Ever experience déjà vu or clock a peculiar coincidence and think, “What if The Matrix is real? What if all this is a computer simulation?” Well, if so, you’re not alone. Simulation Theory has a lot of believers, including controversial innovator Elon Musk. It might sound like heady stuff, but the curious new documentary A Glitch In The Matrix breaks it all down with energy and aplomb.
Documentarian Rodney Ascher is not new to conspiracy theories, having forged his reputation with Room 237 and The Nightmare. The former doc delivered a riveting deep-dive into fan theories about Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining. This included the eyebrow-raising proposal that the frightening film was in fact Kubrick’s coded apology for faking the moon landing. The latter focused on sleep paralysis, exploring its connections to international folklore and even accounts of possession and alien abduction. With A Glitch In The Matrix, Ascher traces Simulation Theory back to Ancient Greek philosophy, through Christian theology, the prophetic science-fiction of Philip K. Dick, and to the Wachowski Sisters’ 1999 epic, The Matrix, which shot this theory into the mainstream.
In talking-head interviews, Ascher allows a batch of believers to recount their first experience watching The Matrix or otherwise questioning reality as we know it. A keystone to his work is an open mind that bestows to his subjects plenty of space and support to unfurl their theories, no matter how unusual. As such, Ascher bolsters these believers by presenting each in interviews as flashy avatars. Stripped away are their human faces and any physical identifiers, replaced by glossy CGI that transforms them into glittery wolves, roly-poly robots, and other outrageous creatures. From there, their recollections are re-enacted with video game-like graphics, illustrating the idea that this world might also be a collection of code and pixels.
Additional flash and cool cache are achieved through flooding the film with footage of a slew of TV shows, video games, and movies that remotely tie into this conversation. To illustrate how a simulation might prioritize processing power, Ascher cuts to the Rick and Morty episode “M. Night Shaym-Aliens!” When explaining that some people are purely NPCs (Non-Player Characters), World of Warcraft footage is wielded. Aside from The Matrix, everything from Star Wars, to Defending Your Life, Minecraft, Avatar, Batman Forever, Total Recall, and Horton Hears A Who are looped in. You could easily make a jolly game of calling out all the clips as they rollick by. However, whether this allusion-heavy approach helps or hurts the argument for Simulation Theory is up for debate. On one hand, such a diversity of representation of these ideas across multi-media might suggest there’s something to it. Or perhaps reality is so overwhelming that mankind is drawn to whatever answer allows us to escape, for better or worse.
Ascher explores the latter in a dark thread about Joshua Cooke and The Matrix Defense, which was deployed after a grisly crime. This horrid story leaves us to ask: What does it mean if nothing around us is real? If we don’t consider those we meet “real” people but simply NPC’s with no inner life or grand purpose? These are just a few of the many questions A Glitch In The Matrix poses, and Ascher has no apparent interest in answering them. Perhaps that’s why neither Lana nor Lilly Wachowski is interviewed in a doc that pulls intensely from their filmography. Maybe that’s why Ascher shields us from the unfiltered identities of his Simulation Theory believers. These interviewees offer details about their lives, including their jobs and religious background. Yet details that might be plucked from their appearance (like race, age, and gender) are left a mystery, leaving us unable to judge how to factor this into their experiences and worldview. So, we are left to wonder.
Round 2! Jake and Rob fight through Cyberpunk 2077 bugs and glitches as they attempt to play through the game on a base Xbox One, with no updates–version 1.0 all the way!
As you’re probably well aware of by now, CD Projekt Red’s role-playing game has had an infamously rocky launch.Over time it has been patched and updated, but we’re ignoring all that to go back to vanilla experience to showcase how this game was shipped on day one.
In order to do so, Jake and Rob have declined updates to the Xbox One disc version of Cyberpunk 2077 so they can live life on the edge. What you’ll witness in this video are immersion shattering bugs, game and loading stuttering, texture pop-ins, and unresponsive A.I. Suffice it to say… it ain’t pretty. It’s fun and funny, but not pretty.
What’s also worth noting is that this is a series in which Jake and Rob double down on the premise of encouraging “The Worst Way To Play.” That means they’re also role-playing as the worst character possible, so expect obnoxious and rude dialogue choices, as well as completely unnecessary physical altercations.
And that’s what Episode 2 of The Worst Way to Play Cyberpunk 2077 has in store for you, so sit back and watch as our duo suffer to give you 12-ish minutes of fun and mischief. If you’d like to see more of this challenge, let us know in the comments below. And if you have specific ideas of how to make the experience even more miserable, let us know that too. Thanks for watching.
Rest in peace, Battleborn–we hardly knew you … or played you. Gearbox Software’s hero shooter is going offline today for good, rendering the game unplayable more than four years after its launch.
The writing has been on the wall for quite a long time now, with digital currency being removed from sale and the game already being pulled off digital stores. However, up until today, players who were still interested in Battleborn could play the game normally. That’s over, with not only peer-to-peer multiplayer matches being unplayable, but also the single-player campaign.
Battleborn’s fate was sealed almost immediately, as it launched at nearly the exact same time as Blizzard’s Overwatch. The two games are quite similar, with heroes sporting a variety of unique moves and weapons, but it was Blizzard’s game that caught on. The price of Battleborn quickly fell, and Gearbox shifted, well, gears, to other games like Borderlands 3. That was a much more successful project for the studio, releasing on everything from Xbox One to Google Stadia and receiving several DLC packs.
Battleborn actually began its life, sort of, as a completely different game. Brothers in Arms: Furious 4 was announced first as a Tarantino-style take on the World War 2 franchise, but it was eventually scrapped and some of its elements were incorporated into Battleborn.
Despite the Brothers in Arms franchise’s long hiatus, it isn’t dead. A television series is in development, and Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford confirmed that the studio is still working on the series just a few days ago. However, he stressed that he couldn’t share or “make any promises,” so it doesn’t sound like the company is ready to actually commit to announcing a game.
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It appears we have our first confirmation that MLB The Show 21 will be releasing on Xbox systems this year. Box art for the game has leaked, and it shows the PS5 and Xbox One versions of the game complete with the PlayStation logo. This must be how Mario and Sonic felt when they finally teamed up for the Olympics.
MLB The Show 21 boxart has leaked
The crazy part? Seeing a big PlayStation Studios logo right on the front of the boxart of an Xbox Game Case
MLB The Show is consistently a high selling title and now it’s going multiplatform will be even bigger pic.twitter.com/Yzh8zrVzKu
The covers, which Sony has yet to officially confirm, feature San Diego Padres shortstop Fernando Tatís Jr. He was in the running for the National League’s MVP award in 2020 during the shortened season, and The Show franchise has sometimes given rising superstars an opportunity to grace the cover in the past. It hasn’t always gone the way Sony probably hoped, such as when Yasiel Puig was the 2015 star and ended up with one of the worst seasons of his career.
At least for the Xbox version, it doesn’t appear it will be eligible for a free next-gen upgrade. The box art only lists the Xbox One, though we presume there will also be an Xbox Series X|S version. It would certainly be a little bit of a flex for Sony to only offer the “best” version of the game on its own system.
Sony first announced in late 2019 that it was ending PlayStation exclusivity for MLB The Show. At the time, it said 2021 would be the earliest for the series to expand to other platforms, and both Phil Spencer and the Nintendo of America Twitter accounts praised this move. It’s unclear if this year’s game will also be coming to Nintendo Switch.
Fortnite’s latest collaboration not only allows players to purchase an in-game outfit based on G.I. Joe’s Snake Eyes, but there will also be a real-life action figure from Hasbro that is based on the character’s Fortnite design.
Snake Eyes is available now in Fortnite’s Item Shop, and the full set includes the Katana Pickaxe and Katana Back Bling. As for the Fortnite G.I. Joe Collab Snake Eyes: Zero Point Edition action figure, it costs $39.99 and includes Snake Eye’s Katana – Morning Light – and a sheath accessory inspired by the G.I. Joe universe.
This edition also includes such Fortnite items as the “Harpoon Launcher, Boogie Bomb, Grenade, Clinger, Chiller Grenade, as well as the Submachine weapon and Mythic Shockwave Launcher accessories featuring the Weathered Black Wrap deco as seen in-game.”
Unfortunately, it appears the Snake Eyes figure will not ship out until around January 15, 2022.
Snake Eyes is just the latest example of Fortnite’s crossover with pop culture and follows such characters as Sarah Connor, T-800, The Predator, and so much more.
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Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.
January 2021 is the start of this year’s winter anime season, which means a ton of brand-new anime debuted across all the different streaming services. There are plenty of shows to enjoy but seven series in particular have managed to keep us watching beyond their respective premieres.
Keep in mind, we’re not saying that these seven are definitely the best anime to air this season. There are still plenty of weeks left in the winter season and any of these shows could take an unfavorable turn (or any we don’t list here may recapture our attention if they have a turn for the better). But, for now, these seven anime are the ones we’re enjoying the most, and we think that you will too. We’re always open to hearing recommendations though, so let us know what you’re currently watching–and why we should also be watching it–in the comments below.
Wonder Egg Priority
An original story, Wonder Egg Priority is one of the most gripping anime we’ve seen in ages. Beautiful to look at but covering topics that are often difficult to watch, this anime deals with the trauma of suicide and posits the question: How far would you go to save someone who took their own life? This is a show that comes with a load of trigger warnings–be aware that Wonder Egg Priority portrays bullying, self-cutting, fat-shaming, survivor’s guilt, and group suicide, and that’s only within the first three episodes. As an original story, there’s no way of knowing what else is in store, all we know is that we’re going to see it all the way through, as this may end up being the best anime of the season.
It would be a disservice to summarize what Wonder Egg Priority is about, given how well it crafts a compelling mystery from the building blocks of its structure–an uncanny otherness in its dreamscapes, ensemble cast of nuanced characters that each harbor private yet powerful motivations, and creativity in making personal traumas into literal monsters. Part of the appeal of this show is how well it holds so much information back and yet delivers just enough nuggets of information with each episode to convince you to return the following week for another peek behind the curtain. If you can, try to go into Wonder Egg Priority with as little knowledge of what transpires as you can. Admittedly, that’s a hard ask for a show that makes suicide and personal trauma the central theme of its conflict, but it will make this already compelling anime that much more interesting to watch. You can watch Wonder Egg Priority on Funimation.
2.43: Seiin High School Boys Volleyball Team
Plenty of the animations for the plays–especially the spikes for protagonist Yuni–have made us mutter, “Oh, shit” under our breath while watching 2.43: Seiin High School Boys Volleyball Team, an anime that’s literally about its title. But it’s not just the animation that has us in love with this show–we’re tuning in every week to watch the evolving chemistry between Yuni and Kimichika, childhood friends turned volleyball partners. There’s a lot of queer-coded subtext to the way the two boys speak to one another and are blushing at each other all the time, and the promise of possibly seeing the both of them fall for each other as much as they’ve fallen for volleyball is enough to keep us invested for the long haul. With that said, this anime recommendation comes with a trigger warning for depictions of bullying and physical violence, as well as references to self-harm.
Though the anime delves into the lives and motivations of their teammates as well, Yuni and Kimichika are the primary focus of the show–they both played together on their middle school volleyball team but had a falling-out that led to their team’s defeat and the loss of their friendship. Now in high school, the two find themselves once again playing volleyball together and strive to fix their fractured relationship in order to become the powerhouse setter and ace combo their team needs to go to Nationals. You can watch 2.43: Seiin High School Boys Volleyball Team on Funimation.
Otherside Picnic
It’s so rare to see anime starring adults, which makes Otherside Picnic a refreshingly wonderful series to see in the winter anime lineup. It’s special beyond that, of course. Despite the fact that Otherside Picnic primarily deals with the spooky and the supernatural monsters of internet creepypasta, such as the Wiggle-Waggle (a creature that makes you insane if you look at it too long) and Hasshaku-sama (an unnaturally tall woman who preys on people’s deepest desires), the anime also heavily focuses on a pretty cute and wholesome romance.
Otherside Picnic sees college student Sorawo Kamikoshi teaming up with Toriko Nishina to explore a bizarre alternate reality where the creatures of urban myth are very real. Toriko is exploring “the otherside” in search of her mentor, a woman who’s gone missing in the dangerous universe. Sorawo tags along after developing a small crush on Toriko, and the two form a monster-hunting partnership, selling the spoils of their expeditions to fund their weapon and supplies expenses. It’s not an easy-going task though, and their journeys into the otherside begin to have an effect on them, transforming Sorawo’s eye and Toriko’s hand and giving them both otherworldly abilities. All the while, the two women grow closer to one another, developing a powerful bond. You can watch Otherside Picnic on Funimation.
SK8 The Infinity
Another original series, SK8 the Infinity is perhaps the most stylish anime this winter season, sporting a colorful assortment of animations. Action scenes are over the top, presenting the wild antics of an underground skateboarding racing ring with the same uncontrolled zeal that street racing had in Fast & Furious: Tokyo Drift. The anime pauses between the action to dissect the act of skateboarding itself, providing explanations and demonstrations of certain moves before showing off how satisfying a feeling it is to slowly grasp the intricacies of the sport. In the same way that most sport anime may inspire you to want to play volleyball or pick up boxing, SK8 the Infinity will likely help you understand why people find riding on a skateboard so appealing.
In SK8 the Infinity, there’s a secret skate race that takes place in an Okinawa mine shaft at midnight. Simply called “S,” this race has no rules and competitors often challenge each other for rewards of their choosing. Some bet money, others stake their custom boards or personal reputations. Many of the racers are everyday business folks adopting personalities to unleash their hidden desires and true emotions. The series focuses on Reki, a high school student who loves skating more than anything, and his new friend Langa, a transfer student from Canada who knows nothing about skateboarding but ends up falling in love with the sport and becoming a natural S race competitor. You can watch SK8 the Infinity on Funimation.
Laid-Back Camp Season 2
Winter 2018’s cute-as-heck series about camping returns for a second season this year, and–to the surprise of no one–continues to be one of the most wholesome watches ever. If the start of 2021 has left you stressed, there are few better ways to unwind than with a cozy episode of Laid-Back Camp, which takes a relaxed pacing with its storytelling–often stretching out camping trips for several episodes and giving you a regular dose of camping tips and tricks, hilarious comedy sketches, and beautiful moments of animated scenery. It’s just such a fun show to watch, which is why it was a crowd favorite in 2018. It’s nice to see that trend continue this year, as well as see Asaka (who sang the popular “Shiny Days” opening for Season 1 and “The Sunshower” theme for the spin-off series, Room Camp) return as the artist behind Season 2’s opening, “Seize The Day.” We love that she’s now just associated with the show.
Laid-Back Camp follows a group of high schoolers who all love camping. Rin Shima enjoys camping on her own, though a chance encounter with Nadeshiko Kagamihara inspires her to occasionally step outside her comfort zone and camp with others. Nadeshiko, on the other hand, wholeheartedly takes to group camping, joining the Outdoor Activities Club at her school. One of our favorite aspects of Laid-Back Camp is its portrayal of Nadeshiko. She’s a happy-go-lucky girl and extreme extrovert but she understands Rin’s boundaries as an introvert, allowing her friend to enjoy camping alone. Laid-Back Camp is a rare series that doesn’t outright preach “activities are better with friends,” and instead posits that people can enjoy the same activity in different ways and emphasizes respecting boundaries, ensuring the activity remains fun for everyone. You can watch Laid-Back Camp on Crunchyroll.
Kemono Jihen
We love anime that seem like they’re setting up an obvious twist, only for the obvious twist to end up being a clever smokescreen for something else. Kemono Jihen does this in a few ways. It seems like it’s going to be a slow-burning, mystery-driven serial where protagonist Kabane is at the center of something possibly supernatural, only to reveal that it will actually be a bit more action-focused and that Kabane is not as unique as we are originally led to believe. Kemono Jihen has one of the most well-written premieres of any winter 2021 anime–it respects your time, forgoing long-winded narration and clunky setup. This does mean that you’ll likely be confused for a great deal of the first episode, but if you’re willing to put up with that, you’ll be rewarded in a big way by the end and find a lot to enjoy in the following episodes.
Like Wonder Egg Priority, you’ll ideally want to go into Kemono Jihen with as little background knowledge as possible. Though it’s not the main focus, the mystery around Kabane is one of the big drivers for the plot, and to reveal anything about him or the Tokyo detective that comes to his village in order to investigate the strange deaths of random livestock would ruin this anime’s excellent first episode. That said, you should know that Kemono Jihen does not shy away from animating body horror or blood, and depicts child death and physical bullying in its first episode. The show has been more tame in subsequent episodes but this is definitely an anime that doesn’t shy away from violent imagery. You can watch Kemono Jihen on Funimation.
Horimiya
If you’re looking for something to watch with a loved one this winter, you really can’t go wrong with Horimiya, an anime based on a popular, incredibly cute romantic comedy manga. The premise behind Horimiya is likely familiar to everyone (which likely explains its popularity). The series is all about the dual identities of people, especially during the years that they’re in high school. Sometimes the person we are in public is altogether different than who we are in the privacy of our homes or when hanging out with a close-knit group of friends. Perhaps one version of us is fake, perhaps not–Horimiya does not judge, it simply explores the societal phenomenon that tons of people seem to deal with but rarely ever talk about.
In Horimiya, Kyoko Hori is a smart, stylish, outgoing student and one of the most popular girls in her class. Everyone thinks she must lead an exciting personal life but, in truth, she takes care of the housework and her little brother after school every day while her single mom works, preferring to dress down and wear comfortable clothes when not at school. Her classmate, the gloomy and shy Izumi Miyamura is an assumed otaku. But in truth, he only wears glasses, keeps his hair down, and always wears the long-sleeved winter uniform because he actually has a ton of piercings and tattoos. He’s also not much of a shut-in or nerd; he impulsively acts out and is a poor student. A chance encounter causes Kyoko and Izumi to discover their dual lives and the two begin regularly meeting up after school, vowing to keep each other’s secret. Eventually, the two’s friendship begins to blossom into something more, and the two soon find out that their classmates aren’t all what they seemed either. You can watch Horimiya on Funimation.
Welcome to our Saturday deal page, where you’ll find all sorts of savings, on snacks! That seems to be the name of the game today, as Amazon has tons of snacks, including Doritos, on sale for up to 30% off. If you’re not looking for something tasty to eat, we’ve also got some nice new laptops on for a slight discount, as well as several great CPUs, perfect for anyone looking to build their first PC.
A new lawsuit filed by five gamers in California federal court accuses Valve of abusing its power to keep PC game prices high.
As reported by THR, this lawsuit claims that Valve does not maintain its dominance over the PC market by offering better prices on Steam than other platforms, but does so by abusing its power to require developers to enter what is known as a ‘Most Favored Nations’ clause.
“Valve Corporation’s Steam platform is the dominant platform for game developers to distribute and sell PC games in the United States,” states the complaint being handled by attorneys at Vorys, Sater, Seymour, and Pease. “But the Steam platform does not maintain its dominance through better pricing than by rival platforms. Instead, Valve abuses the Steam platform’s market power by requiring game developers to enter into a ‘Most Favored Nations’ provision contained in the Steam Distribution Agreement whereby the game developers agree that the price of a PC game on the Steam platform will be the same price the game developers sell their PC games on other platforms.”
The lawsuit also alleges that, because Valve requires developers to enter this ‘Most Favored Nations’ clause, it “hinders innovation by creating an artificial barrier to entry for platforms” and keeps prices high on other digital storefronts like the Epic Games Store and the Microsoft Store.
“The Steam MFN also hinders innovation by creating an artificial barrier to entry for platforms,” adds the complaint. “When a market, such as this one, is highly concentrated, a new entrant can benefit consumers by undercutting the incumbent’s prices. The ability to provide PC games to consumers at lower prices is one way a firm or new entrant could gain market share. If this market functioned properly—that is, if the Steam MFN did not exist and platforms were able to compete on price—platforms competing with Steam would be able to provide the same (or higher) margins to game developers while simultaneously providing lower prices to consumers.”
CD Projekt S.A., CD Projekt, Inc., Ubisoft Entertainment S.A., Ubisoft, Inc., Ubisoft L.A., Inc., kChamp Games, Inc., Rust, LLC, and Devolver Digital, Inc. are also included as defendants on the lawsuit, with the plaintiffs accusing these companies of agreeing with the Steam platform to the Steam MFN.
