The Video Games You Should Play This Weekend – October 3, 2025

If you never snagged the originals (or you have fond memories of playing them), the new release of Mario's star-spanning adventures is well worth a look. Packaged as a bundle for additional savings, but available separately if you prefer, these two games were some of the most experimental and creative in the long history of Mario games. Even with some refinement for this release, the onscreen motion-enabled cursor takes some getting used to. But the updated resolution, improved UI, soundtrack mode, and storybook chapters add up to make this the definitive version of these games to play. On Switch 2, the 4K resolution has Mario looking fantastic. And the games themselves feature clever level designs that demand creative thinking, as the bulk of the games play out on 3D spheres.

Ghost of Tsushima is one of my favorite games of all time, so I was immediately thrilled when Sucker Punch announced a successor around this time last year. Now that the day has arrived, I've put about four hours into Ghost of Yōtei, and I am having an absolute blast. The elements I loved in Ghost of Tsushima – a stunningly beautiful Japanese countryside, engaging combat, and rewarding exploration – are back in spades in Ghost of Yōtei, but I'm particularly drawn to the extraordinarily personal tale of revenge the game seems to be weaving. Full of lore-filling flashbacks, checklists of targets, and, yes, hot springs, Ghost of Yōtei was one of my most anticipated games coming into 2025, and if it continues playing as well as its first hours, I could see it leaving 2025 as my favorite game of the year.

When Square Enix revealed Dragon Quest VII Reimagined during the big September Nintendo Direct last month, it got me in a Dragon Quest mood. There's always XI, but that's a massive commitment I frankly don't have the time for at the moment. I started replaying the 3DS remake of VII, but again, that's a massive commitment (something Square Enix is aware of and addressing with the streamlined Reimagined, it says), so I landed on booting up last year's Dragon Quest III: HD-2D Remake, and wow, am I so glad I did. 

It's the third game in the Erdrick trilogy, but chronologically, the first, and sets the stage for Square's upcoming Dragon Quest I & II: HD-2D Remake launching later this month, which makes up the rest of the trilogy and comes after the adventures in III. So technically, playing the HD-2D Remake of III has brought me back to the series' beginnings in a way. It's been built from the ground up in the HD-2D visual engine that began with the first Octopath Traveler, so it's jaw-droppingly gorgeous, and smart quality of life updates and changes, like the ability to change battle speed, make it a smooth way to play this classic that first hit the U.S. in 1992 (after the 1988 launch in Japan). Because it's a remake of a classic, it also feels nostalgic; it serves as a reminder of a time when RPGs were much simpler, yet it remains just as enjoyable to play today.

If you haven't given Dragon Quest a go in any form, this remake is a great place to start, and narratively, the first place to start. And if you're playing on Switch 2, a free patch for the Switch version makes the game even smoother and prettier than it was at its launch last year. 

While I watched the show when I was younger, I never got into the Digimon games, even the rather well-regarded Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth. But after Time Stranger impressed me at this year's Summer Game Fest 2025, I was eager to finally take the plunge. Turns out, these are really good!

Digimon Story Time Stranger contains a lot of what I love about RPGs, from build-crafting to team composition and strategy, and quite a bit of good monster taming and training too. It feels like the perfect middle-ground between Nintendo's monster trainer and the devil summoning of Shin Megami Tensei; just the right amount of challenge and difficulty, with tons of enjoyment to be found in mapping out a Digimon's evolutionary path and growth potential. Digimon fans might have found a winning banner-carrier to rope in broader audiences with Digimon Story Time Stranger.

This week, I got a Game Boy and copies of The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening and Super Mario Land sent to my door... except they were all made out of Legos. Jokes aside, I am extremely impressed with the Lego Game Boy. I'm a lifelong fan of Legos (one glance at my staff bio would tell you that), but even this surpassed my expectations for one of their usual sets. The Game Boy is life sized and all the buttons actually work – they don't control the screen, but you can press the buttons, move the D-Pad, and the power switch has a satisfying click on and off. Much of the interior is made of dark green pieces, which is a fun nod to the console's microchip-based interior, even though it's not visible in the final build. It also comes with two cartridges that actually click into the back of the handheld, interchangeable screens, and a cute little display stand. It's also only $59.99, which is shockingly affordable for Lego, so if you're interested in having it as a display piece, I absolutely recommend it.