The Video Games You Should Play This Weekend – June 19
Overview & Key Takeaways
Summer Game Fest was last week, and it was a hell of a week, but that was no reason for us to rest or catch our breath this week. Along with continuing to share details about our time at the show in Los Angeles, we also launched a new issue! Halo: Campaign Evolved is the cover game and we dove deep into the game and its newly added prequel levels, but we also have a big retrospective on the making of the first game. It's a good issue.
But it's the weekend so you want to relax and play some video games, right? And you need some help learning what kind of games are good and available to play, right? Well, we have all that, but first, take a look at some of the biggest stories of the week below.
- Cover Reveal – Halo: Campaign Evolved
- From Making Witcher 3 To The Blood Of Dawnwalker | Video Interview
- Why It's Called Final Fantasy VII Revelation Instead Of 'Resolve' Or Other Subtitles
- What Happened To Warren Spector And OtherSide’s System Shock 3?
- The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales Review - History Repeats Itself
- Grand Theft Auto VI Pre-Order Date And Cover Art Revealed
Steam Next Fest
Kyle Hilliard
Rather than one specific game, as we usually offer on this weekly list, allow us to point you to Steam Next Fest. The annual event elevates tons of free demos for upcoming games on Steam and there are lots of of good ones worth checking out. There are also plenty of demos for games we played and covered at Summer Game Fest, so you can get your hands on some of the games that we were the most excited about, like Blood Dungeon (seen above).
We've been exploring demos ourselves and have some suggestions at the link below.
Game Informer's Favorite Steam Next Fest Demos – Summer 2026 Edition
Valve has also kindly shared a list of the most-played Steam Next Fest demos, and you can check out that list below.
- Echoes of Aincrad
- Mistfall Hunter
- Over the Hill
- Iron Nest: Heavy Turret Simulator
- Empulse
- Dust Front RTS
- The Mound: Omen of Cthulhu
- Embers of the Uncrowned
- Bombanana!
- Casualties: Unknown
The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales
Kyle Hilliard
Charles Harte reviewed The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales this week giving it a 7.75 and writing, "While it's not particularly exceptional or exciting, it is both adequate and effective. I doubt The Adventures of Elliot will replace Zelda in anyone's list of favorites, but across my roughly 25 hours, I was always glad to pick my Switch 2 back up and play some more."
The game was released yesterday, and I generally agree with Charles' sentiment that it is a solid if unspectacular game. I have been enjoying my time with it and was surprised by how much Zelda influence exists in the game. It lacks the clever and rewarding puzzles of Zelda, but the combat is simple and solid, and exploring the various dungeons and figuring out how to navigate them is enjoyable.
I will offer a tip, though – go into the game settings and turn the partner chattiness down to reticent. Trust me on this.
And Roger
Marcus Stewart
I sang And Roger’s praises in my review last year, but with the game out on Switch 2 and mobile devices this week, a broader audience can (and should) experience this emotional narrative adventure. At the low cost of $4.99 (currently discounted to $3.49), you’re treated to an hour-long narrative adventure boasting clever mechanics about a frightened girl who finds a mysterious man in her home. I won’t say anything more about the plot, as the crux of the adventure is about figuring out what’s happening, but trust me when I say it’s a memorable and affecting journey you shouldn’t miss a second time around.
Tabletop pick – Dead Cells: The Rogue-Lite Board Game
Matt Miller
It's still relatively rare that tabletop game makers manage to successfully transition strong video game properties into great board games. One of the happy exceptions is Dead Cells, which manages to translate the fast action of the video game experience into an excellent 1- to 4-player cooperative board game that is incredibly fun to play and return to again and again.
The card-focused battles are great fun, offering intriguing tactical decisions about how to confront the many foes that lie in your path. And it's exciting to dive into different biomes as you navigate forward. But the real hook is the way many of the potential mutations/upgrade cards for your characters are locked and unavailable the first time you open the game. You only acquire access to those after repeated run-throughs of a play, offering ample reason for replay – just like in the video game. If you love Dead Cells or roguelites more generally, but you'd be interested in a larger cooperative experience to play with friends on game night, this one is a sure bet.
It's still relatively rare that tabletop game makers manage to successfully transition strong video game properties into great board games. One of the happy exceptions is Dead Cells, which manages to translate the fast action of the video game experience into an excellent 1- to 4-player cooperative board game that is incredibly fun to play and return to again and again.
The card-focused battles are great fun, offering intriguing tactical decisions about how to confront the many foes that lie in your path. And it's exciting to dive into different biomes as you navigate forward. But the real hook is the way many of the potential mutations/upgrade cards for your characters are locked and unavailable the first time you open the game. You only acquire access to those after repeated run-throughs of a play, offering ample reason for replay – just like in the video game. If you love Dead Cells or roguelites more generally, but you'd be interested in a larger cooperative experience to play with friends on game night, this one is a sure bet.
