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Screenshot: Scarlet Hollow I just arrived in Scarlet Hollow. I know some of you have been trapped in this town for years, waiting patiently for every drop of content since 2020. I, however, am spoiled. I binged the first four episodes in a couple of days. But that luxury has a cost: hitting the wall of Episode 5’s split release has been excruciating. After absolutely loving the majority of the first four acts, I found myself strangely underwhelmed by the start of Episode 5—until the cards were finally put on the table. Screenshot: Scarlet Hollow Coming into Episode 5, everything felt almost too safe. I knew there was going to be a rug pull at some point—especially since the narrative stakes are finally being clarified—but I didn’t expect the emotional gut punch that followed. I know veteran players might have seen it coming (or listened to Wayne’s ominous warnings), but I was genuinely shocked by the time the first part of Episode 5 concluded. Developer Black Tabby Games promised that the first half of Episode 5 would be roughly as long as the entirety of Episode 4. I’m not sure if that holds up in practice, because my two playthroughs went by lightning fast. Maybe it’s my fault for devouring the story so voraciously, or maybe certain Trait choices speed things up, but the thought of having to wait another week to see what happens next is agonizing. (Again, apologies to those of you who have been in it for the long haul!) Screenshot: Scarlet Hollow If you’re not familiar with Scarlet Hollow, it is the work of the husband-and-wife dev team at Black Tabby Games (Abby Howard and Tony Howard-Arias). While many gamers know them from their massive breakout hit Slay the Princess, Scarlet Hollow is actually their debut project, which they have been releasing episodically since 2020. Unlike in Slay the Princess, where your choices can change the literal reality of the story, the central mystery in Scarlet Hollow is constant. Your choices change what is revealed, when, and by whom. There is an ominous warning at the start that you can’t save everyone—you can’t even save yourself—and that promise is finally paying off with higher stakes in Episode 5. I’m absolutely into Scarlet Hollow, even if the writing does skew a little YA at times—mostly in the banter and relationship dynamics. However, it anchors that lightness with a complicated and deep narrative full of interesting characters that are a treat to interact with. It also uses excellent sound design to really drive home the horror and panic of key scenes. For a visual novel, it feels remarkably dynamic and real. Screenshot: Scarlet Hollow There are light RPG elements, too; the Trait system changes what your character is able to do, sometimes to a significant degree. Traits like Talks to Animals (one of my favorites) and Mystic open up lore and information you can’t get otherwise. Part of the charm is playing through multiple times to see the story from those different angles. Episodes 6 and 7 are being worked on as a single unit. That means once this cliffhanger resolves, I won’t have to wait mid-story again until the finale drops. I just hope I don’t have to wait five years for that to happen.

Screenshot: ANTHEM#9 ANTHEM#9  is a game of "buts." It is the debut title from self-taught solo developer koeda, but it feels surprisingly polished in its presentation. It has some serious style and seriously catchy music, but a gameplay loop that makes me feel like it’s missing that certain something . It features a clever gem-matching combat system that feels great when it works, but the world around it feels empty. It is also, unfortunately, a victim of terrible timing. Releasing a roguelike deckbuilder just days before the juggernaut that is Mewgenics  feels like a death sentence for a small indie, and it’s not entirely fair that koeda’s game has to compete in that shadow. But even without the comparison, ANTHEM#9  struggles to keep its head above water on its own merits. Screenshot: ANTHEM#9 Let’s get the good stuff out of the way first: ANTHEM#9  is stylish as hell. From the moment you boot it up, the game oozes a jagged, spy-thriller anime aesthetic that feels incredibly confident for a first-time developer. The UI pops, the character designs are distinct, and the soundtrack is a banger (I have “dance like you don’t give a damn what the people think” on loop in my head. If you played it, you know). But the soundtrack does a lot of heavy lifting to keep the energy up, especially when the mechanics start to drag. If you were judging this game by the first few minutes you play it, it would be a masterpiece. Even the tutorial took what seemed like a complicated concept and made it seem easy. The core gameplay hook is a "gem-match roguelite" system. Instead of standard mana to cast spells or perform abilities, you deal with a random assortment of Red, Green, and Blue gems each turn. Your skills activate based on specific "recipes"—like Red-Red-Blue or Green-Blue-Green. At first, the gem matching didn’t land for me. But the UI actually helped me figure out that you can chain some abilities along with others, and the whole thing started to click. Once those weird mechanics made sense, I was able to create some crazy combos. The goal is to chain the right sequence of gems to trigger a massive attack that cancels the enemy’s turn entirely. Screenshot: ANTHEM#9 But outside of these moments of tactical brilliance, the experience falls flat. This hollowness extends to the roguelite elements. In a genre defined by risk-reward choices and interesting events, ANTHEM#9  feels static. Events are incredibly rare—maybe one per floor—which turns the game into a linear slog of fight after fight. You can exchange or level up skills, but without interesting decisions to make between battles, the "run" feels less like an adventure and more like a spreadsheet. This is compounded by the fact that your character is never in  a location, or never face-to-face with an enemy. Everything is implied through character portraits. Screenshot: ANTHEM#9 The game features three playable characters: Rubit (the starter), and the unlockable Phannie and Beni. Rubit’s starting arsenal feels basic—poison and daggers—which doesn't help the early game monotony. Unlocking Phannie and Beni brings some much-needed variety to the playstyles, with Phannie offering a high-risk, high-reward gambling mechanic that finally makes the deckbuilding interesting. There are four base "missions" per character, each with a different boss, followed by "Extra" missions that get progressively harder. I’m sure there is an end to it, but I didn’t find it. And honestly, the game didn’t give me enough of a reason to keep looking. Screenshot: ANTHEM#9 ANTHEM#9  is a case of style over substance. As a debut from a solo developer, it is an impressive technical and artistic achievement. But as a game you have to actually play for hours, it falls short. Even with a potentially impressive endgame, some sort of overarching progression would have helped. If you are a die-hard genre enthusiast looking for something to look at while you listen to a podcast, it might be worth a spin. For everyone else, the wait for a deeper experience continues.

The Pitt. HBO Max Another episode, another hour in to a brand new shift at The Pitt. It’s 9 am for Episode 3, and as it would be IRL, we’re already knee deep in gore, drama and story. So, let’s glove up and get examining …everything. This week we lead off with two of the new docs, and the two I least enjoy so far – Joy and Ogilvie. As Whitaker notes, Joy’s pretty peculiar (though I’d say aloof and disinterested) and Ogilvie’s really smart (and way, way too competitive). We’ve got a new patient who hit his head and is unconscious. He’s also diabetic, and we get a little infighting between Smarty Pants Ogilivie and Smarty Pants and Trudy in front of Langdon over what they should do.  McKay still has her altered mental status guy with the scaphoid issue, and, now we’re just back to the recaps. A little bit more recapping of last episode happens, but we’re going to skip that, because we recapped last episode in our last episode recap.  The Pitt. HBO Max Back with our belligerent college guy - this dude’s been tased and he still isn’t settled. He’s shouting things that are setting off some alarm bells for me but I’m not exactly sure what to make of it all yet. 2701, Title 18. Reasonableness, 2709. I have to assume none of that is purely random. When I threw it into Gemini, it ends up making a little bit more sense. In the context of PA law, apparently, that all makes very good sense. Title 18 S 2701 references Simple Assault, 2709 Harassment and Stalking. Maybe that’s not a thing, maybe it is. I’m sure we’ll find out. We’re done with priapism guy for now, and he’s told to calm down the activities and lay off the Viagra, basically. Will he be back? I have a feeling he might, but let’s hope not. Remember that racing family? Our original patient’s better, but they’re all back in the waiting room, and they seem like trouble. The oldest of them, or one of the oldest, got dizzy and fell.  The Pitt. HBO Max Back to Digby. He hates doctors. Fair. Luckily, he also has the best nurse in the whole damn world with Dana, and she’s able to reason with him enough to be able to get him to talk to our new social worker to seek ongoing care. She also gets him a sandwich. The people who help in these practical, essential ways, are angels on earth. Thank a nurse next time you see one. Now we’ve got the campus cop, large and angry, blustering about our screaming college kid. Apparently he got a chair thrown at him by this kid, and he’s out for revenge. He wants to stay in line of sight with him so he can watch him, as any white guy drunk with the power of some sort of badge would. If you couldn’t tell, I really, really don’t trust him, and I think maybe we’ll find he’s one of those who work forces, if you know what I mean. The Pitt. HBO Max Our new social worker is back, and other than the man bun, he’s turning out to be another of the good ones. He’s working with Santos on our potential abuse case. There’s some red flags for him, but not enough to call it abuse, or blame anyone. Santos, natch, is absolutely dogged on this, and convinced that the father, who they’ve called in to interview, won’t show. Back with our college kid, it’s time to pull the taser barbs out. This oughta be a piece of very very angry cake. King’s a pro here and we see her actually confidently teach. Still, it’s tricky,but luckily for us, Dr. Al-Hashimi’s got sage advice on pulling them straight out, and so, despite the rage, the job is done. Seems like Dr. Al’s got some experience here that we might dig into later. Just when you thought we were resolving too many things, a double trauma’s called. I hate to say something like “oo boy!” but “oo boy!” The Pitt. HBO Max This one’s an auto vs. a motorcycle and of course, Robbie’s on it. It’s pretty bad, and so far we know the driver’s not okay. When the motorcyclist comes in, it’s pretty clear that the massive trauma means he’s more or less DOA. Surprisingly, Joy has a pretty strong reaction, while Robby barely blinks before heading to another room. Also surprisingly, Joy’s the one asking about a moment of recognizance, and Robby’s out the door already to see the driver of the car that hit the motorcyclist. His wife is in the room, which never means anything good. And, here’s the first twist - the driver’s quadriplegic? Cut to McKay, who’s got on some sort of pheromones or new perfume, because man, is she getting hit on.  Most immediately by an older gentleman named Mr. Montrose who’s been found wandering around the ER. He was in for a fall, and awaits the therapeutic donut he doesn’t want to admit he needs - I imagine this happens, but does it happen as often as it seems to in The Pitt? A guy in the gurney across from the pair is also shooting his shot - which seems a lot more logical coming from him, but still…right now? Flash back to Louie, who’s nearing the end of his ordeal. They tell him he’ll be out before the fireworks tonight, and for some reason in this context that makes me feel like he’s not going to live to see them. Call me a hardened viewer, but, that, coupled with the Things They Learn From Him suddenly…it just feels like there’s some danger here. The Pitt. HBO Max Back with McKay again, but she’s with her scaphoid/weird affect guy. And he’s got a brain tumor…which, we assume at least, explains all the strangeness we’ve seen from him. He’s not too keen on a brain biopsy, and –who would be? But McKay explains the stereoscopic guided CT assisted biopsy process and he at least seems like he’s gonna do it. Now we’re in with The Hansens, our racing family, and they’re packed in the ER with our patient and arguing right over his gurney. Langdon finally cuts the crap and they discover he’s taken a medicine that wasn’t his and that they don’t know what it was. This seems way TOO feasible in today’s world, what with the ivermectin crowd.  In the next room over, Robby’s back with our driver from car vs. motorcycle, making reference to knowing more as soon as they consult the Donut of Truth, which I’m gonna assume is a CT scan, because, well…it turns out it is. He’s about to be wheeled up when they note his mental status is also very altered. The wife’s hovering nearby and has heard he’s paralyzed, and she’s panicking, fully.  She wants to tag along but there’s radiation in that there donut, so she can’t. Robby has her wait with him til he goes, and he and Hashimi - decide to split up? Here we have our first bit of ..flirting between Robby and Dr. Al. Do we like this? Is it weird? It feels weird. The Pitt. HBO Max Meanwhile, our Eastern European lady turns out to be Jewish. She’s also got Robby’s number, and her classic Jewish mothering to him is really very charming. She’s used a home remedy for a burn that’s really, really gross. Honey. She’s also from Tree of Life, a synagogue that was involved in a shooting. Our new nurse is uncharacteristically a little rude, laughing at the honey remedy. Turns out, it’s only half not a great idea, but could actually work on a lesser burn. Robby’s got her, and promises she too will be home by the fireworks, but she’s begging not to go home until after. Meanwhile, Santos gets surprised by her pet case’s father, who seems remarkably non suspicious. He’s chill, he’s answering questions calmly, and he’s remarkably sweet with his daughter. There’s no real red flags with this guy until he starts interacting with the girlfriend, and blaming her for everything that’s happened, aggressively and standing over his gurney. Enter our social worker, who sweeps in and pulls them out of the room with the girl and girlfriend. He’s asking questions tactfully and Santos is interjecting at just the right time to really provoke him. He goes straight after his girlfriend, and they end up in an altercation where he also chooses to threaten our security guy. Absolutely not!  The Pitt. HBO Max Enter Dana with the lab results. ITP 9000. Do I know what that means? Of course not, but I think it means everyone shuts up and waits to find out. Robby’s now back with Ms. Kovenko, and he’s not only patching her up, he’s listening to her. She was there for the shooting, and fireworks are a huge trigger for her. Honestly, this is an issue more people should talk about at holidays and celebrations because it’s not just pets that can suffer when fireworks are happening - many soldiers and victims of shootings/bombings can feel the same way - unsafe, scared, and incredibly reactive. I hope this ends well for her, and she can get some sleep in the hospital away from the triggers. When Robby heads over to Mr. Yee, our car accident victim, we’ve got Mrs.Yee freaking out because she’d been arguing with her husband prior to the accident and doesn’t want him to pass away on those last words. Good news for this crew, the CT revealed normal results, and after another surprise phone call and labs with critical potassium we find out his paralysis is temporary, and he’ll get better- including use of his limbs. The Pitt. HBO Max Over in another bed, we’ve got a squiggly and adorable kiddo who shoved some beads up his nose. Now I know this one’s common - my brother did this when we were kids. I remember thinking I had no idea why he’d do it, but also no idea why it required an ER visit. It’s a bit of a dad’s club and it’s nice to see dads supporting dads or dads to be.  Back with the Yees, we’re trying to figure out how this weird sudden paralysis from a rare disorder only happened now, but before we can, all the alarm bells ring and we’re doing compressions. Santos and Whitaker discuss the ITP, and smarty pants Ogilvie helps explain what it means…sorta. The cops come in to talk with our campus security guy, and he’s pandering to them, but they seem smart enough to not just give him a pass cuz he’s wearing a badge.  Back with the Yees again, we’ve stabilized our driver, he’ doing ok, but she’s showing no signs of not freaking out. He’s awake, she’s touching him…and she’s down for the count. Turns out, she’s been internally bleeding the whole time because she didn’t get checked out after the accident on the ambulance or at the hospital when they asked. As a recent person who almost didn’t get checked out, let me tell you, on the record, during a recap of a medical show - get checked out. Back with our “abuse” case, dad and daughter are calmly reunited, Santos is managing a good bedside manner, and a good conversation with the kiddo’s mother. The girlfriend lurks around the corner, and I’m sure this isn’t over yet. McKay’s back now, and we’re still just left to wonder what it is about her today that’s attracting all that attention, as she’s being serenaded in French by our elderly guy and persistently chased by gurney guy across the way. No time for that though because scaphoid weird affect man has an ex-wife who’s there – but not happy to be there.  Back with our racers and King, we’ve managed to find out what it is our friendly flag pants man’s taken. Blood pressure pills. Ok, explained away. I thought these guys would be more trouble. Back with Mr. Yee, he finds out his wife’s faceplanted and been taken away, and he also has regrets, and doesn’t want her to die thinking he hates her. Don’t leave stuff unresolved. McKay’s now with Scaphoid guy and his ex, and it’s a weirdly pleasant exchange and catchup for them. She backs off her anger at him, and he’s exceedingly apologetic and sensitive to her. He seems genuinely glad she was able to remarry and wishes her the best, and she’s visibly shook by it. McKay makes a polite exit so they can talk more. Now we’re on to our diabetic and his daughter’s here taking charge until her mom arrives. Ogilvie and Trudy get into a debate on how to treat him in front of her and she brings them back to earth with one single “Huh?” and reminds them that all the knowledge in the world won’t help patients and their families understand what’s happening to them. Now we’re back with Bead Boy, and they’ve set him up with a VR headset to play with which ends up doing a fantastic job of distracting him completely so they can just go right in and get the snot covered beads. This is a simple scene but such a nice one . We’re back with campus cop and his real cop friends, and our nurse’s stand stands up for our screaming college student when he accuses him of being on drugs in a roundabout way by loudly reading his very negative tox screen in front of the cops, who are looking at ol’ Campus Cop in a whole new light, it seems. The Pitt. HBO Max Back with Kolenko, who’s being attended to by a muslim nurse, we think there might be trouble, but instead, the woman thanks her for what the Muslim community did to support the Jewish community after the shooting.  Meanwhile, as she’s about to thank him for the help, the nurse lets slip his motorcycle adventure plans, and boy does he get scolded for riding a motorcycle. It’s actually pretty delightful. Santos’ injured girl’s father and his girlfriend get into it again, this time outside her room, but in earshot of Santos. Even if it’s not abuse, this isn’t real great for any of them, obvi. As Dana’s making her rounds, Mr. Yee asks her to record a message for his wife. Uh oh. IT’s really, really sweet but it’s not giving me good vibes on this case. McKay’s back to check in on our exes, and she’s feeling some type of way because, as it turns out, this affect change is making him profoundly nicer than he was, and she’s wondering if it was the tumor all along. McKay has to acquiesce that it’s possible, as painful as that is, and she asks to stay on as his emergency contact. Aww. This place is killing me today. Meanwhile, one phone call that isn’t a drill later (I mean, if anyone but Dana said it it’d be insanely corny. And the corn factor is still high.) we’ve got one hospital nearby down for the count and a bunch of patients headed in to The Pitt, whether we like it or not. And…well, that’s a wrap on this week’s Pitt.  What are your thoughts on what happens next?  I guess we’ll find out at 10 am.

Screenshot: Ranger’s Path National Park Simulator Did you ever wonder what went into maintaining our national and state parks? Did you ever want to be a park ranger, thinking you’d spend your days sipping coffee in a fire tower somewhere? Ranger’s Path: National Park Simulator actually approximates the day to day activities of a National Park Ranger. That means you’ll be doing all of the mundane tasks like making sure trails are passable, campsites are usable, and the visitors have the proper permits and aren’t getting themselves into trouble. I’ve been spending a lot of time outdoors these last couple of years, and not only have I grown to appreciate the people who make those excursions possible, but I’ve gotten to chatting with a few of them. From volunteer trail maintainers to lifelong park rangers, there are a whole bunch of people out there who are not only passionate about the outdoors, but excited to have people come out and enjoy it, too. Ranger’s Path: National Park Simulator does a surprising amount to actually highlight the often thankless work these people engage in. Screenshot: Ranger’s Path National Park Simulator I got a chance to get into the Steam Nextfest demo for Ranger’s Path , and I’m surprised how coherent a game about being a park ranger can be. Most of my demo time was spent picking up trash, and fixing signs and tables that have fallen into disrepair. Which mirrors a lot of my outdoor volunteer work. Except in  Ranger’s Path  you don’t have to contend with the rigors and discomfort of actually being outside. Most of my tasks were assigned to me over the radio as I looked at the scenery or drove around in my pickup truck. It’s worth noting that Ranger’s Path leans heavily into the 'cozy' side of the simulator spectrum. There’s no high stakes management or punishing realism of a hardcore survival sim–everything in the demo was low pressure. The game seems less interested in penalizing you for a messy campsite and more interested in the zen of the cleanup. It turns the act of replacing a rotted trail marker into a surprisingly meditative loop—click, fix, admire—that scratches the same itch as something like PowerWash Simulator. Screenshot: Ranger’s Path National Park Simulator Beyond the janitorial duties, the demo hinted at the more investigative side of the job. There’s a wildlife research component involving a camera that forces you to slow down and actually observe the environment rather than just driving through it. Spotting a bear or tracking local fauna adds a layer of discovery that breaks up the maintenance loop. It grounds the experience, reminding you that you’re a steward of a living ecosystem, not just a glorified groundskeeper with a pickup truck. I’m not saying that any video game can be a substitute for the outdoors, but Ranger’s Path: National Park Simulator is a unique glimpse into a lifestyle that not a lot of people probably consider. And not only that, it actually manages to capture the mundanity in a fun way. I’m definitely looking forward to checking out the full game when I get my chance. Screenshot: Ranger’s Path National Park Simulator Check out the demo during Steam Next Fest February 23rd - March 2nd

Screenshot: Whirlight: No Time to Trip Point and click adventure games are not really that popular anymore. You really have to understand hardware limitations, and the exciting merger of new multimedia possibilities and gameplay. Point and click adventures were—for their time—cinematic in a way that most other games weren’t. Nowadays the whole “point and click” gameplay seems a little quaint, but I’m glad there are those out there still paying homage to my childhood favorites. And Whirlight – No Time to Trip  does exactly that, by taking inspiration from Day of the Tentacle  and Sam & Max Hit the Road —which happen to be two of my very favorite early point and click games. Screenshot: Whirlight: No Time to Trip Developed by imaginarylab—the studio behind Willy Morgan and the Curse of Bone Town  (itself inspired by the Escape From Monkey Island  series)— Whirlight – No Time to Trip  is being handled by true veterans of the genre. That’s why I was excited to check out its Steam Next Fest demo ahead of the event (which runs from February 23rd to March 2nd). Whirlight – No Time to Trip  is a time-traveling point and click comedy starring an eccentric inventor and a determined artist as they hop between time periods trying to stop a global catastrophe. Hector is a brilliant but unlucky inventor from the 1960s who is accidentally hurled into the 1990s where he meets Margaret. Together they embark on a journey through time and space, solving puzzles and interacting with strange environments and characters. There is some good news for those who like the concept of point and click adventures but hate looking for the right places to click, and then deciding what the right action to use in whatever context menu. There are no more context menus, and each area of the environment that can be interacted with is easily highlighted. 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.

Photo: Julian Ramirez 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 have left a lasting impact on the country and the world. That's why every single year, we're proud to hit the floor at the Chicago Auto Show. It's a tradition that's been around for a full 118 editions as of this year, with the first show all the way back in 1901. Photo: Marielle Bokor Most of the crew here at Culture Combine have been attending for years, first as kids pulling our parents hands towards the coolest sports cars, trucks and of course, the "rides." But we'll get to that later. While some would say it's not quite the same post-COVID, not sprawling over several halls the way it used to, this show maintains its title as the largest auto show in North America while also being one of the most important, oftentimes being THE place that the newest innovations in automotive technology are revealed. Photo: Julian Ramirez The show has always featured impressive indoor tracks, and as far back as its inception electric, steam and gas powered cars on the same floor. In the 60s, supercars and exotics were introduced, and every single show there's something brand new and amazing to fawn over. While the last years have heavily focused on the many advances in hybrid and electric tech and have seen all the major automobile manufacturers turning classics like the Corolla, Escalade, and Jeep Wrangler fully plug-in, this year saw a lot of retro style coming back in. That's not supposed to be there... Photo: Julian Ramirez This year's Chicago Auto Show put a heavy focus on Chi-Town Alley, which isn't dedicated to the new models, or any manufacturer, but instead focuses on car culture, especially that here in Chicago. This showcase is all about Chicagoland car enthusiasts, and owners auditioned via video to get their ride a spot on the floor. And it's here where we found, at least in our opinion, the stars of the show. Photo: Julian Ramirez Chicago Auto Club Orale! came with their best in show lowriders. And it's not just about the amazing paint jobs - it's every little detail, from golden rims to door inlays, crushed velvet interiors, etching and embroidery. No part of these familiar cars go untouched, and they get amazing hydraulics and killer tires to boot. These cars are truly amazing, and a vibrant reflection of the beautiful Latino culture right here in Chicago. But that's not all they were doing in the alley- they were also dropping huge engines into '95 Civics and proudly displaying those beautiful 90s conversion vans with the curtains and 3 rows of seating that usually had a VCR in back. If you know you know. Photo: Marielle Bokor It's not the only place we caught wood paneling and cushiony consoles though. It seems that's even creeping into today's most cutting edge electric vehicles, and we're here for it. There's nothing quite like the thought of driving a boat of a Buick, getting 500 miles per charge, and also having that limousine experience. Photo: Marielle Bokor Speaking of, one of the other crazy things on the floor was the beetle-like, matte golden CyberTaxi. Following Tesla's already loved/hated PS2 aesthetic with the Cybertruck, I guess they thought, why not do this with a driverless taxi? Photo: Marielle Bokor It's reminiscent but the matte gold, classic curves and suicide doors make it more of a looker than its big brother -- until you get inside, where it's as spartan and frightening as a future where fascist dictators reign supreme. And yet still somehow...compelling? Photo: Marielle Bokor If you're looking for more to do on the floor, you'll be happy to know that Camp Jeep's up and running, though, I will caution you that somehow every single year Jeep manages to catch us by surprise with just how tricky the terrain they build for their test course is. Just when we thought it was safe to strap ourselves into a Wrangler 319 our guide was gunning it for the 75 degree hill with an "Ope!" here and a slightly more concerning "Woah!" going down the stairs. (It doesn't seem that scary to go up and down stairs in a car, but...when the moment comes - it'll hit different. Photo: Julian Ramirez If one ride where you have to constantly think "Should a car be able to do this" wasn't enough, you can also hit up the Bronco track. This one's longer, and the tech involved is more prominent, but it's just as involved. Today's Bronco has cameras everywhere so you can be surefooted in any situation, an on-the-fly sway bar release to help you avoid highpointing, and enough driving modes to make you sweat a little. Photo: Marielle Bokor If you want something a little lower key, head to Subaru's forever foresty display, where you'll find...puppies! Just like last year, Subaru's teamed up with a local rescue to bring adorable pups to McCormick place, and if you sign a waiver, you can head straight into a pen full of adorable animals just waiting to chew your sweater strings, play tug-of-war or give you big slobbery kisses. Being in Chicago affords us a lot of opportunities, and we enjoyed sharing this one with you. If you're not that into specs, admire the design, and if you're local, get your tickets to visit the show before it wraps up on February 16th.

While B-movies have always been a staple of the physical media realm, this month is taking it to a whole new level. Some of the most exciting, weird, gross, and downright crazy movies are getting releases this month and it's awesome! There are some classically good movies coming out, so let;s highlight the good, the bad, and the steelbooks (so many steelbooks). Keeper 4K - February 3 While I may have ragged a little bit on the film in our best of 2025 movies post, I have somewhat come around on it on a second watch. A lot of my critiques of the brooding in the sunlight not working well with the pacing that's tailor made for dark scenes were lifted. Now those scenes feel much more rewarding, especially when juxtaposed with the film's more outwardly horrifying scenes. It's definitely worthy of a watch, especially in 4K to skip out on the artifacting streaming can cause in the dark spots. Nightcrawler Steelbook 4K - February 17 Nightcrawler is such a great, disturbing look in to a reckless and demented guy taking his ambitions way too far. It's a slow and disturbing movie that is getting this action oriented steelbook cover that doesn't really make much sense, but I assure you the film is sick, uncomfortable, and a damn fine film. Tank Girl 4K - February 24 Cult films don't get as iconic as Tank Girl. This gem of the 90s isn't a perfect film; if anything it's watchable and entertaining because of it's raw, completely uneven feel. It completely envelops you in its world and keeps you there for every thrilling second of its runtime. Vinegar Syndrome Ultra line is always chock full of extras and premium packaging, something that may seem unnecessary especially for a "low brow" film, but thats what makes them and physical media in general special. Shoestring Slashers Part II & '90s Nightmares - Q1 2026 Terror Vision is one of my favorite labels simply because of how obscure and weird their releases can be. These box-sets exemplify that perfectly. Low budget, barely there horror and pure 90s shockers are the kind of films that would be lost to time if it weren't for boutiques like Terror Vision. While there have been some delays in their releases due to unforeseen circumstances (these admittedly are scheduled for Q1 2026), that shouldn't stop you from picking these collections up once they're out in the wild! Quick Picks! Last Screening aka Derniere Seancev - another one from Terror Vision, this one being from their new line of releases focusing on Giallo films. Excalibur 4K & Westworld 4K from Arrow Video - Both of these films are a great time and these releases have been getting some early previews and they seem fantastic! The Eurocrypt of Christopher Lee Collection 3 - Always fun to see Christopher Lee's weird horror films in a collection like this!

Screenshot: Fellowship I knew it was coming. Preseason 2 is coming up, and that means all progression in Fellowship  will be wiped. This is a bit troubling to me because Fellowship  is the game my group has been playing for the last few weeks. It’s a group consisting entirely of middle-aged men with jobs, kids, and other worldly responsibilities that prevent us from spending hours glued to our computers. Well, I can, because that’s mostly what I do. But they can’t. And a progression wipe sounds like a terrible, unfun thing. I know Fellowship  wasn’t exactly coy about seasonal wipes. Anybody paying attention to the store page would notice it quickly. But if you’re a casual player, you might not even take the time to check. Screenshot: Fellowship I see people saying that even casual players can finish the seasonal progression with only a few hours a week. But we’re lucky if we can get in two solid hours of game time. It’s possible we’re outliers, but Fellowship —at least on the surface—looked like a game that would fit that play schedule perfectly. We can knock out around 4-5 dungeons a night, and that’s on our best nights. Not only that, it discourages players from jumping in mid-season. That’s a bummer for the player base. I know the idea is that everyone starts on equal footing at the start of each season, but the fact is that most players will get through the content and then put down Fellowship  until the next season hits. Screenshot: Fellowship The preseason wipes do have us talking about changing up the group configuration. I’ve been playing tank, but I was traditionally a healer in World of Warcraft . Alternatively, I can play the new tank (or new healer) coming out with Preseason 2. Fellowship  is a great game for those that want a standalone World of Warcraft  Mythic+ experience without all the extra time commitment. If it wasn’t for Fellowship , we couldn’t do this type of content as a group without the massive playtime that the others just don’t have. In fact, I introduced two of the players in our four-person group to WoW -style dungeons through Fellowship . Screenshot: Fellowship As far as I know, Fellowship  is the only game that captures that MMO feel without actually being an MMO. They strip the "Massive" out of the genre and focus on the small group fun. There’s nothing quite like the classic holy trinity mechanic: one player is built to tank aggro, others focus purely on DPS, and one person tries to keep everyone alive. There is no character creation in Fellowship , which might be a downside for some, but it removes another barrier to entry. I know I would take at least 30 minutes to figure out who I’d want to play, and another 10 just to figure out their name. There’s none of that stress and hassle here. Developer Chief Rebel does a great job of capturing that World of Warcraft  feel, all the way down to the art style. Fellowship  is like seeing a really great tribute band at a bar, or seeing a comedian perform a spot-on impression. Some of my amusement comes from the fact that it’s so unabashedly a WoW  clone. Well, a clone of a very specific aspect of WoW . Screenshot: Fellowship Mechanically, Fellowship  is sublime to play. Its starter dungeon difficulty is too easy, but it provided a perfect learning curve for a group that not only never played Mythic+ together, but never even played an MMO-style game together. Learning proper character spell/ability rotations is easy with tooltips that let you know specifically what each skill does. There are even some quality-of-life features that you can’t get in WoW  without messing with add-ons, like the ability to track teammates' interrupt cooldown timers. As you play, your character increases in power by getting items with higher stats. As you level up, you can unlock new abilities and talents through what looks  like a convoluted Path of Exile  skill web, but is actually just a linear progression. Screenshot: Fellowship However, the real progression isn’t in the talent points and gear you acquire, but how far you can travel through the Mythic+ inspired gauntlet of increasing difficulty. These add timers and modifiers that ramp up the challenge and pressure. The seasonal wipes won’t stop us from playing Fellowship  completely. In fact, we’ll probably use it as an excuse to switch up roles. But even then, I don’t know how long that will keep our interest. 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 story of how a 98-cent toy and a Yale architect accidentally named the world's biggest sporting event. I mean, it's not exactly a bowl of footballs, but this photo is also 100 percent real. Photo: Mick Haput. Unsplash. 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. It is the tale of two disparate concepts colliding to create the biggest annual sporting event in the United States, an economic juggernaut generating over $600 million in ad revenue alone. It is such a massive cultural force that the commercials and halftime performers are now just as much a part of the discourse as the game itself. Here is how a soup-eating dish and a children's toy gave us the name. The Yale Bowl, 1924. Via Wikipedia. Part 1: The Architecture (Why "Bowl"?) Before 1914, the term “bowl” wasn’t associated with sporting events at all. Back then, football was played in “stadiums” and “fields.” That changed when Yale University built a massive new home for their football team. This structure was unusual; instead of building up  like a traditional grandstand, they dug into  the ground. The result was a sunken, elliptical amphitheater that looked exactly like a massive soup crockery. They literally named it The Yale Bowl. It was an architectural marvel and the first of its kind. The Rose Bowl (2018). Via Wikipedia Not to be outdone, organizers of the Tournament of Roses in Pasadena wanted a stadium as grand as Yale’s to host their annual East-West football game. The architect they hired, Myron Hunt, modeled his design directly after the Yale structure. When it opened in 1923, they naturally named it The Rose Bowl. Soon, fans started to refer to the game itself as “The Rose Bowl,” transferring the name from the building to the event. Pasadena began bringing in massive tourist dollars, so other cities copied the moniker to brand their own winter festivals. Miami created the Orange Bowl (1935), New Orleans the Sugar Bowl (1935), and Dallas the Cotton Bowl (1937). The kicker? None of these later "bowls" were actually held in bowl-shaped stadiums. The term had mutated from an architectural classification into a synonym for "Major Postseason Football Game." A Super Ball. Photo via Wikipedia. Part 2: The Toy (Why "Super"?) So we have the "Bowl." But why is it "Super"? That comes down to a distracted dad named Lamar Hunt. Hunt was the owner of the Kansas City Chiefs and the founder of the AFL. In 1966, when the NFL and AFL merged, they needed a name for the final game between the two league champions. NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle—normally a marketing genius—stumbled here. He insisted on calling it "The AFL-NFL World Championship Game." From the media to the fans, everyone hated it. It was a mouthful. It lacked the punch of "The World Series." Add glitter and it's the perfect ball. A more modern Super Ball. Photo: Wikipedia During planning meetings, Hunt had been watching his children play with a specific Wham-O toy that was a craze at the time: the Super Ball. In a frantic letter to Rozelle, Hunt wrote: “I have jokingly called it the ‘Super Bowl,’ which obviously can be improved upon.”  He had phonetically combined the toy his kids loved (Super Ball) with the prestige of college football (Bowl Games). At first, the NFL brass thought “Super” was too colloquial and undignified. They brainstormed alternatives like “The Big One” and “The Merger Bowl,” but nothing stuck. The press, however, loved Hunt's placeholder. It was short, punchy, and headline-ready. By the time the game was played, the "World Championship" name was officially on the tickets, but everyone was saying "Super Bowl." The league finally gave in, and by the third game in 1969, the name "Super Bowl" was printed on the program. Photo: Dave Adamson. Unsplash The Legacy To add a final touch of gravity to a name born from a rubber ball, Lamar Hunt also advocated for the use of Roman numerals starting with Super Bowl V. He felt it gave the game a sense of dignity and historic weight—and clarified the confusion of a championship played in the year after  the season concludes. So when you watch the confetti fall this Sunday, remember: you aren't watching a "World Championship." You're watching a tribute to a 1914 architectural experiment and a 98-cent rubber ball.

Screenshot: The Spirit Lift 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. If you’ve been playing roguelike deckbuilders since Slay the Spire  redefined the genre, I can guarantee you’ve played one that’s a lot like The Spirit Lift . Everything here is pretty standard. You can select up to three characters, each with their own flavored cards and a choice of unique starting items. You explore each floor, sometimes getting into enemy encounters and at other times running into events which can make your run harder in a myriad of ways, or occasionally offer a helping hand. There are thirteen floors to fight through, culminating in a boss fight. The Spirit Lift  is a mechanically solid game, even if it’s a little on the easy side. Though, it was engaging enough that I lost hours playing it without realizing. But it wasn’t too long before I saw everything the game had to offer. Most enemies are repeated with a few variations. And since positive status effects persist through turns, it seems like they just throw more and more enemies at you to even out the balance. Screenshot: The Spirit Lift There was also a lack of fun synergies. If there were more than a couple of fun deck combinations to play, I didn't find them. I tried a bunch of different combos, but kept going back to the same four characters—keeping two while swapping out the third. Despite seeing all there was to offer in a few hours, there technically is a lot of progression. However, that progression is very grindy. I was able to unlock all eight characters and face all of the bosses before I even unlocked the third (out of six) tiers of progression. And that was after buying just a few of the items. The meta-progression is mostly about beefing up starting stats, which, in a game that’s already fairly easy, doesn’t feel so much like a bonus as busywork. This means The Spirit Lift  doesn’t have as much staying power as its contemporaries. There’s no ascension mode or other endgame content to justify the grind or to challenge yourself to harder and harder runs. Which makes The Spirit Lift  easily picked up and just as easily put down. That’s usually a great formula for a mobile game, or even a great fit for the Steam Deck. Unfortunately, it has thumbstick mouse controls instead of native controller support, making it a pain to play on the Steam Deck. Screenshot: The Spirit Lift The most standout aspect of The Spirit Lift  is its theme. It’s set in the ‘90s. In fact, you control three high school students as they wander off from their graduation party. But it’s not the 1990s I recognize as a kid who grew up in the period. It’s a weird, alternate 1990s: something that looks like it was made by aliens who were only told about what the ‘90s were like through popular media. I don’t mean this as an insult. If anything, I was insulted by my own age, because this surreal interpretation of my childhood decade actually added an unsettling element, which fits well with the horror theme. What’s also unsettling is the incongruous art styles. The sprites representing the enemies look like they could belong to another game. I think this is to ape the low-poly style of earlier games, but it’s just something that falls into an uncanny valley instead of a set era. Even the characters, which could have been '80s/'90s high school kid archetypes, don’t really fall into those categories. The Spirit Lift  is a fun roguelike deckbuilder, but it’s not one that will stick around for long. If you’re an aficionado who needs to put your hands on every game in this genre, you’ll find that The Spirit Lift  is fun, but shallow. For everyone else, there are better alternatives out there. Unless you’re absolutely aching for that strange ‘90s vibe, don’t board this elevator.

The Pitt, S2E2. Via HBOMax. We’re back with another week of medical drama recap goodness. Just like this week’s episode of the Pitt, we’re gonna just dive in. We lose almost no time between last week’s end credits and this week’s beginning, and our focus is back to that abandoned baby – but there’s no real answers. Ok, well, I guess we have to wait a little bit longer to figure out just exactly what’s eating the new ‘res about the situation - because she’s still being awfully weird about it. Cut to our next biggest question mark - what happened to the little girl with all the bruises and (seemingly, at least) none of the trauma.  We’re checking for internal hemorrhaging, we’re wringing our hands a lot about this, we’re thinking with our gut – which for Santos can prove a double-edged sword, as sometimes she’s all gut no brain. Meanwhile, we’re back to the tug of war between Dr. Robby’s encouragement of trusting the gut and Dr. Al’s dislike of being hooked on a feeling. It’s classic Mulder/Scully, Booth/Bones stuff. Checking in on, we’re back to leaning on our gut, and still having none of it on Al-Hashimi’s part. Uh oh.  The Pitt, S2E2. Via HBOMax. Just when we thought we were going to barrel through everything that happened last week, there’s a fresh new bit of terrible coming in. Open dislocation. It’s as gory as you’d suspect. This is also an active trauma in a learning hospital, so bring on the quiz. It’s a pretty supportive environment for the students, but as soon as New Girl suggests an ortho consult, she’s getting laughed at. And ok, it might not be practical or likely, but come on, we don’t need to be all tribalist, do we docs? Louie, meanwhile, is, um, being drained. I don’t want to get into that so much, other than to say he’s a really decent dude in some bad circumstances and I’m appreciating his story in this mix. He knows what’s up, and he’s not really here to give anyone a hard time. He needs friends, and let’s face it, people whose workplace is the ER can use a jolly fellow to treat to take the edge off the… well, gestures wildly at everything I’m going to take a moment for some random other character observations. As new chicks go, Joy is not impressing me. She seems awfully detached and disinterested, and in a place where you’ve gotta trust your team and your instincts, she seems like she’s lacking in charisma, desire and passion, and that’s not going to get you far with Robby. We haven’t seen her go all wunderkind, either, so it’s still unlikely she’s going to be a favorite of Hashimi either. We’ll see though, because Santos is a lot more interesting and complex than to just be a know-it-all bully, though she still has those aspects to her. Speaking of Santos and work ethic, Santos is insane, and wants to do a double residency in the ER and surgery, with Trudy’s mom. Not the least bit jealous of course, or competitive, Trudy scoffs at this and tells her there’s literally no way. To be fair, though Santos IS sort of a wunderkind in ways, she’s also got some really bad habits and attitudes to work through, and it’s a hard job if you do have your emotions in check. This is also a fun little spike to the Crash/Santos relationship, which is a tenuous friendship held together with fierce competition. Santos goes rogue when we get back to our nun with gonorrhea in her eye, telling way too many jokes and showing way too little restraint. It’s like I said, there’s some progress needed here. The Pitt, S2E2. Via HBOMax. Luckily, she’s not in the room for our reunion with Dirty Digby. Who is very much still at the hospital actually getting the care he needs. Recall with me, if you will, the extent of the filth. Then also recall the cast on his arm, which he needs removed. If you’re to put that level of dirt and decay with neglect and flesh, well, you get…a medical issue which everyone can predict, involves insects, and which I currently do not want to say because I am not feeling particularly sound of stomach currently. Yeah. I know the grossout is a sacred part of these here genre pieces, but sometimes I cannot even, and I really, really cannot even this time. I’m not the only one who’s about to hit the dirt over this though, and we’ve got a new nurse down.  If you’re all about that screen gore though, we’re now about to relocate that open dislocation. Yum. Talk turns back to King and her deposition, and Robby checks in on her, as we’d expect. Meanwhile, Dr. Al tries to be helpful, but fails. I’m not saying I don’t like her, or won’t like her, but your girl should really read the room sometimes. Trudy’s in with the nun, who is not the butt of any joke or commentary on sexual abuse in the church, and instead is just a helper who helps even when PPE is unavailable, making Santos’ jokes even less appropriate. Good thing that was behind the scenes.  Our 'crazy lady' has to re-hear over and over that her husband died (he was the DNR from the first episode) and there’s a brand new social worker on the scene, with our old standby gone for a bit.  There’s not a lot of time for a first impression here though.  We’re back to the baby, and the labs, and Dr. Al’s back to acting decidedly weirder than usual.   In another room, King’s getting hit on and hasn’t quite had it hit her yet, but this is a shortlived ruse before the cops come knocking on her patient’s door, he darts out like a bat out of hell and takes her with him, knocking her clean out on the floor. Poor King. As if a deposition wasn’t bad enough. The Pitt, S2E2. Via HBOMax. Al Hashimi and Robby are busy with the baby, and Robby’s got another trick up his sleeve, coming up with a "catch the pee trick" with the infant to get the goods he needs for more labs. You can see how his natural charisma, talent and guts would irk someone new, rational and very meticulous like Al Hashimi, but, we’ve got no time for that, as Langdon arrives to meet her.  While there’s no good time for King to get brained and become a patient in the ER she was just working in, having Langdon back to check on her first thing certainly isn’t a bad reintroduction to the quick and strange bond these two have. I like that they’re so close, but it seems almost too close, and I’ve felt that way since day one. We’ll keep tabs on that as the season progresses. The Pitt, S2E2. Via HBOMax. Cut to an insurance transfer for McKay’s patient, and that’s not the only thing rotten in Denmark she’s sniffing out. She’s also insinuating (apparently, correctly) that Noelle and Robby are dating, which seems to be correct, though we’re still trying to deny it a little. Nurses know all. The Pitt, S2E2. Via HBOMax. Langdon and King get a little more quality time, which he’s been seeking out, to have a heart to heart. He really, really wants to own up to what happened, but King idolizing him the way she seems to doesn’t really want to hear it. He’s working a program and at least seems sincere about amends, so he tells her anyway. Which isn’t to say he didn’t make excuses about it affecting his work- he did, though he admitted it later, but she reassures him that he never let her down. It’s nice to have someone in your corner, though sometimes I wonder if he’s going to live up to it. It’s at this point the cops come in to talk King through the accidental assault and inform her that she may need to go to court for it again. Cue the panic attack, because at this point she’s been panicking about the deposition, gotten brained, reunited with a mentor, and is facing more court.  Langdon takes great care of her, dimming the lights, and forcing her into some quiet time to breathe and recoup before she’s back out on the floor. Back out on the floor, we’ve got our new lady with chest pain, and Al Hashimi’s taking the students through the use of her AI charting app. All’s going decently well, students are thinking of the time they’ll save, when one of them notices it’s transcribed one medicine as a totally different one. Normally by the book Hashimi’s answer is “just proofread” and I’m back to not trusting her.  I’m also a little annoyed at the “on the nose social commentary” thing, but that’s just me. I like my medical dramas timeless, I guess? Whatever. I just don’t like it.  Time’s ticking down.  Our new curly haired friends apparently speaks Farsi, and we see the glimmer of a bond between him and Al Hashimi over it. We check in with sudden onset dementia. Still sad. Still no idea where this thread’s leading. Back to our abuse case, and the kid just never makes any noise like she’s done anything but be a boss at extreme sports, which makes her case seem even more baffling, because the kid simply doesn’t show a single sign of trauma. Santos and several others still suspect, but it’s Santos who’s gonna bulldog this through to the end no matter what, and perhaps the girls’ better served by it. I hope.  I completely glossed over the priapism incident in this episode, and that’s because, frankly, i think it doesn’t really add much. It’s an HBO show, they can show penises, this is the reality of ER work sometimes, sure. But we knew that, and this doesn’t really seem to be going anywhere. One last look at Louie and he’s not so jolly, with some tooth pain. He’s still doing fine on the drainage front, so we’re back to the priapism, where we finally get a little bit of warmth from Al Hashimi, and a little bit of actual help reassuring King about her deposition and her work in general. Ok, Dr. Al - I’m seeing where we could fit in, finally. The Pitt, S2E2. Via HBOMax. It’s groundhog’s day for us with our poor wife of the deceased and Whitaker, and there’s no words. I really wish we weren’t repeating such a gutpunch scene, but that does serve to reinforce the reality of what dementia is and how crushing it can be for patients and caretakers alike. Robby goes outside to take a breather, and he’s immediately confronted by Al Hashimi, who’s directly seeking his feedback despite their seeming headbutting. He still ducks her, but she’s giving “desperate for your approval” vibes out of nowhere, and I feel a little mad at Robby for giving stock answers and waving it off. An ambulance arrives just in time to give him a little justification to not go back to the topic, and we’ve got a combative college kid, and an end credits card.  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.

Screenshot: Witchfire 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. Witchfire  is a first-person shooter with roguelite elements and a bit of extraction shooter thrown in for good measure. In it, you play as a fearsome "Preyer" sent by the Vatican to take out a supremely powerful witch. This witch has control of a large area, warping native inhabitants to her dark whims. Practically speaking, that means lots of dangerous enemies that want to kill you. Luckily, the Vatican is prepared to send lots of interesting and powerful guns–some conventional, others less so. Screenshot: Witchfire Each time you leave your home base in Witchfire , it feels like a run in an extraction shooter. Go into an area, fight enemies, loot chests, and accumulate items. If you die, you risk losing it all. To keep your loot, you have to extract through one of the portals scattered across the map. As you defeat groups of enemies, you can choose new powers to level up your abilities for that specific run. With the right combination of Arcana and weapons, there is the potential for some devastating synergy. The combat in Witchfire  is sublime. The gunplay has that crisp, snap-to-target responsiveness of Destiny , but with weapons that sound and feel much weightier. Weapons and items can be upgraded, bestowing upon them some interesting and unique effects. As a weapon gets more powerful, it can add elemental damage and unique abilities to mix things up and inflict maximum damage to the witch’s army of minions. The movement also feels great, with a dodge mechanic that feels like second nature to this Warhammer 40,000: Darktide  veteran. Screenshot: Witchfire Witchfire ’s gameloop requires you to replay the same levels multiple times as you uncover more secrets and extract more loot. This can be seen as grindy for some, but the gunplay is done so well I found myself replaying it gleefully. But as you play and unlock new knowledge and abilities, the witch becomes more powerful in response, with new hazards and enemy types being thrown in to change the stakes. While it has great gunplay, it also has fantastic production value. It’s extremely sleek and atmospheric. The world of Witchfire  is genuinely terrifying; even as an immortal Preyer, I felt like an interloper in this dangerous world. The sound design is also top-notch, from the boom of guns to the creak of a rope or the growl of a distant threat–everything just sounds visceral. Screenshot: Witchfire This extends to the enemy design, too. From rotting musketeers in tattered uniforms to grenadiers with rusted, heavy weaponry. They don't just shamble toward you like generic zombies–they have distinct silhouettes and tactical behaviors that force you to prioritize targets.  Witchfire  is still in Early Access, but it should be going into full 1.0 release sometime this year. For an Early Access game, it’s fantastic. According to their Steam store page’s information box, the game was about 75% complete in September of 2025–and there has been at least one other major content release since then, in December of last year. They plan on launching 1.0 in the middle of this year–and it looks like they’re on track to do that. That means if you’re waiting for Witchfire  to hit 1.0 before you finally get into it, your wait shouldn’t be much longer. Unless you’re waiting for a console version, which is planned but currently has no announced release date.