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A month after Red Dead Redemption 2 first released, its online multiplayer portion is now in beta. Red Dead Online borrows from both GTA Online as well as the multiplayer portions of the original Red Dead Redemption and incorporates RDR 2’s massive open world, with all its fine details and mechanics. But Red Dead Online lacks what made that vast, slow, meticulous world work, and as a result it leaves the weakest parts of it painfully exposed.

Red Dead Redemption 2–the single-player experience–is not concerned with your priorities. There are plenty of side distractions, and a few details will change here and there depending on your honor, but there are some missions you just can’t roleplay–you’re locked into one playstyle or one outcome. That can be frustrating in the moment, but it’s also a brilliant narrative device, one that gives you deeper insight into Arthur and his own struggle between what he wants to be and what he is. The fight against the game’s guiding hand is what gives the story its impact; you have to be a little tired of Red Dead Redemption 2 to fully appreciate what it’s trying to do narratively.

All that is to say Red Dead Redemption 2 is not what I’d call “fun.” In single-player, that’s a good thing. But in Red Dead Online, the things that don’t always feel good to play–the need to eat and sleep, the limited fast travel options, the often clumsy gunplay–have nothing to anchor them. There’s a small amount of story content at the moment, but nothing so engaging and personal as to give you a purpose in this world. The purpose, it seems, is either to kill or be killed, and frequently, though there doesn’t seem to be much of a reason to kill another player except to create chaos.

Currently, it’s difficult to achieve anything or get anywhere without being killed, disconnected from the server, or both. But even when you do get to play the game, it feels dated. Your character is understandably silent, and NPCs even acknowledge it, commenting often on your reticence. But the disconnect between your character and the rest of the world is pronounced. A solo mission given by Red Dead Redemption’s Bonnie MacFarlane, for example, involves a brief cutscene to give context, and then you’re tasked with the chore of locating and returning a cart of hers. When you return with the cart, there’s nothing–no cutscene, no acknowledgment from Bonnie at all. Just a pop-up with your slim reward.

Competitive multiplayer fares a little better. The snappy auto-aim is useful and gives some modes a looser, more fun feel, despite the clumsy gunplay, and getting headshots still takes skill. But movement is also clumsy, and it drags down the head-to-head modes. Accidentally ambling over rocks or struggling to mantle over a wall during a gunfight grinds everything to a halt, and the frustration is hard to shake.

Red Dead Redemption 2 as a whole is a lonely game filled with things to do. In single-player, riding alone through the plains and looking up at an enormous, open sky is powerful. In Red Dead Online, your emotional connection to the world and its inhabitants is missing entirely. There’s also a lack of content in general–you can wrap up the story missions in a number of hours, and after that, you’re left mainly to scrounge for money and wander aimlessly. In its current form, there’s nothing about Red Dead Online that makes me want to keep playing. It just makes me want to go back to Arthur’s story.

As much as I like Red Dead Redemption 2, I would be more compelled to play Red Dead Online if it shedded the single-player’s more belabored mechanics and opted for a faster, looser approach to the Wild West. The multiplayer experience would be better as a Western playground in earnest, rather than the blend of slow, solitary activities with potentially fun multiplayer chaos that it currently is. If GTA Online is any indication, there’s a lot of potential for Rockstar to iterate upon and expand Red Dead Online, both in the amount of content available and the nature of that content. But for now, I’ll stick with Arthur and the gang.

A new seasonal event has begun in Monster Hunter World. The Winter Star Fest is now underway on PS4, Xbox One, and PC, bringing an assortment of new and returning Event Quests, as well as new winter-themed armor and other content, to the game for a limited time.

During the event, the Gathering Hub is decorated with ornaments, tinsel, and other wintry decorations. You’ll receive two Lucky Vouchers as part of your daily login bonus rather than the usual one. Capcom is also giving players one free Winter Star Ticket.

Winter Star Tickets can also be earned by completing daily limited bounties; if you collect enough of them, you’ll be able to forge the new Santa-themed Orion α and Orion armor, pictured below. You’ll also be able to exchange the Winter Star Tickets for a snowman armor set for your Palico, and a new Event Quest–Timberland Troublemakers–will reward you with Bristly Crake Tickets which can be used to make the ridiculous-looking Bristly Pincushion hammer.

On top of that, Capcom says “almost all” previous Event Quests, including those that were exclusive to the Summer Twilight Fest event, will return, giving you another chance to craft the Wiggler helm and other items. You can find the full event schedule on the official Monster Hunter World website.

Finally, all facilities will hold sales on in-game items throughout the Winter Star Fest, and a new seasonal platter is available in the Gathering Hub. Capcom has also added new winter coats for both the Handler and your Poogie. The Winter Star Fest is scheduled to run through December 17.

After many rumors and teases, Niantic finally announced that PvP Trainer Battles are on the way to Pokemon Go. The developer hasn’t confirmed when the highly requested feature will go live, but it did share some more details about how it’ll work via Twitter.

While it’s still unclear how Trainer Battles are initiated, Niantic revealed that there will be three separate Trainer Battle Leagues: Great, Ultra, and Master. Each League features a different Combat Power limit for your Pokemon: in the Great League, each monster can have a maximum of 1,500 CP; Ultra League’s limited is 2,500 CP per Pokemon; and Master League features no CP restriction.

“When designing Trainer Battles, we wanted to create an experience that everyone can enjoy and ensure that different kinds of Pokémon can show their strengths,” Niantic wrote. “With Leagues in Trainer Battles, we hope to create a system that’s accessible to many Trainers.”

Beyond that, there is still much we don’t know about how PvP matches will operate. While the first teaser screenshot that Niantic shared looks similar to Trainer Battles from the core Pokemon games, it’s still unclear whether Go’s Trainer Battles will use the same combat system as Gym and Raid Battles–which ultimately boil down to tapping the screen quickly–or something closer to the main series.

We won’t have to wait much longer to learn more. Niantic says Trainer Battles will roll out for Pokemon Go “soon” and that additional details are on the way. In the meantime, Pokemon Go’s latest Community Day is underway. This one runs through the entire weekend and brings back all of the featured Pokemon and special moves from previous Community Days. Niantic is also bringing back six Legendaries for December’s Field Research tasks.