Evening Reading - October 6, 2023

Greetings, Shacknews! We've reached the end of another long and exhausting news week, and all that remains is a fresh round of news, memes, and entertainment. It's the Friday edition of Evening Reading.

In case you missed it at Shacknews:

• The Talos Principle 2's first puzzle lulled me into a false sense of security
• Baldur's Gate Hotfix 9 patch notes let the Magic Mirror change your name & hirelings
• Atari 2600+ interview: New games and lessons learned from the VCS
• Redfall Game Update 2 brings Performance Mode to Xbox Series X|S
• Shack Chat: Who is your favorite Assassin's Creed character?

And, because it's the weekend, go find yourself something to play!

• Weekend Console Download Deals for Oct. 6: Action and adventure on Xbox
• Weekend PC Download Deals for Oct. 6: Elden Ring under $40

Around the gaming horn

If you're on PlayStation, the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 beta is underway.

Borderlands 3 has come to Nintendo Switch.

If you're looking for more intimate Turbo Golf Racing sessions, try the new 1v1 Golf Mode.

And learn more about Chapter Songs and their role in Alan Wake 2.

And now... Other Stuff From The Internet!!!

Another horrible night to have a curse

If you haven't watched Castlevania: Nocturne yet, go give it a look on Netflix. Then start getting ready for Season 2.

The end of a Pokemon journey

Ash's Pokemon journey is now over. Go watch the finale on Netflix.

A different kind of fishing

[Announcement] We're teaming up with @SeattleAquarium to bring Animal Crossing: New Horizons to the Seattle Aquarium! Starting October 7th, guests can enjoy aquatic photo ops featuring their favorite characters. Plus, visitors can learn about aquarium critters from Blathers! pic.twitter.com/19DWzlinNt

— Isabelle (@animalcrossing) October 6, 2023

If you're in the Seattle area, go check out this neat Animal Crossing tie-in.

Nothing but the Hotfix

Here's a combo randomizer, featuring the Super Metroid/Link to the Past randomizer, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Kingdom Hearts 2, and... Marvel Snap? I'm sorry... what?

GDQ's Hotfix shows air every week and you can catch them all at the Games Done Quick Twitch account.

Under the learning tree with Masahiro Sakurai

Masahiro Sakurai started a YouTube channel! Let's learn from his decades of experience together by looking at one of his latest videos. This week, Sakurai explains what billboards in gaming are and how they're used.

This week in Shaqnews

Get him @shaq! 😆 pic.twitter.com/0dBkzftXz2

— The Jennifer Hudson Show (@JHudShow) October 6, 2023

Shaq takes his talents to The Jennifer Hudson Show.

IT'S STILL REAL TO ME, DAMMIT!

The former Edge has joined All Elite Wrestling!

Tonight in video game music

GameChops is here with its latest LoFi album, this time going into the Soulsborne games.

That's it for the first Friday Evening Reading for the month of October! Be sure to keep the spirit of the classic Evening Reading alive by jumping into the comments about whatever you see here or whatever randomness you'd like to discuss. Join the conversation and dive into the Shacknews Chatty comment thread below. If you want to go new school and find different ways to leave your feedback or talk about whatever, join us in the Official Shacknews Community Discord. I'll see you all next week!

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?