Video games
Image: Zion Grassl / Time Extension

We're another week closer to the end of 2022, and much has happened in the past few days.

We discovered that a Virtual Boy Bonk game almost existed, for example. And that the Castlevania: SOTN Game.com prototype was up on eBay. We also found an obscure Japanese anime and manga series that could have provided the inspiration for Metroid.

In terms of features, it was another packed week:

With that all out of the way, here's what we're playing this weekend.

Damien McFerran, Editorial Director

My copy of Atari 50 isn't here yet, but it's fine – my trusty Analogue Pocket has been keeping me busy. I've fallen in love (again) with the SNES RPG Arcana, which has to rank as one of my favourite games of all time. I just love everything about it; the visuals, the sense of progression, the music... it's one of HAL's real undiscovered gems, and I recommend it to anyone who has even the slightest interest in the genre.

Jack Yarwood, Staff Writer

I’m still not tired of Atari 50 yet, so that’s still strictly on the gaming menu. I’ve also just this week got a huge haul of Grand Theft Auto games, including handheld titles like Grand Theft Auto for the GBA and Chinatown Wars for DS, so I’ll be sure to boot them up at some point. I’m really enjoying games that I can just dip into for 30 minutes at a time at the moment, as opposed to lengthy cinematic titles. If anything, it’s given me a bit of a break from the big gaming discourse around games like God of War: Ragnarok.

Gonçalo Lopes, Contributor

The final five missions for Air Force Delta are on this weekend's flight schedule, and I hope to jump onto the Xbox game next, another entry I never played before. My living room is still a bit of a mess thanks to SEGA and its two latest minis (Mega Drive 2 and Astro City V), and I will be celebrating the life and work of Kevin Conroy by replaying a Batman game that most seem to have forgotten: WayForwad’s Batman: The Brave and the Bold on Wii. It would also be criminal to ignore this week’s Arcade Archives: Metal Black could be called “Darius Noir”, and no one would bat an eye. Being a Game Boy kid, I never owned or played on an Atari Lynx. That is one of several dozen treats stashed on the Atari 50 cartridge that didn't quite make it home last weekend, but will surely eat up quite some time from this one. Over one hour of exclusive video interviews, you say? Please pass the popcorn.