The intense video game season is starting to heat up. We posted reviews for Silent Hill f (pretty good!), Baby Steps (incredibly frustrating!), Ghost of Yōtei (a game of the year contender!), Final Fantasy Tactics - The Ivalice Chronicles (it holds up!), NBA 2K26 (better than usual!), and Hades II, which we awarded the rare Game Informer 10/10. Needless to say, we've been busy. Did I mention that we finally got a proper Wolverine trailer from Insomniac? It's just one of those weeks. But it's Friday, and that means there's a weekend ahead of us and you!

We're back to give you a selection of games we think you should play this weekend, which we plan on doing every week for the foreseeable future. Dig in and, if you check one of these out, come back on Monday and leave us a comment to let us know what you think!

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Below, we'll list the names of Game Informer editors and their thoughts for this week's edition The Video Games You Should Play This Weekend (official name still pending). 

One of the biggest eyebrow raisers for the upcoming Resident Evil Requiem was the surname of its protagonist, Grace Ashcroft. That's because she's the daughter of Alyssa Ashcroft, an investigative reporter and oft-forgotten character who last appeared in the equally overlooked Resident Evil Outbreak. For the many unfamiliar RE fans, this begs the question: Who the heck is Alyssa Ashcroft, and why has she suddenly become a big deal? To prepare for the next mainline Resident Evil game, we're going to answer this tantalizing question. 

Resident Evil Outbreak launched for the PlayStation 2 in North America on March 30, 2004. Set only a couple of days after the initial T-virus outbreak in Raccoon City, the game unfolds across five scenarios across different areas of the doomed city.  Outbreak features eight playable characters, including Alyssa Ascroft, along with an RCPD officer, a Vietnam War veteran, a bar waitress, and a surgeon, among others, fighting for survival against the infected. 

Join Marcus Stewart and Charles Harte (as well as occasional special guests) for two hours each Friday on Twitch and YouTube starting at 12 p.m. PT/3 p.m. ET as they journey through Outbreak for the first time. If you can't catch the broadcasts live, they'll be uploaded to the official Game Informer YouTube channel. 

Catch up on previous episodes below:

Episode 1
Episode 2
Episode 3
Episode 4

Reviewed on: PlayStation 5
Platform: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC
Publisher: Square Enix
Developer: Square Enix
Release: September 30, 2025
Rating: Teen

Talking about Final Fantasy Tactics in terms of its place in history is easy. The foundational spin-off blended the Final Fantasy aesthetic with a tactical combat system. With Ogre Battle creator Yatsumi Matsuno at the helm and the likes of Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi, FFVI director Hiroyuki Ito, and dozens more well-known names at Square Enix collaborating, Final Fantasy Tactics easily became a cornerstone for all future tactical RPGs to lean on.

Booting it up in 2025, through the freshly remastered Final Fantasy Tactics – The Ivalice Chronicles, is still a fascinating experience. Nostalgia isn't the main draw for me personally, as I only played Tactics for the first time a few years ago. But in the modern day, Final Fantasy Tactics' time capsule feels ageless. While it still has a few creaks and cracks here and there, revisiting Tactics has made me resolute in the belief that this is, simply, a must-play.

The Ivalice Chronicles offers two modes of play. One is, effectively, a port of the original game with a few updates (including the script) of the PSP's great War of the Lions version. The other is the "enhanced" version, which I spent the bulk of my time playing, with remastered graphics and a new script. No major story beats have changed in Square Enix's remaster of this script though, so this is the same story as before, with some new but welcome refreshes.

The story, as it always has, follows Ramza Beoulve, an aspiring knight in the academy, and his lowborn companion Delita. Unbeknownst to either of them, shadowy machinations are playing out behind the scenes, moving pieces on the board of Ivalice in dueling vies for power. Soon, Ramza is forced to confront his place in the world; his nobility has granted him power at the expense of others' prosperity. He makes for an ever-compelling lead, as he grapples with whether he can truly be a force for good when he was born into aristocracy.

The ensuing tale, as Ramza endures loss, pain, and sorrow in his fight for a better world, is still marvelous. While some of the final story pivots into full-on fantasy don't hit quite as hard, there are few other games with as strong a first chapter as Final Fantasy Tactics. Each battle uncovers newer, darker secrets about the machinations of those in power. Early storylines about the struggles of those kept under the thumb of others in power, of strife, and the oppression laid down by the nobility, resonate clearly to this day. The updated script retains all the drama and amplifies it, even adding a little extra in-battle dialogue to drive moments home. The Ivalice Chronicles also adds new voice acting, which elevates already potent scenes to marvelous heights. Ramza and Delita are obvious standouts, but I also loved the voice work for characters like Milleuda, Argath, and Barich, who all shine in their respective spotlight moments.

Because Final Fantasy Tactics is such a seminal work of its genre, its turn-based strategy is familiar if you've ever dabbled in this style of game. Each unit falls under a specific Job, and over time, mastering those Jobs allows you to permanently unlock abilities and talents, morphing each fighter into a singular soldier. One Squire I picked up early on was particularly apt at holding the line and defending my weaker mages and archers, so he quickly became my Knight. Another became an MVP in the second chapter, clearing groups of enemies in one fell cast of Fira. Ramza, of course, became a double-punching Ninja/Monk; I've played many tactics games, and whenever given the chance, I will always make the protagonist a bare-knuckle fighter.

One of my favorite parts of Final Fantasy Tactics, preserved so well here, is the map design itself. Each battle map spins like a diorama, set against a gradient void. While there are a few flat, sprawling fields, Tactics quickly introduces new elements to force the player to alter their approach. There were still several times I would have trouble lining up units, squares, and spells in particularly dense or vertical maps, even with the overhead camera.

Water can turn a bridge into a chokepoint, and giant walls create barriers where Dragoons can excel. In an early battle in Dorter, many players learn a lesson about how advantageous height can be, as one Archer will easily pick apart your entire squad if left unattended.

 

Several quality-of-life updates make The Ivalice Chronicles more approachable for newcomers, though. It was easier than ever to map out my job progression, look for specific items to buy, or even restart a battle if the first few turns went poorly. The new UI also makes it easy to glance and see who's moving next, or where a spell's delay will put its caster in the turn order. The menus can feel cumbersome at times though; it took a while to build up the muscle memory for getting to the Job screen, learning new abilities, then making sure they were part of my arsenal before a fight.

A broad swathe of combat maps and content to chew through are available, especially once the side stories start popping up later in the game. Final Fantasy Tactics carries a hefty hour count, but there's enough here to merit some time and care, and easily more than a dozen restarts. Multiple fights test your teambuilding, strategy, and individual tactics. These walls are intimidating, for sure, but they make for incredibly memorable fights I still love replaying. 

For The Ivalice Chronicles, Square Enix took a similar approach to what it did for Tactics Ogre Reborn: a smoothed, updated adaptation of the original pixel art. Lovers of crunchy pixels will probably want to play the original version here, which means missing out on the new script. For my own playthrough, I definitely noticed a few places where the smoothing and remastering blended out some of the character of certain areas. However, I still enjoyed the overall look of the game, especially when it came to character sprites and some of the larger monsters fought as the story progressed.

The strange concessions made for the remaster ripple out a bit, too. Long-time fans might have been hoping for an absolutely definitive edition, and this is mostly that. On the plus side, having multiple graphics options and script variations is great, and a good chunk of the bonus content – including one iconic protagonist –– is still present. But as someone hoping for a completely definitive version with all content, including the Dark Knight class and a certain sky pirate from Final Fantasy XII, I was a little disappointed to see those left on the cutting room floor.

One major upside is that Square Enix has included the sound novels, the first official localization of them to ever be released. These side stories, played out like an adventure game, are a great addition, and they're fascinating to finally tear through for the first time.

There are so, so many games coming out every year, and no real ruling body for determining a "gaming canon" of any sort. So in lieu of that, I'll just say Final Fantasy Tactics was, and remains, an essential work. It's the type of game that, played with fresh eyes nowadays, would surprise newcomers with how engrossing its Job system is, how expressive the character sprites and music are, how gorgeous the dioramic battle maps can be, and just how moving its story can be. Time has passed, but Tactics never got old.

Score: 9.25

About Game Informer's review system

Reviewed on: Xbox Series X/S
Platform: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC
Publisher: 2K Games
Developer: Visual Concepts
Release: September 5, 2025
Rating: Everyone

A great athlete can sometimes find themselves maligned for off-the-court issues; no matter the incredible numbers they put up night after night, teams can hesitate to bring them on due to these peripheral problems. Lately, I’ve felt similarly about the NBA 2K franchise, with its intrusive microtransactions distracting from its stellar gameplay. With NBA 2K26, those off-court problems aren’t gone, but they’re less disruptive, resulting in a much better experience that allows the series’ longstanding and abundant strengths to shine.

As with any NBA 2K entry, you can step onto the court with confidence; the play is as good as sports gaming gets. Whether you’re passing around the perimeter, driving through the paint, or staying with your assignment on defense, player movement and collision physics feel better than ever before. The tweaked shot meter requires you to carefully select your shot and skillfully time your release, creating a rewarding experience with every possession. When combined with unrivaled attention to detail with regard to lighting, commentary, and visual fidelity, NBA 2K26 looks and plays better than any other sports game.

All these mechanics and improvements permeate 2K26’s robust suite of modes, which include one-off NBA or WNBA play, long-term franchise modes, and single-player career modes. With both the men’s and women’s games included, you can approach these however you like, but I was pleased to see full WNBA integration into the card-collection mode, MyTeam. 

Although modes like MyTeam are typically not a destination for me due to their reliance on microtransactions, I fully immersed myself in the thrill of building a stacked, cross-leagues team of legends of yesteryear and current stars. The loop of playing games, opening card packs, and optimizing my roster sunk its hooks in me, but the busy and confusing interface does little to compel me to stay in the mode.

 

Card-collection modes like MyTeam are tailor-made for microtransactions, so I don’t mind when sports games quarantine them there. However, NBA 2K fans have been conditioned to accept them in the player-focused MyCareer mode, where you need to spend Virtual Currency (VC) to not only upgrade your player, but also their clothes, gear, and shoes. The persistent pop-ups have been toned down, and the grind to earn VC in-game has been slightly eased compared to past games, meaning that while currency woes persist, they’re less intrusive.  

Despite its redesign, The City remains an incoherent mess of other players running, skating, and go-karting around, dressed in the most cognitively dissonant ways possible. It’s particularly irksome since I love the notion of going shopping for shoes or meeting with my agent to talk endorsement deals, but when the route to get there is full of other players in dinosaur costumes and hazmat suits, it annihilates any sense of immersion.

Starting with the story-based prologue, Out of Bounds, I took my character from high school phenom to NBA rookie over the course of a few hours. The story offers you choices, like what teams you want to join or what goals you want to set, but when it comes to seemingly the most significant choice – going to college or playing in Europe as your path to the NBA – the narrative forces your hand. I would have loved to have a true diverging path rather than the mildly impactful decisions the story presents.

Once you’re through the prologue and into the NBA, the story content continues as the mode progresses around goals you set. For instance, I set my first goal as winning the in-season NBA Cup tournament, but you can also choose goals like being named to the All-Star team, hitting certain stat milestones, or other team-based objectives. I love the ability to chart your own course through the league and watching the story react. Navigating through pro hoops is always going to be my destination with MyCareer, but when I wanted a break from the NBA grind, I found plenty to do out in The City. 

Though you can challenge the competition online in a variety of 2v2, 3v3, and 5v5 modes, I was most drawn to the Street Kings sub-mode. Challenging different bosses and their teams in three-on-three first-to-21 games, then recruiting their best players to join your squad immediately piqued my interest; you can even upgrade the teammates by challenging more difficult versions of them after your first victory. Since you need to defeat 10 bosses to challenge the court’s final boss, I had a stacked team of my strongest adversaries heading into the final opponent on one of the two street courts. Then, you can take those teammates into the Hardwood Hall to compete in a massive tournament with modified scoring. 

Street Kings is also a great place to earn VC that can be used to either buy gear or level up your character, which alleviates the grind to an extent. But even if it’s not as annoying as past entries, the game still lets you know you could just instantly be a great player if you pull out your credit card. Combine that with a shared pool of VC across modes, and the multi-purpose currency almost forces you to pick a lane and stay with it; I would have loved to buy some packs in MyTeam or get my favorite shoes in MyCareer, but I’d much rather improve my player’s three-point attribute.

The W offers a similar experience, but it’s far more streamlined and lacks much of the pageantry of the men’s side. Rather than a fleshed-out backstory, you basically choose whether you want to be a young gun or an established star from Europe, then experience many of the narrative beats through dry press conferences. I’m glad the WNBA has its own version of a single-player career mode, but it’s clearly an afterthought to its NBA counterpart.

On the more traditional side, I’ve always loved NBA 2K’s franchise modes. I’m particularly impressed by MyNBA, which lets you establish your dream scenarios; do I want to play in the ‘80s, ‘90s, or ‘00s with fairly accurate rosters, draft classes, and historical rule changes – not to mention era-specific filters – or do I want to try and lead my favorite team to the championship in the modern era? The attention to detail is so precise that even minor inaccuracies, like a fan holding a sign that references the Wizards at a Washington Bullets game, felt glaring. Still, that’s a tiny nitpick in the grand scheme of such an impressive offering.

Though its upgrades in this year’s entry are minimal, MyNBA offers so many options and lets you decide the level at which you want to engage with the mode. On one save file, I took control of Jordan’s Bulls as I tried to recreate the magic of Chicago in the ‘90s; I played every game, kept my finger on the pulse of the free agent market, and did everything in my power to nab the best rookies in the draft. On my other save file, I played as the 2026 Timberwolves. I didn’t play very many games, but I wheeled and dealed throughout the regular season and finally brought an NBA championship to Minnesota.

The absolute glut of content is impressive and intimidating all at once, and NBA 2K26’s on-the-court performance is so good that it’s worth the annoyances that come with the franchise. Whether you want to chart your custom character’s career through the NBA or WNBA, take the reins and rewrite your favorite franchise’s history, or build your dream roster of players from across eras, NBA 2K26 gives you all the tools to do so. 

Score: 8.5

About Game Informer's review system

Possessor(s) is the next action game by Heart Machine, a studio best known for the well-received Hyper Light Drifter and Solar Ash, as well as the currently early access Hyper Light Breaker. The Metroid-style 2D search action game is coming this November, and a new trailer breaks down its story premise and combat mechanics.

Coming to PlayStation 5 and PC on November 11, the game takes place in a quarantined city overrun by demons following an interdimensional catastrophe. Players control Luca, a high school student who becomes mortally wounded during the calamity, losing both of her legs. To survive, she makes a desperate deal with a demon named Rhem to restore her body. Though Luca and Rhem don’t always get along, the two must cooperate to escape the city and bring down a corrupt corporation that has been siphoning demonic energy for its own gains.

Luca uses ordinary makeshift weapons, ranging from a guitar to a computer mouse, to execute stylish directional combos and air juggles to conquer her demonic adversaries. As the journey progresses, she gains new powers to access new areas, such as a wall-running ability and a whip for swinging across gaps. 

We played a slice of Possessor(s) during Summer Game Fest in June and were largely impressed with its well-tuned, if familiar, action. You can read our full impressions here.