The Wrapp - Caffeinated billiards, Digimon collaborations, and drowsy heroes

We're back for another edition of The Wrapp. If you're unfamiliar, it's our weekly feature where we take a moment to let you know what we're playing over this weekend. From it, you might find something new to play or be reminded of an old classic that's slipped your mind with the numerous releases we see each day.

This time around, Iwan feels like he's finally clicked with Balatro's intricacies, and Shaun is being dragged back into Crystal of Atlan thanks to his undying love for Digimon. Elsewhere, Dann has returned from Gamescom with a desire to play everything ever made, while Toni is quite content dabbling with The Sims 4.

Catherine Dellosa

Reviews Editor

On my quest to find early access adventures I can get first dibs on, I’ve stumbled upon this charming little RPG called Sleep Hero, which might just be the most adorable not-a-game game ever. I’m still tinkering around with its sleep-based mechanics, but suffice it to say this is definitely going into a future Ahead of the Game feature soon.

In non-mobile news, my brother has been nagging me to play Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, but while I would absolutely love to, I just know for a fact that my tennis elbows won’t let me. Take care of your arms and be mindful of your ergonomics, kids, if you don’t want to end up like sad, injured ol’ me.

Shaun Walton

Staff Writer

You know, I had a whole Wrapp written out. For once, I was early. I was going to spend this bank holiday weekend in Final Fantasy XIV and Mass Effect. But no, Crystal of Atlan had to come along and spoil my plan with their announcement of a Digimon collaboration. That is where I shall be. I will be diving into battle against Machinedramon, and then riding around on Garurumon! It is a dream come true!

Dann Sullivan

Editor in Chief

I’m freshly returned from Gamescom, and so my want to crack on with games is higher than ever. I played an extensive demo of Arknights: Endfield, and spent some time with the 1.9 update that’s coming to Infinity Nikki and so I might just find myself diving into the predecessor and current build of those.

That said… I downloaded Worms Across Worlds and What The Clash!? on Apple Arcade and want to spend a bit more time with them. Worms’ tutorial is great - working as a backstory to the campaign - and, considering I’ve not booted up an Angry Birds game for a while, the pull-back physics feel incredibly fresh and responsive.

Outside of the above, I’m working on my late-game Rise of Kingdoms account, which I’m likely to move to City Hall 23 this weekend; That, and I’m still attempting to complete the Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket Wisdom of Sea and Sky pack, before the next one launches. If you told me that they’d worsened the odds of EX cards in order to promote the trade system tweaks, then I’d believe you - this pack is proving the trickiest to complete yet.

Will Quick

Freelance Writer

After going through the Kingdom Rush series and arriving at Battles, I feel adrift in the sea of mobile releases. A lot is coming out, and I plan to try many of them in the future. Both Digimon and Hitman are appealing in vastly different ways, so that'll tickle both parts of my brain should I get the chance to play them. But for now, I'm curious about the other games that Ironhide has released. They have a short sci-fi series with a similar flair and character to Kingdom Rush, but it's more of an RTS challenge.

I'm trading defensive strategy in medieval fantasy for offensive strategy in space, and we'll see how that goes.

Iwan Morris

Staff Writer

As the saying goes, if someone wanted to take me out, I’m predictable enough that they wouldn’t need to try. Yes, it’s Balatro again, which might as well be my constant. But at the same time, I’m diving in even more enthusiastically than usual. While I’ve grasped the basics for a while, I always tend to fail at the last moment, trying to beat the suits. But no longer, I’m going in now with all enthusiasm and aiming to finally make my mark. So wish me luck because this weekend is going to be a busy one.

Toni Oisin H.C.

Freelance Writer

I’m planning on spending a lot of time with The Sims 4 this weekend so I can get to know the new(ish) pack, Enchanted By Nature, a bit better. I want to put the new traits and aspiration to the test, which is inevitably going to mean I start yet another new household that accidentally becomes a legacy that I sink way too many hours into.

Stephen Gregson-Wood

Deputy & Special Projects Editor

For this weekend, I plan to check out Shallot Games' Coffee Pool. It uses the daily setup approach, offering various table layouts, rules, and modifiers to provide a different challenge each time. That might be something as simple as limiting each pocket to one pot or a whackier modifier like throwing in obstacles to contend with. Coupled with some simple, yet undeniably pleasant visuals, I think this one’s got a lot of promise, as long as the controls are on point, of course.