We are days away from autumn, with the fall equinox arriving on Monday, September 22.That means this is officially the last week you can get your summer gaming done! And with the friggin’ 80-degree weather we’ve got hitting us on the east coast right now, summer sure as hell is fighting to stay. Sadly, among other miseries, unseasonable weather is likely to remain part of our reality.
Anyway, if you’re looking to escape from said reality, we’re here with suggestions for some lovely games you should check out. Let’s get to it!
Ratatan
Play it on: Windows PCs (Steam Early Access, Steam Deck: “Unknown”)
Current goal: Help all my little buds flourish
Patapon was a simple but effective rhythm-based strategy RPG for the PlayStation Portable that you kind of had to be there for. Little glyph-shaped eyeballs who throw spears at monsters and recover resources from each fight get more powerful and continue their journey. What made it special was not only the neat art and clever genre mashup, but the cute, Yoshi’s World-like music you played to enact your survival tactics.
The original team behind the series was ultimately scattered to the winds and that era of handheld gaming is effectively dead. It seemed unlikely that we would ever gaze upon the likes of Patapon again. But against all odds, Hiroyuki Kotani and other veteran designers from that team returned with a Kickstarted spiritual successor called Ratatan that’s every bit as beautiful and charming. Out in Early Access on Steam this week, the roguelike rhythm brawler arrives with more ambition and deeper gameplay systems than its predecessor.
I’ve only gotten a couple hours with it so far but it feels like a fresh start rather than a warmed-over retread. The future for Ratatan feels bright. There’s already a roadmap promising three major updates throughout the rest of the year. I can’t wait for it to come to Switch. I also can’t wait to play more Ratatan this weekend. – Ethan Gach
The Last Friend
Play it on: Switch, Windows PCs (Steam Deck: “Playable”)
Current goal: Save the dogs
I know we usually try to talk about games we’re playing this weekend, but I’m playing Sonic Racing: Crossworlds, and that’s not out yet for most people. So instead of writing about what I’m playing right now, I opened up Steam, scrolled through my library, and picked a game from my past that I don’t think I’ve written about for a Kotaku Weekend Guide before. The Last Friend was a pretty special game to me when it launched in 2021. I covered it a fair bit at my last job, including doing an interview with the developers about their recreations of fans’ dogs in the game’s art style, and that article has sadly been lost to the impermanent state of the Internet. But what hasn’t been lost is Stonebot’s excellent tower defense game about a post-apocalyptic world in which the last surviving dogs help you defend your mobile home base as you save the rest of the world’s remaining doggos. If that doesn’t sound dope to you, then I don’t think we would be friends. – Kenneth Shepard
Little Witch in the Woods
Play it on: Xbox Series X/S, Windows PCs (Steam Deck: “Playable”)
Current goal: Explore!
I’ve been playing some intense games lately. Whether it’s getting my ass kicked in Silksong or facing down terrifying nightmares in a game I can’t quite talk about just yet, my nervous system is often strained.
Much as I love that kinda thing, I do enjoy taking a break from all the adrenaline. And so this weekend, I’m hoping to spend some time with a “cozy” pixel-art game adorably titled Little Witch in the Woods. It left early access a few days ago and while I’ve not had too much time with it yet, it’s definitely piqued my interest.
Like many of these “cozy games,” Little Witch in the Woods sees you wander about peaceful settings to make friends, gather resources, and craft. There are a lot of these games out there, and sometimes they can be kind of dry. But from the beginning, the playful spirit of the game’s protagonist, a young witch named Ellie, immediately got a few chuckles out of me and I just knew I had to spend some more time tagging along on her adventure. She’s a bit of a troublemaker, with a curious spirit that sees her quick to disobey orders if it means she’s treated to finding something spectacular. She’s a bit eccentric, if not obsessive, which I think pairs well with the game’s premise of gathering and documenting all sorts of wonders in this magical setting.
Also you get to play with cats! – Claire Jackson
Dying Light: The Beast
Play it on: PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Windows PCs (Steam Deck: “Verified”)
Current goal: Level up my Beast Mode!
I’ve been playing a lot of Dying Light: The Beast this week and enjoying basically every minute of it. I don’t think Techland gets enough credit as a developer, and the studio is perhaps one of the best at making big open-world games that are both fun to explore and also mechanically deep. And The Beast is no exception. In fact, this might be the studio’s best one yet.
Read More: Dying Light: The Beast Is One Of The Best Open-World Games Of 2025
Sure, going BEAST MODE is silly, but it also feels amazing to rip apart 20 zombies in a matter of seconds. I’m going to try and focus on improving my Beast Mode skills so I can become a truly unstoppable zombie-killing parkour machine.
And that wraps our picks! What are you playing this weekend?
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