What We've Been Playing: Demonschool, Star-Lord, and Big Walk

This week’s rotation covers three very different moods: Star-Lord as a fast, combo-driven fighting game pick, Demonschool as an immediately welcoming tactics RPG, and Big Walk as a relaxed co-op adventure built around communication, puzzles, and short play sessions.

The early days of any fighting game are usually about finding the right main, and Star-Lord has landed in that spot for Connor. The appeal is in how the character can swap elemental shots in the middle of a combo, which gives matches a rhythm that feels flexible without becoming overwhelming. Green Goblin, by comparison, has been a harder sell, with the glider-based kit asking for more planning and precision than Connor wants from the roster right now.

Online play has also been part of the draw. Crossplay is switched off, which keeps PC opponents out of the matchmaking pool, but the bigger attraction is the prospect of taking the game to a nearby local gathering. That shift from online sets to in-person matches says a lot about how a fighting game starts to take hold once a character clicks.

Bertie’s week has been shaped by Demonschool, a tactics role-playing game released late last year. What stands out most is not some steep learning curve or dramatic difficulty spike, but how quickly it gets its hooks in. For someone who says games can often lose their grip early, that ease matters, and Demonschool seems designed to make a strong first impression through tone, combat clarity, and pace.

Its lead, Faye, is an argumentative and energetic student heading into a place that sounds threatening and often is, but she meets it with enthusiasm rather than dread. That attitude carries through the writing, which is unvoiced but still lively, helped by bright portrait art that gives conversations plenty of personality. The result is a game that feels animated even when it is only using text and still images.

The combat helps just as much. Demonschool uses grid-based encounters that center on positioning, movement, and the careful setup of chained attacks. Enemies are there to be manipulated as much as damaged, and each turn seems built to encourage a satisfying sequence rather than a single isolated action. That structure recalls the push-and-pull puzzle logic that makes the best tactical systems readable at a glance while still leaving room for creativity.

Outside of that, Bertie has continued making steady progress in Slay the Spire 2 and Hades 2, both of which remain regular fixtures. There was also a return to Grand Theft Auto 5 on PC, although that came with a familiar downside: motion sickness. Even so, the game still leaves a strong impression years later, largely because its scale and texture remain hard to match.

Kelsey’s pick this week is Big Walk, though it comes with a practical limitation. A painful dominant arm has reduced how much game time is comfortable right now, turning longer sessions into something to avoid. Big Walk fits around that problem neatly because it works well in small chunks and does not demand constant high-speed inputs.

That pacing is part of why it has become such a good match. Big Walk is cosy, built around communication between friends and the confusion that follows when that communication breaks down. It is a game about moving through space together, solving tactile puzzles, and enjoying the odd comedy that comes from a group trying to coordinate imperfectly. A gentle soundtrack ties the whole thing together, giving even brief sessions a warm, easygoing feel.

The group has not made it especially far yet, but the structure seems to support that kind of gradual progress. Big Walk does not sound diminished by being played in short bursts. If anything, it seems suited to it, especially when the pleasure comes as much from the company and the journey as from reaching the next objective.