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STRANGER THINGS Finally Has an Official Video Game

With its retro aesthetic, sense of adventure, and fun characters, Stranger Things is pretty much begging for a video game adaptation. The viewers certainly want it, since we’ve already seen a variety of fan projects showing how the series would look in 8-bit, what a point-and-click adventure game based on the show could be like, how an 80’s-style adventure game might work, and yet another 8-bit re-imagining.

The demand is there, and now Netflix is finally meeting it with an official retro-styled Stranger Things mobile game, titled simply Stranger Things: The Game (via The Verge).

Developed by indie game developer BonusXP, Stranger Things: The Game looks pretty awesome, especially for a free tie-in game. The top-down action-adventure game is presented in full ’80s style pixelated glory; it allows you to explore Hawkins, Indiana like never before, including locales like Mirkwood Forest and Hawkins Lab. You can play as different characters, and they each have their own special abilities that allow you to solve puzzles and progress. For instance, Lucas has long firing range with his Wrist Rocket, and Nancy will definitely be swinging her bats. You can also share your speed run times and compete with your friends’ scores.

And yes, there are plenty of pixelated waffles.

Stranger Things: The Game is available now on iOS and Android. What do you think of it? Does this scratch that itch for you, or would you still like to see a game that’s a little more substantial and fleshed out? Let us know what you think in the comments below!

Featured image: BonusXP

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The JUSTICE LEAGUE Cast Teases Final Details

Justice League hits theaters next month, and its stars have started opening up about the film. So on today’s Nerdist News Talks Back we discussed if they had anything interesting to say about the movie, along with determining which announced film sounds more reasonable: a Jared Leto/Brett Ratner/Hugh Hefner biopic, or a live-action Sonic the Hedgehog?

Jessica Chobot was joined today by Geek and Sundry‘s Amy Vorpahl, Nerdist associate editor Kyle Anderson, and director of development Brendon Schulze. They started with the latest JL news, including how Ezra Miller said Zack Snyder always intended for the movie to be lighter than BvS, Gal Gadot’s comments that Wonder Woman is the “glue of the team,” and the latest look at the Batfleck Suit.

Then everyone slipped into their nicest robes (metaphorically) to break down the possible Jared Leto-starring, Brett Ratner-directed Hugh Hefner biopic. Yes, really. Is this so crazy it could work, or is this just crazy? And is anything about this news weirder than the fact Ratner wants to bring back Hefner’s 1960s talk show Playboy After Dark?

But that wasn’t the only strange movie news of the day, so they tried to figure out why Paramount is planning on making a live-action Sonic the Hedgehog movie. Raise your hand if you’re excited to see Sonic kiss a human! No? No One? Well either way, with Deadpool‘s Tim Miller producing, and relative newcomer Jeff Fowler directing, can this work? If not, who–if anyone–could pull this off?

Remember Nerdist News Talks Back was live at 1:00 p.m. PST on our YouTube and Alpha channels, so check that every weekday. When you tune in live with us you can get in on the conversation.

You can still talk back to us about today’s topics by sharing your thoughts in the comments below.

Featured Image: Warner Bros. Studios

Sonic Image: Sega

Human Sacrifice Gets Weird in THE BABYSITTER’s First Trailer

There will be no Friday the 13th movie in theaters later this month, but that doesn’t mean that Netflix is passing up a chance to release a terrifying movie on one of our favorite unofficial holidays. Netflix has lined up the premiere of The Babysitter, a new horror comedy directed by McG. The movie stars Judah Lewis as Cole, a young boy who is out-of-his-mind in love with Bee (Samara Weaving), an older girl who is also his babysitter. Unfortunately for Cole, Bee isn’t the sweet young woman that she pretends to be. Netflix has dropped the first trailer for The Babysitter, and it includes the moment that Cole realizes the truth about Bee.

Poor Cole. He really thought that he had a chance with Bee, since she seemingly avoided bringing up any of her romantic partners. She also neglected to mention her group of friends, who are also totally into human sacrifice and taking their clothes off at inappropriate times. Those fiends include Bella Thorne as Sonya, Robbie Amell as Max, Hana Mae Lee as Allison, and Andrew Bachelor as John the Baptist.

The trailer also depicts Cole’s attempt to escape from the group, as well as the implication that Bee and her friends may have made a deal with the devil. Or at least that’s what they believe. So far, there’s no indication of any supernatural entity behind Bee’s depravity. If she keeps this up, Bee could even scare Slender Man.

The Babysitter will exclusively premiere on Netflix on Friday, October 13.

What did you think about the new trailer for this movie? Tuck yourselves in and share your thoughts below!

Images: Netflix

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Dancing Pumpkin Man is Back to Welcome Dunkin’ Donuts Halloween Treats

Nerdoween is upon us. One sign that the Halloween season is here is the appearance of Dancing Pumpkin Man gifs all over social media. Yes, it is the most wonderful time of the year–especially considering Dancing Pumpkin Man has a new sparkly, spooky outfit to promote Dunkin’ Donuts Halloween donuts. Just watch the below video:

The enthusiastic pumpkin dancer in the Dunkin’ promo is the same man from the gifs you’ve seen. Matt Geiler first put on a unitard and foam pumpkin mask in 2006 and did a dance to kill some extra time on Halloween–because he is a scholar and a gentleman. His suave squash moves went viral in 2009. Fast forward to eight years later, and Geiler’s working with Dunkin’ Donuts. He’s turned a meme into a work. Well. Played.

To recap, here’s Geiler then:

Now:

I admire you, Dancing Pumpkin Man.

As for those Halloween-inspired donuts, Dunkin’ has spooktacular themed names for their seasonal offerings: the Boston Scream, Witch’s Brew-Berry, a Spider Donut, Ghoulish Glazed, and many more. You can get all the details at Dunkin’s . I want to stop by and order one of each.

See Dunkin’s delectable donut offerings in the gallery below, then stop by the comments and let us know your thoughts on Dancing Pumpkin Man’s new threads.

Images: Dunkin Donuts

Amy Ratcliffe is an Associate Editor for Nerdist. Follow her on Twitter and keep up with her Disney food adventures on Instagram.

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Welcome to Nerdoween! Throughout the month of October, we’ll be celebrating everything spooky, macabre, and just plain weird. Nerdoween 2017 is presented by Alpha, our interactive membership service, which offers you exclusive content from Nerdist and Geek & Sundry, as well as a 10% discount on all of our merch.

James Bond Has All of the Best Toys in the 100 Greatest Movie Gadgets Supercut

When it comes to spy tech, no one can compare with James Bond‘s arsenal from over a half century of films. It’s become a Bond staple for 007 to get his latest gear from Q, along with a quick demonstration, no matter how improbable the device actually is. Rocket packs, buzzsaw watches, wrist guns, and more have earned the James Bond films several entrees in the “100 Greatest Movie Gadgets of All Time” supercut. But Bond’s many faces aren’t the only familiar characters in this video!

This supercut was created by Burger Fiction, and it does eventually go beyond Bond to include several iconic cinema gadgets, including the lightsaber from Star Wars, the Tricorder from Star Trek, the Ghostbusters‘ proton packs, the Rocketeer‘s jetpack, and the hoverboard from Back to the Future II. Even Batman‘s shark repellent makes an appearance, although we still want to know how it made that foam shark explode.

Would it be weird if we admit that we’ve always wanted a breakfast machine like the one in Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure? That would be a pain to clean and reset every morning, but it’s still ridiculously fun to watch it in action. One of the few devices in this video that actually exists is the Power Glove from The Wizard, but it never worked quite as well in reality as it did in the film!

What did you think about the “100 Greatest Movie Gadgets” supercut? Respond in the comment section using some sort of gadget of your own!

Images: MGM/Universal Pictures

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Build Your Army with UBTECH’s STAR WARS First Order Stormtrooper Robot

Star Wars: The Force Awakens introduced fans to a new breed of stormtroopers under the command of the First Order. And unlike some of the troopers in the original trilogy, most of the current generation can actually hit their targets. The First Order stormtroopers will be returning in The Last Jedi later this year, but you may not have to wait that long to assemble your own stormtrooper army. UBTECH Robotics has unveiled its First Order stormtrooper robot, and it’s intimidating enough to scare off your BB droid.

We spotted this very enticing robot via io9, and it’s hard not to get chills from the video’s remix of John Williams‘ music from The Force Awakens. UBTECH’s First Order stormtrooper may not be the robot army that you envisioned, but it does have the ability patrol an area and “monitor for invaders.” Plus, we’re relatively certain that these 16 inch robots won’t turn on their commanding officers and force them to shut down the shields of Starkiller Base.

Much like the charming BB-8 AR compatible robots, the robot stormtrooper can be controlled with tablets or smartphones. It can also receive and respond to voice commands, and it has the capacity to recognize up to three different faces with its built-in biometric identification. The robot can even react differently to each of the faces that it is programmed to look for.

UBTECH currently has the Star Wars First Order stormtrooper robot available for pre-order, without listing an estimated shipping date. But if you want one, it’s going to cost $300.

What do you think about the new stormtrooper robots? Tell us if these are the droids you’re looking for in the comment section below!

Images: UBTECH

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Visually Stunning EVEREST VR is Now Available on Playstation VR

Ever feel the urge to climb to the tip of a sublime and awe-inspiring mountain 30,000 feet above sea level but can’t quite bring yourself to put on pants? Then Everest VR on Playstation VR is the game for you! Like Everest itself, the game’s graphics are absolutely breathtaking, plus you’ll have the opportunity to experience all of the majesty of Earth’s tallest mountain without needing to think about that whole you-definitely-may-die thing.

Following its launch on the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift last year, Everest VR is now available for purchase in the Playstation store for $14.99. A reasonable price for a super rich, nearly photorealistic VR game, which seems even more reasonable when you consider the fact that it costs between $35,000 to $100,000 to climb the real deal.

The focus of Everest VR, which was built using Unreal Engine 4, appears to be heavily weighted toward capturing the visual experience of climbing Mount Everest as well as the essence of what it’s like to journey up the epic mountainside — eating apples at base camp, watching the Milky Way strewn across the night sky — as opposed to trying to capture the technical problem solving of the notoriously arduous climb.

As co-founder of Sólfar Studios, the Iceland-based company behind Everest VR, noted in an interview back when the game was first being released, “Everest VR is not a technical climbing game, it’s not trying to accurately simulate exactly how it would be to hike or climb Mount Everest, but… [it gives you] a sense of some of the mechanics that climbers use as they’re getting up the mountain…”

To capture Everest in such incredibly realistic detail, Sólfar Studios teamed up with Nordic VFX house RVX, which was responsible for generating the stunning visuals in the 2015 film, Everest. It seems like that team has somehow managed to up its game with Everest VR however, as evidenced by the 360-degree in-game views.

What do you think about Everest VR? Do you love the idea of being able to climb the tallest mountain in the world while also waiting for your pizza to be delivered, or would you rather find a way to make a trek up the real mountain happen? Give us your thoughts in the comments below!

Images: Sólfar Studios 

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Nicolas Cage is Now a Japanese Snack Food

What story could we possibly bring you about Nicolas Cage that you wouldn’t believe? After all, this is a man who once had to return a stolen Tyrannosaurus skull to Mongolia (that’s known as a “Reverse National Treasure“), and no one was surprised by any part of it. That’s why when we say he has now been turned into a Japanese snack food, we have to stress that we only mean that his face has been put on the packaging. Honestly, with Nic Cage, anything is possible.

The new Cagey treat, which we came across at Kotaku, is part of the Japanese promotion for Cage’s film Army of One. The marketing team plastered his face on the popular snack Umaibou, a puffed corn stick, resulting in the limited-time-offer of the “Deluxe Umaibou Nicolastick” for those who buy a ticket to the movie.

３時ですね、おやつの時間だー！日本を代表するおやつと言えば……うまい棒！！というわけで、『オレの獲物はビンラディン』の前売り特典が特製うまい棒“ニコラスティック”に決定！10/13（金）より、本作の上映劇場で発売開始だー！！劇場に急げ

Everything You Missed in RICK AND MORTY’s Season 3 Finale

We expected Rick and Morty to take on a President in the third season finale, just not this President! While Evil Morty remained surprisingly absent from the story, Keith David’s U.S. President filled the void as a hilarious adversary in his escalated feud with our favorite multiverse-hopping adventurers. Today’s Nerdist News is breaking down the details that you may have missed during “The Rickchurian Mortydate.”

There are full spoilers ahead for last Sunday’s season finale of Rick and Morty! “Ooh wee! Now this little Poopypants is hungry!”

Join host and Presidentress of the Mega Gargantuans, Jessica Chobot, as she walks us through the best jokes and sight gags from the finale. We have to admit that we were so busy laughing at the President’s description of the hidden locations beneath the White House that we missed Tupac’s body in the floorboards the first time around. Another thing that went by really quickly were the fake movie sets during Rick’s fight with the President, which included the moon landing and Washington crossing the Delaware. Has everything in U.S. history been faked in this world?

The episode also got a little meta when Rick and Morty made a shout out to South Park‘s Minecraft episode and acknowledged that they were slow by comparison. Even the “off-brand, deficit-tripling teleporter” seemed to evoke both Stargate and Minecraft. Unless you can read Chinese, you probably didn’t notice that Jerry’s robe had “weak” embroidered on it. Come to think of it, that cabin where the Smith family holed up sure looked a lot like the one from “Morty’s Mind Blowers.”

Finally, we got the return of Mr. Poopybutthole, who kind of trolled the audience about the long wait between seasons. Mr. Poopybutthole has a family now, and yet he didn’t even bring up his proposal to Morty, as seen a few weeks ago in “Morty’s Mind Blowers.”

What was your favorite gag in the third season finale of Rick and Morty? Let’s discuss in the comment section below!

Images: Adult Swim

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ROGUE ONE Reportedly Almost Included a Jedi from a STAR WARS Video Game

One of the most notable aspects of Rogue One, the first Star Wars spinoff film, was its lack of Jedi. For the first time, a robed, lightsaber-wielding Force user didn’t leap into the picture and save the day. Instead, we saw another facet of the Force through Chirrut Îmwe, a Guardian of the Whills. But reportedly, an actual Jedi was named in the script at one point: Rahm Kota from the video game The Force Unleashed.

Screen Rant caught the news (via Slashfilm) from La Fosa del Rancor, a Star Wars podcast. Film director Marcos Cabota appeared on the show and shared a story about a pal who auditioned for Rogue One. The name Rahm Kota appeared in the script pages. Cabota said, “They were talking about a Jedi, who then did not appear in the movie but did appear somehow … Rham Kota was in Rogue One, I can tell you, he was a blind Jedi.”

In the game, Kota was blinded by Starkiller, Darth Vader‘s apprentice. He’s a fan favorite character, and it can feel like a warm and fuzzy hug to see a Legends character brought into the current storytelling universe. It’s not unreasonable to think they’d be bringing faces from the past into new stories. See Exhibit A: Grand Admiral Thrawn, among many other examples.

But, the presence of Kota’s name could simply have been a placeholder or code name of sorts for Chirrut. While he wasn’t a Force user, Chirrut was blind like Kota and aware of the Force. I’m glad they went the route they did because in the years between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, there shouldn’t be tons of Jedi roaming the galaxy. We’ve already seen a few more than I would prefer, so I’m happy Rogue One didn’t feature yet another one.

Are you glad we had a character like Chirrut instead a of a Jedi? Use the Force to leave your thoughts in the comments.

Images: LucasArts, Lucasfilm, Disney, Giphy

Amy Ratcliffe is an Associate Editor for Nerdist. Follow her on Twitter and keep up with her Disney food adventures on Instagram.

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