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Everyone loves to say lightning never strikes twice but let’s be real: Nintendo makes lightning happen, and even when they do catch a little help because everyone’s suddenly stranded at home when their latest Animal Crossing title hits, they hardly need it. Ever since the Switch took the world by storm, there've been lightning strikes everywhere you look, and Tears of the Kingdom was bound to be more of the same. But really. Did we think that after Breath of the Wild basically reshaped the landscape of gaming by redefining things like exploration and open worlds Nintendo didn’t have the time since then to hit us again with an even more exciting sequel? Tears of the Kingdom has been captivating people worldwide since minute one. Forbes is agape in wonder that it’s even real, Mashable is putting together amazing America’s Funniest Home Video Style bloopers everyone can enjoy, and Ars Technica is helping you hack your way to better frame rates on Switch so you can capture it in all its magnificence. As we’ve been diving in and initial reviews have been coming out, we can see that Tears of the Kingdom is proving one of those rare sequels that reminds you of all the things you loved about the first game and then gifts you with the beauty of all new things to blow your mind. So while you can’t really predict these sort of things, you can make educated guesses. We had a feeling Tears of the Kingdom would break records in scores and sales, and it’s been proving true at every turn, including the most recent report from Nintendo itself to BusinessWire that the game had sold 10 million copies worldwide in only THREE days. That makes it the fastest selling Zelda game in the series. But that’s not all. A little search led us to this: With some notable exceptions on the list of best-selling video games found on Wikipedia, like Minecraft and Grand Theft Auto V which top the list, in a moment that will again surprise no one, this record in particular is usually held by Nintendo and then broken by them. From Animal Crossing to Wii Sports, Mario Kart 8, Tetris and Smash Bros, only to be broken again a few years later by Nintendo. We’d argue it’s part of the Nintendo Magic, though there’s plenty of detractors that’d just roll their eyes at the statement. It’s easy to get the love/hate relationship people have with Nintendo - we often feel both - but it’s hard to ignore something like this. Our take? Exploration is the best way to find anything out - and that’s what Tears of the Kingdom is all about. Jump off the edge and explore it, and we suspect you’ll enjoy your journey. And that’s what great games are all about.

Darkest Dungeon was a darling when it was released seven years ago. Darkest Dungeon wasn’t unique, but it excelled in creating its sense of grim dread and kept me pushing through constant defeat. While Darkest Dungeon II does a great job with its atmosphere, developer Red Hook made changes that took away the sense of danger, something its predecessor did so well. Darkest Dungeon II is a roguelite game where you travel across a monster infested landscape in the hopes of thwarting the apocalypse that began in the first game. Darkest Dungeon was known for its ruthless difficulty, and perma-death: when your character died, they were dead. In the sequel,death is just an inconvenience, and dead characters come back when you start a new run. It could be argued that the permadeath mechanic was all window dressing, but it was enough for me to feel an investment in these (ultimately doomed) characters. Darkest Dungeon II never quite makes me feel the same way. Instead, it’s a game that feels less tense and more grindy. But perma-death makes the stakes feel real. Without it Darkest Dungeon II loses some of its grim darkness, which enhanced the first game considerably. Darkest Dungeon II fulfills the apocalyptic promise of the first game–with your goal to put an end to the ongoing apocalypse.The world is beset with creatures, and you have to navigate your stagecoach through increasingly dangerous paths.Your choice of paths to take in Darkest Dungeon II is one of the most significant changes made. While you mostly stayed in the same place in the first game, Darkest Dungeon II has you on the move from the start. Instead of picking missions among the locations on your estate, there is a branching pathway. This will look familiar to anyone who has played roguelikes in the last few years, as many games have adopted this approach since Slay the Spire made it popular. The entire party travels in your trusty stagecoach from one encounter to the next. Your stagecoach is part of the journey, and is a bit like a party member. It can have items equipped and can take damage, which requires repair. Your choice of path to take in Darkest Dungeon will affect your character’s sanity, the condition of the coach, and what encounters you’ll find on the road–among other things. Combat in Darkest Dungeon II isn’t so far off from the first game. Positioning is important, as your character’s abilities are dependent on where they’re positioned in the stack. Once felled, enemies leave corpses behind, which sometimes need to be cleared to effectively attack those in a lane that is unreachable or not ideal. It’s also best to mitigate damage, because there is limited potential for healing between combat encounters—especially if you’re venturing in a lair, where enemies will come at you in wave after wave. After a long journey, your surviving heroes do get some respite,in the form of Inns that mark the end of that leg of your travels. The Inn is where you can use specialized Inn items, as well as make sure your heroes are equipped and ready to take on the next section of your journey, with the mountain being your ultimate destination. Another deviation in Darkest Dungeon II is its art. While it mostly retains the same style, it’s only a semblance of its predecessors' superbly hand drawn visuals, as they’re replaced with 3D models. This does create some more graphical fidelity, but it comes at the expense of grittiness. While Darkest Dungeon II has a great atmosphere, it never recreates that sense of danger and hopelessness that its predecessor excelled at. Its change of graphical style and gameplay were bold moves, but they’re a little too much of a departure for someone looking for more Darkest Dungeon. It’s by no means a bad game, just a sophomore slump for the series, and a case of “it ain’t broke, but let’s fix it.” I’m hoping to see a third that builds on the strength of both games. Darkest Dungeon II is available now for PC via the Epic Game Store, and Steam. A Steam key was provided to us for this review.

There’s the gaming world you know and the gaming world you don’t. Even if you don’t classify yourself as a “gamer,” simply put, you probably are. Whether it’s quick mobile games, the New York Times crossword, or a long dormant love of Tetris reawakened by Hollywood’s new interest in the game, play has touched your life. Play is essential for people of all ages - it’s good for your brain and expands your horizons. Even if you do have a love for video games and spend a lot of time with them like we do, there’s so much more to discover. Video games aren’t just one thing, just like film isn’t all noir and music isn’t all jazz – they’re a myriad of different things – and there’s room for even more. That’s what we love about attending LudoNarraCon every year. While this virtual convention is a celebration of narrative driven games, you’ll find that narrative games come in a lot of different varieties, from platformers and survival horror to shooters, puzzle games and even rhythm games. This year, devs from all over the world came together to showcase their amazing creations. There were 43 games on exhibit, some available for the first time, some previously unavailable digitally and some returning favorites, with 35+ demos to work our way through, and though we encourage you to explore them all, there’s a few we wanted to share as our top picks. Enjoy! Cryptmaster We’ll start things off spooky with Cryptmaster. This is a dungeon adventure unlike any other you’ve likely embarked on, whether it be tabletop rpging or with a mouse and keyboard. It mixes up elements of an old school text-based adventure with a typing game and a traditional adventure game and throws in some heavy Cryptkeeper/Goosebumps 90s irreverence to create a really unique, charming game that’s both interesting and silly. You’ve died, and are now subject to the Cryptmaster’s whims. In this world though, words control everything, so you’ll need to choose them carefully. As you adventure from one room to another in typical dungeon style, you’ll need to type to the Cryptmaster (or speak to him using a mic, if you prefer) to tell him what to do. In Cryptmaster, you can type or speak any word you can think of, and as you do, you’ll unlock things like companions, chests, powers, and gear. Combat is also done by typing, and any time you type something successful, you get closer to unlocking other mysteries by gaining letters from your victories. It’s a truly interesting technique and its implementation continues to evolve through the gameplay. Add to that an intriguing world and just enough lack of detail to how you ended up here and we think it’s worth diving into. It has a planned release for 2024 and we’ll be keeping an eye on it. Death Trick Double Blind Death Trick: Double Blind is a detective game with a few unexpected twists. When a circus’ star magician vanishes and the loss of this marquee act threatens to close the show altogether, an unlikely duo of magician and detective pair up to make sure the show does go on and the mystery is solved. We really loved the interplay of the magician and detective’s storylines, and the different ways that they interacted with the characters and environment they were placed in, and while not actually a point and click adventure, a few of the game’s mechanics reminded us of some of our favorites. You can question people, examine items, and contradict theories that you or others have about the disappearance, and some of those mechanics work together to almost make the game seem like point and click adventures of yore. In the short time we had with this game we were compelled to find out more, and we’ll definitely be there to finish detecting when this game finally releases. Harmony: The Fall of Reverie Harmony: The Fall of Reverie is an interesting tale that takes place in two different worlds with one connection- your character, Polly, who has returned from years abroad to help locate her missing mother. When she gets home, she discovers everything isn’t as it once was, with an evil corporation nipping at the heels of her hometown, and a previously undiscovered power of clairvoyance that connects her to a different realm called Reverie. She’ll need to harness her godlike powers in Reverie and make the right decisions back home to find her mother and save her home. One of the draws of this game was its Inside-like look at emotions and the well thought out way you can choose to interact in a situation. Too often in narrative games you’ll know what you’re supposed to choose and what will or won’t work, but to Harmony’s credit, often both approaches can work. There’s certain things that are inevitable that you’re actually forced to experience, but different types of nodes in the overarching story path called the Augural will change things not just for the next chapter, but perhaps even the overall ending. We found ourselves easily connecting to the characters and empathizing with them while also intrigued by the looming threat of megacorp MK and the mystery surrounding Polly/Harmony’s mom’s disappearance. It’s a story with more than a little fantasy that rings true because the emotions are relatable and presented realistically, and it’s why we’re looking forward to its imminent release on June 8th. Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical Have you ever wanted everything to be a musical? For song and dance to reign and everyone to dance in the streets to even the mundanities of life, a la the musical episode of Buffy, “Once More with Feeling?” Well, if you’re that person (and we are out there!) you will not want to miss Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical. This is a game unlike any other we’ve seen so far, and that’s to its credit. In it, you’ll play as Grace, a member of a band who’s sort of lost her way and isn’t certain about her next steps. Before she can do much plaintive singing about it though, her life changes in drastic ways, and she discovers she has otherworldly powers- more specifically, the power of a Muse who was murdered. Now not so aimless, Grace must find out what happened to her predecessor by interrogating gods hiding amongst mere mortals - all in song. While we’ve been let down hard by video game musicals in the past, the music was immediately compelling, and Stray Gods never pulled any punches as far as difficult choicemaking. You’ll have to make decisions on the spur of the moment that you’re unsure of and see where it takes you. It’s immediately compelling with characters you can and do instantly fall in love with, and like any good musical has some real showstoppers even in the demo. Simply put, everything about Stray Gods made us giddy, from the musical interplay between characters to the storyline and quick choices that are in no way easy, and it’s already on our wishlist, with a planned release date of August 3, 2023. The Invincible The Invincible is one of those games where as soon as you step foot into its world, there’s an air of mystery and dread. You’ll be playing as Yasna, a scientist who went on an expedition to a strange planet and winds up alone, without her crew. You’ll be tasked with piecing together what happened while avoiding having it happen to you, using steampunk style tools and your detective skills. While it’s still in development, it’s already beautiful to behold and invokes a serious sense of “scared and alone” in us, and we’re very excited to unwrap more of the mystery. Without any cheap jump scares, we were still constantly looking over our shoulders and sure that something terrible was about to happen the whole time we played the demo - and that kind of tension and mystery is something that’s hard to ignore. Luckily we won’t have to wait long to take the full expedition, since it’s planned for release sometime in 2023. Wrestling with Emotions: New Kid on the Block Wrestling with Emotions isn’t exactly new. We saw the original at one of the original Bit Bash summer festivals, and fell in love with it right away. Luckily for us this LudoNarraCon, there’s more to love, with New Kid on the Block, which is a mashup of old and new that hits a perfect note. If you’ve never played this game before, you’re a luchador style wrestler who desperately wants to fall in love, or at least in like, and cuddle some cutie-pie wrestlers. As weird as that sounds, this game ends up being a dating sim of the wildest and weirdest type, where you both wrestle and, as the title explains, wrestle with your emotions. Will you break the rules in hopes of catching a makeout sesh with the main men and women of wrestling? Will you become strong in the ring and great with your cuddles? It remains to be seen but the bottom line is you will have fun in this colorful, cuddle centric version of ‘94, you will embrace the sexy, and, in a surprising twist that really made us smile, you will find a real heart to the game that endears you beyond all the silliness and seduction. There’s no set release date yet but the demo will tide you over, so make sure to wishlist it and download that demo now. 1000xRESIST 1000xResist is another game with an immediately immersive environment. It’s post-apocalpse times, and you’re a clone who worships the last remaining human, an entity known as the Allmother. Humans were wiped out over 1000 years ago and you have to piece together the truth of what happened by phasing through time and memories. 1000xResist has an almost J-horror sort of vibe, and considering we’ve all been through an actual pandemic, this scenario was already unsettling. You’re activated at a school and have to piece things together as you go, by switching between the past and the present, to unravel what actually occurred. This game is eerie and mysterious, and with a planned release date in 2023, one you should have on your wishlist. Dead Pets Unleashed Last but not least is colorful, comical Dead Pets Unleashed. This game oozes with charm and evokes things like Hi-Fi Rush, an early favorite game this year, and Scott Pilgrim. It’s another band on the skids tale, where a struggling punk band is stuck in a stalemate after 10 years, where you play as Gordy, a demon who’s looking for their place in life. When I say you play as Gordy, it means all of her life, from getting up and dressed in the morning (shower or not) to getting food (same old hotdogs), working a dead end job and performing with her band. At the heart of it, Dead Pets Unleashed is a rhythm game, where you’ll play along to the beat with an awesome punk soundtrack. But there’s more to it than that, from the “fashion souls” aspect of getting dressed to the mini games that have you making the perfect (or grossest) hot dog, waiting tables, and halfheartedly dating to satisfy your parents, while secretly self-sabotaging before and on dates. It’s a lot of story, a lot of heart, and fantastic mechanics to match that make this game hard to put down once you’ve picked it up. I think if any element from the music to the art to the actual mechanics of even the smallest of mini-games were off it might make this title less compelling, but we had as much fun waiting tables Overcooked/VR the Diner Duo style as we did smashin’ our guitar to the beat on stage, and we’re interested to see just what happens to Gordy and the band when it all plays out. This game, tragically, does not have a full release date yet, but we’ve already wishlisted it and will be first to let you know when we know it’s about to release- it’s one you won’t want to miss. And that's all from this year's LudoNarraCon. Get out there and explore something new in games, and we'll see you next year.

Imagine, if you will, a softer world. Literally. Your coziest outfit, your squishiest ‘mallow, your favorite pets, snacks, beverages - your couch, the sun streaming in the windows and nothing but leisure time ahead of you. Add in the latest greatest narrative indie games, including never before seen/played demos, some panels, and a fantastic sale on Steam, and what you’ve got is a convention that’s cozy to the core.. LudoNarraCon is back, and in its fifth year this celebration of narrative games features more new games, more great demos, more panels, and more titles than it ever has before, while still giving you the rare “con at home” experience that lets you interact and engage with great games, amazing indie devs and a community who loves narrative games as much as you do. If you’re new to it all, let’s boil it down to the basics - LudoNarraCon is all about the immersiveness of video games and the power they have to tell great stories. We’ve been attending this unique and exciting convention since its second year, smack dab in the middle of the pandemic, and have eagerly awaited it every spring since. After all, who doesn’t love the feeling of getting hooked on a great story? And who doesn’t love diving into a bunch of brand new worlds? I challenge any gamer who’s never really delved into story-rich games, any reader, and any lover of great TV and film to dip their toes in the water, learn and explore during this free festival, as I can promise anyone who does will walk away with something new learned and something new to love. Technically, LudoNarraCon kicked off on Thursday, but the great thing about virtual conventions is that if you’re late to the party, you can simply wait until the things you want to see come around again. Panels this year include topics like conversations with the devs of games Citizen Sleeper and Hardspace Shipbreaker as well as Survival Storytelling which kicks off Friday’s panels at 10 am, and Using Systems Based Writing to Make Player Choices Have Lasting Impact On Your Narrative, and again, whether it’s a topic you thought about before or one that just sounds interesting, we encourage you to check out these talks for behind the scenes tidbits about games you know and ones you don’t, interesting intellectual discussions about crafting good stories, and things like representation with talks like Friday’s last panel at 4pm - Beyond Representation, A Southeast Asian Approach to Narrative Games. All scheduling is in PDT time but again, if you miss something, watch for it to come ‘round again - as in most cases it will during the four days LudoNarraCon officially runs - from Thursday May 4th through Monday, May 8th. Aside from the excellent panel programming, you’ll want to make sure you have your headsets and controllers charged, as there are 43 exhibiting games at the festival, including some we’ve seen before (or written about) like Hardspace Shipbreakers, Beacon Pines and a sequel to the OG Wrestling with Emotions, as well as games that have never before exhibited and will be available for the first time ever, like Astronaut: The Best, Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical and Tamarindos Freaking Dinner. We’ll be hard at work in our comfiest clothes trying out all the amazing demos, chatting up devs, watching panels and adding things to our wishlist and then we’ll report back with our findings so you have a guide to the best of the fest if you don’t have time to dive in with both feet. You can take part in LudoNarraCon by following this link. The con takes place on Steam itself and on the pages of all the exhibiting games and devs. LudoNarraCon kicked off on May 4 and will remain live on Steam all the way through May 11th, which is also the date the sale will end. You can also connect with fellow congoers and keep up with the latest via Twitter or the Fellow Traveller Discord.

I’m still old enough that I remember when full motion video (or FMV) was a novel addition to games. FMV mostly gave way to the use of computer generated cutscenes, despite the early promise (and ubiquitousness) of live action cutscenes. There has been a bit of a resurgence of FMV with studios like Wales Interactive earnestly releasing content featuring live actors. But while Wales Interactive does make “traditional” video games, there is still a huge gap between what can be considered by most as a “traditional” game and one that is really just a choose-your-own-adventure style game. Mia and the Dragon Princess is an interactive movie in the choose your own adventure format. Its story revolves around a pirate treasure connected to a tourist bar. Absurdly, one of the pirates has been frozen in ice for centuries and has been recently woken up to lead a criminal to hidden pirate treasure. There’s a neat animated intro that does a good job establishing the legend, but it glosses right over some important details. It’s absurd, and while Mia and the Dragon Princess does embrace absurdity to some degree, it also uses some pretty extreme violence causing some janky tonal shifts. Paul McGann chews the scenery as the evil Mr. Walsh, who is looking for pirate’s gold—but his is a character without sufficient build up, and the violence he employs feels excessive and out of place. He has supposedly planned this operation for decades, but is willing to risk his freedom by telling his men flippantly to “kill them all” in one scene, and even going as far as employing hand grenades in another. That’s not the only case of surprising violence, either. Depending on the choices you make some characters can die in quite shocking ways—and while seeing how different characters can live or die is a draw for such a game, it feels like your choices don’t really directly affect any specific character’s fate. Don’t get me wrong, Mia and the Dragon Princess does allow users to make choices that change the shape of the narrative significantly – it just feels like there are times when it also robs you of a choice that is rather significant to the storyline. Still, there are a good number of ways the story can play out. Luckily, you can keep track of the branches you take in the story through the in-game menu. It’s even easy to choose the branch you want to take, as the top and bottom answer corresponds to the appropriate branch. You can also skip over scenes you’ve already watched to get to choices you haven’t made—at least, that’s how it’s supposed to work. I was forced to rewatch several scenes I’ve seen without being able to skip them, which made for a tedious rewatch. And that’s all you can really do with Mia and the Dragon Princess. You can really just rewatch, make a few different choices, and that’s it. While there is a meter that displays different statistics like intelligence, bravery, responsibility, etc. they don’t really seem to mean anything in the long run. There is a “good” ending, but you can only get to that through making the “correct” choices. And while that’s exactly what I expected with this title, I was surprised on how uneven the quality is based on the choices you make. Half the game feels cheaper than the other half, and the “true” ending’s path feels like it ate up all of the game’s production values. While the choose-your-own-adventure thing has been done successfully in video games before, Mia and the Dragon Princess isn’t exactly a success. I think developer Wales Interactive missed a lot of opportunities in regards to letting the player make impactful decisions. And even as an interactive movie it ends up feeling corny with action that never feels impactful or emotional moments that don’t quite land. If you really need to experience Mia and the Dragon Princess I’d suggest just watching a streamer play through it. Mia and the Dragoon Princess is available today on PC/Mac (Steam & Epic), PS4, PS5, Xbox O/S/X, Switch, iOS, and Android.

Right now, if you want to get your hands on the handheld that industry leaders are saying is changing the game for them you've got to order straight from Steam and wait for it to be shipped to you. Granted, the Steam Deck's finally past its COVID production woes and shipping delays, but what if there was another option? Recently in Japan the Steam Deck launched in stores to a test market in Osaka, Japan. If you want to see what a Steam Deck Store could look at, check out the photos from the Steam Deck's official Japanese Twitter account. While the Steam Deck has officially been released in the US, the popular handheld has been trickling out to the world market. Thanks to the picture above, featured on BoilingSteam.com, you can see that those in the local test market in Osaka are lining up to get their hands on Valve’s handheld console. It’s surreal to see Valve’s console advertised next to The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom–and we have yet to see if Valve will make more of a physical presence in stores in the future.

Oh Hi Shark I attended the premiere of Big Shark at the Cinema 21 theater in Portland Oregon. Tommy Wiseau has been hard at work trying to recreate the accidental magic of The Room. His last project, Best F(r)iends, came with mostly negative reviews but with Big Shark, we see a lot of that spark that originally started his cult following. It’s a collection of audio mistakes, confusing scenes and poor CGI but man was it fun. Big Shark starts with a fire, and three heroic firefighters saving a family trapped inside. The three firefighters are our main protagonists of the story; Patrick, Tim and Georgie. Patrick is played by Wiseau himself, as he likes to do. Post fire, our heroes are given awards and party the night away with their team. The story then aimlessly shifts towards a mysterious shark that will appear, almost at random, to attack. The only warning is sudden flooding that appears dramatically. It’s then up to our central characters to figure out how to stop the titular Big Shark. What really stood out to me regarding the story is how drunk our characters seem to be at all times. Not the actors, but within the plot of the story, with no direct reason as to why. There are also repeated scenes, but filmed in different locations. It’s such a strange choice seeing almost the exact same scene in different parts of the story. Other confusing choices are how it’s shot. There are so many dramatic scene cuts and camera angles that shift drastically, but don’t mix the audio per cut. So a single camera angle will have completely different audio quality and volume vs another. The same goes with sound effects. Applause will only appear from specific camera angles and disappear at the drop of a hat. The movie really is a fever dream of puzzling director choices leaving the viewer in a haze but you don’t come to a Wiseau film for the quality. Adding to the chaos is the hilariously bad CGI of the big shark. It seems to appear randomly and without warning. The ridiculous level that it appears, completely unbeknownst to our heroes as well, with them barely reacting if at all. There is one particular scene where they pick up a trapped civilian and drop them off at their apartment, with only the civilian reacting at all. The heroes are unphased and even refuse to acknowledge its existence. These are all choices by our auteur director that act to confuse as well as delight. That’s the real magic trick with Wiseau. Watching Big Shark is similar to The Room, as it just kind of happens TO you, rather than you interacting with it. These films are there to discuss why and how you perceived the cacophony of images and sounds presented. There’s more fun in the discussion happening throughout than actually watching. Similarly to Rocky Horror Picture Show, there is an extra layer to the live viewing experience. At the premiere, the audience was in full effect, ready to react to whatever we were presented with. There were sing-alongs, catch phrases, and pre-set interactions held over from The Room. The energy was high and really pushed the evening to new levels of enjoyment knowing we were all viewing the same theatrical atrocities together. The surprise star of Big Shark is New Orleans itself. There are multiple references to the city and its real life locales, as well as the street musician culture. It’s almost like Tommy Wiseau visited once and fell in love with the big band atmosphere. This leads to several scenes of just the actors dancing to the street musicians, seemingly to no purpose except to do it. There are also several nods to New Orleans fashion culture, as stated by Tommy himself in an after show Q and A. These scenes mostly detract from the plot as a whole, it’s still nice to see a directors’ appreciation for the locale they are shooting in. Big Shark is not a film worth watching for its merit, but there’s something to be said about a full audio visual experience that comes with seeing this event live. This will join the ranks of The Room or Rocky Horror Picture Show for how ridiculous the audience will get over time. Despite being hard to actually recommend based on quality, this is still a car crash that you can’t turn away from.

The end of a con is a weird thing. On the one hand, you're sad it's ending. It always goes by so fast that you just can't believe you're already checking out, packing up and going out on the show floor one last time. On the other hand, you're tired, especially after Saturday night's after parties, you've likely spent a good amount of money, and you're lookin' for a good meal and a fast ride home. C2E2 always has something alluring on Sunday morning, and this time, it was the Chris Evans panel. It's by design, since packing the house on Saturday tends to happen with or without huge names, and the lines to see main stage guests we saw at the Buffy reunion, Boy Meets World Panel and Avatar the Last Airbender panel already run wild and start hours early. We got a chance to sit in on the Chris Evans panel on the last day of C2E2. This panel was so anticipated, that there were people lining up well before the gates opened, hoping to get in to see Captain America himself. What we weren’t expecting was how soft spoken, and even dorky, the man behind the First Avenger can seem. While he didn’t take any fan questions on the floor, the host was relaying fan questions to Evans via social media. It turns out that Evans is a movie nerd. Weighing in on his appearance in the upcoming Christmas action movie Red One, he said, “I actually was worried 'Is this gonna ruin Christmas for me?' because it's so special. 'Do I really want to see my mug every Christmas?' But I'm telling you, every day was Christmas, and when it wrapped I was like 'Aww.' Believe me, I couldn't get enough of it.” Evans is very definition of charming and low-key, and we left feeling like there's a chance the people we love to see on screen are just as pleasant, if not more so, in real life. Riding on the good feelings, we decided to head to Family HQ to support the Drag Story Hour. Drag performers are currently under attack all around the country, including here in Chicago, as are drag events, and nerds need to show up in full force to be allies. Not to mention, Drag Story Hour is a fantastic way to refresh on the last day of a con! Performers Muffy Fishbasket, Miss Yooka, Coco Sho-Nell and Amanda Lynn brought the glamour and positivity, and Family HQ was filled to overflowing with attendees of all ages. Kids were treated to amazing costumes and fantastic performances by all the queens, who read stories that reinforced the beauty of being who you are and finding a place for everyone to be themselves. It's a better world, if a temporary one, and it brought congoers together for a little bit of hope and a big boost of confidence, which we could all use a little more of in our daily lives. We, along with C2E2, give our full support to these amazing, charitable, gorgeous queens and the work they do. That wraps up all the best things we saw in panel rooms on the final day of C2E2. Thanks for taking the journey with us and remember to make the world a better place once you get out in it.

Avatar the Last Airbender For the first time since the completion of the series, the main cast of Avatar: The Last Airbender reunited on the C2E2 stage to reminisce about their time on the show and to answer some burning fan questions. Dante Basco, Jack De Sena, and Zach Tyler Eisen, were all smiles as a full room of fans warmly welcomed them. Though Mae Whitman was unable to make it to the panel due to weather complications, the three voice actors still made the panel a memorable one. For Eisen, the reunion panel was his first ever guest appearance at a convention, though he said that he had gone to conventions as an attendee in the past. Even so, the voice actor acclimated quickly and seemed at ease as he shared what it was like to witness the legacy of the show years later as an adult. “We definitely knew it was good [but] never did I think that 15 years later I’d be sitting here in a packed house full of fans. I don’t think anyone could’ve really predicted that,” he said. An ongoing topic discussed throughout the panel was the show’s lasting impact and continued success. Basco had some insight to share as to why he thinks the show managed to remain in the hearts of fans both new and old. “When I grew up, cartoons were very black and white in a sense that there were Autobots and Decepticons and we looked at the world in a certain way. [Especially] when you’re young, your mind is developing and you kind of get these perceptions of the world and what not. Avatar happened and you get to see that the world is much more gray and much more like it is. There’s this epic story of this gang trying to save the world. There are four elements but in these four elements there is good and bad in every element. And with the characters, we don’t know who’s the heroes and who’s the villains,” he explained. “Things change as they do in life [but] this is the kind of story that can change the world.” When asked if there was any particular arc that they really loved to see, Jack De Sena said, “Zuko’s redemption arc is genuinely great. At the time it was like a marvel, it was like: ‘Wow, this is so cool, feels really impactful.” Zack Tyler Eisen, on the other hand, really wanted to see how Zuko’s story played out before the TV show, “I want to see how he becomes the Dragon of the West.” When the three actors were asked what part they would have liked to play, besides their own, Basco said that he would have liked to play Sokka, since he didn’t have the chance to crack many jokes as the angsty Zuko. Zach Tyler Eisen agreed, saying that despite Aang’s silliness, he would have loved to try his hand at Sokka. Neither Eisen nore De Sena would have liked to fill the shoes of honor-seeking Zuko, however, with De Sena saying “I couldn’t be a villain.” Our Flag Means Death The Our Flag Means Death panel was all queer joy, self-love, and sing-alongs. Vico Ortiz, Samba Schutte, and Kristian Nairn recounted wild stories from the set, such as having to improvise major scenes, shared their favorite go-to karaoke songs, and made up drag names for their characters (The They Slash Them for Jim, Orange Blossom for Roach, and Pyromaniac for Wee John Feeney). It was clear that the cast was incredibly in tune with their fanbase and that the actors fully embraced all aspects of the fandom. The actors shared some of their favorite headcanons, fanfiction, and romantic pairings with the audience. Ortiz said that they were always excited to see content of “the throuple situation between Olu, Spanish Jackie, and Jim” which they said is canon in their heart while Schutte shared that he enjoyed seeing content of Roach and Izzy whenever fans tagged him in posts. “I’m all for the Rizzy. Let’s go!” he exclaimed. As for updates on the much anticipated second season of Our Flag Means Death, Schutte had a little surprise to share with the audience. “[Here’s] the teaser for season two… April fools!” he joked. “They told me not to do it, I'm so sorry. But it’s coming, no worries!” It seems like fans will have to wait a little longer before they can receive more news on their beloved pirate show. Buffy the Vampire Slayer It's a hat trick of sorts to have a cult film that spawns a cult hit TV show, but Buffy the Vampire Slayer did just that. It mixed teen drama with quippy comebacks, asskicking, and a whole lot of heart and became iconic for so many of us trying to survive high school horrors that didn't include the hellmouth. While the show's been inspiring generations ever since, it's recently seen even more popularity with Buffering, the amazing and critically acclaimed rewatch podcast that looks back at the show with that same fondness we all have for it and through an lgbtqia+ lens. It was amazing to get so much of the Buffy cast together, with James Marsters, Charisma Carpenter, David Boreanaz and Marc Blucas all in one place. We always enjoy James Marsters take on things, and he was immediately the warmth in the room, despite having played the undead so long. He expressed a deep appreciation for the show and the fans, and likened it to his own fandom for Star Trek. Marsters was apparently a big Trekkie, and even hit conventions dressed as Spock, and drew direct comparisons between them that we couldn't help but love (as fellow Trekkies and Buffy fans) Star Trek was about hope, and working together for a better future, Marsters said -- and in that same way, so was Buffy. He encouraged fans to talk to each other and get to know each other and realize the strength in that, saying that Buffy fans were some of the kindest, smartest, funniest people he's had the pleasure of meeting. He also talked about the difficulty of the role of Spike on the show, especially as he used to portray the role via method acting, and how easy it was for the darkness of the character to take over. "It can eat you alive" he said. "Spike is all the parts of me I try not to show people." He was also not entirely opposed to the vampire life though, at least on the surface- "Sleep all day, party all night, never get old" was the vampire lifestyle, after all. All three of the men talked about their various romantic dalliances with Sarah Michelle Gellar, since all of them had at least some screen time macking with her. And though they joked about how tiny she was and how they were afraid to crush her, and flirted with Charisma Carpenter as a group from on stage, they also delved into the challenges and demands of being a slayer's boyfriend. Boreanaz was also quick to point out how pivotal Charisma Carpenter's role was on Angel, crediting her as "the heart of the show." Carpenter, meanwhile kept the gang on their toes and was at the same time completely charming and positive on stage, reminding everyone she could do all the things they did in their roles, including the ass-kicking, and do it in heels. One particularly amusing moment was Marsters reveal that during his run as Spike, he'd always seen Carpenter as her character, Cordelia, so much, that he would sort of avoid her on set, because he was scared of her, and that it was only years later when the two played a bickering married couple on Supernatural that he realized, in his own words "how stupid that was" because she was just a really good actress, and in fact, a super nice person - and the two became fast friends, which they've been ever since. There was a short Q&A which ended very abruptly and brought some interesting tidbits, like the foursome's favorite episodes. James Marsters was particularly impressed with the incredibly acclaimed and moving "The Body" episode, while Blucas brought up another all around favorite- "Hush" the silent episode, and how impressive that was. Boreanaz brought up the end of Season 2, where he'd gone bad, and some of the big moments from that arc, and Charisma Carpenter brought up Graduation, mainly because she 'finally got to stake a vampire.' It was a panel any Buffy fan would love and it was over far too soon, so we hope to see the gang return again for another con reunion, perhaps with Gellar herself or a few more castmates. That wrapped up our panel day since we were gearing up for the Crown Championships of Cosplay's return to the Main Stage, but there was even more fun to follow on Sunday, so stay tuned for our wrapup on that shortly following this, and don't miss all the amazing cosplay we saw at the contest, either!

Just like we saw a return to the pre-COVID crowds on Day One of C2E2, there was no time to waste as far as programming, either. We kicked off our con with a trip to the Zach Levi panel which was bright and early at 11:30 am, and checked out some of the other awesome programming Friday had for us. In case you missed anything - take a look! Our first stop, as mentioned, was the Zachary Levi spotlight. Levi, fresh off Shazam 2, was boisterous and energetic as we've ever seen him, though he did spend a good portion of the beginning of his panel talking about mental health. According to Levi, he suffered a mental breakdown at the age of 37, about six years ago, and experienced feelings of insecurity and a bit of imposter syndrome before seeking help and working through it. He encouraged fans to face their mental illness head on and not be afraid to ask for help, before moving on to other topics. Levi admitted disappointment at the reception for Shazam 2, but was quick not to blame it on the film or audiences, mentioning that the entire face of film has changed, with streaming and after the pandemic, and though he personally thinks the film was even better than the original, and loved his time with his "Shazamily" he was sadly aware that this may be the last time in the suit. Fans were invited up to ask questions as well, with topics ranging from Chuck to Thor to Broadway and beyond, and overall, it was a fun foray with Zachary Levi, who we hope to see more of in the future. The next stop was the X-Men Animated Series Cast Reunion. where we got a chance to see some of the voice talent from the X-Men animated series. Lenore Zann (Rogue), Cal Dodd (Wolverine), Catherine Disher (Jean Grey), George Buza (Beast), Chris Potter (Gambit) and Alison Sealy-Smith (Storm) went on the C2E2 main stage to talk about their time doing voice work for the legendary X-Men Animated series, as well as some insight about what it was like getting back into character for the forthcoming X-Men ‘97, a revival of the animated series that “takes off right where the old one left off.” The X-Men animated series was definitely one of our favorites growing up, and while we always dreamed that there would be a great X-Men film someday, we didn’t realize that Hugh Jackman actually watched the animated series to get a feel for Wolverine from Cal Dodd’s voice performance. When the two finally met before filming for the first X-Men film began, Dodd said Jackman greeted him by saying, “it’s nice to meet you, but I’m tired of hearing your voice!” Dodd’s performance was the more prominent Wolverine performance at the time, with his Wolverine still iconic. As far as information about the new series, the cast all had to say “NDA!” as they’re ever-fearful of the ears of Disney’s feared lawyers. However, when Gambit actor Chris Potter went in to do some ADR work he saw some of the completed animations, and thought “wow, this is really fucking good.” We can’t wait to see what X-Men ‘97 will bring around. One of our early favorite panels this con had to be Kevin Eastman's. If you were unaware, Eastman represents one-half of the duo that created Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT). According to Eastman he provided the “ninja turtles” name while fellow co-creator Peter Laird added the “mutant turtle” part. As far as the meteoritic popularity of the Ninja Turtles, neither one of them saw it coming. In fact, they thought the first issue wasn’t going to sell, so they created box furniture with boxes full of the first print run. As far as Eastman’s favorite version of the Turtles, he actually thinks it’s the TMNT Motion Picture. On the film Eastman said “it was the perfect storm” as far as the merger between the versions of the Turtles that existed to that point. While Eastman has worked on many other projects since he worked on TMNT, he keeps coming back to it–even after selling his half of ownership in the franchise. While Eastman poured a lot of heart into the “semi-autobiographical” Drawing Blood and worked on popular works like Heavy Metal he’s probably always going to come back to TMNT. After that it was time for one of the con's biggest events -- the 30th Anniversary Boy Meets World Cast Reunion. Not only was Boy Meets World a childhood favorite of ours, we're also avid listeners and fans of the more recent Girl Meets World and the even newer podcast that Rider Strong, Danielle Fishel and WIll Friedle co-host - Pod Meets World. The watch-along podcast with the trio was the brain child of Fishel (!) and has seen massive success since its inception. But it wasn't just these three amigos on the panel -- we were privileged to also be able to see Trina McGee, Bonnie Bartlett and the man himself, William Daniels, who was celebrating his 96th birthday on the day of the panel. And while there were some moderation missteps with too many broad questions that didn't seem well-researched, the cast shone and the panel itself was full of so many wonderful moments. Fishel, Strong and Friedle have an amazing dynamic between them with an off set friendship as strong as the on set friendships they shared with other cast members, and that warm and welcome feeling was felt all panel long. This was probably the biggest panel of the day, with a packed room full of fans, and we were thrilled to see the crowd give Daniels a standing ovation and sing him happy birthday. Daniels spoke so fondly of the younger cast, recalling the last episode of the show with great fondness, if the moment was bittersweet since he'd no longer be with the kids who were, he noted, no longer kids. When told to ad-lib his final words of advice on the show, he could think of nothing more appropriate than "I love you all," a sentiment Daniels clearly still felt, with shining eyes gazing on his fellow actors. It was absolutely clear the feeling was mutual, as well, as Feeny took center stage for most of the panel, and came up in a lot of people's questions and comments for the gang. When asked if Feeny shaped him or he shaped Feeny, Daniels said it was the latter, with Bartlett and Fishel heavily disagreeing for a moment, though later on in a bit of acting advice, Daniels mentioned his belief that great actors bring everything of themself that the character is written for to their roles. There was also a lot of Topanga talk, and we found it well deserved, as Topanga was a trailblazer of sorts for a certain generation of young women - confident, smart, and kind with a no-nonsense attitude that of course inspired so many of us who watched it. We even managed to get a partial "Feeny!" call out of Will Friedle, who only obliged at the request of the man of the hour, birthday boy William Daniels. Friedle said he'd been hanging on to it all day, as the actor had retired the iconic goofy call and passed it along to the Girl Meets World girls, but couldn't resist a direct request from Daniels - and the crowd went wild. One of our favorite things about Boy Meets World is that these characters were not superheroes They were regular kids, like us, facing the same issues we faced as we faced them. Growing up with them meant learning to be okay with who we were, too, and it wasn't just Feeny who inspired us all to grow up good. We could've listened to this cast talk for hours, and we hope to see them all again soon. That's it for today's panel catchups - but we'll be catching you up on all the action Saturday as well, so make sure to keep your eye out on this space- and hey, don't forget to to check out our amazing cosplay galleries while you're at it!

The last day of a con is oftentimes a little more laid back. Vendors start packing up and marking things down, panel programming slows a little, and in general, it's a shorter day with a lighter crowd. Though this still held somewhat true for C2E2 2023, attendance was higher for Sunday than we've seen in years, and that meant the cosplay continued to blow our minds. As before, if you weren't there - enjoy! And if you were and you find yourself -- enjoy and share! Photos: Julian Ramirez And even though the show's over, we've got even more from C2E2 in store for you this week, so don't forget to check back for more exclusives from C2E2 throughout the week.

While the programming schedule is the only thing that still seems a little light on big guests and content, the show floor has expanded. With the demise of the red carpet comes wider, easier to travel aisles and some more sensible setups for things than we saw in years past. More than that though, that sense of community seemed more present than it had in a while. It’s hard for any giant event to feel sort of homey, but C2E2 has a sort of individual identity among big cons that you get to know after a few years, and it’s felt like welcoming an old friend back this year, from dance parties to conversations around the Rev beer truck while you’re in line or swapping Buffy stories in line for the panels. Simply put – for C2E2, the simple joy of it all has returned. The “not quite strangers” feel you get when you’re all standing on your feet cheering on a hometown cosplayer or a little girl in a dance contest before a panel – the sense that the people around you ARE weird but they’re also just like you. Or as James Marsters put it in the Buffy panel this afternoon : “These people like the same things you like. GO MEET THEM” Whether you got a ticket to all the fun today or not we encourage you to meet the amazing cosplayers of C2E2 2023, Day 2! Another huge thanks to our amazing staff of photographers and videographers, Aaron Cynic, Antal Bokor, Julian Ramirez, Pearl Shin and Marielle Bokor.