What are you playing this weekend?
It's almost eggnog and presents time. Let's celebrate early.
The holidays are almost here, and before you get busy shopping for presents, decorating, buying food for the impending feast, and visiting family members, be sure to take time out for yourself to play some games.
This weekend, we are revisiting Los Santos, entering the matrix, donning a witch's hat, and once again trying to channel our inner Master Chief.
Here's what we are playing this weekend.
Connor Makar, Staff Writer - GTA Online, Inscryption
This weekend I don’t have a huge amount of time for games I’m afraid. It happens, adult life, etc etc. But, I have set aside some time for some rest and relaxation.
First I am absolutely going to spend some time on GTA Online this weekend. We’re due a new major content update later this month and as you’d expect you need a bit of cash to take part. That means for me it’s heist time, and bulking up my bank account somewhat.
Next comes Inscryption. If you haven’t tried it out it’s a fantastic little indie based around a mysterious card game. It’s one of those games that you can’t really talk about too much, or else risk spoiling a good portion of the special sauce the creator has poured all over this lovely thing. Grab it if you can and go in blind if you want a good time.
Finally, as is typical of me, I will be jumping into a fighting game this weekend. One of Arc System Work’s older titles, Blazblue Central Fiction, has gotten a netcode update and a massive price reduction. These provide a good enough excuse to learn some combos and get murdered by weebs who haven’t stopped playing it since 2015.
Sherif Saed, Staff Writer - Halo Infinite PC
It’s time to spend more time (heh) with Halo Infinite. I am loving the feel of its multiplayer so far, even if I wish 343 had gone with the more friendly, time-based battle pass model, and not the challenge-based system it’s currently using. I’d also like there to be more maps, but that’s something that’ll likely be improved with time.
Of course, since I am itching for more Halo content, I can’t wait to get started with the Halo Infinite campaign. I am one of the ten people who liked Halo 5’s campaign, and I even appreciated Cortana’s rampancy arc from Halo 4. This looks to be a continuation of that, even if many of my questions about what transpired in the interim inevitably won’t be addressed.
If the story isn’t all there, I am hoping the gameplay will keep me hooked. Considering how satisfying it is to play Infinite multiplayer, I have high expectations for the single-player. Alex’s Halo Infinite campaign review said it’s an almost perfect marriage of modern open-world design and classic Halo sandbox freedom and its contained missions.
By all accounts, it’s going to be one hell of a good time, and I can’t wait to jump in and grapple onto Jackal shields.
Stephany Nunneley, News Editor - Wytchwood,
This weekend I am going to give Wytchwood a try. It was just released yesterday, December 9, and it looks rather charming.
Developed by Toronto-based Alientrap, the folks who brought you the rather excellent Apotheon, Wytchwood is a crafting adventure game set in a land of gothic fables and fairytales. As the old witch of the woods, you will explore a strange countryside, collect magic ingredients, brew spells, and "pass judgment" upon an unpredictable cast of characters and creatures.
The game features a lovely rendered storybook art style and has you gathering, collecting, growing and crafting various ingredients such as toxic toadstools, eye of newt, and bottled fear.
You can also research and create different spells and sorceries which can turn folks into frogs or trick them. All the while, the world promises to be full of stories, colorful personas, and narratives appropriate to a fairy tale. It also features puzzles you will need to beat in order to best the strange monsters living in the forest.
It sounds rather fun, and that is what I plan on playing this weekend.
Tom Orry, Editor-in-Chief - The Matrix Awakens: An Unreal Engine 5 Experience
Oh lordy, this is a bit nice, isn't it? I talked more about this rather lovely slice of next-gen visuals in a whole article about The Matrix tech demo, but it's so good I want to highlight it again. The Matrix Awakens: An Unreal Engine 5 Experience is something everyone with a PS5 or Xbox Series X|S should download and play immediately.
There's not a whole lot of game here if you class games as interactive experiences that challenge you in some way, but there are plenty of things to do. I've replayed the on-rails car chase shooting sequence a few times now, just to soak in all the Unreal Engine 5'ness of it all, and I'm going to go back to walk around the city some more once I've finished work for the week.
I can't wait for some proper Unreal Engine 5 games to be released. Hellblade 2 is coming to Xbox Series X/S and PC, and that is looking pretty tasty, too.
What are you playing this weekend? Are you diving into some Halo, preparing for GTA Online's next update, or trying something different from your norm? Let us know!