Like the 2019 novel by Andrew Michael Hurley from which it evolved though, Starve Acre is not a work one has to fully comprehend in order to be seduced. It is more of a mood piece, in truth: one that transports the viewer to a muddy vision of '70s Yorkshire in which nature itself seems inexplicably, implacably opposed to the very presence of archaeologist Richard (Smith), his wife Juliette (Morfydd Clark), and their troubled young son Owen (Arthur Shaw).
Having moved from Leeds to take up residence in the titular farmhouse Richard inherited from his estranged father, the Willoughbys are hopeful that their new surroundings will be beneficial to their introspective and asthmatic lad. It takes a mere five minutes for them to be disabused of that fallacy, as a ghastly act of violence recalls 1977’s Equus in its ferocity and unfathomability. An even more bewildering tragedy follows, driving a wedge between Richard and ‘Jules’ that he attempts to fill by literally digging into their home’s links to local myth and folklore. Juliette, meanwhile, finds a comfort of her own in a spiritualist (Melanie Kilburn), inadvertently stirring a malevolent entity that has been wisely kept buried for centuries.
Tapping into the same rich vein of British folk horror the likes of 2015’s The Witch and 2022’s Enys Men mined so productively, Starve Acre roots its dread in a gloomy past that is mundane, real and tangible. A radio news bulletin conveys bleak warnings of impending industrial action, while the buckled headset Owen is made to suffer as he undergoes an EEG has the vintage authenticity of a medieval torture device.
The chunky patterned knitwear Juliette and her interfering sibling Harrie (Erin Richards) favor has the same aura of musty specificity, something director of photography Adam Scarth augments with visuals that look like they have been dunked in a colour-inhibiting taupe. The upshot of this is that when strange things happen they seem to emerge elementally from the ether, like shadows granted corporeal form or waking dreams made palpable.
Take Starve Acre’s boldest conceit, for instance: a skeletal hare that, having been lifted from the soil and secreted in a box, miraculously starts sprouting follicles, veins, and musculature. This is clearly no ordinary wabbit, and its incremental resurrection, facilitated masterfully by effects outfit Millennium FX, rightly fills the viewer with a fearful foreboding. Yet it’s handled so matter-of-factly, in such a calm and sober fashion, that it feels like an almost logical happenstance in the weird world Kokotajlo has created. It’s certainly the sort of thing Smith’s Doctor would have taken in his stride, the star’s familiarity with fantasy making him a canny choice for a protagonist forced to grapple with the unexplainable.
Clark has the more arduous task, encumbered as Juliette is with a crushing albatross of grief following a crippling bereavement. Over the course of the film, though, she undergoes her own kind of rebirth, albeit one that comes with a zeal not that dissimilar from the religious devotion of Apostasy’s Jehovah’s Witnesses. Having that film’s Robert Emms play Richard’s academic friend provides additional connective tissue with Kokotajlo’s debut. A brief excerpt of a youthful Donald Sutherland in 1964’s Hamlet at Elsinore, meanwhile, can’t help but summon memories of Don’t Look Now, as does a later interlude that sees Smith and Clark reconnecting through a bout of passionate, wound-healing lovemaking.
Kokotajlo has been upfront about his many inspirations, from Quatermass creator Nigel Kneale to ghost story maestro M.R. James. And there is indeed a sense that Starve Acre feels beholden to others, to the extent perhaps of it lacking an individual identity and texture. A scene featuring Harrie in a phone booth is only one of numerous nods to Rosemary’s Baby, while films like Lamb and Hatching have made the inception of freakish critters something of a horror staple of late. There is reason, then, to celebrate composer Matthew Herbert for an eerie wind-based score that sounds like nothing heard on this planet, not to mention a séance scene mercifully bereft of the campy excesses we witnessed in last year’s A Haunting in Venice.
"You’ve hit the jackpot!" exults Emms’ character Steven after Richard unearths the stump of an ancient oak tree with huge pagan significance. Audiences may feel similar elation at Kokotajlo’s ongoing maturation into one of our most composed and rigorous storytellers.
Starve Acre is released in UK cinemas on September 6.
For more chillers coming your way, check out our guide to upcoming horror movies.
]]>Colman Domingo’s John, the talented theater-group top dog, finds himself challenged by smart, volatile newbie Eye (Clarence ‘Divine Eye’ Maclin), whose explosive rage (and the knife in his waistband) threatens to get them shut down. A film that concentrates on the prisoner, not their crime, Sing Sing’s grainy, up-close 16mm camerawork gives the central pair’s friction-filled relationship a keen intimacy.
Maclin (an ex-prisoner in real life, like most of the cast) is astonishingly good as a Hamlet-playing tough who discovers that his gangster life is just another role that trapped him. He goes toe-to-toe with Domingo in their fractious scenes with the intensity of a seasoned pro, as their fortunes see-saw through a tough season.
Domingo, alternately mellow and quietly despairing as a lifer prepping intensely for his last-chance clemency hearing alongside the group’s ambitious show, is as good as ever. Leisurely pacing and a restrained style gives Kwedar room to dig into how staging theater productions brings hope and playfulness to inmates who’ve been battered by predatory prison life.
Touching rather than touchy-feely, it’s a high-stakes story with its fair share of fights, deaths and the jail-or-joy tensions of parole hearings. If it’s also a tad starry-eyed about drama as a cultural cure-all, Kwedar’s empathy for the life-battered inmates makes this a rare, graceful work.
Sing Sing is out now in US theaters and is released in UK cinemas on August 30.
For more, check out our guide to the upcoming movies to get on your radar.
]]>Recent entries have failed to match Cameron's early success though, despite a reboot and even the return of Linda Hamilton with Arnold Schwarzenegger in tow as the original Terminator himself. Five years on from the muted response to Terminator: Dark Fate, Netflix is returning back to where it all started with Terminator Zero, an anime series developed by Mattson Tomlin, co-writer of Robert Pattinson's The Batman 2.
The aptly named Terminator Zero is largely set in 1997 just days before Judgement Day itself, the moment when Skynet became sentient and destroyed humanity in a nuclear holocaust that paved the way for machines to take over. Except, this time around, the story isn't just limited to the US.
Judgement Day was a global event, after all, so in Zero, we're introduced to a scientist named Malcolm Lee who's developed a different AI named Kokoro to stop Skynet before the apocalypse begins. As you might expect, it's not long before he and his three children are pursued by a Terminator as well as a soldier named Eiko from 2022 who's traveled back in time to stop it.
It's not just the ‘90s we've come back to though. With Terminator Zero, the franchise also makes a welcome return to the terror of Cameron's first movie, which was essentially a horror in all but name (albeit in a sci-fi setting). The new Terminator this time around is another unstoppable villain in the vein of Michael Myers or Jason Voorhees while Eiko is our new Sarah Connor, embodying the final girl archetype in her battle against AI (a more relatable fight than ever in this day and age).
Terminator Zero wastes no time in establishing this horror. Via a cold open set in an apocalyptic 2022, Eiko watches the Terminator casually crush a person's head underfoot in search of her hiding place. Dead bodies are stacked up everywhere and the body count doesn't let up once we reach the 90s either. Necks snap, limbs tear, and skin melts away throughout all eight episodes of Terminator Zero, channeling the original's R rating when it comes to both gore and tension.
One scene even goes so far as to recreate the iconic police station assault where the first Terminator, played by Arnie, decimated an entire squad of cops in their place of work. Yet aside from this and the scares that movie brought, Terminator Zero is also evocative of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, a deeply underrated show that expanded the usual chase into a longer narrative, just as Tomlin does here.
The result is a deeper dive that thematically explores new territory for the Terminator franchise, such as the idea that Skynet might be onto something with the extinction of the human race. As the Kokoro AI points out while discussing our fate, humanity's greatest achievements always prioritize people over the planet, and they each end up being used as weapons in some shape or form, regardless of their original purpose.
Philosophical quandaries such as this and questions around what it means to be human have always been a part of Terminator, but with more time to tell the story, there's also more scope to develop these discussions further, especially in the back-and-forth Malcolm shares with his new AI creation. Production IG Studios, the team behind Zero, are no stranger to such concerns. In fact, this metaphysical approach to sci-fi forms the synthetic backbone of their entire Ghost in the Shell series, one of the most influential anime franchises ever made.
Terminator's obsession with robotics and the nuclear holocaust are a natural fit for anime given Japan's preoccupation with both. In hindsight, it's strange that it took so long for a Terminator story to end up here, so it's reassuring that Zero incorporates the specificities of Japanese culture in organic, meaningful ways that are so much more than just mere window dressing.
Malcolm's apocalyptic nightmares draw direct parallels to the real-life atomic bombings that Hiroshima and Nagasaki endured at the end of World War II. And it's no coincidence that Hiroshima's A-Bomb Dome, ground zero back in 1945, briefly appears when explosions begin to light up the sky above Japan. Reference is also made to 1995's Tokyo subway sarin attack where 13 people died in an act of domestic terrorism, providing a real context to the state of the world, and Japan especially, in 1997.
Beyond this uniquely Japanese perspective, Terminator Zero also toys with other new elements such as the multiverse and even the supernatural, which sits surprisingly well alongside the regular building blocks that have come to define Terminator as a sci-fi saga. It's a perfect blend of the signature elements fans have come to expect alongside new ideas that reinvigorate the franchise in ways we've never seen before in live-action.
The unexpected also arrives in the form of multiple plot twists that will knock you sideways faster than a T-800 barreling down the highway. Some are minor, little surprises to keep you on your toes, while others build on earlier twists, snowballing into a climax that leaves zero room for air. They're genuinely quite surprising too, although a rewatch will certainly reveal clues laid out in the open for you to spot early on.
There's a lot happening then, and by the end, Terminator Zero can verge on being too convoluted, much like the Terminator timeline at large. But the characters go a long way to ground all this grandiose sci-fi horror, including Eiko's stoic time traveler, an increasingly desperate Malcolm, and the enigmatic housekeeper, Misaki, in charge of Malcolm's not-too-annoying kids.
The main Terminator this time around isn't as charismatic as past incarnations, although we're basing this off the work of the original Japanese voice cast (who are otherwise excellent throughout). For those keen to hear these characters speak via English dub, you're in for a treat with heavy hitters like The Mandalorian's Timothy Olyphant, Ahsoka's Rosario Dawson, and The Handmaid's Tale star Ann Dowd all working their magic in the booth.
Visuals are especially important in animation, and for the most part, Terminator Zero is just as impressive on that front too. The action sequences are alternately chilling and thrilling, pushing the gore in ways live-action often holds back from, while gorgeous character design, especially when it comes to Kokoro's physical manifestation, lend the series more visual flair than Terminator fans are used to seeing.
Transitions between the past and the future are also inventive in scope, although occasional moments where the CGI jars will pull you out thanks to some surprisingly ropy animation that'll have you wishing for more traditional artistry at times. It's easy to forgive these little blips though, because this is the first time since Cameron stopped directing these films that The Terminator has made us truly excited for where the franchise is heading next.
That's especially true following the show's final sequence, which simultaneously wraps things up while still hinting that there's more story to tell. And that's a story we absolutely want to see more of. As John Connor once said, "The future has not been written," but with Tomlin keen to make a second season, let's hope he starts writing new episodes soon because more than ever, it's time for the Terminator to fulfill that eternal promise and come back again.
Terminator Zero is out on Netflix now. For more, check out our guides to the best anime, all the new anime that should be on your radar, and the best Netflix shows.
]]>On the surface, Concord takes an Overwatch-style cast of heroes and marries them to fast-paced, Call of Duty-style action. You pick from a crew of 16 Freegunners (the in-game term for the self-consciously wild misfits you play as) and get stuck into the 5v5 team action across a selection of mid-sized maps over a variety of planets. Concord aims for a balance between strategy and skill, with maps designed to suit all play styles - from those who prefer long open spaces for sniping to bunny hoppers who like to bamboozle others with quick movement in tight spaces. While clever play like setting up traps with certain characters or learning the map layout to quickly flank an enemy can grant an advantage, skilled shooters can negate this by landing headshots, making matches an enjoyable contest between brains and brawn.
Currently though, there's little in terms of modes you won't have experienced before. There's six match types at launch, set between three different playlists. Brawl has Team Deathmatch - does what it says on the tin - and Trophy Hunt, where you need to vacuum up the tags of downed enemies. Then there's Takeover, which puts the focus on the objective-based Signal Hunt and Area Control - where you capture either static or moving zones and fend off the enemy. Finally, there's Rivalry, which is a no-respawn playlist for Cargo Run (take a device, plant it, and secure the area) and Clash Point (control one area or eliminate the rival team).
There's a lingering disappointment to the paucity of match types on offer; after all, there are only so many times I can beg my teammates to head to B instead of dying at A. Add on the fact that you're funneled into playlists rather than being able to mix-and-match or even just hit a quick play option and it feels a little light for the long run. But this familiar framework is offset by some bolder choices developer Firewalk makes when it comes to how you utilize its cast of characters that hint at how Concord can stay in your multiplayer rotation.
Release date: August 23, 2024
Platform(s): PC, PS5
Developer: Firewalk Studios
Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment
Each round, you pick a Freegunner who belongs to a specific class. If you go for Teo - your classic soldier type to ease in the military shooter players - you're picking a Ranger, a class that has reduced weapon recoil. If you plump for Lark - a space mushroom who's able to plant spores that buff teammates - you're getting a Tactician, a group which boasts quicker reload speeds. So far, so hero shooter. However, the ingenious tweak to the formula is the class system gives permanent buffs every time you switch between a different role.
Let's say you prefer playing as a sniper. If you pick Vale and stay with her, then you'll be dealing with her long reload times and reduced health. However, by starting as our old Tactician buddy Lark, you'll get a permanent faster reloading time buff. If we then swap into Emari, who is an Anchor (increased healing rate), you've suddenly got a far more effective Vale to use later in-game. This would be easy to dismiss as a gimmick if these buffs weren't noticeable, but each character feels extremely different on the battlefield. While Teo feels like you're stepping into a game of Halo, with floaty jumps that enable you to cover ground quickly, playing as the ultra-tank Emari means you will agonizingly plod into danger but absorb a helluva lot more bullets, while the nimble rocket-spewing Roka can triple jump into the air as if Quake never went out of fashion.
Once you get used to this system that naturally incentivizes you to explore the depths of each character, Concord starts to finally offer something more engaging than another average live service shooter. The maps and modes feel overly familiar, sure, but the strategy of creating a squad of heroes who fit how you want to play can make a standard team deathmatch feel much more rewarding as a result.
However, for all of Concord's strong foundations, there is also a peculiar and distracting focus on the lore and characters of the universe. The crux is that your crew of Freegunners have come together on the North Star, each bringing their own baggage in their fight against the Guild and other ships crews who carry out illegal jobs throughout the galaxy. Each week, we'll be treated to a new cutscene that expands on their story, while there's also a Galactic Guide that is overflowing with lore from the planets you fight on to the shipping lanes - yes, really - between them.
If you want to try something a little different in Concord, there are assault course time trials with a global leaderboard to boot. Inspired by the Titanfall 2 gauntlet (obviously, that remains undefeated) these give you a grasp on specific hero's movements and abilities. They're a lovely little addition to get you acclimated to the game.
There's a lot to digest, and that isn't helped by this committing the cardinal storytelling sin of telling instead of showing. There are pages upon pages of lore in the Galactic Guide that aim to give you a greater sense of the galaxy you're fighting in, but end up leaving you with more questions than answers. For instance, if the villainous Guild is such an omni-present threat, why am I only fighting against other Freegunners? In trying to add depth to the world, it only opens up logical inconsistencies that the game keeps reinforcing.
Firewalk has clearly put a lot into creating a universe that sits between the childlike awe of Star Wars and snarky adolescence of Guardians of the Galaxy, but the roster has plenty of characters and little personality. The Galactic Guide tells us more than enough about each Freegunner's personality, but that doesn't translate to what we see in-game . The effect is a universe that hits plenty of well-worn tropes without bringing anything either original or compelling enough to offset it. Because there's so few modes on offer at launch, the sheer volume of lore becomes even more baffling, and while Concord's planned updates can address the things it currently lacks, it's hard to see how they'll improve the universe they're set in.
As of now, the main reason to persist with Concord is the Job Board. Here, you earn new cosmetics and character variants - unique passive abilities that are exclusive to that character. While the cosmetics are your standard battle pass fare - although it must be stressed there are no additional costs for them - the character variants offer something actually worth chasing. The first one is for Teo, which changes his ability from increased mobility after a dodge into increased ammo and munitions. This is a change that fundamentally altered the way I played as Teo, pushing into firefights more aggressively and getting more kills as a result. If variants can continue to offer tangible benefits to long-term players, that's at least a tangible way in which Concord could refocus on the game's strengths and hopefully become the best version of itself.
But this review isn't about what Concord could be, it's about what it is. And right now, it's a multiplayer shooter that has more lore on space trading lanes than it does modes in the game. For all its strong foundations - the genuine difference between characters and the strategic possibilities from its clever class systems - there just simply isn't enough right now to recommend it, especially when the game's characters and setting inspire no strong feelings. Concord doesn't deserve to be a punchline about low player-counts, but it's not offering enough to make it your next multiplayer obsession either.
]]>The ghost with the most returns for this belated sequel to Tim Burton’s 1988 hit comedy-fantasy Beetlejuice. Michael Keaton’s ghoulish bio-exorcist was always ripe for a sequel - and now we have one. The original film’s Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder) is now all grown up, a psychic mediator, and presenter of paranormal show 'Ghost House'. Her manager-boyfriend Rory (Justin Theroux) wants to get married, but she’s more concerned about increasing glimpses of Beetlejuice, who tormented her as a teen.
Things get worse when Lydia’s father Charles dies (via a plane crash-slash-shark attack, delightfully shown via stop-motion animation) and she must return to Winter River, where she grew up, for the funeral. Joining her is Rory as well as mother Delia (Catherine O’Hara) and grouchy teen daughter Astrid (Jenna Ortega). At this point Astrid – who has the hots for local kid Jeremy (Arthur Conti) – learns of Beetlejuice and the fact that if you say his name three times he’ll re-appear…
As for the 'Juice' himself, he’s running scared from Delores (Monica Bellucci), his "pissed" ex-wife who has just reassembled her severed body parts and wants revenge on her former spouse. Having "a mid-afterlife crisis", he’s soon calling upon a reluctant Lydia to help him out.
It’s all a bit scattershot; or as one character puts it, "the afterlife is so random". We get giant sandworms, a subtitled black-and-white film interlude, and Willem Dafoe as an undead actor famed for playing a franchise cop, Frank Hardballer. But one thing’s clear amid the chaos: Burton and Keaton are both having a ball. (Good, too, to see a post-Stranger Things Ryder flourishing.)
There’s also lots to feast on visually - however random - including a 1970s-style all-singing, all-dancing Soul Train, a supernatural locomotive that takes travellers to The Great Beyond. Often it’s the small details that pop, such as Charles’ headstone, designed like a shark fin. The comic-gory special effects are also memorable, not least when Delores sucks the life out of her victims, leaving their skin in a crumpled heap.
Naturally, there are callbacks to the original (Harry Belafonte’s Banana Boat song gets a choral shout-out), although Burton wisely doesn’t overdo the Easter eggs. It’s just a pity that the storytelling sprawls all over the place, with some plotlines (like the Beetlejuice/Delores discord) failing to pay off. But mostly Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is a fun afterlife frolic.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is released in US theaters and UK cinemas on September 6.
For more of what is heading your way soon, check out our guide to the upcoming movies to get on your radar.
]]>Much of the core of the sophomore season's narrative, then, revolves around Charlie Vickers' Lord of the Rings – but not quite as you might expect. Instead, Sauron-Halbrand enters the walls of the elven realm of Eregion after his unmasking and re-invents himself as the pale, wily Annatar, the 'Lord of Gifts', in a ruse to trick Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards) into aiding in his plan to "perfect" Middle-earth and bring it to heel.
While some may be disappointed by the lack of Galadriel in the thrust of the season's narrative in Eregion, it smartly allows the dynamic between Annatar and Celebrimbor to bear fruit. Throughout, the latter's turn from steely-eyed smith to quivering wreck acts as a significant step towards making Sauron one of television's great villains.
Of course, that wouldn't be possible without Edwards' performance. In a season crowded with stellar work – Morfydd Clark's nuanced Galadriel and the eminently affable pairing of Prince Durin (Owain Arthur) and Disa (Sophia Nomvete) to name but a few – the Celebrimbor actor still manages to stand out from the pack with his vice-like grip on the spectrum of emotions that the smith exhibits – from triumph to tragedy.
Galadriel may be removed from Sauron's orbit for the majority of the season, but she has considerable impact elsewhere. As the elves struggle on how best to deal with Sauron, Clark's elven commander eventually finds herself bumping into one of the second season's biggest improvements: Adar.
Adar is a perfect example of how the second season tops the first. Instead of going bigger and better, showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay wisely sidestep most of the spectacle, instead choosing to dig more into the emotional depth of its characters – often by cornering them into seemingly unwinnable situations.
While Joseph Mawles' Adar in the first season was adept enough, the recast Sam Hazeldine steps into the role as the orc leader with aplomb, commanding attention and delivering each line with the sort of weight and gravitas that turns what could have been a one-note antagonist into something far more rich and rewarding.
The fact it all culminates in an epic multi-episode battle is an extra bonus. It's not the Battle of Helm's Deep – partly due to chunks of the set-piece feeling decidedly too clean for an all-out war – but it harkens back to the days of Game of Thrones' golden years with how it effortlessly stitches together the adrenaline of its action with well-earned and emotional character beats.
If Galadriel and Adar's story were balanced alongside Celebrimbor and Annatar, The Rings of Power season 2 would be a near-guarantee to be crowned the best show of 2024. Unfortunately, there's just too much else to juggle – even though almost all of it is good-to-great.
Deep breath now: the new season contains Galadriel and the elves' struggle, complete with the fresh counsel of the "wisest" elf Cirdan (Ben Daniels); Celebrimbor and Annatar at Eregion; Durin and the dwarves' changing power dynamics in Khazad-dum; Adar and the orcs' march across Middle-earth; Pharazon's rise in Numenor; Arondir and Theo's adventures; The Stranger and Nori's trek across the new desert region of Rhun and, finally, the fledgling partnership between stranded Isildur and newcomer Estrid (Nia Towle).
It's just too much for eight episodes. A 10-episode run could have afforded some of the more undercooked plots time and space to breathe. Frustratingly, it's an issue that shows still haven't been able to crack in the age of streaming.
At multiple points during the season, characters are asked – in the parlance of Middle-earth – to "speak plain". To put it plainly here, The Rings of Power occasionally spends too much time with middling storylines and not enough time with its more robust plots.
Those familiar with Tolkien's works, for example, will be acutely aware of the future importance of Numenor. Despite that, viewers may not be so enamored with its glacially paced political intrigue that's so far removed – both spatially and tonally – from the meat of the second season's overarching story.
Its one gripping loose thread left over from the first season – that of Miriel shorn of her sight and with an ever-shaky grip on her rule – also fails to ignite, with the character feeling equal parts underexplored and underutilized. There's certainly a case to be made for Numenor to have skipped the season entirely and returned in Year Three.
But that's not the case of all tales away from Eregion. With his bright yellow boots and love for ditties, the god-like Tom Bombadil is a paradoxical presence in Middle-earth, one frequently at odds with the stories and darker tone around him. I assumed his role in any Lord of the Rings adaptation would be almost impossible to get right. I couldn't have been more wrong.
Mercifully, The Rings of Power's 'Old Tom' is a surprise triumph as Rory Kinnear's homely, quaint hermit not only provides plenty of curiosity himself, but also supercharges The Stranger's storyline with a faintly twee blend of mystery, magic, and a sprinkling of exposition as he guides The Stranger towards his truth.
The Stranger's story, complete with the looming shadow of Ciaran Hinds' mysterious Dark Wizard, is ultimately one of the big successes of the season because – unlike the majority of the narratives within – it's a complete, satisfying arc that doesn't rely on foreknowledge of Tolkien or belief that the showrunners will stick the landing. And, yes, we discover The Stranger's name. That helps too.
Does The Rings of Power season 2 fire on all cylinders? Not quite. Much like Tolkien's work, the Prime Video series is knotty, dense, and sometimes contradictory. Yet, somehow, it emerges from the other side with the feeling of a job supremely well done, and accomplishes the unenviable task of fully capturing the grand tapestry of Middle-earth and its peoples. That's all in spite of a Sauron-esque wandering eye approach to its narrative structure almost undoing its masterful work.
Each character feels as substantial and emotionally complex as any other on television, while the second season delivers on the promise of its first year with riotous action, a deliciously evil villain, and one of the best ensemble casts assembled in recent times. Despite feeling fit to burst, it's a genuine pleasure to return to Middle-earth again.
The first three episodes of The Rings of Power season 2 are streaming on Prime Video from August 29, with new episodes to follow weekly. For more, check out The Rings of Power season 2 release schedule.
]]>The Backbone controller was perhaps one of my favorite pieces of tech that I have purchased in the last few years, and I think a lot of people would agree with me as it’s considered one of the best mobile controllers for a reason. Having said that, I think most people would agree that it is starting to show its age these days, especially since so many competitors have now entered the scene to steal a share of its market.
One of those hungry rivals is the Scuf Nomad. A name you are no doubt familiar with, Scuf has finally entered the mobile controller landscape and has done so with both an impressive lineup of features and a competitive entry price, sitting at just $99/£89 - exactly the same price as the Backbone One.
One of my biggest worries when using any mobile controller, Backbone included, is that my hand will cramp mid-playthrough because of the smaller form factor. We’ve all been there, almost securing that game-winning kill on Call of Duty Mobile and then your hand decides not to cooperate and send spasms shooting up your arm - no? Just me making excuses?
Thankfully, I’ve never experienced this with the Scuf Nomad. It feels much, much larger than both the Backbone One and the GameSir X4 Aileron - feeling more comparable to the GameSir G8 Galileo. The grips of the controller feel perfectly contoured to your hands, resting naturally in the palms without feeling intrusive, in large parts thanks to the thicker handles on the base of the device which allows more of a grip. I think this is accentuated by the fact that the thumbsticks on the Scuf Nomad are symmetrical, with their placement being at the top of the device rather than the usual asymmetrical layout you’d find on most mobile controllers.
Speaking of the thumbsticks, unlike the Backbone One you’ll find full-sized sticks on the Scuf Nomad. Not only that, they utilize hall-effect technology to counter long-term stick drift, which is always appreciated - this is something you’d really expect in the best PC controllers, so it’s a welcome bonus in a more portable option. The sticks have a concave design which makes it super comfortable for your thumbs to rest on them - this can be changed via alternative thumbstick caps which allow you to change to a convex design, similar to the PlayStation 3’s Dualshock 3. Grip-wise, I have nothing to complain about here. The material that the sticks are made from is almost rubber-like which sticks to your thumb nicely but never feels tacky, and I never found myself losing my grip throughout my extensive use of the Nomad.
At the rear of the controller, you’ll find two additional back buttons which are programmable via the Scuf Nomad mobile app. Alongside this, you have the standard shoulder buttons and triggers, along with the classic Xbox layout face buttons and a disc-shaped d-pad similar to the Xbox Series line of controllers.
Scuf has specifically made this controller for the iPhone, which is surprising due to the fact that it connects exclusively via Bluetooth. You’ll find no physical connector on the Scuf Nomad aside from the USB-C port at the base of the controller which charges the device. This unfortunately means no pass-through charging, so make sure your iPhone is fully charged before those long gaming sessions.
Like most of the best mobile controllers, the Scuf Nomad has a classic spine that stretches to allow your phone to be placed in the middle and clamped into place. I was very impressed by the build quality of the Scuf Nomad. I always feel that the Backbone One is very flimsy and could break if stretched too far, which I never find with the Nomad.
The buttons have a nice feel to them when pressed and are super silent so you don’t have to worry about annoying whoever you are sitting next to on those long train journeys when your buttons keep clicking non-stop - again, just me?
Coming with every Scuf Nomad controller for free is the Scuf Nomad Mobile app. This doesn’t need a subscription and allows you to customize your Nomad in a variety of ways. This includes the dead zones on your thumbsticks and triggers and allows you to remap almost every button on the controller including the extra rear buttons. I really appreciate the fact that the app is free, this is a nice change of pace compared to the Backbone which requires you to pay to make the most of it. Similar to the Backbone app it acts as a hub to enter games and other apps such as PlayStation Remote Play and Apple Arcade.
One of the greatest features that I think will often get overlooked is the ability to use this controller without removing your ridiculously expensive iPhone from its protective case. This was a feature I didn’t know how much I actually needed or wanted. It saves mere seconds of time but it’s just so much nicer not to have to remove it every time I fancied jumping into Hades for five minutes on my lunch break.
Honestly, I can sum up the performance in a simple sentence: I have not once considered picking up the Backbone One since the Scuf Nomad arrived. It just outperforms it in every way. Not just the Backbone, but I found it even outperformed the Android-only GameSir X4 Aileron too, and I awarded that a commendable 4.5/5.
As I previously mentioned, the Nomad features full-sized thumbsticks in a symmetrical layout, more akin to the Steam Deck OLED, or the CRKD Nitro Deck+ than your usual mobile controller. This simple change made it a much more pleasurable experience which allowed me to use the controller for much longer gaming sessions, I can’t recall ever actually experiencing cramps during my time with the Scuf Nomad. However, admittedly, I would have liked a way to increase the tension of the thumbsticks. They are a little on the loose side for my liking and there is no way of changing this so I was forced to adapt. I managed to and I no longer feel like it’s an issue, but it’s worth noting - perhaps this will be remedied on Scuf’s next foray into the mobile market.
The face buttons sitting underneath the thumbstick took some getting used to, especially considering they are much smaller than your usual controller buttons. Like the loose thumbsticks, I did manage to get used to them fairly quickly, but it is something to be aware of. For my first few hours playing Call of Duty Mobile I did find I’d occasionally be thrown off and press the wrong button due to their unfamiliar location and size. Like I said, I quickly adapted to this and now feel very comfortable using them but it was a bit of a shock to the muscle memory.
However, the size and location of them did really help in the long run when playing long gaming sessions as it never felt uncomfortable to use and meant I wasn’t stretching my right thumb too much - I often mapped the face button functions to the back paddles anyway and this both helped with the size issue and allowed a more relaxed positioning of my hands.
Speaking of those back buttons, they are placed perfectly where your middle fingers will naturally find them. These were perhaps the most comfortable back buttons I’ve used on any controller to date, particularly mobile controllers. They can be a little stiff to press but I really enjoyed that aspect of them as I never found myself accidentally pressing them in high-stress situations in games - this is something I have found occasionally happens when using Xbox controllers such as the GameSir Kaleid. Mapping them couldn’t be easier either since it’s done via the aforementioned app. Something I really appreciate about it though is you can set profiles and assign them to certain games. For example in Call of Duty, I had them mapped to my reload and crouch buttons, but as soon as I switched over to WWE 2K24 on PS Remote Play they were mapped to my reversal and finisher buttons - this quality of life addition is highly appreciated.
If you were paying attention earlier you’ll have noticed I said this was a Bluetooth-only device for iPhone. Immediately upon hearing that when Scuf announced it, alarm bells rang in my mind. Cloud gaming, one of the primary reasons to use mobile controllers, can have enough latency already that you don’t want Bluetooth adding even more to it. Well, I’m happy to admit I was wrong to worry. I’m not entirely sure how they did it but I didn’t experience a single bout of latency on the controller end throughout my 30+ hours using the Scuf Nomad across multiple games and services. I really didn’t give it an easy time either as I tried every racing game I could - often the genre of game that latency rears its ugly head in - including Forza Horizon 5 on Xbox Cloud Gaming and The Crew Motorfest on Amazon Luna, but there wasn’t a single sign of struggle. It was the same case when I jumped into first-person shooters like Call of Duty Modern Warfare III via PS Remote Play.
I almost feel bad for the Backbone. Like I said, I haven’t considered picking it up since the Scuf Nomad arrived and I doubt that will change any time soon. I used to use The Backbone every single day and carried it with me almost everywhere I went but now it’s been replaced by a much cooler, more feature-rich controller in the Scuf Nomad. The experience of using it is so good that I found myself choosing to play games remotely and via streaming using the Nomad way more than I expected, even with my PS5 and Xbox sitting right there packed full of games.
If you are looking for one of the best mobile controllers on the market then you can’t really go wrong with the Scuf Nomad. It offers a console-controller-like experience but in a portable package, along with a competitive price point. Symmetrical sticks make this unique in a market filled with offset rivals. Genuinely, if you prefer this style then it’s undoubtedly the best choice for you. I’m not exaggerating when I say I doubt I will go back to the Backbone controller or the GamerSir X4 Aileron now. The Scuf Nomad was such a pleasure to use that I canceled my Backbone subscription - I knew I wouldn’t need it again.
The biggest issue with the Scuf Nomad is the lack of support for Android. It actually baffles me that for a controller that is Bluetooth only, it lacks the ability to be used on a wider range of devices. It feels like Scuf is leaving money on the table there, but maybe a bespoke model will come out in the future.
However, Scuf’s business decisions are none of my concern. My concern is finding the best way to play my games on the go and if you have an iPhone then it doesn’t get much better than the Scuf Nomad.
I used the Scuf Nomad for around a month and used it as my primary way to play games, both at home and on the go, for about a week and a half of that time period. Using my iPhone 14 Pro Max I played through the first 7 hours of Watch_Dogs 2 on Amazon Luna, around 6 hours of Marvel’s Midnight Suns via Nvidia GeForce NOW and PS Remote Play, and multiple testing sessions on racing games Forza Horizon 5 and The Crew Motorfest both via cloud gaming services. Natively I played Call of Duty Mobile for more hours than I can actually count or keep track of and far too many unsuccessful runs in Hades.
Throughout my testing of the Scuf Nomad, I would compare it directly with the Backbone One controller as this is the market leader and is considered one of the best mobile controllers.
For more on how we test the latest controllers, check out our full hardware policy.
Hunting for the perfect gamepad? Check out the best PS5 controllers, the best Xbox Series X controllers, and the best joysticks.
]]>But what a view. A new vista is before me of a land perpetually in harvest. Rolling fields of amber grain and tiny farmhouses dot the land. A waypoint is on the horizon, the next stop en route to the tree. I summon my mount – a large wolf this guy I met a couple of hours ago gave me for some reason – and set out across the land. It takes a few seconds to summon, and to dismount, and the animation stutters whenever I do, so I'm committed to riding all the way over in the minute or two it will take to reach the horizon; that gorgeous view, a beautifully sculpted 3D world that feels so, so empty.
I pass a swarm of hornets armed with spears and monstrous jack-o'-lanterns, but they don't do anything. Perhaps afraid of the dogs, I guess. I could stop. Hold X. Dismount. Basic attack to initiate combat. Only then use combos or magic. But, listen . . . they're like two levels higher than me, which means they'll take about 20 seconds to beat instead of 10, and the experience points wouldn't do anything to really close that gap anyways, so I might as well keep riding until I trigger the next cutscene and repeat all this in the following area.
Release date: August 29, 2024
Platform(s): PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X
Developer: Ouka Studios
Publisher: Square Enix
Released in 2006, the last mainline Mana game was developed while I was still in elementary school. Any expectations I had going in were hearsay of the franchise's reputation from its palace on all-time lists, and perhaps much of my disappointment comes from how ARPGs of the past decade have iterated while Visions of Mana's design choices feels stuck on the PS2. But I really gave it a go. I did the side quests, explored each region, but I just kept triggering cutscenes every few yards and only found rudimentary platforming challenges hidden around its world. After 10 hours I gave up on the game actually opening up, on finding any meaningful writing or sense of place.
Visions of Mana is an action RPG with little desire to be unique. What makes it stand out is its series of bewildering design choices and faulty execution that feels as janky as an affectionately remembered PS2 RPG, but with a big budget, prestige presentation and the name of one of the most memorable franchises in RPG history attached to it.
It shockingly begins in a small town as a chosen hero boy, Val, sets out on a quest with his girlfriend, Hinna, to bring together the maidens of each region's elemental magic, who must regularly sacrifice themselves to the spirit tree to maintain the vitality of their world. What nuance there is to its generic story I can't really get into here, but all the subversion is as predictable as you expect it to be at hour one.
The actual experience of playing the early game is a combo of triggering cutscenes every 10 seconds and zooming through areas of different biomes faster than it takes to actually remember any of their names. Each is a gorgeous, empty theme park, more like the requisite sand, water, and grass levels of a Mario or Kirby game rather than a fantasy world people live in. There are NPC side characters in towns and out in the world, but none of them stand out. They only say one-liners directed at no one in particular while their quests are rote fetches for the likes of an ingredient, a lost item, or a nuisance monster.
The supporting and main cast do boast some unique character designs, but each feels reducible to a few sentences of description. My party doesn't really have an arc to follow save for the chosen boy at the middle of it all. And their dialogue, all well acted in what must have been an expensive production, is just empty plot steps.
Outside of Val, the most complicated member of the party is Morley, an angsty cat boy voiced delectably by Kaiji Tang. Val, Hinna, and another Alm find him in the ruins of his home, which met a terrible fate while he was a child. Morley has spent years brooding in the blizzard ravaging the region trying to bring everyone back, and the party helps teach him that he ultimately needs to accept there is no rewinding time. Which is all great but takes less than an hour to watch unfold and from the moment he actually joins your party, his emotional journey is completed.
It's shockingly brief, and certainly out of step with recent peers. Trails Through Daybreak, for example, has a similar structure around recruiting party members, but each of its cast gets at least five hours of a chapter devoted to them joining your team and dozens more hours of characterization afterwards. Visions of Mana zooms through its plot beats and its world too fast to spend any time finding each character's, well, character.
The action part of the RPG is just as shallow. Each character can change classes to use different elements, which offer different spells and weapons. Most of combat is spent using weapons rather than magic, and while fans, spears, and combat boots do offer variety, the two-button combos get old fast. Elemental super abilities provide some unique interaction — wind keeps monsters in place with a tornado, water surrounds foes in bubbles that deal extra damage, fire rockets you into foes — but that's all they really do. Once you get the controls down and realize each character has a linear upgrade path for each of their elemental classes, Visions of Mana starts to feel surprisingly small in scope.
These systems don't add up to anything, let alone synergize. For all the buttons, slots, and classes I can fuss with, there's nothing that brings them together. Some classes are more tanky, offensive, or supportive, so composition is some consideration, but not a huge one given the (lack of) difficulty. Some element's abilities may also play off each other powerfully, like combining the Moon Elemental's ability to slow down enemies in range, leaving them vulnerable to offensive moves like the Fire Elemental's rocket. But these aren't combos by any means, and there's no depth like in Xenoblade Chronicles 2's chain attack system, which incentivized using different elemental attacks as a way to build up to potentially massive damage if followed up on properly over the course of longer, harder battles.
But the camera is actually the biggest challenge in Visions of Mana. Targeting is unreliable and the auto camera swings wildly around the action. While it's neat that I can swap between my three active party members in combat, other characters are often off screen so I wouldn't know if I should jump to them. The AI controlling them will use their special abilities, and since there's no bigger play I have to build up to over a battle, there's little point to swap. It also doesn't help that the input just feels unresponsive.
Worst of all, after getting some mid-game spells, I quickly found the screen would get too cluttered to see my party or enemies, and with no optional targeting lines or much color coding going on, combat choreography is unintelligible. While not an easy challenge to design around, we've previously seen Monolith Soft pull it off with upwards of six swappable party members within Xenoblade Chronicles 3 combat (in less than HD resolution, no less).
Visions of Mana disappoints in a thousand other much smaller ways. Its cutscenes lack establishing shots, time passes at confounding intervals between scenes, mounting animations are tedious and you can't dismount right into combat, item menus get stuck open, and one time a character said she needed to get some fresh air while she was standing outside in a desert.
Playing Visions of Mana is like solving a loose Rubik's cube, trying to cut tape with dull scissors, or riding a bike with a few broken spokes. It works, but it's off-kilter in an unintuitive way. It's amazing how many games are able to pull off the illusion of something cohesive and smooth, teetering on the edge of becoming too janky to imitate fiction. It's a shame Visions of Mana isn't one of them.
]]>Instead, this new version from director Rupert Sanders (Snow White and the Huntsman) leans into the origins of the story’s ill-fated lovers. Bill Skarsgård’s Eric is a recovering addict who meets FKA Twigs’ Shelly in a rehabilitation centre, before the pair fall madly in love.
At first, it works well – the duo has chemistry, and Skarsgård, in particular, brings both action-hero gravitas and vulnerability to the role of the eyeliner-sporting avenger. But they're ultimately let down by cringey dialogue. Shelly bears the brunt of this, including one bizarre moment when she croons to her love while contemplating death, “Do you think angsty teens will build little shrines to us?”
The story does eventually veer into familiar territory when Eric is brought back from the dead to avenge his lost love after they’re both brutally murdered. It’s here that The Crow finally takes flight, along with its gothic superhero. Unlikely character choices like the Suicide Squad-era Joker tattoos make a bit more sense in this context, and there are moments of grandeur as Eric stalks through New York City on a path of vengeance, leather coat blowing behind him.
An ultra-violent opera killing spree gives Skarsgård the action role he skirted in John Wick 4 too, as blood, arias, and dark eyeliner make a surprising synergy. Yet, it’s all over too quickly – just as The Crow is really spreading its wings, it abruptly ends, thanks to a rushed conclusion involving Danny Huston’s incongruously demonic Vincent Roeg. It's all enough to make you wonder if this is a flight that should have stayed grounded.
The Crow is in US theaters and UK cinemas now.
For more upcoming movies, check out our guides to upcoming horror movies and 2024 movie release dates.
]]>Star Wars Outlaws does its best to render this fantasy into reality, but developer Massive Entertainment has misinterpreted elements of its appeal through an ailing contextual stealth system, unkind progression checkpointing, and frequently rigid objective parameters. Critical missions teeter between fantastical and frustration as a result, drawing attention from the litany of successes achieved elsewhere in the experience.
Release date: August 30, 2024
Platform(s): PC, PS5, Xbox Series X
Developer: Massive Entertainment
Publisher: Ubisoft
Don't get caught and don't raise alarms. Don't do this, and definitely don't do that. When Massive is dictating the pace of play the fantasy falls apart. Star Wars Outlaws doesn't appropriately communicate detection and visibility, not enough to support stealth as such a principal focus of the critical path. Main missions leave little room for you to exercise your own judgment, instead insisting that you infiltrate ventilation systems of Imperial starships and syndicate outposts. Get caught, start over at the cost of your patience and credits.
It's a shame, because if Han Solo and Lando Calrissian have taught me anything it's that figuring out what to do once you do get into trouble is all a part of the game for a scoundrel. And like any good scoundrel, you'll feel a desire to go quiet until it's time to go loud, no matter the situation. You'll want to try and charm your way past enemy personnel, dress up in ill-fitting costumes to avoid detection, and have the space to talk your way out of (and into) trouble. What we have here instead is a whole lot of vents, and an annoying lockpicking minigame to access them. Star Wars Outlaws exists in this weird space as a result; it's one of the best Star Wars games on the strength of its sense of place, but a bad stealth experience; understanding what you value more will ultimately tip you towards or away from this adventure.
Kay Vess is a scoundrel in search of a quieter life. Star Wars Outlaws tracks the pursuit of that dream, and the dark paths that wait for those who blindly follow their intuition. An earned death mark is a death sentence, pushing Vess out of the only home she's ever known and into exotic new lands – Akiva, Kijimi, Tatooine, and Toshara. For planets like Kijimi and Tatooine, you're given freedom to explore wide environments that have always existed on the periphery of a camera lens; and in the case of Toshara, Massive demonstrates that it's more than capable of making additive contributions to the wider Star Wars universe.
These planets are microcosmic open worlds – lush, sprawling landscapes with pockets of civilization, challenges, and collectibles to encounter – that connect via stretches of explorable galaxy; a little drab, but free-flight is thrilling as Tie-Fighters screech overhead. Massive throws out the playbook honed by Assassin's Creed and Far Cry to great effect, leaving you free to wander by foot, by speeder, or by ship without any reliance on crow's nest cartography to progress across landscapes. Your journal fills with optional tasks as you accept contracts, stumble across locations, and overhear snippets of conversation whilst walking through beautifully-constructed cities.
Star Wars Outlaws is at its best when it leaves you well enough alone to soak in the atmosphere of these locales, authentically capturing the iconic visual aesthetic and terse tension inherent to populations externalizing the events of The Empire Strikes Back. Syndicates wrestle for control over territories, taking advantage of Imperial forces turning their attention to a resurgent Rebel Alliance. The Hutt Cartel is extorting moisture farmers on Tatooine, maybe you can help. The Pyke Syndicate is fixing Sabacc tournaments, perhaps you want in on that action. Crimson Dawn is a shadow in the corner of every cantina, lurking close as you lean at a bar watching a band play live on a stage in the back.
Building and breaking uneasy relationships with syndicates is an area where Star Wars Outlaws shines. As your reputation grows, a light system of choice and consequence underpins every decision you make. This system works because of its simplicity; it's ever-present but never a burden, a smart way to reflect the dire circumstance Vess must navigate as she assembles a crew capable of pulling off an impossible heist.
Reputation management is authentic and organic, which is also true of character customization and progression. Experts discovered in your travels help refine your skill-set over time – Massive's decision to divest from funneling experience points through skill trees is liberating. Altering the efficiency of your blaster or the speed of your cruiser is similarly organic, with Vess bartering over parts to make steady improvements. The effect of these progressive design decisions means that you really do feel a part of a wider world, rather than a function of it.
When Star Wars Outlaws isn't locking you into forced stealth scenarios, it's far snappier – combat is chaotic. A blaster may be considered an inelegant weapon for a more uncivilized age but it's a lot of fun to wield, sharp and punchy. Cycling through Plasma, Ion, and Power modules is easy enough, introducing some flexibility in your approach to crowd control. Your companion, Nix, is easily controlled too, giving you scope to distract or dispatch enemies as you focus your attention elsewhere. Adrenaline Rush fills over time as plasma bolts fizz through the air around you, letting you mark multiple aggressors and dispatch them with cinematic ease. It's in these moments that you remember Star Wars has plenty of potency when there isn't a lightsaber in sight.
Star Wars Outlaws has immaculate vibes, capturing the feel of existing in the Star Wars universe perhaps better than anything before it. Massive does a wonderful job recreating the '70s-inspired, lived-in style which defined the original trilogy; exterior and interior environments look the part, the atmosphere brought to life with authentic VFX and SFX, and a phenomenal performance from actor Humberly Gonzalez as Kay Vess acts as a suitable grounding into the adventure – doing enough to draw attention away from some surprisingly mediocre character models and animations which blight the supporting cast.
All told, Star Wars Outlaws is a compact open-world adventure that often succeeds in spite of itself. The sort of video game that doesn't hide its influences, opting instead to wield them to blunt any sharp edges that may turn even the most casual player away from enjoying a Star Wars adventure. Environment navigation has echoes of Uncharted, albeit without the polish typically associated with a Naughty Dog production. The way side stories unfurl through the open worlds has shades of Red Dead Redemption, although Massive never commits to intricate systemic design as a catalyst. The easy, atmospheric vibes remind me of Ghost of Tsushima. Gears of War's 'perfect reload' dictates combat flow, the way Vess contextually shifts around cover brings about memories of Quantum Break, and the Adrenaline Rush mechanic is a great revival of Splinter Cell's beloved Mark and Execute. A lot of different pieces assemble to show a Star Wars-themed picture.
But what I was reminded of the most while playing Star Wars Outlaws was the experience of sitting down with Mass Effect for the first time in 2007. A game that, despite its poor performance and flawed combat, really ignited the imagination. It wasn't until I took my first steps onto the Citadel with Commander Shepard that I realized I had been waiting all my life for Battlestar Galactica, Firefly, Star Trek to be made interactive – for an RPG to so convincingly satisfy the fantasy of stepping into a world that was alien to my own. I've sacrificed my time to Star Wars: Galaxies and The Old Republic, fallen in love with the 'Jedi' games in all their forms, and played countless other games set in this franchise. But it's Star Wars Outlaws that truly made me feel a part of this universe for the very first time, and that has to count for something – even if I hope to never see the inside of another Imperial ventilation system in my lifetime.