January 2023

It’s been five years since Alden Ehrenreich started as young Han Solo in Solo: A Stars Wars Story, and the actor is still being asked about his past and future as the charismatic rogue, who was made famous by the inimitable Harrison Ford.

The actor is at The Sundance Film Festival promoting his newest movie Fair Play with Phoebe Dynevor (Bridgerton), and IndieWire asked him if he would like to play Han Solo again, to which he had the following to say:

“The story that I did, I really got to be Han Solo at the end. That’s kind of the arc of the story, which I thought was well done. That’s the fun part. That’s the guy that’s the most fun to be. I’d be very happy to, but who knows,”

Solo: A Stars Wars Story director Ron Howard has recently stated that fans shouldn’t expect a sequel or follow-up, but the actor still has hopes of playing the role again. A TV series on Disney+ could be a great way to do it and show how Han Solo came into trouble with Jabba the Hutt.

Even though critics lauded Ehrenreich and Glover’s performances, the movie was a box office bomb only earning $393 million worldwide with a budget of at least $275 million. The movie has a 69% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 64% audience score, proving that people liked it but didn’t love it.

Riot Games offered an update on its roadmap for Valorant throughout 2023 today with another Episode of its Dev Diary series. In addition to sharing plans to launch its anticipated in-game tournament mode, Premier, later this year, another big bomb drop was the announcement of a new Team Deathmatch mode.

Although precise details were rather thin, you can watch what executive producer Anna Donlon and game director Andy Ho had to say below. Listen out for a brief teaser regarding Valorant coming to “other platforms” beyond PC, too, which perhaps alludes not only to the mobile version that we know is in testing but possibly console as well.

Valorant has been crying out for changes to its deathmatch mode for quite some time, and while team deathmatch isn’t quite what many are likely to have had in mind it’s certainly positive to hear that a new mode is on the way.

Esports was also mentioned a fair bit throughout today’s presentation, including a reminder about the upcoming VCT season and its big kick-off tournament, LOCK//IN, in Brazil next month. If you’re a fan of Valorant weapon skins then you’ll be pleased to know that we’ll be getting esports skins themed around franchised teams sometime in 2023, too.

At one point he was Valorant’s most popular Agent, but Chamber has now been smashed so far outside of its meta that it’s almost as though he’s vanished from the game completely. I think we knew his fall from grace would be significant following Riot Games’ big nerf late last year… but not this significant!

Chamber is dead in pro play. Completely and utterly dead. The pick rate from recent esports competitions makes for shocking reading; he’s gone from a 67% pick rate at Champions, 2022 to a sub-5% pick rate at the recent North American Challengers qualifier. Look at the infographics below; it’s literally as though he doesn’t even exist!

Sure, it has to be said that the 67% pick rate at Champions was stupidly high and Chamber’s domination of the meta was far too much last year, but equally, a less than 5% pick rate is silly. The meta has gone from one extreme to the other, and I think it probably needs to be looked at… again.

The anime drops are already in full swing this year with strong entries like Trigun Stampede and Vinland Saga’s second season, but there are still an impressive number of series and films slated for 2023 (and beyond) that we’re waiting for with bated breath. So, get all aboard the hype train as we recap 10 anime you need to put on your radar in 2023.

Among the many shows releasing this season, few deserve attention the way Buddy Daddies does.

9navigating the world of childcare, it offers plenty more to those who give it a chance. Its action scenes are surprisingly well-animated and scratch a particular action itch thanks to the gunplay provided by the parental figures Kazuki and Rei. Its story is also steeped in traumatic drama without being too heavy-handed, and has already set the series up for some great narrative payoffs in its first three episodes alone.

But none of these elements compare to the series’ real strength; one which gets lost in translation for a lot of anime about parenting, and especially in shows which have been releasing alongside the meteoric rise of Spy x Family and its happy-go-lucky approach to the genre.

And that strength is simple: it doesn’t shy away from the fact that kids can suck to take care of, and not everyone has what it takes to be a parent.

It is always a pleasant time when a studio is able to do what they love and present a project that will likely excite fans of a particular genre, and with Mimimi Games, the studio’s next project is exactly that. Introduced as Codename Süßkartoffel, we finally learned just what the developers have been up to, and a mystical adventure awaits at the Caribbean seas with Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew.

Another stealth strategy title from the folks who have already given us Desperados 3 and Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun, Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew is set in an alternate timeline during the Golden Age of Piracy, where the Curse of Lost Souls means that anyone shot in the heart with a Black Pearl live on in death, gaining supernatural powers. This puts them at odds with the forces of the Inquisition, who just so happens to love using soul-devouring fire to hunt down cursed pirates.

Ahead of the Dead Space Remake release this week, Epic Games has just announced a new Dead Space-themed cosmetic pack for Fortnite. The pack costs $12, and comes with an Isaac Clarke skin, two back blings, a Plasma Cutter-style pickaxe, as well as a model of the iconic USG Ishimura.

In addition to that, purchasers will also get access to the Strange Transmissions quest pack, which allows players to complete quests in-game to earn even more V-Bucks as they play. Overall, it offers pretty good value for a bundle, and is certainly worth considering if you’re spending money on Fortnite already anyway.

Isaac Clarke joins Fortnite as part of the game’s Gaming Legends lineup, which already includes icons like Lara Croft from Tomb Raider, and Geralt from The Witcher.

Fortnite is now available on PC and consoles.

miHoYo’s upcoming sci-fi RPG, Honkai: Star Rail, is set to get its global release later this year. But before that, players will have a chance to participate in a final closed beta test to get a taste of what the world and gameplay will be like before hopping in officially.

The developers have just announced that the closed beta test will take place on Feb. 10, and players will be able to get an introduction to the cast of core characters, the turn-based combat system, as well as some of the colorful locales Star Rail has to offer. You can check out the new announcement trailer down below:

We’d previously checked out Star Rail’s initial beta test and came away feeling impressed, and we also got a chance to chat with miHoYo about the game’s development.

There’s no set date for Honkai: Star Rail just yet, but we’ll keep you updated as more info comes our way.

Cats in games are all the rage these days. Their mere existence has been capturing the hearts of players everywhere, from Game of the Year nominee Stray to the mischievous Catlateral Damage, to the cozy Cat Cafe Manager and more.

Square Enix’s new RPG Forspoken is the latest game to get on board with this trend. The developers included them all over the place, and not only can they be followed to find rare treasures, but most importantly, they are pettable.

The best part about the cats in Forspoken is that there is a type called Familiars that have some kind of mystical attributes to them, such as wings or horns. Finding them across Forspoken’s world allows you to befriend them.

Players are already falling in love with these purrfect felines.

Just look at how beautiful they can be! Who wouldn’t want an adorable, fuzzy, pink-and-yellow furbaby to be waiting for them at any Pilgrim’s Refuge?

Nintendo is aware of the existence of a bug present in Fire Emblem Engage, related to the cooperative multiplayer Relay Trials mode. Some players have been reporting the bug, which caused Nintendo to investigate. The company is currently trying to fix it as soon as possible. The bug occurs when choosing to "Take Over" after selecting "Random" in Fire Emblem Engage’s Relay Trials. Selecting this causes the message "no data to take over" to appear.

This bug might have been introduced after the day one patch, as prior to its release this issue didn’t exist. While Nintendo solves the issue, the best way for players to minimize problems when joining in Relay Trials might be to manually input a code, in the case that selecting “Random” causes any problems.

Relay Trials is a cooperative multiplayer mode in which players pick up a challenge battle started by a different player, and have to work together in order to beat the objective. Players have the option to start with a new map from scratch, randomly join a Relay Trial, or join a particular Relay Trial with a code issued by the previous player

Fire Emblem Engage is immediately available for the Nintendo Switch. You can check out Siliconera’s official review of the game here.

A little over a year ago, we took a look at the games available on the Evercade platform at the time of the launch of the Evercade VS home system. Since then, there’s been a big focus on arcade releases in the Evercade lineup, as almost a dozen cartridges have joined the library. We’ve been checking out the most recent collections, and we’re ready to guide you to the best Evercade VS and Evercade EXP games to start in 2023!

The Best New-Retro Evercade VS and Evercade EXP Games

One great supporter of the Evercade has been the new-retro community. And with good reason! More players and a physical cartridge release have undeniable appeal. Picking the best example of this is a tough choice with so many options. Still, we think the Alwa’s Awakening / Cathedral dual pack is the best place to start. The two are a good pairing for a number of reasons, starting with both appealing to the same sort of player. They’re about exploring and collecting and generally spending time in an action platforming world.

How they get there is different, though. Cathedral, which has seen release on modern platforms as well, is the Evercade’s first and so far only native port. The emulation on the Evercade devices is fine, but seeing something run natively and fill the screen shows just how good things could be. We know the work is probably a real barrier. Nevertheless, more native ports of games with old aesthetics would be wonderful.

You can happen upon a lot of weapons while playing Fire Emblem Engage, and the ability to head to the Smithy to forge and engrave Emblems on them mean even so-so Steel or Silver ones can be your best at the moment. However, there are a few special ones you’ll encounter throughout the game. These could have unexpected ranges, better stats, or special effects that make them worth acquiring and using. So, to help you out, I’ve put together a list of some of the most helpful equipment you can happen upon, as well as recommendations for who might be a good fit for them.

Editor’s Note: There are serious Fire Emblem Engage spoilers below. However, no images will be used to show the events leading up to or surrounding it.

Okay, here's a full list of amazing weapons I've found and where I found them. I also offered some suggestions. However, keep in mind that's just what I did, as I tended to equip the folks I used most often with the "good" stuff. A good rule of thumb is to make sure every unit you might use has one "great" weapon.

There’s not only one Tsukihime remake Arcueid Brunestud Pop Up Parade figure on the way. Two options will be available. However, one is limited to the Good Smile Company store. Depending on where you go, your Arcueid will or won’t have cat ears. Regardless of version, she will be ¥4,800/$34.99. In Japan, both will appear in June 2023. In North America, she’ll show up in August 2023.

The standard Pop Up Parade figure of Arcueid will be available everywhere. This features her normal smiling face, typical hair, and white turtleneck with blue skirt. However, people who buy directly through Good Smile Company could get the limited version with cat ears. The outfit and pose is the same, but she’s winking and has cat ears on top of her head.

Here's a closer look at both versions of the figure.
[gallery columns="2" size="full" ids="948210,948211,948212,948213" link="file"]

There's another way to get Arcueid with or without cat ears. Good Smile Company also released a Nendoroid of the heroine. Its extra parts let you create looks with or without the ears, as well as with or without glasses.

When it comes to Fire Emblem Engage characters with the thief class, you get Yunaka and Zelkov by default. It might be tempting to go with Yunaka for the whole game! I get it. Her Trained to Kill unique skill is amazing, due to the boost to critical hits. She joins first, and this being a special class means there’s no Advanced version to promote to. She could be well on her way to level 40 by the time he joins your army. However, Zelkov is equally skilled and someone would do themselves a disservice by not giving him a chance on the front lines too.

I mean that literally, by the way. Zelkov is a great unit to essentially use as a “scout” when playing Fire Emblem Engage. A big part of this is due to “Not Quite.” This is his unique skill. Since paraphrasing is a pain, I’ll just go with exactly how the game describes it. “If foe initiates combat, inflicts Hit -10 on that foe during combat.” It’s a great boost to survivability. It also helps that his health tends to end up being higher than Yunaka’s, as well as his defense and dexterity being quite substantial. Engrave his weapon with a good Emblem, like Dawn or Echoes, and hopefully he won’t be hit.

Now that 2022 is over, The Pokemon Company and Timi Studio offered something of a year-in-review for Pokemon Unite. The company took to Twitter to share various updates on things that happened in the game throughout last year. Some of them had to do with their own work, such as characters added. However, players accomplishment and notable feats were shared. For example, it revealed the top three characters used in battles in Pokemon Unite in 2022.

The most used character from January 1, 2022 to December 22, 2022 is Pikachu. Players used the electric mouse a total of 129,186,809 times. It is a ranged attacker who has been a part of the game since launch. Second place went to Greninja, with 103,402,378 uses. Like Pikachu, that Pokemon is also a ranged attacker in the game. Finally, Charizard rounded out the top three in-game with 101,925,049 uses. It is the only odd-one-out here, as it is a melee all-rounder.

Looking back at 2022 in #PokemonUNITE!

Throughout the entire available roster, 3 Pokémon rose to the top as player favorites! Who are your top 3 used Pokémon? pic.twitter.com/agkWjUpO3P

— Pokémon UNITE (@PokemonUnite) January 24, 2023

More people can test out Luminous Productions and Square Enix’s new action-RPG before buying it. A Forspoken PC demo can now be downloaded from the Epic Games Store, Microsoft Store, and Steam. It will show up once the game is available on all three storefronts. There's also a new launch trailer to watch.

With regards to the PC Forspoken demo, the announcement didn't detail what it will entail. The PS5 version appeared during The Game Awards 2022. It was a 30GB download and featured five objectives to test out Frey's different magical and parkour abilities. Its also unknown if the PC demo will include the updated features like control remapping and larger fonts, which showed up in the PS5 version's trial in January 2023.

Fire Emblem Engage is a pretty balanced game and, if you’re on the Normal difficulty, you might not even need to grind. But if you are playing on one like Maddening, you might need an extra edge. Though really, anyone can benefit from the extra resources. This is where the Fire Emblem Engage Skirmishes come in, as these standard, Gold, Silver, and Training optional battles can help anyone playing on Normal to Maddening when trying to farm EXP.

How Do the Four Kinds of Skirmishes in Fire Emblem Engage Differ?

There are four different kinds of Skirmish that can appear, with three kinds of icons letting you know what to expect at a glance. This makes it easy to see which sorts are available if you choose the Fast Travel option while on the World Map.

Standard and Training Skirmishes are designated with a green icon with an exclamation point in the middle. Standard is a basic, ordinary Skirmish. Training means you’ll get money just for taking part and every unit who was there will get 50 XP for showing up. Training is your low-risk way to farm EXP in Fire Emblem Engage.

There's new insight into how Masahiro Ito created Pyramid Head for Silent Hill 2. The artist took to Twitter to share the art that led to the enemy's final look. While the characters’ roots lie in his Strange Head series of paintings and a prototype appeared in his piece “3328,” Ito specifically cited “3310.”

Here’s a closer look at “3310” with Masahiro Ito’s commentary. He specifically mentioned it as some entity James could have encountered in the water. In a follow-up comment, he noted that Braveheart’s executioners also inspired the opponent.

"3310", a painting that I did after finishing making the 1st Silent Hill in 1999. I was thinking the object of in the middle of this pic as a character that the protagonist encountered in water from an story-idea for the SH2. This figure became Pyramid Head eventually. pic.twitter.com/eJgDUgrhZe

— 伊藤暢達/Masahiro Ito (@adsk4) January 23, 2023

Here’s Masahiro Ito’s “3328,” which shows multiple Pyramid Head-like creatures on the sides of the painting.

"3328"https://t.co/aFxKC0JASG

Capcom offered a new peek at an old location in the Resident Evil 4 remake, with new images showing off Salazar Castle. The screenshots show notable locations Leon and Ashley will visit while in Valdelobos. In addition, people took to Twitter after the initial share to offer screenshots from the original game as a comparison of how things changed.

First, here are the new screenshots showing off places around Salazar Castle in Resident Evil 4 remake.

We're just two months away from the release of Resident Evil 4!

Here is some of the art that is being shown as the setting for #RE4.

What will happen at this place?
I can't wait for its launch!#ResidentEvil #REBHFun pic.twitter.com/kWI1Gmechh

— 【公式】バイオハザード / RESIDENT EVIL PORTAL Official (@REBHPortal) January 24, 2023

Twitter user naven0m then followed up with two replies comparing these new images to ones from the original game.

It’s the beginning of the end for Ash in the Pokemon anime, and soon worldwide people will be able to see that with Pokemon Ultimate Journeys: The Series on Netflix in the US. The Pokemon Company International announced when the first batch of episodes bringing his adventure to a close will appear. The announcement didn’t detail exactly how many will appear in this initial drop, however they will show up on the streaming service on February 24, 2023.

The announcement did offer a hint as to which episodes will show up. We know that the end of Ash’s journey will feature the return of Misty and Brock. However, the teaser for this round of releases mentioned it will still feature Ash’s adventure with Chloe and Goh. It notes that Ash is preparing to face Kalos Elite Four’s Drasna, while Goh is working on Project Mew. It’s all leading up to the Masters Eight Tournament.

There is also a teaser of things to come. In February 2023 and beyond, there will be news about new episodes heading to Netflix. This will eventually lead up to Ash’s final episodes in the Pokemon anime adaptation.

People can now face the Omega Protocol (Ultimate) Duty, as it and the initial patch notes for FFXIV 6.31 are now live. However, only the preliminary details are available. While the section on Omega Protocol is filled out, Square Enix hasn't listed the new achievements, items, music, or titles.

With Omega Protocol (Ultimate), FFXIV players will need to have their Disciple of War or Magic job at level 90 to participate. They’ll also need to get eight people together who also completed Abyssos: The Eighth Circle (Savage). Once they do, they can challenge the fight weekly to get a reward and earn the new ultimate Omega weapons. However, while you can only get the reward once per week, you can participate multiple times to assist others in their pursuit.

Here are the full patch notes for FFXIV 6.31.

Battle System

The high-end duty the Omega Protocol (Ultimate) has been added.

What if Omega's relentless testing had continued, and provided the elusive answer it sought?

The minstrel's words invite you to imagine this scenario─to entertain the possibility of that which may have been─and follow the experiment to its ultimate conclusion.

Bandai has added another character from Kamen Rider Geats to its S.H. Figuarts lineup for pre-order. The latest addition is an action figure based on Kamen Rider Tycoon, in his Tycoon Ninja form. It's the first version of Tycoon to be added to the S.H. Figuarts line, and the third Kamen Rider Geats character overall (after Geats himself and Kamen Rider Buffa). The figure will be sold via the North American Premium Bandai online store, putting it in reach of Kamen Rider fans in that region. The figure will cost $80 USD.

Kamen Rider Tycoon is the Rider identity of Keiwa Sakurai, a fellow competitor to protagonist Ace Ukiyo. Filled with a sincere desire to bring about world peace, Keiwa enters the "Desire Grand Prix", a supernatural tournament. In the Desire Grand Prix, contestants are given the ability to transform into Kamen Riders, competing with each other to protect the city from the monstrous Jyamato. The winner will be granted the "right" to "bring about their ideal world."

[gallery size="medium" ids="948168,948169,948170,948171,948172,948173" link="file"]

Sting announced that it will release Yggdra Union for PC on February 6, 2023, 15 years after the game launched on the PlayStation Portable (and 17 years since its original launch on the Game Boy Advance). Formally titled Yggdra Union: We'll Never Fight Alone, the game will arrive on PC via Steam's Early Access program. The game's Steam store page is already live.

Yggdra Union is part of Sting's "Dept. Heaven" series that includes titles like Riviera: The Promised Land and Knights in the Nightmare. Yggdra Union on PC is the first time that players outside Japan have been able to play the game on a current platform since the PSP era. Sting ported the game to iOS and Android in 2019, and then to Switch in 2020. However, those ports were never localized for overseas release. The PC edition will support English, Japanese, Traditional Chinese, and Korean language options. English and Japanese voice dubs will be included.

Forspoken is out today, and Square Enix is selling a limited physical edition in Japan, targeted at players especially interested in having some Athian adventures. The Forspoken Limited Edition package is exclusive to the PS5, and includes a number of digital and physical extras. It's available on the Japanese Square Enix online store for 22,000 Yen (about $170 USD).

The Forspoken Limited Edition includes the PS5 edition of the game, and the special collector's box packs the rest of the goods.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e74qIiQ9fV8

Besides the game, an "expanded edition" of the Forspoken Original Soundtrack is part of the bundle. The expansion is an additional disc of music from the game, in addition to the three discs from the standard soundtrack. There's also an art book, The Art of Forspoken, containing a number of art pieces and information bout Athia and the characters of the game.

The last physical goodie that's part of the Forspoken Limited Edition is an original T-shirt with an exclusive design of Frey on the front.

The package includes a few in-game bonuses for players about to start out. These take the form of an in-game rare material pack, with crafting materials to give players a head start on their upgrades.

The Limited Edition also includes access to the game's planned story DLC, Forspoken: In Tanta We Trust. The DLC is scheduled to drop around Summer 2023. Owners of the Limited Edition will be granted early access to the content, as well.

Trigger warning: sexual assault and harassment.

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The halcyon days (if there ever were any) of the covid pandemic can still be felt today with the resurging popularity of online chess. However, the world’s largest chess website has become a victim of the king’s game’s success because its servers are struggling to meet the game’s online popularity.

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The Washington Post imposed more layoffs on Tuesday just a week after owner Jeff Bezos visited its Washington D.C. office. Among the ritual sacrifices will be Launcher, the newspaper’s burgeoning gaming section, which routinely broke important news stories, landed big interviews, and asked the tough questions.

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Nvidia’s come up with new AI-powered tech that swaps out your real eyes for digital ones that will never stop looking at your webcam. It’s very creepy, and one more sign of how unnatural you have to act online to become a popular streamer in 2023.

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The Metroidvania is by far the most esoterically named genre of video games. A portmanteau of Metroid and Castlevania, it pretty much boils down to: non-linear platform games with ability-gated exploration. Or, you know, you explore until you reach a point that requires a skill you’ve yet to pick up.

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It’s right there in the Bible—ask, and it will be given to you. It’s also right there on gaming Twitter, where the small gaming podcast Super Pod Saga posed an innocent question on January 15 and people showed up to respond in droves: “What is the most useless piece of video game knowledge you know?”

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Though HBO’s The Last of Us largely preserves the story and lore of the original game, it rarely seems interested in adapting the actual things most players spend time doing when playing The Last of Us. In prioritizing the game’s narrative over depicting specific gameplay mechanics, there’s a tension told through the…

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Workers at Proletariat Studio, also known as Blizzard Boston, won’t be unionizing after all. The Communications Workers of America Union announced on Tuesday that it will pull its petition for a union election, and blames Proletariat CEO Seth Sivak for treating workers’ organizing efforts as a personal betrayal and…

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When you tune into Twitch streamer Perrikaryal’s channel, you might see her playing FromSoftware’s role-playing game epic Elden Ring with fourteen, unfamiliar black sensors stuck to her scalp. It’s her—as she said during an informational stream earlier today—“just for fun” electroencephalogram (EEG) device, something…

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On Tuesday, Riot Games announced that the source code for both League of Legends and Team Fight Tactics was stolen, and that it would not be paying the ransom demanded by hackers to get it back. It’s the latest in a spree of data breaches at big game companies, and means both games could be increasingly vulnerable to…

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Holiday Matsuri is one of the coolest cosplay shows on the North American calendar. Taking place in Florida in December, the location means that instead of shivering inside a convention centre somewhere freezing their asses off, attendees are instead free to hit the pool, and the timing means we get to see a bunch of…

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When Persona 3 Portable and Persona 4 Golden were released on new platforms last week, much was made of the fact that for the first time ever the latter was going to feature French, Italian, German and Spanish subtitles. That was great news for European fans, but the people most responsible for this achievement aren’t…

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Genesis 9, a major fighting game tournament, took place over the weekend. There were stellar combos and massive upsets as the supermajor event for Super Smash Bros. Melee and Ultimate concluded on January 22. Unfortunately, while the tournament was underway, one of Canada’s top Kazuya players, Michael “Riddles” Kim,…

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I’m sure that indie studio Mojiken’s supernatural slice-of-life A Space for the Unbound is the perfect game to play when it’s raining outside. It’s set in a pixel-y, 1990’s Indonesia, where everything is tinged in an evocative seafoam green, flanked by a low, hot sun and pink clouds. It gives you an attractive, dry…

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The Makima simps of the world are no doubt going through rough post-season withdrawals now that Chainsaw Man Tuesdays are a thing of the past. If you’re in dire need of something to read that’s in the same wheelhouse as Tatsuki Fujimoto’s magnum opus, you’re in luck, because we’ve got a list of bizarre manga for you…

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