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Geekly News 05July2026 Sony Ends Physical Game Discs

Geekly News: July 5, 2026; Sony Ends Physical Game Discs

Published on by KyraLeave a comment

Hey, hey, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here with another week of Geek News. After the family emergency (surgery), we’re getting back into the swing of things with Geekly News. We have plenty of new releases for board games and video games, but first, let’s cover this week’s headline. And Sony makes yet another headline. Sony Interactive Entertainment just can’t stop making news, can they?

Sony Ends Physical PlayStation game discs in 2028

I know. I know. I’ve mentioned Sony numerous times during this year. When I first learned Sony had made the news, I wondered what they did this time. You may tire of Geekly covering Sony and PlayStation news, but we’re tired of the company making news. We’ll begin by being as objective as we can and then editorialize a little bit.

In a blog post this week, Sony Interactive Entertainment announced it will end production of physical game discs in January 2028. Sony cites gaming trends as the chief reason for making this change. Games released before January 2028, along with existing physical titles, will not be affected. Players will still be able to purchase and play those games as they do today. Sony said the move will allow the company to “align more closely with how most of our community prefers to access and play games today.”

In a separate announcement, Sony stated that they will close the PlayStation Store for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita in July 2027. The digital storefront will shut down even earlier in some countries across Latin America and the Middle East. Sony claims the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita can no longer support their updated payment processing standards. Players will still be able to re-download games and other content they have already purchased for the “foreseeable future,” the company said.

Some of that may ring true. The PS3 and PlayStation Vita are aging systems. But the fact that Sony can cut off the digital libraries of those gaming systems proves why physical media matters. Players don’t own games they “purchase” digitally. Sony can yank player access to games on their digital store at any time. And while I do believe more gamers “purchase” their games online, “purchasing” games online is more like renting them. Players will need to pay full price for a game they don’t even own.

I know I’m in the minority here, but I hate the direction video games are headed. I may purchase older systems and get back into retro gaming. One may believe the PS3 is an old system. Who cares? But the PS4 and PS5 aren’t backwards compatible with the PS3. When those games disappear from the PlayStation store, some may vanish forever. That’s the thing about retro gaming and why I’m considering buying some of those older systems. I don’t have to worry about Sony (or some other video company) clicking a button and deleting my access to those older games. I own those games. Isn’t just big business to deny customers to own anything.

Okay. I’m done ranting. Let’s get to the fun stuff. New releases. Yay!

Sprout Launches on KickStarter

Sprout is a cozy, yet thrilling push-your-luck strategy game for 2-5 plant parents. Players take the role of roommates trying to sprout their newly adopted houseplants.

Choose how long to stay in your apartment collecting nutrients including Sunlight, Water, Plant Food, and even Love! The longer you care for your plants, the more nutrients you add into your pot.

Use nutrients to sprout your plant babies by meeting their picky needs. Every plant you sprout not only earns you bragging rights, but they also have unique sprout effects that help you further grow your plant family.

But be careful! If the same nutrient shows up too many times, you overwhelm your plants and wilt them! You’ll then need to give a little Love to bring them back to life.

You can also use Love to adopt new plant babies from the nursery. And with over 100 unique plants to choose from, there are infinite plant collections waiting for you to sprout.

Sometimes you’ll lend your roommates a helping hand by playing Roommate Cards. But other times, you’ll have to do what’s best for your own plants. Because at the end of the game, only one of you can claim bragging rights to the best plant collection!

Thank you for the description, Rabble. Nature-themed games have dominated the tabletop space. Sprout has plenty of competition. I’ve even recently played Verdant with a similar theme. But I like Sprout’s inclusion of push-your-luck and semi-cooperative game mechanisms. Semi-cooperative games are difficult to pull off. Believe me. I’ve tried. I’m interested in seeing how Sprout tackles the balancing act of players working together but having a reason to go against the good of the group. Rabble has a short but strong history of delivering solid games. Sprout looks charming. I’ve heard great things about the game’s player interactions. I’m keeping an eye on this project. Pledge levels range between $39 – $127. If you’re interested in Sprout, check out its KickStarter page.

Rolling Deep Launches on KickStarter

Rolling Deep is a Balatro-inspired roguelike dice-building adventure featuring a cornucopia of unlockable content, addicting challenges, and delicious combos. Each round, you roll dice representing your team’s daring actions as you push deeper underground. Decide when to act (scoring a roll) and when to try your luck (rerolling individual dice in pursuit of a stronger outcome).

When you score a roll, its value advances your progress toward a target score, the difficulty required to overcome the current stage of the journey. Each set of 3 rounds is called a chapter. Each chapter raises the challenge, and the final round of every chapter features a boss — a dangerous encounter that alters the rules for that round.

Between rounds, you visit the shop, where you spend coins to acquire upgrades and consumable gear. Some upgrades permanently alter the sides of your dice, changing their values and allowing them to generate coins or reroll potions when scored. Others boost your score, either every roll or when you score specific result ranges, rewarding careful control over how boldly (or cautiously) you push forward.

Your most valuable resources are time and reroll potions. Time determines how many opportunities you have to score your dice and accumulate a total score for the round, while reroll potions allow you to take a chance and — you guessed it — reroll individual dice before committing to a result.

Your goal is to survive 5 chapters and reach the volcano’s core. If you can overcome the final boss, you claim the treasure of the deep and escape, winning the game (and possibly discovering more mysteries to pursue in another expedition). If you fail to meet a round’s target score, you lose. Better luck next expedition!

Thank you, Bitewing Games, for the description. Bitewing has a strong history of delivering strong games. Rolling Deep looks to be another great game for their catalogue. Look at those components (pictured above). They look amazing. Rolling Deep allows players to modify dice. This concept has been tried with varying degrees of success. If anyone can pull off this feat, it’d be a publisher like Bitewing Games. I also like that Balatro serves as the basis for Rolling Deep’s DNA. I stink at Balatro, but I love how much strategic depth the game possesses. I wouldn’t mind if a board game attempted to adapt Balatro at face value. Adding the twist of a dice builder makes Rolling Deep an intriguing game combination.

And I love the Cuphead-inspired art. Yes. It may be a little overplayed, but Rolling Deep’s visuals look amazing. Bitewing Games is known for its production value, and Rolling Deep is no different. This is definitely a game you should have on your radar. Pledge levels range between $59 and $149. If you’re interested in Rolling Deep, check out its KickStarter page.

Artifox Launches on GameFound

Step into the bustling city of Artifox Famous for it’s beautifull Artifacts. As a fox living on the street, life is tough, but your cunning and courage can take you far! You dream of more, and you know that by perfecting the art of stealing, you can amass great wealth. Do you dare to take on the challenge?

Artifox is a strategic and interactive card game for 2 players that takes you on a whirlwind adventure full of cunning and deception. Start with a base deck and traverse the city to steal from various shops. Each card stolen will be added to your hand and eventually your deck. Use these tools, tricks or traps to manipulate the field and steal valuable loot. Guards are on the lookout so be carefull!

However, you are not the only one eyeing the city’s treasures. Your opponent is after the same loot and will do everything possible to outsmart you and steal your findings!

Have you gathered a Trick, Tool & Trap? Then it’s time to steal Mayor Silverfang’s treasures! These valuable artifacts are added to your deck and can be stolen by your Opponnent. When no Artifacts are left at Silverfang Manor, the fox with the most Artifacts wins!

Thank you, Octo Push Games, for the description. At first, I thought Artifox would include deck building. It does not. It’s more of an open drafting card game with plenty of hand management and a healthy dose of take that. If you know me, you know I don’t typically care for take that games unless they have a short run time. Artifox takes about thirty minutes to complete, which is on the long side of short. But Artifox is also a two-player only gaming experience. I don’t mind a longer take that game if it’s two-player only. Yes. I target you with all my nasty abilities, but since the game is two-player only, it feels less like I’m picking on someone because I choose to pick on them. They’re my only opponent. Great!

I love Artifox’s theme of sneaking through a bustling city and stealing items. Not enough board games include stealth. I’m interested to see how Artifox expresses this idea. My guess is that players will “push their luck” and journey deeper into the city. It also looks as if Artifox may have workers, but their write-up doesn’t include “worker.” I wonder if the meeples (pictured above) are guards. If so, neat. We have a healthy collection of board game new releases this week. If you’re interested in Artifox, check out its GameFound page.

Council of Serpents is a manipulative tug-of-war game with hidden objectives. Three noble Houses are vying for power, but you are not one of them… You are a member of the Council of Serpents, and manipulate these Houses to achieve your own ambitions.

You scheme to orchestrate the triumph or collapse of one of these great Houses by manipulating their three attributes; the strength of their army, the amount of gold in their coffers and their popularity with the people. If one of these attributes ever reaches the top of its track, the game is immediately over, and that House triumphs. Whereas if an attribute reaches zero, the game is also immediately over, and that House collapses.

You achieve this by playing Influence cards to cause Conflicts, escalate Conflicts into Wars, prepare for these Wars by playing facedown Intrigue cards, make Peace and orchestrate support from powerful Guilds. After playing an Influence card, you enact the top card of the timetrack, often causing the Houses themselves to act. When the timetrack runs out of cards you collectively build it anew, shaping the plans of the Houses for the turns to come.

Thank you, Wulfhorn Games, for the description. Council of Serpents sounds like a variant of a party game like We’re Doomed with more political intrigue. It features multiuse cards (always a favorite mechanism of mine), hidden roles, and negotiation. I’m not the best with negotiation, but I love it when a game uses the mechanisms. I can’t wait to see how I’ll screw up this mechanism. Council of Serpents’s production value looks amazing. That’s to be expected, most board game that launch on GameFound tend to have higher quality production values. Council of Serpents sounds like one of those games I’d love to play but wouldn’t be very good at. Still, color me intrigued. If you’re interested in Council of Serpents, check out its GameFound page.

Star Fox Releases on the Nintendo Switch 2

The original Star Fox gets its glow up with a brand new release on the Nintendo Switch 2. While I would’ve loved a new entry into the series (Nintendo has put Star Fox on the back burner for far too long, and his appearance in the recently released Super Mario Galaxy movie should’ve been accompanied by a new game, in my opinion), I’ll take a remaster or remake. The graphics look phenomenal.

Star Fox for the Nintendo Switch 2 is more of a remaster. It doesn’t take long to finish, but finishing the story is only part of the game’s joy. Star Fox’s multiplayer modes offer extensive replayability. Players can play cooperatively to complete challenging missions, or they can challenge each other in a competitive mode. I don’t know if I care for Star Fox’s more “realistic” graphics. The game loses a little bit of its charm by deviating from its cartoon art design. Still, it’s Star Fox. If you’ve always wanted to play the original, the Star Fox remake on the Nintendo Switch 2 may be a great way to experience this classic.

That’s all the geek news we have for this week. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.

Supergirl Movie Review

Supergirl Movie Review

Published on by Kyra1 Comment

Hey, hey, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here. A couple of our writers watched the DCU’s second movie entry, Supergirl, this past week. Sure. We’ve only watched the movie once, so this may be more of a reaction than a review. Typically, I like to watch a movie at least twice before dubbing my thoughts a “review.” But I do have some thoughts, and I may be joined by another of our writers for Geekly’s Review/Reaction of Supergirl.

Kyra’s Thoughts

Supergirl is a good movie. I don’t know where all the hate for the movie originates. I’d even say Supergirl is on par with last year’s Superman, with one significant flaw holding it back: “the brides.” The brides represent an even larger issue of Supergirl attempting to cater to a wider audience. We’ll return to the brides and the rest in a minute, but back to Supergirl as a whole. The acting is on point. Eve Ridley gives a great performance as Ruthye. Milly Alcock is perfect as a Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow (the movie’s source material) version of Supergirl. And Jason Momoa was more believable as Lobo in three seconds than he was as Aquaman through three DCEU films.

However, Lobo is also the reason why Supergirl isn’t as good as it could be–Lobo was a ploy to get other demographics interested in the movie, but we’ll talk more about that later, too. Again, I love Momoa in the role, but the character disrupted this movie. Other critics claim that Supergirl’s plot is scattered. Lobo is the main reason the movie’s plot goes off course. The writers shoehorned a character who didn’t exist in the source material: Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow. While a scattered plot may be a fair criticism of Supergirl, last year’s Superman had a far more scattered narrative. I didn’t look at some of these critics’ reviews for Superman, but I venture to guess they didn’t dock Superman nearly as much as Supergirl for the same flaw. And Superman was worse in that regard.

My biggest gripe with Supergirl also stems from Lobo’s presence: the brides. I told you we would return to this topic. In the source material, the main villain, Krem, is a mercenary who really loves killing people. Lobo is also a mercenary who really loves killing people. How do we differentiate between them? Make Krem a sex trafficker. No. Just no. The brides (girls around 13) gave me the ick while I was watching Supergirl. It took me a minute to figure out why the brides made me cringe. I can see why this could be a dealbreaker for some. Supergirl could’ve omitted Momoa’s Lobo (or given him a cameo, seriously, three seconds was all Momoa needed to show he embodied the character) and replaced his scenes with a hopeful scene or two from the source material. This could’ve brightened the movie. Possibly even allowed for more comedic moments, which brings me to my next point.

Supergirl’s darker tone could also be a dealbreaker for others. Supergirl is a very different character from Superman. And that’s a fantastic thing. Corenswet’s Superman never knew Krypton. Alcock’s Supergirl watched her family, her home, and her people die. I love how Supergirl showed the difference between these two characters when they shared screentime. If anything, Supergirl upstaged the DCEU’s Superman. Cavill’s Superman had PTSD for unspecified reasons. Alcock’s Supergirl has PTSD for a very concrete reason: she watched the last of Krypton die. This is the equivalent of Cavill’s Superman as a CIS man trying a menstrual cramp simulator and screaming at the first setting. Alcock’s Supergirl would claim that setting tickles.

I could even see some people disliking Supergirl’s use of trauma to propel the narrative. Sometimes, you just want a dumb, fun movie. Heck, 2025’s Superman could be categorized as a dumb, fun movie, so the DCU conditioned audiences (through one movie) that the new DCU will be bright and fun. Despite its tonal differences, Supergirl fits within the DCU. And I’d argue that Kara overcomes her trauma, and that should be lauded. Supergirl’s trauma makes her interesting. Kara possesses numerous conflicting emotions. At one point, Supergirl was a red (rage) lantern in DC Comics. The fact that she chooses hope makes her a hero. While Supergirl is dark for a PG-13 movie, it’s nowhere near as dark as 2008’s The Dark Knight. So those critics need to stop clutching their pearls or throw that same vitriol at The Dark Knight.

The final negative I’ve seen from most Supergirl critics is the movie’s sepia-toned world. Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow features vibrant colors. The Supergirl movie doesn’t. And this is where I’m bringing back the idea that Supergirl included certain things in the hopes of appeasing different demographics. Supergirl’s sepia-toned worlds resemble the Snyderverse films. News flash, DCU. Snyderverse fans only want the DCEU to return. Nothing you can do can change that, so why not go with more vibrant colors? And we return to Lobo. Yes. Lobo was that problematic of an addition to this story. At first, I thought the DCU wanted another marketable character in the Supergirl cast (sell some toys or a variant popcorn bucket), but the more I thought about it, Lobo’s presence was meant to appeal to testosteroni males. After all, Lobo is the Main Man.

Supergirl works as a worthy follow-up to 2025’s Superman. I’d like to see where the DCU takes the Superman family. Yes, there are more members of the Superman family the DCU could explore. Supergirl suffers from appealing to a lot of different demographics that it had no hope of winning over. Synderverse fans are a lost cause. And despite Lobo’s inclusion, many of the testosteroni boys whom Lobo was meant to win over still dubbed Supergirl “woke” because it’s a movie about a super-powered woman. Supergirl has the bones of a fantastic movie. The performances are phenomenal. Too bad the DCU tried to cater to certain demographics.

Those are my thoughts on Supergirl. Let’s see what Season thinks about the film.

Season’s Thoughts

I also think Supergirl got too much hate from critics. If you isolate Supergirl from Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, it’s an enjoyable movie. It’s fun to watch regardless, but I couldn’t help myself from comparing it to the source material. I’ll get to the source material later.

Supergirl showed Kara overcoming adversity, but that got overshadowed by Lobo and the sex trafficking of young girls. The reason the movie gave for the sex trafficking of young girls was because the Brigands were an all-male race. Okay. I suppose you can argue that reason, but the sex trafficking was so unnecessary and ham-fisted into the plot. It was plain gross for the sake of being gross. Krem also killed one of the girls for sport. If the Brigands really needed these girls to continue their race, why kill one of them instead of capturing them?

Speaking of Krem, an interesting design choice was made for him in Supergirl that doesn’t match with Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow. My guess is it goes back to Lobo’s inclusion. Lobo is already an interesting looking character with extreme expressions and mannerisms. In Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, Krem looks like a red-headed barbarian with crazy eyes. Supergirl made Krem out crazy-fie Lobo with several piercings across his face, leather clothes, and a rat tail turned into a braid. They also gave him red eyes. You know, to match Lobo. Since Krem was the more evil between himself and Lobo in Supergirl, he had to have a more extreme appearance. I see you, Craig Gillespie.

I’m sorry to all the Lobo fans out there, but he was a distraction. Spoiler alert: Lobo stole Comet’s scene in Supergirl. In Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, Comet is the one who saves Supergirl from the onslaught of Brigands, losing his life in the process. This is a very dark and emotional moment in the source material. I cried when I read it. In Supergirl, Lobo rescues Supergirl from the Brigands and turns it into a slapstick comedy moment. Supergirl explained Lobo’s reason for being present was that he was after the bounty of one of the Brigands. That makes sense for Lobo’s character, but Supergirl is only one-hundred and seven minutes. All of Lobo’s screentime is distracting from the main story.

On to the positives. Supergirl was fun to watch. Milly Alcock did an amazing job of capturing Supergirl as a character. Eve Ridley also did a good job of portraying Ruthye. Ruthye’s internal monologue wasn’t included in Supergirl, but I didn’t mind. The movie could have easily been lengthened to over two hours if Ruthye narrated the movie.

I didn’t think Supergirl would include the green sun. I was pleasantly surprised. Not only was it included, but it cut out the extra exposition in Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, which was much appreciated. Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow dragged a bit on the extent of Supergirl’s affliction to the green sun. In Supergirl, Ruthye’s strength was portrayed through her restraint and perseverance. We didn’t need to watch her slay monsters.

That’s my take on Supergirl. Geekly Gang.

Hey, hey, Geekly Gang. Kyra Kyle here again. Did you agree with our takes? What do you think of Supergirl? Let us know in the comments. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.

Game Design Brain Dump: July 3, 2026

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Happy Friday, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here with another board game design brain dump. I’ll be honest. This past month, most of my focus has been on writing my personal fiction, blogs, and tabletop RPG. I haven’t even had a chance to playtest the changes I made (to Monster Chef) during the previous game design brain dump. Today’s game design brain dump will center on Rustbucket Riots. Ah! Rustbucket Riots has seen plenty of changes throughout the year and a half I’ve been developing the game. And it looks like Rustbucket Riots could see another change in the near future. Let’s talk about it in today’s Board Game Design Brain Dump.

I’ve already made changes to Rustbucket Riots. For those of you who didn’t check the previous link, the above image is what the Rustbucket Riots game board used to look like. This was the board for a good many months–years–until I had it upgraded. I’ll share that picture in a bit, but gaining some space gives anyone perspective.

For the months I haven’t been working on Rustbucket Riots, I’ve been working on Monster Chef. This gave me two things: cognitive distance from Rustbucket Riots, cross-pollination of ideas with Monster Chef. Rustbucket Riots and Monster Chef are nothing alike. One is a cooperative, dice placement game with interlocking gears (Rustbucket Riots), while the other is a competitive, card management game with a cook timing mechanism (Monster Chef). But working on Monster Chef, figuring out how to make that game easier to teach and faster to play made me view Rustbucket Riots in a new light. I needed to look at Rustbucket Riots through the same lens as Monster Chef.

Ah. The board above is beautiful. I forgot how pretty Rustbucket Riots’ current board is, and it’s functional. The board illustrates which region a die belongs. Whatever color the die rests is the region it belongs to, so a die placed in the yellow wedge (of the large gear) will touch the orange and yellow regions. Easy! Before this change, playtesters would complain it was too difficult to tell. I haven’t received that feedback as much after this change. So, it might be time for more change. Players are supposed to simultaneously roll dice, lock them in, place them, and remove the dice from the gear spaces to use the die.

That’s a lot of mechanical things going on at once. The rolling, locking, and placing can get long and difficult to explain. The change I’m thinking of making is replacing dice with tokens, converting Rustbucket Riots from dice placement to a bag builder game. If I do this, this will fundamentally change the game. I won’t change the board, at least not right away. If I go through with this, I’ll make the tokens die-shaped. No. I’m concerned about how this change will affect Rustbucket Riots’ flow. I’ll need to rebalance the game. Some boss robots may need new abilities (many of their current abilities revolve around dice manipulation). And how does busting work in this new setup?

I don’t know. I guess this post lives up to its title of a game design brain dump, emphasis on the brain dump. In the coming weeks, I’ll playtest the current version of Rustbucket Riots and see where these changes could be implemented. Thankfully, I won’t need to change any of Rustbucket Riots’ major set pieces. I can produce die-shaped tokens and alternate cards. We can play the game both ways. See which one flows best. My guess will be the tokens. I’ve spent so much time explaining how die rolling and locking die faces work. Explaining that you just pull out X number of tokens will be a relief. And I could see minions (the orange and pink dice) finding their way into player bags. Perhaps that’s the bust trigger.

Thank you for reading this week’s game design brain dump. You’re awesome. And wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.

Whatcha Playing, Geekly: July 1, 2026

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Happy Wednesday, Geekly Gang! Today, our writers share which games they’ve been playing over the past month. Feel free to share what you’ve been playing over the past month, too, because we’re all part of the Geekly Gang. I’ll get things started with the games I’ve been playing over the past month.

Planet Board Game Banner

Kyra’s Board Games

Skye mentioned this game in last month’s Whatcha Playing; I just wanted to share a few thoughts on Planet. Of course, I love the idea of the planet component. The 3-D planet each player builds gives Planet a huge toy factor. Planet does do a few things to differentiate itself from a 3-D Cascadia. The array of animals you may attract to your planet makes players’ strategies evolve. If an animal (with a scoring mechanism) doesn’t score during a round, it gets moved to the next round. Brilliant!

The scoring mechanisms also prevent players from playing one specific way. I had the Arctic Planet role and wanted as many Ice spaces on my planet as possible. But there are scoring mechanisms that reward a player for having the largest collection of ice spaces, and another for the most unique instances of ice spaces. I’m constantly being pulled one direction or another great. This was fantastic. I will echo Skye’s complaint that the planets aren’t designed the best from a physical standpoint. It was too easy to break my planet. The tokens would consistently fall off as I was turning my planet over to score each animal scoring mechanism. It’s a small thing. I’d love to see Planet get an updated second edition.

Family visited us over the past month, so we played more party games than we usually do. I’ve covered some of these titles in the past (some may have reviews on the site), so I’ll try to keep these write-ups brief. Sixes is an interesting take on Scattergories. Given one or six categories (depending on the round), players alternate trying to match other players’ answers or come up with a unique answer. My brother-in-law shared that he liked how Sixes didn’t make him feel as inadequate as Scattergories. Switching from matching to unique answers matters. It makes Sixes more approachable.

I haven’t made a Just One review yet. Good to know. You may expect one early next year. Tee hee! Anyway, Just One has a simple concept. One player is the guesser. They choose a number between 1 and 5. There will be a single word clue that corresponds to that number. All the other players (the ones who aren’t the guesser) write one-word clues. Before the guesser can see these clues, the clue givers compare their clues. If they match, they erase their clues. After that’s done, the guesser tries to guess the clue word from the clues.

Deadlines Board Game Box

Woah! Deadlines is another game we don’t have a review for…yet. Love this one. It’s morbid in the best ways. Each card has a famous person listed on it. On the back, players will receive a clue as to who the person is. There are hundreds of famous people on these cards; you won’t know all of them. On the front, each card will say when the person was born, how long they lived, and when they died. The player must pick one of those three attributes and add their card to a growing timeline. Er, Deadline. If you get the Deadline wrong, you keep the card. It counts as a point. You don’t want points. As soon as a column reaches a certain number (it’s supposed to always be twelve, but I adjust the column length by the number of players), the column is finished. As soon as the final column is finished, whoever has the least points wins.

We’ve reached the one new-to-me board game on my list this month: Verdant. I liked this puzzly game. I only played it once, and I was worried about my car (it was in the shop at the time), but I’d like to play Verdant again. Soon. Players build a house in a 5×5 grid, alternating room cards and plant cards. Verdant has a supply line (a display) of five room cards and five plant cards. In between those two lines sit tiles. Some tiles give you abilities, like a watering can, while others are objects you can put on a room card. Each room card has space for one object. You’ll want to match colors (of objects and rooms), place plant cards beside room cards of the same color. It gets very puzzly.

Since room cards and plant cards are in pairs, whichever card wasn’t selected by a player receives a green thumb token. Green thumbs can be used for special abilities. Great! I don’t know how many times I picked up a room or plant that didn’t necessarily fit because two or three players passed on the card, and I received two or three green thumbs. Twenty-five turns (every player needs to build their 5×5 grid of cards) feels like it would take a long time, but Verdant has quick, snappy turns. I can’t wait to play it again. Maybe with fewer distractions next time.

Voidling Bound Video Game Banner

Kyra’s Video Game

I knew Voidling Bound would make one of these Watcha Playing posts. I’m not the only one playing. I’m sure Season will have plenty to say about Voidling Bound. And Geekly may need to do a full video game review in the not-so-distant future. Voidling Bound is everything good and bad about classic Skylanders. Note: I enjoyed Skylanders. Instead of needing to collect toys, Voidling Bound opts for tech trees for each of its critters (voidlings). The gameplay loop is addictive. You can drop hours playing this game and not know where the time went. Voidling Bound is grindy in the best possible ways.

But let’s get back to the Skylanders comparison. Like Skylanders, Voidling Bound exploration levels use a three-star system. Complete the stage for one star, collect everything for a second star, and speed run the level for the third and final star. So, I found myself playing an exploration level slowly the first time (to collect everything), and I’ll complete it the second time as fast as I can. Rinse and repeat. It’s a fantastic gameplay loop. I also love the tech trees and want to unlock all the paths for each voidling.

My issues with this title begin with repetitive enemies. I have yet to beat Voidling Bound, but I’ve played for a while and have only encountered two types of enemies: oozes and robots. That’s not a deal breaker. Plenty of great video games offer a small variety in enemies: the original BioShock and the Kingdom Hearts series. My second issue: ranged voidlings are much better than melee voidlings. This was an issue with Skylanders; it’s an issue with Voidling Bound. Granted, one can grind long enough to make a voidling type viable, but some are innately better than others. This also isn’t a deal breaker for me; I could see it frustrate some gamers. My third issue: I’d also like some more variety in the stages. Again, I’m not done with the main game. I hope I get more control the area missions. Those were a nice twist on survival stages.

I’m writing this segment super early. I picked up Voidling Bound yesterday and played about ten hours, and I’m enjoying the ride. While I could see the game wear out its welcome, the adorable voidlings will bring me back. That tech tree and the Skylanders’ three-star system are a winning combination.

But how am I supposed to finish some of these levels in less than three minutes? I’m directionally challenged. Yikes! That’s all I have. Let’s check in with Season.

Voidling Bound Video Game Banner

Season’s Video Games

I also have yet to beat Voidling Bound, but it’s a lot of fun unlocking the variations of voidlings in the trees and getting unique variants from gold eggs. Outside of getting three stars in exploration levels, Voidling Bound has fewer puzzles and unique ways of finishing levels, unlike Skylanders. Voidling Bound asks players to scour the entire map by jumping ridiculous heights to find collectibles. I don’t mind this, but this is the majority of exploration. There are a few doors that require players to defeat the surrounding enemies before they unlock, but I don’t consider that a puzzle.

I love the tech and evolution trees in Voidling Bound. There are so many things to unlock and, once an ability is unlocked for a species of voidling, it stays unlocked for every voidling of that species the player has.

I love time management games, and I used to play them alongside my mom when I was a kid. Cake Mania is one of those titles. Players bake cakes and serve them to customers before their mood meter runs out. Players get more money the higher the mood meter is and the more complex the cake. Upgrades for equipment are also available for purchase as players complete levels.

Cake Mania is a good time killer game and scratches that nostalgia itch.

Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here again. That’s what our writers have been playing this past month. What have you been playing? Let us know in the comments. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.

Autism Representation: Everything’s Gonna Be Okay

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Happy Monday, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here with another addition to our Autism Representation series. As you may already know, I was diagnosed later in life with AuDHD–that’s autism shaken up with ADHD. The focus of today’s autism representation is the dramedy (more emphasis on the drama than the comedy), Everything’s Gonna Be Okay. Per usual, it’ll be difficult to cover this show without spoilers, so consider yourself warned of spoilers. Each one of the shows and films we cover in this series presents different issues in terms of covering autism representation. I’ll do my best with Everything’s Gonna Be Okay.

(Note: I’m also going to include more citations and supporting documentation going forward.)

We’ll begin with an overview of Everything’s Gonna Be Okay’s cast, and then go into detail with each of the show’s major neurodivergent characters. Buckle up for some authentic autistic representation.

Hiring Autistic Actors

We’re off to a fantastic start with Everything’s Gonna Be Okay. Many–if not most–of the people who portray a neurodivergent character in this series are neurodivergent actors. Simply put, a neurodivergent actor can pull from life experience to better portray a character who is neurodivergent. I’m not saying a neurotypical (someone who isn’t neurodivergent) actor can’t portray a neurodivergent character, but when you hire a neurotypical actor to portray a neurodivergent character, you’re more likely to end up with something like Sia’s Music. Yikes!

Josh Thomas/Nicholas Moss, Kayla Cromer/Matilda Moss, Lillian Carrier/Drea, and Carsen Warner/Jeremy are all neurodivergent actors playing the role of someone who is neurodivergent. This lends them authenticity in their portrayals. And I love to see it. Hollywood often takes the easy route and hires neurotypical actors to “play autistic.” That’s demeaning, especially when we can see in a show like Everything’s Gonna Be Okay that autistic actors are up to the task of portraying autistic characters. Autistic actors need to work, too.

It helps that the show creator, Josh Thomas, is a fellow AuDHDer. Samesies! Thomas made it a point to hire autistic actors, and Everything’s Gonna Be Okay is the better for it.

Josh Thomas as Nicholas Moss

Nicholas Moss’s storyline may be the only real spoiler I’ll share in this post, but sharing this spoiler shouldn’t ruin the experience of Everything’s Gonna Be Okay. At the beginning of this series, Nicholas was diagnosed with ADHD. By the end of the series, Nicholas discovers he, like his half-sister Matilda (who we’ll discuss later), is also autistic. This character journey mirrors actor/show creator Josh Thomas’s real-life journey. Thomas was diagnosed with ADHD at age 28, but found out he had autism later in life. Thomas shared this in an Instagram post.

But we see hints of Nicholas’s autism as early as Everything’s Gonna Be Okay’s opening moments. Literally, the opening seconds of the first episode. Nicholas spills his guts to his date, Alex. When we later learn that Nicholas has ADHD, this moment makes sense, but what’s subtle is Nicholas doesn’t do a good job of reading Alex’s social cues. We catch a glimpse of the two’s conversation in medias res (in the middle), but Alex suggests that he wanted to contribute to the topic, but Nicholas didn’t give him an opening. Nicholas was too busy info-dumping.

While I typically don’t care for info-dumping in stories, it works in Everything’s Gonna Be Okay’s first episode because it shows us who Nicholas is, warts and all. Medical News Today lists many of the traits Nicholas exhibits as signs of autism in adults. Despite being Australian, Nicholas doesn’t have a typical Australian accent. This is another subtle sign of autism in adults. I grew up in the Deep South and have little to no accent.

Nicholas also displays a special interest: bugs. Sure, he’s a would-be entomologist. Nicholas hasn’t finished a degree because he struggles in a school setting. While Nicholas never outright says why he never finished a degree, there are huge hints that he may struggle with executive dysfunction (this is a condition that can affect people with ADHD, ASD, and AuDHD).

(In short, executive dysfunction is a difficulty with accessing executive functions like organization, planning ahead, and self-monitoring.)

Even though Nicholas hasn’t yet completed a degree, he has an aptitude for bugs. Heck, most people would think he had an advanced degree. Nicholas’s special interest in insects features in Everything’s Gonna Be Okay’s marketing (the above image is from a Season One promotional image) and in each episode title. Every episode is named after a specific insect that may or may not be included in that episode. These are subtle nods to Nicholas’s autism.

Nicholas doesn’t learn he has autism until after he discovers autism is hereditary (his sister Matilda has it, so he may have it, too) and another character prompts him to get tested. At first, a positive test result doesn’t convince Nicholas. Matilda is less than thrilled. That’s another great moment (or reminder) in Everything’s Gonna Be Okay, but one that must wait until we get to Matilda’s segment. While we don’t know everything about Josh Thomas’s life experience (how could we?), it’s clear Thomas pulls a lot from his personal experience with his portrayal of Nicholas Moss. And based on interviews and his work on this show, Josh Thomas is a strong neurodivergent advocate.

Quick Rainbow Break

Before we move on to Matilda Moss, I needed to take a moment to commend Everything’s Gonna Be Okay’s LGBT representation. We get a variety of LGBT representation that it almost reads like the entire LGBT alphabet. Everything’s Gonna Be Okay shows us there are many iterations of how people express their sexuality. I will say there is a lack of trans representation. So close. If Everything’s Gonna Be Okay included a trans character, we would’ve broken down its trans representation as well. Despite that, Everything’s Gonna Be Okay showcases numerous colors of the rainbow.

Kayla Cromer as Matilda Moss

Kayla Cromer is another AuDHD actor. She shared her diagnosis during a Variety article. Since Cromer was out publicly as autistic (Thomas revealed his diagnosis after Everything’s Gonna Be Okay began airing), Cromer is the first known actor on the autism spectrum to play an autistic main character in a television series. Congratulations to Kayla Cromer. It does concern me that it took until 2020 for an autistic actor to portray an autistic main character in a television series. As we’ve seen in this short series, there have been numerous autistic and autistic-coded characters in Hollywood history. 2020 is a long time to wait.

Matilda exhibits more overtly autistic characteristics. According to the same Medical News Today article, Matilda displays different symptoms from her half-brother Nicholas. She has little inflection in her voice to the point where she explains her joke about vaccinations during her father’s eulogy. I chuckled because Matilda reminded me of an Elcor from Mass Effect in that moment. I’ve felt like I’ve had to do the same thing at times. She has difficulty reading emotions or others’ intentions. When Matilda announces her crush on Luke, her sister Genevieve claims everyone’s “in love” with Luke, she’s even in love with Luke. Matilda doesn’t grasp her sister’s hyperbole. She insists she won’t pursue a relationship with Luke if that would drive a wedge between them. These are over-the-top scenes, but they’re endearing.

Matilda also happens to be a gifted classical composer. She’s so talented that Juilliard accepts her. While I believe the autistic savant trope is overdone, I appreciate Matilda’s struggles with navigating New York City’s subways. The beginning of Everything’s Gonna Be Okay’s second season has the family in NYC, helping Matilda settle into a routine (a must for Matilda). Matilda knows which trains she needs to take and in which order to go from her would-be New York apartment to Juilliard, but she experiences sensory overload while on the subway. I love how Everything’s Gonna Be Okay narrows in on the stressors that make navigating the subway impossible for Matilda. This isn’t a generic autistic person. These are sensory inputs (sounds, touch, and the like) that uniquely trigger Matilda. No two autistic people are the same. They can have different triggers.

And I love how Everything’s Gonna Be Okay allows Matilda to express her sexuality. She isn’t an autistic angel. She’s an autistic woman. She’s the one who initiates a sexual encounter with Zane at a party, and when everyone around her (even her half-brother Nicholas and her younger sister Genevieve) baby her, Matilda lets them know she was a willing sexual partner. That’ll bring us to Matilda’s autistic, asexual wife, Drea, but she’ll be the subject of our next large segment.

Before we get to Drea, we need to discuss Matilda’s reaction to finding out Nicholas also has autism. She doesn’t take the news well. Matilda even accuses Nicholas of stealing her identity as an autistic person. She makes mention how she and Nicholas act nothing alike, so he can’t possibly be autistic.

Unfortunately, this sentiment has legs in the autistic community. Many people subscribe to the idea of “You’re autism doesn’t match my (or my child’s or my nephew twice removed’s) autism, so you can’t possibly be autistic.” I’m glad Everything’s Gonna Be Okay included it.

In the DSM-5, PDD-NOS (pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified) and Asperger’s Syndrome were folded into Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) (here’s a Child’s Mind Institute article explaining why this was done). In short, PDD-NOS and Asperger’s were diagnosed on socio-economic lines. When you hear someone like Elon Musk claim he has Asperger’s (instead of Autism), he’s saying he has money. We know, Elon. We know you have all the world’s money. You don’t need to remind us.

One distinction may be needed with ASD: level of need. Many autistic people have low to medium needs, which means we can function in the world with limited to moderate accommodations. And as an aside, accommodations–and Autistic people like Matilda affording themselves those accommodations–is something else Everything’s Gonna Be Okay does well. Matilda will put on her headphones if the noise gets to be too much. Drea, whom we will get to, has an emotional support dog. But there are members of the autistic community who require more help. This level of autism needs intensive, ongoing support and is sometimes referred to as Profound Autism.

(Here’s a link to Child Mind’s article on the three levels of Autism.)

According to a CDC report (that an Autism Science Foundation article cites), there is a reported 26.7% of people with ASD who also have Profound Autism. This is a significant percentage of people who have ASD. But just because someone has lower needs or can “mask” (a person with ASD pretending they’re neurotypical; here’s the National Autistic Society’s definition), doesn’t negate their ASD diagnosis. Heck, self-diagnosis shouldn’t be as looked down on as it tends to be. It costs a lot to get an official diagnosis. I have insurance, and it still costs a lot. Getting back to Everything’s Gonna Be Okay, Matilda has her moment of doubt with Nicholas’s diagnosis and eventually accepts the news. And it’s great to see that, too.

Lillian Carrier as Drea

Lillian Carrier is yet another autistic actor portraying an autistic character. (Carrier shares her story with Rival in this interview.) Drea is another diverse depiction of autism in Everything’s Gonna Be Okay. This show does a fantastic job of showing several autistic symptoms and things that can trigger an autistic person. Typically, Drea wears layers with one layer pressed tight against her. She does this because she’s hyposensitive, specifically with touch, which means she has decreased sensitivity to sensory input.

(Autism Help does a great job of breaking down the difference between hyper and hypo sensitivity.)

While we see a great example of Matilda being triggered by auditory hypersensitivity on the subway (she retreats from loud, repetitive noises), Drea repeatedly exhibits touch hyposensitivity. She seeks out tight hugs. That first layer of clothing needs to cling to her tightly, so she knows it’s there, and it soothes her. Her service dog will lie on her chest to calm her. At times, Matilda will offer to do the same. Drea is a phenomenal example of how an autistic person can advocate for themselves. She knows what she wants, even when her parents think they know better, and she asks for what she wants and needs.

Quick Shout Out to Maria Bamford

Mental health advocate Maria Bamford portrays Drea’s mother, and that makes sense. Bamford has tackled issues of depression and anxiety for years. She’s a powerful ally.

Closing Thoughts

Everything’s Gonna Be Okay won’t be for everyone, and that may be the point. It puts autism representation to the forefront. Everything’s Gonna Be Okay shows how autistic people can advocate for themselves, and how just because you have a diagnosis, you are capable. By the show’s end, Matilda and Drea marry and move out. With the accommodations–many of them simple–they can thrive on their own.

Even though we leave Everything’s Gonna Be Okay with Nicholas just finding out he’s autistic, too, I’m certain he’ll find what works for him. He’s on the road to accepting all parts of himself. Getting an autism diagnosis later in life can shake your sense of self. Most likely, this means you became adept at masking.

I found that I felt like I regressed when I unmasked. It was scary. If you read that definition of masking I shared earlier in this post, you’ll find that masking is often done unconsciously. My spouse didn’t see my funky walk (pacing and odd body movements) until after two or three years. I hid it for that long. Everything’s Gonna Be Okay does just what the title says. You can be you, without masking, and everything is gonna be okay.

If you have another television or film you’d like us to cover in this series, let us know. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.

Taking a Day

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Hey, hey, Geekly Gang! We’re skipping Geek News Sunday this week. Today is my birthday, so I’m taking a little time off for that, but I also have a family member who’s recovering from surgery. It’s not all fun and games. But it will be soon. Geekly News should return next week. Fingers crossed that my family member’s recovery goes well. See you tomorrow with an Autism Representation post of Everything’s Gonna Be Okay. Hope to see you then. As always, thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.