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With E3 2021 now officially in the books, it’s time to take stock of video games’ biggest week. In a poll IGN posted on Twitter, you chose Xbox/Bethesda as your consensus favorite E3 showcase.

Microsoft’s conference drew a majority of the 76,386 votes placed, garnering 56.4% of the votes. Nintendo’s followed in second with 33.8% for its annual Nintendo Direct.

What’s been your favorite E3 showcase so far?

— IGN (@IGN) June 15, 2021

Ubisoft was also included in the poll, drawing 4.1% of votes. A fourth option titled “Something Else (Tell Us!)” garnered 5.7% of votes, inspiring responses citing other events like Devolver Digital’s showcase and Take-Two Interactive’s presentation discussing diversity in the video game industry.

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Bethesda took the lead during the Xbox showcase, revealing a deeper look at Starfield and setting a November 11, 2022 release date for the Xbox exclusive. After that, Microsoft returned to some of its biggest franchises, revealing multiplayer footage of Halo Infinite and announcing the Mexico-set Forza Horizon 5. Both titles are set to release later this year.

Beyond those headliners, the Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase continued with numerous reveals, including Redfall, a new vampire shooter from Dishonored developer Arkane Studios, new gameplay footage from Battlefield 2042 and Far Cry 6, additions to Xbox Game Pass, and release dates for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2, Psychonauts 2, and Diablo 2 Resurrected.

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For a complete breakdown of everything announced at the Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase, read our roundup here. Additionally, we have E3 2021 breakdowns of everything announced at this year’s Nintendo Direct and Ubisoft Forward, as well as a comprehensive recap of everything that got announced during this year’s online-only event.

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J. Kim Murphy is a freelance entertainment and gaming writer.

The series premiere of Kevin Can F**K Himself is currently available to stream on AMC+. The series will make its cable debut on AMC on Sunday, June 20.

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The genre-hopping elements of AMC’s Kevin Can F**K Himself may have landed with a little more “oomph” had the world of beloved sitcom tropes not been explored recently on Marvel’s WandaVision, but given that this series is weaving in and out of a manipulative marriage, taking stinging swipes at the very particular breed of TV comedy husband, there’s still a lot of gold to mine. And with Emmy-winner Annie Murphy (Schitt’s Creek) headlining, as the “put upon” suburban wife saddled with a man-child, this dramedy is a bizarre, insightful winner.

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Murphy’s Allison is an overly accepting wife, who is 10 years into her marriage with Kevin (Eric Petersen), a cable TV installer perfectly happy with his relationship’s lack of growth, his own lack of goals, and his inability to recognize Allison as a true partner. For most scenes between Allison and Kevin, Kevin Can F**K Himself presents itself as a tried and true three-camera sitcom, giving us mirthful moments one could easily imagine playing out on past shows featuring Kevin James, Jim Belushi, Ray Romano, and countless other hapless halves of “idiot groom/nagging bride” pairings over the years.

Whether the cliche of the buffoonish hubby — which can be traced back to The Honeymooners and Ralph and Ed’s get-rich-quick schemes — was a reflection of society, informing said society, or both, is what’s being examined here. A snake eating its own tail, the art is a reflection of relationships while also shaping what people seek in relationships. When Allison leaves the room and is away from Kevin, the color drains from the screen and the show shifts to a single-camera drama where she finds herself alone and unfulfilled. The true, damaging effects of a “Well, I love the big lug” or “I can fix him” mindset are laid bare as we watch Allison desperately crave the basic minimum from Kevin.

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Even Allison’s dream of moving to a new, fancier neighborhood still involves her pouring Kevin a beer, just in a better glass. Thinking a move will help them reboot and restart is also a common relationship mistake, which lets us know that Kevin Can F**K Himself isn’t just holding up a microscope to sitcoms but also broader pitfalls of unhealthy couples.

Murphy shines, playing a very different character than the one that garnered her acclaim on Schitt’s Creek while also still being able to embody someone experiencing profound change. The first episode, “Living the Dream,” signals that the show has a lot of promise, though it’ll be interesting to see if this genre mash-up can hold through a full season without growing stale. It’s a fun and unique concept but also one that can grow weary if left on autopilot. There’s also an element here involving Allison not just wanting to be angry with Kevin, or leave Kevin, but wanting to kill Kevin and that heightened addition sort of square pegs a cartoonish cog into the story that doesn’t fully gel with the rest.

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In “Living the Dream,” Allison carries the weight of her 10-year anniversary, having to tolerate another debaucherous “anniveserager” instead of spending quality time together. On top of this, borrowing from the sitcom realm, she must also throw a separate “boring” party for Kevin’s stuffy boss and entertain the man while everyone else has a good time in the backyard. While this feels very much like sitcom hi-jinx we’re accustomed to, stark revelations fill the third act as Allison begins to realize that Kevin has gaslighted her into thinking she’s lesser than she is. “Do I never finish things or does he take things from me?” is a line that hits like a hard slap, as does her realization that his inaccurate criticisms have trapped her inside a prison of anxiety. So here, out of the gate, the juxtaposition of sitcom silliness and emotional heaviness works well. Whether or not it has legs, in the long run, remains to be seen.

It will also be interesting to watch how Allison’s relationship with next-door neighbor Patty (Mary Hollis Inboden) evolves over the course of the show. At first, Patty’s just a part of the wise-cracking riff-raff that fills the sitcom side of the series, but the show permits Allison to interact with Patty in the darker “alone” world too and it’s here that Patty’s allowed to shift from the beer-swigging spouse of Kevin’s best friend into someone who maybe finds solidarity in Allison’s angst. Allison and Patty’s dynamic also makes room for others to join in on the ennui, away from the TV comedy coma. Kevin, as the white whale antagonist, will most likely be the last to transition over but it’ll be worth it when it does.

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Disney Plus will begin moving original series premieres from Fridays to Wednesdays going forward following the successful release of Loki in the mid-week timeslot.

Loki is officially Disney Plus’ most-watched season premiere, and Disney is taking it as a sign that releasing original programming on Wednesdays is the best path forward. 

However, The Hollywood Reporter says this Wednesday shift only applies to Disney Plus Original Series. So shows like The Mandalorian and other Star Wars shows, as well as future Marvel shows, may still premiere on the typical Friday.

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The timeshift is set to begin in July, meaning several previously announced Disney Plus original series have slightly shifted their release dates. Here is an updated release schedule with the new dates below:

• Monsters at Work – July 2 to July 7

• Turner and Hooch – July 16 to July 21

• Behind the Attraction – July 16 to July 21

• Chip ‘n’ Dale: Park Life – July 23 to July 28

• Turning the Tables with Robin Roberts – July 30 to July 28

• The Wonderful World of Micky Mouse – July 30 to July 28

• Growing Up Animal – August 20 to August 18

• Short Circuit season 2 – July 30 to August 4

The change will see Disney Plus’ original programming becoming a Wednesday night affair in a competitive streaming landscape that’s quickly laying claims to various days of the week. 

As The Hollywood Reporter notes, Netflix and Amazon Prime have typically released big premieres on Fridays, while HBO Max and Peacock have typically released big tentpole features on Thursdays. 

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It seems Disney seems to view Wednesdays as a fairly attractive day to premiere new content without competing with the other streamers for eyeballs.

For more on the latest Disney Plus release, check out IGN’s review of the Loki premiere and everything we know about the Multiverse and MCU’s Phase 4 plans.

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Matt T.M. Kim is IGN’s News Editor.

E3 returned in 2021 with big announcements from Xbox, Bethesda, Nintendo, Ubisoft, Square Enix, and several indie devs. It’s been a jam-packed show that’s provided long-awaited updates on the biggest games of 2021 and beyond, including Elden Ring, Starfield, Breath of the Wild 2, and Halo Infinite.

With the showcases over, we’ve rounded up the biggest of the big announcements from E3 2021, including new game reveals, long-awaited release date announcements, and much more. Continue scrolling or click through the gallery below for our full list.

(If you’re only looking for new game reveals, you can check out our list of the biggest E3 2021 games announced)

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Elden Ring Release Date, Gameplay Revealed

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The highly anticipated Elden Ring got its first gameplay trailer during Summer Game Fest, alongside a release date: January 21, 2022. The Hidetaka Miyazaki-George R.R. Martin collaboration will feature FromSoftware’s largest, most free-form map to date. You can read IGN’s big Miyazaki interview for much more on Elden Ring.

Starfield Xbox-PC Exclusivity Confirmed, Release Date Announced

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Microsoft kicked off its Xbox-Bethesda E3 showcase with a first look at Starfield. In addition to debuting the new trailer, Microsoft confirmed the next RPG from Todd Howard and Bethesda Game Studios will be exclusive to Xbox and PC. Starfield, which Bethesda execs have described as both “Skyrim in space” and a “Han Solo simulator,” is targeting November 11, 2022.

Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 Release Window and New Trailer

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Nintendo closed out its E3 Direct with a new gameplay trailer for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 that revealed a 2022 release window. The trailer shows Link navigating the skies Hyrule, which will be explorable in the sequel, according to Nintendo.

Square’s Guardians of the Galaxy Officially Revealed

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The rumored Guardians of the Galaxy game was finally revealed during the Square Enix E3 showcase with an October 26 release date. The single-player action-adventure features all of the Guardians from the MCU — Gamora, Rocket Raccoon, Groot, and Drax — though you’ll play exclusively as Star-Lord. Like the movies, the Guardians game will feature classic music from the ’80s, including songs by Iron Maiden, Rick Astley, Kiss, and Wham.

First Look at Ubisoft’s Avatar Game

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The Ubisoft E3 showcase ended with our first look at Massive Entertainment’s Avatar game. Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is a first-person, open-world action-adventure game set in a never-before-seen part of Pandora. It’s scheudled for a 2022 release on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.

Next Smash Bros. DLC Character Revealed

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Tekken’s Kazuya was revealed as the penultimate DLC character for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. More info on the fighter will be revealed on June 28, according to game director Masahiro Sakurai.

Halo Infinite Multiplayer Deep Dive

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Halo Infinite‘s Holiday 2021 release window was confirmed during E3 with a fresh look at the shooter’s single-player campaign and free-to-play multiplayer. Microsoft and 343 followed up with a Halo Infinite multiplayer deep dive, revealing details on its battle pass system, customization, the Training Academy, and more.

Mario + Rabbids Sequel Announced

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Nintendo and Ubisoft are collaborating once again on Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope, a sequel to 2017’s Battle Kingdom. Compared to the original, Sparks of Hope will feature more open locations and more fluid combat. The sequel comes to Switch in 2022.

Dishonored Devs’ Vampire Shooter Redfall Revealed as Xbox-PC Exclusive

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Arkane Studios (Dishonored, Prey) showed off its open-world vampire shooter Redfall. Featuring support for up to four-player co-op, Redfall pits you (and your friends) against powerful, ever-evolving vampires. It’ll be exclusive to Xbox Series X|S and PC, and it’s due out in Summer 2022.

Borderlands Spinoff Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands Announced

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Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands is a Borderlands spinoff set in “an unpredictable fantasy world.” Set after the Borderlands 2 DLC Assault on Dragon Keep, Wonderlands is a four-player co-op game with a world that constantly changes to fit the Bunkers & Badasses (i.e., Dungeons & Dragons) narrative spun by Tina. Ashly Burch returns to voice the fan-favorite Tina alongside an all-star supporting cast that includes Will Arnett, Andy Samberg, and Wanda Sykes.

Forza Horizon 5 Announced and Dated

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Microsoft’s excellent arcade racer returns with its fifth iteration on November 9. Forza Horizon 5 takes the series to Mexico, which will be home to “the largest, most diverse Horizon ever.” For more, check out these Forza Horizon 5 details we learned from developer Playground Games’ follow-up livestream.

The Outer Worlds 2 Announced as Xbox-PC Exclusive

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A sequel to Obsidian’s The Outer Worlds is officially in development, though the cheeky reveal trailer made it clear The Outer Worlds 2 is still a ways out. The RPG will be exclusive to Xbox Series X|S and PC.

Rainbow Six Extraction Official Title, Gameplay Revealed

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Ubisoft gave us a deep dive into and release date for Rainbow Six Extraction (f.k.a. Rainbow Six Quarantine) during its E3 showcase. The objective-based PvE game will be released on September 16. Check out our Rainbow Six Extraction hands-on preview for much more.

Sea of Thieves Is Getting a Pirates of the Caribbean Crossover

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One of the most fun surprises from the Xbox showcase was the reveal of Sea of Thieves: A Pirate’s Life, an all-new original story featuring Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean. Davy Jones will also appear in this free update, which will be released on June 22.

Contraband: Just Cause Devs Reveal Xbox-Exclusive Open World Game

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Just Cause developer Avalanche Studios revealed Contraband, a co-op, open-world game coming exclusively to Xbox and PC. Contraband is a Day One Game Pass title that’s described as a “co-op smuggler’s paradise set in the fictional world of 1970s Bayan.”

Flight Sim Console Release Date and Top Gun Expansion Announced

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After its 2020 PC release, Microsoft Flight Simulator is coming to Xbox Series X|S on July 27. The console version will launch on Xbox Game Pass and will be followed by a Top Gun expansion later this year.

2020’s Game of the Year Hades Is Coming to Xbox, PlayStation

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Hades, IGN’s Game of the Year 2020, is coming to PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, and Xbox One on August 13. The Xbox versions will be available on Xbox Game Pass at launch.

Xbox Game Pass Gets Even Better

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In addition to Hades, Microsoft revealed a number of big third-party games and indies that will hit Xbox Game Pass at launch, including Atomic Heart, the Left 4 Dead spiritual successor Back 4 Blood, Somerville, A Plague Tale: Requiem, and the promising time-loop game 12 Minutes. Those looking for something to play right now can dive into Yakuza: Like a Dragon, which was added to Game Pass during the show.

Far Cry 6 DLC Lets You Plan as Series’ Infamous Villains

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Ubisoft’s Far Cry 6 DLC plans include three episodes that each allow you to play as one of the series’ infamous villains. The episodes will “delve into the minds” of Far Cry 3’s Vaas, Far Cry 4’s Pagan, and Far Cry 5’s Joseph Seed. The gameplay is “inspired by the roguelite genre,” according to Ubisoft.

Babylon’s Fall PS5 Version Announced, New Gameplay Shown Off

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PlatinumGames’ Babylon’s Fall resurfanced at E3 2021 after two years of relative silence. Square showed off new gameplay from the live-service action game and revealed it will be coming to PS5 in addition to PS4 and PC.

Diablo 2 Resurrected Release Date Announced

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Diablo 2 Resurrected, a remastered version of Blizzard’s classic action-RPG, will be released on September 23. Resurrected includes the base game and Diablo 2’s acclaimed Lord of Destruction expansion. It’ll be released on PC as well as all current- and next-gen consoles (including Switch).

Riders Republic Release Date Announced

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Ubisoft’s open-world extreme sports game Riders Republic will be released on September 2. The deep dive trailer showed off a variety of ways to play, from team-based snowboarding to solo mountain biking.

Ubisoft Announces Rocksmith Plus Subscription Service

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Rocksmith+ is a new subscription service for Ubisoft’s guitar-learning games. The subscription, which will first be available as a closed beta on PC, includes access to a “huge” library of songs that can set to different speeds to allow you to learn at your own pace.

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For more on this year’s show, you can check out our full E3 recap, as well as our list of every confirmed E3 game available to preorder.

Today is Captain Picard Day, an auspicious holiday in the Star Trek fandom. To celebrate, Paramount+ released a brand new teaser trailer for Star Trek: Picard Season 2, which reveals that time is broken… again.

The new teaser trailer, which lasts about a minute, shows several intriguing images from Picard Season 2. It confirms previous leaks suggesting that the new season will deal with time travel, with Picard vowing to save the future. Seven of Nine also seems to be missing her Borg implants, raising several questions about just what the heck is going on.

In addition to the trailer, Paramount+ also dropped a brand new poster.

It features what looks like modern-day Los Angeles, which suggests that Picard and company will heading to the City of Angels. Notably, in the Star Trek: Voyager episode “Future’s End,” Captain Janeway travels back to Los Angeles circa 1996. Maybe the two episodes are connected?

Regardless, we have lots more to speculate on for Star Trek: Picard. Check out the gallery below for images from the new trailer.

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This is the second teaser we’ve received for Star Trek: Picard Season 2. Previously, we learned that Q would be returning, with John de Lancie separately confirming that he would be reprising his role as the mischievous dimensional being. Other returning actors for Season 2 include Alison Pill (Agnes Jurati), Isa Briones (Soji Asha), Evan Evagora (Elnor), Michelle Hurd (Raffi Musiker), Santiago Cabrera (Chris Rios), Jeri Ryan (Seven of Nine), Orla Brady (Laris) and Brent Spiner (Data).

Star Trek: Picard Season 2 is set to release in 2022 on Paramount+.

Rockstar has announced that it is concluding support for GTA Online on Xbox 360 and PS3 this December.

On a new Rockstar Support page, the developer announced that online service support will be ended for Grand Theft Auto 5, Max Payne 3, and L.A. Noire this year for their PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions.

GTA Online support will be pulled in two phases. On September 16, 2021, PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of Shark Cards will stop being sold. On December 16, the servers for GTA Online will be shut down. This will also bring an end to stat tracking via Rockstar Games Social Club.

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There is no feature to allow players to transfer their GTA Online characters from PS3 or Xbox 360 to a newer console or PC, and so when the servers shut down it is the end of everything for that generation of GTA Online. Additionally, there are no refunds available for Shark Cards, so if you recently bought one unfortunately your balance cannot be rescued or transferred to a newer version of the game.

As for L.A. Noire and Max Payne 3, both games’ online services will end on September 16, 2021, including stat tracking via the Rockstar Games Social Club website.

Rockstar notes that none of these changes will affect the story mode/campaign for GTA 5, Max Payne 3, or L.A. Noire; players can still play the single-player stories of these games with no problems.

As one generation of GTA Online dies, another is born; last year Rockstar announced that GTA 5 and GTA Online will be upgraded for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. This updated version will be available in November.

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Matt Purslow is IGN’s UK News and Entertainment Writer.

Disney’s dynamic chipmunk duo returns on July 28 to the Disney+ streaming platform, with Chip ‘n’ Dale: Park Life.

“Comprised of three seven-minute stories, each episode follows two tiny troublemakers, Chip and Dale, trying to live the good life in a big city park while having giant-sized, sky-high adventures. Nervous worrier Chip and laid-back dreamer Dale make the perfect odd couple: they’re best buddies and they drive each other nuts. In their perpetual pursuit of acorns, these ultimate underdogs are joined by Pluto, Butch, and other iconic Disney characters as they face down bullies great and small,” according to a logline from Disney.

IGN can exclusively reveal an official sneak peek at the opening title sequence for Chip ‘n’ Dale: Park Life in the video below, or at the top of the page:

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Chip ‘n’ Dale: Park Life will release new episodes every Wednesday until the season finale. The animated series is produced by Xilam Animation with Marc du Pontavice as Executive Producer and Jean Cayrol as Director. Vincent Artaud serves as the series composer.

What do you think of the opening title sequence? Let us know in the comments below. And for more Disney+, be sure to check out our reviews of Cruella and the series premiere of Loki.

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David Griffin still watches DuckTales in his pajamas with a cereal bowl in hand. He’s also the TV Editor for IGN. Say hi on Twitter.

Pixar’s newest film Luca is set in the sunbaked Italian sea town of Portorosso, and in the nearby Mediterranean waters where a shy young sea monster, Luca, lives with his family. Fans of The Little Mermaid might find this premise familiar—Luca’s parents forbid him from going to the surface, due to the threat of local fishermen. But there is one key twist: sea monsters are able to transform into humans once on land. Luca’s world changes when a new sea monster friend, Alberto, pulls him up to the surface, showing him that living as a human can be fun. 

Luca is a solid summer watch, and one whose uniquely stylized animation will be particularly enjoyable on a large screen. It’s a nice paring back from some of Pixar’s more ostentatious, serious films like Soul or Inside Out, which took on high-minded concepts like “what is the meaning of life” or “how do we feel things.” But Luca doesn’t quite stand up to Pixar’s stellar reputation for making smaller themes feel consequential through striking characterization and storytelling. Its themes of coming-of-age resemble too much of Pixar’s existing catalog—and without a narrative that really makes these themes feel fresh.

There’s simplicity and clarity to the smallness of Luca’s world, one that matches the film’s story of friendship and exploration as a means of coming-of-age. This really comes through in the film’s world-building details, which give it a charming, local, and lived in feel both undersea and on land.  At home, Luca scythes seaweed—which reads like harvesting fields of wheat—and herds bleating fish, establishing him as part of a rural, farming family. Portorosso is similarly charming, drawn from director Enrico Casarosa’s own time spent in the Italian Riviera. The town’s piazza bustles with children playing soccer, men toting harpoons from their boats, and women gossiping over ice cream. 

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Annually, the town hosts the Portorosso Cup, a kind of triathlon (with a funny twist), which Luca and Alberto set their eyes on—the prize money would buy them a Vespa, which they see as a ticket to freedom. But Portorosso is also famous for hunting sea monsters and any time the boys are exposed to water—including small things like spilling a glass—they transform into their sea creature selves, and risk getting caught. 

Though this premise offers lots of space for laughter, Luca and Alberto’s backstories are too thinly drawn for viewers to really emotionally invest in their friendship. These backstories are essential parts of any Pixar film, and without them Luca lacks a kind of deeper emotional core. So much of Up’s narrative propulsion, for example, comes from its moving opening sequence, which details the main character meeting the love of his life, and the desire to honor her memory after she dies. Marlon’s anxieties in Finding Nemo stay constant across the film, conveying just how much he must love his son in order to leave his anemone and chase him down. And, of course, Coco’s “Remember Me” is an instant tearjerker, a testament to just how affecting the film is.

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By contrast, Alberto’s genuinely affecting origin story is also withheld until close to the end of the film. His friendship with Luca is built quickly over inside jokes, Vespa building montages, and a kind of admiration familiar to anyone who has envied a best friend. But their relationship never quite feels intimate or lived in, thanks to withholding that vulnerability. (And while Pixar fans speculated Luca might be a queer film, Casarosa stated the film’s core friendship is purely platonic). Luca’s parents also feel dramatically overbearing when they forbid Luca to go to the surface—while the film shows the region’s threat to sea monsters, it doesn’t give Luca’s family much personal connection to that threat. 

Luca’s animation style does offer a compelling argument for watching it in theaters. Casarosa’s style is distinctly warm, moving towards a more painterly feel. In Luca, Pixar’s typically photoreal techniques for environment design are swapped out for more sculptural visions of the ocean, sunsets, and rolling hills. The studio tends to create visual awe through moments of bombast—think of Coco’s incredible visual richness. Luca captures the beauty of leaving home by paring down detail, in favor of punchy framing and lighting, pulling off a kind of awe as Luca leaves the sea for the first time, gazes at the stars, or watches the sun rise.

Where environment designs trend toward the serene, Casarosa’s character designs echo the more exaggerated comedic shapes you might see in Saturday morning cartoons. This gives the film a richer comedic language to work with. Some of the character designs are particularly delightful—Luca and Alberto’s human friend Giulietta has wonderfully triangular hair that reflects the exaggerated bell bottom flare of her jeans. Her dad is designed as an intimidatingly huge, square figure. The transformation between sea monster and human is similarly primed for comedy—with Luca and Alberto scrambling to hide each other any time they’ve touched water.

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The film’s visual language also has some clear influences. Hayao Miyazaki-esque dream sequences are visually striking, and surprisingly recognizable despite the film being animated in 3d. Luca imagines himself in flight with Alberto, soaring through the sky on a Vespa in sequences that are reminiscent of Casarosa’s beautiful short film La Luna. They also bring to mind Miyazaki’s Porco Rosso, a film whose title is close to the name of Luca’s Portorosso. 

While pretty, these sequences are often more style than substance—especially when reflecting on Miyazaki’s usage. When Jiro Horikoshi dreams he is flying in The Wind Rises, for example, the sequence is emotionally affecting, because this man’s lifelong dream of building airplanes was achieved in the context of designing fighter planes for World War II. This isn’t to say Luca needs to be so hefty—the comparison to Miyazaki is obviously a lofty one, and Luca is a sweet summer film about self-discovery—but it does point to why Luca’s story doesn’t quite land. 

Pixar is known for masterfully making smaller tensions take on broader narrative stakes. These can be goofy and still work, like Mike Wazowski and Sully risking both their health and jobs, as they hide little girl Boo, as well as risking upending the entire monster scare economy. Luca, instead, relies on well-worn coming-of-age tropes—overbearing parents, extroverted best friends—without building realistic intimacy, or explaining how Luca and Alberto fit into the broader sea monster community.

Though Luca and Alberto leave their home undersea, their story ultimately remains on the shallow end.

Matt Firor’s connection to Zenimax and Elder Scrolls is well-documented, but the veteran developer also has a fascinating history with the Fallout series that reaches back to the time before Zenimax acquired the property.

IGN’s Ryan McCaffrey sat down with Matt Firor to discuss Elder Scrolls Online in the latest episode of IGN Unfiltered, as well as Zenimax Online Studios’ second project, Mythic’s shared history with Blizzard, and so much more.

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Firor: “Another funny story that I don’t know that I’ve ever told publicly is that, in the year [I took a break after the Mythic buyout]… I’m obsessed with Fallout. Even today. It is my favorite… well, second favorite, I guess, to Elder Scrolls… but I love Fallout. I still play Fallout 1 probably every other year, at least once, all the way through. In the year in between, I actually tried to get the rights to Fallout, to make a Fallout MMO.”

“I was talking to the license holders and they were like, ‘Great!’ and I had lined up a publisher, which was Brash Entertainment, which were around for a hot minute, back then. And then, suddenly, they stopped taking my calls and then, like three weeks later, it was like, ‘Bethesda Acquires Fallout!’ and I was like ‘Aww, man…’ So they beat me to it. Of course it makes perfect sense that I go join them.”

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Although Firor knew the job he was being hired for was creating Elder Scrolls Online, he did give it one last try after joining Bethesda. “I did make some feeble attempts to change it to Fallout, but they were having none of it. And it was the right decision. Fantasy, at the time… and as has been proven… was the right way to go.”

As for how he ended up joining Zenimax, Firor said, “What happened was, EA bought Mythic. I had been there for a long time. I had moved away because I had met my… now ‘wife,’ and she lives in Baltimore, so it was a long commute. So I decided, at the buyout, to just kind of put a pin in it there.”

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“I left and, essentially, retired for a year, and then Bethesda was trying to get this MMO Elder Scrolls game off the ground and they had been talking to people around the industry. And Todd Howard said, ‘Why don’t you just talk to Matt? He’s right up the street.’ So they gave me a call and it was the right thing to do. It was the right moment, the right time in the industry, and I think it was the right property to base a giant game on.”

For more interviews with the best, brightest, most fascinating minds in the games industry, check out be sure to check out every episode of IGN Unfiltered, which includes talks with IO Interactive CEO Hakan Abrak, Master Chief co-creator Marcus Lehto, Valve’s Robin Walker & Chris Remo, Respawn’s Stig Asmussen, and many more.

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Brian Barnett writes reviews, wiki guides, deals posts, features, and much more for IGN. You can get your fix of Brian’s antics on Twitter @Ribnax.