Anime series can be very expensive, so the latest anime sale on the Microsoft Store is a great opportunity for people who want to save some money. However, if you have an Xbox One or PC, there is a small handful of series you don’t have to pay any money for. The first seasons of My Hero Academia, Dragon Ball Super, and Black Clover are available to claim for free and keep forever. However, you should claim them soon, as the first seasons of My Hero Academia and Black Clover are only available for free until February 3, while Dragon Ball Super Season 1 is free through February 6.
To claim your free seasons, all you have to do is sign in to your Microsoft account, go to each series’ individual store page, select the “HD” option, and click “Buy series.” It’ll link the show to your account, and you won’t be charged. Both the original Japanese and English versions of each season are available for free. If you want both, be sure to visit the pages for both to claim them.
My Hero Academia follows the rise of Midoriya, a boy who wants to be a superhero but doesn’t have a superpower–or “quirk” as they’re called in the show. Midoriya meets his favourite hero, All-Might, who, after seeing how much heart and bravery Midoriya has despite his lack of power, vows to help the youngster become the hero he always wanted to be.
Dragon Ball Super is the official sequel to Dragon Ball Z. It follows Goku and Vegeta on another quest to become more powerful. They meet Lord Beerus, the God of Destruction, as he searches for the legendary Super Saiyan God in the hopes that he’ll be able to witness its immense power. If you love Dragon Ball Z–and weren’t crazy about Dragon Ball GT–then I definitely recommend giving Dragon Ball Super a go.
Black Clover is set in a world where people are able to use magic. This applies to everyone except protagonist Asta, who trains hard in the hopes of gaining the ability to wield magic and become the next Wizard King.
Granblue Fantasy Versus, the fighting game adaptation of the mobile RPG franchise Granblue Fantasy, will be launching in Japan very soon–February 6, 2020–but it’s coming westward not long after. Publisher Xseed has announced that the game is going to launch on March 3, 2020 in North America. This will also be the first official release of a Granblue game in the West.
The PlayStation 4-exclusive fighter comes from developer Arc System Works, which is well-known for its long history of making great fighting game series such as Guilty Gear and BlazBlue. Fans of Granblue should also note that ArcSys has a good track record of adapting outside franchises to fighting games as we’ve seen with Persona 4 Arena Ultimax and Dragon Ball FighterZ. Last year, we streamed Granblue Fantasy Versus during its beta phase and you can check out gameplay in the video below.
Granblue Fantasy Versus uses a similar 2.5D anime-inspired art style seen in the recent Guilty Gear games and uses familiar elements from the RPG to convert them into fighting game mechanics. There will also be an RPG Mode that features a story and cutscenes; it’ll also play differently from a traditional fighting game, incorporating a 2D side-scrolling brawler style gameplay.
A total of 11 characters are set to be part of the launch day roster with five planned as DLC:
This review contains minor plot details for the final season of BoJack Horseman, but nothing that will give away details of the ending.
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There’s a great paradox in criticism. The reviewer is meant to check their ego at the door for every new work, attempting to go in as objective as humanly possible. And yet, the truly great art, the stuff that really matters, is so personally crafted and deeply affecting that it often makes that impossible, forcing the critic into the same seat as the general audience. The works that affect us most threaten the very fabric of our purpose as reviewers, while also offering what many would consider the best part of their jobs: writing a rave. So I start this review of a show about an animated talking horse living in an animal-run version of Hollywood by telling you that, if this show has been your cup of tea comedically and dramatically for the past six years, BoJack Horseman’s final eight episodes will destroy you, because they destroyed me.
It’s become something of a trend for high-profile dramas to split their final season into two shorter halves. Usually, those two halves act so differently from each other in story and construction that they often feel like independent seasons. BoJack Horseman is the same. The first eight episodes of Season 6 gave most of the main characters an episode to themselves, allowing them time to grow independently into the people they need to be for the show to end the way it wants to. In effect, many of them found relative peace, most of all BoJack, becoming a professor of acting at Wesleyan University in Connecticut, far away from the red carpets and spotlight of Southern California. A lesser series would end there, but like Breaking Bad before it, the final eight episodes are primarily about tearing down that unearned happy ending and serving harsh but true justice to the characters we love despite their enormous ethical misgivings.
Just as Hank picked up a book of poetry while sitting on the toilet in Breaking Bad, the second half of the season starts with two investigative reporters sniffing around BoJack’s involvement in the death of Sarah Lynn, an event that these episodes solidify as BoJack Horseman’s watershed moment. Inevitably there’s a crash, and then it’s all downhill from there. But Season 6 first resumes with BoJack having found legitimate peace. Teaching college kids fulfills him, and he’s regularly attending and actively participating in AA meetings. He’s done it. He’s better, and it’s a tremendous reward for us right off the bat. But it’s not meant to last. How can it? BoJack may not have built a meth empire employing neo-Nazis as Walter White did, but his sins need to be accounted for.
That’s where BoJack Horseman’s final episodes start to more resemble Mad Men’s. Since the latter half of Season 1, BoJack has sort of taken the reins from Don Draper as TV’s resident male in relative power who can’t seem to stop getting in his own way, to the detriment of his loved ones. As with that series, it’s right in the opening credits. Don may be falling down towards Madison Avenue out of a figurative window, and BoJack may be sinking to the bottom of his swimming pool, all while his loved ones advance in their lives and find a natural, satisfying stopping point for their story.
These last eight episodes make sure to properly service Princess Caroline, Todd, and especially Diane. (Mr. Peanutbutter has an arc himself, but due to his aggressively distracted, happy-go-lucky nature, it’s not nearly as profound. That’s fine. Doing otherwise would risk betraying the show’s signature tone and careful comedic balance.) Time is spent working them through the relationships that matter most to them, continuing to build profound new ones, and establishing careers that ensure they’re going to be okay. Diane sums it up best in one of the later episodes: “Your whole life is full of these pieces that don’t quite fit. But at some point, you start to think it’s you. You’re the piece that doesn’t quite fit. And you spend so long with that feeling that the feeling becomes your home. And it can be jarring when you discover one day that you don’t feel that way anymore.”
Compared to them, BoJack just can’t quite seem to get a grasp on that relief, or the sense that he belongs anywhere, really. But then, none of them share such a dark past as him. There’s an incredibly tricky line the series has to walk here. As nice as it is to see BoJack thriving in the first episode of this batch, when the dominoes come down, it always feels deserved. And yet, we never stop caring for him. Will Arnett’s voice work remains remarkable, pushing this figure to a most natural end while taking him to some of his darkest places in all six seasons. It feels like the writers condemn BoJack for what he’s done without losing an ounce of their empathy for him. It’s exactly the sort of writing that gave Breaking Bad and Mad Men two of the best endings to a series in television history.
BoJack Horseman joins their ranks while stunningly refusing to sacrifice even a small bit of what makes this show so unique. There’s a silly recurring gag surrounding a lazy Susan. BoJack spends part of the season preparing for the titular role in a new movie called The Horny Unicorn. An experimental, surrealist episode spends a few minutes trying to get a humanoid bird to fly out the window. As dark and depressing as these last eight episodes get, everything special about this series remains intact. It’s nothing short of a miracle of tone and balance.
Of course, much of this hard work would be damaged if the series finale faltered in any way. But it doesn’t. There are fates revealed, meaningful conversations, musings on the meaning of life (something the writers smartly acknowledge that they have no basis in defining), and even some time to sit an appreciate the love given by those closest to you. “Maybe it’s everybody’s job to save each other,” one character says to another. And that speaks to the ending overall. Ultimately, this story points out that life goes on. Whatever bed we make for ourselves, we’re alive to wake up each day and try to make it better than we did the day before. Some days we fail, but others we succeed. Just because BoJack Horseman ends doesn’t necessarily mean that the characters’ struggles do. But every day, they’re getting up and trying, including BoJack. Unlike most other shows, he and his friends fail more days than they care to admit. But they keep fighting. If for nothing else, for themselves. These final episodes beautifully illustrate why we have to do that, too.
It’s been more than seven years since the first act of Kentucky Route Zero was released, and now it’s finally reached its conclusion with Act 5, which released this week. Now, we can finally experience the entire game, no matter what platform you’re on: PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, or PC. However, if you want a physical edition of the game, Iam8bit is releasing limited-edition copies for PS4 and Switch.
A second, 1xLP vinyl, is referred to as a “mystery vinyl” and available to pre-order for $30. The description reads: “Definitely not the Official Soundtrack to Kentucky Route Zero.” On the next line: “Definitely a Mystery Vinyl related to Kentucky Route Zero.” But it also comes with a digital version of the soundtrack, so it could still be the soundtrack, right?
Official cover art hasn’t been revealed yet for either the game or soundtrack, and pre-orders for Iam8bit’s Kentucky Route Zero merchandise won’t ship until “Early Q3 2020,” so July at the earliest.
While you’re waiting for Iam8bit’s Kentucky Route Zero products, I highly recommend calling the hotline for the Department of Real advertised on each of the pre-order pages. Dialing 1-858-943-6579 lets you listen to a cryptic and quite weird recording that will be updated in the coming weeks and months. Even if you have no interest in purchasing the physical edition of Kentucky Route Zero or the vinyl soundtrack, do yourself a favor and call the hotline.
For those unfamiliar with the peculiar and beloved adventure game, Kentucky Route Zero follows the tradition of old-school point-and-click PC games. You play as Conway, a truck driver who works for antiques company. During his final delivery, he must take Route Zero, a bizarre highway that runs through the caves of Kentucky. He crosses paths with strange folks along the way and often struggles to understand what is real and what isn’t. Kentucky Route Zero is marked by magical realism and provides plenty of room for players to come to their own conclusions about the story and what it all means.
Dota Underlords, Valve’s own take on the Auto Chess genre, is leaving Early Access and officially launching on February 25 on PC, iOS, and Android. Along with the announcement Valve has also released the final update before launch, introducing a new character to the game.
In the month before launch, Valve will be working on polishing up remaining work on the first season for Underlords. Season 1 will include changes to the current meta–through character and item rotations–as well as a new content with City Crawl and a brand-new Battlepass with all new rewards.
Valve states in the update notes that it will be revealing more details about Season 1 in the coming weeks, but will otherwise be silent on other updates until then. To soften the blow, Dota Underlords will be receiving a new character in the shape of Enno–a poison-dealing thief that has randomly assigned builds.
Enno is an extremely mobile character that will be able to zip around the board during fights, as well as exit it entirely in moments of danger. The twist is that you’re not really sure what type of Enno you’re going to get. Enno features two core builds that are randomized, which will force you to make an educated gamble on whether either will be useful to your strategy. The full breakdown of Enno and some gameplay snippets can be found on the official Underlords website.
Along with Enno, the final Early Access patch includes some tweaks to balance and general performance changes. The full patch notes can be found below:
ADDED ENNO
A ranged menace, Enno leaps around the board poisoning enemies and generally wreaking havoc.
Enno will be one of the four Underlord options available at the end of Round 1 in Knockout and at the end of Round 9 in Standard and Duos game modes. One of two Enno builds (detailed below) will be randomly presented.
POISON
Added a new status effect, Poisoned. Poisoned units take 15 physical damage per second and healing is reduced by 10% for 5 seconds. Poison effects can stack up to 5 times.
GENERAL CHANGES
Improved lighting used by the Underlords.
Fixed issues with low resolution textures on the Underlords on mobile.
Further fixes to the map not loading when starting a match.
Fixed an issue where a dead unit on a cell could prevent a live unit from being selected.
Fixed wrong rank icon sometimes being displayed on the post-match screen.
Fixed more places where an Underlord’s base ability icon or name would be shown, rather than the version of that ability used by the Underlord build.
Added more pizzazz to the Underlord picker.
Target Buddy has begrudgingly put away his holiday hat, since it’s apparently “not the season” anymore.
UNDERLORD CHANGES
Jull:
fixed Barrels of Fun barrels hitting Spiderlings.
Hobgen:
fixed enemy Spiderlings causing other enemies to take decreased damage from Implosion and Shockwave.
UNIT CHANGES
Venomancer:
Venomous Gale:
Now applies poison to its targets.
ITEM CHANGES
Blade Mail:
Fixed bonus armor error in description.
Orb of Venom:
Instead of applying damage, Orb of Venom now applies poison.
ALLIANCE CHANGES
Brute:
Fixed an issue where Brutes could switch targets mid-swing.
Dota Underlords is free-to-play, and can be downloaded via Steam, Apple’s App Store, and the Google’s Play Store.
With Christmas finally behind us, there’s a new holiday looming in the distance, and it’ll be here before you know it. Valentine’s Day is all about showing that special someone how much you care, and while flowers and chocolate are popular gift ideas, why not get them something they’ll actually use and cherish? Don’t get me wrong–chocolate is always a good idea–but Valentine’s Day is a nice opportunity to pick up a new game you can experience together or surprise them with a new piece of merch from the series they can’t stop talking about.
Coming up with new gift ideas so soon after Christmas can be tricky, but don’t feel like you have to default to something generic. To help you shop for your sweetheart this year, we’ve rounded up some of the best Valentine’s Day gift ideas for games you can enjoy together, personalized accessories, collectibles, and more.
Games
Dream Daddy
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PS4, PC
While a dating sim where you play as a hot dad attempting to romance other hot dads may not sound like a game you’d want to play with your significant other on Valentine’s Day, it’s actually the perfect game to play with a partner. Together, you can design your own hot dad, decide which handsome bachelor to woo, go on dates, and discover multiple endings based on dialogue options you choose along the way. It’s not all flirtation and dad puns, however; Dream Daddy also has a very sweet storyline about parenthood and some memorable characters you won’t soon forget.
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One, PC, Android, iOS
You might think Stardew Valley is just a farming sim, but this massively popular game is also about building friendships and pursuing romance with the NPC of your choice. Just like you’re doing right now, the game makes you consider what gifts your partner will respond best to, and even after you marry the character of your choice, you still have to cherish them and show them attention if you want to keep them, which is a pretty solid message about relationships. While launched as a single-player game, Stardew Valley now has a fantastic multiplayer mode so you can play local or online co-op with your sweetheart.
See how you and your partner would fare stranded out in the wilderness in Don’t Starve Together, a survival game with Tim Burton-esque visuals. The standalone multiplayer expansion of Don’t Starve thrusts you into a strange world with strange creatures and dangers, and you’ll have to work together with your partner to gather resources, craft items, and create structures to keep yourselves safe. If relationships are all about protecting each other and working together, Don’t Starve Together is the perfect game to buy for your significant other this Valentine’s Day.
In this colorful couch co-op adventure, you and your partner will explore the galaxy as LOVERS (which stands for League of Very Empathetic Rescue Spacenauts, in this context), using teamwork to battle the evil forces of Anti-Love and rescue adorable space-bunnies. Together, you’ll have to control the ship, using turrets and lasers to attack, shields to defend, and thrusters to navigate the environment. This is one game that can get very hectic very quickly and will definitely test your communication skills, but it’s also a blast. There’s a single-player mode as well where you get help from an AI pet, and up to four players can join in. While a lot cheaper to buy digitally, there’s a gorgeous collector’s edition available exclusively through IndieBox.
On the surface, Overcooked is a cute game about preparing meals, but it takes an insane amount of coordination to get high stars on its timed, chaotic kitchen levels. Overcooked requires a similar strategy to Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime: Tasks must be delegated, and communication must be swift and clear in order to navigate a level’s obstacles and submit enough plates of food in time. If you like cooking together IRL and can handle a challenge, Overcooked is the perfect game to play as a couple this Valentine’s Day.
Fog of Love is a two-player board game where you create and roleplay as two characters who meet, fall in love, and face challenges in their relationship. From sweet moments to difficult arguments, you’ll have to decide how your character would react, and you’ll earn points in certain traits along the way. Just like in real life, your characters may also have different goals, and by the end of the game, the relationship could grow stronger–or fall apart. But hey, this is just a game! Regardless of how your fictional lovers fare in Fog of Love, you and your real-life sweetheart are sure to have a blast starring in this tabletop rom-com. This board game also has a few different covers available to include LGBTQ relationships.
Pick up a new controller in their favorite color this Valentine’s Day. PlayStation’s newest DualShock 4 colors, like Rose Gold and Electric Purple, are fantastic, and at the Xbox Design Lab, you can even design a custom controller for your sweetheart. For Nintendo Switch owners, PowerA offers gorgeous third-party Switch controllers at a more affordable price point, such as these new Pokemon Sword and Shield-inspired designs. If you’re new to playing games together as a couple, a new gamepad is just what you need to get started.
Mermaid’s Pendant from Stardew Valley – comes in a clamshell keepsake box
If they’re the jewelry-wearing type, surprise them with a new necklace or pair of earrings inspired by their favorite game. Fangamer has some gorgeous pieces of jewelry referencing games like Stardew Valley, Persona 5, and The Legend of Zelda. We also love this adorable pair of Eevee earrings at Etsy.
Memberships like PlayStation Plus, Nintendo Switch Online, and Xbox Live Gold grant access to online multiplayer games, and it’s a perfect way to stay connected if you and your loved one are in a long-distance relationship. PS Plus and Xbox Live Gold are a bit more expensive, but they also get you free games every month.
Is there anything cuter than this fuzzy pink basket holding Pikachu, Eevee, and some Pokemon sweets? Sadly, you can’t eat these sweets, but you can still enjoy how happy these two look together. You can’t really tell in the photo, but they’re holding a little red heart together–adorable.
Show them just how well you go together with this matching Cuphead and Mugman set, inspired by the acclaimed run-and-gun game. These adorable mugs are perfect for a cozy game or movie night, and even if you two don’t live together, they’ll think of you every time they make a drink. Each mug comes with a removable stirring straw. Just note they’re not dishwasher or microwave safe.
Retro gamers will delight in the Sega Genesis Mini, which includes 42 nostalgic games and two controllers so you can play some of the classic games together, like Golden Axe, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, and ToeJam & Earl. This mini console is truly tiny and won’t take up much space, but it’s sure to bring hours of fun if they have fond memories of the original Sega Genesis.
Sayonara Wild Hearts is often described as a pop album video game, so naturally, its soundtrack is phenomenal. Fortunately for fans of the game, iam8bit has released an exclusive 2xLP vinyl record containing the complete collection of songs from Sayonara Wild Hearts, with a gorgeous holographic foil-stamped heart on the cover.
This darling pin set features nine collectible pins inspired by the Eeveelution family. The set of candy-style pins comes in an adorable heart-shaped box with Eevee and Sylveon on the cover. It’s the perfect gift for any Eevee fanatic or pin collector this Valentine’s Day, and it ships directly from PokemonCenter.com. (Also, if you’re looking to spend a lot less on a gift, there’s also a cute Valentine’s Day greeting card that includes two Eevee and Sylveon pins for just $15.)
If they’re a PS4 owner and don’t yet have a headset for the console, they’re sure to appreciate opening up the PlayStation Gold wireless headset on Valentine’s Day. While certainly not a high-end headset, the Gold headset is extremely comfortable to wear, affordable, and compatible with not only PS4 but also mobile devices, PC, and Mac. It’s also designed to be comfortable to use with PlayStation VR. Multiple colors are available, including this stunning rose gold shade that released late last year.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade1Up Machine with Riser
If you really want to impress this Valentine’s Day, Arcade1Up makes fantastic retro arcade machines featuring classic games like Street Fighter, Pac-Man, and Space Invaders. This Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles machine will run you $400, but it’ll provide endless entertainment as you and your partner team up to fight Shredder and other classic TMNT villains. Up to four players can jump in at once, making this the ultimate party game as well.
The PS4 Pro and Xbox One X have demonstrated the benefits of a 4K resolution for some time, but it hasn’t always been true 4K. The upcoming PS5 and Xbox Series X, however, are expected to push the Ultra HD resolution as the new standard. If you haven’t invested in a 4K TV yet, then now’s a great time. With the Super Bowl kicking off this Sunday, electronics company Vizio is discounting several of its best 4K TVs.
Best Buy, Costco, and Sam’s Club all feature deals on 4K televisions from Vizio’s P-Series and M-Series lines. Vizio’s TVs have great image and HDR quality, in addition to low latency, which makes them great for gaming. They also tend to be pretty good at upscaling lower-resolution content, including but not limited to 720p and 1080p. All of the discounted Vizio TVs boast either a 65- or 75-inch display.
If you’re looking to pair your new 4K TV with a good sound system, then you can save a little money with Best Buy. The retailer is offering a promotion that gets you an extra $50 off Vizio’s 5.1.2 soundbar system if purchased with one of the Vizio 4K TVs.
Costco offers the 65-inch M-Series at its cheapest price, though you do need a Costco membership to take advantage of that deal. You can see the full list of Vizio 4K TV discounts in the list below.
Microsoft discounts a large selection of Xbox One games every week, and while this week’s deals consist mostly of THQ Nordic titles, there are also quite a few for games like Mortal Kombat 11, Injustice 2, and the Batman: Return to Arkham collection. On top of that, those with an Xbox Live Gold subscription–Xbox Game Pass Ultimate includes Gold–can pick up Call of Duty: Modern Warfare at a fantastic price as well.
Titles under the THQ Nordic umbrella account for the majority of the deals. Darksiders 3 is discounted to $19.79, while its remastered predecessors are even cheaper. Darksiders Warmastered Edition is just $4, and Darksiders 2 Deathinitive Edition is down to $6. If you haven’t played Darksiders, now’s your chance to grab the first three games in the franchise for under $30 total.
While Darksiders is the most well-known THQ Nordic property in the sale, there are more gems to be found. Itching to play a clever platformer? You can grab de Blob for $4 and de Blob 2 for $7.49. Monster Jam Steel Titans ($20) and MX vs ATV All Out ($9) are available for those looking for a new racing game.
Meanwhile, fighting game fans can snag Mortal Kombat 11 for $23 (was $60) and Injustice 2 for $12 (was $40). Batman: Arkham Collection, which compiles all three stellar Rocksteady Batman games, is discounted to $24. EA Sports’ NHL 20 and FIFA 20 are each 50% off at $30.
As always, select deals are only available to Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers. The biggie this week is Call of Duty: Modern Warfare for $39.
You can browse the full slate of deals at the Xbox Store and check out our picks below. All deals listed below are available through February 3.
The Last of Us 2 is coming out May 29, barring any further delays, and it’s at the top of most people’s lists of most-anticipated games of 2020. The art behind the game is available in a collected works, the deluxe version of which is marked down substantially right now.
Save 40% on Art of The Last of Us Part 2 Deluxe Edition
The normal version of The Art of The Last of Us Part 2 is also on sale, but the discount is a modest 10% compared to the 40% savings of the deluxe edition.
If you haven’t already preordered The Last of Us Part II, and you’re interested in learning what editions are still available and what they include, make sure to check out our Last of Us 2 preorder guide.
