Evening Reading - January 10, 2025

Hello, Shacknews. We're back for another year of news, memes, and entertainment! This is the Friday edition of Evening Reading.

In case you missed it at Shacknews:

• Shack Together 046 - Gaming Resolutions Draft, AGDQ, CES feat. Sam Chandler, Ozzie Mejia
• Awesome Games Done Quick 2025: Watch Day 6 here
• Astro Bot, Helldivers 2, and Indiana Jones lead D.I.C.E. Awards 2025 nominations
• The House of the Dead 2: Remake is coming to consoles & PC in spring 2025
• Fortnite Festival will add local multiplayer for consoles next week

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

• Weekend Console Download Deals for Jan. 10: PlayStation Holiday Sale final days
• Weekend PC Download Deals for Jan. 10: Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth pre-order

Around the Gaming Horn

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

Those looking for something along the lines of Fallout or S.T.A.L.K.E.R. may want to keep an eye on Atomfall from Sniper Elite publisher Rebellion.

Somebody heard that poker is the new hotness. Candy Crush Solitaire isn't exactly that, leaning much more into solitaire than anything poker, but it is funny to see this announced in the wake of Balatro's unprecedented success.

Another world has been revealed for the upcoming Revenge of the Savage Planet.

Limveld awaits you, Nightfarers.

Rise together against the tides of darkness from February 14th to February 17th.

Register before January 20 for a chance to join the #ELDENRING #NIGHTREIGN Network Test: https://t.co/DodOCpDczD pic.twitter.com/aqLvLxDZ0T

— Bandai Namco US (@BandaiNamcoUS) January 10, 2025

And, boy, I sure hope you didn't make plans for Valentine's Day.

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

Today in Bubbletron

Be sure to play Bubbletron today!

ORB!

The Prize Wizard ponders the Orb #AGDQ2025

[image or embed]

— Beans ☕ (@beanycoffee.bsky.social) January 10, 2025 at 3:35 PM

More on Awesome Games Done Quick in a moment.

Still not gambling

pic.twitter.com/hexT0Inm9g

— Balatro (@BalatroGame) January 10, 2025

But yes, how about that PEGI rating for EA FC, eh?

Nothing but the Hotfix

No Hotfix, because it's time for Awesome Games Done Quick! We've embedded just a sample of the best runs above! Go check them out and keep watching through Saturday. We'll be back on Saturday night with the final total raised for the Prevent Cancer Foundation.

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

This week in Shaqnews (and Chucknews)

Zion Williamson's return hasn't gone unnoticed, especially by someone who can relate to his... culinary tastes.

IT'S STILL REAL TO ME, DAMMIT!

Man, hard to decide on who to give this spot to, so let's split it three ways and go with The Rock, John Cena, and the returning Kenny Omega.

Tonight in video game music

Time to get this party started. Let's go to MAGFest and hear from Geekswag.

That's it for the second Friday Evening Reading for January and the first official one for 2025! 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?