It’s the Freakin’ Weekend! So What are You Playing?

Friday! Video games! Let’s talk!

I’ve done it! I’ve managed to fend off the mightiest day of gaming in 2017 by completing Super Mario Odyssey, Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus, and, as of last night, Assassin’s Creed Origins. All three games were fantastic, as you’d imagine, but man… what a busy two weeks it’s been.

Assassin’s Creed took about 30 hours to finish up, which was surprisingly long given the length of other games in the series, but not a total surprise as it’s more an open-world RPG and less a mission-structured experience tailored around stage-by-stage narrative bits.

I’ve already gone over my thoughts on Origins‘ opening hours, which still ring true after rolling the credits late last night. The open world of Ancient Egypt is absolutely stunning, the quests varied and entertaining, and the revenge tale of a father struggling to cope with the murder of his son while being apart from his wife was emotionally gripping. With this being the origin story of the Brotherhood I would have liked a bit more of that thrown in, in place of the modern day Abstergo stuff. As someone in the minority who enjoyed the Assassin’s Creed film, I was happy to see it made canon through Origins within the modern scenes.

Bayek of Siwa has likely overtaken Ezio as my favorite assassin and I’d argue that Origins is the finest game in the entire series. Ubisoft went above and beyond to reinvigorate Assassin’s Creed and I hope to see that continue with Origins‘ planned DLC chapters and in-game events (right now you can battle the spirit of Anubis if you’re at the max level of 40). I’m now more interested and excited about Assassin’s Creed than I’ve ever been.

After selling off a few completed games from the backlog, I took advantage of Target’s Buy 2 Get 1 Free promotion last weekend and picked up Middle-earth: Shadow of War, South Park: The Fractured But Whole (which came with The Stick of Truth for free), and The Evil Within 2. I had enough left over (and plenty of Best Buy coupons) to pre-order The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Resident Evil Revelations 1 + 2, and Xenoblade Chronicles 2 on the Switch, so I’m done for the year.

I’d guess I’m at the halfway point in Steamworld Dig 2, which I’ve been chipping away at in 30-minute increments while exercising. I’m hoping to have that knocked out by next Friday so I can move onto Skyrim for similar reasons. I’ve already finished all that Skyrim has to offer on two separate occasions, but it’s comfort food — a dose of familiarity that I can play around in without having to focus too much. I’ve never created a caster in Skyrim and look forward to taking my Orc Destruction magic user through the paces instead of my usual sneaky archer rogues.

I’m not sure what substantial experience to jump into next, though. Assassin’s Creed has me itching for more open-world hijinx, so I was thinking Shadow of War. I’d like something a bit shorter, but everything I have sits around the 20-hour mark.

I’m saving The Evil Within 2 to play with my girlfriend, so I’ll probably just devote an hour to South Park and Shadow of War and see which one sticks the most. I’m not at all into South Park and its brand of humor, but I’ve heard so many great things about The Fractured But Whole and The Stick of Truth, so I’m willing to give them a shot.

What about you, folks? Have any gaming plans this weekend?