The latest Warbringer cinematic and in-game event in World of Warcraft has players frustrated. It all stems from Sylvanas — Warchief of the Horde — and her decision to burn down the world tree Teldrassil instead of occupying it like she originally planned. Teldrassil is a sacred tree for the Alliance, and home to many innocent civilians. Sylvanas is supposed to feel like a villain to the Alliance, but Horde players are having trouble justifying following their own Warchief’s orders. Most recentl

Shane Dawson’s new series of investigative documentaries has become YouTube’s Game of Thrones: appointment television for more than a billion people. He managed to fix a problem that YouTube creators didn’t even know they had: The Kardashian Conundrum. MySpace was the main form of communication between main star Kim Kardashian and her fans. At a time when the tiniest bit of tea feels like front page news, Shane Dawson’s documentaries spill the cup. Dawson has spearheaded an entirely new genre of

Leave aside the news, which seems to be moving so fast that it’s damn near impossible to keep track of. I tend to start a bunch of different games and play each one for a few hours, perhaps never to return. I don’t feel like I have a solution to this issue. At the same time, I don’t necessarily feel like I need a solution. We in the games press tend to highlight innovative, unique experiences over games that are well-executed but familiar.

To help, I’ve selected the 11 Wii U games that absolutely, 100% still need to make their way to Switch. Super Mario 3D World(Nintendo EAD, 2013)Wonderful as Super Mario Odyssey is, Mario’s more structured 3D adventures possess a certain appeal that his open-world journeys can’t quite capture. New Super Mario Bros. U/New Super Luigi U(Nintendo EAD, 2012/2013)As the greatest Mario platformer of all time (it’s true — just ask any expert! ), New Super Mario Bros. U and its evil mirror-universe count

The Evolution Championship Series, better known as Evo, takes place this weekend in Las Vegas, from Friday, Aug. 3, to Sunday, Aug. 5. Thousands of competitors will battle each other in dozens of fighting games, but only eight titles are featured as part of the official Evo 2018 lineup. Two upoming games, Super Smash Bros. The most popular game at Evo 2018 is Dragon Ball FighterZ, which drew in more players this year than Street Fighter 5, typically the marquee fighting game franchise at the tou

It’s taken me two years to finally face the new DoomShare It’s taken me two years to finally face the new DoomIt’s taken me two years to finally sit down and play 2016’s Doom, which is bad, because it was our game of the year. Back when the original Doom dominated gaming, I’d never have waited so long to play a stonking new shooter. I played through the original Doom many times. There’s a direct line between the original Doom and this game that transcends the norm of fictional slaying. I hadn’t

Horizon Zero Dawn is getting a second life as a board game, courtesy of tabletop mavens Steamforged Games. With the blessing of Sony Interactive Entertainment and Guerrilla Games, which developed Horizon Zero Dawn, we’ll likely see even more nice touches with the finished version. A Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign for the board game is forthcoming, with no details yet on the campaign goal. But considering Steamforged’s success with its previous Kickstarter campaigns — including board games bas

Fortnite’s upcoming launch on Android devices will bypass the Google Play store and will instead be offered directly to players through Epic Games’ own website and app. “Epic wants to have a direct relationship with our customers on all platforms where that’s possible,” Epic CEO Tim Sweeney told The Verge in an email interview. “The great thing about the Internet and the digital revolution is that this is possible, now that physical storefronts and middlemen distributors are no longer required.”

Nintendo Switch owners will get a chance to check out Steven Universe: Save the Light and OK K.O.! Let’s Play Heroes, previously exclusive to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, when they launch on the console Oct. 30. Save the Light and Let’s Play Heroes will get their first physical retail release alongside their Switch debut. The physical set will be available on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One as well as Nintendo Switch, and you can check out the box art below. Let’s Play Heroes is a good introduction to

Blade soft-launched its cloud gaming service, Shadow, in California this past February, following a successful debut in Europe in late 2016. How Shadow worksThe idea behind Shadow is paying for streaming access to a powerful cloud-based gaming PC that would cost approximately $2,000 to build. The app only relies on the local device for decoding a streaming video feed of whatever you’re doing on the cloud PC, and for uploading your inputs. Cloud gaming is here … ? Gaming fans may be more tech-s

The film is Augustine Frizzell’s Never Goin’ Back, a micro-saga about two coked-out young women determined to vacation on Galveston, Texas’ beaches. Never Goin’ Back is a gross-out comedy that pulls no punches, foul expulsions captured by the eye of a filmmaker who sees art in churning stomachs. Brandon doesn’t care that Jessie is Dustin’s sister, or that she and Angela are firmly underage. His punishment is part of Never Goin’ Back’s most explosive moments, in which the dump Jessie’s been holdi

Toy manufacturer Tastemakers announced Arcade1Up, a line of home arcade cabinets in February with a price tag of $399, a fraction of the cost of most arcade cabinets. That means you can put a fully functioning arcade cabinet in your home for the price of a Nintendo Switch. The price tag and size make Arcade1Up one of the most accessible options for having an arcade cabinet in your home. Arcade1Up cabinets will be released on Sept. 25. Each Arcade1Up cabinet includes between two and four classic

We usually spotlight Nintendo Switch games in our weekly eShop download posts. But the Nintendo 3DS is still out there, scratching and surviving, and this week’s set of new releases is a reminder of the handheld’s persistence. It’s also well-suited for Nintendo 3DS. Nintendo 3DS lovers should be happy to have another great game to play, straight from Nintendo itself — especially since the months ahead look really dry right now. At least Nintendo Switch continues to flourish, with an abundance of

Terry Bogard, the star of the Fatal Fury series who has appeared in dozens of SNK fighting games, is joining the roster of the company’s all-female fighter, SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy. This is a somewhat unexpected announcement, because in every other game Terry Bogard has appeared in, he’s presented as male. SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy’s new trailer featuring Terry presents the character’s inclusion as something of a mystery. We’ll find out when SNK Heroines Tag Team Frenzy comes to Ninten

But just a week prior, Guerrilla Games released Horizon Zero Dawn on PlayStation 4. There’s so much to treasure in Horizon Zero Dawn that is done differently in Breath of the Wild, and getting back to all those things has been a treat. Ancient futurismBreath of the Wild and Horizon Zero Dawn share similar story foundations. The slow introduction of more complex and violent machines gives Horizon Zero Dawn a sense of progression, an unraveling of something more. On the other hand, Horizon Zero Da

At first glance, the Yakuza series looks akin to Grand Theft Auto: beating people up on the street, amassing ungodly amounts of money, partying with vinyl-clad women. It’s what encouraged me to change my mind and bump the Yakuza series up to the top of my own “must play” list. Unlike the first two Yakuza games released stateside, the two Kiwami remasters stick with the original Japanese voice acting and audio. In the case of Yakuza Kiwami 2, Sega plans to bring back Majima Goro as a playable cha

As we head into the newest World of Warcraft expansion, Battle for Azeroth, we’re all meant to be rooting for our respective faction: Alliance or Horde. The developers joked about how players pass each other in the halls of the convention center and stop to holler “For the Horde!” at Alliance players. Horde debates are, there’s one faction debate that immediately gets more personal, more heated, and ten times as ugly: Horde against Horde. In the War of the Thorns, Horde players must fight their

Any fan of fantasy, musical, action or superhero cinema needs to carve out time for the Baahubali franchise. If you live in the states, you can find both Baahubali films on Netflix. And soon they’ll be joined by a brand-new, original prequel series. As described in the press release:This (prequel) series captures Queen Sivagami’s journey from a rebellious and vengeful girl to a wise and unequalled queen. I am very excited that this is being adapted as a Netflix Original Series.

Menu music is the parsley of sports video gaming, but Madden NFL 19’s served up quite a spicy dish on its Windows PC launch day when a song referencing Colin Kaepernick had the name blanked out in the game. Other players joined him, including last year, when the kneeling controversy intensified and Kaepernick found no team willing to sign him. Kaepernick does not appear in the free agent pool in Madden NFL 19. Free agent safety Eric Reid, a player who also knelt during the national anthem last y

The fastest (and often best) way to enjoy a backlog, not simply slog through it as some perverse obligation, is to watch it. But for adults less familiar with watching games, I encourage you to consider playthroughs as an accessible and helpful entry point to the joys of watching games. You don’t get to see the whole game, and yet, you get so much of what the game has to offer. Watching games has its challenges. You can’t play games at the office — but you can watch them.