In promoting his impressive debut album Better throughout the year, Atlanta rising star Deante’ Hitchcock has put out some amusing and entertaining videos, including the scam-tastic “I Got Money Now” and the rebellious “Attitude.” His latest visual from the project finds him tapping back into his tongue-in-cheek sense of humor in the “Plug Me In” video.
Directed by WhoIsGLP, the video turns Hitchcock into a series of boyfriend robots that need to be “plugged in” by their owners. After introducing the concept with shots of the Deante’s being manufactured, the rest of the video depicts the outrageous results of the bots in use. One woman is the “Plain Jane” who “only calls when male companion is gone,” while another is a “Sugar Mama” who will “spend her entire retirement check on you.”
Naturally, with the robots classifying their companions this way, it’s only a matter of time before they end up abandoned and thrown in the garbage. All the while, Deante’ clowns such finicky women in the song’s lyrics, warning, “I don’t wanna show up, ain’t no love there.”
Watch Deante’ Hitchcock’s “Plug Me In” video above.
Better (Deluxe) is out now on ByStorm Entertainment/RCA Records. Listen to it here.
Actress Carey Mulligan sings “New York, New York,” uninterrupted, for nearly five minutes in 2011’s Shame. It’s a terrific performance, but it’s got nothing on her rendition of — no offense to Liza and Frank — a much better song in Promising Young Woman.
In the directorial debut from Killing Eve writer Emerald Fennell, Mulligan plays Cassie, a former-medical student who seeks out revenge against men who take advantage of women, including a toxic “nice guy” played by Bo Burnham. In one scene, the comedian and Eighth Grade filmmaker and Mulligan perform “a full karaoke rendition” of Paris Hilton’s 2006 Billboard-charting single, “Stars Are Blind.” The song was much-maligned at the time, but its reputation has (correctly) improved over the years, and Fennell told the Hollywood Reporter that it needed to be in Promising Young Woman because “you would immediately love any man that knew every word of that song”:
“It was a matter of begging Paris to let us have it before shooting,” she said, adding that Mulligan and Burnham “pulled out the performance of a lifetime” when singing the song. Mulligan added, “It was so embarrassing. A lot of it was Bo and I singing Paris Hilton at the top of our lungs with no music in this completely silent empty pharmacy with 30 crew members staring at us.”
Between the “Stars Are Blind” karaoke (a legit bop) and the “Toxic” cover,Promising Young Woman — which opens on December 25 after being delayed since April — is doing wonders for mid-2000s pop. I hope “Don’t Cha” plays over the end credits.
Scott Van Pelt was the one tasked with handling SportsCenter duties the night the NBA shut down, effectively signaling that the sports world as a whole would be coming to a halt as the COVID-19 pandemic made its first tangible impact on sports. It was a surreal night and one that, nine months later remains a defining moment of this year in sports and beyond, as it became the moment that many began really taking to pandemic seriously.
Sports are back now, but the virus is spreading at a greater rate than ever, with sports leagues pressing onward through positive tests and postponements that have become normalcy. At ESPN, the pandemic has led to a number of changes as well, with many of their analysts working remotely and commentating teams in some sports working from home or a studio.
Van Pelt’s seen a change as well, as he’s moved his midnight SportsCenter to ESPN’s Washington D.C. studio space, as he moved back home to the DMV area from Bristol. His edition of SportsCenter has become a favorite for fans due to segments like Bad Beats and Winners, as well as the free-flowing conversations he has with athlete guest and ESPN analysts. However, Van Pelt announced he will be off air for “a bit” after testing positive for COVID-19 this week.
Won’t be doing shows for a bit after a positive Covid-19 test. Thankfully, no fever & I feel fine. Just can’t smell or taste anything which was my clue to go get a test.
So, I will hunker down and hopefully can be back at it before too long.
One would assume Van Pelt’s slot will be filled by the L.A. SportsCenter crew, but the hope is obviously that SVP remains symptom free aside from his loss of taste and smell and is able to make a full and speedy recovery.
The start of this year marked a new decade, and as it comes to a close, it feels as though, somehow, another has passed. In every sense, 2020 has been a year that has both separated us and drawn us closer together than ever before — and games have been here for us throughout it all. We attended weddings in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, betrayed our friends in Among Us, and revisited our childhood selves in games such as Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1+2, Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time, and the Super Mario 3D All-Stars trilogy. We shared our Ghost of Tsushima photos — all captured in Kurosawa mode, of course — and the builds we used in Hades, faced Sephiroth yet again in Final Fantasy 7 Remake, and joined Joel and Ellie for a final adventure in The Last of Us 2.
With 2020 also came the next generation of consoles: the Playstation 5 and the Xbox Series X and S. These releases come with promises of innovation and excitement — of new voices telling new stories and creating beautiful worlds for us to both cherish and explore. As we step bravely into the unknown — which is absolutely what 2021 feels like — we’re doing so with the same excitement and anticipation games have bestowed upon us through this year. But before we dive into that, let’s take a final look back at the greatest gaming experiences this year had to offer as decided by a vote from the contributing writers and editors for UPROXX Edge Gaming.
HONORABLE MENTION
The Last Of Us Part II
Naughty Dog
I was talking with a co-worker who is evangelical about The Last Of Us 2 and when I told him where I was in the game he delighted in telling me how I was nowhere near as far as I thought I was. Then he told me how happy he was for me that I still had so much to discover. Normally, this kind of thing would freak me out. I’m still working through the idea that games are to be experienced not just conquered. I buy them, I play them, and I either finish or tire of them before moving on to something else. With Last Of Us 2, however, I genuinely feel a pull to go back to it after trying to love CyberPunk or getting destroyed in Warzone. Even though things operate on a track the storytelling and performances are at such a high level that I fall in, forgetting how long it’s taking and how far I’ve gotten. I’m captivated. Utterly. — Jason Tabrys
Ori and the Will of the Wisps
Moon Studios
Ori and the Will of the Wisps is not the kind of game you’d expect to see on a year-end roundup like this. There aren’t any first-person shooter elements, it hasn’t really broken through the cultural zeitgeist like Fall Guys or Animal Crossing, and it’s a sequel title that doesn’t wholly capture the aura of mystery that made its predecessor so intriguing to play. But you know what? It doesn’t f*cking matter. You’ll be hard-pressed to find an adventure as beautifully-wrought as this — with its dense forests and lush nature scenes that rival artwork you’d see in Soho gallery — with a story as emotionally gripping and gameplay as complex, thought-provoking, and addictively fun. Whether you’re looking for a break from your normal line-up or just craving a game with a bit of magic and an adorable, genderless pixie hero, you won’t regret joining this quest. — Jessica Toomer
Kentuck Route Zero
Cardboard Computer
We’re admittedly missing some really great games from this list, including some titles that have won GOTY elsewhere. But no game impacted me emotionally anywhere close to Kentucky Route Zero, a title whose decade-long creation story ended in 2020. Part V of that story was a satisfying conclusion to a beautiful journey about loss, debt and making the most of life’s quiet moments. Ben Babbit’s music is gorgeous throughout, and the story is densely packed with vignettes about lost souls, wandering travelers and sleepy gas stations. There’s no way to lose with Kentucky Route Zero, unless you never play it at all. Once you do, I guarantee you’ll find yourself wanting to go back and follow that same path again to see what else you may have missed. — Ryan Nagelhout
5. (tie) Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout
Mediatonic
What do you want in a video game? If it’s some realistic, mega lifelike celebration of graphics and realism and movement — “Wow!” you exclaim, “These graphics! This looks like real life!” — then there are probably other games for you. If your thing is more fun and whimsy and general silliness, then Fall Guys is a perfect game for turning your brain off and losing track of time. The concept is simple, and the goal is incredibly straight-forward, but despite this, the game prides itself on being hilariously maddening. You are punished if any tiny move in your frantic mad-dash for a finish line, one determined by either time or a literal finish line, goes awry. It is hilariously addicting. You might get lucky and win one time, but probably not. The pursuit of one win is still worth sinking hours and hours of time into, however. — Bill DiFilippo
5. (tie) Final Fantasy VII Remake
Square Enix
In 1997, a little game by the name of Final Fantasy VII was released and nothing was the same. It received nearly unanimous critical acclaim, popularized JRPGs in America, and raised the bar for storytelling, music, and games as a whole. So, after reading that, here’s my question for you, dear reader: How do you remake a game that revolutionized gaming? How do you recreate something loved so dearly by so many, while also engaging with an entirely new generation of gamers?
I certainly don’t have the answer, but Square did, and the result is an extraordinarily impressive game that not only retains the spirit of its predecessor but expands upon it in meaningful ways. Outside of the significant and striking visual and audio upgrades, the remake gives the original story breathing-room and opportunities for us to explore our characters and their emotions profoundly. Sure, in turning the first seven hours of Final Fantasy VII into a separate 30-hour game, we ended up with a bit of excess padding, but when a city is as alive as Midgar, it’s not so bad getting lost in it. — Jess Howard
4. Hades
Simply put, Supergiant Games does not miss–and Hades is no exception. Hades is what you get when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object. In this case, the force is Zagreus, a young god grown weary of his responsibilities as the prince of the underworld. And the object is Hades, his cruel and distant father. The game follows Zagreus’ repeated attempts to escape his home and discover his place in the Greek pantheon, regardless of how many times he must die and return to hell to do so. With repeated strokes of clever storytelling, luscious music and visuals, fun, adaptive gameplay, and a loop that both rewards and motivates players in a way games seldom do, Hades is an exemplary entry in the roguelike genre–but it doesn’t stop there. It’s also narratively compelling and asks players just how far they’d go for both hatred and love. — Jess Howard
3. Call of Duty: Warzone
Infinity Ward
The task was simple: create a battle royale shooter that isn’t as buggy as PUBG, doesn’t have superpowers like Apex Legends, and isn’t called Fortnite. Let me group up, spend less time looting, and give me that patented Call of Duty gunplay and movement. It’s no surprise (or is it?) that Call of Duty gave us the Call of Duty game we were asking for before anyone else could. The surprising part is that Call of Duty: Warzone is actually really good. It’s addicting. It has a stable netcode. The crossplay is actually useable and I can play with all my friends whether they have a PC or console — it’s the closest game this year to emulate the feeling of sitting side-by-side playing a split-screen shooter, which is something I would try to do with my friends every couple weeks when the world wasn’t in lockdown. Warzone has brought me plenty of great, hilarious memories this year and it stands alone as being the most solid battle royale experience yet in a “genre” riddled with gimmicks and frills. — AJ Lodge
2. Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Nintendo
Animal Crossing: New Horizons was our entire world for a few months this year. In this world, I was an expert fisherman with nerves of steel and I wore funny hats every day. My fiance was an accomplished botanist whose best friend was an upset chicken and, although she hated him profoundly, she couldn’t bear to let him move off our island. It was in this world where we found comfort and, above all, a sense of certainty in the most uncertain time of our lives. It’s because of this that I’m confident in saying that Animal Crossing is the most important video game of 2020. Yes, any other year it might not have even made my Top 5 on gameplay alone, but especially now when video games are at the forefront of the cultural discussion– rivaling (and in some cases usurping) movies, TV shows, books, and music– it’s both unfair and impossible to not consider the context in which it was released when judging its merit. The world is and was a scary place back in March and Animal Crossing was there for us. It was a lot of people’s only gaming experience this year and, hopefully for some, their gateway into a lifelong hobby of picking up a controller. As someone who has loved video games for so long, I could not be more proud of the things that Animal Crossing did that it never intended to do. — AJ Lodge
1. Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1+2
Vicarious Visions
This might not be a pick that other outlets choose as their Game of The Year but there wasn’t quite a game that captured the hearts and minds of an entire staff like Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 did for us. Call it nostalgia. Call it shallow. This game shreds and it absolutely did not have to.
This isn’t the first time they’ve tried to remake Tony Hawk or even bring back the Pro Skater franchise for that matter, but all of them failed, because they never quite captured what it is that makes Tony Hawk fun. Ridiculous combos, lots of speed, and a little bit of skill go a long way to making these games great and this one understood that. You know it understands it because there was every reason in the world for the team over at Vicarious Visions to make this a complete cash grab. Just remake the old games as-is, fine-tune the controls a bit, and throw some HD paint on it. That would have sufficed but Pro Skater 1+2 took the best aspects of every Tony Hawk game, such as wallrides or wall plants, and put them in. Yet even with the new additions, you’ll see long time players immediately cling to it like they’ve been playing for years. The first time you drop into Warehouse it will feel the exact same way it did all those years ago even with improved controls. They nailed that feeling perfectly.
In a year like 2020 where it felt like there was just nothing to be excited about. Nothing to feel joy from. It was nice to return to some old familiar lines just like we did back in the day. Is Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1+2 nostalgia? Yes, but it’s the exact kind of nostalgia that should be celebrated. This is how you do a remake. — Chris Barnewell
24-year-old, St. Louis singer-rapper IV4 is a relative newcomer to the game, but she comes with a surprising amount of polish in her UPROXX Sessions debut, singing her new single “Swimming.” Her sing-song flow is the highlight of the song, which features Trippie Redd on the original version, as she compares falling in love to drowning and brags that she’ll even take her man’s side chick.
In her press bio, IV4 says she always knew that she was destined to sing. “I swear I came out singing,” she jokes. “I would always tell my mom and my grandma, ‘I’m going to be a super-famous singer.’ And that’s the only thing I’ve ever really wanted to do.” Since then, she’s secured viral hits with “Because of Me,” “Killah,” “Shameless,” and “Work 2 Hard,” securing Trippie Redd for “Swimming” and establishing herself as an artist that bears paying attention to.
Watch IV4’s performance of “Swimming” above.
UPROXX Sessions is Uproxx’s performance show featuring the hottest up-and-coming acts you should keep an eye on. Featuring creative direction from LA promotion collective, Ham On Everything, and taking place on our “bathroom” set designed and painted by Julian Gross, UPROXX Sessions is a showcase of some of our favorite performers, who just might soon be yours, too.
IV4 is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Even if you haven’t waded past the shallow end of the streaming pool, you’ve undoubtedly heard of Sweet Anita.
The Youtuber and Twitch star – who’s readying to host VY Esports’ buzzed-about digital online gaming festival LuudoFest! on Dec. 18th — has amassed an impressive following on both platforms. Millions of people tune in to her streams – she enjoys games like Among Us and Overwatch but her most-returned-to format is her “Just Chatting” channel – expecting a singular, unpredictable, often wildly funny watch.
That’s partly because Sweet Anita has Tourette’s, a nervous system disorder that causes people to make sudden movements or sounds, called tics, that they can’t control. Tourette’s can manifest in all kinds of ways – throat clearing, shrugging the shoulders, humming. Anita’s are almost musical – a whistle here, a plucky pop of her lips there.
She also occasionally shouts expletives and interjects with random phrases too, enough that her fans have started choosing favorites – “b*tch lasagna” and “f*ck a biscuit” are the more popular ones – and some of her critics have publicly wished for her to be banned. But Twitch, both the company and the community of streamers who flock to Anita’s feed, don’t take issue with these unintentionally comical outbursts … and really, why would they?
Though Sweet Anita has only been streaming for about two years, she’s managed to raise thousands for charity through her online platform, and, perhaps more importantly, create a safe space for other non-neurotypical people. It can sometimes come at a cost, especially during a year that’s seen pandemic-induced global lockdowns attract bigger crowds to the gaming verse.
“It’s the kind of platform that really rewards burnout,” Anita tells UPROXX. “But when there’s nothing else in your life to distract you, it just completely facilitates overworking. My biggest challenge this year has been to not overdo it.”
That’s a tough goal when you’ve got a million people monitoring your channel, hoping to catch you playing a round of Crash Bandicoot or initiating a Just Chatting Q&A. Anita has tried to equip her stream with enough resources so that newcomers who might be curious about her condition can learn the basics … and stop quizzing her in the chat.
“It drives me mad,” she says about the constant questioning. “You could play, I don’t know, “Anita Bingo” and get wasted just taking shots every time I get asked if I tic during sex, or, ‘Do I tic during my sleep,’ or am ‘I fully conscious whilst I’m having a tic?’ Out of sheer annoyance, I made this playlist on YouTube of all the different questions answered so I wouldn’t have to repeat myself, and we link it in chat and nobody watches it.”
Still, despite having to often set boundaries with fans, Anita knows any momentary ire is worth it in service of the close-knit community she’s creating. It’s odd – that a group of strangers online brought together by their love of gaming might come to feel like a kind of formed family – but Anita thinks a lot of that has to do with the year everyone’s had, and how streaming has offered safer ways of connecting to more diverse groups of people.
“I have always been someone who has tended to draw in people who either are struggling with mental health or who are lonely, and I think that’s a lot of Twitch, to be honest, is a lot of lonely people,” she says. “I think Twitch has absolutely boomed, and I think it’s probably because with more and more people becoming isolated, more and more people are at home watching, but as well it’s more and more people are lonely and more and more people are turning to streamers to distract them and keep them company.”
That’s partly what drew Anita herself to the platform years ago. Her home life was fluctuating. She’d finally gotten a diagnosis for a condition that plagued her teenage years. She thought finally having the label of Tourette’s might mean people would understand her tics, or at the very least, not judge her for them.
“It became almost like a gimmick to people. People would be, ‘Oh, my God. My friends would love you!’” she recalls. “They thought it was funny and ridiculous. I kind of had the opposite problem where now people liked me and were nice to me, but people were seeing the condition instead of me, and it was not great. But when I started online gaming – I found Overwatch and I could go on push-to-talk. Push-to-talk meant that people saw me and not my condition. Many of the people that I made friends with online on Overwatch didn’t know I had Tourette’s for a good year or two. And that was amazing. I felt valued as a human again and I got to find out that I was friendship material even without the romanticism of my Tourette’s syndrome.”
Of course, that’s since changed. Anita blames her lack of tech-savvy for the start of her streaming career.
“It actually turned out to be a happy accident. I wanted to maintain that I was just a normal person without the condition. I didn’t want to show everyone on my friends list that I had Tourette’s. I had intended to go on push-to-talk, couldn’t figure it out, was like, ‘F*ck it. Let’s go anyway.’”
She was met with surprise by some, weird fascination from others, and the occasional accusation that she was faking her condition for bigger streaming numbers.
“The thing is, I grew up with being punished for it,” Anita explains. “I didn’t have an explanation for what was going on. I got in a lot of trouble for it. I got kicked off public transport. My life was tremendously difficult. I’m quite used to way worse consequences than some mean words on the internet so I wasn’t really afraid of how people would respond to me.”
That’s one of the elements of Anita’s platform that resonates with the people who follow her. Her unabashed self-acceptance, her quick-witted, occasionally dark humor, and her willingness to laugh at herself have invited others to do the same. She doesn’t view herself as a role model – in fact, she outwardly cringes at the idea – but she does acknowledge that the streaming platform has given her a chance to make a difference. That’s why she continues to raise money for various charities – those working with people who have Tourette’s yes, but also ones associated with animal rescue and rehabilitation. (When she’s not outing herself as an imposter in a game of Among Us you might find her neck-deep in a badger sett somewhere in the UK countryside, trying to rescue all kinds of woodland creatures.)
But it’s also why she’s happily inhabited the role of streaming ambassador to the crowds of people who probably haven’t encountered her disorder in real life.
“I don’t think that any person with Tourette’s owes education to anyone,” Anita says. “Would we task someone with cancer, for example, with spending hours upon hours exhaustively explaining to everyone about cancer all the time? Or would we just let them live their lives? I don’t try to pressure myself too much to be an educator. It’s a passive part of what I do anyway because it’s one thing to go and Google Tourette’s and get a definition of the word. It’s another to actually interact with someone, and the humanizing of it is very educational, in and of itself, even without me trying. And so, I will answer the odd question every now and again, if I’m in the mood, but mainly I just try to show people what it looks like to accept yourself and your situation and make it work for you and be happy in that; to use your experience as a tool rather than a reason to weigh yourself down. It’s a reason to step up and build something beautiful.”
Anita’s managed to do that despite a year that proved difficult, terrifying, and even dangerous. On top of the threat of a global pandemic, she was confronted with a truly horrifying stalking incident that put her physical safety in jeopardy.
In July, an obsessed fan began doxxing her – a term familiar to many female gamers that describes how trolls often publish their private information like a home address or contact info in order to invite harassment. Anita went to Twitch and the police, but both failed to fully address the situation, which is what prompted her to share the harrowing experience on social media.
An update! I reported this yesterday morning, they told me they would call me about it today, they didn’t. They said they might get back to me tomorrow.
But from this traumatic event, Anita has found another use for her online fame. She’s streamed chats with other Twitch personalities, some men, some women – people like XChocoBars, Kaceytron, and Destiny – who detailed their own stalking incidents and how authorities seemed to disregard their concerns.
“I don’t think that stalking is specifically a female problem on Twitch,” Anita says. “I do feel like if you are a public figure on Twitch, people are going to use you to fill a gap of loneliness in their lives. It tends to be resentful people and mentally ill people, but that fixation will happen regardless of what genitalia you have. I feel like people think it’s a female problem on Twitch. It’s not.”
“I really want to hit home that this is worth challenging and changing on the platform because all of us could have something awful happen to us,” she continues. “It’s something that’s relevant to literally every single one of us, and I think the more we make that clear, the more likely that something is going to be done about it because if it becomes an all-girl problem, nobody will really care. Over 70% of the people who watch Twitch are male and will think it just does not apply to them and that they don’t have to worry about it at all.”
It’s a larger issue the gaming community faces. While streaming propels ordinary gamers like Anita to unexpected heights of fame, that public visibility also invites doxxers and trolls to hop on her chat and terrorize her fans at will. Luckily, Twitch streamers can control that – to an extent – and maintaining that safe space for her audience, especially the other women with Tourette’s who tune in for her streams, is a point of pride for her.
“We have lots of women with Tourette’s syndrome in our Discord, but obviously because most of Twitch’s viewer base is male, a lot of men tend to not be able to relate to women,” Anita acknowledges. “If they admire them, they tend to sexualize it. They never aspire to be like a woman. They tend to aspire to be with a woman. So we end up banning a lot of people, but at least we have the space where people with Tourette’s syndrome are unanimously understood and welcome, which is rare. And then on top of that, a place where we don’t encourage that kind of behavior.”
Anita says she’s seen a “huge change” on the internet when it comes to female gamers, and non-neurotypical gamers, something she credits to platforms like Twitch.
“There are loads of socially isolated people of a very specific demographic on Twitch; people who wouldn’t normally be exposed to this sort of thing and would normally throw a tantrum if they were exposed to this sort of thing,” she explains. “So, people who start throwing tantrums, throwing their toys out the pram because they had to play a game with a girl, are now being exposed to loads of different kinds of people, loads of different kinds of beliefs, in an area that used to be considered a boys-only area. I think that’s wonderful. Everyone has to join a stream voluntarily. It’s not like we’re shoving diversity down people’s throats. It’s there on offer. And I feel like that’s the best way to go about it.”
And as long as more people continue to flock to Twitch and other streaming platforms, the work gamers like Sweet Anita are doing to promote diversity, inclusion, and acceptance will continue to be vital to the growth of the industry at large.
“I get paid to make the world a safer place for people like me because the more people who understand what’s going on with me, the less volatile things are for people like me in public,” Anita says. “So, it’s an honor to be mildly annoyed by chat every day and get paid for the privilege because everyone wins. They learn more about Tourette’s and I get to feed my family.”
Nearly two years after Russian Doll first revealed some of its hidden treasures, it’s still on people’s minds. Future seasons of the Natasha Lyonne, Groundhog Day-esque, madcap series are planned and in the works, but obviously, much of this year has gone to hell. Hopefully in 2021? We’ll see how things go, but Lyonne wasn’t thrilled at all to see a suggestion that humanity could count down on New Year’s eve, only to wake back up on January 1, 2020 immediately after midnight.
Although this was clearly a joke, Lyonne doesn’t even wanna go there. She swiftly tweeted back at Sam Greisman (who’s Sally Field’s son, as well as a writer and director) with a very succinct response: “Not cool.”
Can you blame her? I think I’d much rather be stuck in Nadia’s timeline, even though she kept on dying, alongside Charlie Barnett’s Alan, than for the world to experience 2020 all over again. And at least in Russian Doll one would receive a trippy parade at the end of the first season. As far as the future of the show goes, neither Lyonne nor fellow creators Amy Poehler and Leslye Headland have revealed too much about what will go down, other than the show will eventually end by revealing a dark and shameful secret. So… Oatmeal the Cat is really Punxsutawney Phil? Yeah, I’m going with that until someone tells me differently. Or until Season 2 drops, whichever comes first.
We’re getting down to the wire when it comes to holiday gift giving, which may have gotten a bit more complicated in 2020 for a variety of reasons. Especially when it comes to gaming. The year in games has been filled with delays and stock issues as well as a bunch of fun titles that have eaten up endless hours of social distancing and nights indoors.
So what’s left for the holiday season? Maybe you’re shopping for someone who has spent much of the year devouring all the biggest new games on the market and you’re wondering how to buy something for them they don’t have. Or you’re looking to upgrade their gear and give them something unique that will stand out in the crowd of streamers and gaming setups. Better yet, you’re looking for something nice for yours truly after what’s been a truly weird year.
Whether it’s the latest in video games, tabletop games or the accessories to make it all a reality, we’ve got you covered.
Part 1 — The Hardware
A Next-Gen Console
Xbox
$299-???
Listen, if you can get your hands on a PlayStation 5 or an Xbox Series X or Series S to give as a gift, you have won the quarantine holidays. Perhaps this is more about the status of having next-gen console at this point because, quite frankly, the killer app making it a necessary purchase simply isn’t there yet. But if you’re hoping to get an upgraded Madden experience or are trying to play Cyberpunk 2077 with as few crashes as possible, a next-gen console is certainly nice to have.
Whether you are willing to queue up on websites to get it or just hit StockX to snag one off the secondary market, well, that’s between you and your bank account. But there are plenty of things you can buy without needing the latest and greatest below this. That’s what you’re looking here for, anyway. Just have to get the basics out of the way.
Last-Gen Gems
Getty Image
$299
This is not the time to get a PlayStation 4 of a last-gen Xbox no matter what kind of deal you can get. And a new Nintendo console is likely coming in 2021. But there’s a long winter ahead, and unlike the early days of quarantine you can actually get a Switch for a decent price. It’s a great, portable console for when you can travel again and has a huge indie library that makes it a great gaming device for the coming months and the jet-setting future you will dream of instead of sugar plum fairies this holiday season. There’s also a much better chance you can actually snag that Animal Crossing Switch bundle your loved one had their eye on but couldn’t snag.
You may have missed out on the A Bathing Ape collaboration, but word on the street is that might return in stock soon. If you’re looking for something a little more substance than style, the Kaira Pro is designed for the Xbox and is almost certainly an upgrade over your current setup especially if, like me, you held onto the one you got with your Xbox One for far too long.
Here’s just some good advice in general: buy a gaming chair. They’re wildly comfortable, and in an age where having a nice place to sit for long hours at home is suddenly much more important, upgrading your home office with a gaming chair might actually be a more reasonable (and cheaper) option than trying to replicate the chair you had that might still be trapped in your actual office.
Mavix is a newer brand on the market, but I really like that they have the comfort and support options of a gaming chair without looking like it belongs inside an F1 car or on the touchline of a soccer match in Europe. Compared to office chair prices, this is a good way to upgrade for someone in the market to make their neck and back feel a whole lot better at the end of the day.
Being at home for so long leads to a lot of necessity meet mother of invention moments. One of these was wanting to bring the live gaming event atmosphere back to the house. And now with any number of decent, inexpensive portable projectors, any blank wall at night, and some sort of portable audio device, all you need is your system and a long extension cord and you’ve got yourself a big screen whether you’re playing Among Us, WarZone, or your favorite retro emulator. The Pill is slick because the sound carries outdoors and has enough bass to still feel like your soundbar, the battery life is strong, and (becoming rarer these days) it features a 3.5mm port, allowing for seamless connecting to some of the projectors that don’t yet offer bluetooth.
And it’s good at its normal job – playing music at a reasonable volume – too.
If you know for sure someone hasn’t already bought these, add them to their collection and breathe easy knowing these are easy holiday wins.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Nintendo
Price: $60
This was the game that got many through what was a difficult spring, but if someone you love is on the fence about traveling to an island and building a new home with some animal friends, why don’t you save them the purchase anxiety and gift them that instead. They’ll thank you for it.
Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1+2
Activision
Price: $30
This is one of the few remakes that not only makes for a complete, extremely satisfying game but is at a great price point. It’s as fun as you remember, the updated soundtrack is still fantastic and the jolt of nostalgia alone is worth the space on your console’s hard drive.
The Last of Us Part II
PlayStation
Price: $60
This is perhaps not the cheeriest of games in what’s been a tough year, but it’s the game that got more hype than nearly any other and managed to live up to it this year.
Chill Nintendo Switch Games
Your loved one probably has all the big games that make the Switch great. Now get them some smaller, indie titles to show them that you care.
Carto
Nintendo Switch
It’s kinda like video game Carcassonne, except you’re an adorable little girl flipping tiles around in a puzzle game that doubles as a fun island-hopping adventure.
What The Golf?
Triband
A very silly golf-ish game full of laughs and replay value. It’s a ‘try it once and you’re hooked’ game that’s worth every penny.
Kentucky Route Zero
Cardboard Computer
Act 5 of this game finally closed out the saga in 2020, and a full Console Edition is a great way to introduce new or even experienced KRZ gamers back to the complete story. It’s a wonderful, touching ride with great music and visuals. A must-play.
Hades
Supergiant Games
OK, so this one isn’t so chill. But it is a wildly good roguelike, and certainly worthy of inclusion here. Even people who don’t like roguelikes like Hades.
Part 4 — Tabletop Gaming
We’ve already laid out the best two-player games for life in quarantine, but there are plenty of other games and accessories perfect for holiday gift giving. And not just more dice.
Rick and Morty Dungeons and Dragons
Wizards of the Coast
Price: $20
If you’re looking for an easy way into Dungeons and Dragons or perhaps are an experienced RPG player looking to change things up, the Rick and Morty-themed starter set is a great choice. It makes for funny campaigns, and unexpected storylines and offers a bit of modern flexibility and unpredictability while being a very well-designed dungeon crawl.
I’ve successfully played through this during quarantine with friends in several states, and it’s sparked a really fun homebrew campaign with no end in sight. The campaign has a bunch of nice little references to the show, but
Designed by noted game designer Richard Garfield (Magic: The Gathering, King of Tokyo) and written by Jeopardy! GOAT Ken Jennings, this trivia party game manages to make trivia fun and competitive no matter how much otherwise useless knowledge you may or may not have in your head somewhere. It’s quick, offers a variety of questions and keeps even reluctant gamers engaged. Easy to play and learn but tough to master, it’s an easy upgrade for anyone who thinks Trivial Pursuit is the end all, be all of trivia games.
This subscription service tabletop game puts you (and maybe a companion) at the center of a six-episode mystery that must be solved using clues found in the items, documents and other things included in each box. It’s kind of like an escape room, or an episodic tabletop experience where your wits and investigative skills determine whether you can figure out the whodunit.
Each month costs $25, but it’s surprisingly addicting and certainly something to look forward to for tabletop gamers who like puzzles and interactive experiences. The company has two different versions: a mystery subscription and a newer Blair Witch-inspired horror game that launched earlier in 2020. It’s a great last-minute gift idea, and the company’s website has clues and recaps to help struggling sleuths along if they get stuck.
If you’re tired of Zoom happy hours and know someone who misses hosting game nights, there’s a pretty good chance you can get some of those dust-gathering games off the shelf with the right camera setup. Cooperative games like Pandemic work great with an overhead document camera and a little creativity, and this plug-and-play option in particular is relatively affordable while offering some flexibility to get the right angle on games. Everything is a little bit harder in 2020, but this guy made things just a bit better.
The soundtrack from the indie darling of 2019 is double-grooved so the Debussy tracks abruptly skip and jump around just like in the honk-filled and hilarious game. It’s a neat gift for the bird who truly has everything.
LA rappers Blxst and Dom Kennedy visit an art exhibit in the video for “Got It All” from Blxst’s deluxe No Love Lost EP. After the video opens with a close-up of one of Blxst’s portrait subjects, we see the emerging West Coast star sketching another young woman who poses and primps inside a glass case. Later, the two rappers display a collection of modern art in a gallery as onlookers peruse paintings of Tupac, Aaliyah, and more.
Blxst’s 2020 has proven to be a breakout season for the rapper-singer, who made his bones over the previous year with guest appearances on other Los Angeles stars’ projects, from fellow newcomers 1TakeJay and Bino Rideaux to long-established vets like Eric Bellinger. After releasing his debut project No Love Lost, he increased his reach with the deluxe version which includes even more local superstars like Ty Dolla Sign, who appears on “Chosen.”
Meanwhile, indie vet Dom Kennedy has made a comeback of sorts thanks to his Half A Mil projects with Hit-Boy and his appearances on tracks like Nas’s “City On Lock” from the latter’s comeback album.
Watch the “Got It All” video above.
No Love Lost (Deluxe) is out now via Red Bull Records. Listen to it here.
This year has been nothing short of devastating for just about everybody. We’ve all done our best to pay the bills, survive, and even help those around us to do the same. In the spirit of the latter, it’s been inspiring to see so many artists using their influence, talent, and resources to help those most in need this year.
We reached out to the artists behind some of our favorite benefit songs this year: Phoebe Bridgers, Amanda Shires, Yola, Sad13’s Sadie Dupuis, and Patrick Stickles of Titus Andronicus. They shed some light on the music, the causes they represented, and what it all means to them.
We’ve also included links to the organizations involved and a “How To Support” beneath each section. So if these songs and causes resonate with you, please consider donating to them if you’re able to.
Phoebe Bridgers – “If We Make It Through December” (Merle Haggard cover)
Benefiting Downtown Women’s Center, a Los Angeles organization focused exclusively on serving and empowering women experiencing homelessness and formerly homeless women.
So many of us are reeling from how COVID-19 pandemic stay-at-home measures are going to affect our usual holiday plans and traditions with our families. But the harsh reality for those living on the streets is that they likely wouldn’t have had the luxury of spending the holidays in a loving home to begin with. A Merle Haggard cover with Bridgers on vocals and Ethan Gruska on piano, this song is a message of hope during the holidays.
Bridgers shared some words with us about the song and the cause:
“I grew up listening to Merle Haggard because my grandma was Beatles-level obsessed with both him and Marty Robbins. They both have great Christmas records, but this song always stuck out because the idea of not having Christmas is unimaginable to me. My family is staunchly secular, but I’ve always had an over the top Christmas thanks to my mom (I’m 26 and I still get a stocking).
I wanted to donate the proceeds to Downtown Women’s Center because those resources are needed more than ever this year, and growing up in a domestically abusive household myself, I can’t stress how important the work they do really is.”
Benefiting Yellowhammer Fund, an abortion fund and reproductive justice organization in Alabama.
This gorgeous duet from Shires and Isbell was released concurrently with International Safe Abortion Day on September 28th. It’s a song about the considerations people make when considering this very difficult decision, as well as the insecurities, legalities, and hope for support that comes with it. This is a powerful statement from the couple, especially considering Isbell is originally from the state of Alabama where a legal battle for the “Human Life Protection Act” — which would effectively ban abortion in the state — is underway.
Shires sent us these words:
“‘The Problem’ is a conversation. It’s about supporting someone you love unconditionally.
I believe it is not the role of the federal or state government to deny us the right to make our own reproductive choices. Rather, it is the government’s charge to protect this right from any agency that might attempt to revoke it.
The Yellowhammer Fund is an abortion fund and reproductive justice organization serving Alabama and the Deep South. They offer community education and empowerment, policy advocacy to ensure friends, families, and neighbors never go without the things they need.
Titus Andronicus – “Closer To Fine” (Indigo Girls cover)
Benefiting Fair Fight, who are fighting for voting rights in Georgia and beyond, and Mijente, a Latinx and Chicanx organization sparking movements for justice and self-determination for all people.
Delivered with Titus Andronicus’ signature literary punk sensibility, “Closer To Fine” is part of the Merge Records Going To Georgia album compilation, supporting the state’s Democratic Senate candidates in January’s crucial runoff election. The compilation also features Merge artists like Superchunk, Torres, Wye Oak, and others. And while the comp isn’t available for streaming in an effort to maximize fundraising, this fantastic version of “Closer To Fine” by the Indigo Girls is a fiery taste of the album’s Georgia-centric songs.
Titus Andronicus’ Patrick Stickles shared some words with us on the merits of the Indigo Girls and independent thought:
“There is plenty of information out there, from sources far more credible than myself, explaining why continued Republican control of the Senate is bad for our country and the world, but I feel slightly more qualified to speak on the subject of the Indigo Girls, as I have been a student of theirs for almost thirty years. Back in the early ’90s, my mother would play ‘Closer To Fine’ over and over again — she even made a cassette tape for the car where one side was just that song on repeat, so I guess you could say she predicted the phenomenon of the ‘repeat’ button that would become so popular later on.
I always liked the song, but it wasn’t until I recorded my cover version that I realized the impact that having this song burned into my brain at such a young age has had on the way that I approach my life and my artistry. The Indigo Girls sing about the necessity of independent, critical thinking, and of skepticism towards those who would appoint themselves the gatekeepers of supposed ‘absolute truths.’ They encourage the listener to reject the ‘categorical imperative,’ and to accept a healthy amount of ambiguity (though not ambivalence) when it comes to life’s great mysteries. I realize that I have sung about these things many times in my own lyrics, and I wonder now if it wasn’t ‘Closer To Fine’ that set me along that path. Thanks for that, Indigo Girls, and thank you, Mom, for being such a righteous radical, then and now.”
How to Support: Pick up the Going To Georgia compilation album on Bandcamp.
Yola – “Hold On” Feat. Brandi Carlile, Sheryl Crow, Natalie Hemby, and Jason Isbell
Benefiting National Bailout Collective, who help bail out Black women and support their futures, and MusiCares, providing a safety net and critical assistance to people in the music community.
As a British woman of color, Yola is an exciting and unique emerging talent in roots music, nominated for four Grammys last year. She teams up on this one with three members of country supergroup The Highwomen and Jason Isbell on guitar, singing to a new generation of young Black women with cautious optimism. She paints the picture of a conversation she had with her mother and how important it has been for her to be visible as a young, talented Black woman.
Yola enlightened us to the song’s meaning and about the charities she chose:
“One of my late Mama’s favourite songs was ‘Waterfalls’ by TLC. I think she was worried how quickly I was growing up and how eagerly I wanted to be out in the world. So the first verse is like an ode to that TLC song’s chorus. The second verse is in a similar vein warning that not everyone is as happy as they seem. Now in truth, I was banned from pursuing music, the chorus is the sentiment I always wanted to hear. One that says, ‘yes, all that is true, not all that glitters is gold,’ so stay vigilant and focus on what is most important to you. Put who you are at the forefront of what you do. I didn’t come from money, so doing that can be risky.
I chose National Bailout as a charity to support, because it gets people back on track. Simply being poor is a common reason people are in jail and maybe can’t chase those dreams. I also chose MusiCares because we know we will be the last industry to get back to full strength. It’s important that we support musicians until we get there, especially when increasingly poorer musicians have to compete with trust fund kids. Having support financially, medically, and personally can be vital to a musician that doesn’t come from privilege.
‘Hold On’ is a song of self worth and hope, especially when it’s hard. I think the National Bailout Collective and MusiCares exemplify both by valuing people and helping create more hopeful futures.”
Benefiting Feeding America, a nonprofit network of more than 200 food banks that feed more than 46 million people through food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, and other community-based agencies.
Sad13’s Sadie Dupuis is tireless. In between her band Speedy Ortiz, releasing the latest Sad13 LP, Haunted Painting, and managing her label Wax Nine Record’s poetry journal, she’s written this song for the Father/Daughter & Wax Nine Records Simply Having A Wonderful Compilation. In classic Sad13 fashion, her wits are very much about her on this one as the riffs even poke fun at classic carols. It’s one of the many highlights on the comp which also features songs from Melkbelly, Ohmme, Tasha, Diet Cig, and more.
Dupuis checked in with us to comment on her yearly spirit of giving music:
“Earlier in 2020 I worked with Jessi on a Father/Daughter & Wax Nine co-released tribute album to Adam Schlesinger, which was so meaningful to both of us and raised a good amount of money for MusiCares’ Covid-19 relief fund in Adam’s name. It’s a really positive cap to the year to team up with Jessi again on Simply Having A Wonderful Compilation, this time supporting Feeding America. Food banks and hunger relief organizations need support year-round but especially in the winter, and especially this year. I’m psyched we were able to corral some of our favorite artists to get into the holiday spirit and join us in fundraising.
I somehow manage to write and record and release a holiday song pretty much every year. Usually it’s haphazard and last minute — last year I started about 6 hours before it premiered on Jon Solomon’s annual WPRB Xmas Marathon show, which is my other favorite holiday tradition. But knowing so many friends had already recorded amazing originals and covers was just the pressure I needed to get this done ON HALLOWEEN in time for our mastering deadline (the most prepared I will ever be for anything winter related). As for the subject matter, I am quite literally staying home and “not doing shit for Christmas” and I hope all of you will join me in that from afar!”
How to support: Buy the Simply Having A Wonderful Christmas comp on Bandcamp, all proceeds benefit Feeding America.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
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