After a successful launch, the Gayming Awards are coming back for a second year. The LGBTQ+-focused awards show for games will be returning in 2022 to highlight the best games with LGBTQ-friendly themes.
This year’s show will feature an expanded set of award categories, which are set to be revealed in October. Xbox, EA, Green Man Gaming, and Hangar 13/2K will be among the returning sponsors for the event.
The Gayming Awards is an event put on by Gayming Magazine, a publication dedicated to covering video games through the lens of the LGBTQ+ community. The inaugural edition of the awards featured Hades, Tell Me Why, and If Found, with the LGBTQ Streamer of the Year and the Readers’ Award decided by public vote.
A likely candidate for this year’s awards is Life is Strange: True Colors, which stars Alex Chen as she uses her psychic power of Empathy to solve the mystery of her brother’s death. Other inclusive games include Boyfriend Dungeon and Lake.
The Gayming Awards will be held at an in-person event live in London in April 2022, with Twitch as the exclusive broadcaster. Nominations open later this year.
The Razer Huntsman is officially Razer’s flagship keyboard line, so it’s only right to expect big things from the next major release, the Razer Huntsman V2. It’s faster, cheaper, and puts performance first for a competitive edge. Coming from the original Huntsman lineup, it brings improvements like PBT keycaps, 8k HyperPolling, and acoustic foam to improve typing sounds. At $189.99 for the clicky version and $199.99 for linear, it’s an expensive peripheral, so let’s see if it earns its keep as the “world’s fastest gaming keyboard.”
Razer Huntsman V2 – Design and Features
The Razer Huntsman V2 and the V2 Analog (reviewed here) could be twins. Both keyboards feature the same stealth-black design. Both feature thick doubleshot PBT keycaps with backlit legends, dedicated media controls and the excellent multi-function dial first introduced on the Huntsman Elite back in 2018. The V2 bucks the compact trend that’s taken over the industry of late and is a full-size keyboard, complete with a function row and number pad. Looked at side by side, you’d be hard-pressed to tell these keyboards apart.
Look a little closer, though, and you’ll find that the V2 has been trimmed back from previous models. There’s no more wrap-around RGB strip encompassing the keyboard and palm rest. There’s no more USB passthrough for connecting peripherals (though this also means it uses a single USB connection this time around). In our meeting with Razer, the design team focused on bringing the Huntsman back to its fundamentals. If you opt for clicky switches, you’ll save ten dollars versus the Huntsman Elite, but linear will launch at the same $199 price. Compared to the hallmark releases of the Huntsman Elite and Huntsman Analog, which each had interesting new features, the V2 feels less exciting in comparison, even if it does have a few tricks up its sleeve.
Still, it checks the boxes for a high-end Razer gaming keyboard. Bright, per-key RGB backlighting? Check. Full programmability for lighting, macros, remaps, applications, and Windows shortcuts? Check. Aluminum top plate for a rigid, durable typing experience? Check. Detachable, braided USB cable? Check. You can map macros on the fly, choose between a selection of preset lighting effects, enable Game Mode to disable the Windows keys key and game-wrecking combinations like Alt+Tab. Standard fare if you’ve used a Razer keyboard before. The Huntsman V2 also supports five onboard memory profiles for swapping settings between games without the need for Razer’s Synapse software.
A focus on the fundamentals doesn’t necessarily mean the Huntsman is boring, especially if you’re a competitive gamer. Like the Huntsman Mini, it features Razer’s second-gen optical switches for faster response time. Since these switches don’t rely on mechanical contacts, they avoid electrical interference known as “debounce” which typically adds milliseconds of input delay. Instead, a beam of light fires under each key that is broken with each press, actuating the key instantly. Each key also features a stabilizer wire to increase stability under your finger, though it’s a double-edged sword when paired with the damping effect of the acoustic foam.
The linear switches are especially improved from the last generation and have been made less sensitive while still offering faster operation than traditional mechanical switches. Compared to Cherry-style mechanical switches, which typically actuate at 2mm, Razer’s linear optical switch actuates at 1.2mm. The clicky version also beats the average mechanical switch at 1.5mm. That may not seem like much, but it’s a difference you can absolutely feel. If your own skills are up to the challenge, either switch theoretically allows for more inputs than most other mechanical keyboards on the market today in a given time. Razer’s linears also feature internal silicone pads to quiet down keystrokes, turning them into a silent switch.
The board dials up the speed even more with HyperPolling. Most gaming keyboards transmit data to the PC at 1000Hz or 1ms. The Huntsman V2 joins the Viper 8K and cranks that all the way to 8000Hz, which translates to 0.125ms. If you’re wondering why a keyboard would need to report that quickly, I’m not convinced it does, but it makes an excellent pairing with those switches. The millisecond you press a key, your computer knows it and sends that input through to the game.
The V2 brings several other quality of life improvements to your gaming rig. The keycaps are now doubleshot PBT instead of thin-walled ABS. They’re thick and dense, dramatically improving upon the caps that came with the Huntsman Elite in sound and feel. The denseness of the material means they won’t shine over time and since the legends are made from a second piece of plastic, you won’t have to worry about them fading over time.
Above the number pad is a cluster of dedicated media keys and Razer’s excellent multi-function digital dial. All three buttons (play/pause, forward, back) and the dial itself are customizable with RGB backlighting. Dedicated media keys are always welcome on a full-size keyboard, but the real star of the show is the multi-function dial. It’s easy to use thanks to a slight overhang on the right side of the board and programmable within Razer Synapse like every other key. With some creative programming, it can easily be used within apps like Photoshop or Premiere Pro to adjust tools and scrub timelines.
The palm rest has also been upgraded from last generation. It now features edge-to-edge padding, saving your wrists from hard plastic bezels. It turns out to be a mixed bag thanks to weak magnets that hold it in place on the edge of the keyboard. Move the V2 even a little bit and the magnets separate, leaving you wishing for something more stable.
In a direct nod to the custom keyboard community, the Huntsman V2 has been outfitted with sound dampening foam inside the case. Foam has become a staple in enthusiast custom keyboards, reducing the hollowness of keystrokes and improving acoustics. It works well…perhaps too well. I tested the linear switch version, and between the silent switches and sound damping foam, the lack of clack revealed other unwanted noise from the stabilizers under each switch.
Razer Huntsman V2 – Performance
The Razer Huntsman V2 offers stellar gaming performance. I tested it across multiple first-person shooters, RPGs, and even took a respite in Final Fantasy 14 before sitting down to draw my conclusions, and there simply wasn’t a case when the keyboard was less than ridiculously responsive. The added layer of programmability afforded by Synapse also allowed me to keep custom keymaps and onboard profiles for individual games, so I didn’t have to go hunting through settings before launching and diving into a game. I don’t consider myself a competitive gamer, but in both Call of Duty and Battlefield, the Huntsman V2 had me feeling nimble and ready to react.
It might be tempting to attribute this responsiveness to the new HyperPolling technology, but I actually think the linear optical switches had more to do with how good the V2 felt to game on. They were buttery smooth under my fingers and the heightened actuation point meant they reacted noticeably faster under my fingers. Unlike the first generation of these switches, they’re not as easy to trigger by mistake (in fact, they require slightly more force than Cherry MX Reds) which lowers the learning curve and helps to avoid typos.
HyperPolling, on the other hand, feels a bit gimmicky. I don’t doubt Razer’s claim about 8000Hz polling, it’s proven it can do it with the Viper 8K, but ask yourself, will you be able to tell the difference between 1ms and 0.125ms – is it even possible to send inputs that fast? Side by side with the Huntsman Analog, which is a 1000Hz keyboard, I wasn’t able to tell any difference in responsiveness. Depending on your sensitivity to these things, your mileage may vary, but a keyboard running at 8000Hz doesn’t have the same noticeable impact as an 8K mouse where you can see the cursor tracking across your screen.
Like usual, to get the most out of the V2, you’ll need to download Razer Synapse. The software is easy to use and fairly intuitive, so programming in custom keymaps and macros was fairly easy. There’s a lot there, and the programming UI can look a bit busy, so be sure to allot some time to click through each tab in the Customize section. Everything from mapping basic keys, to mouse functions, Windows shortcuts, lighting, or tying whole applications to a keystroke can be applied by clicking the target key and setting some basic parameters in the software.
Also like usual, the Huntsman V2 is over-reliant on this software. It features gorgeous, bright RGB backlighting, but if you’d care to customize any of the presets, you’ll be forced to do so through the software. Likewise, on-the-fly macro recording flat out doesn’t work without Synapse running, which is a sad thing to say when smaller companies like Ducky and Vortex have been offering it for years.
The keyboard performs like a champ, but falls short of its acoustic goals – at least on the linear switch version. Ironically, this seems to be because Razer was too successful with its sound dampening foam and silenced switches. The foam cuts out hollowness and reverberations throughout the case, but in doing so reveals all of the extra rattle from the stabilizer wires beneath each key.
For years, keyboard enthusiasts have been complaining about the sound of rattly stabilizers under the larger keys. Once you notice the louder, rattly clack these keys generate, it quickly becomes irritating. The same effect, minus the added volume from the bigger keys, now applies to every single key on the Huntsman V2. Instead of a simple, silenced keypress like you’d find on silenced mechanical keyboards, every bottom-out is underlined with a subtle rattle that’s hard to ignore.
These wires have been on Razer’s optical switches since the beginning, so to make sure I wasn’t going crazy, I put the V2 side by side with the Huntsman Tournament Edition with Gen 1 switches and the Huntsman V2 Analog. Both of the other keyboards have a similar rattle, but it’s masked by the added noise of bottoming out the key. You can barely hear it in normal use. On the Huntsman V2, you hear it with every keystroke.
Whether or not this is a big deal will vary from user to user. If you’ve never noticed the rattle on your larger keys before, you aren’t likely to notice the quieter rattle under the rest here. Likewise, if you opt for the clicky version, I suspect this won’t be an issue at all, as the normal click should hide most of the wire noise. Still, the linear Huntsman V2 just doesn’t sound as clean as most other linear gaming keyboards, including others in the Huntsman line-up.
The Battlefield series has always stood out from its competition because of its enormous battles, whether they be in war-torn Europe during World War 2 or in a crumbling metropolis in the modern day. But despite the games’ shared elements, they aren’t all created equal. In fact, the quality gap between the very best Battlefield game and the worst is surprisingly large–especially when considering how only a handful of years separated the two. With Battlefield 2042 releasing on November 19, we’ve ranked the mainline Battlefield games from worst to best.
The Battlefield series is just the latest franchise that we’ve ranked. Make sure to check out our roundups of the best Far Cry games and best Call of Duty games, too.
11. Battlefield V
Battlefield V
After years away from the deadliest war in human history–World War 2–DICE finally returned to it with Battlefield V, a game that followed the excellent Battlefield 1 and attempted to capture its best qualities via the returning War Stories single-player mode. The problem was that it just wasn’t as interesting, despite intentionally focusing on lesser-known regiments and combatants during the war. Map design in multiplayer and the lack of many memorable weapons and gear from World War 2 didn’t help matters, and the time-to-kill often felt so painfully short that you barely had time to make any tactical decisions before you got destroyed by a tank.
One of the biggest departures for the Battlefield series to date, Battlefield Hardline put players in the role of law enforcement officers rather than the military. Much of the game takes place in Florida, and the single-player campaign features an arresting mechanic and a greater focus on stealth and investigation than the other games. This sounds fine in theory, but the more character-driven story required much better writing than what we got, especially with a bizarre, nonsensical ending that soured the whole experience. On the multiplayer side, there are heist-style objectives and other police-themed modes, but it generally doesn’t feel all that different from the other Battlefield games–and never feels as fun.
Once again beating its rival to the punch by going to the future way before Call of Duty ever did, Battlefield 2142 took the large-scale multiplayer more than a century into the future as a new massive world war erupted between major factions. The futuristic setting didn’t change the game’s emphasis on both on-foot and vehicular combat, however, but simply made it even more creative. Fictional tanks, air vehicles, and even a mech straight out of Halo or Metal Gear are all included, alongside futuristic weapons that go beyond what we even dream of being possible today. Since its release, Battlefield has mostly stuck to historic and modern settings, but that is going to change very soon.
Years before Call of Duty followed suit–and only in certain levels–with Black Ops, Battlefield had already headed to one of the most controversial wars in American history with Battlefield Vietnam. It aimed to deliver an accurate representation of the jungle-based warfare soldiers experienced during the decade-long conflict, with helicopters and jet fighters both available to pilot as ground troops clashed in the brush underneath. Punji sticks weren’t just for Tony Hawk, so you’d also have to watch your step to make sure you weren’t sent to a very painful early grave. No war is better known for its era’s music than Vietnam, either, and Battlefield Vietnam delivered with songs like Fortunate Son by CCR as well as an Apocalypse Now reference with Ride of the Valkyries.
Shifting from the ultra-serious tone of many of the other Battlefield games and featuring a full single-player campaign–the series was largely known for multiplayer-only and bot-based matches at the time–Battlefield: Bad Company helped to introduce the franchise to an entirely new audience. The game’s destruction, made possible by an early version of the Frostbite engine, helped to keep matches feeling tense, and even those who just wanted a roller coaster ride campaign were in for a good time. The only people who weren’t? PC players, as the game was only released for Xbox 360 and PS3 despite the series’ long history on the PC. That would be rectified with its sequel, which came to all three.
Released to coincide, roughly, with the launch of the PS4 and Xbox One, Battlefield 4 was an absolute mess at launch–it simply crashed to the dashboard as often as it worked as intended. But after a few patches, it became one of the best modern-era Battlefield games around. With incredible destruction through a new system dubbed “Levolution,” entire skyscrapers would routinely crash to the ground and change the entire map, often while taking down lots of players in the process. It once again featured a single-player campaign that reached an explosive finale, and it even featured the late Michael K. Williams in a major role. Battlefield 4 wasn’t the greatest game in the series, but it showed us just what was possible with new technology.
Not the 1942th interaction of the game, but rather the very first, introducing the massive, all-out battles across land, air, and sea that continue to define the series to this day. As with some of its successors, Battlefield 1942 is a global warfare game, with multiple battles and locations featured across its 16 maps. At the time, the series was exclusive to PC, allowing for cutting-edge–at least at the moment–technology compared to what was offered in most console games. It’s surprising just how much of the game’s DNA we still see in modern Battlefield games, including the ticket system and mix of several vehicle types without throwing off a multiplayer match’s balance. Is it still worth playing today? Probably not, but it’s worth appreciating.
The game that would be a bit of a hint of things to come, Battlefield 2 was ahead of its time in many respects. It went to modern-day combat years before Call of Duty did so, and with a bullet penetration system and 64-player PC battles, it made for something on a scale most players had never seen. It also included Commander mode, a strategic role that let one person oversee a battle and make decisions from an eye in the sky. This mode would later be brought back for Battlefield 4, another modern-day entry, and added a level of coordination and tactical planning to attacks that wasn’t present in the previous games. Unfortunately, the “real” version of the game is only available on PC, with the console-exclusive Modern Combat offering a completely different and inferior experience.
Though World War 2 has been the subject of countless video games over the years, its predecessor–the supposed War to End All Wars–hasn’t received nearly as much attention. Battlefield 1 takes the series back further in time than ever before for an explosive and just as chaotic take on first-person shooter multiplayer, complete with dogfights in the sky and enormous battles on the ground. With less emphasis on long-range automatic weapons, snipers become even more deadly, resulting in cat-and-mouse matches playing out as the bravest soldiers attempt to reach an objective. It’s all made even better by War Stories, a single-player mode that shines the spotlight on several soldiers from a variety of regions during the war.
Released only a little more than a year before Battlefield 3, Battlefield: Bad Company 2 put a heavier emphasis on destruction than its predecessor while continuing its Hollywood-style campaign romp. Unlike the previous game, this one actually came to PC in addition to consoles, and while it didn’t make the same cultural splash as its successor, there is a reason so many people keep demanding a Bad Company 3 game whenever DICE teases a new announcement. The other games, including both Battlefield 3 and 4, show a little more restraint, which is often a better approach for dealing with realistic warfare, but there is something about the all-out chaos of Battlefield that makes Bad Company 2 such a perfect fit.
For years–and sometimes without a clear reason–the Battlefield series had struggled to reach the same cultural relevance as the Call of Duty series. It usually wasn’t a reflection of the games’ quality, and with Battlefield 3, EA and DICE finally established Battlefield as Call of Duty’s equal. In this case, Battlefield 3 was arguably the better game, with 2011’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 feeling like a retread of the previous two games’ best elements without knowing exactly what made them work. Battlefield 3 contrasted itself with its enormous maps, blend of on-foot, vehicular, and aerial combat, and environmental destruction. No place in the game was truly safe, with sniper fire and explosives always keeping you from getting too comfortable, and Caspian Border remains one of the best maps in the series’ history.
Rockstar’s celebrated open-world action game Grand Theft Auto V is coming to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S in March 2022, and many might be wondering if it will be a free upgrade for existing owners or if it won’t. We don’t have all the answers at this stage, but history and the evidence so far suggests that it will not be a free upgrade.
The PS5 and Xbox Series X|S represent the third generation of consoles on which GTA V will be available, following the game’s debut on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2013. When GTA V originally expanded to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in 2014–taking advantage of the increased horsepower of those systems to deliver a better experience overall–the game was released as a full-priced standalone title instead of a free upgrade for people who already bought the game originally.
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While GTA V on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S may not be a free upgrade, Rockstar will release the new GTA Online standalone edition for free on PS5 for the first three months after launch starting in March 2022. The game will presumably be a paid title on Xbox Series X|S, but Rockstar has not yet announced any pricing details. For comparison, Red Dead Online’s standalone edition costs $20 USD.
GameSpot has contacted Rockstar Games in an attempt to get more details on the pricing structure for GTA V and GTA Online for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S.
GTA V for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S will have a “range of technical and graphical improvements across the entire experience.” This includes performance enhancements for some cars in GTA Online “and so much more,” Rockstar says.
The studio is calling the new edition of GTA V an “expanded and enhanced” version. A new trailer for the game shown during the PlayStation Showcase event didn’t wow fans, however, and it became massively downvoted as a result.
GTA V for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S was originally set for release on November 11, but Rockstar recently shifted the game to March 2022 to give the team more time for “polishing and fine-tuning.” Rockstar says fans can look forward to learning more about the new edition of GTA V “soon,” while information about the GTA Online standalone game is coming up too.
Sony Santa Monica Studio’s Cory Barlog, director of 2018’s God of War, has opened up on why there will only be two games in the series’ Norse mythology saga, stating that he wanted to avoid delaying the story’s conclusion to a decade after it started.
In an interview with Kaptain Kuba on YouTube, Barlog spoke about why he decided that the story of Kratos and Atreus would be told over just two games, rather than a trilogy or anything longer. “I think one of the most important reasons is the first game took five years. The second game, I don’t know how long it’s going to take but I’m just going to throw out that it’s going to take a close to a similar time,” said Barlog.
“Then if you think a third one in that same [timeframe], we’re talking a span of close to fifteen years of a single story and I feel like that’s just too stretched out. I feel like we’re asking too much to say the actual completion of that story taking that long… it just feels too long. Given where the team was at and where Eric was at with what he wanted to do, I was like ‘Look I think we can actually do this in the second story because most of what we were trying to do from the beginning was to tell something about Kratos and Atreus that the core of the story’s engine is really the relationship between these two characters’.”
With one storyline being told throughout the two games, Barlog likens the idea of fans being able to play through the series to his own experience of purchasing the Lord of the Rings box set for the first time. “I was able to say, ‘Wow, I can sit down and have 13 and a half hours of this experience, playing them one after another, back to back’ and I just thought that was fantastic and amazing. So to be able to say, ‘Hey man, you could probably start God of War 2018 and then play God of War: Ragnarok and feel like you’re getting the entirety of the story’. I kind of want that to happen before my kid is in college.”
With a number of modern-day films and games slated for overstaying their welcome or dragging out storylines far beyond a point that feels necessary, many may feel that Barlog’s comments about God of War offer a refreshing stance for a series so well received by fans.
The Norse multiplayer RPG Valheim got a big patch today, September 16, with the launch of the much-anticipated Hearth and Home update. This included an overhaul of the food system, new building elements, and a “steamy viking hot tub.”
“Hearth & Home update brings plenty of new content to Valheim, expanding your gameplay options by introducing new mechanics, furniture, building pieces, food, weapons, optimizations, and more,” developer Iron Gate said in a post on Steam.
For players who enjoy building, the Hearth and Home update adds new “Darkwood” pieces like shingle roofs, beams, and other decorations. More furniture elements are available as well, including a “steamy viking hot tub.”
A big change for Valheim’s food system is that most food items now provide stamina or health, so players will need to make strategic choices about what to eat. The food GUI has been “overhauled” as well, and there are a dozen new things to eat.
Cooking and building elements got special attention, of course, but the update also adds requested features like the ability to share map data with other players, collect additional seeds to grow different types of trees, and destroy unwanted items with a new item called an “obliterator.” The Hearth and Home expansion also lets you name any pet you’ve tamed.
Additionally, the patch adds a menacing new foe of some kind, as you can see in the trailer above. Iron Gate says “something dark and mysterious” has spread through the lands of Valheim. You can see the full patch notes below.
Patch 0.202.14 (HEARTH & HOME)
General improvements
Weapons rebalanced (All weapons have been rebalanced to be more viable as main weapon and also have more unique playstyles)
Blocking system overhauled (Current maximum hp now greatly affects your ability to block attacks, stagger bar gui added)
Naming tamed creatures
Gamepad sensitivity settings
Auto-pickup toggle button added
Graphics settings (Active point lights & Active point light shadows)
Tamed creatures affected by friendly fire setting (i.e you can’t hurt a tamed creature unless you enable friendly fire or use the new Butcher knife item)
Various other improvements and bugfixes
Food
Food rebalance (Most food items now give mainly stamina or mainly health to make food choices more interesting)
Food GUI overhauled to work better with the rebalanced food
Over 10 new things to eat (Actually 12)
World
Tamed Lox now have a purpose
Slimy locations & creatures added to plains
New plantable seeds: Birch, Oak & Onions
Items
New weapons: Crystal battleaxe, Silver knife
New shields: Bone tower shield, Iron buckler
Butcher knife (Special weapon for butchering tamed animals)
Thunder stone (Sold by trader)
Lox accessory
Building
New Darkwood building pieces like shingle roofs, beams, decorations and more
New types of furniture, including but not limited to a mighty stone throne and a steamy viking hot tub
Crystal walls
New types of stacks to show off your treasure and resources
Cauldron improvements: Spice rack, Butcher’s table, Pots and pans
Cartography table (For sharing map-data with other players)
Oven added (For baking bread and pie)
Obliterator added (Items be gone)
Iron cooking station (Required to cook some types of meat)
A new Wipeout game is finally coming out next year, but it won’t be headed to its usual PlayStation home. Instead, the latest entry in the anti-gravity racing series is on its way to mobile devices, as publisher Rogue Games has announced Wipeout Rush for Android and iOS devices. Due for release in the early part of 2022, Wipeout Rush has its own single-player campaign, 60 ships from the original games, and a comic book-influenced approach to storytelling.
There’s also a new system for how you’ll speed through the game’s 12 championship cup races, as Wipeout Rush is described as a “card-based racing” game.
“We hope fans will come to it with an open mind because–although different–we’re proud to bring the Wipeout franchise back into focus with a fresh take on the formula,” Rogue Games CEO Matt Casamassina said to IGN regarding possible skepticism from fans. “And we’ve poured a lot of love into the presentation, which includes loads of iconic ships and tracks, a new comic book-inspired narrative, a fitting electronica soundtrack, and gorgeous visuals that run at 60 frames per second on modern hardware.”
The soundtrack that Casamassina mentioned was produced by veteran Sony composer Alastair Lyndsay for the mobile game. The last time Wipeout received a big release was in 2017’s Wipeout Omega Collection on PS4, whichremastered Wipeout HD, its Fury expansion, and Wipeout 2048. The first Wipeout game to not be developed by Studio Liverpool, the Omega Collection was well-received upon release and even received a free PSVR update in 2018.
Fans have been clamoring for a new take on the franchise since then, and even though the mobile spin-off might sound like an odd direction to take Wipeout in, the very lucrative potential of that market might explain why a PS5 version of Wipeout hasn’t been announced yet.
This isn’t the first time that Sony has brought one of its exclusive IPs into the mobile space, as its PlayStation Mobile division has been responsible for games such as Run Sackboy! Run! and Uncharted: Fortune Hunter.
The Metroid series is one of the oldest in modern gaming, having originated in 1986 on the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). Despite its age, though, it’s arguably never been more relevant to games than it is today. The series helped define the “metroidvania,” and the influence of that genre can be felt in various other games that encourage exploration as a central mechanic. It’s also perhaps one of Nintendo’s least iterated series, having received fewer games than others like Mario or The Legend of Zelda. That cautious approach has led to each entry bringing something unique to the series. We’ve put together a list of the best Metroid games–not including spin-offs like Metroid Prime Pinball and Hunters–ranked from worst to best.
10. Metroid: Other M
Metroid: Other M
The Metroid series is incredibly small–just four main side-scrolling games and three first-person Metroid Prime games, along with a handful of remakes–and many of them are strong showcases of Nintendo’s first-party prowess. That all-killer, no-filler approach means a game that is merely pretty good, like Metroid: Other M, bottoms out the list. The project was spearheaded by Team Ninja, best known at the time for the Ninja Gaiden series, and as a result Other M was a very different kind of Metroid game. It was the first to feature melee combat, and the perspective was a mix of traditional 2D and Prime-like 3D.
It was a daring mix of ideas, and not all of them worked. While Other M was still a decent game, scoring a 79 review average on GameSpot sister site Metacritic, it received criticism for its uneven difficulty, and especially for its groan-worthy story and voice acting. Perhaps worst of all, it took one of gaming’s most iconic heroines and made her doting and immature, and removed her agency in favor of a commanding officer. We can only assume the mixed reception is why there has been no Other M2.
9. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
The third and final game in the Metroid Prime trilogy–at least until Metroid Prime 4 comes out–was widely hailed as a high point for a series that has already had several high points. Though fans differ on which ranks higher, this or Prime 2, it’s inarguably Rare at the top of its game and having learned the lessons from its previous Metroid outings. Corruption was slightly more action-oriented than the prior Prime games, and it relied on Wii motion controls for precise aiming. It was also hailed as one of the best-looking Wii games, in an era not especially known for top-tier graphics. If anything, Corruption suffers from only slightly diminishing returns because we had two fantastic Prime games to play already.
8. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
Metroid Prime was critically acclaimed, setting the stage for high expectations from its follow-up, Metroid Prime 2: Echoes. Shockingly, Rare managed to deliver on that high standard, creating a sequel that built upon the foundation of Prime and expanded it with a new light and dark mechanic that also had an impact on the story. Just like the 2D Metroid games and the original Prime, Echoes sported a tightly-designed environment bursting with secrets to uncover and explore as you expanded Samus’ suite of abilities. It even introduced a moderately well-received multiplayer mode, which may have influenced the decision to release the much less lauded Metroid Prime Hunters on Nintendo DS two years later. Though some critics did ding the late-game hunt for keys, which many saw as artificial padding, it was generally regarded as a great successor to Prime.
7. Metroid
Metroid
The original Metroid on NES is certainly an artifact of its time, and going back to it today likely isn’t as fun as many others on the list. But it ranks for sheer influence. All of the pieces we recognize in Metroid today, from the sprawling map to the eerie tone, were present in this original sci-fi incarnation. This was Nintendo at among its most experimental, creating an entirely new sub-genre of action game. This is the proto-metroidvania, and while not as polished as some of its follow-ups it helped build the template for everything that followed. In the process, Nintendo created one of gaming’s most enduring icons.
6. Metroid II: Return of Samus
Metroid II: Return of Samus
How do you make a sequel to one of the most influential games of the 8-bit era? With a handheld game that improves nearly every aspect, of course. Return of Samus pulled in the perspective for a closer look at Samus as she explored SR388, the home planet of the Metroids. Her mission was to eradicate the creatures before the dreaded Space Pirates could exploit them for their own nefarious purposes, which made for an excellent merging of story and gameplay. Rather than simply uncovering the planet, you had to actually hunt down every single Metroid as tracked by an in-game counter. As the Metroid home, SR388 introduced new species and variants of Metroids. It all led to an ultimate conclusion in which Samus showed mercy to a Metroid hatchling–the last of its kind–a decision that has rippled through the story of every subsequent Metroid game.
5. Metroid Fusion
Metroid Fusion
The last chronological game before Metroid Dread, Fusion for the Game Boy Advance represents a later era of 2D Metroid that is both influenced by earlier games and forges its own path. This time Samus is critically injured by a parasite only known as the X organism, and scientists give her an experimental vaccine made from Metroid DNA to save her life. Functionally this makes Samus part-metroid, and able to absorb the X-parasites in the same way that metroids would absorb the life energy of their prey. (The DNA fusion also gave Samus a dope new suit.)
Though Fusion did include exploration elements like its predecessors, it was slightly more linear than other games. Rather than free exploration you were guided through missions with specific objectives to reach. This sanded off some of the edges that could be both thrilling and frustrating in other games, making a modernized version of the Metroid experience.
4. Metroid: Samus Returns
Metroid: Samus Returns
This remake of the Game Boy classic was a swan song for the Nintendo 3DS. While keeping the structure of the original Return of Samus intact, developer MercurySteam introduced new elements like a melee counterattack and a free aiming ability, along with a suite of new Aeion abilities. This was a remake at its best, taking the core structure of a classic game and making it more accessible to modern audiences without sacrificing what made it so special to start with. And Nintendo apparently agrees, as series producer Yoshio Sakamoto continued to partner with MercurySteam for the upcoming Metroid Dread.
3. Metroid: Zero Mission
Metroid: Zero Mission
Similar to Samus Returns, Zero Mission was a remake that helped reintroduce some early Metroid concepts to a new generation of players. This time, though, it was a new take on the very first Metroid game. The new version retained many of the same power-ups and structure of the original, but introduced new mini-bosses and an expanded environment to explore. It was also more narrative driven, incorporating one story moment that removed Samus from her Power Suit entirely. During this portion Samus had to make-do with her wits and a relatively weak pistol as she retrieved her suit. That memorable portion has gone on to define one of the character’s signature looks, the “Zero Suit Samus” seen in games like Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
2. Metroid Prime
Metroid Prime
Like Super Mario 64 and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time before it, Metroid Prime took one of Nintendo’s most revered franchises and brought it into the 3D era. And in the journey to the third dimension, the player also got an all-new perspective: Samus. The first-person perspective had previously been reserved mostly for first-person shooters, but Retro Studios applied it to the otherworldly tone and atmosphere of a Metroid game. Even the little touches astounded, like seeing Samus’ face reflected in her visor when the light would hit it just right. The transition was impeccable, creating a truly innovative masterpiece that created something new while paying respect to its roots.
1. Super Metroid
Super Metroid
Widely hailed as one of the best games of all time and a major template for many modern games to follow, Super Metroid is a timeless masterpiece. Set immediately after the events of Metroid 2, Samus delivers the Metroid hatchling to researchers. Only moments later, though, the facility is attacked by space pirates, leading Samus back to the planet Zebes. The 1994 classic is remembered for its sense of isolation and exploration. The map was huge and multifaceted, brimming with passageways blocked by impassable elements that prompted the player to wonder when they would come back to open new passageways. It had a perfectly paced sense of empowerment as Samus gained new abilities and even upgrades to her iconic suit regularly. And the finale, which sees the baby Metroid sacrifice itself to save the woman who spared its life, is a hallmark of resonant, wordless storytelling.
The so-called “metroidvania” genre is named after a portmanteau of two of its most influential progenitors: the Metroid series, and Super Metroid more specifically, and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. While it’s true that both were incredibly influential to the genre, Super Metroid beat Symphony of the Night by three years, and SotN itself was doubtlessly influenced by Super Metroid. That makes Super Metroid the core of one of the most popular and enduring game genres of all time, and it’s still one of the best examples of it. Super Metroid is playable on Nintendo Switch with a Switch Online membership.
Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol premieres Thursday, Sept. 16 on Peacock.
The premiere of The Lost Symbol, based on the third book in Dan Brown’s best-selling Robert Langdon symbologist series, is an earnest but half-cooked puzzler featuring capable, amiable leads and a clunky clockwork plot that offers few surprises.
After ABC’s Lost went off the air in 2010, networks scrambled to find the next supernatural mystery box series. Given how many Lost clones we suffered in the wake of that show’s conclusion, it’s actually surprising it took this long to get a Dan Brown book adapted for the small screen. Of course, it might be because his books were big screen Tom Hanks projects for a full decade, but Langdon’s adventures feel tailor-made for an episodic format. And that may very well be the case for The Lost Symbol, but the pilot episode — “As Above, So Below” — doesn’t exactly kick off this caper in crackerjack fashion. It’s very much an average, by-the-numbers scavenger hunt.
Fear Street’s Ashley Zukerman plays Harvard University professor Robert Langdon, a boastful brainiac of all things religious iconology and symbology. Zukerman is pleasant and punchy in the role, giving us a detective who’s awkward enough to be endearing and driven enough to be obnoxious. It’s sort of the sweet spot for TV snoops, that balance between perceptive and pesky. You want this type of character to be both out of their depth and in their element at the same time, and in this way, Zukerman is a solid, satisfying Langdon.
The mystery Langdon gets embroiled in this time around, involving the disappearance of his mentor, Peter Solomon (Eddie Izzard, once again in Hannibal-style danger), isn’t an instantly captivating corker. Reminiscent of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, it’s a loved one that prods Langdon into action, forcing him to uncover a rumored ancient portal that leads to unlimited knowledge and power.
Keeping things more Washington D.C. focused instead of some of Brown’s more globe-trotting treks, The Lost Symbol is a dive into Masonic mumbo-jumbo in which everyone will learn a valuable lesson about tinkering with the unknown and probing the past. In this regard, it’s satisfying popcorn content, but not much more.
“As Above, So Below,” directed by 10 Cloverfield Lane‘s Dan Trachtenberg, features gruesome tableaus, hidden catacombs, booby traps, trademark Dan Brown secret society mercenaries, and — of course — Langdon’s signature luscious head of hair (which Hanks was lightly roasted for lacking). This introductory chapter moves well, fills in crucial character blanks via flashbacks, and spotlights Langdon as he quickly solves clues left behind by a villain named Mal’akh. It’s junior league mystery stuff that more or less disguises its ordinary nature by having everyone become fast-talking Wiki pages.
It’s satisfying popcorn content, but not much more.
Langdon’s think tank team on this ride includes Peter’s daughter, and Langdon’s former flame, Katherine, (The Tick‘s Valorie Curry), CIA investigator Sato (Sumalee Montano), and astute Capital policeman Nunez (Rick Gonzalez). Izzard provides key emotional stakes here (as well as a very distracting academia ponytail) while Langdon’s crusade is peppered with light bickering between him and Katherine because, well, he’s kind of s***ty about her field of Noetic science. That’s a science which, by the way, is portrayed as vastly more interesting than Langdon’s particular arena, which just seems like flashy infographic stuff (he’s literally teaching a Harvard class about how “some symbols now mean bad things”).
Nothing in The Lost Symbol is meant to crack molds or rattle cages, but if you’re looking to turn off your brain for a bit while a few “smart” characters spout off smart things, it’s fine entry-level intrigue.
Nicolas Cage has assured fans of his filmography that he never plans on retiring from acting.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, the Oscar-winning actor declared that he had banished the thought of retirement from his mind because he feels healthier and happier when he’s working on a project. He also recognized the importance of cinema and the role that the industry has played in his life.
“That can’t happen,” Cage said of retirement. “To do what I do in cinema has been like a guardian angel for me, and I need it. I’m healthier when I’m working, I need a positive place to express my life experience, and filmmaking has given me that. So I’m never going to retire. Where are we now, 117 movies?”
“What’s funny is, my argument with people who go, ‘You work too much,’ was ‘I like working, and it’s healthy, I’m happy when I’m working, and by the way, guys like Cagney and Bogart, they were doing hundreds of movies,'” he explained. “And then I went, ‘I’d better check that,’ and I went, ‘Oops…'”
Cage has starred in a huge number of movies over the course of his acting career, and there’s no sign of his workload slowing down. He recently landed one of the biggest roles that Hollywood has to offer as he found himself cast as Nicolas Cage in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, directed by Tom Gormican.
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent features Nicolas Cage as its fictional main character — someone trying to balance family life and a career while simultaneously finding himself caught in the crossfire of a Mexican cartel leader and the CIA. It’s expected to pay homage to some of Cage’s former films like Leaving Las Vegas, Face-Off, and Gone in 60 Seconds.
Before that, Cage will be seen in Sion Sono’s Prisoners of the Ghostland, portraying a bank robber who is offered his freedom in exchange for retrieving a wealthy warlord’s missing granddaughter. He stars in the neo-noir Western film alongside Sofia Boutella, Bill Mosley, Nick Cassavetes, and Tak Sakaaguchi.
Prisoners of the Ghostland arrives in theaters and on VOD and Digital on September 17 following its world premiere at Sundance Film Festival in January. IGN awarded the movie a 7 out of 10, calling it “a particularly surreal tribute to the Western, the Samurai film, and the Mad Max post-apocalypse.”
