Painsmith progression and oh boy am I prepared to do the first minute of that fight over and over and over again.

Team Grub, which may be about food or may be about bugs. Or maybe it’s about bugs we eat. Who knows!

Matthew Rossi

• Cyberpunk 2077
• D&D

Which team prays to dark, unknowable, blasphemous entities who uncaringly profane all that lives by their mere existence, not even putting up a façade of benevolence or even awareness towards us? I guess I’ll go with Team Gear.

I’ve heard good things about Charlotta Mohlin and Marion Gage in Immortality, so I may pick that up at some point.

This weekend I’m pretty sure I’m running a D&D game for our Patreon friends, and when that’s not going on I’m thinking about prehistoric critters.

Oh, and Cyberpunk 2077. It has transmog, y’all.

Liz Patt

• Diablo 3
• WoW Classic
• Cult of the Lamb
• A SURPRISE!

For sure Team Gear, have you ever tried opening a coconut? It’s SUPER DIFFICULT. Let’s not even talk about pineapples.

I know, I know, you’re shocked to see this list leading off with Diablo 3. I have exactly two categories to knock out for the season journey: Legendary Gem leveling and Conquests. Frankly, I had hoped to be done by now, but I’ve been a bit distracted.

I really want that mount from completing the Death Knight leveling experience in WoW Classic. I have really fond memories of playing through that originally, and when the mount was first announced I ran through everything on Acherus. Then, I promptly got busy and forgot, so I want to go back.

Finally, I got Cult of the Lamb on my Switch after a recommendation from my sister and I’m sure everyone is shocked to know I am hooked. It’s like Diablo and Animal Crossing had a baby lamb designed by the artists who drew Samurai Jack. Then that lamb became a cult leader for an eldritch horror. I. Love. It. My cult is named Chaos Kittens, because…

FOLKS, I ADOPTED TWO KITTIES. Our local animal shelter had an adoption event four weeks ago. I went in planning on getting one kitten, but they definitely had me figured out because somehow I brought two litter-sisters home. They are so stinking cute but holy cannoli kittens have some ENERGY. Of course, I have a picture (I have approximately 80 million of all my cats).

Mitch “Mitch” Mitchell

• Renn Faire
• The Quarry
• Splatooooon 3
• Avatar

This weekend, I’m off to the Ruh-nay-sahnce Faire with a couple of friends and possibly a coworker. I haven’t gone in three years and even though it’s a little unnerving with how many folks I’ve seen get Covid lately it’s… well, it’s the Renn Faire. I’ve missed it and I’m excited to go. If all works well, I’ll even be doing some Bloodborne-ish cosplay.

After that, we’ll be heading back to play The Quarry (again!). I recently introduced it to the aforementioned friends and this’ll be the third Saturday in a row of playing it, likely also the last for this playthrough. I don’t think I can say enough good things about this game — it’s SO fun, and even for folks who don’t love playing horror, the couch co-op is a great group experience for all (even just watchers). I’m really looking forward to what my friends think of the ending. Our last session was the one that really ramped things up from 0 to 100 in no time flat. And it’s not gonna slow down from here.

Of course, the big news this weekend is the Splatfest! I’m #TeamGear all the way, and I can’t wait for a 48-hour nonstop(ish) inkstravaganza! Y’know, when I’m not doing all the Saturday things I just talked about.

…And when I’m not doing any of that, I might see the Avatar 4K/HDR re-release because I’m a sucker for fancy visuals. Don’t judge me.

Cory Taylor

• Deathloop

You ever feel like you’re doing the same day over and over again?

I just got my hands on Deathloop thanks the Xbox GamePass and I’m digging it so far. It’s got a fun snappy action, and snappier dialogue. Playing through a Groundhog Day style scenario feels really fun, and I love the sixties aesthetic. We’re also starting Mythic Painsmith progression and oh boy am I prepared to do the first minute of that fight over and over and over again.

Team Grub, which may be about food or may be about bugs. Or maybe it’s about bugs we eat. Who knows!

 

And that’s it for this week’s totally normal WRUP! If you have a spare moment, why not do, well, three things this week:

• Tell us what you’re playing
• Tell us your Splatfest team
• Check in on Cory

Cheers!