Hi everyone, and welcome back to My Week Unwrapped, where I discuss all the games I’ve been playing over the last seven days. It was a quieter week than the last, but there were still some big releases that you should definitely be paying attention to. The new Vampire Survivors DLC is so big I think I need a break from it before I get burnt out. I’m also back to playing Balatro and made some good progress. This week is about quality over quantity, so stick around to see what I have to say.

Carrion

I’d been hoping Carrion might come to iOS ever since it first released on PC. It reminds me of Mushroom 11, which I adored, but also Perfect Cell, which came out 14 years ago! The mobile version offers a free demo and then a one-time IAP to unlock the full version if you like what you see. The idea is you play as a tentacled creature trying to escape a lab and killing any humans you come across before they kill you. The touch controls are taking me a bit to get used to, since you have to grab onto things and throw them around, but it still feels better to me than a traditional platformer with touch controls. The gorgeous pixel art graphics are a huge selling point, even with the controls feeling slightly off to me. The movement of the creature is just so much fun to watch that I’m tempted to buy the full version based on that alone. I did have one weird thing happen in the demo, where a latch locked again after I opened it and I got stuck in a small area with seemingly no way out. I’m not sure if I missed something or if it was a bug, but the checkpoint was in that room and the save always loaded like that. I’ll probably still buy the full game because it’s fun to run around as a monster and destroy stuff. I highly recommend at least playing some of the demo for yourself to see if it’s something you want to buy. But keep in mind that it’s on sale at the moment for $6.99 instead of $9.99. So don’t wait too long to buy it.

Vampire Survivors – Ode to Castlevania DLC

In what is possibly the largest update yet, Vampire Survivors finally got a Castlevania crossover called Ode to Castlevania. It features over 20 new characters, 40 new weapons, and a gigantic new map that has teleporters you can unlock because otherwise it would be madness to replay it over and over. What’s really interesting about this map is that there are special bosses you can summon to fight them and they usually drop special items or weapons. There’s also new pick-ups that can give you an edge. As for the new weapons, some feel crazy powerful and others are a bit underwhelming, but I still have a lot left to see. I’ve unlocked eight of the new characters so far and, while I am loving the new content, it feels like maybe a bit too much. Or maybe I’m trying to rush it too fast. I might need to take a break for a bit so I can continue to enjoy it. I am working on a guide here if you need help and I’ve included all my gameplay videos, along with any evolutions I’ve found. If you’re a fan of the game, don’t pass up this DLC, but maybe pace yourself better than I’ve been doing.

Sushi for Robots

Sushi for Robots has already been out for a little while on mobile, but you need a Crunchyroll account to play it. Since I now have access to Crunchyroll games, I decided to try this one as I’m a big puzzle fan. As the game jokingly points out, don’t think too hard about why you’re serving sushi to robots. Just jump in and start solving the puzzles. The way it works is you have pieces of sushi on conveyor belts. There are different robots standing around the conveyor belt and you need to serve each of them one piece of sushi that matches their color. You do this by putting stickers in the path of the sushi that changes their color. There are also arrow buttons that change the path of the sushi. There’s also a catch — you need to complete each puzzle within a certain number of moves. Overall, I’m enjoying it so far and will likely play more. I’m not sure if it’s worth getting a Crunchyroll subscription just for this game, but if you already have one it’s certainly worth checking out.

Balatro

I took a break from Balatro last week because I was busy with other games, but I’m back to being obsessed with it. I decided to start working on completing a single deck with higher stakes and I finally beat black stake with the Checkered deck. I still have blue and orange stakes left, but I’m pretty sure that’s not all there is. I also unlocked more decks by completing those stakes and I want to try and beat the game with those decks, too. I feel like I’ve barely scratched the surface of the game but I’m looking forward to playing more and getting a deeper understanding of its mechanics. Again, don’t pass on this one. It’s a popular for a very good reason.

Genshin Impact

And finally, I spent a lot of time with Genshin Impact this week so I could finish the archon quest and also Xilonen’s story quest before her banner ended. They’ve been offering bonus rewards for finishing quests sooner, which had me rushing a bit, unfortunately. It wasn’t too difficult to complete Xilonen’s quest quickly, though, as I was sucked into it thanks to Beth Curry’s fantastic voice acting. She really breathed life into the character and even got me trying to get constellations for her, though I stopped wishing before I got any. I think she’s one of the best voice actors in the game and I hope Xilonen gets plenty of screen time so we can witness more of it. Besides that, there was an event that took place in Sumeru to celebrate Nahida’s birthday. The activities weren’t all that memorable, but the story was sweet. And now I’m taking a bit of a break from the game until the next event.

And that’s everything I’ve been up to this week! I also saw The Wild Robot in theaters. I thought it was a solid movie up to a point and even got me a bit teary-eyes. But the last quarter of it went overboard and became silly. Still, it’s a cute movie for what it is. I also finished the new American Horror Stories episodes and the latest season of Only Murders in the Building. Anyway, let me know in the comments section which games you’re playing and I’ll see you back here next time with more of My Week Unwrapped!