Category: Games

This review contains spoilers for Lovecraft Country episode 10, the Season 1 finale, titled “Full Circle.” To see where we left off, read our Lovecraft Country episode 9 review.

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The tenth episode of Lovecraft Country, “Full Circle,” is as much a story of endings as it is of the promises born out of them. Everything Atticus and company have endured throughout this season – monsters, ghosts, curses, magical treasure hunts, and more – has led up to this moment, their climatic showdown with Christina Braithwhite. True to its name, the season finale manages to circle back to nearly every major event that has transpired throughout the series and attempts to tie the show’s many moving parts together into a cohesive whole. Unfortunately, despite its best efforts, “Full Circle” can’t quite manage to complete its own turn.

Leti and Atticus are telepathically brought to another dimension à la Black Panther’s Ancestral Plane after unbinding the Book of Names in their attempt to save Dee. Bathed in an autumnal glow of smoldering flames and writhing shadows, the scene in many ways affords even greater significance to Sonia Sanchez’s poem “Catch The Fire” after its appearance in the climax of last week’s episode. Transported to this space out of time, Atticus and Leti are greeted by his ancestor Hannah (Joaquina Kalukango) and his Great Grandmother Hattie (Regina Taylor), who explain that this ancestral place was “birthed” many lifetimes ago by Hannah’s hatred for the Braithwhite clan and her desire to protect and pass down the secrets of the Book of Names to her descendants.

The women of Lovecraft Country have proven time and again to be one of, if not the strongest element of the show’s most important moments and enduring themes, so to see Atticus surrounded, loved, and supported through the combined strength and resolve of the matriarchs of his bloodline – Hannah, Hattie, his mother, and Leti, the mother of his child – is as heartwarming a moment and as it is consequential for the series as a whole. Each of these women has carried the promise of a better future forward to this very moment, and that promise will continue to endure and survive long after Atticus and Leti have passed from this earth.

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Reawakening in the physical plane and with Dee now safe, the two waste little time in putting Hannah’s plan to stop Christina into motion. Atticus and Leti summon Titus Braithwhite from beyond the grave to extract a piece of his flesh — but not before he’s able to warn Christina that the Book of Names is now in their possession. “This isn’t generational hate,” she exasperatingly explains as she confronts the group in George’s old workshop.“Our families are not at war, this has never been personal.” And perhaps somewhere in Christina’s mind, she actually believes this. But her protests and pleas for their cooperation ring hollow, in essence, echoing the same sort of faux-rational rhetoric of “greater good” pragmatism that has been used to justify the norms of white supremacy at the expense of minorities, and particularly black people, for generations.

Christina’s true disposition is revealed when, having been slighted by Atticus’ defiance of her request for the Book of Names, painfully revokes Leti’s Mark of Cain and storms off in a huff, despite their previous agreement with one another. It’s evident that Christina, a white woman of considerable means and wealth, has seldom been denied anything in life beyond that of her own father’s love and the knowledge of magic bestowed through the Order of the Ancient Dawn, so to be denied the Book of Names — which itself represents not only the sum total of the latter but her second greatest desire apart from immortality itself, is nothing if not a grave insult to her.

Without the Mark of Cain protecting Leti’s life, both she and her child are now in mortal danger, steeling Atticus’ resolve to push forward with Hannah’s plan with even more desperate urgency. But before he can go off to meet his destiny in peace, he reaches out to Ji-ah to make amends, apologizing for his anger the last time they spoke. Atticus admits that yes, he did in fact love her, and that what they had together in Korea was real, but to accept the truth of that love would have otherwise meant to accept the inescapable truth of what she saw in her vision as well. The two of them reconcile not just as friends, but as a found family brought together through their shared bond and the ineffable circumstances of destiny. It’s a sincerely touching scene, a denouement of sorts for the series’ thematic exploration of familial trauma and the peace and solidarity found through its resolution.

This theme is further emphasized, and even complicated, by Leti and Ruby’s fateful conversation at the foot of their mother’s grave, as Leti pleads with her sister to betray Christina for the sake of their family. Ruby isn’t having anything of Leti’s pleas, admonishing her for perpetuating the very behavior she was just condemning in the same breath.

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The prevailing truth of that moment is that they’re both right. Family, as a concept, is as much founded on choice as it is by blood, and an appeal to the other person’s emotions on the basis of such a relationship can be interpreted as either genuine or transactional by nature, depending on the person making the appeal. As far as Ruby’s concerned, there aren’t nearly enough reasons for her to trust, let alone side with her fairweather sister over the woman she presumably loves. There’s a long way to go between the two when it comes to mending fences and recognizing one another as family again. It’s a shame then, given what we know from this season’s conclusion, that they’ll never get the chance to do so.

As the episode’s name would suggest, “Full Circle” attempts to resolve a handful of outstanding plot threads and questions left over the course of the season’s run— to mixed results. It’s revealed that the Shoggoth that Atticus summoned the night of the police assault on Leti’s house is locked up in the darkroom of her basement, but the property damage inflicted on the home itself, including the cop cruiser that landed in her front lawn, seems to have disappeared not by any convenient whim of magic, but seemingly out of the sheer disinterest of the show’s writers.

Likewise, the Chicago branch of the Order of the Ancient Dawn, which had previously been primed as a major factor for the finale, is rendered as a virtual non-entity in the series’ climax, with Christina acting as something of a proxy for their own aspirations along with her own, despite their rivalry. It’s also not clear exactly what the denizens of Ardham, who remain in the village after the destruction of the Braithwhite lodge, have to gain from assisting Christina in her bid for immortality. Is this some sort of  “Shadow over Innsmouth” type of deal, and if so, what exactly is in it for them? These glaring narrative omissions aside,“Full Circle” manages to offer a decent share of entertaining easter eggs scattered throughout the episode, including a lovely nod to Afua Richardson, an acclaimed comic illustrator credited as a production artist on the show, creating the many comics and illustrations Dee has been seen “drawing” throughout the series.

In Lovecraft Country, no-one is entirely what they seem, or at the very least are inevitably revealed to contain multitudes far more complex than they might at first appear on the surface. It turns out that Christina does love Ruby, or at the very least, nurtures some semblance of that sentiment towards her, though even this cannot save Ruby from Christina’s wrath once her intention to aid Leti is discovered. Killing Ruby, Christina siphons her blood to create a potion that allows her to masquerade as Leti’s sister so that she can reliably ensnare Atticus and his group in an ambush once they arrive in Ardham to stop her plan.

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Having promised Ruby to inflict no harm on Leti, Christina restores her Mark of Cain— though not before throwing her from the top of the tower where Montrose was imprisoned in episode 2, ensuring her safety while also ensuring her inability to interfere with the sacrifice of Atticus. “Despite everything, the trip here was nice. I feel like I understand the pull of family for the first time,” Christina tells Leti before revealing herself. The sinister violin sting punctuating her statement aside, one can tell that there is some measure of truth to her words. Christina is a prime example of the sort of depth and complexity Lovecraft Country has applied to all its principal female characters. Put simply, she may be a monster, but she still has a heart.

What began in fire now ends in tears: Atticus is sacrificed at the altar of Christina’s ritual. The group’s efforts to thwart her plot appear thwarted instead, and Christina’s ascension to godhood seems all but assured. But even this seems to have been part of Hannah’s ultimate plan. A now-resurrected Leti, using Atticus’ blood as a conduit, summons the spell that Hattie taught her in Hannah’s ancestral plane and, with Ji-ah’s help, completes her own ritual by drawing Christina and Atticus’ bodies together. Hannah’s plan succeeds as Christina awakens pinned underneath a pile of rubble, her immortality revoked by Leti’s incantation. In a creative decision that’s likely going to be controversial, we learn that not only was Christina’s immortality nullified, but so was her and every other white person’s ability to command magic. Not just Christina, not just the Order; every white person’s ability to wield the forces of the Book of Names. That power now seemingly lies exclusively with those of Atticus’ bloodline, and of those close to them (i.e. black people). It’s a bold creative swing, one that doesn’t entirely land with the weight and impact that might’ve been intended through its execution, but a bold swing nonetheless. No one will ever threaten Atticus’ family and friends again, and all it cost was Atticus’ own life.

Reading a letter Atticus wrote to him before arriving in Ardham, Montrose is entrusted to help raise young George, to teach him and in doing so, become the father he always wanted to be, but couldn’t be because of his own fears and self-hatred. Atticus’ final wish in death is for Montrose to relinquish these fears, and in doing so raise George to be the sum of the very best parts of both his father and his grandfather. Dora was right: this is a beginning, not an end, and the life that Atticus’ family and loved ones forge ahead of them will forever be marked by the selflessness of his knowing sacrifice.

The season’s coda is a fitting bookend to the surreal pulp-inspired dream sequence that first opened the series, albeit a bewildering and somewhat underwhelming conclusion in and of itself. Dee and Atticus’ Shoggoth, who apparently was bound to protect Dee before the group came to Ardham, discovers Christina under the rubble of the Braithwhite estate. Revealing a metal prosthetic arm crafted by her mother to replace the one atrophied by Lancaster’s curse, Dee throttles Christina to death, enacting her long-desired revenge for the murder of her father George and the death of her cousin.

In Episode 8, Atticus mentioned that when he was transported to the future by Hiram’s machine, it was a woman with a metal arm that gave him a copy of his son George’s book before pushing him back through the portal. It turns out that woman was a future version of Dee this entire time. While this revelation is interesting, it feels a bit late to reveal in the series’ final scene. “Full Circle” ends on a note of uninhibited camp, with Tic’s Shoggoth roaring against a moonlit sky in what feels like an inadvertent mash-up between the T-Rex scene from Jurassic Park and the final shot of Tim Burton’s Batman. Entertaining though it is to watch, it’s little consolation for the uneven and unresolved storytelling of the episode’s conclusion.

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Spelunky 2 is meant to be a huge challenge, but many players have felt that the first area is a little too difficult, even compared to later parts. The development team addressed this point in a recent Steam update, and now a new patch has arrived to soften the first area, Dwelling, a bit.

“We know Dwelling is causing players frustration and I think there’s some fair criticism there, so we’re testing some changes to the spawn rates of enemies and traps, particularly in 1-1 and 1-2,” the update reads. “Some tweaks to 1-4 should make it more interesting, as well! Look for those changes to arrive in a patch some time soon.” That patch has now arrived, along with some changes to spawn rates.

Spelunky 2 Patch 1.12.1e is mostly a list of fixes, but two changes stand out if you’re struggling with this first area. In this patch, the developer has “tuned monsters spawn chances in Dwelling” and “added more room variety in the last Dwelling level.” Hopefully this means fewer moles, although it’s worth remembering that you don’t need to kill everything.

Of course, Spelunky 2 is difficult by design, and you’re still likely to struggle: check out GameSpot’s beginner’s guide if you’re struggling.

Here are the complete patch notes for Spelunky 2’s latest update, which contains many changes.

Spelunky 2 Patch Notes: 1.12.1e

• Updated FMOD to address a memory leak
• Fixed stuttering in some HDD setups
• Prevented journal from opening using TAB when the SHIFT key is pressed
• Display non-remappable buttons to the keyboard controls screen as help
• Fixed issue where non damaging visual FX were bigger than damaging ones
• Attacking but not dealing damage will now use a hopefully clearer VFX
• Language switch is no longer saved unless the player applies it
• Prevented the ankh from removing the leader flag, which was causing a crash on moving to the second layer after reviving
• All players in a local coop will now move to the entrance along with the ankh’s revived player
• Low Scorer achievement will now unlock even if the player skips the ending scene
• Challenges will now cancel if the ankh is used
• Players can no longer skip the ending before getting the bonus score
• Fixed coop camera when first player dead and the second player sacrifices himself in the CoG altar
• Fixed issue where the current seed was showing during character selection and other screens
• Fixed leaderboard filter text that was too long on certain languages
• Fixed temple level generation (crush traps should no longer spawn next to pushblocks)
• Tuned monsters spawn chances in Dwelling
• Added more room variety in the last Dwelling level
• Fixed some blocked levels generation in multiple themes
• Fixed crash when finishing the game with a mount
• Fixed entities’ looking direction on being pick-up while webbed
• Fixed movement when leaving a ladder due to monster collision or weapon recoil
• Fixed oversight that made paste bombs attached to corpses not blow up on contact with lava
• Fixed an issue with saves not saving on Proton (checked on arch tkg-5.1.8)
• Minor performance optimizations
• Fixed crash when cavemen equipped jetpacks or capes
• Olmec floaters can no longer be pushed by shields
• Golden scarabs are no longer collected during leaving doors invulnerability frames (helpful for no money achievements)
• Dice tossed against a laser beam will now bounce back with half the force
• Explosive stuff now have some invulnerability frames on creation (prevents rare hoverpacks spawned from mosquitoes from immediately being blown up, for example)

Halo Infinite doesn’t release until 2021, and its story remains largely a mystery, but we may soon learn a little more about the narrative. The new book Halo: Shadows of Reach, which releases on October 20, will provide some “connective tissues” that link to the new game.

Author Troy Denning said in an interview with 343 Industries that the new book will “whet the appetite” for Halo Infinite, and he was keen to join the project from the very beginning.

“When Ed [Schlesinger, Simon & Schuster/Gallery Books] asked me to write the book, the first thing he mentioned was that it would be a Blue Team novel with connective tissues related to the Master Chief’s role in Halo Infinite–and I was sold,” he said. “I just love the Halo universe and characters, so writing a novel that moves the timeline forward–and helps whet the appetite for Infinite–is definitely something I was interested in.”

Denning also teased that Shadows of Reach will provide a “glimpse into certain plot points that also come to fuller fruition within Halo Infinite.” He added, “Often times this can mean that certain elements I’m writing in my manuscript are brought to life in parallel with ones being developed for Halo Infinite’s story and gameplay.”

Halo franchise lead editor Jeremy Patenaude is also quoted in the interview, saying Shadows of Reach will touch on the main villains in Halo Infinite, The Banished.

“They should also expect further introduction to the Banished, the enemy which takes center stage as the main threat to humanity in both this story as well as Halo Infinite,” Patenaude said. “This isn’t entirely new for those who’ve played Halo Wars 2 or read Halo: Rise of Atriox, but it does offer new details on who they are and what they’re like.”

While Shadows of Reach may connect to Halo Infinite in some ways, it is not “required reading” to enjoy Halo Infinite, according to Microsoft.

For more on Shadows of Reach, you can listen to Master Chief voice actor Steve Downes read a special excerpt.

While we have to wait a while longer for Halo Infinite, Microsoft is releasing a new Halo novel very soon, and the company is promoting it with a special excerpt read by none other than the voice of Master Chief, Steve Downes. You can listen to Downes’ famous voice read about seven minutes of Halo: Shadows of Reach in the video below.

The book was written by Troy Denning, who has written numerous Halo novels before this, in addition to books in the Star Wars, Planescape, and Forgotten Realms franchises. The story focuses on Master Chief as he takes part in a “covert insertion” on the planet of Reach alongside his Spartan II soldiers.

The full audiobook version of Shadows of Reach is narrated by Sean Patrick Hopkins. The book is scheduled to release on October 20, and you can get it through Audible, Google Play, and other digital bookstores.

According to Microsoft, Shadows of Reach is not “required reading” to make sense of the upcoming Halo Infinite. Microsoft says it is similar in nature to Erik Nylund’s 2010 novel Halo: The Fall of Reach, a book that detailed some of the early storylines of the Halo series, going back before the first Halo game.

Halo Infinite’s story takes place years after the events of Halo 5: Guardians, continuing the story of Master Chief. For lots more on Shadows of Reach–and I mean lots–you can check out this detailed interview with Denning and editor Jeremy Patenaude covering many key aspects of the book.

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Fallout Miami is one of the most ambitious game mod projects ever, taking players away from the New England setting of Fallout 4 itself and placing them in a “post-nuclear vacation wasteland.” It has been in the works for several years, and in a new update post, the developers shared what they’ve been working on since the pandemic began.

Pre-production for the mod’s main quest has been finished, with the team now moving on to writing as well as quest implementation. Fallout Miami will be around the size and scope of an official Fallout expansion when it releases, with side quests and new characters to meet as well as factions to encounter.

Those factions include a group that makes use of coconut shells for their masks, giving them a more menacing look than what you might expect from a coconut shell. 3D models for this unannounced faction are nearly complete, and they should be fully revealed soon. You can see a glimpse of some of the new characters and artwork in the video above.

The team has also created brands and franchises to be scattered across the map in order to give Miami a more realistic look. One of these is the Poseidon Energy subsidiary Gasolina Caribica, a fossil fuel supplier. The locations look paused in time, much like a lot of the architecture from Fallout 4 itself–well, except for the looting and nuclear blast damage. There’s also a “Center School” to try to continue education, and it’s built from scrap metal, but there are pre-war books and tapes available.

Fallout Miami does not yet have a release date. It’s currently only planned for PC, and you can learn more about the game’s development, potentially voicing a character, or helping with development via the official FAQ.

One of the biggest multiplayer shooters of the generation could be coming to Xbox Game Pass, if the service’s official Twitter account is hinting at what we think it is. Rainbow Six Siege has millions of players, and it looks like some more Xbox players are going to get access for free.

A post on the Xbox Game Pass Twitter features no text, but instead an image of a massive six-band rainbow and a siege weapon placed outside a castle. That could be a big coincidence, but it almost certainly means the game is coming to Xbox Game Pass. Because Ubisoft is supporting free next-gen upgrades for Rainbow Six Siege and several other recent games, you’ll likely be able to play the Xbox Series X and Series S version on the new systems, too.

Microsoft is no stranger to silly teases for new Xbox Game Pass additions. It did something similar with Doom Eternal just as Microsoft purchased Bethesda. In that case, it was with a hidden “The Slayer is Coming” message hidden in the copy of an email.

Ubisoft is shaping up to have a very busy holiday season. Watch Dogs: Legion releases on October 29 before coming to the next-gen systems at launch, and Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is out on November 10. Immortals: Fenyx Rising then arrives on December 3, and the cooperative-focused Rainbow Six Quarantine is also in the works.