Yearly Archive:: 2021
Nov 11 2021
Diablo II: Resurrected Is an Excellent Remaster of a Classic
The last attempt at remastering a Blizzard game, Warcraft III: Reforged, was by all accounts a disaster. It was marred by budget and management issues and plagued with bugs—and, to the horror of many, it locked players out of playing the original Warcraft III. It was such a mess that it resulted in Blizzard…
Nov 09 2021
Luminous Shines, but Not as Brightly as It Could Have
On the surface, Mara Rutherford’s new YA fantasy novel, Luminous, sounded like a book I would immediately love. It promised magic, adventure, a quest to take down the villain, and the friends-to-lovers trope I adore so much. And in a way, Luminous checked all of these boxes, but I wasn’t…
Nov 08 2021
Yandere Simulator’s 1980s Is a Retro Delight
Yandere Simulator fans, rejoice!
On October 10, longtime fans of the anime-girl simulation game were gifted with the release of the game’s prequel mode, 1980s Mode, which had been teased since the earlier years of the game’s development.
In this new mode, you play as Ryoba Aishi, the mother…
Nov 07 2021
In the World Auto Racing CCG, the Chase Is Just for Fun
Currently seeking funding via Kickstarter, World Auto Racing, or WAR—not to be confused with the mid-2000s trading card game WARS, or the classic playing-card game War—is a two- to five-player collectible card game about street racing in which drivers compete to be the first to collect 100 points,…
Nov 07 2021
This Week in Geek (11/8/21–11/14/21)
Welcome to This Week in Geek, your guide to events of interest to the Minnesota geek community for the week of Monday, November 8, to Sunday, November 14.
Virtual Events
SocietyX: Making a Home for Houseplants
What: Educational
When: Monday, November 8, at 10:30 a.m.
Where: Virtual event
Learn best…
Nov 06 2021
A Father and Daughter’s Journey through the Many Lives of Dune
The wind was crisp as my dad, my husband, and I walked up to the Roseville AMC theater. I threaded my arm through my dad’s, and we linked up. He pulled me closer with a gentle smile.
“I’m so glad we get to this see this together,” he said.
A lump formed in my throat. “Me too.”
“There’s no one I’d rather see it with…
Nov 05 2021
Grace Petrie’s New Album, Connectivity, Is a Queer, Folksy Delight
In the space of less than a year, I’ve gone from hearing Grace Petrie’s delightfully queer folk music for the first time on YouTube to making a Bandcamp account specifically to preorder her latest album, Connectivity. It had been years since I last purchased music—I tend to rely on the free versions of…
Nov 05 2021
Eternals Comes Up Short on Its Big Ambitions
Eternals feels like a dozen great directions you could take a Marvel ensemble crammed into a 2.5-hour picture. Director Chloé Zhao delivers a stirring and stunning drama of godlike beings confronting the passage of time, the cosmic scale of creation, and the enduring romance between beings that can…
Nov 04 2021
Make Spooky Season Last All Year with This Eldritch Cookbook
As far as I’m concerned, all of autumn is Halloween season, a time for candy, decorations, and costumes. I’m always looking for ways to up my spooky-season game, and this year I found a cookbook that brings some nerdy spookiness to the kitchen: The Necronomnomnom: Recipes and Rites from…
Nov 04 2021
Dear Evan Hansen Is Musically On Key but Narratively Tuneless
Content note: This film deals with anxiety, depression, and suicide, which are mentioned in this review.
This has been a big year for movie musicals. In the Heights opened the summer movie season, and Steven Spielberg’s remake of West Side Story is anticipated to be the big year-end closer. In between…