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The Verge
01-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Verge
Verso and Astarion walk into a video game.
Posted Jul 1, 2025 at 3:55 PM UTC Verso and Astarion walk into a video game. In a new teaser for the game, video game voice acting it boys Ben Starr ( Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 , Final Fantasy XVI ) and Neil Newbon ( Resident Evil Village , Baldur's Gate III ), will star as two friends who have to work together to escape a hellish Hollywood mansion.
The Verge
30-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Verge
Date Everything will make you see your favorite household objects in a sexy new light
Date Everything! isn't the dating sim it appears to be. Though the game's cutesy art style and lighthearted premise indicate an unserious game that's making yet another joke at the expense of the genre, Date Everything actually contains novel explorations of human relationships and sharp-as-shit political critique. Date Everything (the title technically includes an exclamation point) is a game where you, with the help of special glasses called 'dateviators,' can turn everyday household objects into potential romantic partners. Every in-game day you're given five opportunities to find new and talk to already discovered characters called dateables. As you interact with them, the things you say and do influence their feelings for you. Winning a dateable's love, hate, or friendship will also increase the level of one of your personality traits — smarts, poise, empathy, charm, and sass — which unlocks more advanced dialogue responses. Say the right thing, and Dorian (your door, voiced by Ben Starr) will be your best friend boosting your poise. Say the wrong thing and your toilet Jean-Loo Pissoir (Max Mittelman) will swear eternal enmity, boosting your sassiness. Date Everything is your favorite voice actor's favorite video game. The game is a veritable murderers' row of video game voice actors. Neil Newbon, Ben Starr, Ray Chase, Debra Wilson, Felicia Day, Ashley Johnson, Ashly Burch, and more lend their voices to this project. To borrow a line from Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, everyone is here and they're delivering high-quality performances more associated with Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 than Hatoful Boyfriend. I love how you don't have to dig through the credits to know who voices what, as each dateable is given a biography which includes their voice performer. This approach makes sense because Date Everything was created by them. Ray Chase (Noctis Lucis Caelum, Final Fantasy XV), Robbie Daymond (Tuxedo Mask!!), and Max Mittelman (Ryuji Sakamoto, Persona 5) founded Sassy Chap Games. Date Everything is the studio's first title that's found viral success mainly because it's giving the dating sim community — one that's been left to languish on jokey cast-offs and the odd Valentine's Day-themed events — exactly what they want: their favorite performers having fun. Every performer in Date Everything is having the time of their lives and you can hear it in their performances. Upon meeting Curt (Davied Morales) and Rod (Jacquis Neal) — any guesses as to what they are — I was delighted by their shade-throwing shenanigans. What those faves are saying is just as important as who's saying it. The game's dialogue is sharp and hilarious, stuffed with puns and clever wordplay — but make the right choices and it can veer into adult territory that doesn't feel too corny or vulgar. I was giggling and kicking my feet flirting with my vacuum cleaner (Zeno Robinson) because of the suggestiveness of some of our conversations. I've never been able to fully inhabit the self-insert characters I play in dating sims mainly because the dialogue options I choose and what I hear hardly ever reflect things I'd actually say or hear in real life. The biggest appeal of Date Everything is that it's written in a way that closes some of the distance between me the person and me the character in the game. My vacuum cleaner had lines that would have legit worked on me. Another trait that has me swiping right on Date Everything is how it's constructed. Dateables run the gamut of ethnicities, sexualities, and body types. There's a neat, built-in content warning feature that lets players know if talking to a particular dateable might bring up potentially triggering topics. Every line of dialogue is fully voiced and every new interaction with a dateable comes with a voiced description of the character, a boon for low-vision players. The game also lets you know precisely the politics of its creators in incredibly rad and funny ways. Within seconds of starting the story, I was newly hired then promptly fired by the tech megacorporation that developed the dateviators because my job had been automated by AI. Throughout the game, I'll get updates from the CEO, which are part hilarious interludes, part scathing criticisms of the video game industry. At one point, the CEO fired the company's event planner in the same breath he praised her for running a successful event. During one message, the CEO was begging for the dateviators back — stolen in a moment of corporate sabotage — because they've promised the technology to the, and I friggin' quote, 'US government's department of Overseas Violence.' A dig that could be aimed at any number of companies, including one very obvious one. There's a tendency in the dating sim community to get reflexively defensive against cutesy-looking dating sims, especially those developed in the West. While the genre is a staple with a storied history, typically these games are treated as a joke. I am frequently annoyed when a big game publisher announces it's making one only for it to be a prank. Or if one is released, it's often a short, unserious side project made for laughs. There's nothing wrong with that (pigeon dating game Hatoful Boyfriend sends its regards), but it gets grating when virtually every release is done for the lolz. Date Everything feels like it should be one of those pranks. But in the same way I didn't realize how sexy a vacuum cleaner could be until I talked to him, you won't know how serious and special Date Everything is until you try it. Date Everything is out now on PC, Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch.
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Kawaii Kon 2025: Top 10 to do, see, experience
HONOLULU (KHON2) — Kawaii Kon 2025 is coming to Honolulu in March, and it's packed with exciting events for anime fans, cosplayers and pop culture enthusiasts. Whether you're a long-time fan or new to the scene, this convention at the Hawai'i Convention Center will be the setting that offers something for a list of top 10 things to check out! Meet your favorite voice actors, including stars from popular anime like One Piece, Spy x Family, My Hero Academia and Baldur's Gate 3. Some guests include: Baldur's Gate 3 voice actors: Neil Newbon, Jennifer English and others. One Piece voice actors: Colleen Clinkenbeard, Luci Christian and Sonny Strait. Spy x Family voice actors: Alex Organ and Natalie VanSistine. My Hero Academia voice actors: Clifford Chapin, David Matranga and Justin Briner. Enjoy panels from industry legends, like Hirokatsu Kihara, who worked on My Neighbor Totoro and Kiki's Delivery Service, and Daisuke Ban, famous for Android Kikaider. Enjoy musical concert performances by musicians who will bring exciting energy to the event. TOKYO DEN-NOU. ASH DA HERO. Miura Ayme. TAKERU. from20. HELLO GLOOM; Show off your best costume and compete in the thrilling cosplay contests. There will also be a Cosplay Guest, Sparkle Stache, who will offer expert tips. Find unique anime artwork, collectibles and plenty of anime merchandise. This gives you the opportunity to support independent artists and grab some cool new items to take home. Join in the fun with video game tournaments or explore free-play areas where you can enjoy tabletop games and video games with fellow fans. There are both casual and competitive experiences available. Relax in the Manga Library and enjoy reading thousands of manga titles. It's the perfect way to unwind and dive into your favorite stories. Participate in interactive cultural activities. Learn about Japanese traditions, art and history through fun and engaging workshops. Don't miss fashion guests like Gloomy Bear and Hyper Core, who will showcase trendy anime-inspired styles. Kawaii Kon 2025 will be held from March 14-16 at the Hawai'i Convention Center in Honolulu. It's a great way to kick off spring break. This is an all-ages experience. Kawaii Kon 2025 promises to be a memorable experience for fans of all ages. From exclusive guest appearances to cosplay contests, games and live performances, this convention is packed with everything an anime fan could want. You can click for more information. Click to follow Kawaii Kon on Instagram. Be sure to register now and get ready to experience the ultimate celebration of anime and pop culture in Hawaiʻi. Get news on the go with KHON 2GO, KHON's morning podcast, every morning at 8 Kawaii Kon was founded in 2005 and is Hawaiʻi's largest anime convention that's dedicated to celebrating Japanese animation, culture and fandom. The convention is hosted each year at the Hawai'i Convention Center where it features panels, guests, cosplay, gaming and more for fans of all ages. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
