Games
‘The Last of Us’ Adaptation is Almost Here, Will It Meet Gamer Expectations?
We’re counting the days until The Last of Us premieres on HBO, and the latest trailer doesn’t make the wait any easier. This trailer has everything: titillating hints to a revolution brewing in a post-apocalyptic world, brief introductions to the game franchise’s most beloved characters, the creature reveals, and a surprisingly menacing version of the saccharine 80’s bop “Take On Me” by A-Ha.
Creative Powerhouse Behind The Last of Us HBO Series
There are some big names attached to this project, including Chernobyl creator Craig Mazin and The Last of Us creator Neil Druckmann himself. The score will be composed by Gustavo Santaolalla, who also did the original score for the game.
By the looks of the trailer, the show will be as visually stunning as the games. The trailer opens up with a pensive Ellie asking Joel, “if you don’t think there’s any hope for the world, why bother going on?” A gruff Joel responds, “You haven’t seen the world, so you don’t know.” Joel goes on to tell Ellie that she’s not family, but cargo. Fans of the game know that Joel eventually does a 180 on that sentiment, but here he is, all business.
Joel and Ellie’s Epic Journey Across a Ruined World
The latest trailer gives us more background to Joel and Ellie’s epic journey and the people they meet along the way. The Mandolarian’s Pedro Pascal is our intense protagonist Joel, tasked with getting Ellie (Bella Ramsey, Game of Thrones) west. We get a few peeks at the crumbling cities, snowy forests, and gritty militia-style outposts they encounter, and Ellie shows off the scarred-over bitemark on her arm and the true reason for their trip. It’s revealed that Ellie may be the answer to finding a cure for the Cordyceps fungal infection that left the world in ruins, underscoring the high stakes and how treacherous Joel and Ellie’s journey out west will be.
Ellie’s charming personality and Joel’s rough and authoritative demeanor are on full display in this trailer, and I’m looking forward to Ramsey and Pascal making these beloved characters their own. You’ll see a few familiar faces and may recognize them as some of the other endearing characters Joel and Ellie meet while traveling across the post-apocalyptic U.S. The star-studded cast also includes Merle Dandridge, who reprises her role as Marlene, the leader of the resistance movement the Fireflies; Nick Offerman as the survivalist Bill, and Storm Reid as Riley. Riley’s appearance in the trailer means fans can expect to learn more about Ellie’s past from The Last of Us: Left Behind expansion. We also see glimpses of brothers Henry (Lamar Johnson) and Sam (Keivonn Woodard), and I, for one am not ready to relive that trauma.
Terrifying Creature Reveals: The Cordyceps Threat
And of course, this trailer saves the best for last: the creature reveal. The last few seconds reveal several cordyceps rising from a fiery pit, which is enough to fuel a few nightmares. Fans of the game will recognize the monster in the center frame as a bloater, the last and most formidable stage in the Cordyceps fungal infection. Honestly, no notes: the creature design looks perfect and faithful to the game’s style. I’m already creeped out by their various clicking noises, much like I was while playing the games.
I was undecided on if I would watch The Last of Us when it was first announced. We all know that movies and shows based on video games can be hit or miss, and I worried about how such a compelling story would translate to primetime TV. But it’s a great sign that Neil Druckmann is credited as a writer for this project, and it’s obvious that HBO/Warner Brothers are invested in producing a faithful retelling of this story. I’m excited to see how accurate the show is to the source material and what new nightmares it’ll bring to audiences.
The Last of Us premieres on HBO and HBO Max on January 15.
Just a few days ago, the highly anticipated Saw: Genesis made a reveal that I don’t think anyone was prepared for: it will be a post-WW1 asymm. Much of that is confounding and beyond frustrating. While that news fell flat for many fans who have been waiting for a single-player Saw game in the style of its aught predecessors, we do have a light at the end of the tunnel. Though that light exists in a different tunnel. Following in the footsteps of games like Evil Dead: The Game, Halloween: The Game will contain more than its asymmetrical multiplayer.
The upcoming Halloween: The Game, developed and published by IllFonic and co-published by Gun Interactive, will drop players into Haddonfield for a six-chapter single-player story mode. Full of cinematic cut scenes with a [hopefully] fully realized story, the single player mode will offer players more than just an exciting story that builds on the Haddonfield we came to know and love from the original film. Players will fully inhabit The Shape as you slash and crash your way through Haddonfield, with story beats narrated by Dr. Loomis.
Play as Michael Myers in a Sandbox Horror Experience
Halloween: The Game‘s story mode takes a sandbox approach to its gameplay. Players can tinker with multiple ways to find, stalk, and kill victims. Whether you decide to silently stalk your victims to dispatch them one by one, or toying with them until you take them out with raw disregard…the choice is yours! Terrorizing the denizens of Haddonfield isn’t the only thing Story Mode will have to offer.
Each chapter will contain secondary challenges and collectibles (and hopefully a few trophies for those plat hunters like myself). Collectibles and successful challenge completions will result in new executions, scenarios, and lore, as well as unlocking exclusive story mode collectibles for multiplayer.
Halloween: The Game Release Date, Editions, and Platforms
Halloween: The Game is available now for digital pre-order. Set at $39.99 for the Standard Edition and $59.99 for the Deluxe Edition (which includes an exclusive Michael Myers skin, 2 exclusive civilians, and more), this game is set to slash its way onto PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC via Steam and Epic Games Store on September 8, 2026.
Do you plan on taking a trip to Haddonfield, or does a six-chapter story mode not make up for the game’s asymm focus? If you’re on the fence, would a declaration that servers would be online for at least a year or two push you one way or another? I know it would for me.
Sex, bloody torture, gore, cosmic terror, and whole lot of BDSM demons. The iconic Hellraiser franchise, known for its queer subtext and dark fantasy-terror, is fucking back…but maybe not the way you might expect. Saber Interactive, the company behind Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 has unleashed the iconic franchise into the video game world with one terrifying trailer. This is Hellraiser: Revival.
The official blurb of the game introduces the story. Protagonist Aidan, who’s Girlfriend is taken into Hell after the Genesis Configuration (a puzzle box seemingly quite similar to the iconic Lament Configuration). He must use and unlock the secrets of the configuration to battle countless demons, Pinhead worshippers, and the Cenobites themselves to save her.
That’s not all for the story, though. Living legend Clive Barker, creator of The Hellbound Heart, and Director of the original film, reportedly helped on the story of the game, returning to the iconic franchise he created decades ago. He is quoted as saying, “Working on the first true Hellraiser game has been a venture deep into the recesses of my darkest imaginings.” With this in mind, one can it expect it to stay true to the roots of the series.
Graphic both in sex and violence, the trailer promises the look and feel of the classic film. It filled to the brim with cenobites, horrendous torture methods, and some deviously designed demons. The color palette is drenched in dark shadows and a menacing Hellscape.
