What we’ve been playing – “I can feel tears starting to prickle my eyes”

27th June

Hello and welcome back to our regular feature where we write a little about the games we’ve been playing. This week, Victoria waves a fond farewell to Eurogamer, and us to Victoria; Connor dabbles on Guild Wars on mobile; Sherif tackles yet another Soulslike; and Bertie discovers he’s lost any skill he had at playing Hades 2.

What have you been playing this week?

Here’s another question: do you remember what you were playing last week? You don’t have to! The What We’ve Been Playing archive has you covered.

News reporter, Eurogamer

For the last four years, I’ve had the opportunity to play something very special: a Eurogamer news reporter. Since my first day back in 2022 (when I turned up to meet my new colleagues in a Tesco carpark from the front seat of my car, because a storm the night before had wiped out power in my village), until now, I’ve had so many unforgettable experiences which I will cherish forever. I’ve visited the European Space Agency and spoken with real-life, bonafide astronauts (!!); I’ve been stalked by deer-men during an Alan Wake 2 event in LA; I’ve sauntered around Central Park on a cold winter morning before heading to the Nintendo store; I’ve spent late nights in Star Wars-themed cantina bars with my fellow and very beloved nerds; I’ve negotiated the sweltering labyrinth that is Gamescom; and I’ve interviewed many, many interesting and passionate people. The list goes on.

The most incredible experience, though, has been getting to work alongside some of the best in the business. People who are not only disgustingly talented, but also kind, funny and full of a special light often hard to find in this world. How did I get so lucky to find that in not just one person here, but in all of them? Today is my last day at Eurogamer, and while I am excited for what’s to come, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t sad to be saying farewell to each and every one of them as I move on to whatever the future holds for me. They are my people.

I am sad to be saying goodbye to you wonderful Eurogamer readers, as well. This place honestly has one of the best communities I have ever been a part of, and I’ve loved being able to engage with you all, be it through my various The Last of Us discussion pieces or during quip-filled exchanges during our liveblogs (although I have a sneaky suspicion most of you were more interested in my dog). You lot are a hoot and I’ve really appreciated your support along the way.

I can feel tears starting to prickle my eyes, so before I excuse myself to grab some tissues, I want to say this: from the bottom of my heart, thank you so much to everyone who has made the last four years some of the best of my life. I will miss you all in ways I can’t explain, and will always be grateful to have been given the incredible opportunity to play at being a Eurogamer news reporter.

-Victoria

Guild Wars Reforged, mobile

How can I follow that up? The game I’ve been playing isn’t really the point here – but one thing I always enjoy doing while working here at Eurogamer is talking to the team about what we all had going on. Usually, it’s speaking to Bertie or Lottie about some ancient MMO. But always, no matter what was going on, I could speak to Victoria about the weird stuff I was getting up to.

One thing about Victoria is she has a wonderful sense of humour – truly! An infectious laugh, too. She had a love for Lara Croft, which I was also keen to learn more about, and a passion for her work and this hobby that is hard to measure up against. She was also a fantastic news writer, who set a bar I strived – and will continue to strive – to meet.

I had downloaded Guild Wars Reforged on my phone and was excited to talk to her about how hot it made the old, refurbished relic when I played it during morning meetings or work DMs. I wanted to know if she had any go-to phone games to recommend. Now, we’ll have to wait until after 5PM to chat about such nonsense.

-Connor

Valor Mortis demo, PC

I am unfortunately going to have to talk about another Soulslike for the third week in-a-row. Apologies, dear reader, but such is my curse. When I wasn’t dreading saying goodbye to Victoria all week, I found a bit of time to play the demo of Valor Mortis, the new game from some of the people behind Ghostrunner – very much not Soulslike. So yes, the team is trying its hand at something new, but not without a few special twists. Valor Mortis is a first-person melee game that lifts a lot of its core tenets from classic Souls – stamina is consumed when attacking and upon blocking; damage is lethal; attack animations require finesse; the world is grim and miserable; it’s all there. It also borrows Bloodborne’s attack-to-regain-lost-health mechanic, encouraging you to stay on the offensive, which I found to often be to my detriment.

If Valor Mortis were a person, it would be the opposite of Victoria. I’ve been freelancing for Eurogamer for a few short weeks, and I already miss Victoria checking in on me, offering advice, helping me navigate how things work here compared to VG247, and being more welcoming than I could’ve ever hoped for. The hypothetical Valor Mortis person would instead be spiteful and mean. Why does the first boss of the demo need two phases? Why do tougher enemies seemingly have infinite stamina and unbreakable poise? What kind of reaction time do I need to possess in order to read some of those boss attacks? I’m still looking forward to the full game but I worry the demo is far too overtuned. Ironically, it’s the opposite problem I had with last week’s game.

-Sherif

Hades 2, Switch 2

I’m sorry to see you go, Victoria. Something I’ve always really admired about is the warmth you bring to the team. I lose myself in whatever I’m doing and struggle to check in on people, but you’re always there in my messages, asking how I’m doing, seeing how I’ve been. It’s really appreciated. And as I’m coming to realise, you manage to do this with everyone, somehow, at Eurogamer and beyond. That’s a mega-talent as far as I’m concerned.

I’ve also really enjoyed watching you hone yourself into a bonafide reporter here, taking on more and more complex stories and tasks while also keeping your pun game silly and on point. I’m sure I won’t be the only person to wave you a fond farewell today because you’ve become a part of Eurogamer and you deserve one.

I dropped back into Hades 2 this week ahead of an orchestral performance of music from the series in London, and it’s a mark of a great game that I’m overcome with a wave of admiration for the way its built from the moment I start playing. The speed, the silkiness, the oomph you feel when you dispatch rooms of enemies – it impresses me every time.

But I’ve shittened in my time away. I’d dusted a couple of the big bosses before I had a break and now I can’t get anywhere near them. I think partly this has to do with new difficulty modifiers I’ve applied to my subsequent runs, but it’s not that entirely. I’m rusty is the truth of it and it sucks majorly.

-Bertie