Kotaku Weekend Guide: 3 Great Games To Say Goodbye To March With
March is nearly over, and what better way to spend the final days of the month than curled up at home and playing video games? Welcome to Kotaku's weekend guide, where we give you a few suggestions of cool games you can play right now if you're avoiding your backlog or just want to add another game to the pile. You've worked hard all week, so you deserve some time to yourself to play good games. Here are our recommendations, gift-wrapped and delivered straight to you.
Play it on: PS4, PC, Xbox One
Current goal: Raise Hell
With the Devil May Cry anime coming to Netflix next week, I've got Dante on the mind. Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening was a formative game for me as a pre-teen, and there aren't many character action games that have lived up to that high for me. It kinda spoiled me on the genre, really. Series that don't have that same vicious challenge and campy style don't hit the same. It's my go-to 'challenge' game, and not even a Soulsborne matches the satisfaction I remember feeling as I landed blows on Dante's twin brother Vergil in the game's later boss fights. DmC: Devil May Cry, 4, and 5 didn't quite hit the same for me, but I probably should give 5 another chance. More than anything, though, I want to go back to the old PS2 games, and luckily they're readily available thanks to the HD Collection on PC, PS4, and Xbox One. — Kenneth Shepard
Play it on: Switch
Current goal: Find Nelson and his missing squad
Spring always gets me in the mood for a good JRPG and the Xenoblade series, with its focus on vast bucolic landscapes and massive wildlife, always feels like an especially good fit this time of year. I picked up Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition last week and instantly got into the MMO-lite groove of exploring its sprawling alien planet. Things have been slow going, however, due in part to all the games coming out this month (including but not limited to The Last Berserker: Khazan, Assassin's Creed Shadows, and Cataclysmo).
So I'm excited to dive back into it more deeply this weekend. I'm still less than a third of the way through, but man, it holds up surprisingly well. There's very little that I miss coming from Xenoblade Chronicles 3 and I think it looks great and runs exceptionally well on Switch despite the aging hardware and lack of a major technical leap from the Wii U where the game was previously trapped. It's Jurassic World meets mech-infused 'go slay god' anime sci-fi vibes and I have a feeling I'll be slowly chipping away at it for the rest of the year, especially if it secretly runs at 60fps on Switch 2 as currently seems to be the case. — Ethan Gach
Play it on: just about anything
Current goal: Bring some justice to the streets
Lately I've been on a kick of revisiting Capcom's incredible beat 'em ups of the late '80s through the mid '90s, or in some cases playing through them for the first time. This past week, a friend and I played the company's excellent pair of licensed Dungeons & Dragons brawlers—Tower of Doom and Shadow over Mystara—via the compilation Chronicles of Mystara, and I was so impressed by their satisfying combat, their bevy of secrets and alternate pathways, and their incorporation of inventory systems and magic items. Now, this weekend, I want to go back to the game that kicked off Capcom's genre-defining run of beat 'em ups: 1989's Final Fight.
When I think of the quintessential beat 'em up, I think of Final Fight. I remember how incredible it was to see this game in an arcade or at a nearby laundromat or convenience store back then; those massive sprites, those crunchy digitized voice samples, that hard-hitting combat. It was one of those games that you knew instantly would change a genre forever, transforming and refining the core principles established in earlier games like Double Dragon and Renegade into something more immediately accessible, appealing, and unforgettable. I haven't played Final Fight in many years, and the friend I've been playing these games with lately never has. So this weekend, I think it's time for Metro City Mayor Mike Haggar to once again hit the pavement, pile-drive some members of the Mad Gear gang and, before all is said and done, confront the true source of evil: a wealthy and powerful man, overseeing his criminal empire from the top of a glass tower, far above the dilapidated streets and subway cars that define Final Fight's incredible depiction of a city on the brink of ruin. — Carolyn Petit
For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Buzz Feed
30 minutes ago
- Buzz Feed
Fina Strazza On 'John Proctor' Broadway Success
John Proctor Is The Villain is one of Broadway's most buzzed-about plays. In the coming-of-age story, a group of students begin studying The Crucible at the start of the #MeToo movement. As a series of events come to light, the students question their perspective on The Crucible and their own lives. Nominated for Best Featured Actress in a Play, Fina Strazza portrays Beth, the serious but sweet leader of the newly formed Feminist club. With the Tony Awards right around the corner, I hopped on Zoom with Fina to learn more about her experience in John Proctor Is The Villain, and the new Netflix film Fear Street: Prom is a spoiler-free This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Did you read The Crucible before auditioning for John Proctor Is The Villain? Fina: I never read The Crucible in high school, but I read it once I found out I would be doing John Proctor. I didn't actually ever audition. I did a workshop of it two years ago with Danya [Taymor, the director], Kimberly [Belflower, the playwright], and Sadie [Sink, who plays Shelby]. During our first week of rehearsal, Danya assigned each of us a character from The Crucible that aligned with our character in John Proctor Is the Villain, and we read it aloud. I also watched the movie with Winona Ryder and Daniel Day-Lewis, and there's something very particular about seeing a production like that. The movie is kind of able to skew your perspective just in the way it's edited, and in the way that they portray the story. It kind of lights a very harsh light on Abigail, and she does seem like this sort of 'villain' character, where John Proctor comes out looking like the hero. Reading the play out loud with my castmates is what really skewed my perspective into seeing John Proctor under a different light. Something really awesome about this show is that even though it has this very direct and very assertive title, it's not necessarily aiming to be this declaration that there is one perspective on The Crucible, and that John Proctor is this bad guy. It's more about being open to opposing perspectives and reevaluating these historical texts, allowing the possibility that some heroes may not be as heroic as we think they are. Through this whole process, I've been able to have multiple perspectives on The Crucible. I've learned that it's a really rich story, and there are a lot of different discussions to be had about it. I loved the use of music in John Proctor, like Lorde's "Green Light." What is your connection to the music used in the play? Do you sing and write music yourself? Fina: I'm not as much of a songwriter, but I do love to sing. I'm kind of a walking radio. I grew up doing musical theater. I started on Broadway in Matilda, way back when, so my heart has always been with the music. I didn't grow up listening to Taylor Swift and Lorde as much as these girls did. But I think there's something so wonderful about how deeply these teenage girls connect over music. Even though those weren't the songs that I grew up with, I also have songs I have a visceral connection to. My best friends in high school, our dance, our "Green Light," would have been "Shut Up and Dance" [by Walk The Moon]. That song was everything to us, and it forever reminds me of these girls who shaped my entire childhood. I just had dinner with them last night and talked about the song again, because it's this integral part of our upbringing. I think it's really awesome how much the show highlights the importance of music, the connection it causes, and how it becomes this core memory. You mentioned that you workshopped the play with Danya and Sadie. Were you always considered for the role of Beth, or did you ever consider other parts? Fina: I recently found this out — I believe Danya and Kimberly had seen a tape of me auditioning for another play, and then invited me to work on this workshop with them.I knew only about Beth because that was my introduction to the show. I wasn't familiar with other characters before being cast as Beth, but I don't see myself connecting with any other role in the same way. I think I feel a very deep connection to Beth. I've also had a lot of conversations with our playwright, Kimberly Belflower, about how she sees herself in Beth, and how Beth is kind of inspired by her younger self. I feel very close to Kimberly through that, and I feel very close to the show. There's this pride that I take in bringing this role to life, and I couldn't see it any other way. Everybody is where they're meant to be, and it is like this beautiful symphony that we play every night. That's what Danya always says, we are like this nine-piece orchestra, all tuned perfectly. Beth's character evolves quite a bit, especially in Act 2. How do you feel your performance has evolved over time? Fina: You'll be doing the show one night and feel like you've really gotten it, and you'll feel like, "Wow, I can't imagine learning more about this character — I'm so a part of her already!" Then the next week, you're like, "Oh my gosh, my world is opening even more!" It's a really awesome thing that happens when you're doing a show. I can only imagine that the more I do it, the more I'll feel you continue, there's just so much more to learn. There's something about Beth where she can come off as a little naive at times and have a few slip-ups throughout her arc, where she might not, in my opinion, have the right perspective on an actor, it can be hard to let your character have those mishaps and let her be seen in this negative way by the audience for a moment. The more I've done the show, the more I realize the benefit of leaning into those uglier moments. That can be really hard to do, because I'm on stage, and our audience has been super vocal. When they don't like someone, they tell us. There have been people in the front row who say, "Girl, what are you doing?" audibly, which is hilarious, but it can be hard to lean into those more difficult moments. I think I'm learning to let her have her mistakes, and then it'll have a better outcome in the end. I've always wondered what it's like to be on a Broadway stage. What is that feeling for you when you step on stage? Fina: I was on Broadway when I was younger. It was 11 years ago now, and the last time I did theater was 7 years ago. After Matilda, I did off-Broadway and some out-of-town opens. I did theater a lot as a child, and as a kid, I always thought of it as the world's best playground. To me, the audience was never really there, and I was just always having a lot of fun. I was 8 years old when I was last on Broadway; I don't think it was possible for me to realize the weight of what I was doing. In these past years, I've often wished I just understood it a little bit more, so I could have appreciated those moments on stage a little more. Now I'm making sure I'm soaking everything up in our rehearsals and through our previews and during tech. Every time I'm on stage, I want to savor every moment. I think there's a real gratitude to being on stage.I've done film and TV, and obviously, the audience isn't right there, so it's hard to see who is taking the time to watch you and absorb your work. So there's this gratitude when you're on stage, because the people who have paid to be there are sat right in front of you. They're there for the 2 hours, and they're locked in, and they're in their seats, and there's just something really special about that. I think there's this constant wheel of gratitude being an actor on who plays Lee, said there's something awesome about having the audience right there — they feel like they can change what happens, and like they have this agency where they can change the story. They kind of do. Depending on how much they're reacting, if they're an audience who laughs more, or if they're crying more, it does alter the way we play into them, and the way that we hit certain beats. It is this ebb and flow, and it becomes this cool, symbiotic relationship. Do you have any favorite memories with the cast? Fina: Danya is such a great physical director. We did a lot of work with the script to start off the process, but she did it in a very fun way, so it didn't feel like we're just sat at a table doing table one of our first days of rehearsal, she had us all come in, and she said we're gonna work on the script today — except she pointed at Sadie, and she was like, "You're gonna play Mr. Smith." Gabe, who plays Mr. Smith, was gonna play Shelby, and I ended up playing Lee. Maggie Kuntz, who plays Ivy, ended up playing Raelynn, and we were all just jumbled. It was a really awesome way to receive your character and be an audience for the words that you were going to be speaking. You had a chance to see someone else's acting choices on your role, surrendering to those choices, and maybe taking inspiration from them. You also gain respect for other people's roles, being like, "Oh, this is a hard scene to do — you're gonna have to do this every night!" I've never had a director do that before, and afterwards, it was this very jovial experience where we kind of had this understanding of one another's paths and tracks. It was a really fun day. It also led to a lot of laughter, because Sadie was playing a grown man, and I think Hagan, who plays Lee, was playing Miss Gallagher, and it was just these miscast funny times. I really enjoyed that. Huge congratulations to you, the cast, and the crew! You're the youngest Tony nominee this year; what was your reaction to hearing your nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Play? Fina: When you're waiting for news like that, there's this roller coaster you send yourself on the whole week leading up to it, feeling guilty that you even think it's a consideration. Because you're like, "Who am I to think that? I shouldn't even be worried about this!" Then you're at a high point in the day, and you're thinking, "Oh, maybe it could happen!" Then you plummet back down to, "Who do I think I am?"I'd already been on this wild ride of emotions for the week leading up to it, so on the day of, I was like, "Maybe I should just get some sleep. I won't watch the broadcast, I won't set an alarm." But I ended up naturally waking up at the time that it started. My feed was delayed, so I didn't even see my category come up on screen, and before anything was announced on my end, my phone just started blowing up. I picked up a phone call from my mom, and she was the one who told me, she was like, "You're nominated, you're nominated!" and immediately, I kinda blacked out, you know, I don't remember so much after that. I grew up in New York, and Broadway, and the Tonys have always been the biggest thing for me. I know every single word to Neil Patrick Harris's 2013 Tony opening — that is peak theater. I think I'm still not really able to comprehend what this moment means. Every event that I've gotten to go to so far for the nominees, I kind of feel like I've been given this all-access fan pass. I'm just looking at everybody around me, and I'm like, these are the people that I grew up with. These are the people that my mom would show me doing their cabaret shows on YouTube, and just none of it feels real. It's all been very surreal. I watched Fear Street: Prom Queen on Netflix last night, and it was terrifying. Tiffany is a much different character from Beth. Was it a fun experience getting to do a horror film? Fina: Yeah, it was very, very, very different. I had never played a mean girl before, so this was a very exciting challenge. I was able to just have a lot of fun on this shoot. I ended up becoming very close friends with the entire cast. We had around 15 principal cast members on set every day, and we became this really tightly knit pack. We started basically filming this movie in between our conversations with each other. I don't think that Tiffany and Beth would get along so well, but they're both fun to play in their different rights. Did you get to meet R.L. Stine? Fina: You know, he was supposed to make a cameo in the film, but he was sick, and it was on the day that we were filming in the diner. He couldn't make it, and so someone from his estate came instead, on his behalf, to say hi. John Proctor Is the Villain is an incredible play. What do you hope audiences take away from your performance? Fina: I feel like the phrase that I keep repeating throughout this whole process is just, "Whose life am I living?" That's what this whole process has felt like. There's been something very spiritual and witchy about all of it that feels like I've been granted a magical luck spell. I hope that audiences are moved by the show and by my performance.I received a letter from someone at the stage door the other day that was really meaningful and made me feel like Beth was doing something right. It said a similar instance that happens in the show happened to her in high school, and she reacted to the situation similarly to how Beth does. Through the show, and through Beth, she was able to grant her younger self some forgiveness for the way she acted, because she didn't know any better, and she was just acting on what she'd been taught. Just to know that someone was moved by the show enough to connect it back to their own selves was really awesome. It's always important to grant your younger self some forgiveness — to feel connected to your personal self and allow your younger self to take up some space and be granted some forgiveness and healing. Thank you, Fina, for sharing great insight! See John Proctor Is The Villain at the Booth Theatre until July 13th, and keep up with Fina on Instagram. If you like horror, don't miss Fear Street: Prom Queen on Netflix.
Yahoo
44 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Netflix Stock Get Bullish Price Target From Jefferies
Jefferies raised its price target for Netflix stock to $1,400, which implies a 15% return from where shares closed Monday and is well above Visible Alpha's consensus price target. Netflix is expected to benefit from a lineup of strong releases, future price increases, and improving ad revenue, analysts said. They estimate Netflix may bring in as much as $10 billion in ad revenue through a lot for investors to tune into at Netflix, Jefferies said. Jefferies reiterated its 'buy' rating of Netflix (NFLX) stock Tuesday, saying a solid release lineup, additional price increases and ad revenue are likely to bolster shares. Analysts raised their price target to $1,400, about 15% above where shares closed Monday. Jefferies' target is well above the average analyst price target of $1,192 compiled by Visible Alpha that implies a roughly 2% loss. 'We continue to see a favorable catalyst path for NFLX over the short, medium, and long-term,' Jefferies said, adding: 'Over the next 5 yrs, we believe NFLX should sustain 20%+ EPS." Netflix will likely be able to retain customers in 2025 while cracking down on password sharing and collecting recently raised subscription fees, thanks to 'one of the best' release lineups in recent memory, Jefferies said. Anticipated releases include new episodes of Squid Game, Stranger Things and Wednesday, the research note said. Ad revenue is poised to grow in the coming year, and potentially create a '$10B opportunity through 2030,' Jefferies said. Netflix may also benefit from expanding live sports and entertainment offerings and future subscription fee increases, the note said. Shares were down less than 1% in recent trading but have gained nearly 37% so far this year. Read the original article on Investopedia Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
40 Percent of Gamers Wait for Major Discounts - Here's Why That Matters
LONDON, June 03, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Digital entertainment marketplace Eneba has revealed a new set of data that provides insight into a new generation of gamers. In their latest survey, 40% of players said that a game only becomes worth buying with a steep discount. As game prices climb, deal-driven consumption is no longer a fringe habit - it's the central force shaping today's $85 billion games market. The Discount Generation It's no longer a niche tactic to look for discounted Steam keys. According to Eneba's survey, 48% of gamers rank price as the most important factor when making a purchase, above other factors like graphics, online reviews, or platform exclusivity. The stereotype of the impulsive gamer chasing the latest AAA release is fading. Instead, a methodical, value-first mindset thrives: wishlists get longer, impulse buys get rarer, and deals dictate demand. This isn't just belt-tightening. As more players jump across PlayStation, Xbox, and PC, 70% say game deals tempt them to be less loyal to any single system. Loyalty is migrating: not to brands, but to bargains. Gamers Take Back Control With platform exclusivity losing its grip, discount culture is democratizing access. Cloud gaming and cross-platform play remove barriers, encouraging players to shop around and compare value. Xbox is already making moves to align itself with this new landscape - sharing its biggest titles, such as Forza Horizon 5, with PlayStation gamers. Publishers who rely on brand allegiance, early hype, or locked ecosystems are up against a consumer base that increasingly waits, compares, and pounces when prices drop. How Eneba Delivers the Value Eneba's strategy isn't about opportunistic sales but about architecting a discount-driven ecosystem. Every element, from Steam keys to subscription discounts, global payment options, and strong buyer protection, is designed for the discerning gamer who won't settle for second-best deals. Eneba is built for everyone seeking accessible and better-priced gaming. As budgets tighten and prices continue to rise, latest research shows that value has shifted from a perk to the baseline, a trend expected to grow. About Eneba Eneba is a digital entertainment marketplace that has served over 15 million buyers. Founded in 2018, Eneba has rapidly grown into a trusted ecosystem for gamers with game keys, gift cards, and mobile top-ups at the best prices, backed by robust customer support and fraud prevention measures. CONTACT: media@
