Home Features What’s your video game junk food in these uncertain COVID-19 times?

What’s your video game junk food in these uncertain COVID-19 times?

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These are…weird times we’re living in, isn’t it? Right now I’m currently staring at the geese who have established their dominion over my local stretch of tarmac, their honking resonating throughout a quiet suburb as a declaration of war against the local bastard Hadedas. My dad is miserable because he can’t watch more recent examples of UFC fighters using face to fist techniques, all other sport has been cancelled and you can’t even drink the Coronavirus into oblivion.

Welcome to video game Valhalla then! For anyone cooped up inside, now is the best time ever to tackle your backlog. Those games which have been gathering digital dust in your Steam library, Xbox Game Pass subscription or your PS Plus collection that you were totally going to play as soon as you’d mastered not dying in Dark Souls.

The thing is, for all the options I have on my plate at any given time, I’m more content to dig deeper into a favourite game. For me, that’s Borderlands 3 currently. I’ve racked up a fair number of hours inside of that superb sequel since it released last year, but the majority of those binge sessions came from a single playthrough with Moze the Gunner.

She’s a fantastic force of mechanised nature when she climbs into her Iron Bear, her propensity for Vladof firearms makes here a bullet-spitting machine and provided that you’re willing to trade health for might then you’ll find that she brings plenty of firepower to the party. And yet, I feel like I’ve been doing Borderlands 3 a disservice by only relying on her. On the weekend, I finally dusted off the level 7 build of Zane the Operative and holy crap it’s amazing just how different he is to get the hang of.

A hitman kitted out with all the Hyperion tech that money can buy, Zane has an entire trio of skills that make him a battlefield force to be reckoned with. He can pop a shield when cornered or unleash a drone with impressive assault and battery life to thin the bandit hordes, but it’s his Digi-Clone power that I’ve been relying on to win plenty of fights. I’ve pretty much maxed out that skill tree, to create a handsome Irish hologram that can be used as an instant teleportation weapon of mass destruction while exploiting the power of various guns that it clones.

Marvellous stuff, which probably explains how I went from level 7 to level 39 in one massive weekend session. Now that’s the kind of gaming junk food I can happily shovel into my mouth, and I’ve yet to even try a new playthrough with the other two characters in Borderlands 3. There’s something special about a video game which can command so many hours of your time.

What are you playing though? Which video game have you dipped back into, like a big chip in a delicious sauce? Sound off below with your recommendations for video game junk food.

Last Updated: April 15, 2020

23 Comments

  1. I’m back on Terraria. That game can keep me occupied forever. It’s my most played on Steam for a reason. Didn’t even know there is a new update coming out next month when I started again.

    Reply

    • Pariah

      April 15, 2020 at 14:11

      Terraria is such a gem of a game. I literally never uninstall it, and that new update looks so good. 😀

      Reply

  2. Original Heretic

    April 15, 2020 at 14:06

    My favourite game during lockdown is “how long do I have to work before my son calls for me”.
    Current record is 36 minutes.

    Reply

  3. CrAiGiSh

    April 15, 2020 at 14:11

    CoD: Warzone.

    Reply

  4. Pariah

    April 15, 2020 at 14:11

    Path of Exile, Hearthstone Battlegrounds, My Time at Portia are my 3 current go-to’s. Though I spent some good time in Rimworld.

    Reply

    • GooseZA

      April 15, 2020 at 14:31

      How is My Time At Portia? I’ve just downloaded it the other day. My wife has got stuck into Stardew Valley (which I’m also tempted to do again but I already have a lot of hours in it) but MTAP looks quite lekker as well.

      Reply

      • Pariah

        April 15, 2020 at 14:41

        It’s pretty good once you get into it. Not going to win any awards, but a good chill game. Much less focus on building a farm as such (compared to Stardew), a lot more on just doing building contracts, and more focus on story progression.

        Reply

  5. Kervyn Cloete

    April 15, 2020 at 14:16

    Played thru A Way Out with a buddy over the weekend and holy crap what a fantastic game. Some amazing co-op gaming and a serious gut punch of storytelling.

    Currently also nearly done with Detroit: Become Human, which had also been gathering digital dust on my console. Damn I’m loving it.

    Reply

  6. GooseZA

    April 15, 2020 at 14:31

    Been on a bit of a relaxing game binge. I restarted and finally finished Outer Wilds over the long weekend. What a game!

    Currently deciding if I should dive back into Stardew Valley or try something new with My Time At Portia.

    Or carry on with Spyro.

    Reply

  7. jingleballs

    April 15, 2020 at 13:24

    Finally playing Assassins Creed Odyssey after never being a fan of the original games. I must say it is super enjoyable and I have already racked up a ton of hours in it and not even begun to scratch the main story.

    Reply

    • The D

      April 15, 2020 at 13:45

      Still want to try that and Origins, but the Dark Souls flavour is kiiiiiiiinda offputting.

      Reply

      • CrAiGiSh

        April 15, 2020 at 14:11

        Skip Origins for now.
        Go straight for Odyssey.

        Reply

      • OddSockZA

        April 15, 2020 at 16:40

        What Dark Souls flavour? It’s pretty much just an RPG.

        Reply

      • Original Heretic

        April 15, 2020 at 14:06

        You don’t like Dark Souls?!
        You just gotta take a good solid grip of it in your hands and…
        Oh, wait…

        Reply

        • Pariah

          April 15, 2020 at 14:11

          Dark Souls is so boring for me.

          Reply

          • Original Heretic

            April 15, 2020 at 18:02

            And you’re completely entitled to your opinion.
            It’s wrong, but you’re entitled to it.

  8. SagatatiaRZA

    April 15, 2020 at 14:36

    Been playing all the new games. Im working as of last week but before when I was in lockdown I just got as many new games as possible and finished them for a change. Doom Eternal, Animal Crossing, dipped into control and now I’m on FFVII. But as far as a time sink goes, Hearthstone Battlegrounds is eating a LOT of my time.

    Reply

  9. OK Doomer

    April 15, 2020 at 14:53

    Finally finished Doom Eternal. I’m tempted to up the difficulty and replay it. What a game. It’s so intense though, could barely manage two levels a day, psychologically.

    Binging right now on Total War: Warhammer II – I love this title too much, but in a way hate it too, as it can never end. Even a campaign with the same faction can play out entirely differently and it just gets better over time as they add content and patches. They even fixed the long AI turn times eventually. Trying out a Vampire Counts campaign under the banner of Vlad von Carstein, making vassal states of the neighbouring Empire provinces while aggressively expanding.

    Reading this though I may return to the Borderlands – have an unfinished FL4K playthrough which is in the end game, just never got round to finishing it. Thinking about it now, I’m not even sure why. Always wanted to try out Zane and his clone skill tree… and I’ve heard the DLC is pretty good too… (this is my conscience justifying 50 upcoming hours of my life to this).

    Reply

    • The D

      April 15, 2020 at 15:12

      DLC is alright! The first one is a great diversion, the second is a good time-killer. One other thing I’ve noticed as well, is that obtaining Legendary weapons is also easier. I’ve had multiple levels with my Zane playthrough that had three Loot Tinks running around.

      Wiped them out, opened all their satchels and I was swimming in high-level gear.

      Reply

      • Original Heretic

        April 15, 2020 at 18:02

        How much have you jammed with Amara?
        Maxing out her melee tree and with a few added items, she’s a monster.

        Reply

        • The D

          April 16, 2020 at 06:23

          I’m at level 6 with her I think? Once I’ve maxed out Zane, I’ll take a crack at powering her up.

          Reply

  10. OddSockZA

    April 15, 2020 at 16:43

    Man, I’ve been playing a lot more than usual, playing new stuff. Finished Ori and the Will of the Wisps, Played through Doom eternal and just finished up with Final Fantasy 7 Remake. All of them incredible.

    Reply

    • Skyblue

      April 17, 2020 at 16:16

      I made the mistake of playing Ori 2 immediately after finishing the first. They felt like very different games but both are incredible. I’m about 90% complete on the second but haven’t touched it in a few weeks now as the difficulty seemed a bit uneven and not all the abilities were very clear initially causing me to backtrack way more than the first game and waste more time than necessary.

      Just about done with DOOM Eternal but I wouldn’t wish it on anyone playing with a controller. What a fantastic game! I didn’t think ID could top DOOM (2016) but just wow!

      Reply

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