Happy Monday, folks! It’s time for the Weekly Video Games Thread! I’ll be taking over for Lovely Bones this week, so you’ve got my prompts for another two weeks. Fortunately, my ongoing—and quite exciting, I’ll have you know—excursions into the Nine Realms and Paldea region have made me flush with ideas. Here’s the one I was gonna use last week!

So God of War: Raganrök rules. I think that’s not exactly an uncommon take. One of its best pleasures is the main weapon of God of War (2018) (from which this header’s image comes): the Leviathan Axe. It’s essentially Thor’s Hammer for the blood and guts set; you throw it and call it back with your mind. It whips through anyone who’s in its way, and it can freeze things from afar. You can use it to manipulate puzzles of hold enemies in place. There are cool strategies you can use with it, but they’re kinda secondary to the sheer pleasure of throwing it and psychically retrieving it, like a bloody cup and ball toy.

This kind of mechanic is wonderful, it’s satisfying, and it’s far from unique. Video games actually have a lot of these types of devices, tools or weapons that go out and then return. Zelda‘s Hookshot is another great example of this. So’s basically any 2D action game with a boomerang. In fact, a boomerang is a great starting point here. So, here’s the prompt: what are your favorite examples of tools, weapons, mechanics, or environmental tricks that you shoot or throw only to get back?

And while you’re mulling that over, what did you play this weekend?