One of the reasonspeople love animeis for the memorable characters, whether they’re magical girls, concerned parents, or lovable animals. A common trope in anime is the Idiot Hero, a protagonist who acts stupid but is actually smart. Some have a highly attuned skill that few others possess, or a secret identity that they cover with an airhead act. This character might even be some sort of genius, but they hide it as a way to obscure their motives or further their plans....

The last few weeks have been filled with exciting news forStar Warsfans, ranging from new gameplay for the highly anticipatedStar Wars Jedi: Survivor, to the first trailer for the long-awaitedAhsokaDisney Plus series. One of the most unexpected developments for the franchise, however, came in the form of three new film announcements during theStar WarsCelebration event. These film projects will span distinct eras on theStar Warstimeline. One takes place 15 years afterThe Rise of Skywalker, another ties up the storylines of the Mandoverse, and the earliest film occurs during the dawn of the Jedi....

Summary 2023 has already been one of the biggest and best years for video game releases, with titles likeResident Evil 4 Remake,Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom,Starfield,Alan Wake 2, andBaldur’s Gate 3all landing this year. But while there are more great games to play than ever before, some fans want even more, and they might finally get it, withGrand Theft Auto 6apparently set to finally get itsofficial revealvery soon. It’s been a decade sinceGrand Theft Auto 5first released, and it’s been years since fans started to speculate on the whereabouts of a potentialGrand Theft Auto 6....

Reported by several major news sources last month, a Florida teen was convicted in late July for taking part in a series of Twitter hacks, the likes of which saw Joe Biden, Kanye West, Elon Musk, and other major celebrity accounts unwittingly partake in ashady, large-scale bitcoin scam. The teen managed to access the highly influential Twitter members' details by tricking a Twitter employee into giving him access to the site’s Customer Service Portal, using his tech-based skills to gain access to and swindle each of the celebrity’s large followings....

Vampires inVampire: The Masqueradedescend from powerful bloodlines that have unique abilities, called Disciplines. Moreover, these Disciplines give Vampires of the TTRPG a unique edge - a way to come at the top against even the most powerful of Kindred. Additionally,Bloodlines 2appears to use Disciplines in a similar fashion. Thankfully, the open-world nature of the game becomes a perfect setting for players to maximize the gifts their Vampires possess. RELATED:The Elder Scrolls: 10 Weirdest Things About Werewolves, Ranked However, folks fromHardsuit LabsandParadox Interactiveonly give players access to a few Clans to create a Vampire with....

Last week,Half-Life: Alyxwas unveiled as Valve’s next majorHalf-Liferelease.This prequel toHalf-Life 2was rumored and then revealed in a trailer to be a VR exclusive game. While most people don’t know what to expect fromHalf-Life: Alyx, one thing is startlingly clear. This is notHalf-Life 3,and many fans are disappointed by that fact alone. Half-Life3was, for many years, the most anticipated gaming sequel of all time. It was only in recent years, following aHalf-Life 2Episode 3plot summaryby Marc Laidlaw, that the fervor finally started to die down as fans released that the possibility of a thirdHalf-Lifegame was a shot in the dark....

Summary It’s been some time since fans of Square Enix and Disney’s star crossover series have heard fromKingdom Hearts 4. Since its announcement as part of the series’ 20th anniversary celebration in April 2022, the game has gone dark, with focus mostly shifting over to the mobile titleKingdom Hearts Missing-Link. AsMissing-Linkentered the year during a round of beta testing, it’s likely approaching its full launch sometime in 2024.Kingdom Hearts 4will apparently share some relevant characters with the game, so mainlineKHfans can at least look forward to that....

Summary Deadpool and Wolverine are set to slash their way into the MCU after decades behind 20th Century Fox’s doors inDeadpool & Wolverine, the MCU’s only movie for 2024. With the appearance of these two iconic, vulgar, and violent heroes finally entering the MCU, it’s time to look back on the history of Marvel movies and shows and consider what are the most essential watches forDeadpool & Wolverine. Whilst director Shawn Levy has stated thatDeadpool & Wolverineis built for entertainment, and audiences do not need prior research, fans of the characters, or those curious about them, can watch a few old favorites to enrich the experience surrounding these red and yellow heroes debuting in the MCU through multiverse shenanigans....

Summary Learning to befriend the residents ofStardew Valleyis an essential skill for Farmers looking to make it on their new homestead, as developments in Friendship Points unlock recipes, quests, and special cutscenes. In order to give gamers a nudge in the right direction, all items in the game are divided up into Loved, Liked, Neutral, Disliked, or Hated Gifts. So, whilea Loved Giftwill earn the Farmer +80 Friendship Points on a normal day (and up to +640 on the NPC’s birthday), a Hated Gift will knock down the Friendship meter anywhere between -40 and -320....

Summary Ubisoft’s new multiplayer FPSXDefianthas become available for gamers to preload. Set to go live on May 21,XDefiantwill be free-to-play and will launch on Xbox Series X and S, PlayStation 5, and PC via Ubisoft Connect. Strangely, the title is skipping Steam and Epic Games Store; Ubisoft has yet to confirm whetherXDefiantwill come to these popular PC storefronts in the future. As Ubisoft’sCall of Dutycompetitor,XDefiantcertainly has a lot to live up to....

Summary Officially announced back in June 2022 during Xbox and Bethesda’s showcase,Ara: History Untoldis a 4X grand strategy game set for release later this year. A grand strategy title,Ara: History Untoldhas naturally been compared totheCivilizationfranchisefrequently over the last few years, and while much of its development team are former Firaxis devs,Ara: History Untoldis doing quite a lot to separate itself from the competition. Along with being an Xbox Game Pass day-one title,Ara: History Untoldhas enjoyed a recent spotlight in Xbox’s Developer Direct, right alongside some of the most anticipatedXboxgames of the year....

Magical realism is a style of anime that often features a mashup of realistic settings and situations with fantastical or otherwise out-of-the-ordinary components. In this subgenre of anime, characters often exhibit magical abilities despite living in a realistic setting. Magic realism is used to address philosophical and psychological difficulties while also creating a unique and strange ambiance. RELATED:Best Dieselpunk Anime Characters in coming-of-age novels often display elements of magic realism as they come to terms with and harness their unique abilities....

Summary Management simulatorsoften make the scale huge, having players taking control of whole countries, cities, or institutions like inPrison Architect. However, some of the best hidden gems of the management sim genre have been hidden in theShop Simcategory. Players take control of stock, purchases, prices, staff, design, and sales in these interesting games that seem simple on the surface but have depth and exciting developments when fans delve deeper. The following examples are some of the best this niche genre has to offer to introduce any new players to some incredible games and to let fans of Shop Sims explore some new titles they may not have played yet....