Author: Jennifer Stephens

Nintendo is keeping its 2020 lineup close to its vest as we head into the new year, but the company has given us a tantalizing peek at a handful of games on the way to Switch over the next few months. The biggest of these is undoubtedly Animal Crossing: New Horizons, the long-awaited new installment in the beloved life sim series.

New Horizons arrives nearly eight years after the last proper Animal Crossing game, New Leaf, released on 3DS, making it one of the year’s most hotly anticipated titles. We got our first real look at the game during Nintendo’s E3 2019 presentation, and since then, the company has gradually divulged new tidbits about it in the lead up to its March 2020 launch.

To help catch you up on all the details that have been revealed so far, we’ve rounded up everything we know about Animal Crossing: New Horizons below. We’ll continue to update this list as more information is revealed, so check back often for the latest on Nintendo’s new Animal Crossing game.

There are a ton of other great-looking titles lined up for next year. You can see some of the ones the GameSpot staff are most excited for in our Most Anticipated of 2020 hub. You can also catch up on our other end-of-year coverage in our Best of 2019 hub.

Announcement And Reveal Trailer

While it was long speculated that Nintendo was secretly working on a new Animal Crossing game, the next entry in the series wouldn’t be officially announced until the company’s September 2018 Direct presentation. After revealing that Isabelle was joining Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as a playable fighter, Nintendo confirmed that a new Animal Crossing game was in development for Switch, although it shared no other details about it beyond a vague 2019 release window.

It would be another nine months before we heard more about the title. Nintendo waited until E3 2019 to finally share the first trailer for its new Animal Crossing game–now officially christened Animal Crossing: New Horizons. The video, which you can watch above, offered our first glimpse at how Animal Crossing’s familiar, laid-back gameplay would be translated to Switch. More interestingly, it also revealed this entry’s unique premise: rather than starting your domestic adventure by moving into a pre-existing town, as in every previous Animal Crossing game, New Horizons drops you on a deserted island and lets you build your own village from the ground up.

Release Date

Animal Crossing: New Horizons was originally slated to release for Switch in 2019; however, at this year’s E3, Nintendo confirmed that the game had been delayed by a few months and would now launch worldwide on March 20, 2020. According to the company, the reason for this delay was in part to ensure the development team maintains a healthy work-life balance–an important issue in the industry today, as many other studios have recently come under scrutiny for their excessive “crunch” practices.

“For us, one of our key tenets is that we bring smiles to people’s faces, and we talk about that all the time. It’s our vision. Or our mission, I should say. For us, that applies to our own employees,” Nintendo of America president Doug Bowser told IGN. “We need to make sure that our employees have good work-life balance. One of those examples is, we will not bring a game to market before it’s ready. We just talked about one example [New Horizons’ delay]. It’s really important that we have that balance in our world.”

What’s New In New Horizons?

At its core, New Horizons is very much a traditional Animal Crossing game, so your day-to-day experience will revolve primarily around interacting with neighbors and performing other familiar activities such as fishing, catching insects, discovering fossils, and decorating your home. However, the game builds on this foundation by incorporating some elements from the series’ mobile spin-off, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp. In particular, you can now collect different materials like tree branches and stones and fashion those into tools and furniture at Tom Nook’s workbench. One new type of tool you can craft is a pole, which allows you to vault over the river and reach the other side more quickly.

New Horizons introduces a few other new elements to the series as well, many of which are facilitated by the NookPhone, a smartphone-like device that you receive shortly after settling down on your island. With the NookPhone, you can look up crafting recipes, invite a friend to play alongside you, access the game’s photo mode, and track your Nook Miles–points you accrue by completing certain tasks, such as picking weeds, learning new recipes, and more. These Nook Miles can be redeemed for special recipes and other in-game items.

New Horizons also makes a swathe of quality-of-life improvements. While furniture could previously only be placed inside your house, you can now lay it down outside as well for some exterior decorating. The game, blessedly, also gives you the ability to dictate where your animal neighbors live. According to game director Aya Kyogoku, before a new villager moves in, they’ll first check with you about the spot they’ve chosen; if you disapprove, you can select a new spot for their house.

Other welcome tweaks that Nintendo has confirmed: you can shovel up an entire tree and replant it elsewhere rather than having to chop it down; you’ll be able to freely select your character’s skin tone, hairstyle, and facial features, and can swap between the different options at any point in the game; and you can move furniture in half-units, as you can in Happy Home Designer.

Which Characters Will Return?

Thus far, the only familiar characters we’ve seen in New Horizons are Tom Nook and his nephews, Timmy and Tommy, who will play a more pivotal role than they did in New Leaf. This time, the Nooks will run your island’s resident services building, providing a place for you to purchase and craft furniture, tools, and other island necessities. We’ve also gotten quick glimpses at a handful of fan-favorite villagers who’ll be returning in the game, including Angus, Fuchsia, and Goldie.

Beyond that, however, we don’t yet know what other recurring characters will show up in New Horizons or what role they’ll serve. Isabelle in particular has been conspicuously absent from any footage Nintendo has shared of the game, but director Aya Kyogoku teases that she may make an appearance. “One thing that I could definitely say about Isabelle is that as the island develops a little more and it needs a little bit more support, then Isabelle might see some sort of use on the island,” Kyogoku said.

Another character that has been mentioned is the ever-irritable Mr. Resetti. In previous games, Mr. Resetti would pop up and berate players if they shut off the game without saving, but as New Horizons takes advantage of Switch’s auto-save feature, Resetti’s role has been made redundant. However, this doesn’t mean he won’t appear in a different capacity. “We also believe that Mr. Resetti is looking for a new job after his layoff. So please look forward to that,” Kyogoku told Mashable.

Will New Horizons Support Cloud Saves?

Like a handful of other Switch games, it appears Animal Crossing: New Horizons will not support cloud saves. Producer Higashi Nogami confirmed to French outlet Gamekult (via US Gamer) that the title will not allow players to back up their save data to the cloud in order to prevent them from manipulating time within the game and cheating. Previous entries in the series have similarly disallowed players from backing up their save files, so this isn’t entirely surprising, and it is hardly the only Switch title with this restriction.

Multiplayer

Like previous Animal Crossing games, New Horizons allows you to invite other players to visit your town. One island can host up to four players locally and up to eight in online sessions. However, you’ll need to have a Nintendo Switch Online subscription to take advantage of these online features. Memberships for the service run for $4 USD for one month, $8 USD for three months, $20 USD for 12 months, and $35 USD for an annual family plan.

In addition to local and online multiplayer, New Horizons also supports couch co-op. Using the Call Islander option in your NookPhone, you can summon another player who has a house on your island and play together by passing them one of your Joy-Cons. Director Aya Kyogoku demonstrated this feature during Nintendo’s E3 2019 Treehouse livestream (above) by playing alongside producer Higashi Nogami. During these co-op sessions, the lead player is denoted by a flag over their head. The camera will only follow this player, but you can swap who the leader is at any time while playing.

Pre-Order

While no pre-order bonuses have been announced yet, you can already reserve a copy of Animal Crossing: New Horizons at several retailers, including Amazon and GameStop. You can learn more in our New Horizons pre-order guide.

What are your picks for 2019?

The entertainment team at GameSpot recognized a wide variety of entertainment, from the best anime and wrestlers of 2019 to the top streaming services, performances, and more. But sometimes the existing categories aren’t enough for everything GameSpot’s editors want to highlight. That’s where the GameSpot entertainment team’s editor’s choice awards come in.

Scroll down for our highlights, then check out the best and worst reviewed movies of 2019. And if you’re looking ahead to 2020, check out our looks at the Biggest Movies, TV shows, and anime to watch next year.

1. Knives Out

Rian Johnson’s Knives Out proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that, however you felt about The Last Jedi, its problems did not stem from director Rian Johnson. I’ve enjoyed all of Johnson’s movies up until now, with his ill-regarded Star Wars movie constituting the lone blemish on the filmmaker’s record. Knives Out proves the exception, as it’s a thoughtful, complex, hilarious, impeccably cast murder mystery that cements Rian Johnson as a great filmmaker.

Knives Out is a classic murder-mystery-mansion story–the type of movie Clue satirized over 30 years ago. It’s also a deconstruction of that genre, asking why we always seem to suspect the butler or the maid, and not just “whodunit?” And thanks to key performances from the likes of Chris Evans, Jamie Lee Curtis, Daniel Craig, and, especially, Ana de Armas, Knives Out sticks the landing hard on its ultimate message: that in a world where justice and truth actually matter, it’s still important to try to be a good person. In 2019, that’s a message we needed. – Mike Rougeau

2. Undone

Undone is not only my favorite TV show of 2019, it’s my favorite piece of media this year. This beautifully animated series mixes science fiction, the supernatural, and a murder mystery to tell the story of a young woman named Alma (Rose Salazar) who is dealing with depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts. The rotoscope animation style allows Undone to take viewers into the world as Alma sees it during this strange time in her life, following a near-fatal car accident.

As she questions her own sanity when her late father (Bob Odenkirk) begins appearing to her, Alma begins to realize she exists outside of normal space and time and works to discover how to use that to her advantage. It’s an interesting and often heartbreaking approach to a story that, at its heart, is an exploration of mental health and how easy it is to feel disconnected from those you love simply because they don’t understand you. This is a rare gem of a series that can explore these heavy topics, while remaining entertaining and–at times–lighthearted. That it’s capped off with an award-worthy performance by Salazar is all the more reason Undone deserves your attention. – Chris E. Hayner

3. The OA

The mind-bending sci-fi series The OA was the sort of show that never played by the rules, and fans of Season 1 had to wait nearly three years for the second batch of episodes. Thankfully the wait was fully rewarded. Creators Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij delivered an incredible season that, while following directly on from the events of Season 1, was very much its own thing. It continues the story of Prairie Johnson (Marling) after she escapes from insane scientist “Hap” Percy, but it also introduced a gripping thriller subplot, as a detective hunts for a missing girl in San Francisco.

There are parallel dimensions, supernatural houses, sanity-consuming video games, dancing robots, and psychic octopuses, and it takes several episodes for the pieces of the puzzle to start to fall into place. But viewer patience is rewarded by some absolutely gripping sci-fi and moving emotional drama–and the ending has to be seen to be believed. The OA was canceled by Netflix soon after it was released, so there won’t be a third season. But as disappointing as it is, we should be glad we got such an ambitious and unique show in the first place. – Dan Auty

4. Bill Hader

OK, he may not be a movie or a TV show exactly, but listen: Bill Hader had a fantastic year in 2019 and we all need to acknowledge that. Between Barry Season 2 and It Chapter 2, Hader displayed some of the most gut-wrenching, tear-jerking range on both big and small screens–and he did it all with his trademark charm and humor. Though It Chapter 2 may have been, all told, kind of a disappointment as a whole, Hader’s performance as Richie Tozier alone elevated what may have otherwise been a wash into an engaging, thoughtful, and heartbreaking story of love and loss, elevating even the classic source material to something entirely new–and igniting a fervent fan community where artists and writers are now making the otherwise mediocre movie into something all their own. Meanwhile, with Barry, Hader only solidified what many of his diehard fans have known for years: He’s not someone to be underestimated in any area, be it comedy, action, or drama. In a year populated by letdowns, bummers, and major disappointments, Bill Hader was like a shining beacon of reliable, rewatchable light. – Meg Downey

5. This is Wrestling: The Joey Ryan Story

Wrestling is admittedly weird. While WWE tends to dominate the spotlight, a documentary about an independent wrestler wound up being one of my favorite movies of the year: This is Wrestling: The Joey Ryan Story. Following the titular independent wrestler–who had a video that went viral in 2015 of his signature and infamous move the Dick Flip–This is Wrestling is a love letter to the sport.

It shows how wrestling is just more than muscle-men and women rolling around in the ring. There is a side to this unreal sport that brings nothing but laughter and joy to the audience, and Ryan has become a master at the balancing act between comedy and athleticism. Sure, he flips people with his dick, but he’s also really good at actual wrestling, with a well-defined character you love to hate or hate to love. Sadly, This is Wrestling has not been released on home video or digitally, and the only way you could have seen it was to attend one of the showings the movie had throughout the year. And that’s the only real problem with this movie. Who knew a movie about a wrestler with a powerful penis could be one of the most joyful documentaries of the year? – Mat Elfring

6. Always Be My Maybe

Ali Wong and Randall Park proved that they are a comedic force to be reckoned with as the screenwriters and stars of the Netflix original film Always Be My Maybe. It’s not only my favorite comedy of this year, but perhaps the best romantic comedy of this decade. Wong and Park play famous chef Sasha Tran and struggling musician Marcus Kim, two childhood sweethearts who have a falling out and reconnect 16 years later. Wong and Park are incredibly charming to watch, delivering solid comedic performances and electric chemistry together on screen. The dialogue is smart, self-aware, refreshing, never too cheesy, and full of side-splitting quips that you may miss on your first viewing from laughing too hard. Adding to the hilarity is a scene-stealing cameo from Keanu Reeves, who plays an over-the-top version of himself and is a must-watch for any Keanu fan.

Aside from the brilliant screenplay and notable performances, something truly special about the film is how it accurately captures Asian-American culture. Marcus’s Korean-American family and Sasha’s Vietnamese-American family feel like real, complex and relatable characters, not mere exaggerations or stereotypes of their cultures. This film isn’t focused on Asian identity–it feels like a movie about two American kids growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area who just happen to be Asian. As an Asian-American myself, it’s incredibly satisfying to watch and feel represented. But regardless of the viewer’s background or culture, Always Be My Maybe is a solid and powerful comedy that leans into classic rom-com tropes and masterfully shapes them into something special. I hope that Wong and Park team up to write many more movies. – Chastity Vicencio

7. Legion

The Avengers might be the heroes making headlines as they smash box office records but it’s Noah Hawley’s Legion that should take top billing this year as the most creative and mind-bending storytelling in the Marvel universe. The third season of the ambitious FX series wrapped up David Haller’s (Dan Stevens) weird and uncanny tale beautifully. Unlike those Avengers, Legion actually got time travel right. And visually, you won’t find a more arresting show on TV. The production design and direction have pushed the series into a league of its own.

Legion’s final season introduced us to some new faces, like the mutant Switch, played by Lauren Tsai, pursuing a Matrix-like adventure through time. Of course David’s father, Professor X, also made his long-awaited debut on the series. Harry Lloyd, best known as that Targaryen who died by golden crown in Game of Thrones’ first season, was tasked with bringing the iconic X-Men character to life. His performance was beautiful and subtle, portraying a man haunted by his past decisions.

Legion’s creators, like the show itself, have been thinking outside the box. Or maybe there isn’t any box at all. Instead of a magical hammer or a photon blast, Legion used dance-offs and rap battles as the good and bad guys clashed. The final season didn’t erase David’s mistakes, or try to make you forget about them. It magnified his fall into darkness and gave us perspective on all those damaged in his orbit, particularly his Rachel Keller’s Syd Barrett. By the end of the series, we returned back to where we started. It’s both an ending and a beginning. Who knows if we’ll see Legion again, but what we saw was well worth the trip. – Ryan Peterson

From comedy to drama and everything in between.

It stands to reason that a year full of stellar movies and TV would also have some phenomenal performances, and no shortage of actors we believe deserve recognition. Across every genre and every medium, 2019 was jam packed with some of the very best of the best.

We’ve rounded up 13 different roles to give special accolades to as we wind down our end of the year coverage, from comedic brilliance like Bill Hader in the title role of HBO’s Barry to the gritty, sea-shanty singing psychological drama of Willem Dafoe and Robrt Pattinson in The Lighthouse–and everything in between.

Let us know who and what your favorite performances of the year were in the comments below, and don’t forget to check out the rest of our 2019 year end round ups, like the year’s best comics, best anime, and best pro wrestlers.

1. Anthony Carrigan, Barry

Barry has an outstanding ensemble cast and isn’t exactly short on good performances. But while they all do great work in Season 2, it’s Anthony Carrigan who steals the show. His portrayal of Chechen gangster Noho Hank was played mostly (and brilliantly) for laughs in Season 1, but the second season allowed the actor to give the character a darker, more dramatic edge. Hank’s desperation to be liked and his bumbling approach to the criminal life makes it easy to forget that he’s still a ruthless killer, but there are moments in Season 2 where we are truly reminded of this, most notably the scene in Episode 2 when he turns on Barry–up to that point his hitman idol. It takes real skill to make us laugh so much while retaining a menacing edge, and Carrigan proves himself an absolute master of both. – Dan Auty

2. Robert Pattinson, Willem Dafoe, The Lighthouse

We wouldn’t normally pick two performances from the same movie, but it’s hard to separate these two. Robert Eggers’ wonderfully weird psychological horror The Lighthouse features Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe in almost every scene, and the brilliance of each performance is entirely reliant on its interplay with the other. Dafoe has the louder, more verbose role, as the experienced older Thomas, who has spent decades manning a lighthouse, while Pattinson’s mysterious Ephraim is more guarded and reserved. But the relish with which both actors deliver Eggers’ archaic but often filthy and hilarious dialogue is a joy to witness. – Dan Auty

3. William Zabka, Cobra Kai (Season 2)

Honestly, William Zabka isn’t a name anyone could have possibly have expected on a best performances list two years ago. The one-time Karate Kid star didn’t have any high-profile roles after the 1980s. That is, at least, until Cobra Kai came around, allowing the actor to revisit the Johnny Lawrence role he made famous. While Zakba shined in Season 1 as he brought Johnny back to life and dropping him into a modern setting, the latest season let the actor dig even deeper into the role, allowing for a nuanced performance that explored a man coming to terms with his past and trying to avoid making the same mistakes in the future. Cobra Kai–and Zabka’s performance in it–shouldn’t be this good. Revisiting a movie like Karate Kid over three decades later should not work so well. But it does and we’re thankful for it. – Chris E. Hayner

4. Brian Cox, Succession

Succession focuses on one of the most powerful fictional families in the world, the Roys, owners of the media conglomerate Waystar Royco. At the head of this empire is the patriarch, Logan Roy, one of the most menacing and power-hungry characters on television. It takes a truly talented actor to bring Logan to life, and Brian Cox is more than up for the challenge. In Succession’s second season, Cox terrified us (“Boar on the floor”, anyone?), made us despise him with his greed and despicable treatment of his family, and at times made us laugh as Logan. But despite his raucous outbursts and power grabs, we also saw through to Logan’s vulnerable side as someone who was afraid to lose control and who deep down, loves his family in his own narcissistic way. Cox continues to shine as the truly foreboding Logan, and we can’t wait to see how he handles season 2’s cliffhanger ending. –Chastity Vicencio

5. Bill Hader, Barry

Bill Hader’s had a pretty killer year, performance-wise, but Barry absolutely takes the cake. The former SNL superstar has pushed himself further into the heartbreaking, anxiety-inducing character of a hitman trying desperately to break good as an actor across both seasons of the HBO show, but Season 2 elevated him even further. Barry is brutal to watch because no matter how desperately you want him to win, the constant reminder of his darkness–the same darkness that drives him to literally murder people–is always looming just over his shoulder. — Meg Downey

6. Zendaya, Euphoria

In Euphoria, Zendaya delivered both a career-defining performance and one of the most vulnerable performances on TV in years. In the HBO drama, Zendaya completely sheds her Disney image as 17-year-old recovering drug addict Rue Bennett, who feels completely empty after a brief stint in rehab and is struggling to stay clean. The show deals with heavy subject matter, exploring a group of high school students’ experiences with drugs, sex, relationships and trauma, and will make you dread the idea of raising a teenager in modern society. Rue serves as both the main character and narrator of the series, and the show would not be as convincing and effective as it is without Zendaya’s exceptional and realistic performance. We suffer with Rue, we root for her, and we feel everything she feels with a heavy heart. — Chastity Vicencio

7. Regina King, Watchmen

HBO’s Watchmen is a stellar achievement in TV, but it wouldn’t have worked half as well without the fantastic performances of the whole cast, anchored with unflinching resolve by Regina King and her character, Angela Abar. Time and time again King brought layers of complexity and emotion to an already massively dense concept and world, making the show’s universe feel at once fantastic and grounded. King sold every second of Angela’s violent inner turmoil, tumultuous past, and vulnerable core. — Meg Downey

8. Lupita Nyong’o, Us

Playing one role in a movie can be trying enough, but Lupita Nyong’o not only delivered a standout performance for the matriarch of the Wilson family, Adelaide, she also terrified audiences with her character’s doppelganger, Red. While Adelaide may be a mother who loves her family and will do anything to protect them, Red is stalking, menacing, and her voice will send shivers down your spine. Individually, both of these characters are worth mentioning for the best performances of the year, and Nyong’o nailed both of them in one movie. — Mat Elfring

9. Ruben Rabasa, I Think You Should Leave

While Tim Robinson’s Netflix series I Think You Should Leave was a standout for 2019, Ruben Rabasa’s portrayal as a guy with terrible ideas in a focus group was the most talked about character from the bizarre sketch series. While he’s only on screen for roughly three minutes of the entire first season, he steals the show. His dedication to this out-of-place madman makes the turn for the sketch–against Paul and his terrible ideas–such a hilarious moment, as we see Rabasa’s character dab and do that bottle flip meme twice. Sure, this character may seem easy to play, but Rabasa delivers a ton of variety to his chaotic character. – Mat Elfring

10. Joaquin Phoenix, Joker

Joaquin Phoenix’s turn as the Clown Prince of Crime joins the growing list of career-defining Joker performances, gleefully matching predecessors like Jack Nicholson, Mark Hamill, Heath Ledger, and others in sheer, joyful lunacy. But Phoenix’s Joker brings something that no previous version has had: humanity. Fleck-turned-Joker isn’t simply an insane foil for Batman or a naturalistic force of chaos. He’s a man who was born with the deck stacked against him, nudged and shoved endlessly toward an inevitable explosion of violent self-acceptance. Fleck is absolutely a bad guy, but thanks to Phoenix’s dark, weird, committed performance, you might just find yourself rooting for him regardless. – Mike Rougeau

11. Ana de Armas, Knives Out

The performance that holds all of Knives Out together, through twists and turns, attacks and betrayals, laughs and tears, is Ana de Armas as the murdered family patriarch’s nurse and friend, Marta. Knives Out turns the murder-mystery-mansion genre on its head, but the whole thing would fall apart without de Armas’s incredibly expressive, sympathetic performance at its core. Granted, Daniel Craig’s Kentucky Fried Chicken-flavored detective comes in a close second. – Mike Rougeau

12. George MacKay, 1917

Sam Mendes’s instant World War I classic 1917 comes with a strong gimmick: The whole movie appears to take place in one extremely lengthy single take. The whole thing wouldn’t work nearly as well as it does without a strong performance at its core, and the movie’s success arguably rides on actor George MacKay’s shoulders. His Lance Corporal Schofield is initially reluctant to embark on this suicide mission, and MacKay’s vulnerable, relentless performance drives home the movie’s twin themes of heroism and tragedy. – Mike Rougeau

13. Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Fleabag

The talented Phoebe Waller-Bridge doesn’t just star in Fleabag–she created it, too. The acclaimed comedy is a terrific showcase for everything Waller-Bridge does so well, from huge laughs to real tears as her titular character attempts to navigate life as someone who can only be described as a rather lovable jerk. She’s far from perfect–that’s kind of the point. But Waller-Bridge’s portrayal of her is. – Mike Rougeau

Wrestling in 2019 was wild

It was a big year for wrestling in 2019. The newest national promotion All Elite Wrestling launched, WWE’s NXT brand began airing on the USA Network, Smackdown moved to Fox, and Raw continued to be a very long show. It’s a new golden era for wrestling, as there are more ways to watch these prime-time players, along with other promotions like Ring of Honor, New Japan, and more.

However, this truly was a huge year for WWE and AEW, as the Wednesday Night Wars between NXT and TNT’s Dynamite began. Both of these shows, along with WWE’s blue and red brands gave us amazing moments for the year, made wrestling a crowded yet very exciting space, filled with outstanding performers.

GameSpot is taking a look at the 10 best wrestlers for 2019. From their matches in the ring to their storylines to their promos and segments, these performers went above and beyond in the past year. But who stole our hearts and imaginations this year? Find out by scrolling down to see the cream of the crop for 2019.

For a better look into entertainment for 2019, make sure to check out the best and worst reviewed movies of 2019. And if you’re looking ahead to 2020, check out our looks at the Biggest Movies, TV shows, and Anime to watch next year.

Bayley

In 2019, Bayley finally did what a lot of fans were hoping for: she broke bad. She beat the hell out of Becky Lynch with a steel chair. She cut her hair. And most notably, she took a sharp instrument to the wacky waving “Bayley Buddies,” causing at least one young fan to burst into tears. She wears a fixed scowl of contempt when she comes to the ring, and she fights with intensity; Bayley is now the Smackdown Women’s Champion. Never underestimate the true power of the dark side. – Kevin Wong

Baron Corbin

In 2019, Corbin finally found his footing as the King of the Ring–after years of middling gimmicks–by playing a smirking bully decked out in Winterfell-esque furs. The best thing about Corbin is that he’s not a charismatic heel; he’s a heel’s heel that fans truly dislike, the type of guy that fans want to see decked in the face. And he continues to have an arsenal of power moves that look impressive. From his “Deep Six” spinning slam to his “End of Days” facebuster, Corbin’s moves are perfect for David and Goliath confrontations–only in Corbin’s case, Goliath emerges victorious. – Kevin Wong

Adam Cole

What a year it’s been for Adam Cole (Bay Bay). After winning the NXT Championship in June, Cole and his Undisputed Era faction have loomed large over NXT and now control all of the brand’s gold. Throughout that time, and the year before it, Cole was delivering some of the best matches and feuds in NXT and hasn’t slowed down a step. He’s consistently one of the most entertaining players in all of WWE, a terrific face of the NXT brand, and is definitely going to be a major player in the company for years to come. Boom. – Chris E. Hayner

Shayna Baszler

As far as female wrestlers go, there is no one more terrifying than Shayna Baszler. The NXT Women’s Champion continued to dominate the competition in 2019, and her title reign lasted over a year, which doesn’t happen often. On the December 18 episode of NXT, she faced Rhea Ripley for the title. While Baszler may have lost, the match itself was an instant classic. But she elevated her status in WWE by beating both Bayley and Becky Lynch in a triple threat match at Survivor Series. Her brutal, MMA-heavy, malicious in-ring style makes her a unique standout amongst the women–even when compared to other former MMA fighters like Ronda Rousey and Sonya Deville. Baszler will have an even bigger year in 2020 with WWE. – Mat Elfring

MJF

No one in wrestling is a better heel than MJF, and 2019 was a huge year for him. His inclusion in AEW rocketed him to stardom after numerous segments where he belittled wrestling fans and attacked them on Twitter. His friendship and betrayal of Cody Rhodes–including throwing in the towel for Rhodes during his AEW Championship match–was one of the most interesting stories on Dynamite throughout the first few months of the weekly series. With MJF’s mic and wrestling skills, he has a ton of potential, and he’s using it wisely. – Mat Elfring

Chris Jericho

This year saw an evolution for Chris Jericho–a wrestler known for his characters in WCW, WWE, and now AEW. Jericho became the first AEW Champion and dubbed himself “Le Champion.” He formed a stable called The Inner Circle, and together with that group, hosted a Thanksgiving celebration that was one of the most entertaining moments in AEW thus far. Jericho has accomplished so much in so little time in this new wrestling promotion. – Mat Elfring

Kofi Kingston

After a decade-long WWE career, Kofi Kingston had never been WWE Champion. But that changed at Wrestlemania this year, when he defeated Daniel Bryan, cleanly in the center of the ring, to win the WWE Championship. The ensuing months were essentially a victory march for the underrated superstar, as he took on all comers, and dispensed of each one with a fantastic match. The highlight feud was between Kingston and Randy Orton. Both performers made reference to a real-life incident in 2010, when Kofi got confused in the ring during a match against Orton. Pinning Orton at Clash of Champions brought Kofi’s story full circle. – Kevin Wong

Cody

When Cody Rhodes left the WWE, we very quickly found out how high he could soar. Working together with Kenny Omega, Brandi Rhodes, and Matt and Nick Jackson, these wrestlers created a revolution in wrestling with their new promotion All Elite Wrestling. While that may be enough to make him one of the most important wrestlers of 2019, Cody didn’t stop there. He had one of AEW’s best matches to date when he faced his brother Dustin Rhodes, AKA WWE’s Goldust. It was a bloody, brutal, and yet surprisingly emotional match that happened at AEW’s inaugural PPV, Double or Nothing. While he may be in charge of the new wrestling promotion, he’s obviously one of the company’s biggest draws. This past year showed everyone that when he’s not saddled with a weird gimmick and left to his own devices, Cody can soar as a performer. – Mat Elfring

Becky Lynch

Becky started 2019 by winning the Royal Rumble on a kayfabe-injured knee. Her Cinderella story as “The Man” of WWE climaxed with her triple threat match at WrestleMania against Charlotte Flair and Ronda Rousey. She became both the Raw and Smackdown women’s champion, handing Rousey her first WWE loss by pinfall in the process. And then, Lynch faced a different dilemma: How do you avoid the backlash? She buckled down and put on some quality matches, demonstrating that she was more substance than hype. Her recent feud against Sasha Banks was the definite standout of a stellar year. – Kevin Wong

“The Fiend” Bray Wyatt

When Bray Wyatt first debuted his new gimmick–a Mr. Rogers-esque, unhinged kid’s show host–people didn’t know what to think. Was this a joke? Was this career suicide? Was this new and subversive? But as the weeks went on and the character became more fleshed out–revealing himself to be a split-personality psychopath–things got even more interesting. It all climaxed at Summerslam, when the Fiend debuted and defeated Finn Balor wearing a customized Tom Savini mask. Fast forward a few months later, and Wyatt is now the WWE Universal Champion. Long may he reign. -Kevin Wong

From firefighters to superheroes, 2019 was a great year for anime.

Over a number of recent years, anime has gone from a relatively niche obsession for audiences outside of Japan to a full blown global phenomenon. This probably isn’t surprising, especially as it becomes easier and easier to watch anime on streaming services like Crunchyroll, Hulu, and Netflix. 2019 only continued the upward trend in anime’s domination with brand new series and movies that stood out in the extremely competitive crowd.

From reliable shonen all-arounders like My Hero Academia continuing to dominate our hearts and minds to brand new original series like Stars Align pushing the emotional boundaries of the sports anime sub-genre, we managed to narrow down a list of our eight favorite anime of 2019. And when you’re done looking back, don’t forget to take a look at what’s coming up in our most anticipated anime releases of 2020.

What was the best anime you watched this year? Let us know in the comments below!

1. My Hero Academia Season 4

It’s not uncommon for something to be lost in the translation from manga to anime, especially with a series as fast-paced and bombastic as the ones found in the Shonen Jump magazine, yet somehow the My Hero Academia anime keeps pulling the transformation from page to screen off flawlessly. 2019 saw the anime enter its fourth season and there’s yet to be a dip in quality or faithfulness to the source material. The perfect mix of western superhero tropes and shonen anime conventions, My Hero Academia also serves as the best possible bridge between fans of both genres. If you’ve never watched an anime before but love the MCU? Congratulations, here is your perfect jumping-on point. — Meg Downey

2. Promare

Studio Trigger’s theatrical debut, Promare, is a wild ride, opening with a scene where random people around the world suddenly develop pyrokinetic abilities and cause most of the Earth to be burned to a crisp. Fast-forward 30 years and the mutants have been labeled “the Burnish” and persecuted as monsters, when most are just trying to live normal lives. The story picks up here, with protagonist Galo Thymos embarking on his first mission as a special firefighter that physically combats Burnish-created disasters, where he meets the terrorist Lio Fotia.

Promare never stops to catch its breath after that and, honestly, that format works to the film’s benefit–quickly replacing its implied hetero romance for a much better gay one, dropping its early implications that this is a mech action anime to delve into an intriguing conspiracy plot, and meshing together both traditional 2D and not-so-traditional 3D CG to create wonderfully extravagant movements with its characters. — Jordan Ramée

3. Fruits Basket

The original Fruits Basket anime ran for 26 episodes back in 2001, loosely adapting the earliest chapters of Natsuki Takaya’s classic manga of the same name. And while the original show was beloved for its time, enough time has passed to allow for a second chance. The Fruits Basket reboot is aiming to provide a more faithful adaptation with more modern animation and, so far, it’s doing exactly that. This season feels like a welcome return for classic Fruits Basket fans and with Season 2 already confirmed for 2020, we can’t wait for the story to keep going. — Meg Downey

4. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba

Demon Slayer is yet another shonen story I’d classify as one of the newer narratives helping to further evolve the genre. Taking place in a fictional Taishō-era Japan, it follows the life of Tanjirō Kamado, a young boy who returns home one day to find his mother and three youngest siblings slaughtered by a demon. His younger sister, Nezuko, is the only survivor, but the attack has left her transformed into a demon herself. Tanjirō decides to join the Demon Slayer Corps so that he’ll have the strength to stand his ground against the monsters that may hide the secret to a cure for his sister.

Demon Slayer is one of the most emotionally powerful anime I’ve seen, shonen or otherwise, for how it deftly imbues the central theme of each fight through the symbolic nature of the combatants’ fighting styles, all of which are beautifully animated and emphasized through the music of the anime’s stellar soundtrack (singer Nami Nakagawa’s lovely performance of “Kamado Tanjirō no Uta” in episode 19 is a notable highlight).– Jordan Ramée

5. Mob Psycho 100 Season 2

It’s been three years since Mob Psycho 100 first hit the small screen, but the wait was oh-so-worth it. The quirky, super stylish, shockingly wholesome, and hilarious anime based on a webcomic about a fake con-man medium and his genuinely psychic assistant has earned itself a sort of cult-classic status among anime fans and Season 2 just solidified that status. With gorgeous (and frankly, sometimes completely bizarre) animation by Studio Bones, Mob Psycho 100 is a must-watch. — Meg Downey

6. Dr. Stone

2019’s been a fantastic year for Shonen Jump manga series and their anime adaptations, and Dr. Stone is no exception. A mix of traditional shonen tropes and post apocalyptic, sci-fi stylings, Dr. Stone is the story of a world in which the entire population has been turned to stone–and one hero who is able to escape petrification on a mission to free humanity from their statue-like prisons. It’s over-the-top, as all shonen series ought to be, but still grounded in gritty, scientific reality, making Dr. Stone a series you’ll definitely want to keep an eye on. — Meg Downey

7. Stars Align (Hoshiai No Sora)

Sports anime has become a tried-and-true favorite subgenre, which means it can all start to feel a little predictable after a while. Enter Stars Align, a brand new (seriously, it just premiered this October) original anime about a boys’ tennis club that actually manages to feel like a completely new idea. With its soft, beautiful animation style and protagonists who feel exceptional for how unexceptional (by sports anime standards) they are, Stars Align is a breath of fresh air. — Meg Downey

8. The Promised Neverland

Who doesn’t love a touching story about scrappy orphaned kids growing up in a suspiciously bougie orphanage slowly discovering that they’re actually stuck in a sort of “farm” being raised up to be eaten by demons? It’s a tale as old as time, honestly, and exactly the sort of fairy tale delivered by The Promised Neverland, yet another Shonen Jump series that made its anime debut this year in spectacular fashion. — Meg Downey

What order should you read the Witcher books in?

As many fans know, The Witcher isn’t just a series of hit video games. Those games are actually sequels to a series of short stories and novels that were written decades ago by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski. And it’s those original books on which the Netflix show The Witcher is based.

Specifically, the show is mainly based on the books that are considered number one and two in the series: The Last Wish and Sword of Destiny, respectively. However, these books are actually collections of loosely related short stories that, together, serve to introduce readers to the world and characters of the Witcher, while gradually bringing the main players together and setting up the story that would be told in the later novels.

That’s largely the same purpose served by the first season of Netflix’s version, which, despite its complex multiple timelines structure, many fans seem to be enjoying. With Season 2 already announced, now is the perfect time to experience the original stories. If you simply want to know what order to read the books in–something that can be slightly confusing, thanks to the fact that the second short stories collection hadn’t actually been translated into English until recently–here’s the ideal reading order:

• The Last Wish (short stories 1)

• Sword of Destiny (short stories 2)

• Blood of Elves (novel 1)

• Time of Contempt (novel 2)

• Baptism of Fire (novel 3)

• The Tower of the Swallow (novel 4)

• The Lady of the Lake (novel 5)

• Season of Storms (novel 6)

However, we wanted to dig a little bit deeper. For those who watched the Netflix show and enjoyed it, we thought it might be fun to break down exactly which original stories and books each episode draws from. Keep scrolling down for the breakdown, and let us know what you thought of Netflix’s Witcher in the comments below.

1. Episode 1: The Lesser Evil

Episode 1, “The End’s Beginning,” is largely based on the short story from The Last Wish, “The Lesser Evil.” In the story, Geralt must choose with whom to side in a battle between a violent princess and a paranoid old wizard. The show adapts it mostly faithfully, minus some changes to the final confrontation.

2. Episode 2: “The Edge of the World”

The show’s second episode, “Four Marks,” tackles the short story “The Edge of the World,” also from The Last Wish. The show changes this to serve as the introduction between Geralt and Jaskier/Dandelion; in the original story, they already knew one another and were traveling companions.

3. Episode 3: “The Witcher”

Episode 3, “Betrayer Moon,” pulls from the short story “The Witcher,” also in The Last Wish. Like the episode, the story concerns Geralt’s assignment from King Foltest to kill the Striga haunting his halls. (Note: Yennefer and Ciri’s storylines up to this point have been largely made up for the show, or constructed from backstory that’s described but not explicitly shown in the source material).

4. Episode 4: “A Question of Price” and “Sword of Destiny”

Episode 4, “Of Banquets, Bastards and Burials,” borrows from two of the original stories. Geralt’s storyline is from the Last Wish story “A Question of Price.” It involves the feast in Cintra where he invokes the law of surprise, which causes his destiny to be tied with Ciri’s. Ciri’s storyline in this episode, which takes place years later, is a significantly altered version of her adventures in the forest Brokilon in the short story Sword of Destiny.

5. Episode 5: “The Last Wish”

The show’s fifth episode, “Bottled Appetites,” continues to draw a bit from “Sword of Destiny,” but is mainly focused on the short story titled “The Last Wish,” in which Geralt and Jaskier/Dandelion wrestle with a djinn and encounter Yennefer for the first time.

6. Episode 6: “The Bounds of Reason”

Episode 6, “Rare Species,” sees Geralt, Yennefer, and Jaskier/Dandelion all on the same adventure for once. It’s based on the short story “The Bounds of Reason” from the collection Sword of Destiny, which plays out nearly exactly the same as it does on the show.

7. Episode 7: “Something More”

The Netflix show’s final two episodes, beginning with “Before a Fall,” both draw mainly from the same short story: “Something More,” from Sword of Destiny. In the story, Geralt lies injured and feverish in the back of a wagon, recalling important events, many of which are portrayed in Episode 7, including his journey to Cintra to claim his “child surprise” (although in the book version, this took place years earlier, not shortly before Nilfgaard’s attack). Geralt also thinks about the aftermath of the Battle of Sodden Hill, which is teased in this episode and shown in the next.

8. Episode 8: “Something More”

Like the previous episode, Episode 8 is based mainly on “Something More,” to which the episode title–“Much More”–alludes. We never saw the Battle of Sodden Hill in the books–only its aftermath. But the Geralt part of the story, in which he finally reunites with Ciri, is mostly the same.

Halo is gearing up for a big year in 2020, with the Halo Master Chief Collection continuing to release for PC and the planned launch of Halo Infinite alongside the Xbox Series X. In a new update on Halo Waypoint, developer 343 Industries has dropped some information about everything on the Halo slate, including the upcoming 2021 Showtime TV series.

First up, The Master Chief Collection and Halo 5 are both offering double XP from now until the end of 2019. You’ll also be able to unlock the Ugly Sweater nameplate in The Master Chief Collection by completing one of these two objectives by January 6, 2020:

• Complete (without quitting) 10 matchmaking (Multiplayer and/or Firefight) matches on snowy maps
• Beat the par score on any two snowy campaign missions

Updates are also coming to improve performance across the PC and Xbox One versions of the game.

343 Industries provides an update on Showtime’s upcoming Halo show, which will star Pablo Schreiber (Orange is the New Black’s “Pornstache”) as Master Chief. Production on the show has begun, and a behind-the-scenes shot makes it clear that Halsey will feature in it.

The show will be directed, at least in part, by Black Mirror’s Otto Bathurst.

An update is also given on Halo Infinite, alongside some new concept art (below). The team currently has split-screen running internally, according to the post, and the game is confirmed as taking place after Halo 5. Forge will also return, and for the first time it will feature undo and redo buttons, making it easier to edit together levels.

Halo Infinite is coming to Xbox Series X, Xbox One, and PC. It will support LAN play and will feature extensive armor customization options.

The next major Halo release will be the Anniversary edition of the original Halo for PC. It will enter beta in early 2020.