The plot is, of course, a mess. And it continues my theory that the John Wick universe is better seen in glimpses, versus explained.

However…

…the action in this absolutely rules ass!

Worth a recommendation on that alone.

Is it Top Gun: Maverick But With Race Cars Now? Yes, even to the closer-to-age-appropriate love interest (shout out Kerry Condon!).

But!

As a big screen, IMAX, amusement park-esq immersive experience, it’s absolutely incredible. Hands down worth seeing in the theater, even though you can call the whole plot from the jump.

DA MOVIESH

Is it Top Gun: Maverick But With Race Cars Now? Yes, even to the closer-to-age-appropriate love interest (shout out Kerry Condon!).

But!

As a big screen, IMAX, amusement park-esq immersive experience, it’s absolutely incredible. Hands down worth seeing in the theater, even though you can call the whole plot from the jump.

DA MOVIESH

Ben Affleck and Jon Bernthal are…Guys Bein’ Dudes.

Ben Affleck and Jon Bernthal are…Guys Bein’ Dudes.

Yesterday, after a roughly 24 hour heads up, Sony live-streamed the latest of their State of Play presentations¹, in what would’ve been the standard E3 presentation week.

In case you missed it, you can stream the whole thing here.

I’ve watched a lot of these presentations over the years — I’m very susceptible to hype — and I have to say, this may have been one of the most confident, complete and downright thrilling presentations by any of the big three video game companies in quite some time.

From the jump, with the reveal of the latest installment of the Lumines puzzle franchise, a relaunch in the vein of the enchanting Tetris Effect games, I was surprised and delighted by the breadth of games shared over the hour. Different genres, unique art styles, genuine risks in storytelling and audience focus — basically, intentionally or not, it seemed to be a direct shot at recent op-ed’s lamenting the end of the gaming industry, with its focus on only massive, cash grabbing hits and the heartbreaking increase of layoffs.

Are those still a problem? Yes, absolutely. But there was something in the air of yesterday’s presentation that told me that the world of creative games is not going out without a fight.

Among my personal highlights, which link out to their individual trailers:

• The aforementioned reveal of Lumines Arise, a trailer which — as a fan of Tetris Effect — gave me goosebumps.
• The bug nutty first look at Romeo is a Dead Man, a new action title from gonzo game director Suda51.
• The return of Giant Squid, creators of Journey, Abzu and The Pathless with Sword of the Sea, which looks gorgeous.²
• The reveal of 007 First Light, the biggest James Bond game in decades, as produced by Hitman devs IOI.
• And last, but not least…the reveal of the PlayStation Studios/Arc Systems collaboration, Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls, a 4 vs. 4 tag fighting game which looks absolutely incredible. It’s not Marvel vs. Capcom 4, sure, but it looks like it could be the next best thing.

In a year where my interest in gaming has been minimal, with me having only played the PS5 port of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle³, and anxiously awaiting my Switch 2 pre-order along with Mario Kart World, this was a shot in the arm for me. These are games made the way I like my games. And I hope they can all live up to their promise. I’ll be crossing my fingers as they release.

Tom Cruise will not rest until his death is captured in glorious IMAX.

Tom Cruise will not rest until his death is captured in glorious IMAX.

Do you like I Think You Should Leave and actively feeling anxiety for a fictional character’s actions?

Have I got the movie for you…

Do you like I Think You Should Leave and actively feeling anxiety for a fictional character’s actions?

Have I got the movie for you…

Woof. Feels like a parody of a Marvel film. Anthony Mackie deserves better.

Woof. Feels like a parody of a Marvel film. Anthony Mackie deserves better.

Chris DeVille, Stereogum:

Here’s a good bit: Rent out the American Football house, which is now an Airbnb, and write your own album there. Here’s a fun twist on that bit: Use the unique circumstances to execute a surprising aesthetic pivot.

Anamanaguchi, one of the world’s foremost chiptune bands, have announced their new album Anyway today. It’s a rock album with traditional rock instruments — i.e. not the video game music the band made its name on — and they wrote it in the Champaign, IL rental home pictured on the cover of twinkly, jazzy Midwest emo heroes American Football’s 1999 debut album. The house can also be seen on the cover of Anyway. American Football and their label Polyvinyl — which also happens to be Anamanaguchi’s label — now own the house, so securing it for a creative retreat was easy.

The first single, the very very good Weezer-and-or-Ozma influenced “Darcie”, has a video up here. The album, Anyway. releases on August 8th. I can’t wait!

Austin Wood, GamesRadar+:

Video games exist, in large part, because people want fun and interesting ways to spend their time, as is the case with any other form of entertainment.

But there is arguably an especially pertinent connection between the timing of the Switch 2 launch, the general state of the world, and the ethos attached to Nintendo games. “It’s been so long since we’ve had a new console hardware platform,” Piscatella continues. “It’s been years. It’s been a long time, and people are looking for things to kind of get their mind off of what’s going on elsewhere. You can even see it online, just the desire people have to have something to be excited about. I don’t know, maybe it’s just my own perspective, but I just see this palpable desperation, in a sense, of wanting to find something to bring joy.

“And a lot of people are locking on to this, which, good for them.”

Comment above from Mat Piscatella, a long-time video game industry analyst. And I don’t think he’s wrong.

Between the sales announcement being directly impacted by tariffs, to the intent of just pure capital-F Fun™, there’s something transgressive about the Switch 2 right now.

A defiant act of “the world is on fire, so I’m gonna lose myself in some blue shells for a while”.

Is that an inherently positive thing? Probably not. But I’ll be damned if right now, the June 5th release date isn’t one of my more anticipated dates of the year.