What Do the Snakes Mean in The White Lotus Season 3?

Rick put it best in the third episode of The White Lotus Season 3, The Meaning of Dreams. Snakes are seen as evil, or at the very least beings that do bad things. The entire snake show sequence in that episode also makes it abundantly clear: snakes need to be locked up, or you could risk getting poisoned by them.

Simply put, they’re bad news, and you should stay away from them. So in the context of the show, if we see someone associated with that snake imagery, we can probably safely assume that they’re an antagonist of some sort, or that they’re up to no good.

Chelsea and the Snake Choker

In the second episode, titled Special Treatments, we see that the hotel lobby store gets robbed. Chelsea pays special attention to a beautiful, gold snake choker, and that eventually gets taken by the robbers.

Why was Chelsea drawn to the snake choker, though? It’s pretty, yes, but I think a more likely connection that the show wants you to make is that she’s here with Rick, who’s seen as a snake himself. She’s fascinated by the imagery of the snake choker, and it’s meant to represent her relationship with Rick.

Rick and the Snake Show

Most prominently, however, is the fact that Rick releases all of the snakes in the shop when he’s high on weed. He sees himself as a snake, as someone who does bad things. However, he also believes that even evil people deserve a chance. Maybe getting locked up is what’s making these people be evil. In a desperate move, he frees the snakes. Rick sees himself as a bad person, but he also longs for acceptance.

That comes with consequences, though, as Chelsea gets bitten by a snake in that same scene. It suggests that if Chelsea hangs around Rick for too long, she could end up getting herself hurt. In trying to reconcile the sides of him that are evil and want longing, Rick ends up hurting the people closest to him.

Valentin’s Friends

Now I’m sure this will get confirmed in the next couple episodes, but Valentin’s friends are so damn sus and they’re probably the ones who robbed the store in the first place and stole that snake choker. Think about it. Valentin was talking to Gaitok when the robbers drove through. Could he have been in on the scheme?

Not only do these friends look shady as hell, but guess what? One of them even has a freaking snake tattoo. The show is just beating us over the head with the whole “snakes are bad” message at this point.

Also consider the fact that Valentin has been putting Jaclyn, Kate, and Laurie in these silly situations to make fun of them, and you kinda get the sense that Valentin isn’t a fan of these women either. Who would be? They’re obnoxious foreigners who literally just called Valentin their butler and dragged him out of his workplace while he was working. So what’s the next step? Maybe Valentin wants his snake friends to charm them, and then pull some sort of scam on them. That’s certainly in the realm of possibility.

So there you have it. With the exception of Rick, who still very much has a good shot at redemption, snakes are bad news in The White Lotus Season 3. Keep an eye out for them going forward. I’m sure there’s still plenty of foreboding snake imagery to come.

As the trailer shows off the various NPCs you’ll interact with in Pokemon Legends: Z-A’s more modernized Lumiose City, one of the characters that was given a segment was AZ, an old man with a Floette. For anyone who’s played Pokemon X or Y, it should be immediately evident who this is. AZ was arguably one of the most important characters in that game, and it was frustrating how little Gen VI utilized him. Seeing him pop up in Z-A not only makes a whole lot of sense, but it gives the series a chance to finally fill some of the glaring holes in Gen VI’s story.

If you have never played X or Y, AZ was a towering and enigmatic man who only appeared in a handful of moments. We knew very little about him, as most of the history surrounding him was kept in supplemental texts that only tangentially referenced him. For most Pokemon characters, that’s nothing too special. A lot of characters within the world of Pokemon don’t get a lot of development, and even then, most of it isn’t essential. Yet for some reason, Game Freak decided to make AZ one of the most important characters not just in the game, but in all of Pokemon.

In the lore of the Kalos region, 3,000 years ago — well before Pokemon Legends: Z-A and Pokemon X & Y — a war raged between two neighboring kingdoms. AZ was the king of one of them and he and his soldiers rounded up Pokemon to be used as tools to aid humans in the war. When his beloved Floette died in the conflict, in despair, he built a weapon powered by Pokemon lifeforce to attempt to revive his companion, only to instead use the weapon to end the war. This action resulted in the loss of countless lives, both human and Pokemon. In grief, AZ wandered the lands trying to atone for his actions, which leads to the events of X & Y. After a final fight against your protagonist, his Floette, who gained eternal life due to the activation of the ultimate weapon, returns to him and forgives him of his sins. 

There’s a lot to unpack with that story, but that’s kind of the point. For such a deep and world-shaking series of events, none of the Gen VI games, including the Gen III remakes Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire did anything with this. So many unanswered questions lingered, like the events of the war, the cause and nature of AZ’s immortality, and just what exactly he’d been up to for 3,000 years. For a generation that featured some of the weakest narrative elements, like the embarrassing motivation of Team Flare and the absolute nothingburgers that were your rivals, having such a richly detailed and complex character just shoved into the background was unbelievably aggravating. Plus, for all of the importance AZ had in the events of the region, you only meet him a total of three times — once on Route 13, another in Team Flare’s hideout, and then at the finale where he just… appears.

I know that Pokemon isn’t exactly a series known for its complex plot, but when it wants to have a story, it can pull out a decent one. The example that immediately comes to mind is N’s arc from Gen V, which spends the entire game fleshing out the character’s philosophy and how the members of Team Plasma have intentionally elevated him into a messianic figure. Then there’s the Aether Foundation in Pokemon Sun & Moon, which was fascinating because of the way it explores the family dynamics between Lusamine and her children. Honestly, the story is usually the last thing I care about in a Pokemon game, but when a story is good, it helps to elevate the rest of the adventure — and Pokemon Legends: Z-A can and should have a good story. 

So with AZ’s return, I’m excited to see what Pokemon Legends: Z-A can do with him. He’s operating a hotel that will serve as a main base of sorts, so will he serve as a mentor to the player? Will he be drawn more into the events of the plot? Will we get to see more of this ancient war that broke out thousands of years ago? What about his Floette? It was such an important Pokemon in the lore of Kalos, it’d be cool to see how a Pokemon that’s literally immortal interacts with modern-day society.

Is it likely that any of that will happen? Probably not. Game Freak, now more than ever, seems very averse to rocking the boat. They would rather keep the status quo and only make incremental changes to the franchise, and having a plot that could radically alter the lore of Pokemon may be a bit too extreme for them. It’s very probable that Z-A will just be more of the same milquetoast Pokemon fluff. Still, it’s nice to think that Pokemon Legends: Z-A can finally give Gen VI the proper justice its most fascinating character deserves.

In Episode 3, aptly titled “The Meaning of Dreams,” we got a lot of tsunami talk. It might just seem like flavor, an attempt to add color and context to the show’s Thailand setting, but after Episode 3, I’m pretty sure they’re meant to be taken as warning signs that something big’s about to happen.

The Tsunami as a Warning

At the end of Episode 2, Tim watches his family walk into their suite while Lochy tells them about the story of a girl who ran around warning everyone about a tsunami that was about to hit Thailand. This anecdote is actually a real life story about Tilly Smith, who ran around Mai Khao beach to warn everyone about a tsunami just minutes before it hit. She ended up saving about a hundred lives that day.

So it seems only appropriate that Episode 3 should open with an eerie dream that Victoria has of an incoming tsunami that’s about to destroy the Ratliff house. The dream opens with Victoria standing on the beach. She looks across from her to see Lochy sitting next to the two ladyboys that we saw serving the family in Episode 2. Lochy tells her that this is what the ocean looks like just before a tsunami.

The ladyboys then drape Victoria in a towel, and she walks into the ocean as a tsunami comes crashing towards her.

What Does the Tsunami Mean in The White Lotus?

This is going to sound painfully obvious, but the tsunami is clearly an omen, a premonition of something bad to come. But what exactly is it warning us about?

The tsunami rushing towards Victoria and the Ratliff house means that something is about to destroy this family. The first obvious interpretation is that Tim’s involvement with bribery and money laundering is going to ruin his family. Their company will be taken away, they’ll probably lose all their money, and with that, everything that’s holding this family together.

Why did Lochy show up in the dream, and not the other kids, though? What was the significance of the ladyboys? From the very first episode, I guessed that Lochy might be closeted and part of his arc probably involves him coming out as gay to his family. His fascination with the ladyboys and not-so-subtle signs of checking out his own brother and other male tourists around the resort feed into this theory.

But maybe it goes deeper than that? This entire time, Lochy’s been telling us he has a choice to make. What if Lochy isn’t actually gay, but is questioning his gender identity instead? That would also explain his “female side” coming through during his posture correction session. It would also explain the ladyboys being present with him during the dream.

Maybe the thing that “destroys” the family isn’t so straightforward as Tim’s crimes. Maybe the revelation that Lochy doesn’t identify as male is what completely changes the Ratliff family dynamic and affects how the family sees him. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Lochy’s the one who’s been obsessing over tsunami videos and showing them to his parents.

The tsunami could very well be pointing towards a bigger disaster heading towards the entire resort too, of course. After all, the opening credits themselves depict a large ocean wave crashing down on a ship, with people scrambling to safety, getting eaten by animals, or just trying to pretend the tsunami isn’t happening at all.

The Ratliffs may be a microcosm of everything that’s going on in the bigger picture of the resort, but we can’t forget about the threat of that looming disaster that got teased in the very first episode either.

The White Lotus is now available for streaming on HBO Max.

This season, it’s Saxon Ratliff making all sorts of inappropriate comments about his sister to his brother, and just being a general douche. When you look past all of Saxon’s ick, however, it becomes clear that he has an enabler: his own mother. And that’s what episode 2 of The White Lotus Season 3 shows us.

Last week, I went over the very strange dynamics of the Ratliff kids. Victoria Ratliff was really just a footnote — the kooky mom who’s, for some reason, always drugged up and may very well be on opiates. Episode 2, titled “Special Treatments,” gives Victoria a bit more screen time, and the picture it’s painting of her seems to be a much more sinister one.

A Bad Role Model for Her Kids

Early on in Episode 2, we get to see the Ratliffs having breakfast at the resort. When Kate comes up to their table to tell Victoria she recognizes her from a baby shower they both attended 10 years ago, the latter just treats her with painful disinterest that’s thinly veiled by the most basic of courteous responses.

And when I say basic, I mean really basic. This scene is so painful to watch because it’s clear that Victoria has no interest in making small talk, while Kate just doesn’t seem to know when to quit. Victoria’s one-word responses and lightly raised eyebrows at Kate’s words are cold, making this an incredibly awkward exchange. She could have, at the very least, exchanged a few more pleasantries.

“It’s so nice to see you here!” “What a small world!” “Give Claire my best when you see her!” But nope. Nothing. Victoria chooses to just let Kate stand there in painful awkwardness.

Her rudeness is so blatant that even Lochy calls her out on it, and she counters by saying that the exchange didn’t matter. To make things even worse, when Saxon tells her Kate’s friend is an actress, Victoria immediately shoots down that sentiment by saying that all actresses are basically prostitutes.

Piper’s the only one who’s disgusted by her mom’s remarks, but Lochy and Saxon find them amusing.

Victoria Enables Saxon

Being rude is one thing, but enabling your son’s incredibly inappropriate sexual comments and laughing at them? Now that’s a huge red flag.

This happens multiple times throughout Episode 2. She laughs when Saxon complains about his massage not having a happy ending. She laughs again when Saxon makes fun of Thai accents. And she laughs yet again when Saxon jokes about the transgender community in Thailand and makes that comment about not knowing whether “you’ll get nuts” when you have sex in the country.

Let’s unpack that for a second. The fact that Saxon feels comfortable saying these things in front of his mother is weird. Like, really weird. I mean, I don’t know about you, but I certainly don’t go sharing my opinions about sex and my own intimate life with my parents. In fact, I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that’s just not a thing that very many people do. So why does Saxon feel so at ease doing exactly that in front of his mother, and with his mother? It’s certainly not just because he’s a gross person (he is); Victoria also creates a space that makes him feel safe to say these things.

This becomes obvious during the dinner scene, when Victoria shares a strange anecdote about her own brother. When they were kids, her brother would pin her down and dangle spit right in front of her face. And today, they’re closer than they’ve ever been. Taken in isolation, you could just dismiss it as a silly thing that they used to do as mischievous kids. But in the context of everything we’ve seen of the Ratliff family so far in The White Lotus Season 3, I can’t help but draw the conclusion that maybe the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

So What’s Victoria’s Deal?

I don’t know if any of this is necessarily going anywhere in Season 3, but at the very least, the show is giving us some context for why Saxon is the way he is. It also reinforces the idea that the entire Ratliff family is pretty screwed up, and it starts with the parents. Victoria is the drugged-up mom who clearly doesn’t care about setting a good example for her kids. In comparison, Timothy almost looks like a saint when it comes to parenting, but let’s not forget he is now also a criminal involved in money laundering and bribery.

That entire family is a mess, and Piper seems to be the only normal, rational one of the bunch. Even Lochy lost points in this episode by asking Piper if she’s still a virgin. Come on Lochy, read the room. If the next episode reveals that Piper has some sort of weird dysfunction, that might actually make me lose all hope in humanity.

The White Lotus is now available for streaming on HBO Max.

Elden Ring Nightreign is exactly that, but after more than a decade of releasing massive bangers for the most part, some players just don’t vibe with the idea of a new FromSoftware release that doesn’t cater to them.

Similar conversations happened around Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon back in the late summer of 2023. Far too many gamers (and even some critics) tried to analyze the sixth mainline entry in the long-running mech action series in relation to Dark Souls as well as Elden Ring. While, yes, some small elements of its dark fantasy titles had bled into the design of certain gameplay elements, the idea that FromSoftware was no longer capable of building video games outside that subgenre and style was silly. It was a game that stood on its own, and it was good for FromSoftware to tackle something distinct on such a scale again.

Fast-forward to early 2025, right after the first network tests of Nightreign, and we’re dealing with similar comments online. “This feels cheaper and unlike Elden Ring, the devs sold out,” and so on. You get the idea. Too many people have gotten used to the company being a one-trick pony, and any attempt to escape the confines of mainstream expectations is met with doubt or straight-up disdain. Mates, it’s okay if you don’t like every single thing one of the hottest developers in town puts out. You can simply ignore the things that don’t resonate with you.

As someone who greatly enjoys multiplayer games in general and had wished for the longest time FromSoftware gave traditional co-op a go for its Soulslikes, I was very much interested in the central pitch as soon as Nightreign was surprise-announced in December. As delightfully absorbing and vast as Elden Ring and its expansion were, certain areas and dungeons were designed in a way that suggested maybe a bite-sized take on the formula could be attractive. After all, Bloodborne’s Chalice Dungeons had already tried to inject roguelite DNA into the tried-and-tested formula. Combined with the right trends, a multiplayer spinoff to one of From’s biggest IPs wasn’t a crazy idea.

No one managed to predict Elden Ring would receive such a treatment this soon though. My mind was already circling the question of where Bandai Namco and From would go next with their biggest IP success ever late last year, but I sure as hell wasn’t expecting a mid-size multiplayer game set for a 2025 release. Also, Nightreign seemed to fully embrace battle royale elements. I was flabbergasted in a good way.

Related: All Elden Ring: Nightreign Pre-Order Bonuses & Editions

I didn’t care about asset flips either. Yakuza and many other Japanese properties have thrived and done perfectly fine embracing a more sustainable development model, and “little” weird experiments become essential to maintaining a more traditional release schedule. Western devs except maybe Ubisoft have almost completely forgotten what used to be a sustainable model to collect cash while working on AAA heavyweights.

We’d been told many times before the network test that Elden Ring Nightreign is meant to be a much breezier experience than its single-player big brother even when it comes to the moment-to-moment gameplay. After giving it a fair shake, I can say they weren’t lying. 30-minute-ish sessions aside, Nightreign simplifies the process of messing with loot and stats so much that it’s sort of a perfect “podcast game” despite how brutal the combat remains.

This isn’t a negative. In fact, it highlights that Nightreign isn’t just an official co-op mod. On a surface level, this is the Elden Ring that you know and love. However, it’s built so you spend 99% of your time running around and fighting instead of managing your inventory or getting a build just right. In fact, there are no “builds” per se. You pick up a premade hero with a defined playstyle and (surprisingly fun) skills and jump into a map that’s filled with enemies, mini-bosses, and Fortnite-ish loot. Decision-making still plays a big role alongside strategic thinking, but you’re meant to be moving fast, and the UI and gameplay design supports that. Careful thinking has gone into making all these adjustments, and writing Nightreign off as a low-effort riff on the part of Elden Ring reads myopic at best.

Many of Elden Ring and Dark Souls’ best, most memorable moments have always come from defeating towering foes after many struggles with the help of online randos. In this game, that’s the core loop, and it just feels right. After a blind first run, Nightreign comes together beautifully even if your co-op partners aren’t the greatest. It’s never dull or too frustrating. Each run yields solid rewards to push forward a simple progression track. You aren’t asked to figure out complicated stats nor the “perfect” build to tackle increasingly difficult bosses. Failure is part of the central loop, but there’s little to no downtime. If you loved helping out others because it was fun in past Soulslike titles, Nightreign just clicks almost instantly.

Of course, a huge number of Elden Ring and Souls players prefer to experience those games and overcome their obstacles alone (which, in all honesty, adds quite a lot to the atmosphere and melancholic storytelling). That’s alright. They just need to accept this weird, funky new release isn’t for them. They’re not missing out on anything. It’s just good fun while we wait for the next big thing from the studio.

As much as I loved my time with the network rest, I also have to wonder how much of a lasting appeal Nightreign will have. Its lower price tag and “no live service” philosophy will surely help, but that also means its post-launch support could be quite limited even if sales numbers are huge. It’s giving ‘old-school, traditional multiplayer game’ vibes, and as fun and different as Star Wars: Squadrons was, that was a mid-sized game that struggled to attract and maintain many players’ attention because it fully rejected the modern bloat found in most online titles and squarely focused on its niche audience. Maybe that’s just part of the deal and Nightreign is fated to become the sort of game you excitedly bring up in a conversation years later and almost no one remembers.

The Elden Ring Nightreign Network Test is available now, and the full game will launch on March 30 on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC.

Earlier this month, I visited London and Oxford for the first time. It wasn’t my first time in the UK though. Anyway, things were off to a terrible start when a nightmare scenario played out in front of my eyes: My mobile phone died (as in fully dead) after the regular reboot to make the roaming services properly start. It’s not a great feeling. I’ll spare you the details, but I made it to the hotel I’d set up as a rendezvous point and waited for my partner (who was already in the UK) to show up. At this point, Civilization 7 had made the whole experience a bit more bearable already.

The single greatest decision I made before heading to the airport was throwing my Steam Deck into a bag. I wasn’t sure I’d have enough ‘free’ time outside of doing touristy things, but I decided it’d make the flights better at the very least. When the worst happened, it also replaced my doomscrolling time and, more importantly, it allowed me to ‘disconnect’ from being worried sick about something I couldn’t fix (one of my toxic traits, ha) whenever I wasn’t walking around London/Oxford or talking to my girlfriend.

Experts say we shouldn’t do it, but most of us do it. I’m talking about extra ‘portable screen’ time before going to sleep. Lying on the hotel bed and too tired to do anything else, hour-long sessions of Civilization 7 became my sleeping pills. It was fun enough to keep me awake until I felt too tired, but also kind of chill, which was just what I needed. There were plenty of other games loaded up on my Deck that I could’ve chosen, but the latest Civilization simply felt perfect. (Also: I needed to put in the time for a review.)

Whereas Civilization 6 often felt a bit too much for portable hardware when it came to controls – I thought the Switch port was pretty neat otherwise – Civilization 7 simply works remarkably well out of the box with gamepad controls. I’m guessing that’s the main reason behind much of the systems streamlining (it’s a first launch-day multiplat. release for the series). We can discuss all day long about whether basing so much of the overall game design on the needs of consoles versus the more loyal PC platform was a good call, but at the end of the day, I had a great uncomplicated time playing the game on the Deck.

I’d be lying if I said the beginning of my experience with the game was a smooth one though. You see, the pre-release build wasn’t perfect when it came to the Steam Deck controls despite the game sporting the ‘verified’ mark from the get-go. It was often a bit unresponsive, and some submenus I just couldn’t figure out with a gamepad for the life of me. A few minutes later, I was using touchscreen quite often. It wasn’t ideal, but hey, Civilization 7 was working well enough on Valve’s little brave machine with minimal tinkering. Neat!

Eventually, you get the hang of things. It’s hard to adjust to both an all-new Civilization experience (7 really shakes things up) and playing a 4X game with gamepad controls, a perverse act which my brain tries to forget every single time as fast as possible. I played a bunch of Civilization 6 on Switch, and I found it to be largely fine, but it’s the kind of activity that also feels just wrong. Give me a keyboard and the snappiness and freedom of a mouse for that, please.

Civilization 7 was built with that in mind. Firaxis knew that simply adapting a ‘PC first’ experience to consoles was never going to feel 100% fine. This new installment doesn’t either, but it lands close enough to make me go “ah, I could get used to playing this all the time on my Deck.” There’s less micromanaging. There are fewer layers of decision-making that require extra clicks. You don’t have to move builders around every turn. Every creative decision of that sort helps the gamepad (and portable) experience feel less miserable and closer to genuinely fun. This was key to making me stick with the game throughout my trip and not gradually go back to Vampire Survivors and Hades.

By sheer luck, I fixed my phone during the last night of my UK stay after getting it to properly reboot and formatting the system (thank God for cloud backups). I celebrated my victory over technology (actually, I’d been defeated) for a few minutes before just booting Civilization 7 back up. “Return to tradition,” I muttered to myself. The absence of social media cringe and low-quality memes was affecting my brain. Maximizing my Science yield could fix me.

If you’ve made it this far, you’re probably guessing I like Civilization 7 quite a bit. You aren’t wrong. Overall, this installment doesn’t feel like a downgrade. It’s more of a new, more ‘lightweight’ way to experience Civilization. I genuinely believe it wasn’t meant to replace 5 and 6. Firaxis likely thought that was a stupid battle to fight given how the community has embraced them over the years as the crown jewels of the 4X genre, so they instead went in a completely different direction. If Ara: History Untold chose to double down on the overlap with grand strategy titles, then Civilization 7 represents a calmer move in the opposite direction.

A long-running, highly profitable series choosing to heavily rework a tried-and-tested formula is always worth celebrating even if many of the swings don’t connect. It’s very likely that we won’t be seeing some key features from Civilization 7 return in the future, but at the same time, this series traditionally wins skeptics over with major updates and expansion packs, so don’t jump ship just yet. For all we know, it could be the beginning of a new age for a genre that was feeling a bit stagnant as of late.

Getting loot and player progression right in RPGs is tricky. You don’t even need dev experience to know that. Just play enough video games that belong to the wider genre (and/or tabletop alternatives), and you’ll quickly notice those aspects can easily go off the rails and make the larger experience either a bit of a slog or a joke. Many times, it’s all about finding the right system for the game’s size and central premise. In the case of Avowed, I think Obsidian Entertainment chose… poorly. Somehow, it often becomes far more frustrating than Elden Ring and its close relatives in a completely different way.

In this action RPG with a bigger focus on story and characters over content bloat, it was reasonable to expect a streamlined progression path that simply offered some degree of true flexibility. The perks/skills system does exactly that, and it does it well. Hell, even “respeccing” is a smooth and almost required process to maximize the Envoy’s power level by the time the late game is reached. On the other hand, the weapons and armor system and how upgrades change their effectiveness in combat is a bit of a nightmare the more you play.

Avowed is a game that puts player agency and exploration front and center. This might sound familiar, but its defining trait is that it feels genuinely handcrafted and restrained in many ways, from the quest design to how the actual world is structured. You can loot plenty of hidden corners and dungeons, but it’s not one of those “forever” RPGs that just run for more than 50 hours even if you stick to the main path.

Perhaps this is why the MMORPG-y approach to loot and upgrades feels so odd. Sure, a “proper” RPG, no matter its style, needs real stats and a solid experience of developing a build over many hours. Robust loot and upgrade systems, depth aside, should carry the player forward and support their power fantasy and provide roadblocks. It’s a difficult curve to get totally right, as I said before.

In Avowed, enemies are tiered depending on the area they’re found in. You can walk in any direction as long as you’ve unlocked the larger “world zone” and run into them whenever, but you’re not meant to hang around areas with foes with skulls on their health bars. That’s no bueno. If you thought the Living Lands were going to be lively and as unpredictable as Bethesda’s average open-world behemoth, think again. You might be free to go wherever you please, but Avowed doesn’t want you to. Dark Souls and its spiritual successors also do this, but they’re blunter when it comes to teaching players valuable lessons. More importantly, they also provide much better tools aimed at overcoming their obstacles.

Related: All Treasure Map Locations in Avowed

This shouldn’t be a problem. Plenty of single-player video games with numbers that go up do this just fine. Level gating is a thing for a reason. Oblivion’s whole approach to this matter was leveling up almost every enemy alongside you, and that sucked. Even The Outer Worlds, Obsidian’s immediate predecessor to Avowed, handled it fine. Why does it feel a bit wrong all of a sudden?

It could be a matter of simply crunching some key numbers, collecting player data, and putting out a solid enough patch, for all I know. But the thing is that I really struggled past the second area and well into the late-game sections. Everything and everyone that wanted to kill me and my pals was spongier, and my weapons, even when upgraded to the required rarity/level, felt like they just weren’t enough. Suddenly, the breezy (albeit adequately difficult) first stretch of the game had transitioned into more sluggish trips that forced me to clear almost every optional quest, task, or bounty I came across for very little payoff.

All I could think of was: “What the hell, Shadow of the Erdtree somehow felt far less rough to get through than this.” The solution is simple though: Collect or craft enough branches of that one type that doesn’t even spawn anymore, so head over to the area you left behind hours ago and disrupt any sense of narrative progression you’ve gained since then. It just doesn’t feel like great game design, does it? Conversely, FromSoftware at its meanest almost always defines a clear difficulty curve that makes quickly bouncing back from failure a matter of skill and self-teaching instead of a grind that doesn’t fit its games’ worlds (though you can slowly farm low-level enemies if you want to).

ARPGs like Diablo IV typically handle this by burying the player in loot and materials. You gotta put the work in, but you needn’t hunt for mats for too long. Other open-world games lean more toward survival-like mechanics that are directly supported by the right world design. Avowed has none of that. It’s no Skyrim because it doesn’t want to riff on that formula. As daunting as it can look at first, it’s a focused adventure that encourages moving quickly from one place to the next.

This is the sort of “intentional friction” that sinks so many video games while elevating others. In my opinion, Avowed partially fails to provide a good sense of progression and evolution. The combat is fantastic and enemy movesets are far richer than in many other titles, but it all often runs into the “numbers and color” wall that likes to put you on the back foot even after doing the required homework. At some point, however, it simply dissipates, which makes me think the balance is simply out of whack through a good chunk of the game. It makes you wonder about the likely incredible amount of testing every new FromSoftware banger goes through.

Again, it’s probably wrong to start pointing fingers at certain systems or mechanics (unless they clearly are broken), no matter your level of experience with this sort of game. RPGs are especially difficult to fine-tune. I guess it’s just odd to have Obsidian stumble on this element of an otherwise notable game after fully figuring these things out 15 years ago while racing against the clock.

Avowed is available now on PC and Xbox.

Mike White’s critically acclaimed series has never been afraid to court the controversy or show how utterly depraved its characters can be. With the Season 3 premiere, however, the show seems to be setting up possibly the most unsettling family dynamic we’ve seen so far.

Every White Lotus season needs some sort of kooky family, and for this go-around, we’ve got the Ratliffs. Timothy and Victoria play the parents; the former has clearly gotten himself caught up in some sort of Ponzi scheme, while there are signs that the latter might be on opiates. And yet, when you compare them to their three kids, Timothy and Victoria seem to be the “normal” ones.

Saxon, the Hypersexual Older Brother

Played by Patrick Schwarzenegger, Saxon Ratliff is the oldest of the Ratliff kids. He works for Timothy, and right off the bat, it’s obvious he’s meant to be the Douchey Rich Guy (TM) of the season. Shane and Cameron are in good company here.

Unlike Shane and Cameron, however, Saxon displays signs of hypersexuality to a degree that’s honestly pretty gross and disturbing. From his weird physical teasing of his sister Piper and his awkward (though pretty funny) strike-outs with the women at the pool to him quizzing his younger brother Lochlan about the kind of pornography he watches, Saxon is just straight up a walking red flag.

Let’s also not overlook the fact that he has no qualms whatsoever talking to his little brother about how their sister is “super hot,” and his speculation that she’s still a virgin. I dunno. Seems pretty weird to be talking about your sister like that, but what do I know?

Piper, the Embodiment of Self-Restraint

All that being said, there’s no such thing as throwaway lines in The White Lotus. Red herrings, sure, but everything on this show is said and done for a reason. If Saxon’s comments about Piper are accurate, what does that tell us about her?

We know that Piper is the impetus for the Ratliffs coming to Thailand in the first place. She’s here to write up her thesis and interview a monk at the temple. Even from her brief interactions with her family, it’s obvious that she’s supposed to be the smart, level-headed one. She’s ready to immerse herself in Thai culture and learn more about their beliefs and ideals.

From what we’ve seen so far, it seems the show is setting up Piper to be the embodiment of spirituality, self-restraint, and temperance — a complete juxtaposition against Saxon’s indulgent personality.

Lochy, the Repressed Younger Brother

Finally, we have Lochlan, or Lochy as his family likes to call him. He’s clearly the meek one of the bunch. In the Season 3 premiere, we see him getting pulled in all directions. Does he want to go to the temple with Piper, or hang out by the pool with Saxon? Does he want to go to Duke or UNC, or maybe even change course entirely?

Perhaps the most telling scene is at the very end, when Lochy gets stunned into silence for a moment when Saxon asks him what kind of pornography he likes. His older brother then gets out of bed with his iPad, revealing that he’s been butt naked this entire time. The camera lingers on Lochy just a touch too long, as we see him staring at Saxon’s naked form.

Maybe Lochy’s secret is that he’s closeted, and his character arc this season could revolve around him coming out to his family, upending all their preconceived notions and expectations of him at the same time. It’s worth pointing out that Victoria expresses shock when Saxon says the word “genitals” in front of everyone, and tells him that it’s a bad word. That’s like, the number one telltale sign that the Ratliff kids are probably repressed as hell, and Lochy’s got it the worst.

What Does This All Mean?

If we take everything at face value, we could probably conclude that the Ratliff kids’ arc is going to involve Saxon being creepily attracted to Piper, while Lochy grapples with his feelings for his own older brother. But I think that’s a little bit too obvious and on the nose for a show like The White Lotus.

Season 3 is going to deal with the dangers of hedonism, the line between pleasure and restraint. If anything, it seems like Lochy is going to be the main star of the Ratliff family as he finds a way to navigate his relationships with his brother and sister. If Saxon is hedonism and Piper is self-restraint and discipline, then Lochy will ultimately be forced to choose between either end of the spectrum. Or maybe, just maybe, he’ll find his own way out.

The White Lotus is now streaming on HBO Max.

When I finished watching the thoroughly mediocre Captain America: Brave New World, while I wanted nothing more than to leave the theater and move on with my life, I couldn’t. I was seeing the film with my brother for his birthday, and he wanted to see the post-credits scene. In fact, everyone in the audience refused to leave, and on a packed opening night screening, not one person left before the post-credits scene. Props I guess to Marvel for cultivating a mindset with its fans that they know instinctively not to leave the theater before seeing the post-credits scene, but at this point, they’re not even worth it.

I think back to the initial post-credits scene and what it entailed. After Iron Man, we had Samuel L. Jackson waltz on-screen as Nick Fury and asked if Tony wanted to be a part of the Avengers. In that single moment, history, and precedence, were set, creating a formula that Marvel would use for most of its post-credits scenes. Introduce a new MCU character, let fans speculate on them for a year or so, leaving fans to wonder how they’ll impact future events, they properly introduce them. During the Infinity Saga, this all made sense, since we knew that we were building to a big central threat, Thanos. But with a lack of direction in the MCU’s Multiverse Saga, post-credit scenes are less teases on what’s to come but more blatant attempts to keep audiences engaged.

Looking at the past several major MCU films that had post-credits scenes that tried to set up future films – Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, The Marvels, and Captain America: Brave New World – each of them failed because Marvel didn’t know what they wanted to do. Granted, in the case of Quantumania’s post-credit scene, wherein Jonathan Majors’ Kang the Conqueror communes with a council of thousands of Kangs, that got tossed aside due to Marvel publically parting with Majors after he was accused, and subsequently convicted, of assault. But that set forward a ripple effect that Marvel still hasn’t recovered from.

Marvel put all their eggs in the Kang basket, banking on Jonathan Majors to guide the franchise in the post-Thanos world, but they got all the eggs on their face. They specifically teased the Council of Kangs and what they were going to do to the MCU, but now that post-credits scene is worthless. Marvel has publically shifted to just bringing out Robert Downey Jr. again, though this time as Doctor Doom, and abandoned this post-credits scene. They teased an ultra-specific scenario that was going to happen, so it only makes sense that for Captain America: Brave New World, they would go in the exact opposite direction and be so vague and general that this scene can be used to tease any future conflict.

After the credits have rolled on Captain America: Brave New World and Sam Wilson goes to visit Tim Blake Nelsons’ The Leader, he teases Wilson of an incoming threat, just labeling them as “the others.” Who are the others? They can be anything or anyone. It doesn’t matter. To Marvel, they’re not making the same mistake they made with Kang. They’re not going to be embarrassed again like they were last time. Now we can get a general promise that something is going to happen to the satisfaction of no one.

And what about all of the other lingering plot threads teased by post-credit scenes that have yet to happen? The Marvels promised the X-Men in 2023, but no X-Men film has been announced through 2027. Hercules still hasn’t made an appearance after Thor: Love & Thunder, and it’s approaching three years this summer since he was teased. And how goes that Blade movie that was teased back in 2021? How many directors have left that film at this point? Does it even have a release date anymore?

The point of that original post-credits teaser back at the end of Iron Man was to assure fans that there was more to come. Iron Man wasn’t going to be a one-off movie and there were bigger and better things on the horizon. The point of the tease was to keep fans coming back for more and make them come back for more. But Marvel already has fans hooked. It’s been 17 years since Iron Man. No one needs to be reminded that this franchise is going to continue. It’s a multi-billion-dollar franchise. It isn’t going anywhere and doesn’t need minute-long clips teasing what’s next.

So why still have post-credit scenes? Simply to have them? Based on my screening for Captain America: Brave New World, fans were annoyed by just how much of a nothing burger this post-credits scene was. If you’re not going to say or do anything interesting with them, don’t have it. At this point, Marvel post-credit scenes have become a vestigial tail for the franchise that should either be reinvented or stopped all together.

Every Mainline Pokemon Game Ranked Worst to Best

Before we dive into our ranking on all the mainline Pokemon games below, a few thing to be aware of. First, when we look at each Generation, we’ll be looking at the generation as a whole and not specific games. While we’ll definitely make mention of new releases for each generation, this list is mostly going to look at the impact that each generation has had on the franchise, for better or for worse, and which generations should be your go-to places to adventure in the world of Pokemon.

Then there’s the question of what constitutes a generation. Obviously, if there are two versions of a game that includes an entirely new Pokedex, they’re valid entries, but then you have remakes and a few spin-offs. For the sake of simplicity, we’re going to not discuss remakes here, and most spin-offs, like the Let’s Go! duology, will not be featured. However, due to its sizeable impact on the direction of future entries in the series, as well as the upcoming sequel, Legends: Arceus will be included in this list. It’s its own entity with specific mechanics and ideas that greatly expand on the series, so keeping it off this list would be a great disservice.

Now with that said, let’s start ranking each Pokemon generation!

10. Gen IX (Scarlet & Violet)

Many fans love the latest Gen IX games as the first truly open-world Pokemon games, and I love that people can find some new fun in a franchise that has long been criticized for doing the same boring old thing over and over. But we have to be honest here – after their release, many longtime fans, including several of us here at The Escapist, believed Gen IX to be outright bad. At least prior entries in the nearly 30-year-old franchise were (mostly) well-put together — even the ones lacking in content and design.

Putting aside the horrendous technical performances that make the pair of games nearly unplayable and hard to look at, Scarlet & Violet are plagued with a long laundry list of issues. From its lack of art direction to its nonuniform and inconsistent soundtrack, there are few redeeming qualities found here. While an open-world Pokemon game is a nice, novel idea, Paldea is a bland, empty mess offering little to do or see other than catching Pokemon that awkwardly walk around unaware of their surroundings with few meaningful NPCS, lore, or story to engage with. For a game that’s trying to do something fresh in a franchise that’s grown a bit stale, it oddly falls back on old designs that feel awfully outdated when compared to its immediate contemporary, Legends: Arceus.

There are a few bright spots, like the multiple storylines that you can take part in, and Terastalizization, where you can change the type of a specific Pokemon once per battle, is the best gimmick the series has had in a while. Ultimately, Scarlet & Violet are hollow experiences that feel like only a skeleton of an idea rather than a complete, worthwhile game.

Related: Every Pokémon Game on Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack

9. Generation VIII (Sword & Shield)

Sword & Shield were supposed to be the franchise’s showcase of what a Pokemon game broken free of its handheld constraints could look like, and it mostly missed the mark. Refusing to grow up and instead firmly stick to old designs that it knows and does well, we’ve ended up with a middling entry that’s neither bad nor good — it’s just an overall dull experience.

Sword & Shield continues the trend of 3D Pokemon games lacking in interesting content, with a shallow, forgettable story and one of the most sparse regions in the franchise. Generation VI is also extremely linear, with players confined to multiple looping paths with no opportunities for exploration. Its more “open” Wild Area at least attempts to break the mold by teasing the concept of a much more open, grander Pokemon game, but, being so empty and boring, it falls flat and is perhaps the game’s weakest feature. Finding random Pokemon there is fun, but once you’ve been there once, it never changes or grows in any meaningful way.

Still, there’s some stuff to appreciate here. Sword & Shield’s approach to Pokemon battling as a sport is sensical and engaging, even if a touch bland. Gyms, presented here as large sports stadiums, have never made more sense, and they offer a fun, unique sense of excitement and scale. The pair of games also have some incredible creature designs that are some of the most thoughtful and best-suited for its region. But for all the attempts to innovate and revitalize the series, Generation VIII feels like business as usual in all of the worst ways.

8. Generation VI (X & Y)

Many fans were excited about Generation VI solely because it was going to be the first truly 3D Pokemon generation, but the reality of the situation as pretty disappointing. Yes, Every Pokemon was rendered in 3D, but one has to wonder if so much focus was placed on modeling each creature that the actual campaign and content within the base games, X & Y, was neglected. That’s the only explanation available for why these games are so disappointing.

The games are extremely front-loaded, missing endgame content and features found in previous titles. The loose plot thread exploring the concept of Mega Evolution largely goes unresolved and is seemingly dropped partway through the games. And their primary plot point revolving around a group of fascist fashionistas is just … odd, to say the least — one of the worst stories Pokemon has attempted to tell.

However, despite their inconsistencies, X & Y are rather noteworthy for introducing some series staples, including character customization and the much-needed Fairy type, which helped balance the over-powered Dragon-type Pokemon. They also ushered in the era of gimmicks (for better or worse), featured some rather interesting war-centric lore, and have some truly wonderful creature designs (I don’t care what you say, Klefki is smartly designed and charming as heck). There’s clearly a lot of potential with Generation VI, but it just went unfulfilled upon its original release.

7. Generation IV (Diamond & Pearl / Platinum)

This is likely a controversial take for many, but out of all the classic 2D Pokemon games, Diamond & Pearl are by far the weakest. Of course, there’s tons to love here, like the culture and lore of the Sinnoh region, the use of mountains and caves for the region’s geography, and breaks down of physical and special moves by the move itself as opposed to the type, but the games are woefully unbalanced. The biggest example of this is the treatment of Fire-type Pokemon, where Diamond & Pearl only offer you two Fire types for the majority of the base game, one of which being a starter Pokemon. Your team composition is limited even further by the amount of HMs you need to dedicate to your Pokemon team just to progress, which is simply ridiculous and unmanageable (thank God we’ve since moved away from HMs). Then there’s just the general lack of post-game content, making Diamon & Pearl fairly uninteresting to return to.

If we were just judging Generation IV based on its base games, it arguably would be even lower on the list, but it’s only saved thanks to the existence of the definitive third edition, Platinum. Platinum included more Fire-type Pokemon, the sizeable post-game Battle Frontier, and the ever-fascinating Distortion World, but the whole experience is still a bit mired and dry in comparison to other 2D Pokemon games. Plus, Diamond & Pearl gave us many of the ugliest Pokemon in the franchise, including the horrendous Ambipom, which is unforgivable.

Related: The Rarest Pokémon Games and What They’re Worth (2024)

6. Gen I (Red & Blue / Yellow)

The original games that started it all, Pokemon Red & Blue were a rave hit that obviously had a very strong premise, core conceit, and iconic monsters. Traveling around the world and catching 151 monsters was addicting, and the need to play with others in order to catch them all encouraged cooperation. Sure the mechanics were a bit basic, but it was a winning formula that kids in the era loved wholeheartedly, even to this day.

But it’s also safe to acknowledge that Generation I was a broken mess. Psychic Pokemon were beyond overpowered, certain moves just didn’t work or were never learned, the AI was simple to a fault, critical hits were based on your speed stat for some reason, and those are just a few of the most notable issues. Calling Gen I unrefined would be putting it nicely. And yet, Generation I is still fine, simple, and well-paced.

As the first games in the franchise, Generation I isn’t bogged down by the gimmicks and unnecessary fluff plaguing some of the later titles, especially in the 3D era of games. Yellow also introduced the concept of “follow Pokemon” to mirror how Pikachu won’t stay inside its Poke Ball in the anime, and while it’s not a feature that’s been used often in the game series, it’s still a beloved one all the same. Plus, the Kanto region and all its characters and creatures are absolutely iconic at this point, which has to count for something.

5. Generation VII (Sun & Moon / Ultra Sun & Moon)

Sun & Moon are certainly the most underrated of all mainline Pokemon games. It feels as if they are often unfairly derided even though Generation VII has so much to love. Admittedly, they also have their fair share of problems: Yes, the 3D graphics are weak, and the Alola region is overly linear and sorely lacking in history and lore, much like Generation VI. But they were also the first to break away from long-standing conventions, replacing traditional Gyms with Totem Pokemon, introducing exciting regional variants of old Pokemon, which is a brilliant addition that each future entry would utilize to a certain degree, and expanding the universe with concepts of otherworldly Pokemon beyond space and time, even if those elements would never be touched again.

Sun & Moon also features the best story you’ll find in any Pokemon game (yes, better than Generation V and its commentary on morality, subjectivity vs objectivity, and the best antagonists in the series’ history). Its omnipresent themes of abuse and neglect permeate the entire game that still resonates today and have led to perhaps the most memorable villain alongside Giovanni and N, the most effectively sympathetic (and humorous) gang, and a cast of characters that actually feel like people. There’s some solid post-game content too, like defending your title and the Team Rainbow Rocket subplot in Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon. Add in some of Pokemon’s best creature designs, with one of the best starter Pokemon trio lineups in a long while, excellent regional variants, and iconic iterations such as Mimikyu, and you have a generation that more than deserves higher praise in the fandom.

4. Legends: Arceus

Pokemon Legends: Arceus is a rather interesting entry when it comes to mainline Pokemon games, not least because it’s not really a mainline game. It didn’t start a new generation nor does it include many franchise staples like Gyms or even towns. Instead, Legends: Arceus gives us several large wildlife areas to explore as it attempts to rethink what modern Pokemon can look like as a console experience. Due to the critical and commercial success of the game, and how many of its mechanics were implemented in Generation IX (albeit not as good), it’s safe to say the ideas of Legends: Arceus are here to stay.

Legends: Arceus provides the most dynamic Pokemon battling and catching found in any game (mainline or otherwise) wherein you can battle them directly, sneak up on them in third-person, or engage in over-the-shoulder fights without the use of any Pokemon. This, as well as the emphasis on catching as many Pokemon as possible, really does make the game feel more challenging than any other contemporary Pokemon game. It also managed to make wild Pokemon actually feel imposing, terrifying, and dangerous to encounter, making wildlife encounters feel truly unique and exciting.

Legends: Arceus isn’t perfect though. It’s held back by technical issues, which is a common staple for 3D Pokemon games now, a largely empty region that doesn’t have much going for it visually (aside from its lovely watercolor-inspired cel shading), and not everything it attempts to reimagine, such as Battle Styles, works. Highly experimental and wholly transformative, Legends: Arceus is by far the best and most memorable 3D Pokemon game to date, even if it doesn’t manage to get everything right.

Related: Ultimate Pig Pokemon List – Best Pig Pokemon, Ranked

3. Generation V (Black & White / Black & White 2)

As the final entry point for 2D Pokemon games, Generation V proved to be the end of an era. And what a pair of games for an era to go out on. Generation V took all that came before them and meticulously refined it, not necessarily adding much to the franchise as a whole but instead providing a quality experience to represent Pokemon in, perhaps, its purest, most complete form.

Black & White are Pokemon’s first recognizable attempt at a real, meaningful narrative, ambitiously trying to tackle what has always been an identifiable and hefty problem for the Pokemon series: animal abuse. It’s an honorable attempt at explaining away the series’ most controversial topic, even if it doesn’t fully commit to it by the end. Its other most iconic feature is actually a callback to Generation I, wherein the base games have a Pokedex filled solely with 150 new Pokemon and no repeats. While the impact of this is diminished slightly the more time passes, it helped make the region feel distinct and separate from the games that came before, even if the direct sequels, Black 2 & White 2, immediately rolled back this decision.

The pair of games are also the beginning of Pokemon‘s attempts to recognizably connect to the real world beyond Japan, creating a meaningful bridge to world culture through its themed settings. Theming the Unova region around New York City and the United States led to several locations that truly felt distinct, like Castleia City. Additionally, the region’s season mechanic is one of the most fascinating features in a Pokemon game, providing a shifting landscape that keeps the region fresh and interesting as you return to the games over time.

Not everything in Black & White quite works, like the inclusion of Triple and Roration Battles, as well as but there are so many interesting things going on, and the pair of games do so much so well that they’ve more than earned their place among the top three Pokemon games.

2. Generation III (Ruby & Sapphire / Emerald)

Coming off the heels of the much-beloved Gold & Silver, Ruby & Sapphire had some big shoes to fill as the third entry in the Pokemon series and they absolutely nailed it. While Generation II wasn’t simple, the added complexity and refinement accomplished in Generation III helped cement Pokemon as more than just a fad. Ruby & Sapphire were the ones to introduce incredibly important franchise staples such as Natures, Abilities, double battles, and weather. Without them, Pokemon’s metagame would look nothing like it does today.

But beyond all that, Ruby & Sapphire are just fantastic games that are difficult to find fault with. Sure, there can be a bit too much water towards the endgame (as IGN rightfully pointed out in its much-memed 7.8 review of the 3DS remakes), the soundtrack can be a bit grating thanks to the Game Boy Advance’s limited sound chip, and the pair really toe the line on the “too many HMs” problem plaguing the 2D games. But aside from that, Generation III is Pokemon at its most gorgeous with lush, vibrant pixel art, and they boast the best and most intricate region in any Pokemon game to date. From wading through ash-filled fields near a volcano or the blistering sand storms of the desert to diving beneath the waves to explore the ocean floor, Pokemon has never had another region quite as dynamic and exciting to explore. And once you’re done, Emerald was there to provide players with the most extensive and exciting endgame of any Pokemon game up to that point that arguably hasn’t been topped since.

1. Generation II (Gold & Silver / Crystal)

President of the Pokemon Company Tsunekazu Ishihara has spoken before about how Pokemon Gold & Silver were intended to be the last games in the series, and with that assumption, they were made to be the ultimate, definitive Pokemon games. Even now, you can still feel that mindset permeating Generation II.

The second generation of Pokemon games established and laid the foundation as the blueprint of the franchise by improving on the first game with balances and additions that are still core to the series to this day. Some of those additions include shiny Pokemon, Pokemon breeding, the time system, the friendship mechanic (in mass form), gender, the Pokerus virus, held items, the split in the “Special” stat between Special Attack and Special Defense, the Dark and Steel type, the Pokemon animation being introduced in Crystal, and so much more — all of which the franchise would be worse off without (though Scarlet & Violet have already removed Pokerus from the games, which is a darn shame).

Furthermore, Generation II had one of the coolest features that hasn’t been replicated in a game since – connecting regions. Once you complete the game, players can journey from the Johto region to the first generation’s Kanto region and give you an abbreviated tour of the last region and end with one of the best final bosses the franchise has ever seen. And many of the new locations added with Johto are rich in environmental storytelling with brief glimpses of unique and interesting lore, such as the Ruins of Alph and the Tin Tower.

Sure, the game is a bit too easy given the lower-level Pokemon most enemies have, but that just means Generation II offers more opportunities to play with your party instead of fully committing to one team solely because they’re your strongest. Anyone can start any of the Generation II games and find something to appreciate or enjoy about them. A true masterpiece of the creature

Let me go over how it works.

First, you need an item called a Trade Hourglass in order to even trade in the first place. You can stack up to five of these at a time, and they also regenerate over time. Alright, fine. A little bit restrictive, and I would’ve liked to be able to trade cards whenever I want, but I can live with that.

Next, you also need a new currency called Trade Tokens in order to trade cards of a certain rarity. The amount needed is different depending on the rarity, as listed below:

• 3-diamond: 120 Trade Tokens
• 1-star: 400 Trade Tokens
• 4-diamond: 500 Trade Tokens

And how do you get these Trade Tokens? At the time of writing, the only way to get them is by destroying dupes of your cards. And again, the amount of Trade Tokens you get for each card also depends on their rarity. Destroying a 3-diamond card, 1-star card, and 4-diamond card gets you 25, 100, and 125 Trade Tokens, respectively. This means that if you want to trade a 4-diamond card (and these are usually the coveted Ex cards), you’ll need to destroy at least four Ex dupe cards.

The problem with this system is that it completely goes against the point of trading in Pokemon TCG Pocket in the first place. With how the probabilities work for each booster pack opening, chances are very good that you could spend months on end without ever seeing a specific 3-diamond card while hoarding multiple copies of another one. The point of the trading feature was to help players complete their collections and get rid of their dupes in exchange for a card they’ve been missing for ages.

By forcing players to actively destroy dupes to get Trade Tokens, the trading function feels significantly less valuable than it should’ve been. Needless to say, the Pokemon TCG Pocket player base isn’t pleased in the slightest. It definitely doesn’t help that pack points don’t carry over between card sets either, which means that as more sets get released over time, it’s just going to get increasingly harder for players to complete a single set, especially if you’re free-to-play.

Up to this point, developing studio DeNA has been completely on-point with how they’ve handled Pokemon TCG Pocket. New cards have been released in a nice cadence — with Promo Pack events and the Mythical Island mini set releasing between major expansions — and the meta-game has been populated with a good variety of decks. Gameplay-wise, Pokemon TCG Pocket is in a healthy state.

But what about folks who just care about the collection aspect? Trading was supposed to help alleviate the game’s economic issues, but as it stands, it’s only doing more harm than good. It’s worth noting that there are things DeNA could do to help players get more Trade Tokens. For instance, we could start being able to get them as mission or event rewards, or even purchase them with Shop Tickets. It’d still make trading a total drag, but it’d be better than nothing.

For now, though, things aren’t looking too great for the F2P players, and something needs to give.

Step by step, the Dynasty Warriors series has dared to absorb more and more light RPG elements. Mind you, I can’t see the main Musou franchise in the market ever giving us a full-blown ARPG, but it’s been nice to see the simple hack-and-slash series evolve into something else, even if it hasn’t always landed its hits well. For instance, no one will bat an eye if you say that Dynasty Warriors 9 and its Empires side entry weren’t very good. In fact, those two games were very much responsible for Koei Tecmo and Omega Force going in a wildly different direction with Origins.

On a more positive note, 9 Empires included romances… sort of. You could max out the relationship with certain characters, go for a stroll, and eventually marry through a very generic cutscene. Love was already blossoming in the previous DW game, and with how much emphasis Origins puts on the Wanderer’s relationships with his allies (and maybe foes down the line), its omission here just feels odd.

A fair amount of time in Dynasty Warriors: Origins is spent walking from one point of interest to another on the game’s ‘world map’ layer. It’s straight-up taken from classic JPRGs, and it kinda rocks. Random enemy counters would’ve totally ruined it in my opinion, but those aren’t a thing (even if you can farm some procedurally generated events). This loop also includes meeting with allies and friends, accepting missions which are entirely optional, and having short conversations that add quite a lot to who they are and why they’re fighting.

The best part is that everything feels lovingly handcrafted. While much of the last few games felt like lazy filler often driven by recycled assets and rushed design (elsewhere, Nintendo was obtaining strong Musou titles from Omega Force), Origins is not only a return to form, but also a jump to the next level for the franchise. Yes, the central loop can still become repetitive if don’t really love killing thousands to achieve peace (yeah, that whole angle of the story doesn’t work), but love and care have been put into it all.

Perhaps that’s why the lack of actual in-game love has felt so baffling to me. In the age of games like Baldur’s Gate 3 and countless indies finding huge success partially thanks to engaging romances and steamy encounters (if you don’t mess up), it almost feels like a given to have some degree of that in your big new expensive game that’s looking for a larger audience and has roleplaying elements. Koei Tecmo was obviously looking to recruit more players with Origins, and while they might be succeeding following rave reviews, one has to wonder whether they’ve left some easy money on the table by not letting folks flirt with Guan Yu (see below).

I’m sorry, but there’s no heterosexual explanation for that line. I could almost taste cut content or unfulfilled creative intent when the scene just faded to black and we simply continued to be best bros (the whole ‘brothers’ thing is an entire subplot with a faction, by the way). Of course, there’s a rare beauty in heartfelt male relationships which aren’t romantic, and I wasn’t expecting to find them in a Dynasty Warriors game, yet here we are. I’m happy for that, but I also want to smooch Guan Yu or uptight leader Cao Cao.

This whole ‘romance wishlist’ rant also brings us to the noticeable lack of major female characters in the game. I mean, Dynasty Warriors has traditionally been a sausage party, but we got a handful of women that meant business in each game. While it’s true that Origins only covers a portion of the whole Romance of the Three Kingdoms storyline that we’ve experienced many times before in other entries, that’s not really an excuse when devs have taken so many liberties on multiple fronts. Again, I got ‘cut content’ vibes from Sun Shangxiang’s almost instantly flirty attitude towards the Wanderer. Is that the case? We might never know.

With dialogue trees, three distinct factions that reshape the back half of the main story, and a renewed focus on heroes, officers, and the bonds between them, a customizable main character also seemed like a logical choice, yet Omega Force wanted a defined original warrior instead. So far (I’ve yet to roll credits), I’m not seeing the narrative payoff whereas every other story front is sturdy enough. There was a clear vision for this game, and it really shows, but was it the best possible one?

While it’s abundantly clear that Omega Force took some valuable lessons learned from its time working on collaborations with other properties to heart, other things got lost in the way. Hell, even some of the few good ideas from DW9 are missing. It doesn’t really matter when the end result is among the best Dynasty Warrior has ever been, but a more focused installment needn’t let go of some killer bits that were nice to have. Also: Stop making so many characters more likable and attractive if you’re not gonna let us hit on them!

Ultimately, it may all come down to Koei Tecmo and Omega Force being afraid of taking even bigger swings after two consecutive failures with 9 and its spinoff. The franchise was overdue for a refresh, and I can’t complain too much about stuff that I’d have loved to see but is nowhere to be found. The game in front of us rocks for the most part, and it’s hard to see Dynasty Warriors: Origins as anything but yet another fantastic reminder that the right reinvention at the right time can resurrect a stagnant franchise. It worked for Tomb Raider, God of War, and many others, and it’s worked here. Bring on Samurai Warriors: Origins next, maybe?