The Marathon Cryo Archive has been roundly conquered at this point, and Bungie's much-touted endgame mission proves that it still knows how to put a memorable encounter together. It's an intricate and unforgiving series of combat encounters and puzzles, fusing the challenge of the best Destiny raids with the multiplayer tension inherent to the extraction shooter. However, after watching the race to a world-first completion play out, and taking feedback from everyone else fighting through the deck of the UESC Marathon, Bungie has acknowledged that it might be a little too restrictive for the average player.

It's difficult to play Crimson Desert and not compare it to other games. Its map design smacks of Red Dead Redemption 2. The combat design and attention to detail are just like an Assassin's Creed game. For me, it took less than 30 minutes of playtime to see The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild imprinted in the core design of the game. However, Crimson Desert's mistakeis to believe Breath of the Wild's appeal lies in its technical achievements instead of its mysteriously alluring and culturally rich world.

During a recent stream of Halo 2(obviously!) fantasy heavyweight and master geek-culture commentator Brandon Sanderson took a moment to remind his audience that the sci-fi and fantasy world extends well beyond his own sprawling Cosmere setting. While fans wait for his next big release, The Fires of December, Sanderson rattled off a list of authors worth reading in the meantime, including Brent Weeks (the Lightbringer series), Fonda Lee (The Green Bone saga), Terry Pratchett (Discworld), and Andy Weir of The Martian fame. Of Weir’s latest novel, Project Hail Mary, Sanderson didn’t hedge: it’s his “favorite science fiction novel of recent years,” he said while gunning down Covenant hordes.

The first Ark Survival Ascended TLC patch has been revealed, and the promise of 'Tender Loving Care' isn't quite what comes into my mind when I see it. The Ark Araneo is top of the list, having come out ahead during the Extra Life charity vote that determined which five creatures would be getting a fresh look and feel. Even in the land of the dinosaurs, there's something about giant spiders that always puts me on edge, and what Studio Wildcard has to say isn't helping. You're going to want to look up.