Evening Reading - September 20, 2024

Greetings, Shacknews. As promised, I'm on site at TwitchCon. But still, let's enjoy another round of news, memes, and entertainment. This is the Friday edition of Evening Reading.

In case you missed it at Shacknews:

• Shack Together 032 - Frostpunk 2, DRDR, Poké vs Palworld, Ryan Cohen Fine, feat. Sam Chandler
• Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics review: The whole shebang
• The First Berserker: Khazan seeks to subvert the Soulslike genre, but at what cost?
• Microsoft (MSFT) is going to run AI data centers on power from Unit 1 reactor at Three Mile Island
• DayZ Frostline gets October release date
• AFK Journey adds new characters and maps with Waves of Intrigue update
• Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii has been announced for February 2025
• TwitchCon announces 2025 dates for U.S. and Europe

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

• Weekend Console Download Deals for Sept. 20: Helldivers 2 gets toxic
• Weekend PC Download Deals for Sept. 20: Steam Planes, Trains and Automobiles Fest

Around the Gaming Horn

Here's some rapid-fire news to wrap up your week.

For info on this and a whole lot more, visit our blog for a full Opening Ceremony recap:https://t.co/7EeE6nxpsz

— Twitch (@Twitch) September 20, 2024

Catch up with everything announced at TwitchCon's Opening Ceremony.

There's always room for more in Hell 😈

Experience #DiabloIV for free from September 19-23.

Play up to level 20 on https://t.co/Uq1X3oc2uT, Xbox, and PlayStation. pic.twitter.com/cnepIDEwl1

— Diablo (@Diablo) September 19, 2024

Something I almost missed with the PC Deals, Diablo 4 is free this weekend.

🔪Welcome to Camp Bloodbrook: Where Horror Meets Pinball! 🔪

This slasher classic launches on October 24 for all Pinball M platforms and Pinball FX on PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, and Epic Games!#PinballFX #PinballM #Horror #Gaming #slasher #ZenStudios #pinball pic.twitter.com/FRy6msLxw8

— Zen Studios (@zen_studios) September 20, 2024

Horror hits Pinball M and Pinball FX in time for Halloween.

And Moonstone Island celebrates one year with a special update.

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

Today in Bubbletron

Be sure to play Bubbletron today!

Philly born and raised

Gritty lives in Philadelphia. That is the context. https://t.co/DaUu8Qg9DE

— Dionne Warwick (@dionnewarwick) September 20, 2024

I mean, it'd be way weirder if Gritty were spotted in Boston just walking around.

Going 50/50

Shohei Ohtani spoke post-game with @kirsten_watson about his offensive performance, becoming the only player in the 50/50 club and clinching his first postseason berth. pic.twitter.com/OCh1CTs3JO

— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) September 20, 2024

Soak in baseball history just a little more.

Nothing but the Hotfix

Games Done Quick makes the Soulsbourne games look easy.

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

And hey, don't forget to check out Games Done Quick Express! It's happening live at TwitchCon all weekend!

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 shares some stories about bringing Sora to Smash Bros.

This week in Shaqnews

Shaq was on everyone’s wishlist & apparently @BaronDavis wanted to be teammates with the Lakers Hall of Famer during their playing careers.

“Everybody wants to play with Shaq.”

“Shaquille O’Neal is one of the most dominant centers ever so that would be for me it would be kind… https://t.co/XgscIyzR64 pic.twitter.com/2bZlxau1kG

— 👑 Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson (@ScoopB) September 20, 2024

Everybody wanted to play with Shaq.

IT'S STILL REAL TO ME, DAMMIT!

Tyrese Haliburton trolls the poor Orlando Tragic fans before bringing out CM Punk to name himself special ref for the big title match on CW premiere week.

Tonight in video game music

GaMetal takes us through another classic Sonic jam.

That's it for the third Friday Evening Reading for September! 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?