The Video Games You Should Play This Weekend – October 24, 2025

The first two episodes for Dispatch are out this week, and while I understand the impulse to wait a little longer for more episodes to release, I enjoy the story so much that I think they're worth playing now. Made by a bunch of former TellTale employees, Dispatch is an interactive animated superhero workplace comedy where you play as Robert Robertson, formerly known as Mecha Man, trying to figure his life out after his suit is destroyed. It's pretty amazing how seamless the decisions in this game feel – to someone just listening, they'd assume you're watching a TV show. 

The cast is also jam-packed with stars, including Aaron Paul, Jeffrey Wright, and Laura Bailey. The writing is also genuine and specific enough that it sidesteps "superhero fatigue" pretty gracefully, focusing more on character dynamics than flashy spectacle. If you like games with good stories – heck, if you like good TV shows – Dispatch is worth a download.

I’m gradually making my way through my 2025 backlog, and the game I’m most ashamed of not playing earlier is The Rogue Prince of Persia. I’ve been a huge POP fan since The Sands of Time, and this new 2D action game is made by Evil Twin, the team behind one of my all-time favorite roguelikes, Dead Cells. It’s an unexpected match made in heaven, and so far it’s been living up to the promise.

The roguelike template is perfectly contextualized within the Rogue’s take on the series’ staple time manipulation motif, and the Evil Twin has nailed the 2D platforming with fluid, snappy gameplay that’s a joy to pull off. The game borrows quite a bit from Dead Cells in terms of progression, with the ability to wall-run up and across the 2D walls being particularly cool. I adored Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown last year, and I’m glad to have a new yet unique side-scrolling adventure starring my favorite Persian royal. The Rogue Prince of Persia feels slept on this year, so don't let it slip under your radar.

Plants vs. Zombies: Replanted is officially out on pretty much all the platforms as of today, and I like it! You can read my full review here, but it’s a solid revisitation of the 2009 strategy game. And I use the term strategy very lightly. Plants vs. Zombies has always been a simple, but engaging game, and that holds true for this remake. I recommend playing it on Switch 2 just because that has the most control options, but for my review, I primarily played on Xbox Series X and had a fine time using the controller. There are one million games to play right now, so I don’t blame anyone for letting this one pass them by, but Plants vs. Zombies: Replanted just feels like a delicious but small candy you get to enjoy between Ghost of Yōtei and The Outer Worlds 2 main courses. You won’t regret it, and it won’t ruin your appetite. 

This past weekend, I participated in MinnMax's Give to the Max stream. It was a huge success, partially due to the "Gammage" (a twist on Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's Gommage), where games were put on a list, and the game with the fewest donations would be eliminated. It was shocking to see then that, between beloved games like Hades 2, Blue Prince, and even Clair Obscur itself, the winner was the indie investigation game The Roottrees Are Dead.

I was aware of this game, but this was the push that actually got me to check it out, and man, am I glad I played it before the end of the year. If you haven't read Marcus Stewart's great review here on Game Informer, here's the breakdown. Set in 1998, you're a private investigator tasked with filling out the long, complex family tree of the Roottrees, a family made wealthy due to their powerful candy dynasty. To do so, you're given an era-appropriate computer and search engine, which you can use to track down leads, find names, and put together the truth. Much like Blue Prince or one of Half Mermaid's games like Immortality, this game's mystery had such a hold on me that I've had a genuinely hard time getting other work done this week. It's incredibly enthralling. And after you finish that first mystery, you unlock a second, more difficult one, and I've been devouring it just the same. The Roottrees are Dead slipped past me when it launched in January – don't let it slip past you now.

The Outer Worlds 2 is technically playable today if you purchase the more expensive Premium Edition, and though I'm not here to tell you whether it's worth the extra bucks or not – it's your money, spend it how you want! – I will say that you are very likely to have a great time. I reviewed it for Game Informer this week, giving it an 8.75 out of 10. That's because it's not only a great western RPG, with branching dialogue choices, various ways to tackle objectives, and plenty of mechanics and systems to engage with wherever you are in the colony of Arcadia, but it's my favorite Obsidian game yet. 

You can read my review for my full thoughts on the game, but here specifically, I want to shout out just how great the Flaws system is in this sequel. It was present in The Outer Worlds back in 2019, but The Outer Worlds 2 greatly expands on them. If you aren't familiar, it's a system that feels like the game is watching you because, based on how you play, it gives you (completely optional) Flaws that have significant benefits with great costs. For example, because I reloaded constantly, the game eventually gave me a Flaw that increased the size of my magazine on any weapon but nerfed my damage output for 8 seconds every time I emptied a clip. I loved seeing this Flaw appear, as it felt unique to me, as if I were the only person who would ever get this Flaw. Of course, that's not the case, but when I received 10 to 15 Flaws throughout my playthrough, it added up to an experience that feels wholly mine. 

If you're in the mood for a real challenge, Ninja Gaiden 4 is a return to form for the long-running action series, featuring blisteringly fast melee battles that aim to test your reflexes and challenge your conceptions of just how long a combo can get. Longtime hero Ryu Hayabusa takes a backseat to the new main character, Yakumo. He may be a young upstart, but he's got the chops to show off some amazingly fast and fun combat. If high-concept storytelling is your goal, you may wish to go elsewhere. But for a dose of adrenaline and tightly paced battles, this one's a sure bet. Read our full review here.