Solar Opposites Season 2 is now available to watch on Hulu and the latest trailer for the show is exceptionally bizarre. While Justin Roiland’s Rick and Morty is about humans traveling to other planets and dimensions, Solar Opposites is about aliens coming here and having to navigate our special human brand of weirdness. While that’s going on, though, the alien known as Yumyulack has a side hobby that involves miniaturizing random people and adding them to his terrarium.
Normally, we’d embed the trailer, but its “Age Restricted” status means you’ll have to click that link above to go view it. While Korvo, Yumyulack, and crew are out in the real world, all of Yumyulack’s hand-picked denizens are eking out an existence in his very own Kandor. Cherie (Christina Hendricks) has her own religion and the Duke (Alfred Molina) is working to maintain control. Meanwhile, Halk (Sterling K. Brown), war hero and former Bones executive producer, finds himself called to action to solve a series of murders.
Solar Opposites is a weird show.
If you’re not watching it, what are you even doing? All of Solar Opposites Season 2 is available right now on Hulu. Roiland co-created the show with former Rick and Morty writer Mike McMahan (who subsequently created Star Trek: Lower Decks). The primary cast features Justin Roiland (Korvo), Thomas Middleditch (Terry), Sean Giambrone (Yumyulack), and Mary Mack (Jesse). Solar Opposites initially received a two-season order, but Hulu greenlit a third season back in June, so you have a lot more to look forward to.
A free issue of the ongoing Life is Strange comic series, Partners in Time, will be released on August 14, the game’s official Twitter account has revealed. The issue will be published by Titan Comics as a part of Free Comic Book Day 2021–an event created to encourage purchasing comics locally–and contains not only the next chapter of the Partners in Time series, but a prequel to the next entry in the game series, Life is Strange: True Colors. According to the tweet, the issue will be divided into two stories: one centering around Life is Strange veterans Max Caulfield and Chloe Price, and another following the series’ new protagonist, Alex Chen.
The first story is the next chapter in the ongoing Partners in Time series, which follows the aftermath of Life is Strange assuming players selected the game’s “bad” ending and saved Chloe at the expense of Arcadia Bay. Additionally, the story features another returning character, Life is Strange: Before the Storm’s Steph Gringrich, who is confirmed to be in the upcoming True Color game and could indicate the story will bridge the time gap between the events of the first game and the upcoming title.
The second half of the comic provides readers with a first look at the town of Haven Springs and Alex Chen, the telepathic protagonist of Life is Strange: True Colors. The comic is said to cover the events leading up to the game, which is set to release in its entirety–a first for the Life is Strange series–on September 10.
Announced last month, Life is Strange: True Colors is the fifth entry in the Life is Strange series, and the second developed by Deck Nine Games rather than Dontnod Entertainment. Just like in the series’ previous installments, True Colors follows a protagonist with superhuman abilities who uses them to deliver a heartfelt story. For Alex Chen, it’s her power of Empathy, which allows her to experience the emotions of others. While this power is a great tool for understanding the motives and emotions of those around her, this unnatural gift can prove overwhelming for Alex–especially while trying to manage her own grief.
Amazon Prime now has more than 200 million subscribers. As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, the figure was revealed by outgoing CEO Jeff Bezos in a letter to shareholders.
Bezos is about to become the company’s chairman later in the year and is handing CEO duties over to Andy Jassy. In his final letter to shareholders in the company, Bezos revealed the huge subscriber number, which puts it only slightly behind Netflix. In January this year, it was reported that Netflix had increased its subscriber base to 203.66 million in 2020. However, it’s worth remembering that access to Amazon Prime Video is included in a standard Prime subscription, so not every Prime member necessarily watches the video streaming platform.
In his letter, Bezos praised Jassy, who will move from running Amazon Web Services. “Andy is brilliant and has the highest of high standards,” he said. “I guarantee you that Andy won’t let the universe make us typical. He will muster the energy needed to keep alive in us what makes us special. That won’t be easy, but it is critical. I also predict it will be satisfying and oftentimes fun.”
While Netflix and Amazon clearly lead the streaming pack, they are facing increased competition from other platforms. In March, it was reported that total streaming subscriptions had exceeded one billion worldwide. Disney+ now has more than a million subscribers, while the combined number of HBO Max and HBO subscribers exceeds 61 million worldwide. NBCUniveral’s Peacock has also racked up 33 million sign-ups since it launched in May last year, although the cost of securing content means that it lost $914 million in 2020.
The new action movie Memory from James Bond director Martin Campbell (GoldenEye, Casino Royale) will feature some big names. It’s been confirmed by Collider that joining the previously announced star, Liam Neeson, will be Guy Pearce (Memento), Monica Bellucci (Spectre), and Harold Torres (ZeroZeroZero).
Neeson stars in the movie as Alex Lewis, who is described as an “expert assassin with a reputation for discreet precision.” That is familiar territory for Neeson, who played a similar-sounding character in the Taken series.
Monica Belluci in a scene from Spectre
Lewis refuses to take a job for a crime organization and then finds himself as the target of a hit, so he must go on the offensive and hunt down his assailants. The twist is that Lewis has memory loss, which complicates his mission at every turn.
Pearce and Taj Atwal (Line of Duty) are set to play FBI agents who track the fallout from Lewis’ actions, while Torres plays the Mexican intelligence officer Hugo Marquez. Bellucci plays a “local tech mogul,” according to the report.
Memory is based on the book De Zaak Alzheimer from Jef Geeraerts and the Belgian movie The Memory of a Killer, adapted for the screen by Dario Scardapane (The Bridge). The movie is currently filming in Bulgaria, but a release date has not been set for the film at this point.
To celebrate the launch of New Pokemon Snap, Pokemon Go is holding an event based on the upcoming Switch spin-off later this month. The event kicks off on April 29 and features various Pokemon inspired by the environments of the Lental region, New Pokemon Snap’s setting.
Throughout the event, Lotad, Cacnea, Ducklett, and other Pokemon that you’d find in deserts, jungles, and underwater will appear in the wild more frequently than normal. Smeargle will also be appearing more frequently when you take snapshots, and you’ll have your first chance to catch a Shiny Smeargle in the game during the event.
In addition to the increased wild Pokemon spawns, Vaporeon, Meganium, Trapinch, and other monsters will appear in Raids. There will also be event-exclusive Timed and Field Research tasks to complete. These, fittingly, will be focused around taking snapshots.
Finally, Niantic says it will be adding a new camera avatar item and camera-themed gift sticker to Pokemon Go’s in-game shop. The Pokemon Snap event runs until 8 PM local time on May 2. You can read more details about the event on the official Pokemon Go blog.
New Pokemon Snap itself launches for Nintendo Switch on April 30. Like its N64 predecessor, it’s an on-rails game about photographing Pokemon in their natural habitats. You can read more about the title in our New Pokemon Snap preorder guide.
Development on Legendary’s Toxic Avenger reboot continues. Actor Peter Dinklage is already set to play the titular Avenger, and now Jacob Tremblay will join him according to Deadline.
The original 1984 film, produced by Troma Entertainment and co-directed by founders Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz, sports Troma’s trademark low-budget visual effects and grotesque imagery. It tells the story of a man named Melvin who, after being pushed into a vat of toxic waste, transforms into a mutant. He has to save his family and town from organized crime and corrupt officials.
Deadline did not specify Tremblay’s role, but it seems likely that the actor will play Melvin/Toxie’s son. Tremblay is best known for his breakout role starring in Room alongside Brie Larson, as well as his role in Wonder, about a child living with Treacher Collins Syndrome.
Toxic Avenger didn’t get much traction during its initial release, but New York’s midnight cinema scene gave it new life, and Toxie appeared in multiple sequels, a children’s cartoon and toys, and video games on NES, Nintendo Game Boy, and the Sega Genesis. Legendary acquired the license in 2018. Alongside Dinklage and Tremblay, Macon Blair is set to direct, while original co-directors Kaufman and Herz are producing the film.
Legendary has not yet set a release date for Toxic Avenger.
As previously revealed, E3 is returning in 2021 as a “reimagined” and “all-virtual” event that will take place June 12 – 15, 2021. As with previous years, major names in the video game industry will be present and showing off their latest games. Of course, E3 is also partnering with major media outlets for coverage, and GameSpot is one of them.
GameSpot will be working closely with E3 to deliver breaking news, interviews, opinions, and more. We’ll be streaming everything, so make sure to tune in right here from June 12 to get exciting content as it happens.
“We are focused on ensuring that E3 continues to be the most innovative and collaborative event in the video game industry, so enlisting some of the industry’s biggest media partners to help deliver the highly-anticipated news, reveals and more is crucial to a successful showcase,” said Stanley Pierre-Louis, president & CEO of the ESA. “Each media partner will be instrumental in driving E3’s reach to more fans than ever before. With this year’s digital format, we’re looking to provide our audiences with exciting and unique ways to experience the magic of E3.”
E3 2021 is just one piece of our summer coverage plans as we’re bringing back Play For All in 2021 too. As with last year, we’ll be bringing in friends from across the industry to put together fun streams where you can watch and also donate to charity. Well-known developers will be making an appearance, alongside notable personalities from other websites, and, of course, the GameSpot faces you know and love too.
Super Mario Maker 2‘s final Ninji Speedrun event is now underway until April 27. This event is called Bowser’s Castle: The Last Dash, and it challenges players to run multiple laps through a vast, trap-laden castle.
As Nintendo describes, “To clear the final Ninji Speedrun course, you’ll need to run a few laps around Bowser’s Castle! It’s packed with tricky gimmicks, putting all of your skills to the test. Keep at it, and go for the best time you can get!” You can check out some screenshots of the new speedrun course below.
The final #SuperMarioMaker2 Ninji Speedrun event is here! To clear the final Ninji Speedrun course, you’ll need to run a few laps around Bowser’s Castle! It’s packed with tricky gimmicks, putting all of your skills to the test. Keep at it, and go for the best time you can get! pic.twitter.com/Tc9omxd3mo
As Nintendo previously announced, this final event is “bigger than usual.” As such, it runs for two weeks rather than the usual one, concluding at 7 PM PT / 10 PM ET on April 27. You’ll still be able to play the course after the event officially ends, but your time won’t be counted.
This event seems to mark the end of Nintendo’s support for Super Mario Maker 2. The game’s final content update was released last April and introduced a World Maker mode, as well as a plethora of new enemies, power-ups, and other tools with which to make your courses. Since then, Nintendo has regularly held Ninji Speedrun events in the game, although no other new content has been added.
This event also comes less than a month after Nintendo officially wrapped up its Super Mario 35th anniversary celebration. After that campaign concluded on March 31, Nintendo delisted two limited-time releases: Super Mario 3D-All Stars and Super Mario Bros. 35. The latter was succeeded one week later by Pac-Man 99, a new battle royale-style game that’s free for Nintendo Switch Online subscribers.
As if you needed another reason to jump into Final Fantasy XIV–the popular MMORPG from Square Enix–the PlayStation 5 version of the game just went into open beta this week. It’s available for all players who have a PS4 copy of the game or are currently running the free trial with their account, and it comes with a slew of perks afforded by the more powerful hardware. From super-fast load times to crisper visuals, FFXIV can now take full advantage of the PS5 as opposed to simply running the PS4 version through backwards compatibility.
When running the PS5 version, you have three graphics options: “Full HD” that does 1080p and prioritizes hitting 60fps, “WQHD” that uses a 1440p resolution while targeting up to 60fps, and “4K” that runs native 4K resolution and improves overall draw distance but will experience lower frame rates. I spent a few hours hanging in the Limsa Lominsa lower decks with the large and rather enthusiastic crowds and ran a few dungeons to get a feel for how the PS5 handles high player counts in each mode. Even though it can struggle at times, this is a major improvement over the PS4’s capabilities and a worthy upgrade for those who play on console.
In 4K mode, you’ll notice the game chugging to what feels like around 30fps in the huge Lominsan crowds, and doesn’t always hit a silky smooth frame rate when out and about in the less dense areas of FFXIV’s world. However, the visuals are crisp, akin to running maximum settings on the PC version at native 4K. Although you’re not getting 60fps, I felt the experience was consistent enough as to not detract from gameplay, which I gathered from running The Twinning dungeon.
When using WQHD (1440p resolution), the frame rate picked up noticeably–this is what I would recommend PS5 players to use. While 4K can make an aged game look a bit fresher, visuals were never really FFXIV’s strong suit. The boost in frame rate lets you have a better handle of things, especially in battle. Even in just navigating the world, playing the game is much easier on the eyes when things are moving smoothly and consistently. This still comes with some hiccups here and there: Encountering dense crowds in popular zones during peak hours result in some noticeable performance drops. They’re just not as pronounced as they are in 4K.
PS5 players who haven’t made the jump to a 4K display yet get a bit of a treat with the 1080p Full HD mode which seems to keep the frame rate closer 60fps more consistently. Of course, those on 4K displays will notice visual compromises.
The PS5 graphics options in the system configuration menu.
What’s a constant for all PS5 players are the ultra-fast load times. While the console’s SSD makes loading for backwards compatible games much shorter, native PS5 versions of games are capable of tapping into more of the hardware’s potential. Warping from zone to zone only takes a matter of seconds, regardless of where you’re going in FFXIV’s world. It only took five to seven seconds to teleport between each different zone, like from Limsa Lominsa to New Gridania to Kugane to The Crystarium. On the PS4’s HDD, loading in these instances often took more than 20 seconds. The PS5 rivals the NVMe SSD I’ve been using on my PC, and it’s great to see that the console (which is using the same tech) can flex its power to provide a more seamless experience.
One more PS5-specific thing worth mentioning is the DualSense capabilities. The subtleties of controller vibration come through in this updated version of FFXIV, which is a neat feature. Rumble reacts to the surfaces you’re stepping on, but it’s more pronounced with mounts. I could feel the wings of my Yol mount flap through the sides of the DualSense. I could also sense the impact of mounts lifting off and landing on the ground. Although it’s a non-essential feature, it’s something that could encourage me to spend time on the PS5 version, especially if future updates add more extensive DualSense features.
I’ll admit that I’ve been spoiled by spending almost all of my 800+ hours in FFXIV on PC with mostly high-end hardware. This is a thing very specific to FFXIV, but if you’re not using a display with pronounced colors, the game can look rather washed out–I get around this by using the Reshade mod on PC that offers a slew of options like bloom, richer colors, and better contrast. So with that being my point of reference, I still acknowledge that the PS5 version stands strong. After all, FFXIV is a tremendous game, and even though it can show its age from a visual standpoint, the PS5 provides some noteworthy upgrades for console players.
Taking down The Tycoon in The Twinning dungeon on PS5. You must increase the music volume.
Also, keep in mind that Square Enix said we can expect more performance updates over time through subsequent patches–it’s tough to say exactly what this is going to mean. This is currently a beta, but Square Enix stated that if all goes well, it’ll simply roll the beta into full service. But for now, the free upgrade is a great perk for PS5 owners that enhances the console experience in meaningful ways.
Now, this is where I direct you toward all our FFXIV coverage and, yes, the hefty free trial that includes the full base game and first expansion Heavensward, which lets you play through all content up to level 60. If you’re looking to jump in, check out my FFXIV beginner’s guide to get started on the right foot. Patch 5.5 just dropped and while I will have thoughts and feelings to share soon, you can catch up on everything we know about the upcoming Endwalker expansion and read my interview with director/producer Naoki Yoshida about FFXIV’s past and future.
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