Category: Games

This is a mostly spoiler-free review of The Crown Season 4, though we do discuss certain elements of the story throughout. All 10 episodes of The Crown Season 4 will be available to stream on November 15 worldwide.

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Netflix’s The Crown continues its triumphant reign in Season 4, with another batch of 10 expertly crafted episodes from showrunner Peter Morgan that explore the royal family’s complex relationships with each other. New cast members Emma Corrin as Princess Diana and Gillian Anderson as Margaret Thatcher help to bolster what is already an A-list ensemble with equally captivating performances of their own. But Season 4 is also bittersweet, knowing that this is the last time we’ll see this particular cast embody their respective characters. Thankfully, the past two seasons have proven that Morgan and his team know how to handle a recast in order to properly depict the passage of time for the residents of Buckingham Palace.

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First and foremost (as always) is Oscar-winner Olivia Colman’s dynamic portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II. Sure, we’ll get to all of the juicy Charles (Josh O’Connor) and Diana stuff in a bit, but Morgan continues to anchor each season around the Queen and the notable events affecting the UK and its global empire. In Season 4, which takes place from the late 1970s to the late 1980s, the Queen’s complicated relationship with newly elected Prime Minister Thatcher is the focal point.

[poilib element=”quoteBox” parameters=”excerpt=Thatcher%20appears%20frail%2C%20but%20when%20she%20speaks%20there’s%20a%20powerful%20presence%20behind%20every%20word.”]While the two formidable women don’t throw any actual punches, they do have some memorable showdowns at the Palace. Anderson effectively encapsulates Thatcher’s best-known attributes, like her arched back and distinct, deliberate way of speaking. Thatcher appears frail, but when she speaks there’s a powerful presence behind every word. In one of her regularly-scheduled meetings with the Queen, the Prime Minister calls attention to the fact that she and Elizabeth are just six months apart in age. When the Queen asks who’s the senior, Thatcher (with a slight smirk) says, “I am, Mum.” It’s a subtle drop-the-mic moment in which the inconsequential age difference is used to undermine her opponent’s authority, and Colman’s perturbed facial expression shows just how irritated she is by the revelation. It’s such fun to watch these two veteran actors square off throughout the season.

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When Thatcher and Elizabeth aren’t sparring in the political arena, The Crown does an admirable job of comparing and contrasting their personal lives. In “Favourites,” Morgan deftly examines how the two mothers have a favorite offspring, whether they’re aware of it or not. We won’t spoil the results here, but the episode is especially humorous for Elizabeth, who does her darndest to determine which child she prefers over the other by spending some quality time with each of them. For a character who’s never shown much affection for any of her kids throughout the series, it’s awkwardly funny to watch her attempt to emotionally connect with her children.

In terms of Charles and Diana’s story, Season 4 covers over 10 years in just 10 episodes; the entirety of their engagement is covered in one episode. And though that may seem like a lot of historical meat to chew in a short time, Morgan dedicates enough screentime to the couple so we can get to know them properly, while also spreading sufficient love to the rest of the ensemble in order to prevent Season 4 from becoming the “Charles and Diana” show.

One of my favorite Charles and Diana episodes is the third, called “Fairytale.” Here, Morgan’s script calls attention to some romantic fairytale tropes, such as a lovely young woman falling for the handsome prince and getting to choose which ridiculously huge stone to wear on her finger. But it also plays with expectations, showing that there’s a darker side to their engagement that includes turning a blind eye to Charles’ continued affection for his longtime lover, Camilla Parker-Bowles (Emerald Fennell), and Diana’s feelings of isolation as she adapts to the intricate and sometimes bizarre customs of royal life. She’s a fish out of water, and it takes a toll on her.

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However, even when the couple is at odds with one another, O’Connor and Corrin’s on-screen chemistry is excellent. Corrin nails Diana’s youthful, lovable, and playful exuberance – traits which often clash with Charles’ less affectionate demeanor. O’Connor, for his part, seems as though he really feels at home in Charles’ skin after having portrayed the character for a full season before fully stepping into the story’s spotlight.

At first, I assumed that Charles and Camilla would be painted as the villains in this well-known tale, but The Crown’s retelling of it isn’t as black and white as that and shows them sympathy. In an unexpected but also welcome take on their fateful romance, Morgan highlights both the good and the bad aspects of Diana and Charles as individuals. By the time the credits rolled on the Season 4 finale, I understood where both sides were coming from and saw them as flawed humans rather than antagonists.

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There’s not much to nitpick about The Crown’s fourth season, however, it would have been nice for Helena Bonham Carter’s Princess Margaret to have a more meaningful role. Carter was just so damn good in Season 3, especially in “Margaretology” and “Cri de Coeur.” In Season 4, Margaret is still as sassy as ever, and Carter seems born to play her devil-may-care attitude and witty charm. This time around, though, Margaret is given only one episode – “The Hereditary Principle” – in which to shine as she takes on the role of detective and uncovers a dark secret in her family’s past. While entertaining enough, if I had to pick one episode as the least significant of the season, this would be the one. That’s no slight toward Carter’s performance, but when you have dynamic characters like Thatcher, Elizabeth II, Diana, and Charles on your roster, watching Margaret play Sherlock Holmes isn’t the most exciting prospect.

[poilib element=”quoteBox” parameters=”excerpt=Margaret%20is%20given%20only%20one%20episode%20in%20which%20to%20shine.”]But even when The Crown isn’t at its best from a story perspective, the series remains one of the best looking shows out there, from a technical standpoint. Morgan uses a team of directors and cinematographers to work on various episodes, but there is remarkably little differentiation between each chapter when it comes to the high fidelity of the filmmaking, set designs, and costumes. While I don’t have a vote in the Emmy category for makeup, the team that brought Anderson’s Thatcher to life should definitely be nominated for making her look so convincing without overdoing it. The on-location setpieces from the scenic Scottish Highlands to the bustling London streets look genuine, which gives a feeling of authenticity to everything in frame.

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Yes, it is indeed time to talk about Bugsnax. Young Horse’s oddball odyssey into the world of edible critters is jam-packed full of charm and humour that almost always prevents its sometimes repetitive, challenge-free gameplay from becoming a slog over the course of its 9 or 10 hours. It’s been difficult to tell by looking at its trailers, but this is a story-driven first-person adventure game with light puzzling and a surprising amount of emotional depth and character development and manages to tell a solid story, complete with twists and turns, along the way. And while not being much of a technical showcase for the PlayStation 5’s launch, Snaktooth Island is definitely a place worth visiting for the wildlife on show alone – just try not to eat too many.

As has been evident from the start, Bugsnax is a game that revels in its own complete absurdity. As an intrepid news reporter you’ve been lured by the famous explorer Elizabert Megafig to cover Snaktooth Island’s unique wildlife, Bugsnax: walking, talking food that mutates the consumer’s body parts upon consumption. Nothing about this is normal. Things get weirder still when you arrive and are thrust into an investigation of a mysterious disappearance.

Oh, by the way, both you and other villagers are grumpuses, a race of colourful, fur-covered bipedal mammals that walk and talk like humans. Again, nothing about this is normal.

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Whether you find ‘em hiding in the sand or tearing up a ketchup patch, though, it’s clear that each Bugsnak has been lovingly designed. There’s a distinct range in appearances and behaviours from flying pizzas to swimming soda cans and a personal favourite of mine the Spuddy, a tin-foil encased potato with a slice of butter on his head that loves nothing more than to charge foil-first and send you flying.

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The main mission strand consists of getting the dozen or so residents of the island’s capital, Snaxburg, back home so they can be interviewed for information. The problem is that each grumpus has scattered to a different corner of Snaktooth and inevitably requires you to perform tasks for them in order to return. With Bugsnax being the only real sustainable food source on the Island, but not one that is overly easy to obtain, most missions follow a similar pattern: Locate the desired Bugsnak, catch the desired Bugsnak, then deliver the desired Bugsnak to the mission-giver. It’s a process that can become a little tired after a while, but never enough to the point of boredom. This is largely down to the excellent writing and voice performances throughout, and to the fact that each grumpus is very much their own character with their own beliefs and problems to solve.

For example, the slack-jawed Wampus is a farmer who sees Bugsnax purely as a food source, so will naturally ask for you to gather them to plant in his garden. This puts him at odds with the well-intentioned Gramble, who is more at one with the ’snax and keeps them as pets. It’s these sort of power struggles and relationships that really help flesh out the cast of characters and lead you to learn a lot about them in a relatively short amount of time. It’s safe to say that by the end of the story I held much more of a connection to Snaktooth’s inhabitants than I ever imagined I would when I first stepped onto the island.

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A large amount of this has to be credited to the writers and the realistic conversations created in the context of a wholly unrealistic environment. It would be very easy at first glance to dismiss Bugnax as a gimmick-filled children’s game with nothing to say, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Much like the Pixar movies have mastered, there’s moments for all ages alike here. There are melancholic moments and serious subjects such as relationships, mental health, and loss broached in a delicate manner, as well as more overarching issues like climate change that are raised. These never feel forced or heavy-handed, however, and all serve the story and its characters in overwhelmingly positive ways.

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That’s not to say there aren’t a whole lot of laughs to be had as well, and Bugsnax is genuinely funny on many occasions. It’s absurdist to the extreme at times, but what do you expect from a game that’s home to a tornado-conjuring flapjack with bacon for legs? Although a lot of my amusement did admittedly come from the various Bugsnax and the way they mutter their own names to themselves, the grumpuses have their moments to shine as well. Among my favourite cast members are the excellently named Cromdo Face, a surly red grumpus who seems to be possessed by the soul of Danny DeVito in Matilda, and Beffica Winklesnoot, who wouldn’t feel out of place by Rachel McAdams’ side in Mean Girls. If you can look past the purple fur and the hotdog for a leg, that is.

“But how do you actually catch Bugsnax,” I hear you ask? Oh, if only it were that simple. There are over 100 different species of Bugsnax and a plethora of different methods of catching them. Your first step will always be to scan them by looking through your camera and pressing down on R2 to snag a snap of a ‘Snak. Incidentally, that’s a specifically satisfying button press if using the DualSense and its adaptive triggers, which imitate the clack of a camera’s shutter beautifully. The parallels between this and Pokemon Snap are easily drawn, but from there on Bugsnax becomes its own beast.

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Once scanned, a Bugsnak’s likes, dislikes, and movement patterns will be revealed and you’ll have all the info you need to catch the kinda bug, kinda snack in your trap – but not necessarily all of the equipment. Bugsnax offers light metroidvania elements in that regard, by which I mean that there will be tools (a launch pad to catch flying Bugsnax, for example) that you’ll get later on and will have to return to previous areas to catch a Snaquiri that had been out of reach. Other solutions revolve around the use of various condiments like hot sauce or ranch dressing, to name a few. In order to catch a Bunger, for example, you’ll have to stun it first; luckily these angry whoppers charge at anything coated in ketchup, so slingshot a serving onto a couple of them and watch them knock each other out.

On the whole, catching Bugsnax revolves around the same half-dozen different mechanics that you’ll have to use in different ways. This is just about enough variation to keep the quests from becoming stale, although admittedly by the time I reached the end of the story I had become a little tired of the gameplay loop. It ended just in time for me not to get full on Bugsnax. It takes around six or seven hours to mainline the story missions with another couple of hours added on if you choose to complete all of the side objectives. This is something I’d recommend doing, though – although some side missions are a series of dull fetch quests, others result in the most spectacular encounters Bugsnax has to offer. Without spoiling anything, the culmination of both Wiggle’s and Cromdo’s quests were, for me, a particular highlight that changed up the routine Bugsnax-catching gameplay significantly.

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That was a badly needed refresh because Bugsnax catching is what you’ll be doing 90% of the time. Thankfully there’s just about enough variety on offer even if I did yearn for a bit more of a challenge at times. Though it was rare that a moment gave me pause to think and work out how I was going to approach the puzzle, some did take a bit of ingenuity. The first time I caught a Cinnasnail was a particular moment that maybe shouldn’t have taken as long as it did.

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Overall it’s the unabashed nonsense of Bugsnax that kept me interested throughout though. Without the great writing and constant joy of finding something you just haven’t seen before, it could so easily have been a stodgy, repetitive drudge of repetitive actions without any desire to see where it all leads. Fortunately, Bugsnax stays true to its principles throughout and just when you think you’ve worked it out its story, throws another left turn your way and lands an ending after a fantastic action-packed last 30 minutes.

 

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity is a game with a split personality. It has the looks, characters and hallmarks of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, but the 1 vs. 1000 hack ‘n’ slash structure of Dynasty Warriors.

With that in mind, when we were offered the chance to play up until the end of the game’s second chapter, we didn’t want to get just one preview of the game – we wanted an assessment of each half of this hybrid proposition. So, we brought together a Dynasty Warriors fan and a Breath of the Wild aficionado, and asked each of them to assess the game on how well it’s handling the style of the games they love. Here’s what they think:

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Joe Skrebels – Executive Editor of News, (Somewhat) Unapologetic Dynasty Warriors Fan

Some people say there shouldn’t be such a thing as a guilty pleasure, but those people aren’t Warriors fans. It’s a series that is so obviously a bit broken that, anytime I enthuse about it, I also make sure to tell people that it might just not be for them. That’s why I still can’t quite believe that, after Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, the early signs indicate that I might soon be able to recommend a Warriors game with my head held high.

As a committed player of Omega Force’s mainline series (Dynasty, Orochi, Samurai), I am more than happy to admit that they’re simplistic – run, slash, build special attack, use special attack, repeat. It’s a simplicity I find intesnely relaxing, in a strange way. The real wonder of the mainline games, to me, is how they combat that relaxation becoming boredom in one key way: by offering literally dozens of characters who all perform that simple cycle in slightly different ways. As soon as I get bored of one, I have the choice of far too many more.

Warriors spin-offs, on the other hand, have had a perennial issue – most of the licensed attempts to transplant that structure simply don’t have the character roster to keep up the fun for long enough. Age of Calamity should be the same old story – after two chapters and around five hours of play, I’ve unlocked 7 characters (Link, Impa, Zelda, Daruk, Revali, Mipha, and Urbosa). And despite that comparatively slim line-up, I’m surprised to say that not only has it avoided slipping into boredom, this is showing signs of actively bettering the mainline Warriors series I love.

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The set-up is absolutely the same – run around a battlefield, murder / knock out literally thousands of enemies, fight some bosses, think very little. The look is the same, the UI is familiar, and (regrettably) the engine still regularly can’t quite handle the amount of action onscreen. But the key difference is in the options each of those characters comes with. Aside from standard, strong, and special attacks, each one has access to a wheel of Sheikah Slate abilities (each one subtly different depending on the fighter), and magic attacks gained by offing Wizzrobe mini-bosses.

Better still, each character has a unique ability tied to the ZR button. Revali can take off (with a full separate airborne moveset), Daruk can burst magma columns he leaves behind, Mipha can effectively teleport to fountains she creates, Urbosa can charge lightning and release it in extra strong attacks. These are wildly different powers, which effectively change not just what characters can do, but how you’ll play the game as a whole. I can’t fully explain how different that is to the vast majority of Warriors games, and how refreshing I’m finding it to discover here.

I will admit that I haven’t yet seen signs that these powers will change how I play through battles as a whole – options are still seemingly limited to running from objective to objective, with no sign (yet) of choices or secret encounters. Equally, the early characters – Link aside – are limited to a single weapon type, and thus moveset, each, which slightly reduces the weapon-based experimentation of later Dynasty Warriors entries.

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But that said, the game’s overall structure also lends to a feeling of a more varied Warriors game – small, Breath of the Wild-inspired elemental reactions (ice spells do more damage in water, electricity effects are boosted off of metal objects), and cooking buffs mean you can prepare more thoroughly for battles than in most Warriors games, adding a patina of strategy over the ludicrous action within each mission. I’d love to see that interactivity extend to elemental weapons, although I’ve not yet come across any in the early stages.

And it must reiterated that these are early stages. As part of this preview stage, Nintendo repeatedly told us this is a big game – I can’t yet see how big, but these first two chapters are multi-hour affairs with side-quests taken into account. There’s the possibility that the flow of new characters will slow, that those extra options will begin to feel limited. But I’m choosing to be hopeful – the very fact that I’m this surprised by a Warriors game is enough to have me desperate to see what’s beyond Chapter 2.

Age of Calamity is a game that feels designed for someone like me – I’m an enormous fan of both its parent series – but even I didn’t expect to come out of it thinking that it could actually improve Warriors games as a whole. It remains to be seen if it can keep up that feeling across the full length of the game, but I’m hugely encouraged so far.

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Alex Simmons – UK Studio Lead, Breath of the Wild Aficionado

There’s a moment four or so hours into Age of Calamity that made the hairs on my arms stand on end, and caused flashbacks to watching Avengers in the cinema. Hundreds of Yiga warriors were closing in around Zelda, a capable fighter herself but woefully outnumbered on this occasion. Already at half health and with a Yiga Blade Master bearing down, things were looking bleak. But then a huge ball of fiery rock rolled in and sent enemies flying like skittles in a bowling alley, followed by a torrent of hair and lightning, sending electrical blasts through the crowd. Daruk and Urbosa were not about to let their princess down.

Moments like this happen all the time in Age of Calamity, and as a Zelda fan who’s sunk hundreds of hours into Breath of the Wild, it’s a thrill I simply wasn’t expecting. While Zelda is a series dear to my heart, I’ve been cautious of anything other than its mainline games. I want a full-fat, authentic Zelda experience, not a dressed-up knock-off (I’m looking at you, Link’s Crossbow Training). The first Hyrule Warriors was okay, but as someone with only a passing knowledge of Dynasty Warriors it did nothing to scratch the itch either of those series’ provides.

Age of Calamity is different. For starters it’s set in a world I’m very familiar with. Long after I defeated Calamity Ganon and discovered all the shrines, I spent hours exploring every inch of the kingdom of Hyrule. Whether it was trekking over the freezing Tabantha Tundra or riding across the lush Faron grasslands, soaking up Hyrule’s world and everything in it is remains one of my favourite things to do to relax and pass the time. Age of Calamity nails Hyrule, and in the two chapters I’ve played so far I’ve been to Zora’s Domain, Death Mountain, Rito Village, Gerudo Desert and more. And while the moment-to-moment action of Age of Calamity is very different to Breath of the Wild, the world is exactly as I remember, albeit set 100 years before.

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More importantly, Age of Calamity tells the story I’ve been yearning to see (with all the characters I adore) since Breath of the Wild came out three years ago. In the original game, flashbacks provided a glimpse of what Hyrule was like prior to Calamity Ganon, but here, watching it play out around you, it’s as authentic a Zelda experience you could wish for.

This is in no small part down to the little details, of which there are many. Every piece of fruit, every ingredient, even the recipes, are instantly familiar. And like Breath of the Wild, what you find depends on where you are. Chop down a tree on Hyrule Field and it’ll drop apples, which replenish health when eaten (baked apples are even more nutritious – sound familiar?); cut down a palm in Gerudo City and you’ll get a bunch of mighty bananas.

Ingredients are used either for cooking or to unlock new locations. The entirety of Breath of the Wild’s expansive map is in Age of Calamity, but that doesn’t actually mean you can explore it all. Stables, shops and other points of interest appear as you progress. Some you can play, like training missions and challenges, in which you have to defeat a certain number of enemies within a time limit, using specific weapons or skills. Others provide an instant rewards such as unlocking a new combo, or a recipe, or additional hearts for a particular champion.

The levels themselves are self-contained – it isn’t an open world – but they’re still sprawling, and all have familiar landmarks. Likewise, the enemies you encounter are instantly recognisable: moblins, lizalfos, keese, wizzrobes… They’re all here, but in far greater numbers than in Breath of the Wild. It’s not uncommon to face off against against hundreds of enemies and cutting through a pack of bokoblins is incredibly satisfying.

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Combat is simple – a combination of light and heavy attacks is enough to deal with basic enemies, plus there are special attacks, dash and dodge, and Sheikah abilities – and the gameplay loop of ‘fight grunts, face a boss and move on’ is straightforward, but I never once felt like it was boring or overly repetitive. Even though each hero has the same range of attacks, there are enough subtle differences to make one feel substantially different from the next, and playing as Revali is a very different experience than playing as Impa or Daruk.

Age of Calamity also does a fantastic job of continually introducing something new and interesting, be it a story beat or a fresh take on something familiar. Forget Baby Yoda, young Prince Sidon is this year’s adorably cute must-have, and in my five hours of playing so far I’ve also used Magnesis to pull buried chests from the sand (yay!), Flurry Rushed a Lynel (which is just as satisfying here as it is in BOTW), ran away from Molduga, the giant creature lurking beneath the sands of the Gerudo desert, and wreaked havoc in Divine Beasts. Truthfully, the Divine Beast sections, at least the two I’ve played, are more of a curious distraction than anything substantial, but seeing them in action is still a thrill in itself.

Frame-rate drops are an issue and the Switch sometimes struggles to keep things moving when you’re mowing down hundreds of enemies with an extravagant special attack. But it never bothered me too much, and Age of Calamity’s stylised aesthetic is as fresh now as it was three years ago.

When I first saw the trailer for Age of Calamity I was surprised how faithful it was to Breath of the Wild, but doubted it could fill the gap waiting for its sequel. Now, having played it, it not only surpassed my expectations as a Dynasty Warriors game, but is a bona fide Zelda experience I’m excited to see more of.

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A PlayStation 5 launch advertisement has confirmed that Gran Turismo 7, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart and Returnal are anticipated to launch in the first half of 2021, with Horizon: Forbidden West set to launch in the second half of 2021

You can check out the trailer on the PlayStation YouTube page here, which contains a small text note below the gameplay footage, confirming a number of launch windows for games that were announced in the run-up to the reveal of the PlayStation 5.

Given that it says ‘anticipated’ first half and second half 2021, release dates could slip due to the ongoing pressure of the COVID-19 pandemic, delays and other logistical issues. We already knew that Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart was a “launch window” PS5 game after the news was revealed back in August, and Horizon: Forbidden West was announced to be coming in 2021 upon its reveal back in June. This just gives us some more clarity about when both of these games may officially appear.

The news that Gran Turismo 7 would launch in the first half of 2021 was also leaked via a Canadian PlayStation advertisement last week, but this is the first we’ve heard of a release date for Returnal, the new shooter from Housemarque which appeared briefly in the PlayStation 5 reveal stream back in June.

The PlayStation 5 launches on November 12 & November 19 (depending on your region) worldwide. Preorders for the PlayStation 5 are currently sold out, but if more go up they’ll be in our PS5 preorder guide right away. For everything, you need to know about PlayStation 5, check out our PS5 guide. Here’s a guide to all the best PlayStation holiday gifts for 2020.

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Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

Life-size helmets have always been hot ticket items in the Star Wars collecting community, and Hasbro’s Black Series line is pretty much the best bang for buck option around. Now Hasbro is adding another iconic helmet to that lineup – the Mandalorian himself.

IGN can exclusively debut the Black Series: The Mandalorian Electronic Helmet, which is due to hit stores in Spring 2021. Check out the slideshow gallery below for a closer look at this upcoming release, along with new photos of the Din Djarin and The Child Build-Up Pack.

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The Mandalorian Electronic Helmet is a 1:1 scale recreation of Din Djarin’s ever-present helmet, complete with a weathered, metallic paint scheme. Like the rest of the Black Series helmets, it’s fully wearable and features foam padding and adjustable fittings. The helmet also includes a removable tactical light and red interior lights, both of which are powered by a single AA battery.

The Mandalorian Electronic Helmet is priced at $119.99 and is available to pre-order now on Amazon.

As for the Din Djarin/The Child set, this 2-pack release is notable for being the first Mandalorian figure to feature an unmasked head sculpt. It’s also by far the most full-featured Mandalorian release from Hasbro to date, with nine accessories including Baby Yoda’s hover pram, a removable jet pack and Beskar metal slabs.

The Din Djarin & The Child Build-Up Pack is priced at $34.99 and should be released on December 1, 2020. It’s available to pre-order exclusively through Target.

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This isn’t the first time Hasbro has teased some drool-worthy new collectibles as part of the Mando Mondays promotion. They recently showed off The Mandalorian Retro Collection, with sculpts inspired by the original Kenner Star Wars figures.

For more on The Mandalorian, check out IGN’s review of the Season 2 premiere and brush up on Ahsoka Tano’s story prior to her rumored live-action debut.

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Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.