It’s Memorial Day weekend in the United States, which means people in the United States have an extra day to do nothing if the mood strikes them.
Decoration Day, as it was originally called, was set aside after the end of the Civil War to honor fallen soldiers. Over the years, it morphed into Memorial Day, a now federal holiday. Basically, it’s a day when we celebrate fallen servicemen.
But it’s not a totally solemn weekend. Many people also celebrate by organizing barbecues and other gatherings. It’s also the weekend when many pools open for the summer, although it’s still a bit chilly, if you ask me.
Monday is also a bank holiday in the UK, so it’s not just the US that benefits from a long weekend.
The plan for the weekend is to get together with friends and family, garden, and eat lots of potato salad, burgers, and baked beans. Some of us can even have a beer or two. But we will also play games. Here’s what we’re playing this weekend:
Connor Makay, Editor – Street Fighter 6, Honkai: Star Rail
This weekend, I’m going to try to finally sink a little into the Street Fighter 6 demo. Having already signed up for several real world events and tournaments, I need some time; otherwise, I will embarrass myself and Tom will laugh at me.
Plus I’m still playing Honkai: Stellar Rail. It’s pretty decent, and while I’m wary of microtransactions, I was able to get into it without breaking the bank.
Jim Trinca, Video Producer – Warhammer 40,000: Bolter
Zelda is awesome, isn’t it? Really, the GOTY question for this year has already been settled. As good as Starfield can be (and I’m sure it will be great), it’s hard to imagine circumstances where Skyrim in Space’s proposition can be as brilliantly inventive and gleefully playful as Tears of the Kingdom. And it certainly won’t be as solid and bug-free.
Yet even when your desktop is Hyrule, it’s still the desktop. So I’m desperate to spend my weekend on something as far removed from Zelda as artistically possible.
Luckily for me, this coincides with the recent release of Warhammer 40,000: Bolt, a retro-style boomer shooter about being an insanely huge man in insanely huge armor stomping around the galaxy and dispensing the Emperor’s endless justice through hot lead. Like all 40k, it’s loud, dumb, garish and obscenely over the top. Yes: pretty much everything TotK isn’t.
Hey, change is as good as a vacation, right?
Kelsey Raynor, Guides Writer – Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
I have nothing planned this weekend except sleep. However, I will make it a point to go outside and get some sun if I can.
In addition to sleeping and taking vitamin D, I will probably play more Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. It’s a comfortable game, and I have a lot of things to do that I’m excited about; there’s still so much I haven’t discovered yet, and that’s great.
Stephany Nunneley-Jackson, Managing Editor – Cat Quest, Cat Quest 2
This weekend, I’m hanging out with the family a bit, and some of my friends are coming to taste my famous sangria. I also plan to try making food from one of the many play cookbooks I have. I plan to make this a feature at some point (if people are interested), so watch this space. I also plan to landscape the front yard by planting massive hostas that look like they belong in a jungle and a patch of liriope. Moments of pleasure.
Other than that I plan to play cat quest then switch to Cat Quest 2. This week’s announcement of Cat Quest: Pirates of the Purribean this week reminded me that I own the first two games on Steam and haven’t played them yet – something all Steam users can relate to. identify.
Cat Quest is compared to Diablo with cats, and the second outing expands on the original with more spells, weapons, a character-switching mechanic, and local co-op. They are both very positive on Steam, so I will give them a try.
This is a conclusion for us. What are you doing over the long weekend? Do you plan to play games? Let us know! We love to hear from you.
