Post-Gamescom Recovery: One Editor Fills the Whole "What We've Been Playing" Slot

The weekly "What We've Been Playing" column is a solo act this time around. After a punishing Gamescom stretch, much of the team is either buried in work or enjoying some well-earned days off, which leaves Chris Tapsell to cover all three slots himself.

Tapsell describes the result as a bit of a bodge job, and treats the triple bill with a shrug and a pun about a "triple-Tap". The column is normally a loose roundup of what staff have been dipping into outside of work, and this edition keeps that spirit even with only one voice behind it.

Readers can expect three familiar flavors. First comes the usual mobile game addiction, the kind of thing that quietly eats commutes and evenings. Second is an apology for a review that arrived later than it should have. Third is a wildcard entry that stretches the column's own rules, though Tapsell is quick to say it is not all that wild.

The headline quote gives a hint of the mood. Playing alongside a group that Tapsell calls "frankly, absolutely feral", he has been trying to act as the balancing force, a role that will be familiar to anyone who has ended up as the sensible one in a chaotic co-op session.

It is a small but telling snapshot of life on a games desk after the industry's biggest European trade show. Gamescom weeks tend to leave editorial teams drained, with a flood of announcements, hands-on sessions and interviews to process, and the recovery period often means quieter, more personal features fill the schedule. Regular columns like this one help keep a site's voice going while the team recharges.

Expect the full team to return to the column soon, once everyone has caught their breath and worked through the backlog.