Games

As a huge fan of The Super Mario Bros. Movie, I’ve been so excited for the sequel! The first one did unbelievably well – over $1.36 billion! – and it looks like The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is on track to be just as big. Nintendo dropped the first trailer back in November, and we found out Benny Safdie would be Bowser Jr. and Brie Larson would voice Rosalina, which was awesome. Now, with the movie coming out soon, they’ve given us another sneak peek at this new animated adventure!

Released into Early Access in April 2024, No Rest for the Wicked is Moon Studios’ first game outside of the Ori series, representing a big change in direction for the developer. Stepping into the challenging Soulslike genre for the first time, Moon Studios has effectively used Early Access feedback to refine the game, which has resulted in strong sales. The game recently surpassed 1 million copies sold – a notable achievement for a self-published title. Player reception has been overwhelmingly positive, with No Rest for the Wicked currently holding a “Very Positive” rating on Steam, based on 86% positive reviews.

State of Decay 3 was originally announced in July 2020. We haven’t seen much about it since, with the last update being a short gameplay trailer in 2024. Recently, Craig Duncan has shared that he’s had a chance to play the game and that Xbox Games Studio is still excited about its potential.

Halcyon Days at Taoyuan, a new game from BotanX (based in Hangzhou) and published by CubeGames, combines relaxing gameplay like farming and fishing with the beautiful scenery and traditions of Ancient China. It became available on Steam for PC players this Tuesday, January 20th.

From the beginning of the Final Saga, all the way to Elbaf, Zoro has consistently proven he’s among the most powerful pirates and swordsmen of this generation. He’s traveled a great distance, overcoming numerous strong opponents along the way.

On January 20th, World of Warcraft launched the Midnight pre-expansion update, bringing several changes to the game. A major part of this update adjusted player stats and item levels – a process known as a ‘squish’ – to simplify damage and healing numbers. Additionally, changes to how add-ons work went live. While some add-ons will still function, many will require updates to work with World of Warcraft: Midnight.

Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds came out in 2025 and was a hit with critics. A key part of what made the game special was the addition of characters from other popular worlds, like SpongeBob, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Minecraft, expanding the gameplay options.

The most significant issue with recent Star Wars films hasn’t been the stories or the actors themselves, but the harassment directed at those involved by a vocal minority of fans, often called the “Fandom Menace.” The intense negativity aimed at actors like John Boyega and Kelly Marie Tran, and creators like Rian Johnson, remains a troubling part of the franchise. As new leaders like Dave Filoni and Lynwen Brennan take over, simply telling those targeted to ignore the hate isn’t enough.

As a long-time fan, it was amazing to finally see Escape From Tarkov officially launch in November 2025 after all those years in early access! It’s cool to think of it as the game that really started the whole ‘extraction shooter’ thing – you see that style in games like ARC Raiders and Arena Breakout: Infinite now. Even though the launch wasn’t perfect – there was a lot of frustration with server problems and the game got review bombed – it feels like things have really turned around. Battlestate Games is totally focused on adding new content, and the game’s community is still incredibly dedicated. It’s awesome to see it thriving!

Fans of JJK can easily identify which characters truly shined and which felt underutilized by the author, Gege Akutami. It’s disappointing, especially considering the series began so strongly, to see so many characters not reach their full potential. Later on, the story didn’t give enough attention or satisfying conclusions to many characters, even some of the most important ones, and Akutami didn’t fully develop their storylines.