Netflix’s Cobra Kai Season 2: 28 Easter Eggs And References You Might Have Missed

Netflix’s Cobra Kai Season 2: 28 Easter Eggs And References You Might Have Missed – GameSpot

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Game Of Thrones Showrunners Explain Why They Left Out One Of The Books’ Most Exciting Characters

Game of Thrones delivered its most significant, iconic shock toward the end of its third season back in 2013 when Robb Stark, his mother Catelyn, and his wife Talisa were killed by a rival family at an event that came to be known in-fiction as the “Red Wedding.” It rocked fans who read the original scene in the 2000 novel A Storm of Swords–fans who then looked forward to show-only people’s minds being blown once the scene finally aired. And with some minor tweaks, Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss mostly succeeded in translating the gut-wrenching event to television.

One major change related to the show’s version of the Red Wedding only became evident long afterward, as it grew more and more clear that one iconic character would not be adapted from the source material to the screen. In the novels, you see, Catelyn Stark doesn’t stay dead. Like other characters in the series, she’s resurrected by Red Magic–think priests of R’hllor like Melisandre and Beric Dondarrion’s friend Thoros. (If this is all starting to sound like nonsensical trivia, don’t worry, we’re getting to a point.)

In the books, fire zombie Catelyn–also known as Lady Stoneheart–goes on a tear through the Riverlands lynching any and all “enemies” (as she very loosely defines them) and perpetrators of the Red Wedding, including any members of the rival Frey family she can get her hands on. She hasn’t appeared much in the currently published books, but fans hope she’ll play a more prominent role in future material. In a series where justice is so rarely served, some readers find it cathartic to have an undead agent of pure vengeance floating around on the fringes. So it was extremely disappointing to a lot of people when the show ultimately chose to leave Lady Stoneheart in the realm of the written word.

Well, it may not take the sting away, but David and Dan have finally explained exactly why they never brought actress Michelle Fairley back looking bloated from river water, half-rotted, with wounds that never heal, and a ragged throat scar that renders her barely able to speak.

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly‘s James Hibberd for his upcoming book about the series Fire Cannot Kill A Dragon, the duo acknowledged one reason why fans love Stoneheart. “The scene where she first shows up is one of the best ‘holy s***’ moments in the books. I think that scene is where the public response came from,” said Weiss.

They said there are three reasons they left Stoneheart out. “Part of the reason we didn’t want to put it in had to do with things coming up in George’s books that we don’t want to spoil [by discussing them],” Benioff offered as one.

Second, they didn’t want to cheapen Jon Snow’s resurrection later in the series. “Too many resurrections start to diminish the impact of characters dying. We wanted to keep our powder dry for that,” Benioff said.

Lastly, they didn’t want to cheapen the Red Wedding itself. As Hibberd writes, “The third reason was that the Red Wedding was one of the show’s most powerful moments, a dramatic home run as executed by director David Nutter and the show’s cast that had exactly the impact that the team had long hoped. The showrunners felt bringing back a form of Catelyn Stark might weaken what was accomplished by the scene, and that a silent undead version of Catelyn seemed beneath the dignity of actress Michelle Fairley–who was already supernaturally haunting as a doomed human in her final minutes.”

The fact that David and Dan apparently thought resurrecting Catelyn Stark would cheapen the Red Wedding might be interpreted as a loose critique of Martin’s original plot in the books, if you’re into reading between the lines–which, to be fair, David and Dan infamously are not (see: the well-circulated quote “Themes are for eighth-grade book reports“). Anyway, based on the reception to Game of Thrones’ final season and the information that’s come out afterward about maybe why it turned out the way it did, the showrunners criticizing the books, even vaguely, is probably not a great idea. Oh well–at least we’ll get to (maybe) read the next book, The Winds of Winter, someday soon.

Now Playing: Game Of Thrones Season 8 Finale: Daenerys’s Descent Into Madness

Metal Gear Solid On PC, Pokemon Trademarks, & New Kirby Game On Switch | Save State

In this video, Persia talks about recent ratings and images spotted on the Taiwan Digital Rating Committee’s game site that hint at a few Metal Gear Solid favorites returning to PC. There hasn’t been any announcement of new Metal Gear Solid PC ports, but Konami has repackaged PC ports in the past and has already re-released Metal Gear Solid titles in past collections. Tokyo Game Show is this weekend and Konami is scheduled for two panels where we might get more details.

Persia also talks about Nintendo renewing its trademarks for Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver. Japanese trademarks typically expire after 10 years of being filed, which corresponds with the game’s lifespan. The renewal includes various products and services, but there’s no mention of games.

And lastly, Persia covers Nintendo accidentally leaking Kirby Fighters 2 on its Game Finder tool. The Game Finder tool is designed to help parents pick Nintendo games for their kids. According to the listing, in Kirby Fighters 2, players will be able to choose from a pool of Kirby’s most iconic copy abilities as they fight to be the last Kirby standing. The now-deleted listing also mentioned new playable characters like Waddle Dee and King Dedede.

This is your Save State for Wednesday, September 23rd.

Netflix’s The Haunting of Bly Manor Trailer Breakdown

The next season of Netflix’s The Haunting of Hill House is called The Haunting of Bly Manor, and it’s a new ghost story featuring some familiar faces. Shortly after Hill House premiered, it was announced that the series would be taking up an anthology style, with a new season tackling yet another spooky literary classic, retold with a modern and unfamiliar twist.

The Haunting of Bly Manor is based on Henry James’ Turn of the Screw–but if this show is anything like its predecessor, the Haunting of Hill House–which was based on Shirley Jackson’s book of the same name–we can expect some healthy deviation from the source material.

Now, after a little over a year of waiting, the show’s first trailer has finally arrived. Season 2 of Hill House is called The Haunting of Bly Manor and it looks just as creepy and unsettling as you might expect. Fans of Hill House will no doubt recognize some familiar faces–though they’re no longer playing members of the dysfunctional Crane family–along with some newcomers to the mix as we plunge into the heart of yet another terrifying haunted house.

The Haunting of Bly Manor will release on Netflix on October 9.

Here’s Some Fall Guys “Lore” Art To Keep You Up At Night

Fall Guys developer Mediatonic have shared some new lore details regarding the popular battle royale game, and it’s truly a sight to behold.

Senior concept artist Tudor Morris has shared new art for Fall Guys, showing the anatomy of a fall guy. In this cursed image, we can see that a fall guy has a skull similar to a human, but the rest of their bone structure is more in line with a bird. Perhaps the most haunting part of this image is the oblong eyeballs that are disconnected from their eyesockets.

Behold:

Writing on Instagram, Morris assured people that fall guys are “very happy little beans,” even if their anatomy looks like something out of a horror movie.

“Sometimes I like to ruin nice things, and seeing as I’m working on Fall Guys, and I love me some speculative anatomy, I thought I’d post some artwork up for you all,” Morris said. “You have have options for how you interpret this, but I refuse to comment to elaborate:

1) This was a lunchtime sketch that has no meaning and was done as a joke

2) This is a canonical representation of what’s inside a fall guy, we knew from the start that they weren’t as marketable like this so we gave them nice little cuddly suits.”

Fall Guys might be Mediatonic’s biggest success so far–it broke PlayStation records–but it was far from the company’s first release. Before Fall Guys, Mediatonic had released more than 130 games.

For more on Fall Guys, check out GameSpot’s rundown of everything new in soon-to-release Season 2 update.

Now Playing: Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout Video Review

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PS5’s Spider-Man: Remastered Upgrade Will Not Be Free For PS4 Owners

Sony recent held another big PlayStation 5 showcase, which offered a new look at Spider-Man: Miles Morales. After the event, Sony announced not only is the standalone adventure coming to PS4 and PS5, but that the original Spider-Man will be getting a PS5 remaster with a bunch on new graphical feature. The bad news? You’ll have to buy the game again.

In a situation similar to Control and its next-gen Ultimate edition, Sony is not offering a way for existing Spider-Man owners on PS4 to upgrade their version to the new PS5 remaster outside of buying the game again. In a statement from Sony, the company says the remaster won’t be sold as a standalone, meaning you’ll have to buy the $70 Miles Morales Ultimate Edition to get access to the remaster on PS5.

“There are no plans currently to offer Marvel’s-Spider-Man: Remastered as a standalone,” the statement reads. “Players with a copy of Marvel’s Spider-Man for PS4 can purchase Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales Ultimate Edition to experience Marvel’s Spider-Man: Remastered on PS5. Marvel’s Spider-Man for PS4 also will be backwards compatible on PS5.”

To be clear, you will be able to play your Spider-Man PS4 copy on PS5, it just won’t be the remastered version. That means you’ll miss out on new features like ray tracing, enhanced textures, and more. You’ll just be playing the same game on a console that is able to run it more stability, nothing more.

The situation gets a bit confusing when you take the original Spider-Man out of the equation. You can purchase Miles Morales separately on PS4, which will give you a free upgrade to the PS5 version–but only for the Miles Morales content. If you want the original remaster as part of your Miles Morales purchase, Sony is offering a $20 upgrade, which brings your total back up to the $70 of the Ultimate Edition.

In summary:

  • Spider-Man: Miles Morales on PS4 grants you a free upgrade to Miles Morales on PS5 (no upgrade for physical to digital).
  • The standard version of Spider-Man: Miles Morales can be upgraded for $20 to include Spider-Man: Remastered on PS5.
  • The Ultimate edition of Spider-Man: Miles Morales includes Spider-Man: Remastered, retails for $70
  • Spider-Man on PS4 can be played on PS5 via backwards compatibility with no visual enhancements. No way to upgrade this version to the remaster.

This flies against how Microsoft is handling cross-generation upgrades for its first-party titles, which will be free across the board. With Smart Delivery, Microsoft says that players will not have to worry about upgrading their games, with some third-party publishers also choosing not to charge for next-gen upgrades, such as Cyberpunk 2077 and Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. Even The Witcher 3, from 2015, is getting a free next-gen upgrade next year.

That’s not the case for all publishers though. 505 Games announced a few weeks ago that fans of Control will be faced with a similar situation to Spider-Man, requiring the purchase of the new Ultimate edition to get access to next-gen upgrades. Other publishers will charge a fee, such as Activision with Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War.

Spider-Man: Miles Morales launches with the PlayStation 5 on November 12. If you’re still looking out for a way to preorder a PS5, check out our pre-order guide for updates.

Now Playing: Spider-Man: Miles Morales Gameplay First Look | PS5 Showcase

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Black Widow Delayed Again, Shifting Several MCU Movie Release Dates

With many movie theaters throughout the United States still closed, Disney has done some major reshuffling of its film release calendar. Included among the moving titles is Black Widow, the next Marvel Cinematic Universe movie set to release in theaters. Instead of arriving in theaters on November 6, its new date is May 7, 2021, according to Deadline. It’s interesting to note that the original Black Widow release date was for May of this year, leaving it delayed at least a year–provided it ends up sticking with the May 2021 date. This also marks the first year since 2009 that there are no MCU movies in theaters, though WandaVision will premiere on Disney+.

With that delay comes several MCU projects moving to later release dates. Eternals, which was going to be in theaters on February 12, 2021, is now set to debut on November 5, 2021. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, which originally occupied the new Black Widow release date, will premiere on July 9, 2021. This also means that Eternals, which was originally set for theaters before Shang-Chi, will now arrive after it. So here is what to expect for the next few MCU releases:

  • Black Widow on May 7, 2021
  • Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings on July 9, 2021
  • Eternals on November 5, 2021

Outside of the MCU, Disney has shifted a bunch of other release dates, as well. The King’s Man, a prequel to Kingsman: The Secret Service, will now release on February 12, 2021. Death on the Nile, originally set for October 23, is not set to hit theaters on December 18. The upcoming West Side Story remake from Steven Spielberg is facing the biggest delay. Originally slated for December 18 of this year, it’s shifting to December 10, 2021. Lastly, the adaptation of the Patricia Highsmith novel Deep Water moves from November 13 of this year to August 13, 2021.

Even with all of these titles moving around, Disney is sticking with the planned November 20 release date for the Pixar movie Soul.

Now Playing: Black Widow (2020) – Official Final Trailer

Doom Eternal Is Likely Coming To Xbox Game Pass

Hell will soon be revealed for penny-pinchers like me. Doom Eternal is one of the most-acclaimed first-person shooters of the past few years. Now, it appears that the brutal sequel will soon make its way to Xbox Game Pass, based on a tweet from the service’s Twitter account.

As the above reply reveals, futzing with the image in Photoshop reveals an image below the attached email that reads “the slayer is coming.” The Doom reboot series has rechristened the Doomguy the “Doom Slayer” as part of its epic reimagining of the original games, thus suggesting that Eternal will soon come to the platform. Doom 2016 was previously available for Game Pass, but left the service back in May.

Considering that Microsoft just bought Bethesda, the publisher of these new Doom games, it makes sense that this high-profile sequel will come to Microsoft’s flagship games service. (The software giant claims the purchase isn’t about exclusivity, but we’ll have to see about that.) In GameSpot’s Doom Eternal review, our critic Phil Hornshaw called the game an intelligently-designed follow-up to one of the most intense shooters in years.

“Though it can take a bit to get the hang of it, the intricacies of Doom Eternal’s combat, combined with its enhanced mobility and option-heavy level design, create a ton of white-knuckle moments that elevate everything that made Doom 2016 work so well,” he wrote. “Its combat is just as quick and chaotic, but requires you to constantly analyze everything that’s happening in order to come out victorious. Once you get the hang of the rhythm of Doom Eternal, it’ll make you feel like a demon-slaying savant.”

Now Playing: Doom Eternal Video Review

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Help Fall Guys Developers Name This Deadly Obstacle

Fall Guys developer Mediatonic is looking for help in naming a new obstacle. The studio posted images of the terrifying spiky beam on Twitter, asking for name suggestions from players.

Names like Thicc Bonkus, Yeetinator, and Sir Yeetalot have already been suggested. The request follows the release of a hammer named Big Yeetus in a recent update to Fall Guys. The hammer appears randomly throughout different levels to send the little bean avatars flying across the map.

This new obstacle looks like it’s a part of a new map. It could be part of the new Season 2 content coming to Fall Guys at the beginning of October. New medieval levels are coming to spice up the current rotation of levels, including knight, witch, and dragon cosmetics.

Fall Guys has been a huge success since it launched on August 4, but Mediatonic didn’t get there overnight. The studio has worked on over 100 other games before they graced us with the game show battle royale. Other games they’ve worked on include Monsters (Probably) Stole My Princess, Foul Play, Hatoful Boyfriend, and Fable Fortune.

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Jaws Simulator Maneater Gets Free PS5, Xbox Series X Upgrade

Developer Tripwire Interactive, the studio behind Killing Floor 2, announced that its shark-RPG Maneater will get a free PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S/Series X upgrade when both consoles drop this November.

More specifically, the next-gen upgrade will be available on November 10 for Xbox Series S and Series X and November 12 for PlayStation 5. Things get complicated if you own a physical disc and decide to purchase either the PS5 Digital Edition or the discless Xbox Series S; you’ll have to repurchase the game.

The upgrade features ray-tracing support, native 4K HDR at 60 FPS, and new lighting effects to make shark attacks more gruesome. Tripwire went further to say that the Xbox Series S (and, likely, the Series X as well) will “benefit from increased graphical fidelity and frame rate.” According to an FAQ, this free upgrade is not a separate application or game; anyone who owns Maneater digitally or physically on either platform can upgrade to the next-gen version at no extra charge.

Furthermore, the upgrade supports cross-progression between versions. So, if you own Maneater digitally or physically on PlayStation 4 and upgrade to a PlayStation 5, all your stats, saves, and trophies carry over to the next-gen console. The same occurs between Xbox One and Xbox Series S/X. Tripwire said active subscriptions–PlayStation Plus and Xbox Live–may be required for the transfer to happen.

It’s worth noting that those who own physical copies of Maneater don’t need to worry about the disc being unplayable on the next-gen consoles so long as the consoles have disc drives. Tripwire confirmed in the FAQ that you simply need to “insert that disc into your next-gen console and download the updated game to play.” PC players will get next-gen updates in early 2021. Tripwire said it will share more details on those enhancements in the coming months.

While there’s no confirmation on a release date, Tripwire also confirmed that Maneater DLC is coming. The studio isn’t talking about this DLC or the still-unannounced Nintendo Switch port yet.

Maneater launched on May 22 for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. It took the internet by storm, becoming one of the most-talked-about games despite the middling reception it received. We scored the game a 7/10 in our Maneater review, saying, “With the sharply written, hilariously delivered narration and story beats to freshen up the experience as you go along, Maneater becomes a goofy, fish-flopping romp, with a good balance of limbs to sever, boats to wreck, and challenging creatures to render into bite-sized chunks.”

Now Playing: Maneater-Terrorizing Humans Gameplay

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