Month: April 2021

Ever since the original Chivalry: Medieval Warfare in 2012, we’ve entered into a sort of renaissance of brutal precision-based competitive melee combat games. From big-budget outings such as For Honor to big indie projects like Mount & Blade: Bannerlord and Mordhau, it’s a game genre that has certainly found its footing. Now, Torn Banner Studios is back with a sequel that’s bigger, better, and bloodier than ever.

Earlier this month I got the chance to check out Chivalry 2 for a few hours and came away with my adrenaline pumping and heart racing, eagerly waiting for more.

Big Bloody Battles

The best parts about the previous game are carried over and improved here. This is still a game about brutally competitive PvP combat that hinges on quick reflexes and precise strikes. You can be an archer too if you want, but that’s always felt like a second-thought that was more situational than just picking up an axe or sword.

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There are still a mixture of game modes from the more straight-forward Team Deathmatch to the grand and cinematic Team Objective modes. And most importantly, there is that perfect balance of Monty Python-style humor mixed with weighty and visceral medieval battles. Mashing the ‘yell’ button while running down a hillside with my allies really gets you in the mood immediately.

In Chivalry, everyone has three basic attacks with their melee weapons: horizontal slash, vertical slash, and a stab. Of course you can get more complex if you’d like by feinting, comboing attacks together, and turning your body into swings to try and land the start of the attack sooner on your enemies. I played with mouse & keyboard mostly in first-person (you can switch to third-person now, if you want) and after a couple of games the muscle memory started to kick in.

Combat in Chivalry is one of the best examples in a game ever of “easy to learn, difficult to master” as the concept of swinging and aiming your sword is dead simple. But when you’re on the receiving end is where the real skill comes out. Blocking attacks is a careful exchange because you essentially have to line up your weapon with the tip of theirs at just the right moment. If you block perfectly enough, it’ll stagger them back a bit and give you an opening to counter and—better yet—if you can anticipate their exact strike and replicate it back after a perfect parry then it’s an almost always guaranteed hit.

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Dueling another skilled combatant in Chivalry 2 feels like an aggressive, highly-competitive dance. I can’t think of many games that can cause my adrenaline to spike so rapidly as when I’m in the middle of a tense 1v1 fight to the death in Chivalry. It’s absolutely exhilarating to block a slash to your side, flick the mouse up and swing down at their head as you clang off their sword, side-step away from their stab, and crouch down to swipe at their waist, kick their guard, and finish them off with a stab to the heart. Just be careful—friendly fire is a very real concern in this game and you have to always be aware of where your weapon is swinging.

Those intricate moments of back-and-forth between two warriors are sacred and special, rivaling even the best duels from Game of Thrones. And my goodness is it pretty.

Chivalry 2 doesn’t shy away from blood and gore either. Limbs get lopped off left and right and seeing heads roll is as common as a stray arrow on the battlefield. Speaking of which—you can pick up and use pretty much anything you see. I’ve tossed lumber at enemies, used decapitated heads as rocks to toss at opponents, and at one point even chucked a Blacksmith’s anvil. It’s truly a “by any means necessary” ordeal here. You can even keep fighting with a missing limb or get back on your feet after getting knocked down if you beat to death your opponent with your bare hands before they finish the job.

Epic Battlefields

Perhaps the most exciting part about Chivalry 2 is the massive 64-player battlefield size. Now, we’re fighting it out with 32 warriors fighting for the blue and white, aka Agatha Knights, against 32 warriors on the red and black, aka Mason Order. That new battle size is immediately put to good use because at the start of each match, a “commander” NPC on each side is giving a speech to get the troops riled up and the bloodbath begins with a classic medieval charge towards the middle where steel meets steel.

When I used to play the original Chivalry pretty much daily, I mostly did so as a duelist. Early on there weren’t even official ‘Duel’ game modes, so instead players would host servers with custom “honor system” rules that you’d respect two people dueling and wait your turn off to the side. You’d initiate a duel by flicking the mouse and down and crouching to simulate a bow and then fight it out. It was the type of mutual, agreed upon sportsmanship that you rarely find online these days.

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But the real heart and soul of Chivalry is undoubtedly the Team Objective mode. These fights play out like actual cinematic battles you’d see in a Lord of the Rings film and are split into multiple phases.

For example, the Objective battle we got to try tasked one team with breaking into a castle and storming the keep to kill the king. First, the attackers must escort ladder towers up to the walls by moving them across the field like an Overwatch payload. Then, after storming the walls, they must capture the courtyard, followed by burning the peasant huts, and then escorting more ladder towers up to the keep.

Once inside the keep, the top defending player is assigned as the king and gets buffs to health, damage, etc. The attackers win if they can take down the king. Each phase of the battle is timed and if the defenders can prevent the attackers from reaching the next phase before the time runs out, they win.

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As much as I loved the Team Objective mode, which is just insanely polished and full of amazing details, I think I most enjoyed my time on the Tournament Grounds map. This area is laid out as if a jousting match has just concluded and you storm the grounds to fight it out. It’s all so silly to see the light-hearted tournament décor juxtaposed with blood, guts, and corpses.

It’s a tough, brutal, and immensely satisfying game that rewards teamwork and real skill. The changes made to the physics of combat and extra maneuvers they’ve added seem to be enough to combat the exploits that experts found in the original, which should help this one earn a strong and steady following.

Chivalry 2 thankfully doesn’t seem to be trying to reinvent the wheel when it releases on PC and Xbox One, Series X|S, PS4, and PS5 this June 8. On PC it will debut on the Epic Games Store and come to Steam and other storefronts after one year.

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David Jagneaux loves games of all kinds, but especially VR games. Chat with him on Twitter at @David_Jagneaux.

Nier Replicant ver.1.22474487139… releases this Friday for Xbox One, PS4, and PC, and it’s actually an upgraded version of a game originally released back in 2010. That game had quite the cult following–hence its eventual sequel–and one artist has shown just how dedicated Nier fans can be by making incredibly detailed origami figures of the main characters.

Finnish artist Juho Könkkölä created origami models of the game’s protagonist, who may or may not be named Nier, as well as fan-favorite Emil, and each figure was made from just one piece of paper. Considering the level of detail on the figures, this is pretty incredible. The protagonist doesn’t have a face, but he does hold a weapon and has considerable detail on his clothing and hair.

Emil is even more impressive. The character, who serves as the franchise’s poster boy of sorts, features a little scarf, skeletal limbs, a detailed staff, and his famous “head.” The character also serves as the mask for Nier mastermind Yoko Taro, who almost never shows his face during interviews and public appearances.

Between preparation and folding, making the figures took 210 hours. They were folded from a square piece of paper before being wetted and molded, as you can see for some of the details in Emil’s face. They’re even to scale, with the adult protagonist towering over Emil.

When Nier Replicant releases on April 23, it will be 11 years and one day since the original version released. In addition to upgraded visuals and retooled music, it also features completely overhauled combat that feels similar to Nier Automata and some new content that was not in the original release.

DayZ‘s 1.12 update is live, and it’s a big one. The new update introduces sweeping changes to both PVP and Player Vs Infected combat, making new playstyles and strategies more viable. The update includes changes to firearms, ammo, and protective gear, and even adds new weapons and items into the game.

Changes have been made to the way infected act, making them both deadlier and harder to damage in close melee combat. To balance that out, they are now a little slower to react to sounds, meaning it will be easier to avoid a combat situation if you’re stealthy. Infected will also lose interest if they lose a target, and will no longer attack unconscious players.

Other changes will affect the way PVP combat feels, thanks to changes to weaponry and armor. A handful of new weapons have been added, including the Pioneer rifle and two new knives. Similar weapons have been differentiated so that each weapon has its own distinct advantage in combat–for example, non-automatic rifles are now stronger and more accurate than their automatic counterparts, while smaller weapons and suppressed weapons will no longer be able to be heard from a large distance.

Players will also have more chances to avoid instant death, with ballistic protective gear now making it more likely that players will be knocked down instead of instantly killed. Landmines are also no longer a one-hit kill for healthy players.

Other additions include new food items and a new agriculture system that allows players to grow food inside greenhouses, including the new food crop of potatoes (which now have to be peeled before eating).

The balancing changes and fixes made in this update are extensive, so check out the full patch notes below.

ADDED

• Variety of small food items
• Pioneer rifle
• Fange Knife
• Kukri Knife
• Sickle
• Farming Hoe
• Broom
• New action to disarm land mines with the right tool
• Tritium sights to the ATOG backup sights
• You now have to peel potatoes to make them edible
• Greenhouses can now be used for agriculture
• Flags can now be cut into rags using a knife
• Vehicle batteries are now recharged while the engine is running and consumed by the headlights
• Vehicle attachments can now be locked in place using a screwdriver (interiors) and wrench (doors)
• Tooltips for attachment slots
• Empty attachment slots are highlighted on mouse-over
• Added over 100 new error codes to the connection issues and kicks

FIXED

• Client crash related to inventory swapping
• Fixed a server error related to player-restraining
• Server error when attaching barbed wire to a base building fence
• Improved client performance when looking at a pile of items
• Items dropped inside a tree or bush would sometimes levitate
• Flash grenades would not explode if destroyed by force
• Belts would not show damaged textures when damaged
• Fixed an exploit to cancel the injured animation
• The stealth kill could be executed with a ruined weapon
• Fixed an exploit for prolonged blocking
• Cooking pots could be buried even when placed inside a stone oven
• When observed from a distance, shattered glass on an M3S appeared to be intact
• Removing items from the M3S inventory did not work properly
• It was not possible to repair the engine of the Sarka 120
• Car headlights could be switched on even if the battery was depleted
• Car headlights would continue to shine, even if the battery was destroyed
• The M3S battery could be removed while the truck was running
• The Zucchini and Leather Sewing Kit are rendered better when rotated in the inventory
• Camera clipping issues in the city police station
• The Ghillie suit and rifle wrap could not be repaired with a Sewing Kit
• Knives in attachment slots couldn’t be used to interact with other items
• Placing items in a tent would cause them to sink into the ground
• Placing items in specific buildings would cause them to be spawned halfway underground
• Certain loot spawns would cause items to appear in weird positions (levitating, under tables, etc.)
• Opened doors from greenhouses appeared to be closed from a distance
• Fixed a roof collision preventing the player from entering a building
• The village bus stop had some minor clipping with the bus schedule
• The road signs at the crossing between Bor, Komarovo, and Pavlovo would give false directions
• Fixed some exploits in buildings
• Players could still connect to a server which is in the one minute period of the shutdown, resulting in a generic kick message
• The list of servers was overlapping with the filters section on some resolutions in the in-game server browser
• Mouse cursor got stuck in the centre of the screen while joining a server with the BattlEye approval message
• Blurry info text in the login/logout window
• Player would not sit down if already performing other gesture and logging off
• AI behavior sounds weren’t synced for players
• Names of stairs on the base building fence were switched
• Wrong “Next part” action widget on the base building fence
• Long item names were cut off in the left bottom corner of HUD
• Emotes were not greyed out properly in the emote menu when in prone
• Equip or swap of an item in a players inventory was not always working
• A collision part of the Large Tent was scaled badly
• It was possible to destroy a garden plot
• Items would disappear inside a garden plot when dropped on top of it
• Infected or animals could get stuck mid-air when hit by a vehicle
• The damage indicator on tent doors was not showing the correct damage state
• Wrong melee impact sounds of various tools
• Blood loss effect (desaturation) could not be seen after re-logging
• Dynamic events (such as crashed helicopter) could disappear close to the player
• The player could avoid the limping animation by performing an action while in prone
• Wrong initial speed multiplier for BK43 and Magnum

CHANGED

• The warning for a full stomach will be displayed earlier before reaching the threshold for vomiting
• Rebalanced the nutrition values, inventory sizes, and how filling each edible item is
• Farming actions have been moved from plants to plant slots for easier targeting
• All plants now have different growth times (between 20-50 minutes)
• Adjusted nutrition values of horticulture vegetables according to their growth time
• Fertilizing now increases the yield of plants instead of their growth time
• Increased the chance for plant infestation
• Plants will spoil after a while when being fully grown
• Slicing a pumpkin now yields two pumpkin slices
• The worse the condition of a vegetable, the fewer seeds it will give when cut
• Unpacking seeds now spawns paper
• Rebalanced ammunition types
• The friction of bullets has been increased to make the difference between ammunition types more visible
  • Increased the penetration of high caliber ammunition
• Heavy impact rounds slow down the player and apply more shock damage
• Efficient ballistic rounds keep the speed (and therefore bullet energy and resulting damage) longer and are thus more efficient at long distance
• .380 and 5.45×39 are the weakest in their category but are found more often in the world
• Special types:
  • .22 is used by peculiar weapons (MKII that is integrally suppressed and Sporter that is an almost recoil-less precise semi-auto rifle)
  • 12 gauge rubber slug deal extreme shock damage at close range
  • 12 gauge buckshot slow down much more
• The typical speed of bullets have been adjusted to be equal to the initial speed (temporary and will be reintroduced later)
• Modern firearms require more maintenance when used
• Adjusted the audible range of firearm shots based on the caliber they use
• Increased the precision of pistols, sawed-off rifles, bolt action rifles, hunting, and sniper rifles
• 1PN51 scope has weapon iron sights allowed with some weapons
• Decreased the precision of assault rifles
• Re-adjusted air friction for bullets
• Initial speed of bullets is lower and typical speed is higher (based on min/max speed for the specific kind of bullet)
  • Initial speed is modified by weapons and is balanced to make non automatic weapons deal more damage per bullet than automatic ones
  • Damage is now correctly calculated as a proportion of impact speed over typical speed
• Heavy Impact rounds no longer deal increased shock damage, but retain this damage for longer distances
• Increased the damage of shotgun pellets
• Lowered leg health and armor against projectiles, increasing chances of a broken leg during a firefight
• Stab vest now offers less ballistic protection than the ballistic vest
• Increased durability of the all body armors
• Adjusted .357, 5.56, 9×19 and 12 gauge slug ammunition (air friction, initial speeds, penetration,…)
• Melee damage using impractical items is now weaker than fists
• Slightly increased fist damage
• Increased the damage of most tools to be more efficient than fists in combat
• Reduced blood loss from a bleeding source
• Slightly delayed the recovery from shock damage after receiving it
• Increased the chance of stunning an infected during melee combat
• Reduced the damage to gear dealt by the infected
• Infected now react less to the shots of the IJ-70 and the Sporter 22
• Players are no longer targeted by infected while unconscious
• Light melee attacks have a lower chance of staggering infected (blunt melee weapons with higher shock damage having a higher chance to stagger infected)
• Infected are now tougher in combat
• Melee attacks on infected are now more consistent in terms of the number of attacks required to take one down
• Improved efficiency of backstabbing against infected (executed with sharp weapons)
• Infected now react to players interacting with doors
• Infected react less to suppressed shots and more to louder shots
• Infected give up searching for players faster
• Reduced the efficiency of the scream of the infected
• AI is no longer taking damage from damage zones (fireplaces/barbed wire)
• Land mines can no longer be disarmed using the Bear Trap (killing the player in the process)
• Matchboxes can now be combined but not split
• When focusing on a specific part of a car/base building object etc., the name of that specific section will be displayed in the widget
• Reduced the audible range of the reload sounds by 50 percent
• When having your hands cuffed with barbed wire, struggling can now cause bleeding
• You can now choose to stop an ongoing connection attempt and connect to the currently selected server instead
• Lightning is now lighting up the environment for a bit longer
• Vehicle batteries with metal wires attached can no longer be placed in cargo
• Burning road flares can be destroyed by placing them in a fireplace
• You can only gain extra “rewards” from fishing when fishing in calm waters
• Adjusted Xmas lights on tents to be lighter on performance
• Tweaks to the display of the server browser for better readability
• Updated the credits

CENTRAL ECONOMY

• Added the 15-round SG5-K mag to the spawn (in the world and attached to the weapon)
• Increased the amount of food spawning at the spawn areas and in the center of the maps
• Reduced the amount of food spawning in high-tier areas
• Increased the spawn of .380 and 5.45×39 ammunition
• Increased the chance of weapons to spawn with magazines
• Police infected are now spawning near police cars
• Adjusted loot spawns in the greenhouses

SERVER

• Added: ServerLog [Warning] message when the server could not disconnect players in time before shutting down
• Added: ServerLog [Warning] message when there is no Shutdown message present in messages.xml
• Added: ServerLog [Shutdown] message indicating how long until next shutdown
• Added: ServerLog [Shutdown] message indicating the timing when the server saves, locks, and kicks all players
• Added: RCON messages Lock and Unlock to perform these actions on the server
• Added: Sending RCON message Kick with “-1” will kick all players from the server
• Fixed: Kick by Shutdown message now properly states that the reason is Server Shutdown in the server log
• Fixed: Changing the logout time in globals.xml had no effect on the actual timer in-game
• Fixed: Prints clogging up logs upon store load of plant base
• Fixed: It was not possible to repair tents when server had disableContainerDamage enabled
• Fixed: Server-side #lock and #unlock commands
• Tweaked: Additional engine-side checks put in place for the values of weather

MODDING

• Added: CanObstruct() check on object for commonly used obstruction checks
• Added: IsScenery() check on object to see if an object is part of terrain
• Added: GetCenter() function on object to find the center position of the object
• Added: CanBeTargetedByAI to EntityAI which decides if the Entity can be targeted by the AI passed as parameter
• Added: The attack speed of infected (multiplier) can be adjusted in GameConstants.AI_ATTACKSPEED
• Added: AI sensor multiplier can now be tweaked in PlayerConstants.AI_*
• Added: “CanBeIgnoredByDroppedItem” to object to decide if an object should be ignored when finding a place to drop an item
• Added: SetDirection to Shape
• Added: Way to specify a custom image set for the attachment or attachment category icons
• Changed: RaycastRVProxy now has an additional parameter to input an array for excluded objects
• Changed: Error messages when being kicked from the game or failing to connect to the server have been improved

KNOWN ISSUES

• Infected may be going through closed doors at certain locations. Temporary fix for the community servers is to set all attributes of building to 0 in dbeconomy.xml file. A proper fix will be included in an upcoming hotfix, slated for release early next week.
• The Eggsperimental Capsule is currently set to spawn on Community servers.

The final chapter of Guild Wars 2‘s Icebrood Saga now has an official title and release date. Named “Judgement,” the conclusion to the last 18 months of Guild Wars’ story will arrive for free for all players on April 27.

“With ally Braham, norn of prophecy, on the cusp of confronting his destiny, two of Tyria’s largest and most enigmatic threats emerge to do battle in a clash of supremacy over control of the world’s magic,” ArenaNet’s teaser for the new content reads. “Players will be thrust between these two forces of nature to stop the conflict by any means necessary, and nobody is getting out unscathed.”

Judgement’s story promises a clash between two potentially world-ending Elder Dragons, an apocalyptic threat that players must stop at any cost. Like other content updates to the game, however, it also comes with a whole heap of new rewards and loot, most of it dragon-themed.

Once the update drops, players will be able to max out the Dragon Slayer mastery, and earn dragon-themed items such as a new cape, a dragon eye infusion, a greatsword skin, and new dragon-like minis.

The chapter’s new world boss promises to be epic, with players able to confront the challenge either in a private squad version for up to 50 friends and guildmates, or in a public version for up to 80 players that will become available every two hours.

After Judgement drops, Guild Wars 2 has more new content lined up for 2021, with a new expansion called End of Dragons expected to launch sometime this year.

A new free content update is now available for Spiritfarer, the gorgeous narrative adventure game that was one of GameSpot’s top games of 2020. The update adds a new spirit called Lily, who is designed to flesh out Stella’s story. The update also includes bug fixes, quality-of-life changes, and some new features.

The Lily Update is the first of three free content updates coming to Spiritfarer this year, and its release happens to coincide with the game hitting the major milestone of 500,000 copies sold. The update adds the character of Lily, a butterfly spirit who also happens to be Stella’s younger sister. The new content has been developed in response to player feedback, and is designed to make Stella’s story and the game’s conclusion more satisfying.

Lily can now join your boat, which will grant it the ability to travel at night. Other quality of life updates include the addition of fishing to co-op play, a new co-op controller assignment screen, and much more. You can see everything that’s been updated in the patch notes below.

The next update for Spiritfarer will be the Beverly update, which is due to release this summer. That update will include a new spirit named Beverly, along with more new features and quality of life updates, and an update to Gustav’s story that will incorporate feedback from a panel of gamers with disabilities.

Patch Notes (Switch version 1.6 / PS4 version 1.8 / Gamepass PC version 1.4.9 / Xbone version 1.4.8):

Added features on all ports:

• New spirit – Lily The Butterfly: Appears near the very end of the game and gives more insight into Stella’s life.
• Island’s names now appear while fast travelling.
• Bus Stops are easier to see from the Fast Travel screen.
• Fishing can now be done in coop
• New visual effects when Stanley is found.
• New atmosphere for Buck’s event.
• New UI showing how many items can be added to stations.
• The boat can now travel at night after the first conversation with Lily.
• New coop controller assignment screen. (On all ports except Switch)

Fixes on all ports:

• Buck’s event can no longer start during another atmosphere (rain, stars, etc.)
• Recipe collection now shares the same sorting as the recipe book.
• Fix cat joystick rebindings not being saved
• Prevent menus from clipping down the bottom of the screen when playing in coop.
• Fix Alice confirming the sheep shearing quest next to an unshorn sheep.
• Fix player getting stuck in the run animation
• Fix Smithy automatically starting when smithing brass sheet at a low frame rate
• Fix Smithy being more likely to break on the first hit
• Fix navigation inside the Pause Menu
• Fix user still getting planks if they fails the minigame

Fixes exclusive to Switch:

• Fix cat’s behaviours and inventory when player’s controller is disabled
• Fix turtles not appearing the next day after sleeping next to them
• Fix item collected message not displaying when item is removed from inventory in a conversation
• Fix the rightmost cultist denizen to sometimes spawn at the wrong location
• Modified Elena placement on the island
• Fix Summer slowly going down ladders

Fixes exclusive to Xbox / UWP / Stadia / PC:

• Fix keyboard controls not working after restoring to default in Azerty or Dvorak
• Added a hint for the lighthouse sequence to help people
• Added conversation when spirits are sleeping outside.
• Fix Back button in auto saves screen being written as Test instead of Back (Only PC)

This is an advanced review for Season 1 of Netflix’s Shadow and Bone. The new fantasy series premieres on Netflix on Friday, April, 23.

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Told over the course of eight episodes, Netflix’s Shadow and Bone feels like a homecoming for those of us who never grew out of reading young adult fantasy. Though there are some hiccups with weaving together its two primary stories, the series captures Bardugo’s talent for balancing large scale world-building with theatrical action sequences, sweeping romances, and elements of horror—some of my favorite parts of young adult fantasy. Like the classics that came before it, Shadow and Bone works best when it’s fully committed to the dramatics of spectacle and emotion.

The show adapts Leigh Bardugo’s immersive, best-selling book of the same name (first in the Grishaverse trilogy) while writing new material for the wonderfully acidic characters of Six of Crows (first of the duology, set two year later). It takes place in war torn Ravka, a fictionalized Russia, where the magical class of Grisha are persecuted following the creation of a hostile region called The Fold. Alina Starkov (Jessie Mei Li) ascends from army cartographer to Sun Summoning Grisha, the only one who might dissolve The Fold—and is separated from her from her old life, including best friend and gifted tracker Malyen Oretsev (Archie Renaux). Meanwhile, in the seedy “Barrel” underbelly of Ketterdam (a fictionalized Amsterdam, where teens run rival crime factions) a crew assembles for a fun Ocean’s 11 style heist.

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While Shadow and Bone fits well with Netflix’s other fantasy adaptations, like The Witcher and Umbrella Academy, it’s even better contextualized by the recent wave of horror-tinged teen dramas like The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and Fate: The Winx Saga. Unlike these comparable stories, the books Netflix’s Shadow and Bone are based on are already dark in tone—and that is a huge part of the appeal. The Fold is grand and inky-black, and the show captures the dread of crossing via ship, as passengers attempt to fend off monsters who live there. And rather than portraying the more archetypal nurturing but secretive Hogwarts-style magical school, The Little Palace is a punishing and socially stratified place where Grisha not only train, but are also sequestered for their own protection.

Bardugo’s reimagining of typical fantasy lore is lovely to watch. Grisha don’t practice “magic;” they call it the Small Science. They are split into three orders: Corporalki, Etherealki, and Materialki, with subclasses under each, like Inferni who manipulate fire, or the Heartrenders and Healers who manipulate the human body. Netflix hits these notes well, with scenes of Grisha in The Little Palace playing with fire, or “tailoring” faces—a process of augmenting one’s appearance, akin to putting on makeup. (Though Netflix can’t quite match the ostentatious visual effects of a mega-popular hit like Game of Thrones, which had a budget of nearly $10 million per episode by the final season).

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The show’s heist scenes also shake up the classic young-adult Chosen One story. Big-budget, early aughts fantasy films created a kind of formula: a teen learns they’re supernaturally powerful, goes through magical training, and is part of at least one love triangle before saving the world. Ketterdam refreshes this with a Western-tinged edge—smoke filled gambling dens, dark alleys, corporate goons in lavish mansions—where no is far from a gun fight. In Shadow and Bone, we’re rooting for both Alina and Inej Ghafa (Amita Suman), Jesper Fahey (Kit Young), and Barrel boss Kaz Brekker (Freddy Carter), even when they’re working against each other.

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Netflix does make a few tweaks to its source material for its screen adaptation, and some of these work really well. Where the Shadow and Bone book was written in first person, with Malyen’s story recounted to Alina, the show gives Mal his own focused storyline. This builds him into a much more compelling character, one whose tracking and fighting skills—Mal braves the frigid cold to hunt a mythical stag, fending off attackers along the way—make for a more suspenseful arc. Meanwhile, actors Li and Renaux also do a great job of creating a base level of chemistry in a limited amount of time. It makes the anguish of their separation more believable, adding an urgency to their reunion that might otherwise get lost in the stock tensions of a love triangle.

Mal and Alina are also cast as mixed race—of Ravkan and Shu Han (fictionalized China or Malaysia) descent—a decision that Bardugo felt strongly about. (In the books, Alina’s race was never specified, though she was described as looking “pale and sour, like a glass of milk that’s turned”). It’s a well-intentioned choice, particularly because Bardugo’s work grapples with geopolitical conflict, and her later books have a more inclusive cast of characters.

In execution, being mixed race ostracizes Mal and Alina, subjecting them to racist bullying like being called “half breed,” among other offensive labels. The screen adaptation doesn’t delve into Ravka’s relationships with its neighboring countries to the same extent as the books—choosing instead to foreground the tension between Grisha and plainclothes civilians, and trusting us to understand these racist comments against Mal and Alina as inappropriate.

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The largest departure from the books, of course, is the way the casts of the trilogy and the duology collide, creating some interesting storytelling wrinkles that are especially enjoyable for those who know this story already. Rather than delve into the plot of the Six of Crow books, the adaptation writes in new material for what those characters were doing during the events of Shadow and Bone (though this new material often references moments from the books). This makes space for new scenes and plotlines, some of which—like a trip across The Fold in a rickety train—are season highlights, offering valuable comic relief. Jesper particularly shines, with his alchemy of charisma and sharpshooting making him equally fun to watch whether he’s shooting holes through coins or charming a stableboy.

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But the two stories don’t always sit easily together. There are quite a few plotlines to balance, which isn’t unheard of for fantasy stories, but it does mean this one season has to run through quite a bit of character introduction in order to tie it all together. That means that certain storylines, Nina and Matthias for example, feel a little abrupt or out of place. The Six of Crows plotlines also don’t get the same scale of action sequences, mostly focusing on world-building, and laying groundwork for fan favorites Kaz, Inej, and Jesper. The show prioritizes comedic bits where Inej vanishes or unloads her massive collection of knives, for example, over sequences where she’s actually fighting. (Though there are still enough fun comeuppance scenes that fans will likely enjoy).

It all leaves me wondering how Netflix will choose to balance the two storylines in the following seasons, and what big action moments the heist crew has in store. Mostly, I look forward to moments in the book I’ve already imagined in my mind’s eye—like seeing Inej in her full acrobatic, knife-wielding glory.

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Destiny 2‘s Olympics-like Guardian Games competition, which pits each character type against the others in a big contest to see who’s best, has returned for its second year. Like last year, it brings an Exotic weapon for you to earn: Heir Apparent. This machine gun has the added benefit of projecting an Arc shield around you while you fire it, protecting you (but forcing you to move slowly) as you use it to cut down anything in your path.

If you earned Heir Apparent last year, then your goal in this year’s Guardian Games (apart from beating the Titans, of course) is to complete a new quest to earn its Exotic catalyst–check out our Heir Apparent Exotic catalyst guide for tips on how to do it quickly and efficiently. But if you still need to unlock Heir Apparent, you can do that pretty fast in this year’s games. Here’s everything you need to know to get the machine gun and turn yourself into a lead-slinging fortress.

How To Earn Heir Apparent

The good news is that, unlike last year, Heir Apparent is pretty painless to nab in 2021. You just need to put a little time into the Guardian Games to grab it. But while it doesn’t take much to acquire, it’s not immediately clear what you need to do to get it–the Exotic quest for the gun doesn’t drop until you’ve completed certain prerequisits.

Step 1: Take Part In The Guardian Games

First off, you’ll need to get into the Guardian Games and start participating. Getting started is easy: Drop by the Tower and talk to Zavala, who will provide you with a new class item for your chosen character subclass. Equip that class item, because it’s essential to how the Guardian Games scoring works.

Once you’re done with Zavala, head to Eva Levante.

Step 2: Complete “The Games Begin” Quest

Eva will give you a quest called “The Games Begin,” which requires you to gather Laurels. These are drops that are specific to the Guardian Games, which you can create yourself or pick up from other players, but you’ll need your Guardian Games class item equipped to do it. Laurels are colored motes that drop when you kill enemies with your abilities, like grenades, powered melee attacks, and Supers. You’ll also get Laurels to drop when you kill elite enemies, so the ones you see with orange and yellow life bars.

The idea is that you want to create Laurels for yourself and your teammates, while making sure to pick up any Laurels dropped by other players, even if they’re in another subclass. But you earn more motes if you grab them from players with the same subclass as you. You earn 3 Laurels per mote you pick up if it was generated by the same subclass, and 1 Laurel per mote if it was generated by the other class. You can tell where the motes came from by their color and symbol: red are Titan motes, blue are Hunter motes, and yellow are Warlock motes.

You need 100 total Laurels for this step, and they’re easy to come by in various activities. Probably the quickest way to get them, however, is in Strikes. There’s a new Strike playlist you can activate from the Tower that will pair you with only other players from your subclass, allowing you to quickly and efficiently earn triple the Laurels as compared to other activities.

Step 3: Complete Your First Contender Card

After you rack up 100 Laurels, return to Eva Levante to access the other new element of the Guardian Games this year: Contender Cards. These are special bounties you can purchase with Laurels that give you medals, which are what you actually need to earn to score points for your subclass in the Guardian Games competition. Contender Cards are specific to each playlist and dish out the best medals in the competition. You can get top-tier Platinum medals from the Trials of Osiris and Nightfall Strike Contender Cards, and Gold medals from the Gambit, Crucible, and Strike playlist Contender Cards.

Knock out one of these to finish up your introduction into the Guardian Games. Again, a Strike card is probably the quickest, but make sure to read its requirements. It’ll likely ask you to rack up kills with a specific element and provide bonus progress for earning things like grenade kills or precision kills, so pay attention to what it asks to minimize your grind.

Step 4: Earn 50 More Laurels

Once you complete your first Contender Card, you should have unlocked Eva Levante’s whole inventory, which will include Guardian Games Ghost shells, various bounties, and Platinum Contender Cards. That should also provide you with the opportunity to snag the Exotic quest for Heir Apparent. Don’t worry, the steps are pretty simple.

Your next objective is to earn more Laurels, but not as many this time. Stock up on bounties and a Contender Card and head back to the Strike playlist. According to Bungie, there are two known bugs that can affect this step that you’ll want to avoid: First, only Laurels you pick up from the ground count toward this step. Second, Gambit and Crucible matches are not currently dropping Laurels, but instead delivering them straight to players. So while you might find that the Crucible or Gambit are more efficient ways of earning Laurels, right now, neither activity will advance your Heir Apparent quest. Stick to Strikes and Nightfalls to complete this step.

Step 5: Rack Up 100 Machine Gun Kills

Your final requirement is to prove some prowess with machine guns. You can do this with any weapon, and again, it’ll go pretty quick. If you have an accurate machine gun like Commemoration, you can squeeze off a bunch of precision kills quickly and without a lot of ammo, especially in Strikes. But any gun will do and the requirement goes pretty quickly. If you want to provide yourself with more targets, head to the Moon and take part in the Altar of Sorrow activity.

Once you’ve got your kills, you should be able to return to Eva and pick up your Heir Apparent. You’re not done, however, because you can also earn the machine gun’s Exotic catalyst during the Guardian Games, which significantly boosts the Arc shield the gun provides you when you fire it. Check out our Heir Apparent Exotic catalyst guide for more information.

Earlier today, Entertainment Weekly gave fans a first look at the Harry Potter store coming to New York City on June 3.. The store, seemingly called The Harry Potter Shop, is set to house the largest collection of Harry Potter merchandise there is, much of which will be unavailable anywhere else. In the exclusive EW interview, vice president and general manager of Warner Bros. Retail Destinations Karl Durrant said the store is “looking forward to bringing some magic back into people’s lives.”

Located near the Flatiron Building at 935 Broadway, the three-story shop boasts a whopping 21,000 square feet and contains “15 different theme areas with magical elements.” One of these is areas is an interactive wand table, where customers can take their wands on a “test run.” The store will also offer fans an area to have their wands personalized, making it the only place outside of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter (located within Universal Studios Orlando) to do so.

In addition to shopping, The Harry Potter shop aims to offer Harry Potter fans unique experiences. According to Durrant, two virtual reality experiences are coming to the store: ‘Chaos at Hogwarts’ and ‘Wizards Take Flight.’ While the finer details about ‘Chaos at Hogwarts’ have yet to be revealed, ‘Wizards Take Flight’ allows players to take control of their very own broomstick and fly above the River Thames in London. Durrant has also stated that due to Warner Bros. being in a “uniquely privileged position to work directly with the [Harry Potter] filmmakers,” the store will house authentic props and recreations of items from the Harry Potter films. These props include Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Dumbledore’s wands, the original golden snitch, Harry’s broomstick, Tom Riddle’s Diary, and more.

Outside of the store’s grand opening, the Harry Potter franchise has been in the news quite often lately, primarily due to the number of scandals surrounding author J.K. Rowling and former Hogwarts Legacy designer Troy Leavitt. Only time will tell if or how these incidents will impact the future of The Harry Potter Shop and upcoming Harry Potter game, Hogwarts Legacy.