Anyone familiar with Spider-Man's villains knows that most incarnations of the Sinister Six feature either Doctor Octopus or the Sandman as the group's leader. While Sandman hasn't been confirmed to appear in Marvel's Spider-Man, it's been speculated that Doctor Octopus would fill that villainous leader role. According to Comicbook, though, we can thank Rhino voice actor Chris Jai Alex for potentially revealing that the mad scientist will indeed rain all over Peter Parker's parade.
The possible leak happened in a video between established Call of Duty player Dritft0r and Jai Alex. Though the interview was primarily about Treyarch's upcoming Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, because Jai Alex acts in both Black Ops 4 and Spider-Man, something about Insomniac's open-world, superhero game was bound to come up. Unfortunately, he potentially let slip the sixth villain's identity.
"The fight sequence was particularly hard because everyone is scaled differently, you know? Doctor Octopus is really tall. Rhino is big..." Jai Alex says before the video abruptly cuts. Insomniac hasn't confirmed whether Doctor Octopus will be in Spider-Man, but if he is, that'll mark the seventh villain in the game. This includes Mister Negative and the rest of the game's Sinister Six: Electro, Rhino, Scorpion, Vulture, and Shocker.
Marvel's Spider-Man will be available for PlayStation 4 on September 7, 2018. During E3 2018, we got to check out Spider-Man and said it "may be one the best game experiences we've had with the webslinger."
2018 has been a pretty good follow-up so far. Iconoclasts and God of War are just two of a number of new exclusives. The PS4's library has some excellent new multi-platform games as well, such as Celeste and Monster Hunter: World.
Looking ahead, there are still plenty of new PlayStation 4 exclusives on the way that are well worth getting excited about. We've compiled every one we know of so far here, and will continue to update this gallery with new games as they get announced. Be sure to check back often as we update this gallery with more exclusives, and if you're curious about other platforms, you can check out our features on Xbox One exclusives, PC exclusives, and Switch exclusives.
Of course, there's a wealth of exciting games coming out in 2018 that aren't necessarily exclusive to one platform or another, so be sure to check out our individual features highlighting the most anticipated PS4 games, Xbox One games, PC games, and Switch games for a broader look at the year ahead.
Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth - Hacker's Memory
The latest game in the long-running Digimon series presents the mysterious backstory to the events that transpired in the first Cyber Sleuth game, and features 320 Digimon from the animated series.
Developer: Media.Vision | Release Date: January 19
Iconoclasts
Iconoclasts is a Metroidvania-inspired action puzzler where you play as Robin, an unlicensed mechanic in a world ruled by a corrupt theocracy that rules the world by controlling technology. When Robin's actions inevitably provoke the powers that be to hunt down everyone she loves, she becomes embroiled in a conflict that threatens not only the safety of her family but the entire world.
Developer: Joakim Sandberg | Release Date: January 23
The Inpatient
The Inpatient is an unlikely prequel to Supermassive Games' 2015 horror gem, Until Dawn. It's a PSVR experience set 60 years prior to the first game, inside the foreboding halls of Blackwood Sanatorium.
Developer: Supermassive Games | Release Date: January 23
Dissidia: Final Fantasy NT
The Dissidia games found a lot of fans back during the PSP's heyday, and more recently in Japanese arcades. The latest in the series released on PlayStation 4, courtesy of Team Ninja, and promised wild mid-air battles between Final Fantasy's most beloved and infamous characters.
The magical PS2 game Shadow of the Colossus was given a new lease on life with a PS4 remake. Bluepoint Games completely rebuilt every aspect of the game's world while leaving the underlying structure and mechanics intact, making Shadow of the Colossus even better than before.
Developer: Bluepoint Games | Release Date: February 6
The Seven Deadly Sins: Knights of Britannia
The Seven Deadly Sins: Knights of Britannia lets you enjoy the destructive action and excitement from the anime. Battle your friends in memorable fights that feature the likes of Meliodas, Elizabeth, Ban, Hawk, and the other colorful assortment of characters that live in Britannia.
Developer: Bandai Namco Games | Release Date: February 9
Moss
Moss is a fetching adventure in a magical world starring a daring and capable mouse named Quill. This game has a lot of heart, but its storybook whims can only be experienced through a PSVR headset.
Frantics hopes to entertain you and a few of your closest friends with 15 oddball mini-games. Designed for PlayLink support, you use your smartphone, rather than a DualShock, to participate.
Developer: NapNok Games | Release Date: March 6
Bravo Team
Supermassive's PSVR game, Bravo Team, is a tactical shooter designed for two-player co-op, either locally or online; teamwork and communication are key to your success.
Developer: Supermassive Games | Release Date: March 6
Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom
Ni No Kuni 2: Revenant Kingdom outdoes its predecessor. An ambitious title, it's a character-driven RPG that doubles as a kingdom simulator and even occasionally becomes a real-time strategy game.
The most recent addition to Sony's annual baseball series features the formidable New York Yankee, Aaron Judge. MLB The Show 18 pushes the franchise's visuals, mechanics, and authenticity to new heights.
Developer: Sony San Diego Studio | Release Date: March 27
Yakuza 6: The Song of Life
Sega's serious-meets-slapstick open-world series continues its onslaught on the West with Yakuza 6: The Song of Life. It's also the first game to take advantage of the new Dragon Engine, which helps the game's lifelike renditions of Tokyo and famous Japanese actors look more convincing than ever.
Developer: Ryu ga Gotoku Studios | Release Date: April 17
God of War
With the pantheon of Greek gods behind him, Kratos' latest adventure takes him to the frozen Norse wilds. Though the series' familiar action remains intact, Kratos must now also care for his son, Atreus, as the two work together to overcome brutal obstacles and new opponents.
Developer: Sony Santa Monica Studio | Release Date: April 20
Dragon's Crown Pro
The sumptuously illustrated beat-em-up from Vanillaware is making a comeback, and the Pro version of the game will feature new support for 4K (on PS4 Pro) and a newly recorded orchestrated soundtrack.
Megadimension Neptunia VIIR is essentially a rerelease of Megadimension Neptunia VII, but the new version comes with special-made PSVR sections created in an entirely new engine for VIIR.
Detroit: Become Human examines the potential complications that may arise if artificial lifeforms advance far enough to not just appear human, but convince us they feel human as well. Play through multiple outcomes based on the choices you make during calm and heated scenes alike.
Fighting EX Layer is a fighting game developed by Arika, a studio most known for its work on the cult-classic Street Fighter EX series. It includes many of the original characters from those games, as well as similar fighting mechanics.
Star Child is a dreamy, narrative-driven platformer from a team of self-admitted sci-fi junkies for PSVR. Developer Playful Corp. is best known for the two Lucky's Tale games: Lucky's Tale for Oculus Rift and Super Lucky's Tale, an early Xbox One X title.
A remake of Yakuza 2, Yakuza Kiwami 2 continues the franchise's tradition of offering a staggering amount of different types of gameplay in a action-adventure open world.
Developed by the folks behind the parkour-heavy and vibrant Sunset Overdrive, Spider-Man swings onto PS4 later this year. The game is both great looking and action packed, but we'll have to wait until September to see if the experience can truly do justice to our favorite wall-crawler.
Developer: Insomniac Games | Release Date: September 7
Blood & Truth
Blood & Truth is a PSVR game poised to build on The London Heist portion of Sony's PlayStation VR Worlds, with more immersive environments and massive shootouts.
Developer: Sony London Studios | Release Date: TBA 2018
Golem
Golem is a PSVR game that gives you the power to create and control creatures made of stone. At first, you'll be limited to the confines of your virtual bedroom, but as you grow more familiar with your powers you'll eventually end up in the middle of an ancient abandoned city while controlling massive, 15-foot giants.
Developer: Highwire Games | Release Date: TBA 2018
Dreams
Like Little Big Planet before it, Dreams aims to give you the power to create worlds with ease and share them with other players. Media Molecule claims that players, rather than the developers, will define what Dreams ultimately becomes.
Developer: Media Molecule | Release Date: TBA 2018
Concrete Genie
In Concrete Genie, players take on the role of Ash, a troubled teen who's bullied. Ash escapes his problems by painting beautiful landscapes and creatures, but when he finds some magical paint, his artwork begins to come to life.
By Anonymous on Jun 25, 2018 11:21 pm A Rockstar developer briefly listed Red Dead Redemption 2 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC on LinkedIn, while Fortnite's Playground mode is coming soon to Battle Royale.
The Steam Summer Sale isn't the only deal in town for PC gamers. Green Man Gaming is also running a sale, and if you enter promo code JUNE20 at checkout, you'll get an extra 20% off most of the already-discounted games. That amounts to some serious savings on lots of worthy games. You can find the full list of games on sale here, or read on for the highlights.
That extra 20% off bumps many of these deals in to best-ever territory. PUBG, for instance, normally sells for $30, but it's on sale for $20. Take 20% off of that, and you're looking at a final price of $16. Not bad at all. Cuphead has a similar thing going on, landing it at $13.
You can get the intense multiplayer cooking game Overcooked for just $5, and you can pre-order Overcooked 2 for $20 instead of its usual $25. Ori and the Blind Forest is also getting a sequel this year, but you can grab the Definitive Edition of the original for just $8. Also $8 is Playdead's dark puzzle-platformer Inside. For just a buck more, you can grab Rocket League to engage in some automotive soccer action. We have even more picks listed below.
Just remember to enter promo code JUNE20 at checkout, or you'll miss out on the extra 20% savings. The code doesn't work on all of the games--there are some exceptions--but it works on most of them. Happy deal hunting.
The Nintendo Eshop is running a new set of sales this week, with select Nintendo Switch and Nintendo 3DS games getting discounts big and small. We've combed through the deals to find the best prices on the best games below. Or, if you'd like to see the full list of discounts, you can do so here. The deals end on different dates depending on the game, so grab them quickly if you see games you want.
With the World Cup going on now, it's a great time to pick up FIFA 18 for Switch; it's on sale for $24, down from $60. In sports entertainment news, WWE 2K18 is on sale for $20, which is the best price we've seen so far.
JRPG fans may want to check out the melancholy-but-endearing I Am Setsuna now that it's half off at $20, or the developer's following game, Lost Sphear, available now for $25. The indie Metroidvania-style game Owlboy is down to $17, or if you're looking to solve some murders (and who isn't?), you'll want to check out L.A. Noire, on sale for $37.
By Anonymous on Jun 25, 2018 11:00 pm Westworld season 2 comes to a thrilling end. Who will make it to the Valley Beyond and go through The Door? Will Maeve be reunited with her daughter? What will become of Dolores and Bernard? Join Lucy and Tamoor as they discuss everything you might have missed. Also, beware of spoilers!
While the 2015 deal between Marvel and Sony ensures that Spider-Man will feature in the former's movies for the time being, Sony is making the most of owning the cinematic rights to Spidey and associated characters. Venom hits theaters in October, and there are movies in the works focusing on Silver Sable, the Black Cat, and Morbius: The Living Vampire. It has now been reported that the character Silk might also get her own film.
According to Deadline, the Silk movie is in "early development" at Sony. Silk is a Korean-American superhero, who's real name is Cindy Moon. She was created by Dan Slott and Humberto Ramos, and first appeared in issue one of the relaunched Amazing Spider-Man comic in 2014. Moon was bitten by the same radioactive spider as Peter Parker, but unlike Peter, has more trouble controlling her powers. Moon actually appeared as a character in last year's Spider-Man: Homecoming, although seemingly without powers.
Although Venom arrives in a few months, it is unclear when the next Spidey spin-off will be released. The Silver Sable/Black Cat movie--currently titled Silver and Black-- was originally scheduled for release in February 2019. However, it was removed from schedules earlier this year. Director Gina Prince-Bythewood commented on the film's delay, stating that she was "still working on the script."
Venom hits theaters on October 4. It stars Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock, who becomes host for the alien symbiote of the title, plus Michelle Williams (The Greatest Showman), Jenny Slate (The Lego Batman Movie), and Woody Harrelson (Solo: A Star Wars Story). Check out the latest Venom trailer here. In addition, Sony's animated movie Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse releases in December, and you can check out the first trailer here.
E3 2018 was packed with exciting games that immediately captured the attention of many. Whether it was CD Projekt Red's Cyberpunk 2077, EA's blowout of Anthem and Battlefield V content, Sony's impressive demos for Ghost of Tsushima and Spider-Man, or the reveal of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's massive roster--there was definitely a lot to take in, leaving little room to properly digest some of the more lesser-known games. We at GameSpot explored the E3 show floor and its surrounding events, playing a number of different games coming to PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.
In this gallery, we've compiled a list of some of the most interesting games from E3 2018 that didn't get enough attention, many of which are releasing sooner than you think. In addition to experiencing the likes of Annapurna Interactive's Ashen and Donut County, Avalanche Studios' Generation Zero, and the recently announced Killer Queen Black for Switch at E3 convention center, we also saw many games from the Indie Mix event. At these smaller events, many indie developers, like Double Fine Entertainment and Team17, show off their upcoming games.
In many cases, all you need to stand out is a creative idea and the skillset to see it through, and these games made their presence known alongside the most talked-about games of E3 2018. While many of these games possess that familiar indie charm, they each have their own particular hook to them. Some focus on quirky adventures that have retro-inspired aesthetics and gameplay, while others go for a more somber or action-oriented experience. Here are 21 games you may have missed out on during the gaming industry's big show.
For more info on some of the most noteworthy games of E3 2018, be sure to visit GameSpot's E3 hub page for all of our content on this year's show and to see what's coming up next in gaming.
Ashen (PC, Xbox One)
After playing through From Software's Soulsborne titles, I developed an incessant itch for more video games that promise challenging combat and use a stamina system to weigh the risks of attacking or defending. Ashen is just the scratch I needed.
In Ashen, players take on the role of a faceless warrior who's looking for a home but finds death instead. Dying isn't the end, though, as this hero is resurrected each time they're killed. Good thing too, because you'll face off against some fierce enemies and challenging bosses on your journey. The second-to-last boss crushed me almost immediately on my first attempt. I got him to half health in a follow-up fight that lasted nearly 10 minutes before he killed me again.
Ashen's story is focused on forging connections, both with NPCs and other players. Plenty of NPC humans dot the snaking map, each offering opportunities to pursue either professional or personal relationships. Several of these characters come with their own fascinating questlines, too. Players can also enter others' games, but it's always to assist, not to invade. Certain areas of Ashen's world can only be reached with a companion, so jolly cooperation is vital to discovering every hidden secret. | Jordan Ramee
Arca's Path (PC, and PS4)
There is a definite gap in the market for relaxing video games. There are some, of course--Rymdkapsel, Journey, and Monument Valley are three that come to mind for me--but they're still few and far between. Arca's Path aims to change that; it's a VR-only pseudo-platformer, and the main emotion it evoked inside me was pure relaxation.
No controller is used in Arca's Path outside of your own head; you simply stare at where you want your ball to roll to, and it moves in that direction. Simple obstacles such as ramps and narrow gaps stand in your way, but they're there more for visual variety than for any meaningful challenge. A zen soundtrack and beautiful shapes and colors make this slow-paced game as soothing as it is attractive, and I look forward to playing more. No release date has yet been announced, but we know it's coming to PSVR, Oculus Rift, and Steam VR. | Oscar Dayus
Donut County (PC, PS4, Xbox One)
Donut County is a solo project from developer Ben Esposito, who worked on What Remains of Edith Finch and The Unfinished Swan. It has a different tone from some of his previous work--Donut County is full of smartly used internet humor and stars a cheeky, morally gray raccoon whose favorite app wreaks havoc on a town.
Thanks to this app, you're able to control a hole in the ground that grows as you get more to fall inside of it. You start small with grass and pebbles and work your way up to cars, buildings, and even mountains, all while solving puzzles so you can get everything in the area into the hole. Each level shows how different objects or characters ended up underground, and they're broken up by funny scenes of those characters arguing about the events in the present.
Playing as a hole sounds really silly, but in practice it's meditative and relaxing. It's essentially a game about cleaning up a bunch of garbage, at least from a gameplay standpoint, but thematically it's about consequence and becoming aware of how your actions affect other people. I played an hour of the Donut County at E3, and I can't wait to play it all the way through and see how everything comes together. | Kallie Plagge
The Endless Mission (PC, PS4, Xbox One)
Developer E-Line Media entered the public eye with Never Alone, a contemplative puzzle-platformer inspired by Alaska Native culture. The studio's latest project, however, is something radically different. The Endless Mission is a sandbox creation game that bears more similarities to Media Molecule's enigmatic Dreams than to E-Line's previous effort, and its ambitious premise makes it one of the most intriguing games we got to see at E3.
Broadly speaking, The Endless Mission allows players to mash together elements of different genres to create new experiences. For instance, players can take the avatar from a 3D platformer and insert it into a racing game, then use that avatar to race on foot against the other vehicles. What's especially neat is that combining these disparate elements will cause other aspects of the game to change accordingly, so that regardless of which elements and genres you mash up, the game will still be playable. In the aforementioned example, adding an avatar to a racing game causes boxcars to appear around the course, which players can hop between to reach the finish line.
That's only one of the possible combinations afforded by The Endless Mission. The game puts a suite of different genres, elements, and other tools at players' disposal, with even more planned for the title as development progresses. Those who are so inclined will even be able to tinker with the code, although no coding experience is necessary to make use of its tools. The Endless Mission enters Early Access on Steam this fall, with a full release planned for next year. | Kevin Knezevic
Generation Zero (PC, Xbox One)
Avalanche Studios' Generation Zero wants you to feel outmatched and equally unnerved in its large open world. Set in an isolated region in rural Sweden during the late 1980s, you find many of the residents dead or missing, and the only things left are swarms of killer robots that lurk in the dense forests and fog. In this open-world survival game set during the early period of the robopocalypse, you and your group of survivors will have to scrape together resources from buildings and fallen enemies in order to stand a chance against the machines in the area.
The many items you'll find include weapons, clothing options, support items, and even scavenged robot parts that can boost your weapons' effectiveness. You'll initially encounter small runner bots, but over time, your group will come across bigger threats lurking throughout the world--which includes giant robot walkers that stand several stories tall. While you can play solo, the developers recommended playing through the game with friends, as many of the high-end challenges look to be quite overwhelming.
Coming to PC, PS4, and Xbox One in 2019, Generation Zero seems to be an open-world survival game of a different flavor, focusing more on mystery and the errieness of its setting, which is definitely a welcome change of pace. With an atmosphere that recalls moments from Black Mirror's Metal Head episode, exploring what's left of the land will be just as challenging as trying to survive in it. | Alessandro Fillari
GTFO (PC, PS4, Xbox One)
GTFO handles a lot like Rainbow Six Siege, albeit with a horrifying twist. Each member of the squad outfits themselves with both a primary and secondary firearm, as well as a custom tool and melee weapon. Then, the elevator drops your team off at the mission location, where you can practically feel the tension in the air. It's really dark and eerily quiet, except for the occasional gurgle reminding your squad that they're not alone.
GTFO never holds your hand as you and your team desperately try to escape its monster-infested corridors. The creatures hunt by sound, so running and gunning is a terrible idea. To keep the horde off your back, you'll have to be stealthy.
You'll still die a lot, though. Both health and ammo are incredibly scarce, and mistakes are swiftly punished. The custom tools, ranging from explosive trip wires to a glue gun that can slow down enemies or plug breached doors, offer plenty of creative ways of handling the threats in front of you, but solid teamwork is ultimately the best weapon in your arsenal. Be sure to grab three friends you can trust. | Jordan Ramee
Indivisible (PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One)
The next project from the studio behind Skullgirls is shaping up to be a lovely new take on the classic Metroidvania genre. Titled Indivisible, the game follows the story of Ajna. She and her father live just outside a quiet little town, but when mysterious powers awaken within her, she must embark on a journey to discover the truth behind them.
Indivisible combines Metroid-style exploration with the combat system of cult classic RPG Valkyrie Profile. The combination sounds simple on paper, but Lab Zero Games tackles the formula with skill and finesse. Battles sport the nuance and complexity of a fighting game; each character in your party features their own unique attack and abilities, which you need to control quickly and efficiently. During my brief hands-on time with the game, it was a lot to take in. But when I got a knack for how to input and link together combos, I was instantly enamored by the possibilities.
Before I played Indivisible, I had my eyes on it mostly because of its beautiful art style. But now that I've played it, I'm very excited to jump back in to explore its world and unlock the full potential of the devastating attack chains packed into its combat system. | Matt Espineli
KIDS (Mobile, PC)
Discussion of "games as art" has become trite to the point of comedy, but clearly some games are more overtly reminiscent of other art forms than others. KIDS, from Swiss developer Playables, wears its arthouse minimalism on its sleeve.
The monochromatic palette is striking, consisting of white silhouettes with black outlines on a white background. Interactivity is relatively subtle and minimalist as well. In one vignette, touching one of the figures may make them move. In another, it could make them point their finger at another anonymous figure. It feels like KIDS would be at home in as an interactive piece in a gallery space. The simple mechanics are used to illustrate different group dynamics: following a leader, shifting blame, being part of a mob. Every vignette shown so far ends the same way: the group plunges itself, lemming-like, into a pit.
A mobile release promises a tactile feeling to manipulating the mannequins, but the point comes across well enough on PC as well. This is bound to be the sort of game that inspires debate over "games versus experiences," given its linear interactivity and lack of a fail-state. Whatever it is, KIDS invites exploration and curiosity. | Steve Watts
Killer Queen Black (Switch)
Beneath its retro-style visuals and deceptively simple premise, Killer Queen Black is an intense and fast-paced game of strategy and coordination. A remake of the Killer Queen arcade game, Black has undergone a few notable changes in its move to Switch and PC, particularly in the number of players it supports (4v4 rather than 5v5 as in the arcade), but the competitive essence of the original remains very much intact.
Each contest in Killer Queen Black pits the two teams against each other with three ways to win. You can either collect enough orbs to fill up your team's hive, eliminate the opposing team's queen three times, or ride the snail that's slowly crawling along the bottom of the arena from one end of the screen to the other to secure a victory. On paper, each of the victory conditions sounds simple enough to complete, but it's much more difficult in practice with both teams vying to achieve the same goals.
As such, success in Killer Queen Black hinges upon planning and coordination between the entire team. For example, two players can act as decoys, collecting orbs while another tries to stealthily ride the snail to victory. Alternatively, players can take a more offensive approach and focus on eliminating the opposing queen, although that leaves open the possibility the other team could fill up their hive. With both local and online multiplayer support, Killer Queen Black looks like it'll make for a hectic party game when it releases early next year. | Kevin Knezevic
Knights And Bikes (PC)
Whether played solo or co-op, Knights and Bikes puts players in the role of two pre-teen girls, Nessa and Demelza, who are adventuring across a British isle during the 1980s. The only town on the island has seen better days, but the girls don't notice until the economic downturn begins to affect Nessa's family. They'll need to be brave to save the town. They'll need bikes too.
Every aspect of this Secret of Mana-like RPG, from the gameplay to the story, is seen through the eyes of two adorable kids. Nessa splashes muddy puddles with a malicious glee, reimagining her rain boots as powerful weapons that send troublesome enemies scurrying away. Demelza attaches real value to the pieces of trash, squirming bugs, and random knick knacks she and Nessa collect, so she's very confused as to why the shopkeeper would prefer actual money when the girls try to buy a new bike.
I love how Knights and Bikes does such a phenomenal job at capturing what it's like to be a kid who's dealing with the injustices encountered while growing up. Although both Nessa and Demelza initially face their ever-more adult situation with ingenuity and wide-eyed-wonder, I immediately recognized the slow creep of reality beginning to warp their childlike innocence. It's a bittersweet part of life that all adults can remember to some extent. | Jordan Ramee
Ninjala (Switch)
Coming to Nintendo Switch, this game is going to find an audience with the same crowd that was enraptured by the colorful aesthetic of Splatoon 2. Ninjala is a goofy multiplayer-focused arena brawler where bubble gum-chewing ninjas fight it out in the streets of Tokyo with baseball bats. It's bizarre, hectic, absolutely absurd, and insanely fun.
Players choose one of eight different teenage ninjas, grab their weapon of choice, and head into the arena. Only the baseball bat was available when I played, but GungHo Online Entertainment promises a few of the other greyed-out options will be added by launch.
In the eight-person Battle Royale mode, players blow up the bubble gum they're chewing to various sizes before utilizing it to run up walls or float to the ground. Players need to reach inside the bubbles they blow to acquire their weapon. Doing so pops the bubble. The weapon's size depends on how large the bubble was before it popped. Players score points by attacking others and can earn extra points by charging up and delivering a massive knockout strike. Regardless of whether the attack connects or not, once you swing, your weapon is lost and you'll need to blow another bubble to get a replacement. To keep enemy ninjas from escaping while charging your attack, you can spit out your bubble gum to temporarily trap other players where they stand. Matches end in just a few minutes so it's easy to just jump into one more round. | Jordan Ramee
Ooblets (PC, Xbox One)
While Harvest Moon has continued ever-onward and Story of Seasons was a valiant attempt to rekindle the magic, it was Stardew Valley that really showcased the modern viability of the candy-coated farming life sim. Enter Ooblets, an adorable entry in the newly revitalized genre that blends in elements of Pokemon for good measure. It's an altogether sweet and endearing combination that will be hard to pass up.
While the loop of a farming sim is mercantile--buying seeds to sell crops to buy more seeds--Ooblets brings your plants to life as tiny companions with their own strengths and weaknesses. Other plant types make nourishment or special items for your fledgling creatures, and you can take them into battle. But this game is cute as a button in every aspect, so combat is handled through a dance competition. All of this is wrapped up in a charming art style and with cheeky writing. Ooblets is due on PC and Xbox One this year, and it's going to be a real life-eater--especially if it ever comes to Nintendo Switch. | Steve Watts
Pode (Switch)
Pode is a beautiful, soothing, adorable puzzle game about a rock helping an alien star find its way home. You can control both characters at once in single-player or play the whole game in co-op, helping the two characters interact in order to make your way through the gorgeous world.
"Pode" in Norwegian refers to the act of two plants joining together to become one; it's also a cute word used by Norwegian families when talking to or about their children. The two meanings tell you everything you need to know about this game's wholesome nature. It also contains an exquisite soundtrack from Journey and Assassin's Creed Syndicate composer Austin Wintory.
From what I played, Pode is shaping up to be a gorgeous and heartfelt experience, and I can't wait to play the full game on Nintendo Switch. | Oscar Dayus
Satisfactory (PC)
The next game from the creators of Goat Simulator is nothing like that wacky, over-the-top game. You play as an engineer who goes out into the world to find resources to create "Project Assembly," which is a machine with a "mysterious purpose." Satisfactory is a factory-building simulator presented from a first-person perspective, which is different in the building sim genre. The game bears visual similarities to No Man's Sky, but there is no procedural generation. There is just one big, big planet that is 30 square kilometers, and there is also multiplayer support and combat as well, which is new and unexpected for the building sim space. It's cool and exciting to see developers known for one thing do something completely unexpected. The game will launch with an alpha period, though no dates or details have been announced yet. | Eddie Makuch
Shadows: Awakening (PC, PS4, Xbox One)
At first glance, Shadows: Awakening can look like a traditional isometric single-player RPG, but it has some incredibly interesting gameplay dynamics that take it to the next level. You play as a demon who takes control of the souls of long-dead heroes. While you command those heroes to explore and battle in the land of the living, your demon who possesses them lives in the shadow world--you can instantly switch between the two parallel universes, something that's necessary to win certain battles, solve puzzles, and get the best loot.
Shadows: Awakening takes a lot of the fun and appeal of multiplayer online battle arena games and brings it to a single-player, story-driven RPG with real-time party combat. There are tons of characters to play, more than 120 skills with which to customize your party's abilities, and 70 locations to explore. The developers say they want to inspire adventure, encouraging players to explore both the land of the living and the shadow realm (and using the two together) to find the best loot and discover the secrets of the world they've created. It's an exciting prospect to see a party-based RPG of this scale with real-time combat, all in a single-player experience. | Patrick Faller
Strange Brigade (PC, PS4, Xbox One)
Strange Brigade is a co-op third-person shooter from Sniper Elite developer Rebellion. Set in 1930s Egypt, it has you raiding tombs and mowing down supernatural creatures--ghouls, zombies, and more gruesome monsters--using both standard-issue guns and an array of more inventive abilities. Slain enemies drop blue soul-like orbs that you collect to power your magical amulet, which can be equipped with deadly flamethrower and electricity powers. There's also numerous traps to trigger, such as spinning blades and spike pits, to aid you in your fight.
Strange Brigade lacks the polish of a AAA title, but there's something satisfying about being able to fry a dozen enemies in one go, and the game's bright, vaguely steampunky aesthetic and irreverent script help it stand out. It's coming to PS4, Xbox One, and PC on August 28, and I can't wait to see more. | Oscar Dayus
Transference (PC, PS4, Xbox One)
Transference is a new game from Lord of the Rings actor Elijah Wood's film company SpectreVision and Assassin's Creed publisher Ubisoft. A deeply unsettling game made for VR (but also playable on standard platforms), Transference tells the story of a father who uploads his consciousness and that of his wife and son to the cloud. Something goes wrong and the data gets corrupted. Things get weird from there. The game lets you play from each family member's perspective. What's most interesting is that you might start the game questioning one of the character's motivations and mindset, but when you play as the others, you begin to feel empathy for their situation. And this messes with your head in some surprising ways. Transference launches this fall for VR platforms, as well as Xbox One, PS4, and PC. | Eddie Makuch
Tunic (PC, Xbox One)
Tunic's appearance during Microsoft's Xbox press conference at E3 2018 tells you everything you need to know about this adorable adventure game. In a beautiful isometric world that evokes the best of The Legend of Zelda, you control a courageous fox on a grand adventure.
I was immediately drawn in by Tunic's astoundingly cute art style and graphics, not to mention its nostalgia-inducing soundtrack. But after playing it, I feel confident that it's going to deliver on the gameplay front as well. Tunic feels like classic Zelda, with a touch of things more modern, like the maneuverability of Hyper Light Drifter and the playfulness of Fez. Just look at the cryptic, unreadable text in the E3 trailer--whatever language that is, it's present within the game as well, and it makes actions as simple as picking up a sword feel fun and mysterious.
In development by Andrew Shouldice and presented by Finji, Tunic is set for an exclusive release on Xbox One and Windows PC. And it's one I can't wait to check out again. | Mike Rougeau
What The Golf? (PC)
Right from the beginning, you discover that What The Golf? isn't really about playing golf. In the opening level, where you line up a putt on the green, the character--not the ball--is immediately flung from their shooting position towards the goal. You move onto the next stage right after. Referred to as an "anti-golf game for people who hate golf" by its developers, What The Golf? is a bizarre yet oddly endearing take on the idea of golf, but heavily recontextualized throughout stages that take a very loose and sometimes very literal approach to what golfing is.
What The Golf? is, as strange as this sounds, a puzzle-golf game designed through the whimsical and stylized lense of Katamari Damacy. Whether driving a golf club down the fairway, guiding a soccer ball past a group of rowdy kids, or even relocating an entire house to another space, your goal is to simply get the object to the goal post. In stranger cases, you're controlling a mound of dirt and transporting it into a large hole in the shape of the number one--a literal hole in one--or controlling a character in a platforming game. And just when you think it couldn't get any weirder, it tosses in stages parodying other games like Super Mario Bros., Portal, and even Superhot--complete with time-bending gunplay.
Playing What The Golf? had me repeatedly scratching my head, but always in a good way. The stranger it got, the more I respected how far it went with its weirdness. Expected to release later this year on PC, this quirky and always bizarre puzzle-golfing game never ceased to surprise me with just how far off the deep end it went. | Alessandro Fillari
Where Cards Fall (Mobile, PC)
Where Cards Fall is an isometric puzzler that takes its title both figuratively and literally. The game ostensibly revolves around manipulating and resizing stacks of cards to create platforms that can be traversed, but beneath the surface, it tells the coming-of-age story of a high schooler coping with the pressures and uncertainty of adolescence.
While the aforementioned cards are primarily used to navigate through the game's levels, they aren't simply a means of solving puzzles; they also form the buildings that in-game characters live in. Splay a stack out long enough and it'll pop up into a house that you can enter. We only got a glimpse of this in our brief hands-on time with the game, but it's a novel concept that is expanded upon as players create different types of buildings and interact with their occupants.
The underlying gameplay in Where Cards Fall is also clever and satisfying. It begins simply enough, tasking you with moving a stack and expanding it until it's large enough to allow you to cross a gap, but it quickly introduces additional stacks that you must expand, jump on, and rearrange as you work your way through a level. Where Cards Fall doesn't yet have a release date, but the game is coming to iOS devices, PC via Steam, and Apple TV. | Kevin Knezevic
World War Z (PC, PS4, Xbox One)
Licensed video games might not be as popular or as prevalent as they once were, but Saber Interactive's zombie game based on the Brad Pitt movie World War Z looks promising. The four-player co-op game is set in the universe of the film but does not follow the film's story. Instead, it tells an entirely new narrative featuring four survivors who must band together to survive waves of zombies in a variety of environments, including the New York City train line and lush jungles. I played a 20-minute demo of one of the chapters and found the shooting tight and responsive. Additionally, the brutal melee attacks--I had a firefighter's axe--are a good way to clear out zombies when you get surrounded. And it feels satisfying. World War Z is due out in early 2019 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. | Eddie Makuch
By Anonymous on Jun 25, 2018 10:50 pm We have a full copy of The Crew 2 and are streaming it live for your viewing pleasure. Hope on in and ask us questions as we drive, fly, and boat across a weird version of the United States.
When Preacher returns to AMC this Sunday, June 24, for its Season 3 premiere, viewers will finally begin the journey of the comics' best storyline: Angelville. But it won't really be the same. If you haven't watched Preacher Season 2 and don't want to be spoiled, stop reading now!
The main difference? Tulip is already dead. At the end of Season 2, Featherstone--who'd been masquerading as a neighbor named Jenny--shot her, and she unambiguously died. In any other show (besides Game of Thrones) that should have been the end of her. But this is Preacher, a show where Hitler is sympathetic, Jesus Christ has a disabled inbred descendant, and God is a pervert who spends most of his time in a canine gimp suit.
AMC hasn't been shy about the fact that Tulip is returning in Preacher Season 3. Actress Ruth Negga has been seen in promotional materials, and creators Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg spoke openly about her resurrection during a recent conference call with press. To be fair, it's hard to keep a main actress's return a secret, which is just one symptom of the major ways the show is different from the books in this plot line. If they had kept Tulip's death and resurrection within one arc, like the source material did, keeping it a surprise wouldn't have been an issue.
In the comics, Grandma has Tulip killed after Jesse and Tulip are brought to Angelville against their wills. At the end of the comics arc, God resurrects Tulip to send Jesse a message: He's still around, he's still all powerful, and he wants to be left alone. It's one of the coolest moments in the series, and as it occurs near the start of the comics, it sets the tone in a lot of ways. In addition to not being a surprise and happening much later in the story, the show version will simply play out differently, apparently giving Tulip more agency over her own resurrection.
"The comics just has a lot of like, Jesse saving Tulip, and a lot of Jesse telling Tulip to not do stuff because it's too dangerous, and that he's gonna do it. And that's stuff that just didn't feel like--it just felt like stuff that could be improved on, and stuff that allowed us to give each character more opportunities to be active and to be heroic and to make some decisions," Rogen said during the call. "Most of the changes come from that type of thinking. It's not like, 'How do we make the comic book better?' It's mostly just, 'How do we give these characters more agency? How do we give them more control over their actions?'"
The other characters at Angelville--including Grandma, Jody, and T.C.--are being fleshed out more as well. When Jesse and Cassidy arrive there with Tulip's body in the Season 3 premiere, they won't be greeted with outright hostility.
"When you see in the comic books this spooky house in the bayou somewhere, you don't ask a lot of questions," Rogen said. "But as soon as it's brought into the real world, you're like, 'What do these people do? What do they do all day? Do they have jobs? How does this work?' And as soon as we started having that conversation we realized that there was actually a lot of opportunity to build out the mythology of Angelville and what they actually do and what the purpose of it is."
That's where the souls trade explored in Season 2 came from, and Season 3 will introduce the L'Angell family's main rivals in the business. That line of thinking is also what led to the expanded roles and personalities for characters like Jody and T.C.
"On the same note, Jody, T.C., and Grandma, in the comics they're great characters, but in a show, there's just more face time and you just need to round out the characters more," Goldberg said. "And so those characters need more hopes and dreams of their own, and more goals and specific history."
In other words, they're more realistic, and less like cartoon villains. That doesn't mean they'll have no edge.
"We've had a lot of different characters on the show, but these people are psychopaths, and they are terrifying people, and it's just a really fun and really different thing to tackle," Goldberg said. "The actual characters that Garth created are so fun, and these are three of the best ones."
Rogen said in Season 3, Jesse's going to need Tulip's help more than ever, but they'll have to work together, rather than one or the other being totally helpless and needing saving. He said the biggest challenges for the show at this point are keeping it realistic enough that viewers care about the characters, and keeping it surprising at the same time.
"The biggest challenge with the show always is how do we take this world that is by all means off the wall insane, and tonally runs the gamut that few things I've ever worked on or seen run, and how you balance that with making it seem real enough that people actually care and are invested in the characters," Rogen said.
"What's nice is in a world that anything can happen in, you can make anything happen. But the audience does very quickly get used to that," he continued. "A lot of thought goes into how to, in something that people know is surprising and shocking at times, and subversive, and all those things--how do you maintain that tone?...But it's something I think [executive producer] Sam [Catlin] and the writers don't seem to ever struggle doing. I mean, I watch every episode, and I know what's going to happen, and there's still ten moments that completely shock me every time I watch the show."
One criticism that's been leveled at the past two seasons is that compared with the comics, the show can feel slow. The books were structured as a road trip, and they jumped frequently between settings and different plot lines. Some fan favorite characters only appeared briefly, and it's been the show's job to flesh those characters out and find ways for them to stick around. But Rogen and Goldberg said the pace will continue to increase as Preacher continues.
"Although the first few episodes are kind of more revolving around the house at Angelville, the show itself travels a lot this year, maybe even more than it did last year as far as how many different locations the show takes place in and how many different cities it takes place in and all that," Rogen said.
"For this show we really think that the pace should get crazier as we go along," Goldberg added. "So this season, more happens faster with more ramifications...There's just so much story to tell in the universe that we have to play in that we can introduce tons of characters every season, kill more than you might think, bring more back, and do whatever, because it's just a grand universe [comics creator] Garth [Ennis] created."
It's a new week, which means Best Buy has a new weekly ad offering a fresh set of video game deals. This week finds discounts on some of the biggest games of the past few years for PS4 and Xbox One, along with some nice deals on Nintendo Switch accessories. Let's dive in and see what kind of savings are available.
Nintendo Switch owners may be interested in this Switch Starter Kit. On sale for $20, it comes with a carrying case, a screen protector, earbuds, and more. Or, if you want to play your Switch in tabletop mode, you can grab this Hybrid Cover that doubles as a stand. It's on sale for $16.
Onto the games. Some great stuff is available this week for cheap. The recently released Dark Souls Remastered is already down to $30, which is $10 less than normal. You can grab the frenetic shooter Doom or the open-world action RPG Fallout 4 for $15 each. If you're one of the few who doesn't already own Grand Theft Auto V, you can buy it now for just $20. And soccer fans can play along with the World Cup by grabbing FIFA 18 for $30.
For fans of sports entertainment--we're talking wrestling--we always want to know about the inner workings of the show. What's happening backstage? How are these shows pulled off? What are these wrestlers like behind the scenes? While shows on the WWE Network like Table For 3 or Ride Along give us a glimpse, it doesn't give the full scope of what fans want to see. Luckily, Season 2 of the Netflix series GLOW is exceptionally satisfying in this aspect, even if the show follows a fictional wrestling promotion, loosely based on real events.
Season 2 of GLOW--which comes to Netflix on Friday, June 29--is a bit of a departure from the first. The show is still about figuring out how to put on a wrestling show, but the main focus has completely changed, as the cast is no longer scrambling--as much--to learn how to wrestle and figuring out how to create and release a TV series. That feeling of chaotic ignorance has dissipated in many ways with Season 2, replaced with a whole season that caters to what many wrestling fans love: behind-the-scenes production.
To the non-wrestling fan, that may sound like madness, but because the wrestling business is so secretive about how it operates, fans want to know every detail of the process. More than anything else, Season 2 of GLOW is about opening those doors to give insight into the production process. The new season follows the cast and crew behind the show as they continue to produce the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling series, which of course hits some bumps in the road as the season progresses. And this year's offering shines as the audience gets an inside look to what goes on with Creative, from those who work in production to those that create storylines and help develop characters.
For those outside of the wrestling business, this is a process that's primarily remained behind closed doors. Now, GLOW's production isn't on the same level as companies like WWE, TNA, ROH, or NJPW. It's lower-budget and not as far reaching, and it could be compared today to smaller independent promotions like Shimmer or Chikara. Nevertheless, the production process--more or less--will be similar, so GLOW's start-to-finish planning of storylines and match spots should be comparable. This is especially true when you learn that professional wrestler Kia Stevens (WWE's Kharma) is a major cast member and WWE's Chavo Guerrero Jr. trained the women for this season and makes a cameo as well.
How do these storylines, and the show as a whole, come together? That's the primary focus of this season, from Ruth and Debbie working behind the scenes to make a better show, to the battle between them and Creative, which is essentially Sam, who spends a chunk of the season as a combination of real life figures Vince McMahon, Pat Patterson, and Michael PS Hayes' roles. The drama between these characters is just as entertaining as the drama in the ring, and many fans of sports entertainment will find this aspect of the show to be exactly what they're looking for within a series about wrestling.
Without delving into heavy spoilers, all of this build-up pays off in a huge way. All the attention to detail, from booking the matches to the segments to even which advertisers the network is working with, comes into play, in a big way, in the latter half of Season 2. It's the most satisfying moment of the entire show for both wrestling fans and non-wrestling fans alike.
While the series is a scripted Netflix dramedy following the struggles of these women in a fish-out-of-water scenario, it's truly a love letter to wrestling. It doesn't mock it or play into the tired old tropes of stripping it down to say "wrestling is fake." It embraces everything wonderful about it and adds a heaping portion of '80s nostalgia, which in turn adds a ton of tongue-in-cheek humor. It honors the sport, for better or worse, without getting too much into the dark side of things. Whether it's the "glory days" gimmicks these women portray, from the American hero to the Russian red threat, or the silly segments filmed for the show, Season 2 of GLOW is a warm hug for wrestling fans.
GLOW Season 2 comes to Netflix on Friday, June 28. If you're looking for more on GLOW, check out how we think a WWE/GLOW crossover could be possible, as well as all the famous wrestler cameos on the series.
By Anonymous on Jun 25, 2018 09:42 pm As the first MOBA game on the Switch, players will get to experience Arena of Valor's fast, team-focused gameplay on a new platform. In the upcoming closed-beta, you can play against others online and use over 30 heroes to form the best teams.
We're now nearly halfway through 2018, and the year has already seen some great TV shows, including Westworld, Altered Carbon, The End of the F***ing World, Black Lightning, Everything Sucks, and the return of Jessica Jones. But there's loads more to come. While fans will have to wait until 2019 before we get more Stranger Things and Game of Thrones, there are still a ton of small screen goodies worth getting excited about. There's the return of some of 2017's best shows (Mindhunter, Ozark, Black Mirror), more offerings from Marvel and DC, some lavish reworkings of classic sci-fi and horror properties, and a handful of intriguing new titles. So here's the biggest TV shows to watch over the rest of the year...
Glow Season 2
Netflix, June 29
The comedy drama centered around an '80s all-female wrestling cable show was one of Netflix's most acclaimed new series last year, and it's back for a second season in June. Like Season 1, Glow will consist of ten 30-minutes episodes. All the main cast return, including Alison Brie, Betty Gilpin, Sydelle Noel, Kate Nash, and Britney Young, with comedian Marc Maron playing their grumpy manager Sam. The first teaser was a glorious '80s music video pastiche, and it sets the tone for what should be another wildly entertaining season.
Heathers
Paramount, July 25
Heathers is the classic 1989 high school satire; it established Winona Ryder and Christian Slater as two of the biggest young stars of that era, and they went on to influence many high school movies in the following years. Three decades later, there's a TV adaptation of the '89 film on the way, in which "good girl" Veronica Sawyer attempts to navigate school life and deal with a vicious group of girls, all named Heather. The show features 10 hour-long episodes, and the cast includes Shannen Doherty, who played the lead Heather in the original movie.
Castle Rock
Hulu, July 25
The Stephen King renaissance has shown no sign of slowing down and with Castle Rock, Hulu's aiming to bring the author's story universe to the small-screen. The program's cast features names like Sissy Spacek, Bill Skarsgard, and Melanie Lynskey. But what makes Castle Rock so special is the connected nature of the anthology series itself. Fans should expect to see familiar stories, characters, and themes that originated in the author's previous works. There may be a decent wait before Pennywise the Dancing Clown returns to the big-screen, but that's okay. We're about to head back into Shawshank Prison, and that's pretty dang cool.
Orange is the New Black Season 6
Netflix, July 27
One of the longest-running shows on Netflix, the sixth season of the women's prison-set drama returns next month. Season 5 was the hardest-hitting to date, with the shocking death of Pousey leading to the inmates rioting and seizing control of the prison. It all ended with the main characters being separated and sent to different prisons, so where this leaves the show remains to be seen. But it continues to be one of the best written and acted series around, so expectations are high for the next batch of episodes.
Sharp Objects
June, HBO
The HBO drama is inspired by Gillian Flynn's novel of the same name. The series stars Amy Adams as a journalist who heads home after a stint in a psychiatric facility, only to find herself investigating the murder of two girls. If you take the tone and subject matter of Flynn's previous work (Gone Girl) and add Jean-Marc Vallee's (Big Little Lies) directorial skills into the mix, it's easy to see Sharp Objects' edgy allure.
Jack Ryan
Amazon, August 31
Tom Clancy's CIA analyst Jack Ryan has been portrayed by almost as many actors as James Bond, in a much shorter space of time; John Krasinski will be the fifth star to play the character since 1990. According to director Daniel Sackheim, this new 10-part TV adaptation of Clancy's best-selling spy novels will take Harrison Ford's more down-to-earth interpretation as the basis for the character, rather than the more heroic version played by Ben Affleck and Chris Pine. And of course, Krasinski is now the director and star of one of the year's biggest movies--A Quiet Place--ensuring that Jack Ryan will get plenty of attention when it premieres in August.
Doctor Who Season 11
BBC, October
It's always exciting when a new actor takes on the role as the iconic Timelord, but the debut of the thirteenth doctor this October is a really big deal. Jodie Whittaker replaces Peter Capaldi and is the first woman to play the Doctor. Whittaker had a brief appearance at the end of the recent Christmas Special, but fans will have to wait until October to see how her portrayal differs from previous incarnations. There's a new showrunner too, as Broadchurch's Chris Chibnall succeeds Steven Moffat. Finally, the Doctor's assistant is to be played by comedian Bradley Walsh.
The Conners
ABC, Fall
The massive success of ABC's Roseanne revival was quickly overshadowed by the actions of its famous star, when a racist tweet by Roseanne Barr's led the network to cancel plans for Season 2. But last week, it was confirmed that the cast (minus Barr) will return for a spin-off show The Conners. Season 1 will premiere in the fall, taking Roseanne's 8 PM Thursday slot, and will run to 10 episodes. It's currently unknown how the show will address Barr's absence, but fans of this much-loved working classic sitcom family will have much to look forward to when Sara Gilbert, John Goodman, Laurie Metcalfe, and company return to screens.
The Walking Dead Season 9
AMC, Fall
While much has been written about The Walking Dead's falling ratings, it remains a hugely popular show, so don't expect it to go anywhere any time soon. The zombie drama returns later this year for its ninth season under new showrunner Angela Kang. Her predecessor Scott Gimple remains involved as AMC's chief content officer, and last month, he told Variety that Season 9 would see the show "evolve in a huge way." Could this mean the two-year time jump that occurred at the same point in the comic books? We'll find out in the fall.
Nightflyers
Syfy
Long before he created the world of Game of Thrones, author George RR Martin wrote the short novel Nightflyers, a sci-fi horror story about a group of scientists who embark on a mission into deepest space to make contact with alien life. The story was adapted into a movie in 1987 and has now been turned into a new TV show by SyFy. This is one of the network's biggest productions to date, and the first trailer suggests that it will be as much a horror story as a space adventure. Boardwalk Empire's Gretchen Mol stars.
The Purge
Syfy
The Purge is one of the most successful horror franchises of recent years--the three movies to date have made more than $319 million worldwide on modest budgets, and the fourth movie is set to hit theatres in July. But if that weren't enough, there's also a 10-episode TV show on the way. It's being produced for Syfy and will be overseen by franchise creator James DeMonaco, who also wrote and directed the first three films. It's set once more in a dystopian future where the annual Purge allows citizens to get all their violent, criminal impulses out, and according to early reports, will focus on a Marine who returns home to protect his sister on Purge Night. There's no premiere date yet, but it was recently announced The People v. O. J. Simpson director Anthony Hemingway will helm the first episode, so there's a good chance we might see it before the year is out.
Maniac
Netflix
Maniac will probably be one of the weirder series of the year. Given the names attached, though, the show comes with huge buzz. Cary Fukunaga helms the dark comedy, which stars Emma Stone, Jonah Hill, and Justin Theroux. The story centers on a patient living in a psychiatric hospital who escapes reality by living his life inside a fantasy world maintained solely inside his own mind. It sounds bonkers, but if Fukunaga brings the same sensibilities he brought to True Detective, the network may have a winner on its hands.
Titans
DC Universe
While the quality of DC's movie output has been variable (to say the least), its roster of TV shows remains remarkably consistent. Titans is the latest addition. A live-action version of the Teen Titans, it's been in development since 2014, but shifting channels and cancelled pilots has meant very slow progress to the screen. But it is finally set to premiere in 2018, on DC's new digital service. Australian actor Brenton Thwaites (Gods of Egypt, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales) plays Dick Grayson/Robin, leading a team of young superheroes that includes Starfire, Raven, and Beast Boy.
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
Netflix
The Coen Brothers are coming to TV. That sentence alone should get people excited. The duo--who brought classics like Fargo, The Big Lebowski, and No Country for Old Men to the big screen--will both write and direct a new western anthology series for Netflix. The six episode program will star Tim Blake Nelson, with each episode following a different character and story. Not much else has been announced regarding the series, but that's fine. The Coen Brothers are coming to TV and that's pretty awesome.
The Umbrella Academy
Netflix
A comic book property outside of Marvel's purview is on its way to Netflix. The Umbrella Academy comes from the mind of My Chemical Romance frontman Gerard Way. The series tells the story of some not-pregnant women who suddenly give birth to a bunch of superpowered babies. Taking place in an alternate timeline--one where JFK is still very much alive--the story follows seven kids as they undergo training to save the world. Ellen Page has been tapped to star in the program, and Way will serve as producer.
Picnic at Hanging Rock
Amazon
The classic 1975 movie Picnic at Hanging Rock is one of the most distinctive movies of that decade; it's a haunting, dreamlike drama about the mysterious disappearance of a group of Australian schoolgirls while on a trip to the Outback in 1900. Amazon is bringing a new version to the small screen later this year, and the first trailer suggests it will expand on the story of the original while keeping its super-creepy vibe. It stars Natalie Dormer (Margaery Tyrell from Game of Thrones) as the school's headmistress, and the cast also features Orange is the New Black's Yael Stone and Samara Weaving, who starred in last year's Netflix horror comedy The Babysitter.
The Twilight Zone
CBS: All Access
Since anthology TV shows are all the rage now, it seems only right that the granddaddy that started it all come out of retirement. Jordan Peele (Get Out, Key and Peele) and Simon Kinberg (Deadpool, Logan) have teamed up to bring a new Twilight Zone to the masses. Sure, multiple versions of The Twilight Zone have graced the big and small screen over the past 60 years--some better than others--but now seems like the perfect time for the series to return.
Ozark, Season 2
Netflix
When Ozark premiered last year, many compared it to Breaking Bad, both in terms of its plot (an ordinary family man who chooses a life of crime) and its mix of violent thrills and dark humor. But the show quickly grew into its own thing and emerged as one of 2017's most enjoyable original series. Season 2 already has a teaser and has been shooting since last fall, so there's a good chance of it arriving in 2018. Jason Bateman returns as money-laundering dad Marty Byrde, with Laura Linney as his estranged but equally duplicitous wife Wendy. As Bateman says: "It's a good escalation of everything as far: danger, the business challenges, and--domestically--our relationship."
Better Call Saul, Season 4
AMC
Better Call Saul began life as a spin-off prequel of Breaking Bad but has become a great show in its own right. The series is slowly heading to the point at which we first meet Jimmy McGill in Breaking Bad--he's now using the name Saul Goodman, and an increasing number of characters from the original show have made appearance over the past two seasons. But ultimately, Better Call Saul is about the bitter rivalry between two brothers, namely Jimmy, played by Bob Odenkirk, and Michael McKeen's Chuck. There's no premiere date yet, but production started in January, so expect it before the end of the year.
Castlevania, Season 2
Netflix
Season 1 of Netflix's animated gothic fantasy Castlevania premiered in 2017 and has became one of the streaming service's most acclaimed new shows. Season 2 of the video game adaptation was initially rumored for this summer, but last week, writer Warren Ellis confirmed that while the show does yet have a set release date, it would appear "sometime later this year" and will run for eight episodes. Not only that, but actor Richard Armitage has also revealed that a third season is in the works.
New Warriors
TBC
While the Marvel Cinematic Universe is highly focused and tightly controlled, the same can't be said for its TV counterparts. Shows like Daredevil, Luke Cage, Runaways, Agents of SHIELD, and Cloak and Dagger are all technically part of the MCU too, but you'd hardly know it from the wildly different tones, styles, and general lack of references to each other. But many of these shows are great (let's forgot Inhumans ever happened), and they will soon be joined New Warriors. The offbeat superhero team includes Squirrel Girl, Mister Immortal, Speedball, and Microbe, and it's been described as much more of a comedy than other Marvel shows. New Warriors was originally set to premiere this year on Freeform, but despite the fact that the pilot reportedly test very well the network dropped in due to "programming issues." It's currently being shopped around other networks by ABC, so hopefully, we'll see it soon.
The Haunting of Hill House
Netflix
Mike Flanagan (Oculus, Gerald's Game) is one of the best horror directors working today, and 2018 will see him turn his talents to TV. Produced by Steven Spielberg's Amblin TV, this is an adaptation of Shirley Jackson's 1959 novel, which was also turned into the classic 1963 movie The Haunting (the less said about the 1999 remake the better). Annabeth Gish (Sons of Anarchy, The West Wing) stars as Mrs. Dudley, the caretaker of a haunted estate, with roles for Timothy Hutton (All the Money in the World) and Gerald's Game's Carla Gugino. Flanagan has written and directed the whole 10-part series, and this could be one of the year's great horror shows.
Luther, Series 5
BBC
Fans of Luther were both excited and dismayed when the series returned for a two-episode fourth season in 2015. With a busy actor like Idris Elba playing the title role, sometimes schedules can be tight. That said, it looks like Elba has donned his signature tweed coat for another go-round as brilliant detective John Luther. We don't know what sort of gruesome crimes he will be investigating, but one thing is for certain: Idris Elba is at his best when the world is at its worst. Right now, John Luther is the hero we need and deserve.
The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
Netflix
Channeling the success of Riverdale, another Archie Comics story was in the works at The CW. But due to their concern of having too many witch shows--the network's Charmed reboot is still on the horizon--the untitled Sabrina the Teenage Witch series was handed over to Netflix. The series will explore the origins of the half-witch, half-mortal as she battles the evil forces that threaten her friends and family. Tonally, Deadline describes the series as being "in the vein of Rosemary's Baby and The Exorcist."
The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance
Netflix
It's been more than a year since this prequel to Jim Henson's classic '80s fantasy movie The Dark Crystal was first announced via this teaser, and while Netflix rarely announces release dates very far in advance, there's a good chance we might see it in 2018. We know that the show will consist of 10 episodes and will be overseen by Louis Leterrier, who is best known for directing Now You See Me and Marvel's The Incredible Hulk. While the original 1982 movie was only moderately successful at the time, it has gained a considerable cult following over the years, and with Netflix's deep pockets we can expect something lavish and highly imaginative.
Mindhunter Season 2
Netflix
This is another Netflix show without a confirmed release date, but star Jonathan Groff has said that the second season of the period crime thriller is to start shooting early this year, so a late 2018 premiere is possible. The first season of Mindhunter showed that producer David Fincher was just at home with small-screen serial killer thrills as he is in movies such as Zodiac and Seven. The balance between a seriously dark crime procedural and a beautifully performed, character-driven drama was exceptional, so hopes are extremely high for Season 2.
Black Mirror, Season 5
Netflix
Netflix has confirmed that Charlie Brooker's hugely acclaimed sci-fi anthology series will return for a fifth season. While the streaming giant is yet to announce a release date, the previous two seasons arrived a year apart, so there's good chance we might see Black Mirror Season 5 before the end of the year. Season 4 was the strongest season to date, so expect the next one to deliver more disturbing but darkly funny predictions about the way technology continues to shape our lives. Can't wait.
A Rockstar developer briefly listed Red Dead Redemption 2 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC on LinkedIn, while Fortnite's Playground mode is coming soon to Battle Royale.
Westworld season 2 comes to a thrilling end. Who will make it to the Valley Beyond and go through The Door? Will Maeve be reunited with her daughter? What will become of Dolores and Bernard? Join Lucy and Tamoor as they discuss everything you might have missed. Also, beware of spoilers!
We have a full copy of The Crew 2 and are streaming it live for your viewing pleasure. Hope on in and ask us questions as we drive, fly, and boat across a weird version of the United States.
As the first MOBA game on the Switch, players will get to experience Arena of Valor's fast, team-focused gameplay on a new platform. In the upcoming closed-beta, you can play against others online and use over 30 heroes to form the best teams.
Check out the first 20 minutes from Dontnod's The Amazing Adventures of Captain Spirit, captured on Xbox One X.
No comments:
Post a Comment