Everybody calm down! It's happening! Everyone's favorite sword-wielding android, 2B, is coming to Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising. I didn't know that I was missing her but it's abundantly clear that I was.

In a move that is both simultaneously surprising and not, Square Enix is licensing out one of its most popular characters. It appears that the puppet character, Nier, will have some competition in several ways.

When is 2B coming to GBVSR?

During Granblue Fes 2023, Cygames and Arc System Works announced the Nier: Automata star would be joining the fantasy fighter's roster in February 2024 as part of the Deluxe Edition Character Pass 1 or for $7.99 individually. In addition to 2B as a playable character, she'll also be usable as a Premium Avatar as part of the DLC.

For those who don't speak Japanese or want to sift through 6+ hours of footage, a post was made on Twitter (now X), including a 65-second video of the blindfolded battler.

2B makes a rather stylish entrance with Pod following some conversation between the baffled Gran and Djeeta. She then gets to work with both the Virtuous Contract and Virtuous Treaty swords before unleashing a Skybound Art with several Pod units.

She looks formidable with large sweeping attacks, quick-fire attacks from Pod, and teleporting dodges aplenty. I'm certainly excited to try her out as, despite not really enjoying Nier: Automata's story, 2B's design and gameplay completely won me over.

This isn't 2B's first foray into fighting game territory, as she previously traveled back in time to fight against the likes of Nightmare and Voldo in Soulcalibur VI. She was a ton of fun to play then and her appearance in GBVSR looks to be a repeat performance. Whether you intend on playing her or not, it'll be wise to practice against her in the training mode as she's likely to be a popular pick following the release.

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It's that time of year when things start to slow down and everyone settles in for the arrival of winter. For those looking to boost their ranking on Santa's Nice List, PowerWash Simulator is taking us to Santa's Workshop to clean up after a wild elf party.

In an X post made by the PowerWash Simulator account, a gift has arrived for those who wish to clean a bit more. Players on PlayStation, Xbox, and Steam can access a new free level on December 14, 2023, and Switch players can get in on the fun on January 8, 2024.

PowerWash Simulator brings Santa's Workshop to life

The level itself is a small but densely packed affair, with plenty of nooks and crannies to blast clean. I hadn't touched PowerWash Simulator since the SpongeBob SquarePants DLC back in June and I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly it all came back to me. Before I knew it, Christmas had been saved and my trip to the North Pole could be written off as a business expense.

Every one of PowerWash Simulator's offerings, both free and paid, has been an utter delight. Santa's Workshop is no different and offers plenty of reasons to boot up the relaxing title and spray away the gunk.

With the Warhammer 40,000 DLC being delayed to 2024, this bite-sized DLC should hopefully be enough to tide players over. Either way, if you've been wanting a break from other titles or even want to take power washing into the third dimension, PowerWash Simulator has you covered. Just make sure you wear the proper PPE when cleaning Cloud's Buster Sword in the Seventh Heaven Bar.

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In a surprise trailer dropped by the Street Fighter X (formerly Twitter) account, a crossover between Street Fighter 6 and Spy x Family Code: White is coming on January 9, 2024. The event serves as a promotion for the upcoming Spy x Family film, which will be released in Japanese theaters on December 22, 2023.

Aside from collaboration activities coming to Street Fighter 6 early next year, not much information was shown in the trailer. The X post said that additional information would be coming at a later date.

Street Fighter 6 is no stranger to collaborations. Since its release on June 2, 2023, the fighter has joined forces with several popular franchises including Baki and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. While the Baki collaboration is relegated to fighter card aesthetics, the TMNT crossover had full-fledged costumes for all four Turtles.

This is where things get a little conflicting. While it was exciting to get the turtles in SF6, they came at a heavy cost, namely 750 Fighter Coins (roughly $15) each. So to get all four Turtles, players would have to drop about $60; and that didn't include all of the extras like stickers and what-have-you. Adding insult to injury was that the Turtles weren't actually characters; they were costumes for the player's avatar. Compared to the Turtles' inclusion in Injustice 2, whose pack was only $9.99 and had them as individual characters, it's kind of a raw deal in SF6.

While I'm excited about the prospect of two franchises I greatly enjoy crossing over like this, I'm hesitant about how Capcom will implement it. Either we get a bland pack like Baki or we get overpriced content that isn't usable outside of Avatar Battles. Here's hoping I'm totally wrong and we get an Anya and Bond combo utilizing Psycho Power.

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While the Spider-Man movies might just now be dipping their toes into the multiverse, it's a concept that's been long established in the comics and shows for over 30 years now. As such, you can imagine all the pure weirdness the webhead has been involved in.

Marvel, compared to the other titan of the comics industry, DC, likes to dabble in the bizarre. With Santa Claus himself being an omega-level mutant, it can't be that shocking that old gods like Dagon also share space among the various universes. However, it's surprising how few degrees of separation there are between Peter Paker and eldritch entities.

Six degrees of Spider-Man

For this thought exercise, we will focus on the universe established in Insomniac's series of games. In Marvel's Spider-Man 2, several strong clues establish the necessary connections. The biggest is that the larger multiverse has established a beachhead in Peter and Miles' backyard.

Collecting the various Spider-Bots spread throughout New York is more than an interesting side quest. After nabbing the last one, players receive a quest where an all-too-familiar portal opens up. Inside, Spider-Man meets a mysterious character named Delilah, who directly mentions Across the Spider-Verse's Miguel O'Hara.

This is so important because it means this universe is clearly no longer isolated. Sure, this was established in the aforementioned film, but this is akin to asking a question and getting a definite answer. Not only does this universe's Peter Parker get introduced to the Spider-Verse, but he becomes an active member of the larger Spider-Man corps.

This creates the opening for things to get truly bizarre for this universe's Peter and Miles. However, Insomniac seems to be stacking the deck as not only are connections being made across universes but the seeds for Old Ones are being planted in the universe.

Venom and its ties to Knull

Barring the existence of the multiverse, we also get some ties through this version of Venom. The meteorite the symbiote rode to Earth is branded with Knull's jagged spiral symbol. This same symbol appears on the various symbiotes that Venom creates in the back half of the game.

The symbol is itself a reference to the Cthulhu Mythos, with it being similar to the Spiral of Carcosa. Created by Ambrose Bierce in his 1886 short story "An Inhabitant of Carcosa," this fictional city is a common reference in eldritch horror. It would later be used in homage by Robert W. Chambers in 1895's The King in Yellow and H.P. Lovecraft's 1931 work, The Whisperer in the Darkness.

This symbol, Venom sprouting wings just like Knull's, and the overall story are all nods to Knull and the King in Black event. In King in Black, Knull, the eldritch God of Darkness and progenitor of the symbiotes, arrives on Earth. The title "King in Black" also references The King in Yellow.

Knull is a monstrously powerful eldritch god chosen by the Celestials when they were shaping the universe. Rejecting them and their offer, Knull formed the first symbiote into a sword and decapitated one of the Celestials. Using its head, Knull refined the sword into the Necrosword.

From there, Knull began bonding his living abyss to other beings to corrupt and control them. Sound familiar? Yep, "living abyss" is simply another term for the symbiotes.

Knull is the epitome of an eldritch being in Marvel's mythos. Even with other actual Old Ones like Chthon and Dagon existing in the same mythos, Knull still manages to nab the top spot. I'd like to think it's due to the "cool factor" imparted to Venom by its creator, Todd McFarlane.

The introduction of Cindy Moon/Silk

Cindy Moon, also known as Silk, is introduced at the end of Marvel's Spider-Man 2. In it, she is the daughter of Albert Moon, a man whom Miles' mother has begun seeing. Silk has direct ties to the larger and weirder side of Spider-Man lore.

Cindy was not only at the same exhibit with Peter at the time of his infamous spider bite but was also bitten by the same spider. This led to her developing spider-based powers the same way Peter did. Unlike Peter, she was immediately thrown into the deep end of the bizarre.

The Spider-Verse films are getting to this revelation, but it essentially boils down to this: in the first universe, Earth-001, the Web of Life and Destiny was created. It stretched out and connected every other universe. Anansi, the Akan spider god, was responsible for creating the web. Neith, the Egyptian goddess who created the world daily with her loom, acted as the first Spider-Totem, and her spiders would select avatars for the other Spider-Totems.

While there are six Spider-Totems, there can be many more avatars, aside from the Other, who may only empower one avatar (Peter Parker). Cindy Moon serves as an avatar of the Bride. Within the Web of Life and Destiny, the Bride makes additional Spider-Totems through "chance, curses, magic, and unwanted luck."

The long and short of it is that this web and its Spider-Totems are the sources of spider powers and problems. Once ensnared by it, nearly every spider-person is thrust into a battle for reality itself waged by gods and their avatars.

The MCU is flirting with old gods, too

It's not just Sony projects like Spider-Verse and Madame Web that are dabbling with larger-than-life figures. Marvel and its MCU have already laid the groundwork for Lovecraftian-inspired tales.

Thor: Love and Thunder has direct ties to Knull as the antagonist, Gorr the God Butcher, wields the Necrosword. While it's not explicitly stated that the sword came from Knull, the abilities it grants Gorr track. It's similar to how Gorr stole the sword from an incapacitated Knull in the comics. For the time being, it's as close as Marvel can get to touching Spider-Man content in the movies without Sony getting involved.

Scarlet Witch does the bulk of the heavy lifting when it comes to otherworldly things in the MCU. In the comics, the Elder God, Chthon, bestowed a then infant Wanda Maximoff with the ability to use chaos magic. The idea was to use her as a vessel for himself to return to the Earth plane. As a result, this essentially makes her a magnet for all things chaotically powerful.

Wandavision introduces Agatha Harkness and the Darkhold to the MCU. The latter is a book of spells written by Chthon and acts as a conduit for his influence in the Earth plane. It would serve as the catalyst for Wanda's corruption in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The Darkhold and Mount Wondagore are integral to Wanda and Chthun's relationship.

The former is a witch of incalculable age who had come into possession of the Darkhold and used it to discover Wanda was the Scarlet Witch. In the comics, Agatha acts as a mentor for several characters, including Franklin Richards and Wanda. In the show, Agatha intends to take away Wanda's "undeserved" powers. After defeating Agatha, Wanda takes the Darkhold, setting up the events of the Doctor Strange film.

Carnage, the symbiote offspring of Venom and prominent villain of Spider-Man, is also tied to Chthon. A member of the Darkholders cult, Barry Gleason, believed that Carnage was the key to a ritual that would resurrect Chthon.

"When the Red Slayer spills blood on sacred stone, he who sleeps shall wake and what walked once will walk again."

Carnage Volume 2 #4

Ultimately, the sacrifice didn't pan out, and Carnage was instead infused with the power of the Darkhold. Carnage was drawn to a temple of Chthon on an island in the Timor Sea, where the symbiote was able to resurrect the Elder God. Since then, Chthon has acted as Marvel's stand-in for Cthulhu.

However, the Elder Gods are not to be confused with Marvel's "Great Old Ones." These beings, like Azotharoth, Yog-Sothoth, and Shuma-Gorath, are more akin to the tentacled horrors usually associated with the Cthulhu Mythos. The distinctions are a little muddled, and it gets even murkier as Lovecraft himself is a Marvel character in Earth-616.

Outside of the Marvel universe, the Elder Gods were created by writer and Lovecraft's publisher, August Derleth. It was Derleth who came up with the term "Cthulhu Mythos" to describe Lovecraft's universe of madness. The Elder Gods stand against the Great Old Ones in a celestial battle of good versus evil.

TL;DR: Spider-Man might get weird

Marvel, Sony, and Insomniac have already laid the groundwork for things to get really weird in the various Spider-Man properties. With only a degree of separation between Peter Parker and the Elder God, Chthon, in the comics, I wouldn't be shocked if some of that dark tentacled void started creeping into the next Spider-Man game from Insomniac. With audiences and critics tiring of the same superhero formula, injecting some eldritch horror could be the shot in the arm we need.

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It's no secret that I'm in love with Cyberpunk 2077. I'm closing in on nearly 200 hours of playtime, and that's just one run. However, one thing that could make this experience even better is being able to play a multiplayer version with my wife.

While Cyberpunk 2077 was initially going to have a multiplayer component, it vanished like a fart in the wind. However, that hasn't stopped me from fantasizing about what could have been. Plus, I also need to justify my obsession by getting her into this universe.

A story that needs to be experienced together

For me, the biggest draw to getting her into the world of Cyberpunk isn't just spending time together but exploring a story together. Sure, we watch movies and shows together, listen to podcasts and audiobooks, and discuss everything mentioned afterward. However, being able to actively determine a compelling narrative together? That sounds amazing.

While I understand this could be done with one of us playing while the other watches, this creates a disconnect, however slight, with the person not playing. I want her to see and feel Night City as I have. I want her to stumble across side missions and characters, build relationships, and take on the mighty corporations. I want her to come to her own conclusions about mysteries like the Peralez family or who Mr. Blue Eyes could be.

It's akin to showing someone your favorite movie. This time, though, they're taking a starring role. By taking a page from the TTRPG, I could drop in as a random merc and back my lady's V as she works her way up from Watson to the top of Arasaka Tower. Ultimately, it's her story. I just want to be there, taking down cyberpsychos along the way as she navigates the various dilemmas this world has to offer.

Opening up a new genre of games to others

Cyberpunk 2077 isn't one of those games that my wife would normally play. She's into your 2D platformers like Super Mario Wonder and relaxed retreats like Animal Crossing: New Horizons. As such, sitting her down in front of the TV and hoping for the best with Cyberpunk, which is a serious investment, might not yield the best returns for her.

However, if I could take her hand akin to playing through the various Halo campaigns, I could almost guarantee she'd see the same appeal for Night City and its inhabitants that I do. There's just something about losing yourself in another world with your best friend that isn't quite like anything else.

As such, with me acting as backup, I can help smooth out any speedbumps she might encounter. Not a fan of combat? Sit back while I clear these Maelstrom out. Don't like dealing with quickhacks or minigames? Cover my six while I get my Neo on. Disgusted by the way Brigitte is talking to you? I will quickhack the hell out of her so you can plant a boot through her chest.

Much like playing the Nabbit in Super Mario Wonder can make me less of a deadweight in her games, I want to be able to introduce her to things outside her wheelhouse without making the learning curve too steep. By being the Sam to her Frodo, we can play through one of gaming's most engrossing stories.

Whatever happened to Cyberpunk 2077's multiplayer?

Leading up to Cyberpunk 2077's release, developer CD Projekt Red was hyping up a multiplayer mode. In March 2013, CDPR's Chief Creative Officer, Adam Badowski, said in an interview, "It [Cyberpunk 2077] will be a story-based RPG experience with amazing single-player playthroughs, but we're going to add multiplayer features."

As development progressed, the CDPR Twitter account made a post linked to their careers page in regards to the multiplayer mode that was "in the works." It appears the initial plan was to release the single-player mode in April 2020, followed by additional content and then release the multiplayer portion once that was done.

However, as the initial and subsequent release dates came and went due to delays, many not only worried about the single-player component but also the multiplayer version, which was indicated to have been a standalone game.

Following the first delay from April 16, 2020, to September 17, 2020, CDPR was asked by an investor during a Q&A session if they should expect the multiplayer component in 2021. Chief Commerical Officer Micał Nowakowski responded, "Given the expected release of Cyberpunk 2077 in September, and frankly speaking of the series of events we expect to occur after that date, 2021 appears unlikely as a release date for the Cyberpunk multiplayer."

In another investor call (translated by Seeking Alpha) in November 2020, Chief Executive Officer Adam Kiciński fielded a question regarding multiplayer coming in 2022. "Regarding multiplayer, we haven't announced any date so far, and actually, right now, it's not the... I mean, it's not the moment to talk about any business model for multiplayer, even though we had discussing before, but to avoid any fast in our gaming community, we... I will skip it because we'll share our thoughts about next year once we update our strategy. It will happen in Q1 next year, and that will be after releasing Cyberpunk and that will be the right moment to discuss deeper or all key aspects around future releases. (sic)"

In March 2021, the CD Projekt IR YouTube account posted a strategy update that included information regarding the state of the "online elements." Essentially, the developer planned to release updates and free DLCs in 2021, a Next Gen release and free Next Gen update in H2 2021, further expansions, and finally, the addition of the aforementioned online elements. It appears that the developer's plan was to build a solid foundation in their games using the REDengine and then develop an online component that could be integrated into existing games.

The developer remained quiet regarding multiplayer for over a year as it worked to undo the damage that was the arguably catastrophic launch of Cyberpunk 2077. In an interview with Eurogamer, former Senior Quest Designer and Coordinator Philipp Weber said, "The priority was that the main experience will run for the people in a really good state, and essentially, the switch of priorities meant that other R&D projects had to go away. With Cyberpunk, we wanted to do many things at the same time, and we just needed to really focus and say, 'Okay, what's the important part? Yeah, we will make that part really good.'"

At this point, it would appear that any hopes or chances of Cyberpunk 2077 getting a multiplayer component or standalone release are dead in the water. It took CDPR nearly three years to push out Update 2.0, which abandoned the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, which was released on September 21, 2023. This is two full years after the initial timeline.

Since then, the Phantom Liberty DLC was released on September 26, 2023. CDPR continues to push out updates in support, but there don't appear to be any official plans to expand further on Cyberpunk 2077 as it stands.

Holding out hope for Cyberpunk multiplayer

On October 4, 2022, the CDPR Twitter account made a post stating that Orion is a codename for the next Cyberpunk title. This was followed up with a tweet by Quest Director Paweł Sasko, stating that he would be moving the core team to Boston and working with developers from both the Vancouver and Warsaw branches on the next title.

Since then, the CD Projekt IR YouTube account has posted another investor call on October 5, 2023, wherein Adam Badowski said that the sequel was still in the "conceptual design" stage. This means that it is likely going to be years until we get further information on the title, as hopefully, CD Projekt Red has learned its lesson about abusing the hype train.

Will we see multiplayer in whatever Orion turns out to be? There's no way to know, and it's best to be skeptical about what CDPR says until the game is actually out. In the meantime, I can only drop subtle hints that my darling wife should install some cyberware and show some Animals the business end of her smart pistol.

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