The Wrapp - Old-school football, cutesy slimes, and auto-battling

Happy Friday, and welcome to The Wrapp. This is our regular feature where we discuss our plans over the next few days. In our latest edition, Catherine confesses her love for slime, and Will is filling in his Thomas K Young-shaped gaps. Elsewhere, Shaun is playing the beautiful game, and Iwan is back on Balatro.

Catherine Dellosa

Reviews Editor

I’ve been working on a Dragon Quest Smash/Grow tier list lately, and I’ve come to a realisation - the slime mascot for this popular series is the most adorable thing in all existence. I know I’m late to the party, but now I finally understand why this derpy blue blob is everywhere - I’ve seen all kinds of slime-based merch, from night lights to Yoshinoya collab toys, that I absolutely need in my life. 

Therefore, I shall spend my weekend (and likely all future weekends) scouring the online marketplaces for any kind of merch I can get my hands on, effectively embarking on a (dragon) quest of my own. 

Dann Sullivan

Editor in Chief

I’ve spent a lot of time replaying Six Ages 2: Lights Go Out recently, which is perfectly timed because Thousand Hells has just launched on PC. It’s the next game from the King of Dragon Pass (Six Ages) developer and takes place in the same setting (Glorantha). So, in an unusual twist, you likely won’t find me on my phone this weekend!

Will Quick

Freelance Writer

Hello PG and fair reader! Recently, we had the pleasure of interviewing two minds behind the mobile series sensation that is Reigns! They're celebrating a big anniversary, and I hope to locate a rich chocolate muffin to enjoy in their honour. But the interview also reminds me of a prime guest target: Thomas K. Young.

I've played all the Dadish games, Dunkadillo, and Be Brave, Barb. In an attempt to lure him to our podcast, I will finally be playing Oh Jellies! We see you, Thomas; here's hoping you see us.

Shaun Walton

Staff Writer

Last week, I settled down to enjoy a bit of Retro Bowl, the excellent American football arcade game. During my session, an advert popped up for the tennis version and intrigued me. Unfortunately, that wasn’t available, but Retro Goal was. I forgot how great that was.

You still don't get to play defence, which honestly I don't care about, but the attack feels so fleshed out. I am having a blast rediscovering this game, and shall continue my quest to get Oxford into the Premier League. I narrowly got knocked out of the semi-final of the cup last night. 3-2. That hurt.

Iwan Morris

Staff Writer

For me, it’s pretty much business as usual. My friends have roped me into playing Sons of the Forest, and Valheim has just hit 1.0, so that’s my weekend sorted. But I’ll likely be dipping my toes back into Balatro too, since the recent wave of games like it has me wanting to give it another go.

Other than it’ll be unwinding and thinking of what news is coming next week. I’ve particularly got my eyes peeled for the start of Tokyo Game Show on the 17th.

Stephen Gregson-Wood

Deputy Editor

This weekend, I'm checking out Order Automatica, which recently made its way over to mobile. I've played a little so far, and early impressions are good. It has that - buzzword incoming - Balatro vibe whereby you watch all your synergies and abilities fire off pleasingly before your pieces go to battle. Whether or not it has any staying power beyond that initial excitement remains to be seen, of course.