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Hello, dear readers! It’s a Friday once more, and that means we’ve got a round of games to recommend spending some time with if you find yourself with a nice 48 hours (or 72 if you’re off for Labor Day here in the States) off of work, school, or both!

This week saw the release of Metal Gear Solid Delta, which naturally appears on our list for the weekend, but that’s not all! If stealthily hiding out in the jungle ain’t your thing, no worries. We’ve got a couple of other games that might just be what you’re looking for.

And if you have some recommendations yourself, let us know in our recently re-activated comment section!

Kirby and the Forgotten Land

Play it on: Switch, Switch 2
Current goal: Inhale a car

I’ll definitely still be getting in some time with Shadow Labyrinth in the days ahead, a game I wrote about last week and which has only developed a tighter hold on me as I’ve delved deeper into its mysteries. But when I want something a little less shadowy this weekend, I’ll finally be playing Kirby and the Forgotten Land now that it’s landed on Switch 2. To be honest, even though it’s been out on the original Switch for over three years, I still know fairly little about the kinds of environments you explore and just what you might discover. All I know is that as soon as I saw the overgrown cityscape that was prominently featured in early reveals, the one that looks like something out of The Last of Us or Nier: Automata, I was immediately intrigued by the idea of Kirby of all characters roving around such a place. I also know the pink puffball can inhale certain objects that totally change his shape and movement, but beyond that, the game is basically a mystery to me. Here’s hoping it’s got some fascinating surprises in store. – Carolyn Petit

Shuten Order

Play it on: Steam, Switch
Current goal: Find the culprit

I’m nearly done with Shuten Order, the next murder mystery from the mind of Danganronpa lead Kazutaka Kodaka. The multi-genre adventure game has five routes, each of which plays out with different mechanics and tone, whether that be a hide-and-seek horror game or a more straightforward detective story. I’ve finished four of the five routes, and as the mystery continues to unravel, I am desperately trying to get through the last story so I can find out what it all means. I always love the ride Kodaka’s work takes you on, but arriving at the destination is almost always the best part. Don’t let me down this time, Too Kyo Games. — Kenneth Shepard

Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater

Play it on: PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Windows PCs (Steam Deck: “Unsupported”)
Current goal: Start my Extreme-mode run

I have been wanting to recommend MGS Delta for a Weekend Guide entry for so long, and finally, as it is now available for all on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC, I can. Naturally, I’ll refer you to my review of the game if you want a deep dive, as well as my analysis on how Delta’s gameplay compares to that of the original and MGSV. The TL;DR, of course, is that this game rocks. Yes, it’s in a weird place given the messy falling-out between series creator Kojima and Konami, but Delta has brought us into an exciting new era of MGS with a wonderfully faithful and satisfying remake of one of its best entries.

Read More: Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater: The Kotaku Review

Back in the day, I used to play the hell out of MGS games, often playing until the sun came up, drinking coffee after coffee, and eventually sometimes falling asleep while playing. The challenge of repeat runs on higher difficulties, attempts to do a full run without getting spotted or killing anyone…ugh, I miss those days.

Thankfully, Delta provides a satisfying trip back. As I’ve played the game all the way through on Hard mode, Extreme mode awaits. I think I’m going to play this run with the Legacy camera mode as I haven’t had enough time with that perspective just yet. Also, as I’ve learned from my many recent hours with Hitman, failing can be fun! Learning to respond to the mistakes and slip-ups you make and getting a chaotic situation under control is something I’m not used to in stealth games given my tendency to fall back to a checkpoint when I get spotted to drill perfect, spotless runs. But Delta plays so damn well that I want to get a little messy on this playthrough. Extreme mode will be a little bit of hot sauce icing on that cake. – Claire Jackson

We’re eager to head into our weekends, so that wraps this edition of the Weekend Guide. Let us know what games you’re spinning up for the long weekend!

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Hello! Here we are at the end of yet another week, and that means we’re taking a look at our gaming shelves, physical or digital, with an eye for something appealing to spend some hours with on our time off–something which may inspire you as well, should you be at a loss for what to play.

This week I finally got to share what I’ve been working on behind the scenes: Kotaku’s review of the remake of Metal Gear Solid 3, as well as a deep dive into what makes this reimagining tick. Long story short: I think the game rocks and it’s been the most fun I’ve had with an MGS title in many years. But it’s not out yet, so it won’t be mentioned in this week’s rundown. Expect me to have some more to say about it next week.

Read More: Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater: The Kotaku Review

We also had Gamescom kick off this week with Opening Night Live, and what a packed show it was, especially if you’re like me and enjoy torturing yourself with horror games–seriously, I’m avoiding RE9 trailers and gameplay footage because it’s going to spark too much excitement in me and might throw the universe out of balance or something.

Anyway, let’s get on to our picks for the weekend–and please let us know what games you’re rocking because, in case you didn’t know, comments are back! So be nice, but also please let us know what’s got you glued to your controllers and keyboards.

Void/Breaker

Play it on: PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Windows PCs (Steam Deck: “Unknown”)
Current goal: Finish more runs and get out of the simulation

When I saw a trailer for VoidBreaker during Gamescom Opening Night Live, I was intrigued. So I hopped over to Steam to play it for a bit and accidentally put, like, three hours in, despite having dinner plans that night. We weren’t late for dinner, but any game that can hook me that fast has my attention.

I’m not a big roguelike guy, but VoidBreaker’s gunplay is so satisfying and the combat so hectic that upom dying, I’m instantly starting a new run through the game’s twisted cybernightmare. And I keep finding new power-ups, mods, and other features as I do so. I need to put more time into VoidBreaker before I can say it’s on my Game of the Year list, but I like its odds.

Shadow Labyrinth

Play it on: PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, Switch 2, Windows PCs (Steam Deck: “Verified”)
Current goal: Venture deeper

It’s just all so strange and mysterious. The “memories” I find are cryptic and bizarre, the backgrounds otherworldly, the Metroidvania-style labyrinth itself full of things I can’t make heads or tails of. Well, I can. I know a Pac-Man maze when I see one. But my in-game character can’t, not yet.

What captivates me so far about Shadow Labyrinth is its willingness to be so dauntingly strange. I mean, video games don’t get any more mainstream than Pac-Man. Pac-Man was a game for everyone, and that broad appeal was crucial to it becoming a colossal arcade smash that fleetingly invaded every aspect of American culture in the early 1980s. And yet here is a game that is deliberately inscrutable, and sometimes even offputting. Pac-Man, or this game’s equivalent of him, sometimes devours foes in a display that’s genuinely unnerving, and the story, thus far at least, is a jumble of strange names, awkward, rambling notes, and vague gestures at lore you don’t know enough about to process. And I love it. Each night this week, I’ve been determined to make at least one good little chunk of progress, find another save point, see what strange new landscapes await me, and hopefully start finding the keys to understanding just who I am, where I am, and what it is I’m really doing.

Shadow Labyrinth has integrity. It’s committed to doing its thing, and it doesn’t go to great lengths to make you feel welcome. “Stay, or bounce off,” it seems to say. “It makes no difference to me.” I find that confidence intriguing, and hard to resist. For now, at least, I’m staying. I’m venturing deeper. – Carolyn Petit

Silent Hill

Play it on: PS3 via PSN store, original disc, or emulation
Current goal: Get the hang of these darn controls!

Last weekend I dove into the lovingly retro horror experience that is Silent Hill. This weekend I’m doing it again as I anticipate talking a whole lot more about this exquisitely disturbing PSX title in the near future, and, after all, it was one of the classics of the era that got away from me.

I didn’t get terribly far in my first playthrough as I was short on time (I was neck-deep in the digital swamps of Snake Eater’s remake) and also because this game is hard! I mean, it’s me, so I naturally jumped into it on the game’s hard difficulty.

That might’ve been a mistake. The game is already pretty lethal as is and, oof,these controls are of a sort we’ve long since left behind–and maybe for good reason? I’m not sure yet. I’m usually okay with tank controls, but I’m finding these particularly difficult to contend with for some reason. Maybe I’m just out of practice? In any case, they’ve made me rethink my choice to do my run on hard mode.

I’m gonna knock the difficulty down. That should help me focus on the atmosphere of this game which, if you know anything about Silent Hill, I probably don’t need to tell you about. But still, if it’s been some time since you’ve played this 1999 release and you tend to play modern games more often, know that elements we might consider graphical limitations or poor design decisions today– the gloomy fog, the non-player-controlled camera– really sell the bizarre and haunting experience that is this game. Even just walking down one of the game’s opening alleyways, I was reminded that it wasn’t just creepy monsters that terrified me as a child; it was the whole framing of this gorgeously dreadful horror experience. And I’m so ready to strap in for more this weekend. – Claire Jackson

Hollow Knight

Play it on: PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, Switch 2, Windows PCs (Steam Deck: “Verified”)
Current goal: See what the fuss is about

I wrote about Hollow Knight: Silksong quite a few times this week, but I’ve never played Team Cherry’s original Metroidvania. I hear it’s one of the best, most challenging action platformers out there. It must be if the internet has been losing its mind about the sequel for all this time, right? I’ve always been curious about Hollow Knight, but it had become such a meme in my head that it almost made me forget that it was something I could actually download and play at any point in the past eight years. Now, we’re two weeks out from Silksong, and I guess it really is on me for waiting so long after observing the fervor from afar all this time. But there’s no time like the present to jump in, lest I fall even further behind on what is supposedly one of indie gaming’s crown jewels. — Kenneth Shepard

And that wraps our picks for the weekend! What are you playing?