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The Pitt. HBOMax. We're back, and there's only a few more hours in this shift. Will Robby leave? Will Langdon be ok? What about Baby Jane Doe? Well, we won't know until we know. For now though: Recap of the recap: Dana and the retired clerk return. Oh yeah, cuz still no internet. I have to say the retired clerk lacks the charm of Dana, but she's pretty good at what she does. Becca, Mel's sister, has pain in her abdomen-ish area. Roxie is dying, and McKay’s in with her. Sigmoid volvulous. I forget who that is and why. I feel like they've never showed it but realistically I think it's just happening whenever I look away to type this. “Not good enough nepo baby, you fucked up.” Oof, I remembered that without the recap. That stung. And, there's a waterslide collapse at a park on 4th of July? Oooooooh it’s gonna be crazy. They’re all coming to us! The Pitt. HBOMax. Meanwhile, back in the present: Dana is rallying the troops with Robby, and they're trying to set up for our waterpark collapse. There are two victims so far, both coming by helicopter - so that's not going to be a small trauma. Ogilvie is called on to go to the roof. Obvious snub to Langdon, again. But I mean, are we going to act surprised? McKay’s in with Roxie, whose parents are in there. She explains that she can increase her morphine drip, but it could slow her breathing or cause her to lose consciousness. We know from previous conversations, she's well aware of this, and everyone's on the same page about what was ultimately her choice - to die in the hospital and not at home. Javadi leaves, visibly upset, and McKay goes after her. She talks her down a little bit, and says it’s a gift of love to spare her sons.  Javadi's feeling guilty because while they have very little time together, she wants less time with her parents - but McKay reassures her that that's normal at this stage in life and given her situation, and sweetie, yes, it's ok. You're trying to keep yourself sane. The Pitt. HBOMax. Langdon is with Hashimi, and they're talking about the incoming helicopter traumas. Santos is going to be assisting Langdon now, and she for one, is not looking forward to it Babynurse is scared, and honestly, we feel ya. This is a big ol' clusterfluff. Dr. Mohan’s mom is on the line, saying she really needs to talk. Mohan requests that the nurse tell her i’m not available. Ogilvie, meanwhile, is on the roof with Robby waiting on the birds. He asks how this first shift has gone. Surprisingly, Ogilvie said it was a lot already, and revealed that he worked in another ER and saw some stuff, but this place is relentless. He says it’s not healthy for anybody how crazy it is at the Pitt, and I mean, you're pretty smart, kid. In the interim, our trauma's come in by helicopter and someone actually gave him a human leg. He scuttles in once he receives it, and looks a little bit shellshocked. The Pitt. HBOMax. Dana’s asking for runners. They’re gonna get em from the gift shop. This sounds sorta like a bad idea, but when you think about the fact they're just basically couriers, it can work. Mohan and Joy are headed to triage, and after Dana denies everyone smoke breaks, she tells Mohan she’s gotta sign something - a nicotine patch prescription. I guess everyone has to make sacrifices to get through this. Back with the helicopter injury, Ogilvie's in the background of the trauma room and he's still holding the leg. She- by which I mean the person whose leg it is - thinks she broke her leg. Ogilvie wants to tell her that it's far worse than that, but Robby snaps at him to "keep his fucking mouth shut." Jeez, Robby. Maybe we can work on our delivery? Whit asks if her belly hurts. "No asshole, it's my leg." I know it's kinda mean to Whit, and he frequently gets the short end of the stick, but it's a one-liner I'm gonna chuckle at for a long time. And I mean, it's true. Ogilvie’s now actively freaking out about holding a human leg, so Whittaker tells him to take some deep breaths before he's also in the running for being called Crash. The Pitt. HBOMax. In a different OR, Hashimi has the other heli'd in victim. He's a 42 year old male who took a 20 foot fall when the waterslide collapsed. They're trying to work on him but he's solely focused on where his son is. We find out he's got blunt chest trauma and a hand injury. Santos is suited up an doing what looks like a damn good job, but Langdon is also on this one. This guy's son is seven, and why does it seem like no one is listening to what he's saying? It seems incongruous with the general attitude of this staff. Langdon and Santos are arguing over him instead, and Hashimi actually stands up for Langdon. They're waiting for CT and an X-ray and are working on handling his hand injury, which is a degloving. Please do not google that if you don't know what it is, and trust me when I say you'll find out later on. Mohan wants her mom to fuck off, I guess. She's still getting texts. But I have to wonder, if it's THIS persistent this episode, maybe she should check in case it's an actual emergency. She fights off a broken leg guy and person who needs the bathroom. She’s not being a great doctor right now, and probably needs to take a breather if she’s gonna keep working. There's just no time. Now we're in triage. Everyone’s hot, they’re calling for a Helen Torres. I need better Spanish comprehension because I could glean a lot more from it but Duolingo progress is not quick. Helen comes in and she’s limping and wincing. Mohan is in with her. She's had this leg pain for the past week. The Pitt. HBOMax. Princess stops in to say her mom is calling over and over, and Mohan is obviously thrown off. She snaps at Princess, which instantly makes me a little mad at her, but only until you realize she's sweating profusely and looks like she's gonna puke. Even her patient Helen asks if she's ok. Joy's here, echoing that sentiment and telling her to sit down, but she books it for triage for some reason. Lucky for us, Joy's not taking no for an answer, so she follows Mohan out with a wheelchair and demands she "get in the fucking chair!" I know I said I didn't like Joy much before, but she's just gained a million points with me, and she's wheeling Mohan in now. Guy we'll now call deglove guy elaborates on what happened. He was trying to hold on to his son when the slide collapsed and his ring got stuck. Of all the horrible things to happen when something else horrible is happening. Garcia's back (Surgery, I've been calling her, but I'm learning more names! Go me!) She and Langdon trade insults for fun, but this is yet another person with whom Santos has tension. So, you say you don't know what degloving is. Well, here it is, in HD. Wish you hadn't seen that, right? As they're treating deglove guy, Langdon asks which tendon was tested, Santos says it’s a med student question. Maybe let's not be petty? Hashimi steps in with "We're a teaching hospital" and that's how Langdon gets an answer from Santos. Garcia takes this moment to point out there's no sign of tension, at least not tension pneumo in an obvious jab at Santos, but like, it's only half funny because why are you ghosting her? KISS! Langdon finally tells Dana our patient is missing his son Zack. I'm sure I'm wrong but it seems in this moment like not even she is paying that  much attention to it. Joy is running down the hall screaming for help with Mohan, who can't breathe. The Pitt. HBOMax. This leaves us with Whit who's at the helm of our lady with the lost leg. An almost comically giant nurse comes in. Park the Shark. He's new. Anyway, he's very familiar with amputations and a little abrasive, but he's checking our leg out for reattachment possibility and it's looking good. Mohan’s not doin’ hot. They ask for Robby, concerned that she's having a heart attack, and Robby rushes in. He wants to send up some labs. He asks if she might be pregnant and she doesn't want to answer, initially. Eating/hydrating? He's firing off questions at her pretty quick, but I guess we can let that slide. She's still not doing well.   The Pitt. HBOMax. And then. Then Robby asks if 'this is a panic attack because of your mommy' and if she needs to go home. Ho-ly. He's not done though, and tells everyone they suck, basically, and to go home. Hashimi's there with major side eye, but she's not saying anything yet. If you wanted me not to like you at all anymore, Robby, you're pretty close, because that was awful. The Pitt. HBOMax. Langdon is back with Becca who's upset that he's been gone a long time. Understandable, but this is also a major crisis in the ER, so. He apologizes anyway and has brought with him all the juice a hospital could have. Honestly, giving me a bunch of juice for a long wait would probably be apology enough for me, too. She's got two pills to take for an infection and asks him to mash it up and put it in her OJ. He does, and mentions that Mel will be worried. Looking out for both sisters. I love it. He also tells Becca that she doesn't have to disclose her diagnosis to Mel, and that he won't, either unless she asks him to. And it's HIPAA, sure, but he's also being a bro. Dana comes in to ask him to go to Trauma 2, and Becca says "don't say you'll be a few minutes when we know you won't" basically. I like their relationship, too. Javadi and McKay are with Roxie, whose young son is snuggled up on her. He wants to stay, but she gently tells him that he can't, but that they'll always be connected. It's too much for Javadi and she exits the room again, where the older son is standing. McKay asks if he wants to go in, but he says simply "Cancer sucks." I mean, yeah. That's the truth. He doesn’t want to go in, and she says he doesn’t have to, and no one will make him. She does tell him he might wish he’d said goodbye if he doesn’t go in though.  Fair to say, I think. Donnie and Robby are in with Ogilvie and Whit and our amputation and we’re asking about Mohan. He says to focus, and that she's fine, but is she really fine after that kind of tongue lashing? Robby tells the patient that she’s nerve blocked, she was on a collapsed slide..and before he tells her about the leg, she sees them working on it. She asks if they cut it off and they reassure her they didn't. She's confused and combative, and I can't blame her still, but she finally says she wants them to put it back on which is the consent they've been shouting over her to get. Yay! Now we’re with Santos, Langdon, and deglove guy. They cut the ring off and he asks if it can be saved, which Santos takes as the time to joke "the finger or the ring?" Not cool. Langdon asks them to be careful with the ring for him. They argue again about what can be done for the collapsed lung, and land on something called thoravent but I'm super annoyed that there's this much argument between them. Dana basic trains her runners and tells them to hydrate. This is gonna be an eye opening experience for them, but at least they have Dana to help them out. Turns out she's also trying ot locate deglove guy's kid, and the potential bad news is that one adult and one child around Zack's age died on site. I really, really hope it wasn't Zack, but it's terrible regardless. Dana's obviously upset, about charts, the kid, and more. The nicotine patches come through right in time - and they weren't for the clerk - they were for her in the clerk's name. When Javadi asks if that's insurance fraud she says "Put me in jail, I need a vacation." Honestly. The Pitt. HBOMax. Oh.my.god. Javadi’s mom is here, in person, to actually confront her about missing the sigmoid volvulus which i still don't know who it is or what it is. She explains herself, but what gives this mom the right to come down when she’s working on other patients and risk their lives by lecturing her about something else? Pisses me off. Robby sees it happening from the background. He’s already on a fucking warpath, let’s see what happens. She’s saying the practitioners upstairs are better than seat of your pants ER. Fuck you then, too. Dana says Robby should talk to the two of them, but he doesn't move. He tells her Mohan went down, and of course not only does she already know, but she says she saw the pep talk. He says Mohan'll be fine, but her head's not in the game, and she backs off, which...I did not expect. Gonna trust her for now. Back with deglove guy, Santos is getting coached through the trochar thing, and still being belligerent. Garcia's supervising and she's sick of her shit enough to say "apparently decency and decorum need to be reintroduced to the R2 curriculum" and honestly? Appropriate use of snark, at a very appropriate time. I'm sick of it too. Out in the nurse's station, Joy asks for a break on account of her coworker almost dying but Dana slaps her on the back and tells her to get back out there. Robby asks about the drunk fireworks kid, but we get no progress on that story. Baby Jane Doe ( they said the thing!) is up for foster placement soon, maybe? They joke she'll get placed when they can drive. We'll see who's right. Langdon asks if Louie’s been picked up but he hasn’t and is still in viewing. These stories were mostly wrapped up drama wise but in reality, they'd very much be ongoing like this, so it's a nice nod. Incoming: 8 year old, fell off slide from 8 feet, neck trauma. Is this the kid? He was supposed to be 8 but could they be wrong? Possible laryngeal fracture. Is it Zack? I'm asking, but so is deglove guy, who's out roaming because he heard. It is not Zack, the dad confirms, and that hits like a lead balloon. They've got to do something called a slash trach to him to save him, and Hashimi's got the knife. It's life or death. Hashimi looks like she's frozen but then she makes the cut confidently. She's got this. Whit is also familiar with this rather unusual procedure and let's stop to talk about that for a second. Whittaker knows his shit. His personality means he gets treated like a little kid, but in reality, he's an insanely good doctor. And, I think they saved this kid. Whit asks Hashy (can I call her Hashy?) if she's done this before and she says it's her first one. Go team! Garcia (Surgery, if you recall) is rather aggressive, and says they'll have to take him upstairs and 'clean up their mess' but Hashimi just says "Or you can thank me for saving his life" and honestly? You could use some decorum too, Garcy. Ogilvie, meanwhile, is back with his English teacher and his stone. I think the resemblance to his father is softening him, and he gives him a book to read while he waits for meds and discharge. I think they're bonding. Out in triage, a tattooed older man is cutting the line, saying he's here for Robby, and apparently they were expecting him. I feel a little annoyed by this, and suspicious. But he's a VIP apparently so...he gets in. Meanwhile, Mel and an attorney are in the elevator. Our attorney says it was the most unprofessional deposition she’s ever witnessed. But it didn’t go as badly as she thought. Mel rebuts with "They're trying to make me look incompetent" but that's literally what they're trying to do, and it's not working, if you listen to the attorney. She says she doesn't have a lot of money, and the attorney reassures her again that even if she was found guilty, that's what insurance is for, the hospital has you, and it wouldn't be your money. Mel, I wish I could help you feel better - I promise this wasn't you. Had she been grounded in that moment, McKay runs into her first and flusters her right out of it. Langdon meets her there too though, and you can see the calm return a little. Until he says he can't tell her Becca's diagnosis, because Mel has to tell her, and Santos gives her a stack of clipboards because, welcome back, she's got all her patients to check on. Langdon, now off to the side with Dana, is saying that he wants a full burial for Louie and he can pay for it. Dana talks him down from that, but he’s thinking about a gofundme anyway. She says that he can't do this for every unhoused person, but he's stuck on the idea, and says louie was a good guy who deserves dignity. He's earnest about this, and Dana rightfully tosses this information in a pointed manner, at that, to Robby, and asks if he heard all that. Did you hear it, bitch? (Ok, the terrible attitude is rubbing off on me here, my apologies.) Donnie is in with Duke, Robby comes in, and they’re old friends. They make a million stupid jokes back and forth and it turns out he's a motorcycle mechanic. Or y'know, a bike whisperer, of sorts, and that's how they met. He's been riding hard and doing alcohol and drugs and he's here cuz he's been hoarse for months and Robby is smelling an undiagnosed problem. They nose scope him, which for some reason seems less gross than it is cool, and though he pushes back, he eventually concedes, and they're off. Nothing's weird, so they order a chest x-ray in case of tumors. Duke starts to bitch about the cost but Robby cuts him off, tells him it's covered under Medicare and that he's getting the golden workup, like it or not. This is the Robby that should be present in the ER, and I'm a little more confident we can get back there. Come back, cool Robby. The Pitt. HBOMax. Garcia and Santos finally meet up in a hallway somewhere, and Santos asks if they're ok. The question seems surprising to Garcia, and she asks why she'd even be asking. Santos says it's because she ripped her a new one earlier with Langdon, but there's more to it than that. Still, that's what they'll talk about. Garcia says that the Santos thing isn't cool - this isn't a middle school, he owned up to it, and she needs to get over it. I thought maybe, coming from someone she wants to be in good with, this would hit, but she doubles down and says he should've been fired. Garcia says it's not because she ratted out Langdon that she's a pariah, it's because she can't work well with anyone, and if she still has beef with Langdon she should just tell him. Santos tries to fire up a big rant about "but he did this" and Garcia says it's fine if they hang out, have sex and eat ramen in bed but she is not doing THIS, and she needs to get a therapist. I mean, again, ouch, but she's not wrong. Ogilvie and Javadi meet outside a room, and Joy calls Javadi Dr. J. Ogilvie didn’t know, but now he does. No good can come from this. Robby’s back. Slash trach is doing well in pre-op. Hashimi tracks Robby down and tells him she needs to talk to him in private. So, yeah. Someone had to do it. She asks what all that was with Samira (Mohan) and Robby's just doubling down. He says that she's only having a panic attack because of personal baggage that shouldn't be brought to the ER and that the ER isn't for the faint of heart and I really, really want to punch him in the nose right now because this is EXACTLY what Whittaker talked him down from and he's now acting like Mohan shouldn't be in this career, what? Ok, my level of liking Robby has dropped to an all time low. "And what do you need to do to get some basic empathy back?" Hashimi with the actual question. Good job. No notes. Robby doesn't really have a comeback for that now, does he? “Something that gives me hope this place won’t go to shit while I'm gone” Oh ok, he does have a comeback, and...I mean, were I to be able to punch through the TV without breaking it. Fuck you, sir. The Pitt. HBOMax. In much better news with a new fave for me, Emma, aka Babynurse, has found the slide dad’s kid Whaaat? Turns out she sent a bunch of info and the pd has him? Oh my god good job babynurse. Mel and Becca meet up, and Becca's bored. She says she’s feeling better, and asks what the meds were for. Becca does say she wants to share with Mel and sends her out. She tells her sister she has a UTI. Ok, that's not crazy.  Mel says it can happen for lots of reasons and starts listing every single possibility, but Becca knows that and is trying to say something else. That something else? That she's having sex. She has a boyfriend. His name is Adam. Mel is NOT ready for this info, and handles it much the way you'd think.   The Pitt. HBOMax. Elsewhere, Robby’s checking on Samira She’s fine, and he apologizes, kinda, for being tough on her. She corrects him and says he was being a dick, and he seems to take it in stride, but proceeds to spoil the apology by saying she needs to stop feeling sorry for herself and he's kinda still a dick. McKay’s in with Roxie. Javadi is too. She’s going through what she might be feeling. She asks the husband to go out but he won't. She pushes the meds. End of episode. Dang. What could happen next. I'm not sure I want to know. See you next time.

After my quick, cursory look at the long list of releases being prepped for Record Store Day , I felt a void. There must have been some additional releases that I completely overlooked or had no idea of their significance to my personal enjoyment. Now that we're just a month a way from the much celebrated/maligned vinyl holiday, I think its pertinent to take another, more in-depth look into the list and dig our some unique releases that previously alluded me! Freeman - FREEMAN This is a would one for me to have missed. Being a fan of Ween and their brownness, the proper live release of Europe "90" landed on my shortlist but for some reason i completely skipped over Gene Ween's solo debut. Aaron Freeman, the true identity of the nom de plume Gene Ween, has release a couple of albums outside of Ween, each one a little more straight forward than his genre eluding work with that band. This is his first release with a full band as Free Man, and a must for fans of the Genester. Look Outside Your Window - Look Outside Your Window I had no idea about this albums history, let alone that it's actually a Slipknot side project. Written as a stark departure from the metal band's sound, aiming for a more art-rock-Radiohead-esque vibe, this album feels tailor made for a special release. Highly recommend you read this Reddit post that has a pretty impressive breakdown of the history of this long gestating album . Those who know will surely be out early to get this thought to never be released album and I don;t blame them. James Carter, Cyrus Chestnut, Ali Jackson, & Reginald Veal - Gold Soundz: A Jazz Tribute To Pavement I'm not entirely sure why this jazz tribute to Pavement is getting a proper vinyl release. Maybe it's Pavement's newfound success thanks to a pretty deep cut B-Side that no one in the band ever thought would be a hit turned out to be a TikTok sensation. Maybe it's because jazz is back on top! No, unfortunately I think it's the TikTok thing. Regardless, the collection of covers is actually quite a fun project. Let's just hope the pressing quality is better that those old VSQ releases. Camper Van Beethoven - Tusk It takes a lot of balls for a strange, undeniably underground band like Camper Van Beethoven to tackle a cover of an iconic album like Fleetwood Mac's Tusk. I mean the weight of that alone would crush any band. But for Camper Van Beethoven it was an album they kinda hated and their comeback album after over a decade away. What the fuck? Anyway it's a fantastic listen and the first time on vinyl, so it's hefty price tag ($46+) hurts a little less given it's special qualities. Just a little tho. A Few More Quick Hits! Masayoshi Takanaka -   On Guitar & All Of Me These reissues of Taanaka's amazing albums are on the pricey side, but all iomports typically are. If you are a fan these are great releases.  Misfits - Famous Monsters No their best album, but there are some fun songs and the disc has been OOP for a bit.  Jhene Aiko - Trip WHY IS THIS ON PICTURE DISC?! Laura Marling - Live At Albert Hall Manchester &  Corinne Bailey Rae - Live At Webster Hall, New York Most people avoid live albums like the plague, but having heard these two marvelous performers in person before, I can safely say these albums are worth a shot!

Screenshot: Starship Troopers: Ultimate Bug War! Back when Helldivers 2 released, it was a huge hit. So much so that it even caught the attention of actor Casper Van Dien who portrayed expert bug killer Johnny Rico from the seminal '90s film Starship Troopers . He made some comments about feeling like he was already a part of the Helldivers 2 world–before he pivoted into doing promotional and in-game work for relative dud Starship Troopers: Extermination . Now Van Dien is back as General Rico for another game. This time it’s a satire of a film that is itself a satire of Robert Heinlein’s original novel. Did you follow all of that? Well, it doesn’t matter, because Starship Troopers: Ultimate Bug War!  is a surprisingly competent riff on a '90s-style shooter that’s extremely fun to play. I would describe Starship Troopers: Ultimate Bug War!  as a first-person demake of Helldivers 2. Like someone took a lot of the core mechanics of Helldivers 2 and put them into a first-person shooter made on something like the Build Engine. But since Helldivers 2 was already so close to Starship Troopers  there are incredibly blurred lines between homage and logical gameplay translation. I don’t mean this as a bad thing, since Ultimate Bug War!  takes the elements from Helldivers 2 that fit best in this demade, late '90s singleplayer shooter form. There’s also a meta element involved, as the game is an in-universe recruitment tool in the same vein as the video game America’s Army  was back when I was in high school. In universe, Ultimate Bug War!  is developed by Federation Developer (Fed Dev)--a government run game developer.  In Ultimate Bug War!  you play as Major Sammy Dietz, reliving her exploits in what' s named the “great bug war”–but in a Federation-approved, sanitized version, which is to say: not historically accurate. This is complete with Major Dietz and General Rico both commenting on how this is “the most realistic depiction of war ever made” as they encourage you to join up.  Screenshot: Starship Troopers: Ultimate Bug War! Fed Dev themselves are even a character in the game. If you enable developer commentary in the “secrets” menu, you’ll not get commentary by the game’s actual developer, Auroch Digital, but instead be treated to an in-universe commentary from Fed Dev. Sammy Dietz is a character that seems superhuman, but also overly enthusiastic about her role as a trooper. One of her friends dies early on, and the rest of the game sees her trying to get revenge for that death–despite the dozens of other soldiers that get gibbed around her from moment to moment. Each trooper even has a name, so you can see the human toll of the bug conflict, I guess. Or sometimes just to put a name to the pile of goo that used to be Cpl Evans. Sorry for the friendly fire, man. Narratively, Ultimate Bug War!  doesn’t really lean into the more subtle Paul Verhoeven style of satire that fooled so many film reviewers in the late '90s, but instead goes for the more straightforward style that Helldivers 2 employs. But it’s done in an appropriately over-the-top way that actually manages to fit in with the game’s themes, especially since it’s fashioned as a '90s shooter. There are even '90s-style FMV cutscenes, with a big chunk of them featuring Van Dien as General Rico. While all of the in-universe nods and lore are a plus, it’s all for nothing if the game isn’t fun. Ultimate Bug War!  turns out to be a great shooter, and a competent homage to the time frame it's emulating. This is despite of–or because of–the ideas and mechanics that were taken wholesale from Helldivers 2, like calling down resupplies, some of the types of air strikes you can call in, and even the tone of the NPCs as they deliver lines in much the same way a Helldiver would. Random NPCs will quote the movie like they’re huge Starship Troopers  fans, even if the quote is slightly used out of context. In the film someone says, “Somebody made a big mistake!” when they found themselves at odds with their provided intelligence, while in the game it’s said as a threat. Or a trooper dies and says, “I guess I didn’t want to live forever.” Screenshot: Starship Troopers: Ultimate Bug War! Unlike Helldivers 2, Ultimate Bug War!  is (sadly) a singleplayer-only game. While each level is a small(ish) open map, you can often tackle each of its multitude of objectives as you see fit. This format does a good job of making you feel like you’re on a battlefield fighting the arachnid threat. Soldiers run from drop ships to fight towards their own objectives, bugs don’t just focus on you but will attack other NPCs. Plus add in the flak bugs' glowing projectiles and the Federation ordnance, and it’s really like you’re in a full-blown video game war a '90s kid could only dream of. Combat is visceral and fun. Bugs fly apart in chunks with the requisite amount of green blood spatter as they’re shot. Human soldiers explode into gore with the slightest provocation–okay, not really, but an errant burst of your rifle can easily gib your allies. Guns look and sound authentic to the film, and the sound design does a lot in making the guns feel hefty, powerful, and fun to use. There is also a pretty big variety of weapons, so there’s probably a gun or two in the arsenal that fits your playstyle. There are also lots of different enemies to fight. With large tanker bugs that shoot a fiery stream, archer bugs that throw projectiles from a distance, and the commonplace warrior bugs filling in the ranks and more. There is even an extra dangerous Assassin Bug that is the focus of the player character’s aforementioned vengeful motivation. One thing Helldivers 2 doesn’t let you do is play as the enemy. But Ultimate Bug War! Has them beat because you can play as the bugs themselves. The missions are set up as “what-if” style simulations where you take control of the Assassin Bug and play through the campaign map but with the objective of killing Federal Troopers and taking out their key buildings until an area is considered “terrorized,” culminating in you destroying the command building.  Screenshot: Starship Troopers: Ultimate Bug War! You don’t get to play as a bunch of different bugs but the Assassin Bug has the ability to morph into three different forms. This means it has a bit of every bug in it. You can shoot that fiery goop that the tanker bugs can shoot, you can fly like a hopper, and you can attack with your stabby arms like a regular arachnid warrior,  I don’t know if it’s the sight of old Casper Van Dien really putting it out there as General Rico, or the general nostalgic vibe, but Starship Troopers: Ultimate Bug War!  is fantastic. It’s been my favorite shooter of the year. Instead of putting more time into Marathon , I found myself sneaking away to stomp some bugs. I’m doing my part.

To Carry Our Own Names. DaYoung Jung. Photo: Katie Miller I’m tired of people who take narrow views on what art is, and I’m tired of people who tell me what to care about, or what’s over, or what an art form is allowed to be. It’s part of why we are here, at Culture Combine - because we know better. We can confidently call comic books literature, and video games art, because we know this to be true – and we know that every rising art form has once been labelled “not art” simply because it challenged what people thought art was. But art is alive when it explores its borders and stretches its edges. Art is challenging, to the viewer and the performer. It should leave you with questions, and leave images burned in your brain. It also needs to know what it is, and what it’s built on - what built it. It should teach, and it should grow.  That’s exactly what you get with Winning Works at MCA, featuring the Grainger Academy of the Joffrey Ballet - a perfect pairing of up and coming dancers in an iconic institution working together with boundary pushing, emerging choreographers waiting to burst on the scene. These five works are part of a 16 year tradition for the Joffrey of selecting and funding ALAAN (African, Latinx, Asian, Arab, and Native American) choreographers to create their vision in collaboration with the Grainger Academy, the only student training program that’s fully owned and operated by the Joffrey Ballet. And all of this is part of the Joffrey’s larger mission: Joffrey for All, which promotes ‘diversity and innovation in the dance world.’ It’s an iconic award from an iconic institution that features immensely talented dancers and choreographers coming together to present truly new things for their audience. And winning isn’t just about making the pieces - winning choreographers has launched careers. What you’re seeing then, is the beginning of great new things. This year’s winners are Fran Diaz, Julia Feldman, DaYoung Jung, Daniel Ojeda and Alexandra Schooling. Each winner spent time in residence at the Grainger Academy working with the dancers and Joffrey staff to create something new based on their own inspiration and vision, returning in March to fine-tune for opening night.  To Carry Our Own Names. DaYoung Jung. Photo: Katie Miller DaYoung’s piece, To Carry Our Own Names was almost sculptural, with beautiful and evocative lighting by David Goodman-Edberg. Principal dancers melted into each other, and even when the full ensemble was on stage, there were quiet individual moments happening in different corners. It felt as though the corps always breathed and moved as one, and there were beautiful moments where the entire group amassed into beautiful, impeccably lit shapes. It felt as though there was a strength in the community of dancers, and yet each was given an individual moment of proud presentation - perhaps, to carry their own names.  Hushed Power, Alexandra Schooling. Photo: Katie Miller The second piece was called Hushed Power, by Alexandra Schooling. This piece was actually inspired by sand, and the all female cast wore blazing copper costumes created by the Joffrey Ballet Costume shop. The soundtrack was wildly varied throughout the piece, and featured works by Claude Debussy, Gregor Quendel, Christian Sinding and an anonymous choir. Schooling, in her video intro, mentioned the dichotomous nature of sand - that it could be both soft and abrasive, and that stuck in my mind as I observed the choreography - dancers tumbled noiselessly in broken yet graceful poses, drifted as though carried by wind, and at times took on more staccato, abrasive movements.  Shapes shifted as in dunes, and moments of extreme grace on the part of the dancers were interrupted by a sharp mechanical buzzing. As I let myself explore the theme in my mind, I started to think about erosion, and how even a small, soft single grain of sand, over time, can carve mountains, and how that ties in to the hushed power of femininity.  Visitors, Daniel Ojeda. Photo: Katie Miller Daniel Ojeda’s winning work, Visitors, blew my mind in such a profound way that I can hardly adequately convey it here. If you pick up a ticket for Winning Works for nothing else but this piece, it will be worth the price of admission. Ojeda, who started life as a musical theater kid before becoming a principal dancer and choreographer at the Idaho ballet, has crafted something incredible with “Visitors.”  Every single moment of this piece is burned in my brain, beginning with its opening, which sees a single spotlit dancer, eerily, stoically walking off stage. She’s too slow to seem real, and too silent and non-emotive. A male dancer follows her, desperately, but doesn’t reach her. It feels like a fever dream or a particularly cinematic nightmare. Suddenly, lights go up, and latin music plays. The corps is alive with bright music and dancing. It’s as though we’re somewhere else entirely, but our eerie disappearing girl is still slowly leaving the stage, and our dreamer, in his pajamas, is mystified, and confused. The ensemble, meanwhile, is almost aggressively upbeat, and seems almost callous to our dreamer, who’s still trying to reach her, even as he’s being grabbed at and enticed to dance with them. As if too exhausted to resist, he joins in with a few partners, and the scene suddenly changes again. Visitors. Daniel Ojeda. Photo: Katie Miller This time, our female soloist is seated in a rolling chair, spotlit on an otherwise dark stage, until the ensemble arrives and envelops her until she’s mostly invisible to us. Our dreamer runs to them, and to her, but as he goes to break through the mass of people, they almost violently burst forth into a rock number, with music by The BOMB Pulse. Again, at certain points, our dreamer is compelled to participate but still earnestly chases her. People run by at dizzying speed, trying to pull him in different directions – until he reaches her, pulling her up to stand beside him. She’s there, but she isn’t, and spends equal time dancing beautifully and being almost pulled or carried along by him, until one final turn, a beautiful lift, gentle return, and fade to black.  Simply put, this is a masterpiece, incorporating a sort of sad, bleak, surreal cinematography a la Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind with a frantic, delirious and sinister happiness that’s unsettling by design. Impeccably lit, beautifully danced, and packed with longing and desperation, it’s something that makes me absolutely crave more from this choreographer, and sends me to the internet after to make sure I follow his work - because I can’t remember the last time - and perhaps this is the first time - I’ve felt so absolutely, overwhelmingly captured by a dance piece.  Èclat. Julia Feldman. Photo: Katie Miller While it might seem hard to follow something like that, Julia Feldman’s piece, Èclat, underpinned by a lush John Adams composition, is all about grandeur and hearkens back to a more classical understanding of ballet. As its name suggests, and as was reinforced by Feldman, this is about grandeur and beauty.  And it lives up to its name. Dancers in flowing white gowns fill up the stage as they turn, spin and are lifted through the air.  Gorgeous, time stopping leaps that are full of power and energy but land as if the performers are weightless. It’s a feast for the eyes and an embarrassment of riches – a full on smorgasbord of the beauty of ballet, performed by some absolutely ridiculously talented students who take on the full mantle of the Joffrey’s reputation with effortless grace.  A Strange House We Must Keep and Fill. Fran Diaz. Photo: Katie Miller Rounding out the show was Fran Diaz’s ‘A Strange House We Must Keep and Fill’ which takes Feldman’s idea and turns it on its ear a little bit.  It’s about virtuosity, Diaz emphasizes in his video intro – but not such as we know it. Instead, it’s about virtuosity through more common steps and techniques, rather than intricacies and complexities. Performing “normal movements” or common ones, at least, in a virtuosic way.  I think Diaz’s piece takes our Grainger Academy dancers furthest out of their “norm” as far as technique goes, and genre. It’s unrelenting, hard, and leans into street or funk dancing. It’s aggressive and bold, quick and sharp.  One of the things I love about this for ballet dancers is that it removes the illusion of softness and perfection and reminds us that nobody goes harder than a ballet dancer - bleeding for their art is an everyday thing, not a thing worth even mentioning, and the amount of strength and muscle it takes to do things that feel floaty and effortless translates into a commanding presence and power in a piece like this.  A Strange House We Must Keep and Fill. Fran Diaz. Photo: Katie Miller Make no mistake- this is demanding precision and only gets faster and more involved as it goes along, but it’s something entirely different than we see, both in posture and movement, for a ballet troupe, and something interesting, imposing and refreshing.  I hesitate to bring current events like Timothee Chalamet's blatantly ignorant comments about ballet and opera into a review of this magnificent set of performances, but Winning Works is the exact reason why you should care about art, including traditional forms like ballet and opera – and the exact reason you will, if you’re willing to immerse yourself and listen to what these exciting new voices have to say.  Winning Works runs from March 13th to the 26th at the Museum of Contemporary Arts in Chicago, and tickets for this (if you’re local) can be acquired here .

Screenshot: The Pitt How did we get to episode 9 already? It’s 3pm. The day is still young, but the season is mostly over and I’m a little sad. I get that production on this has to be an UNDERTAKING and that’s likely a huge understatement but man. I feel the approach of the end, and there’s so much more I want to see. Anyway, let’s recap a recap, for old time’s sake, yes? Ok, right away they remind us we’re in the dark ages, and Robby’s talking about how they did it in the dark ages. Second on this recap is our central retinal artery inclusion, and that there’s a medication that can help restore some vision but has high risk.  Then we flash over to CK of the Jackies, remarking on Langdon’s hotness (which, I mean, right?) and then we’re back with Howard, who they’re reminding us needs the CT and that they had contacted his sis in AZ. He’s out for a ride to the hospital that can do both. We finish with our hospice patient and the doctors talking about treating pain first, regardless of potential side effects, in a hospice situation. Screenshot: The Pitt And now, we’re back in it. Dana’s ringing bells and telling everyone to chill out, essentially. We’re taking people's complaints by hands. As per usual Dana’s solving problems left and right. Ogilvie gets snubbed by Robby when he has a question and it made me laugh, but…why? New patient is a 32 year old with severe abdominal pain and a little kid who blew himself up with a firework, and is already missing 2 fingers. Yikes. Jude. He can’t call his parents but he can call his sister. Aww, he’s scared to see his hand. I get that. Poor little guy. He tried to drop the firework but it went off too fast. And oh, what the hell! He has very little hand left. Yiiiikes. That’s gnarly. Santos is doing a great job empathy wise, and tells him that he’s lost two fingers very gently, but he screams out “I fucked up!” and I surmise there’s more to this story. Meanwhile, King is in with our suddenly blind patient and zoning out, until the nurse wakes her up. She lights up some when noticing that she can actually see some. She’s got 20/200 vision and the meds are tentatively working. Mel ducks out to get ready for her deposition only for a nurse to tell her she’s got a visitor in chairs - her sister. Oh man, this is no good at all. She takes off running. Donnie’s got a furry with heat exhaustion who looks unhappy, and McKay is with our abdominal pain person, who also has PCOS. She's in a lot of pain but not too much to ask why they’re writing things down manually. I mean, I do get it. Screenshot: The Pitt It’s rough in chairs, and King is not prepared for this. Luckily she finds her sister Becca quickly, and with someone from the inpatient facility. We’ve never seen her in person before so this will be interesting.   Santos is with Jude, and ready to clean out his hand. Man, that hand is … well, half gone. I feel really bad for this kid. Surgery’s already here. They tell him he’s got the important fingers and his thumb. But, plot twist: surgery takes Robby aside and says she smells alcohol on his breath. And the parents were someone he either didn't want to call or couldn’t. This is already getting way more complicated than the mangled hand even implied. Santos and surgery are keeping it casual badly - and I totally forgot about that, but they try to make time for each other before she hops up to her floor. Oh no, she’s ditching Santos for fireworks. That’s sad. Our sapphic romance was only just blossoming, but it's already facing trouble. Whit’s just off the phone about Howard and the sister is waiting for information - of which there’s none because Presby’s also very busy.  Screenshot: The Pitt Becca is back with King, and they’re getting a room ready for her. She meets Dr. Robby, who she deems “cool!” and I agree. Usually. Mel's anxious AF and rattling off the steps she needs to take, and Becca actually succeeds when she tries to help her calm down, reminding her she’s been to a doctor’s office before. Sadly, it's ruined when her phone goes off to remind her it’s time for the deposition in 15. NBD, nbd, cool cool cool. Oh man. Out at the nurse’s station, Security’s got the prize from the bets on what was going on at Westbridge, and Princess takes the pot - that’s gotta feel nice after she had to be in charge of the chaos for a while. Perlah’s pissed because she says Princess got inside information from a friend at Westbridge. Ooo, tea! She therefore takes half. Meanwhile, they unjam the fax machine. They need toner, but that’s back in 1988 according to Dana, so now they’re gonna need runners for x-rays and labs. Dang. Our abdominal pain lady’s relaying an all too familiar tale of doctors not listening to women. She was only diagnosed with PCOS a year ago but had the pain for years. McKay makes an offhanded comment about it taking time to make a diagnosis and she claps back with “that sounds like an excuse for lazy doctoring” and talks about how it’s even harder to get doctors to listen to brown women, and - that’s a sad truth in the American medical system. One that needs to change. McKay’s doing the exam. Not pregnant, no ectopic, lots of little cysts and one big one. She mentions that she’s looking forward to having a kid one day. Outside the room, they discuss what it could be. Interestingly, Whit’s ready to let her go with naproxen and McKay goes to bat for the patient, saying her pain’s worse than previous episodes and she was bad in triage, so they’re gonna keep her.  Screenshot: The Pitt Mohan and Ogilvie have a potential kidney stone. He’s an English teacher, and Ogilvie reveals his dad’s an English teacher too, but deflects any conversation with him. He’s pretty sure that it’s a kidney stone based off prior kidney stones, but they’re doing their due diligence. They find a sore spot.  Now Jude’s being  rolled by and Hashimi is with …an X-ray tech with a full machine in the middle of the room? So they’re gonna do live “wet read” of x-rays. Robby says it’s a good idea. Barker’s flirting with Princess over the process , or maybe not. Update on the baby - CYF requested emergency custody authorization so then she can be placed in custody. King asks for Robby to have him weigh in on her sister. She barely gets out some of her anxiety ramble before a lawyer comes down to pick King up for her deposition. She says she can’t go because of her sister. Actually, she says “Right now?” with big puppy eyes directed at Robby that would be hard to say no to, but Robby’s got this thing down. He says she shouldn’t really be treating family anyway, though he does take a moment to hold her back and reassure her.  Dana calls out Langdon as King rejects Santos. King goes in to introduce them and Becca notes Langdon has nice hair. I mean, yes. They turn out the lights and now she’s gone. Becca lets her know that her sister says lots of nice things about him. It also stings when she pees. Sounds like it may be a UTI. Langdon seems weirdly nervous, even with Perlah with her. Screenshot: The Pitt Back in with Roxie, in hospice. She's sorta drifting off from meds or dying, and she briefly admits how much pain she’s been in the whole time to her husband before her kids come on in. They’ve got some ice cream for her, and the quiet moment of truth’s now gone. Outside in the hall, Princess admires the hotness of our x-ray tech and Perlah snaps her out of it. Meanwhile Robby asks how things are going with that and finds out via Dana that he’s been monopolizing the space. So they get him to download things manually offline and cut the crud. South 22 is occupied, and it’s Javadi’s but she didn’t put it on there. Or she did and ..something happened. She gets thoroughly scolded. Jude’s guardian arrives- it’s his sister. She’s the guardian. Ok. She finds out he’s fingerless and gets really pissed.  They argue some, but Robby pulls Chantal out of the room to tell her to lay off a little bit, and to mention the alcohol. It means child services has to be called to determine if the drinking and injury indicate a problem, but she loudly refuses and goes back to his side. Javadi’s filling Whit in on her patient. He was at a BBQ, seems pretty normal given it's the Fourth, but when they get in there, she’s unconscious, so uh-oh. Her abdomen’s distended, she's got a thready pulse and bad breathing. They’re getting a crash cart. She was just in for mild abdominal pain and vomiting and you can tell this turn it took has shocked Javadi.  Our furry friend’s costume stares at Santos from outside the room, but our patient is in a mist and recovering. She was in full fur at Anthrocon, a furry festival that Santos recognizes but says isn’t her scene. Our patient’s trying hard to get Santos to the furry side, and says she’d be a good dragon. Why do I really want to see this? It seems like such a genuine moment between two strangers, and I feel like she'd actually have fun. Screenshot: The Pitt Javadi’s absolutely losing it even though the patient who crashed is now revived. Meanwhile no one can find her chart, and x-rays are done but actively moving north. This is chaos, and Dana’s still mad at Javadi. This patient needs surgery ASAP.  Robby peeps our normal social worker and runs into the restroom with him. Mohan and Ogilvie are working on kidney stone guy. Seems like it’s what you’d think so far - they’re not saying they saw stones though. They’re gonna observe him for a bit.  McKay runs by, and asks if Mohan is ok, and she mentions a regular who came by just to talk to her because he’s lonely and she’s wondering if that’s all that’s been going on with her mom too. McKay mentions that she’s finally ready to date after a long time, and Mohan’s convinced her eggs are dying and it’s too late. Baby girl you are too young for that kind of goofy thought. Hashimi asks Dana how she’s dealing with the chaos just in time to see Monica Peters, a retired clerk that she asked to come back and help them wade through how to do this all manually, as she was retired by the digital revolution, or so she says. She seems nice until she scares the shit out of our clerks from earlier to get her space. Back in with the sister of Jude, our social worker is talking to them. She works at a shoe store, and she’s not often home enough for Jude. You can tell this isn’t going great considering. She promised her parents he’d never go to foster care. Turns out that her parents were deported 9 months ago, and she was left to take care of her brother. Turns out she was headed to college but that’s on hold for her brother jus finishing high school. Santos isn’t handling this well - and doesn't want to separate them, but this situation is kind of what it is. McKay’s patient is groaning from the other room. She’s writhing, literally. Says her pain is at 12.  Surgery’s with Javadi and Whittaker and she is PISSED. If they’d read the x-ray an hour ago she wouldn’t have needed major surgery. Surgery calls her a nepo baby and tells her it’s not good enough to be sorry - she fucked up. Woah. Ok, so…woah.  She tells her not to trust anything or anybody else when systems are down. I mean, could’ve given that piece of advice without namecalling. Javadi’s absolutely not taking this well. Whit gets called away mid-soothing her, to McKay’s patient's room. Screenshot: The Pitt Meanwhile, Dana’s outside. Emma finds her and tells her Princess is looking for her, and Dana takes the time to mention how well she’s doing, and how well she did with the SA victim. She mentions she told her how to be able to press charges later if she wants to and that she’d rather have the option. She asks if it’s always like this and Dana says , minus the cyberattacks yes, but be proud you made it through so far - you’re almost done with your first day.  Aww. Baby nurse does seem to have growed up a lot in one shift. Back with our Jackies, she’s leaving and on a soft food diet. They’re being weird and thinking they’re flirting and it’s working, but it’s not, and they’re gone. In with McKay we’re finding out that she’s got ovarian torsion. Intermittent - so they didn’t see it right away. If McKay hadn’t kept her for observation they wouldn’t have seen it and she certainly would have lost the ovary, which Whittaker points out, humbly. Now she’s gotta go for surgery to untwist and tack it down (OW!) and has a chance to lose it, but odds are much better she won’t.  Screenshot: The Pitt Robby meets Abot in the hall with Howard, who we thought was already gone, but he’s on his way somewhere at least. Robby tells Javadi to get with him later on the volvulus patient, and they catch Santos and the social worker. The social worker says they don’t have to get family services involved right now during surgery but that they’re going to have to do a home visit in a week and Santos is protesting. I mean, I get it, but let’s hear him out. He’s gonna try to get resources together for chantal to help mitigate the time she’s away from him so she can still work. Howard’s getting things explained to him and it’s a lot scary. If they don’t operate, he will 100 percent die, but the mortality rate with surgery is still 50/50, because he’s septic. They mention the OR and getting a room and they’re on the move again. Are they not going to Presby? Screenshot: The Pitt McKay stops in with Roxie, our hospice patient, and she’s in the dark and alone. Ice cream party is over, and she’s not seeming too chipper. She asks if she needs anything. “A time machine?” Ugh, it’s hard. She’s thinking about the things she is gonna miss, and the people she’s leaving behind. Fucking lung cancer, and she didn’t even smoke. She’s really struggling, and it’s getting to McKay a lot, too. Roxie asks McKay for advice on death, beause she’s never died before,...and they cut away. Ugh. Howard is meanwhile outside with his sister on the phone. I have the feeling they haven't talked in a while. They haven’t. Seems like a family issue. She wants to see him for the holidays. And he wants to do it too. I really hope this works out in a way I'm not predicting. He’s gotta go up to surgery. Monica and Robby say their hellos again and she’s running a tight ship. Abot tells Robby he likes Hashimi. Thinks she’s capable.  He also challenges Robby's notion of taking a vacation, especially cuz he’s never taken one before. He’s also worried he can’t handle the self reflection, and wants him to make sure he comes back, and talks to him if it’s dark. Robby…walks away, because of course he does. Joy’s over the shoulder of radiology catching things he didn’t catch. Because she’s that good. She’s annoying but growing on me. Screenshot: The Pitt Robby meets up with Whittaker in the lounge and gives him his doctor's badge. He says he’s proud of him …and then leans into a lecture about Amy, his farm person who the staff worried was taking advantage of him. Or dating him? It’s hard to tell. And that's his point. Robby reminds him to have boundaries. He also asks Whittaker if he’d house-sit while Robby’s gone. “If I don’t come back you got a swingin’ bachelor pad” he says after Whittaker agrees. Ok….what? (which is basically how Whit reacts). I now have hard concerns. Peters is running the clerks hard. Dana’s smirking. Our furry’s being released by Donnie. As he’s taking her out, they notice a news broadcast. There’s been a slide collapse at a water park, there’s fatalities and they’re airlifting patients…right to The Pitt. So we’ve got that to look forward to. Next time. Because, well, that’s the end of it, folks. Damn.

Screenshot: Timberborn With all of the humans dead and our greatest works left to rust, Timberborn envisions a world inherited by beavers. Despite a premise that sounds like an internet meme, it is far from a simple gimmick. The adorable exterior hides a game that takes its survival mechanics seriously. Developer Mechanistry clearly knows what they’re doing, as Timberborn stands as one of the best examples of the genre released in recent memory. Timberborn is a Survival City Builder. It’s a colony sim that, when your society is set and thriving, turns more into a city builder. It’s not to say the difficulty disappears entirely, but rather that the nature of the threat evolves. In the early hours, Timberborn can be a grueling micro-management game. You know every beaver’s role, and a single miscalculated water pump during your first drought spells the end of your run. But as you establish your footing, the scope widens. You stop worrying about individual carrots and start managing macro-level logistics across sprawling, interconnected districts. Screenshot: Timberborn The true lifeblood of Timberborn, and its greatest adversary, is water. The game features a robust 3D fluid dynamics system that forces you to constantly respect the environment. You are at the mercy of brutal seasonal cycles: life-giving wet seasons, devastating droughts, and the catastrophic "Badtides" that flood your rivers with toxic sludge. Surviving means mastering hydro-engineering. You'll construct massive dams, intricate aqueducts, and deep reservoirs to hoard water, all while dynamically rerouting toxic flows away from your precious farmland. Screenshot: Timberborn If you want to understand the true appeal of Timberborn, you only need to experience that razor-thin line between a relaxing city-builder and a devastating survival sim. The game's charming aesthetic often lulls you into a false sense of security before the harsh environment completely pulls the rug out from under you. I've played my fair share of heavyweights in the genre, and losing a sprawling human settlement in Surviving Mars to gross incompetence feels completely hollow compared to the utter heartbreak of watching my first twelve beavers slowly succumb to a mismanaged drought. There is a tangible emotional weight to your failures here; when the water pumps run dry and the riverbed turns to dust, the panic sets in fast. Screenshot: Timberborn Beyond the survival panic, I can't praise the game's unique architectural demands enough. Timberborn doesn't just allow you to build vertically—it demands it. City planning here is far more in-depth than in traditional builders because you can quite literally build yourself into a corner. When arable land is the most precious resource on the map, you can't afford to waste it on sprawling suburban housing.  I consistently found myself forced to engineer massive, multi-tiered structures, stacking lodges on top of lumber mills, all connected by a chaotic web of suspended bridges and power shafts. You can tackle this through two distinct factions: the Folktails, who rely on eco-friendly wind power and agriculture, or the Iron Teeth, an industrial juggernaut that uses breeding pods and massive engines to fuel a relentless, grinding workforce. Screenshot: Timberborn What truly solidifies this 1.0 release, however, is the new automation system. Previously, late-game survival required tedious micromanagement—manually tweaking dozens of floodgates every time the seasons shifted. Mechanistry has solved this by introducing programmable logic blocks. By wiring depth sensors, flow meters, and relays to your infrastructure, you can build self-regulating cities. My early encounters with the toxic "Badwater" system were pure horror—watching red sludge unexpectedly roll down my carefully curated rivers, instantly wiping out hours of agricultural planning, was a gut punch.  Screenshot: Timberborn But as I adapted, that initial frustration turned into immense satisfaction. Watching a sensor detect a toxic Badtide and automatically trigger mechanical floodgates to protect your reservoir is one of the most mechanically satisfying payoffs in the genre. It's this exact pipeline—from devastating ecological disaster to triumphant engineering mastery—that cements Timberborn as a modern classic for survival-builder fans. Timberborn isn't just about surviving the elements; it's a deeply satisfying, physics-driven engineering puzzle that the 1.0 update elevates from a micromanagement grind into an automated "lumberpunk" masterpiece. It’s easy to pass this one over because of its theme, but if you enjoy colony sims or city builders you’ll be doing yourself a disservice by skipping this game.

Ah, yes. It's early February so that means it's time to stop living in the moment and look ahead to that third Saturday in April that half the vinyl record community holds deep in their heart or outward disdains: Record Store Day. The 2026 Record Store day list is out and of course I took a quick look at it to sort out exactly which releases I'm excited for and which I'm confused by. TV Girl - The Night in Question: French Exit Outtakes There are plenty of mid Teens bands that really hyped up their releases and made them collectors items. TV girl is at the forefront of that with their albums going out of print as quickly as they came back with variations to behold. Some of their debut album French Exit's pressing have broken into triple digits to acquire one, in no short part thanks to their tiktok success.. So it should be no surprise that this collection of outtakes from that heralded debut is gonna be highly sought after and one I hope to spin on my table. Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros - Global A Go-Go Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros' Global A Go-Go was one of my early RSD pickups back in 2010. Having just gotten into the hobby a few years previous and The Clash being one of my early high school obsessions, that simple black copy was a must buy. So seeing this brand spanking new multi-color variant brings a little tear to my eye. I kind of really want to get it, despite already having the album and listen to it constantly. I swear I am not a variant hunter, but this one may be too good to pass up. Little Feat - Little Feat This one is a mix of "readily available" and "look at those extras". Little Feat is a fantastic band and their RSD releases have been pretty darn good with not just being a whatever repress. This one adds tones of extra songs, either as unreleased alternate versions or outtakes from their early recording sessions. It's definitely a release for diehard fans or those who haven't heard of Lowell George and crew. But is that what most vinyl ends up being? Quick Hits! John Fuschiante - To Record Only Water for 10 days Very expensive OOP album that is a prime RSD repress. This is what RSD is for: albums that are hard if not impossible to find on vinyl! Iris DeMent - The Way I Should (30th Anniversary) First time on vinyl for this fantastic album form this incredible songwriter? Yes Please! Swamp Dogg - Swamp Dogg Gets His Pool Painted More Swamp Dogg is a good thing. April March - Villerville New album that's RSD exclusive? Strange release plan but I dig it. Weezer - 1192 Early demo versions of the Blue Album ? Why the hell not?!

Photo by Billy Freeman  on Unsplash Despite earlier speculation by Seamus Blackley of the Xbox’s oncoming demise, less than 24 hours ago new Microsoft Gaming CEO Asha Sharma confirmed that the next Xbox will indeed be a PC hybrid codenamed Project Helix. This makes Sony's sudden, quiet cancellation of PC Ports for heavy-hitters like Ghost of Yōtei and Housemarque's Saros  make more sense. While declining Steam player counts and internal fears of brand dilution are the loudest talking points, looking at the wider industry landscape in 2026 reveals a much more strategic—and defensive—motive. Sony didn't just wake up and decide to abandon the PC market; it is highly probable they had early insider knowledge of Microsoft's Project Helix and Valve's revamped Steam Machine. By connecting the dots, Sony realized that continuing to port their single-player exclusives meant handing premier ammunition directly to their biggest living-room rivals. Blurring the Hardware Lines Steam Machine, via Steam. Microsoft isn't the only company blurring the lines. Valve's announcement of the 2026 Steam Machine fundamentally changes the math for Sony's Steam releases. If Sony had continued its trajectory of porting definitive PlayStation 5 games to PC, they would essentially be giving their competitors their biggest hardware sellers. Sony executives likely saw the writing on the wall: they were spending millions to port their system-selling exclusives, only to risk them becoming a major selling point for the next Xbox or Steam Machine. Unlike Valve's failed attempts a decade ago, the new Steam Machine is armed with the runaway success of the Steam Deck's SteamOS and Proton compatibility layers. It is a compact, 6-inch cube boasting 4K/60fps capabilities that plugs directly into a TV. Valve is no longer just dominating the desktop; they are making a direct, aggressive play for the traditional console space. The Ultimate Trojan Horse Photo by Kerde Severin  on Unsplash By putting God of War , Spider-Man , and Horizon  on Steam, Sony was inadvertently building a spectacular launch library for Valve's new console. The Steam Machine positions itself as a cheaper, more open alternative to a PS5 or PS6. If consumers know they can buy a Steam Machine, access the massive PC gaming library, and play Sony's greatest hits, the incentive to buy PlayStation hardware evaporates. But there’s more to it that benefits Valve greatly. By allowing Steam to run natively on Project Helix, Microsoft is essentially subsidizing Valve’s expansion directly into the traditional console space. Valve no longer needs to rely solely on the success of its own hardware, like the Steam Deck or a dedicated Steam Machine, to capture the living room audience. Instead, Microsoft is shouldering the massive R&D and manufacturing costs of building a high-end hybrid console, while Valve simply sits back and reaps their standard 30% revenue cut from every Steam game purchased to play on it. This move solidifies Valve’s absolute dominance in digital distribution; they get to bypass the console hardware wars entirely and Trojan-horse their storefront into millions of Xbox households, effortlessly pulling traditional console players into the Steam ecosystem without having to build the box themselves. Retreating to the Nintendo Playbook Photo by Petar  on Unsplash Faced with a future where "PC gaming" is just another word for "rival living room consoles," Sony had no choice but to retreat to the classic Nintendo playbook. By locking down their premium, single-player cinematic games exclusively to the PS5, Sony is rebuilding its walled garden just before Microsoft and Valve try to tear it down. While it may sting for PC enthusiasts to lose access to games like Saros , from a pure hardware survival standpoint, Sony's tactical retreat is the only way to protect the PlayStation brand from being commoditized by its own competitors.

Screenshot: Ratcheteer DX. Originally released along with Season 1 of the Playdate, Ratcheteer  has been sitting on my device, mostly unplayed, for the last couple of years. You can’t blame me. Despite the Playdate being a fantastic portable device, I don’t always have time to indulge myself in every game that piques my interest—even if it’s a Playdate Community Game of the Year award winner for 2022. I’m glad, then, that Ratcheteer DX  is releasing for Steam, which gave me a chance to play through the game for the first time. And I can see why it won community favorite. Ratcheteer DX  is an adventure game that is sure to remind some of classic Zelda  games, especially early handheld titles like Link’s Awakening . The title itself is an homage to Link’s Awakening DX  and its leap to color. But instead of being a chosen hero wielding a legendary sword, you’re a lowly mechanic with a wrench. Mankind has been forced into hibernation underground, and when the cryo-colony suffers a catastrophe, it’s up to you to save the day. Screenshot: Ratcheteer DX. In a way, you can describe Ratcheteer DX  as a bite-sized game. You can probably play through it in a few hours. That doesn’t mean it’s light on content, however. According to the Steam store page, there are 250 rooms across 6 regions and 6 dungeons, each with its own boss. Each boss encounter is unique and usually requires a trick to defeat—often utilizing your most recently acquired tool or ability. As someone who spends a lot of time collecting and playing retro games, Ratcheteer DX  is a faithful approximation of one. That could be because it was originally made with some genuine hardware limitations in mind. Because of this, there is little hand-holding, with only vague instructions given by NPCs to guide you to your next objective. Fortunately, the map never feels overly sprawling—especially since you spend a lot of time in caves and tunnels—so finding where to go next can be figured out just by exploring. Screenshot: Ratcheteer DX. There are a fair amount of obstacles in Ratcheteer DX  that can be considered puzzles. However, most are of a more lock-and-key variety: find an item that opens up the next area, rinse and repeat. One of the places I looked for my childhood dopamine hits was finally seeing what can break a certain type of unbreakable rock, or figuring out what those weird floor pads are for. Ratcheteer DX  expertly taps into that exact sort of discovery. It is also a genuinely fun game to play, though its controls can be an acquired taste. If you aren’t fully sold on the retro feel, the movement can feel a bit floaty and sluggish at first. But since Ratcheteer DX  is a combat-lite experience, it’s easy to get used to and never becomes frustrating. Screenshot: Ratcheteer DX. Because Ratcheteer  was originally designed for the Playdate’s tiny screen with a 400x240 resolution, it makes for an excellent portable game. I mostly played it on my Steam Deck, and even there the Deck’s screen felt massive by comparison. But don’t fret about playing on a larger monitor or TV—I just as often played Ratcheteer DX  docked on my 60” TV as I did in handheld mode. In other words: play it on your couch, at your desk, or on the go. Leaning hard into that retro feel, the game offers a few graphical options to change your visual experience. You can swap the color palette to black-and-white, full color, Playdate gray, or a Game Boy-inspired pea soup green. You can also add a line, grid, or dot overlay to give your display a CRT-like texture. Screenshot: Ratcheteer DX. Ratcheteer DX  is a solid game worthy of your attention. I’m glad I finally played through it after letting it languish for years on my Playdate. It might not be a game for the widest possible audience, but if you fall into the niche it's aiming for, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

Photos: Aaron Cynic Lunar New Year is a vibrant tradition here in Chicago. Based on the Lunisolar Calendar, and therefore the phases of the moon, the date varies, but the celebration isn't over after one day - it actually spans 15 days, starting on the new moon and ending on the first full moon of the lunar calendar. Photo: Aaron Cynic Chicago's current Chinatown is well established back to a century ago, and it's one of the largest and oldest such Chinese communities in the US. New Year's parades are a must-see, for the color, spectacle and sound, and the whole neighborhood (and beyond) comes out to celebrate. We hope you enjoy a look at the beautiful sights we saw at this year's festival and parade - and if you've got any great stories about Lunar New Year and how you celebrate, sound off in the comments. Photo: Aaron Cynic

This months round up of physical media releases for movies is looking pretty, pretty good. From great new releases coming onto 4K right off the bat to formally streaming only films finally getting their due in full glory, this March is just a perfect little slice of the physical media pie! The Running Man 4K - March 3rd Remakes should be reserved for bad movies that need an upgrade of a more faithful adaptation., This one falls more into the latter as the original The Running Man was a fun campy romp and this is a somewhat tonally dissonant action film. Edgar Wright is a master and while The Running Man doesn't quite live up to his previous outings, its still a fun watch that should shine on 4K. Jurassic Park 4k - March 17 These re releases of the Jurassic Park 4Ks are interesting. They are upgraded with Dolby Vision to give them the best looking picture possible and Dolby Atmos for that immersive sound. They all maintin the Dolby DTS. which was invented specifically for Jurassic Park, so unless there is some crazy DNR applied tot he video, I can't imagine these releases not being worthwhile. Mimic 4K - March 17 Kino Lorber releases always look good but their special features can often leave you wanting more,. This release of Guillermo Del Toro's fist English language film has tons of meat on ther bone with plenty of featurettes, audio commentaries, and two cuts of the film: the Theatrical and Director's Cut both in 4K with Dolby Vision HDR. You couldn't ask for more! Killers of the Flower Moon 4K - March 24 These sorts of releases are what give me hope in this streaming wasteland that we're currently;ly in. So many streaming services lock in their films to their service and rarely push them out on physical. so when Criterion announced that the AppleTV produced Martin Scorcese Killer of the Flower Moon, I was shocked and delighted. This film deserves the full 4K treatment and will be as highlight of this month's Criterion output. Married to the Mob 4K - March 31 Jonathon Demme was a man with range, starting his career off with Roger Corman schlock a ( Caged Heat ) then delving into Academy Award winning masterpieces (to name one Silence of the Lambs ). Some of his best work comes with the more lighthearted affairs like my personal favorite Something Wild  and Married to the Mob . Getting a deluxe treatment from Vinegar Syndrome's Cinématographe line, Married to the Mob  is more than deserving of such a beautiful package and a great way to discover this facet of Demme. Quick Picks! Leprechaun 4K - Just in time for St. Patty's day, a so bad it's good start to a mostly bad franchise of stereotypical horror comedy. ( I like the franchsie but acknowldege its faults) Plus it's on a special steel-book form Lionsgate, who has been putting out some beautiful looking releases. I've not seen She Killed in Ecstasy 4K or Dead Kids 4K , but these seem like good blind buys on name alone! If you haven seen Oscar contenders Marty Supreme or Hamnet , this is a good time to see them in 4k!

Screenshot: Planet of Lana II Planet of Lana  was a game that flew a little under the radar when it released in 2023. It’s part of a platforming adventure game subgenre that was made popular (and possibly originated) by Limbo . I’m talking about the specific type of side-scrolling gameplay that involves pushing around crates and solving other (often physics-based) puzzles to progress. They’re usually pretty narrative-light, with their stories being told through environmental clues or character interactions that feature minimal to no dialogue at all. I think the high-water mark for these games is Inside . I would love to say that Planet of Lana II: Children of the Leaf  raises the bar—but it is a solid example of its genre, even if it doesn’t redefine it. Planet of Lana II  takes place several years after the first game. The immediate robot threat is gone, and the people have actually started to learn to use the leftover robots as tools to supplement their previously techno-absent lifestyles. The story starts with Lana and her younger sister exploring the ship from the first game as she tries to learn more about her people’s past. Another world-changing series of events unfolds—but this time, it's other humans using technology to strip the world of its resources. Disasters and conflict ensue, taking Lana and her cat-like companion, Mui, far beyond the familiar forests and into snowy mountain peaks, dense urban areas, and deep-sea trenches. Screenshot: Planet of Lana II If you played the original, you’ll be familiar with the core gameplay here, but things have evolved. Lana and Mui are now fully used to robot wrangling, and Mui’s hypnotic abilities have been heavily upgraded. Instead of just directing Mui to waypoints, you can now take direct control of the local wildlife. This means the puzzles have been beefed up significantly. That doesn’t necessarily mean they’re harder, but there are far more varieties of them. Taking control of an "ink fish" to stealthily zip through narrow underwater tunnels, or guiding sticky cloud creatures to create flammable fuses, adds a ton of variety to the puzzles. Nothing was ever overly frustrating, however. I never got stuck on a puzzle beyond my ability to get the timing just right or juggle all of the moving parts. Because despite how logically simple they can be to solve, pulling them off often requires precise timing and reflexes. Screenshot: Planet of Lana II Lana herself is also a few years older. That means she’s more capable. She’s faster, able to slide under obstacles, and can dive underwater. She’s also a great swimmer, which is crucial as there are significant underwater sequences. Despite being someone who usually hates water levels, they never overstayed their welcome here. Lana isn’t fully grown up, but she’s definitely willing to kick some butt this time around. There still isn’t any traditional combat in the game—you mostly run from conflict and sneak around enemies—but if the series continues, I wouldn’t be surprised if we see her taking the fight directly to the enemy. Mui is Lana’s ever-present companion, and their bond is the emotional core of the game. I don’t want to give away any major spoilers, but I did get heavily invested in that little creature. In one sequence, when it seems as though Mui is in mortal peril, I actively yelled at my monitor, “Don't you do this to me!” But in normal gameplay, it’s entirely possible to accidentally send Mui to their death, which is a constant consideration when trying to sneak past one-shot kill robots. I did find I was able to cheese certain sections of the game when it came to Mui's pathing. In the previous game, I don’t remember being able to pass a section unless I carefully guided both Lana and Mui to safety. In Planet of Lana II , I sometimes just ran away and then called Mui, hoping for the best. More often than not, Mui magically found their own way back to me—despite there not being an obvious or safe path past the danger. Narratively, one of my biggest gripes is that the main conflict of the game doesn’t stem from the big catastrophic event like it does in the first–at least not directly. Lana’s younger sister gets sick largely because of Lana’s negligence. Lana is reckless throughout the entire first part of the game, facing dangers with her sister and Mui purely out of curiosity—not out of survival or heroism. This leads to an accident that sets up Lana’s quest to find three items from three different regions, and together they will cure her younger sister. The overarching conflict affecting the world doesn’t truly drive the story until at least three-quarters of the way through the runtime, after all of the Macguffin chasing stuff is over.  Screenshot: Planet of Lana II I realized during my playthrough why the story feels almost like a massive retcon, even though it’s technically just filling in details. The original game’s ambiguity invited me to fill in the narrative gaps myself. Because I had unknowingly built up my own headcanon, seeing the sequel explicitly define this world was jarring. It’s akin to watching a movie adaptation of your favorite book and feeling like the director completely miscast the lead roles—it just feels off. While I don't think anything here directly contradicts the first game, the sequel unpacks its lore with a bit of a manic, fan-fiction energy. The writers clearly had a flood of great ideas they wanted to cram in, and while it isn't done poorly, the sudden shift from quiet mystery to explicit exposition comes off as unwieldy. It doesn’t help that you—by design—can’t understand what’s being said between characters. Speech is conveyed through a made-up, untranslated alien language. A message in the game’s opening explicitly states this is done so you can “interpret the story as you want.” It’s a strange choice, considering most of the dialogue's intent is visually explicit. It feels like a flimsy way of saying "we just wanted to use a made-up language." Thankfully, composer Takeshi Furukawa’s sweeping orchestral score successfully steps in to do the heavy emotional lifting where the dialogue cannot. Screenshot: Planet of Lana II Planet of Lana II: Children of the Leaf  has definitely gone for a more epic feel. With roughly twice the gameplay length—around 8 hours versus the previous game’s 4—there is a lot more room for ambition. The door has been left wide open for another sequel, which I genuinely hope we get. It seems like developer Wishfully is intent on building a franchise here, and since their mechanical quality is trending upwards, I’d love to see what’s next for Lana and Mui.