These are cosmetic items, meaning that you won’t get to actually play as characters from AoT, but characters Zarina, Dwight and killer The Oni will look like Hange, Eren and the Armored Titan, respectfully. They have announced 10 skins will be available, so don’t worry if your favourite hasn’t been announced yet, as they likely will be (fingers crossed for Sasha).
By May of this year, Dead by Daylight has reached 50 million copies sold
Dead by Daylight is a multiplayer survival horror game developed and published by Behaviour Interactive (they were behind a lot of TV and movie tie-in games for Disney but also developed the infamous game WET in 2009). It is a 1-vs-4 game where the player takes the role of either The Killer or The Survivors. The objective is to avoid being caught by The Killer while trying to fix 5 generators randomly located around the map to open the exit. The Killer does have a few perks (depending on which Killer you choose) but add-ons can be required. If the Killer catches you, they ‘sacrifice’ you on a hook to The Entity. Get caught and placed on the hook too many times, it’s game over. The game was released on June 14th 2016.
Other LDC included the girl from The Ring (1991)
This is the not the first time DbD has done a crossover – characters (both Survivors and Killers) from horror franchises such as Halloween (1978); Left 4 Dead (2008); Stranger Things (2016); Silent Hill (1999) and Resident Evil (1996) have appeared in the game too. And if you’ve noticed that there seems to be a lot of Japanese horror influence, you’d be right – this game has a high Japanese-player fanbase and with Behaviour Interactive releasing surveys to players on a constant basis to see what players would to see, it’s understandable why this influence is present in the game (plus, no-one does horror like the Japanese, am I right?).
This is the page from the Boss Protocol website. The background of the picture changes in a cycle, but that’s about it.
However, I wouldn’t get too hyped about this as Behaviour Interactive landed themselves in hot water in October of last year as they teamed up with Boss Protocol. If you don’t know who Boss Protocol they are, and I quote, “…a platform designed to help bring projects to life using NFTs!“. And Behaviour created Pinhead from The Hellraiser(1987) DLC as an NFT for Boss’s Masters of Horror NFT Collector. And don’t take my word for it – my players since the release of the NFT tanked the Steam reviews down to “Mostly Negative“. Yeah, not a good look.
It is unknown when these AoT skins will be released but you can watch the 6th Anniversary announcement stream here.
Dead by Daylight is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Nintendo Switch, Stadia, and iOS now.
[WARNING OF SPOILERS AHEAD. PLEASE DO NOT READ IF YOU ARE PLANNING ON WATCH THE SHOW(S). OTHERWISE, ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK. THANK YOU]
L-R: Yvie Oddly; Jinkx Monsoon; Shea Couleé; Raja; Trinity the Tuck; Jaida Essence Hall; Monét X Change and The Vivienne
If you’ve watched Drag Race before, you may have heard of All Stars. All Stars brings back queens who competed on previous seasons who did not win into a new competition, where they crowned and given the All Stars title.
The cash prize has also been upped to $200,000
Season 7 of All Stars is a huge deal because, for the first time, it’s an all winners season, meaning queens who have originally who a regular or all stars season are competing again for a new crown: Queen of all Queens.
All Stars 7 brings back some recent and not-so-recent winners to compete, and the great thing about this that all these queens succeed in different ways, so I will be on the edge on my seat watching this entire show. Usually, with regular, international and All Stars seasons, I have a clear idea of who will be in the top and/win, but this time, I do not. It’s anyone’s game.
But who are the queens in this first All Winners, All Starsseason? Here’s a quick little guide so you can get up-to-date before watching the season.
Queen #1 – Shea Couleé
Seasons appeared in: Season 9 (2017) and All Stars 5 Season (2019) – Winner
Fun Fact: She is 1 of 4 contestants to win and lose a lipsync with music done by the same artist – she won the lipsync in S9E4 to “I Wanna Go” but lost the lipsync in S9E14 to “Stronger”, both by Britney Spears.
Queen #5 – Monét X Change
Seasons appeared in: Season 10 (2018) and All Stars Season 4 (2018) (Double Winner)
From: LA
Maxi Challenge Wins: 3 (AS4E2; AS4E5; AS4E8)
Mini Challenge Wins: 2 (S10E1; S10E3)
Times in the Bottom: 5 (S10E4; S10E5; S10E10, AS4E4; AS4E9)
Fun Fact: While Monét is the drag sister of S8 Winner Bob the Drag Queen, her drag mother is Honey Davenport from S11.
Queen #6 – Jinkx Monson
Season appeared in: Season 5 (2013) (Winner)
From: Portland
Maxi Challenge Wins: 2 (S5E5; S5E9)
Mini Challenge Wins: 1 (S5E4)
Times in the Bottom: 1 (S5E11)
Fun fact: Jinkx voiced a character called Emerald in the cartoon Steven Universe (S5E11).
Queen #7 – Raja
Season appeared in: Season 3 (2011) (Winner)
From: LA
Maxi Challenge Wins: 3 (S2E2; S2E7; S2E10)
Mini Challenge Wins: 2 (S2E2; S2E11)
Times in the Bottom: 1 (S2E12)
Fun fact: Raja has several drag daughters, including Rhea Litré (with S10 contestant Mayhem Miller); Anderson Brooks, Thierry Meissel, Illuminati Princess, and Bionka Simone.
Queen #8 – The Vivienne
Seasons appeared in:RuPaul’s Drag Race UK Season 1 (Winner)
From: Liverpool, UK
Maxi Challenge Wins: 3 (S1E1; S14; S1E6)
Mini Challenge Wins: 0
Times in the Bottom: 1 (S1E5)
Fun fact: The Vivivenne was actually born in Colwyn Bay, Wales but moved to Liverpool when she was 16. Makes sense – Liverpool and Wales are right next to eachother. This fun fact also includes a fun fact about me: my great-grandmother on my mum’s side was from Liverpool and my great-grandfather on the same side was Welsh.
All Stars Season 7 premieres 20th May (so, 2 days ago but the time this article is published).
You can watch the first 16 minutes of Episode 1 here.
Aquaria, winner of S10, is one of my favourite winners, so I’d be excited to see her again
This is exciting time for Drag Race. What makes it better is that All Stars 3 winner Trixie Mattel spilled some tea in that she was asked to come back for AS7 but declined due to scheduling conflicts. However, she asked if her invitation was still open, to which she was told yes, meaning there could be a All Winner, All Stars Part 2. Previous winner Bianca Del Rio was asked but declined, however Bob the Drag Queen was not, so they may be possible contestants (as they both are all-time favourites of the franchise), along with other international winners like Envy Peru(Season 1 Winner of Drag Race Holland); Lawrence Chaney (Season 2 Winner of Drag Race UK); Priyanka (Season 1 Winner of Drag Race Canada); Icesis Couture (Season 2 Winner of Drag Race Canada) and other All Stars Winners like Chad Michaels (AS1) and Alaska (AS2). This opens a lot of doors and I’m pretty excited.
[WARNING OF SPOILERS AHEAD. PLEASE DO NOT READ IF YOU ARE PLANNING ON WATCH THE MOVIE(S) AND/OR SHOW(S). OTHERWISE, ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK. THANK YOU]
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is the third highest-grossing movie of 2022 at the time of writing this article with a total of $532.6 million worldwide
There, I said it. I have read other reviews with polarizing opinions – people seem to either really enjoy it or were really disappointed. But, as you can tell from the title, I was not one of the latter.
I will confess that Doctor Strange 2 was my return to cinema after the pandemic, so they have had an effect on my viewing experience, but I personally believe it was worth the wait.
In reviews I’ve done previously, I summarize the story, talk about the characters, the soundtrack, what I liked about the film and what I didn’t like. I won’t be following this format for this article. I’ll just be talking about what I liked it aboutit and why it’s one of my favourite Marvel movies to date.
Yes, Disney and Marvel, I did notice the subtle pride flag pin America is wearing
Before we go into the main meat of it, I want to praise Disney and Marvel a bit for the way they dealt with other countries’ issues with LBGTQ+ representation in this film. Saudi Arabia and China both asked Disney to cut out scenes depicting new character America Chavezs’ (Xochitl Gomez) parents (she has 2 moms) and they stated they would not, so the film was banned in those countries. Thanks Disney for doing that and not making it a big deal.
Right, let’s get into it!
When I heard Sam Raimi was attached to direct back in 2018 and that Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Oslen) was going to be the villain, I was excited. Then WandaVision (2021) happened and all theories I had went out the window. And in the midst off all the Marvel content, I forgot about the Scarlet Witch being the villain. My theory changed after the official trailer was released and hinted at the Illuminati with the return of Doctor Xavier, I thought that the film dealt with the fallout of Spider: No Way Home (2021) (which had heavily spoiled before the first teaser for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness) and the repercussions of giving Thanos the Time Infinity Stone in Infinity War (2018). But boy, was I wrong. And pleasantly surprised when I was.
A lot of reviews I have read mention the fact that you need to have watched WandaVision and What If…? (2021) to understand the backstory of this film, but I have to disagree. Granted, both these TV series have elements in Multiverse of Madness (Billy and Tommy Maximoff; Captain Britain and Zombie Avengers…sort of) but I don’t think it’s necessary to have watched them to get the full picture. These characters and scenes are explained, albeit briefly. Plus, most people who are watching the Marvel movies have most likely watched the TV shows too.
I think the fight scene at Kamar-Taj was a bit on the short side but makes sense with the Scarlet Witch being a powerful foe
The way Wanda/Scarlet Witch is depicted in the film is phenomenal. She’s desperate to get her kids back, and won’t stop at anything to do, even killing superheroes to do so. Raimi’s horror elements and Danny Elfman‘s musical score really add to this and there were a few jump scares along the way. WandaVision made me feel for Wanda, while the MoM made me terrified of her. It indirectly emphasizes how Wanda is one of – if not, the – strongest Avenger (or former Avenger I guess after the events of MoM). While I would say most Marvel movies have little to no horror elements, they fit into MoMperfectly and add to the experience.
Ah, the cameos. As I stated previously, Doctor Xavier/Professor X from X-Men (2000 – 2017) was heavily hinted in the movie. The Illuminati saw the return of Captain Britain/Peggy Carter (although this was Hayley Atwell‘s first in-person cameo for said role) and Karl Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor). The Illuminati introduced an alternative Captain Marvel, Maria Rambeau (the best friend of Carol Danvers, who is the Captain Marvel we see in Captain Marvel (2019) (her daughter, Monica, goes on to create S.W.O.R.D., who heavily appear in WandaVision) (Lashana Lynch) , John Krasinski as an alternative Reed Richards/Mister Fantasticand new hero Blackagar Boltagon/Black Bolt (Anson Mount). Personally, I was kinda hoping for Ioan Gruffudd to return as Mister Fanstatic but considering how badly Fantastic Four (2015) did, I understand that Marvel wants to wipe the slate clean. These cameos were brief but I’m OK with that. After Spider-Man: No Way Home saw the small returns of Tobey Maguire (2002 – 2007) and Andrew Garfield (2012 – 2014), I think these cameo were done a bit better. That might be because Tobey and Andrew’s cameos were leaked pretty early on or because the Illuminati were killed off in the most brutal ways by Wanda. I’m slightly glad that the idea of Tom Cruise as Tony Stark/Iron Man didn’t take off though.
I couldn’t get a picture of the music note scene so enjoy a picture of Danny Elfman at the premiere of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness instead
This is going to sound pretentious, but this is also a very ‘clever‘ movie and I feel cements Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) as one of the smartest Avengers (that sounds really narcissistic too). The scene between Defender Strange and Sinister Strange with the music notes was so good. And Zombie Strange was a great idea too. We also got to see a little bit of hand-to-hand combat from Strange, which was a nice touch.
America’s ability is that she is able to create star-shaped portals to hop across the multiverse
Another complainant I saw from this movie was the cheesy dialogue. I mean, that comes hand-in-hand with Sam Raimi but I didn’t really notice it a lot. The only time I really did was towards the end when Strange encourages America to use her powers, to which she is firmly against as she cannot control it. Strange then reminds her that they have always ended up in the right place at the right time through her portal-hopping abilities, therefore she can. Cheesy, but not wrong. And it gives America the confidence to believe she can control her abilities, therefore she does it. Still doesn’t find her parents at the end though.
Christine has a smaller part to play, but she is much more badass
One thing I didn’t like about this film was that Doctor Strange was constantly asked, “Are you happy?”. He never admits that he isn’t, even though it’s painfully obvious he isn’t throughout the movie. It’s only what he asks the question to Sorcerer Supreme Wong (Benedict Wong), that says (along the lines of), “I wonder if my other selves are happy, but that’s the extent of it,” to which Strange nods and that’s it. I know it’s clear he is not happy, mainly because he is not with Christine Palmer (Rachel McAdams) but I don’t like that either. A lot – if not all – Marvel movies heavily imply romantic interests and one of the things I liked about the first Doctor Strange movie (2016) was that Stephen and Christine hinted that they liked eachother but never acted on it. Might be why I didn’t really enjoy Doctor Strange’s What If…? episode (season 1, episode 4 “What If…Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands?“).
Overall, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is a great film. All the elements are at the high-end of the spectrum, and for it lacks in action and fighting (compared to other Marvel movies), it makes up for in emotion and pay-offs (in terms of the cameos and tying other Marvel TV shows to it). If you are a Marvel fan, I recommend it but I can’t promise that you’ll enjoy it. Even amongst Marvel and non-Marvel fans alike, some like it, some don’t. Was it over-hyped? Maybe. I personally don’t think it was. But with a concept like the Multiverse, how can it not be hype?
Despite average ratings, Sonic the Hedgehog was the 6th highest-grossing movie of 2020. That’s pretty impressive, especially with the pandemic still at play then.
If I told you that the Sonic the Hedgehog Movie (2020) inspired a new Sonic game, how would you react? Because that’s what has happened – sort of.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 was only released nearly a month ago and it’s become the highest grossing video game adaption ever. And the nod to the second game in the poster is *chef’s kiss*.
With an influx a new and old fans from the first movie, SEGA and the Sonic Team decided to capitalize on this (which is not a bad thing in my eyes, but that’s just my opinion). Despite the original 4 games being released on every platform, they decided remastering them again would be a great idea, along with animated scenes, playable characters and modes.
Just to reiterate, I have no qualms with the Sonic Origins games themselves. It’s the DLC I have a problem with.
Sonic Origins includes Sonic the Hedgehog; Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic CD and Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles
If you’ve read my articles regularly, you’ll probably guess I have no problems with DLC. I enjoy it, despite the problems that come with it – more money, less time to create, etc., etc. However, the Sonic Origins DLC is a whole different cake (I’m a baker so that joke is funny to me and probably me alone. I’ll go sit in the corner now).
A visional table to make it easier to see what DLC is available.
Sonic Origins is upfront with it’s DLC content, which is great. However, the problem that myself and many other fans have is the accessibility of the DLC. DLC includes the Start Dash pack; the Premium Fun Pack; Classic Music Pack and Digital Delexe Edition. Let me break these down.
The Standard Edition is just the 4 remastered games. The Start Dash Pack DLC includes the games, a 100 ring bonus, a Mirror Mode and letterbox background. The Premium Fun Pack DLC includes hard missions, letterbox background, character animation in the main menu and camera controls over the main islands menu. The Classic Music Pack DLC includes additional music from the Mega Drive/Genesis titles. The Digital Deluxe Edition includes the 4 games, hard missions, character animation in the main menu, camera controls over the main islands menu, character animations during music islands and the additional music tracks. Confusing, I know, but not the reason why fans are pissed.
Twitter user SSF1991 summed up the reaction to the DLC perfectly.
The reason why fans are pissed is because the DLC is spread out, meaning more money for different things. To make it worse, some DLC currently only available for pre-order with no promises they can be bought after the game is released. Many fans felt this was misleading and that this may be a trend for future games of not having all DLC in one version of the game.
Tekken 7 released different versions of the game which included all DLC last year.
There was major outcry from so I hope SEGA does take note for Sonic Origins as well as future games. I hope this doesn’t set a standard that SEGA and other game companies use in the future. It is very similar to fighting video game DLC, which doesn’t always work. Nowadays, video game prices climb with each new gen release, so game nowadays go for $60 a pop without additional content. Added with the price of consoles, accessories, subscriptions and the like, we’re looking at hundreds of dollars just to play video games.
Sonic Origins will be released worldwide in June of this year. There’s still plenty of time to correction these mistakes.
Sonic Origins will release June 23rd on Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S and PC.
[WARNING OF SPOILERS AHEAD. PLEASE DO NOT READ IF YOU ARE PLANNING ON WATCH THE SHOW(S). OTHERWISE, ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK. THANK YOU]
If you don’t know what is/never watched RuPauls’ Drag Race, you have no excuse – it has multiple international seasons, as well as 14 seasons of the main series under its’ belt and is consider mainstream.
Season 14 ended just last week and after some reflection, I realized how iconic this season really was, will be one of my all time favourites. But what made it so iconic in the first place? Well, it had a lot of firsts. Let’s list through them.
Upon the cast ruveal (see what I did there?), contestant Maddy Morphosis was revealed as the first heterosexual drag queen to be on the show, which is a big deal. It did cause some controversy for whatever, but it was the deciding factor for me to watch this season (I originally wasn’t going to because of burnout/not enjoying season 13 previously).
This season featured not one, not two, but five transgender queens (two before the show aired and five before it even finished airing): Kerri Colby, Kornbread “The Snack” Jete, Jasmine Kennedie, Bosco and Willow Pill. Again, representation is important!
This season also marked bigger cash prizes with every single contestant winning at least $2,000 each. The first place prize was increased to $150,000 with second place getting $50,000 and Miss Congeniality getting $10,000.
Episode 3 marked the first time two eliminated queens returned to the show and therefore making every contestant to participate in a Ball challenge. We know everyone likes a good pair of balls 😉
l-r: Bosco, Angeria Paris Vanmichaels; Daya Betty; Willow Pill and Lady Camden
This season is also the first season not to feature a makeover challenge and have a Top Five (instead of Four) for the Finale. The finale also featured its’ first triple elimination as only two queens would feature for the final lipsync for the crown.
Let’s talk about the contestants. Alyssa Hunter is the only queen from the season to only lipsync once, thanks to the “An Extra Special Episode” (episode 11) which featured a lipsync smackdown tournament that featured 7 queens, some of which had not lipsynced before. This episode also marks Jorgeous to be the first queen in the main series to survive four lipsyncs (at this point in the episode though, it was three); Jasmine Kennedie to lose three lip syncs in one episode and Bosco to also survive three lipsyncs but only send one girl home. Whew!
Speaking of Jorgeous, she is also a queen who part of a double shantay (which means to stay) as well as a double elimination, which all happened in one season. She’s also performed in not only one but of two three-way lipsyncs in the same season. RuPaul wasn’t wrong when she said Jorgeous was born to do drag!
DeJa Sky, who was also a part of the double elimination, is also the first queen to be sent home by a queen she had previously eliminated (being Daya Betty in episode 2).
Speaking of Daya, not only is she the first openly diabetic queen of the series (hence her drag name) but she is also the queen who holds the longest record of staying after coming back (a total of 14 episodes in you include the reunion and finale). She’s also the first to up for elimination with three different amounts of competitors (episode 2 with one competitor, episode 10 with seven competitors and episode 13 with three). Talk about a fighter!
Season 14 bought the twist of the golden chocolate bar – at the beginning of the series, each queen picked a random RuPaul branded chocolate bar, one of which would be golden and in turn save said queen from elimination. So far (as I don’t know if the twist will return for future series), Bosco is the only queen to be saved by a chocolate bar. She is also the first queen to be in three elimination lipsyncs and not be eliminated. She’s the first queen to win three challenges and three mini-challenges on her season.
Speaking of finalists, let’s talk about Lady Camden. She is not the first British queen to feature on the US season of Drag Race but she is the first contestant to fake a fall, do a reveal and win the challenge in the same episode. And what an epic moment that was!
And lastly, we look to our winner, Willow Pill. She is first chronically ill and transgender contestant to win and regular season of Drag Race. She also shares the first transgender win with sister Kornbread (in respect to Miss Congeniality). She is also the drag sister/daughter of fellow winner (and soon-to-be All Stars participant) Yvie Oddly, who is one of 2 daughter/sister duos to win Drag Race (Envy Peru and Vanessa Van Cartier from Drag Race Holland) and has a near identical track record to her: they both won their main challenges in the second episode of them competing; they both were up for elimination after Snatch Game but were not eliminated; were in the top for at least six episodes; were safe for at least three episodes; only won one challenge and won drag race and both competed for first place against a ballerina (with Yvie going against Brook Lynn Hytes, respectively).
This season has been one most up and down seasons in a long time, and I really enjoyed it. I hope you did too, and I’m really looking forward to All Stars Season 7 in a few weeks time.
l-r: Yvie Oddly (season 11); Jinkx Monsoon (season 5); Shea Coulee (season 9 and All-Stars season 5); Raja (season 2); Trinity “The Tuck” Taylor (season 9 and All-Stars 4); Jaida Essence Hall (season 12); Monet X Change (season 10 and All-Stars season 4) and The Vivienne (RuPaul’s Drag Race UK series 1)
EDIT – I previously stated that Willow Pill and Yvie Oddly were 1 of 3 drag mother/sister duos to win Drag Race, which included previous winners Sharon Needles and Aquaria. I have removed this edit as Aquaria herself has tweeted that Sharon Needles is NOT her drag mother. I have edited the article to reflect these views and support Aquaria’s journey. Bussy Queen recently released a great video explaining these changes.
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