As the weekend approaches, you’re probably happy that you’ll soon have more time to check out some video games. And if you’re an Xbox Game Pass subscriber and aren’t sure what to play, you have a lot to choose from. That’s where I come in. I’ve looked through the Xbox Game Pass lineup and found three games that I think all kinds of players can have a good time with this weekend.
The first game reimagined what Assassin’s Creed could be and is worth a revisit following the announcement of Assassin’s Creed Shadows. Next up, we have a standout indie from 2023 that’s all about deciphering different languages and exploring how people communicate on an intrinsic level. Finally, there’s an underrated magical first-person shooter from EA that just came to the subscription service this week and is worth a look.
Assassin’s Creed Origins
This November, Assassin’s Creed Shadows will mark the Ubisoft series’ grand return to its open-world RPG style of gameplay. As such, it’s a good idea to go back and see where those concepts emerged. Released in 2017, Assassin’s Creed Origins reimagined what an Assassin’s Creed game could be by emphasizing its RPG elements and picking the bold setting of Ancient Eygpt. It follows Bayek, portrayed by Tales of Kenzera: Zau developer Abubakar Salim, as he avenges the death of his son and lays the foundation for what will eventually become the Brotherhood of Assassins.
It’s one of the strongest narratives in the entire Assassin’s Creed series, while Ancient Eygpt is one of the most unique locales Ubisoft’s long-running open-world franchise has explored so far. Assassin’s Creed Origins feels expansive thanks to its large world and RPG systems, and it thankfully doesn’t feel as bloated as its RPG follow-ups: Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. If you don’t enjoy stealth games or action games, you can at least check out Discovery Tour, which is its educational mode where players can explore and learn more about Ancient Eygpt.
Assassin’s Creed Origins is playable through all versions of Xbox Game Pass across PC, console, and cloud. It’s also available on PlayStation 4 and through Sony’s PlayStation Plus Extra subscription.
Chants of Sennaar
Chants of Sennaar is an indie game from Rundisc and Focus Entertainment that just came to Xbox Game Pass this week. As it’s a shorter game and one of Digital Trends’ favorite indies from 2023, I highly recommend you check it out over the course of this weekend. Chants of Sennaar is a puzzle game where players need to slowly piece together languages they are unfamiliar with. For example, a puzzle might have players find context clues in a room to learn how to open or close a door with a level. Over time, your knowledge base and dictionary as a player grows, and more languages are brought into the fray.
While that’s a relatively simple concept for a puzzle game, Chants of Sennaar gets the most out of it with some truly head-scratching puzzles. It’s the kind of puzzle game that makes you feel really smart when you crack it. On top of all that, it’s a gorgeous game with a vibrant color palette. You might not have heard of Chants of Sennaar before today, but it’s well worth the time of any puzzle game fan now that it’s on Xbox Game Pass
Chants of Sennaar is available on Xbox Game Pass across PC, console, and cloud. It’s also on PS4 and Nintendo Switch.
Immortals of Aveum
By this point, Immortals of Aveum is best known for underperforming and leading to massive layoffs at its developer Ascendant Studios. Removed from that context, though, I think this is a creative shooter that is well worth your time. The story, which takes place in a unique fantasy world where magic-wielding Immortals are fighting to win a brutal war, is definitely the weakest part of the adventure, but I find its gameplay quite fun. Surprisingly few shooters center their gameplay around magic, and Immortals of Aveum does so to great success.
There are three different kinds of magic that each do different things, and it’s a lot of fun to constantly swap between each type and the flashy visual effects that come with using them mid-battle. On top of that, there’s enjoyable Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order-like level exploration and puzzle-solving that makes this adventure a bit bigger than you might initially expect. Although Immortals of Aveum doesn’t have the best reputation, I recommend checking out the game for yourself and forming your own opinion on it.
For Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers, Immortals of Aveum is playable through EA Play across PC, Xbox Series X/S, and cloud. It’s also available on PS5.
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