The character portrayals in the first season already sparked a little bit of controversy from fans, especially since Ramsey wasn’t exactly what most fans had in mind for Ellie, and it looks like that trend will continue with season 2. For starters, there are already comments that Ellie’s new arm tattoo placement isn’t accurate to the game, and neither is her bob and tied back hair.

While I’m not exactly particular about the look of the character — it’s near impossible to make a real-life actor look exactly like a video game character after all — I’ll admit the tattoo placement is a little jarring. It’s important to remember that the reason why Ellie got a huge arm tattoo in the first place (aside from looking badass as hell) is that she needed to cover up the bite mark on her arm.

While Joel and Tommy are already aware of her immunity to the cordyceps virus, no one else is, and it’s important to get that plot device right at least.

Still, it’s exciting to see the actors back on set for season 2, especially since The Last of Us Part II takes the story in some pretty fun (and very controversial) directions going forward. We already relived the whole “Was Joel wrong?” discourse with the season 1 finale, and I’m especially looking forward to the dumpster fire that will surely be the season 2 (or 3) finale discourse.

HBO’s The Last of Us season 2 doesn’t have a release date just yet, but be sure to keep it locked to The Escapist for more information and updates on the show, including my diss on the adaptation after having watched Fallout.

How Does Gwenpool Work in Marvel Snap

Gwenpool is a 4-cost, 6-power card with an ability that reads: “On Reveal: Pick a random card in your hand 3 times. Give +2 Power each time.”

This ability might be a tad confusing. What Gwenpool will do is randomly select a card in your hand and give it +2 power. It will then do so again, where it can hit the same card or a different card before randomly buffing a card one last time. 

Gwenpool can activate when you have a single card in your hand, buffing a single card by +6. Of course, cards like Wong and Odin will activate her effect again.

Best Gwenpool Decks in Marvel Snap

Given her random nature, you don’t want to build a deck around hitting a specific card like Black Panther but rather put together a list that has multiple cards that want Gwenpool’s buffs. There’s one deck in particular that loves hand buffs above all others, and you’re probably already thinking it: yes, Silver Surfer strikes once again. Here’s a Gwenpool list:

• Forge
• Iron Heart
• Brood
• Magik
• Silver Surfer
• Phastos
• Sebastian Shaw
• Wong
• Absorbing Man
• Gwenpool
• Sera
• Odin

Click here to copy the decklist from Untapped. 

Replacements for this specific list are quite difficult as it goes all-in on buffing your hand and deck with Phastos; however, if you do not have Phastos, consider swapping him out for Hope Summers. 

Gweenpool might seem a little awkward at 4-cost in a Surfer deck, but the extra turn provided by Magik and discounts from Phastos and Sera alleviate that issue somewhat. This deck aims to play down a flurry of cards on turn 6 like a normal Surfer deck before retriggering them with Odin. This also allows you to hit Gwenpool twice (or four times with Wong) and possibly buff a Brood or Sebastian Shaw sitting in your hand to incredible heights. Do keep in mind, however, that this deck is incredibly susceptible to Wong. This list, as you can see, is super greedy with Wong, Absorbing Man, and Gwenpool in it, so winning one lane with Brood and another with Sebastian Shaw is necessary.

While Gwenpool has some synergy with Zoo decks, I do think she’ll fit more cleanly into a value list featuring the likes of Kitty Pryde, Thena, and Sage, which is also known as Good Cards Ravonna. Here’s a list:

• Kitty Pryde
• Thena
• Angela
• Ravonna Renslayer
• Mysterio
• Mystique
• Sage
• Hope Summers
• Gwenpool
• Iron Man
• Mockingbird
• Sasquatch

Click here to copy the decklist from Untapped.

While this is one of the best Gweenpool decks in Marvel Snap, it’s full of a lot of expensive cards. However, you can swap out one of Mockingbird or Sasquatch for Darkhawk if you’re still seeing a ton of Arishem decks. In fact, you should probably do so if that’s the case. Swap Sage for Wolfsbane if you do not have the former. Ravonna Renslayer is a must with this deck, however.

While there’s no double activators for Gwenpool here, she has a ton of synergy with most cards in this list. Mysterio’s clones will get the Gwenpool buff (and in turn discount Mockingbird and Sasquatch), and the Iron Man into Mystique combo will receive double benefit from her. Throw in the fact that the disjointed power levels will give Sage a boost as well, and I dare say we have a top-tier meta deck with Gwenpool in it on our hands.

Related: Best Sersi Decks in Marvel Snap

Gwenpool Counters in Marvel Snap

Gwenpool isn’t easily counterable herself. You can snipe her effect with a Cosmo, sure, but you should run Cosmo only if you’re seeing a lot of greedy lists like the Silver Surfer one with Wong. Otherwise, Shang-Chi or Shadow King can chop down the cards she buffs, such as Sebastian Shaw or Black Panther. There isn’t much else you can do to counter hand buff effects.

Who Is Gwenpool?

Gwenpool is one of the oddest characters in comic history. Gwendolyn Poole is actually a young woman from the real world – yes, the one you’re in right now – that somehow got transported to the Marvel Universe alongside her brother. Her adventures saw her learn empathy for the denizens of the Marvel Universe as she believed them merely to be fictional creations, though she did work for arch villain M.O.D.O.K as a henchwoman. In fact, superheroes traveled back in time to stop her from becoming the next major Marvel villain.

Her abilities are quite literally the ability to transcend the comic book medium, manipulating textboxes and the course of a story to better favor her. She also has out-of-universe knowledge, meaning she’s quite informed on the secret identities and lives of superheroes and villains alike.

Is Gwenpool Worth Purchasing the Season Pass For?

As always, the Marvel Snap season pass is the best deal you can get with all the gold and credits that come along with it; however, Gwenpool herself is an amazing card that will likely be a staple for the foreseeable future. She is, if all the cards she buffs are played, essentially a 4-cost, 12-power card with synergistic upside. I do not see her getting nerfed anytime soon either, so you shouldn’t have to worry about Second Dinner devaluing your purchase anytime soon.

And those are the best Gwenpool decks in Marvel Snap.

Marvel Snap is available now.

Once you create your character, you’ll be given the choice to select a server. But if you chose to put your character on PvE but suddenly feel the deep desire to kill your fellow players, you’re out of luck. Once you’ve created a character with your account, you’re stuck with that character in that server.

This can have some upsetting complications, especially if you opt to play solo on a server instead. Some scenarios, which are seasonal events, are wholly PvP-focused. Which means you’ll be missing one of the best parts of an update. Likewise, if you find that PvE scenarios are a little too tough or even lonely without a group of randoms, you’re also out of luck. The same can be said if your friends opted for a different server, leaving you stranded with the Eldritch monstrosities.

Fortunately, this is a known bug. And I do emphasize bug. On the Discord, an announcement stated the following:

“This is important:

Be aware to choose your server!

Due to some tech issues, you can only create one character, and you can NOT delete your character. This means if you chose the wrong server, you can not switch to any other servers with your current account.”

 We can expect a fix, likely sooner rather than later, considering how much of an impact this will have on the social dynamics of the game. And Starry Studios has made it very clear that they want to bolster the community feeling of the game and even made Enternaland for you to hang out with your friends whenever you want.

But until that fix lands, be sure to select your server carefully. The only way for you to get around it is to literally make a brand new account and start fresh. And that might mean losing out on your pre-registration rewards, Twitch, and beta rewards. I recommend selecting “All Scenarios” or “Manibus” to get the most out of this early season.

Once Human is available to play now.

How Does Hydra Bob Work in Marvel Snap

Hydra Bob is a 1 cost 4 power card with an effect that reads: After each turn, this moves if a player Snapped. 

In the base game modes of Ranked and Conquest, Hydra Bob can move twice, as each player can only snap once. In the upcoming Deadpool’s Diner, it appears he can move multiple times in a match, as you can snap to raise the stakes more often.

Your opponent can snap back to move his power out of a lane, giving your opponent some control of your side of the board. The move happens after the turn as well, so it’s not immediately clear that you’ll know where he’s going.

Best Hydra Bob Decks in Marvel Snap

As you can likely guess, Hydra Bob isn’t an archetype defining card in Marvel Snap. Still, he has his place as a cheap card that can slot into Zoo decks or as an unusual way to trigger move effects. Let’s take a look at the former style of deck first:

• Ant-Man
• Squirrel Girl
• Hydra Bob
• Dazzler
• Shadow King
• Shanna the She-Devil
• Nocturne
• Ka-Zar
• Cull Obsidian
• Blue Marvel
• Gilgamesh
• Mockingbird

Click here to copy the deck list from Untapped.

Gilgamesh and Mockingbird are fairly integral to this deck; however, you can swap out Cull Obsidian for Crossbones. Nocturne can be replaced with another tech card, like Rogue.

You’ve likely seen this deck around, as it has been one of the most consistent performers since Gilgamesh’s buff. If you have a good early curve leading into Ka-Zar or Blue Marvel, Gilgamesh can essentially win a lane on his own. Hydra Bob will help win another lane alongside cards like Mockingbird and Cull Obsidian, and the fact that you’re likely to have your lanes nearly full means the downside of Hydra Bob moving where you don’t want him is mitigated.

The next deck we’ll look at is a revival of the Silky Smooth style of move decks that have fallen off a little in recent metas. Still, Hydra Bob fits into them cleanly and they’re not bad by any stretch of the imagination. Here’s the list:

• Kitty Pryde
• Hydra Bob
• Kraven
• Angela
• Jeff!
• Silk
• Elsa Bloodstone
• Hope Summers
• Nocturne
• Spider-Man
• Vision
• Magneto

The play line with this deck is to get Kitty Pryde, Angela, and Elsa Bloodstone or Hope Summers into the same lane to scale while enjoying the benefits of each. The Silks and Hydra Bobs can bounce around the board to trigger Kraven multiple times, while Magneto can do so as well while interrupting your opponent’s plays. Furthermore, Hydra Bob’s downside of possibly capping a lane is negated with so many flexible move cards. Will Hydra Bob allow this deck to rise to the top of the meta? Not likely, but with future move cards added, it’s one to keep in mind and not a bad choice if you manage to pull the bazooka-wielding henchman.

Hydra Bob Counters in Marvel Snap

You likely won’t need to counter Hydra Bob but he has two direct solutions to his effect: Killmonger will destroy him and Kingpin will negate his power. After that, consider snapping to move Hydra Bob into an unideal location for your opponent.

Who is Hydra Bob?

Like many cards released this month in Marvel Snap, Bob Dobalina is associated with Deadpool, as he eventually becomes his sidekick. Bob joined the Hydra organization in order to hold a steady job at the behest of his wife, but since he’s a coward, he eventually betrays the evil organization when confronted by Deadpool. He’s had many misadventures with Deadpool, though he often screws up and has to be rescued. As for powers, he doesn’t have any.

Is Hydra Bob Worth Your Spotlight Cache Keys or Collector’s Tokens?

No, Hydra Bob is not. There currently isn’t a deck in Marvel Snap that can make good use of his unique meta-effect to move when a player snaps, and in the decks he can slot into, he’s outclassed by the likes of Titania and even Martyr, arguably one of the worst cards in the game. Thus, you should definitely skip Hydra Bob unless you’re sitting on a horde of Spotlight Keys, as there is a good chance he’ll get buffed in the future like other bad cards before him.

Marvel Snap is available to play now.

The game was just launched earlier in June, and developer/publisher Hamster Games is behind it. As of July 8, the game reached an all-time 16,970 player peak within just two days, according to Stream Charts. Reviews for the game seem to be mixed for now, but the charts are registering a good 1,090.5 in average daily players in the last 30 days. 

You may be asking yourself: What do you get besides seeing the hamster shake after a random number of clicks? Well, the number of clicks available is unlimited. So, you could technically keep on clicking forever. And as per its Steam site, you can “Droop different hamsters for your Steam inventory every 90 minutes.”

Related: How to Fix Steam Wishlist Not Loading

If you’re wondering if you have to pay, don’t worry. It is a free-to-play, idle-clicking game. But if, for some reason, you want to change the look of your hamster itself, you can. There are four different types of hamsters to choose from: Devil Hamster, Lover Hamster, Kebamster, and hEmpTuhR. Each one costs just a little over 20 cents.

If you’d rather stick to Banana, the original version is also still available for download on Stream. You can play Hamster online on your PC by downloading and installing Stream from their website. You will also be able to access a Discord Community Channel for updates on the game and other general updates from Hamster Games. 

And if you’re looking for another fruit to click on, you can always check out Tapple, another free-to-play idle clicker, if that’s your thing – which it is because we’re all guilty of stress-clicking from time to time. Regardless of the fruit, know there are some good (and absurd) options out there. Here’s to clicking!

Until Dawn’s Original Cinematic Inspirations Are The Shining and Psycho

David F. Sandberg, director of Shazam! and Annabelle: Creation, will direct the Until Dawn movie. Screenwriter Gary Dauberman, known for his horror work on It, The Nun, and Anabelle, will also partake in the project. But what about the original game’s horror influences? What inspired the original storyline?

 The 2015 version of the Until Dawn game came with behind-the-scenes footage. The creators discussed the cast, production design, musical score, and more. But the idea behind a group of teens in a cabin far up in the mountains didn’t come out of nowhere. 

The storyline was written by filmmaker and writer Graham Reznick along with Larry Fessenden (filmmaker and owner of Glass Eye Pix). Both had already worked together on several projects; Graham had worked with Ti West on sound production and Larry on different indie horror films. 

“The production design for Until Dawn started with the great teen horror script that sets the characters in a Canadian winter mountain lodge. Being a contemporary setting with visual clues derived from classic films of that genre. Such as Hitchcock’s ‘Psycho’ and Stanley Kubrick’s ‘Shining’,” Lee Robinson, Production Designer of Until Dawn stated in the footage.

Both The Shining and Psycho plots take place in pretty deserted places. In The Shining, Jack Nicholson’s character takes his family to a resort high up in the Colorado mountains. As the plot gets thicker and more snow begins to fall, he goes crazier, and it becomes clear there’s no way Nicholson and his family are coming out of the Overlook Hotel untouched.

As for Psycho, it’s clear this isn’t a Bates Motel, but there’s an underlying feeling that something unwelcoming is lurking. And it’s only a matter of time before one of the characters goes insane.

In Until Dawn’s case, the story unfolds at one of the characters’ ski lodges in Canada. As one of them puts it, “for their annual Blackwood winter getaway.” The premise is similar: it’s freezing outside, and characters are bound to stay inside and fight their fatal destiny. This makes the characters more vulnerable to their surroundings in their quest to survive.

Of course, these aren’t the game’s only cinematic references. Other horror classics that resemble the game’s plot are Sam Raimi’s The Evil Dead and the original Friday the 13th saga. On a side note, actress Hayden Panettiere, who plays final girl Samantha “Sam” Giddings, also played Kirby Reeds in Scream 4. 

The movie adaptation of Until Dawn is set to release later in 2024. 

Kim’s Multimillion-Dollar Gaming App, Kim Kardashian Hollywood

Kim Kardashian and her team went straight to business and launched Kim Kardashian: Hollywood in 2014. The game went extinct this year, but the Kardashians have been more involved in gaming than you might think. 

After nine running seasons of Keeping Up With The Kardashians, Kim had already gotten deals and partnerships with shoe brands, TV studios, and so much more. Kim’s PR team, along with her mother Kris Jenner, were in touch with Glu Mobile (the publisher of games like Frontline Commando and Deer Hunter) to create Kim’s character-customization gaming app, Kim Kardashian: Hollywood.

The initial premise of the game was to create a character that players used to climb their way to fame and success and earn their “A-celebrity status.” Although predominantly popular among young girls, the game also had the option to create both female and male characters. Players could choose to style them with different hair, shoes, and clothes. 

The game had different levels to get you A-celebrity status, and challenges ranged from having to shop for outfits, attend parties, meet celebrities, do photoshoots, and even deal with the paparazzi. The game gave players rewards like K-fans and K-stars for establishing as many celebrity connections as possible, however crazy this may sound. Kim’s avatar was the one that guided players through different levels by offering little pieces of advice.

According to TMZ, the game generated $85 million for Kim during its first year. But how? External sponsorship and the game’s microtransactions were key elements. In Kardashian style, the game couldn’t go on without selling something. So players could purchase cash and items from the “star shop” to earn K-stars (the game’s other form of currency). However, if players wanted to, they could opt for the free-to-play version instead.

Despite the PR-obsessed nature and controversial takes, in 2019 the game was ranked 82 as one of the best 100 games of the decade by Polygon. The game went on for 10 years total and was finally shut down by April 2024.

Kanye West’s Attempt at a Spiritual Game: Only One

Although not officially a Kardashian, Kim’s ex-husband, Kanye West, tried to leave his mark in the gaming industry. After being a gamer himself and stating his appreciation for music in video games from a young age, Kanye has yet to release an official game.

His closest attempt came when he got in touch with Nintendo executives in 2015. Kanye’s inspiration for a game idea came from his late mother, Donda, who passed in 2007. His idea was revealed at E3 2016, where they showed a trailer for the game idea called Only One.

The trailer showed a group of angels (including Donda) ascending into heaven, either by themselves or a Pegasus-like horse. Kanye and his team also produced the ethereal soundtrack that was meant to be in the game. The idea for the game didn’t reveal much of a plot, but it certainly left fans wanting more. After beginning development with Encyclopedia Pictura, the project was discontinued. 

Kim’s UPS and Downs With Roblox

In 2021, Kim opened up about the nuances of parenting and brought up having to learn how to play Roblox with her kids. Later in 2022, an episode of The Kardashians showed an awkward moment; Kim’s son, Saint West, was playing on his iPad, and an ad for another game came up showing Kim’s face and claiming to release another “sex tape” as clickbait. 

The incident quickly escalated, and Kim subsequently threatened to sue Roblox for the inappropriate advertisement. Roblox representatives took responsibility and diffused the situation by banning the specific game developer who made the racy claim in their ad.

According to Polygon, a Roblox spokesperson publicly replied,

…we have strict moderation and policies to protect our community, including zero tolerance for sexual content of any kind which violates our Community Rules. The text reference to the tape that got around our filters was quickly taken down and fortunately visible only to an extremely small number of people on the platform.”

Roblox spokesperson.

Despite the incident, Kim’s family didn’t seem to have an issue with Roblox and kept playing. In 2023, Kim even shared on her social media that her son, Saint, had asked the tooth fairy for Robux (Roblox money) instead of real money. With that said, we’ll just have to wait and see what games this family comes up with in the future.

Kim Kardashian: Hollywood is no longer available for Android or iOS as of April 2024.

A Purrfect, Stylish Gorifest

If Devil May Cry and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater ever adopted a pet together, it would be Gori: Cuddly Carnage. In this flashy hack ‘n’ slash/skateboard hybrid produced by Angry Demon Studio, you get to play as the fluffy cat Gori, a pet wanted throughout the whole galaxy fighting his way against the evil corporation Cool Toyz alongside his two loyal companions, the cutting-edge hoverboard F.R.A.N.K and the AI cartridge CHIP, who follow our brave cat hero on his journey in search their owner: the Professor who created all of them.

Once the terrifying Adorable Army rebels against humanity and eliminates (almost) all humans in the process, the previously rejected synthetic pet Gori becomes their new target due to his loyalty to them. And despite sending their best and strongest unicorn soldiers to the task, they weren’t expecting to face such an agile, deadly and cute creature on their very first day.

Once Gori shows his claws (and his equally deadly hoverboard which just so happens to be equipped with sharp-edged rotating blades), they’ll know why he bears such a name, as the last thing they’ll see will be their own body pieces flying across the room.

Gori pulls from various inspirations at once and it gives them enough room to show themselves. While it’s your traditional hack ‘n’ slash, gameplay is done entirely by riding your hoverboard, accompanied by a charming platform-like level design that really shows some heart. The comic book style it sports brings the extra charm, making it incredibly visually appealing to whoever looks at it. If Sonic Riders wasn’t a racing game, it would probably play similarly to this. Just with a bit less dismembering and blood.

Gori only attacks his foes personally during his finishers, while F.R.A.N.K and his blades will do the job most of the time. And thanks to this, you’re always hitting the sickest airborne skateboard moves whenever you’re styling on your enemies, which range from cutesy unicorns to not-so-cutesy toys always ready to be ripped apart in the bloodiest way possible. The game’s not named “Cuddly Carnage” for nothing.

The game leans a lot of the “cute game goes bloody” genre as one of its main selling points, alongside its NSFW dialogue that feels like it came straight out of a South Park episode. If you’re not a fan of those, you might be icked out immediately. But there’s more to see than just this, such as the appealing futuristic visuals (because everything has to be a bit Cyberpunk these days), surprisingly great customization and a very easy-to-access Photo Mode to record your best moments while tearing your enemies apart. Oh, we also got a cute cat!

From Cat Owner to Cat Owner

Much like Stray, this is another title for cat lovers. You have a key entirely dedicated to meow. And you can just spam it. It’s almost impossible to stop! There’s also a lot of customization for Gori, and it wasn’t hard to turn him into one of my real-life cats. And nothing can convince me that making a violent but cute cat hack ‘n’ slash wasn’t a cat lover’s idea. If you never got a really bad scratch after innocently giving your hand to your cat to play with, can you even call yourself a cat owner? Cats were born for this type of game, and the developers here get it.

Gori is the only character who goes completely mute throughout the game (aside from meows, of course), and his companions will do most of the yapping, especially F.R.A.N.K. He’s the soul of the party with his constantly spicy remarks and his foul-mounted dialogue. Ironically, he’s the only one to be censored whenever he drops an F-bomb or anything similar. You can pay an almost insignificant amount of money to remove his profanity filter, but it’s honestly much funnier to keep it on.

CHIP, on the other hand, is a depressive, always gloomy AI that does prove his usefulness at all times despite his mood. These two rarely failed to give me at least a quick smirk whenever they started discussing the current mission. Vibes are high at all times, and you meet numerous troupes, parodies and references you discover as you explore the galaxy and its ridiculousness. We got annoying cute mascots, written onomatopoeias and even an It-like jack-in-the-box toy as one of the bosses. Can’t wait for a Freddy Fazbear look-a-like.

As previously mentioned, levels are ingeniously designed around the hoverboard, and they are one of the strongest points of the game. You’re always surfing at high speed through the levels and it doesn’t get repetitive, despite doing the same loops over and over. Exploring these futuristic planets while doing air flips with a talking hoverboard just hits differently. Especially when you’re a cat. A very cool cat with its own theme song. And cool cats don’t look at explosions.

Combat can be a bit weird to get at first, but becomes a lot more engaging once you get the hang of it. New upgrades such as the grenade launcher help immensely with that. However, some enemies can spoil the fun out of you with their obnoxious attacks and higher-than-expected resistances before they’re staggered. Juggling enemies on the air is still amazingly fun regardless, true to the game’s inspirations. They go even harder with features like the Witch Time-like buff you get by perfectly dodging an attack or the combo ranking score going from D to P (Paw-some!).

Out of the bosses I’ve faced on the first three levels, they were either a hit or miss. They all creatively use the environment during the battle but get really annoying if you’re not able to 1-cycle them. One of them, in particular, involved completing a small jumping puzzle before you could trap it in electricity to expose it to your attacks. Missing a jump and having to redo a whole platforming section was mildly infuriating, especially when the boss didn’t bring anything interesting to the table either.

Let Him Sharpen His Claws For a While

There were other letdowns, such as occasional performance issues despite being way above the recommended setting and the never-ending feeling that certain levels were just dragging on for too long. All of them range from 30 to 40 minutes on average, but some of them could do with a few less without compromising anything important. There was only a single collectible type too, and maybe there was space for some more.

But I know that some of these issues can (and probably will) be fixed by the actual release, as I was only playing a preview build after all. And it’s not like the game is completely ruined by it, as I still had a hell of a time slashing my way through fluffy creatures that curse like a sailor and become more twisted as I go forward. You’ll get a lot of giggles from time to time, but it feels just like the perfect palate cleanser if you’re tired from a long day or another more exhausting game.

Despite my gripes on the mentioned points, I still enjoyed meeting Gori and it’s something to keep an eye on during this year. The full game will be available for all modern platforms (including PlayStation 4 and Xbox One) on August 29th, 2024, so give it a shot if you enjoy living the fantasy of a cat single-handedly bringing down an entire corporation in the nastiest way possible. Would love to see it happening in real life.

Gori: Cuddly Carnage will be available on August 29th, 2024 for Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Playstation 4, Playstation 5, Nintendo Switch and PC.

Cities: Skylines 2‘s PC release was a little rocky, to say the least. This city management sequel was plagued by performance and stability issues, which, at one point, were being put down to NPCs’ teeth.

Colossal Order apologized and went all out to fix the game, but its reviews are still sitting at Mixed on Steam, compared to the original’s Very Positive. And now, it seems like those same stability and performance issues are dragging Cities: Skylines 2‘s console port down.

Related: Capcom Abandons Its Newest Live-Service Game After Less Than a Year

“Unfortunately, we have not yet met the stability and performance targets we set for the console release. Without a Release Candidate (RC), we are now unable to meet an October release window,” reads a statement posted to publisher Paradox Interactive’s forum.

The game was set for an October 2024 release on Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5, but Colossal and Paradox are unable to confirm a new release window, effectively delaying the game indefinitely. They’re planning on having a new release candidate in August, but there’s no guarantee that’ll be up to scratch either.

While Colossal hasn’t said anything to this effect, one factor could be that Cities: Skylines 2 will also have to run satisfactorily on the Xbox Series S, which is significantly less powerful than the Xbox Series X or PlayStation 5.

“We are committed to keeping you informed throughout this development process, even if the updates aren’t always what we’d like,” Colossal’s message read. So, while Cities: Skylines 2 will probably arrive on console eventually, don’t hold your breath.

ZZZ is a feastful affair full of pop, color, and awe—a free-to-play mobile game with a buffet platter of complexity for you to chew on that puts most other mobile games on the market to shame. And as I slid my way through the game’s first chapter, I increasingly kept thinking, “Wow, I’d happily pay tens of dollars for this, actually.” Unfortunately, at the same time, it also became abundantly clear to me that if I wanted to play the game the way it seemingly is meant to be enjoyed, then I’d have to play developer MiHoYo’s game of slots—a dangerous, money-siphoning game that rarely ends with little more than a brain full of frustration and an empty pocket.

Don’t get me wrong, the money-grubbing aspect doesn’t put me off. Zenless Zone Zero is free-to-play, after all, and it’s not really doing anything different than other gacha games. In fact, it’s downright standard. But it feels as if ZZZ’s gacha mechanics rub against the game’s finely-tuned, character-driven gameplay with a friction that can spark a dumpster fire. Simply put, the game’s too well made for its primary feature (team building and monster smacking) to be driven by random-chance collection, which essentially amounts to a dull time at the casino.

Now, I’m no stranger to gacha games. I wouldn’t say I’m the most ardent player, but I’ve dedicated years of my dumb little life to dumb little mobile games like Fire Emblem Heroes, Dissidia Final Fantasy Opera Omnia, and Pokemon Masters EX. None of their gacha mechanics disappoint me the way ZZZ’s does. And that’s largely because most other gacha games I’ve played have shallow, bite-sized gameplay that mostly serves as a playground to place all your collectible characters and admire their cutesy glory. They’re one-or-two button-tapping near-auto-battlers that you can futz around with for a few minutes before getting on with your life. You can happily pull new characters endlessly because, at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what you get. They’re all ultimately the same anyway, and you’re just trying to amass a collection.

In contrast, ZZZ’s sharp gameplay, which feels closer to a tag-team fighter, is far from brainless button tapping. Characters all have their own unique fighting style, all hitting with satisfying impact; they all synergize with one another differently; they’re each attributed with elemental aspects that may be better or less suited for particular enemies. The game begs for you to build well-synergized teams while rotating out characters to adapt to fluctuating situations. But that’s hampered when you have little to no control over the characters you unlock and your ability to level them up is limited by various stylings of far-too-many premium currencies with hard-to-conceive names.

And that’s nothing to say of its impact on the narrative. ZZZ’s meaty combat is intercut by flashy, comic book-styled visual novel segments (fun!). However, the fact that it’s a never-ending gacha game means that the full narrative will likely never come to a satisfying conclusion, and most characters will inevitably have little story relevance. As such, you probably won’t really get to know most characters in a meaningful way (not fun!). For a character-driven game, that’s a huge flaw.

The most frustrating part is that the fixes for many of Zenless Zone Zero’s problems would be clear as day if it were an average premium experience. You need only to make all characters unlockable through the story and/or through optional side quests, slap a traditional leveling system in there, and call it a day. When fleshed out, you’d have a fun, addictive game that fully comes together as a cohesive whole, with lovable characters every fan could get to know and want to die for. There doesn’t have to be much more to it than that.

I keep thinking back to Fire Emblem: Awakening, a game that featured nearly 50 unlockable characters throughout its main story and side content. And most of its characters, including the optional ones, are all memorable and quite lovable, helped along by the game’s support mechanic, which saw characters get closer to each other and progress in unique dialogue the more they’re paired together. If Zenless Zone Zero were to adopt such a system, it would surely be something special.

Perhaps I’m just being nostalgic for the days before rampant microtransactions when video games had a plethora of unlockable content. But I don’t think so. Character-driven games need you to be able to access and interact with their characters, especially when the primary gameplay revolves around team building.

 Unfortunately, I don’t think MiHoYo will ever stray from the HoYoverse gacha games they’ve become known for. Not implementing a gacha mechanic into their games would probably feel like money left lying on the table. And for Zenless Zone Zero, it’s too late. The game’s already out, and it is what it is. But who knows — maybe one day we’ll get a proper, premium HoYoverse game that I can feel good about slamming some money down for. One can only hope.

Zenless Zone Zero is available now.

With Zenless Zone Zero, however, it looks like HoYoverse has finally found a way to capture the attention of that smaller subset of players. Unlike its predecessors, ZZZ doesn’t feature any sort of open world. Instead, the game is broken down into smaller, bite-sized zones with activities to do and NPCs to talk to.

The main hub — Sixth Street — is small and cozy, and getting a coffee or a bowl of noodles for your daily buffs is only a few seconds away from the protagonists’ videotape store. It doesn’t take too long before you’ve become completely familiar with everything Sixth Street has to offer. And, in fact, I’d argue that the coziness it evokes also helps to bring about a sense of familiarity and connection to Zenless Zone Zero‘s world — a feeling I was never quite able to experience in Genshin Impact or Star Rail just because of how vast those games are.

Zenless Zone Zero is also structured like a more conventional gacha game. You’ve got a list of missions to choose from, and each one comes with star ratings that will yield more rewards if you’re able to nab them. The much-maligned TV mode also helps to break things up, as its structure makes for very clear starting and stopping points, allowing you to quickly jump in and out of a stage without feeling like there’s so much more to see and do after finishing a mission.

This is especially crucial for players who generally enjoy being more casual with their mobile games, as there isn’t any pressure to continue playing for hours on end when everything has been broken up into neat little chapters for you.

This isn’t to say that ZZZ isn’t a game you can binge, either. If I’m making this game sound simple and far too easy, rest assured that there are way harder challenges waiting for you as you make your way to the endgame portion. Reckless Challenges and Hard Mode missions help elevate the game and bring the combat to the next level. While you could largely get through the early stages just by spamming buttons, Zenless Zone Zero offers much more challenging game modes later on for players who really want to learn the intricacies of the combat system and get good at it.

There’s plenty to grind for in the endgame too, with weekly boss runs to do, as well as the classic HoYoverse resin mechanic (it’s called Battery Charge in this one), time-gating you slightly so you can’t just power level all your characters in one sitting.

With Zenless Zone Zero, it’s clear that HoYoverse wanted to focus on creating an immersive environment with top-notch character designs rather than creating yet another massive open world for players to explore. While it’s obviously been scaled down quite a bit, it’s safe to say that I’ve never felt more connected with a pair of HoYoverse protagonists than I have with Belle and Wise. Their casual sibling bickering and rivalry are endearing, and it’s heartening to see that each character has so much time to shine in the story.

The vibes of ZZZ are immaculate as well, with the soundtrack being one of the main highlights here. Everything about New Eridu, from the coffee-making robot to the retro videotape store, just screams style, resulting in one of the most well-realized worlds HoYoverse has ever created.

Not everything needs to be a huge open world that takes hundreds upon hundreds of hours to explore. Sometimes there’s satisfaction to be had in just being static, chilling with a cup of coffee as you bask in the comfort of familiarity, and that’s what Zenless Zone Zero does.

Zenless Zone Zero is available now.

Pokemon GO celebrated the game’s eighth anniversary on July 6 by posting an official celebratory illustration. Fans immediately noticed one impossible-to-miss detail — a massive Wartortle, whose large size and overhead purple clouds indicate its appearance as a Dynamax Pokemon.

Fans quickly took the image to mean that we will soon see the Dynamax mechanic, which originally featured as a unique and showy way to temporarily buff Pokemon in 2019’s Sword & Shield games, make its way to Pokemon GO. After a year of wishing for new, exciting additions to the game and frustration with the Rediscover GO avatar updates, players are hopeful.

But not too hopeful, as one player reminds fans, “keep in mind: mimikyu was in the artwork 3 (?) years ago and still isn’t released so keep your expectations low lol.”

Indeed, the anniversary artwork for past Pokemon GO milestones has been a mixed bag of teased features, some of which eventually came to the game and some which turned out to be apparent false promises. Another fan remembers seeing Mega Mewtwo in a previous year’s image, which is one of the few Mega Evolutions still not available in the game. However, others are quick to respond that many features teased in the anniversary artwork have eventually come to the game — even if it took a few years.

More Galar Content on the Way for Pokemon GO?

In addition to the apparent Dynamax tease, there are a few more hints we might finally get more Galar content in Pokemon GO. Close inspection of the art reveals a couple of the Sword & Shield Galar starters, including Grookey and Scorbunny, hanging out in the background. These are highly anticipated additions to Pokemon GO, with many players asking why we have the Paldean Gen 9 starters but still no Gen 8 starters in the game.

Thus far, Niantic has not made any official announcements about future plans for Pokemon GO other than the teases in this artwork. Instead, their blog post about celebrating eight years looks back on a few “favorite features” from the past year. The list includes the addition of Routes and Party Play, two functions that have received a mixed reaction from fans.

If the reaction to a mere suggestion of Dynamax mechanics is any indication, this would be a welcome change for Pokemon GO … if indeed it’s part of the future roadmap for the mobile game.

Pokémon GO is available on iOS and Android.