No Man's Sky developer Hello Games revealed their next project, The Last Campfire, during the 2018 Game Awards. 

It seems like this game is really just a passion project for a few of the people working within Hello Games. That would seem to suggest that quite a few people are still working on updates to No Man's Sky. Regardless, the few people that are working on this game have certainly created something intriguing. 

The Last Campfire tells the story of an ember that has found itself in a strange place full of mystery and danger.  It doesn't know how it got where it is or who it is going to get back home. That nature of the game's story means that the developers aren't exactly sharing every detail of the title's plot and premise. That makes it a little difficult to say for sure exactly what kind of game this will be.

However, some of the devs working on this game did cite names like The Witness, Journey, and Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons when describing it. That would seem to suggest that this is going to be a very atmospheric adventure title driven by its story, characters, and style. That last part was certainly on full display in the game's debut trailer as The Last Campfire is already an undeniably beautiful title with some great music. 

What it is beyond that remains to be seen. In any case, it's interesting to see Hello Games pursue such a smaller project after spending so much time on the infamous No Man's Sky. At the same time, this is something that a lot of studios that produced a best-selling game used to do. It takes us back to the days when Rockstar would use that Grand Theft Auto money to fund games like Table Tennis, The Warriors, and Bully. Now, it's just a question as to whether or not Hello Games can use this small title to showcase why the initial failures of No Man's Sky are long behind them. 

There is no official release date or available platforms listed for The Last Campfire, so be sure to keep an eye on this one as more information becomes available in the coming months. 

Matthew Byrd is a staff writer for Den of Geek. He spends most of his days trying to pitch deep-dive analytical pieces about Killer Klowns From Outer Space to an increasingly perturbed series of editors. You can read more of his work here or find him on Twitter at @SilverTuna014. 

A new Marvel Ultimate Alliance game is coming exclusively to the Nintendo Switch. Revealed during The Game Awards, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order sees Marvel's greatest heroes team up to protect the Earth from its biggest threat yet. Team Ninja, the studio behind Nioh, is working on the game, which is set for a 2019 release. 

This the first Ultimate Alliance game since 2009. The series features an extensive roster of characters from the comics, all with their own unique abilities and powers, for cooperative missions and challenges. Ultimate Alliance 3 seems to take a bit of inspiration from the Marvel Cinematic Universe as several of the characters designs and voices resemble ones from the movies. The game will feature Avengers, X-Men, Guardians of the Galaxy, and more.

This time the World's Mightiest Heroes are teaming up to fight the Black Order, a group of warmasters led by Thanos. Plot details are slim beyond that, but we wouldn't be surprised if Thanos' plan involves the Infinity Gauntlet in some way.

Further Reading: Everything We Know About Square Enix's Avengers Game

Here's the debut trailer:

According to the game's official blurb:

"The new game features the same kind of action-RPG gameplay that made the franchise such a hit over a decade ago. In Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order, up to four players can drop in for co-op battles in a variety of ways: They can play online, link up offline via local wireless or pass a Joy-Con controller to a friend to join the team. With another pair of Joy-Con (sold separately), four players can team up on one system. In addition to the series' traditional perspective, the new entry will let players select a dynamic, zoomed-in heroic view, allowing for a more immersive play style for single-player or multiplayer when using multiple systems."

Further Reading: Avengers Endgame Trailer Breakdown and Analysis

We'll keep you updated as we learn more about the game!

John Saavedra is an associate editor at Den of Geek. Read more of his work here. Follow him on Twitter @johnsjr9. 

This article is sponsored by Joycity.

If you've ever dreamed of searching for treasure with Captain Jack Sparrow, going head to head against the vile Hector Barbossa, launching a brave escape out of Davy Jones' locker, or taking the fight to the East India Trading Company, Pirates of the Caribbean: Tides of War is the mobile game for you. Developed by Joycity, the game puts you in the boots of a treasure-loving pirate of your own creation and at the helm of your very own fleet of ships for a series of adventures inspired by the Disney movies. 

This free-to-play title not only lets you join up with some of the most beloved pirates from the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, including Captain Jack, who thrusts you into trouble almost as soon as your story begins, but also lets you take a deep dive into the intricacies of naval warfare. Tides of War features an epic story involving Jack's lost memories, which sets you on an adventure through the events of the movies, as well as an addictive strategy element that caters to both hardcore RTS fans and casual players.

The first step to becoming a great pirate in Tides of War, besides making sure a drunken Jack doesn't blow anything up or make any deals he can't keep, is securing resources to build your fleet and feed the "noble" pirates who will join you on your voyages. At the start of the game, you're given a fortress that becomes your base of operations as well as your last line of defense against enemy pirates and the East India Company. Establishing fields, lumber mills, a weapon workshop, a tavern, mines, shipyards, docks, a library, and even a pub is key to success in your ventures. If that sounds a bit overwhelming, don't worry, Jack's first mate, Mr. Gibbs, is there to help get your fortress and fleet up to snuff. 

Download Pirates of the Caribbean: Tides of War

From there, you're free to sail the seas at will, fighting monsters such as mermaids, giant lobsters, and banshees for treasure and XP, completing story missions in sea witch Shansa's mysterious cave, and attacking other players for the ultimate glory. But beware, trying to take out other pirates before you've leveled up your character, your ships, and your fortress could prove perilous.

We spent a bit of time with Tides of War and were really impressed with its many nods to the movies. Tides of War opens with a tutorial section to ease you into its strategy and role-playing elements (expect a few skills trees and customization options) that then opens up to a larger story mode, as you fight through many of the most famous battles from the movies in order to unlock Jack's memories, which have been stolen by Shansa. You'll play through Barbossa's initial attack on Port Royal, where the pirate kidnaps Elizabeth. A few story missions later, you'll sail to Isla de Muerta just in time to save Jack, Will Turner, and Elizabeth from Barbossa before the pirate can lift the curse of Cortes' Aztec treasure.

Those are just the events of The Curse of the Black Pearl. Later missions will put you face to face with Davy Jones from Dead Man's Chest and thwart the East India Trading Company after the events of At World's End. With nods to the events of Dead Men Tell No Tales, the latest installment in the film series, Tides of War is a voyage through the movies like none other and it's all in the palm of your hand. Fans of the movies, mobile gaming enthusiasts, and casual players will all find something to love about Joycity's love letter to Pirates of the Caribbean.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Tides of War is available now on both iOS and Android. 

Sonic the Hedgehog, veteran of countless video games, animated series, and a long-running comic book series from Archie Comics is coming to the big screen.

Deadpool director Tim Miller is going to serve as executive producer on the film along with Jeff Fowler. Fowler will direct. Neal H. Moritz of the Fast & Furious movies is producing with Toby Ascher. Dmitri Johnson and Dan Jevons are co-producers.

Here's everything we know about the movie so far:

Sonic the Hedgehog Movie Trailer

In lieu of a real trailer, IGN has revealed a first look at the upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog movie with a motion poster that teases what the beloved video game icon will look like in live-action. We can tell from the first image that live-action Sonic is going to be a bit divisive...

Here it is:

Sonic the Hedgehog Movie Release Date

Sonic the Hedgehog will premiere on Nov. 8, 2019. 

Sonic the Hedgehog Movie Cast

Ben Schwartz (Parks and Recreation) will become the voice of Sonic. His past voice work includes Dewey Duck on Disney's DuckTales reboot.

Jim Carrey (The Bad Batch) will play the villainous Dr. Robotnik, the main antagonist of the video game series. He absolutely loves to trap cute little animals inside evil robots created to destroy Sonic once and for all. In Japan, this character is actually named Eggman due to his shape. 

James Marsden (Westworld) has also been cast in a key role as Tom Wachowski, the sheriff of Green Hills. (Green Hill Zone, of course, is the first and most famous stage of the original Sonic the Hedgehog game.) Wachowski ends up on a road trip to San Francisco with Sonic to stop the evil Dr. Robotnik.

The cast is rounded out by Natasha Rothwell, Tika Sumpter, Neal McDonough, and Adam Pally.

John Saavedra is Games Editor at Den of Geek. Read more of his work here. Follow him on Twitter @johnsjr9. 

Mike Cecchini is the Editor in Chief of Den of Geek. You can read more of his work here. Follow him on Twitter @wayoutstuff.

Release Date: December 4, 2018
Platform: PS4 (reviewed), Xbox One
Developer: Avalanche Studios
Publisher: Square Enix
Genre: Action-Adventure

“A plan is just a list of things that go wrong,” quips Rico Rodriguez, Just Cause 4’s thrill-seeking protagonist in a cutscene that plays out mere moments before he sets off on yet another explosion spree. He’ll claim that it’s all in aid of helping the poor people of Solis fight back against a notorious dictatorship occupying their country, but really, deep down, we can’t help but feel that it’s some deeply hidden desire to fulfill a perverse appetite for destruction that sets Rico on his new mission. Those with a similar taste for explosions will find it in this fourth entry of Square Enix’s physics-defying series, even if the ensuing chaos does collapse at times.

Just as players familiar with the franchise might expect, Just Cause 4 continues the previous game’s fetish for letting you wreak havoc within an exotic open world paradise. Your primary methods of doing so consist of the typical tools found in other games of its ilk: military vehicles, heavy artillery, gadgets… But it’s really through freedom of movement where Just Cause 4 stands apart and taking down the baddies is most found. This is all made possible by Rico’s returning grapple hook, which lets you approach hostile situations however you choose thanks to its long-range, varied function.

Further Reading: 30 Games You Need to Play in 2019

Let’s say you’re tasked with destroying a series of generators key to decreasing the occupying enemy force’s influence. You could set an objective marker, drive up to the facility, and go in all guns blazing sure, but only in Just Cause 4 can you dive off one of the island’s many high peaks, pop your parachute before gliding down to the compound using your wingsuit, zipping your way around the compound via grapple hook while also using it to manipulate the environment around you before turning it on bad guys. Realistic? No. Outlandish? Yes. But boy, does is allow you to realize your ‘80s action movie fantasies – all in a manner of your choosing.

Just Cause 4has you consistently engaged in improvisational scenarios such as this, tethered together by the faintest of plots. This is to say that, in terms of narrative, the game suffers from a very distinct sense of "been there done that"– even by open world game standards. Much like how Just Cause 3 saw you liberate town after town in the effort to overthrow an evil dictator, the plot here is unnervingly similar. The only real difference is that Rico Rodriguez has slightly more personal investment in his actions this time after finding evidence that his late father was working with the Black Hand, Just Cause 4’s evil faction.

Thankfully, there are a few new elements introduced that help shake up the Just Cause formula ever so slightly. Chief among them are the added customization options available for the grappling hook. Whereas before using it to your advantage would be a simple case of connecting objects together to create an all-to addictive chain of action and reaction, here it’s increased ten-fold by an enhanced booster rocket and what’s called an air lifter. You’re able to select which one to prioritize and how it functions from a loadout menu, rendering said loadouts interchangeable on the fly.

Booster rockets have appeared previously in Just Cause, but now you’re able to attach as many as you’d like to any object of your choosing. Trust us, there can be something quite therapeutic about blasting a ship across the river and into an enemy radio dish. Air lifters equally let you control your environment in stylish and inventive ways, tethering balloons to anything in sight until it’s raining cars and satellite dishes. Pulling off these creative maneuvers in Just Cause 4 can initially feel cumbersome, but there's nothing more rewarding than orchestrating them in such a way that you’re able to unleash a Rube Goldberg machine of anarchy.

Further Reading: 25 Best Japanese Games Not Available in the U.S.

Speaking of anarchy, while the core tenets of what Just Cause 4 has you doing often suffer from a general feeling of familiarity and repetition, it is at least offset somewhat by a handful of missions centered around intense weather. At multiple times in the "story," the usual cycle of shooting, grappling, and mayhem-unleashing is broken up by missions that force you to contend with bouts of lightning, whirlwinds, and sandstorms – all of which show up to the party to help keep Rico on his toes, even if these sequences are a tad fleeting.

With explosions, weather effects, and skydiving a common sight in Just Cause 4, perhaps it shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise to learn that the game often struggles to cope. Frame rate dips, slow down, and the occasional freeze can make Rico’s adventures a technical mess at times. There are also a few character models that don’t look particularly great. It’s a shame, as these instances pull you right out of the action. Don’t get us wrong the game is ultimately playable, but it does lack the polish most players will likely expect from most AAA games released today.

Just Cause 4 is the perfect open world adventure for those looking to cut loose and just scratch that adrenaline junkie itch. It neatly slots into a small category of games whose core objective is to offer players an unrelenting sense of fun by turning everything up to 11. Despite the slight monotony that comes from some repetitive mission design and a few slips on the technical side,Just Cause 4 delivers the same thrills found in prior entries with the odd mechanical upgrade thrown in.

3/5

This Red Dead Online article contains spoilers.

The fog rolls in during a night ride in the Heartlands. I've just left four men for dead on some train tracks, the memory of their final pleas for mercy still fresh in my mind, when suddenly a stranger approaches from just up the dirt path. I'm nervous. I do not know this stranger or his intentions. Is it Death come for me for my sins, for the decaying soul of a man who would steal and kill for money? My long journey from Tumbleweed to Valentine has taught me to expect the worst and so I draw my revolver (a dirty thing; I'll need to find gun oil later). 

A few tense moments as the stranger (perhaps my killer) approaches, both our horses moving slowly toward a collision. Only a few seconds to make a decision. I can see him now, covered in shadow, a wide hat hiding his face, but I know where to aim. Then, almost face to face, he makes his move. I prepare to aim for his head and he...waves? Quietly, he rides on until he's lost again in the fog. 

While not the explosive encounter you probably hoped for, tense moments like this one make up the best Red Dead Online's beta has to offer so far. From meeting players on the road to jumping into a random shootout, I've had the most fun with Red Dead Redemption II's online mode when organically interacting with others. These encounters feel unpredictable, especially when you run into someone in a secluded part of the mode's giant map. In fact, it's the emptiness of Rockstar's version of the Wild West, where no one can hear you scream for help, that makes every interaction feel dangerous. 

It's not all tension, of course. During my first few days with the beta, I also participated in four-player cooperative story missions, side quests, horses races, manic team shootouts in the middle of Western towns, and a few public events that provide a variety of activities when roaming through the map. Red Dead Online is a really enjoyable experience so far, even though it definitely has an assortment of kinks it still needs to iron out. 

Story

Not unlike Rockstar's other big online gambit, GTA Online, Red Dead Onlineopens with quite a bit of handholding, as you meet the major players in the mode's story and get acquainted with the progression system. The first few hours of gameplay don't offer anything particularly captivating in terms of the story, which involves a prison escape courtesy of a mysterious benefactor and a plot to avenge a man's murder. Most of the story missions I played felt more like tutorial levels meant to show you how to use treasure maps or where to sell stolen horses or how to set up a camp than meaningful narrative. 

Some of the more interesting story missions involve helping lawmen pursue criminals and bring them to justice. There's also a great assault on a fort that sees you man a cannon to shoot down a horde of enemies. While these missions involve tons of action and at least one unexpected setpiece in a canyon that doubles as a hideout for a gang of bandits, I found these sections a bit repetitive. Most of these missions can be completed by shooting your way through all the bad guys and escorting a specific NPC back to the quest giver.

I didn't really feel that the four-player co-op was even particularly necessary for most missions, as there weren't that many enemies to shoot in the first place (except in the aforementioned canyon and fort sections). That said, perhaps these cooperative missions are more fun with your gun-toting buddies. Unless you roll up with a posse (Red Dead Online's version of a four-player squad), matchmaking will set you up with three random players. One positive thing to note about matchmaking is that the wait time to jump into a mission or match is almost non-existent. I expected long waits in lobbies since this is a beta, but so far, that hasn't been a problem. 

Further Reading: Red Dead Redemption 2 Review

Some story missions also offer an interesting voting system that allows your team to decide what to do with your target. For instance, one mission sees you take out a cabin full of thugs in order to find a man's wife. When you meet the woman, she tells you that she doesn't want to return to her husband and that she's fallen in love with one of the bandits. This triggers a voting sequence where your team can choose to either bring her back to the husband or let her escape. In this particular instance, the vote was a tie and one of my teammates decided to just shoot the woman's lover and escort her back for the money. While that wouldn't have been my choice (I voted to let her go), it seems that there was nothing I could do to stop my teammate since it was a tie vote. 

On the technical side, the story missions are where I encountered the most lag, from dead enemies taking several seconds to fall over to being suddenly teleported to a different area during a shootout. The most annoying glitch I've had to deal with so far is when a quest marker won't appear on the map. Fortunately, after a restart, these quests usually do show up, but it took me at least a few tries to trigger one particular quest to appear on my map. Most of these kinks aren't game breaking though, but they do show where the mode still needs work. 

So far, the main story is the element of Red Dead Online that leaves the most to be desired, but that feels like a small gripe since Red Dead Redemption II already features a massive story mode for players to enjoy. Even as I write this, more missions continue to pop up on my map, so there's clearly more to discover yet. 

Free Roam

Speaking of discovery, Red Dead Online takes place on the same exact map as the story mode, meaning that there's a lot of ground to cover once you're free to explore. Strangers sprinkled around the map offer side quests such as fetching a lost cart for Bonnie MacFarlane, a major character from the first game, or delivering mail for the post office. The latter even pits you against other players, who can rob the mailbag from you as you ride to your destination. There are plenty of Strangers to talk to from the start, which should offer up a nice chunk of stuff to do when not completing main missions or exploring the multiplayer playlists.

Free roam events also allow you meet up with other players for special multiplayer matches, including a bow and arrow challenge where you have to hit targets around a town while also taking out other players. The more bullseyes you hit and people you kill, the more points you get. After getting a couple of kills with the bow and arrow, you'll unlock a rifle, which should make disposing of the other players a bit easier. It's a fast-paced and frantic race for points that's surprisingly fun and shows how Rockstar's thinking outside the box for its online Western world. 

Another free roam event is more of a traditional free-for-all deathmatch where players can only use sidearms. It's a pretty fun way to practice your Dead Eye skills and shooting from the hip.

Further Reading: Revisiting Red Dead Redemption's Undead Nightmare

These free roam events pop up at random and they're a nice way to break up the monotony of riding around from point A to point B. Just accept the invite that pops up on your HUD and you'll be teleported to the event area. My only complaint about these events is that, once a match is over, you're not sent back to where you were before joining the event. Instead, you're left to ride all the way back on your own, which gets a little annoying when you end up especially out of the way of where you need to be. You can find a fast travel post and pay $5 of in-game currency to head back to the proximity of where you were, but money feels a bit more scarce in Red Dead Online than in the story mode for the obvious microtransaction-related reasons I'll get to in just a minute. 

Your camp is another minor annoyance in that you can't fast travel to it outright. There are ways to circumvent having to ride across the giant map to get to your camp, of course, such as fast traveling to a nearby town or choosing to free roam in a different region of the map in the Online start menu. You can also move your camp closer to you for $2 of in-game currency, which seems silly, especially since your follower, an old coot named Cripps, inexplicably moves your camp around the map when you're not looking. One second he might be in Rio Bravo and the next the camp will be in the Great Plains. I get what the game is going for, automatically moving your camp closer to your location, but so far, Cripps has missed the mark every single time, making me trek back or spend money to reach something as simple as my wardrobe or my lockbox.

Microtransactions

Here comes the kicker: Red Dead Online allows you to buy a fast travel post for your camp once you've hit Level 65 (!!) or you can unlock it early for 112 Gold Bars, the game's not-so-subtle hint that microtransactions are coming down the line. Yes, Red Dead Online does allow you to unlock a fast travel post for your camp without spending any real money, but it seems that it will take an exorbitant amount of time to do so -- not to mention that fast travel is such a basic feature that it should be free in the first place.

While microtransactions are (mercifully) turned off at the moment, you can already see how Rockstar plans to stick its hands in your pockets. There will absolutely be players who will pull out their wallets for the convenience of a fast travel post in their camps as soon as possible. That darn camp is just annoying enough to almost convince me to buy some Gold Bars.

Further Reading: Revisiting Red Dead Redemption, Rockstar's Western Adventure

It's not clear how much Gold Bars will cost in real money at the moment, but early estimates suggest that it could take up to eight hours to earn ONE Gold Bar through gameplay for those who don't want to spend any of their hard-earned cash. Red Dead Online doles out gold nuggets for completing multiplayer matches at a snail's pace -- about 2 to 4 gold nuggets per match. It takes 100 gold nuggets to make a single Gold Bar. Now go calculate how long it's going to take you to earn 112 Gold Bars for that damn fast travel post I won't stop telling you about. You might as well hold off for Level 65. 

Wisely, Rockstar has seemingly focused Red Dead Online's microtransactions on cosmetic items, such as clothing, nicer digs, designs for your weapons, and the aforementioned fast trav--okay, I'll shut up about it. There don't seem to be any pay-to-win opportunities hidden within those microtransactions just yet, but as the game's economy hasn't been turned on yet, it remains to be seen what final form it takes. 

Progression System

As far as character progression is concerned, it's your basic setup in terms of leveling. You earn XP by completing missions, participating in multiplayer matches, and other activities. Each level you reach unlocks more items you can buy in your catalog, which you can use to buy most of the things you might need from anywhere on the map without having to visit specific stores. Items you purchase will be delivered to the lockbox back at your camp. Items you unlock by leveling up include clothing, weapons, horse breeds, saddles, and other equipment. While it might feel a little convoluted at first, considering all items are available for purchase from the start in story mode, I found that I could always get all the basic things I needed, even at the earliest levels. 

On top of rank unlocks, players also unlock ability cards, which contain special perks for your Dead Eye as well as passives. One Dead Eye perk, "A Moment to Recuperate," allows you to regain health while in Dead Eye, while "Slow and Steady" limits the amount of damage you take while in a gunfight. You also get three passive slots, which can be unlocked at levels 10, 20, and 40 respectively. All of these cards can be upgraded by earning more XP as well. 

Further Reading: The Legacy of Manhunt, Rockstar's Horror Masterpiece

The story mode's honor system also makes a return in Red Dead Online. This time around, how honorable you are directly affects the sorts of missions and tasks you can perform. Play as a good guy and you'll unlock missions that reflect that status, such as helping a marshal put a known felon behind bars. If you're of a ruthless killer, you may instead help someone break out of jail. Your actions, whether to spare or kill someone, how you treat innocents, and whether you steal from others, will directly affect your experience as you progress. I'm playing as mostly a good guy, who just so happens to enjoy throwing the corpses of those he's murdered into campfires, but may take a turn for the worse in order to try out some of the more rogue missions. 

Multiplayer

I've also spent a bit of time with Red Dead Online's multiplayer, which is broken up into three playlists: Showdown Series, Showdown Series Large, and Race Series. Showdown Series and Showdown Series Large offer up the PvP third-person shooter match types for 16 and 32 players, respectively.

Match types include Shootout and Team Shootout, your typical solo and team-based deathmatches; Make It Count, Red Dead Online's bow-and-arrow version of a battle royale mode; Hostile Territory, your standard capture-and-defend-the-territory contest; Most Wanted, a take on King of the Hill where players hunt down the top scorer; and the creative Name Your Weapon, a deathmatch variant in which you're awarded points based on what weapon you use for the kill. The latter is a lot of fun, as you have to use quick thinking when deciding whether to rush into a situation with your bayonet, which will earn you more points for the kill, or get yourself out of a sticky situation with your repeater (fewer points). The Race series is a bit more straightforward but no less enjoyable, with classic races to a finish line as well as a match type where you have to hit markers sprinkled around a course as quickly as possible. 

Overall, the multiplayer provides more of an arcade experience for those just looking to shoot things with friends or race other players on their favorite steed. The team deathmatch modes offer up a bit of a twist in terms of the number of teams competing for the win. Some matches are played between two teams, but others will see players sorted into multiple teams, creating a perfect storm of bullets in town squares, as you and your teammates are assaulted on all sides. Each team is represented by a color and a team name. I assume this is how "persistent posses,"Red Dead Online's version of a clan system, will come into play. Rolling up to a shootout with your custom-named posse will undoubtedly add some pride and ownership to the experience.

Further Reading: What's Next for Rockstar After Red Dead Redemption II?

I have to mention that I don't love Red Dead's shooting mechanics (or GTA V's for that matter). Pulling the trigger always feels a bit stiff and having to visit a weapon wheel to switch weapons feels very outdated in this era of fast-paced shooters. You basically have to rely completely on Dead Eye if you want to pull off a quick, clean kill. Some people are already pretty sick at Dead Eye kills in the multiplayer, but to me, it feels like I'm being forced to press two or three extra buttons just to score a headshot. My advice is that you spend a lot of time shooting NPCs in the story mode before facing off against other humans who know how to not run in a straight line. 

The real standout for me is the horseracing, which mixes a standard race to the finish line with guns. As you race through the course, you're able to kick and punch other players off their horses and also unlock guns by riding through barrels that contain perks to help you along (think the item boxes in Mario Kart). You'll need to hit these barrels in order to keep your horse's stamina up too, as it won't last through the whole race. There's something really twisted about shooting down your fellow competitors in the final stretch of the race, their limp bodies flying off the track. I recommend the rush of adrenaline.

I've not spent any time with Make It Count, but I suspect Red Dead Online's battle royale mode deserves its own article anyway. I'm going to give it a try this weekend and report back. 

Work in Progress

Red Dead Online feels like a new frontier for Rockstar's Western epic and I hope the studio continues to improve on the experience. There's no proper release date for the mode as of yet, so expect a lot of trial and error in the coming weeks.

One thing to keep an eye out for is the game's economy, which isn't quite as balanced as I'd like it to be. Eight hours to earn a single Gold Bar feels like less of an accomplishment or well-earned reward and more of a way to make impatient players spend money to cut down on the time it'll take to earn the currency through gameplay. I'm hopeful that Rockstar will at least continue to restrict microtransactions to cosmetics where they belong. 

The business of Red Dead Online aside, I'm having a lot of fun with the mode so far and I look forward to seeing how the experience changes as more players jump into the servers and more posses form. Rockstar will finish rolling out beta access to all players on Nov. 30. 

John Saavedra is Games Editor at Den of Geek. Read more of his work here. Follow him on Twitter @johnsjr9. 

In the years since Den of Geek first sprung into existence, we’ve consistently kept an eye on the video games that have been touted for the big screen treatment. We’ve tried to list them all in a big article a few times before, and it feels like the time has come to pull a new version together.

Out of the hundreds of thousands of films in the world currently in development, a large number of them serve as adaptations for (mostly) successful video games and video game franchises. Some have been seen on our screens before either via a previous adaptation or television series, while some are just getting their first shot on the big screen.

Whichever category they fall into, they still have to navigate their way through the difficult world of filmmaking, with many of them inevitably forever damned to development hell. The following are just a few of these adaptations hoping to someday become a success.

RELEASE DATE CONFIRMED

Angry Birds 2 - September 20, 2019

Despite the fact that it's an Angry Birds movie, the first movie made back its $73 million production budget and then some, with a $346.9 million take globally. Which means that Roxio Entertainment has greenlit a sequel. God help us.

Further Reading: How the World Became Obsessed with Pokemon

Detective Pikachu - May 10, 2019

The Detective Pikachu movie will not only see the most famous fictional rodent since Mickey Mouse star in his own feature film (voiced by Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds), but will also serve as a live-action debut for the Pokémon franchise overall!

Justice Smith (Get Down) co-stars as a kid who needs to find his missing father, and Kathryn Newton (Big Little Lies), who is described as a "sassy journalist" who helps Smith's character and Detective Pikachu on the case.

Detective Pikachu is being helmed by Rob Letterman, who is best known for adapting R.L. Stine's '90s kid nostalgia pic, Goosebumps, for Sony. Turning that into an all-ages comedy did wonders for the studio, and a sequel is expected to be on the way. Alex Hirsch and Nicole Perlman penned the script for Detective Pikachu.

Sonic the Hedgehog - Nov. 15, 2019

What took them so long? Sonic the Hedgehog, veteran of countless video games, an animated series, and a long-running comic book series from Archie Comics is coming to the big screen.

Tim Miller, who has a little time on his hands after leaving the director's chair on Deadpool 2, is going to serve as executive producer on the film along with Jeff Fowler, who will also direct. Neal H. Moritz of the Fast & Furious movies is producing with Takeshi Ito and Mie Onishi. Patrick Casey and Josh Miller (Golan the Insatiable) are writing the script.

James Marsden (Westworld) is set to star. Jim Carrey will play the villainous Dr. Robotnik while Ben Schwartz (Parks & Recreation) will voice Sonic. 

Further Reading: 50 Underrated PlayStation 2 Games

IN DEVELOPMENT

Altered Beast - TBA

Back in 2016, Stories International (Sega’s production arm) and studio Circle of Confusion announced that they would collaboratively adapt the fantasy arcade action game Altered Beast.

Borderlands - TBA

A movie based on Gearbox and Take-Two’s immensely popular sci-fi game went into development back in 2015. Lionsgate will be the studio taking us to the abandoned-by-the-big-wigs frontier planet of Pandora.

They’ve recruited producers Avi Arad and his son Ari Arad, both of whom were involved in initially bringing Iron Man, Spider-Man, and the X-Men to the big screen. We’ve got high hopes.

Further Reading: 50 Underrated Multiplayer Games

Call of Duty Movie - TBA

Yes, the Call of Duty movie is happening! Stefano Sollima, director of Sicario 2: Solado, is in talks to direct the planned film adaptation of the Call of Duty franchise. 

Activision Blizzard Studios - the film and television division of Activision Blizzard - is currently negotiating with Sollima in the hopes that he will sign-on to the project. However, no representative from Activision Blizzard Studios will confirm that the studio is in negotiations with the director at this time. 

Details regarding the film itself are unfortunately few and far between at the moment. Vague reports indicate that Activision Blizzard has an interest in potentially developing a film universe designed around the Call of Duty franchise. Much like how the Call of Duty franchise explores various eras of combat and occasionally uses familiar faces, it seems that some within the company hope that films based on the franchise can lead to a similar expanded universe.

Carmen Sandiego - TBA

Carmen Sandiego will soon become easy to find on Netflix. In addition to the forthcoming animated TV series picked up by Netflix, the streamer is doubling down by greenlighting a live-action film. Gina Rodriguez is set to star in the live-action adaptation, taking on the role of the titular ‘90s multimedia character.

Don’t worry, gumshoes, Netflix plans to keep the Carmen continuity intact as Rodriguez will also voice the character in the animated series.

Mark Perez has been tasked to pen an adaptation script for the circuitously mysterious franchise. Perez is a screenwriter with comedy leanings, whose work was recently seen in this past February’s Game Night, which was his first theatrical effort after a long layoff from a string of films that included 2006’s Accepted, 2005’s Herbie: Fully Loaded, and 2002’s The Country Bears. The search for a director, however, is still ongoing.

Further Reading: Why Arcades Are Making a Comeback

Centipede - TBA

That’s right, Centipede and Missile Command, the Atari ‘80s arcade shooter games, are getting adapted into feature films. Emmett/Furla/Oasis Films has made a deal with Atari to produce and finance the adaptations.

In a statement about the projects, Atari CEO Fred Chesnais said he was “thrilled to partner with Emmett/Furla/Oasis Films to develop feature films based on two of our most beloved titles. Centipede and Missile Command are part of Atari’s unparalleled and rich library of popular games and we cannot wait to see the movies come to life.”

The movies will be produced by Randall Emmett and George Furla (Lone Survivor). Emmett described the properties as “immensely popular titles have been enjoyed by generations of gamers worldwide. We look forward to a very successful partnership Command and to bringing Centipede and Missile Command to the big screen.”

Atari, Stephen Belafonte, Wayne Marc Godfrey and Robert Jones will executive produce the films, but there is currently no word on directors or writers for the projects.

Contra - TBA

Thirty years after its initial release, Konami's classic is set to stage a comeback from an unexpected angle: a Chinese production company has announced that it's making a movie adaptation. Aside from a slight change in location, the plot sounds broadly the same as the original game's back-story. Here's the official synopsis:

"In 1988, a huge meteorite lands on an uninhabited island in the South China Sea. Chen Qiang and Li Zhiyong investigate but come up empty handed. 29 years later, Chen sends commandos Bill and Lance into a combat mission there to neutralize the villainous Red Falcon Organization, but end up facing a different enemy altogether."

We love that the movie retains the names of the characters from the Contra arcade machine. Like the rest of the game, Contra's steeped in 80s history and pop culture. Bill and Lance's full names are Bill Rizer and Lance Bean - a mash-up of actors' names from James Cameron's Aliens (Paul Reiser, Bill Paxton, Lance Henriksen, and Michael Biehn) - while their likenesses are evidently based on Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone.

No release date, cast, or director announced as of yet.

Further Reading: 25 Most Brutal Bosses in Video Games

Dante's Inferno - TBA

Way back in 2013, it was announced that Fede Alvarez (director of the Evil Dead remake) would be helping to bring EA's 2010 action adventure game Dante's Inferno to the big screen. Since then, news about the project has stopped almost completely leaving many to speculate that it may have been quietly canceled. 

According to Alvarez, however, that is not the case. 

Alvarez confirmed in 2016 that the Dante's Inferno film adaptation is still in development. He also noted that rather than having the film be based solely off of the game, he intends to draw more inspiration for the original epic poem.

The Division - TBA

Jake Gyllenhaal has signed up to star in the adaptation and will also produce, which makes it the actor's second game-to-film project to date -- he previously starred in Disney's tepid Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time in 2010. Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty) has also been cast to star alongside Gyllenhaal.  

The game's premise is a solid basis for an action thriller: set in a wintry Manhattan beset by a deadly pandemic, it's about a small group of agents whose job is to restore order and seek out the cause of the outbreak. The dark and violent concept could be really effective in the hands of the right filmmakers.

Duke Nukem - TBA

It’s taken a long time, but there may be solid progress on bringing the video game character Duke Nukem to the big screen. Former wrestler John Cena - who was recently seen in Daddy's Home 2 and lent his voice to the recent animated movie Ferdinand - is in talks to take on the role. 

It’s early stages for the project, with neither a writer nor a director in place yet. But the plan is to make this is a starring vehicle for Cena, presumably with a view toward a franchise. There’s no way that this won’t get an R rating, either.

Further Reading: 25 Best Japanese Games Not Available in the U.S.

Firewatch - TBA

Firewatch, 2016's biggest entry into the "Walking Simulator" genre, is now set to be adapted into a major motion picture. 

This project is part of a deal between film production company Good Universe and Firewatch's developer Campo Santo who are joining forces in order to create a subsidiary intended to connect filmmakers and game developers. The full extent of this collaboration is unknown, but Campo Santo founder Sean Vanaman did have this to say regarding the agreement. 

The first thing the two parties plan to make is an adaptation of 2016's Firewatch which has, thus far, been one of the most surprising video game hits of 2016. Firewatch follows a man named Henry who has decided to work as a fire lookout in Wyoming. When a mysterious occurrence attracts Henry's attention and compels him to wander into the wilderness, he is soon drawn into an intriguing web of moral conflicts that must be navigated with the help of a supervisor he retains contact with through the use of a handheld radio. 

Five Nights at Freddy's - TBA

Five Nights at Freddy's movie plans are moving forward with revitalized momentum. The popular point-and-click horror-adventure video game series, which has become a staple on iOS and Android devices, had film adaptation plans gestating for about three years; plans that are now strapped to a proverbial rocket pack, with the selection of a proven visionary in Chris Columbus, and a genre-appropriate studio in Blumhouse.

Chris Columbus will write and direct a Five Nights at Freddy’s film for Blumhouse Productions. The latest movement on the project came about after it was put into turnaround by Warner Bros./New Line back in March 2017, which landed it at Blumhouse, the upstart horror-film-friendly studio of Jason Blum, built by the likes of film franchises such as Paranormal Activity, Insidious, Sinister, and The Purge.

Five Nights at Freddy’s has yet to signal any production or release dates, but we will keep you apprised of the project’s major developments as they occur.

Further Reading: 20 Video Games to Play in 2019

Fruit Ninja - TBA

Fruit Ninja is coming to the big screen. Now you can watch as someone wildly makes a fruit salad out of miles of digital celluloid. In anticipation of the all popcorn crumbs Angry Birds will be leaving in the aisles, Tripp Vinson announced it will produce a feature film treatment of the mobile app Fruit Ninja.

The addictive game already spawned a live action version from a YouTuber named ScottDW but this one will drop from Vinson Films. The screenplay is being typed right now by JP Lavin and Chad Damiani, who adapted the book How to Survive a Garden Gnome Attack.

Fruit Ninja is the second top-selling iOS game ever. It has had over one billion downloads since it was introduced in 2010 and is now ready to be made as a live-action comedy the whole family can enjoy. Oh, they’re keeping details on the plot very secret. There are so many things you can do with apples and oranges, swords and bombs.

The movie will be executive produced by Sam White and Tara Farney.

Gears of War - TBA

A feature film adaptation of the video game Gears of War, long in development but recently on the back burner, is being actively developed by producers Dylan Clark (Rise of the Planet of the Apes) and Scott Stuber (Central Intelligence), the latter of whom has been working on the project for three years.

The news was announced by Microsoft during a live stream for the upcoming release of Gears of War 4, with the company revealing that the project has found a home at Universal Pictures (who apparently did not feel sufficiently burned by the box office flameout of its Warcraft adaptation).

Screenwriter Shane Salerno has been hired to pen the movie. Salerno has busied himself recently by working on the four upcoming Avatar sequels with James Cameron, as well as an adaptation of Don Winslow’s book The Cartel that Ridley Scott intends to direct. And speaking of directors, Gears Of War needs one too.

Gears of War is a third person shooter game that follows the members of Delta Squad, a team of soldiers tasked with saving the human inhabitants of a planet called Sera from an alien force known as the Locust Horde (among other creatures). 

The idea is to not base the movie directly on any particular Gears of War game but to create a new story set in the Gears of War universe.

Further Reading: 25 Underrated Video Game Soundtracks

Half-Life - TBA

While promoting, 10 Cloverfield Lane back in 2016, J.J. Abrams gave an update about Bad Robot's upcoming Half-Life movie. It's not much to go on and even Abrams says so.

"We've got writers, and we're working on both those stories. But nothing that would be an exciting update," says Abrams, who's set to produce both films. He didn't reveal who the writers were, though.  

Meanwhile, the Half-Life movie, which was first announced by Valve head Gabe Newell at DICE 2013, has proved to be as elusive as the games themselves. Since the film's announcement, there hadn't been any additional information until now. We assumed it was burning in development hell. Glad to see that's not the case. 

Just Cause - TBA

In 2017, it was reported that Jason Momoa - he of Game of Thrones and Aquaman fame - has signed on to star in the Just Cause film project. Momoa is set to play series protagonist Rico Rodriguez; a highly-skilled operative who completes various assignments for the mysterious organization known simply as the Agency. Presumably, said assignments will be completed within the confines of some exotic tropical locale, but that particular detail - along with many other aspects of the plot - is unconfirmed at this time. 

Meanwhile, Brad Peyton (San Andreas) has been confirmed as the film's director. Interestingly, Peyton is also working on a film version of the popular arcade game Rampage which stars none other than San Andreas lead, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. We'll let you decide whether the producers that apparently looked at San Andreas and thought, "Now that's what a video game movie should look like," are in the right or not. 

Speaking of producers, Peyton and Jeff Fierson will be handling the production of the Just Cause film via their ASAP Entertainment production company. Additional producers include Roy Lee (Vertigo Entertainment), Adrian Askarieh (Prime Universe Films), Eva Cao (Supernova Entertainment), as well as Mason Xu and Fan Dong of DNA Co. Ltd. It's worth noting that the China-based studio DNA is handling the film's financing. It seems that China's fascination with funding blockbuster action films continues to grow stronger and stronger.  

There's no word yet on when Just Cause will start shooting or if it will include scenes featuring Rodriguez tying cows to the blades of helicopters and then tying civilians to the cows. If it's attempting to replicate the best parts of the Just Cause games, however, it most certainly should. 

Further Reading: 25 Best Game Boy Advance Games

The Last of Us - TBA

Although some would argue that the game is cinematic enough in of itself, Sony subsidiary Screen Gems (the company behind the Resident Evil film franchise) are currently working hard on bringing Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us to the big screen.

Sam Raimi is on board as a producer, while the game’s writer, Neil Druckmann, is working on the screenplay. (Druckmann also penned the Uncharted series). Druckmann gave an update in January 2015, insisting that his screenplay would be "pretty faithful" to his original game script, despite a few "big changes."

In March 2016, Druckmann admitted that the film is in development hell until further notice. Raimi also confirmed as much recently, citing creative differences between Druckmann and Sony in terms of the direction of the film. 

Maisie Williams has apparently had meetings about playing the lead character, Ellie, but for now the movie doesn't seem to be moving anywhere fast. 

Mega Man - TBA

Mega Man is getting a live-action movie from 20th Century Fox, Capcom announced in Oct. 2018. The movie, which is tentatively titled MEGA MAN, will be written and directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman, the team that previously brought you sci-fi horror film Viral and Paranormal Activity 3 and 4. They also directed the hit online dating documentary, Catfish. No release date has been set for their first foray into video game adaptations.

Further Reading: 25 Best Mega Man Games

Metal Gear Solid - TBA

Jordan Vogt-Roberts is continuing to develop his planned movie take on the video game Metal Gear Solid, that Sony Pictures is backing. The film has been in gestation for some time, but it’s now getting a further helping hand from Derek Connolly.

Connolly has been hired to work on the latest draft of the screenplay, having worked with Vogt-Roberts on the recent Kong: Skull Island. He’s also co-written Jurassic World and the upcoming Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.

There’s still no known timeframe for Metal Gear Solid on the big screen just yet, but we suspect over the next year or so, we’ll see Sony trying to push the proverbial accelerator down on the project a little. As we hear more, we’ll let you know…

Further Reading: 25 Underrated Game Boy Games

Minecraft - TBA

A movie adaptation of Mojang’s massive building game Minecraft has been touted for some time. Night at the Museum director Shawn Levy was linked for a while, with unconfirmed talk suggesting that the movie might be a live-action adventure, rather than an animation.

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’s co-creator Rob McElhenney took Levy’s place in 2015, but now he's dropped out too. McElhenney informed TheWrap that the film "is not happening" with him as director. Neither McElhenney or Warner Bros. have elaborated on the matter further, but all evidence suggests that the movie will miss its May 24, 2019 release date. At the moment, it sounds like the studio is in the midst of what some have described as a major overhaul of the planned project. 

There's no word on who will helm the film now that McElhenney is out, but it seems that Warner Bros. has approached Aaron and Adam Nee (The Last Romantic, Band of Robbers) to pen a new script for Minecraft. The previous version of the script was written by Wonder Womanscreenwriter Jason Fuchs. 

Missile Command - TBA

That’s right, Centipede and Missile Command, the Atari ‘80s arcade shooter games, are getting adapted into feature films. Emmett/Furla/Oasis Films has made a deal with Atari to produce and finance the adaptations.

In a statement about the projects, Atari CEO Fred Chesnais said he was “thrilled to partner with Emmett/Furla/Oasis Films to develop feature films based on two of our most beloved titles. Centipede and Missile Command are part of Atari’s unparalleled and rich library of popular games and we cannot wait to see the movies come to life.”

The movies will be produced by Randall Emmett and George Furla (Lone Survivor). Emmett described the properties as “immensely popular titles have been enjoyed by generations of gamers worldwide. We look forward to a very successful partnership Command and to bringing Centipede and Missile Command to the big screen.”

Atari, Stephen Belafonte, Wayne Marc Godfrey, and Robert Jones will executive produce the films, but there is currently no word on directors or writers for the projects.

Further Reading: 50 Underrated Xbox Games

Monster Hunter - TBA

British director Paul WS Anderson turned the hit video game franchise Resident Evil into a long-running film series in the early 2000s, and he's set to do the same thing again with another property owned by Japanese publisher Capcom.

The Monster Hunter movie "tells the story of two heroes who come from different worlds to defeat a shared danger, the powerful, deadly and magnificent monsters that inhabit the land. Along the way, viewers will make new discoveries and encounter familiar faces and beloved characters from the games like the Admiral," according to the official synopsis from the publisher.

Diego Boneta (Before I Fall) and Milla Jovovich (Resident Evil) star in the movie. No release date has been set. 

Monument Valley - TBA

Monument Valley, the critically acclaimed mobile puzzle game from Ustwo, is being adapted by Paramount Pictures. Patrick Osborne (Ralph Breaks the Internet) has been tapped to direct the film. No release date has been set. 

Further Reading: 25 Best Free-to-Play Mobile Games

Mortal Kombat - TBA

The Mortal Kombat reboot is one step closer to reality, with Simon McQuoid signing on as director. Greg Russo recently completed a draft of the screenplay, and it's not clear if anything remains of the work done by Oren Uziel (who wrote the well-received Mortal Kombat: Legacyweb series) and Dave Callahan (The Expendables). 

Christopher Lambert (Raiden) is set to be back for this one. He’s not giving too much away at this stage, but he revealed to Loaded that “They have a great idea for the third one,” adding that “it will be very different.”

In fact, it looks as if the new movie will have a time travel element. “We are going to be traveling through time, but in a very special way. So imagine characters having a battle in the middle of London and then whoosh, you smash through a window and find yourself on the hood of a New York cab,” Lambert teased.

Portal - TBA

At the Westworld red carpet back in September 2016, director/producer J.J. Abrams gave an update on the upcoming Portal and Half-Life movies. While Abrams didn't go into too much detail, he did reveal that he had a meeting coming up the following week with Valve, the studio that created both games in question. And it seems like both Bad Robot and Valve are focusing on the Portal movie first. 

"We have a meeting coming up next week with Valve, we’re very active, I’m hoping that there will be a Portal announcement fairly soon," said Abrams.

The announcement could involve a reveal of who is writing the script for the film, as Abrams teased that he's had talked with writers about both games:

"We are having some really interesting discussions with writers, many of whom...once you said you’re doing a movie or show about a specific thing that is a known quantity you start to find people who are rabid about these things. As someone who loves playing Half-Life and Portal, what’s the movie of this, it’s incredible when you talk to someone who just ‘gets’ it, it’s like, oh my god, it’s really the seed for this incredible tree you’re growing."

Abrams was careful not to talk about Portal's story and didn't say if the film would follow the game's storyline, which involves a facility full of platforming puzzles, inter-spatial portals, and a mad AI who loves cake. Not too much to chew on exactly, but perhaps we should prepare ourselves for a Portal announcement.

Further Reading: What Half-Life 3 Would Have Been About

Rainbow Six - TBA

Rainbow Six may have become a series of best-selling and popular video games, thanks to UbiSoft, but its core still lies in a novel by the late Tom Clancy. The sizeable book focuses on the character of John Clark, who was introduced in Clancy’s Jack Ryan novels (and we saw played on screen by Willem Dafoe in Clear And Present Danger and Liev Schreiber in The Sum Of All Fears).

A movie adaptation of Rainbow Six is now in the works, and it’s being overseen by Akiva Goldsman. Josh Appelbaum and Andre Nemec have been hired to try and fit the book into a two hours-or-so movie, and Paramount – which is backing the project – would subsequently look for more John Clark movies.

Ryan Reynolds was approached to star as Clark in Rainbow Six, although there’s nothing formal that we know of yet. Nor is there word of a director.

We will, of course, keep you posted…

Raving Rabbids - TBA

Rayman spin-off Raving Rabbids has carved out quite a name for itself. So much so, in fact, that Ubisoft has teamed up with Sony to bring the troublemaking rabbits to the big screen.

This one will be a for a live-action/stop-motion animation hybrid. Robot Chicken writers Matthew Senreich, Tom Sheppard, and Zeb Wells are working on the script as we speak.

Further Reading: 50 Underrated DOS Games

Rent a Hero - TBA

Gamers and otaku rejoice: Japanese action RPG video game Rent A Hero is making a heroic leap from your computer screen to the big screen. 

Tokyo video game powerhouse Sega has already rented the superpowers of Tomoya Suzuki, president and CEO of its production arm Stories International. Stories International’s Even J. Cholfin will be executive producing with Suzuki and Hakuhodo DY Group co-producing, and will level up with filmmakers Steve Pink (Hot Tub Time Machine, High Fidelity, Grosse Pointe Blank) and Jeff Morris (The True Memoirs of an International Assassin) to upgrade the futuristic game to larger-than-life proportions.

While cast and release details didn't arrive with the superpowered suit, we now really, really wish the hero-for-rent service was a thing. 

Resident Evil Reboot - TBA

If you actually thought the last Resident Evil film was going to be the last Resident Evil film, then you may want to brace yourself. Yes, the Resident Evil film franchise is going to be rebooted. 

James Wan (Saw, The Conjuring 2) has signed on to produce the reboot and Greg Russo (Mortal Kombat) will be handling screenplay duties. According to this same report, this reboot will feature an entirely new cast. At present, Russo and Wan are only expected to helm the first of six planned new Resident Evil films. 

Further Reading: The George Romero Resident Evil Movie You Never Saw

Shinobi - TBA

Sega’s once-popular, currently dormant series Shinobi is another classic cartridge-centric video game franchise that will be getting the movie treatment. Marc Platt Productions, a company involved with hits like Wanted (and its planned sequel), Bridge of Spies, Drive, and the Legally Blonde films will reportedly develop a Shinobifilm adaptation in a co-production with Sega’s company Stories International Inc. According to Platt in a statement:

“We love the Shinobi games and believe that the world of ninjas has never been properly explored onscreen. We now have the opportunity to do just that. With Shinobi, we hope to make a film that honors the essence of the games and brings this fascinating world to life for moviegoing audiences."

It’s still too early know when Shinobi plans to sneak its way to theaters, but we will certainly keep you apprised of updates.

Sleeping Dogs - TBA

The chances of getting a sequel to the 2012 cult classic open-world crime game Sleeping Dogs just get slimmer with each passing year. While that realization is usually enough to send us running to the bottle...umm...of Yoo-hoo or something, the pain got a little more manageable today with the announcement that Donnie Yen is going to be starring in a film adaptation of Sleeping Dogs.

Producer Neal Moritz (of the Fast and the Furious franchise and 21 Jump Street fame) is putting together a film adaptation of Square Enix's beloved game. Donnie Yen, of course, is the movie martial arts master you will most recently remember from his work in Rogue One. 

Yen's cinematic martial arts skills are sure to come into play at some point in the Sleeping Dogs film. While there are no concrete details concerning the movie's plot, including whether or not it will be a strict adaptation or a spiritual follow-up, you can rest assured that the game will borrow certain elements from the games. That means plenty of Yakuza, lots of car chases, a few gunfights, and some martial arts sequences that further the - admittedly awesome - stereotype that Japan is really just a collection of martial arts fights that see lots of fruit stands get demolished. 

Original Film will be handling the distribution of Sleeping Dogs alongside DJ2 Entertainment. Joining Moritz on the production side of things is Dmitri Johnson, and Dan Jevons, while Toby Ascher and Stephan Bugaj will be handling executive production duties.

Unfortunately, Sleeping Dogs' developer, United Front Games, shut down in 2016, so it's not likely they'll have much creative input in the process. As to whether or not this adaptation will spur Square Enix to publish another Sleeping Dogs title, we can only hope that it will while we also hold on to some hope this movie does justice to the incredible game that inspired it.

Further Reading: 50 Underrated Sega Genesis Games

Splinter Cell - TBA

Ubisoft’s film studio is working with New Regency Productions on a film version of the black ops stealth game Splinter Cell, with Tom Hardy attached to portray the games series’ protagonist Sam Fisher. For a while, Doug Liman of Edge of Tomorrow and The Bourne Identity was attached to direct.

He departed the project in April 2015, though. Ubisoft is searching for a new director, while Frank John Hughes – of Dark Tourist and Leave – works on the script. Previous writers include X-Men: First Class’ Sheldon Turner.

Joseph Kahn – director of countless music videos, as well as that Power/Rangers fan film – has been linked to the director’s chair.

Further Reading: 25 Underrated NES Games

Spy Hunter - TBA

The classic '80s arcade game Spy Hunter has been in development as a movie since Universal bought the rights in 2003. At one stage, Dwayne Johnson was involved, but it’s unclear if he still is. Last we heard, Zombieland’s Ruben Flesicher was onboard to direct.

In November 2015, a pair of writers were hired to resurrect the project– Nelson Greaves and Sam Chalsen, both of whom are known for their work on the Sleepy Hollow TV series. It’s unclear if Fleischer remains involved.

Streets of Rage - TBA

Back in 2016, Stories International (Sega’s production arm) and studio Circle of Confusion announced that they will collaboratively adapt urban-set side-scrolling beat ‘em up series Streets of Rage.

Further Reading: 25 Underrated SNES Games

Super Mario Bros. - TBA

It's official! Nintendo and Universal Studios are working to create a Super Mario Bros. animated movie. Illumination Entertainment - the studio behind Minions and Shrek - will handle the actual production of the Super Mario Bros. animated movie. Shigeru Miyamoto and Chris Meledandri will produce.

We're willing to bet that this animated project will likely be much closer in spirit to the Super Mario Bros. games than the live-action movie was. Super Mario Odyssey has certainly proved that Mario can survive the transition into some pretty bizarre universes. While we can't quite fathom what the film's plot will be about, we're going to bet that this movie will at least be visually pleasing. 

There's still no solid release date available for the Super Mario Bros. animated movie, but the plan is to have it in theaters sometime in 2022. 

Tetris - TBA

The long-discussed prospects of a Tetris movie adaptation are close to becoming reality with a new international coalition of media moguls looking to co-produce the project. China-based producer Bruno Wu will join U.S.-based producer Lawrence Kasanoff (Mortal Kombat, True Lies), which will see Wu’s Seven Star Works and Kasanoff’s Threshold Entertainment Group operate under the joint name Threshold Global Studios. 

Tetris will be the kickoff project for this new venture with an $80 million production budget reportedly committed to line up four proverbial rows of blocks at the box-office.

Certainly, the idea of a U.S./China coalition throwing $80 million at a thus-far shapeless Tetris movie is something that we’ll look forward to updating in the coming months.

Further Reading: The Incredibly Weird Story Behind Tetris

Thief - TBA

Unsurprisingly, there's a Thiefmovie on the way. The pacing of the Thief games lends itself perfectly to a big screen adventure, after all. The series mixes stealth, combat, and treasure hunting in a world of magic and even horror. Zombies and other monsters are part of the fun of the first game. The 2014 Thief video game reboot was poorly received, though, so it might be a good idea to focus on one of the earlier games for the movie instead.

Adam Mason and Simon Boyes are penning a screenplay for the Thief movie that’s being put together by Straight Up Films. Roy Lee, Marisa Polvino, Kate Cohen and Adrian Askarieh, who produced the Hitman films, will produce this one. 

It’s very early stages, of course, so we don’t know yet of a director or a release date. Our ear will be to the ground.

Uncharted - TBA

It's been a while since anything of substance surfaced about the Uncharted movie. All we know for sure at the moment is that Tom Holland (Spider-Man: Homecoming) is set to star as Nathan Drake.

However, prolific producer Charles Roven (Justice League, Wonder Woman, The Dark Knight Trilogy), who is attached to the project, dropped some new details at a Producers Guild of America gathering at which he received a lifetime achievement award.

Roven explains the film's chronologically ambiguous connection to the video game mythology, stating:

“We’ve come up with a wonderful origin story but it’s still based on the Uncharted video game. It doesn’t take place during any of the time period of any of the Uncharted video games. It actually takes place when Nathan Drake (who’s the lead of that game) and Sully, I guess you’d call him his surrogate father, were much younger. It’s an origin story that evolves out of the game but is not from the game.”

In a more substantive addendum, Roven also reveals that the Uncharted movie script – last drafted by Joe Carnahan after tenures by David Guggenheim and Eric Warren Singer – has passed into the hands of yet another screenwriter in Rafe Judkins, who is primarily known for television work in episodes of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Hemlock Grove, Chuck, and My Own Worst Enemy.

Further Reading: 60 Underrated PlayStation Games

Werewolves Within - TBA

Ubisoft has announced a live-action adaptation of Werewolves Within, the 2016 VR game from Red Storm Entertainment. Mishna Wolff is set to pen the script. No release date has been set for the film. 

John Saavedra is Games Editor at Den of Geek. Read more of his work here. Follow him on Twitter @johnsjr9.

Matthew Byrd is a staff writer for Den of Geek. He spends most of his days trying to pitch deep-dive analytical pieces about Killer Klowns From Outer Space to an increasingly perturbed series of editors. You can read more of his work here or find him on Twitter at @SilverTuna014. 

The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman has stepped forward to rescue Telltale's The Walking Dead: The Final Season. The game's fourth season was set to bring a fitting conclusion to the company's epic tale of survival in a world ruled by the undead. But then mass layoffs at the company in September put the conclusion of Clementine's story in jeopardy. Telltale eventually had to place a hold on all ongoing projects and has formally shut down.

Now Kirkman's Skybound Entertainment will be taking ownership of The Walking Dead: The Final Season and ensuring that the project is completed. Skybound had just commenced work on the final episodes, according to a recent statement. Skybound had some more good news, too: "We’re excited to let you know that many of the talented, passionate team members who originally worked on the game are resuming development efforts today!"

The company also revealed that people who already purchased season 4 won't have to pay again for the new episodes now that they're coming from Skybound: "If you already purchased Season Four, you will NOT have to pay again; future episodes will be available to download as soon as they are released via your original point of purchase."

All good news. Now we're just left to wait to reunite with Clementine. Here's everything else we know about the game:

Telltale's The Walking Dead Season 4 Release Date

Telltale's The Walking Dead: The Final Season will return with episode 3, which is titled "Broken Toys," on Jan. 15.

The first two episodes are out now on XBO, PS4, and PC. The last episode is titled "Take Us Back."

Related Article: What Telltale's Stranger Things Game Would Have Looked Like

Telltale's The Walking Dead Season 4 Trailer

Here's the trailer for episode 3!

Telltale's The Walking Dead Season 4 Story

Here's the official synopsis from Telltale:

Clementine, now a fierce and capable survivor, has reached the final chapter in her journey. After years on the road facing threats both living and dead, a secluded school might finally be her chance for a home. But protecting it will mean sacrifice. Clem must build a life and become a leader while still watching over AJ, an orphaned boy and the closest thing to family she has left. In this gripping, emotional final season, you will define your relationships, fight the undead, and determine how Clementine's story ends.

John Saavedra is Games Editor at Den of Geek. Read more of his work here. Follow him on Twitter @johnsjr9. 

Matthew Byrd is a staff writer for Den of Geek. He spends most of his days trying to pitch deep-dive analytical pieces about Killer Klowns From Outer Space to an increasingly perturbed series of editors.

Duke Nukem is headed to the big screen. It’s taken a long time, but there seems to be solid progress on bringing the ultraviolent classic video game character to the big screen.

WWE franchise-face wrestler John Cena – whose stock as a movie star is rising, notably with his appearance in December’s Transformers spinoff, Bumblebee– was reportedly eyed back in January 2018 to star as the lewd, crude, flattop-rocking, heavily-armed exploder of things. While, nearly a year later, that rumor remains, we’ve heard next to nothing about the project ever since. However, as 2018 rounds the finish line, there finally appears to be some movement.   

In the latest Duke Nukem movie news, Variety is reporting that a new producer in Jean-Julien Baronnet has been tasked with adapting the video game franchise for the film. Baronnet comes into the project off his work as producer on another prominent video game movie, 2016’s Assassin’s Creed, which starred Michael Fassbender as the DNA-time-travelling acrobatic cutthroat. Barring work as exec producer on the 2012 live-action video game tie-in short, Ghost Recon: Alpha, Assassin’s Creed was Baronnet’s first feature experience, with his only other credit being an executive producing run on animated series Rabbids Invasion.

Baronnet, representing Marla Studios, joined by (IP owning company) Gearbox Software VP of business development Sean Harran, has reportedly been meeting with writers in recent weeks, which represents a major step forward in the process of getting the Duke Nukem movie off the ground. Their approach to the adaptation appears to evoke the creative – and financial – R-rated success achieved by Fox-Marvel’s meta-minded, mirthfully violent Deadpool movies. As Harran explains:

“He’s a parody of 1980s action heroes and he’s like Deadpool in terms of being able to break the fourth wall. We see a lot of humor in his confronting the values of today while trying to save the world.”

Baronnet chimes in with a PC-eschewing promise, stating:

“Duke is exactly the kind of very blunt character that we need in the world today.”

Despite it being on the radar for years, we’re still in the early stages of the project, with neither a writer nor a director in place yet. But the plan is to make this is a starring vehicle for rumored star Cena, presumably with a view toward a franchise. Interestingly, the prospective casting of Cena – who’s generally seen as a clean-cut WWE personality and the epitome of the wrestling corporation’s current era of PG content – might make one think that an R-rated movie is off the table. However, Cena is, for all intents and purposes, retired as a full-time performer, and his young fans have mostly grown up. Plus, he’s already appeared in some R-rated efforts, notably 2018 comedy Blockers, 2017 war drama The Wall and 2015 Amy Schumer comedy vehicle Trainwreck.

As of now, Gearbox is still working on the Duke Nukem movie project with Michael Bay’s Platinum Dunes (ensuring appropriate levels of onscreen testosterone), though it appears that Paramount Studios – previously involved – is no longer onboard.

The popular Duke Nukem video game franchise follows a titular protagonist who smokes, swears, kills, and saves the world. Duke debuted in the eponymous 1991 first game, a side-scrolling DOS offering developed by Apogee Software. Sequels would follow until the franchise added a new dimension with the multi-platform first-person shooter, Duke Nukem 3D, in 1996. The fourth game, Duke Nukem Forever, did, indeed, take pretty much forever to arrive, eventually landing in 2011. It did not land well, either.

The last we saw of Duke was as a pre-order bonus for the remastered version of Bulletstorm. Original voice actor Jon St. John even recorded a few new lines for the game. Gearbox Software, which owns the rights to Duke Nukem these days, had a plan to reboot the franchise back in 2011. Sadly, we've not heard anything more about what the developer was dubbing "Duke Nukem Begins."

More on the Duke Nukem movie as we learn it!

Joseph Baxter is a contributor for Den of Geek and Syfy Wire. You can find his work here. Follow him on Twitter @josbaxter.

This article contains more Ready Player One spoilers than a Nintendo Player’s Guide walkthrough.

Ready Player One is now out on Blu-ray and HBO, and fans are basking in all of its easter egg glory. While Steven Spielberg was able to infuse a creative spark into the film that allowed it to stand on more than only pure nostalgia, there is no denying that the immediate hook of Ernest Cline’s novel and the subsequent Spielberg blockbuster is its cornucopia of movie references, video game easter eggs, and pop culture homages to all things ‘80s (and in the film’s case, ‘90s too). The film might be set in 2045, but it’s good to know that the future is just as obsessed with Gen-X and Millennial culture as we are today!

In that vein, we here at Den of Geek will attempt the fool’s errand of compiling every single nod, shoutout, and joyful wink to nerd culture that has been stuffed into the very seams of this unapologetically geeky movie (*NOTE: Movie and not the book). Granted it will be almost impossible to get them all in the first pass, so if you notice that we missed anything, let us know in the comments section below, or yell at me on Twitter, and we’ll course correct.

 Without further ado, onto the reference guide! Also, just a head’s up, given the sprawling nature of the film, we are compiling the easter eggs by mediums, characters, and other arbitrary separations that will lead to some overlap, but will hopefully make this easier for you to digest (especially if you’re looking for something in particular). Now get out your chocolate bunnies, because we’re about to have an easter egg hunt!

Ready Player One Movie References

- In the opening montage of what you can do in the OASIS, the first actual homage appears to be Batman climbing Mount Everest. But not just any Batman… it’s Michael Keaton’s Batman from the Tim Burton classic of 1989! (For more superhero movie references after this point, please scroll down to the superhero movie reference's subsection. Your eyes will thank us later.)

- During the opening montage, among the avatars filling up the OASIS portal terminals Z traverses is the original RoboCop from 1987. You know back before the franchise's diminished returns.

- Also during this sequence, commenter David Thiel spotted the Cyclops from Ray Harryhausen's The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958).

- When we meet Aech on Planet Doom, he* is seen blasting Freedy Krueger into space buck coins. To be specific the Freddy Krueger first played by Robert Englund in A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), although fans' favorite variation on the big bad came in Part III: Dream Warriors.

*(We shall henceforth refer to Aech in the OASIS as “he,” and in the real world as “she,” as the character seems to want to be approached in both realities.)

- Also seen getting gutted on Planet Doom is a cameoing avatar as Jason Voorhees from the Friday the 13th movies.

- When James Halliday and Ogden Morrow are introduced via flashback in a press conference, the film’s soundtrack plays Tears for Fear’s “Everybody Wants to Rule the World,” which was memorably used in the TV movie Pirates of Silicon Valley (1999), which for Apple cultists and computer lore junkies is the preferred biopic on Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Bill Gates. This is unlikely to be a coincidence as a newspaper clipping in Wade’s van asks if Halliday is “Bigger Than Jobs?”

- More appropriately for the era this movie evokes, it was used prominently in 1985's Real Genius starring Val Kilmer.

- Not only is Halliday’s virtual vision of his funeral in a Star Trek themed church, but his coffin is actually the exact same one (complete with torpedo markings) that Spock is jettisoned into oblivion in from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982). Although personally, we were sad the film did not recreate the novel’s version of this scene, in which Halliday presides over his own funeral (both as corpse and parishioner) from a digital recreation of the set of Heathers (1988). A young Winona Ryder and Christian Slater were also in attendance.

- Halliday’s OASIS alter-ego Anorak looks vaguely wizard-y, like Merlin or Gandalf. However, the way the film animates his flowing black robes in the film seems intentionally evocative of how Don Bluth drew such robes on Nicodemus in The Secret of NIMH (1982). It should be noted Bluth and Spielberg later partnered for An American Tail (1986) and The Land Before Time (1988).

- Parzival’s vehicle of choice is obviously Marty McFly’s DeLorean from Back to the Future, albeit it has been retrofitted to include the red-light grill scanner from Knight Rider (1982). In the book, it also has the Ghostbusters (1984) symbol spray-painted on the door, but alas Sony must not have wanted to contribute. This is also the sole BTTF reference in this section (just so you know we aren't crazy!). For the rest, please scroll down to the Back to the Future subsection.

- Also spotted during this section is a jack-knifing truck, which eagle eyed Twitter user @Azrael2073 recognized as the one Kurt Russell drove in Big Trouble in Little China (1986). 

- As if you needed to be told, that is the queen Tyrannosaurus Rex from Spielberg’s very own Jurassic Park tearing up the track.

- King Kong is also doing massive damage to the track, but while we appreciate this Spielbergian addition to one of his heroes, Merian C. Cooper (the half-crazed adventurer who produced the 1933 masterpiece), the Kong design walks on his knuckles and most resembles Peter Jackson’s Kong from the 2005 remake. Spielberg teamed with Jackson for 2011’s The Adventures of Tintin.

- Also on the race track is a neon, digitized silver cup, which is a replica of the silvercup used at the end of the original Highlander film from 1986. This was brought to our attention by commenter Chris Procter. Also fun fact, in the book, Art3mis' favorite film is Highlander.

- Also during the race, we glean that the OASIS’ New York movie theater is screening Jack Slater III, which is the action movie franchise-within-an-action-movie found inside Arnold Schwarzenegger’s The Last Action Hero (1993). Think of it like a misunderstood The Purple Rose of Cairo for teen boys and meatheads alike.

- When we are introduced to Aech’s workshop, we are given a geeky overload of references. And the movie stuff, alone, includes the Iron Giant (obviously); the U.S.S. Sulaco drop ship from James Cameron's Aliens; the Eagle 5 space RV from Spaceballs (1987); an ED-209 from RoboCop; the 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off(1986); the Extravehicular Activity Pod from 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968); and the Valley Forge from Silent Running (1972).*

- Thanks to @Ritaseer for spotting this one.

- The XI suit commercials haunting Wade Watts in the Stacks feels like a subtler echo of the oppressive commercialization of Coke and Eastern marketing in Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner (1982).

- As Twitter user @@Aaaaarrrrrgggh helpfully reminded us, Wade living in a trailer park is likely inspired by the main character of The Last Starfighter also living in a trailer park at the beginning of that 1984 classic. This is unlikely to be a coincidence considering that Ernest Cline is a huge fan of the film, which served as a more direct inspiration to the premise of his second book, Armada.

- Not really a reference, but Ralph Ineson is his very own easter egg for anyone who saw 2016’s masterful The Witch. Seriously, Hollywood hire this man more, and if you’ve seen The Witch, see it again!

- In Halliday’s digital recreation of a memory about himself and Og, he leaves a massive hint about going “backward as fast as you can, really put the pedal to the medal like Bill and Ted.” This is obviously a most gnarly reference to the timey-wimey Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure(1989).

- Upon discovering the Copper Key, Anorak/Halliday refers to Z as “padawan.” This is a nod to how Jedi refer to apprentices in the Star Wars prequel trilogy. See George, at least Steven isn’t ignoring them!

- Shoto's car, which he totals on his way to getting the Copper Key, is Burt Reynolds' sweet ride from Smokey and the Bandit (1977). Thanks again to @Number_6 for spotting this one for us!

- The Holy Hand Grenade is first seeded for its amazing third act return when Z and Aech go shopping. This is obviously the weapon of choice for the most pious (and rabbit-infested) of knights from Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975).

- The first avatar to fawn over “rock star” Parzival is someone dressed as Michael Keaton’s Beetlejuice circa 1988. Check out the video game section to discover some of the others.

- Art3mis* became the geek crush of everyone (of every gender) when she terrifies Z by having a chestburster from Alien (1979) destroy her Goro suit. She also must be a fan of that franchise, given her weapon of choice that is revealed later…

*(From this point on we’ll mostly refer to “Art3mis” as “Artemis,” because that number is ridiculous. And to be fair, Arty agrees in the Ready Player One novel.)

- The love of Halliday and Og’s lives, Karen Underwood, goes by Kira when she meets Halliday. This is her homage to a character in The Dark Crystal (1982).

- Z refers to Kira as Halliday’s “rosebud.” This is a reference a little outside the wheelhouse of Ernest Cline’s bowling alley arcade novel, but right in keeping with Spielberg who is calling back to Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane (1941).

- When Nolan Sorrento first approaches I-R0k, he steps out of a crashed martian ship from the classic War of the Worlds circa 1953. Thanks be to commenter Jon Sleeper for being eagle-eyed, there.

- I-R0k's box in which he keeps the orb is the same box that Mogwai came to suburbia in during Gremlins (1984).

- Aech also has a poster from the original Mel Gibson-starring Mad Max (1979) in his garage as Z gets ready for his big date.

- Aech also has a sign that says “Cocktail & Dreams” in neon, just like the one in the horrible Tom Cruise movie, Cocktail (1988).

- Parzival's outfit of choice is that of Peter Weller's title character from The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension, a totally bonkers 1984 film that also starred Jeff Goldblum, Ellen Barkin, John Lithgow, and Christopher Lloyd. If you haven't seen it, do so. Depending on who you ask, it's part of a shared universe with John Carpenter's Big Trouble in Little China.

*Also a fun fact our contributor Delia Harrington pointed out is that Ernest Cline's first spec script (before he went on to write Fanboys) was an intended sequel to Buckaroo Banzai. It was read by Harry Knowles who helped champion Cline as a writer. (Knowles also is credited as someone who helped read early drafts of the novel Ready Player One in the book.)

- During Z and Arty’s sweet (and visually stunning) dance, Wade goes the full movie geek and selects the song “Stayin’ Alive” from Saturday Night Fever (1977). And he completes the beautiful lameness of it with the rainbow disco dance floor that John Travolta once huffed across.

- Once IOI crashes the party, Arty reveals her weapon of choice that she uses throughout the film, an M41A Pulse Rifle that Sigourney Weaver made so badass in James Cameron’s Aliens (1986).

- Nolan Sorrento’s first pot-sweetener to bring Wade Watts to IOI is the promise he’d get to fly Han Solo’s Millennium Falcon.

- Nolan next pledges to turn all the schools on Ludus (the OASIS’ educational planet that plays a major role in the book) into replicas of the high schools from John Hughes’ The Breakfast Club (1985) and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. However, Z tries to slip Nolan up by naming the high school from Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982) and the college in Animal House (1978).

- When looking at the films James Halliday might’ve put on to “seduce” Kira, wrong choices include The Fly(1986) and Say Anything (1989). So presumably these were VHS tapes in the ‘90s given the differing years?

- The right choice is of course, amazingly, Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining (1980). See Ready Player One and The Shining subsection below for a complete deconstruction of this sequence in the film.

- Also among the movie posters of other films Halliday watched that week is Firestarter (1984), which starred Spielberg darling Drew Barrymore. It also must've meant Halliday was on a Stephen King kick that week. Thanks to @thegeekflux for spotting this one!

- The Overlook Theater inside the OASIS also has a Return of the Jedi (1983) poster, so it’s not all Kubrickian down there…

- The magic spell cast on the orb controlled by Sorrento and I-R0k is actually the exact same spell Merlin used to transform Uther into the visage of his enemy in John Boorman's Excalibur (1981). It was called "Charm of Making" in that movie, and it allowed Uther to take his foe's wife and in the process father the child who would become King Arthur. Given that Z's name is a giant love letter to that film (chech out the Parzival section for more), that makes this extra cool. Also, thanks to commenters Wil Dalphin and Tom Stephens for bringing this to our attention.

- During the final third of the film, we discover the fate of the OASIS depends on your dexterity with an Atari 2600. If you pick the wrong game, into the ice you go, which feels like it could be a nod to the “banishment” seen in The Dark Knight Rises (2012), as Spielberg is a vocal admirer of Christopher Nolan and those Batman movies. In that vein…

- While IOI fools are taking repeated chilly splashes, Parzival and Daito hold Nolan hostage in a simulation-within-a-simulation. And Daito’s all-black suit and silencer-adorned gun seems intentionally reminiscent of the dream-within-a-dream iconography of Christopher Nolan’s Inception (2010).

- Similarly, when Wade leaves Sorrento’s faux-office, he rips off his face to reveal he’s really Parzival in a visual intentionally evocative of Mission: Impossible (1996) and its many sequels.

- Faux-Daito also seems to give a clue he is not really, well real, given a glowing amber sheen in his eyes, which seems like a sly nod to the telltale sign of replicants in the original Blade Runner.

- Upon the entire OASIS turning on Sorrento, the scene-stealing I-R0k quotes It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) at the exact wrong time to someone who is clearly a Mr. Potter type: “No man is a failure who has friends.”

- When Z leads his avatars into actual battle, he goes the full John Cusack and holds a boombox above his head, although with a much more metal song than the sweetly annoying "In Your Eyes" that Cusack plays to win his ex back at the end of Say Anything. (The movie that Halliday maybe also should have put on for Kira, instead of The Shining.)

- During the third act uber-video game battle the entire movie is stolen by “IT’S FUCKING CHUCKY!” And if you need me to explain that evil, ginger-haired bastard doll is from Child’s Play (1988), like what are you even doing here?

- Movie shoutouts during that battle include the return of Arty’s pulse rifle; Aech going the full Iron Giant (who has a much bigger role in the movie than the book); the Caterpillar P-5000 Work Loader from Aliens; some ED-209s; and the movie designs from the recent Michael Bay-produced Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. (Alas 1990’s TMNT live-action designs would have been way cooler and more fitting). We’ve also heard Spielberg lament a Gremlin got into a frame courtesy of ILM, so we imagine they’re in here somewhere. Check out the Games and Misc. section for more cameos.

- Someone also at the end here is rocking a Glaive from Krull (1983), a five-sided star that also acts like a boomarang upon occasion.

- Nolan Sorrento pulls the ultimate dick move and turns into Mechagodzilla from Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974). Even cooler, it features Akira Ifukube’s “Godzilla March” theme from Godzilla (1954).

- Daito answers by going Gundam in return (see Misc. for more), but his arrival is heralded by the amazing cameo of Mal Reynolds’ Serenity, a Firefly-class vessel from Joss Whedon’s all-too brief Firefly (2002) TV series and later 2005 film, Serenity.

- When Iron Giant goes down, he dies like a champ, a la Arnie’s T-800 in Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991).

- Monty Python’s Holy Hand Grenade does its God-given duty!

- Halliday’s contractual fake-out with Parzival feels, unintentionally or not, like Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), Spielberg’s third Indy adventure where you had to choose wisely between real grails and fake ones.

- The treasure and faux-egg atop its pedestal in this fakeout room is also reminiscent of the treasure trove in the Cave of Wonders in Aladdin (1992), complete with a ruby-shaped egg that beckons the monkey Abu to his almost-doom. But as Disney didn’t seem to play ball with WB on this, it is vague.

further reading: How the Ready Player One Ending Improves on the Book

- Among baby Halliday’s decorations are statues of Godzilla and Robby the Robot, the latter being from the influential Forbidden Planet (1956), which is a film that had a profound effect on Spielberg.

- Speaking of Spielberg, he slyly allowed his production team to put a Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) poster on young Halliday's wall.

- Robby the Robot shows up again as a life-sized statue in Wade and Samantha's flat at the end of the movie.

- I believe young Halliday’s computer is an IMSAI 8080, which is the computer Matthew Broderick and Ally Sheedy use to almost start a thermonuclear war in the underrated WarGames (1983), a movie which played a much larger role in the book.

Ready Player One and The Shining References

Yes, this gets its own subsection. And if you want more detail about the importance of The Shining and Kubrick to Spielberg (as well as why King hates the movie), you can click over here to read it for yourself.

-Before they even enter the Overlook Hotel, our dear High Five is made to dread the horrors to come thanks to Wendy Carlos and Rachel Elkind’s unforgettably eerie score.

- Spielberg meticulously recreates the set of the Overlook Hotel’s grand lobby, complete with a typewriter that repeats verbatim, “All Work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” However, it takes on the shape of a key, a Jade Key to be specific, as opposed to the odd shapes in the film.

- Aech is lured to his seeming doom by a bouncing ball, which belongs to the Grady twins, ghostly girls that beckon foolish children to come play with them.

- This also leads Aech to almost be enveloped in the river of blood that pours from the elevator, as Shelly Duvall also discovered the hard way in The Shining’s climax.

- The portrait that Aech tears of the Overlook Hotel with Halliday and Kira at the center is the ghostly photo that is the final shot of The Shining, which despite its inexplicable then-modern setting of 1980, it still features Jack Nicholson’s protagonist partying with the dead in 1921 (where Halliday and Kira are standing).

- Room 237 features a ghost that attacked young Danny Torrance, and like with Aech, it also seduces his father as a comely young woman before turning into a haggard old woman (although she does not try to kill him with an axe). Also credit for the film noting that Aech likes women, as most mass-marketed blockbusters shy away from LGBTQ characters.

- Aech is attacked by an axe to the door, but before he gets a “Here’s Johnny” (or Jack Nicholson), he is then dropped inside the snowy maze that Jack Torrance dies chasing Danny in. He escapes through the freezer that is also where Danny and Wendy tie up a deranged Jack earlier in the film.

- When Aech comes out of the freezer, you can also see Danny’s iconic tricycle in the background.

Ready Player One and Back to the Future References

As previously mentioned, there is so much love for this Robert Zemeckis film, which was executive produced by Steven Spielberg, that we felt it worthy of its own subsection.

- Again Parzival's vehicle of choice is the DeLorean from Back to the Future with a KITT upgrade. It also comes complete with a non-functioning flux capacitor.

- As Parzival and Aech are discussing Halliday, I believe I spotted an avatar dressed as futuristic Doc Brown from the final scene of Back to the Future (1985).

- Before Wade Watts first enters the OASIS onscreen, we witness some questionable product placement of a drone delivering Pizza Hut to a Stacks neighbor. As shameless as this is, we also suspect it could be a sly nod to similar sci-fi commercialism in Back to the Future Part II (1989), in which Marty McFly’s family in the far-flung future of 2015 dines on small packets of grow-able Pizza Hut pies.

- Before Artemis signs out of Aech's garage during her first meeting with Z, she calls our hero “McFly” in reference to his sweet, timey-wimey ride. It's an adorable sign of affection and deserved condescension all at once.

- In the same shopping scene, the “Zemeckis Cube” captures Parzival’s eye, which is a nod to Spielberg’s buddy, Robert Zemeckis, the director of Back to the Future (Spielberg produced it). Combined with the Rubik’s Cube this artifact has an awesome feature Doc Brown would approve of.

- When Parzival uses the Zemeckis Cube to reverse OASIS time by 60 seconds, composer Alan Silvestri is able to break out some of his timeless Back to the Future theme.

- When Z puts down the pen, Halliday takes him to his past in a recreation of his childhood bedroom, which is given a musical stinger by Silvestri, who uses his synthesizer echo from Back to the Future.

- When Samantha interupts her near-kiss with Wade to shout, "Oh shit!," as well as when F-Nara punches Nolan in the face, Silvesteri uses the same musical stinger to denote a moment of shock or bewilderment that he uses in all the Back to the Future films.

- As Parzival is getting ready for his date with Artemis, he’s chilling in Aech’s digital den, which comes with an awesome poster of “Re-elect Mayor ‘Goldie’ Wilson” from Back to the Future. Hell yeah, we smiled at this one!

Ready Player One Video Game References

Still with us? Good. Because we’re just getting to the meat and potatoes of a movie about a giant interactive video game world…

- The first branded IP we see in the film, beyond Pizza Hut, we believe is an entire OASIS world dedicated to recreating Minecraft the game that has taken Generation Z by storm.

- Among the characters on Planet Doom seen during Aech's introduction is someone in a skin of James Raynor, a character from the Starcraft games. Thank you to @JoelStrout for pointing this out to us.

- On the racetrack for the first key, the Street Fighter character Ryu makes the first of several cameos.

- When Artemis quizzes Z about what Halliday’s favorite shooter was, he is quick to name-check GoldenEye, the 1997 Nintendo 64 video game that is the staple of many a Millennial’s childhood. Also special points to both avatars for knowing his favorite multiplayer character was Oddjob while playing in “Slaps Only” mode (no weapons).

- Parzival also reveals that Halliday’s favorite racing game was Turbo, a 1981 arcade entry by Sega.

- Also in Aech's garage, via @thegeekflux, is the cocktail cabinet version of Pac-Man.

- Rick (douchey boyfriend of the aunt played by Ralph Ineson) has modeled his avatar after Jim Raynor from StarCraft (1998), as per Twitter user @FeanorToro.

- In the first digital flashback to Halliday and Og, Halliday is wearing his patented Space Invaders t-shirt, a nod to the legendary 1978 arcade game.

- Halliday also tells Og in this scene that one thing that is perfect is Asteroids, a 1981 arcade game.

- There is a poster of arcade game Galaga (1979) in Halliday and Og’s breakroom.

- Among the “accessories” at the OASIS shop that Z and Aech peruse is a Street Fighter store where Ryu turns up again.

- There is also a Halo add-on that lets you become Master Chief from the classic 2001 video game.

- After the “Beetlejuice” avatar spots Parzival in his rock star moment, Jill Valentine in her ridiculous tube top outfit from 1999’s Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (perfect for fighting virus-carrying zombies) shows up to also gawk.

- As Arty and Z are meeting at the archives, the original video game Lara Croft of Tomb Raider glory walks by, as per Paulo Bastos.

- Luckily, Z is saved by Arty, albeit in that exact moment she appears to be Goro, the four-armed warrior from Mortal Kombat (1992). And Goro seems to be having a case of indigestion.

- Among Z's costume changes before his big date with Artemis, there is a sbutle nod to Donkey Kong as the punk outfit he tries on has a "DK" logo on the back.

- When Nolan is trying to seduce Wade, among other things he claims he likes to play Robotron, a multidirectional-shooter for Atari 2600 from 1982.

- Among the Atari 2600 games name-dropped by IOI as incompatible with Halliday’s final challenge are Centipede, Pitfall, and “all three” Swordquests. Other key ones include Berzerk, notable for its innovative maze design and the home of gaming's most notorious sentient smiley face, Evil Otto, and Defender, which had one of the coolest spaceship designs in early gaming.

- In real-life, Daito’s OASIS rig comes with a Mortal Kombat pin.

- Among the cameoing avatars in the final battle, we also spotted iconic game characters like Big Daddy from BioShock (2007), Chun-Li from Street Fighter II(1991), characters from the new popular next-gen first-person shooter, Overwatch (2016), and a squadron of Halo ass-kickers.

- Also commenter Niko Sama picked up Chocobo from Final Fantasy II (1991) and StarCraft marines from StarCraft (1998).

- At one point it looks like not the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but the Battletoads are leading a charge. Battletoads sure may seem like a TMNT ripoff, but they were mainly known as the protagonists of an extraordinarily difficult 1991 NES game. We wrote more about them here.

- Also among all this craziness, Twitter user @therealmcKay22 noticed that Artemis uses a lancer from Gears of War (2006).

- Similarly, @HikariDesTIny spotted Battleborn from 2K games in this battle royale.

- Similarly, @misterredpants spotted that Parzival used the rail gun from Quake (1996) in this scene. 

- During Parzival and Nolan Sorrento’s epic throwdown, Z totally drops a “hadouken” on him. Ryu would be proud.

- Before Sorrento blasts I-R0k’s ten years of upgrades to hell, he calls using the cataclyst “a camper move.” Which in gamer terminology is akin to saying, “bad sport,” since it refers to newbies who play online shooters and just camp out in a hard-to-reach spot near respawning ammo or weapons.

- During the final chase, Aech jokes she is “practicing my Mario Kart” when IOI scum begin trying to run her van off the road. This is a reference, to well, the true greatest racer franchise of all-time, no?

- As the movie highlights to a sentimental degree, the first video game easter egg was in Adventure (1979), an Atari 2600 entry designed by Warren Robinett, who included a literal egg far away from the game’s central quest. If you discovered it though, you’d be greeted by Warren Robinett’s actual name, (which the Atari publisher refused to credit in the game at the time).

- Young James Halliday appears to be playing a Colecovision system in his room. Anyone know what game he's playing, though? Well according to commenter Paul Imboden, we now know it is a game called Gorf (1981).

- Inside Halliday's bedroom is also an old school poster for the original Pac-Man game.

- Halliday’s final words to Wade of “thank you for playing my game” are a valued tradition among game-makers. It was most popularized by Super Mario 64 (1996) when Mario himself says, “Thank you a-so much for playing my game” at the end of the closing credits. Too bad Halliday didn’t offer Z some cake!

- In the final scene with a rich and happy Wade and Samantha, you can see a Revenge from Mars (1999) pinball game behind them. Why they would include Revenge from Mars and not its infinitely superior 1995 predecessor, Attack From Mars, will have to remain a mystery.

Ready Player One Superhero and Comic Book References

- As aforementioned the first avatar we see as a pre-existing IP is Batman… Michael Keaton’s Batman from 1989 to be specific.

- That is also Adam West’s classic Lincoln Futura (1955) as the Batmobile convertible during the film’s opening race. He drove it in the late 1960s camp classic TV series and 1966's Batman: The Movie.

- Twitter user @Number_6 has pointed out that Artemis' bike has the logo for The Greatest American Hero, a short-lived superhero television series, which ran on ABC from 1981 to 1983.

- When Artemis and Parzival are testing each other on geeky Halliday trivia knowledge, Z drops that the late Halliday’s favorite quote was from Superman: The Movie (1978). And to be fair, it is an amazing nugget of comic wisdom, compliments of Gene Hackman’s Lex Luthor: “Some people can read War and Peace and come away thinking it’s a simple adventure story; others can read the ingredients on a chewing gum wrapper and unlock the secrets of the universe.”

- Wade Watts reveals his father gave him an alliterative name to mimic superheroes like Peter Parker (Spider-Man) and Bruce Banner (the Hulk). Fun fact: actor Tye Sheridan also plays Scott Summers, aka the mutant superhero Cyclops, in the current X-Men movies.

- When Arty gives Z Clark Kent glasses, they’re not just any generic Superman reference, but one specifically taken from Christopher Reeve’s frames in Superman: The Movie. As are the questionable plaid, ‘70s suit clothes options she offers for him to peruse, and that particular slicked down hairstyle.

- At the Distracted Globe dance party, a couple’s avatars are cloyingly modeled after the Joker and Harley Quinn.

- In the real world, 11-year-old Shoto is sporting a varsity jacket that looks a lot like the ones found in Smallville in Superman III(1983).

- Somewhere in the Stacks, there is a tagger who is a big fan of Teen Titans since one of the urban artworks is of the DC character Raven.

- During Parzial's call to action, we totally see the back profiles of avatars dressed as Catwoman and a capeless Batman. However, @dickson_edwards suggests the capeless Batman is in fact the Arkham Knight from the PS4/Xbox One video game, Batman: Arkham Knight. We aren't sure, but it seems very plausible.

- During the epic final act throwdown, Spawn is definitely present for the fireworks.

- Someone came ready for the war by dressing as Batgirl too, albeit we only see her briefly before the flash of the cataclyst incinerates everyone in sight.

-The IOI researcher offices include back issues of DC Comics Presents.

Ready Player One Misc. References

- The film defiantly begins to the sounds of Van Halen's “Jump” before the cold open even fades onto an image.

- At the beginning of the film, near the time we see RoboCop, another avatar runs by dressed as Marvin the Martian from Looney Tunes.

- Also in this sequence is an avatar dressed as Hello Kitty! (Thanks to commenter Erin Grady Brown for pointing this one out!)

- Aech is introduced getting points by being a badass on Planet Doom, which is a reference to a dead rock in the Drule Empire on the Voltron cartoon series (1984-1985).

- It feels like much of James Halliday is also somewhat based on Dana Carvey's Garth from iconic early '90s SNL sketch and unlikely blockbuster, Wayne's World. You know, by way of Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak (with a sprinkling of Willy Wonka).

further reading: Ready Player One - Complete Soundtrack

- Halliday is often seen wearing a Simon pin. Simon was a Milton Bradley electronic memory game, a multi-colored, lights-and-sounds "Simon says" that was a surprising amount of fun, and as much an icon of the 1980s as the Rubik's Cube.

- The blue Bigfoot truck that Aech drives is the original monster truck, and one that was replicated on countless pieces of 1980s merchandise at the height of that bizarre craze.

- Among the race cars is again the Mach Five from the Japanese anime Speed Racer (1966-1968).

- Parzival’s DeLorean has KITT’s red-eyed grill scanner from the David Hasselhoff cheese-classic, Knight Rider(1982-1986).

- Commenters Erin Grady Brown also caught Stephen King's Christine in this scene. Also Erin and Twitter user @Number_6 caught the van from The A-Team is also in this scene. 

- And of course Artemis' bike is the one from Akira (1988), a reference we should have remembered but forgot about until commenter Liam Crewe helpfully reminded us.

- In the lead-up to the race Joan Jett's “I Hate Myself for Loving You” rocks on.

- While listing a few of James Halliday's favorite things, Z reveals his favorite snack food is Hot Pockets, and his favorite restaurant is Chuck E. Cheese. Which considering he was a grown man is... interesting.

- Also here is a bonus about Chuck E. Cheese, compliments of @HBEaker. The restaurant franchise was founded by Nolan Bushnell in 1977 after he co-founded Atari in 1972.

- When Z and Arty are testing each other on geeky Halliday knowledge, Parzival says Halliday's favorite song was the Buggles' “Video Killed the Radio Star” (there's no accounting for taste, eh?) and his favorite music video was aha's “Take On Me.” And in the latter's case, he has a point...

- Aech’s garage includes laser guns and spaceships from Battlestar: Galactica (1978-1979). There is more of that in Aech’s own subsection.

- It appears that all of the Doritos bags in the movie use the vintage 1980s logo and bag design.

- Also a really nice touch is the casting of Hannah John-Kamen as F'Nale in the film. Introduced early as the IOI executive in charge of the "loyalty centers," F'Nale's job is to round up poor souls and welcome them into glorified slavery as corporations' new take on indentured servitude, which honestly doesn't feel that far off from our world. While that is grim, John-Kamen's casting feels like a subtle nod to Black Mirror, in which she appeared in the second episode ever in "Fifteen Million Merits." That is the episode where a future dystopia keeps people trapped as glorified slaves in little glass and plastic cubes while they watch reality television. Sound familiar?

- I-R0k attempts to “compliment” Nolan Sorrento by saying “you never lick;” he just bites down to the center of a Tootsie Pop. Like that commercial. You know THAT commercial…

- As Aech taunts Z for daydreaming about Arty, the Temptation's “Just My Imagination” softly plays in the background. 

- I-R0k is introduced doing a “Poor Yorick” routine with a Steam Punk Pirate’s skull, which is a slightly more high-brow reference to Act V of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet.

- Speaking of Hamlet, the nightclub that Arty invites Z to is called “the Distracted Globe,” a subtler nod to the first act of the Bard’s masterwork. This is the term the eponymous Danish prince uses to sneer at his court and surroundings, implying they are distracted with crass entertainment while matters of importance, like justice for his father’s murdered ghost, go ignored.

- While getting ready to party at the Distracted Globe, Parzival tries on a series of costumes that he and Aech rightly reject, like Michael Jackson’s red “Thriller” outfit, Prince's "Purple Rain" get-up*, a generic-looking punk Mohawk, and a white Duran Duran get-up that someone else will have to precisely identify.

* Thanks to commenter Janne Nyyssonen for pointing out this one!

- As Z enters the Distracted Globe New Order's “Blue Monday” adds some disaffected style. Later, when we meet Arty in the real world, she's wearing a Joy Division shirt. Joy Division is the band that eventually morphed into New Order.

- At the Distracted Globe, all the robotic bartenders are wearing the ridiculous hats from Devo's awful "Whip It" music video.

- Nolan’s deal with the Devil offer includes the claim he enjoys drinking Tab. Just right there, Z should’ve known Nolan wasn’t on the level, because Tab is disgusting.

- When Aech has his/her fancy tickled by a ghostly girl, she asks “am I being punked?” This reference the awful Ashton Kutcher/MTV series, Punk’d (2003-2007).

- Among IOI’s research materials is a copy of the book Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (1978).

- Nolan Sorrento’s private rig includes the complete Nancy Drew mystery book series. Don’t judge.

- Inside Sorrento and I-R0k's orb of power is a D-20 dice. Dungeons & Dragons fans know what's up with that, including our dear commenter Tom Stephens who brought it to our attention.

- During Parzival's big speech across the OASIS, his drone-camera is what appears to be a literally magical Magic 8-Ball. You know those silly toys that "could tell the future" and kids used to love before smartphones?

- Z's final call to arms is Twisted Sister's “We're Not Gonna Take It.” Hell yeah!

- During the final battle, commenter Erin Grady Brown helpfully spotted He-Man! Now the struggle on Planet Doom can truly be legendary!

- To battle Mechagodzilla, Daito assumes the mobile suited body of an RX-78-2 Gundam from the iconic Japanese anime Mobile Suit Gundam (1979). However, I personally would have recommended he’d selected Heero Yuy’s Wing Zero from Gundam Wing (1996) if he wanted to truly wreck Mechagodzilla.

- When Artemis puts down Nolan Sorrento (for a minute) and Mechagodzilla (for the count), she does so with a Madball. These were briefly popular grossout toys for young boys in the mid-'80s, which like all fads of that decade spawned a video game and shortly lived Saturday morning cartoon series. I believe the Madball used was "Dust Brain," but please correct me if I'm wrong.

- Both Aech in real-life and a poster in Halliday’s digital childhood bedroom includes Rush’s 2112 album cover. 2112 side one is a bizarre, futuristic/dystopian sci-fi rock epic. You can see why these characters are fans.

- Clearly visible in young James' room is a vintage Dungeons & Dragons poster. That, along with the Rush 2112 poster, were standard issue for edgy '80s nerds.

- Also visible on the back wall of Halliday's bedroom is the album cover of Devo's Freedom of Choice. Thanks be to Peter J. Daley Jr. for bringing that to our attention!

- We hear of "the gold mines of Gygax." Gary Gygax was the inventor of Dungeons & Dragons.

- At one point, Ghost Halliday also briefly holds a toy (don't ask us the year or model) of the Robot from Lost in Space (1965-1968). He was kind of like Robby's knockoff, but much more cuddily, cousin. (Thanks to commenter Eric Sharpe for reminding us of this!)

- There's a killer Masters of the Universe tin lunchbox in Wade's hideout, too.

- Also Twitter user @Yeedi_Dinsuar makes an interesting point that Halliday's egg is a nod to the golden seed (or egg) in the anime Sword Art Online. While I'm not sure myself, judge for yourself by looking at the egg here.

- Also during the very end, commenter Erin Grady Brown spotted the Star Trek weapon Bat'leth near the aforementioned Robby the Robot in Wade and Samantha's nerd nirvana home.

- While we're on the subject of toys, Aech keeps lots of them in his lair. There are models of the original Battlestar Galactica, the Nostromo from Alien, Cygnus (from Disney’s The Black Hole) and they mention (but we do not see) the Harkonnen Drop Ship a toy that was advertised by LJN as part of their bizarre Dune line, but which never actually came out.

Art3mis References

We also thought it might be worthy deconstructing each character and what they bring to the table, in case the above references can seem dizzying or daunting.

- Again, “Art3mis” should be called “Artemis” because, at least per the book where Samantha only conceded putting the numeral “3” in her avatar's name, because “Artemis” was already taken when she created her avatar.

- Artemis as a name is in reference to Greek mythology where Artemis is Goddess of the Hunt. Further, fans of Wonder Woman might like to know that Artemis was conflated with “Diana” as one goddess in Roman mythology.

- Arty’s weapon of choice throughout the film is an M41A Pulse Rifle from James Cameron’s Aliens (1986).

- In the real world, Samantha’s visor has a Batman sticker on it.

- There's some graffiti in Samantha's HQ that looks like a nod to seminal 1980s graffiti artist, Keith Haring.

Parzival References

- A perfectly good place is to start with Parzival himself. As we’ll detail more later, his name is obviously a play on Percival, the member of King Arthur’s round tabled knights who, according to some versions of the myth, is the one who found the Holy Grail. However, this version is most popularized in nerd culture by John Boorman’s 1981, heavy metal cult classic, Excalibur. Which for the record has a design for its titular sword that looks identical to the blade embroidered into the back of Z’s clothes in the OASIS.

-His empty gun holster also looks suspiciously like what Han Solo wore in the original Star Wars trilogy.

- Z’s entire aesthetic is typical mid-‘80s, heavy metal fan.

- There is a Thundercats symbol on Z’s belt buckle, while his gun holster/belt combo are reminiscent of Han Solo.

- Parzival's final visor at the end has a sticker for The Greatest American Hero TV show. But we're not sure if this is really Z's style or Aech, since it is her van... (Thanks to Twitter user @Number_6 for finding this!)

Aech References

- In the real world, she’s Helen, but she prefers to be just a “he” and Aech while logged into the OASIS.

- In the real-world, Aech has a lot of different vintage pins on her jacket. We could not catch them all, but among the ones we spotted were a classic Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) pin and a vintage '70s Wonder Woman badge of honor. Also thanks to commenter Peter J. Daley Jr., we also now know that one more of the pins for the band Dead Kennedys.

- Aech totally also has a Batman poster in the back of her truck.

- Also thanks to commenter Erin Grady Brown, we also know the graffiti on the back of Aech's truck is actually from the Dungeons & Dragons module, "Tomb of Horrors," which was a pivotal plot point in the book.

further reading: Ready Player One - The Virtues and Flaws of What Aech Represents

- And now, all in one place, everything we spotted in Aech’s garage and den:

The Iron Giant; laser blaster from the original Battlestar: Galactica; the U.S.S. Sulaco drop ship from Aliens*; the Eagle 5 space RV from Spaceballs; the Colonial Viper spaceship from Battlestar: Galactica; an ED-209 from RoboCop; the 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off; the Extravehicular Activity Pod from 2001: A Space Odyssey; the Valley Forge from Silent Running; an exo-skeleton robot from the animated series Exosquad; a Thunderfighter from the TV series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century; and a Swordfish II spaceship from the anime Cowboy Beebop (1998-1999); the Cocktails & Dreams sign from Cocktail; a Mad Max poster; and an awesome “Re-Elect Mayor ‘Goldie’ Wilson” poster from Back to the Future.

- Also some more we missed, but commenter Erin Grady Brown picked up: Pee-wee Herman's bike from Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985); the TARDIS from Doctor Who; a stuffed Kermit the Frog; and a political poster for Wil Wheaton.

*Thank you to commenter Raul Martinez-Orozco for pointing this out.

Numb from your sugar overload yet? Yeah, we didn’t think so. Let us know what we missed or chew me out on Twitter here.

Panzer Dragoon 1&2 are getting some surprising - but welcome - remakes. 

Forever Entertainment (a publisher largely known for mobile titles) has announced a partnership with Sega that will allow them to remake the first two Panzer Dragoongames. Both games (Panzer Dragoon: Remake and Panzer Dragoon II Zwei: Remake) will feature "completely new graphics compatible with today’s standards and several modifications of the game, making it more attractive to modern players, while remaining faithful to the original in terms of story."

That statement confirms that these games will be remakes in the true sense of the modern usage of the word. That means that the original Panzer DragoonSega Saturn games will be redesigned from the ground up in an attempt to ensure that they meet the technical (and perhaps gameplay) standards of modern titles. While Forever Entertainment doesn't expand on their plans regarding modifications to the base game (beyond the brief statement mentioned above), it certainly sounds like they're interested in bringing these gems into the modern age. 

So far as that goes, the original Panzer Dragoon games do offer some advantages. As largely on-rail shooters, the original Panzer Dragoon games were more of a technical showcase than revolutionary gameplay experiences. Ideally, that means that they should be able to largely focus on improving the visuals of the original games without having to focus too much on bringing their gameplay into the modern age. That isn't to say that the original titles aren't in need of some gameplay touch-ups, but they probably don't require a complete overhaul. 

To be honest, that's a good thing when you consider that Forever Entertainment doesn't seem to be too experienced with projects of this (theoretical) size and hype. The fact Sega chose to partner with them over what we assume would be a large number of studios that would like to tackle these games does offer comfort, but we'll have to see whether or not these remakes recapture the magic of the originals. 

There's no word yet on a release date for these games or which platforms they will be released on. 

Matthew Byrd is a staff writer for Den of Geek. He spends most of his days trying to pitch deep-dive analytical pieces about Killer Klowns From Outer Space to an increasingly perturbed series of editors. You can read more of his work here or find him on Twitter at @SilverTuna014. 

John Romero, one of the original designers and creators of Doom, has revealed a new project called Sigil that he describes as a kind of spiritual successor to the revolutionary 1993 FPS title. 

There aren't many details available regarding the specifics of this successor at this time, but we do know a few things about it that already have us intrigued. First off, it sounds like this game will serve as an unofficial follow-up to Ultimate Doom's fourth episode. As some of you may remember, Ultimate Doom is the 1995 follow-up to Doom that was created by John Carmack, John Romero, and some developers from the Doom fan community. It was intended to serve as a find of "definitive" version of the original title. 

What's particularly interesting about Sigil's apparent status as a spiritual successor to the fourth episode of Ultimate Doom is that the fourth episode of Ultimate Doom is itself something of a prequel to Doom II. It's not clear at this time whether or not Sigil will introduce new (at least unofficial) plot points to the Doom series or whether this project will simply tread some slightly familiar ground. 

What is clear is that Sigil will feature nine new single-player levels as well as nine deathmatch levels. While all of this content will be free when Sigil launches during February 2019, you will need a copy of the original version of Ultimate Doom in order to play it. 

Romero himself took to Twitch recently to show-off some early Sigil gameplay. While the demo was fairly brief, it did showcase what certainly appeared to be some incredibly familiar Doom-like gameplay. It seems easy enough to say that if you've been craving some old-school Doom action, then Sigilshould be a fairly easy recommendation. 

Of course, those of you who prefer the re-imagined gameplay of the 2016 Doom remake always have Doom Eternal to look forward to. While there is no confirmed release date for Eternal, it should also be available sometime during 2019. 

Matthew Byrd is a staff writer for Den of Geek. He spends most of his days trying to pitch deep-dive analytical pieces about Killer Klowns From Outer Space to an increasingly perturbed series of editors. You can read more of his work here or find him on Twitter at @SilverTuna014. 

Release Date: November 14, 2018
Platform: PC (reviewed), Switch
Developer: Nomada Studio
Publisher: Devolver Digital
Genre: Platformer

Over the past several years, games like Journey, Abzu, Flower, and Bound have challenged the philosophy of “form follows function” by focusing less on traditional gameplay mechanics and more on a decidedly abstract approach to storytelling, using evocative, stylized visuals and atmospheric sound design to tell wordless, epic tales about the human condition. Gris, a new game by the Spain-based Nomada Studio, is a 2D platformer designed very much in the same spirit of the aforementioned titles, telling the story of a mourning young woman rebuilding a ruined, colorless world piece by piece, wrestling with fantastical manifestations of her insecurities as she strives for truth and inner peace.

The wow-factor of the game’s presentation is apparent from the opening moments, which sees our protagonist nestled in the hands of a skyscraper-sized statue of a woman, which tragically crumbles underneath her feet, leaving her lost, voiceless, and alone in an arid expanse. The visual assets appear to be completely hand-drawn and painted, comprised of crisp, elegant lines and brilliant splashes of color invoking watercolor paint. There’s a super subtle filter, too, that mimics bedroom dust on a canvas or construction paper, adding an extra layer of tactility to the visuals, which not only looks marvelous but supports the intimacy of the story. The incredible thing about hand-drawn art is that it’s about the most direct a connection one can make with an artist--every line echoes the motion of the artist’s hand, an organic extension of their emotion and imagination.

Further Reading: The Games You Need to Play in 2019

The art of Gris comes from the mind of Spanish artist Conrad Roset, whose work largely focuses on the female figure, accented by wild plumes of color. Nomada puts Roset’s art in motion to stunning effect, with each frame of gameplay looking like a gallery-worthy work of art. Cuphead was an equally arresting visual feat with its vintage hand-drawn aesthetic, but while that game might find itself right at home in the Cartoon Art Museum, Gris could easily act as an exhibit at the MoMA.

Execution of the visuals isn’t perfect, however. When scaled large enough, some of the hand-drawn assets become pixelated--hills in the background appear crisp as if drawn on a page, but when the same hill is copied and placed in the extreme foreground, pixels are large and easily noticeable, which unfortunately wobbles the whole “painting-come-to-life” illusion. The game is currently only available on Switch and PC, which is interesting considering that, when using these platforms, players are most often in close proximity to the screen, which exacerbates the pixelation issue.

Aside from this minor imperfection, the game looks genuinely astounding, partly because of Roset’s brilliant vision, and partly because the visuals are so unique. You’ll explore forests with trees whose leaves perpetually dress and undress, caves hauntingly lit by a melange of glowing fungi, towering rock formations blanketed in otherworldly shades of red, the protagonist’s flowing teal hair a constant beacon in the ever-transforming environments. Almost everything you see and hear, from the burbling, inky creature that slithers after you, to the humming flowers that bloom when you rediscover your voice, symbolizes a different aspect of the heroine’s inner struggle, the game as a whole acting as a poignant metaphor for the horrors, epiphanies, and ultimate catharsis of coping with the loss of something or someone you love.

Further Reading: Great Japanese Games Not Available in the U.S.

Nomada made a point to keep the gameplay simple and accessible, and for good reason. Complex or exceedingly challenging gameplay runs the risk of distracting from the point of the game, which is undisputedly the art and the story. Controls are in the typical platforming configuration, with running, jumping, and gliding feeling precise and responsive. You’ll acquire a handful of new abilities throughout the adventure, like the ability to transmute your character’s dress into a heavy block (ground stomps!), but don’t expect the breadth and depth of a Metroidvania affair (the game is only around three hours long).

Combat is nonexistent, with most of the game’s obstacles coming in the form of physics puzzles, which start out as rudimentary and borderline uninspired but ramp up in difficulty nicely, incorporating clever devices of anti-gravity and underwater acrobatics. The level design isn’t as intricate or ingenious as anything you’ll see in, say, the Super Mario Galaxy games, but again, the simplicity is in support of the story, which imbues the overall experience with more than enough complexity.

One of the game’s great strengths is its attention to detail, like the unexpected utility of the moving scenery in the background and midground. In one area, you’re navigating an underwater temple, with carefully placed stone columns blocking your way. Sometimes, you can spot tiny fish swimming behind a column and through to the other side, a beautifully subtle indicator that you too may proceed. If you’re ever stuck on a puzzle, taking a respite to soak in every inch the lush scenery may just reveal the way forward.

Video games are a rapidly evolving medium, and games like Gris push that evolution in an exciting direction. It’s slowly becoming normal for games to, ironically, not always be about winning and losing, but about conveying a universal message in a way that’s cinematic, interactive, and ephemeral. Nomada wields this emerging philosophy with power, grace, and pure artistry. Gris might be short, but to understand its true depth takes hours and hours of pondering, and maybe a bit of soul-searching, too.

Bernard Boo is a freelance contributor. Read more of his work here.

Doom Eternal is the newest installment in the hit first-person shooter series. The sequel to the 2016 reboot is everything you loved about its predecessor with a few added tweaks, including a few new demons to turn into gruesome meaty chunks! Here's everything we know about the game thus far:

Doom Eternal Trailer

A new trailer arrived for Doom Eternal during the 25th anniversary of the franchise. Here's a nostalgic look at the series as well as some new footage from the upcoming sequel:

Bethesda revealed the first look at Doom Eternal's INSANE gameplay at QuakeCon 2018. Check out the trailer below:

And here's the announcement trailer:

Further Reading: New Doom Movie Coming from Universal

Doom Eternal Release Date

No release date has been set for Doom Eternal. The game is expected to arrive for XBO, PS4, and PC. 

Doom Eternal Gameplay Details

The first gameplay footage of Doom Eternal reveals that it is very much a follow-up to 2016's Doom. 

While many of the game's features remain the same as they were in that modern classic, there are a few things featured in Eternal which should help keep the overall experience feeling fresh. The biggest of said features is the ability to invade other player's games and have your game invaded by other players. The details of this system haven't been fully revealed at this time, but the team did reveal you will be able to assemble a party of demons to try and take down a player controlling the Doom Guy (a.k.a. the slayer). You are also able to disable this feature if you wish to do so. 

Further Reading: How Doom's Shotgun Leveled a Brutal Playing Field

It also seems that the Doom Guy will be much agiler this time around. Along with the ability to hop between certain surfaces in order to scale walls, our hero also has access to a chain that functions as a grappling hook as well as some kind of booster that lets him dodge attacks and reach new vertical heights. It's not clear at this time whether or not you'll have access to these abilities from the start or whether you will have to unlock them as the game progresses. 

The gameplay footage also showed the Doom Guy picking up an extra life, which is something that the team did not expand on during the presentation but is worth keeping an eye on. 

John Saavedra is Games Editor at Den of Geek. Read more of his work here. Follow him on Twitter @johnsjr9. 

Matthew Byrd is a staff writer for Den of Geek. He spends most of his days trying to pitch deep-dive analytical pieces about Killer Klowns From Outer Space to an increasingly perturbed series of editors. You can read more of his work here or find him on Twitter at @SilverTuna014. 

Get ready, because 2019 is shaping up to be a special year for video games. While it's always possible for a year to take us by surprise in regards to how great it is for gaming or how bad it ends up being, you can generally tell when you're going to have a marquee year.

In the case of the formidable 2019, we get the feeling that it might be the last full year of the current console generation. Considering that the final years of consoles are often their best, there's plenty of reason to believe that 2019 is going to be the final, victorious bow for this generation's best developers. 

Besides, a quick look at the best video games coming out in 2019 reveals a variety of titles that rank near the top of our most-anticipated games. From beloved RPG developers branching out into online shooters to the return of one of the greatest horror games ever made, 2019 is loaded with the kind of games that make you grateful to be a gamer. 

First, though, we must share a brief explanation of our choices. While we're just as excited as you are about games like Ghosts of Tsushima, Cyberpunk 2077, Halo Infinite, and The Last of Us Part 2 -- and fully believe that they will rank amongst the year's best video games -- there is currently no confirmation that those games will be released in 2019. As such, we are limiting this list to games that are currently scheduled for a 2019 release date. 

With that out of the way, let's take a look at the best video games of 2019:

Anthem

February 22 | BioWare | PS4, XBO, PC

BioWare’s Anthem is the studio’s most talked about game in years, even if it’s not always being talked about for the reasons that BioWare and EA would like. Questions of microtransactions and originality still surround this title a year after it was first announced. 

Yes,Anthem is certainly a departure for the house that RPGs built, but everything that developer BioWare has shown of this Destiny-like online experience suggests that this online multiplayer experience is exactly what they needed to get back on track. Can this online shooter learn from the mistakes of its predecessors and deliver the ultimate sci-fi shared world experience?

Buy Anthem

Battletoads

TBA | Rare | XBO

We were starting to think that we’d never get another Battletoads game given that it’s been over 20 years since we’ve last received a new installment, but Rare is returning to the franchise that most people remember as one of the hardest games on the NES. This new Battletoads might feature a slightly different art style and other modern improvements, but we fully expect it to be largely familiar to fans who have been waiting years for another co-op brawler from this beloved, and undeniably bizarre, series.

Buy Battletoads

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night

TBA | ArtPlay & DICO | PS4, XBO, Switch, PC

Since its Kickstarter debut, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night's name has come second to that of its creator, Koji Igarashi. Many of you may remember Igarashi as the director of the revolutionary Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, and his return with a game that is very much in the spirit of his classic Castlevania tiles has been anticipated by genre fans for many years. 

While we have some concerns regarding the possibility that Ritual of the Night ends up being the next Mighty No. 9, the quality of this team's side project - the 2D action/adventure title Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon - leads us to believe that these guys know what makes this genre tick and may be prepared to deliver something special. 

Buy Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night

Crackdown 3

February 15 | Reagent Games, Sumo Digital, Ruffian Games, Cloudgine | XBO, PC

It's been almost eight years since we last heard from the Crackdown series. There was a time when Microsoft's hidden gem open-world title provided a breath of fresh air to the subgenre. Its outlandish, superhero-like gameplay afforded players the chance to just go wild in a metro setting. The open-world genre -- and the world at large -- has changed quite a bit, though.

In order for Crackdown 3 to make the same impact that Crackdown protagonists make when they jump off the city's highest buildings and crash onto the streets below, it's going to have to invoke the casual gameplay of the first two games while finding a way to advance the game's style just enough to make us feel that old joy of galivanting around a superhero sandbox.

Buy Crackdown 3

Code Vein

TBA | Bandai Namco | PS4, XBO

In a world without Dark Souls and Bloodborne (at least for the foreseeable future), the time is now for an outsider to ascend the throne and rule the kingdom that FromSoftware's titles helped establish. To that end, it's entirely possible that Code Vein may just become the next big game in this genre.

Code Vein is easily described as "anime Dark Souls." It's an over-the-top action-RPG that emphasizes an intricate combat system, character builds, and a sometimes punishing level of difficulty. It also adds a sometimes over-the-top style that is a far cry from Dark Souls' muted tones and grim atmosphere but just might be enough to help put this game over-the-top. 

Buy Code Vein

Control

TBA | Remedy Entertainment | PS4, XBO, PC

Developer Remedy Entertainment remains one of the most exciting developers in gaming. What separates Remedy is the personality it infuses into its projects. There's never been a pedestrian Remedy game, even if some of those games missed the mark in terms of their overall execution. 

From what we've seen of Control, we have no doubts that it will be full of Remedy's trademark personality. It's a bizarre psychological action title with supernatural elements that looks wonderfully eerie and exciting. Even better, Remedy has promised that this game will be slightly more open than its previous, very linear titles. We'll see whether or not that allows the studio to expand its creative borders. 

Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled

June 21 | Beenox | PS4, XBO, Switch

This remake of the original Crash Team Racinghas a daunting task ahead of it. Somehow, it must please fans of the original surprise hit while winning over a generation that recently experienced the brilliant Mario Kart 8. We don't envy the task ahead of developer Beenox. 

Yet, we're optimistic the studio can pull it off. CTR has retained its popularity over the years because it's a genuinely great racing game. Its fantastic modes and fascinating new mechanics help the game stand out among some considerable competition, and this remake seems to feature just enough new content to justify another lap no matter how familiar you may be with the original. 

Buy Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled

Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course

February | Studio MDHR | XBO, PC

We’d have a hard time arguing with anyone who calls Cuphead the Xbox One’s best exclusive title. Studio MDHR may have had to delay the game a few times, but the final product proved to be a gorgeous nod to both the era of 2D action titles and those classic animated adventures of the ‘30s and ‘40s.

We won’t have to wait nearly as long for our next taste of Cuphead. The Delicious Last Course may end up being the only Cuphead DLC release, but this massive second helping of Cuphead action should be enough to satisfy fans of the base game. With an entirely new island to explore and more incredible bosses to fight, The Delicious Last Course should prove to be a must-have.

Buy Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course

Days Gone

April 26 | SIE Bend Studio | PS4

Days Gone remains the anomaly of what could be the PlayStation’s 4 final lineup of exclusive games. This post-apocalyptic open-world game has been shown at several Sony events in the past, but delays have pushed the game into the realm of doubt in the minds of some Sony fans.

Despite those delays, Days Gone remains a promising experience. The star of this game seems to be its truly hostile open-world, which features all manner of monsters and men trying to end your already troubled existence. Days Gone may have slipped from the 2018 release schedule, but don’t let it fall off your radar.

Buy Days Gone

Dead or Alive 6

February 15 | Team Ninja | PS4, XBO, PC

The Dead or Alive series has long existed in this strange plane of popularity and respect. Dating back to the brilliant Dead or Alive 2, the franchise has been seen as an often fun, sometimes excellent, sometimes sloppy, and usually beautiful experience. Yet, it's never really received the respect that series like Street Fighter and Tekken typically garner. 

By slightly maturing the series' gameplay and themes, Dead or Alive 6 is hoping to elevate the franchise to that level. Dead or Alive 6 is a little more grown-up and slightly more complicated, but it still retains many of the key elements that have kept fans devoted to the Dead or Alive series for all these years.

Buy Dead or Alive 6

Devil May Cry 5

March 8 | Capcom | PS4, XBO, PC

The Devil May Cry series is generally regarded as one of the godfathers of the 3D action genre, but it’s been quite some time since we’ve gotten a new game from the franchise. Even Ninja Theory’s brilliant re-imagining of the Devil May Cry concept wasn’t enough to satisfy the series’ hardcore fans.

Devil May Cry marks the franchise’s return to Capcom and, hopefully, a return to form for a series that was once known for its brutal difficulty and absurd cinematic set pieces. The action genre has evolved quite a bit since Capcom last delivered a proper Devil May Crygame, but we have the feeling this franchise is ready to reclaim the genre throne.

Buy Devil May Cry 5

Far Cry New Dawn

February 15 | Ubisoft Montreal | PS4, XBO, PC

The Far Cryseries has taken us to exotic jungles, war-torn nations, and rural America, but Far Cry New Dawn moves the series in a completely different direction by giving us a view of what the end of the Far Cry world looks like. In New Dawn, you must navigate what remains of Far Cry 5's world following a nuclear event.

While all signs indicate that New Dawn will feature the familiar suite of Far Cry gameplay, the hook here is the game's fascinating premise and the way it has affected so many things in this world. New Dawn looks like a cruel and formidable Far Cry game that we're very much looking forward to. 

Buy Far Cry New Dawn

Gears 5

TBA | Coalition | XBO, PC

Gears of War 4 was a fascinating turning point for the Xbox exclusive franchise. While the game retread the same pure shooter grounds that its predecessors once walked, it also planted seeds for a deeper, more personal story than we’re used to seeing from Gears of War games.

Gears 5 looks to continue the advancements of the previous title by focusing on a much more intimate story about a band of soldiers trying to complete a mission of revenge and redemption. This game will likely be one of the Xbox One’s final major exclusives, and it could embody the same hope for the future that Microsoft and the Xbox brand have.

Buy Gears 5

Kingdom Hearts III

January 25 | Square Enix Co., Ltd. | PS4

It hasn't exactly been a long time since we last played a new Kingdom Hearts game -- the series is kind of infamous for its oddly named sequels, prequels spin-offs, and re-releases -- but it has been about 13 years since the release of Kingdom Hearts II. Suffice it to say, that time has only made the game's passionate fanbase even more rabid.

Fortunately, Kingdom Hearts III is shaping up to be the Kingdom Hearts game that we've all been waiting for. This strikingly beautiful title will not only finally bring classic Disney classics like Toy Storyinto the fold, but it figures to improve the franchise's already great gameplay through the implementation of a better camera and a refined combat system. Dare we say that this game might just live up to the hype?

Buy Kingdom Hearts III

Luigi's Mansion 3

TBA | Next Level Games | Switch

Truth be told, the Luigi's Mansion franchise has never been perfect. You could argue it's never even really been truly great. Yet, as a GameCube launch title, the original Luigi's Mansion captured that whimsical spirit of fun and creativity that has always separated Nintendo games from just about everything else on the market.

What's going to be interesting to see in the case of Luigi's Mansion 3 is whether or not Nintendo has found a way to filter that creativity and fun through a series of equally clever and much-improved gameplay mechanics that allow this title to exist as something more than a generally beloved curiosity. Considering Nintendo's recent success, we're going to guess it'll hit that mark. 

Man of Medan

TBA | Supermassive Games | PS4, XBO, PC

The PS4 has no shortage of incredible exclusives, but Until Dawn might just be among the console's very best. As a highly-cinematic horror title, Until Dawn took the gameplay and presentation we saw from titles like Heavy Rain and used them to tell a horror story that felt like both a tribute to the genre's '80s glory days and a declaration of how games are capable of scaring us. 

With The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan, the Until Dawn team returns to tell another (likely very frightening) horror story. This time, though, the story will be presented in an anthology format. We certainly love a good horror anthology film or television show, and we're interested in seeing whether that format helps alleviate some of the final act plot problems that dragged Until Dawn down just slightly. 

Buy Man of Medan

Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order

TBA | Team Ninja | Switch

Well, this is certainly a surprise. The original Ultimate Alliancegames were a dream come true for Marvel fans. They were action-RPG titles that allowed gamers to build superhero dream teams and beat up just about every villain imaginable. As fun as they were, the state of the Marvel property made it unlikely we'd see another game of its kind. 

Yet, here we are. Not only are we getting a third Ultimate Alliance game, but it's being developed by the legendary Team Ninja and will be a Nintendo Switch exclusive. Outside of those curveballs, this looks like the same old great Ultimate Alliance experience that we know and love. At a time when the world needs more good Marvel games, this looks like a potentially great one. 

Buy Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order

Metro Exodus

February 22 | 4A Games | PS4, XBO, PC

Those who have played the Metroseries know that it is one of the most atmospheric and clever first-person shooter franchises of the modern era. The problem is that it always feels like not enough people have actually played these incredible games.

Metro Exodus wants to expand the notoriety of these cult classic games by expanding the Metro world itself. While Metro Exodus isn’t exactly an open-world game, this upcoming shooter will expand the scope of the Metro concept by delivering the largest and most intriguing take on the series' fascinating look at the end of the world.

Buy Metro Exodus

Mortal Kombat 11

April 23 | NetherRealm Studios | PS4, XBO, PC, Switch

While there have been many rumors of a new Mortal Kombat project in recent months, we weren't expecting the game to make its gory debut at the 2018 Game Awards. Yet, there are few who deny that Mortal Kombat effectively stole that show. 

What intrigues us most about Mortal Kombat is how little it appears to have changed over the years. This is still a hyper-violent, over-the-top, hard-hitting fighting game franchise featuring a roster full of familiar faces. There's something comforting about what Mortal Kombat 11 looks to offer, and it might just live up to the standards of recent great fighting games. 

Buy Mortal Kombat 11

New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe

January 11 | Nintendo | Switch

We don't blame you if you call the Nintendo Switch the Nintendo Wii 2.0, but don't assume that is a bad thing. Indeed, one of the Switch's best features is the way in which it has resurrected some of those incredible Wii U titles that were burdened with the problems of the console itself. 

While Super Mario 3D World might be the Wii U's best Mario title, it's hard to deny that New Super Mario Bros. U is a definitive franchise experience. This deluxe version of the game will take everything that made the original great, add in a few new features, and bundle it all together in a new package designed for the incredible Nintendo Switch. It's hard to see how this game is anything less than great. 

Buy New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe

Nioh 2

TBA | Team Ninja | PS4

Nioh proved to be one of the most surprising games of 2017. Many worried that the beleaguered Team Ninja was foolishly trying to capitalize on the popularity of Dark Souls and would end up delivering a copycat that took years to make. What we got instead was a confident action-adventure RPG that stood tall on its own merits.

While we doubt that Nioh 2 will try to reinvent the original, we’ll gladly settle for more of the game’s compelling mythical world, fluid action, and fascinating weapons system. Nioh 2 may not surprise as many people as the original, but it should be just as great as the 2017 sleeper hit.

Buy Nioh 2

Rage 2

June | Avalanche Studios, id Software | PS4, XBO, PC

We’d be lying if we told you that we spent sleepless hours hoping for the announcement of a new Rage game. The original Rage was a largely forgettable game that capitalized on a largely forgettable era of shooters. It wasn’t the kind of game that people build fan conventions around.

Rage 2, though, is shaping up to be one of the most surprising sequels in recent memory. Granted, that’s because its mere existence is somewhat surprising, but everything we’ve seen of the game thus far suggests that Rage 2 will combine the best of several popular action games to produce something that’s ultimately kind of special.

Buy Rage 2

Resident Evil 2

January 25 | Capcom | PS4, XBO, PC

Rumors of a remake of Resident Evil 2 date back to the release of the Resident Evil remake for GameCube. In fact, we’ve heard about this game for so long without actually seeing it that we forgive anyone who started to feel like there was no chance this remake would ever actually be released.

Against all odds, though, Resident Evil 2’s official debut at E3 2018 managed to meet just about every expectation that we’ve assigned to the project over the years. This 2019 title is a true love letter to the horror classic.

Buy Resident 2 Remake

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

March 22 | FromSoftware | PS4, XBO, PC

When FromSoftware suggested that Sekiro would not be like Dark Souls, many fans were skeptical. It looked like Dark Souls, it appeared to be as challenging as Dark Souls, and it was even presented in a very Dark Souls-like way. 

Yet, there are times when something may walk and quack like a duck but isn't a duck. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice borrows some elements from Dark Souls, but is an entirely new samurai adventure that features a brilliant weapon system as well as an increased emphasis on giving the player a second chance to recover after they have died. Keep an eye on this one if you loved Dark Souls, but don't discount it if you didn't. 

Buy Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

Session

TBA | Crea-ture Studios | XBO, PC

Fans of skateboarding games -- or extreme sports games in general -- haven’t exactly had a lot to be thankful for in recent years. The decline of the mainstream appeal of extreme sports has also led to a decline in the amount of quality extreme sports games on the market.

That’s a big part of the reason why Session has captured the imagination of many. This modern-day skateboarding game seeks to revive the dual-analog controls of the Skate series while introducing an expanded video capture system that encourages you to raise your notoriety by sharing your best moves with the world.

Shenmue III

August 27 | YS Net, Neilo | PS4, PC

When we first heard that Shenmue was finally receiving the third installment that most gamers thought would never happen...well, there may have been some entirely unprofessional giddy cheers. In the years that have followed that reveal, we've unfortunately not been treated to many updates regarding the game's story, gameplay features, or final visual style.

Still, we're talking about a sequel to a franchise that was not only revolutionary but has remained in the hearts of many gamers. With any luck, Shenmue III will be the epic tale of kung-fu revenge and bizarre minigames that we've been waiting for.

Skull and Bones

TBA | Blue Byte, Ubisoft Chengdu, Ubisoft Singapore | PS4, XBO, PC

Sea of Thieves gave us a taste of sharing the pirate life with our friends, but it ultimately left us feeling like there were better adventures somewhere out on the high seas. Ubisoft’s Skull and Bones offers an interesting alternative to Rare’s playful pirate adventure.

If you blend the online elements of Destiny with the pirate lifestyle seen in Black Flag, you’ll get a taste of what Skull and Bones aims to offer. Can it live up to the promise of its pedigree or will this be another pirate video game that walks the plank after just a few weeks?

Buy Skull and Bones

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order

TBA | Respawn | PS4, XBO, PC

Here’s what we know about Jedi: Fallen Order. It’s being developed by Respawn (the fine folks responsible for the Titanfallseries), it will take place between Star Wars Episode III and IV, and it is currently set to be released in 2019.

You might say that’s not enough information to form any kind of opinion on this project, but in a world that is maddeningly devoid of quality Star Wars games, Jedi: Fallen Order has enough going for it to give us hope that this game might actually deliver the kind of Star Wars experience we so desperately crave.

Buy Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order

Team Sonic Racing

May 21 | Sumo Digital | PS4, XBO, PC

We get it: Sonic Racing games aren't Mario Kart. There are few times when you're playing them as a Mario substitute that you feel like you're getting something that is just as great. However, recent Sonic Racing titles have been closing that gap a bit, not by replicating Mario Kart but by emphasizing elements that may not be present in the Mario Kart series. 

Team Sonic Racing looks to build on all the ways in which this series has evolved. This titles new mechanics, multiplayer modes, team ultimate abilities, and rival feature might just help turn it into something more than the other racing game on the block. 

Buy Team Sonic Racing

The Division 2

March 15 | Massive Entertainment, Red Storm Entertainment, MORE | PS4, XBO, PC

The original Divisionwas a fascinating game that briefly captured online shooter fans before being buried under some bad design choices and a frustrating lack of updates. The team behind The Division 2 is well-aware of the original game’s shortcomings. As such, the developers have set out to ensure that this sequel will be bigger, more story-driven, and more accommodating to groups of players. Will those changes be enough for The Division 2 to fulfill the original's full potential?

Buy Tom Clancy's The Division 2

The Outer Worlds

TBA | Obsidian Entertainment | PS4, XBO, PC

2019 may be one of the most promising years in recent memory, but in the minds of many, The Outer Worlds may be the only game they really need. The Outer Worlds is basically the Obsidian-developed Fallout sequel that fans have been waiting for since New Vegas. This open-world RPG features all of the clever writing, the variety of choices, and true role-playing options that we've come to expect from one of the best RPG studios in the world. One part Fallout, one part Mass Effect, and more than a few dashes of new concepts, The Outer Worlds may just prove to be the best game of 2019. 

The Sinking City

March 21 | Frogwares | PS4, XBO, PC

While we love a good Lovecraftian story as much as the next person, the fact of the matter is that there are too many Lovecraftian stories in gaming that either miss the mark, feel generic, or are burdened with gameplay that doesn't quite equal the brilliance of the game's atmosphere and plot.

The Sinking City feels like it could be different. Best described as a version of L.A. Noire that takes place in a Lovecraftian world, The Sinking City sees you play as a private investigator in the flooded city of Oakmont who is tasked with discovering the truth behind mysteries great and small. That emphasis on investigation gameplay (combined with the game's fascinating premise and setting) leads us to believe this could be a Lovecraftian game that gets it right. 

Trials Rising

February 12 | Ubisoft, RedLynx | PS4, XBO, PC, Switch

The Trials franchise is one of those strange series that either leaves no impression on those who play it or instantly converts them into diehard fans. There’s very little middle-ground for this trial-and-error franchise.

Trials Rising is shaping up to be the first Trials game that openly recognizes that divide. For those who did not fall in love with previous Trials games, Rising offers a tutorial system designed to help you understand how this intentionally frustrating game works. Meanwhile, long-time fans will benefit from the input that some of Trials’ most diehard players shared with the developers when they were designing the game’s courses.

Buy Trials Rising

Wolfenstein: Youngblood

TBA | MachineGames | PS4, XBO, PC

Wolfenstein II was one of those games that we couldn’t help but fall in love with. Despite its flaws, the game’s story, characters, and outlandish scenarios elevated it to a level of quality that many FPS games can only hope to reach.

While Youngblood isn’t the direct sequel to Wolfenstein II that we were waiting for, it is an interesting spin-off that adds co-op action to the incredible alternate history universe of the rebooted Wolfenstein series. We’ll gladly bring a friend along for another trip through developer MachineGames’ epic series.

Buy Wolfenstein: Youngblood

Yoshi's Crafted World

TBA | Good-Feel | Switch

The list of things we don’t know about Yoshi's Crafted World is slightly longer than what we do know about the game. What we can tell you, though, is that Yoshi’s Woolly World was one of the Wii U’s most underrated titles and one of Yoshi’s greatest adventures. The reason that matters is that this upcoming Yoshi title intends to replicate many of the qualities that made Woolly World as great as it was.

This time around, however, the Woolly World formula is bolstered by the introduction of a new mechanic that allows players to “flip” a stage and open up new paths. It sounds simple, but if the game’s first trailer is any indication, this mechanic will force players to completely reconsider the way that they view the typical 2D platformer level. For those who lament how far Mario has walked away from his platformer roots, Yoshi's Crafted World may just be the classic Nintendo experience you’re looking for.

Buy Yoshi's Crafted World

Matthew Byrd is a staff writer for Den of Geek. He spends most of his days trying to pitch deep-dive analytical pieces about Killer Klowns From Outer Space to an increasingly perturbed series of editors.

A disappointing game isn't always a bad game. In many ways, a disappointing game is worse.

That's because fans not only hoped these games would be great, but expected them to be so. They were sequels to beloved franchises, or bold new concepts that were supposed to change the way we play, or simply games that looked fantastic. Most of all, these titles were able to generate the kind of hype that cut through our better judgment.

We've all played these games. Here are 20 games that let us down:

20. Fallout 76

2018 | Bethesda Game Studios 

We don’t know what Fallout 76 will look like in the months and years ahead, but at the moment, it feels safe to rank this title among the greatest disappointments in gaming history. The biggest problem with Fallout 76isn’t the unbelievable glitches, lack of things to do, dated engine, or how it’s a shell of a real Fallout game. No, the biggest problem with Fallout 76 is that this is a Bethesda game.

With all the talent and resources at its disposal, Bethesda delivered a AAA game that’s somehow even more broken and barren than its indie competition. Maybe Fallout 76 will improve over time, but its launch will always be remembered as a tremendous failure.

19. Resident Evil 6

2012 | Capcom

Sure, we’ve already written a few thousand words about why Resident Evil 6 is a creative failure, but we’re not about to let this sequel off that easily. Resident Evil 6 is an overly cinematic action game that wears Resident Evil’s skin like some kind of perverted serial killer.

Capcom tried to emulate so many popular games of the era and, in the process, ended up with a sequel that excelled at nothing and failed at so very much. It's a grab bag of dated design ideas executed by developers that didn't seem to believe in what they were making.

The success of Resident Evil 4 and 5 made just about every series fan excited for Resident Evil 6. Unfortunately, that game made it clear that Capcom didn’t really care what the fans were excited for.

18. Devil May Cry 2

2003 | Capcom

Devil May Cry 2 doesn’t rank among the worst games ever, but it most certainly belongs on any list of most disappointing gaming experiences. We probably don’t need to tell anyone who played Devil May Cry 2 that many of the visionaries who worked on the first game were not involved with the development of the sequel. That much was made clear by the game’s surprising lack of difficulty, awful level design, confusing combat system that lacked nearly all of the original game’s nuance, and the bizarre decision to include a second disc adventure that was basically the main game but with a slightly different character and insignificant alterations.

In fact, we feel comfortable saying that Devil May Cry 2 is strictly worse than its predecessor in just about every respect. That’s almost impressive when you consider that Capcom could have just copied everything from the first game and called it a day.

17. Sonic The Hedgehog

2006 | Sonic Team

The only reason this game doesn’t rank higher is that many Sonicfans were well aware by this point that Sega had pretty much given up on this franchise (at least until Sonic Mania). Still, this game proved to be a stunning disaster.

It’s rare that a game of this size and with this pedigree arrives in a nearly unplayable state. In fact, it’s almost worth playing this game just to experience the thrill of a camera system that seems to have a mind of its own and will randomly change angles without reason. It’s like playing a game developed by Taken 3’s editor.

Even if you manage to get past this game’s astonishing technical problems, you’re still forced to suffer through a bizarre plotline that is unnecessarily dark and moody as well as bizarrely sentimental. It’s like the game’s story is going through puberty.

16. Aliens: Colonial Marines

2013 | Gearbox Software

Believe it or not, there was a time when Aliens: Colonial Marines was shaping up to be the best Aliengame ever. Of course, that was before anyone realized that Colonial Marines’ impressive demos were just a snapshot of the final product.

The real Colonial Marines was an almost amusing mess. While those who played the game will no doubt remember its terrible level design, low-res textures, and a story that failed to capture anything that makes the Alien franchise interesting, most will immediately blame the legendarily awful enemy AI. We would later learn that the game’s awful AI was the result of a typo. Go figure.

Despite featuring one of the most underrated soundtracks ever, Colonial Marines will forever be remembered as one of the worst things associated with the Alienfranchise. That’s no small feat.

15. Spore

2008 | Maxis

When Will Wright (creator of The Sims and SimCity) hyped Spore, the gaming world listened. It sounded outlandish that a game would allow us to control a universal sandbox that begins with just a single organism, but Wright’s incredible design history inspired hope in the hearts of even the most doubtful gamers.

Where Spore ultimately failed was in the simplification of its own ambitions. It turns out that designing your own universe of creatures was a boring, simple, and slow process that yielded few rewards. On top of that, Spore was plagued by a truly awful early DRM system that almost killed the game outright.

It’s tempting to say that Spore taught us all a valuable lesson in believing designers who promise us the universe, but the success of Star Citizen suggests that isn’t the case.

14. Too Human

2008 | Silicon Knights

Following the success of Eternal Darkness and Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes, developer Silicon Knights established itself as one of the most exciting and creative studios in the industry. When that studio announced that it was working on a sci-fi epic based on Norse mythology, the gaming world allowed itself to believe that Too Human might just be something special.

It was, but not in a good way. Too Human’s world and premise were decent, but the gameplay was indefensible. Too Human’s use of the right analog stick for melee attacks and not camera control almost single-handedly ruins everything else in the game. Even if that glaring issue didn't exist, you’d still be left with an action game with awful combat sequences, an epic narrative with an incomplete plot, and a game where you spend most of your time watching an unskippable death sequence.

13. Mass Effect 3

2012 | BioWare

Imagine that you’re a kid who has just been invited to the world’s greatest toy store. When you arrive, the owner tells you that the store is open just for you. Even better, he tells you that you can play with as many toys as you want and even pick a toy of your choosing to take home with you. However, at the end of the day, he reveals that you can only pick one of three toys: a broken wooden soldier, a soiled jack-in-the-box, and a piece of string.

That’s roughly what it was like to experience Mass Effect 3’s ending for the first time. Until that point, BioWare had promised and delivered a grand sci-fi epic where your choices actually mattered. Then they ruined it all by revealing that every player's journey would end in one of a few underwhelming ways. Yes, Andromeda was a strictly worse game, but Mass Effect 3 is the series’ most disappointing hour.

12. Enter the Matrix

2003 | Shiny Entertainment

The most disappointing thing about Enter the Matrix isn’t its incredibly floaty combat that feels like a joke or its abhorrent design. The most disappointing thing about Enter the Matrix is the way it constantly re-built and shattered your hopes.

Enter the Matrix expanded the Matrix universe with some memorable characters and surprisingly interesting live-action cutscenes, but every time that you felt like the game was turning a corner, it did something to kill your good will. Honestly, that old Max PayneMatrix mod is a better Matrixgame than Enter the Matrix.

11. The Order: 1886

2015 | Ready at Dawn & Sony Santa Monica

The Order: 1886 has this strange effect on people that is similar to temporary amnesia. You see its stunning graphics, you hear about its amazing premise (a secret society of soldiers in 19th century London who battle werewolves, vampires, and other monsters), and you even recall that its combat wasn’t that bad, and you think to yourself, “I should revisit that game.”

Spare yourself some pain, though, and simply remember that The Order: 1886 is an interactive movie disguised as a game that fails as both a game and a movie. The level of control afforded to the player in this game makes Uncharted look like The Witcher 3. The Order: 1886 wanted to be a franchise more than it wanted to be a good game. Maybe it will remind some other studio why that approach doesn’t work.

10. Assassin’s Creed Unity

2014 | Ubisoft Montreal

While the Assassin’s Creed series had already suffered some misses by the time Unity arrived (Assassin’s Creed III jumps to mind), the general high quality of the franchise and Unity’s status as the successor to the beloved Assassin’s Creed IV meant that most fans expected Unity to be, at worst, pretty good.

Oh, to return to those days of youthful bliss. To this day, nobody is really sure if AC: Unity was ever really playtested. If it was, then that means that Ubisoft saw no problem with shipping out one of the buggiest major releases in video game history. The game was so buggy that Ubisoft had to apologize for it and give away free games just to appease the masses. Of course, that still doesn’t explain why the developers claimed it would be too much work to add female characters to the game’s co-op...

9. Lair

2007 | Factor 5

We’re not joking when we say that Lair might just feature the worst controls in video game history. Designed by Factor 5, the studio responsible for the Rogue Squadron series, Lair tried to utilize the PlayStation 3’s “revolutionary” Sixaxis motion controls as the basis for a new era for the genre it helped perfect.

The only problem was that it was nearly impossible to play Lair without sending your character veering wildly in the wrong direction because you made a slight miscalculation when you moved your controller. Lair’s controls were so bad that Sony sent out a review guide for the game (after it had already been reviewed) that basically told reviewers why they had played the game wrong and how they should really feel about it.

8. Star Wars Galaxies

2003 | Sony Online Entertainment

This one hurts.

There was a time when Star Wars Galaxies was an exciting Star Wars MMO that had the potential to be the ultimate game for fans of the franchise. That time came crashing down when the game’s developers decided to introduce an update known as New Game Enhancements. This update simplified and watered down nearly everything that made the game good. It even allowed you to start the game as a Jedi (a class that formerly took weeks or months to unlock).

The update led to mass in-game protests which in turn led to the developers teleporting in-game protesters to random planets so they could no longer congregate. Never before has an in-game update so drastically impacted the quality of a game in such a negative way.

7. Mighty No. 9

2016 | Comcept & Inti Creates

There’s no shortage of Kickstarter disappointments out there, but Mighty No. 9 may still stand as the most disappointing Kickstarter game ever made. Mighty No. 9 was supposed to be a spiritual successor to the Mega Man series from Keiji Inafune, one of the people responsible for the creation of that series. Instead, it felt like a flash game version of Mega Man made by people who were desperately trying to not get sued while also doing as little work as possible. Bad graphics, re-used enemies and environments, bugs upon bugs...it’s amazing how many ways the developers managed to screw up a 2D action title.

6. Star Wars Battlefront II

2017 | DICE

If nothing else, we’ll always remember Battlefront II as the game that finally alerted EA to the fact that it is possible to be too greedy. Taken on its own, Battlefront IIis an underwhelming Star Wars multiplayer game with a disappointing single-player campaign. However, the game’s original microtransaction system makes it one of the most disappointing titles of all-time.

We understand why EA thought it was going to get away with a microtransaction system that hid so much content behind thick paywalls, but we're not sure why the publisher didn't have a backup plan in place in case the players got mad. At a time when people were desperate for Star Warsgames, Battlefront II reminded us that fandom is often an easy source of exploitation.

5. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5

2015 | Robomodo & Disruptive Games

The first three or four Tony Hawk games are near-perfect experiences. They weren’t the most complicated games out there, but there was a kind of depth to the series' simple gameplay that rewarded those who devoted countless hours to the title. There’s a reason they are so beloved to this day.

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5 not only fails to live up to those original titles but seems determined to destroy their previously untarnished legacy. Gone are the silky smooth controls of the originals. In their place is a control scheme so awful that the game fails to even recognize your inputs about half the time. Gone is the creative level design of the original games. In its place is a lot of concrete and randomly placed rails that make no sense. We’re convinced Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5 is a prototype that was accidentally released.

4. No Man’s Sky

2016 | Hello Games

The only reason No Man’s Sky doesn’t occupy the top spot of this list is that its developers have made the effort to improve the game somewhat. It’s still not where it needs to be, but it’s at least not the disaster it was at launch.

Still, nobody will forget the first 48 hours after No Man’s Sky launched. It was during that time that everyone realized nearly everything that they had been promised about this game was either straight up missing or was present in such a reduced form that it might as well not be there.

No Man’s Sky was so disappointing that we’re shocked it didn’t trigger a second video game industry crash. After all, who can trust what a developer says after living through this game's hype period and release?

3. SimCity

2013 | Maxis

Let’s be clear about something. Despite SimCity’s many mechanical problems, lack of features compared to previous games, and drastically scaled down scope, it might not appear on this list were it not for the state in which the game launched.

However, SimCity might just boast the worst launch in video game history. The game’s highly controversial always-online function meant that you had to be online to play SimCity even if you were only using the single-player mode. Even that might have been forgivable were it not for the fact that the game’s servers were useless to the point that gamers were waiting 30 minutes to an hour to log in to play the game even months after its release.

SimCity was so broken, so bad, and so disappointing that it marked the beginning of the end for developer Maxis, a studio responsible for some of the greatest and most important PC games ever made.

2. Perfect Dark Zero

2005 | Rare

Some will argue that this spot could go to “every game that Rare has made for Microsoft,” but we actually like Viva Pinata. Instead, this spot goes to a game that's so bad that it’s almost like gamers everywhere have quietly agreed to never again speak its name.

As the follow-up to Perfect Dark, which was the spiritual successor to GoldenEye, Perfect Dark Zerohad a lot to live up to. Sadly, the game wasn’t even a better-looking version of those games. It was a casserole of undercooked concepts topped with a super cheesy storyline. The game’s enemies were somehow even dumber than they were on the N64. Its multiplayer was a hollow shell of what came before.

Perfect Dark Zero was more than a disappointing game. It was the moment that everyone realized that Rare wasn’t Rare anymore.

1. Daikatana

2000 | Ion Storm

Daikatana is more of a meme than a game at this point, but that does little to detract from its status as the poster child for disappointing games. Released towards the end of the golden era of PC FPS games, Daikatana was supposed to be the game that showed us the way forward for the genre. It was developed by John Romero, one of the minds behind Doom, featured advanced A.I., and was hyped by just about everyone as the next big thing.

Yet, despite multiple delays, Daikatana proved to be little more than a collection of bugs and bad ideas. The technology just wasn’t there to support what little ambition this game exhibited. Even if it had been, Daikatana wouldn’t have been nearly as fun as the great FPS games that came before nor as revolutionary as titles like Half-Lifeand Deus Ex. Daikatana taught a generation of gamers to not believe the hype.

Matthew Byrd is a staff writer for Den of Geek. He spends most of his days trying to pitch deep-dive analytical pieces about Killer Klowns From Outer Space to an increasingly perturbed series of editors. You can read more of his work here or find him on Twitter at @SilverTuna014. 

The PlanetSide franchise is getting a massive battle royale mode. 

Dubbed PlanetSide Arena, this upcoming title is not an add-on for PlanetSide 2 but rather a standalone battle royale take on the PlanetSide concept. At launch, it will include three battle royale modes: a fairly standard 100 player battle meant for solo players, a three-team squad mode that supports 102 players, and an absolutely staggering 250 vs. 250 team battle mode. 

That 250 vs. 250 mode is a pretty fascinating take on the genre that seems to tap into the spirit of the series' massive battles. Of course, the twist this time will be that any player who falls during these massive skirmishes won't respawn. This will no doubt lend a sense of urgency to the experience as well as lead to some different team strategies. 

All of this action will take place across an 8k by 8k map called Echoes of Amerish (which is based on an existing PlanetSide 2 map). Before you do battle on the battle royale map, you will be able to choose between one of three soldier classes that will each feature special abilities but will all be able to utilize a jetpack and various vehicles. In fact, it sounds like the plan is to ensure that Planetside 2's characters are all highly mobile and fairly difficult to take down. This should lead to longer matches as well as fewer incidents of most players being wiped out at the start of a match. 

Interestingly, PlanetSide Arenaisn't meant to be just a battle royale game. Developer Daybreak games plan to update Arena with special modes like Capture the Flag and Global Conquest during subsequent seasons. Yes, that does mean that PlanetSide Arena will feature a battle pass-like system. Arena's battle pass will feature a free option that includes the ability to unlock new items via gameplay and a premium option that includes some exclusive cosmetics.

PlanetSide Arena is scheduled to launch on January 29. 

Matthew Byrd is a staff writer for Den of Geek. He spends most of his days trying to pitch deep-dive analytical pieces about Killer Klowns From Outer Space to an increasingly perturbed series of editors. You can read more of his work here or find him on Twitter at @SilverTuna014. 

Release Date: December 4, 2018
Platform: PC (reviewed), Xbox One, PS4
Developer: The Bearded Ladies Consulting
Publisher: Funcom
Genre: Strategy

Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden is one of those games you root for. Its smaller budget, strategy gameplay, and personality quirks make it something of an underdog in an industry often dominated by sequels, shooters, and throwbacks. It feels like we keep saying this every year, but complacency is often the mother of repetition.

It’s a shame, then, that for all the good things Mutant Year Zero does, it too is often brought down by a sense of complacency leading to repetition.

Mutant Year Zero: Road to Edentakes place in the same world as the tabletop RPG series Mutant Year Zero, but there’s no need to research that series to understand what is happening in Road to Eden. That’s partially because it’s not tied at the hip of that series, but mostly due to the surprisingly exceptional storytelling throughout Road to Eden.

In fact, for a game that was seemingly made with a fairly modest budget, the quality of Road to Eden’s voice acting, presentation, and other cinematic elements are impressive. Every character is paired with a voice actor that ranges from very good to exceptional, while the occasional animated and in-game cinematics and non-interactive sequences spread throughout the experience demonstrate production values that really highlight what the right team can do even when it's not working with all the money and tools in the world.

That all comes down to the way that developer The Bearded Ladies implemented so much personality into so many aspects of Road to Eden. Actually, the game’s best storytelling moments often come through things like item descriptions and character quips. I rarely ever bother to read every piece of lore in a game, but the many ways that Road to Eden builds its world through these little morsels of information is downright impressive. That’s especially true of the incredibly inaccurate descriptions of old-world artifacts that feel genuine and effortlessly funny.

True, some of the credit here goes to the Mutant Year Zero universe established by the tabletop series, but as someone who had no familiarity with that world prior to playing this game, I was shocked by how quickly I came to care about this world and the characters in it. Within minutes, the game does an incredible job of making you fall in love with its initial cast of characters as well as understand the stakes of this strange world where the desperation of survival is cut with the absurdity of believing that a duck and a pig are among the world’s saviors or that an iPod is perceived to be some kind of fruit preserver.

What keeps you glued to Road to Eden aren’t even the moment to moment story beats but rather the fun of existing in this universe. It’s great that’s the case because the rest of the game is decidedly hit and miss.

Road to Eden’s gameplay resembles X-Com in many ways. You take cover, fire shots that are tied to a hit percentage, cover your teammates, and ultimately try to clear an area of enemies before moving on. However, much like the brilliant Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, Road to Eden distinguishes itself from X-Com through a few key alterations to the formula. Namely, Road to Eden allows you to freely roam the game’s world outside of battles. This affects combat by allowing you to position your characters for the coming attack, and it affects the rest of the game by adding a loot and exploration element to the experience that we don’t typically see from these kinds of titles.

While the concept itself is welcome, Road to Eden’s exploration options lead to quite a few issues. Yes, it’s nice to be able to position your characters before a big battle and utilize the game’s stealth system to perfectly flank the enemy. However, the system is undone a bit by Road to Eden’s uneven difficulty and overreliance on stealth mechanics.

There’s nothing wrong with a difficult game (X-Com is incredibly challenging), but Road to Eden’s difficulty seems to be designed to be oppressive regardless of your circumstances. You can take the perfect position for every battle, but you’ll most often find that you’re still on the ropes after the initial shots are fired. That means that many fights feel somewhat similar from the start of the second round on. This is in stark comparison to a game like X-Com where you must constantly adjust your strategy in order to minimize risks.

The game’s difficulty turns its stealth features into a borderline necessity. The problem with this approach is that it limits Road to Eden’s “strategy” down to one realistic approach: take out as many enemies as you can before you are spotted. Even then, you’ve still got to hope that you score some critical shots on key foes before things get really bad.

The good news is that Road to Eden’s X-Com-style gameplay is otherwise excellent and complemented by the title’s RPG elements. Along with leveling up your characters, which includes the ability to grant them mutations that open up entirely new strategic possibilities, you also acquire loot between battles that can either be directly equipped or traded in for items and upgrades.

The mutations include a few gems (even if you don’t unlock the good stuff until later), but the real star here is the game’s economy. Resources are generally scarce enough to force you to make some real decisions regarding which team member gets a new upgrade and how many medkits you can really keep on you. Not only does this match the theme of the world, but it ensures that you can’t just buy your way out of trouble. Granted, the game’s difficulty undermines that feature somewhat, but it’s still a welcome inclusion.

Even then, though, various flaws hinder the overall experience. Collecting loot is an ultra-simplified process that just requires you to scour every corner of the game’s fairly limited areas, while the game's system of loot progression (that is to say, items you randomly acquire) doesn’t feel dynamic enough to be a real hook. Similarly, your ability to really change a character’s abilities or role through mutations and upgrades isn’t really that drastic outside of some more significant upgrades found late in the game. It feels like a lot of potential role-playing elements were left on the table, which is odd considering that this series traces its roots to the role-playing genre. 

This all leads to that feeling of repetition that I mentioned earlier. Most battles play out fairly similarly due to the importance of the stealth system, while the upgrades which do mix things up arrive near the end of a relatively short experience. That might be less of an issue if the combat scenarios were as varied as they are in X-Com or if Road to Eden featured the more active and dynamic combat style of Mario + Rabbids. Instead, you're left relying on a select set of abilities to spice up battles that too often consist of the enemy trying to overwhelm your position as you scramble for safe harbors. 

Through it all, though, Road to Eden remains an easy game to root for. Yes, it is burdened by a lack of ambition, and yes, it features some design shortcomings that hinder its potential, but we’re still left with a solid X-Com-style title that features some incredibly entertaining presentation and storytelling elements. Besides, when Road to Eden does finally reach second gear in its gameplay, it does begin to utilize the best elements of its world and story to help make each character feel as if they’re contributing something more than an extra gun.

When it all comes together, Road to Eden feels like one of the best strategy titles of the post-X-Com era as well as one of the better games of the year. Sadly, the game sometimes also feels as if it's satisfied with being just another game in this growing strategy subgenre.

Matthew Byrd is a staff writer for Den of Geek. He spends most of his days trying to pitch deep-dive analytical pieces about Killer Klowns From Outer Space to an increasingly perturbed series of editors. You can read more of his work here or find him on Twitter at @SilverTuna014. 

Epic will release a free series of tools designed to help developers create cross-platform experiences. 

"At Epic, our goal is to help game developers succeed," reads a post on the Epic website. "Throughout 2019, we’ll be launching a large set of cross-platform game services originally built for Fortnite, and battle-tested with 200,000,000 players across 7 platforms. These services will be free for all developers, and will be open to all engines, all platforms, and all stores. As a developer, you’re free to choose mix-and-match solutions from Epic and others as you wish."

The biggest takeaway from the company's statement is that developers will not be forced to use the Unreal Engine or other Epic technology in order to take advantage of these tools. Instead, they are making them available, free of charge, to all studios, for all platforms, and across all engines. That's a rather generous offer. As Epic also points out, these tools are hardly new and have been tested by millions of Fortnite players. 

We do have a few questions about this program, though. First off, we assume that these tools are not updated for next-gen technology which would also mean that they may need to be updated once those platforms are released. That would also assume that Microsoft and Sony are going to support cross-play for their next-gen consoles. That seems like a likely assumption considering that Microsoft has long supported the technology and that Sony recently started supporting that feature after a great deal of controversy (minus a few hurdles along the way). 

Why would Epic do this? Well, it's certainly possible that it's because they see the benefits of promoting a cross-platform future considering how much that feature has contributed to the success of Fortnite, but we do believe that they are genuinely interested in seeing more games embrace this feature as a standard. 

Whether or not it becomes a standard remains to be seen. 

Matthew Byrd is a staff writer for Den of Geek. He spends most of his days trying to pitch deep-dive analytical pieces about Killer Klowns From Outer Space to an increasingly perturbed series of editors. You can read more of his work here or find him on Twitter at @SilverTuna014. 

Blizzard is drastically cutting down on their support of the MOBA title Heroes of the Storm. 

"Over the past several years, the work of evaluating our development processes and making hard decisions has led to new games and other products that we’re proud of," said Blizzard in a recent blog post. "As a result, we’ve made the difficult decision to shift some developers from Heroes of the Storm to other teams, and we’re excited to see the passion, knowledge, and experience that they’ll bring to those projects."

Blizzard did also state that this is not the end of Heroes of the Storm. They will continue to support the game by adding new content like heroes and events. However, they have confirmed that this content will come out at a slower pace and that they have canceled some of the title's biggest eSports events. 

"After looking at all of our priorities and options in light of the change with the game, the Heroes Global Championship and Heroes of the Dorm will not return in 2019," said Blizzard. "This was another very difficult decision for us to make. The love that the community has for these programs is deeply felt by everyone who works on them, but we ultimately feel this is the right decision versus moving forward in a way that would not meet the standards that players and fans have come to expect."

All of this is very interesting for reasons that have little to do with Heroes of the Storm. Heroes of the Storm was a good MOBA, but it missed the genre's heyday and struggled to win over fans of games like DOTA 2 and League of Legends. It was a pretty good game in a pretty unenviable position, and it's got an uphill battle ahead of it still. 


What's really interesting, though, is the idea that Blizzard would essentially sacrifice a game in order to focus on other projects. They can spin it however they want, but there really haven't been that many instances of Blizzard essentially walking away from an ongoing title. Now, Blizzard has previously referenced this idea that they are working on more games than ever, but that was in regard to the Diablo mobile title fiasco and their mobile interests. The only other "core" Blizzard title believed to be in development (outside of updates to existing games) is Diablo IV. 

That being the case, we're going to guess that most of the Heroes of the Stormteam will be transferred to ongoing games. 

Matthew Byrd is a staff writer for Den of Geek. He spends most of his days trying to pitch deep-dive analytical pieces about Killer Klowns From Outer Space to an increasingly perturbed series of editors. You can read more of his work here or find him on Twitter at @SilverTuna014.