What You Playing? – June 2026
Intro
June always feels like the start of gaming’s summer season. The days are longer, backlogs somehow get even bigger, and there’s always something new competing for our attention—whether it’s the latest release, a game you’ve been meaning to finish, or an old favourite that’s pulled you back in for “just one more session.”
The Selective Hearing team shares what they played in June 2026, from Xenoblade Chronicles and James Bond to Pokémon GO, Omori, and more.
Allen
What Have You Been Playing in June?
- Alan Wake Remastered
- Donkey Kong Challenges
- Omori
- Star Fox Demo
- Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition Nintendo Switch 2 Edition
What Are Your Thoughts?
SPOILERS AHEAD
Alan Wake Remastered
I forgot about the horrible and cheap section in chapter three, and it slapped me right back in the face. I found myself getting slapped in the face with darkness-possessed pipes, shadow-infested bulldozers, and flying trains. I died quite a bit, and once I limped over the finish line at the end of chapter three, I told myself to take a break. Haven’t picked up the game since, not really looking to play it again any time soon.
Donkey Kong Challenges
I remember seeing the DK Challenges on the latest Nintendo Direct and thought that was a cool idea. I started with the Donkey Kong Country challenges; it was a lot of fun going through the small, curated sections, especially the barrel challenges.
Once I cleared one stage, I moved on to the next one. Knocked out a lot of the NES ones, and some of the DK Bananza ones too. I was not able to do the Game Boy versions; I never played them. It was a nice palette cleanser in between some of the big games I had planned.
Omori
A friend lent me a copy of Omori since I was very much into RPGs. I did not know anything about Omori other than it was a popular manga. I thought it would be a lighthearted RPG story with a good combat system.
I was thrown an interesting curveball when some of the darker parts of the game became apparent. I wasn’t prepared to go into the inventory and stab myself with a knife to move on with the story. Or seeing shadowy hands around the screen at certain anxiety points the characters had in the game.
I really was trying to stick with it, hoping that the combat system would have something interesting going for it. The game makes it pretty obvious in the rock-paper-scissors system they present. However, I found myself just pressing A to get through fights. Once I noticed myself doing that, I put the game down. I don’t think I’ll ever go back to play Omori.
Star Fox Demo
Sticking with the Switch 2, I decided to try the Star Fox Demo. I have played the original on SNES and the N64 version a million times, as well as Star Fox Command on the DS. When I saw that they were remaking this game again, I didn’t really care for it. However, trying the demo couldn’t hurt.
The graphics are very much a choice. They look very high quality; I just didn’t think they would go in this direction. I thought they would have gone with a more lighthearted art style, kind of like Fox in the Super Mario Galaxy movie. Not to say that it’s bad; it’s just not my preference.
After going through the tutorial stage, I pretty much got the same feeling playing the old N64 version. Everything was smooth, and the graphics were colourful and vibrant. Going into open mode and taking out ships like Independence Day brought me back. Maybe someday I’ll tackle the re-re-remake, but another game took all my attention.
Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition Nintendo Switch 2 Edition
I may have marked out during the Nintendo Direct when I saw these upgrades. Seeing them get 4K 60 fps and new content, I felt like it was time to go back. I remember playing Xenoblade 1 first on the Nintendo Wii and was super impressed with the size and scale of the game. I fell in love with the music and the characters right away. The combat took me some time to get used to but ended up loving as well.
I also bought the game on the New Nintendo 3DS, thinking I would be playing it again, just in portable mode. Little did I expect at the time that the graphical downgrade and small screens would turn me off from completing the game again.
I also realized that I didn’t ever get a copy on the Switch. I guess I never thought I would play it again. I went around to see if there was a cheap used copy, but everything was still pretty much full price. So I ended up getting the Switch 2 version digitally. That opening visual of the Monado in the field just brought back so many memories; I sat on that screen for a while, watching the sky turn different colours.
Something with this playthrough that I never did in the past was change the outfits. I always went with the default or whatever crazy mismatched armour sets I had, since I would equip for stats rather than looks. However, I’ve been in beach-episode mode with the glamour sets, and sometimes I find it funny. Now I’ve been making sure to pick up every piece of armour, so I have that look ready to go when I feel like a change.
I’ve been loving the quality-of-life upgrades like the Ether Bikes. They save so much time zooming around to do side quests and traversing across the map; it was such a welcome addition to the game. I’ve also been playing with a guide this time around, but it doesn’t seem necessary, since the game has a good story and a side quest tracker that maps out where to go. I don’t ever remember that being in the original game.
Already 30-plus hours in, Xenoblade Chronicles has been my main game of the summer. Whenever I find time, I will be playing this game as I’ve been super busy lately. I can’t wait to play the Future Connect story, as I never played that extra content before.
What Are You Looking Forward to in July?
I should be finishing Xenoblade 1 and getting ready to play Xenoblade 2. I have the physical version on Switch, so one paid upgrade, and I’m back in. It’s been forever, so I’ll be happy to get back into that world and story again.
Greg
What Have You Been Playing in June?
- Pokopia
- 007: First Light
Pokopia
So once I got the Magnet Rise ability, I have been diving headfirst into this game, trying to get each zone up to level 10. This ability makes building and destroying things so much easier, and I have been going HAM rebuilding Bleak Beach and Rocky Ridges back into civilized areas.
I also finally figured out how to make all these needy fucking Pokemon happy so I can raise my environment level faster. Once it really clicked with me how to raise their mood, it was like “Why didn’t I figure this out earlier?” in my head. I actually felt like a bit of a dumbass because it was pretty obvious, had I been paying attention to the subtle hints in the game.
Anyway, I’ve been having a lot of fun now that I’m doing the post-game stuff and I’m free to just do whatever I want with each zone.
007: First Light
I haven’t gotten very far in this game since much of my time has been spent in Pokopia after my epiphany. But I am still getting my James Bond on, being all secret agent-like. If this were a movie, I’m still in the first act and haven’t even met the lady Bond should be sexing later on in the story. The way this game builds is deliberately slow, and normally that would be a bad thing.
But since this is a young James Bond story, it’s all about learning the ropes and getting accustomed to becoming the super spy we all know and love. For the record, I only recently finished the third full mission of the game. So far I have had to work hard on suppressing my need to resort to full on violence and play within the rules of the spy game. It’s much more difficult than I thought.
I’m still getting the hang of the Q Watch and its limited loadout options. I haven’t found my faves yet, as I think there are still quite a few gadgets I haven’t unlocked. But its basic functions are great to save your ass, especially if you want to remain unseen.
I look forward to mission three and what that brings.
What Are You Looking Forward to in July?
Rhythm Heaven Groove is a game that I thought I would never see the light of day in my lifetime. I still have my Nintendo DS just for Rhythm Heaven. I never finished that game, but I should probably try again now that its sequel is set for release on July 2nd.
Hopefully this game is just as fun as the first one.
BigFreaky
What Have You Been Playing in June?
- Pokémon GO
- Pokémon TCG Pocket
What Are Your Thoughts?
Pokémon Go
June outside of Go Fest in Chicago was pretty chill. Nothing really big happened; I didn’t start anything new or finish anything either. Frankly, I was a little PoGO’d out. I still played daily, but nothing major, as the Global GO Fest was upon us as well.
I haven’t “played” TCG Pocket in forever. Just doing my daily pulls and wonder picks (if I remember). I’ll keep opening the game as much as I can remember and keep getting the cards. One of the main reasons I like PKMN is due to the art. There are many arts I will never see outside of that game.
As you can see, my step count has dramatically decreased with my return from Japan to the USA. Even with GO Fest Chicago included.
I finally finished up the Masterwork Research to obtain a Shiny Diancie. Stats could have been much worse. (They usually are.)
Pokémon TCG
I finally broke the 10,000 card mark in TCG Pocket
Got a nice little trophy for it as well.
A couple of beautiful cards I pulled. Too bad I don’t think we’ll ever see these in real-life card form.
What Are You Looking Forward to in July?
Go Fest Global for Pokémon GO. A weekend of grinding Mewtwo raids for mega energy. Also, hopefully catching some of the shiny PKMN I am missing to fill my dex.
I don’t think I have any other game on tap. I need to look at my backlog and figure something out. So many games, so many things. It’s endless.
