When we see the fleet of Star Destroyers — dozens of them — they’re parked in rows, lights off. Subsequent Star Wars novels, Black Spire and Resistance Reborn, promise to fill in the gap between the two films. That fleet of Star Destroyers harkens back to another story from the Star Wars universe: Timothy Zahn’s famous, beloved, and now non-canon Thrawn trilogy from the early ’90s. The sequel trilogy has consciously updated its designs for everything from its stormtroopers to TIE and X-Wing figh

The goal of Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey seems to be whatever you’d like to make it. And thus begins my strange, frustrating, compulsive journey through a game that I’m not sure I enjoy, but that’s continually intriguing. The strongest motivation I found to try new things was boredom — and I mean that in a flattering way. Playing a game that hides so many of its cards can be frustrating, but it can also be thrilling. I can always start over in Ancestors, understanding a tiny bit more of what

Everything in Control is deliberate, but it takes a long time for it to explain itself and its reasoning. Developer Remedy Entertainment is fully committed to its pulpy, surreal premise, and Control is as much a technical marvel as an artistic achievement. If you want to see the very best of the best for your platform(s) of choice, check out Polygon Essentials . Control isn’t the first game to use ray tracing, the budding technology that promises to bring ever more realistic lighting to video ga

Share All sharing options for: Astral Chain is the best new Nintendo franchise since SplatoonAstral Chain, the latest collaboration between PlatinumGames and Nintendo, teeters side to side like a Jenga tower, its many pieces stacked atop one another, threatening to collapse at any moment. Earnestly unpacking the central dramatic tension of Astral Chain has me sounding like a ponderous, stoned college student overthinking the backstory of Ash Ketchum. What if we were the real monsters?”In this wa

After debuting at D23 this weekend, a new featurette for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker has dropped online. As promised, the big shock in the footage is the reveal of Rey (Daisy Ridley) cloaked in a dark robe, holding two red lightsabers that snap into a Darth Maul-esque double-bladed configuration. The new footage also gives us a glimpse of the new character Jannah, played by Naomi Ackie, a new recruit to the Resistance but a mystery in every other regard. We also see another apparent alignme

All of the comics world is obsessed with the plot twists of Powers of X, but this week there was an undercurrent of conversation to compete with the curious lives of Moira X. Which is to say, in Frank Miller and John Romita Jr.’s Superman: Year One, Superman totally had sex with a mermaid. Superman: Year One #2The thing is… Frank Miller really wants you to know, with certainty, that Superman fucks. Powers of X #3Yeah, some stuff went down in Powers of X #3 last week. I bet Frank Miller does.

The original Palpatine in the Star Wars moviesIn the original 1977 Star Wars, the Emperor gets name-drop-only-status only. The prequel trilogy turns Emperor Palpatine into a symbol of ultimate evil capable of converting Anakin Skywalker into Darth Vader. After the events of Revenge of the Sith, Palpatine found the mask and Momin showed the Emperor his past. Trailers for Episode 9 keep showing a battle between Kylo Ren and Rey on the wreckage of the Death Star II — the only Death Star the Emperor

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Our first real look at Marvel’s Black Widow — at least, outside of Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con — comes in the form of a D23 exclusive poster for the upcoming superhero film. And that post reveals David Harbour (Stranger Things, Hellboy) in costume as the Russian superhero Red Guardian for the first time. Harbour’s costume appears to make the rare but memorable combination of a classic superhero cowl with a full beard. In the comics, the Red Guardian and the Black Widow share more than a countr

Disney has finally dropped the first substantive trailer for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. This time around the director is J.J. Abrams, the same man behind Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Star Wars: The Phantom Menace showed us that Anakin was the product of a natural birth, albeit from a virgin mother. But the reintroduction of clones has a history in the Star Wars canon. It hearkens back to the Star Wars Expanded Universe, specifically the original Thrawn Trilogy by Timothy Zahn.

The first official trailer for the upcoming season of American Horror Story revels in the 1980s. The first good look at the FX series delivers big hair, bold fashion choices, and some funky disco music. True to American Horror Story tradition, a bunch of mini-teasers released before the trailer drop, each really reveling in the Friday the 13th homage. But then again, this is American Horror Story, so a campfire seance to summon the spirits of those slaughtered isn’t out of the question. In addit

The company, armed with IP and vision, unveiled a boatload of new attractions, lands, and updates coming to Disney parks everywhere. “The parade celebrates awe-inspiring moments of magic of so many Disney stories,” Bob Chapek, chairman of Disney parks, experiences, and products, said on stage. Mammalian Metropolis will be Disney Shanghai’s eighth themed land and the first Zootopia attraction in any Disney park. Disney cable car system coming to Walt Disney World in 2019The Disney Skyliner is the

Japanese retailer Uniqlo has collaborated with some iconic properties on its UT line of graphic T-shirts — Pokémon, Marvel, Shonen Jump. The latest UT collection adds Sailor Moon to the roster, with eight new shirts designed by the author of the original Sailor Moon manga, Naoko Takeuchi. Takeuchi’s artwork prominently features Sailor Moon herself, of course, as well as the Japanese logo, stylized portraits of the Sailor Scouts, and a mix of Japanese and English text. The “Sailor Moon x UT” coll

Folks also shared images of an in-game Ion Fury item labeled “OGAY” (apparently a spoof of “Olay”) and a secret area where the words “fag bag” appeared. “We’ve caused a recent controversy suggesting Ion Fury game content was to be censored,” Voidpoint and 3D Realms said in a joint statement posted to Ion Fury’s Steam page. Ion Fury went from having “mostly positive” reviews to “mixed,” though Steam notes that the mixed reviews are all recent. Monday’s Ion Fury Steam post acknowledges this backla

It’s only recently that Fallout 76 has been able to establish an identity and carve out a lasting niche in a flood of games as a service. Vault 94 isn’t the first piece of endgame combat-focused content — it follows Project Paradise and The Burrows, two previous dungeons. But Fallout 76 isn’t robust enough to handle the actual execution of these encounters. Fallout 76 has fixed its duping problem, which was a big feat, but the game still has other nasty recurring bugs and issues. But the latest

A new update is coming to Warframe, the free-to-play third person shooter. The Saint of Altra update includes a new Warframe, Gauss, who generates kinetic energy to blaze through battle and deal damage to enemies. MACH RUSH: Burst into a hyper-sprint to run across water, traverse across large areas faster, bowl over enemies and re-charge his Speed Gauge. REDLINE: Push Gauss’ battery beyond the redline, supercharging his Abilities and setting Fire Rate, Attack Speed, Reload Speed, and Holster Rat

Blizzard’s team-based hero shooter Overwatch may be coming to Nintendo Switch. On Monday, accessory maker PowerA briefly listed a carrying case for the Switch through Amazon that was Overwatch themed. The black and orange case featured the Overwatch logo, and the accessory noted that it was “officially licensed by Nintendo and Blizzard Entertainment.” The product listing was quickly removed from Amazon after being posted to Twitter and video game forum Resetera. Overwatch-themed Nintendo Switch