Geekly News: April 27, 2025, Thunderbolts* Fan Screenings

Published on April 27, 2025April 27, 2025 by Kyra1 Comment

Hey, hey, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here. It’s another Sunday, so we have another week of Geek News. There is plenty of tariff news and updates, but we talk about that a lot. Let’s sandwich those stories with more cheerful news.

Thunderbolts* Fan Screenings

Thunderbolts* becomes the first MCU movie in history to receive advanced screenings for fans. Typically, advanced screenings are reserved for critics, who must sign a non-disclosure agreement and a gag order preventing them from leaking any information about the movie. Advance movie screenings are meant for critics to form an opinion and write a review in advance of the movie’s release. Those reviews will feature zingers the studio can use in future trailers and teasers. But Thunderbolts*’ advanced screening includes fans. Fans don’t care about a gag order.

In fact, the MCU may be banking on fans talking, generating word-of-mouth buzz. It takes a week or so for word-of-mouth to take effect. Thunderbolts* dropping advanced screenings with fans will accelerate this effect. But be careful on the internet. Thunderbolts* may become the MCU movie with the most spoilers.

Geekly has no idea what this development means for the MCU or the Thunderbolts* movie. Will this become the norm? Is Marvel so confident about Thunderbolts* that they’re comfortable with whatever fans will say? Who knows? I will say that heading into this year’s slate of films, Thunderbolts* had me intrigued. Thunderbolts* wasn’t one of the MCU’s make-or-break 2025 titles, but in our 2025 MCU Preview, I listed it as a potential sleeper hit.

Nintendo Switch 2 Pre-Order Wave One Ends

On Thursday, April 24, 2025, Nintendo opened United States pre-orders for its latest hybrid game console, the Switch 2. Pre-orders continued until the order quota was reached. Taking current United States trade policies into consideration, the order quota was based on how many copies the video game company thought would yield the best results.

The Switch 2’s United States pre-order wave one lasted less than one day. Customers who were able to buy a copy won’t receive their systems until June 2025. Don’t worry if you weren’t one of the lucky few who snagged a copy. Nintendo intends to run another Switch 2 pre-order within another eight months (in time for the holidays), when the company believes it can turn a profit by sending systems to the United States. Unfortunately, staged releases for the United States are the new normal.

Rising shipping costs and tariffs have caused tech companies like Nintendo to re-evaluate their business with United States customers. This has become an issue with other business types; Geekly covers geek culture, so we’re interested in video games and board games. We’ll have more on board games in the next segment. Getting back to the Switch 2, most of Geekly’s statistics are derived from an interview with a GameStop manager. I live in the greater Omaha area, and according to the GameStop manager, the Midwest quad-state region (Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, and Missouri) received 2,000 total Nintendo Switch 2 systems. That is 2,000 Switch 2s for a population of over 14 million. Granted, most of the 14 million people living in those four states have no desire to purchase a Switch 2 at this time, but Wal-Mart overordered and had to issue tens of thousands of refunds in the Midwest quad-state region alone.

Geekly will keep you posted on when the next waves of United States Switch 2 pre-orders will occur. Good luck to all of you who want a copy. We’ll also give updates on any new developments. Hopefully, there will be a resolution to the United States’ trade war soon.

Board Game Company Madness

We’ve discussed board game companies and the effect rising tariffs have had on them in the past; this will be a quick update. Final Frontier Games and Boardlandia have closed their doors. Greater Than Games and CMON Games have suspended all future crowdfunding campaigns and board games under development, and laid off countless employees until a viable manufacturing/shipping option becomes available. Small board game publisher, Rookie Mage Games, joined forces with three other indie board game companies in suing President Trump over his new tariffs.

According to Jordan McLaughlin, founder of Rookie Mage Games (via The Columbus Dispatch), “I will not stand by and allow my years of hard work and the hard work of many other small businesses to be ruined in a desperate political ploy for attention and ego validation.” McLaughlin continues, “Attempting to move manufacturing jobs back to the United States is a worthwhile effort. There are smart ways to do it, and there are dumb ways.” Numerous board game companies, including Stonemaier Games (producer of Wingspan and Scythe) have joined Rookie Mage Games’ lawsuit. We’ll keep you posted on this emerging story.

This War of Mine, Second Edition Launches on Gamefound

The award-winning board game adaptation of This War of Mine returns to Gamefound. This War of Mine features countless morally gray choices for players to make while they attempt to survive in a war-torn country. Since the game is fully cooperative, players share the experience and the consequences.

This War of Mine, Second Edition showcases numerous updated maps to explore. Producer Awaken Realms is known for its ornate miniatures, and This War of Mine, Second Edition includes additional scenario books. Countless hours of griping stories await. This War of Mine, Second Edition has plenty of pledge options on its Gamefound page.

Solo Game Dicemancy Releases on Gamefound

I love the increased number of great solo board games. Dicemancy looks interesting. It’s a tower defense game with plenty of combotastic abilities. That’s music to my ears. Players construct unique spells they think will help them ward off enemies. I like the domino-style spell cards players can stack for power-ups. Dicemancy plays quickly (about 45 minutes), has minimal setup, and doesn’t appear to take up too much table space.

Dicemancy features adorable art, and at $25 (plus $5 for shipping), it’s a low-cost option for a new board game. Feel free to give Dicemancy’s Gamefound page a look.

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

Geekly News: April 20, 2025, 2nd Fantastic Four Trailer

Published on April 20, 2025April 18, 2025 by Kyra2 Comments

Happy Easter if you celebrate the holiday. If not, happy Sunday. We have another week of geek news. What better way to celebrate than to cover the second Fantastic Four: First Steps trailer and reveal its Easter eggs?

Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here. We may go light on geek news this week, Geekly Gang. I’m not going to lie. I’ll be eating my body weight in sweets, but the MCU dropped the second Fantastic Four trailer, so let’s dish.

Fantastic Four: First Steps Second Official Trailer

The biggest reveal the second Fantastic Four: First Steps trailer gave us was the upcoming movie’s basic plot. Speculate no further. The movie will revolve around Galactus visiting this version of Earth. This story looks like it may parallel the Avengers’ Battle of New York during their first movie. Aliens invade. The world’s protectors need to intervene. But while the Avengers were either unknowns or distrusted, the Fantastic Four are treated as celebrities, as evidenced by their appearance on the Ted Gilbert Show and how civilians treat them. I love the interactions we see during this montage. Gilbert says, We can never repay them, but we can celebrate them. And the Fantastic Four are celebrated.

Geekly News Fantastic Four First Steps Stage

I also like that the show host’s name is Ted Gilbert, which is an obvious play on the Ed Sullivan Show. We mentioned in our post about the first trailer that the Fantastic Four are introduced on a stage similar to the Beatles when they played on the Ed Sullivan Show. Ted Gilbert is the perfect name for an alternate timeline Ed Sullivan. I love the Gilbert and Sullivan reference. I may have to rewatch The Pirates of Penzance.

“I am the very model of a Modern Major-General…”

I’ll stop.

Ted Gilbert succinctly breaks down the Fantastic Four’s origin. Four brave astronauts head up into space and come back forever changed. We’ll probably see snippets of the Fantastic Four’s origin, but I like that First Steps won’t go into the team’s origin in great detail. I also like that Fantastic Four: First Steps takes place on an alternate Earth. Moviegoers won’t need to watch (or rewatch) hours of MCU content to prepare for Fantastic Four: First Steps. Sure. There will be nods to the multiverse. The Fantastic Four will approach this subject because they’ll need to mosey over to the main MCU timeline, but there should be little to no “MCU homework.”

The second trailer revisits the dinner scene from the first trailer, but we receive a bombshell of a plot thread. Sue is pregnant with Franklin Richards. This could be huge. First, Franklin Richards is a mutant, so he’ll fit right in with the upcoming Mutant Saga. Second, Franklin Richards would be one of the most powerful characters introduced in the MCU, and that includes Asgardians and even Galactus. Third, there is a storyline where Franklin controls Galactus.

Yes! I like that this Fantastic Four is a veteran team, and we may not need to wait too long for Franklin and Valeria (von Doom) Richards’ mayhem. Oh, yeah. Valeria has a mean streak like her godfather Victor. This should be fun. During the second trailer, Reed Richards mentions that the Fantastic Four may have stretched the boundaries of space, and they (Galactus and his heralds) heard. I like this angle. Typically, Reed gets the Fantastic Four and the Earth at large into trouble that he must then get them out of, but there may be another reason Galactus chooses to visit Earth. The MCU may be setting up a Galactus-Franklin Richards dynamic.

Galactus looks great in the little we see of him. I’m less thrilled about Shalla-Bal’s look. Shalla-Bal is the woman Silver Surfer. In the comics, Shalla-Bal is the empress of the planet Zenn-La, the planet where Norrin Radd (Silver Surfer) originates. Shalla-Bal was introduced as a character in the 1960s (she’s also in the underrated ’90s Silver Surfer cartoon, which is available on Disney+), and she’s Radd’s longtime love interest.

Shalla-Bal has powers comparable to the Silver Surfer and has served as one of Galactus’s heralds, but she is a different character. Shalla-Bal’s inclusion leaves the door open that Norrin Radd could appear in the MCU’s future. Getting back to my original point, Shalla-Bal’s CGI looks rough. I hope this is an issue with the trailer and not the movie, and the final graphics for the movie look better. Movies work on their graphics until the film is released. Fingers crossed.

The second trailer ends with Galactus taking a stroll in downtown New York City. This could be a nod to Godzilla or the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man from Ghostbusters. Classic.

If you can’t tell, I’m hyped for Fantastic Four: First Steps. This second trailer introduces some great plot points but holds back enough for the audience to discover when the movie releases in July.

Quorum by Devir Games Released

In Quorum, players take on the role of Roman senators who share the power of Rome and its provinces. The goal is to be the most powerful and influential senator by gaining victory points, which are awarded in various areas of influence over twelve rounds.

Designed by Raul Franco and Fran Martinez, Quorum accommodates 2-4 players and lasts about 45 minutes. The game’s double-sided cards show a province on one side (which will score points in that province on the central board) and on the opposite side show one of four groups: military, intrigue, architecture, and commerce, which grant different bonuses when placed in the player’s personal zone. Players are presented with interesting choices each turn. Quorum is easy to learn and quick to play, but offers plenty of strategy.

Check out your local game store or Devir Games’ website.

Hutan: Life in the Rainforest Released

We have another interesting board game release this week, Hutan: Life in the Rainforest. Inspired by the Indonesian rainforest, Hutan allows players to step into the rainforest’s natural splendor.

Each player controls their own patch of rainforest, where they will plant seeds that, over time, will grow into towering trees. When a habitat is created, an iconic forest animal arrives: the orangutan, the Sumatran tiger, the rhinoceros hornbill, the cassowary, or the Sumatran rhino. Hutan plays over nine rounds. All players have two turns each round. On your turn, you may take a flower card from the shared market and place the flowers into your rainforest. If you place a flower on top of a matching flower, you grow a tree. When an area has nothing but trees, the last tree is replaced by an animal. The player with the most animals wins.

Hutan: Life in the Rainforest accommodates one to four players and lasts about 45 minutes. Check your local game store or OP Games’ website.

Nintendo Switch 2 Receives United States Release Date

After several weeks of deliberation (over tariffs and price hikes), Nintendo announced that customers in the United States can preorder their Switch 2 starting April 24, 2025. Pricing for the a la carte console and bundle with Mario Kart World will not change, but prices for accessories like extra Joy-Cons, a Switch 2 Dock, and the new pro controller received price bumps between $5 and $10.

Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered Screenshots Leaked

The rumored Oblivion remaster/remake that will release soon had some screenshots leaked this week on the developer’s website. An Oblivion remaster/remake has been believed to be in production for the past several years. Some wondered if the game would release last year for the holiday season. It doesn’t appear that Bethesda/Zenimax will wait for next holiday season. Check out the screenshot below.

The new rumor is that the Oblivion remaster/remake will be announced and released next week. I may have some gaming to do. If you need me, I’ll be in Cyrodiil.

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

Geekly News: April 13, 2025, Werewolf By Night’s Sequel

Published on April 13, 2025April 13, 2025 by KyraLeave a comment

Hey, hey, Geekly Gang. It’s Sunday, so we have another Geekly News. We have an update about the tariffs and their impact on the board game industry, but first, let’s talk about the MCU.

Werewolf By Night Gets a Sequel

Michael Giacchino transitioned from writing scores for popular shows and movies like numerous Pixar movies (The Incredibles, Up, and Ratatouille to name a few), the Jurassic World series, Lost, and the MCU to directing the singular Werewolf By Night special. Giacchino is turning his attention to comic books. I loved the Werewolf By Night special. We’ve covered it in a previous post. According to Giacchino, this new comic book series (which will debut in summer 2025) tells an untold story from the original Werewolf By Night’s run.

Giacchino isn’t waiting for the MCU to green light a second Werewolf By Night special. He’s keeping busy with his theatrical movie debut, reimagining the 1954 monster classic Them!, which features mammoth ants invading a city and the mayhem they cause. And he continues to work within the MCU. Giacchino is the composer of the upcoming Fantastic Four: First Step’s score.

Giacchino mentioned that he’s interested in seeing Werewolf By Night return to the screen with a sequel special. This new comic book series will be a treat and could be adapted into that Werewolf By Night’s sequel. Werewolf By Night: Blood Moon Rises releases this summer and will get added to my summer reading. I can’t wait.

But Werewolf By Night fans may need to wait for a sequel. The MCU hasn’t figured out what it wants to do with the dark corner of Marvel’s universe. Recently, the Blade movie got cancelled, and while Midnight Sons remains on the horizon, the MCU hasn’t given word on which projects the characters involved (like Blade) will appear. Blood Moon Rises may need to tide fans over for a year or two until the MCU makes a Werewolf By Night sequel.

The DM Lair Cancels its Dungeon Drifters Kickstarter

Dungeons & Dragons YouTube creator the DM Lair launched its Dungeon Drifters Kickstarter campaign this past week. Dungeon Drifters is a rules-light adaptation of Dungeons & Dragons to a board game. Think of it as a quirky and fun alternative to Hero Quest. I intended to include Dungeon Drifters as an upcoming board game that recently began a crowdfunding campaign, which is something I do in most Geekly News posts. But days later, the DM Lair cancelled its Dungeon Drifters Kickstarter campaign. Here’s a link to the DM Lair’s official cancellation announcement.

The DM Lair has had a history of successful Kickstarter campaigns. They’ve had numerous successful ones, even a handful of board game-like projects. During the announcement, the DM Lair listed a handful of reasons. They take full responsibility for the Kickstarter campaign’s cancellation and reassure fans that Dungeon Drifters is on hold. I like the DM Lair because of its transparency. The company claims that they lost $50,000 of upfront cost during the making of Dungeon Drifters and is offering a 50% discount on their tabletop role-playing game supplies. Check out their store and help out, if you would like. I love the title of their discount code: HolyCrap50.

One of the contributing factors the DM Lair lists for Dungeon Drifters’ cancellation is the tariffs on board game products. By no means does the DM Lair say that tariffs are the only reason the project got cancelled (or postponed), but they do cite their many Kickstarter successes and admit that the increased cost played a role. And this is by no means an isolated incident.

The above image is of Vancouver-based board game company Off The Page Games (who make board games based on indie comics like MIND MGMT, Harrow County, and Corps of Discovery), unable to make a shipment to the United States because of new tariffs.

Board Games and Tariffs…Again

We aren’t going to have any new board games on this week’s Geekly News because there aren’t as many to discuss, and the industry is scrambling to find answers for the mounting tariffs. A month and a half ago, Geekly mentioned tariffs causing havoc for Dutch indie board game company Splotter Games. One month ago, we discussed CMON’s precarious position. Like the DM Lair mentioned in their announcement, more than one factor is playing a role with fans questioning if CMON can fulfill last year’s Kickstarter campaigns. To date, CMON Games has only fulfilled smaller Kickstarter campaigns from 2024. I have my fingers crossed for DC Heroes United. Last week, we shared the CEO of Steve Jackson Games, Meredith Placko’s, thoughts.

Placko was one of several voices within the board game industry who expressed their concerns about these tariffs. Stonemaier Games co-founder Jamey Stegmaier suggested that his company’s games’ prices could leap from $60 to $100 to keep up with rising costs. I’ve heard numerous companies postpone any releases (both on crowdsourcing platforms like Kickstarter and retail stores like local game shops) until they learn the final cost of doing business.

I’ll paraphrase Placko here. The United States doesn’t have the industry to fill in the gaps left by this sudden inability to use outsourced labor. Many board game companies based within the United States would like to use in-country labor if it was possible. I’ll take it a step further. The United States government has made outsourcing labor a necessity. This trend began in the 1980s. It’ll take decades to build up the means (such as factories) and the labor force needed to fill the void.

Hopefully, we’ll have new Kickstarter or Gamefound releases for next week. If you have any new board game releases you’re excited about, feel free to contact us, and I’ll include them in the next Geekly News post. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.

Geekly News: March 2, 2025, Marvel Picks Television Series Direction

Published on March 2, 2025March 2, 2025 by Kyra1 Comment

Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here, and we’re back with some Geekly News. We don’t have as many stories to cover this week as we did the week before and we’re still figuring out how to present Geekly News. Let’s start with a standby.

Marvel Picks Television Series Direction

Marvel picked a new direction with their Disney+ shows. After the abject failure of Secret Invasion, rumors flew around Marvel’s television projects. Television shows like the upcoming Okoye (from the Black Panther franchise) series and the Nova series got canceled. Even some movies like Armor Wars got nixed. Marvel announced these cancelations in a whirlwind, leaving fans wondering why some shows got canceled and others didn’t. We’ve gotten some clarification. The following is a quick overview of the situation.

Overview of Marvel Reorganization

First, Marvel used to film an entire television series and drop it on the Disney+ platform with little outside input. There are a few shows that follow this method that have yet to be released, specifically Ironheart. But all future shows will film shorter pilots and test screen the pilot to gauge audience interest before filming the series in its entirety.

Second, Marvel pivoted to television shows featuring street-level heroes like Daredevil and Punisher, while making Marvel films larger spectacles, to reduce cost. The studio has confirmed that they want to bring back the rest of the Defenders (Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, and Iron Fist), but only after Daredevil: Born Again releases and they can see how the show is received. No pressure, Daredevil. If all goes well, these street-level heroes will need a Thanos-type big bad that they must collectively overcome. Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin should fit that bill.

Third, Marvel does plan on starting a Marvel Animated Universe (an MAU). Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man will serve as a jumping-off point if they do plan on an MAU. Keep an eye on any upcoming Marvel animated projects.

Cancelled Marvel Projects

Getting back to what I said about Okoye’s show getting canned. That’s disappointing, but Marvel will release a Black Panther-themed animated show later this year. She could feature in that show (Marvel often uses their live-action actors as voice actors in their animated content) or a future Black Panther animated show, since Black Panther isn’t exactly a street-level hero. Okoye will undoubtedly return in the next Black Panther movie, which will include Denzel Washington in its cast. We still don’t know who Washington will play but here are a few options.

Achebe is a brilliant and unhinged adversary from the Black Panther comics. The First Black Panther Bashenga could explore Wakanda’s lore. Or perhaps the Shadow King. Amahl Farouk (Shadow King) is a powerful telepathic mutant who’s been a frequent Wakdandan antagonist and could bridge the gap with the X-Men. Could we get a Storm sighting in Black Panther 3?

The rest of Marvel’s cancellations include Armor Wars (film) and Nova (television show. Armor Wars’s plot was tied too closely to the failed Secret Invasion. War Machine will have to wait for his first solo movie after Marvel brass reworks the plotlines. It doesn’t look good, but a revamped Rhodie story could still happen. Robert Downey Jr. could don Iron Man’s armor during the Mutant Saga in Iron Man 4. Why couldn’t Don Cheadle do the same? While Armor Wars’s cancellation upset me, Nova stung a little more. The show doesn’t fit Marvel’s new roadmap. Okoye may or may not be a street-level hero. Nova is by no means a street-level hero. The Nova television show planned to introduce Annihilus, ruler of the Negative Zone with aspirations to control every known galaxy. We may have to wait until the Fantastic Four’s second film before meeting the villains, but there have been rumors that he could sneak into a project before Fantastic Four 2.

Final Thoughts on Marvel (for this week)

Daredevil: Born Again needs to succeed. Marvel’s roadmap makes more sense, and it’s a good thing when studios are transparent with their plans. I would’ve liked to have seen the three projects I listed that got canceled, but Marvel made their cancellation make sense.

Wonder Woman Game Canceled, Studios Closing

Speaking of a project getting cancelled and not making any sense, we have Warner Brothers’ video game branch. Warner Bros. hasn’t made too many sound decisions with their video game projects in years. They produced Multiversus, making the game stand out from Smash Bros. by making speed its core tenant, only to suspend the game for over a year and then rerelease it as a slower, more of a Smash Bros. clone game. Great. Then, there was whatever Suicide Squad: The Justice League Must Die was. Suicide Squad was meant to play as a multiplayer, online version of the Arkham series because “gamers want live service games” and failed. Okay. And then Warner Brothers refused to see Hogwarts Legacy as the smash hit it was because it wasn’t a live service game. What?

At least Avalanche Software (the developer of Hogwarts Legacy) got to keep their jobs. Player First Games (Multiversus) closed as well as Warner Bros. Games San Diego, which planned more online games. Monolith Productions who made the well-received Shadows of Mordor games and who were working on Wonder Woman also got shuttered this past week. Warner Brothers states that they’re keeping their focus on Harry Potter, Mortal Kombat, Game of Thrones, and DC Comics. That’s funny. Didn’t they just cancel Wonder Woman? Wonder Woman wasn’t a free-to-play online-only game. Maybe that was why, but then the publisher also canned Player First Games and Warner Bros. Games San Diego. Warner Bros. could take a page from Marvel Studios and produce a roadmap. Make it make sense.

Monster Hunter Wilds Released

The wait is over. Monster Hunter Wilds is out. I haven’t had a chance to play yet, but the game has received overall ratings of 90/100 from critics. Monster Hunter Wilds features a shorter main campaign than the last two Monster Hunter games. I don’t mind that. One seldom plays Monster Hunter for the main storyline. There’s also a major update coming in April. Capcom hasn’t said what the update will include, but I agree with waiting a month before a major update. Players will have a chance to play the game for a month before adding more fun.

World’s Largest Dungeon Returns

Have you ever wanted to play the largest Dungeons & Dragons dungeon? You’ll soon get your chance when The World’s Largest Dungeon returns with its 20^th Anniversary Platinum Edition for 5^th Edition. The crowdfunding campaign launches on May 13^th. (Here’s a link to the BackerKit.)

Originally published in 2004 by Alderac Entertainment Group (AEG), The World’s Largest Dungeon earned a Guinness World Record for its size and scope. The campaign was designed to take players from level 1 to 20, feature every monster from the System Reference Document (SRD), and offers an interconnected, inescapable dungeon experience.

The World’s Largest Dungeon’s updated edition will include 16 new boss miniatures, curated miniature sets from Reaper Miniatures, and 16 poster-sized maps with new detailed maps. Over 1,600 original encounters have been fine-tuned for 5^th edition, and the new dungeon will feature exclusive Fanroll dice, an audiobook by AudioRPG, and stretch goals of course.

Aspiring RPG designers may submit their own dungeon encounters, with fan-voted winners earning a spot in the Secret Doors book which will be alongside the core books. The Platinum Edition will be released as a four-book set. Each book will feature fantasy artwork, immersive page layouts, and rich world-building details, making it easier for game master to navigate this massive dungeon’s encounters and secrets.

Ernie Gygax Has Passed Away

Ernest “Ernie” Gygax Jr, son of Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) co-creator Gary Gygax, passed away this week. Ernie was one of D&D’s earliest playtesters. The Gygax family confirmed the news via Gary Con’s website on Friday (February 28). His cause of death was not given, but Gygax had been hospitalized several times in recent years. Gygax is best known for creating Tenser, the first magic-user character in D&D. Tenser’s name appears on several D&D spells in D&D’s current editions.

Our condolences to the Gygax family.

Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.

Geekly News: February 23, 2025, Spider-Gwen Joins Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man Season Two

Published on February 23, 2025February 22, 2025 by Kyra1 Comment

We didn’t release a news post last week. Kyra was sick with the flu. That’s also why our coverage of Captain America: Brave New World has been lacking. We’ll get to it as soon as possible and figure out this news thing quickly.

Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here, and we’re back with some Geekly News. We have several stories to get through, so let’s get started.

**Spider-Gwen Joins Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man Season Two**

Season and Skye wrapped up their coverage of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man’s first season, and the final episode had plenty of easter eggs and loose story threads for the next season. You should check out their reviews if you haven’t yet. Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man’s creative team dropped a bombshell the day after the final episodes hit Disney+, Gwen Stacy/Spider-Gwen joins the Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man mayhem in season two.

We don’t yet know if Gwen will be a transplant from another dimension like she was in the Spider-Verse series or if she already exists in Peter’s universe. The spider that bit Peter and gave him his powers crawls into another student’s backpack. Perhaps that student is Gwen.

Who knows? Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man injected some life in the MCU, even if it is an alternate reality and I can’t wait for the second season. Spider-Gwen or Ghost-Spider would be a fantastic sprinkle on top of this sundae.

**New Avatar: The Last Airbender Series (Avatar: Seven Havens)**

A new Avatar cartoon is coming to Nickelodeon and Avatar Studios. Avatar: The Last Airbender creators Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko celebrated Avatar’s 20^th anniversary with the announcement of this new series. Avatar: Seven Havens will be a 26-episode, 2D animated series following a young Earthbender who is the next Avatar following Avatar Korra.

Avatar: Seven Havens will be split into two seasons. Both seasons will consist of 13 episodes and be called “books.” No cast has been announced yet. This is the first mainline TV series from Avatar Studios who are also developing a full-length animated movie based on an adult Aang on a new adventure and set to premiere in theaters on January 30, 2026.

Elon: Make Video Games Great Again

Elon Musk has been busy tinkering with the United States government and tweets hundreds of times daily, but he’s found the time to circle back around to his idea about making an AI-based video game studio. Musk confirmed this past week that he still plans to make an xAI game studio, tweeting, “It’s got to be done. Make video games great again!”

There’s a lot to cover about Musk’s motivations and how he intends to run this new video game studio. Frankly, there’s too much to cover, so I’ll be brief and try to stay neutral. Spoiler alert: I’ll fail. The politics behind Musk starting a completely Artificial Intelligence video game studio stems from an ideology of anti-diversity, anti-equity, and anti-inclusion. I failed already. I wanted to spell out what DEI stands for because it’s easy to dismiss an acronym. The Musk superfan who tweeted his support for an xAI game studio stated that diversity, equity, and inclusion ruined video games. The world’s richest man doesn’t need a reason or encouragement to not pay employees and use artificial intelligence for all aspects of a video game.

I’m done ragging on Musk and his superfan, for the most part. The topic of AI in video games has been hotly debated. Some AI processes that don’t involve GenAI have been deemed useful enough to be used with little controversy. However, that is not true for GenAI being used in artwork, cinematics, script writing, and so on with most developers and studios. If Musk’s idea is to make an entire game based around xAI tech, that raises many questions about how that would work and what the program would produce.

Perhaps this is a coincidence, but video game developers have increased their use of artificial intelligence during the current downturn in video game quality. If anything, AI could be one of the factors in poor video game quality. But it’s not the only one. Work environments have come under fire in recent years. A lack of diversity, equity, and inclusion in video game workspaces has led to hostile work environments. Crunch culture has crushed numerous video game releases. Every studio wanting their share of the live service model has also hurt; not every studio has what it takes or needs to make a live service game. In the current environment, video game publishers have fired talented developers with a smash hit.

In short, video game companies need to show more humanity.

Marvel Rivals Lays Off Seattle Development Team

I may not have given Marvel Rivals the highest marks in my review a month ago (you can check out that review by following this link if you want), but the game is a smash hit. The only game that compares to Marvel Rivals’ hundreds of thousands of concurrent Steam players is Fortnite. Marvel Rivals is that popular. And Marvel Rivals’ developer NetEase laid off their entire Seattle office.

NetEase released a statement earlier this week, explaining the layoffs were made as part of “organizational reasons” and to “optimize development efficiency for the game.” This doesn’t make a lot of sense. While developers often bring in extra talent to release a game and then cut ties with contractors after the game releases, Marvel Rivals has the most aggressive release schedule for new characters in a hero shooter. Season 1 has seen the release of the entire Fantastic Four. Overwatch, which Marvel Rivals often gets compared to, releases one character during the same period. Marvel Rivals releases four times as many new characters. Yikes! The video game industry has experienced numerous layoffs in recent years. Even the biggest studios cut the size of their teams or close entirely, but these studios often do that when a game isn’t successful, or the company makes a blunder. NetEase has a runaway hit on their hands and to the best of my knowledge hasn’t made a huge mistake with another title or financial decision, and this still happened. Success doesn’t make one immune from getting fired.

Note: NetEase is a Chinese-owned company. Firing their United States branch may make financial sense if the company worries about international trade uncertainty. Ahem. Tariffs.

Retailers Help Dutch Tabletop Game Publisher Splotter After Tariff Uncertainty

Video games aren’t the only entertainment industry that may be affected by new tariffs. Tabletop games have had their issues, too. Food Chain Magnate publisher Splotter says, United States distributor GTS canceled a “large order” for its game Indonesia on short notice, citing uncertainty over further charges to import tariffs in the United States.

US President Donald Trump hiked tariffs on imports from China (where the majority of board games are manufactured) by 10% at the start of February, and last November threatened Chinese goods with 80% tariffs, in addition to a blanket 20% on all imports to the United States. China has responded with a tit-for-tat tariff increase for several types of US products, and Trump’s subsequent threats of further hikes for sectors such as automobiles have made international trade unpredictable.

Splotter, a small Dutch tabletop publisher, said on February 17 that almost all the United States retailers who offered pre-orders for the third edition of Indonesia were having their supplies met through GTS, meaning United States customers would not receive their copies. Designer duo Doumen and Wirsinga (of Splotter) said that a string of United States and Canadian retailers have reached out to secure direct orders from the company, while other distributors and publishers have aided the small business.

Founded in 1997, Splotter specializes in heavy—and I mean heavy—strategy games. Indonesia was first released in 2005 and is the second-highest-rated Splotter game on BoardGameGeek. Second only to Food Chain Magnate.

Elden Ring: The Board Game Coming to Retail Soon

In 2022, Steamforged Games successfully funded a board game based on the smash video game Elden Ring. For years Elden Ring: The Board Game was only available through Gamefound and secondary markets (resale), but the game will become available at most game shops next month. Steamforged Games has a long history of adapting popular video game franchises to board games: Dark Souls, Horizon Zero Dawn, Monster Hunter World, and Resident Evil.

Real talk. I’ve never played a Steamforged Games adaptation of a video game. Their games tend to have high production values and a price tag to match. Many of their base games (specifically the ones I mentioned above) are at least $100. The Realm of the Grafted King is Elden Ring’s official core box. It’s priced at $200. Two expansions function as standalone games. Presumably, one can play the game with either of them. Weeping Penisula costs $120, while Stormveil Castle costs $130. These prices don’t include optional upgrades. So, yes. Steamforged Games can get expensive, extremely expensive, but if you have the money and the inclination, Elden Ring: The Board Game will be available at game stores in March 2025 or on their website https://steamforged.com/collections/elden-ring-board-game.

MetaZoo TCG Returns with Richard Garfield and Skaff Elias

The original MetaZoo TCG was launched in 2020. Despite the pandemic, MetaZoo found moderate success until the original publisher MetaZoo Games had to file for bankruptcy last year. The card game centers around creatures known as “Beasties” which are inspired by cryptids and other figures from mythology and folklore like Bigfoot, Mothman, and the Jersey Devil. The game’s art style resembled the Pokémon TCG, while its play style felt like Magic: The Gathering. Another company took over the MetaZoo IP and intends to relaunch the game this year. All this is standard fare, but the names involved in MetaZoo’s relaunch have caused the TCG world to buzz.

Rick and Emily Arons, prominent former members of the Pokémon Company, are joining forces with Richard Garfield (creator of Magic: The Gathering) and Skaff Elias (former Senior VP of R&D at Magic: The Gathering). I’m intrigued by these names. But MetaZoo showed promise without these new names. The game had some interesting mechanisms. MetaZoo’s standout feature is its fourth-wall mechanism, where real-world elements, like a player’s seat at the table, can directly influence gameplay and outcomes. I hope MetaZoo brings back some of its original creative team while adding trading card game royalty.

Phew! That was a lot. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.

Geekly News: February 9, 2025, Fantastic Four: First Steps Trailer

Published on February 9, 2025February 8, 2025 by KyraLeave a comment

We didn’t release a news post last week. We’re still figuring out how we’re going to cover Geekly News. This week, we’ll try a headliner story with other stories. Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here, and we’re back with some Geekly News. Hopefully, I make some sense; I’ve been under the weather this past week.

Fantastic Four: First Steps Trailer Dropped

The official teaser trailer for Fantastic Four: First Steps was released on February 5th. The trailer left me equally excited and nervous about the upcoming film. The new movie appears to be the most faithful adaptation of Marvel’s first family. The Thing looks comic book accurate; I watched the trailer multiple times to hear the click of his lips and clack of his fingers. And H.E.R.B.I.E.’s inclusion made me smile. Sure, the special effects look on-point, especially when we get our first glimpse of Galactus, but the teaser’s best feature is how the Fantastic Four interacted. This team has been doing the superhero shtick for a while. They behave like a family and not just because Sue uses the word family. The scene between H.E.R.B.I.E. and The Thing shows us the team’s family dynamic.

Just in case you missed the Fantastic Four: First Steps teaser trailer, here’s the official teaser:

Let’s cover some details from the trailer.

Prior to the trailer’s release, if you happened to log into the live feed, you would’ve seen a countdown sponsored by the Future Foundation. In the comics, the Future Foundation was created by Reed to better serve humanity’s future, and the Fantastic Four’s space suits resemble their Future Foundation super suits. Most likely, the group works for the Future Foundation.

The movie is set in the 1960s and showcases a retro-futuristic look. The Fantastic Four are headquartered in the Baxter Building, just like in the comics. The Baxter Building may or may not replace Avengers/Stark Tower in this alternate reality. Director Matt Shakman manipulates the aspect ratio (when the scene shifts to our first view of the Baxter Building) much like he did in WandaVision.

While The Thing does cook in the comics every once and a while, it’s fun to see the connection between Ebon Moss-Bachrach and his role in The Bear.

If you pause the scene where Reed works on an equation, you may notice a bridge to observe parallel worlds. This could explain how the Fantastic Four cross over into MCU’s reality.

The rocket the Fantastic Four takes in the trailer is known as Marvel-1. The Fantastic Four are indeed Marvel’s First Family. The company wasn’t even known as Marvel until after the group took to the skies in the Marvel-1. Fantastic Four: First Steps recreates the look of the original rocket.

The Thing Halloween masks the three kids wear resemble a rare Thing face mask available in 1967.

The blue car that flies through the streets is most likely the Fantasticar. One can almost make out the name at the front of the car. The flying Fantasticar is the primary mode of transportation for the Fantastic Four.

John Malkovich’s character makes a brief appearance and while the movie hasn’t announced who he’s playing, he’s most likely portraying Ivan Kragoff/Red Ghost. I was relieved. I just finished the Fantastic Four Color Palette Quiz for July and debated if I should include Red Ghost. I thought, nah, no one will know who he is and there’s no way he’ll make an appearance in Fantastic Four: First Steps. Looks like I may have been wrong.

We have a Galactus sighting. Yay! He looks comic book accurate, unlike the cloud in Rise of the Silver Surfer.

Finally, we come to the stage the Fantastic Four stand on during what appears to be a television appearance. I say television appearance because the stage looks like the famous stage that The Beatles performed on during their first performance on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964.

Like I said, the trailer has me hyped and a little worried. Please. Let this movie be good. It must be good.

PlayStation Network Outage

This is a developing issue and the latest addition to this geekly news break. Sony confirmed a Playstation Network (PSN) outage started on Friday, February 7^th at 1900 EST. I’m writing this update on Saturday, February 8^th, and the network is still down. Even if the outage returns before this post goes live, PSN would be down for over 24 hours.

The PlayStation Network outage impacts game sales, subscription sign-ups, and microtransactions across the PlayStation Store. Players can’t play live service games. This doesn’t just affect Sony. All third-party partners can’t sell games or content or run their live service games until the PlayStation Network returns.

Sony gave a clipped and terse response on February 7^th at 2043 EST. “We are aware some users might be currently experiencing issues with PSN.” The company didn’t give any updates or an estimate to when the servers will be restored. The company didn’t even announce that the outage was global. “Some users?” Try all users. If you’re still experiencing issues with PSN while reading this, be sure to check the PlayStation Network status page with this link.

This PSN outage of at least 24 hours marks the longest PSN outage since the infamous 2011 PlayStation Network outage. Back then, the PSN had been out for 24 consecutive days because the system got hacked. Hopefully, this outage doesn’t last as long as the 2011 outage or have as many repercussions.

Azur Promilia Misses Its Release Date

This news is a bit late, but Azur Promilia, one of my most anticipated video games of 2025 (and my most anticipated Gacha video game of 2025) missed its release date of January 25^th. You may be asking, “Azur Promilia. What’s that?” Let’s discuss what the game is and what this delay could mean.

What is Azur Promilia?

Azur Promilia is an upcoming Gacha game by Chinese publisher Manjuu. Players recruit characters and form teams like Genshin Impact, sprinkle in some light farm simulation like Harvest Moon, and each character receives boosts from pets you can raise like Pokémon. You can breed these creatures that help you in combat. We don’t know if these critters inherit stats from their parents. If that’s the case, it could reduce the amount of grinding needed in a Gacha. Fingers crossed.

What we do know is there will be mounts, even flying mounts, to traverse a vast open world. The translation (into multiple languages to include English) is complete. The game will have a simultaneous launch (every region will get the game on the same day). It uses a free-to-play Gacha model. And pre-registration is open. You can pre-register for Azur Promilia on the game’s home page. Follow this link.

What does Azur Promilia’s Missed Release Date Mean?

In short, we don’t know. Chinese video game companies apply for a release date a year in advance. Manjuu applied for Azur Promilia’s license on January 25^th, 2024, which means the company needed to release the game on or before January 25^th, 2025. The cost to apply for a video game release is hefty. There is a chance that Manjuu applied for an extension for their current license, or they may have to reapply. Either way, there has been little word from Manjuu since Azur Promilia missed its release date.

Here comes some speculation. You’ve been warned. Since Manjuu has gone radio silent and China is in the middle of a holiday season, Azur Promilia will be released in April 2025 at the earliest. There is a chance that the game could be released next month (March 2025), but Manjuu will need to ramp up its promotion for Azur Promilia in advance of the game’s release. I wouldn’t mind streaming the game if Manjuu would like to send Geekly a key. Just saying.

If we hear something from Manjuu about a new release date in the next week, great. There’s a chance for a March release. If we don’t, I’d expect an April 2025 release date or later. I’ve been waiting for Azur Promilia for months. It looks fantastic. I can’t wait to get lost in another stunning world. Plus, dragons. I want my dragon mount already.

Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual Releases

The 2024 version of Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual will be officially released on February 18^th, 2025, but many local gaming stores have had hard copies since February 5^th, 2025. I know that the previous sentence doesn’t make sense. The 2024 version of D&D’s Monster Manual releases in 2025. All I can do is shrug. Publisher Wizards of the Coast has an odd release schedule for the 2024, 50^th Anniversary Dungeon & Dragons core set.

The 50^th Anniversary Dungeons & Dragons edition makes some changes to D&D 5^th Edition. Think of it as 5.5 Edition. It caters to new players and streamlines certain aspects of 5^th Edition. If you pre-ordered the book, you can pick up your copy. If you didn’t pre-order your copy of the Monster Manual, most local gaming stores will have additional copies. And if you haven’t picked up the rest of the core set (Players Handbook and Dungeon Masters Guide), you should be able to pick up the 50^th Anniversary Dungeons & Dragons core set in its entirety. Happy gaming!

And that’s all I have for you this week for Geekly News. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.

Geekly News: Finspan Board Game Geek Reviews

Published on January 12, 2025January 26, 2025 by KyraLeave a comment

Stonemaier Games announced a new spinoff game from their wildly popular board game series Wingspan. The series is headed to the depths of the ocean with Finspan. Like Wyrmspan before Finspan, Wingspan’s original designer, Elizabeth Hargrave, is involved. And a funny thing tends to happen with Board Game Geek (BGG) and its review system whenever a Wingspan spin-off gets announced. The game gets an equal number of people who review bomb the spin-off (giving the game a 1 out of 10) and people who give the game top marks.

I came late to the party before I took the above screen capture of Finspan’s rating distribution. The numbers were almost perfectly even between 1s and 10s yesterday. Finspan truthers have more than doubled since then. But Finspan hasn’t yet been released. The game is scheduled for a January 22nd release date. This begs the question, should you rate a game that hasn’t been released?

Quick note: Board game companies do give reviewers advanced copies of games, but these numbers pale in comparison to video games (whose companies give out keys for downloads) because postage is involved. There’s a zero percent chance that the above numbers come exclusively from board game reviewers with advanced copies of Finspan.

To answer that previous question, no. You don’t have enough knowledge to rate a game that hasn’t been released unless you are one of the few board game reviewers with an advanced copy. Board game enthusiasts have been arguing about Finspan‘s rating for the past few days. Some argue that it’s too high. Others that it’s too low. Most people suggest that the problem lies with Board Game Geek.

I don’t buy that. Board Game Geek allows board game companies to upload their upcoming games to the site. This allows companies to lock in a name for a board game, so we won’t get a competing Finspan from some other company. BGG also allows people to write reviews for upcoming games because these games are seen before launch. Undoubtedly, Stonemaier Games brought some version of Finspan to a convention or two, and people demoed it. Some of the above scores may be legitimate.

Then, there’s the question of when does a game officially release? Finspan’s release date of January 22nd is more concrete than many other board games because of a lack of crowdfunding. Does a game’s release date coincide with when the first Kickstarter backer receives their copy? Or is it when the game reaches retail? Maybe the game never reaches retail. Does that mean that it will forever be unreleased, even though thousands of people own a copy?

Blaming Board Game Geek for allowing upcoming games on their site isn’t the issue. The issue stems from people who will rate a game unseen.

How often does this happen? Often. Make no mistake. Wyrmspan received the exact same criticism and scores before its release, and it became one of the most highly rated games from last year (2024). So, why do Wingspan spin-offs get all this hate?

Few other game series get the same vitriol as a Wingspan spin-off. Numerous games have introduced “Duel” or “Duet” versions (2-player variants) of popular games: Splendor, 7 Wonders, King of Tokyo, and Cosmic Encounter. No one bats an eye. Many other games have spawned countless spin-offs: Catan, Ticket to Ride, and even Gloomhaven. Review bombs do occur with these titles but not in the sheer number of a Wingspan spin-off. Why is that?

Not going to lie. Finspan looks cool; I’ll have to try it at least once.

Quick note: I’m not one of the board game reviewers who received an advanced copy; most board game reviewers who do receive advanced copies produce video content (note to self: start a YouTube channel or TikTok account).

I used to think that Stonemaier Games got flak for producing spin-off games because they’re a smaller company. If Days of Wonder released spin-offs during their years of producing one game per year, I would get upset about a spin-off for one year. But Stonemaier has a full slate of board games planned (far more than one) for 2025 that don’t include Finspan. Finspan is extra content.

Furthermore, Gloomhaven has received multiple spin-off board games, and most people cheer for those upcoming games. Cephalofair Games is a much smaller company and produces far fewer games per year than Stonemaier Games. So, “small board game company” can’t be the main reason.

I like to think the reason is closer to people respecting Stonemaier Games and wanting the company to innovate with each one of their games. This is the kind reason why Wyrmspan and Finspan received blowback. I mentioned Days of Wonder’s stretch of “one game per year” for a reason. Days of Wonder was the preeminent board game company at that time. When you saw a Days of Wonder title (this would’ve been about the 2000s and into the early 2010s), you knew the game was high quality. I would’ve been a little upset if Days of Wonder only released a spin-off game at that time because I would’ve wanted a different game to play.

Spin-off board games work like movie sequels. They tend to print money. Wyrmspan sure did last year, and I expect Finspan to do the same. While I can see why some may be disappointed with a spin-off game, Stonemaier Games needs to stay afloat financially. Finspan may be a spin-off game, but it affords Stonemaier Games to take other risks with different titles.

Again, Stonemaier Games has a full slate of games for 2025 that don’t include Finspan. If the innovation reason is why someone rated Finspan low, wait for the game’s release. Wyrmspan tweaked Wingspan’s base gameplay. I expect Finspan to do the same.

There is a penultimate group of people who review a board game on BGG before the game’s release. These folks try to affect the scoring’s bell curve. Some folks refuse to give an unreleased game a perfect or high score, so they tank the score to even out the final rating. This mentality can work the other way, and I think it did with people rating Finspan a 10, even though they’ve never played the game. These are Stonemaier Games truthers who believe in the company. To be fair, Stonemaier Games has earned that trust.

This behavior is odd. BGG doesn’t include a game in its ultimate Geek List until many people review the game or have logged plays of it. There used to be–and sometimes there still is–a time component. A game cannot be listed on the final Geek List unless it’s been released for several months. This does compensate for this odd behavior. Regardless of how BGG’s Geek List works, these games typically get aggregated sufficiently in the end.

In short, I wouldn’t worry about a minority of gamers who would rate a game before the game’s release.

Note: There was one person who claimed, “I don’t like Stonemaier Games,” so there are gamers who don’t like Stonemaier, and that’s fair.

Let’s swim into deeper waters here. Some of you may need a trigger warning for the following darkness. Fair warning, I’m not suggesting that most people who rated Finspan a 1 on BGG belong to this camp. Unfortunately, the number isn’t zero.

Elizabeth Hargrave is a woman. She’s even an outspoken woman who designs board games, and she has a megahit with the Wingspan series. Some people are jealous. Others don’t want to give credit to a woman trying to break into a predominantly boys’ club. I hope the number of people who review bombed Finspan belongs to any of the previous camps, but I’m going to be real. Most likely, at least one person review bombed Finspan because it’s a spin-off game from an outspoken woman board game designer.

So, what are our takeaways? BGG isn’t to blame for review bombing or inflating. Listing a game is great for publicity. I guess even bad publicity is publicity. Whatever the reason someone may review bomb a popular board game series release, people need to chill. Stonemaier will produce multiple games not named Finspan this year. BGG scores will even out after Finspan’s release. There’s room for multiple people of all kinds at the gaming table. Diversity makes our hobby great.

And if you’re picking up a copy of Finspan this month, you’re in the greater Omaha area, and you don’t mind teaching me the rules, I wouldn’t mind trying out Finspan. If it’s anything like Wyrmspan, I’ll play it once and then buy it later. And wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.