Amazon Prime Day has expanded from two days to four this year, giving Prime members a couple of extra days to shop. But if happened to miss all four of those days, there are actually still plenty of other places you can find sales right now. Although Amazon tends to have the best prices on most things during this time period, pretty much every other major retailer is joining in on the July sales promotions in 2025.Whatever your reason for avoiding Amazon this year, we've gathered some of the best Prime Day alternatives to shop right now. Each of these sales are offering some of the best discounts for 2025, so right now is your best chance to score some savings before Black Friday in November.The Best Prime Day Alternatives for 2025While there are a lot of competing Prime Day sales this year, it's worth noting that none of them will have as much depth to their discounts as Amazon. The closest overall sale to Prime Day this year would likely be the Walmart Deals sale. Walmart has been matching prices on some of the most popular items, like iPads and AirPods, while offering exclusive deals on LEGO sets that Amazon hasn't been able to compete with. One such example is the Mighty Bowser LEGO set, which has only been discounted at Walmart so far.As for what to look for in some of the other sales, I'd point out the exclusives. Amazon has great deals on Prime Day, but they rarely have discounts as good as the actual manufacturer. So if you're looking for a Dell gaming laptop specifically, then shopping Dell's sale directly is still the best way to go. The same goes for LEGO, which is currently offering an Insider's sale on sets that other retailers don't have discounts on at all. The Best Buy sale also has some discounts on things like gaming handhelds that you won't find anywhere else. If you do a little bit of shopping around, you should be able to find better discounts than the ones that are at Amazon for a lot of things.Another example of a company that has better prices than Amazon is the Secretlab sale going on right now. There are discounts on popular gaming chairs that are about $50 more if you buy them from Amazon.What's the best Prime Day alternative?Like I mentioned above, the best overall competing sale is the Walmart Deals sale. Walmart has pretty much all of the same discounts on Apple products as well as few exclusive discounts on toys that Amazon doesn't have at all. If you're looking for a single place to shop that doesn't directly contribute to Amazon sales numbers, Walmart would be the place to go.If you're looking specifically for tech, however, I'd recommend checking out the Best Buy Black Friday in July sale. It has matched most of the discounts that Amazon has on popular brands while offering some unique price cuts that have been overlooked elsewhere. You won't be able to pick up a bunch of beauty products for cheap, but it's great if all you're looking for is new tech.Finally, Target Circle Week is the best competing sale for things like home decor and groceries. Some of the bigger ticket items have been price matched in this sale to compete with Amazon, but it's the Target-owned brands that are worth looking at. There are many sale items here that you won't be able to find anywhere else, and if they match your particular style, the savings are just a bonus.When Do Prime Day Sales End in 2025?Amazon has officially extended its sale to four full days, and the end date for those discounts was supposed to be July 11. That being said, there are a few other retailers that are keeping their sales going beyond Amazon's limits and Amazon is currently price matching. Best Buy, Walmart, and Target all have sales that last into the weekend. And if you're looking for clothing or pet products, those sales extend all the way through Monday. So if you're planning on shopping outside of Amazon anyway, you will just have to get your shopping done before the end of Saturday, July 12 to make the most of the sales.Should you wait for Black Friday instead?There aren't that many other upcoming sales events between now and Black Friday, so if you're wondering if it's worth shopping right now, my answer would be yes. Normally Prime Day deals aren't as good as Black Friday deals, but 2025 is built different. With tariffs on a lot of goods and companies starting to raise prices, it's a safer bet to buy something now at a discount than wait for November in hopes it will be cheaper. It's certainly possible things will get cheaper later this year, but it's not a guarantee.

Amazon Prime Day was the longest it's ever been this year, but if you still managed to miss the sale entirely there's still some chances to save. In fact, the sale that seemed to have won Prime Day this year has shown no signs of slowing down at all. Amazon's buy 2, get 1 free sale on movies, books, and vinyl records is raging on after the final hours of Prime Day 2025.I've been covering Prime Day sales for years and this is the first time I can remember this type of promotion overlapping with the actual sales event days. And despite some actually incredible deals on things like Apple devices and TVs, it was this promotion on physical media that was overall the most popular sale for our audience. I don't know how much longer this promo will be running, but if you're looking to start or add to your physical media collection, it's worth checking this out.What's Included in the Buy 2, Get 1 Free Sale?I won't dive too far into the specifics of what's included here because we've already done that in a few separate articles. Personally, I'd recommend just diving into the sale yourself and just start searching for whatever you're looking for. Amazon offers the ability to sort by category, author, and genre, so you should be able to narrow it down fairly easily. If you do want some suggestions for what to buy that's included, however, you can check out our top picks for each type of media in the links below:4K Blu-ray MoviesAnime Blu-raysBooksComicsVinylWhen does this sale end?Prime Day ended yesterday and we would have assumed that this sale would have ended with it. Since Amazon has decided to keep it live through the weekend, when will this sale actually end? The short answer is that we don't really know. However, I can make some guesses based on what's going on outside of Amazon right now. There are a few different Prime Day alternative sales running right now that were always set to go beyond what Amazon had to offer. Most notably, the Walmart Sale is continuing on through tomorrow. Because of these prolonged competitor discounts, Amazon appears to be continuing to match prices on things like Apple devices, LEGO sets, and more.So if I had to hazard a guess at when the buy 2, get 1 free sale is going to end, I'd say probably tomorrow. That being said, if you see some movies or books that you like in here I wouldn't recommend hesitating on picking them up. Prime Day is really the last big sales event until Black Friday in November, so now is your best chance to save in 2025 until then.

Alien: Earth showrunner Noah Hawley reveals he sought out advice from one of the biggest names in Hollywood when he was making the new sci-fi horror shows: Dune director Denis Villeneuve."I ended up having a conversation with Denis Villeneuve because his movies, I've never seen anyone better at showing me that something is big," Hawley says in the new issue of SFX magazine, which features Alien: Earth on the cover and hits newsstands on Wednesday, July 16."That feeling of being dwarfed by the size of a ship or a sandworm One of the things that was really important to me to convey was a sense of scale. I wasnt looking for trade secrets because I also feel its about intimacy as well. You have to have the two, the big and the small. Thats whats really important to me in this show and I think weve achieved it.""Its a pretty good one, right?" Hawley adds of the name drop. "Why lie? The guys a master, one of the greats. Its all about story at the end of the day, the moment that its style over substance youre in trouble. Thats clear from his work and from our conversation and clearto me as well, of how to mix practical effects with the visual effects. I come from a model of doing more with less, I pride myself on making things that look like they cost twice what I actually had. Some of that is just vision and execution. But you also have to know where to spend the money to make things feel big."Alien: Earth is the first installment of the iconic franchise to be set on our own planet rather than in space. Set two years before the events of 1979's Alien, Ridley Scott's movie that started it all, the show follows Wendy (Sydney Chandler), a synthetic who volunteers to retrieve the mysterious cargo from an intergalactic vessel after it crashlands on Earth.Not a subscriber to SFX? Then head on over here to get the latest issues sent directly to your home/device!Alien: Earth releases on Hulu in the US on August 12 and Disney Plus in the UK on August 13. Read more in the latest issue of SFX magazine, which will be available from Wednesday, July 16. Here's the Alien: Earth cover you need to be looking out for on newsstands below...A post shared by SFX magazine (@sfxmagazine)A photo posted by on

He may have starred in three of the most successful films of all time, but for Tom Holland, they all sound like they've been bumped down a notch following his experience in the highly anticipated Christopher Nolan film, The Odyssey. Speaking to GQ about the upcoming movie that also stars Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, and Robert Pattinson, Holland teased that we better be prepared for what's coming."It was amazing. The job of a lifetime, without a doubt. The best experience I've had on the film set," Holland revealed. "Incredible. It was exciting. It was different. And I think the movie is going to be unlike anything we've ever seen."It should come as no surprise that Holland is so hyped for the film, given the excitement that's already building for Nolan's next project. Adapting one of the oldest stories in human history, The Odyssey will tell the epic tale of Odysseus (Damon), who, after a decade at war, heads home on a journey that will be just as long while his son, Telemachus (Holland), waits for him. But while Odysseus faces all manner of gods and monsters on the journey, his son is left with his mother, Penelope, who is having to refuse a variety of suitors that are competing for her hand in marriage. The story homes what might be the first ever hero in literature, dating back to 8 BC, but for Holland, the film is full of them."Matt Damon has always been a hero of mine, Anne Hathaway has always been a hero of mine, so to share scenes with them, to learn from them, to become friends with them, I couldn't have asked for a better job," Holland said. "And Im so proud of the work Ive done. I came to work every day with a real sense of purpose and a point to prove, and Im so grateful to Chris to have given me that opportunity."As is compulsory for any Nolan film, there's still an air of mystery about the project, even for a story that's almost 2,700 years old. As it stands, Holland and Damon are the only cast members whose characters have been confirmed, along with Charlize Theron, who will be playing the witch-goddess, Circe, and is responsible for, at one point, turning Odysseus' crew into pigs. Given Holland's mention of filming scenes with Hathaway, it feels safe to assume that she's playing Penelope in the epic adventure.Working with Chris, getting to know him and Emma [Thomas, wife and producer of all of Nolan's films] was absolutely fantastic," confessed Holland. "I've never seen someone that can work the way that they do, and there is a reason why they're the best in the business for sure. To get a front row seat to that and to be a part of the process and to collaborate with a true master of his craft and learn from him was the best experience I've ever had."That front row is pretty stacked, as well. Joining Holland, Damon, Hathaway, Pattinson, and Theron are also Mia Goth, Zendaya, Elliot Page, Lupita Nyong'o, Samantha Morton, Will Yun Lee, Himesh Patel, and Benny Safdie. The film will also see Holland sharing the screen with his future Spider-Man: Brand New Day co-star, Jon Bernthal, who will be making his first big-screen debut as The Punisher now that he's returned to the MCU. Coincidentally, these two were also the primary focus of the first teaser trailer for The Odyssey, which was recently released in theaters (and which inevitably leaked online).You'll be able to see what part they all play when The Odyssey sets sail into theaters on July 17, 2026. If you're a daring soul and want to guess where this will fit in the pantheon of Nolan movies so far, why not check out our ranking of his films here.

It's been 14 years since the last time we heard the thoughts of Doctor John Dorian (Zach Braff) from Scrubs, and now the sitcom is showing signs of life with news that it's set to return to our screens for a brand new season.News from Deadline reveals that Braff, along with his former co-stars, Donald Faison and Sarah Chalke, will also be returning to the show in their roles of Dr. Christopher Turk and Dr. Elliot Reid, respectively. The news comes after Braff confirmed he was returning as J.D. back in May. Currently, these are the only confirmed cast members for the new show, while behind the scenes, some familiar names will return to bring the show back to life.Bill Lawrence, who created the original show and then went on to have the idea of a US football coach coming to handle an English football team in Ted Lasso, will be back as executive producer on the show. Taking his spot will be Tim Hobert and Aseem Batra as showrunners and executive producers. Hobert was a writer in the show's original run, along with Batra, who also worked as story editor.The show doesn't look to be heading anywhere near Med School, which was the basis of the not-quite-spin-off and ninth season that is deemed the worst of the original series. Instead, we'll be reunited with our favorite physicians at Sacred Heart Hospital, opening up the opportunity for some of the rest of its original staff to return as well. Rumors have already been circulating that if shooting schedules align just right, Judy Reyes could reprise her role as Faison's on-screen wife and head nurse, Carla Espinosa.Speaking about the show's return in August, Lawrence explained, "It would not only be fun to see where the characters I used to love are now, but also to see what a young doctor nowadays looks like, as far as the kids coming in behind them, you know." We'll be able to see how healthy that looks when Scrubs is expected to return next year.For now, if you're stuck for something to watch, why not take a dose of these new TV shows heading your way and call us in the morning.

The ending of Ironheart took a surprisingly dark and dangerous turn for one of the MCU's youngest heroes, Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne), who in the season's final episode made a deal with Mephisto (Sacha Baron Cohen) to bring her friend Natalia (Lyric Ross) back from the dead. While it wasn't confirmed what kind of ramifications the tech-whiz will face now that she's made a pact with a literal demon, fans are already theorizing what kind of wicked things are heading her way, and what it means for Riri's character overall.One fan who brought up the significant chapter in Riri's story said on Reddit, "Story-wise, I like that they didnt go the usual route of turning her full villain or keeping her squeaky-clean hero. Its more nuancedher judgment gets clouded by a desire thats actually coming from a good place. And hopefully, that choice has some real consequences moving forward, whether in season 2 or maybe even a Champions spin-off."In the comics, Riri joined the team The Champions before she got her own solo comic book and after spending a lengthy amount of time with Tony Stark, who, unfortunately, is very much dead in this version of the Marvel universe. Many fans were excited about the potential direction the show could take, particularly Riri's potential shift from being a squeaky-clean hero like many others in the MCU. "I like that she took his deal and that we seem to be moving into dark, magical territory like people were saying," wrote one fan. "I love me a Faustian bargain."That being said, others debated the decision, questioning whether it might have been a little out of character. "She is very intelligent with tech obviously, but her social and emotional skills are horrendous," one fan argued. At the same time, another made the point that, "Well, she's 19 years old and in the depths of grief and despair. She needs therapy before she can even begin to unpack this."It was because of this debate and many other issues, though, that one fan highlighted some viewers can't be happy with the outcome, regardless of the daring territory it ventured into. "People always complain that the MCU is too shiny and happy (a little less so after Infinity War), but then ignore that this series basically ended with the villains winning." We can only hope to see how the playing field looks in the future whenever Riri returns to the MCU. In the meantime, here's every other film and TV show headed our way in the future.

Co-op mods are all the rage these days, partly thanks to that FromSoft modder who's added seamless multiplayer to everything from Elden Ring to Sekiro to Dark Souls Remastered. And now, Yakuza sickos can get the same treatment.The Intertwined Fates mod for Yakuza 5 lets you play almost the entire game in co-op or with an AI-controlled partner. Obviously, for most of the criminal adventure, main man Kazuma Kiryu is entirely alone, so modder Jhrino simply inserted everyone's favorite goof Ichiban Kasuga where he doesn't belong.It doesn't make much canonical sense since Ichiban, the hero of the seventh and eighth mainline Like a Dragon games, isn't even in Yakuza 5, but that's the magic of modding, eh?The only place where the mod doesn't quite work with an AI-controlled Ichiban is in free-roam. That aside, dance battles with Haruka are now fully playable in co-op, as is hunting, the taxi minigame, and idol battles. It wouldn't be functional Yakuza co-op unless the minigames were also playable with a friend, I guess.Ichiban also had his own moveset and even appears in cutscenes, though if you find his silent presence in the background of the drama distracting, you can remove him by following the instructions on the NexusMods page. There's even an option to have him in cutscenes but not gameplay, if you like. While the mod is also designed as a local co-op experience, there is some software detailed on the page that'll let you play online, too.Years before we learned of Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, Majima's voice actor pitched a JRPG about the fan-favorite anti-hero and was told "that's not going to happen"

Superman may be widely regarded as one of the greatest pop culture icons of all time, but theres one area where even the Man of Steel has struggled to fly. Why, after all these years, arent there any good Superman video games? Where is Supermans answer to Rocksteady Studios' Batman Arkham series or Insomniacs Spider-Man games?With James Gunns Superman movie putting Kal-El back in the spotlight, lets take a step back to explore Supermans incredibly rocky gaming history, and why there still hasnt been a great Superman game after all this time.Supermans Ugly Gaming HistoryIn many ways, the problem with properly depicting Superman in games isnt so different from movies or TV or even the comics. Hes an incredibly powerful character. Some would argue that hes overpowered. When a guy has this level of strength, speed, and invulnerability, not to mention all the other handy powers like flight and heat vision, its hard to paint him as the underdog. How do you build a game around a guy whos basically all-powerful and still create challenges for the player to overcome? The Problem With Supermans PowersSome Superman games have made the mistake of weakening Superman or walling off his powers. That problem dates all the way back to the very first Superman game, 1978s Superman for the Atari 2600. Like a lot of licensed games on that system, youd have to squint to even recognize the source material in those blocky, primitive graphics. But thats not the core issue with the game.Superman tasked players with repairing Lex Luthors damage to Metropolis and capturing the villain and his henchmen in as short a time as possible. Exposure to Kryptonite would cause Superman to lose his powers, with the only cure being a kiss from Lois Lane. Not the most auspicious start for the Man of Steel.The NES game is the perfect example of this frustrating trend. Similar to contemporaries like Castlevania II: Simons Quest and The Legend of Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, the NES Superman featured a top-down overworld map that transitioned into various side-scrolling action levels. However, the game committed the same sin as many superhero games of the time by locking Supermans various powers behind limited-use special meters. That, combined with a generally obtuse and punishing difficulty level, ensured the NES Superman was never much fun to play.When your flight, heat vision, X-ray vision, and other powers are tied to rapidly depleting special meters, you dont really get the sensation youre playing as Superman. Its not as if he normally has to ration his powers in the comics and films. Supermans Generic 90s PhaseThe late 80s and early 90s saw a handful of new Superman games released, including the 1988 Superman arcade game from Taito and the 1992 Sega Genesis side-scroller. These games werent as egregious as their predecessors about walling off Supermans powers. The problem during this period was more that Superman was relegated to generic side-scrollers and beat-em-up titles - the same fare gamers were being inundated with across the industry.The most notable release in this crop is 1994s The Death and Return of Superman. Based on the popular comic book crossover, that game cast players as both Superman and his replacements from the comics like The Eradicator and Steel. It was basically DCs answer to Spider-Man: Maximum Carnage, coming in an era when the prevailing wisdom for superhero games was when in doubt, make an arcade-style brawler. Fine for keeping Superman in the public consciousness, but not for forging games that truly take advantage of his vast powerset. Its tough to truly feel like a Man of Steel when youre just moving left to right and punching endless waves of generic enemies.The Infamous Superman 64Supermans gaming fortunes seemed to be on a slow upswing in the 90s, only for the franchise to reach its nadir with 1999s Superman: The New Adventures. Or as we all know it, Superman 64. Put simply, Superman 64 is still widely regarded as one of the worst games ever made, with clunky flying controls, frustrating difficulty, and more bugs than even Supermans heat vision could hope to melt. Its not exactly a looker, either. Superman 64 highlights the issue that no game has really nailed the art of controlling Superman in flight in a 3D environment. Superman 64 forced players to steer a clunky Man of Steel through an endless series of rings and obstacle courses in a fog-covered Metropolis. Much later, Superman Returns would emerge with a somewhat better and more intuitive system of flight control, but the lack of Superman games since means no one has iterated on that design. Fortunately, the franchise did bounce back a bit with the release of 2002s Superman: Shadow of Apokolips on the PS2 and Gamecube. Compared to Superman 64, that game did a much better job of capturing the look and feel of the animated series. That said, the gameplay never matched up to the production values. If this is generally considered to be the best Superman game of all time, thats still damning it with faint praise.Superman the ProtectorSome of the more modern games have veered in a different direction by making Superman himself invulnerable but centering gameplay on rescuing civilians and protecting Metropolis. In some ways, that feels like a step in the right direction. The key to understanding Superman is realizing that, as powerful as he is, he cant save everybody. He does have limits.For example, the Xbox got its own Superman game in 2002 courtesy of Infogrames in the form of Superman: The Man of Steel. Based on the comics rather than the animated series or movies, this game pitted Supes against Brainiac. While the game succeeded in giving players control of a wide variety of super-powers, the lousy controls and emphasis on protection missions served as a one-two punch of doom.Then theres 2006s Superman Returns, a game with interesting ideas but subpar execution. The game featured most of the cast from the film reprising their roles, along with other iconic Superman villains like Bizarro and Metallo for good measure. To its credit, the game didnt put many limits on Supermans abilities as it introduced an open-world version of Metropolis. In fact, the Man of Steel himself was effectively invulnerable, with Metropolis itself having a health meter. But between the poor controls, equally bad graphics, and the fact that the games final boss was a literal tornado, Superman Returns was ultimately panned. Building a game around rescuing innocent bystanders (like Superman: The Man of Steel) or protecting Metropolis itself (like Superman Returns) can be an exercise in frustration. Protection missions in games are always a tough sell. Without fine-tuned controls and an NPC AI smart enough not to be actively fighting against the player at all times, these missions can be aggravating at best and downright rage-inducing at worst. How Should the Superman Franchise Move Forward?Shockingly, thats it for Kal-Els gaming career. Its been almost 20 years since the release of Superman Returns, and the Man of Steel has yet to star in another dedicated game. His subsequent gaming appearances have been limited to Justice League-centric series like Injustice: Gods Among Us and LEGO Batman. Superman is also playable in Fortnite, but there hes basically just a dude that flies and shoots lasers. At some point, developers seem to have given up trying to crack the Superman code. The gaming world has yet to deliver that satisfying Superman experience that embraces all his incredible powers while still creating a sense of danger. Whats the key? Do you load up enemies with Kryptonite weapons? Do you follow the example of the Injustice games and create a super-strength-bestowing MacGuffin that levels the playing field? Maybe theres a better question to be asking. Does a Superman game even really need combat in the first place? Certainly, Telltale found success with the Batman franchise in an adventure game setting. Could Superman benefit from a similarly narrative-driven approach? Is a full-blown Superman point-and-click adventure game the way to go? Maybe, but there are other ways of downplaying action in superhero games.Does a Superman game even really need combat in the first place?Were seeing modern AAA games like Death Stranding start to deemphasize combat in favor of other mechanics (some would argue the Death Stranding games would be better if they eschewed combat entirely). Maybe the key is to pivot away from a traditional action game focus in favor of finding other ways to explore and utilize Supermans powers.2005s Shadow of the Colossus offers another possible path forward. That game isnt devoid of action, but it does break the traditional mold by focusing on exploration and limiting combat to the battles with a handful of massive boss characters. Maybe thats the key to getting Superman right. Rather than pitting him against generic goons like Parademons or Intergang agents, perhaps the goal should be to focus on a handful of epic, prolonged boss battles. Picture Kal-Els fight with the kaiju in James Gunns Superman movie and youll have some idea of how a Superman game could play out. Ultimately, flight, not combat, is the most important component of a Superman game. Flight in Superman games is really as key to the overall success as web-slinging in Spider-Man games. Activision nailed that element in 2004s Spider-Man 2, paving the way for Insomniac to cut loose in their Spider-Man games. We cant say the same for Superman. Without more modern Superman games to take risks and explore the possibilities, the character has completely stagnated in this medium. Its probably going to take some trial and error before a developer hits upon the perfect, Arkham-esque formula for Kal-El. And that requires DC to prioritize Superman in the video game arena once more. With any luck, James Gunns Superman movie will be a major success, thereby serving as the catalyst the character needs in the gaming world.For more, check out Wolverine's clawful history in video games and the long road to perfecting Batman in games.

Dispatched by the crown as part of a secret expedition to a remote island part of the realm, you're ready for a life of adventure. But in third-person RPG Of Ash and Steel you're not one of the highly-trained, well-armored holy knights trying to enforce the will of the king you're the clever orphan-turned-cartographer along for the ride because the maps of the island, Grayshaft, are pretty bad. Perhaps they're bad because the island suffers periodic volcanic eruptions so devastating that it's blanketed in deadly ash that cakes inside your lungs and kills you, eruptions so awful that ships avoid the island for the entire year when one seems imminent.Which is obviously why brave cartographer Tristan has agreed to go there. And so like many fantasy protagonists, Tristan will soon be in way over his headall because he wanted a bit of adventurewhen the holy knights are all dead and he's the only one left to deliver the urgent missive. At least, that's what a hands-on preview with a beta build tutorial and first few hours of Ash and Steel told me.Of Ash and Steel looks like a pretty traditional RPG, reminiscent of classics from the 2000s. It's unapologetic about not giving you quest markers or anything but in-world directions, but at the same time it does highlight loot on the ground or chests you can interact with when you're near them. It's somewhere between Gothic and the first Witcher game, in its own way, with a nod toward the survival-centric games of the last decade or so. While it doesn't go all-in on survival and encumbrance, Ash and Steel still has something of the 2019 RPG Outward in it.It's unapologetic about not giving you quest markers or anything but in-world directions.More than anything, Of Ash and Steel feels like a game in the legacy of dearly departed mid-tier RPG studio Piranha Bytes, creators of the Gothic, Risen, and Elex series. That includes the signature campy acting mixed in with some decent drama, as well as plenty of oddball and unexpected humor. (One early quest has you finding the soiled trousers of a man who, when drunk, just craps himself and leaves the pants right there to clean up later.)Perhaps its most old-school feature is how it has no level scaling in its worldcreatures are a fixed level in a fixed location, forever. You're warned early on that going off the path can be dangerous, and each new enemy encounter is often a question of getting close enough to see if it massively out-levels you before you decide to try and take it on or notand hope for good loot when you do. Coupled with that lethal-but-rewarding exploration is the rudiments of a survival system, where staying fed and watered is a must to survive, and setting up shop at pre-determined campsites lets Tristan rest and cook to regain hit points and pick up buffs. It also passes time, which is useful in a world where the NPCs and monsters follow a schedule of their own as to when and where they appear, or even when they're taking a nap and won't talk to you about your very urgent quest.Tristan has three skill trees, and perhaps the most pressing one is Combat. Investing in combat skills lets you pick up to three different stances to fight from, each of which looks to have different effects based on what kind of weapons you're wieldingthere were axes, swords, clubs, daggers, and a crossbow. Sadly, poor starter Tristan wasn't strong or competent enough to wield most of them.Which is a big part of what I think the story developer Fire Frost is telling with Of Ash and Steel. This isn't a fantasy hero game where your character starts as competent at any useful skills relevant to his current situation. It's going to be a zero-to-hero story, with other characters in the world reacting to Tristan as he grows stronger. "If at the beginning of the game you were treated like a ragamuffin," said Fire Frost, "by the end of the game the characters will literally bow to your feet."There was a hint of that in action during the preview play, as characters who previously saw Tristan dressed only in threadbare clothing later had complimentary things to say about a suit of basic armor I'd purchased. Where before they'd just asked: "Are you really wearing that?" they later said, "Ah, I had a sturdy suit like that when I was younger."And a sturdy suit of armor is much needed, because the fighting can get pretty brutal. Armor will help you survive a few hits, but the stamina-based combat was really based around perfectly timed dodges and parries. Tristan's attacks, at least at the start of the game, are slow and clumsyhe's literally never fought before. As he got combat skills, though, he moved more confidently and picked up the ability to parry in a way that opened up enemies for counterattacks. That blended well with a fast knife, which let him get in those hits before quickly going back on his guard. Still, there's some tweaking to do on the early stages of the fightingsome people will definitely bounce right off of how clumsy Tristan was, or just won't be familiar with the time-honored strategy of "train the difficult enemy into a nearby powerful NPC."A sturdy suit of armor is much needed, because the fighting can get pretty brutal.Speaking of trying to survive, that's the focus of Tristan's other two skill trees: Survival and Crafting. They're much more down-to-earth, practical skillsets simply due to their nature. Survival lets you keep yourself fed and alive, while Crafting lets you upgrade and upkeep your equipment. Crafting also does one very important job: Makes you money. Quests and other odd jobs are a great source of experience and cash, sure, but paying people to train Tristan in all these new skills ain't cheap.What was cool is that investments of money and skill points into the Craft and Survival trees actually did pay off in combat. A good craftsman can better sharpen their weapon for bonus damage, or reinforce their armor for extra defense. Survivalists, meanwhile, could pick up nasty tricks like thrown daggers and the use of poisons on their weaponsthough poor preview Tristan was a bit too intellectually dull and low-level to get to try those skills out.Even with all the advantages of level and time, however, Of Ash and Steel is definitely going to be a game where you get your butt kicked. A lot. Quicksave, I expect, is Tristan's greatest friend in the world. Enemies hit hard, and enemies that are higher level than you hit extremely hardor even so fast that poor low-level Tristan simply stood no chance of reacting in time, let alone getting a single attack in. As a result, he got splatted by a lot of things. He got mauled by a giant rat-thing. Trampled by a big bug. Eaten by a lizard-thing. Dismembered by all manner of bandits, both living and apparently undead.And the only dang reason Tristan didn't get splatted by this giant troll is because when everything can splat you, well, you get pretty good pretty fast at running and climbing your way out of danger.While some people might find that kind of thing frustrating, Of Ash and Steel was pretty nice on that count. The action-RPG combat was somehow clunkier than a FromSoftware game but settled into its own rhythm after a while, and hopefully gets more and more fluid with more skills and abilities in the full game. Don't expect miracles from Of Ash and Steel, but the preview was evidence of a promising mid-tier RPG that'll likely enthuse ye olde genre purists while still being accessible and interesting enough to draw in lovers of more modern character-driven action.

This piece contains spoilers for Superman (2025) and Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow (2021)Ever since the "Gods and Monsters" slate was announced by James Gunn and his co-CEO at DC Studios, Peter Safran, one thing has been clear: Kryptonians are at the center of the new DCU. With Superman finally hitting screens, we've gotten to meet David Corenswet's delightfully pure Clark Kent who will clearly be the beating heart of the new franchise. Just like him, the film is colorful, kind, and filled with compassion. It's a perfect Superman and establishes a wide and expansive new DCU with centuries of characters, adventures, and villains to dig into. But as the film comes to an end we get an unexpected guest, one who will be key to the future of the franchise. See, it turns out that Clark is not the only one who survived the death of the planet he once called home. And as we learn in the final moments of the movie, Clark has another relative and we get to meet her in unforgettable style before she headlines the upcoming Supergirl film. Introducing Milly Alcocks SupergirlIn an actually shocking, not leaked, and very fun introduction we get our first on screen glimpse of the DCU's Supergirl. As Clark returns to the Fortress of Solitude to heal, Kara Zor-El crash lands into Kal-El's hideout looking for her pet dog Krypto. That's right, this is the foster situation that Superman alluded to earlier in the film. He's been babysitting the iconic Super Pet for his cousin who has been out partying on other planets where she can actually get wasted more on that later. But her introduction may have thrown off fans of the sweet-hearted baby-faced Kryptonian from the comics or the popular CW Arrowverse, seeing as this Kara is... a little different. As you may have guessed from the fact she loves drinking and she crash landed, this isn't the innocent, sweet, and often well behaved Kara that most of us know. Instead she swears, stumbles, and even calls Clark a bitch while sarcastically thanking him for dogsitting. As Superman Robot 4 A.K.A. Gary (Alan Tudyk) and Superman discuss her clearly unhealthy lifestyle as well as her rough and tumble relationship with Krypto, she exits stage left with her faithful pup and heads out on another adventure, which while not a post-credits scene does give us a glimpse at whats to come for the immediate future of the DCU. How Superman Sets Up Supergirl"Im sick of the superhero title, colon, other-name thing," Gunn recently shared in an interview. That explains why both Superman originally titled Superman: Legacy and Supergirl originally titled Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow ended up with their shortened names. That's important to note here as the version of Kara that we get in Superman is decidedly from Woman of Tomorrow, the 2021 eight-issue limited series by Bilquis Everly and Tom King, which director Craig Gillespie and writer Ana Nogueira are adapting for their upcoming 2026 Supergirl movie. Seeing as Supergirl is only in Superman for around two minutes, you might be questioning just how it's setting up her film other than introducing the curse-loving version of Kara. But it's all in the details, especially when it comes to her hard-drinking approach to heroics. During a press event that IGN attended, Gunn described this Kara as "much more hardcore and not the Supergirl we're used to" and that's underselling it. In the comic which inspired this version of our Kryptonian heroine, we see Kara as a hard-drinking 21 year old who has been touring planets with red suns in order to be able to get wasted. Why does she love to drink? Well, in this version she was raised on an exploded piece of her planet and forced to watch her loved ones die as she hurtled towards Earth. The story follows Kara as she drinks her way across the galaxy with Krypto in order to celebrate her 21st birthday. She gets into fist fights, brawls, and finds herself in more than a couple of life-threatening ruckuses, but it's when she meets a young woman named Ruthye Marye Knoll that her quest changes. Ruthye's father was killed by a brutal thief named Krem of the Yellow Hills, and she enlists Kara to help her kill him. Inspired by the classic Western film True Grit, with a wild fantasy sci-fi twist, this is a genre story unlike any other as Ruthye and Kara team up on a quest for revenge which feels like a far cry from the sweet, heartfelt, and decidedly family-friendly Superman. By simply name dropping the comic that will inspire her upcoming film, Gunn and Co. arent shying away from just how different Clark and Kara are. Weve already seen her curse and stumble about the fortress before clumsily flying away with Kyrpto to presumably wreak more havoc. By establishing the super cousins status quo early, fans already have a glimpse of whats to come when they next meet the Girl of Steel on her dangerous quest to help Ruthye get revenge for her father. Why Supergirl's New Attitude Works in the DCUDuring Superman we meet Rachel Brosnahan's fiercely driven Lois Lane and Nicholas Holt's obsessive Lex Luthor alongside the heroic titular Kryptonian. But the film isn't just concerned with the core cast as Gunn pulls from deep comic book canon to bring characters like the Engineer (Maria Gabriela de Faria) , Eve Teschmacher (Sara Sampio), and everyone's favorite Lex Luthor minion... Sydney Happersen (Stephen T. Blackehart). This is a world deeply concerned with the under utilized or unexpected takes on characters, and it's what makes this Kara feel so right. Instead of taking from the most well-known version of The Girl of Steel, we instead get the hard-drinking, depressed, and hilarious version from Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow. It opens up potential that could deal with some of the most interesting and under explored aspects of Supergirl and her history in comics. It's not just innovative, though. It actually makes a lot of sense. In the comics Kara was always supposed to be the elder Kryptonian survivor, sent to look after baby Kal-El as he heads to Earth in order to survive the destruction of his home planet. No matter what version of her story you read, you learn that Kara was essentially frozen in time as she took years to reach Earth, leading her to look younger than her cousin and arrive on Earth after he's already an established hero. That's not an easy thing to live with, and while Kara has often taken a more hopeful approach inspired by her famous relative, it's nice to think that we might see her get to explore and express the reality of that, which is far more horrifying and sad than you might think. More From the Fortress of SolitudeSuperman Ending and Post-Credits Scene ExplainedSuperman ReviewSuperman and Why the Battle for Truth, Justice and A Better Tomorrow Is NeverendingRanking the Superman ActorsThe Utterly Bizarre History of Superman's PowersSuperman Movies Ranked Worst to Best and Where to Watch ThemThis isn't even just something that is explored in Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow either. Throughout Kara's history she's been dealing with this trauma and the nightmare of being killed and resurrected during the original Crisis on Infinite Earths, something you can learn more about in Mark Waid's recent New History of the DC Universe and we've never gotten to really see it on screen in a way that centers Kara and still allows her to be the hero of her own story. The upcoming Supergirl film has a chance to rectify that, giving us as the audience a rich and layered take on the hero and granting Kara a new lease on life when it comes to exploring her future after the horrors shes endured. .If you're looking for more Supergirl to read as you wait for the new movie, the current Supergirl series by award-winning cartoonist Sophie Campbell and colorist Tamara Bonvillian is a far cheerier affair, but it does reintroduce Kara in a really interesting and thoughtful way that also brings her back to around 21 years old. Given that this is around the same age as she is in the DCU and Gunns expressed interest in keeping a huge swath of the new DC Universe connected, it'll be interesting to see how else the mainline DC books dovetail with the DCU and the co-chairs wider exploration of Kara as a hero and survivor of the Kryptonian destruction. For now though, we'll just look forward to another yet another punk rock addition to Gunn's ever growing new roster of DC heroesThis Supergirl Will Finally Allow Kara to Grow UpIf Supergirl spent the majority of the Silver and Bronze Age as an empowered and self-assured young woman, representing the type of reader DC hoped to attract, she spent most of the modern era as a good girl in a mini-skirt. Readers have rarely gotten to explore the inner depths of Supergirl and even the most passionate Kara fans wouldn't say that her big screen career has been fruitful let alone layered. Here we get to see a Supergirl that is already defying our expectations, a young woman who is on her own journey after her life was upended on an unfulfilled quest to save her young charge. If the previous Supergirl iterations represented the type of audience that DC was trying to attract in the past, this Kara should tell us about what Gunn and DC are trying to attract to the DCU. There's an understanding here that women of all ages need complicated and thoughtful representation and that sometimes looks like a woman with a hangover calling a man (of Steel) a bitch. If The Suicide Squad's Ratcatcher II was Gunn's loveletter to tired millennials then Kara can be Gen Zs proverbial eff you to the expected contraints and respectability that women are forced into. Rosie Knight is a contributing freelancer for IGN covering everything from anime to comic books to kaiju to kids movies to horror flicks. She has over half a decade of experience in entertainment journalism with bylines at Nerdist, Den of Geek, Polygon, and more.