Tag Archives: Video Games

Vampires, and Werewolves, and Frankenstein (Oh My!)

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It’s that time of year again; time when the warm, long nights and the smell of barbeques in the air give way to the impending cold as we say goodbye to summer and get our first warning bells that winter is coming (unfortunately no relation to the endless wait for George R.R. Martin’s next book, but since there might be a few of you I accidentally led on, have this meme). It’s the time when all the heat-averse people start breathing sighs of relief, and I start grumbling about the cold as I prepare to hide for six months in the safety of the indoors. But I promise this is not a post about how best to hibernate, because in between the end of summer and the worst season of the year, we have the second-best season. October. Spooky Season. Halloween! And, most importantly, the season when all the quality horror movies and TV shows are slated to come out (give or take a few weeks).

I’m sure I’ve mentioned Mike Flanagan’s work (The Haunting series, Midnight Mass, Doctor Sleep, and others) countless times. He’s always been my mainstay every Spooky season, but since he jumped the Netflix ship to join the crew of Amazon, I’ve needed something else to look forward to as the weather starts turning. So, as a huge fan of Guillermo del Toro, when I heard that he’d be taking on Mary Shelley’s classic gothic novel Frankenstein in his next film, I was actually okay with the inevitable end of summer. But since I missed my window to see it at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival (my wallet thanks me, though my heart does not), and I’ll have to wait until it gets its day in theatres or pops up on Netflix, I need to tide myself (and those who’ve had their interest piqued) over in the meantime. Thankfully, October also happens to be a season when classic monsters are never out of style. So, gather your plastic fangs and bedsheets because we’re going on a tour of vampires, werewolves, and Frankensteins (oh my!), and the many adaptations they’ve starred in.

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Mozart, Wagner, and The Legend of Zelda

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It’s been a while since my last Maya Goes to a Music Event post, but I promise there’s a reason for it: I just don’t go to concerts. At least in the traditional, what’s-hot-on-the-radio-right-now-stadium-spectacle sort of way. So, you may be wondering what’s driving me to write this. If you read my last post, you may have some idea of the one thing that can drag me to a concert (or more specifically, Roy Thomson Hall). Film and video game orchestra performances, ah, my literal siren’s song. Does this give me a capital G on my geek card? Yes, yes it does. But does it really bother me? No, no, it does not. What can I say? Good music is just good music.

Though I apparently did not do a good enough job of bothering the absolute daylights out of my friends (as cooperative gameplay, for some reason, has the ability to turn me into a chaos-loving gremlin), as I got invited to go hear all of our favorite Stardew Valley tunes played live. I don’t know how all of the delightful, chipper retro-inspired tracks will sound with a full orchestra and not only as the work of a one man band (or army, really, considering Eric Barone is, for the most part, the singular hand behind the fan favorite farming simulator), but it’s something I’ve been looking forward to all year.

Now there’s something that might be surprising to hear. Tickets had to go out a whole year in advance for this show. Not only that, but the Toronto concerts sold out so fast that two extra dates had to be added. Which brings me to my real reason for this Maya Goes to a Music Event post. I’m about to propose a theory: video game soundtracks are the modern equivalent of classical music (and more specifically opera) and what is most likely to keep bringing new audiences to classical concert halls. Of course, I don’t mean to make such a proposal without anything to back me up, so with the help of our video game collection here at VPL, let me show you what I mean.

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GG! Exciting Multiplayer Games to Play

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Image of a dark room with glowing arcade machines by Carl Raw via Unsplash.
Photo by Carl Raw on Unsplash

Today is the International Day of Friendship, which is a fitting time to forge and strengthen relationships by playing some multiplayer games! According to the United Nations, this day celebrates friendship to encourage unity and a respect for diversity. The games below have co-op and multiplayer elements that can hopefully bolster your friendships with some collaborative play, so grab some friends and work together to overcome all sorts of virtual challenges!

Many of the recommendations are crossplay and/or cross-gen, meaning you can play online across different platforms or between different generations of consoles, respectively. The titles also range from light-hearted games to more intense ones intended for mature audiences, so take your picks as you see fit!

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