What are you playing this weekend?

Imagine this guy, but in a dopey football uniform.

It’s the weekend! The classic time of the week where it ends. And I, a man from the internet you have probably never met, wants to know how you’re going to spend it. To ease you into this blind transaction, I will first share how I’ll spend my weekend with an emphasis on digital media.

Friday evening: I will draw a warm bath, line the rim of the tub with scented candles, and drink exactly one beer—all in preparation for a soothing night of Deathmatch in Quake Champions. It hit Early Access on Steam this week, and surprise, it’s Quake. Except it looks quite nice and has some deep character customization. I was worried the different playable characters would affect how it feels too much, but the differences are negligible. Advanced movement and precision are still key. Plus, the Ranger can wear a goddamn football uniform.

Saturday: I will remove my cat from my face using an assortment of pliers and vocalizations before preparing a french press with coffee grounds imported from Cambridge. I’ll sip my light roast, note the hint of blueberry and soft finish of tree bark on the back of my palette, then head to the market to purchase exactly one beer. This will all be in preparation for an evening spent playing Nidhogg 2, an excellent (and beautiful) multiplayer fencing-shooting-throwing-stomping game. I’ll probably spend some time admiring the backgrounds against an absent local opponent, and then try to get a tournament going in the PC Gamer Club Discord server. I will lose and ban no less than six people in my fury.

Sunday: An impostor day, Sunday is actually the beginning of the week. But hungover from drinking two beers over the real weekend, I’ll spend the day in rest anyway and file a formal complaint to the day committee another time. I’ll eat eggs, probably, and drink water. My cat will be allowed to spend most of the day on my face, so long as I can make out the moving shapes on my monitor. I plan to preload the Destiny 2 PC beta for a day of early access, and choose a random game from my backlog to poke at while it downloads. Maybe I’ll check out the latest No Man’s Sky update—you should really see the weird planets Chris discovered this week.

Life is a game and we’re the players.
James Davenport, 2017

Now that we’ve established trust, what’re you going to be playing this weekend? The dog days of summer are here and we’re in a soft lull of releases before Fall throws dozens of blunt, heavy games in our direction at once. Is anyone else tackling their backlog? If so, what? Maybe you’ve settled into a nice multiplayer game? Or maybe life is a game and we’re the players. Whatever it is that’s holding your attention, let’s have a nice chat about it in the comments, yeah?

James is stuck in an endless loop, playing the Dark Souls games on repeat until Elden Ring and Silksong set him free. He's a truffle pig for indie horror and weird FPS games too, seeking out games that actively hurt to play. Otherwise he's wandering Austin, identifying mushrooms and doodling grackles.