Chris Hardwick's Blog, page 1724

9 Wholesome, Stress-Free Video Games to Brighten Your Mood

The world is a dark place. And as much as we love our violent first-person shooters and blood-pumping video horror games, sometimes it’s just a bit too much. When things seem bleak, we’ve had a rough day, or we just need to get out of a funk, we want to have a wholesome, uplifting experience while still enjoying our favorite pastime. To help you get through a rainy day, controller in hand, here’s a list of some of our favorite pixelated pick-me-ups.

Stardew Valley

A spiritual successor to Harvest Moon, Stardew Valley is an endlessly lovable farm and community simulator. Grow crops, raise animals, mine, fish, explore, romance, and more, all while enjoying the soothing music and an adorable 32-bit art style. With no win state, the game can go on for as long as you want, which for me will be a very, very long time.

Animal Crossing

Keeping with the theme, Animal Crossing is Nintendo’s famous community simulator. Although similar to Stardew in format, Animal Crossing offers a different but equally mellow vibe. Friendships and the town are at the forefront of the game’s focus, and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve fallen asleep, DS in hand, catching bugs and listening to that relaxing soundtrack. Good times.

Overcooked

Overcooked is a wild, fast-paced cooking simulator that you can play with friends. With all kinds of obstacles and crazy game modes, you’ll soon find yourself dissolving into laughter as hilarious kitchen shenanigans ensue.

Journey

Known for its fluid movement, gorgeous visuals, and beautiful use of anonymous multiplayer, Journey is one of the best indie games to come out in recent years. It’s only about two hours long, so if you need a short burst of self-contained quasi-narrative that will leave you wonderstruck, this game is a must-play.

Flower

Flower was made by the same studio as Journey, so it maintains the smooth movement and stunning visuals, albeit with a very different aesthetic. You play as flower petals riding on the wind, which is much more magical in practice than it sounds.

Goat Simulator

Taking a turn for the ridiculous, Goat Simulator is a game where you—wait for it—play as a goat. Sounds simple, but the game is also full of crazy physics, explosions, and even a ritual that can turn you into a demon goat. It’s a hilarious, crazy, and never fails to make us laugh.

Proteus

Proteus is a great option if you want to just zone out for a while. The only real goal of the game is to explore the mysterious, procedurally generated environment. The graphics are simple and the music is minimal, but it’s a cool, atmospheric experience that’s a great way to wind down.

Katamari Damacy

There’s something really cathartic about just rolling everything around you up into a giant ball, and that’s exactly what this game gives us. Add in the campy characters and upbeat music, and it’s hard not to walk away from this game with a smile on your face.

Octodad

It seems like everyone forgot Octodad shortly after came out, which is such a bummer. You play as an octopus who is also a dad (go figure), and the whole goal is to make sure no one finds out that you’re actually a cephalopod. It’s as wonderfully absurd as it sounds, and actually has a surprising amount of heart.

Images: Chucklefish, Nintendo, Thatgamecompany, Curve Digital, Namco, Young Horses

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RICK AND MORTY’s Co-Creator Wants You to Save the Universe in VR

Each and every year, E3 manages to surprise gamers with unexpected reveals, action-packed trailers, and first-looks at the best games you’ll be playing in the months ahead. Yet in a year filled with emotionally devastating games like The Last of Us Part II and headscratchers like Death Stranding, one game stood out, mostly because it was so earnest, colorful, and laugh-out-loud funny. That game was Trover Saves the Universe, the latest title from Rick and Morty co-creator Justin Roiland and his fiercely funny team at Squanch Games. It’s an action platformer—a once thriving game genre that now seems increasingly like a curio—infused with classic gameplay and the same sense of humor that brought us TV’s smartest and funniest sci-fi series, Rick and Morty. But this isn’t just a clone of Roiland’s hit animated series; rather, it’s a video game built from the ground up for virtual reality, and it turns genre tropes on their heads in surprising ways.

Trover Saves the Universe is “coming soon” to the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation VR. Having played the game in VR, I can safely say that virtual reality seems like the best way to experience Trover in all of its majesty. But per Roiland and Squanch Games, it is playable in boring old regular reality too, and each version will contain different jokes, to boot. Exploring the E3 demo, I was immediately reminded of classic platformers like Spyro and Crash Bandicoot as I explored the weird, wild world that Roiland and company had created. It was intuitive, familiar, and genuinely hilarious as I jumped, slashed, and maneuvered Trover through alien landscapes on a mission to blow up some guy’s house. While attending this year’s E3 in downtown Los Angeles, I sat down with Roiland to discuss what he hopes to achieve with Trover Saves the Universe, the seriously silly lore behind the game, and much, much more.

Will you be playing Trover Saves the Universe? Let us know in the comments below!

Images: Squanch Games

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Dan Casey is the senior editor of Nerdist and the author of books about Star Wars and the Avengers. Follow him on Twitter (@DanCasey).

HOT WHEELS Has Given Us a Porg Piloting the Millennium Falcon!

Chewbacca wasn’t super keen on letting a porg be his co-pilot in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, or even having one imitate his Wookiee roar, but Mattel is intent on rectifying this “mistake.” In the latest revealed Comic-Con exclusive from the toy giant, a porg gets to take charge of the Millennium Falcon (and seriously, Lucasfilm, it’s time we started to give individual porgs names like every single Ewok had back in the day).

First revealed by i09, this is a Hot Wheels Battle Roller, so named because it sounds more action-packed than Hot Ball Bearing. Like other Battle Rollers, it comes in a package that demonstrates how a slight tilt will allow gravity to get it rolling into battle.

The packaging also gives this porg its own audience, with others looking on, either to admire the first of their species to become a pilot, or to think to themselves, “That dumb bird’s crazy!” Some sort of Flappy Bird variant game needs to be made with Pilot Porg (in lieu of an official name, let’s call it that), toot sweet. The endless frustration one gets of crashing and starting again every five seconds would be alleviated with an adorable Ahch-To denizen (Ahch-Toian?) onscreen at all times.

Unlike many budget-busting convention exclusives, this one is a mere $10, and will also be available from MattelShop.com starting at 10 AM PST on June 26. And while Mattel exclusives often aren’t that hard to snag, this particular one might be a Force-ful impulse buy for many. Will you be among them? Let us know in comments.

Images: Mattel

The Todd Glass Show #351: Dave Ross (Part 2)

Part 2 of Dave Ross on the show! FUN!

Like The Todd Glass Show on Facebook, follow @ToddGlass, Eric Ohlsen, John Brand Wagner, and Lyricist Joe on Twitter!

Watch Act Happy on Netflix and buy his book The Todd Glass Situation!

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Where Is Joel in THE LAST OF US PART II?

This post contains spoilers for The Last of Us.

The Last of Us Part II may still be a ways off, but we did get a nice new look at the game last week with the new E3 trailer. While it was both gorgeous and brutal, and showed us a bunch of new gameplay mechanics the sequel is introducing, a lack of the previous entry’s main playable character left many of us wondering: where is Joel?

We played as Ellie for a stint in Part I, but Joel was the main focus of the story. And as much as we love seeing Ellie all grown up and taking after his brutally violent ways, at the back of our minds we’re all hoping for the next glimpse of Joel.

We got one such glimpse in the announcement trailer for Part II back in December of 2016, when he emerged out of a doorway shrouded in light. But given that we never got a good look at his face, theories emerged that he was actually dead. We know now that’s not true—in the new trailer, Ellie’s friend Jesse referred to him as her “old man,” mentioning that Joel lectured him about keeping Ellie safe when they go out on patrols. So we know he’s out there. But why would the developers choose to keep him hidden for this long when he’s such an important part of the series?

For one thing, it’s a way to build suspense. Of course we’re all going to perk up every time we see something new about the game, because there’s a chance we could be getting our first real look at Joel. The longer they hold off on showing him, the hungrier we are to know what’s really going on. It’s a smart way for Naughty Dog to pique our interest.

I also have a crazy theory that something’s up with his face. No, seriously. What if he has some kind of wicked scar or something that they don’t want to reveal yet? What if he lost an eye? Part II is set five years after the first game, and a lot can happen in that time.

Naughty Dog has outright said that we will be playing as Ellie, and only Ellie, in the sequel. It is important to keep in mind, however, that they said we would only be playing as Joel in the first game, and didn’t reveal that Ellie was a playable character for the sake of the surprise. So I’m willing to bet we will be able to play as Joel, even if for a moment, in Part II, considering how well that worked in the first game. But even if we don’t play as Joel, I’d be okay with that. Neil Druckmann has said that The Last of Us was Ellie’s origin story, and Part II would be a continuation of that.

And it’s hard to say whether Joel will make it out of this installment alive. Druckmann did also say that no one is safe from death, not even Joel and Ellie, and I have a sinking feeling that they could off him to further Ellie’s arc.

At the end of the day, I’m really just thinking Naughty Dog is dangling the carrot with this one, and I have to say it’s working—the lack of Joel has people buzzing. But what do you think? Is Joel really dead? Does he have to wear an eyepatch now? Why do you think they’re keeping him so hidden? Let us know in the comments.



Images: Naughty Dog

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NERDIST AFTER | MARVEL’S CLOAK AND DAGGER Delves Into the Darkness

Every week Nerdist is proud to bring you the aftershow for Freeform’s Marvel’s Cloak and Dagger, Nerdist After. Join hosts Hector Navarro and Aliza Pearl after a new episode airs each week for answers to your questions, Easter eggs you might have missed, interviews with the show’s cast and crew you won’t find anywhere else, and much, much more.

Nerdist Editor-in-Chief Rachel Heine and Marvel’s Cloak and Dagger showrunner and executive producer Joe Pokaski joined Hector and Aliza again to talk about the fourth episode of the series, “Call/Response,” and how Tandy Bowen (portrayed by Olivia Holt) throws verbal daggers at the adults in her life.

Joe also talks about the “spy boy” tradition of the Mardis Gras parade, featured heavily in the episode as Tyrone Johnson (Aubrey Joseph) learns about it from his father. The scenes were shot in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans, which continues to make its presence and cultural perspectives vital parts of the television series.

Later, Andrea Roth, who plays Tandy’s mother Melissa, stops by Nerdist After to chat about the character and what the future might hold for Melissa when her world turns even more upside-down.

One Thing to Watch For

Keep a keen eye on the posters and photos on the wall in Greg’s office, hints Joe, and you might get an idea of where the show is heading in the next few episodes.

Do you have a question for Nerdist After’s hosts or future guests? Tweet it to @Nerdist with the hashtag #CloakandDagger, and you could see answered on the show.

Marvel’s Cloak and Dagger airs on Freeform, Hulu, and the Freeform app Thursdays at 8 PM ET/PT and 7PM Central.

What do you think Roxxon Corp. is up to? Tell us in the comments.

Images: Freeform/Marvel

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Kick It to This Supercut of Nearly 300 Movie Dances Scenes

Themed movie supercuts are great at bringing film culture at large together, putting it all in perspective, and helping viewers realize that movies aren’t independent islands, but states in the same cinematic country: They’re connected. Supercuts of things like , food in film, and Jeff Goldblum noises are fun to watch, and now we have one more to add to the collection: Dancing in movies (via Reddit).

What’s most impressive here is the sheer volume. Nearly 300 movies (292 to be precise) are represented, and it looks like they’re mostly in HD, so it’s a really slick-looking video. You can find the full list of the included films here, but just for fun, here are the movies featured in just the first minute of the compilation: Tropic Thunder, 10 Cloverfield Lane, Frank, Deadpool, Girlhood, West Side Story, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Big, Risky Business, Forrest Gump, 20th Century Women, God Help the Girl, Begin Again, The Rocketeer, Dead Poets Society, Braveheart, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Robin Hood, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, Titanic, Big Fish, Go, Fiddler on the Roof, Citizen Kane, Life Is Beautiful, White Nights, Swing Time, Pee-wee’s Big Adventure, Mermaids, Home Alone, Mulholland Drive, Boy, Girl Asleep, Despicable Me, Airplane!, Carrie, Love, Rosie, and The Mask.

There are other movie supercuts out there (including one we’ve written about previously), but is this your favorite one? Were there any cinematic dancing moments that somehow weren’t included here? Let us know what you think down in the comments!

Featured image: Disney

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10 Underrated Episodes of THE X-FILES

The X-Files celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, which means 25 years of alien invasion subplots, horrifying monsters-of-the-week, and a lot of Mulder/Scully sexual tension. There are hallmarks of the series that everyone knows: the little grey men, the Cigarette Smoking Man, standalone episodes like “Home” and “Humbug,” and the mythology, like Scully’s son William and Mulder’s search for his missing sister. But those larger touchstones mean that some great episodes often slip through the cracks. If you’re embarking on The X-Files for the first time, or whipping out your copies to celebrate the 25th anniversary – or the 20th anniversary of film, The X-Files: Fight the Future, which was released this week in 1998 – here’s a list of some of the best episodes of the series that never make the “top” lists, and that are sadly under-appreciated despite adding plenty to the show’s canon and quirkiness.

“DARKNESS FALLS” SEASON 1, EPISODE 20

This episode is most notable for Scully’s ridiculously 90s puffy coat, but it’s actually quite good on its own merits. It’s mostly just Mulder and Scully traipsing through the woods, being stalked by deadly insects, but there’s some truly creepy imagery–bodies trapped in giant webs–and a fun guest appearance from Titus Welliver. Also, Scully’s puffy coat.

via GIPHY

“DIE HAND DIE VERLETZT” SEASON 2, EPISODE 14

This witchy episode remains my most-watched of the series, because it’s crazy and fun and ridiculous in that quintessential X-Files way. Mulder and Scully investigate a small town where the teachers, who used to be devil worshippers, have accidentally unleashed hell on their students. Think The Faculty but with a coven instead of aliens. The X-Files only rarely got into the occult, which is a shame, because when it did, it had a blast.

“SYZYGY” SEASON 3, EPISODE 13

This is the episode that gave us Scully’s classic give-no-fucks line, “Sure. Fine. Whatever.” But other than that, it’s not exactly a beloved entry, garnering poor reviews and criticisms about the friction between the show’s leads. As they investigate a small town, where thanks to a bizarre planetary alignment, two teenage girls are wreaking deathly havoc on their fellow citizens; Mulder grows flirty with a local detective, which prompts jealousy and annoyance in Scully. It speaks to the growing feelings between the two, but makes for some unpleasantness. Still, the plot of this episode is a lot of fun, and the witchy teen girls give it a Craft-y feel. (Ryan Reynolds also pops up as a guest star in the opening scene.)

“QUAGMIRE” SEASON 3, EPISODE 22

“Quagmire” is a popular episode with Mulder/Scully shippers for the lengthy scene the two share on a rock – lovingly dubbed “CotR,” or “conversation on the rock,” by fans – but it rarely gets recognition as an all-around great episode of the series. Mulder and Scully investigate a Loch Ness Monster-like creature in a Georgia town, that is attacking locals. They investigate the monster, who eats Scully’s dog, and get stranded on a rock, where the famous conversation happens. It’s a tender, revealing character study of an episode, with a great monster to boot.

“THE FIELD WHERE I DIED” SEASON 4, EPISODE 5

This episode opens with one of The X-Files groan-inducing voiceovers, but don’t let that discourage you; this is a really fantastic episode that plunges deep into Mulder’s psyche. While investigating a cult compound in Tennessee, Mulder connects with a woman who reveals that she knew him in a past life. While under hypnosis, he remembers several of his past lives, and the deep connection he has to the people around him, who also appeared as different people in these past lives, like his sister, Samantha, and Scully. The episode reveals several touching layers to Mulder, who can get a little distracted in his quest for truth. It’s nice to see him so human.

“HOW THE GHOSTS STOLE CHRISTMAS” SEASON 6, EPISODE 6

I probably could have dedicated this entire list to Season 6, which is a semi-controversial season of the show with a lot of ballsy, weird standalone episodes. None is so crazy as “How the Ghosts Stole Christmas,” which finds Mulder and Scully trapped in a haunted mansion on the holiday, with ghosts played by Ed Asner and Lily Tomlin.

It’s a schlocky, goofy episode, but the rapport between Mulder and Scully has never been funnier or more intense, and it culminates with them literally killing each other (which is really just a vision from the spooky house, but still). The closing scene, where the pair exchange gifts, is truly special.

“THE RAIN KING” SEASON 6, EPISODE 8

Another Season 6 episode, this one finds Mulder and Scully investigating strange weather phenomena in a small Kansas town, which a man named Daryl Mootz claims he can control, and has dubbed himself “The Rain King.” It’s a silly premise but this episode has a lot of heart, and a sweet love story at the center. It’s a bright episode, both visually and emotionally, a nice respite from the gloominess the series can get overwhelmed by. It also pays nice homage to The Wizard of Oz.

“ALL THINGS” SEASON 7, EPISODE 17

Gillian Anderson wrote and directed this episode, so it’s a personal one for both her and Scully. It’s also the first time a woman directed an episode of the show, and it shows, as the mood and tone is decidedly more intimate, the perspective shifted. The writing is wobbly in places, but it reveals things about Scully that we wouldn’t have known without Anderson’s touch, like an affair she had with a professor that informs much of her worldview. The episode explores concepts like Buddhism and alternative medicine, which stand in contrast to Scully’s Catholic surgeon roots, and offer a nice counterpoint.

“ROADRUNNERS” SEASON 8, EPISODE 4

The Mulder-less seasons of The X-Files can be hard to sit through, and his absence drowns much of what’s going on. But Season 8’s “Roadrunners” is a magnificent monster-of-the-week that doesn’t need Mulder to make it powerful. In the episode, Scully is working alone, investigating a cult that thinks a worm-like creature is the second coming of Jesus. Scully is captured by the cult, but eventually saved by her new partner, Doggett (Robert Patrick), which strengthens their rapport. Doggett always had big shoes to fill, and this one, he does a good job of actually filling them.

“SUNSHINE DAYS” SEASON 9, EPISODE 18

This is an episode about a murder suspect who lives in a replica of the house from The Brady Bunch and has telekinetic powers. The man is played by Lost‘s Michael Emerson, and the episode was written and directed by Vince Gilligan, who would later create Breaking Bad. What else is there to say about why this is so brilliant? Had this been in the show’s tender years, and if Mulder had actually been around, it would probably be more significantly remembered. It deserves to be.

Those are our picks, but what about you? What is your pick for most underrated episode of The X-Files? Let us know in the comments!

Images: 20th Century Fox Television

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Does the Zack Snyder Cut of JUSTICE LEAGUE Exist?

Last year, Zack Snyder stepped away from the Justice League movie to deal with a personal tragedy, and Avengers director Joss Whedon was brought in to handle the reshoots and post-production. By most accounts, the finished film is very different from its initial conception. Nor did Justice League get the box office reception Warner Bros. had hoped to see. In response, hardcore fans have repeatedly demanded to see the mythical Snyder cut of the film, even when they were told it didn’t exist. Today’s Nerdist News is looking at recent developments which suggest that Snyder’s vision for Justice League may actually be real.

Join host Jessica Chobot as she examines the comments made by Justice League storyboard artist Jay Oliva. On his twitter account, Oliva indicated that there is a Snyder cut. Or at least a complete version of the film minus the reshoots that Snyder had planned to oversee himself.

I think they are responding to people saying that the Snydercut (prior to Whedon’s involvement) does not exist and is not a cohesive story because Zack left. It may not be 100% polished but all of the planned scenes were shot and edited into a full timeline.

— Jay Oliva (@jayoliva1) June 16, 2018

It’s important to note that none of this means that a finished version of Snyder’s cut is simply sitting in a film vault and waiting for fanboy pressure to squeeze it out of Warner Bros.’ grasp. Even if WB was inclined to release it, putting Synder’s cut through post-production and adding the finished special effects would likely be very expensive and time consuming.

That said, it’s not impossible. Over a decade ago, Warner Bros. released Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut, which restored most of Richard Donner’s contributions to the film. It’s arguably superior to the version of Superman II that was released in theaters. So there is a precedent for the studio, if the choice is made to revisit Justice League at a later date.

Do you want Warner Bros. to commit millions to finishing the Snyder cut of Justice League? Let’s discuss in the comment section below!

Images: Warner Bros. Pictures

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A Look Back on the OVERWATCH League’s Inaugural Season

If you follow the competitive gaming scene at all, and maybe even if you don’t, you’ve probably heard about the Overwatch League: developer Blizzard’s ambitious attempt to bring esports out into the mainstream. Now that the inaugural season (or at least inaugural regular season) is officially over as of last week, we can say it was a success. As a bright, character-focused, and fast-paced team first person shooter, the two-year-old Overwatch is a perfect fit for building an esports empire. With a beautiful new arena, technologically impressive new spectating tools, and fierce competition between the teams, it was almost impossible not to get swept up in the excitement.

Sometimes it still feels like esports is a novelty thing, but it’s been around longer than you might think. Premiering in 1982, the gameshow Starcade featured arcade game competitions. In 1997, the Quake tournament hit E3 and became what is widely considered the first esports event ever. There were a few small whispers of mainstream competitive gaming here and there, but the craze really took over in 2011 with the introduction of Twitch. The League of Legends world championship had 1.7 million viewers in 2011. That jumped to 8.2 million in 2012, and skyrocketed to 32 million in 2013. The esports industry still doesn’t make quite as much money as the major sports leagues like MLB or the NFL, but it is expected to double its revenue by 2020 (statistics via theScore eSports). Esports is emerging as a serious market to contend with, and it’s becoming harder and harder for the mainstream to write it off.

The Overwatch League was quite a divergence from what we’ve traditionally seen from esports. Usually, esports organizations own teams that compete in various games including League of Legends, Rocket League, Overwatch, Counter Strike: Global Offensive, Super Smash Bros. Melee, Fortnite, and more. These organizations run smoothly, but they don’t give fans a ton to latch onto, and tournaments and matches were erratic at best. Only the die-hard followers really knew what was going on with these teams at all times. The Overwatch League changed that.

The basic idea is that they streamlined the system and formed a league that can be likened to traditional sports leagues such as the NFL or NBA. The teams were playing every week on a regular schedule, they had city-based teams, jersey numbers, a halftime show—the whole nine yards. It was a real step up in professionalism as well with the league holding the players to a new standard. A combination of all of these characteristics drew an audience, and a big one at that.

On the opening night, Blizzard boasted an average of 408,000 viewers per minute (that was more than the NFL game streamed online that night managed, by the way), plus a staggering 10 million viewers in total throughout its opening week (via Rolling Stone). The Fiesta Bowl, an annual college football game played at the University of Phoenix Stadium, even teamed up with the League to host the Overwatch collegiate national championship. These are huge organizations and events in the mainstream, and the fact that Blizzard is holding their own outside of the gaming community is something to be proud of.

So why has the Overwatch League been so successful? I think it has a lot to do with those factors I mentioned before. It felt like something more serious and professional, and something that wouldn’t be laughed at by news anchors around the world. Having teams based in cities instead of being organized independently was a genius move. There’s a reason why every other sports league does it; even if someone doesn’t follow the players or is a casual viewer, it gives them something to root for. I went in knowing only one player out of the entire league, but I ended up with a diehard allegiance to the Houston Outlaws.

The game is also just fun to watch, even for casual viewers who haven’t yet gotten a grasp of the rules. It’s colorful, fast-moving, and the commentators do a great job communicating what is going on and breaking down the teams’ surprisingly complex strategies, some of which I didn’t even pick up on as a longtime player. The new spectating tools are like nothing we had seen before in esports, and the heroes got in-game jerseys so viewers could get a clearer picture of who was who. In yet another stroke of genius, Blizzard made those jerseys available for players to unlock in-game so that they could wear the skin for their favorite team (although let’s be honest, everyone just got Seoul Dynasty’s skins because they have the best colors).

Also, the memes have been absolutely unreal.

Blizzard has always been known for incredible quality and polish in everything that they put out, and the Overwatch League was no exception. With esports being a rapidly growing industry, the League has made great strides to continue to improve upon a formula that is already working. There were some really great plays and moments that came out of the first year, and now we can’t wait to see how it continues to grow from here. After all, the world could always use more heroes.

Images: Overwatch League, Blizzard

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