Mama's Perfection! Gamers STUNNED by Brutal Difficulty?!

Welcome back to our weekly roundup of the games captivating the team. This week, Bertie embraces the world of Handheld gaming with newfound zeal, Marie faces the fiery judgment of Mama in the kitchen, Kelsey dives into the challenging world of Nioh and emerges a convert, Will pilots yet another mech game to his predictable delight, and Victoria unveils a hidden passion for virtual skateboarding. What games have *you* been hooked on?

Mama's Perfection! Gamers STUNNED by Brutal Diffic...

Read on for a glimpse into the titles consuming our free time. And if you're seeking further inspiration, or a nostalgic trip down memory lane, our extensive "What We've Been Playing" archive awaits.

One of our team admits to a dinosaur moment, finally experiencing the joys of Handheld gaming on a plane. On a recent trip to Blizzard, a Switch 2 (their own, they assure us) proved a revelation. Hours melted away while engrossed in Hades 2, with a side of Songs of Conquest (less impressive on the smaller screen, but still enjoyable). Even Hades 2 felt a tad cramped after prolonged TV play, but overall, it was the perfect travel companion. A highlight was encountering a fellow Switch 2 enthusiast, a German Twitch streamer engrossed in Slay the Spire, highlighting how plane journeys have evolved. Honestly, I'm a little jealous – my last plane trip involved mostly staring blankly at the seat in front of me.

Meanwhile, another staffer's battle with Cooking Mama rages on. A fleeting moment of triumph with a perfect pizza score was swiftly extinguished by Mama's fiery disapproval of poorly de-boned fish. Despite repeated culinary failures, they inexplicably return to the kitchen, knowing full well that Mama's standards exceed their stylus skills. Raising the stakes with steak only resulted in further disappointment, as Mama demands perfection, not the culinary abomination presented. Each entry into the kitchen is met with Mama's soul-piercing gaze, awaiting the next mistake to "fix." The question remains: why the continued masochism? Is it the allure of shiny gifts earned through star accumulation? Perhaps, but the memory of that single perfect score fuels the hope of repeating the feat. It's a fascinating case study in the psychology of gaming, really.

Elsewhere, the 2018 BattleTech game runs surprisingly well on the Xbox Ally X Windows handheld, thanks to Steam's community control schemes. Even the extensive BattleTech Extended mod, packed with extra content, performs admirably. A frame rate of 40-60fps proves more than playable for this type of game, and lengthy load times fail to diminish the enthusiasm for leading a mercenary company across desolate cityscapes and misty mountaintops in search of unsuspecting enemy squads to salvage. I have to admit, the appeal of stomping around in a giant robot never really fades, does it?

Finally, with real-world skateboarding sidelined by relentless snow and rain, one of our team has turned to the virtual realm. After months of being unable to get on a board due to inclement weather, Skate Story offered a much-needed escape. A brief 40-minute session in its demonic world provided a taste of...