Posts

Summary Making quality television is whatHBOdoes. They’ve been at it since the late-90s, when series likeThe SopranosandThe Wirewere the first examples of what many viewers now call “prestige TV.” Since then, HBO has faced stiff competition in the TV sphere, and yet it remains at the top of the industry, continuing to push the envelope of what television is capable of. While many of HBO’s greatest hits take place over multiple seasons, a number of their finest series get the job done in just a one season....

The Elder Scrollsincludes two major groups of gods: the Aedra and the Daedric Princes. The Daedric Princes are generally considered to be the “bad” gods, but this isn’t entirely accurate. The Daedric Princes are among the most powerful and unpredictable forces in Tamriel, and they earned that reputation because of their willingness to deal with mortalkind. The Daedric Princes have gone on to shape Tamriel’s history a number of times, as seen inThe Elder ScrollsandThe Elder Scrolls Online....

Quick Links Summary The Fantastic Four: First Stepscould bring back a rarely seen MCU character, who could seamlessly connect the new superhero team to the larger franchise. The upcoming Marvel movie is set in a ’60s-inspired world, and if its timeline and reality do align with the MCU’s main events, one familiar face surely needs to make a reappearance. The MCU is known for bending narrative rules, like using time travel and the multiverse to bring back characters....

Summary Dragon Questis less of a franchise and more of an institution. The long-running JRPG series has been going for the better part of four decades, and in that time has produced 11 mainline games and a ton of spin-offs, including toys and an anime. Created by Yuji Hori, it is widely recognized as the first console RPG, establishing tropes and gameplay mechanics that would dominate the genre for years to come....

Summary TheCall of Dutydeveloper who created the game’s Matchmaking Rating (MMR) system explained why the franchise will not get rid of skill-based matchmaking. Skill-based matchmaking, often abbreviated as SBMM, has been a contentious topic in theCall of Dutycommunity for many years now, and debates haven’t stopped duringCall of Duty: Black Ops 6Season 2. SBMM is a matchmaking system inCall of Dutythat uses players' skills and statistics to group them in lobbies with opponents that have similar characteristics....

Quick Links Requests are side quests Joker can get to track down people with smaller twisted desires in Mementos inPersona 5 Royal. These side quests not only offer strong mini-bosses to beat for decent XP but also items that can be incredibly useful. While there are a few ways to get new requests, one of the main ways is thatMishima will text Jokeron set days with hints on a new request he read about on the forum....

As Supermassive Games continues to iterate on the branching narrative formula through itsDark Pictures Anthology,Directive 8020promises to be its most ambitious yet.Preview footage ofDirective 8020has proven promising for its mechanics - stealth, defensive tools (returning fromThe Devil in Me), and otherwise - though the lingering question of just how involved player choice will be in the anthology’s upcoming entry remains a point of speculation. With the many permutations that branching narratives need to consider,Directive 8020looks to be heralding player agency more than ever, though how its five-player co-op will factor into its premise will be interesting to see....

Summary Blizzard just revealedWorld of Warcraft: Crossroads, a new short story anthology featuring tales about Thrall, Jaina Proudmoore, Renzik “The Shiv,” Faerin Lothar, Alleria Windrunner, and Locus-Walker. ThisWorld of Warcraftbook is planned to release on November 11, but players can listen to one of the short stories in it for free right now. In February 2024,World of WarcraftannouncedThe Voices Within, a collection of short stories that tied intoThe War Within, its latest expansion pack....

Given how popular the open-world genre is, it’s easy to see why developers feel the need to add compelling elements to their offerings to stand out in the market. The best way to do this is byintegrating an amazing storythat will keep fans hooked from the very start. This is easier said than done, especially given the high standards players have for writing in their video games. Thankfully, the following titles do a great job by making their story a priority and letting players enjoy a masterful experience that they won’t forget anytime soon....

Angel’s Venture has fallen, and the Meridia singularity is on a crash course for Super Earth with countless innocent lives caught in the crossfire. The Illuminate might have been late to the party, but they’ve made it crystal clear they are not messing around. This is the highest stakes storyline the game has ever put forward, and it’s going to take the combined efforts of everyone in theHelldivers 2community to make sure theblack hole formerly known as Meridiadoes not make it to Super Earth....

Summary Critically-acclaimed survival horror gameAlan Wake 2has received its very first PC update for 2025. Developed in close collaboration between developer Remedy Entertainment and Nvidia, the latestAlan Wake 2PC update adds some major improvements and features to take full advantage of the newly-launched RTX 50 Series graphics cards. Launched in October 2023,Alan Wake 2stands as one of the most technically impressive games of the generation. The photorealistic textures and animations coupled with the deftly-executed lighting and shadows result in a visually stunning experience forAlan Wake 2players....

Survios combat designer Mark Acero has highlightedAlien: Rogue Incursion’s unique difficulty system as one of the elements he’s most proud of. He did so in a recent internal interview, which also saw him open up on several other aspects ofAlien: Rogue Incursion. Alien: Rogue Incursionis a first-person horror gamefor VR devices. It debuted on the Meta Quest 3, PlayStation VR2, and Steam VR on December 19. Following up on the game’s release, Survios Principal Combat Designer Mark Acero reflected on the game’s inspirations and difficulty system as part of an internal interview that Game Rant can now exclusively share....

Quick Links Marvel Rivalsmade an impressive start in terms of playable characters, with over thirty different choices available to pick from at launch, and several new additions since. AsMarvel Rivalscontinues to promise new additions as new seasons come and pass, eager fans have begun to speculate about which lucky candidates will next be selected to receive aMarvel Rivalsvariant and make their way into the game. Dataminers and leakers have already kept themselves busy with all thingsMarvel Rivals, and as a result, several key pieces of information have been uncovered....