Author: Trafficblast

With Christmas finally behind us, there’s a new holiday looming in the distance, and it’ll be here before you know it. Valentine’s Day is all about showing that special someone how much you care, and while flowers and chocolate are popular gift ideas, why not get them something they’ll actually use and cherish? Don’t get me wrong–chocolate is always a good idea–but Valentine’s Day is a nice opportunity to pick up a new game you can experience together or surprise them with a new piece of merch from the series they can’t stop talking about.

Coming up with new gift ideas so soon after Christmas can be tricky, but don’t feel like you have to default to something generic. To help you shop for your sweetheart this year, we’ve rounded up some of the best Valentine’s Day gift ideas for games you can enjoy together, personalized accessories, collectibles, and more.

Games

Dream Daddy

Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PS4, PC

While a dating sim where you play as a hot dad attempting to romance other hot dads may not sound like a game you’d want to play with your significant other on Valentine’s Day, it’s actually the perfect game to play with a partner. Together, you can design your own hot dad, decide which handsome bachelor to woo, go on dates, and discover multiple endings based on dialogue options you choose along the way. It’s not all flirtation and dad puns, however; Dream Daddy also has a very sweet storyline about parenthood and some memorable characters you won’t soon forget.

Buy it digitally: Steam | Nintendo Eshop | PlayStation Store

Stardew Valley

Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One, PC, Android, iOS

You might think Stardew Valley is just a farming sim, but this massively popular game is also about building friendships and pursuing romance with the NPC of your choice. Just like you’re doing right now, the game makes you consider what gifts your partner will respond best to, and even after you marry the character of your choice, you still have to cherish them and show them attention if you want to keep them, which is a pretty solid message about relationships. While launched as a single-player game, Stardew Valley now has a fantastic multiplayer mode so you can play local or online co-op with your sweetheart.

Buy it digitally: Steam | Nintendo Eshop | PlayStation Store | Xbox Live | Google Play | Apple App Store

Don’t Starve Together

Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, PC

See how you and your partner would fare stranded out in the wilderness in Don’t Starve Together, a survival game with Tim Burton-esque visuals. The standalone multiplayer expansion of Don’t Starve thrusts you into a strange world with strange creatures and dangers, and you’ll have to work together with your partner to gather resources, craft items, and create structures to keep yourselves safe. If relationships are all about protecting each other and working together, Don’t Starve Together is the perfect game to buy for your significant other this Valentine’s Day.

Buy it digitally: Steam | PlayStation Store | Xbox Live

Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime

Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One, PC

In this colorful couch co-op adventure, you and your partner will explore the galaxy as LOVERS (which stands for League of Very Empathetic Rescue Spacenauts, in this context), using teamwork to battle the evil forces of Anti-Love and rescue adorable space-bunnies. Together, you’ll have to control the ship, using turrets and lasers to attack, shields to defend, and thrusters to navigate the environment. This is one game that can get very hectic very quickly and will definitely test your communication skills, but it’s also a blast. There’s a single-player mode as well where you get help from an AI pet, and up to four players can join in. While a lot cheaper to buy digitally, there’s a gorgeous collector’s edition available exclusively through IndieBox.

Buy it digitally: Steam | Nintendo Eshop | PlayStation Store | Xbox Live

Overcooked

Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One, PC

On the surface, Overcooked is a cute game about preparing meals, but it takes an insane amount of coordination to get high stars on its timed, chaotic kitchen levels. Overcooked requires a similar strategy to Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime: Tasks must be delegated, and communication must be swift and clear in order to navigate a level’s obstacles and submit enough plates of food in time. If you like cooking together IRL and can handle a challenge, Overcooked is the perfect game to play as a couple this Valentine’s Day.

Buy it digitally: Steam | Nintendo Eshop | PlayStation Store | Xbox Live

Fog of Love

Tabletop game

Fog of Love is a two-player board game where you create and roleplay as two characters who meet, fall in love, and face challenges in their relationship. From sweet moments to difficult arguments, you’ll have to decide how your character would react, and you’ll earn points in certain traits along the way. Just like in real life, your characters may also have different goals, and by the end of the game, the relationship could grow stronger–or fall apart. But hey, this is just a game! Regardless of how your fictional lovers fare in Fog of Love, you and your real-life sweetheart are sure to have a blast starring in this tabletop rom-com. This board game also has a few different covers available to include LGBTQ relationships.

Accessories and collectibles

A new controller

Pick up a new controller in their favorite color this Valentine’s Day. PlayStation’s newest DualShock 4 colors, like Rose Gold and Electric Purple, are fantastic, and at the Xbox Design Lab, you can even design a custom controller for your sweetheart. For Nintendo Switch owners, PowerA offers gorgeous third-party Switch controllers at a more affordable price point, such as these new Pokemon Sword and Shield-inspired designs. If you’re new to playing games together as a couple, a new gamepad is just what you need to get started.

Jewelry

If they’re the jewelry-wearing type, surprise them with a new necklace or pair of earrings inspired by their favorite game. Fangamer has some gorgeous pieces of jewelry referencing games like Stardew Valley, Persona 5, and The Legend of Zelda. We also love this adorable pair of Eevee earrings at Etsy.

Online gaming subscription

Memberships like PlayStation Plus, Nintendo Switch Online, and Xbox Live Gold grant access to online multiplayer games, and it’s a perfect way to stay connected if you and your loved one are in a long-distance relationship. PS Plus and Xbox Live Gold are a bit more expensive, but they also get you free games every month.

Pikachu & Eevee Sweet Days Plush

Is there anything cuter than this fuzzy pink basket holding Pikachu, Eevee, and some Pokemon sweets? Sadly, you can’t eat these sweets, but you can still enjoy how happy these two look together. You can’t really tell in the photo, but they’re holding a little red heart together–adorable.

Cuphead and Mugman set

Show them just how well you go together with this matching Cuphead and Mugman set, inspired by the acclaimed run-and-gun game. These adorable mugs are perfect for a cozy game or movie night, and even if you two don’t live together, they’ll think of you every time they make a drink. Each mug comes with a removable stirring straw. Just note they’re not dishwasher or microwave safe.

Sega Genesis Mini

Retro gamers will delight in the Sega Genesis Mini, which includes 42 nostalgic games and two controllers so you can play some of the classic games together, like Golden Axe, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, and ToeJam & Earl. This mini console is truly tiny and won’t take up much space, but it’s sure to bring hours of fun if they have fond memories of the original Sega Genesis.

Sayonara Wild Hearts vinyl collection

Sayonara Wild Hearts is often described as a pop album video game, so naturally, its soundtrack is phenomenal. Fortunately for fans of the game, iam8bit has released an exclusive 2xLP vinyl record containing the complete collection of songs from Sayonara Wild Hearts, with a gorgeous holographic foil-stamped heart on the cover.

Eevee Sweet Choices Pokemon Pin Set

This darling pin set features nine collectible pins inspired by the Eeveelution family. The set of candy-style pins comes in an adorable heart-shaped box with Eevee and Sylveon on the cover. It’s the perfect gift for any Eevee fanatic or pin collector this Valentine’s Day, and it ships directly from PokemonCenter.com. (Also, if you’re looking to spend a lot less on a gift, there’s also a cute Valentine’s Day greeting card that includes two Eevee and Sylveon pins for just $15.)

PlayStation Gold Wireless Headset

If they’re a PS4 owner and don’t yet have a headset for the console, they’re sure to appreciate opening up the PlayStation Gold wireless headset on Valentine’s Day. While certainly not a high-end headset, the Gold headset is extremely comfortable to wear, affordable, and compatible with not only PS4 but also mobile devices, PC, and Mac. It’s also designed to be comfortable to use with PlayStation VR. Multiple colors are available, including this stunning rose gold shade that released late last year.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade1Up Machine with Riser

If you really want to impress this Valentine’s Day, Arcade1Up makes fantastic retro arcade machines featuring classic games like Street Fighter, Pac-Man, and Space Invaders. This Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles machine will run you $400, but it’ll provide endless entertainment as you and your partner team up to fight Shredder and other classic TMNT villains. Up to four players can jump in at once, making this the ultimate party game as well.

The PS4 Pro and Xbox One X have demonstrated the benefits of a 4K resolution for some time, but it hasn’t always been true 4K. The upcoming PS5 and Xbox Series X, however, are expected to push the Ultra HD resolution as the new standard. If you haven’t invested in a 4K TV yet, then now’s a great time. With the Super Bowl kicking off this Sunday, electronics company Vizio is discounting several of its best 4K TVs.

Best Buy, Costco, and Sam’s Club all feature deals on 4K televisions from Vizio’s P-Series and M-Series lines. Vizio’s TVs have great image and HDR quality, in addition to low latency, which makes them great for gaming. They also tend to be pretty good at upscaling lower-resolution content, including but not limited to 720p and 1080p. All of the discounted Vizio TVs boast either a 65- or 75-inch display.

If you’re looking to pair your new 4K TV with a good sound system, then you can save a little money with Best Buy. The retailer is offering a promotion that gets you an extra $50 off Vizio’s 5.1.2 soundbar system if purchased with one of the Vizio 4K TVs.

Costco offers the 65-inch M-Series at its cheapest price, though you do need a Costco membership to take advantage of that deal. You can see the full list of Vizio 4K TV discounts in the list below.

Best Buy:

Costco:

Sam’s Club:

Microsoft discounts a large selection of Xbox One games every week, and while this week’s deals consist mostly of THQ Nordic titles, there are also quite a few for games like Mortal Kombat 11, Injustice 2, and the Batman: Return to Arkham collection. On top of that, those with an Xbox Live Gold subscription–Xbox Game Pass Ultimate includes Gold–can pick up Call of Duty: Modern Warfare at a fantastic price as well.

Titles under the THQ Nordic umbrella account for the majority of the deals. Darksiders 3 is discounted to $19.79, while its remastered predecessors are even cheaper. Darksiders Warmastered Edition is just $4, and Darksiders 2 Deathinitive Edition is down to $6. If you haven’t played Darksiders, now’s your chance to grab the first three games in the franchise for under $30 total.

While Darksiders is the most well-known THQ Nordic property in the sale, there are more gems to be found. Itching to play a clever platformer? You can grab de Blob for $4 and de Blob 2 for $7.49. Monster Jam Steel Titans ($20) and MX vs ATV All Out ($9) are available for those looking for a new racing game.

Meanwhile, fighting game fans can snag Mortal Kombat 11 for $23 (was $60) and Injustice 2 for $12 (was $40). Batman: Arkham Collection, which compiles all three stellar Rocksteady Batman games, is discounted to $24. EA Sports’ NHL 20 and FIFA 20 are each 50% off at $30.

As always, select deals are only available to Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers. The biggie this week is Call of Duty: Modern Warfare for $39.

You can browse the full slate of deals at the Xbox Store and check out our picks below. All deals listed below are available through February 3.

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Best Xbox One weekly deals

*Xbox Live Gold subscribers only

Horror often doubles as a metaphor for very real, unsettling topics. From George A. Romero’s zombie films that explore race, to Rosemary’s Baby commenting on rape culture, the genre is ripe for stories that make us confront the darkness in society and our worst fears. Natalie Erika James’s debut feature, Relic, uses horror as a metaphor for dementia, and reimagines the illness as a haunted house horror film. The result is a bone-chilling movie that will earn a few screams and plenty of tears from audiences.

When octogenarian Edna (Robyn Nevin) inexplicably vanishes from her home, single mother Kay (Emily Mortimer) and her daughter Sam (Bella Heathcote) put aside their differences over Sam’s aimless career and Kay’s workaholic life in order to rush to the family’s country home. They find a decaying house filled with notes posted everywhere with minor reminders, furniture scattered around in the wrong places, food left for a pet that’s been dead for years, and rot spreading around the walls and doors. Of course, Edna appears as mysteriously as she disappeared, bringing with her more volatile behavior, as well as a seemingly insidious presence that scrapes and thumps inside the walls.

Like Ari Aster’s Hereditary, this is a movie that starts out as the type of drama that’s commonplace at Sundance, before unleashing unexpected terrors once the sun goes down. The moment Kay steps foot into the house she starts having nightmares about the property and a mysterious and horrific figure haunting its walls. Though there are some very effective jump scares, the film’s strength lies in the way it builds dread, with every creaking noise and music cue slowly making the audience and the characters realize there’s something horribly wrong going on, and that there is simply no escaping it.

What makes Relic really special is the way it plays on our fear of getting old. Though there is a long history of creepy old ladies in horror, aging itself isn’t as commonly tackled. Sure, there’s M. Night Shyamalan’s The Visit or Adam Robitel’s The Taking of Deborah Logan, but James’s take is more subtle and emotional. The two leads do a great job portraying the fear of aging alone and the moment kids have to start taking care of their parents, with Emily Mortimer giving a particularly heartbreaking performance. However, the film really belongs to Robyn Nevin. As the film goes on, Nevin makes Edna’s confusion and isolation overwhelmingly apparent, and her behavior turns more and more unsettling and angry as she fights with an invisible figure before having a short lapse back into lucidity.

Where many filmmakers say they want to turn the setting into a character but fail to do so in any meaningful way, James actually succeeds in bringing this house to life. Only here it isn’t a character in and of itself, but an extension of Edna’s dementia. The house’s dark shadows and decay rot the once warm and lively pastel colors; the floors creak, the mold eats away at the walls, and there’s a never-ending clutter of furniture and random things spread around. James and her co-writer Christian White take the haunted house story to a new level once the house’s structure itself becomes unpredictable, with endless halls changing place and doors appearing where they shouldn’t, trapping the characters in a place that was once familiar.

Comparisons between Relic and The Babadook are to be expected, and they’re not that far off. Both Australian productions helmed by women deal with distinctive female perspectives, as well as horror in the home and mental illness as the ultimate monster. But where The Babadook keeps its monster at arm’s length, the last 30 minutes of Relic are a tour-de-force of intensity and emotion. The haunted house story becomes a descent into hell, full of twists and grotesque imagery, all before James pulls back and reveals the emotionally devastating truth behind her feature debut: Age and decay is coming for us all, and the only thing we can do is take care of each other while we’re still here.

Disclosure: ViacomCBS is GameSpot’s parent company.

Loki is one of several Marvel shows being made for the streaming service Disney+, with Tom Hiddleston set to reprise his MCU role as Thor’s villainous half-brother. It has now been reported that Owen Wilson has joined the cast.

As reported first by Comicbook.com, and confirmed by Variety, Wilson will play a “major role” in the show. While no further details are available, Wilson is best known for his comedic roles in movies such as The Wedding Crashers, Zoolander, The Royal Tenenbaums, and the Night at the Museum movies. This will be his first appearance in a superhero movie or show.

Wilson is only the third cast member to be reported since Loki was first announced in 2018. In November last year, Yesterday star Sophia Di Martino was cast in the series in an unknown role. Loki’s showrunner is Kate Herron (Sex Education), and Rick and Morty’s Michael Waldron is one of the writers. The series is scheduled to hit Disney+ in Spring 2021, and Hiddelston previously revealed that it would span “six hours.”

Other Disney+ Marvel shows on the way include WandaVision, She-Hulk, and Falcon and Winter Soldier. WandaVision will focus on Vision and Wanda Maximoff, and in a recent interview, star Paul Bettany described the series as “f***ing bonkers.” Both WandaVision and Falcon and Winter Soldier are expected to hit Disney+ this year.

As for the MCU on the big screen, Black Widow releases in May. Check out the latest trailer, and our guide to everything we know so far about Black Widow.

Disclosure: ViacomCBS is GameSpot’s parent company.

GameSpot may get a commission from retail offers.

GameSpot may get a commission from retail offers.

Sony’s live TV service, PlayStation Vue, is dead. As announced last year, Sony shuttered the service as of January 30, 2020. If you’re a subscriber, that means you’ll need to find another streaming service if you’re committed to cutting the cord. If you’re me, you’re stuck wondering what the hell I’m supposed to do with this useless button on my Roku remote.

Look at it. It’s just sitting there, staring at me, threatening to interrupt what I’m watching should I or my cat accidentally press it. With Vue now dead, there is literally no reason to ever make use of this button, because should I do so, I will only be faced with a reminder of its death and the nagging worry that one day, maybe Steam will no longer exist, or those movies I own through some service will no longer be accessible if my account isn’t properly linked.

It’s not as if I was using the Vue button prior to this. I’ve never been a Vue subscriber, instead choosing to use Hulu TV and YouTube TV to get my fix of live basketball and ad-laced, modified-for-your-television reruns of Avengers: Age of Ultron on TNT. But that button at least had potential: Perhaps one day I would click it by mistake and be wooed by the offer of a free trial and find that it offered a superior experience to Hulu or YouTube.

Now, that potential is gone like the carefree days of my childhood, and I’m left with a relic for which I have literally no use–at least the countless old power cords sitting in a bucket might one day gloriously find the devices with which they’re meant to be partnered.

I could pry the button off and give it to my cats, one of which would be delighted with it, but he could just as easily be entertained by a twist tie, so it doesn’t seem worth the effort. (The button obviously isn’t intended to be removed, and I learned my lesson with this sort of thing when I took the safety label off my car’s driver-side sun visor.) I could find some way to reprogram the button, but a cursory search suggests that’s no easy task; Roku has presumably struck deals to include these branded buttons that don’t allow for that. But as the streaming wars heat up and some services don’t make the cut long-term, Roku might want to be a little more selective with who ends up on its remotes.

GameSpot may get a commission from retail offers.

GameSpot may get a commission from retail offers.