Month: January 2020

On this week’s episode of GameSpot After Dark we are joined by IGN’s Zach Ryan to talk about the Disintegration Beta, Thronebreaker’s surprise release on Nintendo Switch, Apex Legends’ bait and switch, and Byleth in Super Smash Bros Ultimate.

Funimation has announced that advanced tickets for the western release of My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising are now available for purchase. Heroes Rising will debut outside Japan in the US, Canada, and UK on February 26. Like the first My Hero Academia movie (Two Heroes), Heroes Rising will release in theaters in both the original Japanese with English subtitles and English dub.

Heroes Rising will see Class 1-A travel to Nabu Island to train by doing real hero work. However, the island is then attacked by the villain Nine and his cohorts. Nine’s Quirk allows him to steal the Quirks of others and he now possesses nine abilities. While the members of their class defend different parts of the island, Midoriya and Bakugo team up to stop Nine–combining their philosophies to both save and defeat everyone.

Based on the costume designs of Class 1-A, Heroes Rising likely takes place after the events of Season 4. Midoriya is wearing his Air Force Gloves, for example, which he acquires in the U.A. School Festival Arc–the latter half of Season 4.

My Hero Academia is currently in the midst of its fourth season, which continues from last year. It’s one of our favorite anime from Fall 2019–you should check out the show if you haven’t already. If you’re looking for more to watch, consider checking out Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken, Haikyu: To The Top, or any of the other series and movies in our list of must-see Winter 2020 anime.

Disney’s series of live-action fairy tale remakes shows no sign of slowing down–next up is Mulan, which releases in March. It’s an update of the 1998 animated hit about a teenage girl in ancient China who disguises herself as a man to fight against invaders. A new trailer is set to screen during the Super Bowl this weekend, and a new trailer has arrived.

While previous Mulan trailers were quite plot-focused, this one is only 30 seconds long, so it doesn’t wait around. It features some of the spectacular action that we can expect from the movie, which is clearly influenced by martial arts and wuxia cinema, and should help it stand apart from the animated film. Check it out below.

Mulan stars Liu Yifei in the lead role, and the cast also includes a number of high profile Asian stars, such as Donnie Yen, Jet Li, and Gong Li. It’s directed by Niki Caro and hits theaters on March 27.

The only other Disney live-action remake with a confirmed release date is the 101 Dalmatians spin-off Cruella, which will star Emma Stone and releases in May 2021. But there are plenty more in the works, including The Little Mermaid, Pinocchio, Peter Pan, Bambi, and a sequel to The Jungle Book.

For more, check out GameSpot’s look at all the Super Bowl commercials released so far. You can also read our guide to the biggest upcoming movies of 2020.

Disclosure: ViacomCBS is GameSpot’s parent company.

Final Fantasy 7 launched 23 years ago today, January 31. To mark the occasion, Square Enix released a new trailer for its upcoming FF7 Remake for PS4, featuring the theme song, more battle footage, and a ton of familiar characters we haven’t seen shown in the remake yet.

The theme song is called “Hollow,” and it was composed by Nobuo Uematsu. It’s playing in the background of most of the trailer, so you can only catch it in snippets in between the action. Fortunately the action itself is pretty exciting for Final Fantasy fans, as it provides our first official look at iconic characters like Red-XIII.

The trailer also spends a significant amount of time introducing various members of the Shinra organization, including Scarlet, Reeve, and Palmer. In addition, we get an extended view of some new fight scenes, and a lot more detail about Cloud’s cross-dressing adventure at the Honey Bee Inn. Some of these new tidbits were known via a prior leak.

The FF7 Remake was recently delayed to April 10, from its original release date of March 3. The studio said at the time it was to get a few extra weeks so it could “deliver you with the best possible experience.” In the meantime, Square Enix is capitalizing on the fans’ love of the classic with merch like a pricey watch. For more details, check out our FF7 Remake pre-order guide.

The Animal Crossing: New Horizons-themed Switch console is almost too cute. As an owner of a launch model Switch, I’m trying to talk myself into buying it. Mainly I want one for the wonderful design, but the practical reason I’m trying to use is that it’s the updated model with better battery life. But $300 is a lot to ask for a console you already have. Luckily, Nintendo is selling the special edition Switch dock and Joy-Cons separately. Sadly, both accessories are only confirmed for release in Japan at this time.

Both the Joy-Cons and the dock release March 20–a week after the console releases–and will be available to pre-order from My Nintendo Store starting February 8. The Joy-Cons cost roughly $75, and the dock costs about $60.

Unfortunately, Nintendo Japan only delivers domestically, so hopefully a store that ships internationally, such as Play Asia, will carry them as well. Of course, it’d be ideal if Nintendo just releases both the Joy-Cons and the dock in the US.

Animal Crossing fans in the US will be able to get their hands on at least a few official accessories. Nintendo announced the New Horizons Aloha Edition carrying case alongside the console. It’ll be available for both the Switch and Switch Lite, but pre-orders aren’t available just yet. You can also grab a pair of Power A Animal Crossing-themed wireless controllers. If you still need to pre-order your copy of the game, our New Horizons pre-order guide outlines all of the bonuses you can get at various retailers.

The horror thriller A Quiet Place was one of 2018’s big box office hits, and the sequel was announced within a few weeks of it hitting screens. A Quiet Place: Part II arrives in March, with star Emily Blunt and director John Krasinski returning once more. A new trailer is set to screen during the Super Bowl this weekend, and it can now be watched online.

Surprisingly, the new trailer reveals that while Krasinski’s character Lee didn’t survive the first movie, he will appear in flashbacks that show the start of the monster apocalypse. The teaser also features Blunt’s character Evelyn and her kids Regan and Marcus leaving their farm home to find other survivors. Watch it below–and check out the new poster at the end of this story.

A Quiet Place: Part 2 hits theaters on March 20. It also stars Millicent Simmonds and Noah Jupe as Evelyn’s kids Regan and Marcus, and the new cast members include Cillian Murphy and Djimon Hounsou. For more, check out everything we know so far about A Quiet Place: Part II. You can also watch all the Super Bowl commercials released so far here.

As for whether we’ll see a third Quiet Place movie, Krasinski recently told Total Film that he was cautious about it becoming yet another endless horror franchise. “I haven’t heard from the studio that they want a third one,” he said. “But the good news is that the studio and I are on the same page in that this isn’t one of those franchises where we keep pumping them out if they make money.

“I think we’ve proven that this is an original idea that is really beloved by people in a way that I don’t want to break that promise to people. [Nevertheless] I set up a couple of tiny little Easter eggs in Part 2 that not only explain more about [the first movie], but would allow for more mythology.”

Disclosure: ViacomCBS is GameSpot’s parent company.

Due to the ongoing concern over the coronavirus, organizers of the Taipei Game Show have made the decision to postpone the annual event. It was originally scheduled to take place next week, from Feb 6 – Feb 9.

The threat of the coronavirus initially prompted organizers of the show to send a safety briefing to attendees and exhibitors, detailing temperature checks at entrances and the requirement for everyone to wear a medical mask at all times during the event.

Despite this, the decision was made to postpone the event entirely, with organizers stating that they intend to host the show later this year in summer. A spokesperson for the organizing committee acknowledged the threat of the coronavirus and the danger mass gatherings pose to its spread. Understandably, the committee made the decision to not take the unnecessary risk.

“Taipei Game Show is one of the iconic annual networking events,” the spokesperson said. “With that in mind, W.H.O. has declared global emergency as Wuhan coronavirus spreads. Considering mass gatherings like Taipei Game Show increase the chance of cluster infections, the organizing committee has decided to steer away from such unthinkable risks. We sincerely ask for exhibitors’ understanding on such a major decision.”

A new date for the rescheduled event wasn’t provided, but the event will be taking place at the same venue, with more details on specifics in the coming days.

“The location remains unchanged at Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center, Hall 1,” the spokesperson continued. “The specific time and date will be announced in the upcoming days by the organizing committee.”

The Taipei Game Show isn’t the only gaming event to be affected by the growing concern over the coronavirus. Earlier this week Blizzard cancelled Overwatch events in China for the same reasons.

When it was announced that It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia co-creator Rob McElhenney was teaming with Sunny executive producers Charlie Day and Megan Ganz to create a comedy about video game developers for Apple TV+, it was easy to expect a show rife with Sunny’s humor but set in a Silicon Valley-esque development studio. Instead, Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet strays far from Sunny’s signature brand of raunchy humor.

The series follows the developers of the fictional massively multiplayer online roleplaying game Mythic Quest, as the new expansion pack–Raven’s Banquet–is set to release. As the story plays out, you get to know the obnoxious creative director Ian Grimm (McElhenney) and his staff as they attempt to grow their game, while navigating the gaming world and tackling a variety of different aspects of the industry, from deals made with streamers, to their game being hacked.

The result is a half-hour comedy that pokes fun at the tech and game development industries in a playful way while managing to avoid being overly mean. The characters often butt heads, usually over issues that gamers will find familiar, such as gender representation or artistry vs. commerce. For example, when the company’s monetization expert (Danny Pudi’s Brad) feels insulted, he flips a switch and turns all of the game’s premium items free, essentially taking the game hostage and losing the company an untold amount of money.

These instances, silly as they may seem, go a long way to address the show’s overall themes. Throughout the first season of Mythic Quest, the creative team strives to find new ways for their massively multiplayer online roleplaying game to reach a broader customer base to make more money. Along the way, the artistry sometimes has to become the second priority, like during fraught online exchanges with a popular streamer, a satirical 14-year-old “piece of s***” who goes by “Pootie Shoe” (Elisha Henig).

A perfect example of this is in the pilot, when the game’s lead engineer Poppy Li (Charlotte Nicdao) designs a shovel for players in the game to use to change the landscape. It’s a tiny addition to the game, but one she is proud of. Unfortunately, Grimm becomes obsessed with the tool not being “cool” enough, while the head of monetization schemes to make as much money selling the item as possible. When the fickle but hugely influential Pootie Shoe (Elisha Henig) gets his hands on a leaked build that features the shovel, the developers face some tough choices.

The struggles between the two sides of this company feel like they’d be familiar in nearly any creative commercial endeavor. No matter what exactly is being debated, chances are, at some point, someone will ask the question, “What are you willing to sacrifice for the bottom line?” Of course, that’s not the only theme explored in during the first season of the show. Mythic Quest also touches on the sorts of issues that could be seen as common workplace occurrences, from working your way up the corporate ladder to professional jealousy.

Even when tacking all of those issues and exploring the bigger question of art vs. commerce, Mythic Quest doesn’t lose sight of the fact that first and foremost it’s a workplace comedy. While the depravity of the jokes hasn’t carried over from Always Sunny, it’s still packed with laughs. And thankfully, it features a cast that knows exactly how to deliver them.

At the head of the company is McElhenney’s Ian Grimm, an oblivious and conceited figurehead who sees himself as a genius creator. While there are moments where his instincts work out, there are many others where, without his support staff holding everything together, his company would plunge into chaos.

Rounding out the cast are David Hornsby (who Sunny fans will recognize as Rickety Cricket) as executive producer David Brittlesbee, F. Murray Abraham as lead writer C.W. Longbottom, Imani Hakim and Ashley Burch as a pair of low-ranking game testers (with a potential romance brewing between them), Caitlin McGee as Sue the Human Resources manager, and Jessie Ennis, who is especially entertaining as David’s new assistant, who happens to be very intense and territorial when it comes to Ian. There’s not a weak link among this cast.

The only real fault in the series is that some of the situations are simply a bit too outlandish. While Brad making everything free to prove a point is funny, it’s hard to believe this would happen in reality. That person would be immediately fired and sued for costing the developer millions of dollars in microtransaction revenue over a tiff with a co-worker. When it comes to TV’s best workplace comedies, from The Office to Silicon Valley, an important component is including situations that could seemingly happen. That relatability is crucial to viewers’ enjoyment, and in Mythic Quest, audiences who are intimately familiar with the game industry might find some storylines too hard to believe, despite the fact that the show’s creators collaborate with real-life game studio Ubisoft to make sure they got gaming culture right.

That said, Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet is a success. McElhenney and the show’s creative team have come up with an interesting and entertaining look at the video game development industry. What’s more, they use that setting to explore issues that arise when art and commerce go head-to-head in interesting ways. The cast they’ve assembled is well-suited to tackle the material and even strengthen it as they flesh out their characters and the dynamics they have with each other. If you’re going into this expecting it to be like It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, you may not be pleased. Instead, it’s a very funny show that stands on its own.

Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet premieres on Apple TV+ on February 7.

Draugen, a first-person mystery adventure game from Norwegian developer Red Thread Games, is coming to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. It will be available on February 21, following its release on PC in May 2019.

The game casts players as Edward Harden, who is searching through the fictional Norwegian town of Graavik with his ward, Lissie, in search of his missing sister. As you explore the seemingly abandoned town, searching for clues, the darker secrets that haunt the area begin to come to light.

Don’t expect a lot of heavy puzzles or anything, though–it’s more about experiencing the mystery.

Red Thread Games has released a trailer for the game too–if you want to go in fresh, though, it might be worth avoiding.

The game received a 7/10 in our review. Jess McDonell said that the game had a lot of promise, even if it didn’t quite nail the landing. “Leaving questions unanswered doesn’t present a failure in the narrative, but rather the notion that Graavik feels like a town with so much more to say, whose inhabitants deserve to have more of their stories told. It’s a theme the game vocalizes through Lissie’s dialogue several times, and yet it rarely provides concrete answers as to what precisely happened in the town.”

Red Thread Games is best known for developing Dreamfall Chapters.