I can’t wait to see more of Whirlight – No Time to Trip when the full game is released. The developers obviously understand the heart and humor that made those old games timeless.

Listen. We're from Chicago. And, in Chicago, tradition is king. Sure, it might now be called the Willis Tower, but you won't catch us saying anything but Sears. It's Comiskey. It's Field's. We go to Jewel. We're a city that works, and a city that loves to be recognized for the things we've done that left a lasting impact on the country and the world. That's why we're proud to hit the floor at the Chicago Auto Show. It's a tradition that's been around for a full 118editions

There is a solution to this, and ironically, Blizzard has had it in place in the Diablo series for years. Just make a main, non-seasonal "Eternal Realm" progression mode alongside the seasonal characters. I have a feeling Chief Rebel might make this concession in the future, but it might not be before my friends and I are long gone.

The MLB has “The World Series.” Professional Golf has “The Masters.” And the NFL has “The Super Bowl.” But why "Bowl"? And why "Super"? The origin of the name is a lot more complicated—and accidental—than the corporate sheen of the event suggests.

At this point, I’ve played more roguelike deckbuilders than I can remember. That’s not a bad thing, because when they’re good they can offer some of the most satisfying gameplay. And if they’re great, they can even dominate video game discourse. That margin between good and great is probably slimmer than I, as an outsider, can really understand. The Spirit Lift doesn’t manage to bridge the gap, but it brings some unique vibes and solid but formulaic execution.

I guess, given that the shift just started and we’re only through two hours of it, having more questions than answers is normal, but I wish we had some idea of at least one person’s fate. Oh well - we’ll leave that to next time.

This probably won’t be the last I write about Witchfire this year. It’s just so damn good. If you told me a game was able to blend Dark Souls with first-person gunplay, I’d be horribly skeptical. But Witchfire not only pulls it off, I think saying it’s "Dark Souls with guns" undercuts just what developer The Astronauts has accomplished here.

They're ba-ack! ​In the not-too-distant future, we will be getting more Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K) in a way I would not have thought possible a few years ago. If you haven’t kept up with the Satellite of Love, the franchise has seen major activity in the last decade. In 2017, original creator Joel Hodgson launched a record-breaking Kickstarter to bring the show to Netflix for two seasons, hosted by Jonah Ray. Later, in 2022, the show moved to its own independent st

Screenshot: Cairn We are, seemingly, in the middle of a climbing game renaissance. Following the meditative flow of Jusant  in 2023 and the high-stakes co-op of 2025’s Peak , Cairn  arrives to offer yet another distinct perspective on the ascent. These games aren’t just copying each other; instead, they focus on vastly different aspects of the vertical journey. Developer The Game Bakers describes Cairn  as a “realistic simulation.” It’s not a simulation in a funny Goat Simula

MIO comes agonizingly close to being an early Game of the Year contender for me. If not for a few hostile design decisions, it would likely make my "Best of 2026" list. If you are a die-hard fan of Metroidvanias with patience to spare, definitely check out MIO: Memories in Orbit. For everyone else, be warned: this beautiful machine has sharp edges.

Winter's coming, and you don't get a choice in whether you like it or not. So, let's at least prepare, because not everyone's been through this at least three times a year.

Maybe you're like us, and you grew up in the golden era of TV - catch jingles in commercials, TV special events, and full blocks of entertainment for the whole family. Either way, a lot of us love television, and we're entering a new golden era, where shows are lickably gorgeous, have amazing stories, and return to the zeitgeist the term "must-see-TV." Yeah, we're late getting you this list, but that just means you've got more time to argue it and suggest your own favor

Despite the main gameplay loop being reminiscent of a Milgram experiment, it justifies its ickiness through “but zombies!” as so many more violent and exploitative games did in the past. Maybe I’m just getting too old for this shit. I’ll just go back to chunking people into giblets with my boltgun in Darktide like a respectable person. But Quarantine Zone: The Last Check is ultimately a janky, buggy mess of a game that happened to nail down the feeling of a zombie apocalypse

When Metroid Prime 4: Beyond finally did hit store shelves, its negative buzz kept me away. Did I really want to ruin my mental image of Samus and the Metroid series with annoying Federation NPC allies and a useless open world? I mean, look at the damage Other M did to the Metroid series. The early buzz practically made it sound like Metroid Prime 4: Beyond will be the last Metroid game we’ll see in a while–and probably the last Prime game ever.

It’s been a crazy rollercoaster for Hytale. This Minecraft-meets-RPG style game was declared dead in June 2025, when Riot Games dissolved the studio. Despite its trailer on YouTube getting 60+ million views, Hytale has been mired by changes in focus during development, and eventually stalled out altogether. Then, in November of last year, original founder Simon Collins-Laflamme bought the rights back from Riot Games to save the project he started.

StarRupture takes the automation base building concept and throws it into a world that’s fun to explore. The extra layer of lore has made me really invested. That being said, the Early Access roadmap promises more wildlife, new buildings, new locations and points of interest and much more, including new exploration mechanics.

he Pitt is great because it’s great TV, and it’s great because it’s spectacularly put together. It’s a clockwork of vignettes each with perfect timing and just enough intrigue, a whole deck of face cards with obvious chops acting their faces off, and the ability to say something intelligent and somewhat novel about it all. 

Listen, we've been through the Game Awards, we've seen the announcements, and we've perhaps even finally gotten some new gear for Christmas to work with in the New Year. It's cold (maybe? Sometimes?) and, if you're anything like us, you're out of money to go out. What's that mean? Well, it's a great time to go back and play some of the best games of 2025 you just didn't have time to. We're choosing our favorites while we gear up for what's to come in 2026

Movies are back, and so, our butts return to the theater seats (and our comfy couches, thanks to streaming.) This year's had a lot of exciting returns to the big screen and a lot of great new things to explore, and as a team full of film junkies, we're excited to share our favorites from this past year. Let's jump in.

Fractured Utopias fleshes out the sandbox and adds some fantastic faction mechanics, but it double-downs on the macro-scale detachment. It’s a warm spot in an icy game, but don’t expect it to melt the barrier between you and your subjects.