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The Verge
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Verge
The Switch 2 gives Splatoon 3 a fantastically fresh coat of paint
Charles Pulliam-Moore is a reporter focusing on film, TV, and pop culture. Before The Verge, he wrote about comic books, labor, race, and more at io9 and Gizmodo for almost five years. Splatoon 3 already looked phenomenal on the original Switch, in a way that seemed to defy the console's hardware limitations. The game's paint-slicked visuals were gorgeous, and its chaotic battles were a testament to how well the Switch could run software that was fine-tuned to make the best of its specs. What was most impressive, though, was the way Splatoon 3 kept refreshing itself for years after its initial 2022 release with a steady stream of new clothes, weapons, stages, and a nifty DLC expansion. Splatoon 3 felt like it had reached its zenith on the original Switch — so much so that a full-on sequel seemed like the franchise's logical next step as Nintendo prepared to release the Switch 2. But thanks to an unexpected update, Splatoon 3 plays like a slicker, sleeker, and more modern shooter on the new console. And while the improvements aren't quite as dramatic as what we saw with Fortnite, they're big enough to make Splatoon 3 feel like it's more than capable of holding down the fort while Nintendo focuses on developing whatever's next. While battles within Splatoon 3 have always maxed out at 60fps, the first thing that jumps out about the game post-update is how that high framerate can now also be seen basically everywhere you guide your Inkling character. In the past, nonmatch locations like Splatsville, Inkopolis, and the Grand Festival Grounds never looked bad, per se. But there was a roughness to characters' animations as they walked around and a stiffness to the way the environment moved that made those places feel like they were trying hard to not push the original Switch past its limits. After the new Switch 2 update, which also bumps the game's resolution up, everything in Inkopolis flows with a delightful slickness that makes the place feel alive. Inklings' steps and idling poses are still measured and slow, but there is a gracefulness to them now that made me pay closer attention to people's avatars. And while the update doesn't bring any drastic changes to Splatoon 3 's character models, you can clearly see the fine details of their stylish hypebeast fits and the way light interacts with the glossy, reflective surfaces of their skin. Better-looking NPCs hanging out in lobbies might not seem like a big deal, but it's an important part of the Splatoon experience because of the way most of the characters you see in places like Inkopolis are actually other players' avatars. The added visual polish works to remind you that Splatoon 3 is very much a community-focused game that still has a dedicated playerbase, and as I walked around, it was great seeing so many higher-resolution characters sharing messages about how they were enjoying the update. You can also feel how much more horsepower the Switch 2 is working with in how quickly Splatoon 3 now breezes through its loading screens as you're getting ready to dive into a match. Once you're actually in a battle, you can really start to get a sense of how the update impacts Splatoon 3 's core gameplay on the Switch 2 and why, for people still playing on the original Switch, Nintendo decided to strip out some of the background visual elements in certain competitive modes. On the whole, regular PvP matches ran every bit as well at 60fps as they did on the first Switch, but you can see that background elements in the far off distance, like the jellyfish spectators, now move much more smoothly. It stands to reason that Nintendo chose not to drastically change how Splatoon 3 battles run on the Switch 2 so as not to put players on the original Switch at an unfair disadvantage. That's also probably why, after the update, some of the background elements in the Splat Zones / Tower Control /Rainmaker / Clam Blitz modes have been removed on the first Switch. In my experience, this didn't really change all that much because you're meant to be focused on painting the ground and splatting your enemies. But those changes likely help the Switch dedicate more of its energy to displaying the important things well. Even when there's a horde of enemies swarming in Salmon Run mode, their animations are much, much smoother, which actually makes it easier to keep track of what's going on as matches become more hectic. It was still almost impossible to get my teammates to pull it together when a Horrorboros showed up and started hurling paint bombs at us, but that felt like the sort of issue that might be more easily addressed in a follow-up game that makes use of the Switch 2 's voice chat feature. For both consoles, the update also introduces a slew of remixed weapons. Giving standard weapons, like the Aerospray, different sub-weapons has always been a core part of Splatoon, and the new kits are essentially an invitation to try out your old favorites with a couple of new tricks attached that encourage unique play longtime Splatoon 3 players, everything about the update really serves as a reminder of how much fun the game has always been. But it also feels like Nintendo is making an effort to bring more players into the fold ahead of Splatoon Raiders ' launch. And, as nice as it would have been to have a new Splatoon title for the Switch 2's launch, it's fantastic to see Nintendo making moves that benefit the entire Switch family as a whole. Featured Videos From The Verge Inside the Meta monopoly trial | The Vergecast After more than a month of testimony, the Meta antirust trial is beginning to slow down. The Google search remedies trial, meanwhile, is about to heat up again, with closing arguments coming soon. The Verge's Lauren Feiner has been in the DC courthouse for all of it, and has finally emerged to tell us about what she's seen, and learned, from two all-important monopoly trials. After that, The Verge's Victoria Song tells us about her latest experience with Google's smart glasses prototypes, what Google is doing differently from Meta and Apple, and what she thinks Jony Ive and OpenAI might be building. Finally, we answer a question on the Vergecast Hotline about what to do now that Mozilla is shutting down Pocket.
Gizmodo
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Gizmodo
The Real-World Places Behind ‘Andor' Season 2's Architectural Marvels
Andor, the live-action Star Wars prequel series created by Tony Gilroy and starring Diego Luna, concluded its second and final season last month. Spanning the years prior to the events of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, the series has garnered massive praise from Star Wars fans and critics alike for its deft storytelling, stirring lead performances, and majestic setpieces. This is especially true in the show's second season, which sees the former thief-turned-rebel-fighter on the run for his life while working as an agent saboteur and covert operative for Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgård), a spymaster laying the groundwork for what will eventually become the rebel alliance first glimpsed in the original Star Wars. From the wafting wheat fields of Mina-Rau and the cosmopolitan grandeur of the Ghorman Plaza, to the sprawling ecumenopolis of Coruscant, every location feels as lived-in as it is visually breathtaking. Coruscant, in particular, takes on renewed resonance in Andor season two. First glimpsed on-screen in a scene added to the 1997 re-release of Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi, the capital of the Galactic Republic and later Empire appears much as it did in the prequel trilogy—a bricolage of glittering skyscrapers, Brutalist support columns, and endless lanes of hovercrafts tracing the sky like ley lines of iridescent silver—albeit rendered with a more practical heft and tactile depth than in any incarnation seen before. Andor's take on Coruscant took inspiration from many real-life architectural sights, specifically the City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia, Spain. 'In the middle of season one [of Andor], I sort of identified certain architectural styles that would work for Coruscant like Santiago Calatrava and Zaha Hadid,' Andor production designer Luke Hull told io9. 'I did a big location scouting trip before we went into production for season two, just to buildings I always found interesting and had good shape language for Star Wars. That took me to Paris, to Barcelona and Madrid, and even Portugal, and we looked at Valencia as well. So it was kind of a little bit of a weird European road trip, some of which was kind of a good reference, and some of which was like, 'Wow, I wish we could film here,' but we're not sure what [Andor season two] was yet. And then some of it was like, 'Okay, this really has the bones of something 'Upper Coruscant' about it,' which is what I thought Valencia had.' Designed by Santiago Calatrava and Félix Candela, the futuristic 350,000-square-meter educational and cultural complex was built along the dry bed of the old Turia River, which was drained and diverted following a flood which devastated the nearby city in 1957. The project broke ground in 1991, with the first building, the Hemesferic—Spain's largest cinema and planetarium—opening in 1998. The complex was expanded over the next decade, with the most recent building, the Agora Plaza, completed in 2009. 'With this location in Valencia, you could just walk around in every corner of it, [and it] looked like Coruscant,' ILM visual effect supervisor Mohen Leon said in an interview for 'We ended up shooting so much and it perfectly meshed into our whole approach of trying to ground everything in locations, and then just enhance and augment them. So this location specifically really felt very upscale and formal in a way that you could believe that this could be government offices.' Fans of Andor will recognize the Prince Felipe Science Museum, a large building buffeted by large skeletal rib-like columns, as one of the centerpieces of the plaza adjourning the Imperial Senate Building, particularly for its appearance in season two's ninth episode, where Cassian Andor is tasked with rescuing Senator Mon Mothma from being arrested by the ISB. The Senate plaza wasn't the only location based on the City of Arts and Science, however, as two more locations—Davo Sculdun's palatial skyscraper seen in episode six and the final meeting place of Luthen Rael and his ISB mole Lonni Jung—were based on the Queen Sofia Palace of the Arts and the adjourning Montolivet Bridge, respectively. 'We knew we were going to only use up to a certain point on the plaza for the Senate anyway,' Hull told io9. 'Because we were going to put the Senate offices, basically, where the building was that we ultimately used for Davo Sculdun's building, we replaced that with the Senate offices. So then we were like, well, this building is up for grabs.' Hull added, 'I just really loved this idea that you could treat the bit at the front [of the Queen Sofia Palace of the Arts] as a sort of landing pad. You really feel all of Coruscant around you as you kind of bring the limo down. It's very glamorous and Bond-esque to kind of arrive that way and then also be able to see the partygoers through the glass from outside. It's kind of rare that you get this opportunity. I love filming on location anyway, but I've always fought very hard to try and film on location because I do think it gives us scope that CGI can't give. CGI can give scale, but it can't give scope all the time.' The same fastidious level of attention was also given to the costume designs of the people within the Senate. Michael Wilkinson, the costume designer for Andor, worked hand in hand with Hull to craft clothing for the senators and staff that felt grounded with complexity and reality. '[Coruscant] is a really good example, because you have so many different types of people at the Senate, and the audience has to very quickly understand who's who and who's doing what,' Wilkinson told io9. 'So we have senators at the very top of the pyramid; they're from all different corners of the galaxy and represent lots of different cultures. So we had to sort of try and express that through their clothing. Then you have the people that sort of work at the Senate; the more bureaucratic people, the senator's aides, the people who help run the Senate, so they have a very different type of costume as well, nothing quite as grand as the senators, a little bit more like the Star Wars equivalent of an everyday corporate look. Then we had Senate security, so they needed a uniform, and then we also had the journalists and the people from the outside world that have come to report about the things that are happening at the Senate.' Andor isn't the only sci-fi series to feature Valencia's City of Arts and Sciences. The campus has been indelibly embedded within the visual lexicon of modern science fiction, with appearances in such shows as Westworld as the exterior of DELOS headquarters and in the 2017 episode 'Smile' of Doctor Who. It also appeared on the big screen Brad Bird's 2015 sci-fi drama Tomorrowland. When asked why he thinks why the City of Arts and Sciences exerts such a powerful influence on the collective imagination of artists and directors alike, Hull was quick to credit the scope and diversity of Calatrava's vision for the complex's structure. 'It's just so innately science fiction, and there's the scale of it,' Hull said. 'The scale is monumental. It's a very coherent, encapsulated vision. There's a lot to play with. It's not just one building, and it's so rare to find that. For our purposes, I really felt it just embodied some of Star Wars' visual language. I mean, everything Calatrava designs looks like it's from the future, so it's sort of inherently going to attract that sort of type of filmmaking and in order to tell those types of stories.'While writing this piece, I learned that a group of Spanish Star Wars fans met up at the City of Arts and Sciences to celebrate May the Fourth in 2005, mere days before the theatrical premiere of Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith and nearly 20 years before the campus itself would appear in Andor. Knowing that, it feels like nothing short of an act of the Force to see Calatrava's masterpiece finally make its appearance in a galaxy far, far away.
The Verge
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Verge
Pixar's Elio has a gorilla fight question of his own.
Charles Pulliam-Moore is a reporter focusing on film, TV, and pop culture. Before The Verge, he wrote about comic books, labor, race, and more at io9 and Gizmodo for almost five years. While you may have forgotten that Elio is hitting theaters next month, the film's latest trailer makes it seem like Pixar has been listening to the ridiculous 100 men vs 1. gorilla hypothetical fight people have been debating about for the past few weeks.
Gizmodo
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Gizmodo
How ‘The Handmaid's Tale' Pulled Off That Surprising Finale Reunion
If you've been following io9's coverage of The Handmaid's Tale season six, you might have caught our list of five things viewers needed to remember about season five. There was a long gap between seasons, and quite a few high-stakes plot threads to keep track of. One of the items on that list was the departure of fan-favorite character, whose absence was explained away in the season five premiere. We wondered if perhaps that person might return in season six, and, well… Yes! Alexis Bledel's Emily, fearless fighter and noted salted caramel ice cream fan, did indeed show up for some closure in 'The Handmaid's Tale,' the series finale episode. In season five, we learned she'd left her wife and son—after a hard-fought escape to safety—to return to Gilead and keep fighting. It was an abrupt end for a character who'd been so important as both a friend to June (Elisabeth Moss) as well as to the plot of The Handmaid's Tale as a whole; it's because of Emily that we learned about Mayday. She's the reason why Bradley Whitford's Commander Lawrence entered the story. Her experiences also illuminated the bleak life for exiles in the Colonies, as well as the genital mutilation forced upon women who refused to obey Gilead's draconian laws. Though the character's absence was due to Bledel choosing to leave the series, it was tempting to imagine Emily would soon pop up again. But she was MIA throughout season five and all of season six until the very end. In interviews with the Hollywood Reporter, Bledel as well as Moss and show creator Bruce Miller discussed how they planned her cameo. 'We were both thrilled that it might work out,' Miller told THR. 'I think she was really excited when we talked. The only thing that was hard was the logistics to get her up for the time we needed … It was wonderful to see her and [Moss] get right back into it after all that time.' Moss added, 'She wanted to do it from the beginning. She didn't need convincing at all. My first official scene on day one [on set] was with Alexis. So it meant a lot to get to work with her again.' In a separate interview with THR, Bledel said returning to The Handmaid's Tale was 'an immediate yes' because 'it felt right to bring closure to Emily's journey and offer the audience a sense of completion … I hope viewers take away to keep hope alive when things seem impossible. Even if it seems like seeds you plant couldn't possibly grow, plant seeds of hope anyway. You never know; they might find a way.' The Handmaid's Tale finale is now streaming on Hulu.
Gizmodo
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Gizmodo
Epic Universe Ups the Ante for Theme Park Foodies
You'll need to fuel up to keep your energy going at Epic Universe, and there's no short supply of the most bananas (in some cases) and bonkers fandom-inspired food and drinks in each portal. io9 recently visited Epic Universe during its media preview and got to try many of the theme park foodie culinary delights to see what's worth trying—and what might just be cute for a social media picture. From Viking fare in Berk to lab concoctions in the Dark Universe, here are some of the most outrageous things we tried. Super Nintendo World Okay, we had to try the DK Crush Float because we needed to get the barrel mug it came in. Never mind the taste—which was a pungent pineapple soda and banana ice-cream assault on the palette. You'll feel like you got the barrel cracked open into your mouth along with it, complete with caramel popcorn pieces and shards of chocolate. It's a lot. But if those flavors are your thing, you do you. Special mention: there's a plant-based green shell for vegan representation. The Isle of Berk Hands down the best handy meal at Epic Universe: the mac and cheese cones at Hooligan's Grog & Gruel. They come in various combination toppings including Goldfish crackers, PB&J (pork, bacon and jam), and Dragon Fire Chicken (spicy). They're incredible and easy to eat. Special mention: The Mead Hall's Yaknog, which is basically a cinnamon forward iced hot chocolate, and Stormfly's Catch of the Day, a decorated chocolate mousse filled fish (just the shape, not the flavor) served on a bed of colorful crispy cereal (think Fruity Pebbles). Dark Universe The Burning Blade is the most metal themed food location in the park. It's a fun, themed tavern with drinks that pay homage to the Universal Monsters. The Monocaine mocktail is fizzy and green—and is inspired by what turns the Invisible Man invisible. It also comes in a souvenir lab beaker and does not in fact make you invisible enough to ride Monsters Unchained multiple times. Special mention: the Frankenstein's Monster head-shaped pretzel that comes with a white cheese dipping sauce, available at De Lacey's Cottage. (We brought it into the Burning Blade Tavern for photo purposes.) Celestial Park The Pizza Moon locale is a delightfully tasty and gorgeous spot with A Trip to the Moon aesthetics, where you can keep cool and eat some darn good pizza pies. We loved the Pizza Lunare, which features a purple ube crusted dough and is topped with melty béchamel, fromage de lune ricotta, pancetta, and roasted garlic. Special mention: Frosty Moon ice cream with swirl cones topped with celestial marshmallow charms and star-shaped gold sprinkles. Epic Universe is now open. Some food was provided by Universal and some was paid for by the writer.
