WiC Report: What to watch, read and play this weekend

What to play: The Last of Us Part II (PlayStation 4)

Naughty Dog’s follow-up to its seminal 2013 zombie apocalypse game is finally here. The Last of Us Part II picks up with Joel and Ellie where the first game left off. They’re alive, but the world is still overrun with “the Infected” and based on the trailers, Joel and Ellie probably aren’t going to get much peace. If they did, there’d be no need for a sequel, right?

The first game was praised for its tight gameplay, swift pacing, and touching story, which saw Joel and Ellie forming a surrogate father-daughter bond as they trekked across the abandoned American landscape together. The Last of Us Part II takes things in a darker direction, so much so that some reviewers seem unsettled by what they’ve played.

And if that doesn’t sound like it’s for you, no problem. But if you want a challenging, unpromising video game experience, this is as good as it’s likely to get for awhile.

The Empire of Gold by S.A. Chakraborty

What to read: The Empire of Gold by S.A. Chakraborty 

Finally, if you’re looking to start in on a book this weekend, S.A. Chakraborty has just finished her acclaimed Daevabad trilogy with The Empire of Gold, which you can buy or download pretty much anywhere as of now. The story started with The City of Brass, where we were introduced to cynic con-woman Nahri, who makes her living grifting people on the streets of 18th century Cairo. After accidentally summoning the sly djinn warrior Dara, Nahri learns of a mysterious city called Daevabad, a city to which she is inextricably bound.

Nahri spends the next couple of books getting involved in Daevabad’s court life, which is every bit as treacherous and deadly as anything from A Song of Ice and Fire. By the start of The Empire of Gold, she has left the city, but her job isn’t quite over yet.

The Daevabad trilogy has been hailed from all quarters as a series that with serious topics like war and tribal infighting while also delivering plenty of intrigue, heart and magic. And the final book may be the best.

Enjoy the weekend, all! Relax responsibly.

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