Reports that an announcement for a sequel to Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is coming this year is welcome news to me. Playing through Respawn's Star Wars action-adventure was one of my favorite experiences from 2019, so I'm excited at the potential of continuing the adventure of the Stinger Mantis crew. But if I could make one suggestion for a sequel, I think Respawn should switch up who the protagonist of the next game is. Instead of Cal, we should play as Merrin.

In Fallen Order, Merrin is one of the last surviving members of the Nightsister clan of Dathomir. The Nightsisters are basically space witches who utilize a variation of Force sorcery to perform arcane-like magic, of which Merrin seems particularly adept. After Merrin meets Cal, the two bond under the shared belief that they're the last of their respective orders, and she joins him and the Stinger Mantis crew in their fight. She adds some wonderful levity to the crew dynamic, and actor Tina Ivlev does an incredible job voicing and portraying Merrin as this adorable, socially awkward person who hides that side of her with a dry sarcasm.

It's time for Star Wars games to get weird, and what's more delightfully weird than playing as a space witch? As Nightsisters are essentially just witch-like variations of Jedi, Merrin would most naturally fit the established gameplay mechanics seen in Fallen Order. In the game we see Merrin utilize her powers to telekinetically move objects, so she already kind of has Cal's Force Push and Pull. Her ability to teleport to hard-to-reach places is a natural replacement for Cal's double jump as well.

But it's where Merrin differs from Cal where I think Respawn could implement some intriguing new gameplay concepts. Merrin has demonstrated the ability to raise the dead, enhance the abilities of others, cloak objects, and fling ichor as deadly blasts--and that's just what we've seen. If Merrin is anything like other powerful Nightsisters, she'll possess additional skills like the ability to overpower weakened minds so they submit to her will. Nightsisters are typically exceptionally athletic too, excelling with melee weapons and bow and arrows. And as most learn how to brew both helpful and harmful potions, Merrin could possess a knack for creating beneficial salves and deadly poisons.

Basically, if Respawn wanted to make a version of Fallen Order where you played as more of a Dark Side user than a Jedi, but ensuring that you're still a hero, then Merrin fits the bill perfectly. I think that will help keep a sequel of Fallen Order from feeling too samey. Plus, it keeps Respawn from having to come up with some strange reason as to why Cal would have to relearn abilities he should already know from the events of Fallen Order (I put up with it for Samus, but Fallen Order is no Metroid). Transition Cal into more of a teacher role, where he's passing on the skills he learned in Fallen Order to Merrin--allowing her to mix together Jedi abilities with the sorceries of a Nightsister.

Also, between you and me, I'm just so, so, so tired of playing Star Wars games as a human. The Old Republic offers a nice variety, but most modern day Star Wars games see you play as humans--Battlefront II, Fallen Order, Squadrons, and (presumably, unless there are plans to change character customization) Aspyr's upcoming PS5 and PC Knights of the Old Republic remake all feature human protagonists. It's been done. We have repeatedly seen the universe of Star Wars through the eyes of humans. We don't have to keep writing those stories.

A sequel of Fallen Order starring Merrin is a safe way to mix things up, seeing as Nightsisters are still human-like. But at least they're still alien in appearance, and that opens up a ton of possible storylines that Respawn could explore that many Star Wars games don't. Especially if the sequel takes place just after Fallen Order's campaign, when the Galactic Empire is still at its height so Palpatine's xenophobia would have trickled throughout the galaxy. Cal is an outcast as a Jedi, but he's still human and would thus have more opportunities in an Empire-ruled galaxy than Merrin. How does that make her feel? How does that make Cal feel when/if he notices it? Does that change the dynamic between them in any way? These are questions I need answers to.

In my mind, I see a Fallen Order sequel starring Merrin as a sort of Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales situation. A potentially shorter game but with a much tighter core gameplay loop that cuts out all of the stuff that felt a little extraneous in the first game (I really don't want to waste time hunting down slightly different poncho and ship hull colors again), and changing up the combat a bit with brand-new mechanics (Merrin's witch powers being built on top of Cal's Force abilities, similar to Miles' bio-electricity and invisibility powers being built on top of Peter's web slinging and wall crawling).

In my ideal world, a Fallen Order sequel stars Merrin. But I could see other protagonists taking on that role too, provided Respawn wants to use this franchise as a vehicle for "stories about Jedi" as opposed to "stories about the Stinger Mantis crew." I'd be down for the next Star Wars Jedi game to be just like what Fallen Order was when it first came out and feature a brand-new, never-before-seen cast of characters. Merrin is still my first choice as a hero though. As the best part of Fallen Order, she deserves to be in the spotlight for that game's follow-up.

The 24th annual Independent Games Festival is just around the corner and after a year filled with countless critically acclaimed indie games, the competition is pretty fierce. However, after sifting through a catalog of over 400 entries, the organizers behind the 2022 Game Developers Conference have revealed which independent titles are up for some of the festival's most prestigious awards.

Leading the pack in award nominations are Daniel Mullins Games' eerie deck-builder Inscryption and Witch Beam's heartfelt puzzle game Unpacking, two games very different in content but both celebrated for their unique mechanics and interesting narrative. Both titles have four nomination each in the same categories: excellence in audio, excellence in design, excellence in narrative, and, last but not least, the Seumas McNally grand prize.

In addition to Inscryption and Unpacking, Overboard!, Jett: The Far Shore, and The Eternal Cylinder all have multiple nomination across award categories. Up for the festival's grand prize--the Seumus McNally Award--are Inscryption, Unpacking, Loop Hero, The Eternal Cylinder, Cruelty Squad, and Unsighted.

You can read up on every game nominated for an IGF award--as well as all the honorable mentions--over on the festival's official webpage. Here's a list of the contenders for the showcase's top five categories:

Seumas McNally Grand Prize

• Inscryption (Daniel Mullins Games)
• Unpacking (Witch Beam)
• Loop Hero (Four Quarters)
• The Eternal Cylinder (ACE Team)
• Cruelty Squad (Consumer Softproducts)
• Unsighted (Studio Pixel Punk)

Excellence in Audio

• Toem (Something We Made)
• Unpacking (Witch Beam)
• Jett: The Far Shore (Superbrothers A/V + Pine Scented)
• Mini Motorways (Dinosaur Polo Club)
• Sable (Shedworks)
• Inscryption (Daniel Mullins Games)

Excellence in Design

• Inscryption (Daniel Mullins Games
• Unpacking (Witch Beam)
• Overboard! (inkle)
• Strange Horticulture (Bad Viking)
• Webbed (Sbug Games)
• Midnight Protocol (LuGus Studios)

Excellence in Narrative

• Last Call (Nina Freeman and Jake Jefferies)
• Neurocracy (Playthroughline)
• Closed Hands (Passenger)
• Overboard! (inkle)
• Inscryption (Daniel Mullins Games)
• Unpacking (Witch Beam)

Excellence in Visual Art

• The Eternal Cylinder (ACE Team)
• Behind the Frame: The Finest Scenery (Silver Lining Studio)
• Papetura (Petums)
• Fuzz Dungeon (Jeremy Couillard)
• The Wild at Heart (Moonlight Kids)
• Jett: The Far Shore (Superbrothers A/V + Pine Scented)

Razer Zephyr Pro, an enhanced version of the gaming peripheral company's existing Razer Zephyr mask, is coming soon. Razer announced the Pro's forthcoming release on Wednesday at CES 2022.

The Pro will add voice amplification technology so that, per a tweet from Razer's official account, you can "express yourself clearly & loudly while remaining protected with N95-grade Filters."

The original Razer Zephyr was already a high-end mask, targeted at gamers. With a sleek black design and RGB lights encircling the filters, it wouldn't look out of place in a near-future game like Watch Dogs: Legion. Those lights can be controlled via Bluetooth from an app on compatible iPhones and Android devices.

More importantly, the mask boasts replaceable N95 grade filters, two internal fans which help ventilate the mask and cool the wearer's skin, a pair of head straps, and a silicone seal that fits tightly to the face. Razer says that the standard Zephyr and the Pro each boast a 99 percent BFE (bacterial filtration efficiency), four percent higher than disposable masks and 39 percent higher than standard cloth masks. The mask is as pricey as that feature list might lead you to expect. It's sold out right now, but typically retails for $99.99.

The Razer Zephyr Pro is a slightly upgraded version of the Razer Zephyr. It retains all of the features from the first model, but adds voice amplification. The original mask received criticism for the volume of fans which could make it difficult to hear the wearer while speaking.

Both masks feature clear plastic over the mouth, so that the wearer's lips can be read more easily than in a traditional mask. There are also internal lights so that the wearer's mouth is always visible, even in dark settings. The mouth piece can be removed and cleaned.

We don't have any specifics yet on when the Pro will become available. If the Pro follows the template set by the original Zephyr, it will only be available for limited times in drops. But, you can sign up for email updates on Razer's website.

CES 2022 has been taking place this week, and during the Consumer Electronics Show, we saw several companies unveil or reveal more details on plenty of gaming technology. This included entirely new devices, new chips to power PC games, and a very literal desktop PC. The show was a lot different than in the past because of the pandemic, but there were still plenty of exciting announcement for eager players. These were the biggest gaming stories at CES 2022.

PlayStation VR2

Sony had previously shared a few details regarding its PlayStation VR successor, including its plans for one-cable connections and an advanced controller, but it offered much more information during CES 2022. Officially named PlayStation VR2--yes, no space--and coming bundled with the PlayStation VR2 Sense controller, the PS5's VR platform includes 4K HDR resolution, an OLED display, inside-out head tracking, and eye-tracking technology. This means the days of needing a camera and glowing Move controllers to detect your motion are behind us, and a headset motor will provide more haptic feedback to increase immersion.

Razer's Project Sophia

When you hear "desktop PC," you're probably imagining a PC tower that goes next to your desk, connected to a monitor. Razer's Project Sophia is a literal desktop PC, in that it's a desk with a PC built directly into it--including a built-in display. The device shown off at CES featured magnetic modules for customization, THX spatial surround sound, a wireless charger, and even a cup warmer so you can have hot coffee during your raid sessions. Because of the module system, it's a versatile device that you can change for when you're working or gaming, and the massive OLED display is available in either 65-inch or 77-inch versions. It even features a chat viewer and stream production controller for creators broadcasting their gameplay.

LG C2

LG has been the biggest name in (relatively) affordable OLED TVs for a while, and its offering looks to be getting even better with the C2. The lineup will include the first-ever 42-inch OLED TV so those with smaller rooms can still enjoy the benefits of the display technology, as well as sizes ranging all the way up to 83 inches. With the 2022 lineup, you can use a special Game Optimizer menu to switch between settings, including FreeSync, variable refresh rate, and a Dark Room mode to play for when your gaming sessions run a little bit long. There is also a preset sports mode so you can switch to watching live games and then toggle it back to your console or PC.

Arcade1Up and iiRcade

The home arcade scene is getting a little bit more premium with new offerings from both Arcade1Up and iiRcade. Arcade1Up announced the first cabinet in its more-expensive Pro Series, Killer Instinct, which sports a taller form factor, bigger screen, better speakers, Suzo Happ sticks and buttons, Wi-Fi multiplayer, and no more separate riser. On the iiRcade side, the company revealed its first Premium model, Dead Cells, which comes with a more arcade-accurate form factor and discrete speakers, along with a lit marquee and gorgeous cabinet artwork. Both companies are clearly attracting the most dedicated players with these designs, many of whom have taken to turning entire rooms into arcades over the last few years.

Nvidia RTX 3090 Ti

Nvidia continues, at least on paper, to pull away from AMD with its high-end GPUs, and that continued at CES 2022. The company revealed the RTX 3090 Ti, a unit sporting 40 TFLOPs of performance, which is a full four more than the RTX 3090. It also has 24 GB of GDDR6X RAM. It'll likely have a price to back up the power, given the current $1,500 cost for the older GPU, but Nvidia made the announcement as its competitor focused primarily on low-cost and mobile processors during its own showcase.

Asus ROG Flow Z13

Sure, many hardcore PC players want a traditional tower PC or a laptop to play their favorite games, but others are looking for something a bit more versatile and convenient. That's who the Asus ROG Flow Z13 looks to serve, supporting many of the same functions as a two-in-one like the Microsoft Surface but supporting up to an Intel Core i9-12900H CPU and an RTX 3050 Ti GPU. It also supports the XG Mobile eGPU line, so you can dock the system, connect to an external monitor, and get even better performance out of it when you're back home.

Alienware Concept Nyx

There are currently a few different companies offering cloud gaming services, letting you move from your game from a TV to a phone in another room if your family wants to watch something. The Alienware Concept Nyx is different, however, using a physical home server in order to make a transition like this seamless so you don't lose any progress when moving from one display to another. By using "smart switching" of devices, Alienware plans to have you lose literally no progress when doing this, rather than having to go back to the last checkpoint like you may with other more widespread cloud solutions. For those with several players in the house, especially where there are data caps, it could be the perfect solution.

For Xbox Live and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers looking for something new to play this weekend, Battlefield 2042 is now free to play. DICE's latest shooter leads the charge in Xbox's latest Free Play Days promotion, alongside indie tactics title Star Renegades.

From now until 11:59 PM PST on January 9, you can see what Battlefield 2042 is all about for free, including taking its Portal mode for a spin. Any progress made in the game, including achievements and unlocks, will carry over if you decide to purchase the full game after the free weekend. The various Battlefield 2042 editions are currently on sale too, should you decide to make the jump.

• Battlefield 2042 Standard Edition -- $40.19 ($60)
• Battlefield 2042 Standard Series X|S Edition -- $49 ($70)
• Battlefield 2042 Gold Edition -- $80 -- ($100)
• Battlefield 2042 Ultimate Edition -- $99.59 ($120)

If multiplayer shooters aren't your cup of tea, Star Renegades--a sci-fi, turn-based RPG that emphasizes quick-thinking--is also free to play this weekend. Should your characters fall in battle, you'll be warped to a parallel dimension to take what you've learned and fight once more against the overwhelming might of the Imperium. Unlike the other two Free Play Days titles featured this weekend, Star Renegades is not on sale and is currently $25.

Xbox initially announced the Lovecraftian horror title The Sinking City would also be free to play this weekend, but has since removed the game from its line-up.

Endgame Expeditions in Amazon's MMO New World are about to get a whole lot harder, if players are willing to accept the challenge. Expedition modifiers called Mutators, and 10 additional difficulty levels for each Mutated Expedition, are currently being tested on the game's public test realm.

As detailed by Amazon in a new blog post, Mutators augment enemies within Expeditions--New World's versions of dungeons--with various affixes in a system that isn't all that dissimilar to World of Warcraft's Mythic+ dungeon system. Upon completing a Mutated Expedition, players are scored based on speed, the number of enemies killed, and how many times players died or wiped during the Expedition. Players can unlock higher difficulty levels (and earn better rewards) by earning a high enough score.

Amazon states that it expects higher difficulties to be "extremely difficult." Given that more than a few players have complained about New World's lack of endgame content, the introduction of Mutators and multiple difficulty levels will hopefully give New World's most dedicated fans more goals to work towards.

The other major addition being tested on the PTR is the new Umbral Shard system. This new resource provides a means for players with items of 600 gear score to increase the power of those items up to 625, with Amazon stating that doing so will be "critical if you want to dive into higher-difficulty Mutated Expeditions or gain a competitive edge in PvP." The shards can be acquired in a number of ways, including completing lower level Mutated Expeditions. Players will need a corresponding Expertise level of 600 to apply an Umbral Shard to a given piece of gear.

While Mutated Expeditions and the Umbral Shard system are the big talking points, the PTR does feature a few other changes as well. The Azoth cost for fast traveling long distances is being reduced significantly and Expeditions are also seeing their loot tables adjusted, alongside other minor changes.

No word yet on when Mutated Expeditions or Umbral Shards will be arriving in the live version of the game, but it's likely to be within the next few weeks. New World received its first holiday event in the form of the Winter Convergence Festival last month. Amazon has recently started merging low population New World servers into one another in an effort to create servers with healthier populations.

Mojang is back to updating Minecraft with the game's first beta of the new year. Minecraft: Bedrock Edition Beta 1.18.10.26 is a small one, introducing a smattering of new features and bug fixes. The beta's most notable feature, though, is the addition of three new Froglight blocks, which players can only get by using frogs.

Froglight blocks come in three colors: pearlescent, verdant, and ochre, and emit light of that color. However, actually getting the new blocks will likely be a challenge to anyone who doesn't just spawn them in. Froglight blocks are, as the name suggests, made by frogs. Players will somehow have to lead a frog to a small Magma Cube, which the frog will then eat and summarily spawn a Froglight block.

The challenge there is getting the two entities close to one another. Magma Cubes only spawn in the Nether, so getting a frog from its native swamp into the Hellish biome will likely take some time. Likewise, small Magma Cubes are spawned after defeating larger ones, adding another step to the process.

Along with Froglight blocks, Minecraft's latest beta adds a number of other changes, including visible damage on Iron Golems and Blast Furnaces and Smokers giving players XP again. A full list of the beta's changes can be found below.

Minecraft beta 1.18.10.26 patch notes

Frogs

• Frogs and Tadpoles now have sounds
• Frog panic speed is now appropriate
• Tadpoles now have the panic goal

Frog Egg

• Glow Lichen can no longer be placed on top of Frog Egg

Froglight

• Three new Froglight blocks have been added (Pearlescent, Verdant, Ochre)
• The Froglight blocks emit light
• The blocks are obtained by luring a Frog close to a small Magma Cube. The Frog will eat the Magma Cube and a Froglight block will drop. Each Frog variant will cause a different Froglight block to drop

Features and Bug Fixes

Stability and Performance

• Fixed an issue that could cause the entities in a chunk to not save when exiting a world
• The game now loads certain seeds and worlds around Mesa biomes without crashing

Vanilla Parity

• Iron Golems now show different degrees of cracking depending on their health. Iron Ingots can be used on damaged Iron Golems to repair them
• Glow Lichen now has similar brightness as on Java Edition
• Foxes now aim downwards when they pounce
• Removed the emerald icon above a Villager's head when trading
• Updated trade tables for Butchers, Cartographers, Librarians, and Wandering Traders
• Iron Golems now only attack players with a very bad standing in a village after attacking a villager

Accessibility

• Text-to-speech (TTS) now correctly reads the names of experimental toggles

Commands

• Added a new '/damage' command to allow players to deal damage to entities
• Placing Cocoa Beans with '/setblock' or '/fill' commands no longer results in an error

Feature placement

• Large Dripstone feature does not generate floating on top of lava anymore
• Pointed Dripstone clusters no longer have a chance of spawning only stalagmites of height one

Furnaces

• Blast Furnaces and Smokers once again give XP

Gameplay

• Pointed Dripstone now sometimes generate on large stalactites and stalagmites
• Lava pools now only generate in positive Y coordinates
  • Lava pools that generate close to Y=0 will have Deepslate and Stone blocks casing
• Coral now generates in the deeper depths of Warm Oceans
• The Grove biome now has more variety of trees
• Fixed Light Block's brightness not being adjustable when playing in VR
• Fixed Light Block not being continuously placed while holding right-click and moving
• Light Blocks can now be waterlogged
• Fixed issue where breaking blocks, opening chests, and entering portals would be delayed/not work when there are lots of mobs nearby
• Grass and double flowers now have proper animations when breaking
• Flower blocks are now properly destroyed by explosions when inside snow layers
• Skeleton Horsemen now pathfind correctly

World Generation

• Iceberg features no longer replace Snow Blocks of Igloo structures (MCPE-147690)
• Water in open air mountain caves no longer generates unevenly
• Aquifers no longer generate with missing water blocks

Technical Updates

GameTest Framework (Experimental)

• Entity
  • Added function teleport(location: Location, dimension: Dimension, xRotation (optional): float, yRotation (optional): float)
  • Added function teleportFacing(location: Location, dimension: Dimension, facingLocation: Location)
• Added registerAsyncmethod to register and properly track the state of GameTests using async functions

General

• Reapplied changes to use "allowlist" instead of "whitelist"

JumpToBlockGoal

• JumpToBlockGoal now correctly searches the same distance upwards and downwards when looking for jumpblockcandidates, allowing a mobs that use the goal to jump equally high as low

Blocks

• Added support for blocks having the same name as long as they belong to different namespaces

Animations

• Fixed animation controller recursion checks from falsely disallowing normal repeat usage of a controller

User-Interface

• Fixed issue where up and down arrow buttons in the Resource Pack Settings screen became bigger when highlighted