What to Play This Weekend, October 10–11: TOP 9 VGTimes Editors' Picks

Microsoft's restructuring continues — people are being laid off, and many internal studios are either going independent or shutting down altogether. According to the latest reports, Ninja Theory, the team that gave us the Hellblade series and the Devil May Cry reboot, is set to be disbanded. Initially, the plan was to hand the studio over to another publisher, but apparently no deal was reached. The fate of the announced Senua is now in question. But there's good news from Microsoft too — the company has released a new atmospheric third-person shooter. We cover it and other fresh releases of the week in this article.

A prequel to the main events of the series, developed by the creators of the fourth and fifth installments at The Coalition together with People Can Fly, known for Bulletstorm and Painkiller. The key characters are the familiar Marcus Fenix and Dom Santiago, who have to survive Emergence Day. That's when the Locust first emerged from underground and attacked the cities of planet Sera. Judging by the reviews, E-Day has kept the strengths of the original trilogy — it's a brutal third-person shooter that plays just as energetically as it did 20 years ago.

The official game set in the Hellraiser universe, featuring actor Doug Bradley, who played Pinhead, and Clive Barker himself, the writer and director of the first film. It's a first-person survival horror game. In the story, a girl named Sunny opens the Box, after which the Cenobites drag her to hell, and her boyfriend follows and ends up in a strange labyrinth. To get out, you'll need to solve puzzles and fight off the local monsters. A solid choice for Hellraiser fans and horror lovers. If blood and dismemberment on screen don't scare you, check out our selection of the most brutal and bloody games on PC and consoles.

Jonathan Blow is known for the platformer Braid and the puzzle game The Witness. Both are considered classics of their genres. His new project is an adventure in a fantasy world full of magic and terrifying monsters. The characters' abilities play an important role here — the warrior, the thief, and the wizard each have unique skills you need to use to solve the game's puzzles.

If you've been missing racing games, take a look at Galactic Racer. You become the pilot of a repulsorcraft competing in the Galactic League. The developers managed to convey the feeling of piloting a hovering racer at enormous speeds and preserve the atmosphere of the races from the first episode of George Lucas's space saga. The result is a spiritual successor to the classic Star Wars Episode 1: Racer. You'll find more games set in this universe in our selection of the best Star Wars games of all time on PC and consoles.

This Metroidvania takes place in the ruins of a fallen civilization. Your task is to explore the world around you and understand how it works and the laws it follows. This is how you'll unlock new abilities and progress further. The events are confined to a time loop, as in Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask and Deathloop, but the protagonist has to find a way to break it. The developers name Ori and the Blind Forest and Outer Wilds as their main sources of inspiration. The pleasant visuals of Echo Weaver, styled after modern animated films, also deserve a special mention.

The boomer shooter Paperhead takes place in a world drawn on cardboard. This shows in both the game's look and its gameplay. Besides standard weapons, you have an ordinary pencil. With it, you can draw doors to pass through walls, bombs to destroy enemies, and much more. The grim style also deserves a mention, along with the abundance of blood and violence, such as burning drawn characters alive. Fans of the genre should check out our selection of the best FPS games on PC, PS5, Xbox and Switch.

It may seem like a cozy game where you deliver cargo from one point to another, try to get everything there in one piece, and gradually upgrade your pickup truck. But it soon becomes clear that the forest near the village hides dark secrets. And you're guaranteed to run into them as you play Truckful.

This open-world survival game with four-player co-op has arrived in early access. It's set on Earth after a series of disasters. The main enemy here is the cold. To stay alive, you need to get warm clothes, warm up in time, and find shelter from snowstorms. But you can't just sit tight in one place, since resources will run out quickly, so you'll have to keep moving forward. A loyal dog will help you out: it can scout ahead, haul supplies, and warn you of danger.

The main strength of this game is its touching story about the life of one particular person. We'll go through his victories and defeats, see that many hopes didn't pan out and dreams didn't come true, but we'll also witness acts of courage and true friendship. The gameplay here is simple — it stays in the background and only complements the storytelling. If you like this approach, be sure to launch Forever Ago and play it to the end. And after that, check out our selection of the best adventure games on PC, PS5, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch.

Here you'll find games that used to be sold for money but can now be claimed completely free. Such promotions are often time-limited, but they're definitely running this weekend.

ARC Raiders, one of the best modern extraction shooters, has received a major update called Frozen Trail with a new winter map, dangerous enemies we haven't seen before, and other content. To celebrate, the game is free to play from October 8 to 12. You can launch it on Steam, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.

Out of Sight is an atmospheric puzzle horror game that resembles the Little Nightmares series in both look and gameplay. The main difference is the camera angles. From time to time, the camera moves over the protagonist's shoulder, which only heightens the tension. The game is available for free on the Epic Games Store from October 8 to 15.

TerraScape is a city-building strategy game with card game elements. Here, you'll build a deck that directly affects your options. Otherwise, it's a typical representative of the genre. While building, you need to take the surrounding terrain and available natural resources into account, and make sure your buildings complement each other well. As with Out of Sight, you can download the game on the Epic Games Store at no cost from October 8 to 15.

This section features games that didn't make it into the main list. We bring you a major expansion for a role-playing game, a non-linear horror game with detective elements, and an unusual hybrid of a Metroidvania and a survival game.

Mycopsychosys: Project Jupiter is a horror game about surviving a dangerous infection. It combines expeditions into quarantine zones with everyday office life and routine duties. Along the way, you'll talk to your colleagues and try to figure out what caused the disease. The game entered early access on October 5.

Silver Pines is a 2D Metroidvania with survival elements. You'll need to search for valuable resources, solve various puzzles, and fight monsters. Reviewers especially praise the game's dark atmosphere and the constant sense of danger, which can be felt even in peaceful moments.

Dragon's Dogma 2: Dark Arisen is a DLC that adds a new snowy region where you'll unravel the mystery of the immortal Fallen Dragon. On top of that, it brings another female companion, more than a dozen dungeons, and unique gear. A solid reason to return to the world of Dragon's Dogma.

What are you playing this weekend? Tell us in the comments!