The Deck of Many Things is coming to wreak havoc on your next Dungeons & Dragons campaign. This classic magical D&D item, sometimes known as The Deck of Hazards, has been granted physical form by Wizards of the Coast and features a collection of 66 unique, tarot-inspired cards capable of sowing magic and mayhem in your next tabletop session.
The $99.99 bundle currently available to pre-order from Amazon and Wizards of the Coast includes the fabled deck in addition to The Book of Many Things, which features content for players and DMs that’s thematically tied to the deck, and an 80-page hardcover guidebook that explains the effects of each card.
Reserving a copy ahead of the launch date from either Amazon or Wizards of the Coast saves you $10 on the launch price. Additionally, pre-ordering from Wizards of the Coast will get you early access to The Book of Many Things on D&D Beyond starting Oct. 31, as well as a collection of other digital bonuses. Just note that pre-orders from Amazon cost the same as a direct purchase from Wizards of the Coast, but that doesn’t include a digital copy, or any of the featured pre-order bonuses.
While The Deck of Many Things was initially slated to launch on Nov. 14, a series of unfortunate manufacturing defects has suspended the launch until further notice. However, early access to the digital pre-order bonuses available through Wizards of the Coast won’t be impacted. A revised launch date for the physical release hasn’t been announced yet, but we’ll update our pre-order post with new information once it becomes available.
The cards found in The Deck of Many Things use a non-standard size compared to those found in games like the Pokémon TCG or Magic: The Gathering. Thankfully, Ultra Pro makes card sleeves specifically measured for tarot decks, and the company confirmed to Polygon that they’re compatible with the cards found in The Deck of Many Things.
Update (Oct. 27): Following a series of manufacturing defects, the launch date for The Deck of Many Things has been postponed until further notice (originally Nov. 14). The post has been updated to reflect this information.
It only took a couple of minutes for Alan Wake 2 to make me jump. From the very beginning, Remedy Entertainment’s new sci-fi thriller has a lot of scares to offer — and I’m talking about classic jump scares, not just the moody atmosphere that pervades the entire Twin Peaks-esque setting. I didn’t expect this game to be as scary as it is, so let me issue a warning: Alan Wake 2 is freakin’ creepy, y’all!
[Ed. note: This article contains minor spoilers for Alan Wake 2.]
First things first: Horror is subjective, what scares me might not scare you, blah blah blah. You’re here because you want to know about the jump scares, so let’s get to it.
Image: Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing
Alan Wake 2 kicks off with a very creepy scene, not least because you have absolutely no clue what’s going on. You start playing as a heavyset older white man who doesn’t look anything like Alan Wake and looks even less like Saga Anderson, the Black female FBI agent who’s the co-protagonist of Alan Wake 2. I guess I left out the most important part which is that this guy is naked. And he is trudging — and later, running — through a gloomy, foggy forest.
Perhaps the creepiest part to me was that Alan Wake 2 wouldn’t let me look at this guy’s face. I kept trying to turn the camera around to see him, but he kept turning away from me, like the guy in the corner at the end of Blair Witch. Turns out, that’s how the Alan Wake 2 camera works with almost every playable character — but in this opening scene, it’s even more restrictive against showing you the character’s face, probably to delay the reveal of this man’s identity. He turns out to be Robert Nightingale, the FBI agent who had it out for Alan Wake in the first game.
While poor naked Nightingale runs through the woods, you’ll get your first of several jump scares. Complete with flashing lights (the game does open with a seizure warning) and super-loud music stings, you’ll see a flash of Alan Wake’s face, lit up like he’s holding a flashlight next to it for dramatic effect or something. Alan’s face is not scary in a vacuum, obviously, but the loud noise and flashing lights are jump-inducing. Those moments of surprise will keep happening as Nightingale keeps on meandering through the woods, his journey culminating in his gruesome death at the hands of a death cult.
Image: Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing via Polygon
That death cult — and the murder of Nightingale — is what you’ll be investigating once you take on the role of Saga Anderson, whose story is where the game jumps to next. Saga’s sections involve exploring the exact same creepy woods, but unlike with Nightingale, there aren’t jump scares for Saga. Of course, that didn’t stop me from thinking there would be.
You won’t get another big scare until you get to the town morgue. This is when the game introduces the central mechanic for its supernatural enemies: If you’re standing in a lit area, they can’t see you. But if you tread into the darkness — as you must do, periodically, to escape or strafe around these opponents — they’ll be able to see you, grab you, and kill you instantly.
Personally, I find the fight scenes to be less scary than wandering around the woods in the dark between the altercations. The world of Alan Wake 2 is so bizarre that you just never know what to expect. But once I can actually see an enemy, even if they look scary or unusual, I’m fine — I just need a pistol in my hand, because apparently bullets still work on supernatural entities (thank goodness?).
My usual tips for making a video game less scary might not be very effective in Alan Wake 2. There isn’t much you can do about a basic jump scare of a big face suddenly filling your screen, accompanied by a loud noise. But there are still some options if you want to play this (amazing, thrilling) game and not be quite as stressed out by it. I recommend turning off the orchestral score, while leaving the dialogue and sound effects on; the score is beautiful, but it also does a lot to heighten the game’s tense moments. Do remember to turn the music back on when you feel calm again so that you don’t miss out on the many original songs in the game, though.
My other big tip? Just take your headphones off entirely, as needed. I turned on the subtitle option that includes character names, since Alan Wake 2 involves a lot of unnerving voiceover from unpictured characters. If you’re feeling overstimulated, you can always just read the game for a little bit, using the subtitles and character markers as a guide. I usually would only do this for a few seconds before recovering, resetting, and wanting to head back into the full audio immersion of the world.
As somebody who’s made it through plenty of great horror movies and scary games, despite my irritation at the way my body reacts to horror, you’ve got this. Alan Wake 2 is absolutely worth experiencing, so give it your best go.
Victor Timely’s fingerprints are all over Loki season 2, even when he isn’t. As one of the many versions of Kang the Conqueror, Timely immediately feels important to the second season, even before we know it’s his designs that inspired (nay, created?) the Time Loom. Sure, that was by He Who Remains’ design, but still! As we see from his workshop of inventions and the way Miss Minutes tries to come on to him: Timely’s got the juice!
[Ed. note: This post will now spoil the end of episode 4 in some detail, with some speculation of what’s to come. Ye be warned.]
So it’s kind of surprising when, after all the teamwork and effort and Marvel CGI that got him to the TVA with O.B. to build the magic machine that saved the day, he just… spaghetti’d. In just an instant, Timely turns into noodles, and Loki is left dumbstruck, just wondering what the hell they’re going to do without him, while the audience wonders what the heck Loki will do without him.
Still, this season folding in on itself so much has taught us one thing: This moment might have major implications for the space-time continuum. Timely getting the time-space pasta treatment might mean his existence, life, consciousness, or matter has simply been wibbly-wobblied somewhere else. As such, spaghettified Victor Timely might not be gone — or at least, the narrative might not be done with him. So what exactly could have happened to him? Here are our theories.
Theory 1: Victor Timely’s episode 4 fate creates Kang the Conqueror
Image: Marvel Studios
We know that there are seemingly endless Kangs spread across endless realities, but how did they become… you know, Kang? He comes from the future, so his advanced technology (and his supersuit) can account for many of his powers. And we know he has a genius-level intellect, as shown through Victor Timely’s less-than-timely inventions. But his ability to manipulate time and reality? It’s sometimes attributed to his suit, but I think it’s also a little left open to interpretation.
What if we just saw its origin in Loki? The man was, as many have put it before me, completely and totally spaghetti’d as he approached the Loom and the many different branches of the multiverse. Could his essence have been spread out into the multiverse through the Loom, gaining unexpected powers in the process? Or, even more directly, did this event somehow change the brain chemistry of all other variants across the timelines, due to sheer proximity to those timelines? Could this have been the event that transformed Victor Timely/Nathaniel Richards into Kang the Conqueror? It seems like the kind of thing the MCU would do — they love a grand reveal, after all, and Loki has been asked to be surprisingly load-bearing when it comes to the universe’s next Big Bad. So showing his “origin” of sorts in the series wouldn’t be that much of a stretch. —Pete Volk
Theory 2: Victor Timely is going to go somewhere else in the Marvel Cinematic Universe
Image: Marvel Studios
What little we know about the technobabble of the Time Loom is it’s pulling all the various timelines of the multiverse and getting clogged. But unlike an actual sewing machine, the Loom is just sitting in massive space, pulling in whatever strands get near it. So maybe when Victor turns into strands in the vast vacuum outside the TVA, his remnants just also get sucked up into the Loom, like one giant machine-like wormhole.
From there, Timely could plop out… anywhere! My guess is it doesn’t even have to be anywhere big (or certainly shouldn’t be), like the Battle of New York or the fight against Thanos. It’ll just be a quick little end-credits gag, like the original Guardians of the Galaxy tag with Howard the Duck. Hopefully he lands somewhere he can keep making his little inventions; if not, well, there’s always the next Kang. —Zosha Millman
Theory 3: Victor Timely died!
Image: Marvel Studios
I think he’s dead. Which would seemingly present a problem to the timeline: If Victor Timely is really the Kang who invented the TVA, then he’d need to have not died before he invented the TVA. Perhaps we’re about to see the fallout of that — two climactic episodes in which all TVA employees wake up in their normal lives on the timeline, because there was never a TVA to pull them out of it. Maybe Mobius would finally get to ride a Jet Ski. Maybe he’d have to choose between Jet Skis and putting the TVA back into existence somehow.
But honestly, causality only seems to exist when Loki wants it to, so who knows! If Timely is dead, there are plenty more Kangs to go around. —Susana Polo
Theory 4: Victor Timely is spaghetti now, period.
Photo: Luis Robayo/AFP via Getty Images
My theory is short, uncomplicated, and best summarized through the words of Polygon executive editor Matthew Patches when he’s in dad mode: pasghetti.
That’s right, Victor Timely is not He Who Remains, necessarily, but he is an equally if not even more important variant of Kang: the one who started spaghetti. Inside the walls of the TVA, far outside the bounds of regular time, all spaghetti, and possibly all European noodle shapes in general, were discovered chiefly through the disintegration of Victor Timely. Through his sacrifice, the bright divinity of his newly noodly form will slip into the loom and be dispersed throughout the multiverse, sliding right into the perfect place in each universe’s history to help someone discover the holiest form of pasta sauce delivery: the spaghetti noodle.
Of course, it’s important to remember that Victor is but one man, and his corporeal form is limited by its size, even when stretched by the unstable Loom. This means, tragically, that not every timeline will get to experience the magic of spaghetti. Some lost out on its pasta perfection, because their universe was never delivered a horrifying Cronenberg-esque noodle-shaped piece of a man. But thank God we exist in one that did. —Austen Goslin
Battlefield 2042 is enjoying a small resurgence as it nears its two-year anniversary, thanks to a recent free weekend, a sale, and multiple updates from the developer. The game’s new season will hopefully maintain players’ renewed interest in DICE’s futuristic military shooter — particularly the new mode that lets you deploy and fight against hordes of 3D-printed synthetic soldiers who run around naked and smash enemies’ heads in with hammers.
Season 6’s of Battlefield 2042 will introduce a new limited time mode called Killswitch, a 12v12 game type that lets players print out waves of Geists — the aforementioned buck-naked ’bots — that can be deployed in combat. They’re effectively (fast) zombies who sprint at the opposing team and try to bludgeon them to death, as seen in the trailer above.
Geists are printed at Forges in Killswitch’s maps (Redacted, Manifest, Hourglass and Spearhead), and teams will battle for control of those Forges while they simultaneously attempt to capture locations called AOS nodes.
How did these synthetic soldiers, who are not canonically zombies, find their way into Battlefield fiction? According to DICE and publisher Electronic Arts, a secret R&D lab off the coast of Scotland is the victim of an AI run amok. That artificial intelligence has taken over and created the Geist, glowing-eyed bad guys who are programmed to kill. Sure, I buy that.
Killswitch is playable as part of Battlefield 2042’s Dark Protocol event, which runs Oct. 31 to Nov. 14. Players who take part in Killswitch matches can earn Ribbons that can be cashed in for free cosmetic rewards, like weapon and vehicle skins.
Pokémon Go has its own version of the notorious Team Rocket, called Team Go Rocket. In this Pokémon Go guide, we’ll break down how to find leaders Sierra, Cliff, and Arlo and take them down.
Below, we list their parties and strategies as it stands in October 2023, with the most recent changes following the the Team Go Rocket Takeover event that activated alongside the arrival of the “Showdown in the Shadows” quest in late Oct.
How to find leaders Sierra, Cliff, and Arlo in Pokémon Go
Team Go Rocket leaders can be found in black PokéStops or hot air balloons flying above you with a Rocket Radar equipped.
To get a Rocket Radar, you must get six Mysterious Components, with one regular Go Team Rocket encounter rewarding one Mysterious Component each.
With the Rocket Radar equipped, you will then encounter a leader at random. The three leaders are Sierra, Arlo, and Cliff.
Some Timed Research and Team Go Rocket Special Research tasks require you to beat all three leaders. Completing the Team Go Rocket Special Research will reward you with a Super Rocket Radar, allowing you to find the boss, Giovanni. Beating Giovanni will net you a Legendary Shadow Pokémon.
Team Go Rocket leader Sierra counters
Image: Niantic
Note: Leader Sierra’s team will update in Rocket Balloons from Thursday, Oct. 26 onwards, with the first encounter as Sableye, which can be a possible shadow shiny.
The previous Sierra team — still active in PokéStops until Friday, Oct. 27, is:
Though coming in to scope out her team first is recommended, if you come equipped with water- and fighting-types, that will help a ton. Her party is pretty diverse, so you may also want to sprinkle in electric-, steel-, and ice-type moves as well, depending on what she’s running. Notably, Sableye is only weak against fairy-type moves, so you’ll want to either bring a Pokémon that knows fairy moves or you’ll want to brute force it.
We recommend using the following:
Raikou with Thunder Shock and Wild Charge
Magnezone with Spark and Wild Charge
Lucario with Counter and Aura Sphere
Machamp with Counter and Dynamic Punch
Kyogre with Waterfall and Origin Pulse
Swampert with Water Gun and Hydro Cannon
Glaceon with Ice Shard and Avalanche
Avalugg with Ice Fang and Avalanche
Metagross with Bullet Punch and Meteor Mash
Dialga with Metal Claw and Iron Head
Team Go Rocket leader Arlo counters
Image: Niantic
Note: Leader Arlo’s team will update in Rocket Balloons from Thursday, Oct. 26 onwards, with the first encounter as Bellsprout, which can be a possible shadow shiny.
The previous Arlo team — still active in PokéStops until Friday, Oct. 27, is:
If you come with ghost-, fighting-, and fire-type moves, you’ll take down almost every possible encounter in Arlo’s party.
We recommend using any of the following:
Giratina with Shadow Claw and Shadow Force
Gengar with Shadow Claw and Shadow Ball
Lucario with Counter and Aura Sphere
Machamp with Counter and Dynamic Punch
Reshiram with Fire Fang and Fusion Flare
Volcarona with Fire Spin and Overheat
Team Go Rocket leader Cliff counters
Image: Niantic
Note: Leader Cliff’s team will update in Rocket Balloons from Thursday, Oct. 26 onwards, with the first encounter as Dratini, which can be a possible shadow shiny.
The previous Cliff team — still active in PokéStops until Friday, Oct. 27, is:
Cliff’s potential parties are diverse in typing, so you should match up against him just to see what he has and then plan accordingly. Water-type moves will help you take out Aerodactyl, Mamoswine, and Tyranitar. Ghost-type moves also have some good coverage here. Steel– and flying-type moves will also help you a good amount.
We recommend using a mix of the following:
Kyogre with Waterfall and Origin Pulse
Swampert with Water Gun and Hydro Cannon
Origin Forme Giratina with Shadow Claw and Shadow Force
Chandelure with Hex and Shadow Ball
Metagross with Bullet Punch and Meteor Mash
Dialga with Metal Claw and Iron Head
Moltres with Wing Attack and Sky Attack
Honchkrow with Peck and Sky Attack
Team Go Rocket leader tips
If you’re struggling against the leaders, here’s a few tips to keep in mind:
They will use their shields on the first two Charge Attacks you use. Using a Pokémon that can charge and use Charge Attacks quickly will help you get rid of their shields, allowing you to freely damage them.
You should be prepared for the first Pokémon you use to get knocked out. If you use a Pokémon that gets through shields easily, that’s fine, but your other Pokémon will need to have decent type advantages to defeat any remaining Pokémon.
Remember, you can attempt the battle many times using one Rocket Radar, so you can queue up your strongest Pokémon just to see what the leader is carrying. If you defeat them on the first try, great! If not, you can swap your party around for some type-effective counters.
The team leaders have high CP Pokémon, so you should definitely be using the highest CP Pokémon you have if you’re struggling.
Hang Ten is one of the more difficult trophies to pull off in Spider-Man 2. A puzzling aerial challenge, completing this trophy requires you to perform 30 individual tricks while in the air.
In this guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know about how to earn the Hang Ten trophy, including suit upgrades, locations and techniques.
How to prepare for the Hang Ten trophy
Image: Insomniac Game/Sony Interactive Entertainment via Polygon
There are a few upgrades that make the Hang Ten trophy much easier to complete. First off, in the Shared skill tree, you can both the Spider-Jump and Spider-Dash upgrades in the middle tree, as two parallel skills near the end.
Spider-Jump boosts you into the air when you press L1 + X, and Spider-Dash is a horizontal dash which you can activate with L1 + Triangle. When you’re running out of momentum in the air, these skills can be triggered to buy you more time, allowing you to pull off extra stunts and build your combo.
The caveat with these upgrades is that they have a cooldown timer, which can get in the way of success. We recommend investing in the Aerial Escapades upgrade, too, which is right after both skills in the same tree. Aerial Escapades allows you to replenish your Spider-Jump and Spider-Dash cooldowns quicker by performing tricks in the air, creating a feedback loop that allows you to maintain an airborne state.
Image: Insomniac Game/Sony Interactive Entertainment via Polygon
You can also buff these skills with the Suit Tech Traversal upgrade Active Spider, which boosts the height of Spider-Jump and the distance of Spider-Dash. While this upgrade isn’t essential to completing the trophy, it might help if you are still struggling.
How to get the Hang Ten trophy in Spider-Man 2
You can attempt the trophy anywhere, though we recommend using the coastal edges of Manhattan. When you’re in the middle of the city, you might find yourself accidentally slamming into buildings and other obstacles, negating your success. The one thing to be wary of along the coast are the bridges, of course, which can get in the way due to their varying heights.
Once you’ve found a good spot with a long, clear line of buildings to your right or left side, you’re ready to start your attempt.
Image: Insomniac Game/Sony Interactive Entertainment via Polygon
You can either climb up a tall building or jump up from the ground, but in both cases, start with a huge swing and boost out of it by tapping X at the height of your momentum. Once you’re at a decent altitude and peeling through the air, hold the Square button and jostle the left stick in all directions to string together a variety of tricks. The combo multiplier will only increase when you switch between tricks, so don’t hold anything for long — just keep activating new tricks in order to juice the multiplier all the way to 30.
When you begin to fall, and it gets a bit sketchy, use your Spider-Jump and Spider-Dash skills to avoid hitting the ground by pressing L1 + Triangle or L1 + X. If you chose to upgrade the Aerial Escapades skill, you’ll find that as you complete tricks in quick succession, you’ll earn back your Spider-Jump and Spider-Dash, creating a sustainable loop of momentum. Your mileage may vary, but this should ensure you don’t run out of steam, and before long, you will have put together a 30 trick combo. Keep going as long as you can just to be safe, and then hit the ground gracefully to pop the trophy.
Kingdom opens ominously, with two attendants walking across a Joseon-era Korean palace’s courtyard to bring the king his meal. Once inside, the older attendant warns his young companion not to look into the king’s bedchambers while passing the food underneath the curtain. The young attendant can’t resist, and when he opens his eyes he’s dragged under the curtain by a snarling beast. It’s a dread-filled scene that grabs your attention, but Kingdom also uses that moment to set itself apart. Most zombie shows are centered around characters thrust into survival mode without knowing what caused the outbreak in the first place. In Kingdom, the original zombie is not just a known entity, he’s also being tended to by a royal staff.
The rest of the intro reveals a lot of information in a short amount of time. A group of scholars has been posting flyers that the king is dead and it’s time for Crown Prince Lee Chang to ascend to the throne. But there’s an issue: Prince Chang’s mother was a concubine, and his current stepmother, Queen Consort Cho, is very pregnant. Her family has seized power with their new royal status, and they’ve rounded up and tortured these scholars to find out who’s behind their support of the prince. Meanwhile, Prince Chang has grown suspicious, and decides to find out the truth about his father’s mysterious recovery from smallpox.
If that sounds more like a Game of Thrones plot than a zombie show, well, you’re right. Kingdom is really, at its core, a political thriller set in medieval times. The zombie stuff, well, that’s just part of the politics — until, you know, it isn’t.
Photo: Juhan Noh/Netflix
The brilliance of Kingdom is that it doesn’t rely on twists and aggressive plot machinations to drive the show forward. The core conflict is laid out in 15 minutes flat: The king is a zombie, the queen is pregnant with his baby, and the queen’s family has seized power that would be threatened if the crown prince were anointed as the new king.
It doesn’t take much to realize who’s behind the zombification of the region’s ruler — but knowing the truth isn’t the same as proving it. Kingdom follows Prince Chang as he tries to collect evidence that he’s the rightful heir while avoiding the Cho clan’s guards, who are actively pursuing him. That alone would make for an exciting show. And then, of course, there are the zombies. As Prince Chang leaves the palace to find the doctor who treated his father, he discovers something even more terrifying: The king bit one of the doctor’s young assistants. We all know how that goes.
With a tight two-season story written and directed by Kim Eun-hee, Kingdom plays out its political games in conjunction with a growing zombie threat. It’s gripping, smart, and subtle, pacing its story in snippets of dialogue for viewers to stitch together. It’s also full of incredible action, painful suspense (characters in the daytime walking over dormant nocturnal zombies under floorboards, etc.), and truly terrifying horror: Victim by victim falls to brutal isolated zombie attacks, until a proper horde grows big enough to assault the entire royal city. Kingdom is truly an equal mashup of two different genres, and the fact that it’s done so well feels like a miracle. Just be prepared for things to get gnarly — two guards are beheaded in the opening sequence for being traitors, and if that’s the sort of violence that’s unleashed in a human-to-human conflict, just wait until the undead come into the picture.
Secrets of Shova Mansion is a level in Super Mario Bros. Wonder’s W4 Sunbaked Desert. It has the normal stuff — a Wonder Seed, flower coins, and a flagpole at the end — but the level also has a secret exit. Finding it unlocks a path to a couple more levels and an entrance to the Special World.
Our Super Mario Bros. Wonder guide will walk you where to find the secret exit location in Secrets of Shova Mansion, allowing you to get the secret, third Wonder Seed.
Where to find Secrets of Shova Mansion secret exit location
There are three Wonder Seeds to collect in Secrets of Shova Mansion. The first two — the one you get from the Wonder Flower sequence and from reaching the normal flagpole — are a bit more obvious. You can find our walkthrough of them with the rest of W4 Sunbaked Desert.
Finding the third Wonder Seed leads to a secret exit — and opens the path to Flight of the Bloomps, Expert Badge Challenge: Invisibility 1, and this world’s entrance to the Special World.
Image: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo
You’ll have to play the level a second and get all the way to the end. When you drop out of the final door, there’s a Shova below you pushing a box across a small section of breakable blocks.
Image: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo
Ground Pound the blocks and then push the box into the gap (taking out the Shova in the process). This will reveal a new pipe.
Image: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo
Go through the pipe and run right. You’ll find another pipe there that will lead you to this level’s secret exit and third Wonder Seed.
Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass subscription service is having another banner year in 2023, with over 450 games now available for console players and over 400 for PC players.
The service has recently been bolstered with the addition of two huge Xbox Game Studios exclusives, Starfieldand Forza Motorsport, while Cities: Skylines 2 is a big-deal day one addition for the PC crowd. Atlus’ JRPG classics Persona 4 Goldenand Persona 3 Portable made their debut on Xbox consoles earlier in the year, and Tango Gameworks’ surprise release Hi-Fi Rushtold a cathartic rock ’n’ roll story with clever mechanics. Blockbuster titles are well represented with the likes of Assassin’s Creed and Hitman, cult favorites like Lies of P popped up, and Game Pass has continued its strong tradition of curating the best of the indie world with the likes of Cocoon. Even Grand Theft Auto 5 — and its extremely popular online mode — has returned to the service once more. That’s a lot of “free” video gaming to be done!
With the sheer size and the bounty of choice it offers, Game Pass can be a bit overwhelming to digest. But we’re here to help. Here are the 25 PC and Xbox Game Pass games that you should be checking out if you subscribe to Microsoft’s flagship service.
[Ed. note: This list was last updated on Oct. 24, 2023, adding Cocoon, Lies of P, and Party Animals. It will be updated as new games come to the service.]
Assassin’s Creed Origins
Image: Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft
Assassin’s Creed Originshas always been good — but it was only in hindsight, three years after its release, that I began to consider it great.
It’s a phenomenal concoction of historical tourism, sci-fi storytelling, and open-ended combat. It also displays a confidence that the more recent Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and Assassin’s Creed Valhalla can only partially match. Whereas the two most recent entries embrace the insecure ethos of “content” that has so defined the last decade of open-world games, Origins is content to leave vast swaths of its world empty and to let things burn slowly, in ways both narrative and explorative. Its map unfurls over deserts, mountains, oases, and sun-swept cities slowly being buried in sand, all while its two central figures (Bayek and Aya) navigate one of video games’ most compelling romances.
It’s not completely averse to daily challenges and cosmetic DLC packs. But it’s the rare open-world game that trusts my attention span. It understands that pastoral beauty and tragic storytelling, successfully interwoven, are worth more than any number of distractions its successors can throw at me. —Mike Mahardy
Assassin’s Creed Origins is available via Game Pass on Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
Chicory: A Colorful Tale
Image: Greg Lobanov/Finji
Chicory: A Colorful Tale tells the story of a small dog who accidentally inherits a magical paintbrush. As you travel around the black-and-white open world, you use your new paint powers to bring color back to the environments. Everything is your canvas, and you can color it all to both solve puzzles and customize the setting to your liking.
The gameplay of Chicory is cute and relatively simple, even as you unlock new powers. But the reason it made it to the No. 2 slot on Polygon’s 2021 Game of the Year list is the story it tells about the destructive powers of self-doubt — the way it cruelly infects even the greatest artists out there.
Chicory is a game that’s not about coloring in the lines or even making something beautiful. It’s about making something — painting something, in this case — that you are proud of, that makes you happy. And if that creation also brings joy to those around you? Hey, that’s great too. —Ryan Gilliam
Chicory: A Colorful Tale is available via Game Pass on Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
Cities: Skylines
Image: Colossal Order/Paradox Interactive
There’s a reason Cities: Skylines is often held up by literal city planners as the pinnacle of the genre: It doesn’t fall into the trap most city-builders do of treating all its resources and systems as mere data points on a list, gaming by way of a spreadsheet. Cities: Skylines is the real deal, letting you get into the weeds of urban micromanagement and understanding how and why metropolises morph in response to the needs of their citizens. (It’s also proof that planned cities are a crime against humanity.)
Cities: Skylines forces you to grapple with the beautiful, messy truth of what your citizens are: people. In other words, Eric Adams, please play Cities: Skylines! —Ari Notis
Cities Skylines is available via Game Pass on Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
Citizen Sleeper
Image: Jump Over the Age/Fellow Traveller
Citizen Sleeper is a hyper-stylized tabletop-like RPG set in space. In a capitalist society, you find yourself stuck on a space station. You’ll need to manage your time, energy, and relationships to survive the collapse of the corporatocracy and the anarchy that follows. You’ll roll dice and make decisions to get paid and help those around you.
Aside from its interesting setting, Citizen Sleeper features a vibrant cast of impactful characters, making each interaction memorable. It follows an excellent trend of table-top inspired games to encourage you to find your own objectives, and to revel in the story when things fall apart. It’s packed with tense decisions, great writing, and striking visuals. —Ryan Gilliam
Citizen Sleeper is available via Game Pass on Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
Cocoon
Image: Geometric Interactive/Annapurna Interactive via Polygon
A mysteriously beautiful, exquisitely paced puzzle adventure from some of the minds behind Limbo and Inside, Cocoonshares those games’ wordless delivery and stark aesthetic. But it’s more abstract and contemplative, and perhaps even more involving. It’s a game of pocket universes, one inside another, inhabited by buglike techno-organic life-forms — including the player character, a scurrying little beetle-thing. The conceit is that you can step up out of one reality and move it around another on your back, in a gently glowing sphere that also interacts with the world around it, before diving back in — or swapping it for another entirely.
Like so many puzzle adventures, it’s essentially a game of locks and keys, plus the occasional ingenious boss fight. But like the very best of them — Fez, for example, or Portal — Cocoon plays games with perception and reality that rewire your brain in pleasantly tortuous ways. —Oli Welsh
Cocoon is available via Game Pass on Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
Crusader Kings 3
Image: Paradox Interactive via Polygon
Imagine if Succession unfolded between the years 867 and 1453, in the throne rooms, banquet halls, and torchlit back corridors of European castles. Monarchs rise and fall, small-time fiefdoms become bona fide kingdoms, and nonmarital children exact revenge after decades of being shunned. Crusader Kings 3is the story of the Roy family if we could pick any character, see them through to their death, and assume control of their orphaned heir — at which point, we can completely alter the course of the dynasty through petty gossip and underhanded murder attempts.
In Paradox Interactive’s vast suite of grand strategy games with complex systems that give way to thrilling emergent storytelling, none have made me cackle with glee quite as much as Crusader Kings 3. In one playthrough, I wed my firstborn son to the daughter of a powerful neighboring king, only for said daughter to declare a holy war on me one decade later. In another, I strong-armed one of my vassals into remaining loyal, shortly before knighting his cousin and sworn rival; I didn’t want to be a jerk, but my characters were jerks. I was just following the script down the path of least resistance.
Much like Succession, Crusader Kings 3 is at its best when tensions finally boil over between the emotionally stunted members of a dysfunctional family. Unlike Succession, though, Crusader Kings 3 never has to end. —Mike Mahardy
Crusader Kings 3 is available via Game Pass on Windows PC and Xbox Series X.
Death’s Door
Image: Acid Nerve/Devolver Digital
Death’s Door is a cute little Soulslike game. You play as a raven who works as a kind of grim reaper for the bureaucratic arm of the afterlife. It’s your job to adventure in the world and claim the lives of a handful of bosses. The world of Death’s Door is charming, as are its characters, with excellent dungeons to explore and puzzles to solve. There are also giant enemies who will test both your skills and patience.
Still, Death’s Door has a friendly air around it. It wants you to succeed, and does a nice job easing you along with easy-to-read enemy and boss patterns. It’s a great, challenging Game Pass game to cut your teeth on before venturing into even more difficult titles. —Ryan Gilliam
Death’s Door is available via Game Pass on Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
Doom (2016)
Image: id Software/Bethesda Softworks
2016’s Doom builds off of one of the oldest franchises in gaming history with speed, acrobatics, and an absolutely killer soundtrack. Doomguy moves extremely quickly, swapping between a variety of guns, grenades, melee attacks, and a giant chainsaw to blow up demons off of Mars.
The game is bloody, metal as hell, and surprisingly funny. Doom makes you feel like a god, capable of clearing any hurdle the game could throw at you, and it doesn’t offer a single dull level in its lengthy campaign. —Ryan Gilliam
Doom (2016) is available via Game Pass on Xbox One and Xbox Series X.
Forza Horizon 5
Image: Playground Games/Xbox Game Studios via Polygon
Forza Horizon 5 is the latest racing game to land on Xbox and Game Pass. It’s a visual feast filled with some of the most realistic-looking cars you’ve ever seen. But anyone who loves any of these Forza games will tell you that the Horizon series is so much more than its graphics.
Horizon 5 takes place in a fictionalized Mexico, and gives you the freedom to drive around a massive map in whatever car you want. You can drive a nice sports car while off-roading, or drive a hummer off a massive ramp.
Forza Horizon 5 gives you the freedom and choice to drive how and where you want inside a legion of incredible cars. —Ryan Gilliam
Forza Horizon 5 is available via Game Pass on Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
Grand Theft Auto 5
Image: Rockstar North/Rockstar Games
Grand Theft Auto 5 is one of the most celebrated games of the last decade. In that time, it has appeared on three different generations of consoles, seen numerous graphical improvements, and gotten new modes, like its sweeping first-person alteration.
The main story focuses on three criminals from three very different backgrounds bumbling their way through numerous heists in the city of Los Santos — a fictional version of Southern California. And in order to tell the stories of Michael, Franklin, and Trevor, the game implements a feature that allows you to swap between the protagonists at will, offering a new perspective on the city and letting you play multiple roles per heist.
Grand Theft Auto games usually live long past their time, but GTA 5 has remained especially relevant due to GTA Online, the sprawling MMO-like experience that Rockstar Games created inside the world of San Andreas. It’s the massive GTA 5 sandbox — plus a little extra — without any of the constraints found in the story mode.
The parts of GTA 5 that annoy — such as the more misguided aspects of its American commentary, or the occasional tailing mission — are distant memories compared to the chaos you can cause every five minutes. If futzing around a semi-realistic metropolitan area is something you really enjoy, it’s hard to imagine anything on this list entertaining you for as long as Grand Theft Auto 5 will. —Ryan Gilliam
Grand Theft Auto 5 is available via Game Pass on Xbox One and Xbox Series X.
Halo: The Master Chief Collection
Image: 343 Industries/Xbox Game Studios
The Xbox brand might never have taken off without the Halo series, the first-person shooters that helped to popularize local competitive multiplayer on consoles before taking the party online after the launch of Xbox Live. The Master Chief Collection package includes multiple Halo games, all of which have been updated to keep them enjoyable for modern audiences.
But what’s so striking about the collection is how many ways there are to play. You can go through the campaigns by yourself. If you want to play with a friend but don’t want to compete, there is co-op, allowing you to share the games’ stories with a partner, either online or through split-screen play. If you do want to compete, you can do it locally against up to three other players on the same TV, or take things online to challenge the wider community.
These are some of the best first-person shooters ever released, and they’re worth revisiting and enjoying, no matter how you decide to play them. Sharing these games with my children through local co-op has been an amazing journey, and this package includes so many games, each of which is filled with different modes and options. It’s hard to imagine ever getting bored or uninstalling the collection once it’s on your hard drive.
This is a part of gaming history that continues to feel relevant, and very much alive. —Ben Kuchera
Halo: The Master Chief Collection is available via Game Pass on Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
Hardspace: Shipbreaker
Image: Blackbird Interactive/Focus Entertainment
Hardspace: Shipbreaker is another game poking fun at corporate greed and its general indifference toward the working class — seen in other excellent building games like Satisfactory. But Hardspace takes it further than just tongue-in-cheek poking by asking: What happens when the workers have had enough? Hardspace: Shipbreaker’s pro-union message is a delightful backdrop for an incredibly deep and stress-filled puzzle game.
As a Shipbreaker, your job is to break apart and recycle small spaceships. With your handy welding tools and futuristic gravity tethers, you’re able to carefully carve up these once-great hulks and repurpose them for the future. Sometimes that means throwing all the metal plates into the furnace to be melted down, and other times you’ll need to comb through the skeletons, grab salvageable items, and extract them still intact.
As you improve your skills, the game will test you with harder and larger ships. Suddenly, you’ll have to start worrying about the active nuclear reactors that are still in these vehicles, or pressurized cabins that explode if you open them in the wrong order.
And all of this danger circles Hardspace: Shipbreaker back to the conversation it starts at the very beginning. Hardspace is a game about focus, and how taking your eye off the ball for even a second can end in explosive death, or worse: a career spent toiling under forces that couldn’t care less about you. —Ryan Gilliam
Hardspace: Shipbreaker is available via Game Pass on Windows PC and Xbox Series X.
Hi-Fi Rush
Image: Tango Gameworks/Bethesda Softworks via Polygon
Rhythm games, for players who prefer to shoot, dodge, punch, and jump on their own time, can be a tough sell. But such is not the case with Hi-Fi Rush, the action game from Ghostwire: Tokyo developer Tango Gameworks. It provides an array of visual cues to help rhythmically challenged players, but crucially, it doesn’t require that protagonist Chai attacks according to the game’s metronome. Instead, its rhythm elements are an optional layer to interact with, offering score chasers something to aspire to. For everyone else, the game’s vibrant world, rock n’ roll storytelling, and entrancing traversal stand well enough on their own. It’s a cathartic triumph of a game.—Mike Mahardy
Hi-Fi Rush is available via Game Pass on Windows PC and Xbox Series X.
Hitman World of Assassination
Image: IO Interactive
Hitman, Hitman 2, and Hitman 3 are some of the best sandbox puzzle games ever made. As Agent 47, you’ll climb buildings, sneak around parties, and murder spies and debutantes with all manner of tools. Hitman World of Assassination includes the campaigns from all three of the games in IO Interactive’s recent World of Assassination trilogy, giving you more than a dozen maps to play on. Just last week, it also added Freelancer mode, which functions like a roguelike as Agent 47 kills his way through four major crime syndicates, fleshing out his safehouse as he goes.
The Hitman series may be about violence and murder, but it manages to stay lighthearted and fun with its wild physics and silly scenarios. It’s the perfect series to goof around in if you feel like being stealthy, or just want to see what happens when you drop a giant chandelier on a crowd of snobby jerks. —Ryan Gilliam
Hitman Trilogy is available via Game Pass on Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
Lies of P
Image: Neowiz
One of 2023’s most delightful surprises, Lies of P is a Soulslike starring a noticeably hot Pinocchio, of all things, from relatively unheralded Korean developer Neowiz. It turns out to be one of the most original and interesting takes on the genre from outside FromSoftware — although more so in its strong storytelling and themes than its gameplay, which is heavily influenced by Sekiro and Bloodborne in its aggressive, rhythmic focus on parry-and-thrust.
As Pinocchio lies and battles his way around a crumbling Belle Epoque town that’s been overrun by its servant class of automatons, Lies of P’s grim tale bends to the player’s choices in ways that convince and intrigue. This works particularly well with Pinocchio’s dual nature as a half-human half-puppet who can be modified with gameplay-altering tools; Lies of P presents an illusory society that you can tinker with and change, just as it tries to manipulate you. —Oli Welsh
Lies of P is available via Game Pass on Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
Mass Effect Legendary Edition
Image: BioWare/Electronic Arts
The Mass Effect franchise was gigantic for the Xbox 360 era, but it didn’t transfer to future platforms well — purchasing and downloading the entire story became confusing and expensive when moving to the Xbox One and Xbox Series X. But 2021’s Legendary Editionfinally made the entire Mass Effect trilogy accessible in one package.
The story follows Commander Shepard, a futuristic military hero, who’s tasked with gathering a collection of alien misfits for a variety of missions. Each game is wonderfully crafted, with stand-alone stories and breakout characters that don’t rely on the series’ wider narrative. As a trilogy, the games build on each other with meaningful choices that carry over to the next entry, giving weight to your choices.
The Legendary Edition is the way to experience Mass Effect, and it’s a must-play whether you’re on your first run to save the galaxy or your fifth. —Ryan Gilliam
Mass Effect Legendary Edition is available via Game Pass on Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X, but only for those that have Game Pass Ultimate.
Party Animals
Image: Recreate Games/Source Technology
Look, it’s not rocket science. Sometimes you just want some truly dumb, violent nonsense to play with your friends, and fulfilling that need is just as important for a well-rounded subscription service like Game Pass as serving up expansive RPGs and intriguing indies. Party Animals is a multiplayer party brawler about cute critters knocking the stuffing out of each other. That’s it. It’s not Smash Bros., and nor does it pretend to be; it’s more like an aggressively cute Gang Beasts, or a Fall Guys that’s just about fighting. It’s a little slow, but that just makes it easier to revel in its soft-bellied slapstick. Turn your brain off and enjoy. —Oli Welsh
Party Animals is available via Game Pass on Xbox One and Xbox Series X.
Pentiment
Image: Obsidian Entertainment/Xbox Game Studios
Pentiment is the most immediately striking and recognizable game on this list. Inspired by the art of classic manuscripts, Pentiment sucks you into its beautifully designed version of 16th-century Europe, when books were still being written by hand in monasteries.
You play as Andreas, a young artist looking to make his fortune in an ever-changing world. And as you explore a small village and the grounds surrounding it, and go to work drawing magnificent pictures in custom manuscripts, you’ll meet new people and further flesh out Andreas’ personality and background.
The story will take you through murder, scandal, and a variety of other dramatic events in Andreas’ life. But the plot is secondary to the game’s incredible style and dialogue. —Ryan Gilliam
Pentiment is available via Game Pass on Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
Persona 4 Golden
Image: Atlus via Polygon
Persona 4 Golden follows a boy who goes to stay with his uncle and cousin in a small Japanese town. But almost immediately after his arrival, a serial killer starts murdering civilians, all of which have an unknown thread connecting them.
As with all Persona games, Persona 4 Golden allows you to play out your time in school, improving your character’s social stats and friendships before diving into dungeons to help further the plot. But the cast of characters in Persona 4 Golden is unlike any other in the series, offering some of the most memorable party members in any RPG.
Now on Xbox, Persona 4 Golden looks wonderful and plays beautifully. It’s a smart turn-based RPG that’s loaded with conversations to be had and mysteries to solve. —Ryan Gilliam
Persona 4 Golden is available via Game Pass on Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
PowerWash Simulator
Image: FuturLab/Square Enix
PowerWash Simulator is the perfect game to sit on your couch and space off to. As the name suggests, you’re a professional power washer, and your job is to use your washing tools to obliterate grease, grime, and goop off of vehicles, buildings, and even entire playgrounds.
There are some minor upgrade and currency systems, but PowerWash Simulator mostly takes a minimalistic approach — you power wash stuff, no more, no less. Sure, you can take special jobs where you wash something wild like a Mars rover, but it’s really just about making things clean. And while it might sound like boring yard work, it’s actually quite meditative.
Blasting the black film off of a colorful slide provided me with one of the biggest serotonin bursts I’ve gotten from any piece of media in years. It’s a delightful, peaceful game that never fails to relax me after a long week. —Ryan Gilliam
PowerWash Simulator is available via Game Pass on Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
Slay the Spire
In Slay the Spire, I play as one of three unique characters, in order to fight my way through a randomly generated map filled with battles, treasure chests, and RPG-like encounters. Combat is similar to that of a turn-based RPG, but instead of selecting attacks and spells from a menu, I draw cards from each character’s specific pool of cards. These cards allow me to attack, defend, cast spells, or use special abilities. Each character has their own set of cards, making their play styles radically different.
I also learned to buck my expectations for the kinds of decks I should build. The key to deck-building games is constructing a thematic deck where each card complements the others. In card games like Magic: The Gathering, this is easy enough to do, since you do all your planning before a match — not in the moment, like in Slay the Spire. Since I’m given a random set of cards to build a deck from at the end of each encounter, I can’t go into any run with a certain deck-building goal in mind. I have to quickly decide on long-term deck designs based on what cards are available to me after a battle. The trick with Slay the Spire is to think more creatively and proactively than the typical card game requires. —Jeff Ramos
Slay the Spire is available via Game Pass on Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
You start the game by inheriting a farm from your grandfather, and you then move to a sleepy town to take over the diminishing acres. For the next 10, 20, 50, 100-plus hours, you work to turn that farm into a modern utopia.
This is easily the most relaxing game on Game Pass. All you do is plant seeds, care for animals, mine some rocks, and befriend the villagers. There’s plenty of drama to be had — with the Wal-Mart-like JojaMart and an army of slimes trying to stop you from mining — but at the end of the day, you’re still going to pass out in your farmhouse and get ready to plant more strawberries the next morning. —Ryan Gilliam
Stardew Valley is available via Game Pass on Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge
Image: Tribute Games/Dotemu
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revengeis already a classic Turtles brawler. If you could’ve overheard a bunch of kids talking about their dream TMNT game while playing the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles arcade cabinet at a local pizza bar in 1989, or Turtles in Time in 1991, this is the Turtles game they’d be imagining.
But over 30 years later, Shredder’s Revenge implements some features that distinguish it from the days of the coin operated arcade. There’s a world map, side-quests, new heroes, experience points, and online matchmaking that help modernize the throwback trappings. Shredder’s Revenge manages to balance itself nicely between the world of retro and revamp.
With only 16 “episodes,” it’s the perfect Game Pass game to jump into with some pals at a sleepover — as long as there’s pizza, of course. —Ryan Gilliam
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge is available via Game Pass on Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim Special Edition
Image: Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda Softworks
The Elder Scrolls 5, better known as just Skyrim, is a classic. And while you can play it on almost any console or device known to humankind at this point, it’s still worth playing on Game Pass if you’ve never given it a chance, or are just craving another journey in its sprawling world.
Like most Bethesda RPGs, Skyrim is a first-person game with a giant, living world. There are dungeons to crawl, stories to uncover, and a variety of guilds to join. But you can also go off the beaten path and discover your own fun in Skyrim — it rewards you for being curious. It’s the kind of Game Pass game that you can play for hundreds of hours and never get bored. —Ryan Gilliam
The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim Special Edition is available via Game Pass on Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
The only control you have over the game is what character you select, what items you choose during your run, and where your character moves. Depending on your weapons of choice, knives, whips, flames, magic bolts, bibles, or holy water fly out of your character in every direction, decimating hordes or pixelated movie monsters, earning you cash for your next adventure.
Though extremely simple on its face, Vampire Survivors is one of the best games of 2022. It perfectly walks the line between peaceful and stressful, requiring the perfect amount of attention for success. It also facilitates growth through skill and through roguelite progression, ensuring that each run is a bit different from your last. —Ryan Gilliam
Vampire Survivors is available via Game Pass on Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
Early on in Martin Scorsese’s historical drama Killers of the Flower Moon, there’s a quiet moment between Ernest Burkhart (Leonardo DiCaprio) and the woman he will eventually marry, Osage heiress Molly (Lily Gladstone). The absorbing way Scorsese stages the drama makes it clear that this relationship will not end well, but the soundtrack is strangely twinkling, as if this were the start of a grand romance. Then the lyrics kicked in:
…karma is my boyfriend Karma is a god Karma is the breeze in my hair on the weekend Karma’s a relaxing thought Aren’t you envious that for you it’s not?
I was not, in fact, hearing the late, great Robbie Robertson’s score for Killers of the Flower Moon — I was getting sound bleed from Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour playing next door. And I would continue to get that bleed throughout Killers, because while “Karma” marks the end of The Eras Tour’s set list, the film immediately started running again. At 169 minutes long, it’s only 37 minutes shorter than Scorsese’s epic, one of the few currently playing movies that get anywhere near the drama’s 206-minute run time.
Through conversations with friends and colleagues, posts on social media, and collected observations of theater layouts and showtimes, I learned that I am far from alone. The sonic power of Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour is bleeding into Martin Scorsese’s meditative masterpiece in a number of multiplexes, creating a miasma of cinematic emotion that neither artist could anticipate.
Image via X
On the one hand, this is extremely annoying. Part of the reason we go to the theater is because it supposedly allows us to experience movies the way the filmmakers intended, optimally presented in a space that’s free of distractions. Killers of the Flower Moon wrestles with a horrifying true chapter of American history. It’s a quiet and mannered film, perhaps more so than Scorsese fans might expect. Hearing “Blank Space” while the Osage people are getting systematically murdered can feel disrespectful at worst, incongruously funny at best.
And the sonic overlap itself is kind of amusing. Two wildly different reasons to go to the movies are running together, as “Wildest Dreams” is faintly heard over wide-angle shots of the Oklahoma plains. It’s an offline version of the online media environment, where context collapse is normal, and random juxtaposition can yield darkly comedic results.
I didn’t particularly love watching Killers of the Flower Moon this way, but I didn’t hate it, either. It was like a series of intrusive thoughts I learned to tune out while contemplating something I found engaging and worthwhile. There I was, ruminating on the parasitic nature of white entrepreneurs on Native lands, and unbidden, I would think of that one YouTube video where a guy who did a viral Gollum voice covered “I Knew You Were Trouble,” because I heard a few bars of the song leaking in from the theater next to me during a quieter moment. But I also grew up in a noisy home, so I can rely on muscle memory here.
I don’t think anyone should deliberately try to see Killers of the Flower Moon this way. I don’t believe I got any insight from this aural serendipity that I wouldn’t have gotten had I watched each movie in a more soundproof environment. Someone else might! There could be real TheDark Side of the Rainbow/Another Brick in the WALL-E potential here. Maybe when both movies are available digitally, someone will make a “Killers of the Taylor Moon” cut. Accidentally, in theaters, though? Not ideal.
But I don’t think it’s a reason to stay home. Like The Eras Tour, Killers of the Flower Moon deserves to be seen on the biggest screen possible. The minor inconvenience of occasionally overhearing a track from 1989 (or, God forbid, Reputation) is worth the trade-off.
Perhaps theater managers who read this piece — feel free to pass it along if you know any — will take this kind of sound-bleed issue into account, and work to make it less of a normal occurrence. Exhibitors, please take Taylor’s words into account: You need to calm down. You’re being too loud.
Twitch is further broadening its simulcast rules, the livestream platform announced on Friday. As shared during TwitchCon in Las Vegas, streamers can now live broadcast streams onto even more platforms — YouTube and Kick, for example. That said, streamers with an “agreement with Twitch that requires exclusivity” won’t be able to do so.
“We truly believe that Twitch is the best service to be a live, interactive creator, and we want to give streamers more freedom in just how they want to build their communities,” said Twitch VP of community product Jeremy Forrester during an interview with Polygon at TwitchCon.
This news comes on the heels of Twitch bleeding big-name talent. On Oct. 19, Kick signed massively popular streamer and co-owner of FaZe Clan Nickmercs in a one-year contract worth roughly $10 million, according to a Forbes report. This summer, the upstart company also signed Amouranth, Twitch’s most popular female streamer, and former pro-Overwatch player xQc (the latter of whom, Kick offered a $100 million deal). This is not to mention talent that moved to YouTube: In the last three years, YouTube signed Valkyrae, Ludwig, Sykkuno, LilyPichu, and more. Some of these streamers left in the wake of Twitch changing its revenue share split from 70/30 (in favor of streamers) to 50/50.
Forrester said this talent departure was not the motivator for the expanded simulcast policy, instead calling it “community driven” and saying that it was an example for Twitch developers to demonstrate that they “listen” to creator’s “concerns, and react to them when we can.”
The most interesting part of the new guidelines might just be all the way at the bottom of the FAQ. Streamers who left Twitch now have a chance to become Twitch Partners again. Per the guidelines, Twitch Partners whose previous agreements were “terminated” because they left for another service — and they notified Twitch beforehand, thus not violating the agreement — will be “eligible to reinstate their Partnership status.”
Twitch also seems to finally be acknowledging the value of cross-platform discovery. In August, Twitch updated its simulcast guidelines to include TikTok and Instagram. During TwitchCon, streamers told Polygon that TikTok had become a vital way to draw in new fans — TikTok’s short video format basically functions like a highlight reel for Twitch streamers to post their funniest moments. “Being able to curate the highlights from your stream and feeding that into the TikTok algorithm is your chance for an entirely new audience to see you,” streamer Alex Labat told Polygon in anticipation of TwitchCon. And earlier this month, Twitch introduced its own short video feature, “stories.”
Even as simulcasting options broaden, there are still rules to follow that more or less ensure streamers won’t use Twitch to direct traffic to their other platforms, or attempt to interact with their fan communities on various platforms at the same time. Streamers must “ensure” the quality of a Twitch users’ experience is “no less than the experience on other platform services” — and this includes engaging with the Twitch community via chat. Nor can streamers use a third-party app to for “merging chat features,” for example. Streamers also can’t provide links during a Twitch stream, encouraging followers to leave Twitch for a simulcast on another platform.
“We believe that creators will do it with the intent to help bring people to Twitch,” Forrester said, optimistically.
You may have felt it: Twitch, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube are all competing for an increasingly overlapping user base as social media platforms all introduce similar features.
But for streamers and influencers, these platforms have symbiotic relationships — one platform can be important for growth in another. Twitch and TikTok may seem antithetical, as one targets long-form, hourslong broadcasts over the other’s bite-sized clips, but Twitch streamers have realized that both platforms can be crucial for audience growth.
TikTok is an attention behemoth — Twitch’s user-base numbers don’t even come close — that can be essential to broader success on Twitch as a livestreaming platform. Twitch seems to recognize this relationship, having released new tools this year to make it easier to reuse Twitch content on TikTok. Twitch’s Clip Editor is a web-based application that lets streamers edit clips, including the ability to convert them into portrait mode. Twitch also has CapCut, a more in-depth editor, that makes editing more accessible. TikTok recently added a feature that lets users post to TikTok directly from Twitch and CapCut, closing the loop on the ease of creating short-form content. And earlier in October, Twitch itself introduced a new short-form “stories” feature.
Alex Labat, a Twitch streamer and TikTok creator, has seen exponential growth to his Twitch streams after using TikTok to promote “highlights” of his content, like his infamous Twitch Plays streams, where he gets Twitch Chat to use text commands to play games like World of Warcraft.
“Twitch is where you want to be to see those [unscripted] moments happen in real time,” Labat said. “The ‘you had to be there’ moments. TikTok, on the other hand, is where you go to highlight and/or showcase those moments. Being able to curate the highlights from your stream and feeding that into the TikTok algorithm is your chance for an entirely new audience to see you, for them to say, ‘OK. I have to see what this is about.’”
Some of Labat’s most popular TikToks only required editing Twitch clips into short-form videos; the effort, he says, feels low risk with the potential for high reward. TikTok videos can get tons of views on the platform itself, but the other crucial element that Labat says is often ignored is how often TikToks are reused and reposted on other social media platforms. “Instagram Reels, tweets… sometimes when things take off you aren’t even the arbiter of that growth because something you’ve produced has been shared/remixed on a platform you haven’t even touched,” he said.
Short-form content is also more likely to be viewed by other content creators doing reaction videos and the like; Labat credits a massive Twitch traffic spike to popular World of Warcraft streamer Asmongold viewing his Twitch Plays video on stream. “Very rarely will you ever see a streamer watching someone else’s stream while they’re live,” Labat added.
It’s hard to track whether TikTok audiences are sticking around for longer Twitch streams, but Labat said he does see TikTok users getting involved in the community. Some of his TikTok viewers even signed up for Twitch, after which he helped “onboard” new viewers.
“TikTok people will make it known,” Labat said. “‘Hey. I’m here from TikTok, sort of unsure how things work here.’ And I commend my community for this greatly, they welcome them with open arms.”
Bringing another platform into the equation, Labat said Discord is the other crucial part of making all these different content avenues work. It bridges the gap between TikTok and Twitch, ultimately bringing his community together. “Discord provides that space so that people can find me and where I’ll be providing that content, regardless of said platform,” he added.
Season 2 of HBO’s pirate comedy/romance Our Flag Means Death takes some big turns by episode 7 — maybe not as big as the season 1 turn, when inept pirate captain Stede Bonnet (Rhys Darby) and Ed “Blackbeard” Teach (Taika Waititi) realized they had romantic feelings for each other, but still… a whole lot of things happen that we figured viewers would want to talk about, once they’d seen it for themselves. So when Polygon sat down with creator and showrunner David Jenkins to talk about season 2, we split the conversation into two parts: an overview of the season’s biggest ideas, and this spoiler-focused conversation about all the surprises in episode 7, including its explosive ending.
[Ed. note: Read on at your own risk; spoilers abound ahead.]
Photo: Nicola Dove/Max
To recap: In episode 7 of Our Flag Means Death season 2, Stede and Blackbeard have just had sex for the first time, and they seem all set for their happily-ever-after together — until Blackbeard abruptly leaves Stede to pursue a job as a fisherman. The crew visits the Republic of Pirates, where Oluwande (Samson Kayo) expresses feelings for Zhang Yi Sao (Ruibo Qian), even though he was previously uncomfortable with her expressing feelings for him when she took over his ship, and even though he and his friend Jim (Vico Ortiz) had a romantic liaison in season 1. They also learn that The Swede (Nat Faxon) has happily settled in as one of 20 husbands to Spanish Jackie (Leslie Jones), even though he was forced into that relationship to save the rest of the crew.
Yes, that summary does sound like something out of a soap opera, now that you mention it. But this doesn’t: At the end of the episode, a trap set by Prince Ricky (Erroll Shand) obliterates Zhang’s fleet, and the pirates’ haven is destroyed when the English fleet sweeps in to kill or capture the whole cast. Jenkins talks us through it all below.
This conversation has been edited for concision and clarity.
Polygon: One thing that really surprised me in season 2 is that you have two different coercive relationships where a man is being uncomfortably forced into an intimate relationship with a woman, and then he later decides he likes it. What kind of conversations went into those relationships and the gender tropes you’re reversing there?
David Jenkins: With The Swede and Spanish Jackie — she owns [her husbands]. They live in her basement, and she owns them, basically. So already, you’re [ick noise]. But then I love that The Swede really likes her. She’s a gangster, she’s a mob boss. There is a gender aspect to having her in that role. But then he says, “I’ve found parts of myself that I never knew existed, and other parts I thought were long gone.”
I just liked the idea of Leslie [Jones]’s character and Nat Faxon’s character being together and happy, balancing each other. She’s already got a wild thing going — she’s got 20 husbands. To me, to see that relationship start as kind of a joke, Oh, Leslie’s character’s scary and his character’s timid, and it turns into No, actually, they balance each other pretty well — that’s kind of sweet. It’s less about the fact that she essentially owns him, it’s about the fact that they do care about each other. It’s kind of nice.
Photo: Nicola Dove/Max
But you have very much the same dynamic with Zhang and Olu. When they start out, she’s got all the power in the relationship, and she’s kind of predatory about claiming Olu. He’s intimidated and forced into it, and he comes around on deciding he likes her. It just feels like an odd beat to repeat.
Well, she has all the power in the relationship until she doesn’t. And then she realizes that she’s in love with this guy — he is soft and kind and sweet. And that’s powerful. I think they’re mirrored in Blackbeard and Stede’s relationship — they’re each each other’s manic pixie dream girl.
I think there is something in the show about how piracy is a brutal way of life. It’s essentially Mad Max, this world. There’s no law, there’s just strong and weak. And in stories like Game of Thrones, we see how that plays out. It’s a lot of women getting raped in stories and you’re like, [resigned ick noise]. In Our Flag, a lot of these relationships aren’t consenting relationships — they’re power-dynamic relationships, because it’s Mad Max. So a thing I like to see in this show is, Well, why is the more powerful person interested in this weaker person? What are they trying to balance?
In a world where might makes right, and some people just need to align themselves with someone strong, it’s interesting to be like, Well, what does Blackbeard need? What does Spanish Jackie need? What does Zhang Yi Sao need, the most powerful pirate in the world? What happens when she gets into a relationship? What is she looking for? She’s a modern person, what does she need? So you’re always gonna get those weird power dynamics to start with, I think, and then you just try to get to: What’s underneath that? Why are they doing what they’re doing? What are they looking for?
Photo: Nicola Dove/Max
Speaking of what Blackbeard needs, I think some fans will think that him leaving Stede in episode 7 is a form of revenge. It so closely parallels what Stede did to him. You can read it as them being very much alike, running from commitment, or as him trying to hurt Stede. What do you want to say to people freaking out after episode 7?
Well, there’s a thing I talk about a lot — I really, really liked the Bradley Cooper/Lady Gaga version of A Star Is Born. I like how the dynamic changes between them. Everything we do is collapsed on this show — we talk about these lofty things, but we don’t have the time to execute everything we might like to do. Like, episode 4 is a mini Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, just a very small version of it.
In this case, we liked the idea that Blackbeard found this guy and made him a legitimate pirate, but now that he’s a star, Blackbeard’s questioning what he wants to do now that he’s lost his appetite for piracy. And Stede’s turned into Lady Gaga’s character. He’s famous now, because he killed the scariest pirate, so that power is inverted. It’s interesting to look at how a relationship changes now that Blackbird isn’t the star anymore and Stede isn’t a hanger-on. Stede got what he wanted; he’s a real boy. Is Blackbeard jealous? Is he uncomfortable with it? When power dynamics shift in a relationship, that leads to trouble. And then it really is just like, What are they going to do? Are they going to make it through it? Can they rebalance? Because that is a sign of a healthy relationship.
That episode is also a big turning point for Zhang and Olu, and for Olu and Jim. What went into the decisions around them moving in different directions after their connection in season 1?
I think that relationship was always seen in the room as a friend relationship that got romantic. That tension was interesting to us — it’s like, Well, what if we don’t play them as jealous? What if we play it as, when you love a friend and it becomes romantic, and then you see someone who makes them happy and you know you’re not it, you feel jealous? But also, they’re your friend. You want to see them happy. I think a lot of times, particularly in straight relationships, it’s traumatizing, and could be more about the jealousy. But here, I think it’s nice to see it this way: They truly care about each other enough to just want to see their friend with someone good, someone who takes care of them. In my life, those are the best relationships [with exes]. I do see those among my friends, but I don’t see it dramatized a lot, I just see the negative component dramatized. I like it this way — they’re friends, and they just want to see each other do well.
Photo: Nicola Dove/Max
This has never really been a show about villains, but the end of episode 7 feels like a shift in that regard.
I think a lot of the internal forces in Our Flag are the villains. It’s like, Can you let yourself be loved? Do you know what you want in love? If you know what you want, are you healthy enough to get it? When you start going into the tropes of [Blackbeard impression] Oh, should I be gay or not? or Oh, my friends did me dirty — we’ve seen that a lot. It’s good dramatic fuel, but I don’t think those are the things that drive the show.
I think the things that drive this show are a bunch of people who care about each other and are trying to figure out how to have relationships. And relationships are hard. Usually, you’re your own bad guy or gal or person in a relationship. It’s rarely [someone] doing something terrible to you — it’s you just trying to figure out your own shit. Hopefully, your friends help.
The big ending of episode 7 does suggest, though, that there might be more outside pressure coming to the cast, even if it’s just a short-term blip.
I think this is a story about the age of piracy coming to an end. This way of life is coming to an end. And every Western that’s good is that story: This way of life we made is coming to an end, and it can’t last. […] I think every story about outlaws is about trying to preserve a way of life against normative forces that are kind of fascistic.
All of which is a big historical moment, as far as the history of piracy, and it’s part of Stede and Blackbeard’s real-life story. Was that element coming in from history, the way you took little parts of Stede and Blackbeard’s relationship from history?
Using historical beats are good, because they give the story some shape — until they’re not useful, and then you just ignore them. When you feel like you’d rather eat a sandwich, just ignore the history. And then when you feel like, OK, we’re in emotional soup here, we need some downward pressure, then you bring history back in. The balance of the show is 90% ignoring history, and then 10%, bring it in, whenever we’re like, Ah, gotta move the story forward! Remember, the English are out there, and they’re really bad!
The season 2 finale of Our Flag Means Death airs on Max on Oct. 26.
Halloween is nearly upon us, and what better way to prepare for the spookiest holiday of the year than to dive deep into the best stories the horror genre has to offer?
We’ve pulled together a list of some of the best short horror games to play with only a few days left before Halloween. Whether you’re looking for a chilling psychological horror experience or frantic splatter-core nightmare, these are some of the best games to play this season.
If you like folk horror movies like The Wicker Man and Enys Men, you’ll love Helltown. Developed by Nicolas Lamarche and Gabriel Bolduc Dufour, Helltown follows the story of a postman assigned to deliver packages to a secluded rural neighborhood called Little Vale. After their first day on the job, things quicky take a sinister turn as disturbing visions manifest into an insidious plot rife with demonic cultists and unspeakable horrors. An open-world horror exploration game, Helltown offers multiple endings and collectibles and is the perfect game for those who enjoy sinking into the unknown.
Fans of slow-burn psychological horror with oppressive atmospheres and an emphasis on strong sound design should definitely check out No one lives under the lighthouse. Much like Robert Eggers’ The Lighthouse, starring Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson, this game puts players in the role of a lighthouse keeper who assumes stewardship of a small island off the coast of the United States after the former keeper deserts their post. Unlike that aforementioned movie, you’re all alone; with no one else to keep you company as you tend the light of the tower and conduct chores around the island. Or are you?
In this experimental first-person horror game, players assume the role of a sled dog musher hired by a mysterious scientist to safely escort him across the frozen plains of the arctic to a remote research facility. Along the way, the pair encounter increasingly strange and disturbing phenomenon that calls into question the scientist’s motivations, if not the entire expedition as a whole. Can the scientist be trusted, and what’s up with all these strange visions?
In this role-playing horror game (see the title?), you are Liana, a young girl recovering from a life-saving operation. Upon returning home, she awakes one morning expecting to meet her mother, only to instead be greeted by what appears to be a mannequin-like figure resembling her mother. What’s going on here? As the week wears on, Liana will have to unravel the mystery behind her peculiar situation before time runs out.
The second game from Jamie Gavin, a Galway-based game developer who works under the pseudonym “Enigma Studio ‘’ alongside composer Karl Barnes, Mothered is the middle entry in a loose trilogy of games set to conclude this year with November’s Echostasis. If you enjoyed this one, you should definitely check out Mothered: Home — the “DLC sequel” is even available to play for free via the Haunted PS1 “Spectral Mall” Demo Disc.
Benedetto “Ben” Cocuzza is a game developer known for unique low-poly survival horror games inspired by ’80s VHS aesthetics and classic slasher horror movies. Taking cues from The Texas ChainSaw Massacre and The Hills Have Eyes, Stay Out of the House is a stealth game where players assume the role of a young woman kidnapped while on a road trip with her boyfriend across the border of Oklahoma. In order to escape, players will have to sneak their way through the maze-like interior of a masked madman’s dilapidated house without alerting either him or his deranged family members.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is finally here, and on the cusp of the PlayStation 5’s third birthday, assumes the throne as the console’s most technically impressive game to date.
I said effectively the same thing last fall about God of War Ragnarök, but in this line of work, there’s always something on the horizon that has the potential to make you look foolish in retrospect. (And hey, I did say that Ragnarök could be the PS5’s most technically impressive game yet — back then. A lot can change in 11 months!)
Insomniac Games has brought to bear all of its experience developing for the PS5 — this is the studio’s fourth project for the platform, following 2021’s Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart — in delivering an open-world superhero adventure that makes the most of the console’s hardware. It’s the first entry in the franchise built specifically for this system. The two previous games were 2018’s Marvel’s Spider-Man, which debuted on PlayStation 4, and 2020’s PS5 launch title Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, which was a cross-generation game, so it had to be designed in a way that would allow it to run on PS4 as well as PS5.
In Rift Apart, which debuted exclusively on PS5, Insomniac showed what it could do when it didn’t have to worry about supporting older hardware: dimension-hopping action that relied on the PS5’s speedy SSD. The studio has built upon that work with Spider-Man 2, making even better use of the SSD to allow for instantaneous fast travel and other remarkable transitions. And the Spider-Mans’ hometown of New York City — three boroughs of which are now available, with Queens and Brooklyn lying across the East River from Manhattan — looks as amazing as our two heroes, rendered with real-time ray tracing in every graphics mode.
You may be wondering about those modes, and about which one is the best option. There’s a lot on offer, but the long and short of it is that you’ll get a great experience at all times.
Spider-Man 2’s graphics modes, explained
Insomniac’s terrific hair strand system is rendered in a somewhat fuzzy way in Spider-Man 2’s Performance mode, as you can see in this screenshot featuring Black Cat. The strands would be clearer and more finely detailed in the Fidelity mode.Image: Insomniac Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment via Polygon
There are two ways to play Spider-Man 2: Fidelity mode and Performance mode. You’ll find them under the “Graphics” area of the settings menu’s Visual section, and unlike in many other games, you’ll also find detailed descriptions of each mode and the associated options.
As you’d expect, the image quality and resolution are at their highest in Fidelity mode, which has a frame rate target of 30 frames per second (and is the default setting). The Performance mode makes trade-offs in resolution and other areas to target 60 fps. Both options use dynamic resolution scaling, adjusting the amount of pixels being rendered in order to hit the frame rate in question.
Neither mode can quite maintain a flawless locked frame rate. Playing the game’s intro sequence in Performance mode, for instance, I noticed some minor hitching during Sandman’s attack in Lower Manhattan as the screen filled up with billowing dust clouds. But across 15 or so hours with the game thus far, I’ve only run into a few instances of this issue, lasting for a couple of seconds at most.
The Fidelity mode operates in a resolution range from 2160p — i.e., native 4K — down to 1440p, and scales the output to 4K using Insomniac’s temporal injection technique for anti-aliasing, according to the studio. That lower end, 1440p, is where the Performance mode tops out; the average resolution there fluctuates between 1080p and 1440p.
Spider-Man 2’s ray-traced reflections do a beautiful job of accurately representing the choppy surface of the East River. (Captured in Fidelity mode.)Image: Insomniac Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment via Polygon
Either way, ray-traced lighting — in the form of reflections (including on water surfaces) and window interiors — is always on in Spider-Man 2. It’s just that in Performance mode, ray-tracing effects are “simplified for some use cases,” according to the game. This is a major development, ensuring a cohesive look no matter how you decide to play; combined with the increased level of detail in the game world, there’s an unmistakable upgrade over the visuals in the previous Spider-Man titles.
Spider-Man 2 also supports 120 Hz output — a feature that Insomniac added to Rift Apart in a post-launch patch — so you’ll have more visual options if your PS5 is hooked up to a 120 Hz panel. Enabling this setting allows the Fidelity mode to run at a target of 40 fps instead of 30 fps, and the improvement in fluidity and input latency is palpable. It’s a great middle ground between the Performance mode and the standard Fidelity mode, delivering the image quality and clarity of the latter setting at a frame rate that feels more responsive. It’s the way to go if you’re lucky enough to be playing on a 120 Hz display like my LG C1 television. The only drawback is that at 40 fps, the resolution (understandably) can drop a bit further, with the average ending up somewhere between 1296p and 4K, according to Insomniac.
The third setting for the visuals in Spider-Man 2 is for variable refresh rate (VRR), which can be used with both graphics modes. It further complicates the picture with two options: “smoothed” and “uncapped.” The former setting keeps the frame rate cap in place (30 fps or 60 fps, depending on the chosen mode) and helps maintain it by smoothing out any drops below the target. The latter setting is for people who want the most responsive possible experience: It unlocks the frame rate, allowing the game to run from 40-60 fps in Fidelity mode and 60-90 fps in Performance mode. (With frame rate prioritized over resolution here, the pixel count can fall as low as 1152p in Fidelity mode and 1008p in Performance mode, but no instances of resolution drops stood out as offensive to my eyes.)
Which Spider-Man 2 graphics mode is better, Fidelity or Performance?
In this scene of Peter Parker’s Spider-Man looking down toward the streets of Midtown Manhattan at dusk, note the increased level of detail in the Fidelity mode (left). There’s more traffic on the roads. Lampposts are visible from this high vantage point, but they’re missing in the Performance mode (right) — as are minor elements such as air conditioning vents on rooftops. But the ray-traced reflections in the windows of the building that Peter is perched on? They look pretty much identical across both graphics modes.Image: Insomniac Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment via Polygon and Image: Insomniac Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment via Polygon
I’ve played Spider-Man 2 in both graphics modes over multiple hours, and I don’t believe there’s an obvious winner here. Granted, I’ve spent the vast majority of my time in Fidelity mode playing with the 120 Hz option enabled. It still feels great at 30 fps, but the ability to get an additional 10 fps — or more, if using VRR with an uncapped frame rate — while keeping all the visual bells and whistles is a meaningful benefit.
If you aren’t playing on a 120 Hz panel, I would lean toward Performance mode. The visual compromises — both in terms of clarity (due to the reduced resolution) and in terms of the game world’s level of detail and density — are notable, but they aren’t severe enough to make a gigantic difference in image quality.
Sure, there are fewer cars and pedestrians on the streets of New York, and the strands of hair on the characters’ heads are less detailed. But this is where the steadfast presence of ray tracing across both graphics modes makes all the difference: Even with its lower-quality ray-tracing effects, the Performance mode upholds the game’s overall visual presentation. And anyway, how much will you really notice the shortcomings when Miles or Peter is flying high above the city at something like 100 mph? I’m already at the point where the combat encounters are getting difficult, and I appreciate Performance mode’s increased responsiveness in those sequences.
Image: Insomniac Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment via Polygon
It’s worth noting that you do kind of have to make a choice and stick with it during a session. While I often swapped between the two options in Horizon Forbidden West, exploring the environment in quality mode and switching into performance mode for combat sequences, Spider-Man 2 forces you to restart from a checkpoint when changing the graphics mode. (I imagine the developers have a good reason for this, but it’s a strange hang-up, since the game appears to switch seamlessly into Fidelity mode as soon as you enter the photo mode.)
Spider-Man 2’s array of graphics options can be confusing, even overwhelming. The great thing is that if you don’t want to worry about the various modes, you can just leave the defaults in place and be secure in the knowledge that you’ll have a terrific-looking and smooth-playing experience regardless of the settings. Insomniac Games has utilized the PS5’s hardware to its fullest extent — that is, until its upcoming Wolverine game, when the studio will surely find ways to top itself again.
Happy Friday, Polygon readers! Each week, we round up the most notable releases to streaming and video rental, highlighting the biggest and best new movies for you to watch at home.
No Hard Feelings, the coming-of-age sex comedy starring Jennifer Lawrence, arrives on Netflix this week alongside Old Dads, the directorial debut of comedian Bill Burr. The action comedy-drama Polite Society comes to Prime along with the Chinese World War II thriller Hidden Blade starring Tony Leung, while the horor thriller Cobweb featuring Antony Starr (The Boys) lands on Hulu. There’s plenty of new films available to rent as well this week, like Saw X; the latest installment in the long-running horror franchise starring Tobin Bell, and more.
Genre: Comedy Run time: 1h 43m Director: Gene Stupnitsky Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Andrew Barth Feldman, Laura Benanti
Jennifer Lawrence stars in this raunchy and endearing comedy as Maddie, a young woman struggling between her job as an Uber driver and a part-time bartender to pay off the house she inherited from her late mother. After her car is towed, Maddie is presented with the opportunity of a lifetime: Seduce Percy (Andrew Barth Feldman), the college-bound son of a wealthy couple on their behalf, in exchange for a brand new set of wheels. Simple enough, right? Yeah, that’s what Maddie thought too.
Like most funny stories, No Hard Feelings seems like a bad idea at first. It’s a movie in which Jennifer Lawrence, in her first lead role in a full-on comedy, spends approximately 103 minutes trying to seduce a socially awkward 19-year-old for financial gain. It’s also wildly funny, and a great reminder of how good J-Law is at lighting up a screen.
Genre: Comedy Run time: 1h 44m Director: Bill Burr Cast: Bill Burr, Bokeem Woodbine, Bobby Cannavale
Three old friends become fathers later in life, only to be confronted with the generational annoyances that come with interacting with anyone born (or anything created) after the 1980s. Old Dads is Bill Burr’s directorial feature debut and shares a co-writing credit with writer-producer Ben Tishler.
Genre: Horror thriller Run time: 1h 28m Director: Samuel Bodin Cast: Lizzy Caplan, Woody Norman, Antony Starr
This horror-thriller from the creator of the scariest show on Netflix follows Peter (Woody Norman), a troubled young boy who — after hearing mysterious knocking sounds coming from the walls of his home — attempts to seek help in unearthing a terrible secret hidden from him by his parents.
Bodin attempts to invoke dread with long shots of the film’s few distinctive set elements — the aforementioned pumpkin patch, or an old grandfather clock and icebox that each hide a hidden passage — but he doesn’t do much to render those images as something powerful or sinister. It’s as if Cobweb is set in a haunted house where nothing actually happened long ago, even as it hides a girl’s voice in its walls.
New on Prime Video
Polite Society
Where to watch: Available to stream on Prime Video
When a teenage girl on her path to being a stuntwoman learns that her sister is betrothed to a man, she suspects the man and his mother are up to no good. So she does the only thing you can in such a situation: try to sabotage the relationship and beat the shit out of the guy in the process.
Polite Society sounds like an uproarious fun time, and it’s one of the movies I’ve most looked forward to catching on streaming after a brief limited U.S. run. After you see it, make sure to read this interview with the director about Polite Society’svaried influences.
Hidden Blade
Where to watch: Available to stream on Prime Video
Image: Well Go USA Entertainment
Genre: Period espionage thriller Run time: 2h 8m Director: Cheng Er Cast: Tony Leung, Wang Yibo, Zhou Xun
This Chinese World War II thriller stars the incredible Tony Leung as the Director of Shanghai’s Political Security Department, who finds himself in the middle of a time of great upheaval. The Japanese occupation is in its dying embers, China’s Communist Party is on the rise, and Leung’s character finds himself caught in the middle of it all. It’s a tense, gorgeous, occasionally opaque thriller with a great leading performance by one of the finest actors of his generation.
Silver Dollar Road
Where to watch: Available to stream on Prime Video
Genre: Documentary Run time: 1h 40m Director: Raoul Peck Cast: John C. Barnett, Classie Curley, Melvin Davis
I Am Not Your Negro director Raoul Peck turns his sight to story of the Reels family in this new documentary. Following the plight of the family’s fight to preserve their claim to their waterfront property in North Carolina from predatorial developers, Silver Dollar Road draws on archival footage and interviews with the family to tell their story.
Surrounded
Where to watch: Available to stream on Prime Video
Image: MGM
Genre: Western Run time: 1h 40m Director: Anthony Mandler Cast: Letitia Wright, Jamie Bell, Michael K. Williams
Letitia Wright (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Small Axe) stars in this new Western as a freedwoman who impersonates a man in a plot to claim a gold mine. Her journey brings her face-to-face with the legendary outlaw Tommy Walsh (Jamie Bell), whom she holds captive after her stagecoach is ambushed by a gang of marauding thieves and killers. Surrounded also features the final performance by the late Michael K. Williams, who completed filming prior to his death in 2021.
Genre: Documentary Run time: 1h 32m Director: Errol Morris Cast: John le Carré
John le Carré is a personal favorite author for me. His spy novels are notable for their groundedness — as a former spy himself, he had a lot to draw from — but also for their cynicism towards the heartlessness of that particular trade. Esteemed documentarian Errol Morris (The Thin Blue Line) turns his camera towards the life of the late, great le Carré, one of the finest and most important authors of the 20th century.
Genre: Action-comedy Run time: 1h 31m Director: Kirk DeMicco Cast: Lana Condor, Toni Collette, Annie Murphy
This animated comedy follows an awkward high schooler who discovers that she’s descended from a long line of warrior Kraken monsters. Destined to inherit her grandmother’s throne and defend the seas from tyrannical mermaids, Ruby must master her newfound powers and choose her own path as she prepares to embrace her destiny.
New to rent
Saw X
Where to watch: Available to rent on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu
Image: Lionsgate
Genre: Horror Run time: 1h 58m Director: Kevin Greutert Cast: Tobin Bell, Shawnee Smith, Synnøve Macody Lund
Tobin Bell reprises his role as the machiavellian Jigsaw killer in the 10th installment of the long running Saw horror franchise. A prequel set between the events of the original film and 2005’s Saw II, Saw X follows John Kramer as he travels to Mexico to undergo an experimental treatment in order to cure his cancer. When he realizes that the entire program is a total scam, John enlists the help of his apprentice Amanda Young (Shawnee Smith) to orchestrate a series of elaborate “games” in order to exact his own twisted brand of justice.
Lynch/Oz
Where to watch: Available to rent on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu
Genre: Documentary Run time: 1h 48m Director: Alexandre O. Philippe Cast: Amy Nicholson, Rodney Ascher, John Waters
This documentary takes a magnifying glass to the career of David Lynch, one of the most unique and experimental storytellers of his generation, and how his life-long love for the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz has inspired his work. Split into six chapters, the film features narration by several notable directors, including Karyn Kusama, Rodney Ascher, and David Lowery.
Ubisoft and Netflix’s new animated series Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix has very little to do with the Far Cry game series, from which it draws part of its title. Viewers of the mixed-media show don’t need to know anything at all about Far Cry, or its strange, neon-infused spinoff from a decade ago. But series creator Adi Shankar said it would be “disingenuous” to not referenceFar Cry 3: Blood Dragon, the 2013 video game that was a shocking aesthetic swerve in Ubisoft’s open-world survival adventure game.
Shankar said that calling his new mashup show, in which the worlds of Assassin’s Creed, Beyond Good & Evil, and the Tom Clancyverse collide, is him “paying homage, paying credit” to Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon.
“When you look at how important Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon was, it’s a seminal fucking piece of art,” Shankar said in an interview with Polygon. “At some point people are going to look back and say there were seminal things [in that game] that seeded this online art movement, which continues to grow. Blood Dragon was one of them. So this is me wanting to acknowledge that.”
Captain Laserhawk is more like a reverential cousin to Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon. Both pieces of media are set in dystopian futures, and steal liberally from ’80s-era influences: synthpop music, VHS tapes, video games, and effortlessly cool action stars. Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon’s hero was a mishmash of the T-800 Terminator and Kyle Reese wearing an NES Power Glove holding RoboCop’s hand cannon. Captain Laserhawk’s Dolph Laserhawk is similarly cybernetic, with a gun arm that evokes Mega Man’s Mega Buster or Samus Aran’s arm cannon.
Far Cry bad guy Pagan Min does make an appearance.Image: Netflix
There are clear similarities and distinct differences between the two Blood Dragons. Shankar described his show as “more of a vibe” as opposed to “adapting the ‘tome’ of Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon.” In fact, when Shankar’s show was first announced back in 2019, it was called Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Vibe.
Captain Laserhawk is “part of the same lineage” that the CRT-filtered, laser beam-slathered Far Cry game spinoff was, an aesthetic that has permeated through other works of art over the past decade. Shankar specifically namechecked Destiny 2, The Weeknd’s music videos, and the Duffer brothers’ Stranger Things as examples of contemporary works existing on the same creative lineage.
“It all just kind of organically happened via the internet and Blood Dragon was a seminal moment in that,” Shankar said.
And while the Far Cry 3 and Blood Dragon influences may be a small part of Shankar’s animated series, especially compared to how much Beyond Good & Evil influence it contains, there is some Far Cry at the show’s heart — and at its periphery.
“Well, you know [Far Cry 4’s] Pagan Min is in this, reinterpreted through a JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure lens,” Shankar said. And, he teased, “the universe is populated with other Far Cry characters. They exist, and you may not see them here, but they’re out there in the universe.”
You would think a guy as well-dressed as Spider-Man might quit while he’s ahead, but no: If there’s one thing we know about the web-spinner, it’s that he loves nothing more than changing costumes as frequently and fabulously as a Super Bowl halftime show. Some of the game’s suits are original, some harken back to Spider-Man’s history in comics and other media, and all of them range from cool, to iconic, to downright quizzical.
In the interest of our educated readership, Polygon is providing you with this reference guide to the many outfits of Spider-Man 2, along with handy background on the stories and moments that inspired them.
[Ed. note: This post contains spoilers for all suits in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. If you’re the kind of player who wants to be surprised by the costumes and abilities you’ll encounter, consider yourself warned. If you want to know how to get them in the game, read our guide to unlocking all the suits in Spider-Man 2.]
The Amazing Fashions of Peter Parker
Advanced Suit and Advanced Suit 2.0
Five years after the debut of Insomniac’s first Spider-Man game, the default Spider-Man costume (a higher-tech, armor-textured variation on the classic comic book design) has become an institution in itself. For their sequel, Insomniac has upgraded the look and technology of the costume ever so slightly, giving it a brighter, slimmer, and more streamlined appearance.
Amazing and Amazing 2 Suit
Both of these costumes are adapted from the suits Andrew Garfield wore in the two Amazing Spider-Man movies. While the first is a fairly dramatic departure from the standard Spidey style that leans heavily into texturing and rubbery realism, its later replacement hews much closer to the look and feel of Peter’s usual threads.
Anti-Ock Suit
A rerun from the previous game, the Anti-Ock suit is specially designed (and aptly named) to combat Doctor Octopus, whose tentacles Peter realizes can be controlled by the neural interface he himself designed. In other words, you can shut down his arms, and slap the Doc silly.
Anti-Venom Suit
Designed by artist John Romita, Jr. and created by writer Dan Slott for Marvel Comics in 2008, Anti-Venom is what happens when an alien symbiote receives the touch of Mr. Negative, turning its colors in reverse, and giving it appropriately toxic effects against other symbiote enemies. In the original comics, it was OG Venom Eddie Brock who took on the new identity; here, it’s Peter himself who receives the dubious gift.
Arachknight Suit
A mashup of Spider-Man and the slightly-unhinged-multiple-identity-hero Moon Knight, the Arachknight was a goofy product of the 2018 Infinity Warp comic event, which imagined a variety of offbeat alternate universes that played Madlibs with Marvel characters. The design and ethos, by Spider-artist Humberto Ramos, has been ported over to the game this time around.
Black and Gold Suit
First appearing in the game Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered, this variation on the Stark suit is a bulkier, clunker, and more fully equipped tech suit for Peter.
Classic Black Suit/Black Suit
Designed by artist Mike Zeck way back in 1984’s Secret Wars comic book event, this look has become a staple for the Spider-Man mythos, being the distinctive look of the alien symbiote that becomes Peter’s erstwhile replacement outfit. In Spider-Man 2, what begins as (apparently) a simple suit of black threads gradually takes on more powerful and alarming implications depending on the jerkiness of Peter’s behavior, which activates his latent symbiote tendencies.
Classic Suit
An icon. A legend. A Steve Ditko original. Accept no substitutes.
Homemade Suit
Also appearing in the previous Insomniac game, this sweatshirt-based ensemble is modeled on the initial costume worn by Tom Holland in the MCU’s Captain America: Civil War and Spider-Man: Homecoming. As the name implies, it’s a thrown-together dry run Peter creates before he gets access to his real-deal Spider-Man outfit.
Hybrid Suit
Image: Insomniac Games/Sony Entertainment
Another MCU-inspired design, this one hails from 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home. Built using nanites from Doc Ock’s tentacles, it’s among the higher-tech variations of the various Peter costumes.
Into the Spider-Verse Noir Suit
Image: Insomniac Games/Sony Entertainment
Based initially on Marco Djurdjevic’s design for the comics, this is the suit of the alternate-reality Spider-Man who lives in a shadowed world of dingy streets, femmes fatale, and mysteries within mysteries. The particular design seen here is the sleeker, hatted variation used in 2018’s Into the Spider-Verse animated film.
Iron Spider Suit/Iron Spider Armor Suit
Designed by artist and Marvel editor-in-chief Joe Quesada for the 2007 Civil War comic series, the Iron Spider was Peter’s very first Stark-designed and weaponized tech suit, which he wore before running afoul of Stark and his cronies in the aforementioned series. The costume has since been seen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and various cartoon adaptations, before appearing in both of the Insomniac games as an unlockable suit.
Kumo Suit
The Japanese word for “spider,” this suit has an appropriately ninja-esque vibe, and is original to this Insomniac sequel.
Last Hunt Suit
Here we have Peter cosplaying as his nemesis Kraven the Hunter, whose Steve Ditko-designed suit is refashioned into gold-plated, leather-pants-ed, and fur-stole-ed fabulousness. Sadly, laser nipples are not included.
Life Story Suit
The 2019 comic series Spider-Man: Life Story imagined the career of Spider-Man as if it were told in real-time, with Peter aging and progressing through the decades since his debut in 1962. This suit, one of several appearing in that mini, was designed especially for space-themed adventures, which explains the astronaut headgear.
New Blue Suit
It’s new. It’s blue. It’s got a spider emblem in a tiny little circle on the chest. What more does anyone need?
New Red and Blue Suit
Obviously modeled closely on the classic design, this variation sports a shinier and more textured look, and has a spider-emblem reminiscent of the MCU design worn in the earlier Tom Holland films.
Saving Lives Suit
With its purple highlights and angular eyes, this suit has a look reminiscent of the John Romita-designed Prowler costume, which first made its debut in the comics way back in 1969.
Scarlet III Suit
A comic-inspired costume, this was actually the second Scarlet Spider outfit worn by spider-clone Ben Reilly. Its debut in 2017 proved so unpopular with fans that it was rapidly phased out and replaced with…
Scarlet Spider Suit
…this bad boy. A homespun outfit fashioned out of a hoodie, this extremely ’90s bit of comic ridiculousness was likely, in turn, the inspiration for the MCU’s Homemade Suit, discussed above.
Secret Wars: Civil War Suit
The 2015 Secret Wars comic event saw the villain Dr. Doom create a reality called Battleworld, where various permutations of the Marvel Universe existed side by side, most of them a riff on a past storyline. One such warzone saw the Marvel heroes in a perpetual state of Tony Stark-fueled destruction, and this Leinil Francis Yu-designed Spider-Man suit saw its debut there.
Spider-Man 2099 Suit
Here we have the suit of Miguel O’Hara, the surly Spider-Man of the year 2099, who first appeared in 1993’s Spider-Man 2099 in a costume designed by Rick Leonardi. The costume’s distinctive arm spikes and retractable spider-claws reflect the kind of edgy attitude for which O’Hara himself was known.
Spider-Punk Suit
This comic-inspired suit was the work of artist Olivier Coipel, who designed the British punk rock Spider-Man for 2015’s Spider-Verse event. A variation of the look recently appeared in animated form in this year’s Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse film.
Stealth Suit
This black, be-shadowed stalking outfit is actually inspired by the original, trench-coat-free version of the Spider-Man: Noir costume from the comics. It appeared previously as a free suit in Insomniac’s first Spider-Man game, and makes a return to the gamerverse here.
Superior Suit
Image: Insomniac Games/Sony Entertainment
The distinctive, black-highlighted outfit of Otto Octavius, worn first during the period in the comics when he forcibly inhabited the body of the seemingly dead Peter Parker. Among other features, Otto equipped his costume with his characteristic metal tentacles, not depicted here.
Upgraded Suit/Upgraded Classic Suit
These costumes are adapted from those worn by Tom Holland in the MCU’s Spider-Man films. The classic blue version appeared as the hero’s Stark-designed outfit in 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming, while the black variation replaced it beginning with Spider-Man: Far From Home two years later.
Webbed Suit/Webbed Black Suit
These are the costumes worn by Toby Maguire in the Sam Raimi-directed film trilogy that launched Spidey’s big-screen career in 2002. A more realistically textured version of the standard suit, with raised, metallic web lines instead of sewn-in fabric, it comes in both standard and symbiote varieties.
The Ultimate Looks of Miles Morales
Upgraded Suit
Hewing very close to the classic design, this is Miles’ default costume for most of Spider-Man 2. It makes its debut in video games or anywhere else for the first time here.
10th Anniversary Suit
In 2021, a decade after Miles Morales debuted in the comics, Marvel commissioned artist Chase Conley to design a new suit for the character. Distinctive for its turtlenecked sweatshirt, dangling drawstring cords, and neon pink highlights, it didn’t last long before giving way to Miles’ older and more classic look.
Into the Spider-Verse Suit/Across the Spider-Verse Suit
Modeled closely on his comic book design, these versions of Miles’ suit were worn in the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse movie, and its 2023 sequel, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse movie. Unlike its comic counterpart, it’s a more streamlined outfit that removes the red web lines, and replaces the stylized spider-emblem with a graffiti-inspired circular design.
Advanced Tech Suit
Inspired by the design of Peter’s Iron Spider suit, but with the armored fabric of the Anti-Ock Suit, this is Miles’ version of the high-tech battle outfits Peter sometimes sports. It previously appeared in the original Marvel’s Spider-Man game.
Agent of SHIELD Suit
In 2014, following the events of the Cataclysm crossover, the comic book Miles Morales enlisted as an agent of super-spy agency SHIELD (Strategic Homeland Acronym Invention Agency, true believer!). Wearing a version of their blue military-esque uniforms but with a Spider-Man flavor to hide his secret ID, this is a variation on the costume Miles briefly trotted out.
Best There Is Suit
Sometimes Spider-Man likes to take himself seriously. Other times, he likes to cosplay as Wolverine in a zipper hoodie and Doc Martens. This is an instance of the latter.
Bodega Cat Suit
The breakout character of 2020’s Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales was, of course, Bodega Cat, whose legacy remains now and forever untarnished. This suit, unlocked after completing the Cat’s Pyjamas story campaign in that game, returns for an encore appearance here.
Boricua Suit
This Puerto Rican flag-inspired costume appears in honor of Miles’ identity as a proud Nuyorican.
Brooklyn 2099 Suit
Resembling both the Miguel O’Hara 2099 suit, and the Miles Morales variation seen in Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, this version features baggy pants and narrower red eyes, which are (as we all know) the hallmarks of NYC’s greatest borough in the far-off ‘90s of this century.
City Sounds Suit
This fedora-topped, sweatered outfit resembles the hottest looks of the 1920s Jazz Age. It’s Miles Morales for the Louis Armstrong set.
Classic Suit
Designed by artist Sara Pichelli in 2011, Miles’ default costume evokes the classic Peter Park look without replicating it entirely, replacing its blue highlights with red-on-black webbing. In the decade since then, it’s become as much a classic as the Ditko original that inspired it.
Crimson Cowl Suit
An homage to the comics villain the Crimson Cowl, who appeared in the Thunderbolts series with a Scarlet-Witch-esque designed by artist Mark Bagley, the look also pays homage to the hooded Scarlet Spider design (also by Bagley) mentioned above. It previously appeared in the Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales game in 2020.
Dark Ages Suit
Marvel Comics’ 2021 Dark Ages crossover imagined one of those dystopian futures of which comic creators are always so fond, in which all the heroes’ hopes and dreams have gone sour, and only the most tough and brutal remain standing. Miles’ costume for that series, designed by artist Iban Coello, is a symbiote-covered bit of leathery madness.
Evolved Suit
With its visible hair, sweet sneakers, and bright blue highlights, this new look is surprisingly appealing for both superhero action and default casual wear.
Family Business Suit
Another armored suit strongly reminiscent of the Iron Spider design, whose influence continues to make itself felt throughout the Insomniac universe.
Forever Suit
This new costume designed for Spider-Man 2 has a Wakanda-inflected design, complete with panther ears and a pointed nose. Cats and spiders living together? Now I’ve seen everything.
Great Responsibility Suit
Given as a gift to Miles by Peter Parker to acknowledge the younger hero’s risk-taking and courage to save innocent lives, this suit previously appeared in the Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales game, where its Parker-resembling look preceded the classic Miles costume.
Homemade Suit
As with Peter’s sweatshirt-based equivalent, this was Miles’ very first costume from his video game debut, fashioned at home a the outset of his superhero career.
Into the Spider-Verse Spider-Boy Suit
Miles’s first costume in the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse movie was a cobbled-up concoction made from a store-bought Spider-Man outfit, sneakers, and a towel cape. A fine Halloween idea if I ever saw one.
King in Black Suit
Continuing from 2018’s comic book Absolute Carnage event, the King in Black crossover revolves around an invasion of Earth led by Knull, the titular King in Black, and dark god of the symbiotes. The symbiote suit worn by Miles for that series was the spiky horror-show with its distinctive forehead spiral, seen here.
Life Story Suit
As with the Peter Parker version seen above, this is a space-fitted astronaut suit modeled for the game from the Spider-Man: Life Story series, in Miles Morales colors this time around.
Miles Morales 2020 Suit
Returning from the Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales game, this update of the classic Miles suit is, apparently, fit for a kid of the current decade. Because what says the 2020s if not large Walkman headphones and rolled-up jacket sleeves?
Miles Morales 2099
Another variation on the surprisingly influential Spider-Man 2099 design, this one uses Miguel O’Hara’s emblem on a hooded black bodysuit for a futuristic but youthful feel.
Most Dangerous Game Suit
Miles’ own variation on Kraven the Hunter’s absurd but glorious style is the thing to wear when you’re seeking the only prey worth stalking: Spider-Man.
Programmable Matter Suit
Returning from the previous Miles Morales game, this glowing, armor-paneled design is strongly inspired by the various Iron Man suits, whose Stark tech led to many of the Spider-Man costumes on display here.
Purple Reign Suit
A prince pun! But also inspired by the purple color scheme of the Prowler, of course, who gifted it to Miles in the previous Spider-Man: Miles Morales game. It comes with both claw-tipped fingers and a utility belt, making it a versatile costume for the cat burglar in all of us.
Shadow-Spider Suit
Designed by comic artist Sean Izaakse for the Champions series in 2018, this was the costume of an alternate-reality Miles Morales, whose dark path to avenge the death of Peter Parker follows a very different course from the Miles we know. It makes its video game debut in Spider-Man 2.
Smoke and Mirrors Suit
It’s Miles by way of the villain Mysterio – specifically the version of that nemesis who appeared, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, in the Spider-Man: Far From Home film. It’s green, purple, and has a glass headpiece so you can pull off all the magic tricks your heart might desire.
Sportswear Suit
Miles’ very first suit in Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, it features not only a hoodie, but a hoodie and a puffy jacket. Perfect for those Brooklyn winters.
STRIKE Suit
Sometimes your mission calls for a popped collar and oversized gauntlets, and nothing else will do. The STRIKE Suit provides.
The End Suit
Adapted from the 2020 comic Miles Morales: The End, this suit (designed by Damion Scott) was worn by an aged and battered Miles Morales as he made a last stand for humankind in the Brooklyn of the future. While the hooded sweatshirt evokes his youthful past, black camo pants speak to the worst of all possible things to come.
TRACK Suit
What’s white, black, red, and absolutely stylish? This newly debuted look for Miles Morales, baby.
GREEN BAY, Wis., April 21, 2023 (Newswire.com)
– Pool Shark Billiard Club, a pioneering tech startup offering a unique, digital collectible-based membership community, has launched its groundbreaking platform.
Leveraging strategic partnerships with industry-leading companies such as J. Pechauer Custom Cues, Diamond Billiard Products, Iwan Simonis, and Aramith, Pool Shark Billiard Club offers members exclusive access, benefits, and opportunities. “We have a massive opportunity right now in the sport to act as a unifier between brands, players, and pros who all care deeply about the future of the sport,” said Co-Founder & third-generation billiards entrepreneur Riley Pechauer.
Pool Shark Billiard Club’s cutting-edge platform provides access to discounted equipment, cue repairs, claimable equipment bundles, participation in frequent giveaways, a mobile game, and more. Their roster of professional players includes April Larson, Jayson Shaw, and Darren Appleton, who support the company’s mission to revolutionize the billiards industry. Four additional professional players were signed at the Expo and will be announced soon.
Based entirely online, Pool Shark Billiard Club has already amassed a global community of billiards enthusiasts, further solidifying its position as a game-changer in the market. A portion of every sale will be directed towards the Pool Shark Billiard Club Academy, aiming to nurture the next generation of players and enthusiasts by offering support, scholarships, mentorships, and more.
To learn more about Pool Shark Billiard Club and its revolutionary membership platform, visit their website at poolsharkbilliardclub.com.
About Pool Shark Billiard Club: Pool Shark Billiard Club is an innovative tech startup built on the Polygon blockchain, bridging the gap between billiards and modern technology. Their mission is to assist in the growth of the sport by offering a unique and exclusive experience for players and enthusiasts around the world by creating a community and connecting them to the top players and brands in the industry. With a focus on growing the billiards community and fostering the next generation of players and enthusiasts, Pool Shark Billiard Club is committed to breaking barriers in the industry.
Thanks to blockchain technology, “Illenials” now have access to ILLENIUM like never before.
The Grammy-nominated dance music superstar has launched “The Phoenix Family,” a new community offering his diehard fans “first access for all things ILLENIUM.” Powered by the Polygon blockchain, “The Phoenix Family” was developed in partnership with Medallion, a Web3 platform that helps artists enhance their connection with fans.
The community’s name derives from ILLENIUM’s signature emblem depicting a phoenix, which he integrates into his logo, visuals, merchandise and more.
ILLENIUM performs at Chicago’s North Coast Music Festival on September 3rd, 2022.
Christian Wade/EDM.com
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“This community will be a place for us to explore new technologies and connect directly, free from any intermediaries, third-parties or algorithms,” reads a message from ILLENIUM. “It will be a place where I share things first before they hit the public.”
Considering the fact that influential electronic music artists are embracing a decentralized future of the creator economy, it’s the “free from any intermediaries” language that sticks out. The term “decentralized” refers to who controls any given network, wherein its planning and decision-making processes are carried out collectively in lieu of a central authority.
What exactly that means for the mechanics of “The Phoenix Family” remains to be seen. For now, Medallion is encouraging prospective members of the community to join by way of an access pass, which enables them to claim a free “Phoenix Family Medallion” digital collectible. They can then redesign the insignia using AI art technology, according to ILLENIUM.
You can sign up to join “The Phoenix Family” here.
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